Chapter Summaries

Shen Qingzhu’s ambush against the Mask Squad ended when King Mask unleashed the black blade Yiyuan, destroying the dormitory buildings while sparing the recruits. Lin Qiye learned that King Mask wielded time-control powers as Kronos’s agent and discovered that Baili Pangpang belonged to the wealthy Baili Family.

• Shen Qingzhu retreated into the dormitory and ordered the recruits to fire on the Mask Squad, while Vortex absorbed the attacks with a purple vortex.
• King Mask slowed time, drew his blade, and destroyed the surrounding dormitory buildings with Yiyuan’s blade aura, sparing the recruits.
• Lin Qiye, Molly, and Baili Pangpang watched the attack, and Baili Pangpang explained that King Mask’s Forbidden Ruins controlled time while Yiyuan supplied the blade aura.
• Molly identified King Mask as the agent of Kronos, the God of Time, and Lin Qiye considered how King Mask’s strength compared with Nyx’s.
• Baili Pangpang revealed that Yiyuan had come from his family, introduced himself as Baili Tuming, and Molly recognized the Baili Family as the Museum of Forbidden Items before dismissing him.

The recruits launched a counterattack against the Mask Squad, while Lin Qiye used Baili Pangpang’s sealing tape to consider how they might neutralize King Mask’s sword. As the battle spread through the ruins, Lin Qiye heard Baili Pangpang call him “Qiye,” prompting Cao Yuan to react in recognition.

• Baili Pangpang showed Lin Qiye the Scroll of Sealing, a forbidden item that could isolate Yiyuan from King Mask’s Time Divine Forbidden Zone.
• Shen Qingzhu emerged from the rubble and joined the fight, clashing with Vortex as the recruits charged the Mask Squad.
• Balance attacked the recruits with rubble, but Cao Yuan emerged nearby and refused to draw his sword despite Balance urging him to fight.
• Molly shattered Balance’s flying rubble, while Rose charged at Molly with her expanding hammer.
• Lin Qiye pulled Cao Yuan away from Balance, then left to find another fight; Baili Pangpang called out to Qiye for help, and Cao Yuan reacted to the name.

Cao Yuan drew his blade and unleashed Forbidden Ruins Sequence 031: Black King Annihilation, nearly killing Balance before King Mask intervened. While Balance stalled the maddened Cao Yuan from the air, Lin Qiye left the battlefield, and Moon Ghost tried to attack Baili Pangpang.

• Cao Yuan asked Lin Qiye for his surname, then drew his blade to prove himself to Balance and transformed into a half-human, half-demon state.
• Cao Yuan's attack threatened to kill Balance, but King Mask blocked it and explained that Black King Annihilation made Cao Yuan lose consciousness and attack indiscriminately.
• Balance attacked Cao Yuan with flying weapons and bricks, then stayed out of reach by flying higher when Cao Yuan could not reach him.
• Lin Qiye observed the battle, told Baili Pangpang to take care of himself, and left for another part of the battlefield.
• Moon Ghost tried to strike Baili Pangpang from behind, but Baili Pangpang's golden barrier knocked the short sword away.

Baili Pangpang used his Forbidden Ruin artifacts to fight Moon Ghost amid the recruits’ chaotic battle, while Yuan Gang saw the group as potential founders of a future Fifth Special Squad. As night fell, King Mask waited at the ruins for a youth carrying a blade.

• Moon Ghost failed to break Baili Pangpang’s Radiant Jade barrier, and Baili Pangpang used the True Sight Eye to spot him while invisible.
• Baili Pangpang attacked Moon Ghost with a broom that unleashed a lightning gale, then summoned thousands of sword images that forced Moon Ghost to call for Vortex’s help.
• Vortex rescued Moon Ghost from the sword attack, but Cao Yuan appeared behind him and Moon Ghost called for Balance.
• Yuan Gang told the instructors that the recruits might grow into the Fifth Special Squad, which had remained vacant since the Blue Rain Squad was wiped out.
• King Mask waited at the edge of the ruins and greeted an approaching youth carrying a blade.

Lin Qiye challenged King Mask one-on-one, hoping to learn more about God's Agents while testing the limits of King Mask's Time Divine Forbidden Zone. After using the Scroll of Sealing to suppress Yiyuan's blade aura, Lin Qiye began a proper sword fight with King Mask.

• Lin Qiye chose to challenge King Mask rather than help his teammates surround another Mask member, and King Mask promised to talk with him after the battle.
• King Mask drew Yiyuan and unleashed a rapid series of blade auras, but Lin Qiye used his dynamic vision to dodge them.
• Lin Qiye deduced that King Mask's Time Divine Forbidden Zone could only last a few seconds and rushed in when it ended.
• King Mask activated the Time Divine Forbidden Zone again, but Lin Qiye blocked Yiyuan after the Scroll of Sealing had been attached to its blade.
• Lin Qiye declared that King Mask's advantage was useless and launched a sword attack.

Lin Qiye and King Mask fought an exhausting duel, repeatedly trading the advantage as the Time Divine Forbidden Zone opened and dispersed. Their friends eventually stopped fighting to rest and cheer them on, while Lin Qiye insisted that he wanted to give the battle everything he had, regardless of the outcome.

• King Mask abandoned blade auras and fought Lin Qiye head-on with Yiyuan inside the Time Divine Forbidden Zone.
• When the zone dispersed, Lin Qiye used the Starry Night Dancer's power to drive King Mask back, and they continued alternating between offense and defense for more than three minutes.
• Baili Pangpang and Moon Ghost rested together, then Shen Qingzhu and Vortex agreed to call a truce, while Cao Yuan and Balance also stopped fighting.
• Rose stopped fighting to spend time with Molly, and the group gathered on a rock to cheer for Lin Qiye and King Mask.
• King Mask boasted that his supporters were more impressive, and Lin Qiye said he did not care about winning or losing and only wanted to give the fight everything he had.

Lin Qiye defeated King Mask in their duel, but King Mask reversed time after briefly unsealing his realm and breaking the rules. Lin Qiye agreed to conceal his victory so the rookie training camp could continue, in exchange for compensation and a favor from King Mask.

• The instructors debated whether Lin Qiye could beat King Mask and worried about the consequences if he won.
• Lin Qiye and King Mask clashed with their divine might, and Lin Qiye overpowered King Mask, shattered his mask, and appeared to win.
• King Mask briefly unsealed his realm and reversed time by three seconds, leaving Lin Qiye as the only person on the field who remembered the victory.
• Yuan Gang declared the match over and said the training camp had to continue for the recruits' future.
• King Mask asked Lin Qiye to pretend the victory had not happened and offered compensation and a favor; Lin Qiye accepted.

Lin Qiye concealed that he had defeated King Mask so the recruits would accept the training camp, and Yuan Gang announced an arduous year of training. King Mask used Time Reversal to restore the ruined dormitory, acknowledged his loss, and praised the younger generation.

• Lin Qiye persuaded Baili Pangpang to keep quiet about seeing him strike King Mask, explaining that the recruits needed the training camp.
• Yuan Gang criticized the recruits for losing to the Mask Squad and announced six months of physical training with their Forbidden Ruins suppressed, followed by practical and tactical training.
• Lin Qiye pointed out that the dormitory had been destroyed, prompting the recruits to return and find it completely restored.
• Vortex and Peace supported King Mask as he recovered from using Time Reversal, and King Mask admitted the Mask Squad had lost and owed someone a favor.

Lin Qiye and the other recruits began their first formal training at the camp, where Instructor Hong punished late arrivals with weighted laps. After Baili Pangpang collapsed from running, another whistle sounded before he could rest.

• Lin Qiye and Baili Pangpang rushed to the training ground after a 3 a.m. whistle, and Instructor Hong announced the three-minute assembly rule.
• Instructor Hong ordered late recruits to run weighted laps, while Lin Qiye stayed behind and discovered his Forbidden Domains were weakened but still usable.
• Instructor Hong added ten laps to Shen Qingzhu’s punishment for barely running, while Baili Pangpang struggled through his assigned ten laps.
• Lin Qiye helped the exhausted Baili Pangpang back to the dormitory, where he collapsed onto the bed just as another whistle sounded.

The recruits faced their first meal of hard steamed buns and raw meat, which Lin Qiye and others forced themselves to eat. Instructor Hong explained that the meal was a Night Watchmen tradition rooted in the hardships of the organization’s early days.

• Most recruits arrived at the training grounds on time, and Instructor Hong gave them twenty minutes to eat before their next training session.
• The recruits found only steamed buns and raw meat in the cafeteria, while Zheng Zhong began eating without hesitation.
• Shen Qingzhu challenged the cafeteria cook, but stopped when the Mask Squad arrived and greeted Old Sun with respect.
• Lin Qiye ate the food and urged Baili Pangpang to adapt; Molly, Cao Yuan, Shen Qingzhu, and other recruits also began eating.
• Instructor Hong and the other instructors watched from upstairs as Hong explained that eating raw meat was a tradition honoring the Night Watchmen’s early hardships.

Lin Qiye asked King Mask about the bond between gods and their agents, learning that King Mask had contracted with the God of Time to find an object in Takama-ga-hara. King Mask explained how the Ancient God Church had tried to recruit and kill him, while his teammates showed their loyalty around the dinner table.

• Old Sun brought a feast to the Mask Squad, and King Mask invited Lin Qiye to join them, but Lin Qiye chose to keep eating recruit rations.
• King Mask explained that agents formed contracts with gods, receiving divine power in exchange for helping them accomplish specific tasks.
• King Mask told Lin Qiye that the God of Time had saved him from a truck and tasked him with retrieving something from Takama-ga-hara.
• King Mask revealed that he had refused the Ancient God Church's recruitment and survived several ambushes with help from the Night Watchmen and his teammates.
• Lin Qiye watched the Mask Squad joke and bicker, then smiled faintly.

Lin Qiye parted from Mask Squad as they left to handle a Sea Realm Mystery, then joined a lesson on fighting Mysteries with cold weapons. Baili Pangpang’s Money Power unexpectedly protected him from Instructor Han’s attack and broke the instructor’s wooden saber.

• The recruits rushed out of the cafeteria after the whistle, while Mask Squad stayed behind to finish eating before departing for a Sea Realm Mystery in the north.
• Lin Qiye wished Mask Squad a victorious return, and Old Sun saluted as the seven members left the cafeteria.
• Instructor Han taught the recruits that fighting Mysteries required strong physiques and combat skills, then began instructing them in straight-saber techniques.
• Instructor Han called Baili Pangpang onto the platform and told him to defend with his own ability after he admitted he had not remembered the lesson.
• Baili Pangpang’s golden barrier blocked Instructor Han’s wooden saber and snapped it into three pieces.

Instructor Han tried to teach the recruits swordsmanship, but Baili Pangpang’s forbidden items and Lin Qiye’s skill repeatedly disrupted his lessons. When Cao Yuan finally touched a wooden sword, he transformed amid a burst of black Malevolent Qi Flames, leaving Instructor Han horrified.

• Baili Pangpang accidentally triggered Yaoguang’s emergency mode and then his automatic firewall, ruining Instructor Han’s attempts to strike him.
• Lin Qiye blocked all of Instructor Han’s attacks and revealed that Chen Muye had taught him swordsmanship.
• Instructor Han called Cao Yuan up to demonstrate sword defense, but Cao Yuan warned that he could not touch swords.
• Cao Yuan picked up the wooden sword and erupted in black Malevolent Qi Flames, terrifying Instructor Han and drawing the other instructors’ attention.

Instructor Han struggled to hold back Mad Demon Cao Yuan after Cao Yuan’s Forbidden Ruin overcame its suppression. Lin Qiye used Little White Saber, divine might, and the Scroll of Sealing to knock Cao Yuan down.

• Mad Demon Cao Yuan attacked Instructor Han with his wooden saber, and Instructor Han fought him using combat skill after his Forbidden Ruin was suppressed.
• Lin Qiye explained to Baili Pangpang that Cao Yuan’s high-sequence Forbidden Ruin could still function despite the suppression, while Instructor Han ordered the recruits to evacuate.
• Baili Pangpang used Yaoguang to bind Cao Yuan, but Cao Yuan burned free and charged at Baili Pangpang and Lin Qiye.
• Lin Qiye used Little White Saber to deflect Cao Yuan’s attack, and Baili Pangpang explained that the saber could ignore up to five meters of distance.
• Lin Qiye’s divine might staggered Cao Yuan, then Lin Qiye disarmed him and used the Scroll of Sealing to bind his neck and bring him down.

Lin Qiye subdued Cao Yuan during close-combat training, and Instructor Han resumed teaching after Instructor Hong encouraged him not to quit. At lunch, Cao Yuan gave Lin Qiye his pickled vegetables and openly declared that he wanted to lick him, leaving Baili Pangpang to see him as a formidable rival.

• Lin Qiye used his Forbidden Items and divine might to suppress Cao Yuan's Black King Annihilation, and Cao Yuan suggested that Lin Qiye could cleanse his sins.
• Instructor Han apologized to Cao Yuan for pushing him to draw his blade, then considered quitting until Instructor Hong persuaded him to continue teaching.
• Instructor Han returned to the recruits and taught close-combat techniques with blades, swords, spears, and concealed weapons.
• The recruits found steamed buns, raw meat, and pickled vegetables for lunch, and Baili Pangpang rejoiced over the vegetables.
• Cao Yuan gave Lin Qiye his own pickled vegetables and said he simply wanted to lick him, prompting Baili Pangpang to regard him as a formidable rival.

Lin Qiye learned that Cao Yuan believed he could someday cleanse the sins weighing on him, based on a prophecy from Grandmaster Golden Cicada. The recruits began their first Extreme Training session, and the chapter left them at Jinnan Mountain as Instructor Hong ordered them to disembark.

• Cao Yuan told Lin Qiye that he bore the deaths of 333 innocent people and believed Lin Qiye could eventually cleanse his sins, according to Grandmaster Golden Cicada's prophecy.
• Lin Qiye refused to promise anything, then shared his pickled vegetables with Cao Yuan and Baili Pangpang.
• Instructor Hong announced that the recruits would undergo a grueling Extreme Training session that afternoon.
• Zheng Zhong warned Lin Qiye, Baili Pangpang, and Cao Yuan that the training would be harder than their morning exercises.
• The recruits rode coaches out of camp to Jinnan Mountain, where Instructor Hong ordered everyone to disembark.

The recruits began a weighted endurance test in Jinnan Mountain, where drones hunted them with paint guns and failure brought severe punishment. Instructor Hong revealed that a forbidden artifact had turned the mountain into an inescapable maze, while Lin Qiye, Cao Yuan, and Baili Pangpang struggled to flee the pursuing drones.

• Instructor Hong explained the drone hunt and its rules, then sent the recruits into the mountains carrying thirty-five kilograms of weight.
• Instructor Han Li gave Cao Yuan a spoon instead of a tactical knife, while Instructor Hong confiscated Baili Pangpang's forbidden artifacts.
• After the recruits entered Jinnan Mountain, Instructor Hong told Instructor Han Li that a forbidden artifact had sealed the mountain into a maze and that the training was meant to exhaust and test the recruits.
• Lin Qiye and Cao Yuan moved through the forest with their weights as Baili Pangpang struggled to keep up and asked them to carry some of his load.
• When the drones began closing in, Baili Pangpang considered giving up and accepting the punishment.

During Extreme Training, Lin Qiye, Cao Yuan, and Baili Pangpang learned that eliminated rookies were forced by a forbidden artifact to confess their most shameful secrets over speakers, and they raced deeper into Jinnan Mountain to avoid capture. Drones drove them through punishing terrain, where Lin Qiye ran into Shen Qingzhu as drone groups surrounded them from both sides.

• A drone shot Wang Liang, and instructors carried him off to face the punishment for being eliminated.
• Instructor Hong used a Truth Ring to force Wang Liang to reveal embarrassing secrets over the trainees’ weighted-pack speakers, frightening Lin Qiye, Cao Yuan, and Baili Pangpang into running.
• Instructor Hong and Instructor Han watched the trainees’ red dots race across a screen and approved of the punishment’s effect.
• Drones forced Lin Qiye, Cao Yuan, and Baili Pangpang toward rough terrain, where Lin Qiye’s strength began to fade as they struggled through rocks, trees, and vines.
• Lin Qiye encountered Shen Qingzhu, and drone groups surrounded them from the front and rear.

Lin Qiye and the others evaded the instructors’ drones in a mountain range that seemed impossible to cross, then realized a forbidden artifact was keeping them trapped and draining their stamina. During a brief rest, Shen Qingzhu clashed with Cao Yuan and left with his loyal follower Deng Wei, just as the drones returned.

• Lin Qiye led the group through the forest as they dodged projectiles from the drones, and they reached a clearing beside a stream.
• Lin Qiye noticed the sun and mountain paths were not changing, and concluded the instructors had used a forbidden artifact to trap them and exhaust them.
• Shen Qingzhu argued with Cao Yuan over his reluctance to fight, then walked away with Deng Wei, who insisted on continuing to follow him.
• Cao Yuan explained that Shen Qingzhu had once helped Deng Wei’s family, and that Li Jia and Li Liang were also devoted to Shen Qingzhu.
• The drones buzzed from the woods again, and Lin Qiye stood up as they returned.

Shen Qingzhu tried to continue alone after Deng Wei injured his ankle, but Li Liang’s story about why he admired Shen made him turn back. Shen rescued Deng Wei from the drones by breaking the rules and attacking one, then was shot and passed out.

• Shen Qingzhu carried the injured Deng Wei into a thicket and split their weight so he could continue alone.
• Shen Qingzhu overheard Li Liang tell an instructor that he admired Shen for once defending him and his younger brother from local punks.
• Deng Wei waited for the drones to eliminate him, but Shen Qingzhu returned and shielded him from their gunfire.
• Shen Qingzhu threw his knife into a drone and destroyed it, then a projectile struck him in the back and knocked him unconscious.