Chapter Summaries

Bazett and Cheng Tian’s Stand World defeated Bison and October during the battle against Shadaloo’s Royal Guard. After Bison fell unconscious, the World absorbed his Fighter’s Soul, but the soul lacked the “wicked enough” attribute.

• Bazett exchanged powerful punches with Bison, surprising him with her strength.
• October ambushed Bazett with her staff, but Cheng Tian sent the Stand World to strike October and knock her through several trees.
• Bazett activated Ogre’s Wrath and battered Bison with a barrage of punches.
• Cheng Tian’s Stand World attacked Bison from behind while Bazett struck from the front, leaving him unconscious and severely injured.
• The Stand World absorbed Bison’s Fighter’s Soul, and Cheng Tian learned that it did not possess the “wicked enough” attribute.

Cheng Tian used Stand World to capture Shadaloo’s personal guards and disrupt the Four Heavenly Kings while Bazett attacked Balrog and F.A.N.G. As Cheng Tian continued collecting Vega’s calendar, Maxima arrived with more Cyborgs and a mysterious trench-coated man.

• Cheng Tian considered whether Great Goddess Aki might qualify as heinously evil, then sent Bazett to regroup while Stand World carried October and a Treasure Chest back to him.
• Cheng Tian used Stand World and the Dominator Radar to capture Shadaloo personal guards, leaving Bison asleep after defeating him.
• Stand World’s presence distracted the Four Heavenly Kings and Juri while Bazett attacked Balrog and F.A.N.G alongside Eileen and Mina.
• Cheng Tian spotted Maxima arriving with more Cyborgs and a trench-coated man.

NESTS invaded Cheng Tian’s laboratory to seize the Feng Shui Engine and Superpower Genes, while Cheng Tian activated its defenses. Wutan deployed a swarm of Ancient Metal Beasts, and the chapter ended with a transforming Raptor Warrior ordering the invaders to leave.

• Cheng Tian activated Maxima’s dormant Puppet Program and read his memories, learning that NESTS had come for the Feng Shui Engine and Superpower Genes.
• Cheng Tian recognized Grizaldo among the NESTS attackers and eyed his basic Reinforced Combat Suit as a chance to acquire NESTS technology.
• Cheng Tian asked Wutan to defend the laboratory, and the Security Contract authorized him to activate its defenses.
• Fifteen Metal Raptors, Metal Pachycephalosaurs, and Metal Pterosaurs emerged from the underground warehouse and charged the NESTS team.
• The leading Metal Raptor transformed into a Raptor Warrior and ordered Grizaldo and the other invaders to leave the boss’s territory.

Cheng Tian’s Raptor Warrior and Ancient Metal Beast Swarm repelled the NESTS combatants with elemental powers and battle experience. Grizaldo realized the beasts might prove NESTS’s rivals in superpower gene production and rushed for the laboratory, only to be met by Maxima’s fist.

• Cheng Tian deployed the specially created Raptor Warrior, equipped with a flame sword and frost shield, against the invading NESTS forces.
• Raptor Warrior and the Ancient Metal Beasts used elemental attacks to overwhelm the NESTS combatants.
• Grizaldo recognized the beasts’ powers as evidence of successful superpower gene transplantation and prioritized reaching the laboratory.
• Grizaldo ordered Maxima to smash through a wall, but Maxima’s fist came flying toward his face.

Cheng Tian used Maxima and World to overpower Grizaldo and force a silver-quality box to emerge from him. Before Cheng Tian could claim it, Vega appeared at the laboratory to confront him.

• Cheng Tian remotely controlled Maxima and used him to slam Grizaldo into the ground, though Grizaldo counterattacked with a spinning kick.
• Cheng Tian had Maxima record Grizaldo's counterattack, then Grizaldo ordered Maxima into sleep mode, but Cheng Tian's control overrode the command.
• World burst through the laboratory wall and trapped Grizaldo in a full nelson, allowing Maxima to charge into him and leave him badly injured.
• A silver-quality box emerged from Grizaldo's blood-soaked body as K' sensed something from afar.
• Vega appeared through a portal before the cage holding the December Guard.

Vega appeared at the laboratory and prepared to destroy the Royal Guard members who had failed him, but Cheng Tian’s control freed four December members and turned them against him. A Blue Orb interrupted Vega’s ultimate attack and locked his Psychic Power as an orange-gold figure waited to strike.

• Vega used Spatial Movement to arrive at the laboratory and condemned the Royal Guard members who were escaping their cages.
• Vega found that the December members still bore his Mental Erosion Marks and gathered Psychic Power to kill them.
• April Aprilay, May Satsuki, June Uni, and July Yuri lost their marks, gained Dominator's Servitude, and charged at Vega.
• May Satsuki attacked Vega with Muramasa and Rasetsu, but he evaded her and began his Psychic Critical Strike.
• A Blue Orb shattered between Vega and Satsuki, inflicting Mana Lock and interrupting Vega's attack.
• Vega fell toward an orange-gold figure waiting below with a clenched fist.

Cheng Tian used Time Stop and a Blue Shock Orb to trap Vega in Mana Lock, then summoned Bazett to join World in attacking him. As Vega endured their assault and waited for his Psychic Power to return, Cheng Tian’s Transformation spell turned him into a red frog.

• Cheng Tian spent two seconds of stopped time turning the guards’ and Bison’s Soul Fragments into a Blue Shock Orb and threw it at Vega and Satsuki.
• The Blue Shock Orb inflicted ten seconds of Mana Lock on Vega, disabling his Psychic Power and ability to hover.
• Cheng Tian used a Command Spell to reverse-summon Bazett, who smashed through a wall and attacked Vega alongside World.
• Vega blocked the fighters’ attacks and endured Bazett’s Flame Burn and Psychic Power-draining blows while waiting for Mana Lock to end.
• Cheng Tian and four Crystal Heartscapes fired Transformation missiles at Vega, turning him into a red frog just as Mana Lock was about to expire.

Cheng Tian chained Transformation spells to weaken Vega into animal forms while Bazett and The World battered him apart. Vega’s soul escaped his destroyed body, but Cheng Tian opened the Ghost Gauntlet and began pulling it in.

• Cheng Tian used his upgraded Gentleman's Cane and staggered Transformation missiles to keep Vega repeatedly changing forms.
• Bazett and The World coordinated their punches against the transformed Vega, whose physical strength had been reduced to match each animal form.
• The third Transformation missile arrived as Vega returned from duck form, and Bazett and The World’s blows tore his body apart.
• Vega’s soul escaped his corpse and prepared to possess another body while marking Cheng Tian as his enemy.
• The orange-gold humanoid’s gaze alarmed Vega, and Cheng Tian opened the Ghost Gauntlet to collect his soul.

Cheng Tian used Za Warudo and the Ghost Gauntlet to capture and kill Vega, ending Shadaloo’s leader’s life and earning a chance to plunder its bases. He opened Vega’s treasure chest and found an inheritance Skill Stone containing the Psychic Power Combat Method.

• Vega resisted the Ghost Gauntlet and tried to escape by opening a spatial transmission channel.
• Cheng Tian stopped time with Za Warudo, allowing the Ghost Gauntlet to capture Vega’s soul when time resumed.
• Cheng Tian completed the capture, and the prompts confirmed Vega’s death, Shadaloo’s impending division, and Cheng Tian’s limited plundering opportunities.
• Cheng Tian opened Vega’s treasure chest under Bazett’s watch and discovered the Psychic Power Combat Method Skill Stone.

Cheng Tian learned Vega’s Psychic Power combat method, but its shadow-aligned energy threatened to overwhelm his Sacred Heart Form. He forcibly transplanted the Feng Shui Engine into his forehead, balancing his Sacred Radiance and Demonic Nightmare Erosion and gaining a new talent and skill.

• Cheng Tian touched Vega’s Psychic Power crystal and began learning the A-rank skill, but its negative energy intensified his Demonic Nightmare Erosion.
• Cheng Tian realized the imbalance could suppress his Sacred Heart Form and rushed through the laboratory while World cleared a path.
• Cheng Tian ordered Wutan to remove the Feng Shui Engine’s storage restrictions while Bazett watched the recovering prisoners and Wutan’s forces fought the remaining NESTS and Shadaloo members.
• Cheng Tian smashed the reinforced glass, took the Feng Shui Engine’s eyeball, and forcibly embedded it in his forehead.
• The Feng Shui Engine resonated with Cheng Tian’s mutated prefrontal lobe and Sacred Demonic Heart, balancing his opposing forms and granting him the B-rank talent Tai Chi True Eye and the S-rank skill Psychic Power Battle Style: Origin.

Cheng Tian survived installing Han Juri’s Feng Shui Engine as the Tai Chi True Eye, which enhanced his psychic perception and balanced his sacred and demonic powers. After the battle, his group headed to the SIN Department building to claim plunder privileges.

• Cheng Tian’s mutated frontal lobe assimilated the Feng Shui Engine, creating the Tai Chi True Eye and granting him a new talent and skill.
• Cheng Tian activated the Tai Chi True Eye and used its expanded psychic perception to survey the battlefield and identify the fighters’ power signatures.
• Utan directed the Metal Dinosaur Guardian Beasts to help finish clearing out the NESTS members and Shadaloo remnants.
• Balrog and Fang escaped, while Bison was knocked unconscious, Han Juri was captured, Grizaldo was left near death, and Cheng Tian accidentally killed Vega.
• Cheng Tian left Bazett and Mina to secure the laboratory, then traveled with Eileen, Utan, December, and the others to the SIN Department building to use their plunder privileges.

Cheng Tian gained the S-rank Psychic Power Battle Style: Origin, which opened a new path for developing his powers and linked his HP and MP in Origin State. As Eileen rushed him to the SIN Department building, Cheng Tian wondered about getting a vehicle for transporting troops, while supervisor Seth trembled inside.

• Cheng Tian received the S-rank Psychic Power Battle Style: Origin and learned its abilities, including using Spirit for certain resistance checks and linking HP and MP in Origin State.
• Cheng Tian realized that the destruction of Vega’s imprint had cost him a reliable inheritance path but granted him greater freedom to develop his Psychic Power.
• Cheng Tian felt that the skill had opened a new cultivation path and thinned the wall around his spirit.
• Eileen pinched Cheng Tian’s cheek, then swerved when the Tai Chi True Eye between his brows blinked at her.
• Eileen hurried Cheng Tian toward the SIN Department building, eager to gain something valuable from the plunder.
• Cheng Tian considered getting a vehicle for transporting troops as Seth trembled deep inside the building.

Seth activated the Large Feng Shui Engine’s self-destruct sequence to eliminate Cheng Tian and his companions, but Cheng Tian plundered the engine before it could explode. The chapter ended with Cheng Tian discovering eight silver-white puppet bodies stored beneath it, including a female-looking Seth.

• The organizers diverted viewers from the battle at Hammond Laboratory while the fighting continued to damage the research building.
• Seth saw Cheng Tian approach on surveillance and concluded that Vega was dead, then decided to claim Shadaloo’s leadership.
• Seth activated the Large Feng Shui Engine’s self-destruct countdown and escaped through an underground tunnel.
• Cheng Tian and Utan worked together to plunder the Large Feng Shui Engine, successfully removing it before the explosion.
• Cheng Tian inspected the engine’s description and found eight puppet bodies beneath it, including a female-looking Seth.

Cheng Tian examined the Large Feng Shui Engine and its eight blank Bio-mechanical Dolls after destroying the device and Seth’s spare bodies, then moved on toward Utan’s territory. In Tokyo, new headlines reported Athena Asamiya’s stolen underwear and revealed that Geese had been transformed into a woman.

• Cheng Tian assessed the Large Feng Shui Engine’s power functions and the eight Bio-mechanical Dolls stored inside it.
• Cheng Tian considered the risks of implanting personality data into the dolls and decided to study them after installing the engine in his laboratory.
• Cheng Tian spotted the direction Seth had fled but chose to continue looting the SIN Department, heading for Utan’s territory.
• Bunshun Daily reported that Athena Asamiya’s underwear had been stolen, prompting fan outrage and a flood of online pleas and scams.
• Geese smashed a bathroom mirror and saw that he had become a blonde woman; she turned toward the newspaper headline in fury.

After defeating Shadaloo, Cheng Tian brought the Doll Unit into Hammond Laboratory and planned to expand its research capacity with bio-mechanical dolls. With S.I.N. dormant and Eileen set to receive a Feng Shui Engine eye implant, Cheng Tian asked Maxima whether the videotape was ready.

• Cheng Tian saw that Terry was delighted by Geese’s feminization and learned that Wenwen had provided the newspaper photograph.
• Cheng Tian assessed the aftermath of his victory: Shadaloo had collapsed, while S.I.N. had become wary of Hammond Laboratory.
• Cheng Tian hired the Doll Unit to work at Hammond Laboratory and used the laboratory’s research projects to consider how to ease Utan’s workload.
• Utan realized the bio-mechanical dolls could become research assistants, and he noted that Eileen’s Feng Shui Engine implant could soon be arranged.
• Cheng Tian turned to Maxima and asked whether the videotape was ready.

Cheng Tian prepared to secure an invitation before the battle’s deadline so he could keep the gains from the three-way brawl, and sent an Original Stone Pterosaur after a Corviknight carrying a stolen invitation. The chapter ended as Yamada Daiki used a Yamada Style Technique to fling Zanzan Rouga into the air just as the pterosaur arrived.

• Cheng Tian decided to grab an invitation early to protect his gains if the main storyline failed.
• Cheng Tian located the airborne Corviknight through the 996 Team’s livestream and sent his Original Stone Pterosaur after it.
• Cheng Tian watched the Delinquent Superiority team face Yamada Daiki and the Twin Dragon Brothers of the Cold Front Team.
• Yamada Daiki used a Yamada Style Technique to hurl Zanzan Rouga into the air as the Original Stone Pterosaur arrived.

Cheng Tian remotely sent Stand World to defeat Zanzan Rouga and the Kenkatsu Jotou Team, then took their invitation and changed the team name to Oli-Oli. As the fight ended, Cheng Tian wondered whether collecting every invitation would automatically make him champion.

• Yamada Daiki used telekinesis to restrain Tenrou Kunagi and Kyodo Senna while Ryuichi and Ryuuji attacked them with their Combined Twin Dragon Gale Kick.
• Cheng Tian sent Stand World to strike all five fighters from a distance, then met Zanzan Rouga's Wolf Fang Assault with a flaming fist.
• Stand World invaded Rouga's body with Psychic Power and detonated a shock burst inside his head, leaving him dazed.
• Stand World tore open Rouga's shirt and took the invitation hidden inside, changing the livestream team name from Kenkatsu Jotou to Oli-Oli.
• Cheng Tian wondered whether taking every invitation would make him the champion automatically.

Cheng Tian’s team seized invitations from Corviknight and the Twin Dragon Brothers after a confused aerial chase. The Black Curtain announced that teams holding multiple invitations could choose replacement teams for the main tournament, changing the stakes of the qualifiers.

• Mamahaha chased Corviknight for its invitation until the Original Stone Pterosaur arrived and began pursuing her.
• Corviknight’s Bluster enraged Mamahaha and the Original Stone Pterosaur, and the pterosaur mistook Mamahaha for Corviknight and attacked her.
• An invisible force dragged Mamahaha out of the sky, and Yamada Daiki took the invitation she had carried.
• Cheng Tian used World to frighten Yamada into handing over the invitation, giving his team two invitations.
• The Black Curtain announced that teams with multiple invitations could designate other teams as substitutes in the main tournament.

Cheng Tian received the Ikari Warriors at his laboratory after they came to verify that he had killed Shadaloo's leader, Vega. After showing them Vega's preserved corpse and explaining his research, Cheng Tian offered to grow them replacement limbs.

• Cheng Tian reviewed the Seed Teams and stopped provoking other fighters while challenges around the tournament increased.
• Ralf, Clark, and Leona visited Cheng Tian after Colonel Heidern asked Ralf to confirm that Shadaloo's leader had died there.
• Cheng Tian led the Ikari Warriors through his laboratory, where they saw former Doll Unit clones working as assistants.
• Cheng Tian showed them Vega's crudely reassembled corpse preserved in a cultivation chamber.
• Leona questioned Cheng Tian about cloning and unethical experiments, and Cheng Tian explained why he was studying Vega's remains.
• Cheng Tian offered to grow replacement limbs for the Ikari Warriors if they provided their DNA.

Cheng Tian persuaded the Ikari Warriors to provide blood samples for research into Colonel Hardian’s eye and Leona’s Orochi Blood. As rumors about Hammond Laboratory spread, the KOF97 qualifiers ended on the fourth day.

• Cheng Tian offered to cultivate a replacement eye for Colonel Hardian, and Ralf and Clark reconsidered their refusal.
• Cheng Tian explained that Leona’s Orochi Blood could cause her to lose control, unsettling Leona and her brothers.
• Cheng Tian offered to research Leona’s bloodline, and the Ikari Warriors ended up having blood drawn by his doll assistants.
• The Ikari Warriors warned Cheng Tian that NESTS was spreading rumors that Hammond Laboratory had plundered Shadaloo and was weakened by internal conflict.
• The bell rang at noon on the fourth day, officially ending the qualifiers.