Chapter Summaries

Chen Chuan and Chen Bitong defended the Rift against waves of White Plague before Old Imperial Household fighters arrived. Chen Chuan killed one attacker, but a hidden fighter struck at his eyes as a spear-wielder attacked from the front.

• Chen Bitong explained that the White Plague were pathogen-carrying biological weapons, and Chen Chuan helped repel more than ten waves of them while Chen Bitong speared the explosive carriers.
• After the White Plague withdrew, Chen Bitong warned that skilled fighters would follow, and Chen Chuan welcomed the chance to face stronger opponents.
• At the military camp, the Deputy General decided to personally lead an attack after concluding that only two defenders guarded the Rift.
• Chen Bitong identified two approaching General's Guard attendants and explained how the Old Imperial Household obtained Pure Essence and cultivated Fighters.
• The woman with twin sabers rushed Chen Chuan and was cut apart, while a spear-wielding man attacked and a hidden fighter thrust a Thin Sword toward Chen Chuan's eyes.

Chen Chuan and Chen Bitong repelled a fierce assault at the Rift, but the enemy vanguard remained poised to keep attacking. They decided to prepare a surprise counterattack against the commander at the foot of the mountain.

• Chen Chuan and Chen Bitong fought off the Cavalry General, whose horse and distant spear-throwers helped him escape into the mist with a wound to his armor.
• Chen Chuan returned to the Rift as the White Plague surged in, and he and Chen Bitong held the entrance through a prolonged assault.
• Chen Chuan burned a pile of corpses with algae oil to create a barrier of smoke and buy the defenders time to recover.
• Chen Bitong explained that the enemy's breakthrough would carry major political significance and could rally the Old Imperial Household's forces.
• Chen Chuan proposed striking the General's Banner at the foot of the mountain, and Chen Bitong agreed the surprise attack might succeed.
• Chen Chuan planned to draw the enemy's attention from the front while Chen Bitong used the Rift to seek an opening, with both ready to retreat if necessary.

Chen Chuan and Chen Bitong prepared a coordinated assault on the enemy commander, and Chen Chuan charged down the mountain to break through the troops protecting the great banner. The chapter ended as Chen Chuan leapt toward the Military General and brought down the Snow Monarch Blade.

• Chen Chuan drank Specialist Liang's recovery medicine, restoring his strength despite its damaging side effects.
• Chen Bitong explained the Auxiliary General's reliance on external power and planned an ambush with Chen Chuan.
• The enemy commander rejected an artillery plan and organized the troops and Enshrined Warriors for a joint assault.
• After the flames weakened, Chen Bitong left the rift, and Chen Chuan followed with the Snow Monarch Blade.
• Chen Chuan charged down the mountain, smashed through the defenders' spear formation, and leapt at the Military General with his blade raised.

Chen Chuan and Chen Bitong killed both enemy generals and withdrew toward the Rift as the army retaliated with artillery and an Airship. After naming Chen Chuan’s emerging ability Spirit Sense, Chen Bitong warned that the next assault would be more desperate, and a mass of White Plague charged into the Rift.

• Chen Bitong feinted through the Rift and attacked the generals from behind, leaving them vulnerable to Chen Chuan’s descending blade.
• Chen Chuan killed the Main General, while Chen Bitong battered the Deputy General to death.
• Chen Chuan and Chen Bitong retreated with the fallen Great Banner and the Auxiliary General’s saber as the army shelled their former position.
• Chen Bitong warned Chen Chuan that killing the Main General would provoke a fiercer assault, and he named Chen Chuan’s emerging mental ability Spirit Sense.
• An Airship joined a fifteen-minute bombardment of the Rift, then White Plague surged onto the mountaintop and charged inside.

As the rift began to close, Chen Bitong explained to Chen Chuan how to seize the pure essence that would spill out and warned him against signing away his independence. A powerful Gai family rival, Gai Shuhe, arrived and proved he had become a Fighter, leaving Chen Bitong to face him while Chen Chuan was told to retreat.

• After a half hour of attacks by White Plague creatures and explosives, Chen Chuan and Chen Bitong discussed why the army had resorted to heavy firepower.
• Chen Bitong explained that pure essence would escape through the breach and urged Chen Chuan to seize it quickly before Central City and others could intervene.
• As the rift began to contract and an airship withdrew, Chen Chuan and Chen Bitong saw a larger airship marked with the Gai family emblem arrive at the camp.
• Chen Bitong identified Gai Shuhe as his old rival, recalling their past fights and the rival's vow to return only after mastering a Transcendent Skill.
• Gai Shuhe sent a powerful punch across the distance, and Chen Bitong intercepted it, confirming that Gai Shuhe had become a Fighter.
• With the rift nearly closed, Chen Bitong told Chen Chuan to go back and declared that he would fight Gai Shuhe.

Chen Chuan watched Chen Bitong stay behind to fight as the Rift closed, while Che Gaoyi’s convoy tried to escape Central City with its cargo. After the Handling Bureau blocked their planned exit, Che Gaoyi redirected the convoy toward a deeper tunnel near the Plague Cult’s territory.

• Qiao Weiting learned that an Old Imperial Household Auxiliary General had died while defending a Rift leading to Central City, then received an urgent warning and ordered the city’s defenses prepared.
• Chen Bitong struck Chen Chuan out of the Rift and went back to fight, and Chen Chuan watched the Rift close before collecting Chen Bitong’s mask and banner.
• Fang Zhixin surrendered to officials who came to take him away, while Chen Chuan accepted recovery medicine from Specialist Liang’s men.
• Che Gaoyi’s convoy crossed the Lower District through detours until scouts reported that the Handling Bureau had sealed its planned exit.
• Che Gaoyi chose an alternate route near the Plague Cult’s territory and led the convoy into a dark tunnel covered in unsettling drawings.

Che Gaoyi’s convoy escaped the shadowy tunnel after two vehicles vanished, then Chen Chuan received orders to intercept Lian Wei Re-Control Company’s convoy carrying Split Sub-entities. He joined forces with Lan Xinnan and Lutong Logistics in the Lower District and set out toward the convoy’s likely route.

• Che Gaoyi recognized that his convoy was circling the same tunnel and ordered everyone to reverse, but another vehicle disappeared after they reached the entrance.
• Che Gaoyi abandoned the search for the missing vehicles and ordered the convoy to try forcing its way out through the previous route.
• Specialist Liang authorized Chen Chuan to use any means necessary to intercept Lian Wei Re-Control Company’s convoy and destroy any Split Sub-entities found.
• Chen Chuan traveled into the Lower District, contacted Fusion Boundary Corporation, and met Lan Xinnan at a tunnel entrance.
• Chen Chuan dismissed most of his escort, while Lan Xinnan’s people took over the field-creature and information-interference equipment.
• Lan Xinnan told Chen Chuan that Lutong Logistics had tracked the convoy’s movements, and he asked her to lead them to it.

As Lutong Logistics escorted Chen Chuan’s Waterway Armored Vehicle through the Lower District, Che Gaoyi fought through a Handling Bureau checkpoint and uncovered Lianwei Heavy Drive’s advanced combat puppet, No. 9. Che Gaoyi then broke through a wall to reach an underground river and set off downstream with No. 9.

• Lan Xinnan told Chen Chuan that Lianwei Heavy Drive’s convoy was likely using a secret Lutong Logistics passage and might have an old acquaintance guiding it.
• Che Gaoyi confronted a Handling Bureau Fighter at the checkpoint and defeated him by countering his Passing Through Great Force technique.
• Che Gaoyi charged through the bureau personnel’s gunfire, ordered the convoy to continue, and sent Mr. Pan with the goods.
• Che Gaoyi recovered from his injuries, opened a crate, and ordered the advanced combat puppet No. 9 to accompany him.
• Che Gaoyi smashed through a wall, found an underground river, and leaped into it with No. 9 following.

Guan Xiaohui and Zhen Ping collected the split sub-entity and followed Che Gaoyi and No. 9 through an underground route toward an exit from Central City. Outside, Xiang Tiancheng confronted Che Gaoyi and revealed himself as a senior officer of the Resistance Alliance Front.

• Zhen Ping and Guan Xiaohui received a sealed package from Lutong Logistics, and Guan Xiaohui sensed that it contained the split sub-entity.
• Zhen Ping and Guan Xiaohui entered a tunnel and began following an underground river toward their destination, but hid when Guan Xiaohui detected Che Gaoyi and No. 9 approaching.
• Che Gaoyi sensed signs that someone had passed through the tunnel but continued onward with No. 9, while Zhen Ping and Guan Xiaohui later followed them at a distance.
• Lan Xinnan brought Chen Chuan to a damaged passage and told him that the route led toward Central City's edge; Chen Chuan continued on foot with the Snow Monarch Blade.
• Che Gaoyi and No. 9 emerged outside Central City, where a man confronted them and stopped Che Gaoyi after No. 9 was thrown into an earthen slope.
• The man identified himself as Xiang Tiancheng, a senior officer of the Resistance Alliance Front.

Chen Chuan followed Che Gaoyi’s trail outside Central City while Xiang Tiancheng pursued and fatally wounded Che Gaoyi. The chapter ended with Chen Chuan holding Che Gaoyi’s suitcase and challenging Xiang Tiancheng to take it.

• Xiang Tiancheng fought No. 9 and then chased Che Gaoyi, while No. 9 began recovering after he left.
• Chen Chuan found footprints near the tunnel exit and followed them, while Zhen Ping and Guan Xiaohui emerged later and resolved to avoid him.
• Che Gaoyi used an explosive drug and fought Xiang Tiancheng, but Xiang Tiancheng redirected his force and countered his attacks.
• Xiang Tiancheng struck Che Gaoyi’s neck, leaving him bleeding and unable to stop the wound.
• Chen Chuan picked up Che Gaoyi’s suitcase, and Xiang Tiancheng demanded it back before Chen Chuan challenged him to take it.

Chen Chuan fought Xiang Tiancheng while No. 9 repeatedly attacked him over the suitcase. Chen Chuan unleashed a powerful strike that devastated No. 9, while Xiang Tiancheng remained alive and the confrontation was unresolved.

• Xiang Tiancheng prepared to attack Chen Chuan, but No. 9 charged toward Chen Chuan, who caught and threw it, leaving it temporarily unable to move with inner force.
• Xiang Tiancheng attacked Chen Chuan, and the two exchanged blows as each recognized the other's inner force.
• Chen Chuan pierced Xiang Tiancheng's arm and seized him, but No. 9 charged in again, letting Xiang Tiancheng escape and retreat.
• Chen Chuan realized No. 9 could keep recovering from damage, while Xiang Tiancheng backed away as Chen Chuan gathered power.
• Chen Chuan struck No. 9 with an explosive attack that destroyed its upper body and head, leaving it twitching feebly.

Chen Chuan defeated No. 9 and fought Xiang Tiancheng, whose enhanced techniques eventually forced him to retreat. After the battle, Chen Chuan broke through to Spirit Sense and secured the briefcase containing a split sub-entity before heading back toward the tunnel.

• Chen Chuan blasted No. 9 apart with a powerful strike, and Xiang Tiancheng activated the Resistance Front's Secret Acupoint Stimulation Method before approaching him.
• Chen Chuan and Xiang Tiancheng exchanged rapid attacks, with Chen Chuan increasing the pace until the force accumulating in Xiang Tiancheng's body began to overwhelm him.
• A thrown knife distracted Chen Chuan, allowing Xiang Tiancheng to discharge force through his injured body and flee.
• Chen Chuan's spirit broke through to Spirit Sense, and he sensed that he could now compete for the approaching pure essence.
• Chen Chuan inspected the briefcase, confirmed it contained a split sub-entity, and carried it and the Snow Monarch Blade back toward the tunnel.

Chen Chuan disposed of Fu Mu’s split sub-entity, while Xiang Tiancheng completed a handover with Zhen Ping and Guan Xiaohui. In the Defense Department command center, Specialist Liang learned that three sub-entities remained at large and prepared to intercept the other convoy.

• Chen Chuan returned to the tunnel, destroyed the split sub-entity with the Snow Monarch Blade, and dissolved its remains with disposal solution.
• Xiang Tiancheng met Zhen Ping and Guan Xiaohui, verified his identity, and took the package they had carried.
• Xiang Tiancheng warned Zhen Ping and Guan Xiaohui to stay away from Central City, then left with the package.
• Specialist Liang’s command center confirmed that the Resistance Alliance Front’s fighters had been killed without recovering a split sub-entity, while Watchtower confirmed Chen Chuan had disposed of another one.
• Specialist Liang learned the dead fighter was likely a senior inspector from the Resistance Alliance Front and ordered the search to continue as he prepared to block the other convoy.

After destroying the Split Sub-entity, Chen Chuan examined Chen Bitong’s force techniques and considered developing a distinctive force of his own. Meanwhile, the Ferris Wheel Company’s attempt to recover another Split Sub-entity was stopped by the Handling Bureau, but Guan Shang Jing still expected another opportunity.

• Chen Chuan confirmed the Split Sub-entity’s destruction, learned his teammates had been reassigned, and accessed Chen Bitong’s mental imprint to study its force techniques.
• Chen Chuan realized the imprint contained no mental cultivation guidance and began considering how to develop a force technique of his own.
• Guan Shang Jing learned that the Handling Bureau had blocked Lianwei Heavy Drive’s convoy carrying a Split Sub-entity and ordered Song Zicheng to support it.
• Xu Chan defeated the convoy’s fighters, recovered the Split Sub-entity, and ordered it destroyed while letting the Ferris Wheel Company’s convoy remain at the checkpoint.
• Song Zicheng reported the defeat to Guan Shang Jing, who ordered his team to withdraw and resolved to wait for another chance when the other being acted.

After completing a mission, Chen Chuan considered how to develop a fighting style suited to himself and boarded an airship with Pan Xiaode. While dining aboard, he sensed a faint ripple from the other world and suspected Pure Essence was leaking through an earlier breach.

• Chen Chuan resolved to refine his own force, spar with Fighters such as Red Dust, and strengthen his original body's mental power and the Second Self.
• Pan Xiaode contacted Chen Chuan from an airship and invited him aboard, and Chen Chuan climbed to a rooftop and boarded via a rope ladder.
• Pan Xiaode explained that his family ran Sky Shark Airship Company and that he was coordinating the requisitioned airships for Wu Yi Academy.
• Chen Chuan and Pan Xiaode looked over the insect swarms and discussed the Convergence Zone, while Pan Xiaode vowed to grow strong enough to fight in the invasion.
• As they prepared to eat, Chen Chuan sensed a ripple from the other world and suspected Pure Essence was escaping through the earlier breach.

Chen Chuan learned that the Resistance Organization and other factions had entered Central City, while Defense Department Specialist Liang tracked Fu Mu’s reproduction and awaited news from the naval battle. After the combined fleet defeated the Ferris Wheel Company, Liang proposed invoking special purge regulations to dismantle and restructure the company.

• Pan Xiaode told Chen Chuan about the Old Imperial Household’s failed sea attack and the Resistance Organization’s destructive fight in Fengde District.
• Specialist Liang assessed Fu Mu’s later reproduction waves, the Old Imperial Household’s forces, and the threat of the Ferris Wheel Company.
• The combined fleet of the Canglong Company and the Far Ocean Development Group defeated the Ferris Wheel Company’s fleet, sinking or capturing most of its ships.
• Captain Feng Dingshan sent the naval victory report to Central City, and Specialist Liang passed the news to the Government Affairs Hall and the Handling Bureau.
• Qiao Yang and Wu Quan backed action against the Ferris Wheel Company and described plans to manage threats from the Old Imperial Household and the unknown entity.
• Specialist Liang proposed a comprehensive purge and restructuring of the Ferris Wheel Company under national special purge regulations, and the others seconded him.

The three departments finalized Horizon Operation to strike the Ferris Wheel Company while Fu Mu continued dividing. After Guan Shang Jing deployed the company’s forces, the coordinated government assault destroyed most of them and began pursuing the survivors, leaving Specialist Liang to order teams toward Yinglu District.

• The three departments agreed to blame the attacks on Linax Federation subjects and mercenaries, then scheduled Horizon Operation for Fu Mu’s eleventh division wave.
• Wu Qi’s report predicted the best chance to seize a split sub-entity around Fu Mu’s twelfth wave, while the Eagle Tail Director pressured Guan Shang Jing to stop waiting and act.
• Guan Shang Jing deployed nearly a thousand Ferris Wheel Company security personnel with heavy weapons and combat creatures.
• Specialist Liang ordered the Defense Department not to intercept the convoy and directed Xu Chan to lead the response under Watchtower’s operation plan.
• After a coordinated ambush, most of the Ferris Wheel Company’s forces were eliminated with no high-end combatant losses, and Specialist Liang ordered teams to assemble toward Yinglu District.

Specialist Liang assigned Xu Chan to command the final battle against the Ferris Wheel Company, while Chen Chuan waited aboard an airship for pure essence to appear. As the essence arrived, Chen Chuan sensed and absorbed it.

• Specialist Liang told Xu Chan that Nie Guanshan and Yang Shen had been killed in action, then approved Xu Chan’s requests for the final battle, which had to be completed before the splitting wave.
• Chen Chuan asked Pan Xiaode for a quiet room aboard the airship and settled in to sense the approaching pure essence.
• At the former Mo God Temple, the old man prepared Chu An to collect pure essence and taught him an Essence Refinement School technique to sense it while resisting contamination.
• After half an hour of waiting, Chen Chuan sensed the first pure essence and drew it in, making a motion as if swallowing it.

Chen Chuan and Chu An sought pure essence after the heaven gate opened, while the Ferris Wheel Company faced encirclement after its fleet was destroyed. The company’s directors had to decide how to respond as government forces closed in.

• Chen Chuan absorbed two streams of pure essence and felt its purifying effects grow stronger.
• Chu An caught a small amount of pure essence with his teacher’s technique, then continued searching as his teacher explained its benefits and scarcity.
• More than a hundred response units and several airships surrounded the Ferris Wheel Company in Yinglu District, led by Xu Chan’s command team.
• Guan Shang Jing activated the company’s emergency signal, ordered its remaining security forces into defensive positions, and informed the Board of Directors.
• The directors learned that their fleet had been nearly annihilated, then saw government forces surrounding headquarters and realized their dispatched security forces were likely defeated.

The Great Shun Government attacked the Ferris Wheel Company after surrounding it, and the company’s defenses buckled under airship bombing and waves of biological weapons. As Guan Shang Jing called on Tie Cheng-jun for help, an unexplained shock incapacitated the attacking creatures around the building.

• The directors rejected immediate use of Wu Qi and ordered Guan Shang Jing to arm the employees while they tried to contact the Municipal Council.
• Xu Chan began the assault with airship bombardment, then sent Combat Mantises and other modified creatures against the Ferris Wheel Company.
• Amphibious combat organisms from the Canglong Company infiltrated the building from the sea as the company’s defenses fell.
• The directors took shelter aboard a submarine while an underwater team tried to get beyond the information blockade and reach the Municipal Council.
• Guan Shang Jing’s forces retreated under attacks by explosive-bearing creatures, and he asked Tie Cheng-jun to honor his promise.
• A shock rippled through the Ferris Wheel Building and caused combat creatures inside and nearby to collapse.