Chapter Summaries

Hu Zongxian rejected Xu Hai’s demands for a military post and ordered his arrest, revealing that the amnesty would not save him. Xu Hai killed himself after securing a promise for his wife, while the remaining pirates surrendered and were recruited into the Pioneer Camp.

• Xu Hai accepted Hu Zongxian’s amnesty and ordered his men to surrender their weapons, but the Ming Army bound them as captives.
• Xu Hai asked Hu Zongxian for a military position, but Hu ordered his guards to seize him, and Xu Wei explained why the court would not spare him.
• Xu Hai resisted the guards, then asked Hu Zongxian to spare his wife, Wang Cuiqiao, before slitting his own throat.
• Xu Hai’s loyal pirate confidants charged the Ming Army and were killed, while Hu Zongxian promised the other pirates a future if they joined the Pioneer Camp.
• Xu Wei urged Yu Dayou and Bai Xiaowen to leave for Kinmen Harbor to persuade the remaining Wokou Pirates to surrender and help train the new army.

After the pirate fleet surrendered, Wang Cuiqiao learned that Hu Zongxian had executed Xu Hai and killed herself by jumping into the sea. Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi opened their treasure chests, using pirate blood to cleanse spiritual items and advance Absolon's Blood Essence Stone before preparing to choose their remaining loot.

• Hu Zongxian’s forces killed pirates who tried to escape and captured several thousand who surrendered.
• Wang Cuiqiao confronted Hu Zongxian over Xu Hai’s execution, then jumped into the sea; Luo Longwen tried to save her, but the guards rescued only him.
• Bai Xiaowen explained to Li Shuyi why he sided with Hu Zongxian and Xu Wei, then the two went to open their treasure chests.
• Bai Xiaowen used Pirate Blood and Pirate Chieftain’s Blood to cleanse essences and strengthen Absolon’s Blood Essence Stone, changing it into a Broken Absolon’s Blood Essence Stone.
• Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi prepared to choose their remaining Loot Cards and planned to pursue the Search for the Sword side quest.

Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi opened the treasure chests from Chen Dong and Ye Mazi, gaining Sharkskin Boots and the Shadowless Slash skill book from Chen Dong’s chest. Ye Mazi’s chest contained two items tied to the Matsuura Clan, leaving the pair with new equipment, a skill, and potential intelligence to pursue.

• Bai Xiaowen opened Chen Dong’s first Gold Card and found Sharkskin Boots, which he equipped to raise his Agility to 22.
• Li Shuyi opened Chen Dong’s second card and found the Shadowless Slash skill book.
• Li Shuyi forgot Sanction Dagger for 1,000 Psionic Points and learned Shadowless Slash.
• Bai Xiaowen opened Ye Mazi’s Gold Cards and found Matsuura Shin Kuro’s Reply and a Matsuura Clan Samurai Token.

After completing the Battle of Kinmen quest, Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi learned that Ye Mazi was a true Wokou and used his blood to further repair Absolon's Blood Essence Stone. Hu Zongxian refused to send them to Japan, so Bai Xiaowen planned to use an illusion of Hu Zongxian and first spend their accumulated Merit Points at Xu Wei’s quartermaster exchange.

• Bai Xiaowen cleansed the Defiled Heart with Ye Mazi’s blood and fused it into Absolon’s Blood Essence Stone, which became lightly damaged instead of damaged.
• Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi received 4,000 Merit Points, reached Revered reputation, completed their Main Quest, and advanced their team to Level 2.
• Bai Xiaowen showed Hu Zongxian Matsuura Shin Kuro’s letter and offered to scout the Japanese islands, but Hu Zongxian refused and said he would seek an imperial edict.
• Bai Xiaowen explained Hu Zongxian’s political caution and history to Li Shuyi, then revealed an Illusion Talisman that could imitate Hu Zongxian.
• Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi visited Xu Wei to exchange their Merit Points, and Bai Xiaowen reviewed the faction’s available items.

Bai Xiaowen spent most of his Merit Points on useful items, then accepted Xu Wei’s invitation for a farewell drink and unexpectedly earned his friendship and a valuable painting. After leaving Xu Wei’s cabin with Li Shuyi, he hurried on to carry out his next plan.

• Bai Xiaowen exchanged 10,500 Merit Points for Freehand Notes, Killing Intent Talisman, and Marching Stratagems, then spent his remaining points on zongzi.
• Xu Wei recognized that Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi were leaving and invited them to share a farewell drink.
• Bai Xiaowen joked that Xu Wei should give him a parting gift, prompting Xu Wei to write Daoist Qingteng Plays with Ink across the table.
• Bai Xiaowen transferred the wet writing onto silk, and Xu Wei laughed before giving him the Peony Behind Leaves Painting, raising his Affection Level to Friend.
• Bai Xiaowen left Xu Wei’s cabin with Li Shuyi and urged her to move quickly before trouble arose.

Bai Xiaowen sailed secretly to hunt the Wokou pirate Matsuura Shin Kuro, using an illusion of Hu Zongxian to borrow ships and troops. Hu Zongxian realized Bai had already departed, while Xu Wei explained how the Governor-General could conceal the loss of his personal guards.

• Yu Dayou woke Hu Zongxian and showed him Bai Xiaowen’s note explaining his plan to hunt Matsuura Shin Kuro.
• Hu Zongxian learned that Bai had taken three of Yu Dayou’s guard captains and two hundred of Hu’s personal guards.
• Zhou Shun said Hu had personally authorized the secret voyage, and Xu Wei deduced that Bai had used an illusion to impersonate him.
• Hu Zongxian ordered Yu Dayou to intercept Bai, but Xu Wei said Bai had already sailed too far to catch.
• Xu Wei reassured Hu that the missing personal guards could be concealed because they were not registered as court troops.

Bai Xiaowen sailed with Li Shuyi to find Matsuura Shin Kuro, reasoning that Ye Mazi’s surviving pirates could reveal his whereabouts. After interrogating three captives and throwing one overboard, Bai Xiaowen used a Heart-Confounding Talisman on Ye Mazi’s steward.

• Hu Zongxian and Xu Wei concluded that Bai Xiaowen’s use of Daoist arts to borrow Yu Dayou’s guards left Yu Dayou free of responsibility, and Hu Zongxian ordered the matter kept secret.
• Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi sailed from Kinmen toward the Hirado Three Islands to search for Matsuura Shin Kuro, hoping Ye Mazi’s pirates would know his movements.
• Bai Xiaowen had Zhang Ting bring three of Ye Mazi’s trusted pirates to be interrogated aboard the ship.
• Bai Xiaowen ordered Kitz to throw Ye Mazi’s flag-bearer into the sea after the captive failed to reveal useful secrets.
• Makita revealed that Ye Mazi was not a Ming man, and the steward pirate accused him of betraying the Matsuura Clan.
• Bai Xiaowen used the Heart-Confounding Talisman on the steward pirate.

Bai Xiaowen disguised his force as Ye Mazi’s pirates and infiltrated Penghu Main Island to approach Matsuura Shin Kuro. He met the dangerous ninja leader and claimed Ye Mazi needed rescue, leaving his cover and intentions under scrutiny.

• Bai Xiaowen learned from Makita that Matsuura Shin Kuro was stationed on Penghu Main Island and kept Ryuzoji alive to ensure Makita would remain loyal.
• Bai Xiaowen disguised his men in Ye Mazi’s pirate clothes and sailed toward Penghu, where Makita claimed they had come seeking shelter.
• Matsuura Shin Kuro allowed only Bai Xiaowen, Li Shuyi, and Makita to come ashore and prove their identities.
• Bai Xiaowen used Insight to examine Matsuura Shin Kuro and his deputies, then ruled out attacking because Shin Kuro was a powerful boss with stealth and escape abilities.
• Makita told Matsuura Shin Kuro that Ye Mazi was trapped by imperial troops on Kinmen and needed rescue, while Bai Xiaowen defended their loyalty despite knowing Ye Mazi’s identity.

Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi gained Matsuura Shin Kuro’s temporary support while plotting to kill him away from the island. After Bai Xiaowen’s group left on a seemingly failed quest, they killed Maeda, stole Shin Kuro’s treasured sword, and escaped by ship, prompting Shin Kuro to order a pursuit.

• Bai Xiaowen persuaded Matsuura Shin Kuro to shelter his two hundred men, and Shin Kuro assigned them to help prepare an attack on Ningbo.
• Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi realized they could not destroy Ming defenses without exposing their allegiance, so Bai Xiaowen accepted the quest and used it as a reason to put to sea.
• Bai Xiaowen returned three days later without completing the quest, and Shin Kuro let his group remain while secretly planning to use them as cannon fodder in a different attack.
• A servant reported that Maeda had been killed and Shin Kuro’s treasured sword was missing, while unrest spread through the camp.
• Shin Kuro learned that Bai Xiaowen’s men had fought their way out and sailed away, so he ordered his forces to pursue them.

Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi discussed how stealing Matsuura Shin Kuro’s sword could draw him into a fight, despite not being the Mysterious Short Sword they sought. After Arima Jiro misled Matsuura Shin Kuro with a story about the stolen blade, Shin Kuro killed him and ordered a pursuit.

• Bai Xiaowen explained that the stolen tachi could not be used or taken from the Jiajing Plane World, but could provoke Matsuura Shin Kuro into pursuing them.
• Matsuura Shisuke warned Matsuura Shin Kuro that the Ming people might have colluded with government troops, making Shin Kuro hesitate to chase them.
• Arima Jiro claimed the Ming men had deceived Shin Kuro, stolen his sword, and intended to establish their own faction.
• Arima Jiro told Matsuura Shin Kuro that the Ming men had insulted and abused his treasured sword.
• Matsuura Shin Kuro beheaded Arima Jiro and ordered his men to board the ships and pursue the Ming people.

Bai Xiaowen lured Matsuura Shin Kuro’s fleet into a trap, using his flagship’s destruction to send Shin Kuro into the water. The Stitched Monster Fatty then pinned Shin Kuro underwater, where he struggled to break free and reach the surface.

• Bai Xiaowen learned that Matsuura Shin Kuro had killed Arima Jiro and ordered his fleet toward Ningbo Prefecture.
• Bai Xiaowen moved most of the sailors to the second ship, then split the two ships to draw Matsuura Shin Kuro’s fleet apart.
• Matsuura Shin Kuro divided his forces and pursued Bai Xiaowen’s flagship, while Matsuura Shisuke used supernatural power to speed the fleet.
• Matsuura Shin Kuro’s ships intercepted and boarded Bai Xiaowen’s flagship, where Shin Kuro spotted his treasured sword nailed to the mast.
• Bai Xiaowen’s flagship exploded, throwing the Wokou pirates into the sea and ending Shin Kuro’s Ninjutsu Evasion.
• The Stitched Monster Fatty hooked Shin Kuro, let himself be pulled over, and crushed and bound him underwater as Shin Kuro struggled to escape.

Bai Xiaowen’s group fought the Wokou Pirates after sabotaging their ships, while Li Shuyi pursued Matsuura Shin Kuro underwater. Fatty’s anchor-chain restraint and Li Shuyi’s underwater advantages left Matsuura trapped in a desperate duel with her.

• Matsuura Shin Kuro discovered Fatty’s legs were tied to an anchor and repeatedly stabbed him with the Mysterious Short Sword, stacking weakening effects.
• Bai Xiaowen recognized the short sword as the mission target as the Wokou Pirates’ warships charged toward the group.
• Li Shuyi used the Giant Fish Bladder to swim underwater and attacked Matsuura while Fatty restrained him.
• Matsuura killed Fatty after losing nearly two hundred Life Value, but the chain still bound him to the anchor.
• Matsuura attacked Li Shuyi, who dodged with her enhanced swimming speed and continued the underwater fight.

Bai Xiaowen led Zhang Ting and the Ming Army guards in a boarding battle against the Wokou Pirates, using his summons and abilities to hold off their superior numbers. The chapter left Bai Xiaowen’s mastery of Kusanagi Blood advancing after he unleashed Orochi Nagi as a bloodline ability.

• Bai Xiaowen used Intimidation to help Zhang Ting and the Ming Army guards board a Wokou Pirate ship, then glided into its side with his Sharkskin Boots and climbed aboard.
• Bai Xiaowen used Mental Scan and mental transmission to expose the Wandering Ninjas and help Zhang Ting and the guards defeat them.
• Hirata ordered a charge to break the defenders’ perimeter, but Bai Xiaowen killed the two Ronin Samurai who reached him.
• As reinforcements swelled the Wokou ranks, Bai Xiaowen unleashed Orochi Nagi, directing its flames around his allies and into the enemy.
• Bai Xiaowen recognized that Orochi Nagi came from his Kusanagi Blood and felt his mastery of it had improved.

Bai Xiaowen unleashed three consecutive Orochi Nagi strikes, breaking the Wokou Pirates’ morale and leading the Ming Army guards in a rout. Meanwhile, Matsuura Shin Kuro remained locked in an underwater fight with Li Shuyi and seized an opening to stab at her chest.

• Hirata rallied the Wokou Pirates to charge, but Bai Xiaowen struck them again with a stored Orochi Nagi and badly wounded Hirata.
• Bai Xiaowen charged the Kusanagi Sword and used a third Orochi Nagi, killing more than twenty Wokou Pirates.
• Rageclaw attacked Hirata, and Bai Xiaowen’s allies killed the Wokou commander before launching a counterattack.
• The remaining Wokou Pirates fled as Bai Xiaowen pursued and eliminated those who tried to rally them.
• Underwater, Matsuura Shin Kuro trapped Li Shuyi’s sword in his wounded arm and lunged to stab her chest with his dagger.

Li Shuyi defeated Matsuura Shin Kuro underwater, and Bai Xiaowen’s forces held the captured ship until Qi Jiguang arrived with reinforcements and trapped the fleeing Wokou fleet. Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi opened their loot, with the Mysterious Short Sword mission item still to be drawn from Matsuura Shin Kuro’s chest.

• Li Shuyi used Shadowless Slash and Intangibility to evade Matsuura Shin Kuro’s attacks, inflict severe damage, and kill him underwater.
• Bai Xiaowen stopped his exhausted troops from pursuing the remaining Wokou Pirates and waited for Qi Jiguang’s fleet to arrive.
• Qi Jiguang’s warships surrounded the Wokou vessels, while Bai Xiaowen’s earlier plan had already helped capture Penghu Main Island and defeat other Wokou forces.
• Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi opened three Silver Treasure Chests and received a Three-Star Equipment Enhancement Card and two pieces of blue equipment.
• Li Shuyi received three draws for her A-Tier victory, and Bai Xiaowen began opening Matsuura Shin Kuro’s Golden Treasure Chest.

Bai Xiaowen drew the Cloud-Cluster Sword from Matsuura Shin Kuro’s loot and learned that his Kusanagi Sword Soul had granted him recognition of it. He chose to devour the sword to strengthen his Kusanagi Sword, leaving its evolution underway as he and Li Shuyi used their remaining card draws.

• Bai Xiaowen drew the Cloud-Cluster Sword, and Li Shuyi assigned it to him after discovering she could not equip it without the sword’s recognition.
• Bai Xiaowen explained that the Cloud-Cluster Sword was the Kusanagi Sword and linked his recognition of it to the Kusanagi Sword Soul inside him.
• The Spirit Realm Rules completed the Find the Sword side quest and raised Yu Dayou’s Affection Level toward Bai Xiaowen to Close Friend.
• Bai Xiaowen chose to devour the Cloud-Cluster Sword rather than keep it as equipment, and it transformed into radiance that entered his body.
• Bai Xiaowen saw that his Kusanagi Sword (Form I) was undergoing Devour evolution, then he and Li Shuyi used their remaining two card draws.

Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi returned from the Jiajing Plane World after defeating Matsuura Shin Kuro and completing the Search for the Sword quest. They received the Naval Combat Elite title and spent Psionic Points enhancing their equipment, leaving with their weapons and robes at +6.

• Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi finished their loot review, then met Qi Jiguang, who praised Bai Xiaowen for the battle against Shin Kuro.
• Bai Xiaowen declined personal credit, asked Qi Jiguang to recognize the assisting soldiers, and suggested using the captured True Wokou for labor or in death-forlorn battalions.
• Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi returned through the cabin door to the Spirit Realm settlement, where they received 13,085 Psionic Points and the B-Tier Naval Combat Elite title.
• Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi decided to enhance their weapons and robes to +6, spending 60,000 Psionic Points.

Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi enhanced their Gold Equipment, and Bai Xiaowen used a Three-Star Equipment Enhancement Card to upgrade his Desert Eagle to +7. The pistol gained a powerful armor-piercing effect, giving Bai Xiaowen another dangerous tactical option.

• Bai Xiaowen enhanced his Sharkskin Boots to +4, gaining a 30% movement-speed boost for 10 seconds, while Li Shuyi enhanced her Void Ring to improve Intangibility.
• Bai Xiaowen chose to use the Three-Star Equipment Enhancement Card on his +6 Desert Eagle, with Li Shuyi agreeing that it was the best weapon to upgrade.
• Bai Xiaowen found that Berserker's Heart had low compatibility with the pistol, so he used the Fishbone Fork, Heavy-Backed Greatsword, and a Superior Psionic Crystal as auxiliary equipment instead.
• Bai Xiaowen raised the enhancement success rate to 100% and upgraded the Desert Eagle to +7.
• Bai Xiaowen discovered that the pistol's new Piercing effect let its first shot ignore armor, and every fourth shot ignore armor during combat.

Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi finished tallying their gains from the Jiajing Plane World and returned to Earth, where Bai Xiaowen prepared for possible retaliation from Boutu Guild. At a Jiangnan University banquet, Qi Ruifeng described his Inca Plane World quest and privately vowed to defeat Bai Xiaowen after reaching Level 7.

• Bai Xiaowen reviewed the Desert Eagle’s Penetration Effect, decided against further risky equipment enhancements, and planned to seek Enhancement Cards on the market.
• Bai Xiaowen warned Li Shuyi that Boutu Guild might learn they had killed Zhao Zhixiong, and said he was prepared for covert retaliation while acknowledging the need to grow stronger.
• Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi returned to Earth after tallying their Jiajing Plane World gains and finding that his Black Soul Stone and Soul Essence had grown.
• At a Jiangnan University banquet, Qi Ruifeng told Li Sheng and the team that he had completed an A-Tier Elite Quest in the Inca Plane World.
• Qi Ruifeng declined Ruan Chong’s request to team up soon and privately vowed to defeat Bai Xiaowen once he reached Level 7.

Qi Ruifeng announced that Dead Spirit Lake was expected to open as a Special Treasure Ground within one to two weeks. After returning from the Spirit Realm, Bai Xiaowen learned who had been seeking him and confirmed that no one had come to cause him trouble.

• Qi Ruifeng told the gathered students that a Special Treasure Ground was expected to open soon, and identified it as Dead Spirit Lake.
• Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi returned to the Super God Guild cafeteria and got dinner.
• Bai Xiaowen learned that Nie Kong had been avoiding him out of embarrassment over predicting he would not become National Exam Top Scholar.
• Bai Xiaowen asked Old Demon whether anyone had been looking for him, and Old Demon listed several people and organizations seeking to meet him.
• Bai Xiaowen asked whether anyone had come to cause him trouble, and Old Demon said no one had.