Chapter Summaries

Zhang Yingying and Meng Chong watched a flesh-and-blood mass attack the yacht, where it trapped the Bull Demon and triggered the emergence of a strange glowing thicket. Meng Chong identified the thicket as a Plant Type faith crystallization, leaving the Bull Demon’s fate uncertain as Zhang Yingying asked the Martial Emperor to explain more.

• The Bull Demon leaped toward the yacht, struck an invisible barrier, and was carried aboard by a wave.
• Zhang Yingying saw a Flesh and Blood Thin Film climb the yacht and engulf the Bull Demon.
• Green phosphorescence burst through the film and formed a branching, thicket-like structure that distracted it.
• Meng Chong connected the thicket to Mister Luo’s description of a Plant Type system and explained that it was likely a faith crystallization.
• Zhang Yingying concluded that the Bull Demon’s connection to the crystallization had drawn the danger and asked the Martial Emperor for an explanation.

Ronan reappeared beside Bull Demon as the powerful Scaredy-Cat confronted him from a seawater wall and demanded Bull Demon. Ronan challenged it to cooperate, and Bull Demon suddenly spoke up and agreed.

• A forceful attack from The Other Side tore a long scar through the clouds above Zhang Yingying's yacht.
• Ronan reappeared beside Bull Demon, while the Flesh and Blood Thin Film began to withdraw from him.
• The Scaredy-Cat formed a towering Waterfall Wall beside the yacht and demanded that Ronan hand over Bull Demon.
• Ronan taunted the Scaredy-Cat about its dwindling anchor points and threatened to visit it if they fought again.
• Ronan proposed working together to study Bull Demon, and Bull Demon suddenly spoke and agreed to cooperate.

Ronan subdued the Bull Demon and ended his standoff with the Scaredy-Cat as reinforcements arrived. After the group left the dangerous waters, Ronan learned Blood Demon wanted to meet him at Kolo Base, while the Bull Demon begged to be spared and warned that Matsudaira Yoshio had become a demon.

• The Bull Demon surrendered, and Ronan used deep Segmentation to examine its system, leaving it weakened.
• As fighter jets and another powerful presence arrived, the Martial Emperor withdrew, and Ronan exchanged parting words with the Scaredy-Cat before its Waterfall Wall disappeared.
• A gray fighter jet flew past the yacht, and Zhang Yingying ordered Ronan to clean up the Flesh and Blood Thin Film before coming aboard.
• The Bull Demon recovered and groveled before Ronan, who learned from Zhang Yingying that Blood Demon wanted to discuss business with him at Kolo Base.
• Ronan threatened to hand the Bull Demon over to Matsudaira Yoshio, and the Bull Demon protested that Matsudaira Yoshio was dead and a demon had taken his place.

Eizuka worked late on her long-running research when Matsudaira Yoshio arrived with wine and told her that the Segmenter might substitute for her Dissociation ability. As they reminisced about the past, Eizuka fell asleep, and Matsudaira Yoshio pulled out a strand of her white hair, which turned liquid and seeped into his fingertip.

• Eizuka prepared her Distributed Ecological Network research for a Rotten-Mouth Ape tissue sample and a warning line.
• Matsudaira Yoshio celebrated the blood vessel platform changing direction and said LCRF's announcement had increased the value of Directional Induction technology.
• Matsudaira Yoshio asked Eizuka to seek funding for her research, but she refused.
• Matsudaira Yoshio told Eizuka that Luo Zhongheng's son had created the Segmenter, a possible substitute for her Dissociation ability.
• Eizuka and Matsudaira Yoshio drank wine and reminisced about their old companions and past experiences.
• After Eizuka fell asleep, Matsudaira Yoshio plucked out one of her white hairs, which transformed into a mercury-like liquid and seeped into his fingertip.

Ronan questioned Bull Demon about its escape from the fake Matsudaira Yoshio and the sale of the Osawa Order’s assets as the yacht approached Kolo Base. He used a newly developed ability to make Bull Demon’s horns and skull disintegrate, leaving its fate unresolved.

• Ronan’s yacht reached the Kolo Base archipelago with ten hours remaining before the High Seas Auction.
• Zhang Yingying discussed Bull Demon’s experimental role and the fake Matsudaira Yoshio’s research into a Faith system with Ronan.
• Ronan pressed Bull Demon about its escape, its claims of mistreatment, and the apparent liquidation of the Osawa Order’s assets.
• Bull Demon began to confess more, but Ronan touched its head and caused its horns and skull to disintegrate.
• Ronan explained that he was practicing negotiation and testing a new ability on Bull Demon.

Ronan questioned Bull Demon about its alliance with the impostor Matsudaira Yoshio and its role in experiments that sought to induce inheritable Extraordinary Power. Bull Demon confessed to exploiting test subjects and described its escape across the Pacific, while Ronan ended by asking whether it had stayed in contact with its ally.

• Ronan and Zhang Yingying questioned Bull Demon about its cooperation with the impostor and the benefits it received.
• Bull Demon explained that the impostor was conducting Directional Induction and trying to create inheritable Extraordinary Power, including through experiments on himself and believers.
• Ronan recognized that Bull Demon had fed on test subjects, and Bull Demon admitted it had no choice and feared the Amaterasu Order's plans for the Deities in Slope City.
• Bull Demon said the impostor had suggested it escape aboard the Emerald Light, after which it traveled with ships across the Pacific and eventually reached the area near Di City.
• Ronan asked Bull Demon whether it had remained in contact with the impostor ally.

Ronan questioned Bull Demon about its journey and the Dark Dragon God Faith system, then contained it in a Space Fault. At Fuku Wharf, Ronan met Blood Demon, who invited him to create a special illustration for Card Deck magazine.

• Ronan questioned Bull Demon about its long-distance communications, its journey to Di City, and its healing through the Dark Dragon God Faith system.
• Ronan trapped Bull Demon in a Space Fault, explaining that it would keep the conspicuous Aberrant Species hidden while it recovered.
• Blood Demon arrived at the yacht on a jet ski, and Ronan recognized him before heading alone to their agreed meeting place at Fuku Wharf.
• Ronan met Blood Demon at the Qiya café, where Blood Demon enthusiastically asked him to become Card Deck magazine’s specially appointed illustrator and create a limited-edition Card Deck.

Blood Demon explained to Ronan that he had bought Card Deck magazine to reshape its rankings and provoke more conflict among Extraordinary Species, then invited Ronan to consider working with him. He ended by setting a briefcase on the table to discuss the contract, while Ronan remained opposed to helping stir up chaos.

• Blood Demon sat down with Ronan, established a friendly tone, and asked what he knew about Card Deck magazine.
• Blood Demon argued that Ronan’s rapid rise and conflicts had left him with a limited view of the Extraordinary Species and their changing relationships.
• Blood Demon recounted past clashes among Extraordinary Species and criticized the magazine’s rankings for relying on status and influence instead of direct battles.
• Ronan realized Blood Demon wanted to use Card Deck magazine to provoke conflict among Extraordinary Species and decided he would not help.
• Blood Demon said he had explained his intentions out of respect for Ronan and placed a briefcase on the table to discuss the contract.

Ronan tested Blood Demon’s Covenant Book and brush, drawing a Bull Demon that became a mysterious card. Blood Demon then revealed a scorched Paged Notebook, using Ronan’s interest in cloaks to keep their negotiation going.

• Blood Demon showed Ronan the Covenant Book and a specially harmonized brush, explaining that they could turn illustrations into extraordinary cards.
• Ronan drew the Bull Demon on the fabric, and Blood Demon burned it into a card bearing the image.
• Ronan admired the card but refused to join Blood Demon’s plan based on that alone.
• Blood Demon raised the subject of cloaks, and Ronan warned him that the topic was sensitive and he already knew more than Blood Demon might expect.
• Blood Demon projected an image of a scorched book, and Ronan recognized it as a Paged Notebook.

Ronan watched footage of a notebook linked to his own memories and learned how Horned Demon’s expedition reached his grandfather’s Wilderness Laboratory through the Luo Order. The recording ended amid a supernatural sandstorm, leaving Ronan to question what Luo Yuan had planned.

• Ronan recognized the notebook’s title page as matching his own, including the Sixteen-Word Formula and the scrawled word “Cloak,” which triggered a memory of a deranged old man.
• The footage showed the notebook being dismantled and its pages burned, while the title page resisted the laser before catching fire and the loose pages dissolved into darkness.
• A sandstorm swept through the room, injuring people as the recording descended into chaos and ended.
• Ronan realized the footage likely came from Horned Demon’s first entry into the 70 Format Laboratory and accused him of concealing information.
• The Blood Demon explained that Horned Demon had found the Wilderness Laboratory’s entrance through the Luo Order, prompting Ronan to wonder what Luo Yuan had intended.

The Blood Demon told Ronan about the three surviving special Paged Notebooks and the Amaterasu Cult’s plans to use one to develop the Sun Tree. He explained theories about the notebooks’ origins and strange protective or sealing properties, leaving Ronan confronted with how closely the notebooks and their secrets were tied to him.

• The Blood Demon said that only three of the four unusual notebooks remained, with one confirmed for auction and another held by the Amaterasu Cult in Slope City.
• The Blood Demon explained that the True God and the Pope believed a notebook could unlock a secret in Luo Yuandao’s laboratory and help create the Sun Tree, a system intended to lead to true godhood.
• The Blood Demon said researchers believed the notebooks were assembled from loose pages of Luo Yuandao’s notes, mostly dating from the late seventies and early eighties.
• Ronan agreed that Luo Yuandao’s mental state had deteriorated during his later years in the Wilderness.
• The Blood Demon proposed that the pages themselves were special, noting that a title page had appeared to protect or seal a notebook until it was destroyed.
• The Blood Demon told Ronan that his recent actions had drawn attention to the abandoned laboratory and its notebooks, and Ronan recognized the threat posed by the notebooks beyond his reach.

Ronan learned that the Amaterasu Order was pursuing research into Grandfather’s notebooks and that one copy had been sent to Li Wei’s Apocalypse and Deep Blue Laboratory. As Blood Demon invited him to join Card Deck magazine, he advised Ronan to build relationships through informal gatherings, then turned his attention toward nearby social venues.

• Blood Demon listed Yabolun, Death Witch, Liu Jia, and Mora as the four Extraordinary Species mediums who might investigate the notebook footage, and said Mora had recently headed toward the Old World.
• Ronan reasoned that the Amaterasu Order planned to keep one notebook, auction another, and send the last to Li Wei; Blood Demon’s reaction confirmed his guess.
• Ronan recognized Blood Demon’s visit as an invitation from Card Deck magazine rather than a simple business exchange, and their conversation warmed into mutual praise.
• Blood Demon advised Ronan that trust and connections within small circles mattered more than formal intelligence channels, and urged him to attend informal gatherings.
• Blood Demon suggested that Ronan visit a nearby venue, and Ronan realized his attention had shifted toward the crowded streets and special locations.

Blood Demon took Ronan to explore Kolo Base’s intelligence circle after Ronan accepted the case containing the Covenant Book. They headed to meet Takar, an antique collector connected to Blood Demon through godfamily ties, and Blood warned Ronan to insist they were peers.

• Blood Demon complained about privacy and portrait rights, then invited Ronan to broaden his horizons and visit Kolo Base’s intelligence circle.
• Ronan refused to send the Covenant Book’s case to the ship and made it sink into a thin layer of water using a Space Fault.
• Blood Demon praised Ronan’s trick and took him into the café, where he called for a car using the landline.
• Blood Demon explained that Takar was an antique collector who relied on his godfather, then warned Ronan not to let Takar treat them as anything but peers.

Ronan and Blood Demon visited Takar, an Information Broker and logistics tycoon whose connections tied him to the High Seas Auction’s cargo and Wang Yu. Blood Demon explained Wang Yu’s family links, leaving Ronan with an even more tangled picture of the powerful people around him.

• Ronan and Blood Demon arrived at Takar’s courtyard, where Blood Demon introduced Takar and explained his ties to Master Demu, Shakaer, and Bai Hao.
• Blood Demon revealed that Takar handled logistics for cargo headed to the central Pacific, including the auction items, which had already been loaded onto a ship.
• Takar said the goods were aboard and the venue was being set up, while Blood Demon joked that he and Ronan had arrived twelve hours late.
• Ronan asked how Wang Yu was connected to Takar, and Takar said Wang Yu was his godfather’s biological grandson.
• Blood Demon explained that Wang Yu’s mother was Bai Hao’s only daughter, making Wang Yu Bai Hao’s biological grandson.

Blood Demon explained why Wang Yu mattered and showed Ronan how a notebook hidden in the Fushan Auction House catalog could be used to pressure him at the auction. Ronan’s reaction revealed that he had never planned to pursue the notebook through proper channels.

• Blood Demon told Ronan about Wang Yu’s background, then asked Takar for the auction catalog and delivery manifest.
• Takar brought Ronan and Blood Demon into his electrically themed residence and showed them the auction materials.
• Blood Demon pointed out that the catalog showed a notebook among the Format 70 Research Institute equipment, though it was not listed as a separate auction item.
• Blood Demon explained that the auctioneer could use the notebook to raise the equipment’s value and force Ronan to spend more than he had prepared.
• Ronan’s glance gave away his intentions, and Blood Demon laughed as he realized Ronan had not planned to use proper channels.

Blood Demon argued that the Inner World's rules and conservative leadership kept Ronan’s theories and influence from transforming society, while warning that the auction could be used to pressure him over the New Plane. He explained that powerful Ability Users had become vested interests in the old system, leaving Ronan to consider Blood Demon’s Wall-Pushing beliefs.

• Blood Demon urged Ronan to think through how the auction could torment him and draw him into negotiations over the New Plane.
• Ronan questioned whether Blood Demon wanted a war, but Blood Demon insisted that unwritten rules prevented open conflict and kept extraordinary powers from being fully displayed.
• Blood Demon praised Ronan’s theories and asked why they had not spread widely, prompting Ronan to identify him as a member of the Wall-Pushing Faction.
• Ronan pointed out that most Ability Users hid their abilities for safety, while Takar silently stood by as Blood Demon focused on the highest-level Ability Users.
• Blood Demon argued that powerful Ability Users favored keeping the Inner World hidden because society had drawn them into the old system and made them vested interests.

Blood Demon explained to Ronan how the Old System absorbed early Extraordinary Species and how political positions function as layers of defense and bargaining power. He urged Ronan to claim an active place in the third line of defense, warning that abandoning it would leave them vulnerable to more aggressive factions.

• Blood Demon described how the Star Alliance Committee incorporated early Extraordinary Species into the Old System and how the Deep Blue Platform later stabilized it.
• Blood Demon said the Old System’s vested interests had made many people conservative, while he believed its power could not buy its way past the next generation.
• Blood Demon argued that everyone had a political position and outlined how operators used broad demands, collective interests, and a core circle as successive lines of defense.
• Ronan asked whether there was a fourth line of defense, and Blood Demon said retreating too far would leave someone isolated and vulnerable.
• Blood Demon urged Extraordinary Species to secure an active place in the third line of defense and warned Ronan that abandoning the forward position would let aggressive opponents tighten the noose.

Blood Demon urged Ronan to stop staying neutral and state his positions before his actions disrupted others’ plans. Ronan understood the risk of over-refining one part of a larger system and asked Blood Demon for a better way to handle the matter.

• Blood Demon questioned Ronan about never taking the initiative or making his principles clear to others.
• Blood Demon pressed Takar for an opinion, and Takar said Ronan had always broken convention but was not unusual among people at their level.
• Blood Demon argued that Ronan should establish his positions in advance because dealing with each matter as it arose could wreck a broader system.
• Ronan compared the issue to Configuration and Super Configuration Theory, agreeing that over-refining individual links could collapse the whole.
• As clouds darkened the room, Ronan asked Blood Demon whether he had a more appropriate way to handle the matter.

Blood Demon warned Ronan that his alliances and weak political footing would leave him vulnerable under the Old System, while Ronan rejected the idea of adapting to its rules. Blood Demon then offered Ronan a strategy: going public through a borrowed shell.

• Blood Demon argued that Ronan's ties to the Martial Emperor and Ouyang would not protect him from political pressure, and warned that Wang Yu held an advantage under the established rules.
• Ronan asked whether Blood Demon was certain he would eventually clash with Wang Yu and said he wanted advice that could change his situation.
• Ronan explained that he believed the people who upheld the Old System's rules were the ones in the wrong, and rejected the need to reshape himself to fit their customs.
• Ronan recognized a light of human evolution in Blood Demon's eyes and thought he knew how to begin painting his portrait.
• Blood Demon offered Ronan an idea: going public through a borrowed shell.

Blood Demon explained the major factions in the Extraordinary Species world and advised Ronan on how to gain influence through an established organization. He suggested the Starry Sky Club, but Aunt Liuhua arrived with a scathing description of its members.

• Blood Demon told Ronan that he needed a prominent organization to give him influence and a channel to make his voice heard.
• Blood Demon described the Old System Executive Officers and the reformist Bamboo Dragonfly faction, explaining the benefits and drawbacks of aligning with them.
• Ronan asked Blood Demon which faction he recommended, and Blood Demon brought up the Starry Sky Club.
• Aunt Liuhua entered and mocked the Starry Sky Club's members, prompting Takar to greet her as Aunt Liuhua.