Chapter Summaries

After a Sacred Covenant transported Lin Qiye and Wu Quan from the Explorer Ship, Lin Qiye found himself in a barren land and discovered they had arrived in an ancient era. He carried the badly injured Wu Quan toward a city, where he learned the year was Yuan Shou Six, just as the Marquis of Champion entered.

• Lin Qiye woke in a barren wilderness and saw that one of the three marks on his chest had nearly vanished.
• Lin Qiye found Wu Quan buried among shattered rocks, badly wounded, and carried him across the wasteland in search of help.
• Lin Qiye reached earthen huts and learned that Xue County lay nearby.
• Lin Qiye saw an ancient city and suspected the Sacred Covenant had transported him and Wu Quan through time.
• Lin Qiye learned the year was Yuan Shou Six, then heard that the Marquis of Champion was entering the city.

Lin Qiye saw Huo Qubing arrive at Xue County but chose to get the badly wounded Wu Quan treated instead of approaching him. The chapter left Lin Qiye threatening the clinic staff after learning they could save Wu Quan but required payment.

• Lin Qiye recognized Huo Qubing as the Marquis of Champion and realized he had arrived in the Western Han.
• Huo Qubing entered Xue County with Yu Wu, a Confucian-robed scholar, and a woman in a cangue, while requesting supplies and food from Magistrate Zhao Liang.
• Lin Qiye decided not to approach Huo Qubing and carried Wu Quan over the city wall into the city.
• Huo Qubing sensed something in Lin Qiye's direction, then went with his companions to the inn arranged by the magistrate.
• Lin Qiye brought Wu Quan to a clinic, learned the physician could save him for silver, and threatened the staff when he could not pay.

Lin Qiye stayed at a clinic to care for the badly injured Wu Quan and learned that Evil Spirits prowled the northwestern borderlands after dark beneath strange crimson stars. Elsewhere, Huo Qubing learned that black dogs had vanished from the city and noticed the Evil Spirits were growing in number.

• Lin Qiye learned that Wu Quan would need at least half a year to recover, then chose to stay with him at the clinic overnight.
• The physician warned Lin Qiye to lock the doors and windows, avoid lighting a candle, and never open the door at night because Evil Spirits roamed outside.
• Lin Qiye saw crimson stars in the darkening sky and noticed that only one tavern remained brightly lit.
• The county magistrate told Huo Qubing that the city had no Black Dog Tooth because residents had stewed their dogs to avoid attracting Evil Spirits.
• Huo Qubing dismissed the county magistrate, ignored the prisoner’s demand to be released, and observed that the Evil Spirits’ numbers were growing.

Lin Qiye saw Mysteries converging on the brightly lit tavern, where Huo Qubing and his companions prepared to fight them. As the deputy general and Yan Zhong competed to prove themselves, Lin Qiye headed toward the tavern, hoping Huo Qubing’s group might help heal Wu Quan.

• Huo Qubing declared that he would petition the Emperor to establish an office for Extraordinary Individuals to suppress evil spirits.
• Lin Qiye saw dozens of Mysteries rushing through the city toward the tavern and recognized Huo Qubing’s deputy general on its roof.
• Hoping to find a healer for Wu Quan, Lin Qiye put on a black robe and bamboo hat and quietly left the clinic for the tavern.
• The deputy general counted forty Mysteries as Yan Zhong joined him on the roof, and the two competed over who would kill more.
• The deputy general named his Forbidden Ruin Black Moon Slash, which cut down three Mysteries, and Yan Zhong mocked the name before proposing Life-Annihilating Flash Moon.

As Huo Qubing’s men fought Mysteries around the tavern, he challenged the female prisoner to escape the city after removing her shackles. She ran toward the gate and encountered Lin Qiye, who was carrying monster heads as gifts for Huo Qubing.

• A black-robed figure killed a bat and a wolf on his way to the tavern, deciding to bring their heads as gifts for the Marquis.
• Huo Qubing told the female prisoner he was the highest pillar among living beings and offered to let her try to escape.
• The female prisoner accepted Huo Qubing’s wager: if she failed to escape, she would obey him and eat his Heart-Returning Gu.
• Huo Qubing broke the prisoner’s shackles, restoring her strength, and she immediately fled through a window toward the city gate.
• Lin Qiye encountered the fleeing prisoner and decided to make his collection of monster heads a more substantial gift for Huo Qubing.

Lin Qiye caught the escaped female prisoner at the city gate and discovered that she possessed the Eternal Youth Forbidden Ruin, which let her change faces and abilities. After defeating her, he brought her and the monster heads to the tavern to request an audience with Huo Qubing.

• Huo Qubing sensed an unexpected prize nearby while his deputy general and the Confucian-robed scholar wondered where the remaining Evil Spirits had gone.
• Lin Qiye confronted the escaped female prisoner at the city gate, stopped her attempted dash, and learned she could transform her face and body.
• Lin Qiye recognized her ability as Eternal Youth, Forbidden Ruin Sequence 020, the Fifth Royal Ruin.
• The female prisoner changed faces and attacked with fire and sword-like slashes, but Lin Qiye dodged her blows and smashed her unconscious.
• Lin Qiye carried the unconscious prisoner and the monster heads to the tavern, where he introduced himself and requested an audience with the Marquis of Champion.

Lin Qiye subdued a dangerous female prisoner and met Huo Qubing, claiming he had traveled from more than two thousand years in the future. Huo Qubing began to take his claim seriously after Lin Qiye revealed secret knowledge, and the chapter ended with the prisoner’s name: Gongyang Wan.

• Lin Qiye subdued the female prisoner with his physical strength, carried her and several monster heads into the tavern, and met Huo Qubing.
• Lin Qiye told Huo Qubing that he came from more than two thousand years in the future, but his attempt to prove it with Huo Qubing’s future victory over the Xiongnu failed because it had already happened.
• Lin Qiye asked whether the Evil Suppression Department had been established, surprising Huo Qubing because the idea was still secret.
• Huo Qubing invited Lin Qiye to eat and explained that the female prisoner could steal abilities and lifespans by swallowing Extraordinary Individuals alive.
• Lin Qiye asked the prisoner’s name, and Huo Qubing identified her as Gongyang Wan.

Lin Qiye realized the unconscious prisoner was Gongyang Wan, the Evil Suppression Department’s second Chief Official, and learned that Huo Qubing planned to execute her. He joined Huo Qubing’s journey to Chang’an and brought Wu Quan for treatment, but Huo Qubing recognized the injured youth as Emperor of Domination.

• Lin Qiye recognized Gongyang Wan as the woman with Eternal Youth who had led the Evil Suppression Department for two thousand years.
• The scholar explained that Huo Qubing planned to execute Gongyang Wan for devouring Extraordinary Individuals and to reassure others he hoped to recruit.
• Lin Qiye asked to accompany Huo Qubing to Chang’an and persuaded him to help heal his injured junior.
• Lin Qiye returned with Wu Quan on a wooden cart, and the scholar and deputy general discovered the youth had sixth-realm strength.
• Huo Qubing looked at Wu Quan and recognized him as Emperor of Domination.

Lin Qiye and Huo Qubing discussed the future after Wu Quan was placed under a healer’s care. Huo Qubing agreed to help Lin Qiye but gave Gongyang Wan only a few days to prove herself, revealing that he had little time left.

• Zhan Yuwu arranged for Wu Quan to be carried in a grain cart, and Zhong Meng began healing him with vines.
• Huo Qubing asked Lin Qiye about the world two thousand years in the future, and Lin Qiye told him about the Night Watchmen, Great Xia, and the Cthulhu Mythos.
• Huo Qubing promised to help Lin Qiye as a fellow descendant of Yan and Huang.
• Huo Qubing said he would observe Gongyang Wan for a few days before deciding whether to spare her or supervise her Lingchi Execution.
• Lin Qiye asked Huo Qubing to extend Gongyang Wan’s deadline, but Huo Qubing refused and said he had no time left.

Huo Qubing split a disaster-level sandstorm with his power, awakening Wu Quan and revealing their extraordinary connection. Gongyang Wan failed to escape and was forced to swallow the Heart-Returning Gu as Huo Qubing led the army onward.

• Huo Qubing used his Mental Power to tear apart the approaching sandstorm and disperse it.
• Huo Qubing’s power awakened Wu Quan’s King’s Ruin, and Wu Quan recovered and asked Lin Qiye where they were.
• Gongyang Wan sprang from the supply cart and tried to flee, but Huo Qubing stopped her in midair.
• Huo Qubing forced Gongyang Wan to swallow the Heart-Returning Gu and ordered her to address him as My Lord.

Lin Qiye learned more about Huo Qubing and joined the army’s urgent march toward Chang’an after the lack of Black Dog Tooth left them vulnerable to Evil Spirits. As night fell, Lin Qiye noticed the crimson stars seemed closer than before.

• Lin Qiye told Wu Quan that Huo Qubing was the Emperor of Domination, a Human Apex powerhouse, and the oldest founder of the Night Watchmen, then considered why Western Han people spoke like modern people.
• Huo Qubing’s generals warned that without Black Dog Tooth, their weakened Exorcism Array made camping in the wilderness dangerous.
• Huo Qubing ordered the army to abandon seventy percent of its supplies and travel at full speed to reach Chang’an within two days.
• Huo Qubing assigned Lin Qiye to guard the rear, and Lin Qiye accepted before riding to his post.
• As darkness fell, Lin Qiye looked at the sky and wondered whether the crimson stars had moved closer.

Lin Qiye and Wu Quan traveled with the army toward Chang'an as they investigated the growing red stars and the rise of the Evil Spirits. When Mysteries attacked from behind, Wu Quan fought them off while Huo Qubing watched from the army’s center.

• Gongyang Wan asked Wu Quan whether he had the same ability as the Marquis of Champion, and Lin Qiye warned Wu Quan to stay alert and brought him to the army’s rear flank.
• Lin Qiye learned from a soldier that the red stars had appeared about ten days earlier, while Evil Spirits had grown increasingly active.
• A soldier explained that the army used black flags soaked in special materials as an Exorcism Array to repel Evil Spirits.
• An explosion erupted on the army’s western side as Mysteries gathered behind the torch-lit troops.
• Wu Quan crushed weaker Mysteries with his power and blasted the rest with a huge fireball, while Huo Qubing looked back from the army’s center.

Lin Qiye and Huo Qubing led the exhausted army toward Chang'an as crimson stars lingered in the dawn sky. A crimson meteor pursued them, and after Huo Qubing and Wu Quan slowed it, Lin Qiye shattered it—releasing Iridescent Mist with the aura of a Lovecraftian Creature.

• Lin Qiye and Huo Qubing fought off attacks from the Mysteries and drove the army toward Chang'an through the night.
• At dawn, Lin Qiye spotted a fragment of a Crimson Star becoming a meteor and warned Huo Qubing that it was heading for the army.
• Huo Qubing ordered the exhausted soldiers to hurry onward, but the meteor continued to track them.
• Huo Qubing and Wu Quan used their powers to slow and crack the meteor as it descended toward the army.
• Lin Qiye leaped up and shattered the meteor with his fist, releasing Iridescent Mist that swallowed him and the soldiers.
• Lin Qiye sensed the aura of a Lovecraftian Creature within the Iridescent Mist.

Lin Qiye realized the crimson stars might signal a Lovecraftian invasion before Yelander sealed the gods on the moon, then joined Wu Quan in following a rope through the disorienting mist. They emerged to find Huo Qubing’s army and a second Lin Qiye, who called him a counterfeit.

• Lin Qiye suspected the crimson stars belonged to Lovecraftian Gods and concluded that Yelander might not yet have sealed them on the moon.
• Wu Quan emerged from the Iridescent Mist and questioned Lin Qiye, explaining that he was already tied by a rope to another Lin Qiye.
• Lin Qiye and Wu Quan followed the rope through the mist, discovering that its apparent length far exceeded the ropes they had tied together.
• Lin Qiye carried Wu Quan out of the mist and found Huo Qubing, Zhan Yuwu, and Yan Zhong with the army.
• A second Lin Qiye identified Lin Qiye and Wu Quan as the mysterious doubles he had encountered in the mist.

Lin Qiye confronted an impostor who copied his appearance, voice, and memories, then defeated it in battle. The army continued toward Chang'an, while Lin Qiye remained wary of the Iridescent Mist covering the mountains.

• A counterfeit Lin Qiye identified itself as an envoy of a Lovecraftian God, leaving the soldiers uncertain which one was real.
• Zhan Yuwu chose to stand beside Lin Qiye, but the two identical figures continued trading claims about their pasts.
• Lin Qiye challenged the impostor and overwhelmed it with his strength and Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi.
• Lin Qiye beheaded the impostor, whose body melted into a bizarre creature covered in eyeballs and tentacles.
• Huo Qubing ordered the army to avoid the Iridescent Mist and march toward Chang'an, and Lin Qiye followed while watching the mist.

Lin Qiye and the army traveled toward Chang'an, where the strange lack of Evil Spirit attacks and rumors of danger unsettled him. After reaching the city, Lin Qiye joined Huo Qubing as he prepared to enter.

• Lin Qiye questioned why the Iridescent Mist’s impostor had chosen him, then checked that Wu Quan had not been replaced.
• Zhan Yuwu asked Lin Qiye about his powerful physique, hoping to find a way to help the Marquis withstand the cost of his ability.
• The army crossed the final day and night of its journey with only two daytime encounters and no nighttime attacks.
• Lin Qiye, Wu Quan, and Zhan Yuwu reached Chang'an and discussed how its Dragon Qi protected the city from Evil Spirits.
• Huo Qubing arranged for the army to camp outside Chang'an, then invited Lin Qiye and several others to enter the city with him.

Lin Qiye began exploring Chang'an while Huo Qubing went to the Imperial Palace, where he learned that foreign missionaries had been turned away by Emperor Wu of Han. The missionaries decided to stay in Chang'an until the Crimson Stars disappeared, and their Saintess grew curious about the Sleeve Dance Pavilion near their lodging.

• Huo Qubing entered the Imperial Palace to meet the emperor while Lin Qiye, Yan Zhong, and Wu Quan set off to explore Chang'an.
• Eunuch Li told Huo Qubing that Emperor Wu of Han was meeting an envoy from a distant land, and Huo Qubing recognized the departing visitors as foreign missionaries led by a red-haired young woman.
• The missionaries complained that Emperor Wu of Han had rejected their effort to spread the Holy Lord's faith, but their Saintess told them to seek believers elsewhere.
• The Saintess decided the group would remain in Chang'an until the Crimson Stars disappeared and learned that their lodging was across from the Sleeve Dance Pavilion.
• After hearing what the Sleeve Dance Pavilion was, the embarrassed Saintess quietly asked whether she could go inside and look around.

A red-haired girl disguised in a bamboo hat visited Sleeve Dance Pavilion with her missionaries, where she reflected on understanding people beyond rigid doctrine. After she left, Lin Qiye and Yan Zhong took over the neighboring private room, and Lin Qiye avoided the dancing girls by claiming he had a formidable wife.

• The red-haired girl and several missionaries entered Sleeve Dance Pavilion and rented its finest private room without dancers attending them.
• The red-haired girl explained that faith did not mean wearing shackles and urged the missionaries to understand people's needs through their lives and experiences.
• After watching the performances and eating pastries, the red-haired girl ordered the missionaries to move into the neighboring room and prepared to leave.
• Yan Zhong brought Lin Qiye and Wu Quan into the newly vacated private room and enjoyed the attention of dancing girls.
• Lin Qiye refused the dancers and told Yan Zhong he already had a formidable wife, then felt an inexplicable burning sensation rise from his chest after sipping tea.

Lin Qiye pursued Chloe after his Covenant Marks stirred, while Huo Qubing learned that a Crimson Star known as the Death Star was bringing catastrophe to the Han realm. The chapter left Lin Qiye about to speak with Chloe as Emperor Wu of Han and Huo Qubing faced a warning that all living beings would suffer within a day.

• Lin Qiye saw his Covenant Marks glow, spotted Chloe being escorted away, and rushed after her.
• Lin Qiye revealed his Covenant Marks to Chloe and said they needed to talk.
• Huo Qubing told Emperor Wu of Han that Evil Spirits had harassed his army on its return to Chang'an and asked about the demonic star.
• Cai Yuan reported that the previous Imperial Observatory directors, Fang Yi and Chen, had died after divining the Crimson Star.
• Cai Yuan said Chen had warned that the Crimson Star would split the sky and plunge all living beings into misery within a day.

Emperor Wu of Han ordered Huo Qubing to place Chang'an’s troops under his command and guard against the Crimson Star’s danger. At the relay station, Chloe confirmed that Lin Qiye’s Saint Covenants came from her future self and explained how their promises were inevitably fulfilled, leaving Lin Qiye wondering why she had not used one to destroy the Cthulhu Gods.

• Emperor Wu of Han dismissed the frightened Cai Yuan and ordered Huo Qubing to command thirty thousand troops and Chang'an’s Imperial Guards.
• Huo Qubing began to leave, then said he had one more request.
• At the Chang'an relay station, Chloe recognized the Saint Covenants on Lin Qiye and confirmed that she had left them behind.
• Chloe explained that the marks were proof of promises, while her future self held the power that fulfilled them.
• Chloe described how a Saint Covenant inevitably came true through whatever events were necessary, and Lin Qiye asked why her future self had not covenanted to destroy the Cthulhu Gods.