Chapter Summaries

Zhang Qing upgraded his techniques and used his stamina and improved footwork to kill the Makeup-Face Ghoul. He then spent the gained attribute points on Chuan Shattering Steps and continued fighting the Red-Face Ghoul and Bone-Melting Ghoul.

• Zhang Qing spent four Attribute Points to improve Chuan Shattering Steps and Sky-Opening Slash, then targeted the Makeup-Face Ghoul while resisting the three Specters' attacks.
• Zhang Qing traded blows with the Bone-Melting Ghoul and repeatedly slashed the Makeup-Face Ghoul, preventing it from healing by eating a Ratfolk corpse.
• Zhang Qing struck the Makeup-Face Ghoul with Sky-Opening Slash and killed it despite taking attacks from the other two Specters.
• Zhang Qing used his four newly gained Attribute Points to raise Chuan Shattering Steps to Mid-grade Glimmer Mastery.
• Zhang Qing used his faster movement to evade and attack the Red-Face Ghoul and Bone-Melting Ghoul as their health bars continued to fall.

Zhang Qing killed the Red-Face Ghoul and Bone-Melting Ghoul, wiped out all four Specters in the cloth shop, and spent his Attribute Points strengthening his techniques. After logging back in, he explored Zi City’s slums and spotted Chuan Hao and Shui Meng, leaving him curious about why they were there.

• Zhang Qing killed the Red-Face Ghoul with a series of attacks and gained five Attribute Points.
• Zhang Qing killed the Bone-Melting Ghoul, finishing off all four Specters in the cloth shop and earning four more Attribute Points.
• Zhang Qing invested Attribute Points in Chuan Shattering Steps and Ox-Barbarian Strength, then left the scene and logged off at noon.
• After logging back in, Zhang Qing walked through Zi City and headed into the Specter-plagued slums.
• Zhang Qing noticed Chuan Hao at full health, then spotted Shui Meng nearby and changed direction to keep his distance from Chuan Hao.

Zhang Qing joined Guan Yutian’s investigation of the Tiger Clan merchant shop after reports linked its trading run to Specters and Forbidden Items. The inspection uncovered Blue Ghoul Blood for the Shui Family and a second box containing a Forbidden Item, leaving Zhang Qing stunned.

• Zhang Qing wondered whether the Chuan Family’s sudden downfall had been deliberately arranged and decided to wait until he was stronger before investigating.
• Guan Yutian told Zhang Qing that Razor had ordered an investigation into the Tiger Clan merchant shop because its trading run was connected to Specters and suspected Forbidden Items.
• Zhang Qing and Guan Yutian inspected the shop, where Tang Te revealed that the Shui Family had entrusted him with two boxes of goods.
• Tang Te opened the first box, revealing Blue Ghoul Blood that Zhang Qing recognized as the medicine Yang Man wanted.
• Guan Yutian quickly shut the second box after glimpsing its contents, and Zhang Qing realized it held a Forbidden Item.

Zhang Qing discovered a Forbidden Item containing advanced circuitry and advanced to the second stage of the Candlelight Realm after receiving a pill from Yang Man. While investigating the Shui Family’s plans, he overheard North Guard discussing an imminent extreme Specterization experiment involving Chuan Hao.

• Zhang Qing spotted an advanced circuit board inside a damaged Forbidden Item during Guan Yutian’s assignment and kept the discovery secret.
• Yang Man rewarded Zhang Qing with a Skysea Pill, which gave him ten Attribute Points; he used them to reach the second stage of the Candlelight Realm.
• Zhang Qing questioned Guan Yutian about Healing Martial Artists and Ghoul Blood Warriors, but learned little beyond that their techniques and pills were closely guarded.
• Shui Meng told Zhang Qing to inform Yang Man that everything was proceeding according to plan, confirming that the surviving Chuan Family was part of a scheme.
• While searching the slums for Specters, Zhang Qing followed North Guard to a shack and overheard that Chuan Hao would soon undergo an extreme Specterization experiment.

Zhang Qing disrupted the Specters’ plan to seize Chuan Hao, triggering a chaotic battle between the Specters and the Shui Family. He joined Razor’s forces to leech rewards from the fighting and began battling the Three-Handed Ghoul while keeping Shui Meng in sight.

• Zhang Qing charged the Specters’ meeting, prompting Situ to send North Guard to report to Pagoda Tree Ghoul and the others to summon reinforcements and seize Chuan Hao.
• Zhang Qing warned Shui Meng that the Specters had discovered the plan, and Shui Family members emerged to move Chuan Hao.
• Situ tore off its Human Skin and attacked the Shui Family, starting a battle that grew as Razor, Shui Family, and Specter reinforcements arrived.
• Zhang Qing slipped into Razor’s ranks, shot Specters to collect rewards, and accidentally killed Shui Qianhua while leeching health.
• Zhang Qing watched for a chance to kill Shui Meng, then evaded the Three-Handed Ghoul and attacked it with his broadsword.

Zhang Qing killed Three-Handed Ghoul while using the chaotic battle to gain Attribute Points. As the Shui Family began experimenting on Chuan Hao, the pill transformed him into a rapidly strengthening monster.

• Zhang Qing used Three-Handed Ghoul as cover, gained Attribute Points from the fighting, and killed it with repeated attacks.
• Zhang Qing returned to the battle as Razor's reinforcements, the Shui Family's forces, and the Specters plunged the slum into chaos.
• Pagoda Tree Ghoul told his forces to summon the Specters hidden throughout Zi City and escalate the war.
• The Shui Family began an experiment on Chuan Hao with a strange spiritual pill, causing his Blood Volume to surge.
• Chuan Hao mutated into a monstrous creature with extra limbs and clusters of eyes, while his strength continued to grow.

Yang Man proposed expanding the Ghoul Blood Warrior experiments after Chuan Hao's unstable mutation, while Zhang Qing used his accumulated Attribute Points to strengthen his techniques before facing the Bone Blade Ghoul. The chapter left Zhang Qing ready to fight the powerful Specter with his newly upgraded abilities.

• Yang Man heard a strange sound ring only once and concluded that ghoul blood and Forbidden Items had failed to let someone enter a Sequence.
• Yu An told Yang Man that Chuan Hao had mutated after receiving a Blood Warrior Pill, and Yang Man proposed testing whether pleasure or Specter body parts could improve the process.
• Yu An postponed her decision on further funding until more data came back from Chuan Hao's side.
• The mutated Chuan Hao remained too frightened to fight, while the slaughter continued across the slum battlefield.
• The Bone Blade Ghoul struck Zhang Qing and sent him flying, prompting him to spend all seventy-four Attribute Points upgrading his Cultivation Techniques.
• Zhang Qing prepared to challenge the Bone Blade Ghoul with his techniques advanced to Low-grade Candlelight beginner.

Zhang Qing used his newfound strength to kill the Bone Blade Ghoul, then lured a Blood Fox Ghoul toward Shui Meng as she tried to leave the battlefield. After the ghoul’s attack left Shui Meng at just 8 health, Zhang Qing rushed to shield her and crashed into her.

• Zhang Qing overwhelmed the Bone Blade Ghoul with rapid stabs and evaded its attacks while steering it toward Shui Meng.
• A Giant Arm Ghoul appeared and scattered Shui Meng’s battle group, so Zhang Qing killed the wounded Bone Blade Ghoul and gained 8 Attribute Points.
• Zhang Qing led a Blood Fox Ghoul toward Shui Meng and called for help, prompting her to rush over and try to pull him away.
• The Blood Fox Ghoul struck Zhang Qing and Shui Meng, leaving Shui Meng with 11 health before her injury reduced her to 8.
• Zhang Qing blocked the ghoul’s next attack while protecting Shui Meng, then crashed into her.

Zhang Qing killed Shui Meng while making it look like an accident, then joined the battle as the Shui Family and Great Ghouls clashed over Chuan Hao. He escaped with Yang Man as Razor’s forces gained ground, and watched her open a box containing a technological device.

• Zhang Qing killed Shui Meng and helped the Shui Family slaughter the Blood Fox Ghoul, earning six Attribute Points.
• The Shui Family decided to kill Chuan Hao, but the Pagoda Tree Ghoul overturned their shelter and fought them to stop it.
• Great Ghouls and Shui Family experts battled inside the wooden shed while Zhang Qing spotted Shui Gao’s death and saw Razor’s forces, including healing martial artists, join the fight.
• Zhang Qing withdrew from the battlefield and met Yang Man, who told him to stay by her side as Razor’s forces pushed the Specters back.
• Yang Man directed healing martial artists to surround an area and opened a box containing a technological creation, leaving Zhang Qing stunned.

Yang Man activated Star Steel, Zi City's top Forbidden Item, while Chuan Hao underwent a dramatic transformation into a Ghoul Blood Warrior. The chimes in everyone’s minds stopped after four beats, and Yang Man left with renewed hope in the Pendulum of Fate.

• Yang Man revealed Star Steel to Zhang Qing and warned him of its soul-seizing power, while three Yu Family experts guarded it.
• Healing martial artists brought green light toward Star Steel, which released a wave of power before Yang Man returned it to the Yu Family.
• The wave transformed Chuan Hao, stripping away his monstrous growth and leaving him in human form, covered in green silicon crystal fragments.
• The Pagoda Tree Ghoul attacked Chuan Hao to prevent a Ghoul Blood Warrior from coming into being.
• Chuan Hao spoke, causing a clocklike sound to ring in everyone’s minds four times before it stopped.
• Yang Man counted the chimes, then left while murmuring about the Pendulum of Fate.

After Chuan Hao’s failed transformation turned him into a rampaging monster, Zhang Qing escaped the battle and returned to Razor Hall to trade Military Merit for spirit pills. Yang Man then asked him to find women for her next Ghoul Blood experiment, and warned him that the Specters would soon retaliate.

• Yang Man left with the Yu Family bigwigs and Secret Treasure Star Steel, while Zhang Qing resolved to seek a path to becoming a Sequence User.
• Chuan Hao failed Yang Man’s experiment, transformed into a monstrous creature, and attacked both the Shui Family and the Specters.
• Zhang Qing watched from the edge of the battle, then left with more than thirty Attribute Points as the fighting escalated.
• After the battle lasted over an hour, Zhang Qing heard that the Specters had taken Chuan Hao and that the Shui Family and Razor squads had suffered heavy losses.
• Zhang Qing exchanged Military Merit at Razor Hall for spirit pills, gaining four Attribute Points and two gold coins.
• Yang Man asked Zhang Qing to find women from outside the city for her next Ghoul Blood experiment, then warned him to watch out for the Specters’ retaliation.

Zhang Qing went to the city wall hoping to find Specters and discovered four disguised as women among the refugees. After killing them, he gave water to the barely surviving Hu Ya and led her away, leaving her alive for the moment.

• Zhang Qing realized that major conflicts could earn him many Attribute Points and decided to help Yang Man advance her Ghoul Blood Warrior plan.
• At the city gate, Zhang Qing inspected the Razor Squad and found that the refugees gathered by the wall included many women.
• Zhang Qing discovered that four women approaching him were Specters, drew his blade, and killed all four for Attribute Points.
• Zhang Qing noticed Hu Ya was near death, gave her his water pouch, and signaled for her to follow him.
• Hu Ya drank the water, regained a little health, and limped after Zhang Qing, focused only on staying alive.

Zhang Qing escorted Hu Ya to the Ghoul Blood Hall, then spent his Attribute Points to strengthen his cultivation and techniques. The chapter left him heading out to investigate the slaughter of a Tiger Clan shop after being told the Specters had begun retaliating.

• Zhang Qing had Ye Lan prepare food, water, and clean clothes for Hu Ya, then delivered her to Yang Man at the Ghoul Blood Hall in exchange for a spirit pill.
• Zhang Qing swallowed the Earth Vein Pill and gained ten Attribute Points, bringing his total to forty-eight.
• Zhang Qing advanced to the third rank of the Candlelight Realm and used his remaining Attribute Points to improve his cultivation techniques and Intelligence.
• Guan Yutian and Tie Du told Zhang Qing that Specters had slaughtered everyone at the Tiger Clan shop and summoned him to lead the investigation.

Zhang Qing and the other Razor captains investigated the massacre at the Tiger Clan’s shop, but blamed Specters and accepted a bribe from Shui Qingquan rather than pursue the case. As they left to enjoy their windfall, Zhang Qing noticed Yu Huashui nearby.

• Zhang Qing surveyed Guan Yutian’s and Tie Du’s teams, noting their members and the Tie Family squad’s hidden Candlelight Realm expert, then led the group to the Tiger Clan’s shop.
• Zhang Qing found Tang Te and the other shopkeepers brutally killed, questioned whether Specters had done it, then agreed with Guan Yutian and Tie Du to blame Specters and avoid investigating.
• Shui Qingquan arrived, asked to collect the bodies, and gave Zhang Qing a bag of gold; after Razor left, he ordered his family to retrieve their goods and watch for anyone following them.
• Zhang Qing shared some of the gold with Guan Yutian and Tie Du, then agreed to go to Jubao Restaurant instead of catching Specters.
• A cough interrupted Zhang Qing’s thoughts, and he saw Yu Huashui nearby.

Zhang Qing joined Yu Huashui’s dangerous expedition out of the city and suspected the Yu Family was targeting the Shui Family’s Forbidden Item channels. He hid underground during the camp’s expected Specter raid, but a colossal Giant Ghoul charged into camp.

• Yu Huashui ordered Zhang Qing, Guan Yutian, and Tie Du to join his mission after confirming the Shui Family people had arrived.
• Yu Huashui led the group out of the city with another Star Flash Realm expert scouting ahead, and they made camp in the wilderness after nightfall.
• Zhang Qing secretly joined Guan Yutian and the others in digging underground hiding places instead of sleeping in a tent.
• Specters raided the camp, and Yu Huashui killed one and hung its head from a pole to deter others.
• After several quiet hours, a deafening blast and roar preceded a colossal Giant Ghoul charging into the camp.

Zhang Qing watched the Yu Family battle a Giant Ghoul and seized an opening to kill the injured Yu Quan while pretending to help him. He then charged the Giant Ghoul, drawing its attack and giving Yu Huashui a chance to climb onto its back.

• Zhang Qing observed Razor captains prolonging a fight with a Fowl Ghoul while Yu Huashui struggled against the Giant Ghoul.
• The Giant Ghoul went berserk and swept Yu Quan toward Zhang Qing, who dragged him over rocks until he died and gained 1550 maximum health.
• Zhang Qing feigned grief over Yu Quan's death, then attacked the Giant Ghoul to make himself look loyal to the Yu Family.
• Zhang Qing struck the Giant Ghoul's ankle and drew its sweeping attack while Yu Huashui used its knee as a foothold and climbed onto its back.

Zhang Qing survived the Giant Ghoul’s attack and watched Yu Huashui use a secret art to shatter its heart. Yu Huashui left Zhang Qing to finish the dying Specter, and Zhang Qing killed it and gained 26 Attribute Points.

• The Yu Family gave Zhang Qing healing pills after the Giant Ghoul flung him aside, and he decided to wait for a chance to claim the kill.
• Yu Huashui climbed onto the Giant Ghoul’s back and struck its spine with his longsword.
• Yu Huashui used a secret art that reduced his maximum health and blasted through the Giant Ghoul’s heart, leaving it to bleed out.
• Zhang Qing hurried to check on Yu Huashui, who told him to watch the Specter and cut off its head after it died.
• Zhang Qing charged the dying Giant Ghoul, killed it with Sky-Opening Slash, and gained 26 Attribute Points.

Zhang Qing hid near the Yu Family camp as Shui Qinghe and Yu Huashui tried to sway Hu Ben, a half-ghoul Tiger Clan warrior with overwhelming strength. Hu Ben was tempted by Yu Huashui’s offer to let him inspect Star Steel, leaving Zhang Qing to realize that Hu Ben controlled the Forbidden Item channel and wanted Forbidden Items for himself.

• Zhang Qing moved to a remote burrow and spent 24 Attribute Points raising Chuan Shattering Steps to Great Perfection.
• At dawn, Zhang Qing saw Shui Family and Tiger Clan forces approach the Yu Family camp, with Yu Huahai’s severed head in Yu Huashui’s hand.
• Zhang Qing recognized Hu Ben as a half-ghoul warrior with more than ten thousand Blood Volume and watched him weigh Shui Qinghe’s warning against Yu Huashui’s offer.
• Yu Huashui promised Hu Ben a chance to examine Star Steel and offered himself as a hostage, while Shui Qinghe’s expression changed in alarm.
• Zhang Qing deduced that the Yu Family wanted Hu Ben and his Forbidden Item channel, and that Hu Ben sought Forbidden Items to slow his Specterization.

Hu Ben betrayed the Shui Family for Star Steel, and the Yu Family and Zhang Qing’s group helped drive the Shui Family into retreat. When a Ghoul Tide appeared, Zhang Qing and the others hid in an underground chamber and prepared to wait it out.

• Shui Qingquan fled after Hu Ben sided with the Yu Family, and the Tiger Clan convoy and Yu Huashui’s team attacked the Shui Family.
• Zhang Qing and the Razor captains joined the fight, with Zhang Qing killing Shui San and restoring his health.
• Hu Ben shouted a warning about the approaching Ghoul Tide, and Zhang Qing fled to his underground nest.
• Zhang Qing met Guan Yutian, Pusan, and the Tie Family brothers underground, and they dug deeper while joining their tubes to supply air.
• The group expanded their underground chamber and settled in to wait as a Specter-led Ghoul Tide swept across the surface.

Chuan Hao planned to exploit the Ghoul Tide to build a Specter faction and sneak into Zi City to find a way to reach Yang Man. Underground, Zhang Qing and the others encountered an Earthworm Ghoul nest, and Zhang Qing discovered that he could kill the weak creatures efficiently for Attribute Points.

• Chuan Hao revealed that he intended to use the Ghoul Tide to establish his own faction, obtain Human Skin, and infiltrate Zi City without the Insect Spirit Ghoul learning of his plans.
• Tie Ku detected an Earthworm Ghoul nest beneath the group, and Tie Du warned that the creatures were digging toward them.
• Zhang Qing led the group in preparing to fight through the nest rather than risk the Ghoul Tide above.
• An Earthworm Ghoul broke through the cavern wall, and Zhang Qing quickly killed it, gaining an Attribute Point.
• Guan Yutian and the Tie brothers began calling Zhang Qing Brother Qing as he took the lead in fighting the Earthworm Ghouls.