Recaps

Zhang Qing used his knowledge of the coming apocalypse to hunt Specters, gain Attribute Points, and rise rapidly through the Glimmering Realm while earning the Chuan Family’s attention. The arc left him on a patrol with Guan Yutian as Yu An considered whether Zhang Qing could help Yang Man obtain a Heart of Kindness.

• Zhang Qing killed Li Hu and the Many-Legged Ghoul, earned his first Attribute Point, and selected the Kaiyuan Art from the Scripture Pavilion.
• Zhang Qing joined Guan Yutian’s Razor Squad, gained power by killing Specters, and survived the squad’s battle with the Long-armed Ghoul.
• Zhang Qing joined a Yu Family operation against hidden Specters, impressed Yu An, and later received access to more Cultivation Techniques through Chuan Jia.
• Zhang Qing helped the Razor Squad defeat Blood Flower Ghouls and an Armored Ghoul, then exchanged Military Merit for pills and advanced to the second tier of the Glimmering Realm.
• Zhang Qing killed a Bewitching Ghoul and several disguised Specters at the city gate, though Yuan Qi died in the battle.
• Chuan Jia made Zhang Qing an outer clansman and tasked him with joining Ghoul Blood Hall and becoming a squad leader within a month.
• Zhang Qing consumed Chuan Family spirit pills, advanced to the third tier, and perfected his four Cultivation Techniques while Yang Man sought a Heart of Kindness and Yu An considered him a possible match.

Zhang Qing advanced rapidly while balancing the Ghoul Blood Hall, the Chuan Family, and Razor, then uncovered the schemes behind Zi City’s upheaval. The arc ended with Star Steel transforming Chuan Hao and a clocklike sound ringing four times as Yang Man murmured about the Pendulum of Fate.

• Yang Man recruited Zhang Qing into Ghoul Blood Hall, and he accepted benefits from both her and the Chuan Family while searching for the Pagoda Tree Ghoul’s heart’s blood.
• Zhang Qing fought alongside Razor against three Specters, but the Pagoda Tree Ghoul escaped after killing the Vine Ghoul.
• At the auction, Chuan Fu bought the Pagoda Tree Ghoul’s heartblood, and Yang Man made it into a Blood Transformation Pill that gave Zhang Qing thirty Attribute Points.
• The Tie and Yu Families attacked during the Chuan Family’s ancestral rite, and Zhang Qing joined the fighting as the Chuan Family collapsed and the Insect Spirit Ghoul escaped with a Specter.
• Zhang Qing killed four Specters in Exquisite Fabric Shop, then discovered Blue Ghoul Blood and a Forbidden Item while investigating the Tiger Clan merchant shop with Guan Yutian.
• Shui Meng confirmed that the surviving Chuan Family was part of a scheme, and Zhang Qing discovered that Chuan Hao was to undergo an extreme Specterization experiment.
• As Razor, the Shui Family, and the Specters fought across the slums, Chuan Hao mutated, and Zhang Qing killed Shui Meng amid the chaos.
• Yang Man revealed Star Steel, whose power transformed Chuan Hao back into human form, after Chuan Hao spoke, four clocklike chimes sounded and Yang Man murmured about the Pendulum of Fate.

Zhang Qing exploited the Ghoul Tide and the battle between the Shui and Yu Families to gain strength while maneuvering among the Specters and the families. After reaching the Starflash Realm, he joined the Yu Family’s Dark Hall and received Hu Ya for observation following Yang Man’s failed Ghoul Blood Warrior experiment.

• Zhang Qing helped the Yu Family fight a Giant Ghoul, killed it after Yu Huashui wounded it, and later hid underground from the Ghoul Tide, where he led the group against Earthworm Ghouls.
• Zhang Qing joined the Yu Family as an affiliate, reached Candlelight Realm Rank 9, and received Yun Xiaoxi as his wife while planning to use Ghoul Blood Warrior research to draw out Specters.
• Zhang Qing obtained an incomplete copy of Chuan Blood Spring from Chuan Hao and the Pagoda Tree Ghoul, then used the art to heal himself while killing Specters during the Shui Family battle.
• Zhang Qing entered the Shui Family estate, killed Earthworm Ghouls threatening the children, and witnessed the Shui Family’s Stitched Corpses drive back Specters before an archer destroyed them.
• Zhang Qing spent his Attribute Points to break through to the Starflash Realm and formed true qi, then resolved to pursue Star Steel and collect the families’ secret arts.
• Yang Man fused Specter flesh, blood, and Forbidden Item powder into Hu Ya, whose health rose sharply without changing her form, though Yang Man remained unsure whether the experiment had succeeded.
• Yang Man assigned Hu Ya to Zhang Qing after her next experiment failed, and Yu Huashui granted Zhang Qing Dark Hall privileges as an outsider of the Yu Family.
• Zhang Qing recognized Tie Fang as the Many-Faced Ghoul and killed him, while Chuan Hao and the Pagoda Tree Ghoul learned that Duomian had been exposed and killed.

Zhang Qing manipulated the Yu, Shui, and Chuan families to secure secret arts and enter the Ancient Ruin Battlefield, where he recovered Square Crystals before surviving a coordinated ambush on the Yu Family caravan. Back in Zi City, he dealt with Hu Ya’s loss of control, returned to training in the wilderness, and grew suspicious of Yun Xiaoxi’s ties to the Tie Family.

• Zhang Qing secured pages of the Tie and Shui family secret arts by warning Chuan Hao and Shui Qingxi about his dangerous mission and arranging for their help after his return.
• Zhang Qing joined Hu Ben’s caravan, explored the Ancient Ruin Battlefield, and collected six Square Crystals while resisting Demonic Energy and fighting Specters.
• Zhang Qing returned with Hu Ben, then joined Yu Tianlou’s convoy as Chuan Hao, the Specters, and the Shui Family attacked it.
• Zhang Qing escaped the ambush with Zuo Can’s help, gave the Yu Family one Square Crystal, and avoided expulsion from Zi City by offering it to Yu Huashui.
• Zhang Qing gave Yang Man a Square Crystal and investigated Hu Ya after she lost control, while Yun Xiaoxi subdued her and the Yu Family elders questioned Zhang Qing.
• Zhang Qing advanced his Kaiyuan Art, killed a Black Mantis Ghoul and other Specters in the wilderness, and avoided getting involved when the Shui Family fought Hyena Ghouls.
• Zhang Qing returned to Zi City with Tie Du and grew suspicious when Tie Du described Yun Xiaoxi as his ideal type.