Recaps

On Heaven's Gate University's opening day, Ji Jue accompanied Lu Ling through registration and worried that Professor Ye would reject his hastily assembled paper. Professor Ye finally summoned him to her office and told him to critique the work himself.

• Ji Jue woke fearing Professor Ye had not replied to the paper he had submitted shortly before term began.
• Ji Jue took Lu Ling to Heaven's Gate University on the mutated Little Lamb and helped her register, where she took out more than 800,000 yuan in student loans.
• Professor Ye messaged Ji Jue to come to her office, so he left Lu Ling to explore the campus and went to meet her.
• Ye Chun greeted Ji Jue and led him into Professor Ye Xian's office.
• Professor Ye Xian showed Ji Jue his submitted paper and asked him to critique it himself.

Ji Jue was ordered by Professor Ye to rewrite his poor paper, then Wen Wen took him to meet an alchemy master who turned out to be Professor Ye herself. The chapter ended with Wen Wen realizing she had introduced Ji Jue to his own prospective master and dragging him away in embarrassment.

• Professor Ye criticized Ji Jue's paper, told him to rewrite its arguments and main points, and ordered him to return that afternoon.
• Ji Jue said he had a favor to repay and denied that he was dating anyone, so Professor Ye let him leave.
• After showing Lu Ling around Heavenly Gate, Ji Jue was summoned by Wen Wen, who took him by motorcycle to meet an alchemy master.
• Wen Wen brought Ji Jue into Professor Ye's office and enthusiastically recommended him as an apprentice.
• Professor Ye revealed that Ji Jue was already the apprentice her workshop planned to take on, leaving Wen Wen and Ji Jue awkwardly stunned.

After Wen Wen recovered from learning that Ye Xian was an alchemy Master, she explained Professor Ye’s standing and warned Ji Jue to value his mentor. Ye Xian then learned Ji Jue had been chosen for the Chosen Conscription, offered him the freedom to seek other patrons, and decided to train him herself as Masterwork Material.

• Wen Wen told Ji Jue that Ye Xian was a celebrated young Master and asked him to keep quiet about her embarrassing encounter.
• Wen Wen left to hunt wanted criminals, while Ji Jue returned to Ye Xian’s office.
• Ye Xian asked Ji Jue whether he had been chosen for last month’s Chosen Conscription, and he admitted that he had.
• Ye Xian explained that powerful organizations would compete for Ji Jue, but Ji Jue said he wanted to remain her student.
• Ye Xian admitted that she had mistaken Ji Jue for mediocre material and resolved to see whether he could become a Masterwork Artisan.

Ji Jue began work at Professor Ye’s workshop, where Ye Chun taught him about Chosen Ones and the Twelve Supreme Goodnesses. He learned that the virtues represented fundamental forces of the world, and the chapter ended with Ye Chun explaining that they stood beyond human judgments of good and evil.

• Professor Ye brought Ji Jue to her workshop and told him to work under Ye Chun’s supervision, while warning him away from restricted areas.
• Professor Ye said Ji Jue had awakened on his own after Spiritual Substance contamination and ordered both him and Ye Chun to redo their papers.
• Ye Chun explained the three ways Chosen Ones awakened and described the costs and risks of High-level Inheritance.
• Ye Chun listed the Twelve Supreme Goodnesses and explained their domains, warning Ji Jue that anything outside them belonged to Evil Folly.
• Ji Jue questioned how The Horde could represent struggle and ruin yet count as a virtue, and Ye Chun replied that the Supreme Goodnesses encompassed the world beyond human judgments.

Ye Chun explained the risks of multiple Blessings, the purpose of Matrices, and how Superior Virtue Paths shaped Chosen Ones, prompting Ji Jue to recognize his devotion to alchemy as part of his nature. Professor Ye then brought him to a workshop, where she revealed a military Powered Armor project and asked him to place his hand on a Crystal Ball.

• Ye Chun explained that Matrices protected Chosen Ones from Sin Corruption and described the restrictions of different Matrices.
• Ye Chun discussed the stereotypes associated with Superior Virtue Paths and pointed out Ji Jue’s passion for research; Ji Jue accepted that he genuinely wanted to use alchemy to improve people’s lives.
• Professor Ye arrived, told Ji Jue to follow her, and led him to a basement workshop while Ye Chun stayed behind.
• Ji Jue saw a classified Powered Armor project tied to a Haizhou military contract and realized his research had contributed to it.
• Professor Ye opened a briefcase containing a Crystal Ball and told Ji Jue to put his hand on the armor.

Ji Jue learned to control Spiritual Substance and inscribed the Ascension Rune, impressing Professor Ye with how quickly he mastered Alchemy. He then used his ability to machine a statue from Professor Ye’s custom ingot, only to learn it had cost 260,000 and would be deducted from his salary.

• Ji Jue used the Spirit Essence Probe to manipulate crystal and, after repeated attempts, successfully inscribed the Ascension Rune before collapsing from exhaustion.
• Professor Ye strengthened the Rune and praised Ji Jue’s extraordinary progress, then asked how his ability worked.
• Ji Jue activated the Dragon Gate Machining Center, which rapidly carved a half-length statue of Professor Ye from her custom titanium alloy ingot.
• Professor Ye told Ji Jue the ingot had cost 260,000 and would be deducted from his salary.
• Ji Jue was surprised to learn that he had a salary.

Professor Ye analyzed Ji Jue’s ability and concluded that it temporarily animated objects by infusing them with his Spiritual Substance. After testing it on a Devil-Crafted Ball, she recognized the ability’s extraordinary potential and announced that Ji Jue’s graduate courses would begin the next day.

• At Professor Ye’s insistence, Ji Jue demonstrated his ability to connect with machinery from up to ten meters away, though it consumed much of his Spiritual Substance.
• Professor Ye reasoned that Ji Jue’s conversations with machines came from temporary pseudo-personalities formed when his Spiritual Substance combined with their accumulated history and impressions.
• Professor Ye handed Ji Jue a Devil-Crafted Ball to test, and it devoured his Spiritual Substance before refusing to respond to him.
• The Devil-Crafted Ball returned to Professor Ye, who explained that objects with inherent spirituality could resist his commands unless he could overwrite their underlying circuits.
• Professor Ye considered the far-reaching possibilities of Ji Jue’s ability and, with unsettling enthusiasm, told him his graduate courses would begin the next day.

Professor Ye used his influence to clear Ji Jue’s university procedures and urged him to earn an Artisan License before graduation, leaving Ji Jue overwhelmed by the challenge. At home, Ji Jue cared for the Dragon Blood-created Little Lamb, named it Little Cow and Horse against its protests, and found that his Watch Dial ability had still not progressed.

• Professor Ye arranged Ji Jue’s university paperwork and said the Taiyi Ring’s connection to the university would make an Artisan License valuable before graduation.
• Ji Jue struggled with the difficulty of the Artisan certification requirements, while Lu Ling happily described her plans to qualify as an accountant and help support the family.
• Ji Jue and Lu Ling joked together on the ride home, and Ji Jue noticed how brightly she smiled as they talked about their future.
• Ji Jue fed the Little Lamb a chicken leg and decided to keep its Dragon Blood-related nature secret, then named it Little Cow and Horse despite its angry protests.
• Ji Jue checked his Watch Dial before bed and found that its newly started [1] had not advanced for more than half a month.

Ji Jue accepted that his advancement as a Chosen One had stalled, but took comfort in his growing prospects as an Artisan under Professor Ye. Meanwhile, Jiang Jin ordered Qi Qin to investigate Ji Jue’s connection to Wen Wen, and Ji Jue began his first day as an alchemy apprentice doing hard labor.

• Ji Jue reflected on the ranks of Chosen Ones, his lack of a Matrix, and his stalled progress, then fell asleep feeling relieved that his life had improved since Lawrence’s death.
• Qi Qin told Jiang Jin that Ji Jue might be connected to Wen Wen and suggested they could be dating, prompting Jiang Jin to order an investigation and tell him to act if they found something.
• Qi Qin promised to investigate Ji Jue, but the chapter noted that tailing a student obsessed with academic work would lead to a punishing assignment.
• Ji Jue began his apprenticeship under Professor Ye, running errands for his senior and taking on hard labor.

Ji Jue began Alchemy training with Professor Ye’s vast collection of scrap and struggled through repeated failures while engraving emblems. Learning how difficult it was to remove Spiritual Substance after it fused with a material made him realize his watch’s ability to reverse Sin Corruption was extraordinary, and he asked Ye Chun whether she knew Sky Rail.

• Ye Chun showed Ji Jue the books and enormous warehouse of scrap that Professor Ye had prepared for his training, including a month-long assignment to engrave the Twelve Supreme Goodnesses’ emblems.
• Ji Jue studied Alchemy references and learned to use the workshop’s high-temperature reactor, but he struggled with the advanced equipment and the costly quality of the discarded materials.
• Ji Jue repeatedly failed to engrave a copper sheet, exhausting himself through Spiritual Substance conflicts and other technical mistakes.
• Ji Jue wondered whether he could extract Spiritual Substance before it caused a conflict, and Ye Chun explained that separating fused Spiritual Substance from a material was nearly impossible.
• Ji Jue realized his watch had somehow removed Sin Corruption and restored him, then asked Ye Chun if she knew Sky Rail; she said she did.

Ji Jue learned that Sky Rail Transportation Group had been bankrupt for over two centuries and decided he wanted nothing to do with it. After exhausting scraps in alchemy practice, he awakened an ability to absorb their Essence, experienced Professor Ye’s creation process, and successfully engraved his first Supreme Goodness Totem: Ascension.

• Ji Jue read about the five T5 companies and discovered that Sky Rail Transportation Group had gone bankrupt in 198 of the Calamity Era.
• Ji Jue dismissed his supposed employment with Sky Rail and spent the afternoon practicing alchemy with scrap copper.
• After his fifty-first failure, Ji Jue felt an intense hunger and discovered he could gather and absorb Spiritual Substance and Essence with his hand.
• Ji Jue experienced fifty-one rounds of processing from the perspectives of the copper fragment, Spiritual Substance, and Professor Ye as she created and dismantled a massive engine.
• Ji Jue used the experience to engrave his first successful Supreme Goodness Totem, Ascension, in a few seconds.

After gaining insight from Professor Ye’s work, Ji Jue practiced engraving Supreme Goodness Totems late into the night and discovered that absorbing the fragment’s essence had advanced his Watcher ability. He rushed back to the factory at dawn to grind for more, while Qi Qin continued following him in bafflement.

• Ji Jue used what he had learned from Professor Ye to attempt engraving Entropy’s Totem, then left the workshop after Ye Chun repeatedly urged him to go home.
• Ye Chun found more than twenty Ascension emblems on Ji Jue’s fragment, including Totems resembling her aunt’s style, and called Professor Ye, who told her to let him continue.
• Ji Jue noticed that the gold on his Watch Dial’s [1] had increased and realized his ability had grown after absorbing the fragment’s remaining essence and Spiritual Substance.
• Ji Jue decided the factory’s discarded materials could help him level up and eagerly headed back there at dawn.
• Qi Qin, exhausted from tailing Ji Jue, watched him return to the factory and wondered what he was doing so early.

After Ji Jue forged the Horde Totem, Ye Chun forced him to leave the workshop and rest. Meanwhile, Nightmare Demon entered Ji Jue’s dream to attack him, and the chapter ended as an overwhelming nightmare engulfed the sleeping Ji Jue.

• Ji Jue completed the Horde Totem after days of relentless work, then collapsed from prolonged Spiritual Substance deficiency.
• Ye Chun revived Ji Jue with a diluted potion and ordered him to rest, so he finally left the workshop and went home.
• Jiang Jin pressured the middle-aged watcher for information, and the watcher hired Nightmare Demon to investigate Ji Jue.
• Nightmare Demon entered the first-class lounge, let the Dream-Eating Tapir take control of his body, and prepared to enter Ji Jue’s dream.
• Ji Jue fell asleep before he could react, and an endless nightmare rose around him.

Ji Jue woke from a nightmare in which he beat the Nightmare Demon, only to discover the demon had trapped him in another dream. He exposed the false Wen Wen, and the Dream-Eating Tapir revealed itself as the nightmare began tearing through his memories.

• The Nightmare Demon entered Ji Jue's dream, but Ji Jue mistook him for a home intruder and beat him for damaging his refrigerator and stealing his chicken leg.
• The Nightmare Demon woke at the airport lounge with blood pouring from his face, then forced himself back into Ji Jue's dream to continue the attack.
• Ji Jue awoke beside an impostor posing as Wen Wen and struck her with an ashtray after noticing her cigarette and smile were wrong.
• Ji Jue identified the impostor's flaws and deduced that the creature feared facing Wen Wen.
• The Dream-Eating Tapir revealed its monstrous form and flooded Ji Jue's mind with painful memories and despair.

The Nightmare Demon trapped Ji Jue in memories of the Natural Disaster, but Ji Jue’s calm response let the disaster destroy the intruder. Ji Jue woke refreshed with his Watch Dial progress sharply increased, while Qi Qin and Jiang Jin suspected he had uncovered dangerous information and moved to capture him.

• The Nightmare Demon forced Ji Jue into his memories of the train disaster, but Ji Jue calmly reclaimed control of the dream and the Natural Disaster consumed the intruder.
• The Nightmare Demon died in an airport lounge, and a forensic doctor found his corpse twisted with terror and apparently burned.
• Ji Jue woke after a restful sleep to find his Watch Dial progress above fifty percent, then headed out to work without remembering his dream.
• Qi Qin saw Ji Jue alive and well, realized the Nightmare Demon had not replied to his messages, and suspected he had fled with valuable information.
• Jiang Jin ordered Qi Qin to capture Ji Jue and said he would contact the Chosen Ones from the Heart Pivot to investigate Ji Jue’s background.
• Qi Qin accepted the order and dialed another number.

Lu Feng gave Laila his inherited pistol and tried to return to a peaceful life, but learned that someone was targeting his brother. When Lu Ling was abducted, a monstrous creature hidden inside Ji Jue’s motorcycle attacked her captors, leaving Lu Feng to arrive at a scene of carnage.

• Lu Feng refused Laila’s offer to rejoin her group and handed her his pistol, but took it back after she warned that someone was investigating his brother.
• Lu Ling was seized at a farmer’s market by men pretending to be relatives, fought free, and escaped on Ji Jue’s motorcycle.
• The abductors cornered Lu Ling in an alley, beat her unconscious, and put her in their van.
• The motorcycle transformed into a fierce mechanical creature and savagely attacked the three abductors as they tried to carry Lu Ling away.
• Lu Feng arrived to find the men mutilated and the creature fawning beside his sister, hoping for a chicken leg.

After Lu Feng rescued Lu Ling from attackers, Ji Jue discovered the men had been targeting his family and found evidence of their crimes on their phones. Lu Feng killed one attacker, and Ji Jue took the other two to a seaside cliff, where they were left dangling above the water as he and Lu Feng watched.

• Lu Feng brought Lu Ling home after the calf-horse fought off the men who had tried to abduct her.
• Ji Jue left work and joined Lu Feng, who showed him the captured attackers tied up in the family vehicle.
• Ji Jue searched the attackers’ phones, uncovered evidence of their abuse and trafficking, and realized they had been targeting him and his family.
• Lu Feng shot one of the attackers, but Ji Jue stopped him from shooting another and drove the survivors to a seaside cliff.
• Ji Jue made the two surviving attackers jump, leaving them hanging from a pine tree over the cliff while he and Lu Feng watched and bet on how long they would last.

Lu Feng and Ji Jue armed themselves at Laila’s hidden armory, where Ji Jue found a seemingly unusable military assault rifle and prepared to examine it with his probe. After learning that Qi Qin’s men had captured Ji Jue and were taking him to the Office, the pair set off armed and ready to fight.

• Lu Feng brought Ji Jue to Laila’s Security Company to borrow guns, and Laila angrily gave them access to her hidden armory.
• Ji Jue sensed a powerful resonance from a Mammoth Type II Anchor Assault Rifle and borrowed it despite Laila’s warning that it was scrapped.
• Lu Feng and Ji Jue loaded up on weapons and ammunition, while Laila predicted Lu Feng would never give up guns.
• A phone call revealed that Qi Qin’s men had captured Ji Jue and planned to take him to the Office for their boss.
• Lu Feng checked their weapons, and he and Ji Jue sped toward the city, eager to confront Qi Qin’s men.

Jiang Jin prepared to hand Ji Jue over to his contacts, but Ji Jue and Lu Feng launched a violent attack on his office. The fight left Ming Yan advancing through Lu Feng’s gunfire, until Ji Jue announced that the plan was complete and Lu Feng dropped into a prone position.

• Jiang Jin learned that Ji Jue had been captured and arranged to transfer him to his contacts while telling Bai Yi to watch for trouble.
• Ji Jue’s van crashed through Jiang Jin’s office, killing Qi Qin, and Ji Jue announced that the Autobots had arrived.
• Lu Feng opened fire on Jiang Jin’s men and used Stun Grenades and a shotgun to hold back Ming Yan, whose body had become metal armor.
• Bai Yi summoned a Shadow Beast, but the Little Lamb transformed and attacked it, tearing into the creature with its Dragon Blood body.
• Ming Yan formed a shield and pushed toward Lu Feng, who lowered his shotgun and dropped into a prone position after Ji Jue said the plan was complete.

Ji Jue and Lu Feng defeated Jiang Jin’s men, but Yu Hanguang arrived and attacked them before Wen Wen’s hidden protection stopped his thunder. Wen Wen confronted Yu Hanguang over his presence in Beishan.

• Ji Jue used the Mammoth II Assault Rifle to kill Lu Feng and Ming Yan, while Bai Yi fled with Jiang Jin before the Shadow Beast stopped at a stranger’s boundary.
• Ji Jue recovered the weapon’s Spiritual Substance, and Lu Feng returned with Jiang Jin after Bai Yi escaped.
• Ji Jue taunted Jiang Jin and shot his limbs as he crawled toward the door, while Lu Feng joined in and prepared to shoot him in the head.
• Yu Hanguang arrived in a burst of lightning, caught Lu Feng’s bullet, and unleashed thunder at Ji Jue and Lu Feng.
• A crystal Stasis Zone stopped Yu Hanguang’s attack, and Wen Wen appeared to confront him about interfering in her Beishan jurisdiction.

The author reflected on the struggles and rewards of writing full-time as Above the Mandate of Heaven prepared to go on sale. The author invited readers to board the Doomsday Train and hoped they would enjoy the journey.

• The editor told the author that the book would go on sale at midnight.
• The author recalled writing difficulties and how old updates preserved memories of the past.
• The author reflected that writing brought happiness and helped support the author's family and care for Bai Ze and Duo Duo.
• The author resolved to keep writing even when inspiration was scarce.
• The author announced the launch of Above the Mandate of Heaven and invited readers to board the Doomsday Train.

Ji Jue helped Wen Wen expose Jiang Jin’s gang and force Yu Hanguang to retreat, but his confrontation with Yu left him in danger. Wen Wen claimed Ji Jue as her informant and promised to protect him, then took An Ran away to celebrate.

• Yu Hanguang tried to shield Jiang Jin by calling him an informant, but Ji Jue shot Jiang Jin and claimed to be an informant himself.
• Wen Wen presented evidence against Yu Hanguang, who refrained from attacking because she was there and Ji Jue held Jiang Jin’s phone.
• Wen Wen offered Yu Hanguang the captured Bai Yi, and Yu killed Bai Yi with invisible flames before leaving.
• Wen Wen warned Yu Hanguang not to harm Ji Jue, then told Ji Jue to report to North Mountain District as her informant.
• Wen Wen left with An Ran to celebrate, then learned Tong Hua had taught him a line to say and threatened to cancel her bonus.

Yu Hanguang tried to target Ji Jue through the Security Bureau, but Ye Xian stopped him with a warning that caused his Matrix to violently malfunction. Ji Jue apologized to Ye Xian for involving her in the conflict, and she then questioned him about the remarkable devices he had made.

• Yu Hanguang decided to use a report and planted suspicions to bring the Security Bureau down on Ji Jue.
• Ye Xian called Yu Hanguang and made his Matrix malfunction, leaving him terrified and unable to move.
• Ji Jue apologized to Ye Xian for the trouble caused by his actions, and she told him she had expected complications when she recruited him.
• Professor Ye inspected Ji Jue's work and asked about the repair tool bearing the Supreme Goodness Emblem.
• Professor Ye eagerly asked Ji Jue about the Animated Motorcycle that had confronted a Shadow Beast and suppressed it.

Professor Ye determined that Ji Jue had accidentally created a harmless, chicken-loving Abomination from precious Dragon Blood and warned him that other artisans might target him if they learned what he had done. She recognized that Ji Jue was a favored Chosen One facing a difficult path, then took him to class.

• Professor Ye examined Little Cow and Horse’s bizarre stunts and identified it as an abnormal Abomination fused with a Masterwork.
• Ji Jue admitted he had created it while terrified of dying and thinking about Lu Ma’s boiled chicken.
• Professor Ye explained that Ji Jue had wasted precious Dragon Blood on a useless creation and warned him to hide its origins to avoid a bounty on his head.
• Professor Ye reflected that Ji Jue was favored by Embers but would face severe trials if he failed to live up to that favor.
• Professor Ye told Ji Jue that a life of accomplishment awaited him and led him toward the furnace for class.

Ji Jue struggled through Professor Ye’s brutal training before receiving a day off and heading to the North Mountain District Security Bureau. An Ran led him into the bureau, where Tong Hua prepared to film his arrival, and the chapter ended as screams greeted them from the lobby.

• Ji Jue endured practical lessons analyzing the Mouth of the Ancient One and learned that unfamiliar alchemical items could conceal deadly dangers.
• Ye Chun gave Ji Jue a day off while Professor Ye went out, and Ji Jue set off for the Security Bureau with Little Cow and Horse.
• Ji Jue met An Ran outside a shopping mall and followed him to the North Mountain District Security Bureau’s private floor.
• An Ran explained that Wen Wen had chosen a lively place to improve Ji Jue’s mood and guided him toward the lobby.
• Tong Hua began recording, eager to capture Ji Jue performing his famous lines, just as screams rang out from the lobby.