Chapter Summaries

Fu Qian tested the mask’s guiding line and found it pointed toward the Night Watchers’ headquarters, giving him another reason to attend their banquet despite the risk of a clash. Yuan Shan asked him to hold the fort while she checked on Henry, and Fu Qian considered reconnecting with old acquaintances in Shangjing.

• Fu Qian put on the Face of One Destined for Godhood, and Yuan Shan warned him not to show up wearing it.
• Fu Qian confirmed that the mask’s line pointed toward the Night Watchers’ headquarters and considered the danger of provoking them at the banquet.
• Yuan Shan asked Fu Qian to hold the fort while she went to check on Henry.
• Yuan Shan reminded Fu Qian that he had been interested in the Chen Clan’s cultivation techniques, and Fu Qian asked whether they had contacted her.
• Yuan Shan said the Chen Clan had been giving her frequent work updates, and Fu Qian said he might visit some old friends in Shangjing.

Yuan Shan warned Fu Qian not to cause trouble as he prepared to receive visitors from the Chen Clan, then noticed the new chair Red Moon had given him. Fu Qian discovered the chair could manifest doors, and changing which finger touched its claw altered what appeared.

• Yuan Shan asked Fu Qian whether he planned to visit Chen Ping or Houhai Manor, and Fu Qian suggested inviting Chen Ping to the shop instead.
• Yuan Shan noticed Fu Qian's extravagant new chair, and Fu Qian explained that Red Moon had given it to him.
• Yuan Shan examined the chair's claw-like armrest and left while Fu Qian considered how to use it.
• Fu Qian saw a phantom door appear after touching the claw and realized the chair could help him open doors without Supernatural Perception.
• Fu Qian switched from his index finger to his middle finger, causing the gloomy door to vanish and a blood-red door with a thorn-shaped groove to appear.

Fu Qian tested the doors Red Moon had linked to his right hand and discovered that bleeding on a finger opened a passage to a familiar place. After exploring Dancy Crawford's mansion and returning safely to the bookstore, he was there when Yuan Shan came back.

• Fu Qian found that different fingers revealed doors to Senior Liliana's hideout, the Blood Lake, Dancy Crawford's mansion, and an Academy of Revelation laboratory.
• Fu Qian wondered why the Half-step Moon was not among the destinations and worried that Red Moon might have paid a heavy price to create the doors.
• Fu Qian pressed a finger to the door and opened it with his blood, teleporting from the bookstore to Dancy Crawford's mansion.
• Fu Qian wandered through the quiet mansion, then stepped back through the open door and returned to his bookstore chair.
• Fu Qian prepared to make fresh tea as Yuan Shan returned.

Fu Qian met with Chen Ping to discuss the Chen Clan’s Family Cultivation Method, but dismissed him after Chen Ping offered a booklet of family insights. Afterward, Fu Qian and Yuan Shan wondered why Chen Ping had been so eager to share his family’s secrets.

• Chen Ping arrived at Fu Qian’s bookstore alone and explained that he had kept the Chen Clan’s young members at home.
• Fu Qian said he was interested in the Chen Clan’s Family Cultivation Method, and Chen Ping offered him a booklet of ancestral insights.
• Fu Qian refused the booklet, insisted he had no intention of prying into the family’s Secret Manual, and dismissed Chen Ping.
• After Chen Ping left, Yuan Shan asked Fu Qian whether his earlier interest had been genuine.
• Fu Qian admitted he had lost interest after consulting Nepheli and wondered why Chen Ping had been so eager to share his family’s secrets.

Fu Qian and Yuan Shan discussed why Chen Ping had approached him and agreed that the Chen Clan was responsible for protecting its own inheritance. After Yuan Shan shared that Old Man Henry trusted Fu Qian to keep the situation under control, Fu Qian went for a walk and headed to Taylor Gullard’s home.

• Yuan Shan inferred that someone might be targeting the Chen Clan’s cultivation method after Fu Qian praised the clan at the banquet, but Fu Qian said he had no obligation to help them handle the trouble.
• Fu Qian told Yuan Shan he was curious about Shangjing’s power struggles and the resurfaced Qian Ji Jue, then asked why she had not gone to see Old Man Henry.
• Yuan Shan said Old Man Henry was busy and would come find her when he finished, and revealed that he trusted Fu Qian to keep the situation under control.
• Yuan Shan mentioned that Old Man Henry might know about the Meria Flower Ball, and Fu Qian thanked her.
• Fu Qian left to take a walk, and Yuan Shan went her own way after accompanying him outside.
• Fu Qian recalled Taylor Gullard, a young vampire who had once escaped from the familiar courtyard he approached.

Fu Qian visited Taylor’s home disguised as Great Fortune Ming King, hoping to study the pureblood Blood Clan member, but found the courtyard empty and Taylor apparently dead beneath a hidden space in the floor. He picked up the cloak beside the burned body.

• Fu Qian entered the Gulad family courtyard in his Great Fortune Ming King disguise and found a dark, viscous barrier around Taylor’s building.
• Fu Qian passed through the barrier and discovered that Taylor was missing from the candlelit room.
• Fu Qian searched the room and revealed a concealed space beneath the floor.
• Fu Qian found a burned, lifeless body that appeared to be Taylor’s and picked up the cloak beside it.

Fu Qian found Taylor Gullard’s corpse-like body and put on a cape that Taylor had prepared as a trap. Taylor revealed that the Gullard family’s secret art would track Fu Qian after the cape marked him, leaving Fu Qian caught in a reversal of his own trick.

• Fu Qian examined the prison cell, found a black cape, and draped it over himself.
• The corpse recognized Fu Qian as Great Fortune Ming King and revealed itself as Taylor Gullard.
• Taylor explained that he had concealed his true state with the surrounding darkness and expected Fu Qian to find him.
• Fu Qian realized the cape was meant to mark him, much like the head cage he had once used to frighten Taylor.
• Taylor said the cape could identify Fu Qian by his blood and that the Gullard family’s secret art would track him wherever he went.

Fu Qian confronted Taylor about Gulad’s plan to blame the Rebirth Club for Shangjing’s recent incidents, then stole the Messenger and brought it to the Warehouse. A new Leak Incident mission began as Fu Qian prepared for the Blood Clan’s response.

• Taylor said Gulad would avoid confronting the Rebirth Club and instead pass evidence to the Night Watcher implicating it in Shangjing’s incidents.
• Fu Qian concluded that Grantham had approved Taylor’s actions and had allowed him to set the trap.
• Taylor offered to let Fu Qian leave with the Messenger, and Fu Qian vanished with it.
• Fu Qian took the Messenger to the Warehouse and hoped the Blood Clan would try to retrieve it.
• A new Leak Incident mission began.

Fu Qian entered Containment Scene 1-330, where his skills and items were sealed and he woke in a bedroom with Wen Li beside him. He discovered that he was handcuffed to the bed while Wen Li suggested that her well-being might be bad news for him.

• Fu Qian accepted the Warehouse's Clockwork Xi'er containment task, spending one Sanity Value to enter it.
• The Warehouse restricted Fu Qian from bringing items and warned that most damage would not be repaired after the task.
• Fu Qian woke in a bedroom after hearing a greeting addressed to him as Mr. Fu.
• Fu Qian recognized Wen Li, who was dressed for travel and seemed unusually serious.
• Fu Qian noticed a silver cuff on his wrist, chained to the head of the bed.

Wen Li captured Fu Qian and chained him to her as she prepared to take him to the Holy See, while he tried to understand why she had sought him out. The chapter left Fu Qian unable to speak after Wen Li used her supernatural ability to silence his defense.

• Fu Qian woke in handcuffs and realized Wen Li had tracked him down and captured him.
• Wen Li said she would take him to the Holy See and would unlock the cuffs once they arrived.
• When Fu Qian asked why she was taking him there, Wen Li refused to explain and chained his wrist to hers.
• Fu Qian noticed Wen Li had retained her supernatural abilities while he had become an ordinary human.
• Wen Li suggested Fu Qian cared too much about his appearance, and her power stopped him from replying.

Fu Qian was taken prisoner by Wen Li and escorted from a hotel to a vintage car, where Yuan Shan was waiting to drive them to the Cathedral. Wen Li repeatedly silenced him, and the trio set off with Fu Qian still uncertain about the strange situation.

• Wen Li silenced Fu Qian while questioning him, then declared that the criminals had fallen silent out of guilt and urged him to leave.
• Fu Qian went along with Wen Li in handcuffs and followed her through an eerily empty hotel to a vintage car.
• Wen Li and Fu Qian found Yuan Shan waiting in the driver's seat, and Yuan Shan said she recognized Fu Qian's face but had never met him in person.
• Fu Qian told Yuan Shan to treat his face as real and believe what he said, but Wen Li silenced him before he could finish.
• Yuan Shan started the car after Wen Li got into the back seat with Fu Qian.

Fu Qian traveled with Wen Li and Yuan Shan through a deserted, mist-shrouded city while trying to understand why he had become powerless. Su Gao intercepted their car and joined them on their way to the Holy Hall, where the newly updated mission required them to find a way inside.

• Yuan Shan drove Fu Qian and Wen Li toward the Holy Hall, and Wen Li silenced their conversation by asserting control over her prisoner.
• Fu Qian observed the bleak, empty city and wondered why he had lost his extraordinary abilities as his Sanity Value remained dangerously low.
• Su Gao appeared in the road and asked for a ride, saying she was in a hurry too.
• Wen Li tried to deter Su Gao by naming the Holy Hall as their destination, but Su Gao insisted she was going there as well.
• Su Gao took the passenger seat, and Fu Qian received a mission update to find a way to enter the Holy Hall.

Fu Qian rode with Wen Li, Yuan Shan, and the mysterious Su Gao as their wary conversation turned to Su Gao’s identity. Yuan Shan claimed Su Gao had been forged through countless battles, leaving Wen Li’s suspicions unresolved.

• Wen Li questioned Su Gao, who introduced herself casually and said she recognized Wen Li as a young genius from Shangjing.
• Yuan Shan praised Wen Li’s abilities and suggested she was wasting her talent by working as a catcher.
• Wen Li implied Su Gao’s arrival might be more than chance, but Su Gao pointed out that the area was nearly empty.
• Yuan Shan declared that Su Gao had been forged in the blood of countless others, while Wen Li remained wary of what the driver knew.

Fu Qian and his companions found the road cut off by a vast ravine, which they could not cross because the place required normal transportation. As they wondered what to do, Nepheli appeared, despite being presumed dead, and asked to ride with them.

• Yuan Shan warned Wen Li about Su Gao's dangerous reputation as they rode together.
• Yuan Shan braked just before the car went over a massive ravine blocking the road.
• Fu Qian suggested jumping across, but Yuan Shan explained they could leave only by normal transportation and that the opposite bank was not their destination.
• Su Gao sensed someone was there, and Nepheli appeared and asked the group for a ride.

Nepheli stopped Wen Li, Yuan Shan, Fu Qian, and Su Gao by opening a ravine, then joined them in their car after demonstrating she could close it. As they continued on, Nepheli recognized something about Su Gao, who admitted she would have killed Nepheli if she had not revealed herself.

• Nepheli admitted she had opened the ravine to make the group stop and let her join them, and Wen Li invited her into the car.
• Nepheli gave the group the name Asao Sakura and said she only wanted to escape; she then sat beside Wen Li, away from Fu Qian.
• Fu Qian spoke to Nepheli about road safety, while Wen Li warned her not to do anything suspicious around their bound hands.
• Nepheli blew on her hand and closed the ravine, after which Yuan Shan silently drove on.
• Nepheli recognized something about Su Gao and asked whether she had already noticed her; Su Gao denied it and said she would have killed Nepheli if she had not appeared.

Nepheli recognized Su Gao and explained the extraordinary reputation she had heard about her and her Broken Sword. She revealed that she had witnessed Su Gao plunge the weapon into a deity’s body.

• Su Gao calmly told Nepheli that the troublemaker would die whether or not they came forward, leaving Nepheli and the others speechless.
• Nepheli recognized Su Gao and wondered how someone like her could be trapped there.
• Nepheli said Su Gao carried a special die that could summon her Broken Sword from any timeline through a mysterious contract.
• Nepheli described the Broken Sword as a weapon stained with a true deity’s blood that consumed supernatural things and nourished its wielder.
• Nepheli revealed that she had seen Su Gao plunge the Murderous Weapon into the Body of a Deity.

Nepheli revealed that Su Gao had once used the Three Missing One sword to stab a deity, alarming Yuan Shan and Wen Li. Fu Qian suggested Su Gao might have used the sword to treat an injury, easing the tension but drawing Nepheli’s attention to him.

• Nepheli explained that Su Gao had used the Three Missing One sword to stab a deity, shocking Yuan Shan and making Wen Li more wary.
• Wen Li restored Fu Qian’s ability to speak after the conversation stalled.
• Fu Qian suggested Su Gao might have stabbed the deity to treat her own injury, and Nepheli conceded that the sword could devour life.
• Fu Qian argued that Su Gao’s power meant they had little reason to worry about her, and the atmosphere in the car eased.
• Nepheli turned her attention to Fu Qian and asked what she should call him.

Fu Qian and Wen Li discussed Nepheli’s understanding of Fu Qian’s reputation and the academy’s dangerous secrets as they traveled together. The vehicle stopped abruptly, and Yuan Shan said they appeared to have reached their destination.

• Fu Qian introduced himself to Nepheli, who recognized his name and described rumors about a mysterious genius and his influence at the academy.
• Wen Li confirmed that she had handcuffed herself to Fu Qian and accepted Nepheli’s warning that the academy might try to rescue or kill him.
• Nepheli remarked that the academy had many secrets, but Wen Li refused to explain her reasons for bringing Fu Qian along.
• The vehicle braked sharply, and Yuan Shan reassured Wen Li that they seemed to be getting out.

Yuan Shan explained that the checkpoint was the only authorized way out, so the group had to wait for its guard rather than force their way through. After spotting an intact car that may have brought in someone targeting them, the group decided to get out and investigate, with Yuan Shan leading them to a nearby place.

• Yuan Shan told Fu Qian, Nepheli, and Wen Li that crossing the roadblocks without permission would leave them trapped in the plane.
• Yuan Shan said the group had to wait for the guard to move the roadblocks, though Nepheli questioned why they could not wait inside the car.
• Wen Li asked Fu Qian whether he was hungry, then got out and looked toward an intact brown car beside the road.
• Yuan Shan explained that the brown car likely belonged to someone who had entered from outside, and Nepheli suspected the academy might be involved.
• Nepheli agreed with Yuan Shan that they should investigate the car's possible passenger, and Yuan Shan offered to lead them to a nearby place.

Yuan Shan led Fu Qian, Wen Li, Su Gao, and the others to a black building resembling a Holy See. They found Professor Lisha inside, who said a nearby checkpoint was sealed and invited them to wait at her place.

• Yuan Shan persuaded the group to follow her toward a nearby building, and Su Gao joined them.
• Fu Qian asked Yuan Shan why she did not destroy the car, and she explained that vehicles could be obtained again by anyone who knew how.
• The group reached a black building that reminded Fu Qian of the White-Headed Holy See.
• Professor Lisha emerged and said the checkpoint ahead was sealed, then invited the group inside.
• Yuan Shan deferred to Wen Li, who politely accepted Lisha's invitation.