Chapter Summaries

Chen Chuan prepared his team to disrupt an Esoteric Sect ritual and confront the Resistance Organization as both sides readied their plans. After receiving Painter’s coded message, Chen Chuan ordered everyone to set out for Xie Mountain the next morning.

• Director Wang told Chen Chuan that radio traffic suggested the enemy operation would begin within two days, so Chen Chuan gathered his team and prepared his weapons and protective gear.
• Chen Chuan led his team into the wasteland, explained their mission, and assigned them to disrupt the Esoteric Sect ritual and deal with the Resistance Organization.
• Bao Yuan distributed drugs and equipment at the Resistance Organization’s base and ordered his followers to take the train’s foreign company representatives and passengers hostage after blowing up the railway.
• Bao Yuan received Painter’s telegram stating that the painting had been delivered and the scroll would be unfurled tomorrow.
• Lin Xiaodi intercepted and decoded a telegram, and Chen Chuan ordered his team to leave for Xie Mountain the next morning.

The Resistance Organization set up a distraction while Chen Chuan, Director Lei, and the Secret Sect Review Bureau prepared to stop an Esoteric Ritual targeting the Changshun Train. The train passed through the mountain tunnel and stopped with most of its carriages still inside, as passengers became trapped repeating their actions.

• A bearded Resistance Organization member ordered his team to bomb a department store while Xiao Li's group attacked elsewhere.
• Chen Chuan and his group reached a concealed position near Xie Mountain as Bao Yuan waited nearby, trusting Painter to make the planned attack succeed.
• Director Lei and the Secret Sect Review Bureau spotted a hot-air balloon above the mountains and concluded that the train could serve as the Esoteric Ritual's final element.
• Guan Yuming received reports of two explosions near the city center and sent teams to respond while warning others to stay alert.
• Lindenberg noticed the hot-air balloon as the Changshun Train approached the tunnel, then the train emerged and stopped with its passengers repeating their earlier actions.

Chen Chuan and his allies moved to stop the Resistance Organization’s attack on the Changshun Train while the Inspection Bureau began disrupting the ritual. After the Resistance Organization seized the train, Chen Chuan charged inside and cut through its attackers as gunfire erupted around him.

• Ren Xiaotian reported the Resistance Organization’s positions, and Chen Chuan assigned Wei Changan and Ren Xiaotian to clear the surrounding hills while he confronted the attackers below.
• Director Lei ordered Inspection Bureau teams to scatter ritual powder at designated locations to disrupt the ritual.
• Bao Yuan’s men stormed the Changshun Train, seized control, and prepared to use hostages and company representatives to pressure the Yangzhi Municipal Government Affairs Hall.
• Chen Chuan entered the ritual’s area of influence and activated the protective Esoteric Ritual patterns in his coat.
• Chen Chuan burst into the train and cut down Resistance Organization members through several carriages, then faced a group of armed attackers as they opened fire.

Chen Chuan fought through the Resistance Organization’s hostage-takers, then discovered that a strange tale had trapped the train in a repeating maze. He escaped its loop by closing his eyes and found a ritual-painted person in the final carriage, who panicked at seeing him.

• Chen Chuan charged through the gunmen and reached the company representatives, but Bao Yuan shot one of the hostages to force him back.
• Chen Chuan rushed the group, killed the attackers, and beheaded Bao Yuan after revealing the leader’s hidden chitinous armor and serpent-like implant.
• Chen Chuan realized the train cars were repeating and identified the supernatural trap as Maze Road, a strange tale from Xie Mountain.
• Chen Chuan escaped the loop by closing his eyes as he passed through a carriage door, then continued searching for the ghost behind the strange tale.
• Chen Chuan entered the final carriage and found a ritual-painted person sitting on a suitcase, who recoiled in disbelief and fear.

Chen Chuan and his teammates ended the attack on the train, freed the passengers, and returned the train to service. As Director Lei pursued the escaped balloon passenger, a suspicious young artist left the station and headed for Central City.

• Chen Chuan killed the ritual leader, freed Lindenberg, and left the train after the Esoteric Sect Ritual ended.
• Patrol Bureau officers arrived, and Wei Changan and Ren Xiaotian reunited with Chen Chuan after defeating the Resistance Organization members on the mountainsides.
• The patrol officers cleared the train and allowed the passengers to board again, while Lindenberg gave Chen Chuan his name card.
• Guan Yuming reported the outcome to the director, who said the Government needed others to know its work and dismissed concern over the foreign company representatives.
• Director Lei found the hot-air balloon basket empty and ordered a search of everyone who had gotten off the train.
• A long-haired young man carrying an artist's portfolio left the station in a luxury sedan and told his driver to take him to Central City.

After returning to Yangzhi City, Chen Chuan continued his training and learned that Zhao Qian remained beyond the reach of local authorities in Central City. As the chapter ended, Lu Fang decided to search for Shen Zheng’s younger sister there.

• Chen Chuan returned to Yangzhi City, trained in the Furnace Breathing Method, and calculated that his merging time had increased by more than two hours.
• Gao Ming told Chen Chuan that Zhao Qian remained at large in Central City and warned that his company and connections could shield him from legal consequences.
• Gao Ming identified three vehicle series with tile blue paint, and Chen Chuan decided to investigate them as a lead in his own case.
• Fenxin Society members learned the details of Shen Zheng’s murder and discussed his missing younger sister, whom the Zhao Family had taken to Central City.
• Lu Fang told Shu Han and Shen Shao that he would go to Central City to find out what had happened to Shen Zheng’s younger sister.

Chen Chuan shared the commission money with his team while keeping his involvement in their victories quiet, and Director Lei invited him to a wedding and discussed the unresolved Esoteric Sect mastermind. Meanwhile, Cheng Zitong revealed Chen Chuan’s achievements to Qiao Linhu and defended his choice to forge his own path, leaving Qiao Linhu frustrated and determined to train his disciple harder.

• Director Lei invited Chen Chuan to his wedding and said he would introduce him to a senior from the Central City Review Bureau, then explained that the ritual’s mastermind had escaped and remained unidentified.
• Chen Chuan met his team at Duyi Hotel, where Wei Changan celebrated becoming a Senior Commissioner and the members discussed their hidden role in defeating the Resistance Organization.
• Cheng Zitong brought Chen Chuan’s Central City Head Institute admission and certificates to Qiao Linhu and boasted that Chen Chuan had succeeded without following the old path.
• Qiao Linhu argued that Chen Chuan would lack guides and support in Central City, but Cheng Zitong said he trusted his student and left after taunting him.
• Qiao Linhu ordered his disciple to repeat his stance one hundred times and resolved to train him harder.

Chen Chuan received approval to enroll at the Central City Head Institute and shared the news with his family before taking his young cousins out to play. When the school posted his name on the admissions list, students and graduates debated whether his success opened a path for others, and Geng Zheng resolved to pursue Central City himself.

• Cheng Zitong told Chen Chuan that the Head Institute had approved his application and gave him tickets to the Academy Arena Tournament.
• Chen Chuan showed his admission notice to Yu Wan and Nian Fuli, who celebrated his success while feeling the sadness of his departure.
• Chen Chuan took his younger cousins to the playground, then returned home and asked whether his older cousin would come back for the New Year.
• The school posted Chen Chuan's name as a Class A student admitted to the Central City Head Institute, drawing a crowd of students and graduates.
• Tai Dongwei, Deng Fu, and Geng Zheng discussed the new possibility of ordinary students entering Central City, and Geng Zheng declared that he would go.

Chen Chuan prepared to leave Yangzhi City for the Central City Head Institute, saying goodbye to friends, teachers, and family. After spending the New Year at home, he departed with Cheng Zitong to begin the journey to Central City.

• Chen Chuan gave Ren Shu and the others a booklet of methods for handling strange tales before dedicating himself to Combat Cultivation.
• At Director Lei and He Nan's wedding, Chen Chuan reassured Xiao Ying and met Deputy Director Cao, who offered to help him in Central City.
• Chen Chuan applied for his Yangzhi City Wu Yi University diploma early, received advice and farewells from his teachers, and left the school with a photo album and the students' send-off.
• Chen Chuan returned home, spent the New Year with his family, and prepared for his departure while Nian Qian sent congratulations from afar.
• On the tenth day of the first month, Chen Chuan said goodbye to his family and left with Cheng Zitong, carrying his luggage and Snow Monarch Blade toward Central City.

Chen Chuan arrived at Central City and discovered that a bone mask called a World Token revealed the city’s hidden, overwhelming spectacle of lights, projections, and sounds. Lao Qi welcomed him to the real world, leaving Chen Chuan facing the city’s complete form.

• Cheng Zitong brought Chen Chuan to the outer checkpoint, said goodbye, and sent him on toward Central City.
• After waiting for his pickup, Chen Chuan met Lao Qi, who drove him toward the city and warned that its security required proper documents.
• Lao Qi stopped outside the city, took a bone mask from an ice-filled case, and told Chen Chuan to put it on.
• The mask’s worms entered Chen Chuan’s ears, revealing a city filled with neon lights, projections, and chaotic sounds.
• Chen Chuan quieted the mask by patting beside his ear, removed it, and asked Lao Qi what it was.
• Lao Qi called the mask a World Token or Yin Yang Instrument and welcomed Chen Chuan to the real world.

Chen Chuan confirmed his identity through Central City’s public-service platform and experienced the city’s augmented world before he and Lao Qi were stopped by border patrol. After Chen Chuan drove the patrolmen off with his speed and Infinite Defense Certificate, they reached the Wuyi Head Institute, known as the Mystic Palace.

• Lao Qi showed Chen Chuan how to use a boundary point, and Fu Mu granted him temporary citizen status for fifteen days.
• Chen Chuan saw Central City through his Yin Yang Instrument and learned that people without one struggled to access the city’s services and information.
• Lao Qi detoured around a roadblock, but border patrol vehicles stopped them and accused them of damaging company and public property.
• Chen Chuan revealed his Great Shun Kingdom Infinite Defense Certificate and moved close to the patrolmen, prompting them to leave without taking him and Lao Qi in.
• Chen Chuan and Lao Qi drove into Central City and arrived at the Wuyi Head Institute, which Lao Qi called the Mystic Palace.

Chen Chuan arrived at the Wuyi Academy Head Institute in Central City, registered his identity, and was guided to his new dormitory. He learned he needed a newer World Token and arranged to have one purchased, then called his family to report his safe arrival.

• Lao Qi dropped Chen Chuan near the academy and drove away with the item he had brought back, pleased that the transaction would cover Xiao Qi's tuition.
• Chen Chuan entered the Wuyi Academy Head Institute, where Tan Zhi introduced himself and explained that Red Dust was the academy's biological consciousness manifestation.
• Red Dust updated Chen Chuan's student identity and granted him long-term residence status in Central City, subject to an annual assessment.
• Tan Zhi advised Chen Chuan to replace his old World Token, then left him to follow Red Dust's directions to the dormitory.
• Chen Chuan reached room one on the forty-ninth floor, inspected the spacious dormitory, and commissioned a new Jade Enjoyment Boundary Token through the Bosuo Platform.
• Chen Chuan called his aunt's home and Cheng Zitong to report his arrival, then heard that he would need to pay for his telephone calls.

Chen Chuan bought a new World Token, learned about Central City's bio-field network, and discovered that the Algae Oil Power Plant bombing had triggered a lockdown. At Wu Yi Academy, he began his entrance assessment with Red Dust, whose attack felt real as he raised his blade to block it.

• Chen Chuan declined an offer, received a new eye-mask World Token, and used it to browse Academy information and contact Lao Qi and Tan Zhi.
• Chen Chuan learned how Central City's bio-field technology worked and that Wuyi Academy's active consciousness entity was Red Dust.
• Chen Chuan read that the Algae Oil Power Plant had been bombed and that public security forces had sealed off nearby streets and city entrances.
• Chen Chuan woke before dawn, reflected on the divisions between the World Token's world and what lay beyond it, and entered his private training room to begin his Academy assessment.
• Red Dust appeared in the training room, changed their surroundings into a mountain illusion, and attacked Chen Chuan with her Wild Goose Feather Blade.
• Chen Chuan blocked Red Dust's strike and felt a force that seemed real.

Chen Chuan completed his combat assessment by exploiting Red Dust’s rules and defeating her with his own body, earning a score of 72 and an excellent potential rating. The Academy recommended training courses, including mandatory weapon technique instruction, and Chen Chuan began considering how to improve his weaknesses.

• Chen Chuan parried Red Dust’s escalating attacks, then used the brief delay in her adjustment to his abilities to exploit the rules of the cloud-filled arena.
• Chen Chuan drove Red Dust away from the mountain peak with a series of forceful slashes, winning the assessment without overlapping with his second self.
• The Academy gave Chen Chuan a score of 72, rated his potential excellent, and told him he could take a second assessment in ten days.
• Chen Chuan asked whether the Academy tailored courses to each student and reviewed recommendations for weapon combat techniques, enhancement training, and light-assisted training.
• Chen Chuan searched for weapon instructors, noted that courses were paid and varied in format, and decided to compare options later.
• Chen Chuan set aside the optional recommendation to choose a Breathing Method because he already had the Furnace Breathing Method, and considered asking about its corresponding force methods and techniques.

Chen Chuan explored ways to obtain medication and earn money through commissions, then asked Gao Ming for advice on working with a commissioner. Elsewhere, Lao Qi traded glowing material with the Skull Gang, but a decontamination warning stopped him as he left their territory.

• Chen Chuan reviewed training recommendations, medication costs, and the risks of official purchases, then considered using urban-legend commissions to acquire resources.
• Chen Chuan called Gao Ming, who suggested privately partnering with a trusted commissioner until he arrived in Central City as a lawyer.
• Lao Qi entered Skull Gang territory and exchanged glowing material for a can of cash.
• A warning accused Lao Qi's vehicle of carrying an unknown virus and ordered him to stop for inspection and decontamination.

Assistant Ling reviewed Chen Chuan’s entrance assessment and added him to a backup plan as he discussed the academy’s need for reform. Chen Chuan traveled to investigate a suspicious incident in Central City, unaware that Silver Frost and his men had marked him as a target.

• Assistant Ling learned Chen Chuan scored 72 on the entrance assessment and placed him on the backup plan list.
• Assistant Ling told Red Dust that influential families monopolized recommendation quotas and that the academy needed a major transformation before World's Echo intensified.
• Chen Chuan noticed that some reports about unusual incidents had vanished, recorded new suspicious commissions, and searched unsuccessfully for information about World's Echo.
• The school delivered two sets of Head Institute uniforms, but Chen Chuan put them away and left for Central City to investigate a suspicious commission.
• Silver Frost and his men spotted Chen Chuan near his destination, judged him to be a newcomer, and called for their associates to join them.

Chen Chuan investigated suspected anomaly sites, found no supernatural presence, and fought off a gang that tried to capture him for his organs and Mutated Tissue. He recruited Lao Qi to look into unusual commissions, but Lao Qi revealed that a group had already been handling anomaly incidents.

• Chen Chuan inspected a slum rooftop marked with amateur Esoteric Sect graffiti but found no phantom or clear sign of an anomaly.
• A gang ambushed Chen Chuan with paralyzing gas and electrified nets, but he defeated them and killed their leader.
• Chen Chuan checked the remaining locations and found nothing, then contacted Lao Qi to help investigate commissions.
• Chen Chuan paid Lao Qi's fine and asked him to research special commissions, and Lao Qi agreed so he could pay his daughter's tuition.
• Lao Qi recognized the commissions as anomaly incident cases and told Chen Chuan that a group had already been handling them.

Chen Chuan and Lao Qi began investigating abnormal commissions in Central City, despite the risks posed by the powerful group controlling them. Their first lead brought them to a shantytown, where they confirmed a strange case involving a dead brother who had returned to watch his younger sibling.

• Lao Qi proposed secretly taking overlooked abnormal commissions, and Chen Chuan agreed to investigate them with him.
• Lao Qi obtained several confirmed commissions and warned Chen Chuan that Golden Shrimp's people had ties to the Moss Gang and influential connections.
• Chen Chuan and Lao Qi drove to a shantytown, where Chen Chuan noticed strange blurring near the commission site and shut off his World Token.
• Lao Qi questioned the resident and confirmed that a fourteen-year-old boy's dead older brother had returned, while nearby plants withered and animals died.
• Chen Chuan warned Lao Qi that the phenomenon could cause severe harm if left unresolved, and Lao Qi agreed to tell the neighbors they were taking the commission.

Chen Chuan resolved the strange tale haunting Xiao Man by revealing that the figure he believed was his brother was a mannequin. After Xiao Man buried it himself, Chen Chuan collected the commission and returned toward the academy, while an armed group arrived at the shack.

• Lao Qi introduced Chen Chuan to Brother Chong and Little Ding, and Brother Chong trusted Chen Chuan after recognizing his fighting ability.
• Chen Chuan entered Xiao Man's shack and found a mannequin dressed like Xiao Man's brother in a wardrobe.
• Chen Chuan explained that Xiao Man's brother had died and that the figure replacing him was a strange tale, then urged Xiao Man to bury it himself.
• Xiao Man buried the mannequin, the signs of fading weakened, and Brother Chong's group paid Chen Chuan and Lao Qi for resolving the problem.
• Chen Chuan recorded the strange tale as "Affection's Sustenance" and agreed to split the commission evenly with Lao Qi.
• An armed off-road vehicle arrived at the shantytown, and a sinister-looking man carrying a blade headed toward Xiao Man's shack.

Chen Chuan returned to the shantytown and found the ghost story had worsened, leaving many residents collapsed and Brother Chong and Xiao Man dead. He rescued those he could and completed a ritual intended to restrain the anomaly just before dawn.

• After Lao Qi reported that Big Chong had stopped responding, Chen Chuan returned with him to the shantytown and found residents collapsing near the anomaly.
• Chen Chuan sent Lao Qi to gather ritual materials, then carried more than twenty people beyond the anomaly's reach.
• At Xiao Man's shack, Chen Chuan found Brother Chong dead from a slit throat and a teenage boy's corpse held by the mannequin.
• Lao Qi returned with the materials, and Chen Chuan drew the restraint ritual's patterns around the shack, finishing just before dawn.