Chapter Summaries

Xu Chan and two Executive Captains entered the Ferris Wheel Building to confront Tie Chengpeng, whose Elephant Grappling Force made him a formidable defender. Their attacks barely affected him, while Xu Chan’s mental pressure halted the company’s combat Puppets.

• Xu Chan summoned two Pioneer Team members and led Captain Wang and Captain Lu toward the Ferris Wheel Building as the other two stayed outside to provide support.
• Guan Shang Jing sent Tie Chengpeng to face the approaching attackers, regretting that the company had been forced to reveal its promising trainee early.
• Tie Chengpeng introduced himself and challenged Xu Chan and the two captains, who recognized his Treading Imprint Hall Elephant Grappling Force.
• Captain Lu and Captain Wang attacked Tie Chengpeng from opposite sides, but his resilient physique absorbed their blows with little effect.
• Xu Chan used mental power to stop the two combat Puppets as the fight began.

Xu Chan, Lu, and Wang killed Tie Chengpeng and pushed their forces farther into the Ferris Wheel Company building as biological Combat Weapons slaughtered its defenders. With the company’s rescue team cut off and the creatures closing in on Wu Qi, the directors voted to activate a dangerous measure.

• Xu Chan struck Tie Chengpeng through a gap in his defenses, allowing Lu and Wang to overwhelm and kill him.
• Xu Chan ordered the team to keep advancing and block all information domain fields in the area.
• A Ferris Wheel Company liaison team reached shore, but an explosion destroyed its outpost, and a group in formal hats and trench coats killed the survivors.
• The Ferris Wheel directors watched the Combat Weapons overrun the building and realized the shore team might not reach the Municipal Council in time.
• The directors agreed to activate the measure before the Combat Weapons found Wu Qi.

Guan Shang Jing’s forces struggled to defend Ferris Wheel Company while Xu Chan’s troops attacked, until the company’s Active Consciousness Entity, Wu Qi, emerged and unleashed a powerful mental assault. As Xu Chan prepared to face Wu Qi, Specialist Liang Guanghai received an encrypted call offering help with a plan to defeat the company.

• Guan Shang Jing told Eagle Tail Director that his depleted forces could hold the underground entrance for at most half an hour, and Eagle Tail ordered him to block the attackers at all costs.
• Ferris Wheel Company injected High-Energy Nutrient Solution into Wu Qi, reviving the creature beneath the building.
• Xu Chan’s forces pushed through Ferris Wheel Building with explosive-carrying Biological Weapons, driving Guan Shang Jing’s defenders back into an underground hall.
• Wu Qi burst through the floor and emerged from the shaft, knocking out nearby troops and destroying most Biological Weapons with its mental power.
• Xu Chan stood his ground as Wu Qi appeared, while Specialist Liang Guanghai watched the creature’s emergence through the command center’s Light Screen.
• An external caller contacted Specialist Liang Guanghai, who confirmed the proposed plan and thanked the caller’s department for its assistance.

While waiting for more pure essence, Chen Chuan discovered that his enhanced senses let him perceive domain field information without the World Token, but also exposed him to dangerous forces from the Rift. After reviewing a risky Defense Department plan involving Xu Chan, Wu Qi, and the active consciousness entity An Shield, he agreed to carry it out in two hours.

• On Green Peak Mountain, Chu An struggled to catch the thin wisps of pure essence, and the old man told him more would arrive in a later stage.
• Aboard the airship, Chen Chuan absorbed pure essence and sensed the domain field directly, seeing the Rift overhead and noticing its influence on his Second Self.
• Specialist Liang Guanghai contacted Chen Chuan and directed him to the airship's information relay station to review images of Xu Chan and the others facing Wu Qi.
• Specialist Liang explained that the Defense Department and other departments had devised a plan requiring Chen Chuan's abilities and asked whether he could continue.
• Chen Chuan reviewed the risky plan, agreed to carry it out, and was given two hours to rest and prepare before it began.

Chen Chuan took a rare healing pill and absorbed more pure essence while Chu An learned to catch and assimilate it. Meanwhile, Captain Lu and Captain Wang attacked Wu Qi, but the creature's speed and tentacles kept them in danger.

• Specialist Liang sent Watchtower's analysis and tactical plan to the World Token, though interference delayed its delivery.
• Chen Chuan received a pill from Tiancong Herbs, swallowed it, and felt it repair his body and nourish his mind.
• Chen Chuan absorbed a stream of pure essence, then chose to leave the remaining streams for others.
• Chu An caught and swallowed part of a stream of pure essence after his teacher coached him, while the old man lit incense at the altar to Mo God.
• Captain Lu tested Wu Qi's defenses and evaded its tentacles, while Captain Wang struck its abdomen-leg junction and was hurled through the building before getting back up.

Xu Chan and the others fought Wu Qi while Chen Chuan prepared aboard the Airship, and the Handling Bureau tracked a hidden entity from the Other Side World waiting to seize Wu Qi’s body. The fight continued as Chen Chuan’s Airship left Shen Wei District for Yinglu District.

• The Bearded Man charged Wu Qi but was struck by its tentacle; his attack damaged the tentacle and briefly disrupted Wu Qi’s domain field.
• Captain Wang and Captain Lu exploited the opening, coordinated their attacks, and wounded Wu Qi before its psychic force knocked them away.
• Xu Chan struck Wu Qi with a powerful punch, blasting a hole through its body, but Wu Qi covered its wounds with a regeneration membrane.
• An Shield detected a hidden presence from the Other Side World inside the Ferris Wheel Company and planned to attack when it tried to take Wu Qi’s body.
• Chen Chuan continued drinking pure essence and agreed to orders for the Airship to leave Shen Wei District and head to Yinglu District.

Xu Chan and the team tried to restrain Wu Qi, but it tore through their net. Beneath the building, a mysterious entity posing as Eagle Tail Director killed the Ferris Wheel directors, freeing Wu Qi to fight without protecting them.

• Xu Chan used a short spear and a net to trap Wu Qi, but Wu Qi burst through the net after unleashing a powerful mental attack.
• Eagle Tail Director reported that no word had come from shore, and the directors approved sending another squad to investigate.
• Eagle Tail Director urged the directors to leave so Wu Qi could move freely, then revealed his sinister intent when the conference room lights dimmed.
• The entity controlling Eagle Tail Director made the directors attack and kill themselves, then forced the head director to shoot himself.

Eagle Tail Director secretly prepared to seize Wu Qi while Xu Chan and the team drove the creature back into the shaft. On the Sky Shark Airship, Chen Chuan prepared to deliver the planned final blow with the Snow Monarch Blade and received Red Dust’s support.

• Eagle Tail Director used the Voice Source Controller to give Wu Qi an instruction, then told Captain An Guang that the directors would evacuate while he stayed behind.
• Wu Qi burst through the skyscraper’s curtain wall, and Xu Chan blocked its charge and drove it back with a series of attacks.
• The team joined Xu Chan and forced Wu Qi into the shaft, where Eagle Tail Director watched it fall and restrained himself from attempting to seize its body.
• Chen Chuan prepared the Snow Monarch Blade for the final strike as he approached the agreed time with Specialist Liang.
• Red Dust appeared aboard the Sky Shark Airship to lend Chen Chuan part of her power for the operation.

Chen Chuan arrived over Yinglu District aboard a Sky Shark Airship to prepare a surprise attack on the Ferris Wheel Company during Fu Mu's division. As the operation's ground teams worked to expose the target, Chen Chuan positioned himself beyond the entity's mental-shock range and waited for the chance to strike.

• Commissioner Cao monitored the Ferris Wheel Building, restricted the Municipal Council's communications, and went to brief the Special Action Committee.
• Director Lei confirmed that twelve Esoteric Sect Rituals were ready to support the ritual at the Ferris Wheel Company.
• Chen Chuan arrived in Yinglu District and learned that Pan Xiaode had to remain aboard under a confidentiality agreement.
• Chen Chuan and Red Dust's plan called for a surprise aerial attack once the ground teams exposed the target.
• Specialist Liang ordered Xu Chan and the others to meet the plan's requirements as Fu Mu's division reached its twelfth wave.
• Chen Chuan ordered the airship above three kilometers to avoid the entity's mental shock, then waited with the Snow Monarch Blade ready.

Xu Chan's team drove Wu Qi out of the building and weakened it, while Chen Chuan prepared to strike from an airship above the Ferris wheel. As the entity beneath the building began to possess Wu Qi, Chen Chuan launched himself toward the battle.

• Xu Chan divided the team into two groups and used shields, nets, and spears to confine Wu Qi and force it through the rear of the building.
• Xu Chan and the others surrounded Wu Qi beside the sea, while the Eagle Tail Director waited below for its mental power to weaken enough to possess it.
• Chen Chuan waited aboard the airship, planning to use Red Dust's power and a rift to reach Wu Qi at the moment of possession.
• After nearly twenty minutes, Wu Qi's mental power weakened, and Watchtower warned the command center that its condition was declining.
• Chen Chuan drew the Snow Monarch Blade as Red Dust merged with him, while the Eagle Tail Director's shadow enveloped Wu Qi and transformed the surrounding area.
• Chen Chuan saw the moment arrive, lowered his stance, and plunged from the airship toward the battle.

Chen Chuan struck down Wu Qi and the immense entity manifesting behind it, ending the horizon operation. With the threat gone, Specialist Liang ordered medical teams to check Chen Chuan and Xu Chan’s group while warning that Fu Mu’s division was still ongoing.

• Chen Chuan emerged above the Ferris Wheel as the immense entity’s manifestation gathered over it.
• A pillar of light from the Ferris Wheel Building and twelve sites across the peninsula restrained the entity, and Chen Chuan used the power surging through him to slash through it and the Ferris Wheel.
• Chen Chuan stood in the crater facing Wu Qi as the mental apparition dispersed and Wu Qi’s body crumbled apart.
• Xu Chan praised Chen Chuan’s strike, and Watchtower confirmed that the entity had been eliminated and the horizon operation was complete.
• Specialist Liang reminded everyone that Fu Mu’s division remained active and ordered a medical team to examine Chen Chuan and Xu Chan’s group.

Director Lei’s preparations helped the bureau contain the crisis, while the Horizon Project went ahead despite Mister Chu’s objections. Chen Chuan survived the destruction of the Ferris Wheel, and its surviving security chief and men succumbed to contamination as troops approached.

• Director Lei credited Director Qian and Chen Chuan for the victory, then told his subordinates to leave the Ferris Wheel Company’s handling to Director Qian.
• Commissioner Cao gave Mister Chu the Horizon Project plan, but Mister Chu objected and ordered him to stop; an alert confirmed the project had already been completed.
• Specialist Liang learned that Canglong Company had sunk a submarine linked to the Ferris Wheel Building and ordered the evidence secured.
• Chen Chuan emerged from the crater and found Guan Shang Jing and the surviving Ferris Wheel Company guards contaminated by Wu Qi’s power.
• Guan Shang Jing watched his men die, then knelt facing the sea and cut his own throat as Chen Chuan stood by the ruined building.

After helping defeat the active consciousness entity, Chen Chuan recovered while absorbing pure essence and considered his growing abilities. The Special Action Committee then arrived to question him about the Chen Bitong case.

• Xu Chan praised Chen Chuan for delivering the decisive slash, then led his squad into the Ferris Wheel Building to search underground.
• Chen Chuan sensed and absorbed drifting pure essence while resting in an armored vehicle, and the Medical Team found no abnormalities in him.
• Commissioner Cao asked Specialist Liang to investigate the Ferris Wheel Company’s technology, and Specialist Liang learned the Union Inspection Team had gone to White Bird District.
• An Emergency Force officer returned the Snow Monarch Blade’s sheath to Chen Chuan, who recalled that something had merged into the blade during his strike.
• Two members of the Special Action Committee approached Chen Chuan and asked him to come with them to review the Chen Bitong case.

Chen Chuan resisted the Special Action Committee’s questioning while the Emergency Force protected him, and Fu Mu’s splitting period ended as Heaven Gate closed. With the crisis over, Chen Chuan arranged to return to Wu Yi Academy, while Chu An, the Zheng Country General, and Xue Shou each departed their respective scenes.

• Chen Chuan refused to discuss his report with the Special Action Committee, and Emergency Force soldiers drove the committee members away at gunpoint.
• Chen Chuan warned Yuan Qiuyuan and his squad to refer any Action Committee inquiries to the Defense Department, then continued absorbing pure essence.
• Fu Mu’s fifteenth wave of splitting ended, the rifts vanished, and Chen Chuan realized Heaven Gate had closed as the sky fissure slowly sealed.
• Counselor Pei thanked Chen Chuan, and Chen Chuan told Yuan Qiuyuan’s group to return and rest, inviting San Cheng Huang to a meal.
• Chen Chuan accepted an Emergency Force ride back to Wu Yi Academy, while Chu An and his teacher left Green Peak Mountain.
• The Zheng Country General rode back through his unstable rift with his cavalry, and Xue Shou walked away through the seawater and disappeared.

After absorbing dwindling Pure Essence, Chen Chuan discussed the official handling of Chen Bitong’s death and declined the chance to become his public successor. Counselor Pei warned that the Municipal Council was watching Chen Chuan, and Chen Chuan agreed to meet a representative of the Temporary Special Action Committee.

• Chen Chuan read the Municipal Council’s condemnation of the Government Affairs Hall and continued cultivating as the supply of Pure Essence weakened.
• Counselor Pei told Chen Chuan that the higher-ups wanted Chen Bitong remembered as a hero and promised reasonable compensation; Chen Chuan agreed to the plan.
• Counselor Pei said Chen Chuan might be made a representative figure in place of Chen Bitong, but Chen Chuan showed no interest.
• Counselor Pei granted Chen Chuan three months of leave and warned that the Municipal Council might target him.
• Yu Lie asked Chen Chuan to meet someone from the Temporary Special Action Committee, and Chen Chuan agreed before approaching the vehicle where Mister Chu waited.

Mister Chu invited Chen Chuan to join the Special Action Committee, warning him that an invisible ceiling limited his advancement and offering help with an upcoming safety inspection. Chen Chuan went to the Crisis Affairs Center for the inspection, where a man identified him as the priority target and ordered a level-two alert.

• Mister Chu praised Chen Chuan’s record and offered him a path beyond the limits imposed on people outside a certain circle.
• Mister Chu warned Chen Chuan that the Government Affairs Hall would inspect people who had encountered Split Sub-entities, and offered the Committee’s help.
• Chen Chuan received a warning from Tan Zhi that Teacher Wei had advised him to be careful, then received notice to attend the inspection the next day.
• Chen Chuan continued cultivating Pure Essence and considered using the inspection to resolve the suspicions surrounding him.
• Chen Chuan arrived at the Crisis Affairs Center, where a middle-aged man reported him as the priority target and activated a level-two alert.

Specialist Liang weighed the political risks of protecting Chen Chuan as the Crisis Affairs Center began screening people for traces of leaked pure essence. Chen Chuan entered the specialized screening organism, with officials and guards watching closely as the examination began.

• Specialist Liang learned that Chen Chuan had entered the screening center and decided that, if he had taken pure essence, they should bring him under their protection before the oversight agencies acted.
• Chen Chuan followed instructions through a signal-blocked corridor to the screening hall, where he noticed dense monitoring and possible machine-gun positions.
• Chen Chuan met Xu Chan and learned from him that Yan Zhiwen was a formidable fighter trusted by the Municipal Council.
• Two Municipal Council representatives watched the screening and hoped the equipment would expose anyone who had absorbed pure essence.
• Xu Chan underwent the screening and emerged after the organism glowed green, indicating a normal result.
• Chen Chuan entered the East District screening organism as the assembled guards, Yan Zhiwen, and council representatives watched.

Chen Chuan passed the Crisis Affairs Center’s test, and Xue Shou vouched for him when officials tried to hold him for further testing. After Chen Chuan left, Captain Wang Weiguang was exposed for absorbing prohibited material and taken into custody, while Xue Shou taught Chen Chuan a technique to protect his information before departing.

• The Crisis Affairs Center’s test found no abnormalities in Chen Chuan, but council representatives ordered Yan Zhiwen to keep him for further testing.
• Xue Shou appeared and vouched for Chen Chuan, prompting the Center to let him leave.
• The Center’s test flagged Captain Wang Weiguang for illegally absorbing prohibited material, and guards restrained and escorted him away.
• Yan Zhiwen brought Captain Wang a prepared statement in the interrogation room, and Captain Wang agreed to recite it.
• Xue Shou left with Chen Chuan and taught him a technique to prevent his information from leaking through the mental aspect.

Specialist Liang and Director Wu discussed the Municipal Council’s attempt to retaliate over the Pure Essence leak, while Counselor Pei explained the substance’s history and urged Chen Chuan to wait before seeking it. Chen Chuan learned that the council might invite international companies into Central City, and the chapter left him facing a changing world and an uncertain future.

• Specialist Liang learned that Teacher Xue had vouched for Chen Chuan and discussed with Director Wu how Wang Weiguang had been pushed forward as a backup accusation.
• Specialist Liang told Director Wu that Chen Chuan had refused a matter, and they agreed to approach Old Xu instead.
• Counselor Pei explained to Chen Chuan why Pure Essence had been sealed and advised him to wait rather than sign a restrictive agreement or confront powerful forces.
• Counselor Pei warned Chen Chuan that the Municipal Council was considering inviting major international companies, possibly including the Union, to establish themselves in Central City.
• Chen Chuan considered the approaching Great Collision and the need to grow stronger so he could protect himself.

Chen Chuan trained in Teacher Xue’s mental-imprint technique and received official notice of his appointment as Investigation Supervisor. At Lu Fang’s Fighting Hall, he gave Chen Xiaojin Teacher Chen’s half-mask and urged him to become strong enough to find his missing guardian.

• Counselor Pei told Chen Chuan that his appointment procedures and three months of leave had been approved, and mentioned Assistant Ling’s role in the joint plan.
• Chen Chuan suspected Counselor Pei had deliberately hinted at Assistant Ling and spent several days learning Teacher Xue’s technique for resisting monitoring and mental probing.
• A month later, Chen Chuan received notice that his appointment as Investigation Supervisor had been approved, with an investiture ceremony set for June 2.
• Chen Chuan visited Lu Fang’s Fighting Hall, where Lu Fang explained that gangs were sending children there for protection amid battles over territory.
• Chen Chuan corrected Chen Xiaojin’s kick, gave him Teacher Chen’s half-mask, and urged him to train until he could find Teacher Chen himself.