Chapter Summaries

Wenren Sheng went to rescue Liu Jian and two fellow students, who were trapped in village ruins while investigating the Blood Monkey Wood Carving. After hearing the carving’s tragic history, he entered the ruins to investigate, reflecting on how his own cleverness differed from Jiang’s.

• Wenren Sheng received Liu Jian’s call explaining that he and two students were trapped in the village ruins after investigating the carving’s history.
• Liu Jian admitted that the students had declined help from the local Patrol Division because they thought they could handle the investigation themselves.
• Wenren Sheng flew to the ruins and confirmed that the students had food and water while they waited in one place.
• Wenren Sheng reviewed the story of Jiang, whose affair, misunderstanding, and attempt to outwit his enemy led to seven deaths and the village’s destruction.
• Wenren Sheng felt uneasy about the tale’s warning but decided his own schemes were mutually beneficial and not like Jiang’s.

Wenren Sheng found his three students trapped in an illusion and assessed how their personalities had affected their choices. After waking them, he learned that Liu Jian had lost the wooden practice carving and began teaching the students search techniques.

• Wenren Sheng watched Liu Jian, Wang Xia, and Hu Qingyang argue and spar with illusions inside the ruined temple, then judged their teamwork and individual weaknesses.
• Wenren Sheng woke the three students, praised their performance, and told Liu Jian to return the wooden carving for a class discussion.
• Liu Jian realized the carving was missing, and Wang Xia and Hu Qingyang offered to help search and share the cost if it could not be found.
• Wenren Sheng said the carving could not have gone far and taught the three students beginner-level Eagle Eye search techniques.

After Wenren Sheng and his students recovered the Bloodstained Wood Carving, their return flight was diverted by an emergency call-up. Wenren Sheng learned that a mysterious fog had appeared at a county porcelain factory and agreed to inspect it with his students.

• Liu Jian found the Bloodstained Wood Carving beneath a clay statue, and Wenren Sheng confirmed it was genuine after seeing an illusion of a blood-red rope.
• Wenren Sheng and his three students left the abandoned village, traveled to the county airport, and boarded a plane home.
• The plane turned back after an emergency notice, and Patrol Officers Wang and Ma took Wenren Sheng and his students to the county Patrol Division.
• Inspector Ma explained that mysterious fog and cries had appeared at a key porcelain factory, where two Overaged researchers made porcelain with mysterious functions.
• Wenren Sheng agreed to inspect the factory and told Liu Jian, Wang Xia, and Hu Qingyang to observe and learn.

Wenren Sheng investigated a strange fog at a porcelain factory and traced it to human bones taken from Wang Family Village. A blood-red porcelain disc revealed an ancient massacre, and Wenren Sheng resolved the disturbance before leaving with the disc as payment.

• Wenren Sheng arrived at the factory with his group and questioned Director Dong about the strange fog and the factory’s supernatural porcelain production.
• Hu Qingyang recalled old footprints near Wang Family Village, and Director Dong confirmed the village was one of the factory’s sites for burying porcelain and collecting soil.
• Wenren Sheng released blood from the wooden monkey carving into a kiln, and a porcelain disc emerged depicting a man about to attack four women and children.
• Wenren Sheng identified the disc as a record of an ancient massacre and confirmed that clearing resentment at the village ruins had triggered the factory disturbance.
• Wenren Sheng declared the matter resolved, advised Director Dong to investigate the origins of bones used in future porcelain, and accepted the blood disc as payment.

After the Wu County banquet, Liu Jian resolved to gain power by making himself useful to Wenren Sheng, while the students discussed their rewards and their ambitions on the flight home. Wenren Sheng then reviewed their homework reports about the strange collectibles and their histories.

• Liu Jian reflected on his father's death and decided to pursue power by serving Wenren Sheng and investigating the monkey sculpture.
• Wang Xia refused Magistrate Wang's offer of wine, and the banquet ended with each of Wenren Sheng's three students receiving fifty thousand yuan.
• On the flight home, Liu Jian, Wang Xia, and Hu Qingyang discussed their pay, studying, and the need for Otherworldly Users to fight and improve.
• Wenren Sheng parted from his students and read their Key of Secrets messages about the collectibles, including a headless general, royal intrigues, and an attack by mountain villagers.
• Wenren Sheng replied to the students' reports and noted that the histories of most of the thirteen collectibles had been uncovered, though two remained unclear.

Wenren Sheng examined his students’ investigation assignments and discovered that an ancient general’s speaking helmet and headless armor were connected. The armor attacked Wang Wenwen and Zhao Han, but Wenren Sheng stopped it with his control over Alien Power, leaving him with potential material for Puppet Manipulation practice.

• Wenren Sheng unpacked twelve boxes of investigation assignments and awakened an ancient general’s helmet, which spoke with Wu Shanshan.
• Wu Shanshan took the helmet to study, hoping its surviving spirit might offer insight into bringing back her mother.
• Wang Wenwen brought Wenren Sheng a headless suit of armor, and he confirmed with President Zhao that it had once belonged with the helmet.
• The armor asked Wang Wenwen and Zhao Han whether they had seen its helmet, then manifested a saber and attacked them.
• Wenren Sheng halted the saber with Alien Power and told Wang Wenwen that her Defense Art training could protect her from the attack.

Wenren Sheng subdued a newly awakened Armor Spirit, then used the headless armor to practice Puppet Manipulation after it attacked him. He began inscribing control rituals on the armor while Wu Shanshan watched and hoped to learn the skill.

• Wenren Sheng restrained the Armor Spirit, inspected the other artifacts, and increased his Mystery Points limit by two.
• Wu Shanshan brought Wenren Sheng the helmet after the armor had gone dormant, and he restored the suit by infusing it with power.
• The Armor Spirit attacked Wenren Sheng after awakening, so Wu Shanshan struck it with green flame before Wenren Sheng stopped her and put the armor away.
• Wenren Sheng explained that the Armor Spirit resisted being controlled and decided to use it to practice Puppet Manipulation.
• Wenren Sheng carried the armor to his study and drew control, transmission, and surveillance rituals across it with his blood while Wu Shanshan watched.

Wenren Sheng bought the Ancient General Armor from Wang Cuiyan after Wang Wenwen admitted she had taken it without permission, then advised Wang Wenwen to be honest with her mother. Wang Cuiyan still punished Wang Wenwen, and Wenren Sheng proposed an Adventure Park scenario to help mother and daughter understand each other.

• Wenren Sheng discovered that the Ancient General Armor belonged to Wang Cuiyan and called her to explain what had happened.
• Wang Cuiyan gave Wenren Sheng the armor, and he told Wang Wenwen that admitting mistakes and taking responsibility could prevent matters from getting worse.
• Wang Wenwen went home intending to thank Wang Cuiyan with dinner, but Wang Cuiyan punished her for taking the armor.
• Wang Wenwen returned to Wenren Sheng's home the next morning bruised and blamed his advice for her punishment.
• Wenren Sheng proposed inviting Wang Wenwen and Wang Cuiyan to Wu Shanshan's Adventure Park on Saturday so they could understand each other better.

Wenren Sheng borrowed more collectibles from President Zhao and learned that Wenren De was heading to North Ice City for an Otherworldly User transplant. After arranging for Wu Liansong to accompany him, Wenren Sheng prepared to courier the Ancient General Armor to a friend at the North Ice City Patrol Division.

• Wu Shanshan told Wenren Sheng she would handle the matter he had mentioned and hinted that it would kill two birds with one stone.
• Wenren Sheng and Li Shuangyue returned the collectibles to President Zhao, then Wenren Sheng selected ten more to borrow and take home.
• Wenren De called Wenren Sheng to say he was going to North Ice City for an Otherworldly User transplant, and Wenren Sheng asked Wu Liansong to accompany him.
• Wu Liansong joined Wenren De and Meng Lin, and the three boarded a plane headed north.
• Wenren Sheng packed the Ancient General Armor and prepared to courier it to a friend at the North Ice City Patrol Division.

Wu Shanshan led the group into a staged scenario with separate doors for diners and chefs, while Wenren Sheng guessed she had a hidden purpose. The group split between the doors, and Wang Wenwen and Wang Cuiyan were both rejected when they tried to enter as diners.

• Wang Cuiyan convinced herself that harshly punishing Wang Wenwen would keep her daughter from repeating the mistakes of President Zhao's pampered child, while Wang Wenwen felt hurt by her mother's coldness.
• Wu Shanshan announced that her scenario was ready, and the group entered a corridor lined with portraits of historical figures.
• Wenren Sheng noticed that all the figures in the portraits were dead, then claimed he had guessed Wu Shanshan's real intention but would wait to reveal it.
• Zhao Han entered through the Diner's Door, and Wenren Sheng entered through the Chef's Door.
• Wang Wenwen failed to open the Chef's Door and joined the diners, while Li Shuangyue and Ouyang Ling also chose that door.
• Wu Shanshan entered through the Chef's Door, and Wang Cuiyan failed to enter through the Diner's Door before choosing the Chef's Door instead.

Wenren Sheng, Wu Shanshan, and Wang Cuiyan prepared food in the Chef's Door while the diners waited under Wu Shanshan's illusion. Wang Cuiyan confronted Wang Wenwen with a horrifying display of a talking heart, leaving their reconciliation unresolved.

• Wenren Sheng searched out the hidden menu and began preparing tuna dishes while Wu Shanshan baked pastries and Wang Cuiyan awkwardly cracked eggs.
• Wang Wenwen and Zhao Han waited for their food, and Wang Wenwen blamed her mother for the delay while hoping she had entered the Chef's Door to apologize.
• Li Shuangyue told Ouyang Ling and Wang Wenwen about a friend's report of fog at sea filled with gunfire and screams.
• Wu Shanshan's illusion immobilized the diners: Zhao Han appeared dead, Ouyang Ling fell asleep, Li Shuangyue became a statue, and Wang Wenwen could barely move.
• Wang Cuiyan approached Wang Wenwen carrying a plate with a beating heart and urged her daughter to eat it, while Wang Wenwen cried and protested the horrifying scene.

Wang Wenwen gained Expert Level strength in Extraordinary Physique and Mystic Painting from Wenren Sheng, then used her painting to convince Wang Cuiyan to ease her control. When Wang Cuiyan still demanded that she marry and have a child, Wang Wenwen decided to make a lifelike puppet family as a Benevolent Lie.

• Wenren Sheng offered to grant Wang Wenwen a wish in exchange for doubling her weight, then strengthened her skills to Expert Level.
• Wang Wenwen showed Wang Cuiyan an Expert Level Mystic Painting of an eagle teaching its young to fly and said she had surpassed her.
• Wang Cuiyan admitted Wang Wenwen was stronger and promised to discipline her less harshly, but still insisted she marry and have a child.
• Wenren Sheng reminded Wang Wenwen that a puppet could solve her problem, and she resolved to make a lifelike puppet child to gain freedom.

After Wang Wenwen reconciled with her mother, Wenren Sheng focused on the puppet armor and remotely sent it to guard his father during an Otherworldly transplantation. At the facility, Wu Liansong waited as another family’s argument revealed that one brother was transferring his Otherworldly Species to the other.

• Wang Wenwen declined Zhao Han’s pastries to control her weight, then accepted some when Wenren Sheng mentioned rituals that could cause weight loss.
• Wang Cuiyan let Wenren Sheng borrow from her collection, and Wang Wenwen gained permission to borrow from it as long as she returned or compensated for anything she took.
• Wenren Sheng remotely controlled the puppet armor to guard Wenren De while his father underwent an Otherworldly transplantation in North Ice City.
• Wu Liansong waited outside the operating room and remembered his daughter Xiao Bai, who was in Another World.
• A couple arrived on the wrong day for their son’s transplantation appointment and argued over the date and how their family had handled their children’s cultivation.
• Wu Liansong realized that the family had come because one youth was giving his Otherworldly Species to his younger brother.

Wu Liansong waited outside the operating room and spoke with Hua Shangtian, whose sons were undergoing an Otherworldly transplant. He learned the older son was giving up his power for his younger brother and suspected the kind youth’s sacrifice would be repaid with cruelty.

• Hua Shangtian struck up a conversation with Wu Liansong, introduced himself, and said his sons were also scheduled for transplants.
• Hua Shangtian brought his sixteen-year-old son, Hua Buer, and his nineteen-year-old son over to greet Wu Liansong.
• The older son said he planned to transfer his Otherworldly power to Hua Buer because his progress test results were poor.
• Wu Liansong suggested the progress test might not reflect everyone’s abilities, but Hua Buer challenged him and refused to apologize.
• Wu Liansong judged the older son kind-hearted and feared his sacrifice would leave him with an ordinary life while Hua Buer benefited.

Wenren Sheng used the Armor Puppet to investigate a suspicious family at the hospital, suspecting that Hua Buer’s alien species transplant concealed a scheme. The family was detained for questioning, and Hua Buer insisted the transplant had passed every inspection.

• Wenren Sheng realized the Armor Puppet could trigger mysterious events and decided to use it to investigate the hospital incident.
• Wenren De emerged from surgery with conflicted feelings, while Hua Buer impatiently urged his mother to leave.
• The Armor Puppet noticed Hua Buer’s suspicious reaction and called the Inspection Office to request support.
• Security officers detained Hua Shangtian’s family and questioned them separately, with the Armor Puppet interrogating Hua Buer.
• Hua Buer denied knowing why his mother had mixed up the date and argued that his brother’s transplant had passed strict review.

Wenren Sheng uncovered that the Seed of Sorrow had engineered Hua Youcong’s slow cultivation and his brother’s betrayal to create lasting grief, but he could not reveal the full supernatural truth. After the Armor Puppet showed Hua Youcong recordings of his brother interrupting his moments of insight, Hua Youcong refused to believe his younger brother had acted maliciously.

• Hua Buer privately gloated that he had caused Hua Youcong’s slow cultivation and believed no one could stop his plan.
• Wenren Sheng reviewed Hua Youcong’s questioning and asked Zhao Han to divine scenes of the brothers studying together.
• Wenren Sheng identified Hua Youcong as the true owner of the Seed of Sorrow and realized it had manipulated events to make his brother’s betrayal cause lasting grief.
• Wenren Sheng concluded that he could expose Hua Buer but could not explain the Seed of Sorrow without risking Old Wu’s life.
• The Armor Puppet showed Hua Youcong recordings of Hua Buer repeatedly interrupting his moments of insight, but Hua Youcong rejected the accusation that his younger brother had schemed against him.

Wu Liansong failed to persuade Hua Youcong to avoid transferring his Otherworldly User to Hua Buer, and the transplant went ahead. The chapter ended with Hua Buer taking his family on a planned trip to Whale Sea, while Wu Liansong remained concerned about Hua Youcong.

• The Armor Puppet told Wu Liansong that Hua Youcong still refused to believe Hua Buer was plotting against him, and explained that Hua Youcong would lose his Otherworldly User even if the transplant was delayed.
• Wu Liansong tried once more to change Hua Youcong's mind, but Hua Youcong insisted that his younger brother needed the Otherworldly User while he was still sixteen.
• Hua Shangtian accepted that the transplant would go ahead, and Hua Youcong and Hua Buer completed it smoothly the next day.
• Wu Liansong visited Hua Youcong afterward, gave him a business card, and offered to help if anything happened; Hua Buer showed little respect for his family or Wu Liansong.
• Hua Buer invited his family to Whale Sea for an outing, and Hua Shangtian agreed to take another day off.

Wenren Sheng used his Armor Puppet to watch Hua Shangtian’s family as they sailed into dangerous waters. After the yacht capsized, Hua Buer abandoned his family and revealed that Hua Youcong had given him an Otherworldly User, leaving Wenren Sheng to realize the Seed of Sorrow was setting Hua Youcong up to bear the blame for a death.

• Wenren Sheng concluded that his low Mystery Points came from already knowing that Otherworldly Users interfered with one another, then resumed monitoring Hua Youcong with his Armor Puppet.
• The Armor Puppet followed Hua Shangtian’s family as their yacht sailed far from shore, despite the speedboat driver’s warnings about the dangerous conditions.
• A violent wave overturned the yacht, and Hua Shangtian, his family, and the yacht driver jumped into the freezing sea wearing life jackets.
• Hua Buer refused to help Hua Shangtian escape, arguing that his parents deserved to die if they expected him to sacrifice himself for them.
• Hua Youcong demanded that Hua Buer rescue their parents, but Hua Buer thanked him for giving him an Otherworldly User and swam away.
• Wenren Sheng realized the Seed of Sorrow intended Hua Youcong to survive as an orphan while feeling responsible for an innocent person’s death.

Hua Youcong tried to reclaim the Otherworldly User from Hua Buer, but their confrontation turned deadly when Hua Youcong stabbed his brother and believed he had killed him. Hua Buer survived and resumed his attack on their parents and the yacht driver as Wenren Sheng ordered the speedboat to hurry toward them.

• Hua Youcong caught Hua Buer and ordered him to return and save their parents, while the yacht driver and Hua Shangtian warned him not to trust his brother.
• Hua Buer pretended to apologize, then stabbed Hua Youcong in the leg and fled with the Otherworldly User.
• Hua Youcong threw the dagger at Hua Buer to stop him, accidentally striking his back, and Hua Buer appeared to die.
• Hua Youcong swam toward Hua Buer to reclaim the Otherworldly User, but Hua Buer suddenly revived, stabbed Hua Youcong's other leg, and swam toward their parents and the yacht driver.
• Wenren Sheng ordered the speedboat driver to go at maximum speed toward the unfolding violence.

Wenren Sheng and Wu Liansong dealt with the aftermath of Hua Buer’s attempt to kill his family, and Wu rescued Hua Youcong and the others while leaving Hua Buer for the authorities. Wenren Sheng received Mystery Points for completing the event and discussed with Wu how tragedies caused by Alien Powers might be an unavoidable probability.

• Hua Buer attacked his family at sea, and Wu Liansong arrived by helicopter after Hua Shangtian called for help.
• Wu Liansong rescued Hua Youcong, Hua Shangtian, Mother Hua, and the yacht driver, but left Hua Buer suspended beneath the helicopter for the Patrol Division.
• The Armor Puppet paid the speedboat driver and returned to the harbor.
• Wenren Sheng received 15 Mystery Points and an increased limit of 278 points for completing the Alien Power transplant event.
• Wu Liansong thanked Wenren Sheng for the warning that had led him to the scene, and they discussed how Alien Powers could make such tragedies a recurring probability.