Chapter Summaries

Zhang Qing slaughtered Earthworm Ghouls during the Ghoul Tide, then waited out the danger underground with Guan Yutian and the others. After returning to Zi City, the group found the area outside it littered with corpses and refugees scavenging Specter remains.

• Zhang Qing discovered that targeting Specters' weak points could inflict grievous damage and began decapitating Earthworm Ghouls with Sky-Opening Slash.
• Zhang Qing killed Earthworm Ghouls for half an hour, accumulating 67 Attribute Points as Guan Yutian and the others watched and cleared space for the corpses.
• Tie Ku warned Zhang Qing that an Earthworm Ghoul mother could contaminate martial artists, so Zhang Qing chose not to investigate the nest below.
• The group filled in the hole, rested underground, and waited until Tie Ku judged that the Ghoul Tide had passed.
• Zhang Qing and the others emerged, encountered a Razor team, and traveled nearly a day back to Zi City.
• The group found severed Specter limbs scattered outside Zi City as refugees fled and scavenged corpses for food.

Zhang Qing returned to Zi City, learned more about Ghoul Blood Warriors, and secured spirit pills from Yang Man. Yu Huashui recruited him as a Yu Family affiliate, but planned to test his loyalty through his involvement with Yang Man.

• Zhang Qing returned to Zi City and heard from Yang Man that Yu Huashui had brought back a lead on Forbidden Items and that the city was likely to become unsettled.
• Yang Man explained that Ghoul Blood Warriors seized Specters’ power but risked contamination and eventual ghoulification; she offered Zhang Qing materials if the research succeeded.
• Zhang Qing pressed Yang Man for what she owed him, received a porcelain bottle of spirit pills, and gained ten Attribute Points from an Earthspring Pill.
• Zhang Qing met Yu Huashui, who recruited him as a Yu Family affiliate and gave him a Dark Hall token with the same treatment as Dark Hall members.
• After Zhang Qing left, Yu Huashui told Yu An that he would test Zhang Qing through the Ghoul Blood Warrior matter and ordered her to find him a woman so he would have children.

After collecting his rewards, Zhang Qing used his Attribute Points to reach Candlelight Realm Rank 9 and strengthen his Cultivation Techniques, then began plotting to lure Specters into a battle. Guan Yutian arrived with a woman named Yun Xiaoxi, and Zhang Qing wondered whether the Yu Family had sent her to watch him or bear his children.

• Zhang Qing collected five low-grade spirit pills and gold, bringing his savings to about 100 pieces.
• Zhang Qing spent 62 Attribute Points to reach Candlelight Realm Rank 9 with Constitution 199, then upgraded Sky-Opening Slash and Ox-Barbarian Strength and put his remaining point into Intelligence.
• Zhang Qing reasoned that he could use apparent Ghoul Blood Warrior research to attract Specters and target the Shui Family, while avoiding harm to the Yu Family.
• Guan Yutian visited Zhang Qing and announced that he was bringing him a wife, leaving Zhang Qing unable to object before Guan Yutian departed to fetch her.
• Guan Yutian returned with Yun Xiaoxi, and Zhang Qing wondered whether the Yu Family had sent her to monitor him or have his children.

Zhang Qing accepted Yun Xiaoxi into his household while continuing to secure his position in Zi City. He proposed using Ghoul Blood Warrior research as bait to provoke a conflict between the Shui Family and the Specters, and Yang Man agreed to work with the Yu Family on the scheme.

• Guan Yutian presented Yun Xiaoxi to Zhang Qing, who tested her by threatening her with his saber before deciding to keep her and giving her a room.
• Zhang Qing reviewed his plans, then logged out and back in before resting for the night.
• The next morning, Yun Xiaoxi prepared breakfast, and Zhang Qing left her money before heading out.
• Yang Man told Zhang Qing that the Yu Family and Shui Family were fighting over Forbidden Item channels and were preparing a scheme.
• Zhang Qing proposed using Ghoul Blood Warrior research as bait to spark a conflict between the Shui Family and the Specters, and Yang Man decided to work with the Yu Family.

Yu Huashui and Yu An plotted to weaken the Shui Family while advancing their Ghoul Blood Warrior plans, as Zhang Qing patrolled and killed a Red-Footed Ghoul. He spotted Chuan Hao and the Pagoda Tree Ghoul, tried to avoid them, but Chuan Hao eventually cornered him.

• Yu Huashui and Yu An agreed to increase patrols, use Yang Man as bait, and pressure the Shui Family from multiple directions.
• Zhang Qing spotted Shi Hong’s high Blood Volume, decapitated him, and revealed him as a Red-Footed Ghoul.
• Zhang Qing dodged the Red-Footed Ghoul’s attacks and killed it with a weak-point strike, gaining five Attribute Points.
• A young man from the Chuan Family noticed Zhang Qing’s mastery of Chuan Shattering Steps and wondered if he would seek the Chuan Blood Spring.
• Zhang Qing recognized Chuan Hao and the Pagoda Tree Ghoul during his patrol and repeatedly tried to avoid them.
• Chuan Hao grew interested in Zhang Qing and finally forced him into a corner.

Zhang Qing met Chuan Hao and the Pagoda Tree Ghoul at Jubao Restaurant, where they offered him an incomplete copy of the Chuan Family secret art, Chuan Blood Spring, to win his cooperation. He misled them into believing the Razors feared an imminent clash between the Shui and Yu Families, and their alliance ended with both sides planning to exploit the other.

• Zhang Qing agreed to meet Chuan Hao and the Pagoda Tree Ghoul at Jubao Restaurant after they claimed to have a deal involving secret arts.
• At the restaurant, the Pagoda Tree Ghoul said the Tie Family wanted to contact Physician Yang Man and help research Ghoul Blood Warriors.
• The Pagoda Tree Ghoul gave Zhang Qing an incomplete handwritten copy of the Chuan Family secret art, Chuan Blood Spring, and promised to search for the rest.
• Zhang Qing implied the Razors were on alert because the Shui and Yu Families might fight, making Chuan Hao and the Pagoda Tree Ghoul believe he wanted the secret art to prepare for danger.
• Zhang Qing left after the three agreed to cooperate, while Chuan Hao and the Pagoda Tree Ghoul planned to infiltrate the Shui Family and learn whether its research had advanced.

Zhang Qing learned the Chuan Blood Spring secret art just as the Shui Family’s conflict with Specter erupted. When Razor ordered its members to help, Zhang Qing left with Guan Yutian to join the battle.

• The Shui Family came under pressure from Specter, Razor, and the Yu Family, then struck back against Specter infiltrators.
• Yang Man released bait for her Ghoul Blood Warrior research, and Shui Family spies stole the resulting information for the family.
• The Shui Family, Yu Huashui, Chuan Hao, and the Pagoda Tree Ghoul raced to seize the research, and Specter appeared around the Shui Family estate as battle began.
• Zhang Qing struggled to learn the incomplete Chuan Blood Spring secret art until Yun Xiaoxi brought him chilled Red Leaf Water.
• Zhang Qing learned Chuan Blood Spring at Rank One and realized it could restore his Blood Volume while he stood in refined blood.
• Guan Yutian told Zhang Qing that Razor had ordered its members to help against Specter, and Zhang Qing left with him after warning Yun Xiaoxi to stay inside.

Razor’s forces joined the battle at the Shui Family estate, where Zhang Qing fought Specters while secretly using the Chuan Blood Spring secret art. He killed Shui Huating to restore his maximum HP and continued looking for opportunities to profit from the chaotic battle.

• Yu An led Razor’s squads to the Shui Family estate, and Guan Yutian and Tie Du slipped away to stay safe.
• Zhang Qing charged into the battlefield, damaged Specters with his bow, and killed a Bone Demon Ghoul with Sky-Opening Slash.
• Zhang Qing circulated the Chuan Blood Spring secret art, which spread through the blood on the ground but reduced his maximum HP by one hundred.
• Zhang Qing approached the badly wounded Shui Huating and killed him with his bow, gaining 1,200 maximum HP.
• Zhang Qing resolved to keep exploiting the battle for kills and rewards.

Zhang Qing mooched kills around the Shui Family estate siege while gathering Attribute Points and using Chuan Blood Spring to heal. A Fist-Blade Ghoul targeted him, but Zhang Qing lured it into a close fight, pierced its heart, and left it dying as he healed his abdominal wound.

• Zhang Qing avoided the Screw-Tooth Ghoul and stayed outside the Shui Family estate, attacking Specters around the battlefield with arrows.
• Zhang Qing replenished his arrows from a corpse and accumulated more than thirty Attribute Points by participating in Specter kills.
• A Fist-Blade Ghoul charged across the battlefield after Zhang Qing, and the two traded blows with their weapons.
• Zhang Qing grabbed the Fist-Blade Ghoul's bone blade, accepted a severe hand wound, and used Chuan Blood Spring to heal himself.
• Zhang Qing maneuvered the Fist-Blade Ghoul toward his prepared Blood Spring and stabbed through its ribs into its heart.
• Zhang Qing healed the abdominal wound the Fist-Blade Ghoul had inflicted, while the wounded Specter weakened and began to die.

Zhang Qing joined the chaotic battle around the Shui Family estate, stealing kills and tagging Specters for Attribute Points while the Yu Family intervened to seize the Shui Family’s records. As the fighting shifted and Razor personnel slipped deeper into the estate, Tuo Li revealed the storeroom’s location, and Zhang Qing hurried after him to loot it.

• Zhang Qing killed the Fist-Blade Ghoul, then roamed the battlefield with his bow to damage Specters and steal kills for Attribute Points.
• The Worm Tooth Ghoul clashed with Shui Muxing as the Shui Family fought to hold its perimeter.
• Zhang Qing spotted masked members of the Yu Family arriving to exploit the chaos and seize the Shui Family’s records.
• Zhang Qing entered the estate disguised in Razor’s clothes and tagged elite Specters while the Shui Family initially gained the upper hand.
• As Shui Family experts were drawn away and the battle turned against them, Zhang Qing retreated deeper into the estate and found Razor personnel heading toward the storeroom.
• Tuo Li told Zhang Qing that the storeroom lay ahead, and Zhang Qing decided to follow him.

Zhang Qing looted gold statues from the Shui Family estate before killing a nest of critically wounded Earthworm Ghouls that had broken into the school area. After Shui Family members thanked him, his stolen collectibles fell out of his robe, revealing his looting.

• Zhang Qing searched an outer storehouse and secretly took several gold statues before slipping deeper into the chaotic Shui Family estate.
• A cavern opened in the school area, releasing wounded Earthworm Ghouls that threatened Shui Yinxiang and the Shui Family children.
• Zhang Qing killed more than thirty Earthworm Ghouls and gained over thirty Attribute Points as Shui Family experts arrived.
• Shui Qingxi thanked Zhang Qing on the Shui Family's behalf, while Shui Yinxiang watched him with interest.
• Two gold statues fell from Zhang Qing's robe as he claimed to be a collector, and Shui Qingxi and Shui Yinxiang recognized the Shui Family emblem on them.

Zhang Qing watched the Shui Family unleash Stitched Corpses against the Specters, only for the creations to lose control and be destroyed by a bow-wielding figure. He learned that killing the artificial monsters granted Attribute Points only for their original bodies, then left with enough points to enter the Starflash Realm.

• Zhang Qing realized the Shui Family might be creating Ghoul Blood Warriors, then a monstrous Stitched Corpse burst through a courtyard wall under Shui Muye's control.
• The Shui Family released more Stitched Corpses, which drove the Specters toward the edge of the estate as Zhang Qing hid and tagged one with an arrow.
• The Stitched Corpses went berserk, but a distant archer destroyed them one by one before they could overwhelm the Shui Family.
• Zhang Qing recognized the archer's technique as the Shui Family's secret bow art and checked his backend records for the Stitched Corpse's rewards.
• Zhang Qing discovered that the Stitched Corpse granted only 0.4 Attribute Points based on its original Niu Tuo Ghoul body, then decided to go home and level up.

After the Stitched Corpse was destroyed, Zhang Qing spent his accumulated Attribute Points to advance to the first level of the Starflash Realm. He left with plans to meet Yang Man, join the Yu Family’s Dark Hall, and pursue the secret arts of several families.

• Zhang Qing returned to his courtyard, found Yun Xiaoxi waiting inside, and told her the danger had passed.
• Zhang Qing spent his Attribute Points raising all four Cultivation Techniques through the Candlelight Realm and into the Starflash Realm, then successfully broke through to the first level.
• Zhang Qing discovered that the breakthrough had formed true qi, strengthening his body and enabling him to use secret arts more effectively.
• Zhang Qing resolved to pursue Star Steel, continue following Yang Man’s Ghoul Blood Warrior path, and obtain the Yu, Shui, and Tie Families’ secret arts.
• Zhang Qing planned to visit Yang Man, seek entry into the Yu Family’s Dark Hall, and go to Jubao Restaurant to fleece Chuan Hao and the Pagoda Tree Ghoul.

After the Shui Family’s failed Ghoul Blood Warrior project, Yang Man began a new experiment in the Forbidden Hall. Hu Ya survived a fusion with Specter flesh, leaving Yang Man believing she had created a stable Ghoul Blood Warrior.

• The Shui Family realized the Specter attacks had been bait and that the Yu Family had taken its research data, while Yang Man considered using the research to create Ghoul Blood Warriors.
• Yang Man brought Zhang Qing to the Forbidden Hall, where Yu Tianhai, Yu Tianxiong, and Yu Tianao guarded the facility and Hu Ya awaited the experiment.
• Yang Man fused Specter flesh, Specter blood, and Forbidden Item powder with Hu Ya, who endured the pain and insisted she would survive.
• Hu Ya’s fusion stabilized without changing her form, and Zhang Qing saw her health rise from 16 to 6666 as Yang Man wondered whether the experiment had succeeded.

After Hu Ya became the Yu Family’s first successful Ghoul Blood Warrior, Zhang Qing gained Dark Hall privileges and killed the Many-Faced Ghoul that Chuan Hao sent to summon him. Chuan Hao and the Pagoda Tree Ghoul learned their messenger had been killed, leaving Zhang Qing with leverage as they waited at Jubao Restaurant.

• Yang Man’s attempt to make another Ghoul Blood Warrior failed, so she assigned Hu Ya to Zhang Qing for observation.
• Yu Huashui granted Zhang Qing Dark Hall privileges and formally recruited him as an outsider of the Yu Family.
• Tie Fang delivered Chuan Hao’s invitation from Jubao Restaurant, and Zhang Qing killed him after recognizing him as the Many-Faced Ghoul.
• Razor’s personnel recorded Zhang Qing’s military merit, and Zhang Qing planned to train Hu Ya and use her to test his methods.
• Chuan Hao and the Pagoda Tree Ghoul learned that Duomian had exposed himself and been killed by Zhang Qing outside Razor’s door.

Zhang Qing confronted Chuan Hao and the Pagoda Tree Ghoul over a Specter posing as their messenger, then forced them to prove their Iron Family ties by revealing part of the Tie Family Secret Art. He left with the Chuan Blood Spring Manual and hinted that the Yu Family might be torturing Specters, prompting the pair to consider using the secret art to recruit him against the Yu Family.

• Zhang Qing kicked open the meeting room door and accused Chuan Hao and the Pagoda Tree Ghoul of sending a Specter to deliver their message.
• Zhang Qing demanded proof of their Iron Family Inner Hall membership, and Chuan Hao offered to write down what he remembered of the Tie Family Secret Art.
• Chuan Hao wrote about two pages of the secret art, and Zhang Qing judged the details genuine before easing the conversation and pocketing the Chuan Blood Spring Manual.
• The Pagoda Tree Ghoul asked whether the Specters would keep targeting the Ghoul Blood Warrior project, and Zhang Qing hinted that he had heard screams from the Ghoul Blood Hall.
• Chuan Hao and the Pagoda Tree Ghoul suspected the Yu Family was taking over after the Shui Family's losses and decided they might need to offer Zhang Qing more of the Tie Family Secret Art to enlist his help.

After establishing his influence among the Dark Realm factions, Zhang Qing spent the night with Yun Xiaoxi and then took Hu Ya out to test her as a Razor. When Hu Ya began to transform into a ghoul, Zhang Qing intervened and discovered that her ghoulification could be reversed, making her a perfect-tier Ghoul Blood Warrior.

• Chuan Hao and the Pagoda Tree Ghoul agreed to use the Tie Family Secret Art to deal with Zhang Qing.
• Zhang Qing returned home, found Yun Xiaoxi asleep in his bed, and spent the night with her.
• Zhang Qing took Hu Ya to collect Razor equipment, then directed her to attack Li Liang, whom he suspected was a Specter.
• As Hu Ya fought Li Liang, her craving for power triggered ghoulification and increased her strength.
• Zhang Qing killed Li Liang and calmed Hu Ya, whose ghoulification reversed and revealed her to be a perfect-tier Ghoul Blood Warrior.

Zhang Qing agreed to join Hu Ben’s trading run to retrieve a Square Crystal Forbidden Item for Yang Man in exchange for Superior Spirit Pills. He then took Hu Ya to the Yu Family Secret Prison, where Yu Huashui hinted that its warden could forge Adamantine Weapons, while Zhang Qing suspected the Yu Family was trying to keep him in check.

• Yang Man told Zhang Qing that Hu Ya was the only surviving test subject and that she needed to keep her under observation.
• Yang Man asked Zhang Qing to join Hu Ben’s upcoming trading run and retrieve a fifty-seven-faceted Square Crystal from an Ancient Ruin Battlefield.
• Yang Man promised Zhang Qing all the available Superior Spirit Pills in Zi City if he brought back a Square Crystal, and Zhang Qing agreed.
• Zhang Qing took Hu Ya from Yang Man, claiming he wanted to observe her while planning to use her to consume more blood packs.
• Zhang Qing went to the Yu Family Secret Prison and spoke with Yu Huashui, who told him the warden was also an Adamantine Weapon forger.
• Zhang Qing realized Yu Huashui was using the warden as bait while trying to limit his chances of obtaining an Adamantine Weapon.

Zhang Qing brought Hu Ya to the Yu Family Secret Prison and offered the prisoners freedom if they could defeat her. When Ye Qi seemed ready to win, Zhang Qing intervened with his blade, leaving the fight unresolved.

• Zhang Qing took Hu Ya into the Secret Prison, where he met the Phoenix Clan warden Ji Beihu and Yu Family guard Yu Shu.
• Zhang Qing saw the prison's brutal system of exploiting prisoners and using their children as Yu Family dead soldiers.
• Zhang Qing announced that any prisoner who defeated Hu Ya would be freed, and guard Yu Shi opened Ye Qi's cell and removed his chains.
• Hu Ya fought Ye Qi, but the stronger prisoner drove her back and taunted her as he anticipated freedom.
• Zhang Qing stepped in and struck at Ye Qi with his blade.

Zhang Qing killed prisoners in the Yu Family's Secret Prison and had Hu Ya fight the others, while claiming their deaths as his own gains. Elsewhere, Shui Qingxi connected Zhang Qing to Yang Man and the Yu Family's Ghoul Blood Warrior research, then went to seek the higher-ups' approval for a plan that could help the Shui Family recover.

• Zhang Qing killed Ye Qi and told the prisoners they could earn freedom by defeating Hu Ya, despite having already decided their fate.
• Niu Liu volunteered to fight Hu Ya, but her Specter transformation overwhelmed him, and Zhang Qing claimed the kill.
• Shui Qingxi learned Zhang Qing had killed a Shui Family guard and ordered refined gold statues and other gifts delivered to him.
• Shui Qingxi recalled Zhang Qing's ties to Yang Man and the Yu Family's Ghoul Blood Warrior research, then went to consult the Shui Family's higher-ups about a possible way to turn things around.