Recaps

As the Spirit Fiend Abyss was set to open at dusk, Su Ming and his squad discussed which defensive-line mission to take. Su Ming favored a safer position to avoid unnecessary risk, and the squad had yet to choose a location.

• The Academy notified students that the Spirit Fiend Abyss would open at dusk and ordered squads to accept defensive-line missions before noon and reach their positions before three.
• Su Ming joined An Zijin, Jiang Wanyu, Yao Beibei, and Lei Hao, then teased the two girls about their secretive behavior from the previous night.
• An Zijin and Su Ming unsettled Jiang Wanyu and Yao Beibei by suggesting they would question and discipline them later, while Lei Hao remained confused.
• The squad discussed the risks and rewards of choosing a defensive line, including the chance to earn more Contribution Points by facing Phantom Demons near the front.
• Su Ming proposed guarding a safer defensive line because the squad had already met the Academy's Contribution Points requirements, while An Zijin pointed out that greater rewards could help them obtain valuable items.

Su Ming and his teammates decided not to risk their lives chasing Contribution Points and waited for Ye Bai to scout the Huaming District’s defensive lines. They chose a relatively safe post, but their assignment reached someone with ulterior motives, setting an unknown scheme in motion.

• Su Ming explained why the Base City’s Contribution Point rewards were unlikely to benefit ordinary students and asked his teammates whether they wanted to take the risk.
• Jiang Wanyu, Yao Beibei, An Zijin, and Lei Hao rejected dangerous missions, while Lei Hao joked about pursuing his goddess and teased Su Ming about An Zijin.
• Su Ming decided the team would choose a safe defensive line after Ye Bai returned with a deployment map.
• Ye Bai returned two hours later with the map, and Su Ming’s group selected a relatively safe defensive line.
• After the group reported and registered its choice, the information reached someone with ulterior motives, and an unknown scheme began.

Su Ming and his group arrived at the northern defense line and learned that a High-level Professional would guard it. The chapter ended when Xu Qianqian arrived with another team and Su Ming recognized her.

• Su Ming and the others reached the camp in Huaming District and were shown their lodging.
• Su Ming asked the military guide about the deployment, and the guide explained that the teams would receive a briefing before the Spirit Fiend Abyss opened.
• The guide said Base City would send a team with at least one High-level Professional to defend the line, prompting the group to speculate that the Professional would be a Four-star Hunter.
• Su Ming and the others saw Xu Qianqian arrive with another team, and Su Ming remembered her saving his life.

Su Ming's team met Li Wei's elite team at a defensive line, where Li Wei hinted that he wanted to test Su Ming because Xu Qianqian valued him. After the teams settled into their assigned rooms, Li Wei's two followers urged him to teach Su Ming a lesson.

• Su Ming's team encountered Li Wei's elite team, and An Zijin reacted warily when she saw Xu Qianqian.
• Li Wei approached Su Ming and explained that his team had been assigned to the defensive line at an important figure's request.
• Li Wei told Su Ming he looked forward to seeing what he could do, then left with his team while Xu Qianqian watched Su Ming before departing.
• An Zijin grew jealous when she saw Su Ming watching Xu Qianqian leave, and she tugged him into their residential building.
• Su Ming's team settled into two dormitories, while Xu Qianqian and the other members of Li Wei's team moved into their assigned rooms.
• Li Wei's two followers urged him to punish Su Ming for getting close to Xu Qianqian.

Li Wei weighed the risk of confronting Su Ming because Xu Qianqian would likely defend him, but he allowed two lackeys to go after Su Ming while keeping himself at a distance. The lackeys eagerly set out to teach Su Ming a lesson, unaware that Li Wei was willing to abandon them if necessary.

• Li Wei recalled that Su Ming had disrupted his attempt to test him and had become close to Xu Qianqian, making him a threat despite his apparent status as an ordinary student.
• Li Wei rejected the lackeys' suggestion that he personally confront Su Ming because Xu Qianqian might retaliate or involve the Xu Family.
• Li Wei warned the lackeys that Su Ming was hiding something and decided he wanted to uncover his secrets.
• The lackeys offered to confront Su Ming themselves, believing Xu Qianqian would not pursue them.
• Li Wei gave them permission to act as long as they caused no deaths or excessive trouble, intending to disown them if things went wrong.
• The lackeys eagerly promised to teach Su Ming a lesson, while Li Wei smiled and left the matter to them.

Xu Qianqian warned Su Ming that a Four-star Hunter from her family might be targeting her and could drag him into the Xu Family’s power struggle. The chapter ended with Xu Qianqian revealing that she could not contact her father and feared something had happened to him.

• Li Wei grew resentful after his lackeys reported that Xu Qianqian had gone to see Su Ming.
• Xu Qianqian visited Su Ming, sent Lei Hao and Ye Bai out of the room, and warned that she might involve him in trouble.
• Xu Qianqian explained that a Four-star Hunter from the Xu Family had arranged for her team to be assigned to the defensive line, possibly to target her under the pretense of protecting her.
• Su Ming agreed that the assignment could involve both the Phantom Demon threat and an internal Xu Family struggle, then asked who was coming.
• Xu Qianqian said the Hunter likely belonged to her uncle’s faction and revealed that she could not reach her father, who might also be in danger.

Su Ming decided to accelerate his development plan as Xu Qianqian prepared to send private soldiers to protect him from the danger surrounding her. As Xu Qianqian left, a group led by a powerful figure arrived at the defensive camp, and her rival vowed to challenge her.

• Su Ming told Xu Qianqian not to worry about him and to focus on her own problems, but she insisted that her people protect him.
• Xu Qianqian revealed that she had loyal private soldiers and offered to have them bring Su Ming a Contract Scroll; she also warned him that Li Wei might target him.
• Xu Qianqian left after Su Ming told her not to die, and Su Ming sent a message while Ye Bai and Lei Hao returned to the room.
• A disciplined group arrived near the defensive camp, led by an impatient man and a formidable figure addressed as Sir.
• The impatient leader said he would tell Grandpa who the Xu Family's most outstanding person of the generation was, then vowed to see how Xu Qianqian would fight him.

As the Spirit Fiend Abyss prepared to open, Su Ming and his companions gathered with the Professionals and students at the defense camp to hear battle plans. Xu Yanyan, a powerful Hunter from the Xu Family and Xu Qianqian’s cousin, appeared and confronted her, leaving the reason for their hostility unclear.

• Su Ming organized his backpack and joined the other Professionals and students heading to the camp’s central assembly ground.
• An Zijin pointed out a conspicuous group of Hunters, while Su Ming recognized them without saying anything.
• Xu Qianqian arrived with Li Wei’s team, prompting a Hunter from the group to approach her as the crowd fell silent.
• The Hunter revealed herself as Xu Yanyan and mockingly greeted Xu Qianqian as her little sister and cousin.
• Lei Hao explained that Xu Yanyan was a former Demon Hunter Academy star student who graduated as a Two-Star Hunter and had since become a strong Three-Star Hunter.

Su Ming watched Xu Qianqian confront her cousin Xu Yanyan, whose branch of the Xu Family rivaled Xu Qianqian’s father for control of the family. When the cousins drew daggers and nearly fought, a Four-Star Hunter arrived and stopped them, leaving the crowd wondering whether he was “Lin Dao.”

• Su Ming inferred that Xu Yanyan’s father was the main rival of Xu Qianqian’s father and suspected Xu Yanyan had arranged the attacks on Xu Qianqian.
• Xu Qianqian demanded to know what Xu Yanyan had done to her father, and Xu Yanyan denied responsibility while taunting her about competing for the Xu Family’s future leadership.
• Xu Yanyan teased Li Wei about pursuing Xu Qianqian and asked Xu Qianqian to introduce her new man, prompting Xu Qianqian to attack her with a dagger.
• Xu Yanyan and Xu Qianqian drew daggers and prepared to fight before a man’s pressure stopped them and he ordered them not to fight privately.
• The crowd identified the newcomer as the Xu Family retainer and Four-Star Hunter Gao Xu, while some wondered if he was “Lin Dao.”

Gao Xu stopped Xu Qianqian and Xu Yanyan from fighting, and Commander Duan explained the defensive layout and strategy for the coming invasion. The chapter ended with the victory condition: hold back the Phantom Demons until the Sorcerer Guild sealed the Spirit Fiend Abyss entrance, then wipe out the demons.

• Gao Xu arrived, rebuked Xu Qianqian and Xu Yanyan, and ended their confrontation.
• Commander Duan introduced himself and presented the defensive layout for Huaming District, showing that the group was stationed on a relatively safe northern line.
• Commander Duan explained that Phantom Demons would likely concentrate in the east and south, while the northern defenders had to eliminate any stragglers that reached them.
• Commander Duan revealed that the Sorcerer Guild would use Distant Realm Abyss Gate to seal the Spirit Fiend Abyss entrance.
• Commander Duan declared that humanity had to stop the Phantom Demons until the entrance was sealed, then advance and exterminate them.

Commander Duan explained the defensive plan and the Sorcerer Guild’s estimate that sealing the Spirit Fiend Abyss entrance would take a day. As the Professionals prepared for battle, the entrance opened and Phantom Demons began pouring into the world.

• Xu Yanyan asked Commander Duan how long the Sorcerer Guild would need to seal the entrance, and he estimated it would take an entire day.
• Commander Duan explained the defensive lines, the limited supply of Alchemical Ammunition, and how Warlocks and Hunters would fight together.
• Commander Duan issued detailed deployment and rotation instructions, while Su Ming decided to use gaps between shifts to carry out his own plans.
• At sunset, Commander Duan announced that the time had come, and a live drone broadcast showed space twisting into a black hole.
• Phantom Demons of many shapes emerged from the entrance, marking the start of the war.

After the war began, Su Ming and his companions headed for the front line, but two Xu Family Hunters diverted him to meet Gao Xu. At an abandoned park, Xu Yanyan questioned Su Ming about his relationship with Xu Qianqian, leaving him under scrutiny from the gathered Hunters.

• After seeing the Phantom Demons clash with the defenders, the professionals set aside their personal conflicts and prepared to defend Longyao City.
• Su Ming reassured An Zijin, Jiang Wanyu, Yao Beibei, Lei Hao, and Ye Bai that they would win and told them to proceed without him.
• Two Xu Family Hunters summoned Su Ming to meet Gao Xu, and Su Ming agreed to go alone.
• The Hunters brought Su Ming to an abandoned park where Gao Xu, Xu Yanyan, and other Xu Family members were waiting.
• Xu Yanyan questioned Su Ming about why Xu Qianqian had approached him and what had happened between them.

Su Ming faced Xu Yanyan’s attempt to use him against Xu Qianqian and revealed that he had a powerful backer. The call made Xu Yanyan reconsider harming him, leaving the Xu Family’s plans constrained by the threat of another major force becoming involved.

• Xu Yanyan told Su Ming that she and the other Xu Family Hunters had come to the defensive line to use him to control Xu Qianqian.
• Su Ming argued that he might not influence Xu Qianqian much and warned that he had a backer who would make things difficult for Xu Yanyan if she harmed him.
• Su Ming called the woman who had helped him find an alchemist and handed the phone to Xu Yanyan.
• The woman reminded Xu Yanyan that they had met at the masquerade ball and said Su Ming was not the man beside Xu Qianqian.
• The woman told Xu Yanyan not to hurt Su Ming, warning that she would involve her mother and her family’s force if he was harmed.
• Xu Yanyan realized that involving the woman’s force could threaten her father and the Xu Family’s position.

Su Ming used the girl’s influence to leave Xu Yanyan and the Xu Family Hunters without being detained, while Gao Xu warned him not to interfere in Xu Family affairs. The girl urged Su Ming to stay out of Xu Qianqian’s troubles and return safely, but he remained unwilling to abandon her and arranged to meet an alchemist that night.

• Gao Xu promised the girl that the Xu Family Hunters would not hurt Su Ming, and she said she would only intervene if Su Ming were threatened.
• Xu Yanyan warned Su Ming not to choose sides carelessly, but Gao Xu stopped the Hunters from pursuing him as he left.
• Xu Yanyan and Gao Xu abandoned their plans involving Su Ming and set out to defend the line against the coming unrest.
• The girl told Su Ming to avoid Xu Qianqian’s affairs and warned him that Gao Xu was a dangerous High-level Professional, but Su Ming would not promise to stay uninvolved.
• Su Ming asked about meeting the alchemist, and the girl said she would bring him that night.

As Phantom Demons attacked Longyao City’s defensive lines, Su Ming learned of the mounting casualties and reunited with his companions at the rear. He kept the Xu Family matter secret and prepared to join the battle, though he questioned how Ye Bai could contribute as a Warlock without offensive spells.

• Reports told Su Ming that Hazard Breeds had appeared across the battlefronts, killing and injuring several powerful Professionals as the war intensified.
• Su Ming rejoined An Zijin, Lei Hao, Ye Bai, Jiang Wanyu, and Yao Beibei, who asked whether the Xu Family had caused him trouble.
• Su Ming concealed what had happened with the Xu Family and redirected the group’s attention to their preparations for battle.
• Lei Hao explained that their unit would hold the rear while the Warlocks launched ranged attacks before the Hunters charged.
• Ye Bai led Su Ming and An Zijin toward their position, and Su Ming pointed out that Ye Bai could not use offensive spells.

Su Ming and An Zijin joined the Warlocks preparing to bombard the approaching Phantom Demons, while the other students took their assigned positions. Nearly a hundred thousand Phantom Demons reached the defense line, and the Warlocks opened fire as the battle began.

• Ye Bai was assigned to support the frontline Hunters, while Lei Hao, Jiang Wanyu, and Yao Beibei headed to the front.
• Su Ming and An Zijin were left together among the Warlocks, and An Zijin refused invitations to join the senior students.
• Su Ming spotted Xu Qianqian and Xu Yanyan glaring at each other but chose not to approach them as the defense line prepared for battle.
• Reports warned that the Phantom Demons would arrive soon, and Su Ming reassured the anxious An Zijin.
• Nearly a hundred thousand Phantom Demons appeared on the horizon, and the Warlocks launched area-of-effect Spiritual Arts against them.

Su Ming and An Zijin poured out Spiritual Arts against the Phantom Demon army, but their Spiritual Power surged as strange patterns flickered across them and their frustration grew. Shadow Lurker Demons then infiltrated the defenders, throwing the formation into chaos, and Su Ming faced an attacker as his forehead markings fully appeared.

• Su Ming and An Zijin repeatedly unleashed area-of-effect Spiritual Arts, while their Spiritual Power and irritability inexplicably increased.
• An Zijin noticed a fleeting pattern on Su Ming’s forehead, and similar patterns appeared across her body as the two continued attacking.
• A Shadow Lurker Demon killed a Warlock and others emerged from the defenders’ shadows, forcing the Warlocks to abandon their attacks on the main army and fight back.
• The Phantom Demon army charged faster as the defenders fell into chaos, while Jiang Wanyu, Yao Beibei, Lei Hao, Xu Qianqian, and the others fought their own enemies.
• A Shadow Lurker Demon attacked Su Ming from behind, and he turned to unleash Style 28: Spiral Fire as the markings on his forehead appeared in full.

Su Ming and An Zijin fought off Phantom Demons as an unexplained surge of power briefly strengthened Su Ming’s Spiral Fire and then faded. After nearly an hour, the defenders reduced the horde enough for exhausted students to withdraw, and Su Ming left hoping to collect valuable materials from the battlefield.

• Su Ming’s Spiral Fire suddenly incinerated a Shadow Lurker Demon and swept across the front line, while strange markings on his forehead vanished and his Spiritual Power settled.
• Su Ming pulled An Zijin back into the fight, and the pair continued defending each other as their unexplained symptoms faded.
• Xu Yanyan confronted Xu Qianqian during the battle, accused her of approaching Su Ming to contact the woman behind him, and vowed not to back down.
• The battle lasted nearly an hour as professionals and soldiers fought the Phantom Demons, though some broke through toward the rear.
• With the horde dwindling, exhausted students withdrew from the front line, and Su Ming supported An Zijin as they retreated and planned to secretly collect Phantom Demon materials.

Su Ming learned that Jiang Wanyu had been poisoned by a Poisonous Gel Demon and promised to find a way to treat her. He contacted the woman arranging his Phantasmal Demon Elixir, only to learn she had come to Huaming District to protect him and wanted him for herself.

• Jiang Wanyu's Poisonous Gel Demon wound failed to heal, and Lei Hao explained that they lacked the demon's blood and an alchemist to make an antidote.
• Su Ming promised to find a way to cure Jiang Wanyu and left to contact the woman who had arranged an alchemist for him.
• The woman revealed that she had entered Huaming District herself because she did not trust Su Ming to rely on a stranger with the Nightmare Breed blood.
• She warned Su Ming that his chances of adapting to the Nightmare Breed bloodline were extremely low, but said she could keep him alive if he failed.
• The woman joked that Su Ming becoming crippled would make it easier for her to keep him, and Su Ming realized she had ulterior motives.

Su Ming met Yun Langyue at the camp and asked her to bring him the alchemical master Shi Lin. The chapter ended with Su Ming revealing that he wanted Shi Lin to refine a Phantom Demon Elixir for a Nightmare Breed.

• Su Ming waited anxiously in a secluded alley until Yun Langyue arrived with Shi Lin.
• Yun Langyue embraced and teased Su Ming before introducing Shi Lin as a master alchemical Warlock.
• Shi Lin explained that he accepted only rare, challenging commissions from powerful factions and families.
• Su Ming told Shi Lin that he wanted to refine a Phantom Demon Elixir for a Nightmare Breed, igniting Shi Lin's interest.

Su Ming commissioned Shi Lin to refine a Phantasmal Demon Elixir from a complete Nightmare Breed bloodline and asked him to detoxify a poisoned friend. After they signed a binding contract, Shi Lin began preparing to refine the elixir, while Yun Langyue offered to arrange a workshop at the frontline camp.

• Shi Lin recognized Su Ming’s blood as a complete Nightmare Breed bloodline and eagerly accepted the commission.
• Su Ming asked Shi Lin to keep the commission and his identity secret and to treat his friend poisoned by a Poisonous Gel Demon, and Shi Lin agreed.
• Su Ming and Shi Lin signed a high-grade Contract Scroll that took effect immediately.
• Su Ming gave Shi Lin the Nightmare Breed Blood and the auxiliary materials he had gathered for the elixir.
• Shi Lin asked Yun Langyue to prepare a workshop where he could refine the elixir without interruption, and she agreed to arrange it.

Su Ming waited anxiously while Shi Lin began refining the Nightmare Breed blood in a remote workshop Yun Langyue had arranged. As Yun Langyue teased him, Su Ming recalled how he had met her years earlier and learned that a piece of bread had become the start of their complicated connection.

• Yun Langyue led Su Ming and Shi Lin to a remote workshop, where Shi Lin began refining the Nightmare Breed blood and asked for an hour.
• Yun Langyue teased Su Ming for neglecting her and asked for more than a brief thank-you in return for her help.
• Su Ming sincerely promised to remember Yun Langyue's favor, including her earlier help with the Xu Family.
• Yun Langyue said she still owed Su Ming, but he told her that she had stopped owing him long ago.
• Su Ming recalled meeting Yun Langyue as a starving young vagrant when he was thirteen and giving her bread after she rejected his pity.
• Su Ming remembered that Yun Langyue later reclaimed her family's fortune and found him again, leaving him uncertain how to respond to her devotion.

Su Ming and Yun Langyue discussed her unrepayable gratitude and her decision to come to Huaming District alone to check on him. After an hour of conversation eased Su Ming’s tension, Shi Lin emerged from the workshop with the finished Alchemy Potion.

• Yun Langyue insisted that Su Ming’s past kindness had saved her and that she would keep helping him repay it.
• Su Ming learned that Yun Langyue had come to the battlefield without telling her mother or bringing guards, and urged her to leave Huaming District once she knew he was safe.
• Yun Langyue reassured Su Ming that she had life-saving items and stayed to make sure he was all right.
• Yun Langyue kept Su Ming talking for an hour, easing his tension as they waited for the refining process to finish.
• Shi Lin emerged from the workshop holding the completed Alchemy Potion, and Su Ming looked at it with excitement.

Shi Lin successfully refined the Phantasmal Demon Elixir of the Nightmare Breed and handed it to Su Ming, then accompanied him to deal with the Poisonous Gel Demon’s poison. They returned to find Jiang Wanyu near death, and Shi Lin began treating her wound.

• Shi Lin gave Su Ming the Phantasmal Demon Elixir and promised to refine potions for him in the future.
• Su Ming stored the elixir safely and led Shi Lin and Yun Langyue to the residential building to fulfill their contract.
• As Jiang Wanyu weakened from her poisoned wound, she tried to give An Zijin her treasured pouch as a final safeguard.
• Su Ming arrived with Shi Lin, who examined Jiang Wanyu and began making a potion to stop the poison and her blood loss.

Shi Lin treated Jiang Wanyu’s poisoned shoulder and left her resting with instructions for recovery. Yun Langyue then teased Su Ming by suggesting she would take him and An Zijin home, leaving An Zijin suspicious of their closeness and Su Ming bracing for questions.

• Shi Lin applied a potion that suppressed Jiang Wanyu’s toxins, then gave An Zijin and Yao Beibei potions and instructions to help her recover.
• Shi Lin finished his work and left, while the group saw that Jiang Wanyu was sleeping and breathing steadily.
• Yun Langyue introduced herself to the group and teased An Zijin by inviting her home, then claimed they would take Su Ming home too.
• An Zijin grabbed Su Ming’s arm and demanded to know who Yun Langyue was, while Su Ming said she was his joking friend.
• Su Ming explained that Yun Langyue had brought Shi Lin to save Jiang Wanyu, but An Zijin and the others gave him looks that suggested they expected an explanation later.