Chapter Summaries

Chen Chuan joined Fang Zhixin and Ding Mai for drinks after a sparring match, where Ding Mai recounted the history behind his Ying Land force technique and his goal of reclaiming stolen inheritances. Fang Zhixin then explained why Chen Bitong’s youngest son Xiao Jin had received little instruction, leaving Chen Chuan to consider the young man’s potential.

• Ding Mai accepted his defeat to Chen Chuan, and Fang Zhixin invited the gathered officers to a bar after learning Chen Bitong could not attend.
• Chen Chuan joined Ding Mai and Fang Zhixin for drinks and learned that Ding Mai’s Eir-Tair technique came from the Earth Tradition and that he hoped to reclaim the First People’s stolen inheritances.
• Ding Mai and Fang Zhixin described how the Linax Federation obtained ancient techniques from the First People and later invaded and enslaved them.
• Fang Zhixin told Chen Chuan that Xiao Jin was Chen Bitong’s youngest son and that Chen Bitong’s other two children had died on the Frontline.
• Fang Zhixin explained that Chen Bitong had treated Xiao Jin like his other students, but Xiao Jin had been less gifted than his older siblings; Chen Chuan said he thought Xiao Jin was capable.

Chen Chuan encouraged Chen Xiaojin to keep training and exchanged contact information with him while considering his own connections and Ferris Wheel Company's threat. After visiting acquaintances around Central City, he learned that Ferris Wheel Company's first compensation payment had arrived at the bureau.

• Fang Zhixin told Chen Chuan that Chen Xiaojin had little guidance and was often compared unfavorably with his talented siblings, while Chen Chuan urged them to consider what Xiao Jin wanted.
• Gu Haiting introduced himself to Chen Chuan and mentioned his ties to Director Sun, prompting Chen Chuan to suspect Canglong Company was testing his position regarding Ferris Wheel Company.
• Chen Chuan returned to the training ground, advised Chen Xiaojin on boxing, praised his talent, and added him as a contact.
• Chen Chuan told Counselor Pei he had not met Chen Bitong, then visited Lu Fang and checked in with Wu Han, Lao Qi, Lu Ke, and Yu Gang.
• Ni Qianqian told Chen Chuan that Ferris Wheel Company's first compensation payment had arrived at the bureau, and he said he would come collect it.

Chen Chuan discussed Ferris Wheel Company's installment compensation and the Handling Bureau's response to Wave Pavilion with Ni Qianqian, then returned to cultivation and retrieved his repaired saber. Later, he met Tan Zhi, Pan Xiaode, and Qi Huixin before a musical and began sparring with Pan Xiaode and Qi Huixin.

• Ni Qianqian told Chen Chuan that Ferris Wheel Company had offered to pay compensation in installments and claimed an executive had hired overseas Fighters to avenge Huan Jie.
• Ni Qianqian explained that Wave Pavilion denied responsibility for its disciples, and Chen Chuan signed for the first payment and donated it to the Handling Bureau.
• Chen Chuan collected his repaired long saber, returned to the academy, and continued practicing the Tempering Method.
• Chen Chuan drove to Tan Zhi's residence, where he met Tan Zhi, Pan Xiaode, and Qi Huixin before their planned trip to a musical.
• Chen Chuan offered to spar while suppressing his strength, and Pan Xiaode and Qi Huixin attacked him together.

Chen Chuan sparred with Pan Xiaode and Qi Huixin, demonstrating how his combat experience let him control their coordinated attacks despite matching their physical abilities. Afterward, he and his companions headed to the Xihui Opera House to see the musical Wilderness Divine Song, arriving shortly before its performance.

• Chen Chuan adjusted his strength to match Pan Xiaode and Qi Huixin, then outmaneuvered their coordinated rapier attacks until they gave up after more than an hour.
• Pan Xiaode and Qi Huixin thanked Chen Chuan for the sparring, and Tan Zhi gave them stamina drinks and invited them to lunch and cards before the musical.
• Tan Zhi described Wilderness Divine Song, a tale of a Fallen Knight whose songs contained combat techniques and the women who learned them.
• Chen Chuan, Pan Xiaode, Qi Huixin, and Tan Zhi ate lunch and drove to the Xihui Opera House, reaching the Weiguang District around two o'clock.

Chen Chuan attended a musical with Tan Zhi, Pan Xiaode, and Qi Huixin, using Counselor Pei’s first-class tickets to enter a private box. As the performance began, Chen Chuan discovered that the Fallen Knight onstage was only a hollow suit of armor.

• Chen Chuan showed Tan Zhi the first-class tickets, and the four entered the theater through the VIP passage.
• Security verified Chen Chuan’s identity as an Executive Captain of the Handling Bureau, impressing Tan Zhi, Pan Xiaode, and Qi Huixin.
• Pan Xiaode recognized Lu Miao arguing with Bao Yun about someone Director Lu had arrested, and theater security removed Lu Miao.
• Chairman Quan arrived with his wife, and Chen Chuan exchanged a nod with Chen Bitong before the musical began.
• Chen Chuan used the Second Self to block external information and saw that the Fallen Knight onstage was an empty suit of armor.

Chen Chuan investigated the anomalous armor during the musical and visited Chen Bitong with Gu Haiting during intermission. After Gu left, Chen Bitong asked Chen Chuan to watch the rest of the performance with him, and Chen Chuan saw the Shepherdess take up the empty armor as the coming battle approached.

• Chen Chuan realized the Fallen Knight's armor was an anomaly that generated its own voice, and he looked up the actors and production details on his World Token.
• After the first six acts, Chen Chuan left his box to visit Chen Bitong and encountered Gu Haiting, who accompanied him.
• Gu Haiting spoke to Chen Chuan about Norland's Bolun Company and the need to restrain foreign influences before they entered Chen Bitong's box together.
• Chen Bitong invited Chen Chuan to stay and watch the second half with him, then thanked him for helping Xiao Jin.
• The Shepherdess took up the Fallen Knight's armor, lance, and sword, while Chen Chuan saw that the armor was empty as she put it on.

During the play, the anomalous Shepherdess attacked Chairman Quan, and Chen Chuan intervened to defeat her without seriously injuring the actress. The audience applauded the disrupted performance, and Chen Bitong agreed to tell Chen Chuan the real reason behind the play.

• The Shepherdess defeated the Noble Lady, then raised her sword toward Chairman Quan’s private box as the Divine Song drove her toward an attack.
• Chen Chuan drew the Snow Monarch Blade and intercepted the Shepherdess before she could reach Chairman Quan.
• Chen Chuan disarmed the Shepherdess and struck her with controlled force, causing the armor to break apart and the actress to collapse unconscious.
• Chairman Quan thanked Chen Chuan, praised the attack as a king-slaying performance, and joined the audience in applauding him.
• Chen Bitong invited Chen Chuan to visit him at the training class and agreed to explain the real reason behind the play.

Chen Chuan learned that the performance of Wilderness Divine Song could benefit powerful patrons, and that Chen Bitong had come to prevent the ending from being changed. After the show, Chen Chuan took possession of the knight’s armor and sword, then learned from Counselor Pei that Chen Bitong might return to the Convergence Zone.

• Chen Bitong explained that the play’s music functioned like a ritual, that the ruling elite preferred the reverse ending, and that he had come to eliminate an uncertain factor.
• Chen Chuan left the theater with Pan Xiaode and Tan Zhi, then returned backstage and bought the knight’s armor and rusted sword from Gao Hong.
• Teacher Wei and a council member discussed Chen Chuan’s growing prospects and planned to build a closer relationship with him.
• Chen Chuan stored the armor in his training room and told Counselor Pei about the performance and his conversation with Chen Bitong.
• Counselor Pei said Chen Bitong might return to the Convergence Zone and advised Chen Chuan to attend his training guidance class.

Chen Chuan attended Chen Bitong’s advanced training for Third Limit Fighters, where simulations based on Fu Mu would test their ability to fight dangerous Convergence Zone creatures and Old Imperial Household remnants. After learning about Rot Worms, Chen Chuan faced a powerful Garrison Commandant and prepared to fight him.

• Chen Chuan continued training his foundations and received Counselor Pei’s invitation to Chen Bitong’s next class.
• Chen Chuan joined the other Third Limit Fighters as Chen Bitong explained the dangerous simulation-based training and its consequences for future assignments and promotions.
• Chen Bitong used Fu Mu’s domain field to give Chen Chuan individual instruction in a simulated Convergence Zone.
• Chen Bitong taught Chen Chuan how to exploit Rot Worms’ weakness by flipping them onto their backs.
• Chen Bitong presented Chen Chuan with a highly integrated Garrison Commandant remnant and gave him ten minutes to defeat it.
• Chen Chuan planted the Snow Monarch Blade and drew it as he advanced on the Garrison Commandant.

Chen Chuan defeated an Enshrined Warrior in three strikes, and Chen Bitong explained how to exploit the brief mental gap during an activated transformation. He demonstrated the technique by killing two transformed Enshrined Warriors with spear thrusts.

• Chen Chuan used his Second Self to overwhelm the Enshrined Warrior’s opening attack, then killed him before his transformation could finish.
• Chen Bitong burned the corpse and explained that the Old Imperial Household Remnants would not let Chen Chuan exploit the same surprise again.
• Chen Bitong explained that the consciousness handover during transformation created a brief opening that could be exploited with a mental clash.
• Chen Bitong summoned another Enshrined Warrior, let him transform, and killed him with a spear thrust to the face.
• Chen Bitong repeated the demonstration against a second transformed Enshrined Warrior and pierced his faceplate with another thrust.

Chen Chuan trained with Chen Bitong in the domain field, learning to exploit an enemy’s shifting consciousness and to control his activation index. After demonstrating his growing skill, he encountered giant dragonflies and learned why they threatened anyone traveling beyond the garrison stations.

• Chen Bitong showed Chen Chuan how a precisely timed mental strike could interrupt an Enshrined Warrior’s transformation and let him kill it with one thrust.
• Chen Chuan practiced against manifested Enshrined Warriors until he mastered the timing and killed one with a single attack.
• Chen Bitong explained the strengths and weaknesses of their training resources and warned Chen Chuan not to underestimate the Old Era’s allies and Lost Objects.
• Chen Chuan flipped Rot Worms using Chen Bitong’s technique, then received a device and method for keeping his activation index under control.
• Chen Bitong taught Chen Chuan about King Dragonflies, which bred in Rot Worms and could overwhelm even a Third Limit Fighter in the wilderness.
• Chen Bitong announced that he would raise the training intensity and make Chen Chuan face a more difficult threat.

Chen Bitong taught Chen Chuan how to use force to kill a Ringed Neck Armor Rhino, and Chen Chuan successfully copied the technique. Afterward, Chen Chuan sensed that his strike was still incomplete and asked Chen Bitong about it.

• Chen Bitong explained the Ringed Neck Armor Rhino’s strength and demonstrated how to disable it with blows to the head and neck before striking its heart.
• Chen Chuan identified the defensive redirection and force-generation techniques in Chen Bitong’s attack, then worked out how to approach the creature without provoking a tail strike.
• Chen Chuan blocked the rhino’s headbutt, struck its vulnerable areas, and killed it with a powerful blow to the heart.
• Chen Chuan told Chen Bitong that his strike felt as though something was still missing.

Chen Bitong taught Chen Chuan about efficient combat and surviving Convergence Zone nights, then ended the training session and explained that students would be screened by their evaluations. After meeting classmates at a bar, Chen Chuan agreed to meet Chen Xiaojin, who wanted his help learning force.

• Chen Bitong showed Chen Chuan how precise attacks could conserve strength and explained that mastering Convergence Zone creatures might help him join the elite Pioneer Team.
• As night fell, Chen Bitong taught Chen Chuan an Observation Method for disguising his presence among Green Bark Trees and warned him about nighttime anomalies.
• Chen Bitong ended the session and said students who failed their evaluations would not return; the group then went to a bar, where Lao Yan announced he expected to be eliminated.
• Chen Xiaojin contacted Chen Chuan and asked what he should do to learn force, so Chen Chuan agreed to meet him in the activity room on the twelfth floor.

After the trainees received their scores, Chen Chuan heard Lao Yan recount how fear of his Activation Index had undermined his performance and learned that the scores could help the Pioneer Teams select recruits. He then took Chen Xiaojin out to find him further instruction, while Fang Zhixin arranged for someone to follow them and protect him.

• Lao Yan told the trainees how a teammate became activated during a mission and how the memory left him obsessively monitoring his own Activation Index.
• Ding Mai explained that the scores were mainly used by the Pioneer Teams to select people, and the trainees agreed Chen Chuan was their strongest candidate.
• Lao Yan warned Chen Chuan that Yu Lie, an unruly admirer of Chen Bitong, was expected to arrive.
• Chen Chuan asked Chen Xiaojin why he trained, and Chen Xiaojin declared that he wanted to surpass the person he admired.
• Chen Chuan told Chen Xiaojin he needed more instruction and sparring, then took him out to find a way to help him.
• Fang Zhixin arranged for someone to follow Chen Chuan and Chen Xiaojin for Xiao Jin's safety, while Chen Bitong continued instructing the other trainees.

Chen Chuan brought Xiao Jin to Lu Fang’s Fighting Hall, where Xiao Jin began learning to spar and grew more lively. After continuing Chen Bitong’s training, Chen Chuan arrived to find Yu Lie challenging the other trainees to fight him together.

• Chen Chuan introduced Xiao Jin to Lu Fang, who arranged for Chu Wu to spar with him and taught him how to improve.
• Chen Chuan agreed with Fang Zhixin that Xiao Jin could attend the Fighting Hall regularly, then took him home at dusk.
• Chen Chuan continued training under Chen Bitong, outlasting the first group while replacements from the National Temporary Special Operations Committee kept their distance.
• Yu Lie declared that only elites deserved Chen Bitong’s instruction and challenged the other four trainees to attack him together.
• The four trainees accepted Yu Lie’s challenge after discussing their tactics.

Yu Lie defeated four fighters by enduring their attacks and exploiting their coordination, then killed one and crippled the rest. He challenged Chen Chuan next and unleashed mental power as he charged toward him.

• Yu Lie baited the four fighters into striking him, then quickly knocked two of them out with counterattacks.
• Yu Lie adapted to the remaining fighters’ coordinated techniques, defeated two more, and forced the last man to retreat toward Chen Chuan.
• Chen Chuan blocked the final fighter’s escape route, allowing Yu Lie to catch him, break his arms, and snap his neck.
• Yu Lie challenged Chen Chuan to a match despite his injuries, and Chen Chuan accepted.
• Yu Lie charged at Chen Chuan and sent a surge of mental power toward him.

Chen Chuan defeated Yu Lie after Yu Lie attacked him before training, then began a simulation about guarding against Ink Colorers that could infiltrate people’s minds. Chen Bitong taught him how to identify and respond to a suspected Ink Colorer, leaving Chen Chuan asking how he could prove he was not one himself.

• Chen Chuan countered Yu Lie’s Seizing Force with Wrestling Embrace Force, lifted him, and slammed him into the floor, leaving Yu Lie badly injured.
• Fang Zhixin explained that Yu Lie had caused trouble before, and medical personnel carried away the injured fighters as Chen Bitong arranged replacements.
• Chen Bitong began Chen Chuan’s training in a simulated Convergence Zone, where he had to face Ink Colorers that could enter and distort people’s minds.
• Chen Chuan suggested using an Activation Index to identify an Ink Colorer, and Chen Bitong warned that the measure could not be trusted completely.
• Chen Bitong advised attacking a teammate decisively when an Ink Colorer was suspected, and Chen Chuan asked how he could prove he was not one.

Chen Chuan learned how to identify and fight people corrupted by Ink Color Monsters while continuing his intensive training. As Central City prepared for trouble caused by an unsealed breach, Chen Chuan arranged to meet Counselor Pei and realized his spiritual cultivation was ready for its next stage.

• Chen Bitong taught Chen Chuan how Slow-Stop Drug Powder could expose an Ink Color Monster and explained that a strengthened Heart Jade helped resist corruption, while warning him not to risk himself trying to save the corrupted.
• Chen Chuan fought a simulated, corrupted Yu Lie and discovered that the Ink Colorer could anticipate his attacks, so Chen Bitong urged him to strengthen his spiritual cultivation and seize the initiative.
• Chen Chuan continued training for nearly half a month without being eliminated, drawing the attention of stationed personnel and the Defense Department.
• Counselor Pei and Specialist Liang discussed the unsealed breach, the risk of further unexpected changes, and the possibility that Chen Bitong would not remain in Central City; Pei then arranged to meet Chen Chuan.
• Chen Chuan learned that Wei Changan and the others would arrive later than expected, checked his growing Heart Jade, and contacted Teacher Xue because his current cultivation stage had become less effective.

Chen Chuan visited Lu Fang’s Training Hall, then met Cao Guiqi, who gave him a Combined Medicine and warned him to act cautiously as April approached. Cao Guiqi planned to seal off his estate until May or later, leaving Chen Chuan to wonder whether the warning was connected to Counselor Pei’s upcoming news.

• Chen Chuan arranged to meet Teacher Xue the next morning and wondered whether Zhao Ming possessed Mutated Tissue.
• Assistant Ling urged someone to prepare soon and observed Zhao Ming flying near the building.
• Chen Chuan visited Lu Fang’s Training Hall, discussed Xiao Jin and Chu Wu’s training, and spoke with Xiao Jin before leaving.
• Chen Chuan went to Cao Guiqi’s estate, where Cao gave him a Combined Medicine and the instructions for making it.
• Cao Guiqi warned Chen Chuan to be cautious as April approached and said he would seal his estate until May or longer.
• Chen Chuan left the estate and wondered whether Cao Guiqi’s warning related to what Counselor Pei would tell him the next day.

Chen Chuan received a jade coin from Teacher Xue and learned the Shaking Spirit Hammer, a technique for attacking with mental power. Teacher Xue then began teaching him the defensive technique called the Empty Heart Seal.

• Chen Chuan stored the medicinal package and returned to his daily training.
• Teacher Xue arrived late, apologized with an Old Era jade coin, and learned that Chen Chuan had been training with Chen Bitong.
• Teacher Xue explained how mental power could disrupt an opponent’s body and taught Chen Chuan the Shaking Spirit Hammer.
• Chen Chuan used the technique on a Convergence Zone plant, making it tremble and curl its leaves.
• Teacher Xue warned Chen Chuan about mental attacks and began teaching him the Empty Heart Seal.