Chapter Summaries

A Le witnessed Fang Cheng's extraordinary rooftop training and accepted that Fang Cheng's strength was real. Later, Fang Cheng headed to pick up Lin Chuqiao while Professor reported on the group's refuge and Fire Dragon's critical injuries, then asked how to handle the three rescued Aberrants.

• A Le woke, found Fang Cheng gone, and went up to the rooftop, where he saw Fang Cheng perform one-finger handstand push-ups with each hand.
• Fang Cheng accepted A Le's offer to buy breakfast and ordered a huge meal before continuing his rooftop training.
• Fang Cheng left to pick up Lin Chuqiao, while A Le went to seek information from Rat Qiang and Shen Wei stayed behind to recover.
• Professor told Fang Cheng that the group had moved to Yunlin Small Dwelling and that Fire Dragon's injuries were severe, while proper hospital treatment was too dangerous.
• Professor said he hoped to obtain the passwords to Masked Man's overseas account from Fire Dragon, then asked Fang Cheng how to handle the three rescued Aberrants.

Fang Cheng reviewed the backgrounds and abilities of the three aberrants rescued from Blood Thorn and decided to meet them before considering whether to recruit them. At Yunlin Small Dwelling, Zhang Kuan, Jiang Yun, and Douzi nervously awaited the Illumination Society president, and the chapter ended as Fang Cheng entered their room.

• The professor reported that Zhang Kuan had Mechanical Intuition, Jiang Yun had mental perception, and Douzi could communicate with and control small animals, and recommended recruiting them.
• Fang Cheng told the professor to keep watch over the three and said he would visit that afternoon before making a decision.
• At the homestay, Zhang Kuan and Jiang Yun worried that the Illumination Society might exploit them, while Douzi waited for his rat, Little White, to return with information.
• Fang Cheng arrived at the homestay with the professor and Minister Lin, while Old Chen and Eagle Eye guarded the corridor.
• Fang Cheng entered the room, and Zhang Kuan, Jiang Yun, and Douzi recognized him as the powerful president who had fought Blood Thorn and an attack helicopter.

Fang Cheng questioned Xu Kuan, Jiang Yun, and Douzi about Blood Thorn’s attempted sale of them to the military, then offered them shelter and a chance to join the Illumination Society. His vision of dignity and a homeland for Aberrants stirred hope in them, though they had not yet accepted his invitation.

• Fang Cheng introduced himself as president of the Illumination Society and calmed the terrified survivors with his presence and Lin Chuqiao’s kindness to Douzi.
• Jiang Yun explained that she and Xu Kuan had fake identities, while Douzi was an orphan, and said Blood Thorn had kept them isolated before the planned transaction.
• The professor warned that the military had sealed off Eastern Capital after the battle and advised the group to stay at the Illumination Society for safety.
• The professor offered Xu Kuan, Jiang Yun, and Douzi the option of joining the Illumination Society, and Lin Chuqiao described its goal of building a homeland for Aberrants.
• Fang Cheng declared that the Illumination Society would fight to restore a just order, and his words awakened hope and belonging in the three survivors.

Jiang Yun and Xu Kuan joined the Illumination Society as probationary members, and Fang Cheng assigned Xu Kuan to vehicle modification and logistics work. Jiang Yun demonstrated her aura perception and emerging mind-reading ability, then revealed that Lin Chuqiao had been deciding where to take Fang Cheng to dinner.

• Jiang Yun and Xu Kuan agreed to join the Illumination Society, and Jiang Yun said Douzi would stay with them.
• The professor laid out the three-month probation period, required obedience to assignments, and prohibited betrayal and internal fighting.
• Xu Kuan described his ability to understand and repair machines, and Fang Cheng assigned him vehicle and weapon maintenance while Lin Chuqiao recruited him to help with base defenses.
• Jiang Yun explained that she could perceive auras and emotions and sometimes hear stray thoughts, but she could not penetrate the mental barriers of Fang Cheng, the professor, or Lin Chuqiao.
• Jiang Yun revealed that she had heard Lin Chuqiao debating which restaurant to take Fang Cheng to for dinner, and Lin Chuqiao blushed and claimed it was part of her duties.

Fang Cheng welcomed new recruits Xu Kuan, Jiang Yun, and Douzi into the Illumination Society, assigned the members to recover and protect key locations, and agreed to hold a barbecue gathering. The expanded group settled into its temporary refuge while the organization prepared to keep a low profile and strengthen its network.

• The professor praised Jiang Yun’s perception ability, and Fang Cheng decided she would receive special protection and fit well in the Intelligence Department.
• Jiang Yun explained that Douzi could communicate with and command animals, and Fang Cheng placed her under the professor’s guidance and promised that the Illumination Society would be her home.
• Fang Cheng introduced the newcomers to the core members and ordered everyone to stay at Yunlin Small Dwelling, recover, and keep a low profile while the military search continued.
• Fang Cheng assigned Xu Kuan and Jiang Yun to assist Lin Chuqiao, sent Old Chen and Eagle Eye to guard his home on Old Factory Street, and planned for Big Hammer and Monkey to establish a stronghold in Wanghu Town.
• Lin Chuqiao proposed a barbecue for the group, and Fang Cheng agreed to invite more people to the Illumination Society’s first team-building gathering.

At the Illumination Society’s team-building barbecue, Fang Cheng asked the professor about the Other Shore World and the Super Ancient Civilization Ruins. The professor revealed that he had entered an ancient temple in the Borneo Rainforest more than ten years earlier and began recounting what he had found inside.

• Members of the Illumination Society and their guests gathered at Yunlin Small Dwelling for a barbecue and grew comfortable with one another.
• Fang Cheng asked Li Dingjian about home, and Li Dingjian reassured him that his mother and maternal grandfather were well.
• Fang Cheng told Li Dingjian he would send Big Hammer and Monkey to Wanghu Town to establish surveillance and an intelligence network.
• Fang Cheng asked the professor about the Super Ancient Civilization Ruins and the Other Shore World mentioned by the Masked Man.
• The professor said he had entered a temple in the Borneo Rainforest more than ten years earlier while escorting a scientific expedition team.
• The professor described the temple’s strange symbols, ancient bones, towering stone platform, and a rotating crystal sphere that made those nearby feel dizzy.

The professor recounted how a deadly expedition into the Borneo Ruins led him to become S-Class and explained how Other Shore Worlds differed from Inner Worlds and clan secret realms. He suspected the Masked Man’s ruin entrance was hidden in the Western Mountains, and Fang Cheng resolved to question Fire Dragon before celebrating the Illumination Society with its members.

• The professor described how researchers used blood to open a passage through black mist, where giant monsters and a ruined city killed many members of his expedition.
• The professor revealed that swallowing a monster crystal healed him and helped him advance to S-Class, then explained that Other Shore Worlds were complete, dangerous worlds controlled as strategic resources.
• The professor connected the Masked Man’s clues to the sealed Western Mountains Archaeological Site and suspected a newly discovered ruin entrance lay there.
• Fang Cheng decided to question Fire Dragon if he survived surgery and woke up.
• Fang Cheng toasted the Illumination Society, and the gathered members raised their glasses together.

Lin Fusheng secretly operated on Fire Dragon, saving his life, then warned the professor to keep Fang Cheng out of danger. As Fang Cheng drove Lin Fusheng home, Lin asked whether he wanted to hear about his father when he was young.

• Lin Fusheng removed two bullet fragments from Fire Dragon and told the Black Market Doctors that Fire Dragon should wake within three days if he avoided infection.
• The Black Market Doctors recognized Lin Fusheng’s surgical skill as resembling that of the legendary Ghost Hand Divine Doctor.
• Lin Fusheng warned the professor not to drag Fang Cheng into his investigation, while the professor privately acknowledged that Fang Cheng was directing him.
• Fang Cheng agreed to visit Lin Fusheng’s clinic soon and drove him toward Old Factory Street, asking the professor to report any changes in Fire Dragon’s condition.
• During the drive, Lin Fusheng cautioned Fang Cheng about the professor and asked whether the previous night’s events involved the military; Fang Cheng said they did not.
• Lin Fusheng asked Fang Cheng whether he wanted to hear about his father’s youth, and Fang Cheng agreed.

Lin Fusheng told Fang Cheng how Utopia split apart, how Fang Shijie helped its members escape, and how he died protecting them. He warned Fang Cheng not to pursue the feared former Vice Leader, but Fang Cheng remained determined to follow his own path as they drove toward Old Factory Street.

• Lin Fusheng explained that Utopia divided between the old leader's Moderate Faction and the Vice Leader's Radical Faction after the Vice Leader turned to ruthless methods.
• Lin Fusheng recounted how the Guangwu Gate massacre was blamed on Utopia, the old leader was killed, and the Special Search Team hunted the organization's members.
• Lin Fusheng said Fang Shijie helped him and Ye Zhi Ren escape, then burned himself to death while fleeing the Special Search Team to protect his companions.
• Lin Fusheng urged Fang Cheng to stop investigating the past and warned that the former Vice Leader could sense when people thought of him and was far beyond Fang Cheng's strength.
• Fang Cheng asked whether the Vice Leader was still in Eastern Capital and promised that his path with the professor would not repeat Utopia's mistakes.
• Lin Fusheng stopped trying to dissuade Fang Cheng and secretly resolved to protect him, as the Land Rover drove toward Old Factory Street.

At Clearwater Bay, Fang Cheng used the changing balance of night and dawn to break through Qi Gong’s bottleneck and form an Aura Field Domain. The chapter ended with his skill advancing to grandmaster level.

• Fang Cheng trained at Clearwater Bay while pushing Qi Gong to its final experience threshold.
• Fang Cheng realized he needed to follow the changing forces of heaven and earth rather than pursue destructive power alone.
• Fang Cheng released his True Qi and used Taiji Cloud Hands to balance golden flames with water vapor.
• Fang Cheng formed an Aura Field Domain that repelled waves and wind as sunrise illuminated it with a rainbow halo.
• Fang Cheng withdrew his True Qi and received confirmation that Qi Gong had advanced to Lv3, the realm of a grandmaster.

Fang Cheng perfected his Qi Gong and unlocked the Grandmaster-level Primordial True Domain, testing its ability to fuse water and fire in a devastating blast. He examined the domain’s limits and learned that mastering earth and wind could transform it further before heading home for breakfast.

• Fang Cheng completed his seaside cultivation and received three Constitution points and the Primordial True Domain skill effect.
• Fang Cheng compressed the domain above his palm, combined seawater with Innate True Fire, and created a seven-colored sphere that vaporized a large patch of sea when it exploded.
• Fang Cheng checked his updated attributes and discovered that the domain’s initial range was about three meters and its use consumed a significant amount of True Qi.
• Fang Cheng read that incorporating earth and wind into the domain could trigger an immeasurable qualitative change, and he considered the possibility of creating a world of his own.
• Fang Cheng got dressed on the beach and headed home for breakfast.

As gang violence flooded Lin Fusheng Bone Setting Clinic with injured patients, Fang Cheng gained experience in bone setting while Ma Donghe tried to learn Tui Na and grew closer to Wen Hui Yi. After the clinic closed, Ma Donghe told Fang Cheng that his father had something important to discuss with him.

• Brother Fei recounted how the East City Association defeated the Flying Crane Gang after Handsome Kun betrayed Chairman Shen and a lone expert rescued him.
• Fang Cheng reset Brother Fei's shoulder and gained bone-setting experience as the clinic treated gang-fight injuries.
• Ma Donghe practiced Tui Na on a patient until Wen Hui Yi intervened and taught him the proper technique.
• Wen Hui Yi took Wen Xin home, and Ma Donghe watched them leave before asking Fang Cheng to talk with his father over barbecue.

Ma Donghe urged Fang Cheng to join the Special Search Team’s Medical Team, arguing that his medical skills would earn him a safe, well-supported position. Fang Cheng agreed to consider it, then returned home and silently studied two masks from his satchel.

• At a barbecue stall, Ma Donghe explained that he was learning medicine to improve his chances in the Special Search Team’s final recruitment exam.
• Ma Donghe admitted that his father, Ma Jianguo, wanted Fang Cheng to apply for the Medical Team, with support from Shi Chengyi.
• Fang Cheng said he would think about the offer, and Ma Donghe asked him to decide before the registration deadline the following Monday.
• After returning to his dark apartment, Fang Cheng noticed the unrepaired floor crack left by his fight with A Le.
• Fang Cheng took out an Evil Spirit Mask and a Clown Mask and studied them in the moonlight.

Fang Cheng decided to join the Special Search Team’s Medical Team, seeing the official position as protection for himself and his family, access to intelligence, and a useful cover. As he examined the red Clown Mask, it awakened and sent a stream of living red liquid crawling up his arm.

• Fang Cheng weighed the dangers of his White Owl identity and the threats posed by the military, Utopia, and other powerful forces.
• Fang Cheng concluded that joining the Special Search Team could shield his family and the Illumination Society while giving him access to intelligence about his father’s death and Utopia.
• Fang Cheng chose to pursue a position in the Medical Team, planning to use the role as cover while advancing his own power and goals.
• Fang Cheng flicked the red Clown Mask, which began glowing and laughing inside his mind.
• Fang Cheng touched the mask and felt the bloodlike liquid rush out and climb his arm.

Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Fang Cheng discovers a parasitic creature in the Clown Mask, which tries to burrow into his body.
• He expels the parasite using his true qi and observes it returning to the mask.
• He tests the mask's reaction to his blood, causing the parasite to emerge and attack.
• Fang Cheng destroys the Clown Mask, and the parasite tries to escape but is caught and consumed by the White Evil Spirit Mask.
• The Evil Spirit Mask, now stained red, tempts Fang Cheng to wear it, promising power and fear.
• Fang Cheng puts on the mask, and a torrent of violent images and killing intent assaults his mind.

Character Developments

• Fang Cheng demonstrates his formidable willpower and control over his body, repelling the parasite.
• The White Evil Spirit Mask reveals its ability to consume and absorb other entities, growing stronger.
• Fang Cheng shows no fear or hesitation in putting on the powerful yet dangerous mask.

Significant Themes

• The struggle between control and loss of self, represented by Fang Cheng's resistance to the mask's influence.
• The corrupting influence of power, as the mask offers strength in exchange for a descent into savagery.
• The theme of transformation, as the masks change and grow stronger through absorption and interaction with Fang Cheng.

Character Interactions

• The Clown Mask and the parasite within it interact with Fang Cheng, trying to possess him.
• The White Evil Spirit Mask interacts with the parasite, consuming it and growing stronger.
• Fang Cheng interacts with both masks, testing their limits and ultimately choosing to wear the more powerful one.

Fang Cheng defeated the Lord of Slaughter’s invading divided spirit in his Inner Scenery World with the power of his will and his Believers’ mental links. After gaining experience and discovering the Feast of Slaughter mask, he heard an urgent call from Lin Chuqiao and returned to his bedroom.

• The Lord of Slaughter’s divided spirit corrupted Fang Cheng’s Inner Scenery World and summoned a demon army, but Fang Cheng resisted its attempt to claim him as an apostle of slaughter.
• Fang Cheng drew on his Believers’ mental intent and Solar True Fire to purify the world, defeat the divided spirit, and trap its attempt to escape.
• Fang Cheng received Qi Gong and Visualization experience, and the mask revealed itself as the growth-type strange object Feast of Slaughter, which absorbed prey’s Life Energy to strengthen its host and itself.
• Fang Cheng let the mask’s divided spirit become a Blood Moon and tested how his will could alter the Inner Scenery World.
• Fang Cheng sensed an urgent call from Lin Chuqiao, left the Inner Scenery World, and saw her name flashing on his vibrating phone.

Fang Cheng reassured Lin Chuqiao after she sensed his battle with the Lord of Slaughter, then learned that Fire Dragon might not survive the night. He examined the transformed Crimson Evil Spirit Mask and resolved to master it and crush the Lord of Slaughter.

• Lin Chuqiao told Fang Cheng that meditation had let her sense danger around him and that his consciousness had seemed swallowed by dark clouds before flaring back to life.
• Fang Cheng assured Lin Chuqiao that he had defeated a foreign mental attacker, then promised to help save the critically ill Fire Dragon with the best treatment available.
• Lin Chuqiao ended the call and, still worried about Fang Cheng, tried to return to her work.
• Fang Cheng examined the crimson mask and recalled that it had emerged from an undersea vortex among Ancient Remains recovered by the Noah Organization.
• Fang Cheng concluded that the mask connected its wearer to the Lord of Slaughter, but declared that he would control its power and defeat the Lord.

Fang Cheng encountered a military checkpoint using a Blood Clan Search Hound and a pupil test to hunt for White Owl. He passed the inspection, but the hound went berserk and the soldiers sealed off the intersection while the target was still nearby.

• Fang Cheng saw soldiers block the road and realized the military was searching for White Owl after the Silver Wing Building attack.
• Fang Cheng used his enhanced senses to overhear Lao Xie explain that the soldiers were using a Blood Clan Search Hound and a special light to detect aberrants.
• The Search Hound reacted violently, and Lao Xie warned the units that White Owl might be among the vehicles under inspection.
• Fang Cheng wore his Gold-rimmed Flat Glasses and passed the pupil test administered by a young female officer.
• The Search Hound roared again, and the soldiers declared a level-one alert and ordered the intersection sealed off.

Plot Points and Events

• Fang Cheng and his companions are stopped at a military checkpoint due to heightened security.
• A "Search Hound" monster reacts intensely to Fang Cheng's vehicle, causing a massive military response.
• An aberrant, a speed-enhancement type, is discovered and chased by the military.
• Fang Cheng's documents are returned by the female officer after the incident.

Character Developments

• Fang Cheng remains calm and composed throughout the incident, showing his ability to handle unexpected situations.
• The female officer shows professionalism and apologizes to Fang Cheng after the incident.

Significant Themes

• The theme of suspicion and paranoia is evident in the military's overreaction to the "Search Hound's" reaction.
• The theme of vigilance and duty is shown by the female officer's apology and her commitment to her job.

Character Interactions

• Fang Cheng interacts briefly with the female officer, showing understanding and forgiveness towards her.
• The aberrant's actions indirectly help Fang Cheng by drawing the military's attention away from him.

Fang Cheng attended a family meal with Shi Chengyi and Wei Zheng, who renewed their offer for him to join the Special Search Team’s Medical Team. Fang Cheng agreed to take the exam, but only if Shi Chengyi accepted three conditions, which he had yet to reveal.

• Fang Cheng arrived at Li Zhenhua’s home and found Shi Chengyi and Wei Zheng waiting as supposed chess friends.
• Fang Cheng joined the family meal, where Shi Chengyi offered him support and Li Zhenhua urged him to call Shi Chengyi Uncle Shi.
• Li Dingjian privately told Fang Cheng that joining the Special Search Team could help both Fang Cheng and the Illumination Society gain protection and intelligence.
• Fang Cheng beat Shi Chengyi at chess, prompting Shi Chengyi and Wei Zheng to explain that they wanted him to apply to the Medical Team in the Logistics Department.
• Fang Cheng agreed to take the Medical Team exam, then said he had three conditions to discuss.