Chapter Summaries

Hu Qi used overwhelming flame control to defeat a band of raiders and burned them after forcing their confession, completing an advancement ritual. He checked his panel and ordered Crimson to upgrade his Sequence Nine Arsonist.

• Old Butte led the caravan into a cave to shelter from the rain and suppressed his men’s plans to rob Hu Qi.
• Hu Qi trained alone in the cave until more than thirty bandits surrounded the caravan and demanded money and severed arms.
• Hu Qi used hair-thin lines of fire to cut down the bandits and ordered the caravan to bring the survivors inside.
• Hu Qi split the bandit leader in two after he refused to admit his crimes, then burned the remaining thirty-three bandits alive.
• Hu Qi sensed that his advancement ritual was complete, checked his panel, and told Crimson to upgrade his Sequence Nine Arsonist.

Hu Qi advanced to Sequence Eight Fire Executioner, discovered that he could perceive and ignite people’s Sin Fire, and arrived at Night Raven Port after a slow journey. He killed the convoy members after leaving, altered his appearance, and entered a tavern where Ophelia recognized his crimson eyes and invited him into a back room.

• Hu Qi used the Scarlet Panel to advance to Sequence Eight Fire Executioner, gaining the ability to see Sin Fire and learning the names Spirit Burner and Flame Envoy for Sequence Seven.
• Hu Qi ignited the coachman who had shown him the greatest malice, then warned Old Butte and the others to keep quiet.
• Hu Qi reached Night Raven Port on the fourteenth day, left the convoy, and caused its members to burn to death as he walked away.
• Hu Qi subtly changed his appearance while entering the city and went into a tavern, where he ordered Blood's Delight from Ophelia.
• Ophelia and Hu Qi exchanged a few words, and she led him through a curtain into a back room.

Hu Qi visited Ophelia to learn about occupational paths and buy books on professional knowledge and the Gublimum Language. After mastering the language through his panel, he triggered a terrifying vision of a hostile presence in his mind, which he dispelled with his serpent-shaped soul.

• Hu Qi claimed Ired had sent him, proved he was an Arsonist by controlling fire, and told Ophelia that Ired had died during an advancement accident.
• Ophelia explained that occupational practitioners could follow multiple compatible paths and offered to share deeper knowledge through fair trade.
• After Hu Qi left, Ophelia and a hidden gunslinger discussed doubting his story and decided to observe him before considering an invitation to the Round Bell Society.
• Hu Qi noticed a warning about Tidal Church followers but ignored it, then paid Ophelia ten Dragon Crowns for books on the Gublimum Language and professionals.
• Hu Qi used his panel to perfect the Gublimum Language, but the knowledge summoned a hostile shadow and warped his surroundings until his serpent-shaped soul shattered the vision.

Hu Qi survived a dangerous encounter with the source of the Gublimum Language and used the Scarlet Panel to block its influence. He captured the cowboy who had followed him, forced him into submission, and ordered him to record what he knew about the Shadower pathway before Hu Qi finished reading a book and frowned.

• Hu Qi realized that mastering the Gublimum Language had exposed him to its creator, and the Scarlet Panel blocked the influence for 10,000 Modification Points.
• Hu Qi discovered the cowboy hiding in his room and overwhelmed him with a burst of green flame.
• The cowboy guessed Hu Qi was a Sequence Eight Fire Executioner, drew a pistol, and was knocked down and threatened.
• Hu Qi planted a Sin Fire seed in the cowboy, whose burning pain forced him to submit and identify himself as Dick, a Sequence Eight Shadow Assassin.
• Hu Qi dismissed the innkeeper, then ordered Dick to write down everything about the Shadower pathway while he read a book and frowned.

Hu Qi learned about the Sealed Origin Realm’s Adept sequences and the Seven Gods, then realized that killing a Sequence One god for his quest would require a path beyond the existing divine systems. He decided to gather complete Adept advancement records and use his own powers, with Crimson’s help, to devise an independent path.

• Hu Qi studied an encyclopedia of Adepts and learned about the Sealed Origin Realm, its dangers, and the ranks from Sequence Nine to Sequence Four.
• Hu Qi asked Dick about higher sequences, and Dick explained that Sequence Three was called Demigod, Sequence Two Heavenly God, and Sequence One Main God.
• Dick told Hu Qi that advancing into divine realms involved competing for authority and that only a legendary founder might have reached Sequence Three.
• Hu Qi dismissed Dick after obtaining information about the Shadower path, then burned the two books he had bought.
• Hu Qi concluded that he needed to create a profession holder path beyond the gods and decided to seek detailed records of existing advancement systems.

Hu Qi hunted occupational users in Night Raven Port, killed Alons to learn the Rain Master pathway, and escaped a Federation Agent who attacked him. More than a month later, wealthy and living in a seaside estate, he received a mysterious, edge-less longsword.

• Hu Qi learned that completing the Shadower pathway would require more high-level mystical knowledge.
• Hu Qi ambushed Alons in an alley, overcame the Sequence Eight Mist Walker’s water abilities, and drained him of life, learning the Rain Master pathway up to Sequence Six.
• A Federation Agent attacked Hu Qi with an unusual pistol, but Hu Qi escaped by filling the street with mist.
• More than a month later, Hu Qi enjoyed breakfast at his estate, which he had bought with money looted from hunted professionals.
• Hu Qi received a dark, heavy, edge-less longsword and turned his attention to the translucent panel before him.

Hu Qi forged the Godslayer pathway’s first weapon, Dusk, and completed the Sequence Nine advancement to Sword Polisher. He learned that reaching Sequence Eight required ten million full-force sword swings, then tested his vastly increased speed by swinging nine times in a burst.

• Hu Qi reviewed the dozens of Practitioner pathways he had seized and examined the incomplete Godslayer pathway, which currently extended only to Sequence Six.
• Hu Qi refined a mundane longsword with mystical materials, named the resulting supernatural weapon Dusk, and prepared to sharpen it.
• Hu Qi spent a day polishing Dusk until the blade transformed, fulfilling Sword Polisher’s advancement requirement.
• Hu Qi used Crimson to advance to Sequence Nine Sword Polisher, consolidating his other supernatural powers while retaining the ability to draw on them.
• Hu Qi gained a threefold physical boost and three sword-related traits, including Blade Tempering Eye, and discovered the Sequence Eight ritual required ten million full-force sword swings.
• Hu Qi tested his speed by delivering nine sword swings so quickly that they sounded like one.

Hu Qi completed his ten million sword swings and used the Scarlet Panel to advance toward Sequence Eight, while Suta entered the supernatural world and pursued a lead on the Mermaid King's Treasure. The chapter ended as Hu Qi's advancement strengthened him and his sword, Dusk, began absorbing spirituality.

• Hu Qi tested his sword speed and began the full-force swings required to advance to Sequence Eight, Disciple of Ten Thousand Slashes.
• Suta reached Sequence Nine as a Wave Rider, demonstrated her water-control ability, and sought higher-sequence information to prepare for the Mermaid King's Treasure.
• Suta learned that the Mermaid King's Treasure might reveal a pathway reaching Sequence Five and planned to strengthen herself before it opened.
• As Tide Cultists kidnapped civilians for sacrifices and authorities responded weakly, seven days passed and Night Raven Port was buried in snow.
• Hu Qi completed ten million sword swings and used the Scarlet Panel to advance from Sequence Nine Sword Sharpener to Sequence Eight Disciple of Ten Thousand Slashes.
• Hu Qi felt his strength and Blade Tempering Eye improve as Dusk began absorbing the surrounding spirituality.

Hu Qi advanced to Sequence Eight, strengthened his bond with Dusk, and demonstrated his new sword power. As Night Raven Port’s sea retreated and profession bearers rushed to find the Mermaid King’s treasure, a secretive shadow headed for the Sea God Church.

• Hu Qi advanced to Sequence Eight, Disciple of Ten Thousand Slashes, and Dusk gained the ability to grow stronger alongside him.
• Hu Qi tested his new Slash trait by cutting through a thick tree with a crescent of Sword Qi.
• Dick told Hu Qi that Round Bell had invited him to seek the Mermaid King’s treasure during Night Raven Port’s once-in-five-years sea retreat, but Hu Qi declined.
• The sea withdrew from Night Raven Port, exposing the seabed and drawing profession bearers toward the rumored Sequence Five treasure.
• A priest at the Sea God Church received a vision from the statue of Taizhuolus, while an Old Woman vowed to destroy the Mermaid King and Tidal Church.
• A man left the Governor’s Mansion for the coast as a secretive shadow moved toward the Sea God Church.

Hu Qi infiltrated the Sea God Church, killed its guards and cultists, and seized the memories of the priest’s successor while searching for higher-Sequence information. As he left for the Governor's Mansion, Tide Cultists summoned the Tide God, and a colossal tsunami surged toward Night Raven Port.

• Hu Qi reached the Sea God Church in shadow form, saw resentful spirits bound around it, and killed two Sequence Nine guards at the entrance.
• The church’s statues attacked Hu Qi with a petrifying illusion and an axe, but he shattered the effect with a sword strike and entered the church.
• Hu Qi killed the cultists he encountered and used the Heaven Seizing Technique to seize their memories, then found the priest’s Sequence Seven successor and defeated her water tornadoes.
• Hu Qi seized the woman’s memories without taking her pathway power, killed her, and hurried away toward the Governor's Mansion.
• Tide Cultists across Night Raven Port cut their wrists and performed a blood ritual in response to the Tide God’s call.
• A tsunami hundreds of meters tall surged toward Night Raven Port, destroying ships and buildings as an enormous black silhouette stood within the wave.

Kira advanced to Sequence Four and transformed Night Raven Port into a vast field of death and mutation, while Hu Qi escaped the corruption and hurried toward Dick and the others. Suta killed Viscount Leo to claim a Sequence Five advancement path, then clashed with an unseen attacker as the chapter ended with a tall figure emerging through fire and steam.

• Kira broke through the Sea God Church’s divine light and resumed the tsunami’s assault on Night Raven Port.
• Hu Qi saw Kira’s Sequence Four transformation kill Rayne and Amos and corrupt living creatures across the port, then used Modification Points to reverse his own mutation.
• Hu Qi sensed Dick and the others nearby and sped toward them.
• Suta killed the professionals who had followed her and Viscount Leo, then murdered Viscount Leo and took the black scale containing a Sequence Five advancement path.
• An attacker struck Suta with a sword, but she dispersed into water mist and ice before fire consumed the frost and revealed a tall figure.

Hu Qi fought Suta, who had temporarily drawn on her true-god power, and advanced to Sequence Seven Blood Swordsman during their battle. After killing her, he absorbed Administrator No. 3’s authority, and the Book Spirit announced that it was fusing with him.

• Hu Qi recognized Suta as Administrator No. 3 and fought her after she refused his demand to accept a restriction.
• Suta unleashed her true-god power, but Hu Qi summoned his panel and advanced from Sequence Eight Disciple of Ten Thousand Slashes to Sequence Seven Blood Swordsman.
• Hu Qi evaded Suta’s attacks with duplicates and then cut her in half with a sword strike that stopped her supernatural traits.
• Suta died, and Hu Qi received a notification that he had obtained Administrator No. 3’s authority and that fusion was beginning.

After killing Suta, Hu Qi triggered a quest that forced the Administrators to hunt one another, then fled as a Sea God Church figure arrived to battle Kira at Night Raven Port. Seven days later, Hu Qi read the Federation’s account of the port’s destruction in Cold Rain City, while the other Administrators and the Puppet Master reacted to the quest in different places.

• Hu Qi received the Supreme Hidden Quest ordering him to kill the remaining Administrators and seize their Authority.
• Hu Qi saw a powerful figure descend over Night Raven Port, judged that he could not face the newcomer, and escaped in the opposite direction.
• A blue-robed Sea God Church figure fought Kira, blasted him with lightning, and left after Kira survived in a tiny, injured form.
• Han Yun received notice of an Administrator’s death and assumed the newcomer had been killed, while the Puppet Master began trying to control Modis.
• Seven days later in Cold Rain City, Hu Qi read a newspaper report about Night Raven Port’s destruction and doubted its claims about survivors.

Hu Qi examined his Godslayer path and sought a pure-blooded giant dragon to advance to Sequence Six, following an ancient dragon legend tied to Cold Rain City. He acquired Sub-dragon Blood from Lilia, but kept his purpose secret.

• Hu Qi reasoned that the Federation’s disaster cover-up hid the supernatural truth and that the Seven Gods had not intervened in Night Raven Port’s destruction.
• Hu Qi inspected his Scarlet Panel, which showed his Sequence Seven Blood Swordsman abilities and the requirement to slay a legendary pure-blooded giant dragon to reach Sequence Six, Dragon Slayer.
• Hu Qi recalled Cold Rain City’s ancient legend of a sleeping dragon whose breath had transformed the surrounding desert, and decided to search for dragons there.
• A blonde woman named Lilia met Hu Qi and exchanged a glass bottle of Sub-dragon Blood for a parchment describing a supernatural pathway.
• Lilia asked why Hu Qi wanted the Sub-dragon Blood, but Hu Qi refused to share his secret.

Lilia and her younger brother investigated Hu Qi, hoping to uncover whether he knew the location of a giant dragon, but Hu Qi killed them before they could act. Using the Sub-dragon Blood to trace its source, Hu Qi followed the trail beyond Cold Rain City to a village, where he noticed something unexpected.

• Lilia paid the restaurant bill after Hu Qi left, then met her younger brother Kaibu and gave him the parchment recording the Mermaid Path.
• Lilia and Kaibu speculated that Hu Qi might know how to find a giant dragon and decided to follow him using a tracking mark Lilia had placed on an item.
• A shadowy Hu Qi killed Kaibu and Lilia, took the parchment, and burned it with their bodies before leaving.
• Hu Qi used his Blood Swordsman ability to trace the Sub-dragon Blood toward its source and raced out of Cold Rain City.
• Hu Qi stopped near a misty village and spotted something that surprised him.

Hu Qi encountered Weil, a half-dragon youth, and later watched as Dragon Fall Liquid transformed Weil’s father into a silver dragon. After the dragon’s rampage destroyed the village, Hu Qi poisoned it and struck its eye with his sword.

• Hu Qi used his Blade Tempering Eye to recognize Weil’s extraordinary vitality and dense dragon blood, then disappeared as Weil fished with his companions.
• Weil met a red-haired stranger with Crimson cross-shaped pupils in a rainy alley and lost awareness of the encounter.
• Weil returned home, cooked fish soup with his father, and asked about his mother before collapsing as Dragon Fall Liquid spread over his skin.
• Weil’s father transformed into a silver dragon, whose roar devastated the village and killed its inhabitants.
• Hu Qi identified the silver dragon as a powerful target, watched the poison immobilize it, and drove his sword into its eye socket.

Hu Qi drained the dragon Gass to complete his advancement ritual, then killed a Federation Agent who tried to arrest him. As Hu Qi fled, a Sequence Five professional arrived and used an extreme-cold domain to force him out of the shadows.

• Hu Qi stabbed Gass in the eye with Dusk and used the Heaven Seizing Technique to drain the dragon’s life force and memories.
• Hu Qi learned that Gass was a mutant White Dragon, Weil’s father, and the dragon behind Cold Rain City’s legend; he then drained Gass’s remaining life force and killed him.
• A dreadlocked Federation Agent confronted Hu Qi and demanded that he return to the city or be beaten to death.
• Hu Qi broke the agent’s blades and killed him with a swift sword strike, absorbing his blood into his sheath.
• Hu Qi sensed a Sequence Five professional approaching, fled through the shadows, and opened the Scarlet Modification Panel.
• The armored young man arrived, tracked Hu Qi’s escape, and used an extreme-cold domain to collapse the shadow space and force Hu Qi out.

Hu Qi used his newly gained Sequence Six powers to defeat Duke, a Sequence Five professional, but Duke dragged them into the Mind Realm as he died. Hu Qi concealed his presence and set off through the dangerous realm, while realizing his next advancement would put him against the Heavenly Dragon Federation and the Seven Gods Church.

• Duke’s extreme-cold domain failed to suppress Hu Qi, who revealed his own domain and used an illusion to wound Duke.
• Hu Qi overwhelmed Duke, severing his arm and piercing his head, but Duke crushed a mysterious sphere and transported them both into the Mind Realm.
• Hu Qi killed Duke in the Mind Realm and learned from his memories that they were on its dangerous second layer.
• Hu Qi concealed his aura with his Spirit Ferryman ability and traveled through the Mind Realm while reviewing his Sequence Six Dragon Slayer traits.
• Hu Qi realized that advancing to Sequence Five required killing a prestigious royal descendant before at least one hundred thousand people, which would pit him against the Heavenly Dragon Federation and the Seven Gods Church.

Hu Qi explored the Mind Realm, evaded its dangerous inhabitants, and was attacked by Kira, the wounded Sequence Four survivor from Night Raven Port. After Kira tried to possess him, Hu Qi branded Kira’s soul and learned about higher Sequence paths, leaving him considering contact with the Federation as he prepared for his advancement ritual.

• Hu Qi cautiously traveled through the second layer of the Mind Realm, avoided Spirit Images, and reflected on the world’s hidden knowledge about souls and the Sea of Sumeru.
• Hu Qi reached the safer first layer of the Mind Realm and realized that his seized Spirit Medium path helped him navigate and escape.
• Kira ambushed Hu Qi with tentacles, but Hu Qi severed them with his sword and recognized Kira as the Sequence Four professional who had drowned Night Raven Port.
• Kira tried to possess Hu Qi, but Hu Qi’s power overwhelmed him, branded his soul, and forced him into the form of a tiny octopus.
• Hu Qi questioned Kira and learned that the Sea God Church had destroyed Kira’s body, the scale had led Kira to Hu Qi, and Kira held fragments of information about Sequence Four and Sequence Three.
• Kira said that higher-level occult knowledge might be held by the Federation or the Seven Gods Church, and Hu Qi considered approaching the Federation to pursue his advancement ritual.

After the Federation’s councilors investigated Duke’s death and a drained White Dragon, they suspected a powerful Blood Eater might still be alive and learned that the Lord of the Underworld’s followers were suffering supernatural rampages. In Aro City, Hu Qi considered targeting the Kaster Family to advance to Sequence Five and examined his Dragon Crown, which he believed needed stronger alchemy to achieve his plans.

• Caster. Tos told the councilors that Duke had died in Cold Rain City and showed them the drained corpse of a Sequence Five White Dragon.
• Kelly reasoned that Duke had not killed the dragon, and Caster. Tos suspected its killer had also followed the Blood Eater path and could have survived.
• Kaster Toss reported that the Lord of the Underworld’s followers, including a Sequence Four High Priest, were suffering rampages of their Supernatural Traits.
• After the meeting, Kaster Toss privately considered exploiting the Lord of the Underworld’s troubles to prolong his life.
• In Aro City, Hu Qi identified the Kaster Family as a target for his Sequence Five advancement but recognized the danger of reaching them in the Holy City.
• Hu Qi studied his Dragon Crown and concluded that his Sequence Seven alchemy was insufficient, and that he needed to reach Sequence Five, World Shaper.