Chapter Summaries

Chen Chuan investigated the Midnight Shadow at Lanxiang Cinema and followed the rule of watching films without approaching or speaking to it. After the shadow appeared beside him on his second night, he realized the phenomenon might also be affecting his Mutated Tissue.

• Chen Chuan met Manager Huang, learned the cinema’s incidents had occurred for twenty-five days, and agreed to stay there to deal with the Midnight Shadow.
• Chen Chuan inspected the screening hall, then spent the night watching films alone until a long-haired woman appeared two rows ahead of him.
• Chen Chuan followed the instructions Cheng Zitong had provided, stayed seated, and noticed the encounter seemed to accelerate his Mutated Tissue’s growth.
• Chen Chuan used his breathing to guide his Mutated Tissue and discovered at four in the morning that the figure had disappeared.
• Chen Chuan told Manager Huang the legend would take about three days to clear, returned to the cinema the next evening, and saw the figure sitting beside him.

Chen Chuan used Cheng Zitong’s ancient mirror to handle the Cinema Phantom’s final night and found an old photograph after the haunting ended. He left Lanxiang Cinema with the mystery of the photograph’s identity still unresolved.

• Chen Chuan noticed the Second Self’s fading had worsened and vanished, then discovered his coat had aged after leaving the cinema.
• Chen Chuan told Cheng Zitong what had happened, and Cheng Zitong gave him an ancient mirror to place directly behind his seat.
• Chen Chuan returned to Lanxiang Cinema, placed the mirror behind him, and used the Breathing Method to restrain his Mutated Tissue as the Cinema Phantom drew closer.
• At four in the morning, the chill and fading signs disappeared, and Chen Chuan found a dusty old photograph of a woman in an opera costume behind a seat.
• Chen Chuan told Manager Huang the matter was resolved and showed him the photograph; Manager Huang learned the woman had likely been an old opera troupe performer.

Chen Chuan resolved the Phantom Shadow Urban Legend at Lanxiang Cinema, reported the outcome to Cheng Zitong, and asked about obtaining an Infinite Defense Certificate. Word of his success spread, prompting a new Entrusted Company to seek him out at Wuyi Academy.

• Chen Chuan returned to Wuyi Academy, found that his Mutated Tissue had grown stronger, and reported his findings to Cheng Zitong, who told him to keep the photograph and postpone discussing the Infinite Defense Certificate.
• Brother Ren learned that a Wuyi Academy student had resolved the Phantom Shadow Urban Legend and planned to recruit him for his new Entrusted Company.
• Brother Ren and his companions obtained Arena Competition tickets and drove to Wuyi Academy to find Chen Chuan.
• Chen Chuan found a stack of recruitment letters in his dormitory delivery box and realized companies had learned of his success at Lanxiang Cinema.
• Min Lan introduced herself to Chen Chuan outside the dormitory building and said she worked as an agent at an Entrusted Company.

Min Lan met Chen Chuan to introduce her company and recruit him, while Ren Shu and his partners also sought him out for his experience with urban legends. Chen Chuan agreed to hear Ren Shu's proposal, which involved a major Government Affairs Hall commission that several companies were pursuing.

• Min Lan treated Chen Chuan to lunch, explained his growing reputation, and gave him her company's name card.
• Brother Ren and Xiao Jiang arrived at Wuyi Academy and asked Ling Student to help them find Chen Chuan.
• After hearing about Chen Chuan's reputation, Brother Ren agreed to meet him, and Chen Chuan accepted the request.
• Ren Shu told Chen Chuan that his new Entrusted Company specialized in taking on neglected urban legend commissions to build its credit.
• Ren Shu revealed that a major urban legend commission was available through the Government Affairs Hall and invited Chen Chuan to collaborate with them.

Chen Chuan learned that the Government Affairs Hall planned a major campaign against the Flying Head Sect, and Ren Shu offered him unusually generous terms to join his company for the work. After discussing the Infinite Defense Certificate with Cheng Zitong, Chen Chuan asked whether it was connected to the quota for going to Central City.

• Ren Shu told Chen Chuan that the Flying Head Sect had spread through villages near Yangzhi City and that the Government Affairs Hall suspected the Resistance Organization was supporting it.
• Ren Shu offered Chen Chuan a financial-backer position and control over myth-related commissions, and Chen Chuan agreed to consider the offer by the first while refusing to join another company meanwhile.
• Chen Chuan returned to his dormitory and decided to consult Cheng Zitong before choosing how to pursue the major commission.
• Two days later, Cheng Zitong explained the application requirements, recommendations, review process, and timing for the Infinite Defense Certificate.
• Chen Chuan asked Cheng Zitong whether the Infinite Defense Certificate was connected to the quota for going to Central City.

Chen Chuan learned that an Infinite Defense Certificate could help him qualify for Central City and discussed a major Flying Head Sect operation with Cheng Zitong. He accepted Ren Shu’s company’s offer in principle, arranged for Gao Ming to handle the contract, and returned home for the New Year with Wei Changan, arriving at his aunt and uncle’s courtyard.

• Cheng Zitong explained that Central City applicants needed Academy recommendations, Head Institute approval, and strong ability, and he told Chen Chuan that a Grade B Infinite Defense Certificate would help.
• Cheng Zitong briefed Chen Chuan on the Government Affairs Hall’s planned operation against the Flying Head Sect and advised him to avoid investing in Ren Shu’s company, instead signing a temporary agreement with favorable terms.
• Chen Chuan told Ren Shu he would bring a lawyer after the New Year to sign an agreement if the company’s offer was genuine, and Ren Shu’s colleagues celebrated the news.
• Chen Chuan called his cousin Gao Ming at Mi's Law Firm to ask him to review the business agreement, then packed and left for the New Year holiday.
• Wei Changan drove Chen Chuan to the Patrol Bureau’s family housing compound, gave him gifts, and Chen Chuan arrived at his aunt and uncle’s courtyard.

Chen Chuan celebrated the Lunar New Year with his family and learned that Nian Fuli was about to be promoted. When Gao Ming visited, Chen Chuan revealed that he wanted to enter Central City, and Gao Ming agreed to help assess and plan the move.

• Chen Chuan exchanged New Year greetings, gave Nian Lu and Nian Mo red envelopes, and received calls from friends and classmates.
• Chen Chuan learned from Yu Wan that Nian Fuli would be promoted to Brigade Commander, while Yu Gang’s whereabouts remained unknown.
• Gao Ming visited Chen Chuan on the fifth day of the New Year and discussed Chen Chuan’s admission to Wu Yi Academy and his strength.
• Chen Chuan told Gao Ming that he wanted to take the exam for Central City and described his school connections and abilities.
• Gao Ming decided to stay, prepare a detailed plan for Chen Chuan, and help him sign a temporary agreement with an Entrusted Company.

Chen Chuan signed a temporary cooperation agreement with Ren Shu’s company, then spent the rest of the holiday with family and friends while continuing his martial arts training. Ren Shu later recruited him for a commission in Wu Family Town, where a Flying Head Myth had affected many townspeople, and Chen Chuan arrived ready to investigate.

• Chen Chuan and Gao Ming signed a temporary cooperation agreement with Ren Shu and his companions, then Gao Ming promised to research information for him.
• Chen Chuan noticed that the fading symptoms of his Second Self had disappeared and spent several days enjoying the holiday with old classmates and family.
• Chen Chuan watched the Arena Competition final with his relatives and said he could defeat the two Class B Students who had competed.
• After resuming his martial arts training, Chen Chuan received Ren Shu’s urgent request to handle a Flying Head Myth in Wu Family Town.
• Chen Chuan traveled to Wu Family Town with Ren Shu, learned that worshippers at the Ancestral Hall had been affected, and met Security Team captain Wu Da Jin.

Chen Chuan used a sacrificial altar to lure the Flying Head threatening Wu Family Town, but discovered that a second Flying Head was also nearby. After killing the town’s Flying Head, he asked Wu Da Jin to prepare another altar to draw out the other one.

• Wu Da Jin explained that a Flying Head had possessed hundreds of townspeople in the ancestral hall, and Chen Chuan proposed luring it out with a sacrifice instead of charging in.
• Wu Da Jin gathered the requested materials, and the group built an altar and offered a sheep while two security team members kowtowed.
• A different Flying Head appeared above the group, and Chen Chuan struck it with stones before entrusted agents chased it away.
• The Flying Head from the town arrived at the altar and fed on the sheep as people nearby were overwhelmed by its influence.
• Chen Chuan attacked the Flying Head with the Snow Monarch Blade and Wu Ji Handgun, then crushed its head beneath his foot.
• Chen Chuan asked Wu Da Jin to build another altar so they could lure and kill the second Flying Head.

Chen Chuan destroyed the second flying head in Wu Family Town and returned to the city, where he learned the incident had been publicly described as water poisoning. After studying the river system, he received a solemn call from Gao Ming, who urged him to obtain an Infinite Defense Certificate as soon as possible.

• Chen Chuan persuaded Wu Da Jin to draw the remaining flying head back with a ritual, then split it and the altar in half with his blade.
• Chen Chuan warned Wu Da Jin to let the flying heads rot before burying them and advised him to care for the townspeople who had been affected.
• Ren Shu offered Chen Chuan two company cars and a full-time driver, and Chen Chuan accepted the arrangements.
• At home, Chen Chuan heard a radio report describing the Wu Family Town incident as mass drinking water poisoning and examined a map of the city's rivers.
• Gao Ming called Chen Chuan and urged him to obtain an Infinite Defense Certificate as soon as possible.

Gao Ming explained that early Grade B Defense Certificates and evaluations from multiple government departments could help Chen Chuan compete for a Central City recommendation, and he offered to send him a case that might earn another evaluation. Meanwhile, Wei Jun arranged to investigate a factory by staging the disappearance of two Water Affairs Bureau clerks, leaving him poised to hunt down the supposed evidence and bodies.

• Gao Ming told Chen Chuan that departmental evaluations appeared to matter greatly in recommendation reviews and that recommended students often earned Grade B Defense Certificates in their first year after graduation.
• Gao Ming found a fifteen-year-old case of a commoner student who earned a Grade B Defense Certificate in his first year and gained a Central City recommendation, and he promised to investigate the student's background.
• Gao Ming offered to send Chen Chuan a case file that might help him obtain a Water Affairs Bureau evaluation, while Chen Chuan considered the risks of pursuing a Grade B certificate in his first year.
• Wei Jun practiced a stance at his villa and complained that Tan Wang had left to attend to other matters instead of teaching him.
• A woman told Wei Jun that two Water Affairs Bureau clerks would disappear at a pollution-suspected factory and instructed him to accept the bureau's commission, find the bodies and planted evidence, and earn a recommendation evaluation.
• Wei Jun ordered Lao Feng to prepare his weapons, Protective Suit, and vehicle.

Chen Chuan reviewed files about a strange case involving Director Lei Guangcheng’s son and considered asking Cheng Zitong to help investigate it. After returning to Wuyi Academy, he learned Macca exchange students had arrived, prompting him to wonder whether their presence was connected to the recent flying heads.

• Chen Chuan read Gao Ming’s documents about recommended students and the accusations, deaths, and strange signs surrounding Lei Guangcheng’s son.
• Chen Chuan decided he would need to discuss the case with Cheng Zitong after school resumed, since approaching Director Lei required an introduction from someone influential.
• Chen Chuan returned to Wuyi Academy early and attended an announcement that Macca exchange students had been assigned to the dormitory upstairs.
• Chen Chuan connected the Macca students’ arrival to the Flying Head Sect’s origins and the recent appearances of flying heads.
• Zhuang Zhi and Feng Sheng provoked Wei Dong, but Zhuang Zhi stopped the argument before a fight began.
• Chen Chuan trained with medicine and considered how encounters with strange tales might stimulate his Mutated Tissue more powerfully than drugs.

Chen Chuan attended Teacher Du Ma’s class on Macca Karma Pulse Studies, while Nali and the other Macca students planned to reclaim their Sacred Object, the Great Oak Leaf. The chapter ended with Ren Shu asking Chen Chuan to join an operation against the Flying Head Sect the next day, and Chen Chuan deciding to consult Cheng Zitong first.

• The dormitory teacher sent Chen Chuan and other students to Teacher Du Ma’s Invitation Class, where Du Ma demonstrated Macca Karma Pulse Studies and explained its benefits.
• Nali gathered the Macca students and told them they had to retrieve the Great Oak Leaf from the Yangzhi City Foreign Affairs Bureau during an upcoming exchange visit.
• Nali directed the students to test Wu Yi Academy students in sparring, while Du Ma warned them he would hold off their opponents during the theft and urged them to escape with the Oak Leaf.
• Du Ma explained to Nali that the Macca students would take the Oak Leaf first because Yangzhi City might refuse to return it if it learned its sacred significance.
• Ren Shu called Chen Chuan to recruit him for a Government Affairs Hall operation against the Flying Head Sect in the Man Mountain region, and Chen Chuan said he would consult Cheng Zitong before answering.

Chen Chuan accepted the Government Affairs Hall’s commission to investigate the source of the Flying Head Monsters and sought Cheng Zitong’s advice before setting out. He arrived with Xiao Wei at a mountain camp where hundreds of people had gathered for the encirclement operation.

• Chen Chuan consulted Cheng Zitong, who warned him to wear down the Flying Head Monster while guarding against companions influenced by it, and gave him protective yellow jade and reference materials.
• Chen Chuan handed Cheng Zitong Gao Ming’s assessments of Wu Yi Branch Academy students for review.
• Chen Chuan accepted Ren Shu’s commission and packed his blade, handgun, and spare clothes for the trip.
• Qiu Chengzhu visited Chen Chuan to ask for a spar, but Chen Chuan declined because he was leaving.
• Xiao Wei drove Chen Chuan northwest from Yangzhi City, and they reached a mountain clearing filled with vehicles, tents, and hundreds of operation participants.

Chen Chuan joined the Entrusted Companies’ operation against the Flying Head Sect and advised them on how to exploit the villagers’ ritual. The raid began at Man Mountain, where the team discovered nearly twenty Flying Heads and called for reinforcements.

• Chen Chuan met Gu Mingde and explained that Flying Heads could disrupt people’s minds, should be attacked during the ritual, and might need to be dealt with inside the old temple.
• Chen Chuan prepared his Snow Monarch Blade and firearms, then joined Gu Mingde’s concealed force as it set out before dawn.
• The team reached Man Mountain and hid after Chen Chuan noticed signs of distortion on his Second Self.
• Nearly twenty Flying Heads flew out over the group and returned toward the mountain, confirming the presence of the monster tale.
• Gu Mingde ordered an assistant to telegram the rear for reinforcements, then told the teams to advance.

Chen Chuan entered the old temple to destroy the source of the Flying Head Monsters while Gu Mingde and the commissioned operatives cleared the village and guarded the entrance. After defeating the monsters in the temple, Chen Chuan found a beautiful woman among the remaining Flying Heads.

• Gu Mingde’s commissioned operatives attacked the villagers gathered before the old temple and retreated after two teammates were affected by something inside.
• Chen Chuan took extra handguns and Mind-Calming Pills from Gu Mingde, then entered the old temple with the Snow Monarch Blade and Cheng Zitong’s yellow jade.
• Chen Chuan pushed past the temple’s attackers and found Flying Head Monsters feeding on animal and human remains in the main hall.
• Chen Chuan shot six Flying Heads and cut down most of the rest, while the operatives outside killed the two that escaped.
• Chen Chuan lifted the curtain around the altar and saw that the Flying Head inside had the face of a beautiful woman.

Chen Chuan repeatedly disrupted the Flying Head’s rituals, enduring accumulating damage to the Second Self until dozens of Flying Heads overwhelmed the old temple. He destroyed them and the source Flying Head, then trained through the night and emerged at dawn as Gu Mingde and the others waited.

• Chen Chuan discovered that his Snow Monarch Blade and Mutated Tissue let him touch the Flying Head, then dragged it away from the blood sacrifice until it vanished at the end of the ritual.
• Chen Chuan worked with Gu Mingde and the others to maintain the rituals while he repeatedly drove the Flying Head away from its offerings, shortening how long it could remain and worsening the damage to the Second Self.
• Dozens of Flying Heads arrived from other strongholds, and Gu Mingde’s team fought them outside while some entered the temple.
• Chen Chuan pinned the source Flying Head, fired at the others, and killed every Flying Head in the hall with his blade; the source crumbled into ashes and black hair.
• Chen Chuan practiced martial forms and blade techniques through the night to handle the intense stimulation of his Mutated Tissue, then emerged at dawn as Gu Mingde and the others waited.

After eliminating the Flying Head Sect’s source, Chen Chuan returned to the academy, reflected on his rapid training progress, and arranged to consult He Xiaoxing. He learned he would attend a Foreign Affairs Bureau event with the exchange students, while the Macca students discussed the strength of Wuyi Academy’s fighters.

• Chen Chuan told Gu Mingde and the Entrusted Company team that the source had been eliminated, then left the mountain after receiving their thanks and contact cards.
• Ren Shu and Xiao Wei met Chen Chuan at the camp and drove him back to Yangzhi City, where he considered the gains and risks of the commission and his progress in strengthening his muscles, tendons, and bones.
• Chen Chuan called Cheng Zitong, who praised the collected materials and reminded him to attend the Foreign Affairs Bureau event; Chen Chuan also asked to send questions to He Xiaoxing and applied for a telephone in his dorm room.
• The dormitory teacher told Chen Chuan that he had been selected as an outstanding scholarship student to attend the Foreign Affairs Bureau event with the exchange students.
• Nali and Shani discussed their sparring with Wuyi Academy students, judged the academy’s fighters to be exceptionally strong, and decided not to test the remaining students before the event.

Chen Chuan tested his growing strength by sparring with Wu Han, then arranged a phone line for future commissions. He prepared to join the Macca exchange students at the Foreign Affairs Bureau the next morning, though the chapter ended before the trip began.

• Chen Chuan sparred with Wu Han using a spear against a saber and found that his Mutated Tissue could withstand a powerful thrust.
• Chen Chuan and Wu Han trained throughout the morning, and Chen Chuan confirmed that he could contend with Wu Han even without overlapping with his Second Self.
• Chen Chuan discussed work and training with Wu Han over lunch, then returned to his dormitory and had a telephone installed.
• Chen Chuan told Ren Shu to send future commissions to his new phone number and declined to take another commission until he had recovered from the Flying Head mission.
• The dormitory teacher told Chen Chuan to gather with the assigned students at eight the next morning to accompany the Macca exchange students to the Foreign Affairs Bureau.
• Chen Chuan dressed in his formal student uniform and prepared to leave for the exchange.

Chen Chuan attended a ceremony honoring the Macca People’s gift of the Unwithering Oak Leaf, where the Macca delegation suddenly seized the object amid gunfire and smoke. The Macca students charged the Wu Yi Academy students as the ceremony descended into chaos.

• Chen Chuan joined the Wu Yi Academy students and Macca delegation at the Foreign Affairs Bureau ceremony.
• Director Liu delivered a speech before the curator revealed the blue-gold Unwithering Oak Leaf.
• Teacher Du Ma received the Oak Leaf and began the Macca ritual as the students and musicians joined in.
• Gunshots struck Director Liu and a security guard, while smoke bombs filled the square.
• Teacher Du Ma snapped the box shut and fled with the Macca students, who charged the Wu Yi Academy students.