Chapter Summaries

Song Ze agreed to help Raska investigate Maeve Manufacturing, while Li Yao discovered Maeve's unusual abilities and arranged to share her potion formulas with Lin Xiaowei. The chapter ended with Li Yao asking Lin Xiaowei whether he should burn incense for her on Qingming Festival.

• Song Ze sent Raska an email requesting assistance with the difficult infiltration, and Raska replied that he would come in person.
• Li Yao learned the Flight Spell, then asked Maeve to add her strongest poison formulas to Maeve Manufacturing's production list and sell the products to the Wallfacers.
• Lin Xiaowei told Li Yao that Maeve was far more capable than the Mother Empress Main Towers on her side, and they discussed possible reasons for Maeve's unusual growth.
• Li Yao offered to hire typists to transcribe Maeve's formulas for Lin Xiaowei, and Lin Xiaowei accepted the plan.
• Li Yao mentioned Qingming Festival and asked Lin Xiaowei whether he should burn incense for her.

Li Yao decided to return to Tong City for Qingming Festival, while Song Ze and Raska planned an abnormal infiltration of Maeve Manufacturing. After sealing the room, Song Ze asked Raska what his true purpose was.

• Li Yao decided to visit a grave in Tong City and asked Lin Xiaoxi to find out when her parents would be going back.
• Feng Li discussed Maeve's formulas with Li Yao, who set a price and warned that they required special preservation.
• Song Ze welcomed Raska at Lukou Airport and took him to the Millennium Grand Hotel.
• Raska said he had gathered espers to infiltrate Maeve Manufacturing, and Song Ze agreed to command them in a plan to lure the defenses away.
• Song Ze sent Song Duo'er out, sealed the room with controlled gusts, and asked Raska about his true purpose.

Song Ze agreed to help Raska pursue a new body after Raska confessed that he feared dying, but ended their families’ mutual obligations after this final favor. Two days later, Li Yao prepared to take Lin Xiaoxi home, while Lin Xiaowei sent word from another world that she hoped to return.

• Song Ze realized the report about Maeve Manufacturing’s technology was likely false, and Raska admitted he wanted its research because his failing body could not sustain him much longer.
• Song Ze warned Raska to abandon his dangerous plan, but Raska insisted that he wanted to live in a new superpowered body and asked Song Ze for help.
• Song Ze agreed to help Raska one last time and asked for information about everyone Raska had brought; Raska handed him a USB drive.
• Two days later, Li Yao secretly photographed Lin Xiaoxi with Uncle Lin and Aunt Lin and sent the picture to Lin Xiaowei, who asked him to take care of her family until she returned.
• Li Yao left with Lin Xiaoxi and asked Uncle Lin and Aunt Lin about the Oral Liquid; Uncle Lin praised its effects and asked Li Yao for more after Li Yao’s father took several bottles.

Li Yao left the provincial capital with the Lin family while Song Duo'er tracked his departure and later met Ye Yu while trying to rescue stray kittens from the rain. Ye Yu cared for the cats and went to his guard post at General Mountain, while Song Duo'er left without learning his identity.

• Li Yao promised Uncle Lin more potion and rode out of the city with Uncle Lin, Aunt Lin, and Lin Xiaoxi.
• Song Duo'er reported Li Yao's departure to Song Ze, who told Raska they could act the next morning between three and four.
• Song Duo'er bought supplies for the alley cats after a downpour began, then mistook Ye Yu's words about sniffing cats for lewd behavior.
• Ye Yu explained that he was sniffing the kittens, accepted Song Duo'er's supplies, and set up shelter and food for the cats.
• Ye Yu left for General Mountain and reported for guard duty, reflecting that the assignment was not the life he had imagined as a Sword Holder.

Ye Yu approved a deployment of Wallfacers to handle metahuman criminals, leaving Maeve Manufacturing less guarded. After an attack drew Ye Yu away, Song Ze revealed himself as an infiltrator and approached the company’s production apparatus, which he sensed was alive.

• Feng Li told Ye Yu that two groups of wanted metahuman criminals had caused trouble in the provincial capital, and Ye Yu approved the deployment order after consulting Wang Xueyi.
• Wallfacers left Maeve Manufacturing, and about ten minutes later alarms sounded as intruders briefly broke into the factory area and injured several guards.
• Ye Yu rushed after the intruders, while the injured Wallfacers began to recover and resume their watch.
• A disguised Song Ze attacked the Wallfacers, admitted he was not Zhao Hai, and went to inspect Maeve Manufacturing’s production workshop.
• Song Ze examined the Incubation Tower and its attached machinery and sensed that the apparatus beneath its protective lead plates was alive.

Song Ze stole Maeve Manufacturing’s Incubation Tower and nutrient-solution apparatus, then erased his record of the night’s events and reported that the mission was complete. As Song Duo'er and Raska traveled to meet him, she sensed the driver’s hostility and prepared to use her ability, but Raska restrained her by placing a hand on her thigh.

• Song Ze used a magical gourd to capture the Incubation Tower and High-Energy Nutrient Solution mixing apparatus, then escaped General Mountain without killing the unconscious guards.
• Song Ze inspected a bamboo scroll that recorded the night’s events, carved “Curtain fall” into it, and watched it crumble into dust.
• Song Ze messaged Song Duo'er and Raska that the mission was accomplished, and Raska set out with Song Duo'er to meet him at another rendezvous location.
• Raska asked Song Duo'er to join the Association, but she noticed the driver watching her with suspicion and malice.
• Song Duo'er activated her ability, but Raska put a hand on her thigh and advised her to calm down.

Song Duo'er escaped Raska’s Flesh Shackles and used her electromagnetic abilities to transform the wrecked business car into a robot. She left the surrounding metahumans stunned as she attacked, then fled in the transformed vehicle.

• Raska revealed that he had planted Flesh Shackles inside Song Duo'er and used them to inflict intense pain.
• Song Duo'er cleared the shackles with her electromagnetic abilities and declared that she was strong.
• The business car flipped over, and Raska and the other metahumans escaped the wreck and surrounded her.
• Song Duo'er moved to the driver's seat and transformed the damaged car into a five-meter-tall robot.
• Song Duo'er punched at the surrounding metahumans, then drove away in the robot using its wheels.

Song Duo'er escaped Raska's men in a makeshift Transformer, but they captured and drugged her. Song Ze confronted Raska at their meeting place, deduced his scheme, and called it foolish.

• Song Duo'er used her alchemy-enhanced car to flee, then drove it into the wilderness when Raska's fifth-tier Espers caught up.
• Raska's men dismantled Song Duo'er's Transformer and captured her; Raska ordered them to knock her out rather than risk provoking Song Ze.
• Raska's followers brought Song Duo'er to the suburbs near Hohai University, where Song Ze was waiting with a briefcase.
• Song Ze confronted Raska and inferred that he planned to kill him, blame the Wallfacer Organization and China, and seize control of the Association and the Song Family's strength.
• Song Ze called Raska's plan elegant but foolish, freezing Raska's smile.

Song Ze exchanged the stolen production unit for Song Duo'er, then fought off Raska’s four metahuman guards and saved her. After the Wallfacers arrived, Feng Li learned that Raska had escaped with the unit, but Maeve and Li Yao barely reacted to the news.

• Song Ze exchanged the dark-red gourd for the unconscious Song Duo'er, while Raska cuffed the suitcase to himself and fled after Song Ze warned that the Wallfacers were coming.
• Song Ze used a jade bead to protect Song Duo'er and battled four metahumans, identifying their abilities as likely products of the American Federation.
• When an assassin threatened Song Duo'er, Song Ze activated Binding Fate and drained the four attackers until they became husks, then collapsed from exhaustion.
• Feng Li and the Wallfacers arrived at dawn, and Song Ze told them Raska had taken the production unit with suspected American Federation artificial metahumans protecting him.
• Feng Li ordered Ye Yu to seal the city and main roads, then called Maeve and Li Yao, who both responded with an indifferent “Oh.”

At Qingming, Li Yao visited Lin Xiaowei’s grave with the Lin family and spoke to his late friend over a video call. Lin Xiaowei asked him to obtain warship blueprints so she could fight unknown forces ravaging the Main World’s seas, leaving Li Yao stunned by the prospect of an Age of Exploration.

• Feng Li grew angry when Li Yao ended their call, but Old He persuaded her that Li Yao likely had a plan and suggested asking Tong City’s person in charge to visit him.
• Li Yao joined Uncle and Aunt Lin and Lin Xiaoxi to clean Lin Xiaowei’s grave and pay their respects.
• After the Lin family left, Li Yao called Lin Xiaowei through QQ and showed her the two mysterious Black-Clothed Men waiting outside the cemetery.
• Lin Xiaowei and Li Yao recalled their old joke about wearing black to a friend’s funeral, then Li Yao promised to help her get the latest equipment if she returned someday.
• Lin Xiaowei asked Li Yao for cruiser, battleship, and possibly aircraft-carrier blueprints to counter unknown forces that had entered the Main World and were ravaging its Seven Seas.

Li Yao returned to the provincial capital and promised Feng Li he would locate the stolen production equipment by crafting a compass with a Fifth Circle spell. He began the ritual, and the spell circuit started settling onto the compass.

• Lin Xiaowei told Li Yao she was building the Main World Naval Headquarters and wanted to be called Sea King.
• Wallfacers escorted Li Yao from Tong City to the provincial capital, where Feng Li confronted him at Midnight Bar.
• Li Yao learned Maeve could no longer sense the stolen production equipment because its signal was blocked, so he offered to make a locating compass.
• Li Yao asked Feng Li about obtaining warship blueprints, then returned to his tavern to study the Advanced Location Spell circuit.
• Li Yao used Maeve's blood and a ritual of candles, potions, and spiritual power to craft a compass, causing the spell patterns to rise and begin settling onto it.

Li Yao enchanted a Brass Compass to point toward a target and gave it to Big Sis Feng Li to aid a pursuit mission. Maeve joined the pursuit team, while Li Yao returned to researching Earth ship designs for use in the Main World.

• Li Yao successfully engraved the Magic Array Inscriptions into the Brass Compass and confirmed its red needle still pointed toward the target.
• Big Sis Feng Li tested the compass, then decided to give it to Ye Yu so he could form a pursuit team.
• Maeve asked to join the pursuit team to collect biological genetic information, and Li Yao persuaded Big Sis Feng Li to let her go.
• Feng Li left with Maeve, while Li Yao returned to his tavern and told Chen Xi that Xiaoxi would likely return the next day with Uncle Lin and Aunt Lin.
• Li Yao searched for Earth ship design blueprints, considering how Earth propulsion technology could reduce shipbuilding costs in the Main World.

Li Yao gathered shipbuilding knowledge and a large supply of ingredients for Lin Xiaowei, then reflected on how his life had changed and how much he wanted to strike back directly at the American Federation and Hydra. He recognized that his current strength and constraints kept him from acting recklessly.

• Li Yao researched warship technology and consulted university professors, collecting books and information about shipbuilding and naval engineering.
• Li Yao finished gathering ingredients, packed them with books into a storage ring, and sent them to Lin Xiaowei through the Summoning Altar.
• Lin Xiaowei confirmed she had received the supplies and said she had prepared a breeding farm, then excitedly planned a feast.
• Li Yao relaxed and reflected on how his dealings with Lin Xiaowei and the Wallfacers had changed his life.
• Li Yao remembered the Sierra Leone incident and his ongoing revenge against the American Federation and Hydra, but admitted he lacked the power to attack them directly.

After Li Yao’s campaign helped drive Hydra into hiding and weakened the American Federation’s hawks, he took Chen Xi on a spring outing and brought her to a favorite restaurant. The chapter ended with the two enjoying the food as Li Yao quietly remembered his absent best friend.

• Li Yao learned that global Esper groups had wiped out Hydra’s bases, forcing the organization to retreat, while Morgan’s faction faced pressure within the American Federation.
• Li Yao considered the nearly mature military-soul egg Maeve had incubated and looked forward to preparing for the heroes’ resurrection.
• Li Yao invited Chen Xi to spend the day outdoors, and they visited Jiming Temple, Chaotian Palace, and Niushou Mountain.
• Li Yao took Chen Xi to a small restaurant and ordered dishes he remembered from visits with his best friend.
• Chen Xi savored the Chicken Broth with Three Shreds, and Li Yao felt a pang of sadness as he thought about his best friend before encouraging her to eat.

Chen Xi told Li Yao that she planned to leave the tavern and travel to gain the experience needed to cultivate her Sword Heart. Li Yao accepted her decision and promised to prepare equipment and see her off the next day.

• Chen Xi told Li Yao she wanted to leave the tavern and travel, though she was happy there.
• Chen Xi explained that her feelings had changed as she reached the stage of polishing her heart for advancement, and that Old Lu had advised her to seek experience through sword cultivation.
• Chen Xi said she would leave the next day, had arranged for Xiao Meng and Xiao Zhang to run the bar, and would travel with Da Dong and the others on missions arranged by Old Lu.
• Li Yao agreed to see Chen Xi off and prepare equipment, urging her to take care of herself and call home if she needed help.

Li Yao secretly worked through the night after feeling empty about Chen Xi’s impending departure. The next morning, Wei Dadong, Kou Kou, and Wang Zicheng converged at the bar, and both rivals joined Wei Dadong’s peacekeeping team, leaving Li Yao and Chen Xi to witness an unusual love triangle.

• Li Yao sat outside the bar, remembered Chen Xi’s arrival, and then went to the alchemy room to work with Sauron.
• Li Yao stayed up all night making alchemical products, and Chen Xi woke him before they went downstairs for breakfast.
• Wei Dadong arrived with a group of men in black suits and was surprised to find Wang Zicheng and Kou Kou waiting for him.
• Kou Kou told Wei Dadong that she had joined his peacekeeping team as an exchange trainee, while Wang Zicheng warned him about her and tried to discredit her.
• Wei Dadong ordered Wang Zicheng and Kou Kou not to cause trouble, but Wang Zicheng revealed that he had also received a transfer order to join the team.
• Li Yao and Chen Xi watched the rivalry unfold and remarked that Wei Dadong had landed in a strange love triangle.

Li Yao introduced Chen Xi’s group to potions, battle beast seeds, and amulets he had prepared to protect them. Chen Xi praised him as handsome, while Kou Kou realized the potions might reveal a major secret about the Wallfacers.

• Wei Dadong welcomed Wang Banxian and Kou Kou into the group, then served the assembled men breakfast prepared by Chen Xi.
• Kou Kou and Wang Banxian watched the men eat in disciplined silence and reconsidered how formidable Chen Xi’s group could be as a fighting force.
• Li Yao opened his suitcase and explained that the potions inside could enhance physical abilities and grant additional powers.
• Li Yao described the Dragon Strength Potion, made with dragon-like creature blood, and explained its benefits and risks.
• Li Yao introduced four other potions, battle beast seeds, and protective amulets, telling Chen Xi to use them whenever necessary.
• Chen Xi smiled at Li Yao and called him handsome.

Li Yao gave Chen Xi’s personal guard squad powerful potions and teased Wei Dadong before letting him drink the rare Dragon Strength Potion. Wei Dadong endured its explosive effects and burped black smoke as the chapter ended.

• Li Yao presented potions and equipment for Chen Xi, and Wei Dadong assumed they were for the squad.
• Li Yao teased Wei Dadong for calling him stingy, then made him copy an apology three hundred times before he could have the Dragon Strength Potion.
• The other guards drank their chosen potions and discovered their strength and abilities had greatly improved.
• After Wei Dadong finished copying and posted his apology, Li Yao gave him the Dragon Strength Potion.
• Wei Dadong drank the potion, endured its surging power, and released a smoky, sparking burp.

Li Yao gave Wei Dadong a Dragon Strength Potion that greatly increased his physical abilities, then sent him and Chen Xi off with supplies and advice. Chen Xi left promising to return and asking Li Yao to wait for her.

• Wei Dadong recovered from the Dragon Strength Potion and discovered that his strength, speed, and senses had improved dramatically.
• Wei Dadong thanked Li Yao, who told him to protect Chen Xi and explained the medicines and training advice he had packed for the team.
• Li Yao realized his fussing came from worrying about Chen Xi, then told her to take care of herself as she prepared to leave.
• Wei Dadong packed the equipment and potions and followed Chen Xi outside.
• Chen Xi turned back at the doorway and promised Li Yao she would return, asking him to wait for her.

After Chen Xi left to travel, Li Yao struggled with the suddenly empty tavern as Lin Xiaoxi also departed for school. Feng Li told him that Maeve and the others were preparing to act on their mission, while Li Yao set himself a new goal: becoming strong enough to beat Old Man Lu.

• Li Yao closed the tavern and sat alone by the fireplace after Chen Xi and the others left.
• Lin Xiaoxi returned, misunderstood Li Yao to mean Chen Xi had died, then learned Chen Xi had left to travel and decided to return to school.
• Lin Xiaoxi left her belongings at the tavern and departed, leaving Li Yao alone again.
• Feng Li told Li Yao that Old Man Lu was in Antarctica and dismissed his chances of beating the Tier 7 Deterrent for now.
• Li Yao made beating Old Man Lu his new goal and asked about Maeve and the others’ mission.
• Feng Li said Ye Yu and the others had found a direction using Li Yao’s item and were gathering people to begin their operation.