Chapter Summaries

Fu Qian revealed that Ariel had likely used a mental suggestion on Xiao Mingyue and urged Yuan Shan to gather the nearby demigods. The chapter ended with Fu Qian suspecting that Ariel was screening people who truly doubted him.

• Xiao Mingyue returned with Fu Qian and complained to Yuan Shan about his forceful interrogation of Ariel.
• Fu Qian asked Yuan Shan to summon the nearby demigods, then used Law Remnants to question Xiao Mingyue about Ariel.
• Xiao Mingyue revealed that she had been told Ariel was innocent during her first investigation of him.
• Fu Qian explained that Ariel's presence and Xiao Mingyue's behavior suggested a mental suggestion, and said Ariel's rank was higher than Yuan Shan's.
• Fu Qian proposed that Ariel might be screening people who truly suspected him rather than merely covering up his actions.

Fu Qian explained why Ariel’s mental suggestion to Xiao Mingyue might have been a way to identify people who insisted on investigating him, and Yuan Shan realized a Second Order God's Envoy could be operating in Shangjing. Yuan Shan hired Fu Qian to help deal with the threat in exchange for thirty files, while Fu Qian kept his suspicion that Ariel might be targeting him to himself.

• Fu Qian told Yuan Shan that Ariel may have used Xiao Mingyue’s investigation results to identify people who kept pursuing him.
• Yuan Shan recognized that Ariel could be a Second Order God's Envoy and that his unusual methods might point to a hidden objective.
• Yuan Shan tested Fu Qian by asking about Deng Feizhou, but Fu Qian showed no reaction and asked what had happened to him.
• Fu Qian argued that his investigation was complete, but Yuan Shan offered him thirty files to help against the God's Envoy, and he accepted.
• Fu Qian left to rest while Yuan Shan prepared to confirm the news and consult her colleagues.

Fu Qian arranged for Xiao Mingyue to receive psychological treatment after his encounter with Ariel’s influence, then visited Wen Li to check on her. Wen Li showed him a new emotion-based ability, and Fu Qian helped her refine it into a technique she named the Kaleidoscope.

• Fu Qian asked Yuan Shan to arrange treatment for Xiao Mingyue, and Yuan Shan told her to rest and seek psychological counseling.
• Fu Qian reasoned that Ariel might target the Night Watchers next, then went to Wen Li’s mansion to make sure she was safe.
• Wen Li used her newly developed ability to project joy onto Fu Qian and amplify the emotion.
• Fu Qian praised Wen Li’s technique and suggested she combine contrasting emotions in sequence to overwhelm a target.
• Wen Li accepted Fu Qian’s advice and named her technique the Kaleidoscope.

Fu Qian learned from Wen Li that Yuan Shan was investigating the person without any fluctuations, then reviewed Wen Li’s research on the Kawasaki Family. The information connected Deng Feizhou and Mr. Luo to the family and pointed Fu Qian toward the Native Council, while he agreed to stay at Wen Li’s home.

• Wen Li told Fu Qian that Yuan Shan had taken her report seriously and advised her to stay home, and Fu Qian urged her to keep following that advice.
• Wen Li gave Fu Qian a detailed file on the Kawasaki Family, including its decline after the Night Watchers arrested its members for harming ordinary people with Supernatural Power.
• Fu Qian recognized a man in the file as resembling Miyamoto and connected the family’s captive harvesting operation to Miyamoto’s work.
• Wen Li said her father had explained that Deng Feizhou had been close to the old Kawasaki Family and that the new family had approached him before seeking her father as a business partner.
• Fu Qian suspected the Native Council had links to Mr. Luo and Ariel, thanked Wen Li for the information, and agreed to stay in her guest room.

Fu Qian stayed at Wen Li’s home while Yuan Shan and Ariel watched each other, but Yuan Shan arrived with news that Chen Du had been killed. The death forced Yuan Shan to change her plans, and Fu Qian suspected Ariel was responsible.

• Fu Qian wore the Sweet Dream Head Cage at home to check whether it affected him, then joined Wen Li for breakfast.
• Fu Qian told Wen Li he was on vacation and planned to stay home while Ariel and Yuan Shan kept watch on Deng Feizhou.
• Yuan Shan arrived at Wen Li’s home and told Fu Qian that Chen Du had died the previous night.
• Wen Li explained that Chen Du had managed the Chen Clan while Chen Xing remained secluded.
• Fu Qian suspected Ariel had killed Chen Du, and Yuan Shan said the unexpected death forced her to change her plans.

Fu Qian agreed to Yuan Shan’s plan to pose as the killer and distract the Chen Clan while the Night Watchers prepared to deal with Ariel. He then proposed killing Chen Ping, the old man temporarily leading the clan, to make the upheaval seem more convincing.

• Yuan Shan explained that Chen Xing was dead and the Chen Clan had begun investigating Chen Du’s murder.
• Yuan Shan asked Fu Qian to impersonate the killer and reveal his strength as an unfamiliar demigod to buy the Night Watchers time.
• Fu Qian agreed, and Yuan Shan offered him access to Night Watcher records, strange items, and other rewards.
• Yuan Shan said Chen Ping was temporarily handling the Chen Clan’s affairs, and Fu Qian suggested killing him to make the plan more convincing.

Fu Qian rejected Yuan Shan’s crueler plan but helped her buy time, then prepared a conspicuous disguise as the city searched for the Chen Clan head’s assassin. The chapter left him spotted in Shangjing as a search team approached.

• Fu Qian proposed framing Ariel by exploiting the Chen Clan head’s assassination, but Yuan Shan refused to implicate the clan.
• After Yuan Shan left, Fu Qian admitted he was more or less a demigod, and Wen Li asked whether she should keep out of the investigation.
• Fu Qian told Wen Li that her association with him had already drawn suspicion, then changed into Old Man Lu Ming’s appearance with a monstrous grafted limb hidden in his coat.
• Fu Qian went out as the Rebirth Club amid the search for the assassin and the missing demigod Chen Xing.
• A search team spotted Fu Qian, and someone stepped in front of him.

Fu Qian disguised himself as Lu Ming and drew attention to the Chen Clan by destroying a stone archway before escaping. As the Night Watchers and Chen Clan searched for him, he stayed at Wen Li’s place and waited to see how Ariel would react.

• Fu Qian smashed the Stone Door with his armored fist, then escaped by turning his arm into a whip and swinging away.
• The brute ordered his group to contact the base after deciding Fu Qian was too dangerous to confront.
• Yuan Shan told Fu Qian that people were blaming the presumed-dead Lu Ming for the destruction and suspecting he had become a demigod.
• Fu Qian explained that the spectacle had diverted the great clans’ attention and given the Chen Clan a new goal, while keeping his reason for choosing Lu Ming’s identity to himself.
• Ariel played along, while the Night Watchers and Chen Clan searched unsuccessfully for Lu Ming and Fu Qian relaxed at Wen Li’s place.

Fu Qian trained Wen Li to improve her Kaleidoscope before sending her away as a powerful, hostile middle-aged man arrived. The man attacked Fu Qian in his Mythical Form, but Yuan Shan intervened and stopped the fight.

• Fu Qian praised Wen Li's improved Kaleidoscope control and warned her not to let anger take over when facing stronger opponents.
• Fu Qian sent Wen Li away, then received a muscular middle-aged man who identified him as Fang Xun and criticized his disregard for rules.
• The middle-aged man transformed into his Mythical Form and threatened to kill Fu Qian.
• The middle-aged man punched Fu Qian as a crystalline spear appeared, and Fu Qian counterattacked before calling for help.
• Yuan Shan entered and stopped the fight, explaining that the hot-tempered man had insisted on coming after hearing what happened.

Fu Qian met Logan, a Night Watcher Affairs Committee member, who revealed that the Night Watchers planned to confront the divine emissary in Shangjing that night. Logan intended to use the Siren's Tear Mask to resist the target's psychic attacks, while Fu Qian and Yuan Shan handled trouble nearby.

• Fu Qian told Logan he had met the supposedly dead Lu Ming in the Archipelago, where Lu Ming had invited him to join the Rebirth Club, and Fu Qian said he had refused.
• Fu Qian taunted Logan by mentioning the divine emissary in Shangjing, prompting Logan to reveal that the Night Watchers would move against the target that night.
• Logan produced the Siren's Tear Mask, and Yuan Shan explained that its maddening song could block other mental influences but eventually made the mask impossible to remove.
• Logan said he would face the divine emissary while Fu Qian and Yuan Shan dealt with nearby trouble or tried to stop the target from escaping.

Fu Qian agreed to join Logan and Yuan Shan’s operation against Ariel, though he doubted it would go well. Before heading to the base, he prepared in the Warehouse, choosing to keep his protective equipment in reserve so he could observe Ariel closely.

• Logan ordered Fu Qian to take part in the operation that night, and Fu Qian agreed.
• Yuan Shan apologized for Logan’s behavior, and Fu Qian asked about emissary rituals and Logan’s age before questioning the plan.
• Fu Qian warned Yuan Shan that Ariel seemed unlike ordinary people and said he would rather watch and wait, but Yuan Shan explained she could not persuade Logan to delay.
• After Yuan Shan left to make arrangements, Fu Qian visited the Warehouse and took the Bug Whistle but decided not to use the Sweet Dream Head Cage.
• Fu Qian returned to the bookstore wearing the Emissary Mask, having prepared in advance because the mask always brought him back to the same spot.

Fu Qian, Yuan Shan, and Logan launched a nighttime ambush on Ariel, with Logan using the Siren's Tear Mask to resist Ariel's song and attack him. Logan gained the upper hand, but Ariel unleashed a vast eruption of light that engulfed the battlefield.

• Fu Qian met Yuan Shan and Logan, and Yuan Shan explained that they would attack Ariel after dark because his power seemed linked to the sun or light.
• Logan put on the Siren's Tear Mask, steadied himself against its effects, and set out with Fu Qian and Yuan Shan.
• Logan broke into Ariel's estate and struck Ariel before he could react, severely injuring his shoulder and chest.
• Ariel transformed into his Mythical Form, but Logan's mask let him endure the golden patterns and tear away a large piece of Ariel's body.
• Ariel's shattered body erupted with boundless white light that swallowed everything around it.

Fu Qian saw through Ariel’s apparent injuries and faced him after a godlike force devastated the estate. He attacked Yuan Shan and waited to see whether Ariel’s condition would change, leaving Ariel shocked.

• Ariel’s light overwhelmed the estate, badly injuring Fu Qian and Yuan Shan and leaving Logan grotesquely deformed.
• Yuan Shan urged Fu Qian to flee, believing Ariel was vulnerable after the divine descent, but Fu Qian’s whip revealed that Ariel had recovered and was unharmed.
• Ariel admitted that he intended to kill them, while Yuan Shan prepared to sacrifice herself to buy Fu Qian time.
• Fu Qian blew the Bug Whistle, causing a giant insect to attack Yuan Shan, then stabbed her with a black-and-red claw.
• Fu Qian waited until Ariel showed shock, then wiped his face and changed into Lu Ming’s appearance.

Fu Qian discovered that Ariel was a mindless divine envoy whose emotions were calculated, and revealed that he had allied with the Night Watchers to investigate him. Ariel escaped before answering Fu Qian’s question about what he had been like before his transformation.

• Fu Qian transformed into a withered old man, healed his wounds, and explained that he had stopped Yuan Shan from making a pointless attack.
• Fu Qian activated Mythical Form and Law Remnants, then deduced that Ariel had no self-awareness and called him a “Holy Fool.”
• Fu Qian explained that he had made a deal with the Night Watchers and had used his actions involving Xiao Mingyue to gain their trust.
• Fu Qian questioned Ariel about his life before his creators transformed him, but Ariel turned into a streak of light and fled.
• Fu Qian praised the Way of Sitting and Forgetting as he stood among the ruins.

Fu Qian drove Ariel away from Shangjing and helped Yuan Shan and Logan survive the confrontation. Yuan Shan recovered enough to question Fu Qian about what had happened, while the Night Watchers began investigating the manor.

• Fu Qian reflected that Ariel had fled after learning what he wanted, then checked on the injured Yuan Shan and Logan.
• Fu Qian carried Yuan Shan out of the manor and told her deputy that Ariel had escaped and Logan needed help.
• Yuan Shan woke on a stretcher, briefly reacted to Fu Qian, and asked where Ariel had gone.
• Fu Qian explained that Ariel had run off and revealed his appearance as Lu Ming, confirming Yuan Shan's suspicion that Ariel belonged to the Native Council.
• Fu Qian refused to explain why he had injured Yuan Shan, but said he had kept her and Logan alive and sent a calamity away from Shangjing.
• The poker-faced man returned to arrange the response, and Yuan Shan quietly thanked Fu Qian.

Fu Qian returned to his bookstore after the crisis in Shangjing and began a new containment mission involving the Goddess of Sin. He arrived in an ancient ruin where extraordinary criminals had three days to fight for redemption, while a Sin Seeker hunted the person with the greatest sin.

• Yuan Shan confirmed Fu Qian's account and let him leave, assuring him that her promises still stood.
• Fu Qian returned to Wen Li's mansion, advised her to stay cautious for a few more days, and left for his bookstore the next morning.
• Fu Qian opened his bookstore briefly, then began his work and entered the Goddess of Sin's containment scene.
• Fu Qian found himself among dozens of extraordinary people in an ancient ruin as Sir William explained the rules of their redemption trial.
• Sir William said the prisoners could kill one another for three days, that only the person with the fiercest Sin Fire would be forgiven, and that a Sin Seeker would hunt the greatest sinner.

Fu Qian studied the slaughter game's rules and disguised his appearance before the prisoners were released into the ruins. When a burly prisoner tried to claim him as an easy target, Fu Qian killed him instantly, leaving the hall stunned.

• Fu Qian reasoned that Sin Seekers would punish prisoners who killed indiscriminately and suspected the games were broadcast to spectators.
• Fu Qian altered his appearance while Sir William announced that the Goddess of Sin's blessing would arrive in five minutes and sent the prisoners into the ruins.
• Most prisoners hurried out, while Fu Qian stayed seated and drew attention as the only person remaining in his chair.
• A burly man with three scars approached Fu Qian and warned him not to run because he would soon die.
• Fu Qian shot the burly man in the head, then realized that killing before the blessing brought no Sin Fire or pain.
• The surviving prisoners recognized the dead man as a strong fighter and concluded that Fu Qian had been hiding his strength.

Fu Qian watched the prisoners fight after the task updated to finding the Goddess of Sin Statue. The red-haired Butcher slaughtered an assassin duo, then left the remaining prisoners unharmed as Fu Qian assessed the rival groups in the hall.

• Fu Qian welcomed the fear his earlier killing inspired, then received the updated task to find the Goddess of Sin Statue.
• The red-haired Butcher killed a fire-wielding prisoner, and Sin Fire began burning around him.
• An assassin emerged from hiding and attacked the Butcher, who hooked and smashed the assassin against a wall.
• The Butcher surveyed the remaining prisoners, including the Wartime Alliance and the Saintess-and-Knight duo, then left the hall.
• Fu Qian judged the Butcher a strong contender and hoped he would avoid challenging him.

Fu Qian left the hall and formed a temporary alliance with Elina and Cross, agreeing to seek the Goddess of Sin's statue. Elina revealed that the statue’s location changed whenever the Goddess’s favor appeared, so they did not know where it was.

• Fu Qian left the ruined hall and surveyed the bleak, enclosed surroundings.
• Elina and Cross approached Fu Qian, and Elina introduced herself and Cross.
• Elina offered to ally with Fu Qian, citing her knowledge of the Death Game, and Fu Qian agreed while warning that he would kill her if it became advantageous.
• Fu Qian told Elina and Cross he planned to find the Goddess of Sin's statue, and Elina said they had planned the same.
• Elina explained that they were in a Shattered Land where the statue's location changed whenever the Goddess's favor appeared.

Fu Qian joined Elina and Cross as they traveled through the underground ruins in search of the goddess statue. Elina explained the Death Game and its strongest contender, Patrick, before revealing that she had killed her father.

• Fu Qian accepted Elina's offer to lead him toward the statue, and Cross went ahead to scout.
• Elina told Fu Qian that Patrick was the strongest contender, a notorious killer taking part in his third Death Game.
• Elina explained that Sir William captured criminals in the Shattered Land and brought them to seek redemption instead of killing them.
• Elina described Patrick's willingness to build Sin Fire and attract the Sin Seekers, then admitted that she had killed her father.