Recaps

The professor and Li Dingjian infiltrated Xuan Zhen’s lair and waited for him to be weakened before destroying the Myriad Soul Mother Gu Pool. After surviving Fang Cheng’s attack and returning to the pool, Xuan Zhen faced the professor on the altar.

• The professor and Li Dingjian identified the Myriad Soul Mother Gu Pool as the source of Xuan Zhen’s survival and planned to destroy it when he was vulnerable.
• When the villagers were summoned to the cave, the professor and Li Dingjian followed them, picked the iron door’s lock, and entered the cavern.
• The professor concluded that Xuan Zhen was drawing power from blood sacrifices while fighting an enemy in the Mental Secret Realm, so he and Li Dingjian waited.
• The pool’s energy surged back after Xuan Zhen lost, shaking the cave and killing the villagers beneath the altar.
• Li Dingjian moved to plant explosives while the professor climbed the altar, and Xuan Zhen revealed that he had escaped Fang Cheng’s attack by using a substitution technique.
• The professor addressed Xuan Zhen from atop the altar, startling him.

Ye Zhi Ren confronted Xuan Zhen in the Myriad Soul Mother Gu Pool and killed him, avenging one of the deaths from seventeen years ago. After he and Li Dingjian destroyed the altar, Ye Zhi Ren worried that Xuan Zhen’s death might draw out Utopia’s leader and considered how Xuan Zhen’s wounded soul had ended up connected to the Emerald City Chen Family.

• Ye Zhi Ren revealed himself to Xuan Zhen, recalled their meeting seventeen years earlier, and declared that he had come to kill the people responsible for his dead brothers.
• Xuan Zhen attacked Ye Zhi Ren with Blood Spears and a bloody maw, but Ye Zhi Ren destroyed the attacks and suppressed Xuan Zhen’s wounded soul with his mental power.
• Ye Zhi Ren poured industrial quicklime into the Blood Pool, boiling and destroying the mother ghostworm that sustained Xuan Zhen’s soul despite Xuan Zhen’s pleas and threats.
• Li Dingjian detonated explosives that demolished the Bone Altar and the solidified Blood Pool.
• Ye Zhi Ren examined the villagers’ bodies and told Li Dingjian he feared Xuan Zhen’s death might bring Utopia’s leader forward or relate to the soul’s connection with the Emerald City Chen Family.

Ye Zhi Ren and Li Dingjian destroyed Xuan Zhen’s lair and planned to remove the remaining sub-ghostworms, while Fang Cheng’s group investigated whether Xuan Zhen had survived. After Fang Cheng inspected the Chen Family members gathered at the hospital, Lin Chuqiao noticed Chen Qiming was missing, and Chen Xu’an could not reach him.

• Ye Zhi Ren explained that Xuan Zhen might have left a fragment of his soul attached to someone he had controlled, then set out with Li Dingjian to examine the villagers and remove the sub-ghostworms.
• Lin Chuqiao drew the destroyed Bone Altar and warned Fang Cheng that Xuan Zhen’s aura might remain, prompting the group to stay alert for a surviving soul fragment.
• Fang Cheng recalled checking the Chen Family and the hospitalized victims, then agreed with Lin Chuqiao to inspect the assembled family members again.
• Chen Xu’an brought at least seventy Chen Family members to the hospital, and Fang Cheng used Scavenger's Eye to check them for unusual mental fluctuations or possession.
• Lin Chuqiao and Lark noticed Chen Qiming was absent, and Chen Xu’an repeatedly called him without getting an answer.

Lin Chuqiao falsely claimed Chen Qiming faced a bloody disaster to lure Fang Cheng and the Chen Family to the Haoting Hotel, where Xuan Zhen possessed Chen Qiming. Xuan Zhen struggled to suppress Chen Qiming’s consciousness before Fang Cheng, Lin Chuqiao, and the others broke into the suite.

• Lin Chuqiao told Chen Xu'an that Chen Qiming was in danger, and Fang Cheng led the group to the Haoting Hotel.
• Chen Qiming heard a voice imitating his deceased grandfather, opened a window, and let an icy force enter his body.
• Xuan Zhen revealed that he had possessed Chen Qiming to escape death, but admitted he was weakened and could not safely return to Utopia.
• Chen Qiming’s consciousness fought back, and Xuan Zhen temporarily suppressed him.
• Chen Xu'an and the others reached the suite, and Fang Cheng kicked open the door after Lin Chuqiao sensed the Evil Spirit growing stronger.

Fang Cheng and the Chen Family exposed Xuan Zhen hiding in Chen Qiming’s body and cornered him in the Presidential Suite. As a powerful consciousness descended through Chen Qiming, Fang Cheng kicked him through the window, but the body stopped in midair thirty-nine stories above the ground.

• Xuan Zhen pretended to be Chen Qiming and used private family memories to cast doubt on the accusations against him.
• Lin Chuqiao proposed a mental examination, and Fang Cheng’s pressure forced Xuan Zhen to reveal his elderly voice and true identity.
• Xuan Zhen offered Fang Cheng information about Utopia and That Lord in exchange for freedom, but Fang Cheng refused and vowed to destroy him.
• When the Chen Family moved to attack, a vast aura awakened inside Chen Qiming, and his eyes began shining with white light as a mysterious consciousness took control.
• Fang Cheng kicked Chen Qiming through the suite’s window, but the body stopped in midair instead of falling.

A powerful being possessed Chen Qiming, silenced both Chen Qiming and Xuan Zhen, and trapped the hotel guests in a holy mental illusion. Fang Cheng shattered the illusion with Tiger Leopard Thunder Sound, but the being began opening a Space Passage for its true body, and Fang Cheng launched himself at it.

• The being speaking through Chen Qiming erased Xuan Zhen and Chen Qiming, then attacked the hotel guests with a storm of invisible force.
• The being trapped everyone in a radiant mental world that made the Chen Family elders, Pan Wendi, Lark, and Chen Xu'an worship it, while Lin Chuqiao struggled to resist.
• Fang Cheng used Tiger Leopard Thunder Sound to shatter the illusion and free the group.
• The being said it would come in person and opened a Space Passage behind Chen Qiming's body.
• Lin Chuqiao warned Fang Cheng that the being was opening a passage for its true body, and Fang Cheng surged with martial intent and charged at it through the shattered window.

Fang Cheng destroyed the Nebula Vortex and drove back the presence trying to enter through Chen Qiming’s body, then vanished into the city. Lin Chuqiao secured the Chen Family’s secrecy and warned them that Utopia might target them again.

• Fang Cheng pulverized Chen Qiming’s possessed body and battered the Nebula Vortex until the passage collapsed.
• The explosion shook Emerald City, and Lin Chuqiao saw Fang Cheng alive before he sprinted away.
• Lin Chuqiao told Chen Xu'an that Chen Qiming had died and that the Space Passage had been destroyed; Chen Xu'an accepted responsibility and thanked her team.
• Lin Chuqiao warned the Chen Family that Utopia could seek revenge and demanded that they keep the team’s identities and the night’s events secret.
• Chen Xu'an promised to suppress the story and erase the hotel’s surveillance footage, then offered to handle the arriving police as Lin Chuqiao, Lark, and Pan Wendi left.

After Fang Cheng survived the destruction of the Space Passage, Lin Chuqiao treated his badly injured right arm at the Four Seasons Hotel. The group decided to stay out of sight and rely on Chen Xu'an to help find Crow and the professor.

• Lin Chuqiao carefully cleaned and bandaged Fang Cheng's right arm while he recalled the battle and the enormous amount of true qi he had spent destroying the Space Passage.
• Pan Wendi and Lark suggested celebrating on Emerald Lake and going shopping, but Lin Chuqiao refused because Fang Cheng was injured and the city was searching for clues after the explosion.
• Fang Cheng told the group that he had asked Chen Xu'an to help locate Crow and the professor.
• Lin Chuqiao explained that the Chen Family's influence could help find the two more effectively, and the group agreed to wait at the hotel and keep a low profile.

After the battle with Utopia’s leader injured him and revealed the gap between their strength, Fang Cheng assessed his recovery and planned how to grow stronger. He chose to focus on improving Tai Chi, Running, and his physique while Lin Chuqiao treated his wounds, when an unusual change stirred in his Inner Scenery World.

• Lin Chuqiao and Fang Cheng watched a news report that blamed the Haoting Grand Hotel explosion on a gas leak and reported three minor injuries.
• Fang Cheng assessed his injuries and realized his right arm would need weeks to recover enough to use Qilin Arm and Infinite Combo at full strength.
• Fang Cheng reflected on Utopia’s leader, concluded he needed to prepare for their next encounter, and set goals to master Tai Chi and Running and raise his constitution past eighty.
• Fang Cheng considered gaining experience in medical skills by treating injured gangsters, then dismissed the idea and decided to train steadily.
• Lin Chuqiao pulled Fang Cheng back onto the sofa and applied ointment to his scrapes while Pan Wendi played a game and Lark hummed.
• As Lin Chuqiao treated Fang Cheng’s back, an unusual sensation arose from a change in his Inner Scenery World.

Fang Cheng’s Inner Scenery World began to flourish as golden rain nourished its barren land, helping him balance the destructive and life-giving aspects of the Way of the Sun. In the real world, that transformation formed a golden halo around him and rapidly healed his injuries as his cultivation advanced.

• Fang Cheng meditated in the hotel suite while a gentle golden radiance spread across his body.
• Golden rain nourished the Inner Scenery World, bringing forth lichen, moss, grass, aquatic plants, and pine saplings.
• Fang Cheng realized that the souls freed after Xuan Zhen’s defeat had generated merit that could give his world life.
• Fang Cheng recognized the harmony between dominance and vitality in the Way of the Sun and understood that it expressed his true self and martial intent.
• A rotating golden halo formed around Fang Cheng as bright points repaired his injuries and his Constitution and skill experience increased.

After a night of Visualization, Fang Cheng healed his ruined arm, improved his physique, and discovered a new cultivation cycle that could turn merit and wish power into life energy. He tested a gentle healing flame and was interrupted by Lin Chuqiao asking if he was awake.

• Fang Cheng finished cultivating at dawn and received notifications that his Visualization and Qi Gong experience had increased and his constitution had reached 67 points.
• Fang Cheng understood that uniting his actions and knowledge had awakened life force in his Inner Scenery World, which healed his arm without noticeably draining his true qi.
• Fang Cheng practiced his punches and recognized a complete cultivation cycle linking his Inner Scenery World, divine soul, true qi, and physical essence.
• Fang Cheng drew life energy from his consciousness and formed a gentle golden flame that he believed could heal injuries, purge toxins, and encourage plant growth.
• Fang Cheng opened the curtains to the morning light and considered running by Emerald Lake before Lin Chuqiao knocked and asked whether he was awake.

Fang Cheng reunited with his uncle Li Dingjian and Professor Ye Zhi Ren at the Chen Family Manor after they came looking for help with the Chen family's Gu-poisoning murders. He revealed that he had destroyed Xuan Zhen and shattered the Space Passage, leaving Ye Zhi Ren visibly shocked.

• Lin Chuqiao found Fang Cheng's healed arm, and he credited his recovery to Qi Gong and her ointment.
• Chen Xu'an told Fang Cheng that Li Dingjian and Ye Zhi Ren had arrived at the Chen family seeking help with the Gu-poisoning murders.
• Fang Cheng and his companions went to the Chen Family Manor, where Li Dingjian recognized Fang Cheng and embraced him.
• Li Dingjian explained that he and Ye Zhi Ren had tracked a traitor from seventeen years earlier to Siam before returning to Emerald City.
• Fang Cheng told Li Dingjian and Ye Zhi Ren that he had destroyed Xuan Zhen and shattered the Space Passage before Xuan Zhen's summoned ally could appear.

Fang Cheng learned that Ye Zhi Ren could not identify who directly caused his father’s death, but the professor linked the tragedy to traitors within Utopia and agreed to help find them. Ye Zhi Ren warned that Utopia’s leader had noticed Fang Cheng and described the man’s terrifying abilities, leaving the group facing a powerful new threat.

• Fang Cheng recounted how he defeated Xuan Zhen and destroyed the passage through which Utopia’s leader had tried to descend.
• In a private lounge, Ye Zhi Ren said he did not know exactly how Fang Shijie died, but believed he had burned himself to protect his companions while fleeing the authorities.
• Ye Zhi Ren revealed that former Utopia members had betrayed the organization, and Fang Cheng agreed to join operations to find them and learn the truth about his father.
• Fang Cheng told Li Dingjian to stay out of combat operations, and Li Dingjian reluctantly agreed to provide safe backup instead.
• Ye Zhi Ren warned that Utopia would retaliate and that his Formless Barrier might not hide Fang Cheng from its leader.
• Ye Zhi Ren described the leader as a possibly centuries-old figure who had killed an S-Class Ability User remotely and defeated a force of officers, ability users, aircraft, and tanks.

Ye Zhi Ren warned Fang Cheng and the others that Utopia’s leader was beyond Super S-Class and outlined a plan to weaken his allies and expose his schemes. The group agreed to form an organization, but Fang Cheng revealed he had already founded one: the Illumination Society.

• Ye Zhi Ren explained that Utopia’s leader surpassed Super S-Class and warned everyone not to speak his name or investigate him too closely.
• Ye Zhi Ren proposed hunting down the leader’s traitorous followers to weaken Utopia and uncover his plans, while Lin Chuqiao urged the group to hide their identities.
• Pan Wendi jokingly suggested Fang Cheng marry into the Pan Family, and Fang Cheng said he had his own way to deal with Utopia tracking him.
• Ye Zhi Ren proposed that they establish an organization to share intelligence and protect one another, and Fang Cheng agreed.
• After the group discussed possible names, Fang Cheng revealed that he had already founded the Illumination Society.

Fang Cheng founded the Illumination Society to protect Aberrants and fight Utopia, gaining the support of his companions as its first members. The group then turned to the Chen Family for cooperation and funding, warning Chen Xu'an that his family could face retaliation.

• Fang Cheng explained the Illumination Society's ideals, and Lark, Li Dingjian, Lin Chuqiao, and Ye Zhi Ren agreed to join.
• Pan Wendi insisted on joining, and Ye Zhi Ren argued that his Utopia connection and family influence could help the Society.
• Fang Cheng declared the Illumination Society's first core members assembled, while Ye Zhi Ren offered to help organize its structure and operations.
• Ye Zhi Ren warned that Utopia's attack on the Chen Family might be part of an ongoing plan and proposed making the family a supporter.
• Fang Cheng summoned Chen Xu'an and warned him that Utopia might retaliate against the Chen Family, then urged him to cooperate.

Fang Cheng persuaded Chen Xu'an to ally the Chen Family with the Illumination Society by presenting it as a powerful enemy of Utopia. As their first formal meeting began, Ye Zhi Ren outlined a plan to protect the family, gather intelligence, blame Utopia for the hotel explosion, and prepare to intercept its next move.

• Lin Chuqiao and Fang Cheng warned Chen Xu'an that Utopia would continue targeting the Chen Family and introduced the Illumination Society as a potential ally.
• Fang Cheng offered Chen Xu'an future membership in the Society's decision-making body, and Chen Xu'an agreed to represent the Chen Family in a close partnership.
• Ye Zhi Ren proposed a four-stage plan: conceal evidence and relocate the Chen Family, build an intelligence network, accuse Utopia publicly, and prepare to intercept its agents.
• Chen Xu'an pledged the family's resources and said he would contact the municipal government, police, and Special Search Team about the Haoting Hotel explosion.
• Fang Cheng, Ye Zhi Ren, Lin Chuqiao, and the others discussed and refined their countermeasures with Chen Xu'an at the Society's first formal meeting.

Fang Cheng waited with his companions for Utopia to make a move against the Chen Family, while training in seclusion near Emerald Lake. As his Tai Chi practice neared a breakthrough, he considered channeling his powerful true qi through its movements.

• Chen Xu'an relocated most of his family to the Inheritance Secret Realm and turned the Chen Family's underground network into a citywide search for Utopia operatives.
• Fang Cheng and his companions waited four days at a nearby vacation home, but Emerald City remained quiet and no suspected Utopia members appeared.
• Fang Cheng considered Utopia's silence a sign that it had either abandoned operations in Emerald City or judged the Chen Family a low priority.
• Fang Cheng told his mother and maternal grandfather that he had found his uncle, then decided he would leave for the Eastern Capital if Utopia remained inactive for two more days.
• Fang Cheng ran nearly fifteen kilometers beside Emerald Lake and practiced Tai Chi until he wondered whether he could release his true qi through its flowing movements.

Fang Cheng integrated his true qi into Tai Chi, learning to project force beyond his body and form an aura field as he practiced. His breakthrough raised Tai Chi to Master Level and granted him nine free attribute points, which he considered at the chapter’s end.

• Fang Cheng practiced Tai Chi with his surging true qi and used Concealed Hand Strike to send a forceful shock through the air, shattering leaves at a distance.
• Fang Cheng learned to guide qi through his intent, forming an aura field that lifted and controlled nearby leaves without touching them.
• Fang Cheng stamped the ground during Vajra Pestle, releasing a shock wave that drove the leaves into surrounding trees.
• Fang Cheng continued practicing until the system announced that Tai Chi had reached Master Level and awarded him nine free attribute points.
• Fang Cheng read the reward notification and considered how to use the nine points.

Fang Cheng invested his free attribute points in Constitution and began to understand how aura fields might develop into domains. When he returned to the villa, he overheard Lin Chuqiao asking Ye Zhi Ren to redirect Utopia’s tracking from him, and she revealed that a vision of Fang Cheng’s future showed a lone light in an endless darkness.

• Fang Cheng put all nine free attribute points into Constitution, raising it from 67 to 76 and strengthening his body and true qi.
• Fang Cheng reflected on his new aura field, his martial skills, and the possibility of eventually creating a domain.
• Fang Cheng returned to the villa and overheard Lin Chuqiao urging Ye Zhi Ren to graft Fang Cheng’s karma thread onto her so Utopia would track her instead.
• Lin Chuqiao told Ye Zhi Ren that she had used Fang Cheng as a meditation target and seen a vast darkness containing a distant, stubbornly burning speck of light.
• Lin Chuqiao said an unknown force had repeatedly cut off her vision whenever she tried to approach the light.

Lin Chuqiao predicted that Fang Cheng faced a deadly threat and proposed putting herself at risk to protect him, but he rejected the plan and prepared the Illumination Society to take control of Tiannan Province. After the Chen Family’s turmoil was settled, Fang Cheng and his companions prepared to return to the Eastern Capital, where he hoped to investigate the dark vision’s implications for cultivation.

• Lin Chuqiao told Ye Zhi Ren that her vision of Fang Cheng’s fate showed darkness and suggested she might be his only chance to survive by entering the conflict herself.
• Fang Cheng overheard them, forbade Lin Chuqiao from acting as bait, and reassured her that he trusted his own strength against Utopia’s operatives.
• Fang Cheng directed the Illumination Society to secure Chen Xu'an’s position and reorganize Tiannan Province’s underground forces, while Lin Chuqiao arranged the final handover meeting.
• Fang Cheng asked Ye Zhi Ren to teach him about mental cultivation, believing Lin Chuqiao’s vision might offer a new approach to his cultivation and the Illumination Society’s future.
• Over four days, Chen Xu'an ruthlessly eliminated dissent within the Chen Family, and the province’s unrest settled under the Illumination Society’s influence.
• As Fang Cheng and his companions waited to leave Emerald City for the Eastern Capital, Chen Xu'an called to ask them to stay longer and meet him in person.

Fang Cheng finalized plans for the Illumination Society’s bases, departments, recruitment, and his own training before Chen Xu'an arrived with a lavish gift from the Chen Family. The chapter ended as the group saw the jewelry Chen Xu'an had brought to support the organization.

• Fang Cheng decided the Illumination Society would acquire both the Jinshui Fish Market and an abandoned textile factory’s underground shelter as bases.
• Fang Cheng and Ye Zhi Ren planned three core departments, assigning Lin Chuqiao to oversee logistics and Ye Zhi Ren to direct intelligence until they found a suitable head.
• Fang Cheng resolved to recruit carefully, intensify his physical training, and study mental cultivation after returning to the Eastern Capital.
• Li Dingjian spotted Chen Xu'an arriving at the villa with four heavy silver safes.
• Chen Xu'an opened one safe and presented six jewelry boxes filled with costly gemstones and jewelry as gifts from the Chen Family.

Chen Xu'an rewarded Fang Cheng and the Illumination Society with jewelry, cash, a check, and an office, then was welcomed as the society's representative in Tiannan Province. As Fang Cheng discovered the Bridge of Helplessness had kept much of the Chen Family's commission, the story shifted to the City of Night, where an old man asked whether Utopia had sent someone again.

• Chen Xu'an offered the Illumination Society jewelry, twenty million in compensation for Fang Cheng, and a fifty-million check to support the organization.
• Chen Xu'an gave the society a fitted office floor in Cuicheng World Trade Center, and Fang Cheng named him its Tiannan Province representative and promised him future consideration for core membership.
• Fang Cheng and the others left for the airport, pleased with their progress, and Fang Cheng learned Chen Xu'an had posted a fifty-million reward for the case.
• Fang Cheng realized the Bridge of Helplessness had listed only twenty-six million for his commission and suspected it had taken the remaining twenty-four million.
• In the City of Night, a suited young man addressed an old man as his great-grandfather, who asked whether Utopia had sent someone again.

Shen Wanshan refused Utopia’s demand for Little White’s identity, upheld the Bridge of Helplessness’s confidentiality, and ordered Shen Shuhuan to offer the operative premium benefits while charging the usual fees. Back in Wanghu Town, Fang Cheng woke before dawn after reuniting with his family and considered exercising by YuLong Lake.

• Shen Shuhuan reported that Little White had completed the Chen Family curse mission, disrupted Utopia’s plan, and received a five-star review.
• Shen Wanshan told Shen Shuhuan not to reveal Little White’s identity, insisting that the Bridge of Helplessness must protect client confidentiality despite Utopia’s threats.
• Shen Wanshan ordered Shen Shuhuan to raise Little White’s rating to S-Class and offer him a twenty percent discount, but to deduct the mission fees according to the rules.
• Shen Shuhuan agreed to reject Utopia and strengthen security at the Bridge of Helplessness’s real-world locations.
• At four in the morning, Fang Cheng woke in Wanghu Town, recalled his family’s warm welcome and the meal he had prepared, then looked toward the lakeside running path and thought about exercising.

Fang Cheng resumed his morning training and met Lin Chuqiao and Ye Zhi Ren to inspect a proposed base for the Illumination Society. They approved the building’s potential and began planning its renovation, then reached the rooftop to continue their inspection.

• Fang Cheng decided to restart his morning training and went running before meeting Lin Chuqiao and Ye Zhi Ren.
• Fang Cheng introduced Lin Chuqiao, Ye Zhi Ren, and Xiaosa, who had found a possible base in Jinshui Fish Market.
• Xiaosa showed them a former seafood company office building with a concealed canal connection and a sturdy structure.
• Lin Chuqiao and Ye Zhi Ren proposed renovations to turn the lower floors into offices and meeting rooms.
• Fang Cheng and Ye Zhi Ren judged the enclosed fourth and fifth floors suitable for secure intelligence facilities, equipment storage, and temporary quarters.
• The group climbed to the rooftop terrace, where a sea breeze greeted them.

Fang Cheng and his companions established plans for the Illumination Society’s harbor headquarters and discovered a second base in an abandoned factory’s air-raid shelter. On the drive home, Fang Cheng asked Lin Chuqiao and Ye Zhi Ren whether they remembered their earlier discussion about meditation schools.

• Fang Cheng named the harbor building the Illumination Society’s No. 1 Main Base and assigned renovation and organizational planning to his companions.
• Fang Cheng arranged for Xiaosa to acquire the building, rejected coercion as a way to recruit Wang Li, and tasked Xiaosa with monitoring and assisting him.
• Ye Zhi Ren described Big Hammer and Monkey as prospective recruits, while Lin Chuqiao outlined how she would establish a legitimate trading company as a front.
• Fang Cheng and the others inspected a well-preserved air-raid shelter beneath an abandoned textile factory and decided to acquire it as a training and storage base.
• After Xiaosa returned to Yuan Chen Group, Fang Cheng drove Lin Chuqiao and Ye Zhi Ren home and asked if they remembered their discussion about meditation schools.