Chapter Summaries

Chen Nan and the other trainees traveled to Zhiyun to escort a criminal, where the Patrol Bureau welcomed them with gifts and an extravagant meal. The bureau chief privately asked Chen Nan for help and offered to treat it as a paid mission, then began explaining his predicament.

• Chen Nan and the other four accepted the mission, received work cards, and traveled from Luojing to Zhiyun.
• The group arrived at Tanming Hotel, where Susanna and Chen Nan shared a room while Liu Mingtao had one to himself.
• The Zhiyun Patrol Bureau chiefs welcomed the trainees, briefed them on the criminal and escort, and took them to an expensive restaurant.
• The bureau chief presented the group with costly gifts, which they reluctantly accepted, then hosted them at a banquet of regional delicacies.
• The bureau chief privately asked Chen Nan for help and offered to make it a separate paid mission, then began describing his misfortune.

Chen Nan agreed to rescue the Patrol Bureau chief’s kidnapped daughter while still escorting the captured beastman to Luojing City, then secretly investigated the chief’s office. He found the ransom note suspicious but uncovered no decisive evidence before the chapter ended.

• The Patrol Bureau chief told Chen Nan that his eight-year-old daughter had been kidnapped and asked him to let the beastman escape during an attack in exchange for a large reward.
• Chen Nan agreed to save the girl, but told his team they would also deliver the beastman safely and investigate the kidnapping themselves.
• Chen Nan suspected the beastman’s accomplices had help from insiders in Qingyang Kingdom and decided to start by examining the ransom note.
• That night, Chen Nan used the Mist Concealment Technique to enter the Patrol Bureau, temporarily disabled its surveillance system, and searched the records room.
• Chen Nan examined the note, which had been assembled from newspaper clippings, and found it had no fingerprints, but he could not yet draw any firm conclusions.

Chen Nan used the Patrol Bureau’s surveillance footage and his AI System to trace a threatening note to officer Zhang Hua. He located a possible source of evidence and told his companions they would search for it the next day.

• Chen Nan reviewed five days of surveillance footage and spotted a hole in a crumpled newspaper thrown away by Zhang Hua, an officer trusted by the Patrol Bureau director.
• Chen Nan used the AI System to reconstruct the newspaper and found that the cut-out words, “girl” and “death,” matched words on the threatening note.
• Chen Nan traced the newspaper from an outdoor trash bin to sanitation worker Zhang Cuihua and found her personal details in the workers’ system.
• Chen Nan stopped using the AI System after it consumed most of his power, then returned to the hotel.
• Chen Nan told Liu Mingtao and the others he had nearly solved the case and asked them to help find crucial evidence the next day.

Chen Nan obtained the newspaper evidence linking Zhang Hua to the kidnapping but delayed arresting him to avoid endangering the hostage. After Qi Shan’s two days of surveillance revealed no suspicious behavior, Chen Nan remained troubled by how the kidnappers could be keeping the girl hidden.

• Chen Nan and his companions found sanitation worker Zhang Cuihua and paid her to search for the newspaper, which Chen Nan preserved as evidence.
• Chen Nan decided not to arrest Zhang Hua until they knew where the kidnapped girl was being held and how to rescue her.
• Chen Nan sent Qi Shan to secretly follow Zhang Hua and investigate his movements and associates.
• Qi Shan surveilled Zhang Hua for two days and reported that he followed an ordinary routine and met no one suspicious.
• Chen Nan reasoned that the kidnappers had to contact the hostage, but Zhang Hua’s movements showed no sign of such contact.

Chen Nan suspected Zhang Hua had hidden the Patrol Bureau chief’s daughter inside the Patrol Bureau prison, and he used rats to search it. After finding the girl in an isolated cell, Chen Nan told his companions they would rescue her at midnight.

• Chen Nan reasoned that Zhang Hua likely had accomplices and might be keeping the girl somewhere he could access without arousing suspicion.
• Chen Nan left the hotel alone to enlist his unusual friends, while Liu Mingtao told the others about Chen Nan’s past use of rats to gather evidence.
• Chen Nan returned that evening and revealed that he had used rats to search the Patrol Bureau prison and found the chief’s daughter in an isolated cell.
• Chen Nan explained that the girl had suffered severe torment and was in a mentally sluggish state, so they needed to rescue her quickly.
• Chen Nan and his companions agreed to rest after dinner and enter the prison at midnight.

Chen Nan led Qi Shan and the others into the Patrol Bureau prison at midnight to rescue the kidnapped girl, using his Mist Concealment Technique to avoid detection. They reached the underground cells, where the girl was being held, and the chapter ended before they found her.

• Chen Nan considered the risk that Transcendents might be involved and decided the group needed to rescue the girl immediately.
• At midnight, Chen Nan and the four others disguised themselves as rowdy youths and approached the prison through the mist.
• Chen Nan concealed the group with his Mist Concealment Technique, and they crossed the prison wall unnoticed.
• Chen Nan sent Qi Shan to scout the prison, and Qi Shan returned to report that there were no patrols.
• Chen Nan led the group through the prison and down into a foul, dark underground corridor lined with iron doors.

Chen Nan and his companions entered the prison to rescue a girl, only to discover it was an ambush set by a demonman, a beastman, and a human mage. With the group outmatched and trapped, Chen Nan charged the mage alone, and the demonman struck at him from the side.

• Chen Nan stopped his companions at the prison entrance and blocked a demonman's surprise attack on Susanna.
• Chen Nan ordered the group to surround Susanna as the demonman, beastman, and human mage confronted them in the corridor.
• The human mage's fire spell overwhelmed Susanna's defense, revealing that the three attackers were far stronger than Chen Nan's group.
• The demonman explained that the prison walls were too sturdy to break through, and Chen Nan told his companions to cover him while he fought all three enemies alone.
• Chen Nan rushed the human mage and shattered his hastily formed flame barrier with a lightning-infused strike as the demonman attacked from the side.

Chen Nan and the others escaped the prison after the orc’s explosive attack, killing the human mage and forcing the fiend and orc to withdraw. They returned to the prison to help search for the director’s daughter, leaving the director to manage the aftermath.

• Chen Nan evaded the fiend and the orc in the narrow corridor until the orc’s overheated fists detonated against a wall, injuring the orc and filling the corridor with smoke and fog.
• Chen Nan used the fog to gather his companions, killed the human mage, and led the group out of the prison.
• The fiend and orc confronted the group on the street, but the fiend decided they could not win and left with the orc.
• Chen Nan sent Qi Shan to find Zhang Hua, then returned to the prison with the others and told the director to search for his daughter.
• Patrol officers and guards found the director’s daughter in an ordinary cell, and the director took her in while Chen Nan advised him to seek psychological help.

Chen Nan warned Qi Shan away from Zhang Hua’s home just before an explosion destroyed part of the residential complex, then ordered his team to remain together and stay alert. Meanwhile, the Prefecture Office met with two mysterious figures, agreed to cover up the explosions and advance a separatist operation, and used a drug called Drunken Dream Life to sharpen his mind.

• Chen Nan called Qi Shan and ordered him to leave the residential complex, where an attacker was lying in wait.
• An explosion struck Zhang Hua’s home, and Qi Shan escaped the danger and returned to Chen Nan.
• Chen Nan brought his team back to the hotel and told them to stay together and remain cautious.
• The Prefecture Office and two mysterious figures discussed suppressing news of the explosions, compensating victims, and starting unrest in the Zhiyun Region.
• The Prefecture Office injected himself with Drunken Dream Life, which gave him an intense fantasy and temporarily enhanced his thinking.

After the Zhiyun City authorities settled the aftermath of Zhang Hua’s death, Chen Nan and his companions began escorting a demonkin prisoner toward Luojing. Meanwhile, Recas and Luosh joined Zhou He’s group to discuss the escort and warn them that Chen Nan was more formidable than he appeared.

• Zhang Hua’s distant relatives took cash after publicly raising suspicions about his family’s deaths, while his bachelor cousin collected the ashes and buried them in the mountains.
• Chen Nan chose not to pursue Zhang Hua’s crimes further, and Zhiyun City’s Patrol Bureau prepared a three-vehicle convoy to transport the demonkin prisoner to Luojing by road.
• The Patrol Bureau director thanked Chen Nan’s group but gave them no reward, since they had not allowed a prison-van hijacking to succeed as stipulated.
• Chen Nan and his companions departed Zhiyun City, planning to complete the more-than-thirty-hour journey over three days.
• After the convoy left, Zhou He met with Recas, Luosh, and two other Transcendents to review the Luojing Transcendent Academy students’ information.
• Recas identified Chen Nan as a target and described his tactical skill, mastery of illusions, and seasoned combat ability, prompting Zhou He to take him seriously.

Recas and Kansh recruited Zhou He to eliminate Chen Nan, while Chen Nan sensed danger during his journey and used the patrol vehicle’s radar to watch for threats. After an uneventful night in Yanghe City, Chen Nan’s group set out again, followed by an inconspicuous sedan.

• Recas told Zhou He to kill Chen Nan before his potential grew, and Zhou He left to make arrangements.
• Chen Nan felt uneasy in the car and had the patrol officer activate the ultrasonic radar, which he connected to a data cable.
• Qi Shan and the others interpreted Chen Nan’s strange actions as evidence of his supernatural abilities and praised his past feats to the patrol officers.
• Chen Nan’s group reached Yanghe City, handed their demonfolk prisoner over to the local Patrol Bureau, and stayed overnight at a hotel.
• After completing the prisoner handover at dawn, Chen Nan’s group departed Yanghe City, and an inconspicuous sedan followed them.

Chen Nan discovered that a black sedan carrying Transcendents was following his group and suspected they planned to attack them. He prepared to use his teacher’s auxiliary tools and chose a dangerous bend as a likely ambush site, while planning how to protect his companions.

• Chen Nan used his radar to track nearby traffic and noticed that one black sedan repeatedly stayed near the group.
• Chen Nan compared the occupants’ faces with his stored memories and recognized the driver and front passenger from a hotel in Zhiyun City.
• Chen Nan concluded that the Transcendents in the sedan intended to harm his group and decided he would kill them rather than take prisoners.
• Chen Nan studied satellite maps and identified a sharp bend beside a steep ravine, about three hours ahead, as a likely place for an ambush.
• Chen Nan planned to warn his companions shortly before the danger and stay behind to prepare, confident he could protect himself.

Chen Nan anticipated an ambush on the road and used the Four Elements Tube to turn the attackers’ plan against them. After killing two men and escaping the others’ encirclement, he left Zhou He leading the chase.

• Chen Nan spotted the ambush forming at a sharp turn, told Qi Shan and the others to keep driving, and climbed onto the vehicle’s roof.
• Chen Nan blasted the oncoming car aside with lightning, then stopped the sedan and faced Zhou He and five other attackers.
• Chen Nan killed one attacker with lightning from the Four Elements Tube and froze another with a second blast.
• Chen Nan evaded the remaining four attackers, and Zhou He urged them to chase while secretly leading the pursuit.

Chen Nan outwitted Zhou He by making him believe the Four Elements Tube had run out of energy, then shot and killed him when he closed in. The other attackers were dead or had fled, leaving Chen Nan as the survivor of the highway battle.

• Chen Nan used the Four Elements Tube to eliminate two more attackers, leaving Zhou He and one underling.
• Zhou He told his last underling that the weapon could only fire four times and urged him to attack Chen Nan, but the underling fled instead.
• Chen Nan pretended the Four Elements Tube was empty and acted frightened, convincing Zhou He to pursue him.
• Zhou He caught up to Chen Nan and challenged him to shoot, believing he was safe.
• Chen Nan fired a bolt of lightning at Zhou He, who fell and died after realizing he had been deceived.

Chen Nan returned safely after stopping an ambush, then completed the prison transport escort to Luojing. Back at the academy, he reconsidered taking missions and focused on cultivation and preparing to teach the Nature Master Department.

• Chen Nan took Zhou He's car, reported the ambush to Susanna, and drove back to the rest stop after ensuring the vehicle was safe.
• Chen Nan explained why he had sent the others ahead, concealed that he had been the ambush's true target, and resolved to grow stronger and stay cautious.
• Chen Nan and the others resumed the escort, reached Luojing, and completed their reports and academy duties before receiving their reward.
• Chen Nan lost enthusiasm for missions and considered competing in the Diligence Ranking, while deciding to use his resources for cultivation.
• Chen Nan planned to check whether Yang Yugan had obtained Meditation Qi Yin Art equipment so he could begin teaching the Myriad Laws Universe Art to the Nature Master Department.

Qiu Daqiang struggled between preserving himself as a Transcendent and defending Qingyang Kingdom as separatist unrest spread through the Zhiyun Region. Yang Yugan and Lu Fangliang prepared to fight if war came, while deciding not to distract Chen Nan from his cultivation.

• Qiu Daqiang reviewed Chen Nan's reports and weighed joining the Temple of Mysteries against defending his homeland as the Zhiyun Region's secession movement gained strength.
• Qiu Daqiang wrote a report blaming Kroya and Garo for using calls for democracy, equality, and freedom to divide Qingyang Kingdom, but crumpled up his first draft before starting again.
• Yang Yugan and Lu Fangliang discussed the danger of war with the Demonic Beast Kingdom and the risks Transcendents faced if they intervened.
• Yang Yugan and Lu Fangliang resolved to fight for Qingyang Kingdom if war began and agreed not to tell Chen Nan while he was focused on cultivation and teaching the Myriad Laws Universe Art.

At a Nature Master Department meeting, Yang Yugan announced that Chen Nan would become junior department head, provoking two elders who opposed the decision. Yang Yugan restrained himself from confronting them, but someone else stepped forward to respond.

• Chen Nan decided his revised Myriad Laws Universe Art was ready to teach and received Yang Yugan's permission to handle the matter.
• Yang Yugan announced that Chen Nan would become junior department head and eventually manage the Nature Master Department.
• Fu Long objected that an inexperienced young student should not inherit the department head position.
• Yang Yugan condemned the department's status as intangible cultural heritage and argued that Nature Masters had fallen from their former greatness.
• Gao Haitao urged Yang Yugan to accept the status quo and warned that Chen Nan might ruin the department's inheritance.
• Yang Yugan held back from answering the elders harshly, but someone walked to the center of the hall as Lu Fangliang was about to stand.

Chen Nan defused opposition to his leadership by returning the Mysterious Profound Token and winning approval to teach the students. After Yang Yugan returned the token and granted him a daily class period, Chen Nan began organizing instruction in the Myriad Laws Universe Art, while keeping his broader plans on hold.

• Chen Nan praised Fu Long and Gao Haitao, returned the Mysterious Profound Token, and asked permission to share his cultivation experience with the students.
• Gao Haitao and Fu Long approved Chen Nan's proposal, and Yang Yugan gave him a daily class period to teach.
• After the meeting, Yang Yugan returned the Mysterious Profound Token and asked Chen Nan about his plans, but Chen Nan withheld his intentions.
• A week later, Chen Nan began his course with nearly seventy students and sorted them into groups according to their cultivation stages and methods.
• Chen Nan introduced the general formulas of the Myriad Laws Universe Art and postponed group cultivation until the following day.

Chen Nan’s Myriad Laws Universe Art transformed cultivation in the Nature Master Department, prompting students and instructors to train diligently while he continued refining the method. After stabilizing the department’s new practices, Chen Nan began preparing to complete his final cultivation stage and advance.

• Chen Nan taught the Myriad Laws Universe Art through group leaders, and students found that it improved the quality and speed of their cultivation.
• Nature Master students began training with renewed diligence as their progress accelerated, and Yang Yugan and Lu Fangliang joined the cultivation method.
• Chen Nan discussed the art with Yang Yugan and Lu Fangliang, refined it through their feedback, and gathered information from students to improve it further.
• Yang Yugan and Lu Fangliang concluded that Chen Nan’s work could revive the Nature Master Department, while Chen Nan finished establishing its new practices.
• Chen Nan planned to advance after reaching Level Thirty-Nine as a Transcendent and the final stage of Object Study as a Nature Master, and Yang Yugan prepared rewards for him.

After a month in seclusion, Chen Nan reached the early stage of Mystic Understanding and Level Forty-One, gaining access to two techniques from the Mysterious Profound Token. He reviewed the Nature Master Department’s progress and prepared to enter the academy’s Diligence Ranking, hoping to find the summoner who had trapped him on a mission.

• Chen Nan cultivated in seclusion for about a month and reached Mystic Understanding and Transcendent Level Forty-One.
• Chen Nan learned the Thousand Guiding Art and the Void Dissipation Art from the Mysterious Profound Token, then gave the techniques to the AI System for processing.
• Chen Nan returned to the Nature Master Department and reviewed the recorded progress of everyone studying the Myriad Laws Universe Art.
• Chen Nan made handover arrangements with Yang Yugan and Lu Fangliang before planning to participate in the Diligence Ranking.
• Chen Nan hoped to use contact with academy students and the AI System’s image comparison to identify the summoner who had trapped him during his first mission.