Chapter Summaries

Xu Fei and Chen Lei discussed the aftermath of the Rehabilitation Center attack while Fang Cheng returned home and practiced meditation. In his Memory Palace, Fang Cheng asked the Smiling Devil about Jiang Chen’s origins, and the Smiling Devil began by asking whether Fang Cheng believed in ghosts.

• A news broadcast described the Rehabilitation Center riot as a terrorist attempt to release a dangerous substance, and Xu Fei and Chen Lei discussed the ongoing search for the Old Ghost.
• Fang Cheng visited his grandfather in the hospital, then returned home and began meditation cultivation.
• Fang Cheng discovered that his meditation had lasted through the night and used finger snaps to switch the Memory Palace between darkness and daylight.
• Fang Cheng entered the Smiling Devil’s expanding room and asked about his relationship with Jiang Chen.
• The Smiling Devil challenged Fang Cheng’s claim that he was friends with Jiang Chen, and Fang Cheng admitted they had been enemies before asking about Jiang Chen’s origins.
• The Smiling Devil asked whether Fang Cheng believed in ghosts, and Fang Cheng said he did, prompting the Smiling Devil to ask if he had seen one.

The Smiling Devil explained how ghosts and Lost Souls could persist, then recounted how the ancient massacre at Lone Peak Temple released evil beings that later escaped when an archaeological team damaged the underground palace’s seal. He also told Fang Cheng how the Special Search Team identified non-humans, leaving Fang Cheng with crucial details about their detection methods and mutation levels.

• The Smiling Devil described how powerful consciousness could survive death and told the story of Lone Peak Temple’s destruction during the ancient Yu Dynasty.
• He explained that a Martial General’s army broke a seal beneath the temple, releasing Black Mist that transformed soldiers into Ghouls before the Imperial Court sealed the evil beings underground.
• The Smiling Devil said the archaeological team’s excavation more than two months earlier damaged the seal, releasing the evil beings, including Jiang Chen, whose flesh had perished but whose Lost Soul endured.
• Fang Cheng inferred that Jiang Chen had escaped the ancient tomb and that the Smiling Devil had encountered him after the Western Mountains explosion.
• Fang Cheng asked how the Special Search Team found monsters, and the Smiling Devil described pupil observation, trained Search Hounds, and medical blood tests.
• The Smiling Devil explained that RC Cell Values reflected mutation and physical power, and that values beyond the limit led to loss of humanity and eventual transformation into monsters.

Fang Cheng warned Smiling Devil that Jiang Chen had been destroyed by a Missile but might return, then spent the night training in Crushing Tiger Fist. By dawn, his Muay Thai skill was close to leveling up, and he decided to keep practicing.

• Fang Cheng told Smiling Devil that the Special Search Team had lifted the lockdown on his building and explained how Jiang Chen had been hit by a Missile during the hospital riot.
• Smiling Devil suspected Jiang Chen could survive by transferring his consciousness into another body, and Fang Cheng offered to help when he returned.
• Fang Cheng went back to his room in Sleeve Building and resolved to strengthen himself by practicing Muay Thai.
• Fang Cheng trained in Crushing Tiger Fist for more than ten hours, using moves such as Front Kick, Hidden Body Upward Elbow, and Leaping Flying Knee.
• Fang Cheng saw that his Muay Thai Level 1 had reached 239/250 and chose to continue training to reach the next level.

Fang Cheng reached Master Level in Muay Thai and gained Overlord Body after a night of intense training, then recovered with Qi Gong and food while considering how to replenish and use his True Qi. As New Year's Eve approached, he helped at Master Lin’s clinic and was preparing to collect his discharged maternal grandfather when a battered young man arrived with urgent news that his Big Brother was in trouble.

• Fang Cheng completed an exhausting night of shadow boxing, raised Muay Thai to Master Level, and gained the Overlord Body special effect.
• Fang Cheng practiced Qi Gong, replenished himself with food, and considered absorbing energy from the ancient skeleton to restore his True Qi.
• Fang Cheng decided to keep helping at Master Lin’s clinic, where Bone Setting, Tui Na, and Acupoint Striking experience had increased.
• Wen Xin watched children play outside the clinic but declined Fang Cheng’s suggestion to join them.
• Fang Cheng learned that his maternal grandfather could be discharged and prepared to leave the clinic to collect him.
• A battered yellow-haired young man rushed into the clinic and told Fang Cheng that his Big Brother was in trouble.

Chen Yingjun told Fang Cheng that Ma Donghe had been captured after a firearms deal turned violent, and Fang Cheng discovered that Chen Yingjun was being tracked. Fang Cheng prepared to rescue Ma Donghe, who remained tied up at a garbage recycling plant as his captors approached.

• Chen Yingjun told Fang Cheng that armed buyers had attacked Ma Donghe's crew and demanded five million in ransom to spare the captives.
• Fang Cheng found a tracker hidden in Chen Yingjun's collar and told him to pretend to seek money while drawing the pursuers away.
• Fang Cheng confirmed that a black sedan followed Chen Yingjun, then concealed the danger from Lin Fusheng, Wen Hui Yi, and Wen Xin.
• Master Lin gave Fang Cheng and Wen Xin New Year's red envelopes while Fang Cheng resolved to rescue Ma Donghe without revealing his identity.
• Ma Donghe remained bound beside a deep garbage pit at the southern-suburbs recycling plant as a group approached.

Bao Long betrayed Ma Donghe and held him as bait for the mysterious killer, while Ghost’s Noah Organization squad fortified the Waste Treatment Plant. As Ghost and his hooded associate watched the surveillance feeds, the target appeared and disabled a camera.

• Ma Donghe recognized Bao Long as the traitor behind the attack, and Bao Long revealed that the Noah Organization had used him to arrange the ambush.
• Bao Long demanded that Ma Donghe reveal the killer’s whereabouts, but Ma Donghe refused and endured a beating without giving him up.
• Ghost’s armed operations squad arrived to guard Ma Donghe, and Bao Long’s men moved him onto a drawbridge above the Well Cave as bait.
• Ghost explained that he wanted to keep the Red Tiger Gang out of the operation and said the Noah Organization’s elite Hunter team could handle the target.
• A figure flashed across a surveillance feed and turned it to static, prompting Ghost and the hooded man to realize the target had arrived.

Fang Cheng infiltrated the waste treatment plant to reach the hostages, silently eliminating guards and evading the Noah Organization’s elite Hunter Team. After killing several pursuers, he disappeared into the darkness as Ghost ordered the remaining teams to hunt him.

• Fang Cheng climbed to the fifth-floor walkway, killed its two guards, destroyed a surveillance camera, and entered the workshop.
• Ghost spotted the damaged cameras and ordered his teams to protect the hostages and search the fifth floor for Fang Cheng.
• Fang Cheng dragged a Hunter Team Member into the shadows, and Ghost directed nearby squads toward the reported location.
• Fang Cheng ambushed two Hunter Team Members near a control cabinet, killing both before the others could stop him.
• Ghost warned his teams to keep their distance and watch overhead, but Fang Cheng vanished into the darkness again.

Fang Cheng used the Abandoned Factory’s darkness and his unusual agility to ambush the Noah Organization’s Pursuer Squad as it searched for him. After the survivors retreated to guard the hostages on the sixth floor, Ghost realized Fang Cheng planned to kill every gang member in the workshop before rescuing them.

• Ghost directed his teams to search the factory after Team Four stopped responding, and they found two dead members at E Point.
• Fang Cheng used a false target and the team’s gunfire to attack the rear guard, then killed more team members with his dagger.
• Fang Cheng faked a fall, crawled beneath the platform, and used a stolen walkie-talkie to mislead the pursuit team before striking again.
• Ghost ordered the survivors to retreat to the sixth floor, and only five of the original nineteen pursuers remained.
• Ghost realized Fang Cheng was destroying cameras and hunting the gang members throughout the workshop before approaching the hostages.

Fang Cheng infiltrated the workshop’s top floor and faced a heavily armed ambush around Ma Donghe, who was tied over a deep pit. After using Ma Donghe’s callouts and killing the enemy sniper, Fang Cheng advanced behind a removed iron door and targeted the drawbridge’s supporting cable.

• Ma Donghe mocked his captors and tried to draw Fang Cheng toward the top-floor trap while Bao Long and the Pursuer Captain kept their men ready.
• Fang Cheng reached the iron door, dodged a sniper’s shot, and memorized the ambushers’ positions by briefly opening the door under fire.
• Ma Donghe called out the gunmen’s locations, allowing Fang Cheng to kill the sniper with a shot to the throat.
• Fang Cheng removed the iron door and used it as a shield as he advanced toward the drawbridge under concentrated gunfire.
• Fang Cheng fired repeatedly at the steel cable connected to the drawbridge.

Fang Cheng rescued Ma Donghe by leaping from a collapsing suspension bridge through a workshop window, then hid him while preparing to confront their attackers. Ghost watched the escape on surveillance, ordered his people to report any sign of Fang Cheng, and went out to meet him.

• Fang Cheng shot through the suspension bridge’s steel cables, then jumped onto the collapsing bridge and caught Ma Donghe’s chair as they fell.
• Fang Cheng swung from the drawbridge frame and hurled Ma Donghe through a window before following him into a workshop corridor.
• Fang Cheng freed the injured Ma Donghe, then led him to a hidden duty room and told him to wait while he dealt with the gunmen.
• Fang Cheng refused Ma Donghe’s offer to help and said he would kill the attackers himself.
• Ghost watched footage of Fang Cheng’s escape, ordered his people to report any sighting, and left to meet him while the hooded man followed.

Fang Cheng slaughtered the armed team in the factory, but an invisible attacker named Ghost ambushed him and challenged him to a fight. As Ghost launched another attack, Fang Cheng focused on detecting the faint sounds his opponent could not conceal.

• Fang Cheng silently killed one team member, then fought through the factory and used its maze-like machinery to defeat the encircling gunmen.
• Fang Cheng cleared the workshop and gained combat experience, but an invisible dagger suddenly attacked and cut his shoulder.
• Fang Cheng recognized the attacker as Ghost, the squad commander from the surveillance room, and exchanged taunts with him.
• Ghost concealed himself and his dagger before launching a stronger attack, while Fang Cheng listened for the faint sounds of his movement.

Fang Cheng fought Ghost’s invisibility and phantom doubles, badly wounding him before Ghost called in a hooded ally to attack. As they moved in to finish Fang Cheng, he activated his Overlord Body state, unleashing a surge of power.

• Fang Cheng sensed Ghost approaching and struck at him, but Ghost’s phantom doubles counterattacked and wounded Fang Cheng with a neurotoxin-coated dagger.
• Fang Cheng found an opening, destroyed one phantom, and punched Ghost hard enough to break his ribs and send him crashing into equipment.
• Ghost admitted Fang Cheng had hurt him badly, then called for a hooded man to join the fight and help kill him.
• Ghost and the hooded man coordinated a two-sided attack, believing Fang Cheng was weakened by his injuries and the toxin.
• Fang Cheng revealed that he had been waiting for the right moment and activated his Overlord Body state.

Fang Cheng defeated Ghost and the hooded man in the workshop, then joined Ma Donghe after Ma Donghe killed Bao Long. With the enemies dead, they planned to dispose of the bodies, and Fang Cheng asked for Ying Jun to bring clothes.

• Fang Cheng transformed, evaded Ghost's Phantom Doppelgangers, and struck the hooded man with a powerful airborne Whip Punch, breaking his neck.
• Fang Cheng caught Ghost despite his invisibility and killed him with repeated Knee Strikes, then finished the hooded man by smashing his head.
• Fang Cheng recovered the commander's dagger, realized he was left in only red underpants, and heard a gunshot from the corridor.
• Fang Cheng found Ma Donghe standing over Bao Long's body after shooting him, and the two agreed that the enemies had been eliminated.
• Ma Donghe proposed dumping the corpses in Well Cave, and Fang Cheng asked him to call Ying Jun to bring a car and clothes.
• Ma Donghe teased Fang Cheng about looking like a superhero in his red underpants.

Fang Cheng celebrated New Year's Eve with his family, cooked dinner, and received a seaside apartment as a gift from Li Dingjian. As the family exchanged gifts, Zhou Xiumei arrived to deliver one to Fang Cheng and his family.

• Fang Cheng cooked a lavish New Year's Eve dinner, and his family praised his dishes as they ate together and toasted Li Zhenhua's health.
• Li Dingjian gave Fang Cheng a Commercial Housing Purchase Contract for a seaside apartment, and Fang Cheng reluctantly accepted it after hearing his uncle explain he wanted to make up for past regrets.
• Li Dingjian told Fang Cheng to keep the apartment gift secret from Li Biyun for now, claiming it was a computer for his studies.
• Zhou Xiumei brought Fang Cheng and his family a New Year's gift, and Fang Cheng gave her the gift he had prepared for her.
• Fang Cheng handed New Year's gifts to his mother, uncle, and maternal grandfather as the family celebrated together.

During a family trip to YuLong Lake, Fang Cheng went out for an early-morning workout and unexpectedly broke through his Agility Attribute’s 40-point limit. After examining his improved physique, he wondered whether his strength now let him throw a punch faster than sound.

• Fang Cheng woke at the Yuehu Hotel, considered his maternal grandfather’s ongoing cancer treatment and the family’s plans to find him suitable housing in Dongdu, then decided to exercise.
• He jogged beside YuLong Lake, reached a small Training Ground, practiced Tai Chi, and completed an intensive routine of strength exercises.
• As Fang Cheng trained, a wave of pain and a burst of joint-cracking sounds accompanied a sudden change in his body.
• A Panel announced that Fang Cheng’s Agility Attribute had broken through the 40-point limit, and he checked the growth of his four attributes.
• Fang Cheng noticed that his muscles had become leaner and more coordinated, then wondered whether he could now punch faster than sound.

Fang Cheng broke the sound barrier with his punches during morning practice, then tested how his improved agility affected his Airtime Ability by jumping from a cliff. He glided 116 meters before landing safely, staying airborne for about 8.4 seconds.

• Fang Cheng threw supersonic punches that produced sonic booms, startling nearby birds and morning exercisers.
• Fang Cheng reflected that his Constitution of 40 let his body withstand the force of his punches, then continued practicing Qi Gong.
• Fang Cheng noticed his improved agility might enhance his Airtime Ability and went to a secluded cliff near YuLong Lake to test it.
• Fang Cheng leaped from the cliff, sensed the airflow, and adjusted his posture to glide forward during his descent.
• Fang Cheng landed safely after traveling 116 meters and checked that he had stayed airborne for about 8.4 seconds.

After testing his extended airtime, Fang Cheng followed a strange sound through the woods and discovered thugs threatening Fatty Xu over a hidden antique vault. When the thugs attacked him, Fang Cheng effortlessly dodged and seized their shovel, then hurled one thug into a tree and broke his waist.

• Fang Cheng reviewed his cliff-jump data and realized he had prolonged his descent by gliding on airflow, then headed back toward the hotel through the woods.
• Fang Cheng heard what sounded like someone crying and followed the noise to find two thugs digging a pit while Bald Man held Fatty Xu at gunpoint.
• Bald Man demanded the location and key to Fatty Xu's supposed Underground Vault, and the thugs kicked Fatty Xu into the pit when he refused to answer.
• Fang Cheng emerged from the woods and claimed he was only passing through, but Bald Man and the two thugs decided not to let him leave.
• The tall, thin thug attacked Fang Cheng with a shovel, but Fang Cheng evaded his strikes, grabbed the shovel, and flung him into a tree, snapping his waist.

Fang Cheng killed the armed thugs who had been guarding Xu Sanduo and learned that an illicit antique from the Western Mountain Ancient Tomb was tied to a dangerous secret. After another accomplice arrived and was killed, Xu Sanduo remained trapped in the pit, terrified of Fang Cheng.

• Fang Cheng dodged the Bald Man's gunfire, then broke his wrist and neck when the gun ran empty.
• The short, stocky thug told Fang Cheng about the Western Mountains Archaeological Site and claimed Xu Sanduo had an artifact from its ancient tomb.
• The short, stocky thug offered to help Fang Cheng sell the artifact, but Fang Cheng saw through him and killed him.
• Xu Sanduo climbed out of the pit, then panicked when an accomplice arrived and aimed a gun at Fang Cheng.
• Fang Cheng charged across the woods and punched the accomplice through the chest, while Xu Sanduo watched in terror.

After burying the bandits’ bodies, Fang Cheng questioned Xu Sanduo about antiques from the Western Mountain Ancient Tomb and learned that a scarred, hoarse-voiced stranger had arranged their sale. Fang Cheng returned to Yuehu Hotel, suspecting the antiques might be connected to the vanished Jiang Chen, while Xu Sanduo covered the grave and hurried home.

• Fang Cheng and Xu Sanduo buried the bandits’ bodies, and Fang Cheng gained experience in boxing, Sanda, and Jujutsu from the fight.
• Fang Cheng told Xu Sanduo he would spare him for now and questioned him about an antique from the Western Mountain Ancient Tomb.
• Xu Sanduo said a mysterious man wearing a low duckbill cap, with a facial scar and a hoarse voice, had asked him to find a buyer for the antique.
• Fang Cheng took Xu Sanduo’s business card, warned him to keep their meeting secret, and left him to cover the grave.
• Fang Cheng ran down the mountain and considered whether the antiques were connected to Jiang Chen, then returned to Yuehu Hotel and joined his family for breakfast.

Li Dingjian left his family’s breakfast to meet the Mysterious Thief Group, where he revealed that a deadly past operation had convinced him to quit. He urged the rest of the team to quit as well, leaving the group stunned.

• Fang Cheng shared breakfast with Li Biyun and Li Zhenhua after Li Dingjian received an urgent call and asked Fang Cheng to take them to Spirit Spring Temple.
• Li Dingjian traveled to a hidden workshop in Jiangdong District and used his Perception Pulse ability to open the electronic lock.
• Li Dingjian reunited with Big Hammer, Lark, Monkey, and the Professor, the other members of the Mysterious Thief Group.
• Li Dingjian told the team that he did not intend to take part in their next job.
• Li Dingjian recalled fleeing a gun attack on a fishing boat and said he had to survive to care for his family.
• Li Dingjian declared that he wanted to quit and urged the entire team to do the same.