Chapter Summaries

Fang Cheng visited Cheng Jiashu’s Mental Secret Realm and learned about the tragedy that shaped the amusement park. After Fang Cheng explained that the souls of monks from Lone Peak Temple had appeared in his own Secret Realm, Cheng Jiashu suggested he consult Zen Master Huiming, and Fang Cheng decided to visit the temple.

• Fang Cheng met Cheng Jiashu in his amusement-park Secret Realm and heard how his family had been murdered and how the park preserved his happiest childhood memories.
• Fang Cheng told Cheng Jiashu that the souls of monks killed by Jiang Chen remained in his Secret Realm as unresponsive figures repeating the same actions.
• Cheng Jiashu suggested that Zen Master Huiming of Lone Peak Temple might know why the monks’ souls had appeared there, and offered to introduce them.
• Fang Cheng returned to his Golden Hall, watched the monks sweeping in his Inner Scenery World, and resolved to visit Lone Peak Temple in a few days.

Fang Cheng and Cheng Jiashu visited Lone Peak Temple to ask Zen Master Huiming about departed souls appearing in the Inner Scenery World, but found him under attack by a group seeking a rumored underground palace. As the lamas prepared to fight the weakened abbot, Fang Cheng recognized them from the bamboo grove.

• Fang Cheng and Cheng Jiashu climbed through the Western Mountains to visit Lone Peak Temple and speak with Zen Master Huiming.
• Cheng Jiashu explained that the original temple had been destroyed after the Imperial Court accused it of rebellion, though Fang Cheng and Cheng Jiashu knew Jiang Chen had led the massacre.
• A gray-robed monk directed Fang Cheng and Cheng Jiashu to the Quiet Mind Residence, where they found three lamas and a pig-masked man locked in a mental contest with Zen Master Huiming.
• Zen Master Huiming defeated the visitors in the contest and refused to reveal the supposed entrance to Lone Peak Temple's underground palace.
• The pig-masked man and the lama leader threatened Zen Master Huiming, and the lama leader prepared to attack with the Dragon Elephant Prajna Art.
• Cheng Jiashu urged Fang Cheng to intervene, and Fang Cheng recognized the lamas.

Fang Cheng intervened when Roger and his companions attacked Zen Master Huiming, then effortlessly defeated Roger despite the Black Sect Revered One’s strength and dharma aspect. The fight ended with Fang Cheng turning his attention to the fat man in the pig mask, who pleaded that there had been a misunderstanding.

• Fang Cheng recognized Roger, Zha Xi, and Duo Ji as the Black Sect members he had encountered before.
• Roger charged Zen Master Huiming, but Fang Cheng caught his wrist and stopped the attack.
• Roger unleashed his three-headed, six-armed dharma aspect, but Fang Cheng endured its attacks and broke through its defenses.
• Fang Cheng seized Roger, battered him until his dharma aspect collapsed, and tossed him aside.
• Fang Cheng turned toward the fat man in the pig mask, who nervously claimed there had been a misunderstanding.

Fang Cheng drove off the intruders at Quiet Mind Residence, then told Zen Master Huiming about the monks who had appeared in his Mental Secret Realm. Huiming revealed that Lone Peak Temple’s predecessors had sacrificed themselves to imprison Jiang Chen and prevent a demon god from entering the mortal world.

• Fang Cheng forced the masked fat man to surrender, and the fat man fled with Zha Xi and Duo Ji carrying the injured Roger.
• Cheng Jiashu introduced Fang Cheng to Zen Master Huiming, and Huiming dismissed the arriving warrior monks by claiming the disturbance had been a discussion of Buddhist teachings.
• Fang Cheng described the gray-robed monks in his Mental Secret Realm, whom he believed were the souls of Lone Peak Temple’s massacred monks.
• Cheng Jiashu told Huiming that Fang Cheng had killed Jiang Chen and broken his domain of law, freeing the souls trapped inside it.
• Huiming explained that the Imperial Court’s attempt to seize Lone Peak Temple’s Ruin Entrance led a demon god to choose Jiang Chen as its vessel.
• Huiming revealed that Patriarch Fazhi and the temple’s monks sacrificed themselves to bind Jiang Chen, keeping him asleep and preventing the demon god’s descent for two thousand years.

Zen Master Huiming explained how the ancient monks’ consciousness seeds had taken refuge in Fang Cheng’s Secret Realm and taught him Great Brightness Zen Meditation to awaken them. Fang Cheng left Lone Peak Temple with the scripture, intending to practice the method.

• Huiming explained that the monks’ consciousness seeds had survived in an intermediate state and entered Fang Cheng’s Pure Land after he destroyed Jiang Chen’s Domain of Law.
• Huiming described how the monks remained trapped in a perception of the past and offered either defeating a projection of the Demon God or gradually cleansing their seeds with Great Brightness Zen Meditation.
• Fang Cheng accepted Huiming’s scripture and learned that awakening the monks could let them become guardians of his Secret Realm.
• Cheng Jiashu said that observing his mind had helped him settle old scores and sleep better, while Huiming recognized his progress.
• Fang Cheng discussed his Martial Path training under Ma Jianguo, offered Huiming help against future intruders, and gave him a business card.
• Fang Cheng and Cheng Jiashu declined Huiming’s offer of a meal and left Lone Peak Temple; Cheng Jiashu headed toward Golden City Resort while Fang Cheng planned to practice the meditation.

Fang Cheng used Great Brightness Zen Meditation to turn his solar true fire into purifying Buddha’s light, helping awaken the spirits at Lone Peak Temple and advancing his Visualization Skill to King Grade. He chose not to spend his new Spirit points until he could prepare for the dangers of crossing the hundred-point threshold, then left the Undersea Ancient City through a Space Gate.

• Fang Cheng practiced Great Brightness Zen Meditation in the deep sea and used its Buddha’s light to cleanse the spirits at Lone Peak Temple, where the monks began to awaken.
• Fang Cheng visited the Undersea Ancient City and found that the mermaids had rebuilt parts of the ruins and grown into a tribe of more than three hundred.
• Fang Cheng checked his Panel and learned that Visualization had reached King Grade, earning him fifteen Spirit Attribute points.
• Fang Cheng heeded the Panel’s warning and decided to save the points until his Physique exceeded one hundred and he had gathered enough life energy and resources.
• Fang Cheng opened a Space Gate with the Silver Key and left the Undersea Ancient City for the Eastern Capital.

Fang Cheng met with Lin Chuqiao at the Morning Star Import-Export Trading Company, where she reported on the Illumination Society’s finances, equipment, and plans for its bases. The chapter ended after Shen Wei, President of the East City Association, called Fang Cheng about the Golden City Resort.

• Fang Cheng returned from secluded cultivation, arrived at the company, and reviewed and signed procurement and cash-flow documents.
• Lin Chuqiao reported that the Society had secured more than five hundred million yuan and finished preparing custom heavy training equipment in the Jiangbei air-raid shelter.
• Fang Cheng and Lin Chuqiao agreed to use the shelter as a training base and later develop Ancient Locust Village into a secret base for new members.
• Fang Cheng and Lin Chuqiao shared an intimate moment before discussing how Old Wolf, Xiao Bei, Bao Ye, and the other new recruits were serving the organization.
• Shen Wei called Fang Cheng about the Golden City Resort, and Fang Cheng identified the caller to Lin Chuqiao as the President of the East City Association.

Fang Cheng and Lin Chuqiao discussed a prospective legitimate trade deal with Shen Wei’s East City Group and how its supply channels could support the Morningstar Trading Company and the Illumination Society. At the Golden City Resort, a covert team planted devices and surveyed security ahead of Fang Cheng’s meeting.

• Lin Chuqiao welcomed the East City Group deal, outlining how imported precision equipment and biopharmaceutical materials could grow the Morningstar Trading Company and fund the Illumination Society.
• Fang Cheng said the trade channel could also bring restricted equipment and supplies into Xia Country, and he expected the Other Shore World rift to provide resources for the Society’s planned Internal Resource Library.
• Lin Chuqiao planned lunch with Fang Cheng and the two girls, Wen Xin and Douzi, before he left for the Golden City Resort to meet Shen Wei.
• Fang Cheng reflected on his growing strength and the Illumination Society’s expansion as he prepared to leave for the meeting.
• At the resort, A Mang buried a wrapped block by a load-bearing pillar, Sanchai installed a signal bridge in the electrical room, and A Kun placed a camera above the rehearsal hall.
• A short-haired woman entered the security monitoring room invisibly, memorized the camera layout and patrol patterns, and stole a floor plan while a suited man watched the dancers on his laptop.

Pei Tianci and Du Juan assessed the resort’s security while preparing for a bombing job, and Pei Tianci began planning an escape route because he suspected their mysterious employer had a hidden target. Elsewhere, Fang Cheng and Shen Wei finalized a major business partnership, and Fang Cheng greeted the scarred bodyguard A Le.

• Pei Tianci negotiated a thirty percent increase in the deposit, while the caller threatened his crew and their families and demanded results within three days.
• Du Juan reported the resort’s defenses and showed Pei Tianci a blueprint with surveillance blind spots; they discussed targeting the rehearsal-hall annex while keeping the hotel as a possible fallback.
• Pei Tianci suspected the employer had a more dangerous plan than destroying buildings and told Du Juan to gather A Kun and the others to prepare their own escape plan.
• Fang Cheng and Shen Wei signed an agreement giving Morningstar Trading Company access to the East City Association’s secret shipping routes for importing and selling restricted goods.
• Shen Wei reflected on Fang Cheng’s extraordinary power and explained that he had offered the partnership to secure Fang Cheng as an ally.
• Fang Cheng asked the scarred bodyguard A Le whether his injuries had healed.

Fang Cheng visited Shen Wei at the Golden City Resort, accepted a Supreme Black Card and a luxury suite, then headed to the renovated shooting range to practice and improve his gun technique skill. He loaded a SIG P226 and prepared for the highest-difficulty moving-target lane.

• Shen Wei introduced A Le as the future general manager of the shipping company and asked Fang Cheng to guide him in working with Lin Chuqiao.
• Fang Cheng agreed to visit the resort’s renovated shooting range after Shen Wei offered him a permanent VIP card and complimentary access to the resort.
• Fang Cheng settled into the Presidential Suite, spotted the television production crew, and decided to wait until filming ended before visiting Zhou Xiumei.
• Fang Cheng presented his Supreme Black Card at the Underground Shooting Range, where Tiger Bro recognized him and escorted him to the VIP armory.
• Fang Cheng chose a SIG P226, requested the hardest moving-target lane, and began loading its magazine as his muscle memory returned.

Fang Cheng trained at the Resort’s shooting range, where he encountered a mysterious marksman whose seemingly perfect shots suggested psychic power. He later visited Zhou Xiumei on set and invited her to dinner, and she accepted shyly.

• Fang Cheng hit every ten-ring while firing fifteen rounds at moving targets from one hundred meters, impressing Tiger Bro.
• A gold-rimmed-glasses man fired a Desert Eagle one-handed, and Fang Cheng realized the man’s last two bullets had passed through the same bull’s-eye while the scoring system recorded a miss.
• Fang Cheng and the stranger continued shooting in an unspoken contest until the stranger left; Fang Cheng gained gunmanship experience and wondered if psychic power explained the man’s precision.
• Fang Cheng left the range and found Zhou Xiumei stretching in the rehearsal hall after filming; she told him Cheng Jiashu had already left for other business.
• Fang Cheng invited Zhou Xiumei to dinner at the hotel, and she agreed while blushing under the other contestants’ curious stares.

Fang Cheng spent a peaceful evening with Zhou Xiumei at the Golden City Resort, reaffirming his intention to keep both her and Lin Chuqiao close. Meanwhile, Pei Tianci reported that his group was preparing to carry out an operation at the resort the following night.

• Zhou Xiumei told Fang Cheng that she was adjusting to the Training Camp and thanked him for the songs he had written for her.
• Fang Cheng reflected on his close bonds with Zhou Xiumei and Lin Chuqiao and decided he would not choose between them.
• Fang Cheng and Zhou Xiumei shared dinner and walked beneath the stars; after she nearly fell, he caught her and held her hand as they continued walking.
• Pei Tianci told a caller that his group had infiltrated the resort, completed most preparations, and planned to move at eight the next night.

Pei Tianci revealed that the Red Devil Mercenary Group would secretly abandon the client’s helicopter escape plan and flee through the resort’s underground sewage pipes after taking hostages. As they finalized their operation, two East City Association men drove into the Western Mountains carrying weapons and began discussing local ghost stories.

• Pei Tianci told Mr. Ye that the mercenaries would seize the television crew, use explosives and hostages to delay the police, and escape by helicopter, while privately deciding not to trust the client.
• Pei Tianci gathered Du Juan, A Kun, A Mang, and Sanchai and announced that the Western Mountains operation had begun.
• Du Juan confirmed that the underground pipes led to a concealed river, and A Mang confirmed that he had secretly moved explosives into the resort’s sewage channel.
• Pei Tianci told his team that they would fake a retreat toward the roof, escape through the sewage pipes, and flee downstream after collecting the ransom.
• At two in the morning, Brother Liang and a young passenger drove through the Western Mountains with weapons and complained about being sent out at night.
• The young passenger asked Brother Liang whether he had heard the ghost stories about the Western Mountains.

A trench-coated vampire killed two men after they crashed their car into him on a mountain road, then hid their bodies and the wreck before returning to a cabin in the woods. There, he revealed that he had devised the plan being carried out for Lord Claude.

• Brother Liang and A Qiang crashed their sedan into a figure in a gray trench coat, but found no one at the scene.
• The trench-coated man appeared above them, attacked them, and drained both men of their blood.
• He put their dried corpses in the sedan and threw the car into a ravine before racing through the forest to a cabin.
• At the cabin, the fat man questioned him about hunting and warned that he could jeopardize Lord Claude's plan.
• The trench-coated man said he had devised the plan himself, leaving the fat man surprised.

Night Owl, Hai Zhu, and Revered One Roger prepared to trap White Owl at the Golden City Resort using the Hell Gate, a relic that could seal off space. At dawn, Fang Cheng and Zhou Xiumei jogged together at the resort, where his attentive gestures flustered her before he promptly gulped down a bottle of water.

• Night Owl told Hai Zhu and Revered One Roger that Utopia's capture operation against White Owl would begin the next night, with Lord Claude overseeing it.
• Roger voiced concern about White Owl's strength, but Hai Zhu said Utopia had assembled four S-Class Experts, a Super S-Class powerhouse, and mercenaries.
• Hai Zhu revealed that Utopia would use the Hell Gate to seal the Golden City Resort and trap White Owl.
• Night Owl planned to wake at four in the morning to set the final formation gates, while Hai Zhu and Roger remained awake in the cabin.
• At dawn, Fang Cheng and Zhou Xiumei finished six laps around the resort lake, and Fang Cheng helped her recover and wiped sweat from her face.
• Fang Cheng then drained a bottle of water in seconds, nearly making Zhou Xiumei choke after he had warned her not to gulp hers.

Fang Cheng learned that two East City Association men carrying firearms had disappeared after their vehicle plunged into the Blackwater River, then spent the morning training in his suite. A Le arrived looking exhausted, apparently with new information about the incident.

• After exercising and having breakfast with Zhou Xiumei, Fang Cheng noticed Shen Wei's suited subordinates hurrying to the East City Association's office.
• Shen Wei told Fang Cheng that two men sent to deliver firearms had crashed through a mountain-road guardrail and fallen into the Blackwater River, and that A Le was leading a recovery team.
• Fang Cheng offered to pay the rescue expenses and double the compensation for the men's families, while Shen Wei said the Association would also fulfill its own compensation policy.
• Fang Cheng wondered whether the crash was truly accidental, then dismissed his suspicions and trained with one-finger push-ups and handstand push-ups for two hours.
• A Le arrived at Fang Cheng's suite in a dusty, sweat-stained suit, and Fang Cheng invited him inside to explain.

A Le told Fang Cheng that two East City Association members had been found drained of blood, and Fang Cheng suspected a monster was prowling near Golden City Resort. Lin Chuqiao’s prediction revealed no direct danger to Fang Cheng but warned that the resort might soon face a terrifying disaster, leaving its nature unknown.

• A Le reported that A Liang and A Fei had been found shriveled and bloodless inside their car recovered from the Blackwater River, and Fang Cheng ordered him to search the resort for suspicious traces.
• Fang Cheng worried that a monster might endanger the resort and Zhou Xiumei, so he called Lin Chuqiao and asked her to predict his luck.
• Lin Chuqiao initially saw no danger or major changes in Fang Cheng’s fate, but she noticed that her vision of his surroundings was blurry.
• After predicting again for over half an hour, Lin Chuqiao foresaw a terrifying disaster at Golden City Resort but could only make out darkness filled with churning blood-red haze.

Fang Cheng and Lin Chuqiao suspected that a space rift or man-made Inner World would open at Golden City Resort, possibly as part of Utopia’s plot. Fang Cheng prepared the Illumination Society and the resort for the predicted disaster while keeping the guests’ movements hidden from any watchers.

• Lin Chuqiao told Fang Cheng that her premonition revealed a dark, sealed space with beastly howls and crushing bones, and they considered whether it was an Inner World formed by a space rift.
• Fang Cheng suspected another organization, possibly Utopia, was preparing a trap at the resort, and Lin Chuqiao predicted the disaster would strike today or tomorrow.
• Fang Cheng ordered Old Wolf, Xiao Bei, Fat Tiger, and Flying Shadow to infiltrate the resort, while Lin Chuqiao prepared a concealed support team and agreed to use explosives if contact was lost for more than half an hour.
• Fang Cheng contacted Shen Wei, who described the resort’s heavily fortified Underground Shooting Range, and instructed him to shelter the guests and staff there when Fang Cheng signaled.
• Fang Cheng chose to keep the resort operating normally so hidden enemies would not change their plans, while also ensuring Zhou Xiumei’s safety.

Fang Cheng discovered signs of an enemy operation at Golden City Resort and ordered A Le to investigate covertly while maintaining the appearance of routine security. As the enemy’s surveillance devices were exposed, Pei Tianci decided to launch the attack early, leaving the confrontation imminent.

• Fang Cheng sensed a cold, destructive energy in the Western Mountains while meditating, then learned from A Le that hidden signal bridges and probes had been planted around the resort.
• Fang Cheng told A Le not to alert the intruders and ordered him to discreetly investigate recent guests while continuing inspections under the cover of fire safety checks.
• Du Juan reported that resort security had increased and was searching the building, threatening to uncover the group’s surveillance equipment.
• Pei Tianci concluded the resort had sensed danger and ordered his team to abandon the planned eight o’clock start and move immediately.
• Pei Tianci assigned A Kun to cut the Auxiliary Building’s power and Du Juan to eliminate hidden sentries before leading the team out.

Night Owl’s team prepared a Hell Gate ambush for White Owl, relying on a plot designed to hide its causal connection to him. When the Red Devil Mercenary Group unexpectedly cut the power and took over Golden City Resort’s rehearsal hall, Night Owl chose to wait for White Owl to arrive and spring the trap.

• Night Owl explained to Hai Zhu, Roger, and Xiao Yuanwang that an unrelated kidnapping and bombing would draw White Owl to Golden City Resort without alerting his danger sense.
• The resort’s lights went out, and Night Owl learned that the Red Devil Mercenary Group had moved early after security began searching the grounds.
• Night Owl discovered that the mercenaries had cut the power and were broadcasting their hostage operation live on East Capital TV Station.
• Night Owl ordered his allies to hold their positions until White Owl entered the resort and sent a subordinate to watch the road.
• The Red Devil Mercenary Group locked the rehearsal hall’s exits and confronted the contestants and production crew, announcing a grand evening event.