Chapter Summaries

Ji Jue and Tong Hua fled Herbert, a Chosen One from The Horde who had begun to aberrate and attacked them with overwhelming strength. Just as Herbert was about to catch them, Ji Jue called for Little An, who struck him from afar.

• Ji Jue saw Herbert emerge from the residential complex in a blood-soaked, crazed state and fired at him, drawing his attention.
• Herbert charged at Ji Jue and Tong Hua, forcing Ji Jue to use his ring, mercury, and Little Cow and Horse to pull them out of the attack.
• Tong Hua blocked Herbert’s thrown sword with a barrier and recognized that he was aberrating after losing control of his Blessings.
• Ji Jue identified Herbert as a sixth-rank Chosen One from The Horde and tried to slow him with rifle fire, but Herbert cut apart or caught every bullet.
• With Herbert closing in, Ji Jue called for Little An, who struck Herbert in the skull from a nearby signal tower.

Ji Jue and Little An killed the mutated Great Swarm Chosen One, while Lao Zhang helped conceal evidence that someone had deliberately triggered his aberration. As the Security Bureau covered up the scene, Lei Yaoxing welcomed Chen Xingzhou to a negotiation at Bright Moon Pavilion and shot him upon arrival, igniting a new crisis.

• Little An attacked Herbert with a storm of iron shards, but Herbert regenerated through the Iron Guard Matrix and continued fighting.
• Ji Jue used a succession of vehicles and a tanker truck to blast Herbert, then aimed a machine gun at the flames until Herbert staggered out and died.
• Tong Hua examined Herbert and discovered that a Heart Pivot Blessing had tampered with his memories and accelerated his aberration; Lao Zhang ordered the team to conceal the findings and remove useful evidence.
• Ji Jue and Tong Hua helped erase the scene’s records while Lao Zhang arranged for the incident to be reported as a routine fight with roaming criminals.
• At Bright Moon Pavilion, Lei Yaoxing greeted Chen Xingzhou and walked with him into the banquet, then shot him in the chest as guests looked on.

After Lei Yaoxing’s dinner ended in violence, Ji Jue worried about Chen Yu Bo’s safety and returned to his Workshop with a newly extracted Blessing. He found Chen Yu Bo shivering in a garbage bin outside his home.

• Fourth was killed after leaving Lei Yaoxing’s dinner, deepening the turmoil in Yacheng and turning suspicion toward Lei Yaoxing.
• Ji Jue and Wen Wen discussed the deaths, the civil war’s effects on the major organizations, and Chen Yu Bo’s danger after Chen Xingzhou was gravely injured.
• Ji Jue returned to the Workshop, extracted the Blessing [Anticipate the Enemy's First Move], and decided to save it for future use.
• Ji Jue heard someone calling his name outside his home, drew his gun, and discovered Chen Yu Bo hiding in a garbage bin.

After Chen Xingzhou was shot and left near death, Chen Yu Bo sought Ji Jue’s help while fleeing the people who wanted his inheritance. Ji Jue proposed donating the fortune to the Chongguang Church in exchange for protection, and Wen Wen said they could try to keep him alive until then.

• Wen Wen and the others rushed to Ji Jue’s home after his late-night call and found Chen Yu Bo hiding there with his cats, Sheriff and A Fu.
• Chen Yu Bo told Ji Jue that Chen Xingzhou was still being resuscitated after being shot with a cursed bullet, and that he had fled the hospital as instructed.
• Tong Hua revealed that Chen Xingzhou’s lawyer had died and that his notarized will left his vast fortune to Chen Yu Bo, making him a target.
• When Chen Yu Bo refused to surrender the inheritance to Lei Yaoxing, Ji Jue suggested donating it to the Chongguang Church and converting in exchange for its protection.
• Chen Yu Bo agreed to give away the fortune, and Ji Jue decided to hide and protect him until he could sever ties with Wild Bazaar.
• Wen Wen said the group could try to keep Chen Yu Bo safe through the dangerous interim period.

Wen Wen arranged protection for Ji Jue and Chen Yu Bo, gave Ji Jue Minerva’s blessing, and revealed that she was still suffering from wounds inflicted by the Celestials. As Lei Yaoxing prepared to fight for control of Wild Bazaar, Ji Jue learned the danger of the task and abruptly reconsidered helping Chen Yu Bo.

• Wen Wen advised Chen Yu Bo to contact Uncle Lin and arranged for Little An to protect Ji Jue while White Deer stayed out of the conflict.
• Wen Wen punched Ji Jue and placed Minerva’s blessing on his abdomen, then sent him off with the Sword of Minerva.
• Uncle Lin arrived to collect Chen Yu Bo, while Wen Wen collapsed coughing blood and Lao Zhang treated her injuries from the Celestials.
• Lei Yaoxing ordered his people to watch Chen Xingzhou and Chen Yu Bo, then commanded them to fight their rivals until they surrendered or died.
• Ji Jue saw the violence awaiting him and decided that Chen Yu Bo’s troubles were not worth risking his life over.

Ji Jue agreed to protect Chen Yu Bo at the villa while the Wild Bazaar conflict erupted across Yacheng, and he reflected on how ambition drew people into danger. The next day, an alchemical Crystal Ball revealed that at least eleven Aether Chosen Ones were tracking Chen Yu Bo.

• Ji Jue persuaded Chen Yu Bo to stay in the villa under his protection and arranged a week's leave from Professor Ye, who sent him a large stack of reading assignments.
• That night, Ji Jue saw visions of White Deer and Superior Virtue before falling asleep, while Little An wondered why the wilderness aura had appeared and vanished so quickly.
• The next morning, Ji Jue reviewed reports of bloody clashes across Yacheng, including the death of Old Seven, as Lei Yaoxing launched an all-out war against his rivals.
• Uncle Lin returned with an alchemical Crystal Ball that showed at least eleven Aether Chosen Ones were tracking Chen Yu Bo.

Ji Jue attended a meeting with Chen Yu Bo’s remaining allies and used Deus Ex Machina to expose the traitors among them. The chapter ended with Xu Jun holding a gun to Chen Yu Bo’s forehead as Uncle Lin faced the betrayal.

• Uncle Lin explained that the estate’s Mist Ritual blocked most Aether readings, while Ji Jue found that three Aether Chosen were watching him.
• Gold Hair mistakenly approached Ji Jue as a fellow South Mountain Road gang member before joining the meeting about Chen Yu Bo’s condition.
• Uncle Lin offered to release anyone who wanted to leave, and six Chosen Ones and several business managers departed.
• Ji Jue identified two men as traitors after their phones rang, and Uncle Lin killed Seventeen.
• Ji Jue revealed that Deus Ex Machina had let him monitor the villa’s communications and discover the plot to seize Chen Xingzhou’s inheritance.
• Xu Jun drew a gun and pressed it to Chen Yu Bo’s forehead as Uncle Lin looked at him coldly.

Ji Jue helped Old Lin expose and punish the men who betrayed Chen Xingzhou, then watched Old Lin rally the remaining crew and prepare defenses for Chen Yu Bo. Old Lin later revealed that Chen Xingzhou was still alive after receiving the Myriad Spirit Elixir, though he might never recover, and said the coming crisis would test whether Chen Xingzhou could reclaim control of his life.

• Old Lin killed Xu Jun after his gun jammed, then retrieved a camera and phone from a nearby spy and rewarded the crew members who stayed loyal.
• Ji Jue questioned Old Lin’s methods and the crew’s prospects, while Old Lin arranged for the mercenary Old Tang to guard Chen Yu Bo.
• Old Tang recognized Little An as a boy from the An Family, then joined the group and received weapons and equipment along with the other defenders.
• Old Lin gave Ji Jue a fully equipped workshop and promised to keep him out of danger, while Ji Jue pressed him about his motives and Old Lin said he wanted things to have a proper beginning and end.
• Old Lin met a doctor at a remote dock, paid him double, and learned that Chen Xingzhou had survived the Myriad Spirit Elixir but might remain a vegetable.
• Old Lin sent the doctor to Tide City and said Chen Xingzhou had to live long enough to prove he could keep his life in his own hands.

Ji Jue and his allies repelled a gang of attackers targeting Chen Yu Bo, then learned that Lei Yaoxing was watching them. As violence and outside forces engulfed Yacheng, Ji Jue suspected Chen Xingzhou was central to the tangled events and learned that a makeshift Powered Armor had appeared in the city.

• Old Tang buried the attackers killed in earlier raids while Ji Jue warned him that another group, including a Chosen One, was approaching.
• Zhong Naohai led a convoy toward the villa to kidnap Chen Yu Bo, but Ji Jue and Little An used a sniper rifle to kill several attackers and drive the others into retreat.
• Old Tang ambushed the fleeing convoy with his swords, killed the gang, and brought the Chosen One's corpse back at Ji Jue's request.
• Ji Jue discovered that Lei Yaoxing's observer had been transmitting reports and photos from the mountain opposite the villa, but chose not to confront him.
• Ji Jue considered Chen Xingzhou's possible role as Yacheng's factions and foreign Chosen Ones escalated their conflict, and he learned that a makeshift Powered Armor had appeared openly in the city.

Ji Jue protected Chen Yu Bo by arranging for him to donate his inheritance, then crafted bullets infused with fiend-mutated Spirit Essence for their visitors. The chapter left Ji Jue preparing for a confrontation while Chen Xingzhou began to stir in the hospital and a nurse’s cart left a trail of crimson marks.

• The military killed the Power Armor rebel under a kill-on-sight order, while Tong Shan and Lu Shenzhou reacted angrily to the escalating shadow war.
• Ji Jue explained to Little An that Chen Yu Bo needed to donate his entire inheritance so no one would suspect he had hidden money, and he promised to help Little An in the future.
• Ji Jue processed a bullet with Spirit Essence and reassured Little An when he said he could no longer help with sword qi.
• Ji Jue used Cousin and Non-Aggression to extract fiend-mutated Spirit Essence from the Chosen One’s remains and refine it into crimson material associated with Mad Slaughter.
• Ji Jue filled bullet heads with the crimson material and called them gifts for their visitors; Little An felt a chill when he examined them.
• Chen Xingzhou’s fingers twitched and slowly clenched in the hospital as a nurse pushed a cart that left crimson tracks on the floor.

Lei Yaoxing broke the remaining rules and ordered the deaths of Chen Xingzhou and everyone connected to him, unleashing violence across the regions. As his forces attacked Ji Jue’s villa, another assassin struck at Chen Xingzhou in the hospital, where the unconscious patient unexpectedly fought back.

• Lei Yaoxing killed Little Ye after learning that the young man blamed him for his father’s death and an old shipwreck.
• Lei Yaoxing identified Chen Xingzhou as a source of the chaos and ordered his men to kill Chen Xingzhou, his younger brother, and their associates.
• Gloria warned Ji Jue that a dangerous force was approaching, and Ji Jue recognized that a teleportation gate was about to open at the villa.
• An emaciated old man led Lei Yaoxing’s attackers through the gate, and they charged into the villa courtyard as a landmine went off.
• At Jici Hospital, Chen Xingzhou seized an assassin disguised as a nurse before she pulled out a dagger and stabbed him repeatedly.

As attackers led by Jin Wujiu stormed Chen Yu Bo’s villa, Ji Jue used traps, a concealed safe room, and improvised weapons to defend the household. After killing a Horde Chosen One and eliminating a special operations squad with automated guns, Ji Jue activated Extermination Mode as the assault continued.

• Jin Wujiu triggered the villa’s mines and led attackers through the ruined defenses while Ji Jue learned that communications were cut and more than forty enemies had entered.
• Old Tang secured Chen Yu Bo and A Yi in a concealed safe room, while Ji Jue encountered a Horde Chosen One in the garage and stairwell.
• Little An ambushed the Horde Chosen One, and Ji Jue killed him with armor-piercing and Calamity Poison bullets before secretly preserving the corpse.
• Ji Jue used automated weapons hidden throughout the villa to kill a masked special operations squad searching the corridors.
• Ji Jue ordered the server to maximize efficiency and activate Extermination Mode.

Ji Jue fought off the invading Chosen Ones with the villa’s hidden weapons, explosives, and the heavily armored Little Cow and Horse, while Jin Wujiu unleashed the Soul Calling Bell. Ji Jue fed the summoned spirits to his machine-beast to sustain its fight against Centaur, but Little An had gone silent in the darkness.

• Ji Jue activated the villa’s concealed gun platforms, killing and injuring the Intruders before Jin Wujiu’s electromagnetic pulse disabled the machinery.
• Centaur transformed and chased Gold Hair Boy through the villa, where Ji Jue used mines and explosives to injure him.
• Little Cow and Horse burst through a wall and attacked Centaur, beginning a brutal struggle as Ji Jue supported it with gunfire.
• Jin Wujiu rang the Soul Calling Bell twice, summoning the dead and driving their spirits into a frenzy throughout the villa.
• Ji Jue captured the spirits and fed their Spiritual Substance to Little Cow and Horse, using Gold Hair Boy as bait to gather more.
• As Little Cow and Horse grew stronger against Centaur, Ji Jue realized Little An had stopped providing support.

Little An and Blood Slaughter began a sacred duel while the villa’s defenders fought for survival. Ji Jue subdued the centaur and stopped his self-destruction by seizing his heart and suppressing the Spiritual Substance within him.

• Little An struck Blood Slaughter with the Edge of Flying Light, then removed his prosthetic and challenged him to a sacred hunt in the White Deer’s name.
• Old Tang struggled against the Ghoul Brothers’ endless clones until he summoned Fourth Grand Uncle, who joined him through Matrix: Asura and launched a counterattack.
• A Yi’s illusion briefly failed as lingering spirits entered the safe room, but the shadows of Chen Yu Bo’s cats erased them.
• Ji Jue and Little Cow and Horse battered the centaur, whose regeneration slowed as the machine consumed his blood and transformed further.
• Ji Jue pinned the centaur down as he tried to turn himself into a bomb, then reached into his body and stopped the impending explosion by gripping his heart.

Ji Jue destroyed the centaur’s Matrix and fed its heart to Little Cow and Horse before his battle against Jin Wujiu unleashed Minerva’s overwhelming power. The villa’s attackers were wiped out, and Gold Hair Boy unexpectedly received a Superior Virtue Blessing.

• Ji Jue used Disintegration Art and Non-Aggression to shatter the centaur’s Matrix, harvest its essence, and give its heart to Little Cow and Horse.
• Asura and Fourth Grand Uncle killed the Ghoul Brothers, while Jin Wujiu summoned a vast storm of lightning to destroy the villa.
• Ji Jue tried to stop Jin Wujiu by unsealing Minerva’s blessing, but he became a crystalline statue as its power awakened.
• Minerva’s power froze the storm and disintegrated Jin Wujiu and his forces, leaving the villa’s attackers dead.
• Gold Hair Boy celebrated and received a Superior Virtue Blessing, shocking Ji Jue.

After the villa battle, Ji Jue collected the attackers’ remains and checked on Little An, only to reveal that he suspected the boy was an impostor. The impostor escaped his restraint and effortlessly stopped Ji Jue’s bullets, then asked how he had been exposed.

• The White Deer’s phantom appeared after the battle, approached Ji Jue, and left without giving him a Blessing.
• Old Tang scolded Ji Jue for showing no interest in the White Deer, while Little An agreed with him.
• Ji Jue salvaged useful alchemical materials and a battered bell from the villa, then left Chen Yu Bo in the safehouse until dawn.
• Ji Jue treated Little An’s neck wound, restrained him, and demanded to know who he was and what he had done to his friend.
• The impostor broke free, dodged Ji Jue’s attack, and caught all eight bullets before asking how Ji Jue had recognized him.

Ji Jue exposed the person impersonating Little An as her older sister, An Ning, who revealed that she had grown fond of him before leaving. After confirming the real Little An was safe, Ji Jue was left stunned by the night's revelations.

• Ji Jue identified the corpse in the pond as Blood Slaughter and realized the person posing as Little An had never used a Matrix.
• Ji Jue confronted the impostor, revealed that he had trapped the room with explosives, and demanded to know where Little An had gone.
• The impostor kissed Ji Jue, then revealed herself as An Ning, Little An's older sister, and confessed that she was starting to like him.
• An Ning explained that she had taken An Ran's appearance while visiting her younger brother, then left through the moonlit night.
• Ji Jue messaged Lao Zhang and learned he had known about An Ning, then contacted Little An and confirmed she was safe.

An Ning returned and tried to win Ji Jue over with money, prompting An Ran to resolve to protect him from her sister’s plans. Meanwhile, Chen Xingzhou survived the hospital battle and left with his subordinates as Lei Wuye died, bringing the Long Night to an end at dawn.

• An Ning defeated An Ran in their apartment and declared that she would win Ji Jue over by giving him money, but their father refused to fund her plan to buy a sports car factory.
• An Ran decided to work and earn money to protect Brother Ji Jue from An Ning’s wealthy advances.
• Old Lin reached Jici Hospital and found Chen Xingzhou alive after his surgery, though both men were badly injured and the hospital corridor was strewn with corpses.
• Old Lin gave Chen Xingzhou medicine, and Chen Xingzhou recovered enough to leave in a wheelchair with his waiting subordinates to visit old friends.
• Lei Yaoxing learned that Jin Wujiu’s and Li Wentong’s teams had been wiped out and Chen Xingzhou had disappeared, then received Lei Wuye’s death certificate and ordered the funeral.
• After a sudden storm, dawn broke over the bloodstained city, ending the long night.

Ji Jue and Chen Yu Bo attended Lei Wuye’s funeral, which brought together factions from Yacheng’s Wild Bazaar. The arrival of a Chongguang Church elder who chose to stay suggested the church might become involved in the struggle.

• Old Tang received Lei Yaoxing’s funeral notice for Lei Wuye, and Ji Jue realized the funeral could decide the future of Yacheng’s Wild Bazaar.
• Wen Wen told Ji Jue that the conflict was already over and suggested he bring Chen Yu Bo to the funeral.
• Ji Jue, Chen Yu Bo, and Old Tang arrived at the funeral, where Lei Yaoxing greeted Chen Yu Bo without acknowledging Ji Jue or Old Tang.
• Ji Jue watched Wild Bazaar factions gather while many prominent guests paid their respects and left.
• Ji Jue spotted a Chongguang Church vehicle, and an elder from the church arrived, paid his respects, and chose to sit among the gathered factions.

A procession of Yacheng’s powerful figures attended Lei Wuye’s funeral, turning it into a gathering that seemed to foreshadow a reckoning over the shadow war. Chen Xingzhou arrived last and calmly confronted Lei Yaoxing, while the hall fell silent.

• Tong Shengnian, representatives of the Taiyi Ring, and other Yacheng officials and organizations arrived to pay their respects and took seats at the back of the hall.
• Tong Shan introduced himself to Ji Jue, offered him a place in the Security Bureau, and gave him a business card after Ji Jue declined for the time being.
• Tong Ting arrived as a representative of Yacheng’s Aether Chosen and greeted Ji Jue, while the growing crowd filled the Farewell Hall.
• Lei Yaoxing signaled that no more guests would be received as the final visitor arrived.
• Chen Xingzhou arrived in a wheelchair with an elderly one-armed man, and he greeted Lei Yaoxing as Chen Yu Bo watched from the back.