Chapter Summaries

Zhang Yuanqing killed Lee Austin and Henry, collected his bounty, and became a Bronze Hunter while Heaven’s Punishment began investigating the killings. Meanwhile, Asano Ryo reported to Zhang Yuanqing and searched the organization’s database for Chen Shu, leaving him with new information to review.

• Disguised as a blond man, Zhang Yuanqing killed Lee Austin, shot the bartender, and defeated the Mutant Henry after clearing the bar of patrons.
• Zhang Yuanqing met Kevin, showed him proof that Lee Austin was dead, and collected two suitcases of cash; Kevin broke down in grief after he left.
• Asano Ryo told Minister Vinnie that Yuanshi Tianzun’s belongings had gone to Fu Qingyang and Guan Ya, then joined Heaven’s Punishment’s investigation into Lee Austin and Henry’s deaths.
• Zhang Yuanqing instructed Asano Ryo to build Vinnie’s trust and find Chen Shu in Heaven’s Punishment’s database; she later sent him a document with the information she found.
• Zhang Yuanqing officially became a Bronze Hunter and accepted a low-level debt-collection mission after reviewing the escalating bounties between the Dionysus Club, Merchant Guild, and Heaven’s Punishment.

Zhang Yuanqing learned that his mother, Chen Shu, managed the World Salvation Society with backing from the Merchant Guild’s president, then spent several days taking bounty missions and catching up with his partners. The chapter ended with Cao Qianxiu inviting him to a trial mission for the Anti-Black-and-White Alliance.

• Zhang Yuanqing read Asano Ryo’s file and discovered Chen Shu led the World Salvation Society, an A-rank faction, before deducing that the Merchant Guild’s president backed her.
• Zhang Yuanqing took two bounty missions, lost two hundred Moral Value points for killing gang members, and noticed a corpse showing signs of transformation in Chinatown.
• Zhang Yuanqing asked Annie to donate one million Federation dollars to charity, then video-called Guan Ya and Little Round to share news and hear about their lives.
• Zhang Yuanqing asked the Stop-Killing Palace Lord about Chen Shu and learned that the Merchant Guild’s president had helped her and was an old acquaintance of his family.
• Three days later, Cao Qianxiu messaged Zhang Yuanqing that she would take him to a trial mission that evening for membership in the Anti-Black-and-White Alliance.

Zhang Yuanqing settled into life in Chinatown and learned that a Night Wanderer was suspected of committing a string of murders there. Cao Qianxiu gave him the Anti-Black-and-White Alliance’s case materials as his first assessment, asking him to predict where the killer would strike next.

• Zhang Yuanqing watched Cao Qianxiu and Cao Chao leave, then threw Cao Chao a bag of snacks and reflected on his progress as a bounty hunter.
• Zhang Yuanqing set aside searching for Chen Shu and planned to advance as a hunter, pursue his other goals, and join the Anti-Black-and-White Alliance.
• Zhang Yuanqing brought Cao Qing an expensive bottle of wine and heard about the serial murders and rumors of a zombie linked to the victims.
• Cao Qianxiu told Zhang Yuanqing that the Alliance suspected a Night Wanderer was killing Chinese residents because Heaven's Punishment would not investigate the case.
• Cao Qianxiu gave Zhang Yuanqing the Alliance's collected case materials and asked him to deduce the killer's next target area.

Zhang Yuanqing exposed that the Chinatown serial killer was a powerful Night Wanderer staging murders to hide a search for a specific target, prompting the Anti-Black-and-White Alliance to alert its superiors. That night, the chairman revealed that Zhang Yuanqing’s main quest was to investigate the Bounty Hunter Guild’s connection to the Free Covenant.

• Zhang Yuanqing deduced that the Chinatown killer was stronger than the Alliance believed and was using the murders to conceal his search for an unknown target.
• Cao Qianxiu reported Zhang Yuanqing’s analysis to the Anti-Black-and-White Alliance, whose higher-ups held an overnight meeting and considered allowing him to join.
• At midnight, the chairman visited Zhang Yuanqing and criticized his slow progress as a bounty hunter.
• The chairman revealed that he had sent Zhang Yuanqing into the Bounty Hunter Guild to contact its upper ranks because the Free Covenant secretly backed the guild.

Mr. President explained that the Free Covenant was preparing for a second faction war and recruited Zhang Yuanqing to infiltrate it through the Bounty Hunter Guild. Zhang Yuanqing agreed to become a Golden Hunter, while learning that the approaching return of the Lord of the Sun would trigger the conflict.

• Zhang Yuanqing realized Mr. President wanted him to infiltrate the Bounty Hunter Guild and reach the Free Covenant, then learned that the Dionysus Club–Merchant Guild conflict was the opening of a war between the Orderly and Evil factions.
• Mr. President explained that the Evil faction had won the first confrontation a century earlier and was waiting for the sun, moon, and stars to return before the next war began.
• Mr. President revealed that the Free Covenant suspected he possessed the Light Compass's core fragment and that he distrusted the Merchant Guild because Covenant agents had infiltrated it.
• Mr. President said he had formed the World Salvation Society, promised Chen Shu he would help resurrect Zhang Zizhen, and planned for Zhang Yuanqing to become a Golden Hunter and attract the Free Covenant's attention.
• Mr. President explained that Zhang Yuanqing could infiltrate the Free Covenant using The Past Leaves No Trace's relic and Perfect Skin, and Zhang Yuanqing agreed to advance as quickly as possible.
• Zhang Yuanqing asked whether the Hunter Guild might order him to kill senior members of Heaven's Punishment or the Merchant Guild, and then asked whether Mr. Landlord was one of Mr. President's people.

Zhang Yuanqing planned his undercover identities, joined the Anti-Black-and-White Alliance, and prepared to help capture the Chinatown serial killer. The chapter ended with him and Cao Qianxiu watching Nut Street as the operation waited for the culprit to appear.

• The president confirmed that Cao Qing belonged to the Merchant Guild and that Zhang Yuanqing’s landlady was a trusted Heaven’s Punishment informant, then told him to pursue a Golden Hunter rank.
• Zhang Yuanqing accepted a bounty mission to kill the suspected Night Wanderer serial killer and planned how to separate his Zhang Qingyang identity from the Heaven-Connecting Cult Leader hunter identity.
• Cao Qianxiu told Zhang Yuanqing that he had passed the Anti-Black-and-White Alliance assessment and asked him to join Group 6; he used hypnosis to make her remember his Spirit Realm ID as Unfettered Sword Immortal.
• Cao Qianxiu told Zhang Yuanqing that the Alliance would conduct an operation that night and that he would accompany her.
• Zhang Yuanqing and Cao Qianxiu took up their assigned post on Nut Street, where they waited as part of a seven-team operation to capture the killer.

Zhang Yuanqing joined Group Six and learned that the Anti-Black-and-White Alliance had launched an operation against the serial killer, while the team discussed the feared Star Official and Yuanshi Tianzun. On Curry Street, Jia Feizhang anticipated the killer’s arrival and sprang a trap, sealing the bedroom as a powerful Windrunner attacked.

• Zhang Yuanqing introduced himself to Group Six and learned about its members and their confidence in the level-six Wings of the Wind God Executor.
• Never Forget Homeland raised concerns that a Star Official could predict the operation, and Zhang Yuanqing explained that Star Officials used stellar observation and deduction.
• Cao Qianxiu corrected Snow White’s claims about Yuanshi Tianzun, explaining that he had killed four Sovereigns at the Tribunal and could fight a Sovereign.
• Zhang Yuanqing watched Curry Street as his stargazing omen indicated the killer was about to act.
• Jia Feizhang bought a plane ticket and prepared to leave, but a masked man appeared and immobilized him while questioning him about his mother.
• Jia Feizhang revealed that he had been waiting for the killer, activated a Void item to seal the bedroom, and an elegant young man unleashed wind blades at the intruder.

Zhang Yuanqing watched a Star Official outwit and critically wound Wings of the Wind God, then joined the response team outside the sealed apartment. After Yellow Wind Monster failed to break the barrier, Zhang Yuanqing prepared to act as the Swordsman while his disguised avatar waited to make its move.

• Wings of the Wind God destroyed a Yin Corpse with his wind blades, but Jia Feizhang revealed himself as a second Star Official and stabbed him.
• Zhang Yuanqing realized Wings of the Wind God was in danger, and he and Cao Qianxiu rushed to Curry Street after Self-Improvement summoned the team.
• Snow White told Cao Qianxiu that Wings of the Wind God was trapped behind a barrier and that the organization's higher-ups had ordered the team to wait.
• Zhang Yuanqing explained that the Star Official had likely anticipated the plan, while the team waited for Executive Yellow Wind Monster to arrive.
• Yellow Wind Monster's giant wind blade failed to break the barrier, leaving Wings of the Wind God in grave danger.
• Zhang Yuanqing learned his disguised avatar was ready, told it to wait for his signal, and walked toward the apartment with a bronze sword.

Zhang Yuanqing broke into the apartment and rescued Wings of the Wind God, then pursued and devoured the two Star Officials who had attacked him. Their memories revealed that they were searching for a Pope’s relic in Chinatown, and Zhang Yuanqing decided to investigate its connection to a local family.

• Zhang Yuanqing climbed the apartment building and cut through the barrier with a sword aura, astonishing the Anti-Black-and-White Alliance members below.
• Zhang Yuanqing entered the bedroom, gave Wings of the Wind God Life Essence, and killed the bald attacker with a sword aura.
• Wings of the Wind God tried to chase the fleeing Star Officials, but Zhang Yuanqing persuaded him to stay and recover.
• Zhang Yuanqing intercepted the two Star Officials outside Chinatown, stunned them with Mental Strike, and devoured their spirits.
• Zhang Yuanqing saw memories showing the Star Officials were Dark Night Rose informants searching for a Pope’s relic tied to a family and a safe deposit box.
• Zhang Yuanqing decided to tell his main body and ask the Anti-Black-and-White Alliance about the relic.

Zhang Yuanqing learned that Jia Feizhang’s safe-deposit box contained a relic left by the Pope, and Mr. President urged him to use it to identify the force behind the plot. Meanwhile, Lu Jing revealed to the Anti-Black-and-White Alliance leaders that the relic had passed through Deng Jingguo’s grandfather and father, both of whom were illegitimate sons.

• Medical Forest Sacred Hand treated Wings of the Wind God, while Zhang Yuanqing warned him not to ambush the Star Official and then left.
• Zhang Yuanqing told Mr. President what had happened, and Mr. President reasoned that Free Covenant was the likeliest source of Ling Tuo’s knowledge of the Pope’s relic.
• Mr. President proposed that Zhang Yuanqing retrieve Jia Feizhang’s item from Meisheng Bank and use the response from Heaven’s Punishment or the Hunter Guild to identify who planned the operation.
• Deng Jingguo and Tao Siming questioned Lu Jing about why Jia Feizhang had been targeted, and Lu Jing revealed that Jia Feizhang had held the Pope’s relic.
• Lu Jing explained that the relic had been inherited by Deng Jingguo’s father from Deng Jingguo’s grandfather, who had also been an illegitimate son.

Lu Jing revealed the history of the Pope’s relic and urged Deng Jingguo to recover it, but the Anti-Black-and-White Alliance learned their Hunter Guild mission had already been completed. The next morning, Zhang Yuanqing joined the Alliance’s Sixth Group and used his disguise and powers to enter Meisheng Bank and access Jia Feizhang’s safe-deposit box.

• Lu Jing told Deng Jingguo and Tao Siming that Huo Zhengkui had founded the Brotherhood, carried the Pope’s relic to New Covenant County, and passed it to Deng Jingguo’s father, who later gave it to Jia Feizhang.
• Lu Jing proposed asking Heaven’s Punishment to retrieve the relic, but Tao Siming received notice that the Hunter Guild mission they had posted was complete.
• Zhang Yuanqing accepted Cao Qianxiu’s invitation to join the Anti-Black-and-White Alliance’s Sixth Group and agreed to attend gatherings when he was free.
• Zhang Yuanqing disguised himself as Jia Feizhang and went to Meisheng Bank to open safe-deposit box 0042.
• Zhang Yuanqing used his power to make the receptionist accept his identification, and she led him to the manager’s office.

Zhang Yuanqing retrieved a fragment of the Pope’s relic and drew the Free Covenant’s attention, while the Anti-Black-and-White Alliance separately asked him to find the hunter known as Heaven-Connecting Cult Leader. The chapter left his clone facing a Master-level Love and Desire professional at the Hunter Guild.

• Zhang Yuanqing opened safe deposit box 0042 and found a fragment of an ancient bronze disc that gave him no item information.
• Zhang Yuanqing went to Kings County to avoid being tracked, then received a Hunter Guild message summoning Heaven-Connecting Cult Leader to its New Covenant County branch.
• Cao Qianxiu brought Zhang Yuanqing to alliance leader Deng Jingguo and Elder Tao Siming, who asked him to track down Heaven-Connecting Cult Leader.
• Zhang Yuanqing sent an Eight-Span Mirror clone to the Hunter Guild branch while his original went to meet the Anti-Black-and-White Alliance.
• A gray-haired Master-level Love and Desire professional entered the Hunter Guild conference room and stirred overwhelming desire in Zhang Yuanqing’s clone.

Zhang Yuanqing negotiated with Catherine Lu to join the Hunter Guild’s evaluation and agreed to find a second Pope’s relic bronze piece. He also accepted the Anti-Black-and-White Alliance’s request to locate Heaven-Connecting Cult Leader, then sought information about Huo Zhengkui.

• Catherine Lu confronted Zhang Yuanqing with surveillance footage and offered him Guild benefits, but required him to find a second bronze piece within ten days or sell the first one.
• Zhang Yuanqing learned that the Anti-Black-and-White Alliance wanted him to locate Heaven-Connecting Cult Leader and persuaded Deng Jingguo to explain the stolen item’s connection to his ancestor Huo Zhengkui and the Pope’s relic.
• Zhang Yuanqing accepted the Alliance’s investigation job on the condition that it provide assistance, then negotiated with Catherine Lu to extend the Guild’s deadline to half a month and provide intelligence about the bronze pieces.
• After signing the Hunter Guild contract, Zhang Yuanqing used Dream Leap to leave and decided to have Asano Ryo research Huo Zhengkui.
• Asano Ryo sent Zhang Yuanqing Huo Zhengkui’s biography.

Zhang Yuanqing asked Fu Qingyang for help finding the hidden pieces of the Pope’s relic, and Fu Qingyang traced them to the Zhou Ji Phoenix Bird Vessel. After traveling to the Capital City Museum to inspect it, Fu Qingyang realized where Huo Zhengkui had hidden the trick.

• Zhang Yuanqing told Fu Qingyang about his mission to infiltrate the Bounty Hunter Guild and search lawful organizations for Free Covenant members.
• Fu Qingyang reasoned that Huo Zhengkui likely hid the remaining bronze pieces in a cultural relic he donated to the country, and identified the Zhou Ji Phoenix Bird Vessel as the likely hiding place.
• Fu Qingyang contacted the Merchant Guild president, arranged for teams from the Return of the Dead gang to support Zhang Yuanqing, and prepared to travel to the capital.
• Zhang Yuanqing asked Annie to investigate Catherine by going to the New Covenant County branch of the Goddess of Beauty Association.
• Fu Qingyang examined the Zhou Ji Phoenix Bird Vessel at the Capital City Museum, found no obvious signs of a hidden object, and realized where the concealment trick lay.

Fu Qingyang unsealed two fragments of the Holy Disk, revealing that the pieces were keys to the Holy See’s treasure vault, while Zhang Yuanqing weighed how to handle them without alerting the Hunter Guild. The next day, Zhang Yuanqing visited Deng Jingguo and met Zhai Cai, who claimed to be a sixth-generation inheritor of the Holy See’s Knight lineage.

• Fu Qingyang retrieved a bronze fragment from Princess Yinyao and used the Jade Dragon Sword to remove its Evernight seal, identifying it as a piece of the Holy Disk.
• Fu Qingyang used precise swordsmanship to extract a second Holy Disk fragment from the Zhou Ji Phoenix-Bird Zun without damaging the artifact.
• Zhang Yuanqing considered collecting more fragments before giving one to the Hunter Guild so he could keep investigating its members and infiltrators.
• Zhang Yuanqing declined Cao Qianxiu’s invitation to join an operation against the Starry Sky Pact.
• Zhang Yuanqing visited Deng Jingguo and met Zhai Cai, who introduced himself as the sole sixth-generation inheritor of the Holy See’s Knight lineage.

Zhang Yuanqing met Zhai Cai, a Knight who claimed to be the sole heir to a lineage guarding part of the Pope’s Holy Disk, and learned how Huo Zhengkui had arranged for the Knights to safeguard it. After agreeing to help Zhai Cai recover the missing disk, Zhang Yuanqing planned to pit him and the Hunter Guild against each other while keeping his own intentions hidden.

• Zhai Cai used a truth-binding rule to prove his Knight abilities and presented a Holy Disk fragment and letters describing the alliance between his lineage and Huo Zhengkui.
• Deng Jingguo explained that the Heaven-Connecting Cult Leader had taken the Holy Disk, and assigned Zhang Yuanqing to help Zhai Cai recover it.
• Zhang Yuanqing told Zhai Cai that he had posted a bounty to lure the Heaven-Connecting Cult Leader, and Zhai Cai agreed to act as his bodyguard for three days.
• Zhang Yuanqing planned to use the Hunter Guild and Zhai Cai against each other, then discovered Zhai Cai was eating stinky tofu at a roadside stall instead of coming upstairs.

Zhang Yuanqing and Zhai Cai waited for the Heaven-Connecting Cult Leader while An Yeqi monitored the neighborhood, but Zhang Yuanqing’s plan to expose the copper block was interrupted when a Dream Master attacked him. Zhai Cai used his Knight’s decree to drive the intruder away, and Zhang Yuanqing woke up barely alive.

• An Yeqi moved Zhai Cai’s belongings into Zhang Yuanqing’s apartment, then learned of the plan to hunt the Heaven-Connecting Cult Leader and reclaim the Sacred Disk.
• Zhang Yuanqing and Zhai Cai went out together to bait their target while An Yeqi watched the neighborhood surveillance cameras.
• Cao Qianxiu told Zhang Yuanqing that Heaven’s Punishment had captured Starry Sky Pact members and might catch a major target.
• Zhang Yuanqing secretly prepared a clone to stage an attack and expose the copper block’s location, but Zhai Cai admitted he had mainly stayed to observe Zhang Yuanqing.
• A Dream Master put Zhang Yuanqing to sleep, and Zhai Cai invoked a Knight’s decree to prevent anyone from entering dreams and located the intruder.
• The Dream Master escaped with Dream Jump, and Zhang Yuanqing woke up gasping for breath.

Zhang Yuanqing manipulated the Heaven-Connecting Cult Leader’s pursuit of Zhai Cai while reporting the second copper block to Catherine and discussing the escalating factional war with the Guildmaster. The Guildmaster arranged for Zhang Yuanqing to join an aid delegation under a new identity, and Asano Ryo discovered that prominent members of the Five Elements Alliance and other guilds were arriving in New Covenant County.

• Zhang Yuanqing told Zhai Cai that he had revealed Zhai Cai’s Knight inheritance and Holy Disk to the Heaven-Connecting Cult Leader, prompting Zhai Cai to flee to the New Covenant County Bank headquarters.
• Zhang Yuanqing informed Catherine that a Sovereign held the second copper block and told her how he had traced it to Zhai Cai; Catherine began verifying his account and ordered an investigation into Deng Jingguo and the Unfettered Sword Immortal.
• Zhang Yuanqing told the Guildmaster about Zhai Cai and the assassination of Michael, and the Guildmaster explained that the Orderly faction and the Free Covenant were preparing for a decisive struggle over the coming Lord of the Sun.
• The Guildmaster asked Zhang Yuanqing to enter Heaven’s Punishment with an aid delegation and help kill Bacchus, and Zhang Yuanqing agreed to adopt another identity.
• Vinnie assigned Asano Ryo to receive Heaven’s Punishment’s aid team, and Asano Ryo recognized Guan Ya, All Under Heaven Returns to Fire, Red Chicken Bro, and several other prominent Spirit Realm Walkers on the roster.

Asano Ryo briefed the arriving Saints from Return of the Dead on Heaven's Punishment's factions and New Covenant County's unrest, while Catherine reviewed evidence about Zhai Cai's Holy See lineage. At a meeting with his guildmates, Zhang Yuanqing revealed that the return of the Lunar Moon Origin Fragment meant the war between the orderly and evil camps had begun.

• Asano Ryo welcomed the Saints from Return of the Dead and explained Heaven's Punishment's factional rivalries and the conflict between the Dionysus Club and the Merchant Guild.
• Asano Ryo told the group that Brady Mead had bullied her, prompting Red Chicken Bro to offer to settle the score.
• Catherine reviewed Zhai Cai's investigation file and surveillance footage, concluded he had inherited the Holy See's Knight lineage, and proposed arranging an assessment mission for him.
• Zhang Yuanqing met the Saints in a secured conference room and said Fu Qingyang had sent them to assist him.
• Zhang Yuanqing revealed that Demon Lord had left a Lunar Moon Origin Fragment in the Role Card and warned that the orderly and evil camps' war had begun.

Zhang Yuanqing’s team began its assignment in New Covenant County, where they met Chief Prosecutor Vinnie Berent and learned that local tensions were escalating ahead of the faction war. Vinnie sought to buy one of Demon Lord’s relics, while the team debated which Heaven’s Punishment leader to align with; the chapter ended with Asano Ryo confronting Brady Mead for harassing her.

• Zhang Yuanqing told the Saints that the faction conflict had begun and appointed Guan Ya as the team’s public captain, while instructing them to use his cover identity, Ju Mang.
• The team met Vinnie Berent and Emma Smith, who warned them to keep a low profile and avoid Love and Desire Walkers; Guan Ya requested intelligence before accepting missions.
• After the meeting, Vinnie asked Guan Ya whether Demon Lord had left her a palm-sized speaker relic, and Guan Ya denied having it.
• The Saints discussed whether to support Vinnie or Sean Mead, and Guan Ya reported that Vinnie did not believe her claim about Demon Lord’s relic.
• Asano Ryo confronted Brady Mead at the office entrance and threatened to report him for harassment.