Chapter Summaries

Ronan met Raven in the snowy alley and recognized the loneliness in her as a reflection of his own past. He took her hand and chose to stay with her, as the snow turned to icy rain.

• Hai Jing tried to send Mo Ya out of the alley, but Ronan arrived and saw Raven sitting among the clutter with Ink.
• Ronan approached Raven, who looked up at him, and realized he reminded her of himself during his early experiments.
• Ronan offered Raven his hand and helped her stand, making their connection real in front of the onlookers.
• He Yueyin offered to have the Xia City Branch take over Raven's protection, but Ronan said he would stay with her.
• Ink flew above the alley as the falling snow grew heavier and turned into icy pellets or freezing rain.

Bai Xinyan proposed leaking a story about selling two-thousandths of the Deep Blue World project to draw greedy forces toward Xia City. Meanwhile, Ronan stayed with Raven as she was taken to Saint Maria Charity Hall, while his Soul Cape expanded across Xia City.

• Bai Xinyan rejected The Other Side’s demand to put C2834 at risk and suggested using the Two-Thousandths Miss story to attract investors and unstable elements.
• The Other Side agreed to Bai Xinyan’s plan, and she left to help a friend in trouble.
• Mo Ya, Hai Jing, and the officials decided Raven would stay temporarily at Saint Maria Charity Hall because she had no records.
• Ronan insisted on accompanying Raven, and Mo Ya noticed that he seemed unusually attached to her.
• Ronan reassured Raven that Ink would follow them as his Soul Cape spread across the sea and much of Xia City.

Putte Service Company and the Five Metals Hunter Group prepared to kidnap Raven, while Noise mapped the charity hall and its defenders. Their planning ended when a blood-red force destroyed the operation room and a mysterious man emerged from the carnage.

• Noise reconstructed Saint Maria Charity Hall and revealed that one target had a three-kilometer sensing radius, forcing Steel Hero to plan around the defenders.
• Steel Hero ordered the team to target Raven alone, kill her bodyguard, send her agent’s head back, and record a video while Putte’s mercenaries delayed rescue forces.
• Steel Hero changed the escape route to the sea, where Jin Tong was waiting, and Batu left to consult his superiors.
• A blood-red light erupted in the workspace, killed Noise and the other operatives, and pulled Batu toward the projection before he escaped its force.
• Steel Hero and the remaining operatives were crushed into a bloody mass, a naked middle-aged man appeared, and he knocked Batu unconscious with an invisible impact.

After nearly ten days underwater, Zhang Yingying surfaced and learned that Xia City had erupted into deadly unrest while she was away. As she investigated reports of armed personnel killed by the Dripping Water Sword, a war correspondent began a live stream from the city.

• Zhang Yingying surfaced in freezing rain, tested White Rainbow's growing power, and noticed her body seemed unable to keep pace with it.
• Zhang Yingying messaged Bai Xinyan, who said she was in Sandalwood City and told Zhang to make the most of life and sunshine.
• Zhang Yingying saw a report that unrest in Xia City had caused 47 deaths and put 12 districts under emergency measures.
• Zhang Yingying watched videos showing at least seventeen armed personnel dead from Dripping Water Sword attacks and wondered whether the Martial Emperor was involved.
• Zhang Yingying opened a live stream from Xia City, where viewers recognized the war correspondent as War Maiden.

War Maiden streamed from Xia City, reporting that bodies had been found at several sites far apart despite sharing the same estimated time of death. She encountered Tian Bang outside Saint Maria Church Hospital, where he revealed he had visited a friend who refused to see him and planned to kill people to make amends.

• War Maiden reported that forty-seven bodies had been discovered at four locations across Xia City, all with estimated deaths between 10:00 and 10:30 the previous night.
• War Maiden spotted Tian Bang approaching with another young man and rushed over to interview him on camera.
• Tian Bang greeted War Maiden warmly and praised her frontline reporting, leaving her flustered and the Live Stream Room cheering.
• War Maiden asked why Tian Bang had come to the hospital, and he clarified that he had visited its charity hall to see a friend.
• Tian Bang said his friend was not receiving visitors, so he planned to kill a few people to show his sincerity.

Tian Bang led War Maiden to an undisclosed crime scene and revealed that dozens of mercenaries and Ability Users had died or vanished in Xia City in a matter of minutes. The chapter ended as Yue Yin arrived at the scene, while the fate of the missing people and the identity of the killer remained unclear.

• Tian Bang told War Maiden that the Xia City unrest was still ongoing and revealed that the attacks occurred less than five minutes apart across more locations than she knew about.
• Zhang Yingying watched Tian Bang's broadcast, learned troubling news about Ronan, and discovered that Bai Xinyan had disappeared.
• Tian Bang and War Maiden visited an office building where police had only just discovered a crime scene and learned that forty-two people connected to Putte Service Company had died or gone missing.
• Ju Ling showed surveillance footage of Batu's death, while Tian Bang explained that thirty-two mercenaries had been killed with the Dripping Water Sword and nine others had vanished, leaving only traces of their DNA and a twisted steel throat.
• Tian Bang addressed Yue Yin as she entered the crime scene with a group of uniformed professionals.

Tian Bang and He Yueyin investigated the growing Xia City death toll as Zhang Yingying and War Maiden followed the shifting reports and rumors. War Maiden confronted He Yueyin about Quantum Corporation’s alleged bounty for an experimental subject, and He Yueyin defended the Association’s protection of the girl while accusing Quantum of wrongdoing.

• Tian Bang described the different deaths at the crime scene to He Yueyin, then learned that new attacks had pushed the Xia City Riot’s death toll past one hundred.
• He Yueyin examined a metal component as Tian Bang identified the missing Steel Hero among the dead, while Zhang Yingying rushed toward the city and reviewed forum speculation about his killer.
• Viewers flooded War Maiden’s livestream with messages about a two-thousandth share worth sixteen billion and urged her to question the police.
• War Maiden asked whether Quantum Corporation had offered the reward to recover an experimental subject controlled by Ronan and protected by the Xia City Branch.
• He Yueyin said the girl was an abducted orphan rescued and registered as an Association member, then challenged Quantum’s use of the experimental-subject label and its bounty.
• Tian Bang interrupted He Yueyin’s statement, took the camera, and called a nearby officer to serve as a witness.

War Maiden’s livestream revealed that Jin Tong had arrived in Xia City, and he attacked Tian Bang and He Yueyin after Tian Bang provoked him. A powerful suppression force overwhelmed Jin Tong and shattered the office building, and Jin Tong identified his attacker as Wu Zhao.

• War Maiden recognized the disguised officer as Jin Tong, leader of the Five Metals Hunter Group, and viewers flooded the livestream as news spread that he had reached Xia City.
• Tian Bang taunted Jin Tong about his cultivation and his experiments with implants, then positioned himself between Jin Tong and the metal component.
• Jin Tong launched an electric-field attack against Tian Bang and He Yueyin, injuring a police officer and battering the Burners’ Formatting Domain.
• A powerful suppression force crushed Jin Tong’s electric field and caused the office building to rupture in a massive explosion that threw War Maiden across the room.
• Jin Tong roared Wu Zhao’s name from inside the fissure, and an unseen voice replied before another shockwave struck.

Martial Emperor overwhelmed Jin Tong in a live-streamed battle across Xia City, controlling his movements and turning his own momentum against him. Jin Tong escaped toward the sea, leaving viewers uncertain whether the fight was over and how Martial Emperor had manipulated the battlefield.

• War Maiden filmed the battle as Jin Tong was driven down through the office building and Martial Emperor drew a rapidly growing live audience.
• Tian Bang guided War Maiden’s camera as Jin Tong was hurled across a city block and bounced off a glass curtain wall that remained intact.
• War Maiden calculated that Jin Tong’s impact carried roughly five hundred million joules, with the surrounding area apparently altered so his body absorbed the force.
• Jin Tong roared and unleashed a secret escape technique, streaking dozens of kilometers toward the sea.
• War Maiden and the viewers watched Jin Tong disappear toward the horizon as comments mocked his defeat and questioned how Martial Emperor had controlled him.

The War Maiden and Tian Bang left the ruined office building while online commentators debated how the police had survived and whether Xia City had shown its strength. Wu Zhao defeated Jin Tong but let him retreat into the sea, then hinted to Zhang Yingying that the enemy’s apparent escape was not what it seemed, leaving her sensing an oppressive change in the sea and sky.

• Tian Bang offered the War Maiden a ride toward the distant battle, and they left He Yueyin behind to handle the aftermath at the ruined building.
• The War Maiden saw that the police officers inside had survived the clash, while online discussions speculated that Ouyang Chen had protected them and argued over Xia City's plans.
• Zhang Yingying raced from Ring Sea Highway toward the coast as Jin Tong surfaced near the golden beach after Wu Zhao's attack.
• Wu Zhao told Jin Tong he could leave because he had landed back in the sea without stepping onto the Coastline, and Jin Tong retreated beneath the water.
• Zhang Yingying questioned Wu Zhao for allowing Jin Tong to escape, but Wu Zhao implied that Jin Tong's departure was only what everyone believed had happened.
• Wu Zhao advised Zhang Yingying to develop her own path, and Zhang Yingying sensed a new oppressive quality in the sea and sky as Wu Zhao called her ugly.

Injured Jin Tong fled Xia City through the ocean, where he discovered that Ronan’s vast Freezing Rain Domain had followed him far offshore. As Jin Tong’s subordinates arrived to retrieve him, he sensed a terrifying shadow behind him.

• Jin Tong reflected on the Martial Emperor’s flawless techniques and considered that her power might have come from a complicated opportunity.
• Jin Tong sensed a bone-deep chill across the sea and identified a vast domain, concluding that Ronan might be responsible for it.
• Jin Tong realized Ronan’s domain could track him far offshore, so he contacted his subordinates and asked them to pick him up.
• Jin Tong lost himself in thoughts of fighting the Martial Emperor again and unknowingly exhausted his vital essence and blood.
• When Jin Tong saw his subordinates staring at him in terror, he turned and sensed a hideous, long-limbed shadow reflected in his Heart Lake.

Jin Tong was trapped in Ronan’s unstable domain, where a Human-Faced Spider used his inner demon and stolen vitality to fuel the Blood Soul Temple. After Jin Tong recognized the trap and fought back, a thin figure struck him down, and his body and soul were consumed by the altar.

• Jin Tong fought a repeatedly reviving Blood Ape inside the misty domain, while stray lightning from his attacks damaged the Five Metals Hunter Group’s airship and killed several crew members.
• Jin Tong recognized Morun as a puppet and realized the domain was an incomplete Blood Flame Order altar powered by his stolen essence blood.
• Jin Tong unleashed his power and identified the invisible demon as a Human-Faced Spider that had shaped his fear of Wu Zhao into her shadow.
• Jin Tong fought Wu Zhao’s demon shadow, suffered a near-fatal blow, and used a direct counterattack to overcome his inner demon.
• A thin figure pierced Jin Tong with one finger, causing his body to decay, and the Blood Soul Temple consumed his remains and metal headband.

The War Maiden and Tian Bang investigated a floating mountain of bones built around the wrecked transport ship Ji Jin, while Tian Bang used water currents to wash it. In Xia City, Ronan reflected on how he had used the Altar Framework to defeat Jin Tong and watched Jin Tong’s Bright Light Imprint settle in the empty Fourth Floor of the Blood Soul Temple.

• The Coastal Defense Forces sent a drone to investigate a magnetic explosion and discovered a fifteen-meter White Bone Mountain floating offshore.
• The War Maiden identified the damaged vessel beneath the bones as Ji Jin, a transport ship belonging to the Five Metals Hunter Group, and suspected its crew had been wiped out.
• Tian Bang jumped onto the White Bone Mountain and used Format Fire to send seawater surging through and over it.
• Ronan considered how he had controlled the Altar Framework to constrain Jin Tong, whose near-breakthrough had ended when Raven struck the killing blow.
• Jin Tong’s Bright Light Imprint passed the Blood Soul Temple’s lower floors and took up residence in an empty hall on the Fourth Floor.

After defeating Jin Tong, Ronan handled Raven’s registration transfer and prepared to adopt her, while considering the costs of the battle and future security. A call from Paper Cut drew his attention to Zhai Gong’s mysterious state at Lan Town Welfare Institute, and Ronan decided to go there as Mo Ya arrived.

• Ronan assessed the Blood Soul Temple’s depleted reserves and the energy consumed by the puppets in the battle with Jin Tong.
• Mo Ya called Ronan, worried after hearing about the nearby murders, and said she was coming to the administrative hall.
• Raven finished her registration transfer with help from Deputy Director Hu, allowing Ronan to begin her adoption process.
• Paper Cut told Ronan that Zhai Gong had stood in the freezing rain all night and appeared to be in an epiphany at Lan Town Welfare Institute.
• Ronan observed Zhai Gong through the Soul Cape, withheld his understanding to protect his Trump Card, and agreed to go there as Mo Ya arrived.

Ronan reunited with Mo Ya at the Administrative Hall after completing Raven’s paperwork, while Deputy Director Hu realized Ronan’s ties to Mo Ya and their family. Mo Ya left for an engagement after warning Ronan not to make her regret supporting him, and Ronan promised he would not.

• Mo Ya arrived at the Administrative Hall and fussed over Raven, offering to add her as a friend.
• Deputy Director Hu recognized Mo Ya and deduced Ronan’s family connection, then awkwardly pretended he had known Ronan as a child before hurrying away.
• Mo Ya teased Ronan about his social circle and asked whether he had quit his old work or faced financial trouble.
• Ronan invited Mo Ya to accompany him and Raven to the Welfare Institute, but she declined because she had an engagement.
• Mo Ya hugged Raven, warned Ronan not to make her regret supporting him, and drove away after he promised he would not.

Ronan traveled to the Lan Town Welfare Institute while struggling with the mental strain of monitoring Xia City and thinking about his family and grandfather. There, he demonstrated a more flexible way to construct Water Condensation Rings, giving Zhai Gong a new approach to his stalled project.

• Ronan considered telling his family that his research had attracted investors and hoped Format Theory could eventually help him communicate with his schizophrenic grandfather.
• Ronan resisted exhaustion from processing information across Xia City and discussed the threat posed by people pursuing the bounty on him.
• Ronan arrived at the Lan Town Welfare Institute and watched Zhai Gong struggle to complete a Water Condensation Ring.
• Ronan drew multiple Water Condensation Ring structures on his Paged Notebook and had Zhai Weiwu blow toward them.
• The structures gathered water molecules and refracted light into brief pearlescent glimmers, showing Zhai Gong that the method could work with less precision and more inspiration.

Ronan discussed the strain of monitoring Xia City through the Soul Cape with Dean Wan Ta, then learned that coordination could improve how the brain processed information. Wan Ta began teaching him the underlying principles and asked him to help verify whether his coordination template could work for others.

• Ronan encouraged Zhai Gong to keep drawing and asked Paper Cut to exchange ideas with him, then completed Raven's affiliation transfer with Dean Wan Ta's help.
• Wan Ta warned Ronan that exhaustion and inhibited nerve cells could impair his reactions, while Ronan confirmed that word of the Xia City situation had spread through the Starry Sky Clubhouse and the Dark Web.
• Ronan asked Wan Ta about the Soul Cape's concealment and described the enormous information burden of monitoring Xia City and its surroundings.
• Ronan raised the subject of the Creation Method, but Wan Ta offered to teach him coordination, an approach for scheduling perception and thought to process information more efficiently.
• Wan Ta explained the principles behind coordination, and Ronan reasoned that it would require extensive changes to the brain's mental functions.
• Wan Ta told Ronan that a revelation had given him a coordination template and asked him to help determine whether it could be extended beyond himself.

Ronan began applying Dean Wan’s coordination theory to reorganize his brain’s perceptual functions, relying on his unusually adaptable nervous system to manage the risks. He planned to have Bamboo Pole Bro verify the deeper calculations before he advanced further.

• Octopus Bro monitored Ronan’s six-hour infusion while Ronan sketched nested structures on his screen.
• Qin Yikun urged Ronan to let President Ouyang and Old You review Dean Wan’s nervous-system proposal, but Ronan said President Ouyang had already approved an initial trial.
• Ronan explained coordination to Octopus Bro and revealed that he was already reshaping his perceptual functions, briefly triggering involuntary tremors in his fingers and feet.
• Ronan described how he planned to reorganize sensory and mental-perception functions, while Qin Yikun recognized the danger of the procedure.
• Ronan said he needed Bamboo Pole Bro to redo and verify the calculations, then complained that he had to translate Dean Wan’s cultivation materialism into a form he could understand.

Ronan used the theory of “coordination” to organize his understanding of the brain while He Yueyin reported the growing threat from Ability Users and powerful groups. As stimulants intensified Ronan’s brain activity, a preliminary cognitive model formed and lightning suddenly coursed through his Brain Palace.

• Octopus supported Ronan’s plan to ask Bamboo Pole to help build a model, while Qin Yikun explained that Wan Ta had only given them the method’s basic result and left its higher-level rituals to his sect.
• He Yueyin reported that more than two hundred Ability Users above C-rank were expected in Xia City within days, with at least twice as many still watching from afar.
• Ronan divided the threats into opportunistic Ability Users and organized powers such as cults and conglomerates, then resolved to strike more effectively rather than remain passive.
• Octopus began adding stimulants, and Ronan used the resulting heightened brain activity to study “coordination” and sort through the Brain Palace’s obstructed nodes.
• Ronan’s thoughts began to organize into a preliminary cognitive logic model, and lightning suddenly flashed through his Brain Palace, forming a more rigorous outer membrane.

Ronan endured an infusion while the External Neuron briefly stirred, then discovered that its interface had added a completed Void Brain app. He postponed choosing an option in the app and left the infusion room when Qin Yikun showed him a call from Mo Ya.

• The External Neuron sent a brief disturbance through Ronan’s Closed System, but he calmed himself with meditation and it returned to standby.
• After the infusion, Ronan saw the Contemplation Graphic progress rise from 9.99% to 10.5% and found a colored Void Brain icon beside it.
• Ronan opened the Void Brain app, where he saw an unreadable panel, a brain-like planet, an Outer Space Flying Ship, and Exoskeleton Armor.
• Ronan found that the ship and armor were unreadable, then postponed choosing between the Void Brain panel’s two options.
• Qin Yikun handed Ronan his vibrating wristband, which showed that Mo Ya was calling.