Chapter Summaries

Guan Tong arrived after Shen Yun and four classmates killed and injured members of a wilderness camp during a confrontation, and the Academy students were taken into custody. With a video of the fight sparking a public opinion storm, Dean Zhou Qinfeng gathered the lecturers to discuss how the Academy should respond.

• Teacher Chen informed Guan Tong that five students had clashed with a camp at Cangying Ridge, and Guan Tong sent a Shadow ahead before going himself.
• After the camp members attacked the students and fired guns, Shen Yun used a playing-card item that killed several people, then Guan Tong arrived and ordered the students to stay.
• Academy teachers, soldiers, and medical personnel took everyone involved back to Pinglu, where the five students were temporarily detained by the Official Department.
• A camp member said she had recorded the fight and uploaded it online, and the video prompted a public opinion storm.
• Dean Zhou Qinfeng convened a meeting, where Guan Tong said the students' actions could count as self-defense if the camp members attacked first, and Zhou pledged the Academy would protect their lawful rights.

Yelena learned that assassins sent by her brother had disappeared and warned him against targeting her again. At the academy, Guan Tong discussed the Cangying Ridge incident with his students, then received a summons to hear the officials’ decision about Shen Yun and the others.

• Sigaoxin reported that the assassins sent from Xisiya had vanished, and Yelena told her to warn her brother that she would retaliate if he tried again.
• Yelena attended Mind Power Circulation class and listened as students debated whether Shen Yun and the others should be punished for the deaths at Cangying Ridge.
• Guan Tong warned students that using excessive force against ordinary people carried consequences and advised them to use Mind Power defensively when possible.
• Yelena asked Guan Tong about practical combat training, and he said it would be delayed because he had a meeting.
• Dean Zhou Qinfeng summoned Guan Tong to the meeting room after officials reached a decision about Shen Yun and the others.

Dean Zhou Qinfeng told the faculty that Shen Yun would face prosecution for Excessive Self-Defense and Intentional Injury, with a court hearing scheduled in three days. After discussing the case, Guan Tong trained Yelena and warned her that he would hold her brother responsible for sending assassins, while Yelena prepared to leave the academy before October.

• Zhou Qinfeng informed the faculty that Shen Yun and four others would be prosecuted, and that Shen Yun also faced an Intentional Injury charge that could carry a death sentence.
• Zhou Qinfeng ordered the faculty not to support student protests and said he, Guan Tong, Teacher Chen, and Fang Qian would attend the hearing in three days.
• Teacher Chen warned Guan Tong that Fang Qian's role in monitoring the students' Mind Network would become known in court, while Guan Tong said she could blame the dean if she chose.
• Guan Tong trained Yelena in Mind Power defense and learned she would leave the academy before October.
• Guan Tong told Yelena he would pursue her brother for sending assassins, and Yelena later told Sigaqin that Guan Tong had admitted executing them.

After Rule Twelve ended, Guan Tong resumed using the internet and considered Shen Yun’s upcoming trial. He then replied to baqizi, an Ascendant from Yingqi, and agreed to help her find her parents, suggesting he might rescue her from house arrest so she could investigate herself.

• Fire Thief announced that Rule Twelve had ended, and the Mind Network disconnected.
• Guan Tong reviewed his Shadow Domain experiments and cleaned rule-breaking posts from Ascendant's Home.
• Guan Tong read a popular post about Shen Yun killing ordinary people and wondered how the authorities would rule at the trial.
• Guan Tong found baqizi’s message asking for help identifying her parents, who came from Feng Island.
• Guan Tong agreed to help baqizi and suggested rescuing her from house arrest so she could search for her parents herself.

Guan Tong watched Shen Yun receive a life sentence and returned to the Academy as students protested the ruling and confronted Fang Qian for testifying. After Fang Qian apologized, Guan Tong reminded her that others had also pressured her in the past, then left her to consider how much they had changed.

• At Shen Yun's trial, the court gave three students sentences of self-defense, sentenced the tall student to five years for excessive self-defense, and sentenced Shen Yun to life imprisonment; Shen Yun demanded an appeal.
• Zhou Qinfeng, Teacher Chen, and Guan Tong returned to the Academy, where hundreds of students protested Shen Yun's sentence.
• Guan Tong and Teacher Chen found students confronting Fang Qian over her testimony, and Guan Tong challenged them to consider who else was responsible for the situation.
• Fang Qian came outside and apologized, allowing Teacher Chen to lead the students away.
• Guan Tong asked Fang Qian why she had accepted blame alone when other people had pressured her in the past, then urged her not to repeat old mistakes.

Yelena trained with Guan Tong in defending against relentless Mind Power attacks as she prepared to leave the Academy and return to Xisiya. The session pushed her to her breaking point, but Guan Tong encouraged her to keep training, and she left with an unspoken wish that he might accompany her.

• Students discussed Counselor Fang Qian's resignation before Guan Tong began class.
• Guan Tong had Yelena wear protective gear and defend against increasingly simultaneous Mind Power attacks without moving.
• Guan Tong's attacks and sharp corrections overwhelmed Yelena until she angrily asked him to talk less.
• Guan Tong told Yelena to stop making excuses, steady her mindset, and continue training before she left at month's end.
• Yelena asked how Guan Tong controlled so many streams of Mind Power, and he explained that years of practice controlling things had helped him.
• Guan Tong offered to give Yelena special training each day, and she watched him leave while briefly wishing he could go to Xisiya with her.

At the UHC meeting in the Solloma Empire, Mary revealed that Solloma’s lifelike robots could help compensate for population losses, prompting debate over whether robots should count as people. The meeting ended with Mary warning that Fahuo Nation may have become a nation of fanatical Fire Thief Cult believers.

• Mary hosted the commissioners at a steak dinner served entirely by humanlike robots and offered to donate embodied intelligent robots to other nations.
• Mary argued that robots could be counted as part of Solloma’s population, while the commissioners shared figures showing devastating human population losses across their countries.
• Mary and the other commissioners clashed over Beixing Nation’s treatment of an Ascendant, and Gao Liangwei insisted that the UHC represented all humans, not just Ascendants.
• Mary reported that a Solloma operation had assassinated a Fire Thief Cult leader in Fahuo Nation, but the group quickly named a replacement.
• Mary warned that Fahuo Nation might be filled with fanatical Fire Thief Cult believers, making the elimination of a few leaders ineffective.

Yelena completed her final training session with Guan Tong and formally said goodbye before leaving for Xisiya with Sigaoxin. They exchanged gifts, while Guan Tong left hoping they would not become enemies when he eventually confronted Yelena’s brother.

• Yelena exhausted her Mind Power during her final training session, and Guan Tong praised her flawless defense while advising her to increase her Mind Power Cap.
• Yelena asked Guan Tong to meet her for a formal farewell the next morning, delaying her departure so Sigaoxin could accompany her.
• Yelena thanked Guan Tong, invited him to teach in Xisiya, and heard him refuse because he intended to settle matters with her brother.
• Yelena gave Guan Tong a valuable hourglass, and Guan Tong gave her a [Passerby Transformation Device] in return.
• Yelena and Sigaoxin set off for Xisiya, and Sigaoxin recognized that Guan Tong’s gift could help protect the princess.

As the Thirteenth Apocalypse Rule began, Guan Tong learned that Shi Jingyi would return in November, while the new rule forbade people from knowingly making false statements for 30 days. At the Countermeasure Research Office, Dr. Li accidentally violated the rule by agreeing when he privately disagreed, leaving him facing a future in which he could never speak the truth again.

• Guan Tong admired the moon with Coal Ball, examined Yelena's Hourglass of Time, and spoke with Shi Jingyi, who planned to return after Rule Thirteen ended.
• On October 1, Fire Thief announced Lie-Eating Punishment, banning knowingly false statements in speech, writing, sign language, and other forms of communication for 30 days.
• The rule promised 500 Ascension Coins and increased Mind Power Cap for success, while violators would forever be unable to speak the truth after the rule ended.
• At the Countermeasure Research Office, Gao Liangwei and the experts discussed how to avoid accidental lies and warned that the rule could be used to expose secrets.
• Dr. Li admitted he had agreed despite privately disagreeing, and Gao Liangwei realized that he had violated the rule.

Guan Tong discovered that Hidden Rule Thirteen created a True Word Contract that rewarded honesty between partners but offered a greater reward for betrayal. He decided to sell the intelligence, while major organizations and governments quickly requested to buy it.

• Guan Tong read the rule forbidding lies and judged that staying silent and publishing nothing would be a safe way to pass.
• Guan Tong examined Hidden Rule Thirteen and learned that contract partners could earn doubled rewards by telling the truth, while a liar could gain triple rewards at the other's expense.
• Guan Tong considered how the contract might be exploited and decided not to betray anyone or dwell on possible loopholes.
• Guan Tong posted an offer to sell the Thirteenth Rule's secret intelligence for 100,000 Ascension Coins, with details to be sent to buyers after twelve hours.
• Organizations, groups, and national authorities sent Guan Tong purchase requests, while he noted that UHC members pooled funds to share intelligence.

During Rule Thirteen, Wang Xiang and Zhu Jun used the rule to ask invasive questions, ruining their relationship as roommates. Guan Tong reviewed the authorities’ advice and the hidden rules, then decided not to risk forming a True Word Contract with anyone.

• Wang Xiang and Zhu Jun questioned each other under Rule Thirteen, and Zhu Jun refused to answer whether he was happy about his parents’ deaths before storming out of the dorm.
• The Countermeasure Research Institute updated the Apocalypse Rules White Paper, advising people to speak and write less and not use the rule to pry into others’ private matters.
• Guan Tong read public reactions to the rule and considered how failing it would permanently prevent someone from telling the truth.
• Guan Tong planned to sell only the first and third parts of the Hidden Rules, withholding the part that rewarded one-sided lying.
• Guan Tong decided against forming a True Word Contract with Shi Jingyi, Xu Xiaotian, or anyone else during the rule period.

During the Rule Period, Guan Tong taught a quiet sparring class and sold hidden information, then received a message claiming to know Big Sister’s location and identity. He decided to investigate the lead himself, though he suspected it might be a trap.

• Guan Tong held a mostly silent sparring class and guided his students through their matches.
• Guan Tong sold hidden information to nineteen buyers for 1.9 million Ascension Coins, bringing his total above five million.
• After North Star Official published the information, Guan Tong ignored private messages trying to bait him into answering questions.
• End of the Road told Guan Tong that Big Sister was Jiang Lanying, revealed that Jiang Ming had been her grandson, and offered information about her location.
• Guan Tong considered whether End of the Road was deceiving him on Big Sister’s orders, but decided to investigate the lead himself.

Guan Tong rejected the risky plan to form a True Word Contract and began plotting to track down End of the Road, while Jiang Lanying secured her guards’ oaths before preparing to flee across the border. Chen Na agreed to join an operation against fugitives, and Silver Fox offered to take her to visit Guan Tong before it began.

• Guan Tong told Xu Xiaotian he would not pursue Double Reward and advised him to wait until the rule’s final moments before making a contract.
• Guan Tong reviewed End of the Road’s demands for Jiang Lanying’s location and planned to trace the account’s device, refusing to offer the requested guarantee.
• Jiang Lanying told her guards they must leave North Star’s border area and made each swear not to betray her; one guard lied despite knowing she would face punishment.
• Wang Yan worried about Chen Na joining the operation, but Chen Na explained she wanted to contribute and received her mother’s permission.
• Silver Fox recognized Guan Tong as the academy’s temporary lecturer and offered to take Chen Na to visit him before the operation.

Guan Tong learned that Jiang Lanying planned to flee North Star and resolved to settle his long-standing grudge before she escaped. Five days later, Chen Na joined Dragon Soul’s team for Operation Falling Petals, a mission to capture Jiang Lanying and eliminate her subordinates.

• Chen Na and Silver Fox visited Guan Tong at the academy, where he declined Chen Na’s invitation to join the base and showed them around.
• Silver Fox explained that she and Chen Na were leaving for a classified mission, and Guan Tong realized it carried some risk.
• Guan Tong read End of the Road’s messages revealing that Jiang Lanying planned to meet a contact at the border in five days, and he decided to track End of the Road and confront her before she fled.
• Chen Na boarded a transport plane with Dragon Soul and other Official Team members as they set out for Xun'an Town to capture Jiang Lanying and eliminate her trained subordinates.
• Li Meng briefed the team that Jiang Lanying might have electronic jamming equipment, a concealment barrier, and unknown reinforcements, while Dragon Soul assigned Silver Fox to protect Chen Na.

Guan Tong tracked End of the Road to Xun'an Town and watched as Dragon Soul’s pursuit team attacked Jiang Lanying’s group. After End of the Road escaped and the squad nearly captured Jiang Lanying, Lucifer arrived as the promised reception party and attacked Dragon Soul’s team.

• Guan Tong hid near Xun'an Town and sent Shadow to follow Dragon Soul’s squad as they entered the town and located Jiang Lanying’s group at a bank vault.
• Dragon Soul’s team attacked the vault, but Jiang Lanying protected herself and her subordinates with a barrier artifact while the squad blocked teleportation.
• When the barrier expired, the two groups fought; the pursuit team killed Jiang Lanying’s subordinates, while several team members also died.
• Jiang Lanying demanded to contact the authorities, but Dragon Soul ordered his team to capture her; End of the Road used the confusion to flee.
• Silver Fox shoved Chen Na out of danger but lost an arm when a black-winged attacker struck, then the attacker killed five more team members.
• Lucifer landed beside Jiang Lanying, asked why she had not told him he would have to fight while receiving her, and Dragon Soul recognized him as the reception party.

Guan Tong found End of the Road and killed her after learning why she had betrayed Jiang Lanying, then realized Lucifer had joined the battle to help Jiang escape. Dragon Soul fought Lucifer while the surviving North Star team members withdrew or hid, and the battle remained unresolved as Dragon Soul tried to outlast Lucifer’s Mind Power.

• Guan Tong confronted End of the Road, who explained that she had betrayed Jiang Lanying because she feared dying, then tried to attack him and was killed by his Shadow Thorn.
• Guan Tong saw through Shadow’s visual feed that Lucifer had arrived and was turning the fight around, so he rushed toward the bank vault.
• Dragon Soul confirmed that Silver Fox, Chen Na, and You Hao were alive, ordered Silver Fox to withdraw with Chen Na, and told You Hao to play dead.
• Lucifer refused to leave with Jiang Lanying and fought Dragon Soul, who broke Lucifer’s right arm with a midair punch while using the bayonet as a second attack.
• Lucifer unleashed a storm of feathers, but Dragon Soul hardened the muscles on his back to withstand them and waited for Lucifer’s airborne flight to drain his Mind Power.

Silver Fox left Chen Na in hiding and returned to support Dragon Soul, who was badly wounded and nearly out of Mind Power after fighting Lucifer. Guan Tong arrived, restrained Jiang Lanying, and trapped Lucifer inside his shifting Shadow Domain, where Lucifer could not escape.

• Silver Fox hid Chen Na in a building, then rushed back toward the battlefield to help Dragon Soul and keep Lucifer from rescuing Jiang Lanying.
• Lucifer broke one of Dragon Soul’s wings with a high-speed strike, then killed You Hao to absorb his Mind Power and recover his own wing.
• Dragon Soul prepared to use his final attack against Jiang Lanying, but Guan Tong arrived and restrained her with shadows.
• Guan Tong fought Lucifer with Shadow Thorns, then covered the area in his Shadow Domain, blocking Lucifer’s vision and draining his Mind Power.
• Lucifer tried to fly upward through the Shadow Domain, but Guan Tong reshaped the living maze to keep him trapped.

Guan Tong trapped Lucifer in the Shadow Domain, but Lucifer escaped with a teleportation item after being badly wounded. Guan Tong refused to hand Jiang Lanying over to Dragon Soul and took her away, where he rejected her offers and threats and resolved to kill people like her.

• Silver Fox returned to Dragon Soul and learned that Shadow had trapped Lucifer in the black domain, while Dragon Soul confirmed that You Hao had been killed.
• Lucifer tried to teleport out of the Shadow Domain, but Guan Tong froze time and struck him with a Shadow Thorn before Lucifer escaped, severely wounded.
• After the Shadow Domain dissipated, Guan Tong refused Dragon Soul and Silver Fox’s demand to hand Jiang Lanying over and left with her restrained by Shadow Lines.
• Jiang Lanying offered Guan Tong wealth and protection in exchange for helping her flee, but he questioned why she had not been satisfied with the power and resources she already possessed.
• Jiang Lanying threatened Guan Tong and urged him to change his mind, but he calmly declared that he would kill people like her.

After Jiang Lanying vanished, the search was called off, and Guan Tong reflected on the end of her criminal network and the limits of his Shadow Domain. As Rule Thirteen approached its end, fear of accidentally lying drove people into silence, leaving the world oppressively quiet.

• The search teams failed to find any trace of Jiang Lanying, and authorities ordered them to stop searching and return.
• Li Meng questioned Dragon Soul about Shadow’s intentions, then suggested the changing world might soon alter what counted as a major concern.
• Guan Tong accepted Jiang Lanying’s death as the end of the old case and considered how to make his Shadow Domain prevent escape by Teleportation Items.
• Guan Tong tried adding the word “space” to the [Wordless Book]’s “Domain” page, but stopped when the attempt depleted his Mind Power.
• As Rule Thirteen neared its end, people avoided speaking or posting online for fear of violating the rules, and the world fell into an oppressive silence.

Yelena and Rieka began competing to inherit their father’s position, and Rieka plotted to incapacitate her sister. Meanwhile, malicious True Word Contract scams spread across the internet; after Guan Tong publicized the danger and officials promised a crackdown, widespread suspicion led many Ascendants to abandon plans to form contracts.

• Yelena and Rieka both refused to withdraw from the succession contest, which would end with one of them inheriting their father’s position and the loser being exiled to Sainantata.
• Rieka asked Gaelkin for advice, then agreed to have Yelena severely injured so she could not compete, despite Sigaqin protecting her.
• Ascendants began seeking partners for True Word Contracts before Rule Thirteen ended, while Guan Tong chose not to make a contract.
• A forum user exposed scammers who lied before forming contracts to make their partners suffer the Failure Penalty, and Guan Tong pinned the post to spread awareness.
• North Star Official announced that it would punish people who deliberately caused others’ Rule Challenges to fail, but proving such misconduct remained difficult.
• Widespread suspicion replaced plans to establish contracts on the final day, and many Ascendants chose to forgo the Double Reward rather than risk being deceived.