Recaps

Fu Qian learned that the Clown had manipulated A'wei into acting as the Death Angel, hoping to unravel Ji Feng’s will. Though the Clown’s plan had made little progress, he challenged Fu Qian to bet on what would happen next.

• The Clown explained that he had posed as the mastermind behind A'wei, feeding him false revelations and guiding his actions.
• The Clown revealed that A'wei had received no revelation and had simply arrived lucid alongside Sophia.
• Fu Qian realized the Clown was only an Intermediate Tier Transcendent, which had helped him seem harmless to A'wei.
• The Clown admitted that his attempt to uncover Ji Feng’s will had left him disappointed, as the situation remained unchanged.
• The Clown invited Fu Qian, whom he called Green Ballard, to bet on what would happen in the next five counts.

Fu Qian accepted Clown’s bet as Eternal Night neared its threshold, and Clown revealed Akasha, Crystal, and Amber trapped together inside the surprise box. Clown proposed betting on which of Crystal and Amber Akasha would help take control.

• Clown stopped A'wei’s move and challenged Fu Qian to a bet as Eternal Night approached its critical point.
• Fu Qian stood up, and Clown opened the surprise box to reveal a miniature building containing Akasha and Crystal.
• Fu Qian recognized Amber inside the box with Akasha and Crystal, whom Clown had captured for the bet.
• Clown explained that Crystal and Amber’s encounter would make one of them take the lead, then asked Fu Qian to bet on which one Akasha would help.

Fu Qian questioned the Clown about Akasha’s place on the team of masterminds, learning that Unseen Hill itself had wanted her to join. As Crystal, Amber, and Akasha debated why they had been gathered together, Fu Qian accepted the Clown’s admission that he would cheat and chose Amber.

• Fu Qian questioned the Clown about Akasha’s weaknesses and why he had recommended her to the team.
• The Clown said A’wei had chosen Akasha because she was a demigod who had once been close to Fu Qian, but he had recommended her because Unseen Hill’s will wanted her to join.
• Akasha said she only wanted to escape, while Crystal and Amber debated whether their gathering and immunity from the surrounding influence were coincidental.
• Amber said Ballard made her uneasy and that she felt watched, while Crystal wondered whether Akasha and the Queen knew more than they let on.
• The Clown admitted that he would cheat in the wager, and Fu Qian chose Amber.

Fu Qian confronted the clown as Akasha’s choices left Crystal and Amber gravely wounded, while the clown revealed his growing connection to Ji Feng’s will and began a countdown to eternal darkness. Fu Qian struck him with accumulated calamity, completed the containment mission, and left the larger mission summary for later.

• Akasha refused Amber’s suggestion to keep hiding, and Amber and Crystal both insisted that hiding was impossible.
• Fu Qian chose Crystal in the clown’s contest and explained that he was trying to keep the place lit, while the clown speculated about Fu Qian’s connection to Green Ballard and declared him the loser.
• Akasha’s choice left Crystal’s chest wound exposed and also caused wounds to appear on Amber; Fu Qian explained that Akasha wanted to control Crystal as the Spider Silk Queen.
• The clown admitted he had manipulated the outcome, opened a tear into deeper darkness, and began a countdown as he felt Ji Feng’s will more strongly.
• Fu Qian’s accumulated calamity erupted in Golden Flames and swallowed the clown, and the mission prompt confirmed that No. 1-093 had been contained successfully.

Fu Qian killed the Joker with the Mechanical King of Prison Break’s calamity eye, ending The Darkest Night as Ji Feng’s effort to preserve the Joker failed. Back in the Warehouse, Fu Qian considered how his choices had fulfilled the mission without destroying Ji Feng’s rational side, then waited for the delayed evaluation.

• Fu Qian unleashed the calamity eye and burned the Joker away, while Ji Feng’s will briefly kept the Joker’s shape and laughter alive.
• The Spider Silk Queen fled the bet, leaving the game apparently drawn as the darkness tore open and daylight appeared.
• Fu Qian concluded that Ji Feng had caused Eternal Night and that the Joker’s death severed the link between Ji Feng’s obsession and The Darkest Night.
• Fu Qian reflected that he could have destroyed Unseen Hill outright but had instead let events develop until killing the Joker completed the mission.
• Fu Qian waited in the Warehouse for the mission evaluation, which appeared under the heading “Dark Knight.”

Fu Qian analyzed the Warehouse’s mission recap and concluded that Ji Feng’s divided selves represented opposing beliefs about whether the apocalypse had already happened. He left wondering why the Warehouse favored one side and whether the Yuan Clan or the Ji Clan descended from Ji Feng.

• The Warehouse’s recap reported that Ji Feng had been pulled back into the Unseen Hill’s clamor, listed Fu Qian’s kills, and awarded him sanity points and Finger Guess.
• Fu Qian interpreted the recap as evidence that Ji Feng’s self-doubt had split him into two identities, with the Mother of Gospel influencing the division.
• Fu Qian reasoned that the Clown had rallied demigods toward darkness while the Warehouse intervened to stop the Ji Feng beyond the door from gaining the upper hand.
• Fu Qian questioned whether the apocalypse had truly arrived nineteen years earlier and considered investigating which clan counted as Ji Feng’s descendants.

After reflecting on the mission’s revelations about Ji Feng, Yuan Fang, and Akasha, Fu Qian investigated why his kills had earned no extra Sanity Value and considered what the resource meant. He then received Finger Guess, a new form of his Law Remnants that caused supernatural bloodlines to mutate and produce offspring.

• Fu Qian considered whether the Ji and Yuan Clans’ connection to Ji Feng’s opposing personalities could reveal the apocalypse’s nature through a paternity test.
• Fu Qian reflected on the Joker’s death, the future appearance of a new Joker, and Akasha’s possible role as a clue left by the Old Man.
• Fu Qian wondered why his four kills, including several demigods, had awarded no Sanity Value beyond the base twenty.
• Fu Qian compared Sanity Value to experience, time-travel tickets, and a shield for his willpower, but reached no definite conclusion about its nature.
• Fu Qian received Finger Guess, a new Law Remnants form that created a Scarlet Storm and caused strong supernatural bloodlines within it to mutate and erupt as offspring.

Fu Qian examined the Bloodline Curse reward and connected its effects to Ji Feng’s possible mastery of the Authority of Blood Order. He suspected Ji Feng had used bloodline power to preserve a warning for descendants in the Warehouse, then left Unseen Hill with the message about the Sea of Ashes in mind.

• Fu Qian realized the Bloodline Curse could continually rearrange supernatural blood ties, ravaging those caught in its changing network.
• Fu Qian linked the reward to Ji Feng and the Authority of Blood Order, recalling similar transformations at Ermu Mansion Palace and among the Larrea family.
• Fu Qian theorized that Ji Feng had defined the Ji Clan and perhaps the Yuan Clan as his offspring through bloodline power.
• Fu Qian connected Ji Feng’s possible use of bloodline power to the Bronze Headband, suspecting it preserved a warning for future generations in the Warehouse.
• Fu Qian considered testing the headband on another Ji Clan member, then received the prompt that his mission was complete and he could leave the Warehouse.

Fu Qian tested Scarlet Storm in the warehouse and compared the symbolic brains in boxes 1-039 and 1-093. Their differences led him to wonder whether ideas from Ji Feng’s mind had seeped beyond Unseen Hill and shaped Bookstore World.

• Fu Qian activated Scarlet Storm and found that it caused no reaction in the quiet warehouse or its contained objects.
• Fu Qian opened box 1-039 and found a plump human brain floating in clear liquid.
• Fu Qian opened box 1-093 and found a shrunken, dark-gray brain, concluding that the two brains symbolized different stages or qualities of Old Master Ji.
• Fu Qian inferred that the warehouse’s item numbers carried symbolic meaning and considered whether the numbers might correspond to the objects’ properties.
• Fu Qian connected the brains to his theory that elements from Ji Feng’s mind had influenced Unseen Hill, then wondered whether filtered thoughts had spread as memetic contamination and shaped Bookstore World.

Fu Qian considered how Ji Feng’s powers might have subtly influenced the Bookstore World and wondered whether the Warehouse or a mission was behind it. He returned to Professor Lisha, discussed Cas’s troubling situation, and the chapter ended when Cas arrived at the laboratory.

• Fu Qian speculated that Ji Feng’s abilities could have shaped the human world and wondered whether the Warehouse was involved.
• Fu Qian put the boxes back, dispelled the Scarlet Storm, and returned to the laboratory, where Professor Lisha had made tea.
• Professor Lisha asked whether Cas’s condition might be more serious, and Fu Qian admitted he knew only part of what was happening and had been suffering visions and auditory hallucinations.
• Fu Qian told Professor Lisha they might have to wait longer if Cas’s situation was serious.
• Cas opened the laboratory door, thanked them, and looked toward Fu Qian.

Dean Cas recovered after attempting to resolve the Hidden Dangers left by an old ritual, though the attempt also affected Lisha. After explaining what happened, Cas asked Fu Qian what might have caused the problem.

• Cas arrived and joined Fu Qian and Lisha for tea, saying he was feeling much better.
• Fu Qian assessed Cas’s condition as greatly improved, and Cas said he had resolved some of the Hidden Dangers.
• Lisha criticized Cas for not warning her and reminded him that his condition had affected her too.
• Cas explained that an old ritual had left Hidden Dangers, and that his recent attempt to address them had unexpectedly affected Lisha.
• Cas asked Fu Qian what might have caused the incident.

Fu Qian learned that Cas had rushed his ascent to demigod after the academy’s strength collapsed, leaving him with a Hidden Danger that prevented him from using his Mythical Form. Cas revealed that changing back from that form was agonizing, and Fu Qian wondered whether it transformed Cas’s will as well as his body.

• Fu Qian concluded that Professor Lisha had been innocent and understood that Cas had gathered resources to treat the Hidden Danger from his ascension.
• Cas explained that the academy had needed a new demigod after its losses to deter enemies and quiet suspicions that the Night Watchers were responsible.
• Fu Qian asked about Cas’s Hidden Danger, and Cas said he could fully transform into his Mythical Form but could not use it.
• Cas showed Fu Qian the serpent-like scales covering his arm and explained that he could change back freely, but the process was agonizing.
• Fu Qian speculated that Cas’s Mythical Form altered his will, making him instinctively resist returning to human form.

Fu Qian discussed Cas’s Mythical Form and the danger that it might have trapped Cas in a perfect state that concealed his true thoughts. Cas explained why he kept risking the change, and Fu Qian began explaining the strange properties around the Academy by naming their conceptual core: Meria.

• Cas told Fu Qian that Mythical Form made him feel like a perfect version of himself but blurred his path to further progress, even after he deactivated it.
• Fu Qian and Lisha considered whether Cas’s apparent well-being was genuine or a disguise caused by his consciousness losing control, and Cas said that continuing to pretend would make no difference.
• Cas said he kept trying to overcome the Hidden Danger because the Academy might need a Second Order, he wanted to see what lay beyond the next step, and he believed that state could help him deal with the Sea of Ashes.
• Cas praised Fu Qian’s achievements and said he might be better suited to lead the Academy, and Fu Qian agreed to do his best.
• Fu Qian said the unusual properties around the Academy had strengthened some miracles and identified their conceptual core as Meria.

Fu Qian told Cas about Meria and discussed the clues linking her to the Academy, then learned that Nepheli had obtained Kalaodola’s flesh shortly before leaving. He turned to Cas’s predicament and began using the Return Edict to investigate it.

• Fu Qian explained to Cas that Meria might have been an ancient Higher Being connected to life and possibly to the Academy.
• Fu Qian told Cas that Professor A Kai had reached the high ranks, becoming a new demigod of the Institute of Curses, and that A Kai and Professor Rob would conduct related research.
• Cas praised Nepheli’s talent and revealed that he had once taken her to obtain a sample of Kalaodola’s flesh shortly before she left the Academy.
• Fu Qian promised to share any discoveries about Kalaodola, then told Cas that Professor Lisha should keep her distance while he tried to address Cas’s predicament.
• Cas sent Lisha outside, and Fu Qian activated the Return Edict.

Fu Qian used the Return Edict to examine Cas’s complete Mythical Form and concluded that no outside influence was interfering with him. Cas thanked Fu Qian and relayed Weilong’s message that the Spirit Ashes would open their collection to the Apocalypse and honor Wen Li without asking her to join them.

• Fu Qian asked Cas to reveal his complete Mythical Form, then used the Return Edict to help him maintain it.
• Cas transformed into a figure made of linked, tail-biting serpents and confirmed that he could still speak and felt well.
• Fu Qian ended the assessment, saying he had no further way to disprove that Cas was unaffected by outside influence.
• Cas returned to human form, thanked Fu Qian, and said Weilong had visited to convey the Spirit Ashes’ gratitude.
• Cas told Fu Qian that the Spirit Ashes would let Apocalypse mentors apply to use their collection and would treat Wen Li as an honored guest without asking her to join.

Fu Qian explained to Cas how Wen Li had risked herself to help Spirit Ash uncover and eliminate its Hidden Danger, and Cas thanked them both. After asking Apocalypse for a merfolk-luring item, Fu Qian proposed an evening department outing to Ji Liushuang.

• Fu Qian explained that Old Man Weilong had realized Wen Li had served as bait and that Spirit Ash owed her a debt.
• Cas praised Wen Li's courage, thanked Fu Qian and Wen Li, and offered to find Wen Li a suitable reward.
• Fu Qian asked Cas whether Apocalypse had a finished item for luring merfolk, and Cas agreed to arrange one.
• Cas left to speak with Professor Lisha, and Ji Liushuang returned to Fu Qian.
• Fu Qian suggested they go on an evening department outing.

Fu Qian brought his department colleagues to a bar for an outing, where Professor Lanaia reluctantly agreed to pay for the meal. The group relaxed over food and drinks, while Fu Qian’s unusual interaction with Sunny left Lanaia puzzled.

• Fu Qian gathered Liu Shuang, Wen Li, and Professor Lisha for a department outing and joined Professor Lanaia at the bar.
• Lanaia complained that the academy’s growing number of talented Transcendents had made her work as head of the Department of Punishment more complicated.
• After Fu Qian’s offer to pay alarmed her, Lanaia agreed to cover the meal in exchange for a quiet evening.
• Liu Shuang helped Wen Li choose food, while Lisha studied the bar and ordered fish.
• Sunny nervously offered lighter drinks, and Fu Qian agreed to let the group try them.
• Lanaia questioned Fu Qian’s treatment of Sunny, and he said he was checking whether the research assistant was old enough to drink.

Fu Qian recognized that Sunny’s touch had connected him to the Dragon King, who was using Scarlet Fever to corrupt or possess him. He let the corruption deepen and sensed a possible link to the Tyrant’s severed body parts, then welcomed the extra minutes he had to experience.

• Professor Lanaia challenged Fu Qian’s excuse for ordering alcohol, and Lisha asked what the expedition tool was for.
• Sunny brought the drinks, accidentally knocked over the bottle, and touched Fu Qian while steadying it.
• Fu Qian recognized the signs of Scarlet Fever and realized the Dragon King had controlled Sunny and used her touch to connect with him.
• Fu Qian let the corruption spread and sensed that it affected his torso and chest differently from his limbs, suggesting a connection to the Tyrant’s severed body parts.
• Ji Liushuang asked whether Fu Qian was old enough to drink, and Fu Qian said he was older than her before the alcohol’s scent gave way to a familiar line.

After the department gathering, Fu Qian went to Sunny’s home and found a mysterious message from Lord Kelson inviting him to Moore. He prepared to leave for the Sea of Ashes with the invitation in mind.

• Fu Qian ordered drinks for the group and heard Professor Lisha ask whether he was preparing for an expedition.
• After the gathering, Fu Qian told Wen Li she might receive a material reward for helping cooperation between the departments.
• Fu Qian left the others and arrived at Sunny’s home, where he searched for a message from Lord Kelson.
• Fu Qian found an ink mark in one of Sunny’s books that spelled out Moore and recognized it as Lord Kelson’s invitation.

Fu Qian discovered that Sir Kelson had left a message inviting Old Master Lu to meet in Moor, and he decided to investigate. After arriving on a fieldwork route, he found another blank invitation from Yuan Shan and headed out to visit her.

• Fu Qian reasoned that Kelson had left a message for Old Master Lu in a book, unaware that Sunny had not noticed it.
• Fu Qian accepted Kelson's invitation and chose a fieldwork route that would take him to Moor.
• Fu Qian used the Emissary Mask and arrived at the bookstore in an earlier time period.
• Fu Qian found a blank envelope that he believed Yuan Shan had left.
• Fu Qian tucked the letter away and set off to visit Yuan Shan.

Fu Qian boarded a Siren ship in Moore to investigate the organization’s unusual activity and its possible plans for the Sea of Ashes. He realized the ship had turned back into the storm for an unexplained purpose, and his hand suddenly grew heavy as he stayed aboard to watch.

• Fu Qian used a younger version of Old Master Lu’s appearance to board a Siren ship despite the storm.
• Fu Qian noticed the Siren crew could calm the waves and sensed a demigod among the fewer than one hundred people aboard.
• Fu Qian considered why the Siren were active and what Kelson’s message meant, then felt the ship turn around.
• Fu Qian concluded the Siren ship had deliberately entered the storm to surf and decided to stay aboard.
• Fu Qian’s hand abruptly grew heavy as he reached for another piece of dried fruit.

Fu Qian was restrained aboard a ship and secretly taken ashore by bats during a storm. His captors revealed the King of Prison Break’s emblem, leading him to suspect Selena had tracked him down and mistaken him for a Greedy Worm.

• Fu Qian was restrained in the dark as the ship abandoned its stabilizing spell and rocked through the storm.
• The ship neared the harbor, then turned away and zigzagged back out to sea.
• Fu Qian’s body moved on its own as darkness carried him through the ship’s hull and into the water.
• Bats dragged Fu Qian toward shore, and one warned him not to make a sound.
• The bats traced the King of Prison Break’s emblem, and Fu Qian recognized it as his own.
• Fu Qian suspected Selena had tracked him down and that her group had mistaken him for a Greedy Worm.

Fu Qian was captured and interrogated by a disguised woman he suspected was Selena, who had come to Moore searching for Ji Yin. He concealed his identity as Laurie and claimed he was also looking for Ji Yin, but the interrogation turned violent when she decided he was lying.

• A disguised woman captured Fu Qian and questioned him while he was still soaked from the storm.
• Fu Qian cooperated with the interrogation and removed his disguise, revealing a face he had fashioned earlier.
• When the woman asked who he was, Fu Qian called himself Laurie, and she asked where Ji Yin was.
• Fu Qian realized she had come after Ji Yin and claimed he was searching for him too.
• The woman accused Fu Qian of lying and used a strange form of torture that made him feel his back being cut open without pain or blood.

Fu Qian, posing as Laurie, defended his reasons for coming to Moore and questioned Selena about her own search. He realized Selena had come after the Death Master and left her probing to learn how much he knew.

• Selena challenged Fu Qian over why he had come to Moore, and he said he had come to find Ji Yin and stop his dangerous plan.
• Selena questioned Fu Qian's calmness and his behavior around Solondir aboard the ship, and he claimed he was willing to risk himself because he was at the top of the system.
• Fu Qian asked Selena why she had gone to the ship, but she refused to explain and said it made no difference to her where she found her target.
• Fu Qian guessed that Selena had come for the Death Master, and she asked who had told him about the secret.

Fu Qian tried to persuade Selena to work with him against Ji Yin by revealing what he knew about the Death Master and the name Tail. Selena challenged his account, then recognized that his explanation implied he had cut off his perceptual link with the others.

• Fu Qian told Selena that only he knew the Death Master’s true Honored Name, while the others knew Him as the King of Prison Break.
• Fu Qian proposed that they work together to stop Ji Yin, warning that Moore was dangerous and the Death Master might lose any chance to regain His power.
• Selena questioned how Fu Qian had learned the Death Master’s name when his companions had not.
• Fu Qian explained that he had uncovered the name Tail and gradually concluded that the Death Master was the true essence behind the emblem.
• Selena challenged Fu Qian’s claim that he alone had noticed the clues, pointing out that he must have cut off his perceptual link with the others.