Chapter Summaries

Fu Qian defended his actions at the gathering to Night Watcher Hu Mingyi, who questioned him after finding the injured guests. Lanaia arrived, and Fu Qian realized Jia Yi had likely recognized him and alerted her.

• Hu Mingyi confronted Fu Qian, but lowered his guard after realizing Fu Qian was far stronger than he was.
• Fu Qian claimed he had acted in self-defense and argued that his actions had prevented even more bloodshed.
• Hu Mingyi identified himself and began questioning Fu Qian, but Lanaia arrived and took over.
• Fu Qian inferred that Hu Mingyi had contacted Lanaia because he was an academy graduate.
• Fu Qian spotted Jia Yi hiding in the crowd and realized he had likely recognized him.

Fu Qian escaped accusations of excessive force after Lanaia intervened and arranged an academy hearing. He learned his new mission was to find and kill the Ecstasy Servant, then left with Lanaia, who warned him not to retaliate against Jia Yi.

• Fu Qian received a mission to find and kill the Ecstasy Servant, then told Lanaia that his actions had been self-defense.
• Lanaia proposed an academy hearing and a report to the Night Watchers, and Hu Mingyi agreed.
• Fu Qian left the hall with Lanaia without removing his mask, greeting the long-haired man on his way out.
• Outside, Fu Qian told Lanaia he had taken a private job, and she questioned how he had ended up at the venue.
• Lanaia confirmed Jia Yi had likely reported Fu Qian and warned him not to retaliate; Fu Qian agreed to attend the hearing.
• Lanaia teased Fu Qian about his interests, then moved away when he said he had all sorts of interests.

Lanaia caught Fu Qian after his night out and drove him back to the academy, where she planned to keep him under watch until his hearing. On the way, she told him about recent academy news, while Fu Qian continued to suspect the Ecstasy Servant might be connected to the academy.

• Lanaia admitted she had been drinking, then insisted Fu Qian return to the academy with her.
• Fu Qian and Lanaia discussed academy rules and the Academy of Revelation's extreme research practices.
• Lanaia said Li Weixuan had returned from seclusion still short of becoming a demigod, while a student named Ji Liushuang had achieved the rare Sword Heart Clarity.
• Lanaia told Fu Qian that Jia Yi was no longer the Yuan Corporation's representative at the academy after the previous incident.
• Fu Qian asked about recent academy incidents because he suspected the Ecstasy Servant might have ties to the academy.
• Lanaia brought Fu Qian to her residence and said she would keep him there until his hearing so he could not slip away.

Fu Qian attended a hearing about his actions at a private gathering and argued that he had acted to protect the academy’s reputation. The hearing ended without punishment, and Li Weixuan revealed that he had come to thank Fu Qian for guiding his student.

• Lanaia brought Fu Qian to a hearing about the previous night’s incident, where Li Weixuan sat as one of the hearing officers.
• Fu Qian admitted entering the gathering but claimed he had been forced to act after its guards attacked him.
• Fu Qian argued that staying and explaining himself had protected the academy and public trust between ordinary people and extraordinary individuals.
• The hearing officers accepted his account provisionally and said they might follow up with the Night Watchers.
• Li Weixuan thanked Fu Qian for guiding his student, who had comprehended Sword Intent.

Fu Qian used Betty Green’s business card to track her down and investigate the invitation from the masquerade ball. After entering her dream, he found her in a frenzied embrace and asked about the invitation, which she described as a key to the True Self that granted lasting pleasure.

• Lanaia recalled Fu Qian’s unusual encounter with Ji Liushuang and agreed to keep an eye on him for Li Weixuan.
• Fu Qian reasoned that Li Weixuan might suspect him, so he left the hearing without drawing further attention and decided to investigate the invitation.
• Fu Qian used Betty Green’s business card to locate her apartment and disguised himself as Old Master Lu Ming to get inside.
• Fu Qian used Clear Dream on Betty and the younger man embracing her, then synchronized with their dream.
• Betty recognized Fu Qian as a stranger in the dream, explained that the invitation was a key to the True Self, and asked if he wanted to experience ultimate pleasure.

Fu Qian investigated Betty’s invitation and discovered how desire transformed her and her companion in the dream, strengthening his suspicion that the gathering was connected to the Ecstasy Servant. After returning to the academy, he learned from Lanaia that Jia Yi was dead.

• Betty explained that invitations connected people through a sacred resonance of pleasure, and Fu Qian suspected the gathering’s members were linked to the Ecstasy Servant.
• Betty’s body transformed grotesquely in the dream and affected Fu Qian, so he left the dream and confirmed that the transformation faded when the dream ended.
• Fu Qian concluded that invitations made people’s desires come alive and decided to investigate the gathering’s organizer, the Old Man.
• Fu Qian returned to the academy cautiously, mindful of Li Weixuan’s ambiguous attention and the morning’s hearing.
• Lanaia rushed into Fu Qian’s office and told him that Jia Yi was dead.

After Jia Yi was found dead, Professor Lanaia brought Fu Qian to the Sword Participation Institute, where Night Watcher Yuan Fang questioned him as a suspect. Fu Qian acknowledged that he had left the academy and asked to see the crime scene.

• Lanaia told Fu Qian that Jia Yi had died shortly after submitting a hearing statement and asked whether he had gone out that day.
• Fu Qian admitted he had gone for a walk, denied killing Jia Yi, and agreed to accompany Lanaia for questioning.
• Lanaia took Fu Qian to the Sword Participation Institute, where Dean Li Weixuan introduced Night Watcher Yuan Fang, who promised a fair investigation.
• Yuan Fang questioned Fu Qian about leaving the academy and said the lack of an alibi meant he would have to list him as a suspect.
• Fu Qian challenged Yuan Fang's assumptions about his motives and asked to be taken to the crime scene.

Fu Qian inspected the scene of Jia Yi’s murder and noticed the victims’ bodies had changed to different degrees. Though the Night Watchers restricted him as a suspect, Li Weixuan agreed to let him join the investigation under Lanaia’s supervision.

• Yuan Fang approved Fu Qian’s request to visit Jia Yi’s mansion, where Hu Mingyi showed them the bodies of Jia Yi and a woman killed by brutal, extraordinary force.
• Hu Mingyi said a servant had discovered the victims around noon, and Fu Qian concluded that the timing and Jia Yi’s past conflict made him an obvious target for a frame-up.
• Fu Qian told Lanaia he felt no guilt for Jia Yi’s death and intended to avenge him to prove his innocence.
• Li Weixuan examined the bodies, while Fu Qian noticed that Jia Yi’s flesh and bones had changed far more than the woman’s.
• Hu Mingyi said the Night Watchers would have to restrict Fu Qian because he could not confirm his whereabouts, and Fu Qian asked to join the investigation.
• Li Weixuan agreed to let Fu Qian investigate with Lanaia watching over him.

After the academy assigned Lanaia to watch Fu Qian while it investigated Jia Yi’s death, Fu Qian took her to question Old Master Qiao. Their conversation ended with Fu Qian pressing Qiao to repeat his claim about Jia Yi’s death.

• Li Weixuan ruled that Lanaia would work with Fu Qian while the academy investigated, and Fu Qian left with her to pursue leads.
• Fu Qian told Lanaia he wanted to question two people and persuaded her to take him to Old Master Qiao.
• Fu Qian and Lanaia reached the heavily guarded Qiao estate, where Qiao Yanchuan greeted them nervously.
• Fu Qian asked Qiao when the gatherings began and whether Transcendents had attended; Qiao claimed Fu Qian himself had attended.
• Fu Qian challenged Qiao to repeat his words about Jia Yi’s death, and Qiao repeated that he could not help Fu Qian.

Fu Qian questioned Qiao Yanchuan about the masked balls and the mysterious silver-masked man who supplied the invitations. After leaving the Qiao residence, Fu Qian told Lanaia they were going to question Honma, whom Qiao Yanchuan had described as especially warped.

• Fu Qian intimidated Qiao Yanchuan into answering again, and Qiao said the masked balls had begun trying something new about four months earlier and excluded extraordinary beings.
• Qiao said a silver-masked man had first given him an invitation and taught him how to summon an unusual feeling of pleasure.
• Fu Qian prompted Qiao to recall that the man had urged invitees to let pleasure grow unchecked, and Qiao blamed Honma for revealing that information.
• Fu Qian ended the questioning and left the Qiao residence with Lanaia.
• Lanaia questioned Fu Qian about the invitations and his investigation, and Fu Qian said they were going to consult Honma next.

Fu Qian and Lanaia visited Honma to check his account against Qiao Yanchuan’s, but Honma’s fixation on pleasure through restraint made him difficult to question. Fu Qian ended their talk by forcing Honma’s face into his favorite soup, turning the threat of death and food into the ecstasy Honma claimed to enjoy.

• Lanaia wondered whether Qiao Yanchuan had been truthful, and Fu Qian explained that he planned to question Honma and compare their accounts.
• Fu Qian and Lanaia bypassed Honma’s front door and found him admiring an untouched feast at home.
• Honma described how resisting the desire to eat and suppressing fear of death could bring him pleasure.
• Lanaia grew frustrated when Honma said he could not help them with Jia Yi’s death and invited them to pressure him.
• Fu Qian asked Honma to identify his favorite dish, then plunged Honma’s head into the bowl of soup.

Fu Qian tortured Honma to force him to talk about the masquerade ball, while Lanaia tried to stop him. Honma revealed that Qiao Yanchuan’s new bride was the ball’s most popular woman, and Lanaia connected their marriage to the time Qiao Yanchuan met the Silver Masked Man.

• Fu Qian kept Honma’s head submerged in soup and taunted him about reaching his limit as Lanaia urged him to stop.
• When Lanaia tried to intervene, Fu Qian threatened to snap Honma’s neck, forcing her to back down.
• Fu Qian pulled Honma out and handed him to Lanaia for healing, then gave him thirty seconds to decide what to reveal.
• Honma said he had joined the weekly masquerade ball a month earlier after getting an invitation from Qiao Yanchuan, and that Jia Yi had only been a peripheral attendee.
• Honma revealed that the ball’s most popular woman was Qiao Yanchuan’s new bride, whom he married about four months earlier.
• Lanaia recognized that the marriage took place around the time Qiao Yanchuan met the Silver Masked Man.

Fu Qian questioned Honma about his uncontrollable ecstasy, then confronted Old Master Qiao about the silver-masked man called Ian. Qiao revealed his self-inflicted scars and spoke of pleasure and desire, while Lanaia recognized Ian as a gifted academy mentor.

• Fu Qian questioned Honma about losing control to pleasure and concluded that his living desire had overwhelmed him.
• Fu Qian and Lanaia returned to Old Master Qiao, who admitted that the silver-masked man had arranged his marriage and that Lily had called him Ian.
• Lanaia identified Ian as a talented mentor at the academy's Spirit Ash Institute and promised to report him.
• Qiao Yanchuan admitted that Ian resembled the man in photos he had investigated.
• Fu Qian tore Old Master Qiao's robe with Tyrant's Fist, exposing self-inflicted scars and carved patterns across his body.
• Old Master Qiao described pleasure as a fruit of the human heart and said the mind, not the body, was the source of desire.

Fu Qian and Lanaia tracked Professor Ian to a hidden laboratory beneath Spirit Ash, where a monstrous tree held academy staff and students in a state of frenzied lust. Ian revealed that he had become a demigod, leaving Lanaia and Fu Qian facing the horrifying source of the corruption.

• After seeing Old Master Qiao's corrupted state, Fu Qian decided to visit Professor Ian, and Lanaia followed him to keep him in sight.
• As they traveled, Lanaia explained that Ian was a fourth-rank Spirit Ash instructor once considered a leading candidate to become a demigod.
• When they reached Spirit Ash, Lanaia realized Fu Qian had vanished and pursued a disturbance underground.
• Lanaia found an underground laboratory where a towering pink-white tree held academy staff and students as they writhed in lustful madness.
• Fu Qian stood beneath the tree beside Ian, who claimed he was a new and true demigod.

Ian revealed that he had killed Jia Yi to keep Fu Qian from interfering with his experiments, which he believed had uncovered a new path to demigodhood through the human desire he called Ecstasy. He left Lanaia and Fu Qian facing the disturbing truth that the person transformed in the room was someone he loved.

• Lanaia demanded an explanation from Ian, who called his experiments a major breakthrough and identified Ecstasy as a new resource for reaching demigodhood.
• Ian recognized Fu Qian as a demigod, and Lanaia was stunned to learn Fu Qian had ascended as well.
• Ian admitted he had killed Jia Yi and arranged for Lanaia to keep Fu Qian occupied while his work continued.
• Ian explained that his experiments had made desire into an independent entity called Ecstasy, which could arise in ordinary people as well as extraordinary ones.
• Ian said he had treated people as resources for his demigod ritual, then revealed that the transformed person before them was the one he loved.

Ian explained how he cultivated and transferred ecstasy through Lily to fuel his transformation, while Lanaia attacked him and Fu Qian rejected his plan. Fu Qian shot Ian’s head off, but Ian’s body began swelling and something emerged from his neck.

• Ian explained that ecstasy grew by consuming a person’s cognition and could transfer to another host when its current host died.
• Ian revealed that he had made himself and Lily fall in love, then arranged for her to attract others at the masquerade so the ecstasy would gather inside him.
• Lanaia attacked Ian, but a surge of lewd thoughts disrupted her and let him evade her strike.
• Fu Qian acknowledged the ritual’s significance, then raised his hand and blasted Ian’s head apart with an Air Bullet.
• Fu Qian warned Lanaia that Ian was not dead as his body swelled and a thick, layered length of flesh emerged from his neck.

Fu Qian and Lanaia confronted Ian after he transformed into a Mythical Form that intensified desire and caused nearby people to mutate. Ian claimed his new form was a superior, stable state, and Fu Qian attacked him directly.

• Ian's severed neck extended into a grotesque, human-shaped Mythical Form, triggering violent desire and mutations among the people in the room.
• Fu Qian identified the creature as a Mythical Form and warned Lanaia that prolonged exposure could cause strange growths.
• Lanaia covered herself in dark golden light and pierced Ian's chest, tearing open the layered tissue.
• Fu Qian slapped Lanaia's head aside when she stared at the wound, while Ian declared his transformation a higher form of life and thanked Fu Qian for removing his burden.
• Fu Qian used tentacles to pierce the heads of the people closing in on him, then dismissed Ian's claim that desire would make him eternal.
• Fu Qian rushed to Ian and thrust his hand into the wound Lanaia had made.

Fu Qian destroyed Ian’s Mythical Form, then killed Lanaia after using her to test Unclean Ecstasy. Ian’s lingering consciousness claimed to be immortal, but Fu Qian used Transcendence against him and heard Ian’s voice again when his senses returned.

• Fu Qian and Lanaia pulverized Ian’s remains until nothing could move, after Lanaia killed Lily and Ian claimed Lily would live on in his memories.
• Lanaia approached Fu Qian to discuss reporting the incident, but Fu Qian killed her with a full-force attack after she was affected by Unclean Ecstasy.
• Fu Qian found that Ian’s consciousness still remained and listened as Ian claimed desire made him immortal.
• Fu Qian used Transcendence on Ian, then heard Ian’s voice behind him again when his senses returned.

Fu Qian set out to kill Ian before the demigod could become immortal, escaping the dance and heading toward the academy. On the way, he encountered Ji Liushuang, then continued toward his target.

• Fu Qian revealed that Lily had mistaken him for someone else, then used Law Remnants to daze the guests after she exposed his lack of an invitation.
• Fu Qian defeated two supernatural bodyguards, took a motorcycle, and left its rider and passenger bound together with handcuffs made from rebar.
• Near the academy, Fu Qian abandoned the motorcycle and encountered Ji Liushuang, who said she had come out for a walk.
• Fu Qian told Ji Liushuang he was going to kill someone, then teased her by saying she took after her Mom and disappeared.

Fu Qian broke into the academy laboratory and killed Professor Ian, who had nearly reached demigodhood and wielded a desire-amplifying technique. After the containment task was completed, Fu Qian examined the lingering substance on his hands and reflected that Ian was the second academy demigod-level opponent he had killed.

• Fu Qian entered the academy laboratory at night and struck down the guard blocking the way.
• Fu Qian wounded Ian with Air Bullets, but Ian regenerated his arm with yellow-green filaments.
• Ian attacked Fu Qian and revealed that his Mythical Form technique amplified desire, but Fu Qian pierced his torso and resisted the effect.
• Fu Qian crushed Ian with tendrils, killing him despite Ian's offer to share useful information.
• The system reported the containment of No. 2-095 as unsuccessful, and Fu Qian examined the desire-stirring substance left on his hands.