Chapter Summaries

Zhang Qing suspected Yun Xiaoxi was a powerful Sequence User and decided to confront her, but his resolve faltered when he found her preparing lunch. Their mutual suspicions left them both wondering how to proceed while bound to each other.

• Zhang Qing recalled Hu Ben's warning about cognition-altering effects and concluded Yun Xiaoxi had a hidden identity and strength that threatened him.
• Zhang Qing considered whether Yun Xiaoxi was a Ghoul Blood Warrior, a Sequence User, or an ancient remnant, then judged her most likely to be a Sequence User who wanted him for some reason.
• Zhang Qing decided to approach Yun Xiaoxi and ask what she wanted, but his courage faded when he found her happily preparing lunch at home.
• Zhang Qing noticed Yun Xiaoxi's low, mist-shrouded Blood Volume and briefly considered killing her, but she turned and met his gaze.
• Zhang Qing feared Yun Xiaoxi had sensed his intent, while Yun Xiaoxi worried he had figured her out and remembered that an opponent anchor prevented her from killing or leaving him.

Zhang Qing learned from Yun Xiaoxi that Star Steel was a Secret Treasure and bargained with her for more information about Sequence Users. After overhearing She Ran threaten Yang Man over an Imperial City scheme, Zhang Qing confronted Yang Man and demanded that she explain the path to becoming a Sequence User.

• Zhang Qing asked Yun Xiaoxi about Star Steel, and she admitted it was a Secret Treasure in exchange for a birthday gift.
• Zhang Qing went to Yang Man’s courtyard and overheard She Ran claim the city as her theater and threaten Yang Man, an abandoned child of the Sheep Royal Family.
• She Ran left after revealing she had placed an anchor on Yang Man, and Zhang Qing entered the courtyard with his hand on his blade.
• Zhang Qing told Yang Man he knew she wanted the Sequence path and warned that She Ran had come to take it from her.
• Yang Man tried to win Zhang Qing over by invoking her royal status, but he insisted they shared an interest in Sequence Users.

Zhang Qing learned from Yang Man how Sequences worked and what role-playing could do to strengthen spiritual power. He left wary of the deadly price of pursuing a role to its conclusion.

• Yang Man explained that Sequences granted immense spiritual power that could strengthen martial arts, but admitted she did not know how to advance one.
• Zhang Qing revealed that Forbidden Items were crucial to advancing a Sequence, and Yang Man disclosed that role-playing could increase spiritual power and reveal a path.
• Yang Man explained that people could choose roles tied to emotions, such as an avenger, and gain powerful abilities by following that role.
• Zhang Qing asked what happened after revenge was achieved, and Yang Man said the role's path would collapse and its player would die.
• Zhang Qing abandoned his idea of becoming an avenger after realizing that completing the role meant death.

Zhang Qing and Yang Man agreed to work together against She Ran and the Yu Family, while both kept secrets from each other. At the Yu Family’s secret chamber, the ancestors revealed a twenty-year scheme to force Yang Man and She Ran toward the Heavenly Demons and seize the power they sought.

• Yang Man warned Zhang Qing that only eleven Sequences could reach the end, and that acting as a role could eventually erase his sense of self.
• Zhang Qing resolved to continue, and he and Yang Man agreed to make She Ran lose the Shui Family’s protection while using Sequence knowledge against the Yu Family.
• Zhang Qing planned to contact the Shui Family and capture She Ran, while Yang Man agreed to use the Yu Family’s interest in Sequences as bait.
• Yu Jiyuan told Yu Huashui that the City Lord would return the next day and ordered him to prepare the Razor Department to receive him.
• After Yu Huashui left, Yu Jiyuan, Shui Fuyue, Tie Kuangsheng, and the supposedly dead Chuan Kuangxue discussed their twenty-year scheme and planned to escalate the Yu-Shui conflict to force Yang Man and She Ran to act.

Zhang Qing used news of the Shui Family’s plans and the City Lord’s return to steer Chuan Hao and Pagoda Tree Ghoul toward action. He left believing Chuan Hao had become a natural ally, while Chuan Hao planned to exploit the coming turmoil to abduct Yang Man.

• Zhang Qing received notice that the City Lord would return tomorrow, then went to Jubao Restaurant to meet Chuan Hao and Pagoda Tree Ghoul.
• Zhang Qing revealed that the Shui Family intended to restart the Ghoul Blood Warrior Project, prompting Pagoda Tree Ghoul to warm to him and ask for help with martial arts.
• Zhang Qing told Chuan Hao and Pagoda Tree Ghoul that the Shui Family had invited people from the Imperial City, and suggested the City Lord’s return could bring trouble to Zi City.
• Chuan Hao said the Shui Family should be stopped and privately resolved to use the upheaval to draw attention away from its attempt to abduct Yang Man.
• After Zhang Qing left, Pagoda Tree Ghoul questioned whether the Shui Family would act, and Chuan Hao insisted it would wait for the City Lord’s return before deciding how to cause trouble.

Zhang Qing received a recruitment offer from Shui Yinxiang and suspected the Shui Family was testing his loyalties, then spent the night with Yun Xiaoxi. The next day, he joined the welcoming lineup for the returning city lord and was stunned by the rider’s health bar.

• Shui Yinxiang visited Zhang Qing and offered him a position as a guard and instructor for the Shui Family, leaving him an adamantine statue as a token.
• Zhang Qing suspected Shui Yinxiang’s visit was a test by the Shui Family’s upper ranks and considered becoming an inside man to get close to them.
• Zhang Qing spent the night with Yun Xiaoxi, and the next morning he complained that she had exhausted him.
• Zhang Qing ran into Tie Du, then went with him to welcome the returning city lord at Razor.
• Yu An called Zhang Qing into the Dark Hall lineup, where he noticed she had reached the Starflash Realm.
• The city lord arrived on horseback with a Dark Hall escort, and Zhang Qing saw the rider’s health bar identify him as an Insect Spirit Ghoul in the Silkworm Molting State.

Zhang Qing realized the city lord was the Insect Spirit Ghoul and suspected the Yu Family had joined forces with it to target the Shui Family. As the two sides nearly reached an accord, Zhang Qing secretly fired an arrow that sparked a fight between them.

• Zhang Qing reasoned that the Insect Spirit Ghoul had replaced the city lord using the Silkworm Ghoul's molt, and decided to wait for the city lord's next move.
• The city lord issued a decree to investigate the Shui Family's Ghoul Blood Warriors, and Zhang Qing concluded that the Yu Family knew the city lord's identity and was allied with it.
• The Shui Family blocked Razor investigators, so Razor brought the Dark Hall to confront the family at its gates.
• A Yu Family big shot arrived to mediate, but Zhang Qing fired an arrow bearing the Dark Hall's emblem into the Shui Family mediator's forehead.
• The enraged Shui Family big shot attacked the Yu Family big shot with his blade.

Zhang Qing entered the Shui Family during a chaotic search and met She Ran, who tried to recruit him by claiming Yang Man had ruined his chance to advance in Sequence. Zhang Qing agreed to trade information and told her the City Lord was a Specter.

• The Shui Family and Yu Family brawled as Razor’s personnel rushed into the Shui Family grounds, letting Zhang Qing slip into the outer courtyard.
• Zhang Qing searched for She Ran, who appeared with a health bar of 2500/2500 and led him to her private courtyard, filled with Forbidden Items.
• She Ran claimed that advancing in Sequence required the Waning Moon Realm and that Yang Man’s spiritual pills had made Zhang Qing unable to reach it.
• She Ran proposed exchanging information about the City Lord and the Yu Family Dark Hall, and Zhang Qing decided to verify what she had said with Yun Xiaoxi.
• Zhang Qing told She Ran that the City Lord was a Specter.

Zhang Qing learned that Moon-Shattering Realm cultivators could trigger Square Crystals to activate Forbidden Items, a key step toward becoming a Sequence User, and planned his next moves around verifying the process and advancing. Meanwhile, Chuan Hao visited Yang Man disguised in Zhang Qing’s human skin, but Yang Man recognized him, and he left delighted after their conversation.

• She Ran told Zhang Qing that Moon-Shattering Realm cultivators could use Square Crystals to activate Forbidden Items, explaining a crucial part of Sequence advancement.
• Zhang Qing left She Ran and planned to use Yun Xiaoxi to verify what he had learned, question Chuan Hao about the City Lord, and gather Attribute Points to advance.
• Zhang Qing returned home to Yun Xiaoxi while the Shui and Yu Families continued their conflict beneath the turmoil in Zi City.
• Chuan Hao entered Yang Man’s courtyard disguised in Zhang Qing’s human skin, but Yang Man recognized him and identified the materials used to make it.
• Yang Man invited Chuan Hao inside, and he left less than fifteen minutes later looking delighted as Yang Man watched him go.

The Shui and Yu Families’ clash ended quickly as the City Lord and their allies secretly pressured Yang Man and She Ran. With Zi City quiet and a larger operation looming, Zhang Qing spent his accumulated Attribute Points and spirit pills to strengthen his cultivation, hoping to advance before a major event began.

• In a secret meeting, Shui Fuyue, Yu Jiyuan, Chuan Kuangxue, and the Insect Spirit Ghoul agreed to keep pressure on Yang Man and She Ran while shifting the family conflict into the shadows.
• Zhang Qing hunted Specters around Zi City for several days but found the wilderness increasingly empty and made no progress uncovering the hidden plot.
• Zhang Qing checked on Yang Man, Chuan Hao, and She Ran, receiving Superior Spirit Pills from Yang Man while sensing that the Yu Family and City Lord were advancing a secret operation.
• Zhang Qing spent 144 Attribute Points to raise his three Cultivation Techniques to lower-grade Starflash Realm perfection, then another 210 to bring them to mid-grade perfection.
• Zhang Qing consumed his Superior Star Spirit and Star Vein Pills to gain more Attribute Points as he prepared to advance toward the Waning Moon Realm.

Zhang Qing prepared to break through to the Moon-Shattering Realm but halted after seeing Shui Family experts kill a Razor Hall cultivator and realizing that Zi City’s powers were trapping Moon-Shattering Realm cultivators. He stayed home to wait and watch as Chuan Hao, Zuo Can, disguised Specters, and Tie Family members headed for Tiger Village.

• Zhang Qing spent Attribute Points to raise his Cultivation Techniques to upper-grade Starflash Great Perfection and his physique to 299, then prepared to advance.
• Zhang Qing interrupted his breakthrough after hearing a scream and witnessing Shui Family experts kill a lone Moon-Shattering Realm cultivator from Razor Hall.
• Zhang Qing suspected the Shui Family, Yu Family, and City Lord were working together to eliminate outside Moon-Shattering Realm cultivators and trap She Ran and Yang Man.
• Zhang Qing decided to delay his breakthrough, noting that the Tie Family had not yet appeared, and returned home to eat.
• Chuan Hao led disguised Specters and Tie Family members, with Zuo Can at their head, toward Tiger Village.

Chuan Hao and the Silkworm Ghoul approached the Tiger Clan village, while Zhang Qing stayed in Zi City to learn how Forbidden Items worked. Yun Xiaoxi revealed that a Sequence User's power came from “Armor” and demonstrated her overwhelming strength, leaving Zhang Qing stunned.

• Chuan Hao concealed his hatred for the Specters, Yu Family, and Tie Family while agreeing to prove his usefulness in the coming attack on the Tiger Clan village.
• Zhang Qing stayed home instead of going to work and pressed Yun Xiaoxi to explain Forbidden Items and how to become a Sequence User.
• Yun Xiaoxi explained that a Forbidden Item was only one requirement and that acting and Waning Moon Realm strength were also needed.
• Yun Xiaoxi said a Sequence User's power came from “Armor” and demonstrated her immense power with a flick of her finger.
• Yun Xiaoxi asked Zhang Qing whether a physical body could bear spiritual-attribute power.

Zhang Qing learned that Sequence advancement required a Waypoint and Origin Points along a one-way path, and he began considering which Sequence to choose. Yun Xiaoxi planned to leave chaotic Zi City with him once the theater had its rightful owner, though she felt reluctant to abandon their courtyard.

• Zhang Qing summarized how a practitioner became a Sequence User by advancing to the Moon-Shattering Realm, activating a Forbidden Item as armor, and combining it with a role and strong mental power.
• Yun Xiaoxi explained that Waypoints marked places to rest along a Sequence path, while Origin Points replenished a practitioner's strength; lacking either meant death.
• Zhang Qing realized a Sequence path could not be changed once chosen and that only eleven paths had reached the end.
• Yun Xiaoxi confirmed that supposed time Sequences had no Waypoints or Origin Points and described their impossible demand of reaching the end in one step.
• Zhang Qing considered which Sequence to choose, while Yun Xiaoxi planned to leave Zi City with him after the theater had its rightful owner and felt reluctant to leave their courtyard.

Zhang Qing sought Star Steel and learned Razor was preparing to purge the Emperor's court amid the City Lord's and Yu Family's growing control of Zi City. Yang Man agreed to let him meet Hu Ya, while Zhang Qing planned to use Razor's unrest to pursue Star Steel and investigate the Yu Family.

• Zhang Qing decided to seek Star Steel and went to Razor Hall, where Guan Yutian told him Razor suspected the Yu Family was purging its Moon-Shattering Realm experts.
• Guan Yutian said Razor's upper ranks planned to purge the Emperor's court and hinted he wanted to flee to another city with Zhang Qing; Zhang Qing told him to guard the gates and gather information.
• Zhang Qing visited Yang Man, who warned that the Yu Family and City Lord were wary of her and that she had little time left.
• Zhang Qing asked to meet Hu Ya for a chance to obtain Star Steel, and Yang Man agreed while urging him to investigate the Yu Family through Razor.

As Razor Hall began its attack on the Yu Family, Zhang Qing stayed in Zi City and sent Hu Ya to act as his inside agent so he could steal the Star Steel. The Silkworm Ghoul led Chuan Hao and a force of Specters into the city, where Razor’s uprising plunged Zi City into chaos.

• Guan Yutian warned Zhang Qing that Razor Hall would soon attack the Yu Family and urged him to flee, but Zhang Qing refused to leave.
• Zhang Qing took Hu Ya to Yang Man’s courtyard and asked her to help him obtain the Forbidden Item, then Hu Ya went to Ghoul Blood Hall as his inside agent.
• Guan Yutian prepared to leave Zi City as refugees and Specters poured through the unguarded gates; the Silkworm Ghoul ordered Chuan Hao and the Tie Family members to close them.
• The Silkworm Ghoul provoked Chuan Hao into embracing its hatred and sent it toward Razor Hall with the group.
• An explosion at Razor Hall signaled the start of Razor’s uprising, and Yu Family loyalists across Zi City became targets while Zhang Qing’s courtyard was left untouched.
• Yun Xiaoxi watched from the roof and wondered whether the two orthodox Sequences from the Imperial City would appear.

Zhang Qing retrieved Star Steel from Forbidden Hall and returned to Wuyu Alley, where Yun Xiaoxi warned him not to join the battle. Yang Man and Yu Jiyuan set the Specters and Tie Family against Razor as Chuan Hao entered the battlefield, and Yun Xiaoxi explained that the unfolding fight was a designed theater nearing its coronation ritual.

• Zhang Qing disguised himself as a Razor member, retrieved Star Steel with Hu Ya, and returned home without meeting resistance.
• Yang Man told Yu Jiyuan that Chuan Hao could become a Heavenly Demon, then ordered the Specters and Tie Family to join the battle.
• Chuan Hao led the Specters into the fighting, and the Tie Family allied with the Yu Family against Razor and the Specters.
• Yun Xiaoxi stopped Zhang Qing from joining the battle and explained that the role’s coronation ritual was about to begin and could draw in prospective roles.
• Yun Xiaoxi described a Sequence as fate, leaving Zhang Qing shaken as he watched the battle continue.

Chuan Hao rampaged through the battlefield as his power surged and the people around him became enemies, while Yun Xiaoxi explained the nature of Sequences to Zhang Qing. Chuan Hao began transforming into a Sequence User, but Yun Xiaoxi noticed that his advancement was missing one chime, leaving Zhang Qing unsure whether he had succeeded.

• Yun Xiaoxi told Zhang Qing that learning about a Sequence caused a person to be marked by fate and gain a role, and she hinted she would explain more if he became a Sequence User.
• Chuan Hao transformed into a Silverback Gorilla, refined blood with Chuan Blood Spring, and fought off the Yu Family, the Tie Family, Razor, Specters, and a Morning Sun Realm expert.
• Chuan Hao relived the destruction of his family and grew increasingly powerful, then activated the Forbidden Items he had taken from Tiger Village.
• A demonic tide surrounded Chuan Hao as the Pendulum of Fate chimed, and Yu Jiyuan watched eagerly for his transformation into a Heavenly Demon and Sequence User.
• Yun Xiaoxi counted the chimes and realized one was missing, then said someone from the Imperial City had forged Chuan Hao's path.
• Chuan Hao's gorilla form vanished and a young man appeared, leaving Zhang Qing unsure whether Chuan Hao had successfully advanced.

Chuan Hao became a Heavenly Demon and used his Waypoint’s blood power to overwhelm his enemies, but Chuan Kuangxue appeared and revealed that the revenge-driven Sequence path had been part of a setup. Chuan Hao was left realizing that his newfound power and everything he had done were about to collapse.

• Chuan Hao received a blood-red Waypoint crystal and advanced into a Sequence User despite lacking one ring.
• Chuan Hao challenged Yu Jiyuan and Tie Kuangsheng, then badly injured both with a single attack.
• Chuan Hao unleashed his blood ability, consuming the surrounding fighters and Specters before turning the blood toward the two ancestors.
• Yun Xiaoxi sensed a Sequence collapse, and Chuan Kuangxue appeared to shatter the sea of blood.
• Zhang Qing realized Chuan Hao’s revenge had been staged with Chuan Kuangxue’s involvement, making Chuan Hao’s Sequence path impossible to establish.
• Chuan Hao stared blankly at Chuan Kuangxue as he understood that his actions and power were about to come crashing down.

Chuan Hao learned that Chuan Kuangxue had orchestrated his transformation and rise to Heavenly Demon power, then watched his Sequence collapse as his strength drained away. As he fell into the sea of blood, memories of his childhood and the Chuan Family’s destruction returned before he died insisting he was not trash.

• Chuan Kuangxue told Chuan Hao that his mission was complete and revealed that he had used him to learn about the Heavenly Demon.
• Chuan Hao’s Sequence path and armor collapsed, and his power began to disappear.
• Chuan Hao recalled his childhood, the Chuan Family’s destruction, and how Yang Man and the Specters had led him toward power and revenge.
• Chuan Hao fell into the sea of blood and died after murmuring that he was not trash.

Yang Man revealed that she had concealed Morning Sun Realm cultivation with the Sheep Royal Family’s secret art and fought Zi City’s elites until the Moth Ghoul arrived. As Yang Man fled toward Zhang Qing’s courtyard, she recognized Yun Xiaoxi as a powerful Sequence User and realized the situation had gone beyond her control.

• Yun Xiaoxi explained that Chuan Hao’s shattered Dao heart showed how an advancement could be sabotaged, then predicted Yang Man would take the stage.
• Yang Man revealed her Morning Sun Realm cultivation through Tail Siphon and fought several Morning Sun Realm cultivators without falling behind.
• Yu Jiyuan and the Insect Spirit Ghoul called for help as Yang Man began transforming, and the Moth Ghoul descended from the Tie Family, having reached a realm above Morning Sun.
• Yang Man fled toward Zhang Qing’s courtyard and urged him to leave Zi City with her.
• Yang Man noticed Yun Xiaoxi, saw through the Waypoint’s alteration of cognition, and realized Zhang Qing had been hiding a powerful ally.