Chapter Summaries

After the Blade Beast attack, Zhou Zhengde and Fortress 76’s leaders agreed to conceal the incident and keep the mysterious hunter’s actions quiet while seeking to build trust with him. Ling Tong protected the unconscious Wang Jixuan from scrutiny and began questioning her feelings for him; he awoke at the end, worried she had heard his strange dreams.

• Zhou Meiying reported that the Blade Beast attack had killed sixty-two miners, and the governor’s meeting agreed not to publicize it or allow the 13th Institute to investigate Expansion Zone C.
• Dongfang Zhenghong confronted Zhou Zhengde about deleting photographs of Blade Beasts whose crystal cores the hunter had taken, and Zhou Zhengde argued that the hunter should be protected and approached about weapon technology.
• Zhou Zhengde accidentally let Ling Tong read his messages on the Text Exchanger, and she revealed that Wang Zheng was unconscious and that she had taken care of him.
• Ling Tong told Sister Wan to conceal evidence of Wang Jixuan’s power and arrange a reconnaissance satellite, while Sister Wan urged her to consider whether her concern for him was more than a mission.
• Wang Jixuan woke from a disturbing dream and asked Ling Tong whether she had heard anything he had said.

Wang Jixuan decided to cooperate with the military by developing Crystal Core weapons, successfully tested a small Formation Disk, and discovered Ling Tong’s mental injury had worsened. When a group of Psionicists arrived at the Supply Station, he went out armed to confront them, leaving Ling Tong and the others monitoring the situation.

• Ling Tong told Wang Jixuan she would not include his sleep talk in her report, and he considered his options before deciding to help the military improve its weapons.
• Wang Jixuan asked Zhou Zhengde to secretly obtain samples of ores, Blade Beast exoskeletons, and flesh, then built a Formation Disk that produced pure spiritual energy.
• While massaging Ling Tong, Wang Jixuan noticed her Stagnant Qi had grown denser and warned that her mental injury appeared to be worsening.
• Wan Xiaoqi reported that the Blade Beasts had no tracking agents, and Wang Jixuan said they had seemed organized and that he had seen a vertical pupil.
• When more than ten Psionicists arrived, Wang Jixuan armed himself with grenades and a rifle and went outside with Uncle Tai, while Ling Tong activated the Supply Station’s defenses.
• Wang Jixuan warned the Psionicists to stop, and Ling Tong asked Wan Xiaoqi to show her the surveillance footage.

Wang Jixuan and Ling Tong identified the vertical-pupiled Blade Beast as a Young King Insect, suggesting a nearby lair was under construction, while tensions between the military and the 13th Institute escalated. As Wang Jixuan prepared to break through into the Gathering Spirit Realm, Qin Qin secretly enlisted a boy in a Transparent Pod to search for Blade Beasts and contact a Mimic Blade Beast.

• Uncle Tai and Wang Jixuan drove the 13th Institute’s Psionicists away after Qin Qin accused the Combat Machine team of withholding crystal cores, and Wang Jixuan warned her that Psionicist thoughts could be contaminated by Blade Beasts.
• Ling Tong identified the vertical-pupiled creature as a Young King Insect and reported Wang Jixuan’s discovery to the war zone commander, explaining that it indicated a nearby Blade Beast Lair might be forming.
• Wang Jixuan told Ling Tong he would experiment with forging a blade and warned her not to let ordinary soldiers wear crystal-core pendants; the military then delivered stones and frozen Blade Beast parts.
• Ling Tong agreed to give Wang Jixuan three hours after dinner, and he activated his Formation Disk to begin breaking through into the Gathering Spirit Realm with her protection.
• Qin Qin dismissed the Psionicists who urged retaliation and secretly woke a boy in a Transparent Pod, asking him to locate nearby Blade Beasts and contact a Mimic Blade Beast.

After breaking through to the Spirit Gathering Realm, Wang Jixuan sensed a strange, faint cry beneath the Fortress and warned Ling Tong, who mobilized the Cleansing Force to investigate. He then began forging a blade designed to harness spiritual energy, while Uncle Tai doubted it could penetrate a Blade Beast’s exoskeleton.

• Wang Jixuan successfully reached the Spirit Gathering Realm and used his spiritual consciousness to survey the Supply Station and surrounding camp.
• Wang Jixuan heard weak gurgling cries coming from beneath the Fortress and suspected something unusual was happening in the Upper City.
• Wang Jixuan warned Ling Tong about the cries, and she mobilized the Cleansing Force while Wan Xiaoqi contacted the Fortress garrison.
• Wang Jixuan examined ores and decided to make weapons capable of cutting through Blade Beast exoskeletons.
• Uncle Tai explained that past efforts to develop Psionic Weapons had failed, then helped Wang Jixuan gather equipment and materials.
• Wang Jixuan began hammering out a blade in the workshop as Uncle Tai watched in disbelief.

Wang Jixuan forged a prototype Demon-Breaking Dagger while Ling Tong reported that Qin Qin had used Meng Caiyuan to send signals to nearby Blade Beasts. The fortress prepared for a possible attack as Qin Qin sought help from the Psionic Capital and the Young King Insect watched Ling Tong, Meng Caiyuan, and Wang Jixuan.

• Wang Jixuan forged a small dagger with restrictions that let it pierce armor, and Uncle Tai and Ling Tong tested its power.
• Ling Tong reported that Meng Caiyuan, a dying Pseudo B-Class Psionicist, could imitate High-Rank Blade Beast signals and had likely sent the sound detected the previous night.
• Ling Tong said reinforcements would arrive and planned to lure the Blade Beasts into favorable terrain, while Wang Jixuan agreed to keep Wang Zheng separate from Black Storm.
• Wang Jixuan named the prototype the Demon-Breaking Dagger and offered to donate its forging technique to Zhou Zhengde's faction once he improved the design.
• After Ling Tong went to sleep, Qin Qin realized her attempt to lure Blade Beasts toward Ling Tong and Expansion Zone C had been exposed and considered seeking intervention from the Psionic Capital.
• The Young King Insect watched Fortress 76 at dawn, seeing Meng Caiyuan, Ling Tong, and Wang Jixuan as it confirmed multiple threats.

Wang Jixuan finished forging a bronze spear while the Fortress leadership learned of his Demon-Breaking Dagger and recognized its military importance. As the Fortress prepared for an imminent Blade Beast attack, Ling Tong asked Wang Jixuan to spend time with her, and he agreed.

• Wang Jixuan completed the main body of a three-section spear and considered adding technological functions to help fight Blade Beasts.
• Zhou Zhengde, Zhou Meiying, and Dongfang Zhenghong arrived and watched Uncle Tai demonstrate that Wang Jixuan's Demon-Breaking Dagger could pierce alloy and recharge from the air.
• Zhou Zhengde praised Wang Jixuan, arranged to take the dagger to his Maternal Grandfather, and gave him a safe-house Room Card.
• Dongfang Zhenghong announced that noncombat personnel in Expansion Zone C would be evacuated as Blade Beast Swarms showed unusual activity and a small-scale war was expected within three days.
• Ling Tong told Wang Jixuan that she would pilot a mech into battle and asked him to spend three hours with her; he agreed.

While Wang Jixuan and Ling Tong surveyed the desert, they shared a quiet, tentative moment as Ling Tong spoke about her past and her longing for ordinary romance. Their conversation ended when Zheng Shiduo arrived, and Wang Jixuan warned Ling Tong that extensive Mechanical Modification could prevent him from improving her physical condition.

• Ling Tong made Wang Jixuan carry the terrain detectors until he offered to drive, then asked about his talismans and his experience near death.
• Ling Tong told Wang Jixuan that her parents had died in a Blade Beast attack when she was eight, and described her determination to kill King-Class and General-Class Blade Beasts.
• Ling Tong explained that she read romance novels because their depictions of everyday life seemed beautiful, then asked Wang Jixuan to pretend they were a couple and embraced him on the bike.
• Wang Jixuan learned that Blade Beast forces had begun attacking the Ancient Basin defense line and that Ling Tong would serve as bait in a planned battlefield.
• Ling Tong began hinting at trying a romantic relationship with Wang Jixuan, but Zheng Shiduo interrupted them; Wang Jixuan then warned Ling Tong against undergoing too much Mechanical Modification.

Wang Jixuan prepared to support Ling Tong as a massive Blade Beast assault threatened Fortress 76 and Expansion Zone C. A Mimic Blade Beast attack triggered alarms and fighting in the camp, and Wang Jixuan took up his gear as the siege began.

• Ling Tong gave Wang Jixuan the remote for Zheng Shiduo’s Self-destruct Collar and explained that Zheng Shiduo had been sent to protect him.
• A Blade Beast Swarm broke through the defensive line, and the military identified Ling Tong as its target while preparing Expansion Zone C as a front line and decoy position.
• Wang Jixuan modified his spear, made preparations, and advanced his cultivation while Uncle Tai and Sister Wan described the coming battle.
• A second Blade Beast Swarm appeared with multiple General-Class Blade Beasts, and Wang Jixuan refused Ling Tong and Zhou Zhengde’s recommendation to relocate.
• Wang Jixuan sensed a Mimic Blade Beast kill three soldiers and was pinned by arriving Psionicists as alarms sounded and Blade Beasts emerged from mine shafts.
• Wang Jixuan disguised himself as Zhou Tiantian, left the Text Exchanger behind, and prepared to fight as the siege began.

Wang Jixuan hunted Mimic Blade Beasts during the camp’s defense, harvesting their crystal cores and discovering that his psionic reaction had reached D-Class. As a massive new assault began, a Special Winged Dragon destroyed an Electromagnetic Cannon, and the Fortress Siege Battle countdown reached zero.

• Wang Jixuan used Bone-Piercing Nails to kill three Mimic Blade Beasts, extracted their crystal cores, and burned their corpses with True Fire Talismans.
• Wang Jixuan warned Zheng Shiduo about Mimic Blade Beasts near Number Three Electromagnetic Cannon and asked to patrol an area; Zheng Shiduo’s device detected Wang Jixuan’s D-Class psionic reaction.
• Wang Jixuan continued hunting Mimic Blade Beasts during the next wave, collecting more than twenty crystal cores as over a thousand Blade Beasts charged the defenses.
• More than a dozen drill Blade Beasts broke through the mine-shaft walls, followed by countless Black Tires, and the commander ordered full firepower coverage.
• A Special Winged Dragon streaked over Wang Jixuan and destroyed an Electromagnetic Cannon, triggering an air-defense alarm as the Fortress Siege Battle began.

Wang Jixuan fought to keep the camp from falling as a General-Class Blade Beast and several Special Winged Dragons threatened the defensive line. Zheng Shiduo lured a Special Winged Dragon toward himself and seemed moments from death before three emerald talismans on his Steel Wings activated.

• Wang Jixuan used his spiritual awareness and magical artifacts to kill Mimic Blade Beasts while the camp came under heavy attack.
• Uncle Tai reported that a General-Class Blade Beast was advancing toward the secondary battlefield, and missiles struck it as it pushed toward the camp.
• Wang Jixuan assembled his spear, powered it with crystal cores, and fought to protect the camp as a Special Winged Dragon targeted an Electromagnetic Cannon turret.
• Ling Tong's mecha intercepted and killed one Special Winged Dragon, while Zheng Shiduo used his Special Psionic Skill to draw another toward himself.
• Zheng Shiduo prepared to sacrifice himself as the Special Winged Dragon bore down on him, but three emerald talismans on his Steel Wings suddenly lit up.

Wang Jixuan helped the camp repel the Blade Beasts’ air threat, then joined the assault on a General-Class Siege Hammer and helped disable it. As dawn broke, he sensed a strange disturbance at the fortress and asked Zheng Shiduo to take him there.

• Wang Jixuan killed a Special Winged Dragon with a spear after Zheng Shiduo’s protective ripple slowed its attack, and the camp celebrated the victory.
• The air force arrived, while Wang Jixuan joined Zheng Shiduo and the Psionicists in an assault mission against the Siege Hammer General-Class Blade Beast.
• Wang Jixuan rode on Zheng Shiduo’s back during the charge and placed explosives on two of the Siege Hammer’s leg joints, bringing it down.
• The Siege Hammer unleashed an electromagnetic shockwave, forcing Zheng Shiduo to carry Wang Jixuan back toward the retreating mecha force.
• Wang Jixuan saw Ling Tong’s silver-white Exclusive Mecha tear apart another General-Class Blade Beast, then sensed a strange commotion at the fortress and asked Zheng Shiduo to take him there.

After the Blade Beasts retreated, Wang Jixuan gathered crystal cores and cultivated before joining Ling Tong to confront Qin Qin at the fortress Psionic Home. There, Qin Qin introduced Uncle Feng, whose immense Qi marked him as a B-Class Psionicist.

• Wang Jixuan warned Ling Tong that the Young King Insect had commanded the Blade Beasts to retreat, then left the cleanup to Zheng Shiduo and returned to camp.
• Wang Jixuan collected forty-two crystal cores and cultivated while the camp recovered from the battle.
• Ling Tong visited Wang Jixuan, shared the military’s plans to locate the Young King Insect, and invited him to join her arrest of Qin Qin as Black Storm.
• Wang Jixuan healed Ling Tong’s neck wound with spiritual energy, then traveled with her and Zheng Shiduo to the fortress Psionic Home.
• Ling Tong subdued the Psionicists guarding the laboratory, where Qin Qin appeared and introduced Uncle Feng, a powerful B-Class Psionicist.

Ling Tong arrested Qin Qin after Uncle Feng and his Psionicists tried to interfere at the fortress laboratory. Wang Jixuan learned that Meng Caiyuan was being destroyed by Blade Beast resentment, and the chapter ended as he sensed a phantom watching him while Meng remained unconscious.

• Ling Tong subdued Qin Qin and forced Uncle Feng and his subordinates to leave, while Wang Jixuan recognized them as threats after overhearing their plan to pose as reinforcements.
• Wang Jixuan examined Meng Caiyuan and identified Blade Beast resentment as the force destroying his organs, then told Ling Tong that Meng had only months to live.
• Ling Tong ordered Qin Qin to awaken Meng, and Zheng Shiduo interrogated her without sexual humiliation before she agreed to cooperate.
• Ling Tong explained the 13th Institute’s ties to powerful capitalists and described the Blade Beasts’ dominance and rapid evolution.
• Wang Jixuan reviewed information about Meng Caiyuan, sensed eyes watching him despite Meng’s unconsciousness, and told Ling Tong to clear the room and turn off the cameras.

Wang Jixuan questioned Meng Caiyuan’s soul and learned how the boy could command Blade Beasts and how Qin Qin and Uncle Feng had tried to use him against Ling Tong. After hearing the boy ask whether he was human, Wang Jixuan left him with reassurance and a reason to keep living.

• Wang Jixuan spoke with Meng Caiyuan’s soul, who explained his limited ability to send commands to Blade Beasts and his origins as one of many experimental clones descended from Beast Speaker.
• Meng Caiyuan asked Wang Jixuan about parental love, romantic love, his past actions, and whether Wang could kill him, then asked whether someone like him could be called human.
• Meng Caiyuan revealed that Qin Qin and Uncle Feng had planned to direct the Blade Beast Swarm against the desert battlefield and eliminate Ling Tong, but he had instead ordered the swarm to retreat.
• Wang Jixuan told Meng Caiyuan that his latest command had helped humanity and promised to consider whether the boy’s actions had harmed anyone.
• Wang Jixuan warned Qin Qin that she would be interrogated, then told Ling Tong what Meng Caiyuan had revealed and asked to review the investigation’s findings before trying to save him.
• Wang Jixuan told Meng Caiyuan that he was human and that being alive felt good, and a tear fell from the unconscious boy’s eye.

After Ling Tong returned from an investigation with little progress, Wang Jixuan discovered he could roast Blade Beast meat by purifying its spiritual power and residual Resentful Energy, then shared it with her. Meanwhile, Psionic Capital specialist Wei Linzheng arrived to retrieve Meng Caiyuan, but found a taunting decoy while Wang Jixuan secretly extracted the boy’s Black Energy.

• Ling Tong told Wang Jixuan that Qin Qin had revealed how to operate the Nutrient Pod and amplifier and had sent signals through Meng Caiyuan, while Blade Beasts gathered near the Sari Desert and signs of three King-Class Blade Beasts emerged.
• Ling Tong apologized after learning Wang Jixuan had been trafficked, and he decided to help Meng Caiyuan rather than kill him.
• Wang Jixuan roasted Blade Beast meat by using Qi to purify its spiritual power and Resentful Energy, then gave some to Ling Tong and explained that it could replenish his magical power.
• Wei Linzheng led Uncle Feng and other Psionicists to the Seventh Floor, where they found a spring-loaded toy bearing a mocking drawing instead of Meng Caiyuan.
• Wang Jixuan used his Sword Finger to draw Black Energy from Meng Caiyuan and transfer it into frozen Blade Beast meat.

Wang Jixuan cured Meng Caiyuan and watched Wei Linzheng order the Psionicists to recover him before the military could claim him. As Uncle Feng prepared to negotiate and the Supply Station braced for trouble, a familiar military reinforcement arrived by helicopter.

• Wang Jixuan removed the curse afflicting the boy, later identified as Meng Caiyuan, and arranged for him to receive new clothes and a room.
• Uncle Tai showed Wang Jixuan a surveillance feed of Wei Linzheng questioning Psionicists about Kong Nu and the military’s Psionicist.
• Wei Linzheng ordered Uncle Feng to negotiate with the Half-Human Mechs and recover Meng Caiyuan, and told the Psionicists to help fight the Blade Beast Swarm.
• Wang Jixuan and Deep Sea discussed guarding Meng Caiyuan and preparing for Uncle Feng’s arrival, while Red Snake went to equip an anti-Psionicist loadout.
• A military helicopter arrived, and a familiar bubbly voice called out to Wang Zheng while bringing powerful reinforcements.

Zhou Zhengde returned with military honors and crystal cores, then used political maneuvering to protect Wang Jixuan and the rescued young man from the 13th Institute. After the young man, newly named Wu Man, sensed a king-class larva mobilizing Blade Beasts, he also detected Mimic Blade Beasts inside the fortress, leaving the group facing a threat within their own defenses.

• Zhou Zhengde presented Wang Jixuan with a weapons expert certificate, a technology medal, and twenty-five high-quality Basic Blade Beast crystal cores, then took charge of handling the 13th Institute's claim on the rescued young man.
• Zhou Zhengde negotiated with Uncle Feng at Ling Tong's Supply Station and denied that the young man was there, while a departing aircraft was later destroyed by a missile and its other passengers perished.
• Ling Tong told the young man he could recover and avoid the 13th Institute's pursuit, and Wang Jixuan offered him a choice of cosmetic surgery or an appearance-changing mask.
• The young man asked for a new name, and Wang Jixuan named him Wuman, while Zheng Shiduo suggested the spelling Wu Man.
• Wu Man sensed a king-class larva gathering an army and targeting Red Snake, prompting Ling Tong to prepare for action; he then warned Wang Jixuan that Mimic Blade Beasts were inside the fortress.

Wu Man sensed seven or eight Mimic Blade Beasts hiding deep in Fortress No. 76, so Wang Jixuan, Zheng Shiduo, and Wan Xiaoqi began searching the Lower City while Ling Tong went to support Red Snake. The search uncovered a Mimic Blade Beast disguised as a woman in the City of Joy, and the group continued investigating how it had entered the fortress.

• Wu Man reported that he could sense seven or eight Mimic Blade Beasts below the thirty-eighth floor, and Wang Jixuan volunteered to investigate with Zheng Shiduo and Wan Xiaoqi.
• Ling Tong ordered Wang Jixuan and Zheng Shiduo to search the Lower City, then flew toward Red Snake's embattled reconnaissance team as Sister Wan monitored her focus.
• Wang Jixuan, Zheng Shiduo, and Wan Xiaoqi entered the Lower City disguised as Enforcement Team members and began searching while Zhou Zhengde's subordinates sealed the passages.
• In the City of Joy, Zheng Shiduo killed a Mimic Blade Beast that had been hiding inside a woman's human skin, and Wang Jixuan burned the creature and its disguise with True Fire Talismans.
• Wan Xiaoqi reacted with shock to a giant-lizard photograph in the City of Joy as Zheng Shiduo called the place's offerings "Diversity."

Wang Jixuan’s team hunted Mimic Blade Beasts across the Lower City while Wei Linzheng planned to exploit the crisis to seize authority and capture Black Storm. After discovering a gathering of people near two powerful sources of Demonic Energy, Wang Jixuan entered the tavern above them under the guise of an inspection.

• Wan Xiaoqi offered emergency rations to starving children in the Lower City, and Zheng Shiduo explained why the fortress left the district impoverished.
• Wei Linzheng learned that three Mimic Blade Beasts had been killed and ordered his Psionicists to eliminate the remaining beasts and capture Black Storm.
• Wang Jixuan’s team found another Mimic Blade Beast, then headed toward the forty-ninth floor to search for more and locate the fortress’s breach.
• Wang Jixuan detected Demonic Energy near a distillery, questioned a local woman, and learned that people there had begun worshipping a figure called Goddess Guli.
• Wang Jixuan scouted the Blazing Red Snake tavern, sensed two powerful presences and dozens of people underground, then kicked open the door and announced a routine inspection.

Wang Jixuan raided a Wanlijin Gang gathering, fought through the corrupted followers, and killed a powerful Preacher Blade Beast in the casino below. After the fortress issued a Level Three Blade Beast attack warning, the Young King Insect struck from afar and Wan Xiaoqi reported that the officer had fallen unconscious.

• Wang Jixuan entered the tavern under the guise of an Upper City inspection, survived Guang Siyao's gunfire, and killed the corrupted attackers who charged him.
• Wang Jixuan descended into the casino, disrupted the followers' mental attack, and fought the old woman and her minions before defeating the Preacher Blade Beast.
• Zheng Shiduo, Wan Xiaoqi, and Lin Bo arrived and found Wang Jixuan examining the dead Preacher, which Zheng Shiduo recognized and photographed.
• Zheng Shiduo received a Level Three Blade Beast attack warning as the fortress activated lockdown systems and allowed Psionicists to move freely.
• The Young King Insect's distant shriek struck Wang Jixuan's spiritual sense, and Wan Xiaoqi reported that the officer had suddenly fallen unconscious.