Chapter Summaries

After defeating Ling Yufei, Ji Xinghuo began firearms training at the Sharp Sword Bureau and showed extraordinary accuracy with every weapon he tried. Ling Yufei offered him a firearm to carry, and he chose one from the armory.

• Ji Xinghuo declined Min Chongwu's offer to spar and went with Ling Yufei to the shooting range for firearms training.
• Ji Xinghuo fired the Avenger-17, hit the bullseye with every shot, and emptied a magazine into the target with perfect accuracy.
• Ji Xinghuo tested dozens of firearms while Ling Yufei explained their uses and characteristics, and Min Chongwu struggled to match his aim.
• Ling Yufei told Ji Xinghuo that Chi Xiao swordsmen could carry one registered firearm with ammunition, and Ji Xinghuo pointed to the weapon he wanted.

Ji Xinghuo chose the powerful Emperor's Hammer, completed Sharp Sword Bureau training with ease, and reached Martial Arts Rank 9 in the virtual arena. He began another ranked match against a formidable woman whose identity remained unknown.

• Ji Xinghuo chose the Emperor's Hammer and demonstrated that his skill could overcome its recoil, firing accurately enough to blast through an alloy target.
• Ling Yufei and Min Chongwu trained Ji Xinghuo in firearms and agent techniques, and he passed every virtual combat simulation.
• Ling Yufei warned Zhou Yishang that Ji Xinghuo's exceptional ability could make him dangerous, but Zhou said the bureau should help him grow.
• Ji Xinghuo defeated a Martial Arts Rank 9 opponent in the virtual arena and advanced to Martial Arts Rank 9 himself.
• Ji Xinghuo entered another ranked match and faced a silent, tall woman whose aura suggested she was very strong.

Ji Xinghuo narrowly defeated a formidable swordswoman on the Martial Arts Platform and suspected she was Zhao Manying. He accepted her rematch and a wager to reveal their identities, and their second battle began with both fighters unleashing their strength.

• Ji Xinghuo and his opponent exchanged rapid attacks and evasions until he used Blink Step, broke her sword, and knocked her out of the arena to win the first round.
• Ji Xinghuo recognized that his opponent might be Zhao Manying, the celebrated Sky Ladder First, and accepted her challenge for a second round.
• Ji Xinghuo and his opponent agreed that the loser would reveal their identity, and she launched the rematch with a sword strike.
• His opponent used Block Counter to reflect Ji Xinghuo's force, but he escaped with Flash Step and charged back into close combat.

Ji Xinghuo fought Zhao Manying in the Martial Dao World and won after a grueling twenty-four exchanges. After they added each other as friends, Zhao Manying realized he was twenty-four and began guessing his identity as New Heaven 2225.

• Ji Xinghuo and Zhao Manying traded injuries as her Tidal Force battered him, while his saber strikes gradually weakened her.
• After ten minutes and twenty-four exchanges, Ji Xinghuo pierced Zhao Manying's heart and won the match.
• Zhao Manying introduced herself, congratulated Ji Xinghuo, and asked to add him as a friend so they could arrange future matches.
• After viewing each other's profiles, they compared their ages and learned that Ji Xinghuo was four months older than Zhao Manying.
• Zhao Manying suspected that the anonymous Ji Xinghuo was a Sky Ladder contender and asked whether he was New Heaven 2225.

Ji Xinghuo and Zhao Manying spent more than a month sparring through the night, with Zhao Manying losing every match but steadily improving. After realizing that her five hundred consecutive losses had made Ji Xinghuo her inner demon, she asked to challenge him offline before the new season began.

• Ji Xinghuo and Zhao Manying fought dozens of matches in a private Martial Arts Room, and Ji Xinghuo won every time.
• They began reviewing recordings after each match, helping both improve as they continued their nightly battles.
• From mid-January through February, they fought for twelve hours each night and grew more familiar while Zhao Manying remained unaware of Ji Xinghuo's identity.
• After Ji Xinghuo won three more matches, Zhao Manying revealed that she had lost to him five hundred times in a row and feared he had become her inner demon.
• Zhao Manying told Ji Xinghuo she needed to break the inner demon before the new season and challenged him to fight offline.

Ji Xinghuo agreed to meet Zhao Manying for an offline challenge to help her overcome her inner demon, and she made the stakes that he would become her boyfriend if she lost. They arranged to fight on Mount Hua, and the chapter ended with Zhao Manying picking him up at Weiyang Tower on her Light Cycle Motorcycle.

• Ji Xinghuo agreed to challenge Zhao Manying offline, and they chose the spirit realm before she insisted on a real battle instead.
• Zhao Manying bet that she would become Ji Xinghuo's girlfriend if she lost, and Ji Xinghuo warned her to reconsider, but she refused.
• Zhao Manying chose Mount Hua for the fight and told Ji Xinghuo to meet her at Weiyang Tower so they could travel there together.
• Ji Xinghuo armed himself, drove to Weiyang Tower, and waited at the entrance.
• Zhao Manying arrived on a Light Cycle Motorcycle, confirmed Ji Xinghuo was New Heaven 2225, and told him to get on.

Ji Xinghuo rode with Zhao Manying to a remote Mount Hua summit for their duel, where they revealed their weapons and prepared to fight. The chapter ended as they moved at the same time under the hovering camera’s flash.

• Zhao Manying took Ji Xinghuo on her modified Light Cycle Motorcycle from the city to Mount Hua, and they talked during the ride.
• They reached a deserted mountaintop, where Zhao Manying showed Ji Xinghuo her private outfit and led him to a rocky clearing.
• Zhao Manying asked Ji Xinghuo’s name, but he said he would tell her if she won.
• Zhao Manying introduced her Startling Goose sword, and Ji Xinghuo revealed his Thunder Gallop, Demon Sound, and Invisible Thorn weapons.
• Zhao Manying received Ji Xinghuo’s permission to record the duel and sent a hovering camera above them.
• On the camera’s third flash, Ji Xinghuo and Zhao Manying moved at the same time.

Ji Xinghuo and Zhao Manying fought a fierce duel on the mountaintop, trading ranged attacks and close-combat techniques while Zhao’s equipment repeatedly blunted his strikes. The battle continued as her four sword phantoms returned to attack him.

• Ji Xinghuo retreated from Zhao Manying’s charge and struck her with a bolt of lightning, but her Chromium Gold Armguard shielded her.
• Ji Xinghuo fired Silent Arrows, but Zhao Manying stopped them with Kinetic Stringer and counterattacked with a kinetic torrent.
• Zhao Manying summoned four invisible sword phantoms and charged, while Ji Xinghuo used Sound Burst and Blink Step to break her restraints and evade her Sword Qi.
• Zhao Manying’s Ice Soul Bracelet and Ice Armor blocked Ji Xinghuo’s Ultrasonic Sword Qi as the two entered close combat.
• Ji Xinghuo struck Zhao Manying’s shoulder with a Sound Spear, but her Steel Amulet reduced the damage, and her four sword phantoms attacked him again.

Ji Xinghuo fought Zhao Manying on the mountaintop and used his abilities and skill to overcome her superior endurance and speed. He defeated her and pinned her down, asking whether she now believed he could do it.

• Ji Xinghuo destroyed Zhao Manying's four sword-shadow clones and struggled against her in a prolonged clash before pulling away to conserve his Stellar Force.
• Ji Xinghuo told Zhao Manying that the virtual platform had restricted him too, then sent Azure Rainbow aside and charged at her with his body covered in azure-gold scales.
• Ji Xinghuo used Blink Step, lightning, and precise swordsmanship to break Zhao Manying's attacks and leave her wounded and slowed.
• Ji Xinghuo disarmed Zhao Manying, shattered her ice sword, and struck her with Thunderclap Hand and Bumblebee's Shriek, interrupting her Psionics.
• Ji Xinghuo knocked Zhao Manying to the ground, pinned her with his body, and held his blade and sword at her neck before asking if she knew he could do it.

After Ji Xinghuo defeated Zhao Manying, he asked her to keep the fight and his new Sky Ladder ranking private. Zhao Manying insisted on honoring her promise to date him, and the chapter ended with them riding together toward the city for a late-night meal.

• Ji Xinghuo and Zhao Manying recovered after their fight, and Zhao Manying admitted defeat and offered to report his victory to the ADC.
• Ji Xinghuo asked Zhao Manying not to reveal the fight because he did not want the attention and challenges that came with Sky Ladder First.
• Zhao Manying pressed Ji Xinghuo to accept her promise to date him, and he agreed to try dating for a hundred days.
• Ji Xinghuo told Zhao Manying his name and explained that he was a Magnetic Field Maniac, not a Ranger.
• Zhao Manying invited Ji Xinghuo to dinner, and they rode her Light Cycle Motorcycle toward Chang'an City together.

Ji Xinghuo and Zhao Manying shared a late-night barbecue after returning to Chang'an City, joking about dating and learning more about each other. The conversation ended with Zhao Manying stunned to learn that Ji Xinghuo had been an ordinary person just a year and a half earlier.

• Ji Xinghuo changed out of his damaged martial arts uniform, then rode with Zhao Manying to a restaurant where they shared an expensive barbecue meal.
• Zhao Manying joked that she could pay Ji Xinghuo one hundred million a year to be her boyfriend, and he played along.
• Azure Rainbow emerged from Ji Xinghuo's pocket and ate extra portions of grilled meat while Zhao Manying realized it was a Transcendent-level Spirit Object.
• Zhao Manying told Ji Xinghuo about her younger brother, Zhao Cangming, and worried that his progress as an Aberrant had stalled.
• Ji Xinghuo revealed that he had been an ordinary person a year and a half earlier, and Zhao Manying was shocked.

Ji Xinghuo and Zhao Manying grew closer after he revealed how quickly he had risen in strength, and they shared their first kiss. Zhao Manying posted a photo announcing their relationship, leaving her phone overwhelmed with calls.

• Zhao Manying learned that Ji Xinghuo had become an Advanced Esper in a year and a half and had defeated Sky Ladder First.
• Ji Xinghuo reassured Zhao Manying about her strength, and she admitted she had been teasing him before apologizing and kissing him.
• Ji Xinghuo and Zhao Manying exchanged stories about their families, careers, and experiences in the Star Realm.
• Zhao Manying found Ji Xinghuo’s old social media posts praising her and joked about how he had once claimed he was not interested in women.
• Ji Xinghuo told Zhao Manying he was a swordsman of the Sharp Sword Bureau and asked her not to publicly announce their relationship.
• Zhao Manying posted a photo of their intertwined fingers with the caption “First love is sweet!” and her phone began ringing frantically.

After Zhao Manying publicly announced her relationship with Ji Xinghuo, her team and loved ones reacted while the news spread across social media. The two shared the public’s bizarre speculation, then parted for the night with Ji Xinghuo considering a move closer to her home.

• Zhao Manying told her media assistant Sister Liu that she was dating someone, but kept Ji Xinghuo’s identity private and declined to have him appear publicly.
• Sister Liu outlined plans to manage the announcement’s impact, while Zhao Manying’s mother, brother, club owner, and teammates called to ask about the relationship.
• Ji Xinghuo saw Zhao Manying’s post dominate worldwide trending topics and read the wildly speculative comments about her boyfriend.
• Zhao Manying and Ji Xinghuo laughed over the online reactions, finished their barbecue, and left together after one in the morning.
• Ji Xinghuo declined Zhao Manying’s offer to take him home and mentioned that he might move nearer to Weiyang Tower; Zhao Manying offered to look for a place.
• Zhao Manying rode back to her apartment, and Ji Xinghuo watched her go, reflecting on their dreamlike night.

Ji Xinghuo and Zhao Manying grew closer through dates and sparring until a Sharp Sword Bureau mission interrupted them. Zhou Yishang recruited Ji Xinghuo to join a team sent to the City of Immortality to capture Shen Yucheng and recover stolen Astral Department materials.

• Ji Xinghuo and Zhao Manying spent several days dating and sparring, while her open letter asked fans to respect her boyfriend’s privacy.
• During a sparring session, Ji Xinghuo received an urgent call from Zhou Yishang and left Zhao Manying after she asked him to remember her.
• Zhou Yishang told Ji Xinghuo that Shen Yucheng, a deputy director of the Astral Department’s Exploration Department, had defected with sensitive materials.
• Zhou Yishang explained that Shen Yucheng had been linked to the informant who reported Ji Zongbang and had fled to the City of Immortality.
• Zhou Yishang said ten Chi Xiao swordsmen would search for Shen Yucheng and recover the materials, and Ji Xinghuo eagerly asked when he would leave.

Ji Xinghuo entered the City of Immortality under the identity of David Renatus and joined the search for Shen Yucheng. After learning the Dark Tide Gang's General had met Shen, Ji Xinghuo went alone to the gang's headquarters and unleashed an electromagnetic pulse on its guards.

• Zhou Yishang assigned Ji Xinghuo to the second group entering the City of Immortality, and the surgeon altered his appearance and gave him the sword-sheath identity David Renatus.
• Ji Xinghuo and four other Chi Xiao swordsmen traveled through the Chaka Star Gate to Olympia, then entered the City of Immortality separately.
• At the South America Branch's secret base, Liu Tiansi briefed ten Chi Xiao swordsmen on finding Shen Yucheng and retrieving the information he carried within seventy-two hours.
• Ji Xinghuo declined Ling Yufei's offer to work together, took a Hammer and a Light Cycle Motorcycle, and rode to the Dark Tide Gang's district.
• Ji Xinghuo found the General inside the gang's headquarters and unleashed an electromagnetic pulse as the guards aimed their guns at him.

Ji Xinghuo massacred the Dark Tide Gang and defeated its leader, Gonzaga, while searching for Shen Yucheng. Gonzaga revealed that Elorin of Black Dream had introduced Shen Yucheng to him, giving Ji Xinghuo a lead before he killed Gonzaga.

• Ji Xinghuo used an Electromagnetic Pulse to disable the Dark Tide Gang’s defenses, then entered its building and killed gang members as he advanced.
• Ji Xinghuo descended through the elevator shaft, blasted through the gang’s underground defenders, and lured its remaining elites into an ambush.
• Ji Xinghuo killed a Super Shadow Blade and fought Gonzaga, disabling the gang leader’s body and smart-brain chip before interrogating him.
• Gonzaga told Ji Xinghuo that Elorin of Black Dream had introduced Shen Yucheng and that Shen had sought an introduction to a high-ranking Giant Conglomerate member.
• Ji Xinghuo killed Gonzaga after questioning him.

Ji Xinghuo wiped out the Dark Tide Gang, then traveled to Saint Fibo District to find the intermediary Black Dream Elorin. He discovered that Elorin was a follower of the Extreme Desire Saintess and knocked on her door to speak with her.

• Ji Xinghuo took Gonzaga's Power Hammer, Repulsion Field bracer, and safe, then fought his way out of the Dark Tide Gang's building and left on his Light Cycle Motorcycle.
• Ji Xinghuo reached Saint Fibo District, recognized the danger of displaying his motorcycle, hid it, and continued on foot in disguise.
• Ji Xinghuo dealt with several people who followed him and located Black Dream Elorin in a high-rise tower.
• Ji Xinghuo found Elorin using a neural connection to experience virtual encounters with several men and waited for her to finish.
• Ji Xinghuo sneaked past the guards, recognized signs that Elorin followed the Extreme Desire Saintess, and politely knocked on her door.

Ji Xinghuo forced broker Elorin to reveal where Shen Yucheng was hiding and confronted him in a crowded residential tower. Shen Yucheng calmly asked Ji Xinghuo for his codename in the Sharp Sword Bureau.

• Ji Xinghuo asked Elorin about Shen Yucheng, but she refused to betray her client and tried to seduce him.
• When Ji Xinghuo rejected her, Elorin attacked with her mechanical prosthetics and psychic powers, but he resisted and defeated her and the men who rushed in.
• Elorin surrendered and told Ji Xinghuo that Shen Yucheng had used the alias John, sought introductions to Giant Conglomerate officials, and was staying nearby.
• Ji Xinghuo followed Elorin's address to a crowded tower and found Shen Yucheng inside a small room.
• Shen Yucheng revealed his true face and calmly asked Ji Xinghuo for his codename in the Sharp Sword Bureau.

Ji Xinghuo confronted Shen Yucheng, who returned the Astral Department’s stolen data and warned him about the Qian Yuan Society before attacking. Ji Xinghuo defeated and killed Shen Yucheng as Americas Federation forces approached the area.

• Shen Yucheng asked Ji Xinghuo for his codename, gave him the storage device containing the complete data, and warned him to beware of the Qian Yuan Society.
• Shen Yucheng transformed into a Flame Berserker and attacked Ji Xinghuo, who fought back with Hammer, his battle blade, and lightning abilities.
• Shen Yucheng survived severe injuries and fell from the thirty-ninth floor, but Ji Xinghuo tracked him down and evaded his ambush.
• Ji Xinghuo spotted Americas Federation fighters approaching and decided Shen Yucheng could not be captured by them.
• Ji Xinghuo anticipated Shen Yucheng’s final attack and cut him in half with Lei Chi, killing him.

Ji Xinghuo recovered Shen Yucheng’s files and completed the mission, but Shen’s strange warning about the Qian Yuan Society raised concerns about a wider conspiracy. Back in Chang’an, Ji Xinghuo reported the warning to Zhou Yishang, then examined the valuable weapons and collection he had taken from the City of Immortality.

• Ji Xinghuo fled the rooftop after killing Shen Yucheng, evading the arriving Aerospace Fighters and Mechanical Rebels before returning to the Sharp Sword Bureau’s secret base with the storage device.
• Ji Xinghuo reported that Shen Yucheng was dead and explained how he had tracked him down; technicians confirmed the recovered files were genuine and uncopied, so Liu Tiansi ended the operation.
• Ji Xinghuo returned to Chang’an and told Zhou Yishang that Shen Yucheng had warned him to beware of the Qian Yuan Society, which Zhou Yishang agreed to investigate secretly.
• Zhou Yishang promised to apply for Titanium Cobalt Dragon Blood, and Ji Xinghuo returned home to inspect the weapons and loot he had brought back.
• Ji Xinghuo identified the Power Hammer, Guardian Armguard, and Shen Yucheng’s gloves, then cut open Gonzaga’s safe and discovered a valuable collection inside.