Chapter Summaries

Chen Chuan and Gao Ming planned to exploit Zhao Qian’s next transport mission to set up a strange tale curse, and Chen sought Wu Bei’s help with the technical preparations. Meanwhile, Lu Fang defended Chen’s character to Senior Yu, who learned about Chen’s past and began to believe in his influence.

• Gao Ming told Chen Chuan that Zhao Qian would likely join a transport mission before June and gave him records about Zhao Qian’s security team, including the Third Limit Fighter codenamed Peregrine Falcon.
• Chen Chuan concluded that Zhao Qian would need to attack him for the curse to work, then contacted Wu Bei to discuss recreating You Xing’s method against Zhao outside company protection.
• Wu Bei agreed the plan was feasible during Zhao Qian’s travel and asked Chen Chuan to identify an image that would provoke Zhao into attacking.
• At the underground Fighting Hall, Lu Fang patiently coached teenagers while Senior Yu criticized his approach and doubted that Chen Chuan would help him.
• Lu Fang showed Senior Yu a newspaper report about Chen Chuan killing thirty-seven Mutual Aid Society members, and Senior Yu began to believe Lu Fang’s claims about Chen.

Chen Chuan set a plan in motion against Zhao Qian, but the Handling Bureau’s investigation failed to seriously constrain Zhao. After Zhao left the bureau, Chen Chuan prepared to act through Wu Bei.

• Chen Chuan called Chang Ba and He Xiaoxing, explained his plan against Zhao Qian, and asked He Xiaoxing to send him a photograph of Shen Zheng’s senior apprentice.
• Chen Chuan contacted Gao Ming as the World Token recovered near Central City and told him they could begin.
• The Internal Work Review Group questioned Zhao Qian about the Handling Bureau’s accusation that he had helped murder a candidate, and Zhao insisted it was slander.
• Zhao Qian halted surveillance of Chen Chuan, sought help from a girl to complete his company’s escort mission, and planned to transfer out of Jibei Province.
• Zhao Qian went to the Handling Bureau for questioning with his lawyer, refused to cooperate with its demands, and was released after twelve hours.
• Chen Chuan and Gao Ming concluded that the Handling Bureau would not deal with Zhao Qian, and Wu Bei told Chen that Zhao had left the bureau.

Wu Bei and Chen Chuan used an illusory domain field to make Zhao Qian believe he had seen Shen Zheng alive and attack him. Zhao Qian suspected the encounter was a deliberate warning and ordered someone to investigate in Yangzhi City.

• Wu Bei watched Zhao Qian’s convoy and coordinated with Chen Chuan to stage an encounter at an intersection.
• Zhao Qian spotted a figure resembling Shen Zheng, returned to the intersection, and ordered his assistant and a resonator to investigate the clothing store.
• Chen Chuan projected an attack that made Zhao Qian see Shen Zheng bearing down on his car, prompting Zhao Qian to kick at the illusion.
• Chen Chuan and Wu Bei confirmed that their plan had worked and that Zhao Qian had attacked Chen Chuan’s domain field.
• Zhao Qian learned that the store’s domain field records had been deleted and instructed someone to investigate in Yangzhi City.

Zhao Qian prepared for Lianwei Heavy Drive’s transport operation after an attack left him uneasy, while Chen Chuan and Gao Ming planned to strike the convoy as it left Central City. On April 28, Chen Chuan reached a prepared house outside West City and waited for the convoy to get far enough away to attack.

• Zhao Qian’s resonator and an Implant Body doctor found no damage to his World Token, and the resonator added a command rejecting information from a Simulated Field Domain.
• Zhao Qian received a prerecorded message from Director Xing confirming the escort schedule and ordered his assistant to arrange the convoy.
• Wu Bei told Chen Chuan that Lianwei Heavy Drive’s convoy would depart the next day, and Gao Ming said its departure was the best time to target Zhao Qian.
• On April 28, Zhao Qian left Central City in a convoy of twenty-five armed vehicles and three heavy transports, accompanied by Chi Duan and Security Captain Peregrine Falcon.
• After Wu Bei confirmed the convoy was on the road, Chen Chuan put on his protective gear, took the Snow Monarch Blade, and drove toward West City.
• Chen Chuan reached a prepared house outside West City after learning the convoy had been beyond Central City for over twenty minutes, and waited to launch the attack.

Chen Chuan used the Racoon Stone Tablet to begin a ritual that killed Feng Gai and attacked Zhao Qian inside the Lianwei Heavy Drive convoy. Zhao Qian decided to return to Central City with Chi Duan, but Peregrine Falcon refused to let his security team leave with him.

• Chen Chuan carried Feng Gai out of the house and placed the Racoon Stone Tablet on him in the trunk.
• The ritual caused Feng Gai to be eaten from within, and Chen Chuan retrieved the tablet after Feng Gai died.
• Chen Chuan tapped the tablet, saw signs of fading on the Second Self, and began the ritual against the convoy.
• Zhao Qian suffered severe internal pain, and the emergency medicine he took made the strange force attack his regenerating tissues.
• Zhao Qian asked Chi Duan to escort him back to Central City, then had his assistant tell Peregrine Falcon he needed to leave the convoy.
• Peregrine Falcon allowed Zhao Qian to leave but refused to let the security team accompany him.

Chen Chuan intercepted Zhao Qian on the road and defeated him after Zhao used a drug to restore his strength. Chen Chuan asked Zhao where Senior Apprentice Shen's sister was, but Zhao refused to answer before a new armed figure appeared.

• Zhao Qian left the transport convoy with Chi Duan, but Chi Duan stopped to fight a man blocking their route while Zhao continued toward Central City.
• Chen Chuan intercepted Zhao's car, cut through its roof, and sent it crashing into a guardrail.
• Zhao injected himself with scarlet liquid, emerged with a longsword, and attacked Chen Chuan.
• Chen Chuan disarmed Zhao and pierced him with the Snow Monarch Blade, then asked whether Zhao had taken Senior Apprentice Shen's sister and where she was.
• Zhao refused to reveal her location, and a helmeted man with blades attached to his arms appeared on the guardrail.

Chen Chuan fought Toad Blade after leaving Zhao Qian alive but pinned to the sedan. He used his training and a sudden surge of power to kill Toad Blade, leaving the battle over.

• Chen Chuan dragged Zhao Qian to the sedan, pinned him to its trunk with a sword, and returned to face Toad Blade.
• Toad Blade attacked Chen Chuan with leaps, arm blades, and a mutated tongue, but Chen Chuan held his ground and defended against his close-range assault.
• Chen Chuan spotted an opening as Toad Blade gathered momentum and struck between his twin blades, disrupting his rhythm.
• Chen Chuan unleashed his suppressed Mutated Tissue and pressed Toad Blade with a rapid series of attacks.
• Toad Blade tried to leap away, but Chen Chuan pursued and cut him down with a final slash.

Chen Chuan killed Zhao Qian, recovered his World Token, and returned to Central City, where Wu Bei began examining it for hidden information. Zhao Qian’s body was later found by a wilderness gang, while his disappearance went unreported for three days.

• Chen Chuan killed Zhao Qian when he tried to stab him, recovered his World Token, and drove away with Toad Blade’s corpse and Zhao Qian’s sword.
• Zhao Qian’s assistant woke, cut off Zhao Qian’s head to sell his brain tissue, stole his watch, and fled in the car.
• Chen Chuan’s opponent defeated Chi Duan but let him go, and Chi Duan decided he could no longer stay in Jibei Province Central City.
• Chen Chuan asked Wu Bei to erase his travel records and handed him Zhao Qian’s World Token to examine for concealed information.
• Chen Chuan cleaned his car, stored Zhao Qian’s sword and Toad Blade’s arm blades, and resumed training while news of Zhao Qian’s death remained quiet.
• A bandit abducted Zhao Qian’s driver and discovered Zhao Qian’s headless corpse, but Zhao Qian was not confirmed missing until three days later.

After the Handling Bureau questioned Chen Chuan about Zhao Qian’s disappearance, it closed the case and increased Chen Chuan’s Radiant Light quota. Chen Chuan later met Zou Handan of the Secret Serpent Sect and learned that their cultivation service required a specially bred snake to swallow him.

• Chen Chuan attended questioning at the Handling Bureau, where Director Wu decided to report Zhao Qian as deceased and seal the case.
• Ni Qianqian told Chen Chuan his monthly Radiant Light quota had increased and invited him to consider a rematch at the exchange session.
• Assistant Ling discussed Chen Chuan’s potential for a plan, while Chen Chuan considered remaining alert and investigating Senior Apprentice Shen’s younger sister.
• Chen Chuan continued training and studying, then arranged through Uncle Ding to meet a representative of the Secret Serpent Sect.
• Zou Handan explained the sect’s Snake Shedding Method and warned Chen Chuan that the service involved remaining inside a specially cultivated snake.

Chen Chuan arranged a service with the Secret Serpent Sect, collected medicines and gifts, and began testing pills from Qingnang Jade Workshop. After taking three pills, he noticed signs of harm to his Mutated Tissue and stopped the trial, submitting a detailed report.

• Chen Chuan signed up for the Secret Serpent Sect’s service, and Zou Handan arranged the follow-up and left him a gift box.
• Cao Guiqi gave Chen Chuan ten pills from Qingnang Jade Workshop and Tiancong Herbs’ Treasure Paste before Chen Chuan left Mo Tie Mountain.
• Chen Chuan studied Qingnang Jade Workshop’s Breathing Method, took the first pill, and recorded its effects while training.
• After the pill’s effects faded, Chen Chuan took two more pills at three-day intervals and noticed fading signs around his Mutated Tissue after the third.
• Chen Chuan stopped taking the pills and submitted a detailed report of his sensations and reactions to Qingnang Jade Workshop.

Fan Qingshan identified Chen Chuan as an unusually promising drug tester and asked him to continue the trials, while Chen Chuan received new leads about Wei Wusheng and Zhao Qian. After seeing a reconstructed recording that might show Shen Zheng’s younger sister, Chen Chuan contacted Lu Fang.

• Fan Qingshan reviewed Chen Chuan’s detailed grade-A trial report, learned of his combat record, and asked the company to invite him to continue taking the drugs.
• Chen Chuan told Qingnang Jade Workshop he would consider continuing the trials, then spent the day training in the Sea Realm Field.
• On his drive home, Chen Chuan learned that Wei Wusheng was suspected of killing another fighter and recalled the killer’s promise of rewards from Heart's Desire.
• Wu Bei sent Chen Chuan a reconstructed recording from Zhao Qian’s perspective, showing a young woman whose face resembled Shen Zheng’s.
• Wu Bei told Chen Chuan he had found secret accounts and was trying to access one, and Chen Chuan contacted Lu Fang to invite him for a drink.

Chen Chuan told Lu Fang that Zhao Qian was dead and shared a lead that might help locate Shen Zheng. After Lu Fang left to prepare to investigate Zhao Qian’s private residence, Chen Chuan encountered two non-regular students and easily defeated their challenge in an elevator.

• Chen Chuan told Lu Fang that Zhao Qian had been killed, then showed him a reconstructed scene of a young girl who might resemble Shen Zheng.
• Chen Chuan gave Lu Fang the location of Zhao Qian’s private residence in Xunfeng Garden and advised him to wait for help with its field signals before investigating.
• Lu Fang agreed to Chen Chuan’s advice, paid the bill, and left to prepare for the investigation.
• Chen Chuan returned to Mystic Palace Building and recognized the gathered Wuyi Academy students as non-regular students preparing for the Fighter Arena Competition.
• Cao Rui challenged Chen Chuan in an elevator, but Chen Chuan deflected his punch and used him to send the second student crashing into the back wall.
• After Chen Chuan offered both students advice on their techniques, Cao Rui introduced himself and decided to keep practicing.

Chen Chuan learned that the Secret Serpent Sect had accidentally sent him an unidentified biological egg and arranged to have it incubated. He agreed to continue Qingnang Jade Workshop’s medicine trial and arrived at the Secret Serpent Sect’s lakeside facility for his scheduled service.

• Chen Chuan opened the Secret Serpent Sect’s gift and found an unidentified egg, then learned from Zou Handan that it could hatch after about thirty days at forty degrees.
• Zou Handan told Chen Chuan that his service could begin the day after tomorrow, and Chen Chuan accepted the appointment.
• Chen Chuan saw that more than twenty people from the Rhino Horn Cruise had died and that he, Tan Zhi, Pan Xiaode, and Qi Huixin were listed among Wei Wusheng’s possible targets.
• Chen Chuan agreed to continue Qingnang Jade Workshop’s drug trial after Fan Qingshan offered three months’ worth of a Fighter’s daily medicine.
• On the thirty-first, Chen Chuan traveled to the Secret Serpent Sect’s headquarters, where Lin Yingzi escorted him to an egg-shaped glass structure beside Zhao Cai Lake.

Chen Chuan visited the Secret Serpent Sect’s Snake Shedding service and arranged for Qingnang Jade Workshop to supply cultivation medicine for it. After preparing and merging with his Second Self, he entered the chamber, where the Giant Serpent swallowed him.

• Lin Yingzi showed Chen Chuan the Secret Serpent Sect’s facilities and explained its implant-body services.
• Zou Handan introduced the golden-scaled Snake Shedding and explained how its nutrients and medicinal ingredients would support Chen Chuan during the service.
• Chen Chuan called Fan Qingshan, who arranged for Qingnang Jade Workshop to deliver cultivation medicine to Lielang Valley.
• Zou Handan had the medicine injected into the Snake Shedding, and Chen Chuan prepared for the service by notifying Gao Ming, Wu Bei, and Lu Fang before isolating his World Token.
• Chen Chuan put on the biological membrane suit, merged with his Second Self, approached the Giant Serpent, and was swallowed whole.

Chen Chuan endured three days inside the Secret Serpent Sect’s Snake Shedding, strengthening his body through its crushing pressure and medicinal fluids. After booking another session, he learned that someone with resonance technology was living in Zhao Qian’s house, and he arranged to join Lu Fang there that night.

• Chen Chuan used his Breathing Method and mutated tissue to absorb nutrients and resist the Snake Shedding’s increasing pressure.
• Zou Handan grew concerned when the Snake Shedding put Chen Chuan through three days without a recovery interval, but staff waited for signs that he needed rescue.
• The Snake Shedding exhausted its vitality, and Chen Chuan tore through its dried body and emerged with his muscles, bones, and organs strengthened.
• Chen Chuan booked another Snake Shedding session, declined Zou Handan’s offer to stay, and left the facility.
• Lu Fang told Chen Chuan that someone inside Zhao Qian’s house ordered Nutrient Paste daily and that a domain field creature’s signal changed there each day.
• Chen Chuan told Lu Fang not to act yet and said he would meet him that night.

Chen Chuan and Lu Fang searched Zhao Qian’s residence and found a girl who called herself Number Thirteen. Wu Bei suspected she was a human doll, leaving Chen Chuan and Lu Fang to determine how she had been modified and who was responsible.

• Chen Chuan noticed his senses sharpening as he approached the Third Limit, then took an Azure Pill, trained, and rested.
• Chen Chuan met Lu Fang outside Zhao Qian’s residence, and Wu Bei disabled its Domain Field alarms so Lu Fang could enter.
• Lu Fang fought and subdued a masked Second Limit Fighter inside the residence while Chen Chuan waited outside.
• Chen Chuan entered and found a girl who identified herself as Number Thirteen and said Zhao Qian had brought her there three years earlier.
• Wu Bei explained that Number Thirteen might be a human doll made through brainwashing and Implant Body modifications, and Chen Chuan noted that her implants and altered face suggested company-level work.

Chen Chuan and Lu Fang investigated Zhao Qian’s residence, found evidence connected to Shen Zheng’s missing sister, and uncovered coded records and Zhao Family artifacts. After reporting the records for investigation and training with Zheng Tongtong, Chen Chuan applied to take his technique assessment on June 5th.

• Wu Bei explained that Number Thirteen’s face had been modified, and Chen Chuan and Lu Fang learned that Zhao Er guarded the house and managed the daily Nutrient Paste deliveries.
• Chen Chuan searched Zhao Qian’s study, finding coded records possibly related to Lianwei Heavy Drive, a Zhao Family genealogy, and a gold Feng Sheng tiger plaque.
• Lu Fang found a photograph of a girl taken four years earlier, and Chen Chuan and Lu Fang concluded that she was likely Shen Zheng’s sister.
• After finding no further clues, Chen Chuan left Lu Fang to watch Number Thirteen and Zhao Er, then took the coded records and other materials to Gao Ming for investigation.
• Chen Chuan trained with Zheng Tongtong, and Teacher Zheng advised him to apply for the technique assessment.
• Chen Chuan applied through the Wu Yi Platform and chose the June 5th assessment date.

Chen Chuan attended his weapon-handling assessment, where he watched Liang Xin lose his spear in one exchange before facing Student Guo himself. Chen Chuan disarmed Guo and brought his blade to Guo’s neck, leaving the assessment’s result unstated.

• Chen Chuan arrived at the 60th-floor assessment venue and met chief examiner Jiang Tian, the recording teacher, and Student Guo.
• Liang Xin began his assessment with a three-meter spear, but Student Guo knocked it from his hands and forced him to retreat.
• After Liang Xin stepped aside, Chen Chuan prepared to face Student Guo with the Snow Monarch Blade.
• Chen Chuan evaded Guo’s spear thrust, trapped the shaft with his blade, and forced Guo to abandon his weapon.
• Student Guo tried to recover his spear with a Dragon Tail Swing, but Chen Chuan surged forward and stopped his blade at Guo’s neck.

Chen Chuan fought Teacher Jiang in an assessment match to raise his evaluation score, using medicine to reach his full physical condition. After Teacher Jiang moved the duel to a simulated arena, Chen Chuan parried his rapid attacks and charged in to counter.

• Teacher Jiang praised Chen Chuan's victory over Guo Xingzhi and offered him a chance to raise his score by fighting a teacher.
• Teacher Jiang revealed that Chen Chuan had killed a Third Limit Fighter and allowed him to use medicine before their match.
• Chen Chuan took several drugs, and Teacher Jiang tested his strength with the Thin Sword, forcing him back several meters.
• Teacher Jiang transported them to Number Five Arena, where Chen Chuan parried his attacks and used stone barriers to limit his movements.
• Teacher Jiang cut through the stone wall with two sweeping strikes, and Chen Chuan charged forward to attack him.

Chen Chuan fought Teacher Jiang in the simulated Stone Pillar Forest, disrupting the teacher’s sword technique and forcing him to defend. The examination ended with Chen Chuan narrowly threatening Teacher Jiang before both withdrew safely, and Student Liang was called to retake the examination.

• Chen Chuan recognized that Teacher Jiang needed a rhythm of movement to build power, so he pressed him with relentless attacks to disrupt his momentum.
• Chen Chuan activated his reserved Mutated Tissue, broke Teacher Jiang’s rhythm, and forced him to abandon a potentially damaging thrust rather than risk mutual injury.
• Teacher Jiang tried to escape Chen Chuan’s pressure by maneuvering around stone pillars, but Chen Chuan stayed close and pursued him through the collapsing forest.
• When a falling pillar blocked Chen Chuan, he merged with his Second Self, smashed through the rubble, and thrust toward Teacher Jiang’s chest.
• Teacher Jiang parried Chen Chuan’s final attack and ended the examination, while the assistant teacher watched them return to the training hall.
• Chen Chuan left after greeting the teachers and students, and the assistant teacher told Student Liang to take the examination again.