Chapter Summaries

Guan Tong confronted Jiang Ming in the Qingmei Base squad dormitory after rescuing Chen Na. He discovered the limit of Jiang Ming’s Mind Power absorption and nearly killed him, but Jiang Ming escaped by teleporting away as the base alarm sounded.

• Guan Tong entered Chen Na’s room and told her to stay inside while he cleared the threats from the base.
• Jiang Ming confronted Guan Tong, whose Shadow Line failed against Jiang Ming’s ability to absorb Mind Power attacks.
• Guan Tong used smoke, Living Dead, and a Great Axe Warrior empowered with 500 points of Reserve Mind Power to attack Jiang Ming and uncover the limit of his absorption ability.
• Guan Tong’s Shadow Blade severed Jiang Ming’s legs, but Jiang Ming escaped through a mirror Teleportation Item, leaving the mirror shattered.
• Gu Fei and Chu Xiaoyuan emerged from their rooms as an invasion alarm sounded throughout Qingmei Base.

Guan Tong destroyed the base, rescued its imprisoned Ascendants, and confronted Han Ling, who died by poison before she could reveal the Commander’s plans. Guan Tong left with Chen Na, while the organization’s true mastermind remained unknown.

• Gu Fei and Chu Xiaoyuan attacked Guan Tong in the dormitory corridor, but Guan Tong killed them with Shadow and Silver Hunter.
• Guan Tong used Shadow Lines to kill the armed personnel on the middle level and the guards in the prison sector.
• Guan Tong opened the prison cells and freed the Ascendants, then brought Chen Na to confront Han Ling.
• Han Ling accused Chen Na of betrayal and threatened Guan Tong, but she took poison and died before he could question her.
• Guan Tong told Chen Na that the base was destroyed and the imprisoned Ascendants were safe, then prepared to leave with her.

Dragon Soul’s team investigated a mountain base where Shadow had killed its armed personnel and freed thousands of imprisoned Ascendants. The authorities began piecing together the kidnapping operation and Shadow’s identity, while Guan Tong slipped away unseen.

• Dragon Soul and First Squad reached the Yongzhou Mountains, where they met escaped prisoners and learned they had fled after someone killed the base’s guards.
• Dragon Soul’s team entered the mountain base and found its enormous blast-proof entrance open, while Guan Tong watched the authorities arrive and then vanished using Phase Shift.
• Guan Tong left Chen Na behind so she could explain the truth to the authorities and potentially return to her normal life.
• Dragon Soul reported that Shadow had raided the base, and investigators learned that Shadow’s appearance in the footage was female despite prior intelligence describing him as male.
• Dragon Soul revealed Shadow’s recorded claim that Shadow was a group, while Li Meng connected the rescued victims to the task force’s serial kidnapping investigation.
• The investigators discussed the unknown founders, the dead administrator Han Ling, and Shadow’s extraordinary power and Mind Power.

Chen Na reunited with Wang Yan and agreed to stay at the Countermeasure Research Institute base, where she would join the official training program. Meanwhile, the organization’s Commander ordered a search for Shadow and a way to restore Jiang Ming’s legs, while the Eighth Apocalypse Rule ended on January 15.

• Wang Yan reunited with Chen Na, and Dr. Zhang offered them protection at the base in exchange for Chen Na joining the Official Team’s Ascendant training program.
• The Commander learned that Shadow had destroyed Yongzhou Base and ordered Han Ling to find Shadow and seek a way to regenerate Jiang Ming’s severed legs.
• The Commander declared that Chen Na would be punished for betraying the organization and resolved to make her grandson Jiang Ming the strongest Ascendant.
• A popular Ascendant's Home post reported that Shadow had destroyed the Yongzhou organization’s base and freed more than a thousand providers, and the website administrator confirmed it.
• Guan Tong reviewed the chaos caused by the Eighth Rule as it neared its end.
• Fire Thief announced that the Eighth Apocalypse Rule had ended on January 15.

After the Eighth Apocalypse Rule ended, Guan Tong reviewed his rewards, upgraded his shelter, and weighed offers from organizations seeking his intelligence. He found a prophecy warning that those who seize others’ Mind Power would suffer a punishment of the mind, leaving him concerned about the cost of raising his Mind Power Cap.

• Guan Tong checked his status and inventory, confirmed his Mind Power Cap had risen to 309, and bought twenty Bio-Signal Detectors from the Ascension Shop.
• Guan Tong chose not to write anything on the Wordless Book’s fifth page, then recalled and resummoned the All-Function Shelter, transforming it into a larger stone house at the cost of 300 Mind Power.
• Guan Tong read private messages from clients and organizations seeking future intelligence or deeper cooperation, but declined to compromise Ascendant's Home’s independence.
• Guan Tong read a chat post claiming a Tulip Federation wolf had exceeded a 600-point Mind Power Cap, then opened a prophecy warning that those who seize others’ Mind Power would suffer a punishment of the mind.

After the Eighth Rule, Guan Tong discovered that his Mind Power Cap had stopped growing, a condition the authorities called Mind Lock. He decided to use the [Wordless Book] to try to remove it, but stopped after the first stroke consumed his Mind Power and part of his reserves, leaving him to wait for his power to recover before the Ninth Rule.

• Guan Tong rested after the Eighth Rule, then noticed his Mind Power Cap remained at 309 instead of increasing naturally.
• Guan Tong found that other Ascendants who had used the Eighth Hidden Rule were also unable to grow their caps, a problem named Mind Lock.
• Guan Tong resolved to use the [Wordless Book] to resist Fire Thief's Rule and unlock his Mind Power Cap.
• Guan Tong ignored private messages from organizations angry that he had not warned them about Mind Lock.
• Guan Tong began writing "open" on the fifth page of the [Wordless Book], but the first stroke consumed all 309 Mind Power and more than two hundred points of Reserve Mind Power.
• Guan Tong stopped writing and planned to wait five days for his Mind Power to recover before trying again.

The Countermeasure Research Institute discussed ways to break the Mind Lock, and Shi Jingyi proposed that cultivating Mind Power Circulation might overcome it. Guan Tong, who confirmed he was restricted, continued trying his own method while monitoring reactions to the rule.

• Ouyang Shanyue, Zheng Kexue, and Shi Jingyi discussed possible ways to remove the Mind Lock with Gao Liangwei and the institute’s researchers.
• Zheng Kexue suggested testing unusual abilities and items, but Zhang Minglu reported that a concept-modifying Ascendant could not alter widely shared concepts.
• Shi Jingyi explained that she had avoided taking other people’s first places and conjectured that Mind Power Circulation could help break the restriction; she revealed that her Mind Power Cap naturally grew by one point every two days.
• Shi Jingyi called Guan Tong and learned that he was restricted, then advised him to keep practicing Mind Power Circulation if his own approach failed.
• Guan Tong spent the next three or four days repeatedly exhausting his Mind Power to write in the [Wordless Book], while searching online for reports of anyone breaking the lock.
• Guan Tong saw public denunciations of the Mind Lock and reports that Ascendants with greatly increased Mind Power Caps were demanding more power and causing conflicts abroad.

Guan Tong discovered that the Wordless Book’s “open” character could strike the Mind Lock but could not break it before the Ninth Apocalypse Rule began. The rule brought poisonous, corrosive fog and hunting Nightmare Beasts to Tianshui Star, while the Countermeasure Research Institute began preparing defenses.

• Guan Tong used the Wordless Book’s “open” character and confirmed that it could affect the Mind Lock, though his attempt to unlock it failed.
• Fire Thief announced the Ninth Apocalypse Rule, “Nightmare Beasts in the Fog,” which would last 30 days and award survivors Ascension Coins, a Silver Grade Survival Chest, and an invitation to the Second Ascendant Challenge.
• Purple-green fog spread across Tianshui Star, and Ascendants who entered it screamed and disappeared.
• Researchers at the Countermeasure Research Institute learned that the fog was corrosive, neurotoxic, and disruptive to electronic navigation equipment.
• Gao Liangwei directed the researchers to develop countermeasures as experts called for protective gear, armed forces, and reinforced gathering points.

Guan Tong examined the hidden rule about finding a fragment at the source of the fog and decided he would explore despite the danger. After learning the fog was corrosive and toxic and that Nightmare Beasts were attacking shelters, he began planning to send Shadow ahead to scout.

• Guan Tong read Hidden Rule Nine and considered whether the unknown fragment was worth risking his life to find.
• A creature scratched at Guan Tong's door and struck his window, while Coal Ball reacted with fear.
• Guan Tong declined to sell information about the hidden rule because he wanted to find the fragment himself.
• Guan Tong read the official warning that the fog was corrosive and neurotoxic and learned authorities were preparing protective equipment and armed operations.
• Guan Tong considered sending Shadow into the fog to scout and decided to prepare for his own expedition.

Yu Hong and Zhao Yu climbed Mingdao Mountain through the poisonous fog to seek shelter, but Zhao Yu was driven to jump from a cliff, leaving Yu Hong alone at Guan Tong’s sealed shelter. Meanwhile, Combat Team Alpha-A entered the fog to fight Nightmare Beasts and discovered that conventional weapons could kill them.

• Yu Hong and Zhao Yu left their jeep and climbed Mingdao Mountain after the fog disabled their navigation, protecting their exposed skin from the poisonous mist.
• Zhao Yu began acting as if he were lost and jumped from a cliff despite Yu Hong’s attempt to stop him.
• Yu Hong reached the mountain camp and knocked on Guan Tong’s door, but her plea for help abruptly fell silent before he opened it.
• Combat Team Alpha-A drove into the fog on a mission to investigate and fight Nightmare Beasts, then lost its navigation equipment while radio communications continued working.
• The convoy’s vanguard encountered Nightmare Beasts, and soldiers found that gunfire, shells, and flamethrowers could kill the creatures.

After authorities confirmed conventional weapons could kill Nightmare Beasts, Gao Liangwei approved an exploration mission with First Squad and Chen Na. Guan Tong prepared protective equipment and left his shelter to search for the fog’s source, but he still did not know how to track the Nightmare Beasts.

• An analyst reported that Nightmare Beasts had different traits, could not survive outside the fog, and vanished when killed, while efforts to disperse the fog had failed.
• Gao Liangwei ordered the Nightmare Beast information released and approved an exploration mission with First Squad and Chen Na as a reserve member.
• After reading the news, Guan Tong realized he would be competing with the authorities’ forces and decided to explore at his own pace.
• Guan Tong bought and equipped a Grade A Bio-hazard Full Body Suit, then prepared Shadow surveillance eyes and his Silver Hunter.
• Guan Tong stepped out of the shelter into the fog and wondered how he could follow the Nightmare Beasts’ traces to find the fog’s source.

Chen Na joined Dragon Soul Squad and an armored force heading into the mist, while Adam received a prophecy of a hidden door releasing countless monsters and decided to enter the mist himself. Inside the mist, Guan Tong followed a gigantic Nightmare Beast’s footprints in hopes of finding the source, then recognized Yu Hong’s face on a humanoid Nightmare Beast he shot.

• Chen Na rode with Dragon Soul Squad to join an elite unit and set out with a large force to investigate the mist.
• Key of the Moon divined that an open door deep in the mist led to a terrifying world from which countless monsters were pouring out.
• Adam paid Key of the Moon for her prophecy and decided to prepare for an expedition into the mist.
• Guan Tong killed a flying Nightmare Beast with a Type 2 Slug Round and then spotted a gigantic five-legged Nightmare Beast.
• Guan Tong followed the giant Nightmare Beast’s footprints, hoping they would lead him to the source of the mist.
• Guan Tong shot a humanoid Nightmare Beast and recognized Yu Hong’s face on its corroded head.

Guan Tong explored the thickening fog, discovered that it turned exposed humans into Nightmare Beasts, and retreated to his shelter to rest and share his findings. After finding bloody handprints and a face pressed against his window the next morning, he suited up and resumed following the tracks toward the fog's source.

• Guan Tong recognized Yu Hong's ruined face among the Nightmare Beasts and continued following the giant creature's footprints into denser fog.
• Guan Tong realized the Nightmare Beasts attacked to expose skin to the fog, then used Phase Shift to return to his All-Function Shelter for the night.
• Guan Tong posted information about humans turning into Nightmare Beasts and the creatures he had encountered on Ascendant's Home.
• Guan Tong ignored the Solloma Empire contact's offer of an advisory role and slept in the shelter despite Nightmare Beasts striking its walls.
• Guan Tong woke to bloody handprints and a blurry face on the window, then left the shelter after dawn to continue toward the fog's source.

Guan Tong found a floating mist door after fleeing a battle between an official armored convoy and a giant flying Nightmare Beast. He entered the door in search of the puzzle fragment, leaving Dragon Soul Squad hesitating outside.

• Chen Na sensed a giant Nightmare Beast flying near the armored convoy and detected what seemed to be humans farther away.
• Guan Tong heard artillery, discovered the convoy fighting bat-like Nightmare Beasts and a giant flying creature, and ran away from the battlefield.
• Guan Tong followed thinning mist to a floating door that he suspected was a source of the mist.
• Dragon Soul Squad confronted Guan Tong and demanded to explore the door first, but he used his Shadow abilities and Grappling Hook to race toward it.
• Guan Tong entered the mist door after concluding the puzzle fragment might be inside, while Dragon Soul Squad stopped outside and hesitated.

Guan Tong entered the Mist Gate, discovered a mural chamber and obtained a fragment documenting Qimo Star’s past. After he returned, the giant bird Nightmare Beast flew away, and Dragon Soul’s team investigated the cave he had passed through.

• Dragon Soul ordered his team to withdraw from the Mist Gate and rejoin the armored battalion, planning to guard the gate after they defeated the giant bird.
• Guan Tong explored the cave, found murals depicting creatures that resembled Nightmare Beasts, and collected Record of Qimo Star Fragment 3 after the murals vanished.
• Guan Tong learned that five fragments could be assembled into the Qimo Star Chronicle and that fragment holders could sense the other fragments’ locations.
• The armored battalion failed to defeat the giant bird, which screeched and flew away; Chen Na noticed that it had a mouth and could make sounds unlike the other Nightmare Beasts.
• Dragon Soul returned to the Mist Gate, and Black Shark entered the cave, found the empty chamber and another Mist Gate, then came back out.

Adam and others obtained scattered fragments of the Qimo Star Chronicle, while Guan Tong used his fragment’s map to plan a trip abroad after the Ninth Rule. He made progress weakening the Mind Lock and learned that the fog could turn humans into Nightmare Beasts, leaving him eager to uncover the chronicle’s full story.

• Adam returned with four women after obtaining Qimo Star Chronicle 2 and resolved to search for the remaining fragments.
• A young man who found Qimo Star Chronicle 4 was crushed by a giant foot after leaving a fog door, and the fog consumed his remains.
• A serpent-eyed woman obtained Qimo Star Chronicle 5, and the Chosen Group decided to collect the other four fragments.
• Guan Tong used Qimo Star Chronicle 3’s map to locate the other fragments abroad and planned to travel after the Ninth Rule.
• Guan Tong repeatedly used the Wordless Book’s fifth page to strike the Mind Lock, leaving its confinement close to breaking.
• Guan Tong read reports confirming that fog exposure transformed humans into Nightmare Beasts and suspected the fog had destroyed Qimo Star.

Guan Tong broke the Mind Lock with the Wordless Book, resumed Mind Power Circulation, and received the Ninth Rule’s rewards after it ended. Meanwhile, the Countermeasure Research Institute learned that the mist in Lalgan Nation had persisted, possibly because no one had taken an item from a Mist Gate there.

• Guan Tong used the Wordless Book to shatter his Mind Lock and then completed his first full-body Mind Power Circulation.
• The Ninth Apocalypse Rule ended, and Guan Tong found that his Mind Power Cap had grown to 310.
• Guan Tong received an invitation to the Second Ascendant Challenge and a Life-Saving Pendant from his rewards.
• Guan Tong visited Yu Hong and Zhao Yu’s abandoned camp and reflected on the dangers of the Apocalypse Rules.
• The Countermeasure Research Institute reported low recorded casualties and discussed the mist that remained in Lalgan Nation.
• Zhang Minglu said researchers suspected the Lalgan Nation mist persisted because no human had taken the item inside a Mist Gate.

Guan Tong crossed from Beixing Nation into Andai State to pursue a puzzle fragment, but discovered that its location had changed. In eastern Banzhen City, Basong seized a fragment from three young men after their friend Pita betrayed them, then had Pita and the three men killed.

• Guan Tong crossed the river into Andai State using Shadow Line and Phase Shift, then headed through Antu City toward Banzhen City.
• Guan Tong saw that Andai State's residents lived for the moment and avoided youths who planned to rob him.
• Guan Tong consulted his fragment's map and realized that the puzzle fragment's location had changed.
• Basong's armed men attacked three young men in a private residence and demanded their fragment.
• Pita admitted that he had sold the information to Basong, who shot Pita and ordered his men to kill the three young men.

Adam led a Solloma Empire force into Lalgan Nation to find its unmoved puzzle fragment, while Guan Tong approached the Andai State fragment holder, Basong, who prepared to ambush him and seize his fragment. The chapter left both operations underway, with Adam heading toward a reported Giant Nightmare Beast and Basong sending Mala to search for Guan Tong.

• Adam ordered Solloma Empire soldiers into Lalgan Nation’s mist to locate the Mist Gate and its puzzle fragment, then set out with his four wives after troops reported a Giant Nightmare Beast attack.
• Adam explained that Beixing Nation’s fragment had moved to Andai State, suggesting its holder was pursuing another fragment.
• Guan Tong reached Banzhen and reasoned that the Andai State fragment holder would know he was approaching and prepare for a fight.
• Basong learned that a fragment holder was nearing his manor, gathered intelligence, and ordered Mala to search north of Banzhen for the newcomer.
• Basong tightened his manor’s defenses and decided to seize the approaching holder’s fragment before selling both fragments together.

Guan Tong discovered that Basong was imprisoning people and decided to seize the puzzle fragment by force while wiping out the estate. After killing Mala's group, he remotely confronted Basong through Shadow, but Basong's Mind Power hand cannon could not harm him.

• Shadow scouted Basong's estate and revealed that nearly two hundred people were chained and treated like livestock in its warehouses, enraging Guan Tong.
• Guan Tong lured Mala and his armed men to an abandoned construction site, killed the group with Shadow Thorns, and forced Mala to reveal what he knew about Basong and the fragment.
• After Mala died, Basong heard his voicemail and ordered his men to reinforce the estate, then escaped through a secret passage to his underground shelter.
• Guan Tong sent Shadow into Basong's shelter, where Basong fired a shotgun and then his Mind Power hand cannon at the intruder.
• Guan Tong used Shadow's phasing ability to avoid the hand cannon's blast and taunted Basong while holding back until he obtained the fragment.