Chapter Summaries

Chen Chuan left Red Crown Island after learning that An Tan Company was pursuing He Ruihai and He Zhilan, then returned to Central City to oversee Defense Department preparations and plan his New Year trip to Yangzhi. He chose Yu Ziran as deputy director and learned that Lu Fang was preparing for a breakthrough attempt.

• Chen Chuan said goodbye to He Ruihai and He Zhilan, who worried about his coming conflict with Origin Company and wondered what had happened to Zhen.
• Chen Chuan asked the Far Ocean Development Group to arrange mail service on Red Crown Island, then returned to Central City.
• Chen Chuan approved the surprise raid plan for the Lower District and selected Yu Ziran for the vacant deputy director position.
• Chen Chuan arranged to travel to Yangzhi with Gao Ming, Wei Changan, Wu Han, Feng Xiaoqi, Luo Kaiyuan, and others, while Wei Dong stayed at Wu Yi Academy.
• Lu Fang told Chen Chuan he would remain in Central City to prepare for a one-on-one fight intended to help him break through the Third Limit, and Chen Chuan wished him success.

Chen Chuan left Central City for Yangzhi City aboard his personal airship with Wei Changan and the others. Along the way, city officials and observers recognized the airship and considered Chen Chuan’s growing influence, while two Combat Airships joined his escort.

• Yan Yi told Chen Chuan that Fusion Boundary Corporation wanted San Cheng Huang to become its head of security, and Chen Chuan agreed to make arrangements; he exchanged New Year greetings with Meng Shu.
• Chen Chuan and the Yangzhi group boarded his spacious personal airship and departed for Yangzhi City.
• Tai Dongwei, Geng Zheng, and Deng Fu spotted the airship over Weiguang District and discussed Chen Chuan’s achievements and their ties to him.
• Chairman Quan watched the airship pass and told an aide that the Municipal Council had to honor Chen Chuan’s supply agreement, while seeking help from the Union and Federation.
• Mr. Chi saw the airship from an Origin Company cargo ship near Jiyang District and watched it disappear toward Yangzhi.
• Two Combat Airships joined Chen Chuan’s airship outside Central City and escorted it toward Yangzhi City.

Chen Chuan returned to Yangzhi City aboard a massive airship, drawing a grand welcome from local officials and residents. He left the airship and was greeted by Civil Affairs Director Zhu Xian, while Nian Fuli’s family chose to remain with the neighbors rather than seek the spotlight.

• Zhu Xian received word that Chen Chuan was nearing Yangzhi and ordered the city to prepare a welcome.
• Guan Yuming sealed off the street as Zhu Xian and other officials gathered, while Wei Laohu boasted that his son was coming home with Central City citizenship.
• Nian Fuli and Yu Wan declined Secretary Pan’s offer to move to the front, choosing to keep a low profile with their children and neighbors.
• Chen Chuan’s enormous airship and two smaller escorts descended over the avenue, and armed personnel secured the street.
• Chen Chuan stepped onto the platform in his Defense Department Chief uniform with Wei Changan, Wu Han, Feng Xiaoqi, Luo Kaiyuan, and the others behind him.
• Zhu Xian led the officials forward, shook Chen Chuan’s hand, and welcomed him back to Yangzhi.

Chen Chuan returned to Yangzhi for the New Year, where local officials and neighbors welcomed him and he reunited with Nian Fuli's family. Concerned that his status would bring unwanted attention to them, he persuaded Nian Fuli, Yu Wan, and the children to move with him to Central City, then began explaining another reason for the move.

• Zhu Xian and Yangzhi officials welcomed Chen Chuan, who greeted Guan Yuming before reuniting with Nian Fuli, Yu Wan, and the children.
• Chen Chuan summoned Zhao Ming, and the children happily embraced the enlarged creature as the family headed home.
• Wei Changan reunited with Wei Laohu, who urged him to work hard for Chen Chuan and remember his roots.
• Zhu Xian reviewed news releases and told Xiao Pan to ensure nothing happened in or around Yangzhi for the next two days.
• Chen Chuan gave gifts to Nian Fuli's family and their neighbors, then invited Nian Fuli, Yu Wan, and the children to move to Central City.
• Nian Fuli agreed to move with his family after considering how Chen Chuan's position would change their lives, and Chen Chuan began explaining another reason for the move.

Chen Chuan told Nian Fuli and Yu Wan about the approaching Great Collision, and Nian Fuli recalled a strange wartime encounter that might have happened in the Convergence Zone. The family prepared to collect Nian Qian after he returned from overseas, while Chen Chuan’s return to Yangzhi prompted heightened security and a flood of calls to Nian Fuli.

• Chen Chuan explained the Great Collision to Nian Fuli and Yu Wan, and Nian Fuli connected it to a strange battlefield he had experienced during his army service.
• Nian Fuli recounted how a soldier nicknamed Flea vanished after following two unidentified men in black, leaving him unsure whether Flea had ever existed.
• Chen Chuan promised Yu Wan he would try to protect Yangzhi’s neighbors if the Collision came, while Nian Fuli said Nian Qian was due to return by ship.
• Chen Chuan reflected on an old photograph in his room as callers tried to use Nian Fuli’s connections to secure passage and identities for Central City.
• Cheng Zitong ignored the ringing telephone at Wu Yi Academy and thought proudly about Chen Chuan, his student.
• After receiving Nian Qian’s telegram, Nian Fuli’s family left with Chen Chuan in his off-road vehicle to meet him near the inspection checkpoint.

Chen Chuan traveled with Nian Fuli’s family to the National Avenue checkpoint, where they waited for Nian Qian to arrive. The family reunited with Nian Qian, while Chen Chuan considered reports of unusual people found in northern snowfields and the mysteries of Jiao Mountain.

• Nian Fuli told Chen Chuan that the Patrol Bureau had been intensifying its campaigns against Armed Bandits and shared a rumor that several large people had been dug out of northern snowfields near a railway line.
• Chen Chuan considered investigating the discovery and looking into Jiao Mountain, then returned the checkpoint guards’ salute when they welcomed his family.
• Nian Qian read a newspaper report about Chen Chuan’s return to Yangzhi and wondered whether the official shared his cousin’s name.
• Nian Qian arrived at the checkpoint, greeted Nian Fuli and Yu Wan with salutes, and reunited with his younger siblings and Chen Chuan.
• Nian Qian thanked Chen Chuan for helping care for the family, and Chen Chuan suggested they continue talking in the car.

Nian Qian returned to Yangzhi with his family and learned about Chen Chuan’s growing influence and the modern military technology used in his overseas mission. When Chen Chuan revealed that he was the Head of the Security Defense Department, Nian Qian was stunned, and Yu Wan explained that Chen Chuan was a Fighter.

• Nian Qian drove the family home in Chen Chuan’s off-road vehicle and praised its comfort and capabilities.
• Nian Fuli explained that Director Guan had strengthened city security and helped villagers move down from the mountains.
• Nian Qian described his overseas mission with a technical force equipped with Implant Bodies, Combat Creatures, and other modern military support.
• Chen Chuan compared the new force to the Old Imperial Household’s elite cavalry, while Nian Qian explained that his unit had been formed to counter them.
• Nian Qian noticed guards saluting their vehicle throughout the city and asked Chen Chuan whether he knew the visiting Head of Security Defense Department.
• Chen Chuan revealed that he was the Head of Security Defense Department, and Yu Wan told the stunned Nian Qian that Chen Chuan was a Fighter.

Nian Qian learned that Chen Chuan was a Fighter and began to understand the scale of his abilities. Chen Chuan planned to move the family to Central City, then demonstrated his power by making the people and furniture in the room rise into the air.

• Nian Qian was stunned to learn that Chen Chuan was a Fighter and asked him to explain what Fighters could do.
• Nian Qian gave Chen Chuan a collection of adventure-film posters, and Yu Wan grew wistful about her sisters.
• Chen Chuan offered to take the family to visit Yu Wan’s aunt by Airship, and Nian Fuli revealed that the family planned to move to Central City after the New Year.
• Nian Qian described the relentless training of Third Limit Fighters, and Chen Chuan said he enjoyed training and watching his strength grow.
• Chen Chuan told Nian Qian that Fighters could face large numbers of opponents and withstand ordinary guns and artillery.
• A fluffy ball stopped in midair near Chen Chuan, and he made Nian Qian, the dining table, and the chairs slowly rise.

Chen Chuan spent New Year with Nian Fuli’s family, gave Nian Qian a protective carving, and decided to move his aunt and uncle to Central City. He visited Cheng Zitong, who approved of the move but declined Chen Chuan’s offer to travel with him because he had personal matters to handle.

• Chen Chuan explained his Bio-Field to Nian Qian and gave him a Lion Head Wood Carving that could signal another Fighter to spare him.
• Nian Qian joined the family’s New Year preparations, and Chen Chuan celebrated New Year’s Eve with Nian Fuli’s family before they set off fireworks.
• The Gao family visited Old Nian’s Family, and more guests arrived over the following days to offer New Year greetings.
• Chen Chuan visited Cheng Zitong at Wu Yi Academy and told him he might move Nian Fuli and Yu Wan to Central City.
• Cheng Zitong approved of the move and said he might return to Central City too, but declined Chen Chuan’s offer to take him there because of personal matters.

Chen Chuan left Cheng Zitong’s home, met old classmates, and began arranging his family’s move to Central City. He was then summoned to investigate two ancient Fighters who vanished after Yuan An Company found and transported them, leaving their whereabouts and intentions unknown.

• Chen Chuan greeted retired Wu Yi Academy teachers as he left Cheng Zitong’s home, and they marveled at meeting a Fighter; he avoided He Fen’s New Year convoy and nodded to an excited student from the dormitory.
• Chen Chuan spent time with old classmates and gave Ding Jiao his private contact information before preparing to move his family to Central City.
• Zhu Xian summoned Chen Chuan to the Department of Civil Affairs, where Yuan An Company branch director Bao Ning reported that two ancient Fighters had disappeared from a train.
• Chen Chuan suspected Yuan An Company had concealed the discovery and rushed the transport to avoid scrutiny, then resolved to find and control the missing Fighters.

Chen Chuan investigated the attack on two excavated figures, followed the traces to a surviving man named Zalnik, and confronted him about an object he had found in Great Shun territory. Zalnik attacked Chen Chuan after accusing him of being untrustworthy.

• Chen Chuan examined the blood samples and discovered traces of ancient origins and High-Energy Nutrients.
• Chen Chuan inspected the excavation site and found a giant footprint overlapping the marks of the two bodies.
• Chen Chuan investigated the wrecked train and determined that one figure had been carried away while the other had fled on foot.
• Chen Chuan tracked the fleeing man to a forest, where he found Zalnik eating a bear and learned that Zalnik had awakened after many years.
• Chen Chuan accused Zalnik of hiding an object he had found in their territory, and Zalnik charged at him.

Chen Chuan defeated Zalnik and brought him back to the Airship, where he learned that a mole and a mercenary squad from the Land of Chaos had helped the fugitives escape. He pursued the missing companion with Director Bao, and the Airship spotted a crashed aircraft near Wan Guang Hill.

• Chen Chuan overwhelmed Zalnik, then revived him with warmth and High-Energy Nutrient Paste before questioning him about his companion.
• Chen Chuan deduced that Zalnik and his companion had separated after communicating mentally, and brought Zalnik back to Director Bao's Airship.
• Director Bao told Chen Chuan that a mole had arranged for a mercenary squad from the Land of Chaos to abduct the fugitives.
• Chen Chuan joined the pursuit, sent a telegram to his family, and traveled with Director Bao toward the Jibei-Haixi border.
• A lookout spotted a small Airship crashed in the snow near Wan Guang Hill, surrounded by signs of an explosion and broken trees.

Chen Chuan tracked down and captured the escaped white-haired ancient fighter, but Qi Hui Shi of Haixi Province challenged his right to take her away. The chapter ended with Qi Hui Shi proposing a sparring match, wagering a safe-deposit key and the fighter against Chen Chuan’s custody of her.

• Chen Chuan followed the Bio-Field traces from the crashed airship and found the weakened white-haired fighter resting near a tree.
• The white-haired fighter attacked Chen Chuan, who knocked her unconscious with a single punch and captured her.
• Qi Hui Shi arrived and demanded that Chen Chuan hand the woman over to Haixi Province, but Chen Chuan refused.
• Qi Hui Shi apologized for his demand and challenged Chen Chuan to a sparring match, wagering a safe-deposit key and the woman.

Chen Chuan accepted Qi Hui Shi’s challenge and sparred with him while Yuan An Company’s Airship watched from above. After studying Qi Hui Shi’s fluid techniques and rhythm, Chen Chuan shifted from defense to offense with a punch aimed at his face.

• Chen Chuan accepted Qi Hui Shi’s offer to fight over the captives.
• Yuan An Company’s Airship arrived, and Director Bao ordered it to hold position with its weapons ready to support Chen Chuan.
• Chen Chuan opened with Spiritual light, but Qi Hui Shi evaded and countered with precise techniques.
• Qi Hui Shi launched a flowing series of attacks, but Chen Chuan blocked each one by reading his movements.
• After learning Qi Hui Shi’s rhythm, Chen Chuan ignored a strike toward his eyes and punched at Qi Hui Shi’s face.

Chen Chuan turned the sparring match against Qi Hui Shi by adapting his attacks, forcing Qi Hui Shi to release his Void Traverse Pearls, and overcoming their coordinated assault. The chapter ended with Chen Chuan disabling Qi Hui Shi’s weapons and slamming him into the ground.

• Chen Chuan used a rapid Spiritual Impact to drive Qi Hui Shi back, forcing him to summon twelve Void Traverse Pearls.
• Qi Hui Shi sent six pearls after Chen Chuan, who dodged them and hurled a series of trees to obscure his approach.
• Chen Chuan rode a tree toward Qi Hui Shi, knocked aside two pearls, and used a Spiritual Impact to interrupt Qi Hui Shi’s advance.
• Chen Chuan dodged the pearls’ coordinated attack and struck four of them, extinguishing their Spiritual Fire.
• Chen Chuan changed his punch into a grappling hold, snuffed out Qi Hui Shi’s Spiritual Fire, and caused the remaining pearls to fall harmlessly.
• Chen Chuan lifted the paralyzed Qi Hui Shi and slammed him into the ground.

Chen Chuan defeated Qi Huishi and recovered the white-haired woman, then returned to Yangzhi as Yuan An Company acknowledged its wrongdoing over the excavation. The National Security Affairs Department ordered Chen Chuan to continue overseeing the case, leaving him with authority to investigate the company’s next steps.

• Chen Chuan defeated Qi Huishi, took the key, and carried the white-haired woman back to the Airship while Qi Huishi admitted defeat.
• Chen Chuan told Director Bao to leave the suspected ties between the Land of Chaos and Haixi Province to higher authorities.
• The white-haired woman claimed she could have beaten Chen Chuan and Qi Huishi if she had recovered, but Chen Chuan demanded the spoils taken from his side.
• Chen Chuan returned to Yangzhi, where Yuan An Company specialist Liao Donghai apologized and said the company had reported its concealed excavation results to the state.
• Chen Chuan received a telegram ordering him to follow the matter, and Liao Donghai promised Yuan An Company would cooperate with his inquiries.

Liao Donghai explained to Chen Chuan that two ancient Fighters had hunted Agala’s Sons and absorbed fragments of a powerful Lost Object. The creature those fragments restrained might be rebuilding itself, while Yuan An Company considered how to recover the fragments from the Fighters.

• Liao Donghai showed Chen Chuan historical records linking two unearthed Fighters to a centuries-old poem about a hero who killed the Agala Monster and divided it into twenty-eight pieces.
• Liao Donghai explained that the Agala Monster was a Pi Lu drawn ashore by a Lost Object, and that the poem combined several ancient Fighters into one legendary hero.
• Liao Donghai said the two Fighters likely hunted Agala’s Sons and absorbed portions of the Lost Object, which might be restored if the scattered fragments were recovered.
• Liao Donghai revealed that a Tower Whale Company spy had likely uncovered the secret, prompting forces in Haixi Province to send a Fighter to seize the two men; Chen Chuan had stopped them.
• Liao Donghai warned that the Pi Lu might reassemble if the Lost Object’s restraints disappeared, and Chen Chuan reasoned that some pieces or creatures might still remain unaccounted for.
• Liao Donghai said the simplest way to extract the fragments inside the two men would be for a Fighter to kill them.

Chen Chuan rejected taking the Lost Object into himself and arranged for a slower ritual to separate it from the two ancient fighters, then left Yangzhi to visit his eldest aunt in Shannan. The chapter ended with Han Kuang learning that Chen Chuan would arrive a few days later on official business.

• Chen Chuan chose the Esoteric Sect Ritual to separate the Lost Object and gained the Affairs Department's support for the plan.
• Chen Chuan left the two fighters in Yuan An Company's care and warned Liao Donghai to handle them properly.
• Chen Chuan visited his family's old home, performed Righteous Unrestrained Hands, and departed Yangzhi for Shannan Province.
• Chen Chuan arrived in Shannan late at night and waited until morning to visit his eldest aunt, Yu Jie.
• Han Kuang learned that Chen Chuan was coming a few days later on official business and wondered whether he worked for the government.

Han Kuang learned that Nian Qian’s younger male cousin was a Fighter and the Head of Security Defense Department in Central City, far exceeding his expectations. The chapter ended when Han Kuang’s superior called with an urgent matter.

• Han Kuang heard Nian Qian had become a major and praised his military career while they discussed frontline technology and a recent mission.
• Nian Qian told Han Kuang that his younger male cousin had arranged an Airship and led the Security Defense Department in Central City.
• Nian Qian revealed that his younger male cousin was a Fighter who would turn twenty after the New Year, shocking Han Kuang.
• Han Kuang learned that his cousin had planned to visit but was held up by official business.
• Ling Ma told Han Kuang that his superior was calling urgently.

Han Kuang learned that his nephew Chen Chuan had arrived in Central City, prompting the authorities to tighten security across the city. As Han Cheng’s shipment was intercepted and his family called him home, Han Kuang met Chen Chuan at the Mooring Tower.

• Chief of Staff Bai told Han Kuang that headquarters had learned of Chen Chuan’s arrival and ordered him to come along to meet his nephew.
• Han Kuang sent his daughters to contact their family, then rode with Chief of Staff Bai and Staff Officer Fan through Central City’s heightened security.
• Han Cheng learned that checkpoints were locked down and inspectors had surrounded his shipment, then agreed to return home when Xiao Huan called.
• Han Kuang and his companions arrived at the Mooring Tower, where an airship from the National Fighter Council and a large security force awaited Chen Chuan.
• Chen Chuan descended from the airship with Director Li, greeted Han Kuang, and wished him a happy New Year.