Chapter Summaries

Guan Tong entered the First Ascendant Challenge on Holy Grail Island and discovered a hidden rule revealing the Holy Grail’s location and its challenge-ending reward. After earning points and gathering supplies, he followed a guiding flashlight toward Holy Grail’s Secret Realm and reached a town he had to cross before the safe zone shrank.

• Fire Thief announced the team-based challenge rules, and Guan Tong discovered a hidden rule stating that a team could end the challenge by holding the Holy Grail for 30 minutes.
• Guan Tong landed near a five-person team and eliminated all five with one Type 3 High-Explosive Bullet, earning five points.
• Guan Tong used his Guiding Flashlight to find a route to Holy Grail’s Secret Realm, then summoned three Living Dead to escort him.
• Guan Tong ambushed and eliminated three Ascendants near a Wooden House, then used a lockpick to open a Map Supply Box and took a Disruptor.
• Guan Tong followed the flashlight’s route west of the island’s center and decided to pass through a town because the safe zone would soon shrink.

Gu Fei’s Third Squad hunted other teams in town to secure a high tournament ranking, while Guan Tong ambushed and killed Jian Ming. After learning that Gu Fei and three teammates were approaching, Guan Tong withdrew, and Gu Fei ordered the squad to pursue him.

• Gu Fei led Third Squad through a clearance operation, driven by fear that the Countermeasure Research Institute would disband them after their failed mission against the Screamer.
• Gu Fei sent Jian Ming to hunt a lone target while he took three squad members east, and Jian Ming entered an earthen building after a drone scan.
• Guan Tong used a hidden Living Dead to detect Jian Ming’s arrival, escaped through a window, and ambushed him with Silver Hunter.
• Jian Ming’s defensive items failed to save him from Guan Tong’s explosive shot, and Guan Tong finished him with a shotgun blast.
• Guan Tong’s drone detected Gu Fei and three teammates approaching, so he retreated instead of fighting them all at once.
• Gu Fei found Jian Ming eliminated and ordered his squad to scan for and pursue Guan Tong.

Guan Tong eliminated Gu Fei’s squad while racing against the shrinking safe zone, then reached the church and awakened the Holy Grail with his blood. After he claimed it, the Fire Thief announced that his location would be revealed for 30 minutes and that holding the Grail would give him unlimited Mind Power.

• The safe zone began shrinking, and Guan Tong realized he had only a limited time to reach the Holy Grail’s Secret Realm.
• Guan Tong lured Gu Fei and three teammates into a forest, where he killed the three teammates with the Shadow and fought Gu Fei.
• Guan Tong overwhelmed Gu Fei with Living Dead and gunfire, eliminated him, and gained 254 points.
• Guan Tong avoided further fights and followed the guided route to an abandoned church after the safe zone shrank twice more.
• Guan Tong cut his hand and dripped blood into the dry pool, awakening the Holy Grail.
• Guan Tong took the Holy Grail, and the Fire Thief revealed that his location would be exposed for 30 minutes and that he would have unlimited Mind Power while holding it.

After Fire Thief announced that Guan Tong held the Holy Grail, contestants across the island rushed west to claim it. Guan Tong used the Grail’s unlimited Mind Power to prepare for the coming attacks, write “All-Function Shelter” on the Wordless Book’s fourth page, and begin strengthening his abilities as Living Dead roared outside the church.

• Fire Thief revealed the Holy Grail’s location and announced that holding it for thirty minutes would win the hidden reward, prompting teams across the island to head west.
• Lucifer and a government-funded five-man team set out for the Grail, while the Tulip Federation’s alpha wolf redirected his force of more than a hundred people to seize it.
• Guan Tong discovered that the Grail allowed unlimited Mind Power use only up to his current cap, then summoned Living Dead and prepared defenses around the church.
• Guan Tong wrote “All-Function Shelter” on the Wordless Book’s fourth page and materialized it, but the page rejected his attempt to write on the fifth page.
• When Living Dead roared outside the church, Guan Tong fired Type 4 Smoke Bombs toward the entrance and turned to the first page to strengthen Shadow and his other abilities.

Guan Tong used Shadow’s new five senses and Silver Hunter’s smoke to defeat teams converging on the Holy Grail Church while enhancing his abilities. When a pilot in a Humanoid Mecha broke through the roof to seize the Grail, Guan Tong’s Shadow frightened her into fleeing, leaving the church still under his control as more teams approached.

• A nearby team and a petite assassin tried to seize the Holy Grail, but a five-person team led by a shooting champion eliminated them outside the church.
• The five-person team entered through the Living Dead and searched the smoke-filled church, but Guan Tong killed four of them with explosive attacks and a trap made from Shadow.
• Guan Tong explained that he had used the [Wordless Book] to give Shadow five senses, letting him see and attack accurately through the smoke.
• As more teams gathered outside and fought over access to the church, Guan Tong considered storing Mind Power and enhancing Silver Hunter.
• A pale white Humanoid Mecha crashed through the roof and demanded the Holy Grail, but Guan Tong’s Shadow restrained and disgusted its pilot until she fled the church.

Guan Tong used the chaos around the ruined church to enhance Silver Hunter with an electromagnetic pulse bullet and unleashed a deadly shadow attack to clear the field. As the Alpha Wolf's team eliminated contestants fleeing the fog, Lucifer arrived overhead while the fight for the Holy Grail continued.

• Adam opened a gemstone chest in the central castle and learned that the Holy Grail was in the abandoned church, then declined to pursue it because Lucifer would be there.
• Teams destroyed the church walls, and Guan Tong filled the area with fog, explosions, and Living Dead while concealing himself among the contestants.
• Guan Tong added an electromagnetic pulse function to Silver Hunter, fired a Type 5 Bullet, and brought down nearby reconnaissance drones.
• Guan Tong unleashed the Thorn Shadow Kill Array, killing hundreds or thousands of contestants and driving many survivors to flee the fog.
• The Alpha Wolf's Wolf Pack Team eliminated most of the contestants escaping the fog, then spotted Lucifer hovering overhead.

Lucifer fought through the Wolf Pack Team and killed the Alpha Wolf, then entered the smoke and attacked Guan Tong. Guan Tong trapped and eliminated Lucifer, then resumed preparing before the Holy Grail ownership was determined.

• Lucifer dove at the Wolf Pack Team, and the Alpha Wolf ordered his teammates to retreat after realizing Lucifer might replenish Mind Power by killing.
• The Alpha Wolf transformed into an eagle and then an incomplete black bear, but Lucifer tore out his heart and absorbed his life force.
• Guan Tong used the Thorn Shadow Kill Array to clear the area, then spent more than three minutes converting Mind Power into reserves.
• Lucifer entered the smoke and cut through Guan Tong's Shadow defenses, but Guan Tong surrounded him with walls that blocked out light and drained his Mind Power.
• Guan Tong activated the Thorn Shadow Kill Array again, killing and eliminating Lucifer, then noted that sixteen minutes remained before Holy Grail ownership was determined.

The First Ascendant Challenge ended with Guan Tong, as Shadow, taking first place and winning the Holy Grail’s unique reward. Back in the outside world, he claimed powerful rewards and prepared to inspect the portable shelter he had created.

• The Fire Thief announced that Shadow’s team had held the Holy Grail for thirty minutes, ending the challenge and confirming Shadow’s first-place ranking.
• Adam and Dragon Soul’s teams discussed Shadow’s achievement and the risks of competing for the Holy Grail.
• Guan Tong returned to the supply storage room and checked his improved Mind Power, stored reserve, and stockpile of bullets.
• Guan Tong opened his champion chest and received the Victor title, which doubled natural Mind Power recovery, then opened the unique chest and gained the Phase Shift ability.
• Guan Tong summoned his All-Function Shelter between two collapsed buildings, spending 132 Mind Power to manifest it, and walked toward the cabin.

After the First Ascendant Challenge, Gao Liangwei reviewed the teams’ results and ordered Gu Fei removed from the Apocalypse Squad training program, while Guan Tong tested his newly acquired shelter and learned it consumed Mind Power. The next day, Guan Tong read an online analysis of Shadow’s abilities, considered how to counter Lucifer, and went out to experiment with the shelter.

• Gao Liangwei and Dr. Zhang discussed the teams’ results, including the Tulip Federation’s Wolf Pack, Gu Fei’s responsibility for the Third Team’s defeat, and Shadow’s victory over the Fifth Team.
• Dr. Zhang identified Adam as a favored candidate in the Solloma Empire’s Eden Project, and Gao Liangwei ordered the intelligence about Shadow’s abilities circulated and removed Gu Fei from the training program.
• Guan Tong inspected the wooden shelter, discovered its water and electricity worked, and found that maintaining it cost one Mind Power point every ten minutes.
• Guan Tong rested overnight in the shelter and, the next day, read a popular post analyzing Shadow and recognized White Snow Seamless as the mech pilot.
• Guan Tong thought about Lucifer’s ability to counter his shadows and considered combining Shape-Shifting Teleportation with a distant shadow before heading out to test the shelter.

After being expelled from the Official Team, Gu Fei abandoned his suicide attempt when a representative of Big Sister offered him a chance to prove himself. Guan Tong tested how his shelter stored living things, adopted a black cat named Coal Ball, and discovered that his shelter might provide access to an unknown, untraceable wireless network.

• Gu Fei prepared to kill himself after losing his position and artifacts, but a Short-haired woman persuaded him to wait for a chance to meet the Commander.
• Big Sister told the Short-haired woman that Gu Fei's desperation could make him a useful weapon for the Green Plum Association.
• Guan Tong found a stray black cat, stored it inside his shelter, and confirmed that the cat and supplies remained safely inside when he recalled the shelter into the [Wordless Book].
• Guan Tong adopted the cat, named it Coal Ball, and brought it home as a companion.
• Guan Tong decided to study Shi Jingyi's Mind Power Circulation course and noticed his laptop had connected to an unknown wireless network inside the shelter.

Guan Tong tested the shelter’s untraceable internet, heard from Xu Xiaotian about the crowded capital, and spent more than ten days studying Mind Power circulation. The Sixth Apocalypse Rule then began: a highly lethal virus would spread through air and blood for fifteen days.

• Guan Tong confirmed that the shelter generated its own electricity, water, and internet through Mind Power, leaving his location untraceable.
• Xu Xiaotian told Guan Tong that the Wolf Pack Team had wiped out his team and warned that Yong'an might restrict entry as its population surged; Guan Tong said he would not go there soon.
• Guan Tong studied Shi Jingyi’s Online Course for more than ten days and reviewed reports that people with high Mind Power were becoming physically stronger.
• Before the new rule, Guan Tong checked the Ascension Shop and Trading Market, found no new products and saw a Mind Pendant priced at 500000 Ascension Coins.
• Fire Thief announced the Sixth Apocalypse Rule, Lethal Blood Plague, which would spread through air and blood and kill infected people within 24 hours; the rule would last 15 days.

Guan Tong considered hiding in his shelter during the Lethal Blood Plague, then tried and failed to use the Wordless Book to create serum. At the same time, the Countermeasure Research Office began organizing a response and approved funds to protect key Apocalypse Squad members.

• Guan Tong read Hidden Rule Six and learned that a tiny number of infected people would gain Infection Awareness and carry serum that could immunize or cure others.
• Guan Tong decided not to reveal the hidden rule, fearing that antibody carriers would be hunted, and considered staying in his shelter for fifteen days.
• Guan Tong tried to write “Serum” in the Wordless Book, but his Mind Power was insufficient; the attempt gave him hope that he might someday counter Fire Thief's rules.
• Gao Liangwei ordered the research office to study the virus, disperse crowded gatherings, equip responders with protective gear, and isolate infected people or grant them painless deaths depending on their symptoms.
• Dr. Zhang requested money to buy special medicines for Apocalypse Squad members, and Gao Liangwei approved a budget of 800,000 Ascension Coins.

After the Lethal Blood Plague rule began, residents fled the crowded city while traffic and fear spiraled into chaos. At Limei Hotel, the gathering point rejected protective equipment in favor of faith and song, until its leader began bleeding and retreated to fight the infection alone.

• People split between leaving the city and staying at gathering points, and escaping traffic clogged the roads.
• A driver infected with the plague staggered from his car and burst in blood, sending nearby motorists into a panicked collision-filled flight.
• Residents at Limei Hotel gathered to sing their club song and refused protective equipment offered by the Emergency Management Bureau.
• The gathering point's leader began bleeding from his eye and told the horrified residents he would fight the infection in his room for twenty-four hours.

Guan Tong learned more about the Blood Plague and watched people abroad worship Fire Thief, while deciding to remain safely in his shelter. Elsewhere, a Commander’s team recruited Gu Fei with protective equipment and began searching for Shadow, whom the Commander wanted to recruit at any cost.

• Guan Tong read the authorities’ Blood Plague assessment and learned they were buying medicine in exchange for Ascension Coins and protective benefits.
• Guan Tong watched a video of foreigners worshipping Fire Thief and treating the Apocalypse Rules as scripture, then worried that humanity was fragmenting as Fire Thief intended.
• The Short-haired woman delivered Gu Fei top-tier protective equipment on the Commander’s behalf and told him he could meet the Commander if he survived the rule.
• The Short-haired woman and the driver discussed recruiting capable civilians gently, avoiding scrutiny from the authorities, and finding Shadow before the authorities did.
• The Short-haired woman and the driver arrived at their next destination on Baishui Road to approach a girl named Chen Na.

A father infected with the Blood Plague left a library with his son and died after sending him to seek help, while the boy’s ability to spot infection led responders to identify him as a Blood Plague Adaptable. At Limei Hotel, the Mutual Aid Society host survived apparent infection and used his survival to make the residents revere him.

• A father discovered red blotches on his neck, and the library survivors forced him and his son to leave after he threatened them with a knife to ensure the boy could stay.
• The father soon began bleeding, sent his son toward Emergency vehicles for help, and died when his blood burst; his son stayed beside his body through the night.
• Responders found the boy alive and uninfected, and he spotted a red mark on one responder, revealing that the man had Blood Plague infection.
• The team leader called the boy a Blood Plague Adaptable and ordered him taken to headquarters because he could identify infected people.
• At Limei Hotel, the Mutual Aid Society host emerged after the residents had assumed he was dead and claimed his survival was a miracle.
• The host identified a resident as infected, calmly approached him when he burst in blood, and persuaded the other residents to prostrate themselves before him.

The Countermeasure Research Office concealed the discovery that Blood Plague Adaptables could cure infected people, fearing panic and conflict over scarce serum. Meanwhile, Chen Na resolved to join a selection to obtain medicine for her terminally ill mother, while Guan Tong continued studying Mind Power Circulation in his shelter.

• A researcher told Gao Liangwei and the office that Blood Plague Adaptables could sense carriers and that their serum could cure the infected.
• Gao Liangwei ordered the serum information sealed and had related keywords blocked by the One-way Mirror System until Rule End.
• Chen Na's mother, Wang Yan, worried about her late-stage cancer and her daughter's future, and warned Chen Na not to join the short-haired woman's team selection.
• Chen Na decided to ignore her mother's warning and enter the selection so she could earn help buying medicine for Wang Yan.
• Guan Tong ended a long meditation session and judged that his improved memory would let him learn Shi Jingyi's Mind Power Circulation course within about a month.

Guan Tong learned that Shi Jingyi had figured out he was Shadow, then considered ways to protect his identity and build influence. He decided to create a private trading and commission platform for Ascenders, but realized he would need to obtain servers and other equipment after the Blood Plague Rules ended.

• Guan Tong checked official updates and found no public information about Adaptors or the blood plague virus, then discussed the crisis in Yong'an with Xu Xiaotian.
• Xu Xiaotian told Guan Tong that Shi Jingyi wanted his contact information, and Guan Tong agreed to let him share it.
• Shi Jingyi called Guan Tong, revealed that she suspected he was Shadow, and offered to answer questions about her Online Course.
• Guan Tong considered preparing extra hiding places and using a secure website to broker trades and commissions between Ascenders.
• Guan Tong began making the website with AI tools, but realized he would need his own servers and storage equipment to protect its data.

At Limei Hotel, the Hall Master’s followers fought the Emergency Management Bureau when it tried to take him into protective custody, leaving several people dead. Three days later, Guan Tong launched Ascendant’s Home, a website intended to connect Ascendants, and planned to expand it as it gained users.

• The Hall Master identified a woman as the next Blood Plague infected, and his followers locked her in her room for a twenty-four-hour trial.
• A frightened member of the Hall of True Goodness asked the Emergency Management Bureau for protection, prompting staff to report the Hall Master as a Blood Plague Adaptable.
• The armed squad tried to take the Hall Master away, and his followers attacked them; the squad opened fire and killed several people before taking him into custody.
• The Team Leader explained that the bureau needed more serum and that concealing information about Adaptables had not prevented deaths.
• Three days later, Guan Tong launched Ascendant’s Home with sections for Intelligence, Artifacts, Commissions, and Casual Chat.

A young hacker discovered a supposedly unhackable website for Ascendants and began attacking it, while a wilderness group brought an infected boy toward a hospital after Sister Yu recovered from the Blood Plague. The Emergency Management Bureau identified Sister Yu as a Blood Plague Adaptable and took her in to provide serum, as a watcher plotted to seize their chance to survive.

• A young hacker uncovered suppressed information about antibody serum but chose not to share it publicly.
• The hacker found a forum post advertising a secure website for Ascendants, tried to crack it, and was surprised when his tool failed.
• Sister Yu explained that she had recovered from the Blood Plague and believed her serum could help Xiao Ming, so the group decided to take him to a hospital.
• At the hospital, Emergency Management Bureau personnel recognized Sister Yu as a Blood Plague Adaptable and said they would bring Xiao Ming in for serum treatment.
• A watcher in an abandoned building saw Sister Yu enter the hospital and called his companions, urging them to seize their chance to survive.

Infected people attacked the hospital to seize serum from a woman they believed had antibodies, while hacker Mask tried to infiltrate Guan Tong’s website through social engineering. The attackers seized the hospital entrance, and Mask prepared a Trojan-filled optimization package to send to the webmaster.

• A group of infected people learned that a woman suspected of having antibodies was at the hospital and decided to take her serum.
• The group’s flat-topped leader died when his blood exploded, and another infected person took charge.
• A hooded infected man detonated metal objects to help the group defeat the five armed guards at the hospital entrance.
• After failing for hours to hack Ascendant's Home, Mask befriended Guan Tong and offered to optimize the website’s interface.
• Guan Tong accepted Mask’s offer, and Mask planned to hide Trojans in the optimization package.