Chapter Summaries

Meng Chao discovered that the glowing God Transformation Capsules in the refinery were fakes and realized the stolen cultivation resources were likely intended for a much larger trap. He warned Zhou Chong to retreat, but the nature of the danger remained unclear.

• Meng Chao noticed the supposed God Transformation Capsule Solution contained large amounts of Candle Firefly Grass and tested it, confirming it had no effect on his cells.
• Meng Chao forced Song Yu to swallow dozens of the capsules, and Song Yu showed no reaction, revealing that he had not known they were fake.
• Meng Chao scanned the battlefield and grew suspicious as the hunters secured the refinery and surrounding floors with little resistance.
• Meng Chao warned Zhou Chong and the hunters to retreat, explaining that the nearly ten thousand capsules in the refinery were decoys.
• Meng Chao concluded that the stolen Spiritual Energy-rich cultivation resources had likely been intended to create a colossal Crystals Bomb rather than mass-produce capsules.

Meng Chao realized the God Transformation Capsule refinery was a trap meant to hide a super-giant Crystals Bomb, but the explosion buried him beneath the building. He survived and vowed to continue his contest with Demon God "Vortex," though the blast had severed his communications.

• Meng Chao deduced that the small refinery was a decoy and warned that the mastermind planned to detonate the stolen cultivation resources.
• "Man-Eating Shark" Zhou Chong ordered everyone to evacuate, but some gang personnel opened wired cabinets of crystals and triggered the explosions.
• The super-giant Crystals Bomb engulfed the building, and its blast hurled Meng Chao back inside and buried him under the ruins.
• Meng Chao regained consciousness, concluded that Zhou Chong and the other Heaven Realm experts might have survived, and declared his contest with Demon God "Vortex" had only begun.
• Meng Chao received progress and Contribution Points for the Mystery of the Demon Gods mission, then discovered his Neural Perception Chip and communications were disabled.

Meng Chao survived the explosion, healed himself, and realized Demon God "Vortex" had used the Hunter Squad’s losses to create a combat-power vacuum in Golden Tooth Nest City. He prepared to escape through the surviving underground levels and stop "Vortex" from exploiting the chaos.

• Meng Chao reasoned that Demon God "Vortex" had temporarily crippled the Hunter Squad to clear the way for its next plan in Nest City.
• He used six Intermediate Healing Spells and injected himself with Wrath Dragon Blood, recovering around seventy to eighty percent of his strength.
• Meng Chao destroyed his Tactical Watch and neural interface chip to avoid detection and protect his brain from interference.
• He rejected blasting his way upward through the unstable ruins and chose to follow the airflow and rustling sounds below him into the underground structure.

Meng Chao escaped the collapsed underground shelter and searched for a way to expose Vortex’s scheme and calm the devastated Leprosy Village residents. As he moved through the panicked crowd, he sensed Blood Butcher Gao Yang watching him from the darkness.

• Meng Chao mapped the unstable ruins with Spiritual Energy and crawled through a narrow crack, carefully breaking through an obstruction without causing another collapse.
• He reached a lower escape passage, heard the injured residents and fires above, and resolved to reveal the truth about the explosion and Vortex.
• Meng Chao emerged into a storage room, found a cloak and steel balls, and disguised himself before heading toward the residents’ cries.
• He saw Leprosy Village residents struggling to evacuate and helped a four-armed man retrieve a can of Synthetic Food.
• Meng Chao felt a hostile gaze from the darkness and recognized the red eyes as Blood Butcher Gao Yang’s.

Meng Chao realized Blood Butcher Gao Yang was lying in wait beneath the ruins to kill wounded Hunter Squad members, but Gao Yang let him pass without attacking. As Meng Chao recognized that Gao Yang must have noticed him, a hidden blade suddenly pierced through the wall at his head.

• Meng Chao spotted Blood Butcher Gao Yang hiding in a camouflage cloak and deduced that Gao Yang had returned to hunt the wounded Heaven Realm experts.
• Meng Chao weighed passing Gao Yang against attacking him, then prepared to strike if Gao Yang made a move.
• Meng Chao deliberately revealed signs of weakness as he passed Gao Yang, but Gao Yang ignored him and watched the next villager.
• Meng Chao realized Gao Yang should have noticed his blood scent and understood that the apparent indifference was suspicious.
• A thin blade stabbed through the wall toward Meng Chao's head, and he jerked aside just in time.

Meng Chao and "Blood Butcher" Gao Yang fought through the underground floors in a brutal clash, then faced off amid the rubble. Gao Yang declared that Meng Chao was the only prey worth hunting, leaving them poised to continue their duel.

• Meng Chao foiled Gao Yang's surprise attack by catching the Shadowless Blade in his teeth, and the two exchanged weapons and fell through the building to evade each other's strikes.
• Meng Chao and Gao Yang battled through more than a dozen underground floors, exchanging over a hundred blows before rubble separated them at the lowest level.
• Meng Chao noticed that Gao Yang had taken the veteran hunter Sabertooth's blade and wore a necklace of human ears, realizing Gao Yang had killed three Heaven Realm experts.
• Gao Yang chewed the three ears and told Meng Chao that the others had been unworthy prey and that only Meng Chao deserved a true hunt.

Meng Chao confronted “Blood Butcher” Gao Yang beneath Golden Tooth Nest City, probing his ties to the Monster Civilization while trying to control his injuries. Gao Yang defended his alliance with monsters as a path to power, and the chapter ended as he attacked Meng Chao from behind.

• Meng Chao taunted Gao Yang as a monster's lackey and tried to learn whether he knew the Monster Civilization was behind events.
• Gao Yang explained that he hunted humans for the thrill and argued that humans were better prey than monsters.
• Gao Yang accused Meng Chao of serving the Nine Super Enterprises, while Meng Chao insisted that human civilization still mattered.
• Gao Yang described the atrocities he had witnessed during the Blood-colored Era and declared that he believed only in power.
• Meng Chao raised his Blood Soul Battle Blade as Gao Yang readied his Tiger Tooth Battle Blade and launched an attack.
• Gao Yang used the Tiger Tooth Battle Blade as a feint, circled behind Meng Chao, and struck with the Shadowless Blade.

Meng Chao and Blood Butcher Gao Yang fought to a standstill underground as the building began to collapse around them. Though they appeared to retreat and escape separately, both launched another attack, determined that one of them would die before the ruins buried them.

• Meng Chao countered Gao Yang's ambush, and the two fought fiercely with their heavy blades and concealed left-hand weapons.
• Their battle damaged the structure overhead, and falling rubble forced them apart as both recognized the other as a formidable opponent.
• Explosions triggered a secondary collapse, filling their underground space with smoke, poisonous fog, and heat.
• Meng Chao and Gao Yang cautiously withdrew to opposite corners and turned as if to leave separately.
• Meng Chao and Gao Yang attacked each other again, realizing neither intended to escape while the other remained alive.

Meng Chao and Blood Butcher Gao Yang fought through a collapsing, poison-filled building until Gao Yang’s hidden Third Blade pierced Meng Chao’s chest. Meng Chao survived and revealed that he had anticipated the concealed weapon, while Gao Yang appeared fatally struck by Meng Chao’s counterattack.

• Meng Chao and Blood Butcher Gao Yang exchanged blows as rubble, Poisonous Fog, and explosions made their battlefield increasingly dangerous.
• Meng Chao unleashed his full strength, knocked away Gao Yang’s Tiger Tooth Battle Blade, and entangled his Shadowless Blade with his chain blade.
• Gao Yang drew a concealed black Third Blade and stabbed Meng Chao in the chest, believing he had pierced his heart.
• Gao Yang realized something was wrong and lost his strength as Meng Chao fell and pulled the black blade from his chest.
• Meng Chao told Gao Yang he had deduced the existence of the Third Blade from the weapons Gao Yang had used in their earlier fights.

Meng Chao revealed how he had used Gao Yang’s hidden Willing Blade and a false heartbeat to lure him into a fatal attack, then killed him at the cost of severe injuries. As explosions closed in overhead, Meng Chao searched Gao Yang’s supplies and braced for the danger above.

• Meng Chao identified Gao Yang’s hidden Third Blade as the flexible, camouflaging Willing Blade and explained how he had disguised his real heartbeat to mislead Gao Yang.
• Gao Yang died after Meng Chao’s concealed counterattack cut his throat, and Meng Chao stayed alert until the collapsing concrete crushed the corpse beyond recovery.
• Meng Chao’s heart, body, and lungs suffered severe damage, leaving him too exhausted to keep using the Healing Art freely.
• Meng Chao searched Gao Yang’s tactical pack and took its medicine, equipment, valuables, and communicator.
• Explosions intensified just two or three floors overhead, and heat poured down toward Meng Chao.

After killing “Blood Butcher” Gao Yang, Meng Chao escaped the collapsing building with a poisoned wound and eventually surfaced in a sewer. There he found a child looting his belongings and considered using the petty thief to learn about Leprosy Village and gather support against the Demon God “Vortex.”

• Meng Chao froze the wound in his chest to slow the poison and regain enough strength to flee before the building collapsed.
• Meng Chao crawled through the collapsing escape passage and was swept through the sewers, repeatedly losing consciousness amid poisonous smoke and debris.
• Meng Chao woke on a pile of garbage with most of his wounds healing, though the Black Mist still surrounded his chest wound.
• Meng Chao caught a thin, mutated child trying to cut open his tactical pack and recognized him as a petty thief scavenging the disaster site.
• Meng Chao decided the child could help him gather information, resources, and contacts in Leprosy Village while he prepared to oppose “Vortex.”

Meng Chao caught A Ji looting his tactical pack and forced him to work in exchange for a spending card and crystals. After questioning A Ji about his life and scavenging, Meng Chao asked where he lived and how he survived, leaving A Ji to answer.

• A Ji stole Meng Chao's tactical pack while Meng Chao lay unconscious, but Meng Chao woke and seized him.
• Meng Chao used pain and a Mind Attack to break A Ji's resistance, then offered him supplies and a spending card for answering questions and running errands.
• A Ji told Meng Chao that he had no known surname or parents and was called A Ji or Useless A Ji.
• A Ji claimed he had come to recover resources from the dead after a building collapsed, and denied harming survivors.
• Meng Chao found A Ji's explanation plausible and asked where he lived, who he lived with, and how he survived.

Meng Chao exposed A Ji as a skilled thief and forced him to explain his connection to Old Feng and the thieves of Golden Tooth Nest City. A Ji revealed that Old Feng and the other child thieves had died in the Crystals Bomb collapse, while he survived because he had been sent away as punishment.

• Meng Chao deduced from A Ji’s delicate, nimble hands that he was a professional thief rather than a trash recycler, assassin, or harvester.
• Meng Chao warned A Ji that Leprosy Village and Golden Tooth Nest City faced destruction, and A Ji agreed to cooperate and said he had worked for Old Feng.
• A Ji explained that Old Feng, also known as Feng Three Fingers, had raised children to steal from wealthy visitors and patrons at monster arenas.
• A Ji pointed Meng Chao toward the collapsed building and said Old Feng and dozens of child thieves had been crushed when the Crystals Bomb’s shockwave struck.
• A Ji revealed that Old Feng had cruelly broken the bones in his hands to make his fingers flexible, and said he felt no sadness about Old Feng’s death.

Meng Chao promised to help A Ji escape Leprosy Village and receive an education, then discovered that the demon god "Vortex" had cut off communications across the area. With his injuries still severe, Meng Chao sought cultivation resources so he could recover and continue opposing the enemy.

• Meng Chao offered to find A Ji a place to study and train, and gave him a high-purity crystal as a deposit for helping solve the crisis in Leprosy Village and the nest city.
• A Ji accepted Meng Chao's offer and handed over several communication devices he had collected.
• Meng Chao tested the devices and concluded that powerful jamming equipment had cut off communications in the area, preventing him from contacting the command center.
• Meng Chao told A Ji to discard the devices so they could not reveal their location, then asked where they could find cultivation resources to treat his injuries.

Meng Chao questioned A Ji about Leprosy Village’s resources and leadership, learning that the Village Chief relied on Jin Wanhao’s support while Wild Wolf had become a popular, powerful successor. A Ji then named Miss Mu Lian as another figure trusted and loved by the villagers.

• A Ji told Meng Chao that the Village Chief controlled food and water supplies and had ties to Jin Wanhao of the Golden Tooth Gang.
• A Ji explained how Leprosy Village’s strong residents emerged and described Wild Wolf as its strongest fighter and leader of the Wild Wolf Gang.
• A Ji said Wild Wolf had defended villagers from outside gangs and that the old Village Chief had raised him, leaving the two close despite their different attitudes toward outsiders.
• Meng Chao asked who might become Village Chief if the current leader died, and A Ji said Wild Wolf was widely regarded as the successor.
• A Ji hesitated, then told Meng Chao that Miss Mu Lian was also deeply trusted and loved by the villagers.

Meng Chao learned that Miss Mu Lian was a revered healer and a possible leader in Leprosy Village, then persuaded A Ji that she might be in danger from the people behind the explosion. A Ji led Meng Chao through underground shortcuts toward the surface, where they were near a manhole cover.

• A Ji told Meng Chao about Miss Mu Lian’s healing ability, her kindness to Leprosy Village residents, and her close ties with Wild Wolf and the Village Chief.
• Meng Chao considered how the Village Chief, Wild Wolf, and Miss Mu Lian each contributed to the village’s survival and asked about Mu Lian’s family and influence.
• Meng Chao decided to visit Mu Lian’s hospital, but A Ji demanded to know whether Meng Chao was trustworthy and refused to betray her.
• Meng Chao claimed the people behind the earlier explosion might be targeting Mu Lian, convincing A Ji to take him to her hospital.
• A Ji guided Meng Chao through drainage pipes, ventilation ducts, maintenance shafts, and abandoned elevator shafts until they reached a manhole cover near the surface.

After the refinery explosion, Meng Chao and A Ji emerged into a devastated Leprosy Village as black smoke cut off communications and the whole Golden Tooth Nest City entered fortification. When masked Transcendents in Powered Armor began a destructive battle nearby, Meng Chao wondered who they really were.

• Meng Chao and A Ji climbed out of a manhole near the collapsed God Transformation Capsule Refinery and saw black smoke spreading over Leprosy Village.
• Meng Chao realized the explosion and the survivors’ desperation could let Vortex spread chaos through Leprosy Village, Golden Tooth Nest City, and Dragon City.
• Alarms sounded as Golden Tooth Nest City entered full fortification, and A Ji asked whether the people outside had abandoned them.
• Meng Chao promised A Ji that humanity would not abandon its compatriots, then pulled him out of the way of falling rubble.
• Masked Transcendents in Powered Armor attacked airborne figures nearby, and their battle wrecked buildings and endangered Leprosy Village residents.
• Meng Chao questioned who the masked fighters were and why they were fighting so recklessly amid the civilians.

Meng Chao caught A Ji trying to flee and learned that villagers believed the outsiders had caused the destruction and threatened them. He tried to convince A Ji that the Skull Masked fighters were the real criminals, but A Ji remained distrustful, questioning why Dragon City’s powerful people could afford luxuries while Leprosy Village went hungry.

• Meng Chao sent A Ji to find a cloak and gather news, but soon realized A Ji was using the errand to escape.
• Meng Chao followed A Ji through the Slums, caught him with Small Steel Balls, and demanded to know why he had run.
• A Ji accused Meng Chao and the Skull Masked fighters of being an arrest team that would destroy Leprosy Village to capture wanted criminals.
• Meng Chao insisted the Skull Masked fighters were likely the wanted criminals and said the authorities had trained to prevent harm to villagers.
• A Ji rejected Meng Chao’s assurances, citing Leprosy Village’s poverty and the contrast between its hunger and outsiders’ lavish lifestyles.

Meng Chao convinced A Ji to help investigate the fake Arrest Squad by promising to fight for Leprosy Village’s future. A Ji lured one of the impostors into an alley, where Meng Chao ambushed him and struck at his Powered Armor.

• Meng Chao warned A Ji that the impostors threatened Leprosy Village and persuaded him to help protect their shared homeland.
• Meng Chao spotted an isolated captor and told A Ji to lure him away using the activated crystal, despite A Ji realizing it could track him.
• A Ji drew the captor into an alley by pretending to flee, while Meng Chao hid in a garbage heap.
• The captor sensed danger, unfolded his rocket launchers, and prepared to fire at the garbage heap.
• Meng Chao burst from behind the captor and struck upward between his legs, but the captor dodged the fatal blow before Meng Chao’s next attack descended onto his head.

Meng Chao killed an armored pursuer and identified him as Corpse Eating Dog Du Ming, a Death Squad member reported dead three years earlier. The discovery left Meng Chao and A Ji facing the mystery of how Du Ming had returned.

• Meng Chao used a feint and the Shadowless Blade to kill the pursuer before he could alert his companions.
• Meng Chao had A Ji help search the corpse, then treated his chest wound with supplies from the pursuer’s Powered Armor.
• Meng Chao examined the corpse and found scars suggesting extensive experience surviving in the wilderness.
• Meng Chao matched a barcode on the corpse’s neck to the Death Squad and identified him as Corpse Eating Dog Du Ming.
• Meng Chao told A Ji that Du Ming’s Death Squad had supposedly been wiped out by a Doomsday Beast three years earlier.