Chapter Summaries

Su Chen attended a banquet for Southwind City's powerful young heirs, where he learned about high-tier professions and drew Zhang Hengyu's attention. Assassins from Black Pagoda attacked him, but Su Chen and Yuan Chenyang stopped them, leaving one attacker alive for interrogation.

• Su Chen asked Fatty Sun to exchange a contraband item for Blackflame Potions through Inspection Department points.
• At the Clearshore Hotel banquet, Su Chen met Du Yu and other heirs, then listened as Zhang Yunqing explained professions and their advancement risks.
• Du Yu told Su Chen that Zhang Hengyu resented losing the trip to Yingfeng to him and wanted to prove himself.
• Su Chen sensed an attack, shoved Du Yu out of danger, and killed or incapacitated two attendants who attacked him.
• A Tier 2 assassin emerged from behind the curtains, but Yuan Chenyang struck him into the wall; the dying attacker identified Black Pagoda and vowed revenge.
• Yuan Chenyang ordered the Inspection Guards to take the surviving attacker for interrogation as the banquet guests reacted to the assassination attempt.

After an assassination attempt on Su Chen, Yuan Chenyang investigated a suspected conspiracy within Southwind City’s departments while Su Chen returned to the Inspection Department. Old Sun brought Su Chen a case of potions, including a new pink variety, as the city’s internal tensions began to escalate.

• In Yuan Chenyang’s vehicle, Su Chen discussed the attack and learned that the Holy Word Stone could record professional information and communicate with Strange Gods.
• Zhang Hengyu admitted that Su Chen was more qualified for the Yingfeng slot, but Zhang Yunqing defended the importance of power and refused to change the selection.
• Yuan Chenyang learned that the Tier 2 assassin was Chen Wu of the Exploration Department and ordered Old Du to keep the discovery secret.
• Yuan Chenyang suspected the attacks and infiltrations were meant to stall for time, so he ordered an investigation and surveillance of suspects, including Zhou Xian.
• Su Chen returned to the Inspection Department, where Old Sun delivered a case containing Blackflame Potions, blue potions, and three unfamiliar pink potions.

Su Chen received valuable potions and equipment from Fatty Sun, then used Glazed Blood to boost his training. After Jiang He offered him Arcane Scholar advancement requirements in exchange for help ending her marriage, Su Chen slapped her and went to confront the imprisoned Qi Chuan.

• Fatty Sun gave Su Chen Blackflame and Revitalizing Potions, rare Glazed Blood, and a smart wristband, and said a Mimicry Mask was being prepared for him.
• Su Chen drank the potions and trained through the day and night, improving his displayed progress in several abilities.
• Jiang He asked Su Chen to make Qi Chuan sign their marriage contract’s dissolution and offered him the Arcane Scholar advancement requirements.
• Su Chen slapped Jiang He, took the marriage contract, and left to visit Qi Chuan in the holding room.
• Su Chen secretly placed a fragment of the attacker’s dagger in Qi Chuan’s liquid meal and had a guard deliver it.

Su Chen secretly poisoned Qi Chuan, followed him after releasing him, and attacked him as he tried to obtain an antidote. Qi Chuan died in the ambush, completing Su Chen’s advancement condition.

• Qi Chuan apologized to Su Chen, signed the leather scroll, and was released from the Inspection Department that night.
• Su Chen disguised himself and followed Qi Chuan, who reflected on his failed plans and cursed Su Chen and Jiang He.
• Corpse-Shadow Poison struck Qi Chuan, and he rushed to a hidden apartment to drink an antidote from a concealed metal box.
• An unseen attacker ambushed Qi Chuan with a Tier 2 whip, pierced his eyes, and killed him.
• Su Chen completed the condition to kill a Tier 2 Professional without being noticed.

Su Chen killed Qi Chuan and uncovered a metal box containing a power tied to a Strange God, which his panel tamed into a usable ability. After he summoned Fatty Sun and Yuan Chenyang, Yuan recognized the concealed object as a Strange Artifact.

• Su Chen confirmed Qi Chuan was dead, found targeted antidotes, and dug a patterned metal box out of the wall.
• Black smoke from the box tried to erode Su Chen’s Professions, but his panel tamed it and granted him Low-Tier Strange God's Power.
• Su Chen contacted Old Yuan and Brother Sun, while a hooded figure elsewhere reacted to the disappearance of a holy artifact.
• Fatty Sun and the Seventeenth Patrol Squad arrived, and Su Chen warned Lily not to touch the object hidden beneath the Shadow-Hiding Garment.
• Yuan Chenyang arrived, took charge of the scene, and recognized the concealed object as a Strange Artifact.

Su Chen and Yuan Chenyang discovered that the Strange Artifact was empty, revealing that Black Pagoda’s power was gone and Southwind City faced an impending disaster. Su Chen used the Strange God’s Power on his Storm Hunter career, triggering a path to evolve it by killing three Tier 2 Professionals.

• Yuan Chenyang examined the Shadow-Hiding Garment and learned Su Chen had starved and poisoned Qi Chuan, whom Su Chen suspected had served Zhou Xian.
• Yuan Chenyang identified the metal box as a Strange Artifact and found Black Pagoda’s power missing, warning that Southwind City was about to be destroyed.
• Yuan Chenyang told Su Chen that the artifact’s power would have corrupted him, then called Jiang Rong to report Qi Chuan’s death and urge him to cut ties.
• Jiang Rong told Jiang He that Qi Chuan’s attempt to kill her had excluded them from suspicion, while political tensions in Southwind City were rising.
• Su Chen spent his Low-Tier Strange God’s Power on Storm Hunter, activating a Path of Slaughter that required him to kill three Tier 2 Professionals to reach peak Tier 2.

After developing his Mystic Artificer class, Su Chen awakened Mystic Artifact Enhancement and learned that Yuan Chenyang’s aggressive search for Strange God cultists had provoked Zhou Xian and several deputy ministers. Yuan showed them Qi Chuan’s empty Strange Artifact, leaving Zhou Xian alarmed and Su Chen quietly arriving after the confrontation.

• Su Chen trained for seven or eight days, awakened Mystic Artifact Enhancement at 50% Mystic Artificer development, and combined Wind Erosion with his cyan iron cable.
• Fatty Sun told Su Chen that Yuan Chenyang had launched a sweeping hunt for Strange God cultists and that Zhou Xian had joined several deputy ministers in challenging him.
• Yuan Chenyang took Zhou Xian and the officials to see Qi Chuan’s corpse and revealed the empty Strange Artifact found on him.
• Yuan argued that the artifact’s missing power could signal a danger to Southwind City, but Zhou Xian suggested Yuan might be diverting suspicion and then left.
• Zhou Xian blamed Su Chen in private, while Yuan wondered what had happened to the artifact’s power; Su Chen emerged from the stairwell after Zhou Xian departed.

Su Chen visited Yuan Chenyang, discussed his rewards and profession, and learned that Zhang Hongbo had returned to Southwind City. Zhang Hongbo confronted Yuan Chenyang and ordered him to rotate early to guard the ruins, while taking over the Inspection Department.

• Su Chen asked Yuan Chenyang about the Strange Artifact incident, and Yuan Chenyang reassured him that the discovery had helped clear the crisis.
• Yuan Chenyang offered Su Chen potions and considered his requests for Glazed Blood and a special profession, then praised his progress as a Professional.
• Yuan Chenyang learned that Zhang Hongbo had returned and sent Su Chen away; Su Chen met Zhang Hongbo in the elevator and greeted him as Uncle Zhang.
• Zhang Hongbo confronted Yuan Chenyang over the uproar in Southwind City and questioned his suspicions about the Strange Artifact and Cult of the Strange Gods.
• Zhang Hongbo told Yuan Chenyang that he would rotate early to guard the ruins and that Zhang Hongbo would temporarily take over the Inspection Department.

Su Chen learned that Yuan Chenyang was being transferred to the ruins, while Zhang Yunqing discovered that the Sixth Chief Judge was coming to Southwind City to deal with the Cult of the Strange Gods. The chapter ended with Zhang Hengyu learning that the feared judge was a violent, bloodthirsty drifter.

• Su Chen planned to buy potions to advance his training methods, then learned from Yuan Chenyang that the council had ordered him to guard the ruins.
• Yuan Chenyang told Su Chen that Zhang Hongbo intended to take over the investigation and advised him to seek Sun Tai if trouble arose.
• Zhang Yunqing told Yang Yan and Gu Bing that Southwind City had an alarming number of Strange God believers and that they were likely planning something major.
• Yang Yan revealed that the Sixth Chief Judge was coming to Southwind City, and Zhang Yunqing realized her father did not know which judge was arriving.
• Zhang Yunqing declined Yang Yan's offer to take Zhang Hengyu with them, then told him that the Sixth Chief Judge was violent, reckless, bloodthirsty, and a drifter.

After Yuan Chenyang left the Inspection Department, the Black Pagoda Priest told Zhou Xian to find an exceptionally delicious soul in exchange for a chance to revive Zhou Zong. Meanwhile, Su Chen learned about weaponsmithing and trained, before Zhang Hongbo summoned Fatty Sun after a meeting at the Inspection Department.

• Zhang Yunqing told Zhang Hengyu that vagrants faced restrictions in the Tribunal and warned him not to tell their father about the Sixth Presiding Judge's interest in gifted students.
• The Black Pagoda Priest appeared through Zhou Zong's corpse and ordered Zhou Xian to find the delicious soul that had resisted corruption, offering him one wish if he succeeded.
• Zhou Xian suspected Yuan Chenyang was the target but held back his name after learning that presenting the wrong person could get both him and the priest killed.
• Fatty Sun told Su Chen that Zhang Hongbo had rejected Zhou Xian's attempt to take charge of the Inspection Department, then explained that weaponsmiths often began with the [Engineering Apprentice] profession.
• Su Chen drank Black Flame and Spirit Light Potions and trained in the gravity room, while Zhang Hongbo later summoned Fatty Sun after a meeting at the Inspection Department.

Zhang Hongbo questioned Fatty Sun about Su Chen, prompting Fatty Sun to warn Su Chen that the new City Lord was watching him. Su Chen ignored a blackmail note, reached Master level in two methods, and received two more methods from Fatty Sun.

• Zhang Hongbo reviewed Su Chen's file and told Fatty Sun to pass along a message urging Su Chen to work hard.
• Fatty Sun told Su Chen about Zhang Hongbo's questions and advised him not to patrol, while Su Chen asked him to find an F-rank Body Forging Method and meditation method.
• Su Chen found a note threatening to expose his possession of the Spatial Crystal unless he explained how Yuan Chenyang found the Strange Artifact, but he burned it and continued training.
• Su Chen reached Master level in the Body-Tempering Method and learned that his Hellflame Meditation Method had reached Master level five days earlier.
• Fatty Sun gave Su Chen copies of the F-rank Snake Shadow Body-Forging Method and Starlight Meditation Method, warning him not to sell them.

Su Chen learned that Pan Yu was probing the circumstances surrounding Qi Chuan’s death, suggesting the Cult of the Strange Gods had begun investigating the Strange Artifact and its missing power. He also heard that Huang Peng had disappeared and decided to ask Hu Xiang for help while preparing to advance to the second rank.

• Fatty Sun told Su Chen that his secret investigation into the intruder who entered Su Chen’s room had narrowed the possible suspects to seven second-rank or higher officials, including Pan Yu.
• Su Chen asked Fatty Sun to buy Blackflame Potion and Spirit Light Potion with the twenty thousand gold he had earned from the Azure-Scaled Lions.
• Han Da warned Su Chen that the 3rd Patrol Squad captain, who served Deputy Director Pan Yu, had been fishing for information about Qi Chuan’s death.
• Han Da told Su Chen that refugees, including Huang Peng, had gone missing, and that Zhang Man had sent Su Chen five hundred gold as a congratulatory gift after hearing he was the minister’s student.
• Su Chen concluded that the Cult of the Strange Gods was investigating the Strange Artifact and might have taken Huang Peng, then messaged Hu Xiang for help.

Su Chen dismissed Pan Yu’s request that he patrol and secretly investigated the deputy chief while continuing his training. Hu Xiang found no suspicious activity, leaving Su Chen unable to pursue an internal review without risking exposure of the Spatial Crystal and drained Strange Artifact.

• Pan Yu visited Su Chen and persuaded him to agree to patrol once a week, but Su Chen privately decided not to go.
• Su Chen trained until Fatty Sun brought him potions and information about [Shadow Veil Envoy], which Su Chen studied to help Zhou Li.
• Pan Yu returned to ask when Su Chen would patrol, and Su Chen told him he had already arranged to be marked absent and would eventually leave the department.
• Su Chen met Hu Xiang, who reported that Pan Yu followed his usual work-and-home routine and could not be investigated closely.
• Su Chen rejected the idea of reporting Pan Yu because an internal review could reveal the Spatial Crystal and drained Strange Artifact.

Su Chen advanced from Sky-Rending Warrior to Storm Hunter, discovering that advancement strengthened and transformed his existing abilities and that his training had become part of his foundation. As he considered how to obtain second-tier training resources, Pan Yu prepared to target the 17th Patrol Squad to investigate Qi Chuan’s death.

• Su Chen completed his Profession and Body Forging Method requirements, then advanced to Storm Hunter as thunder and strange gray-white rain filled the sky.
• Su Chen learned that his lower-tier abilities had been enhanced rather than discarded, and that his Body Forging Method abilities had fused into his foundation.
• Su Chen tested his stronger wind abilities, including Gale's Wrath, Gale Barrier, Wind-Hiding Shadow, and Wild Hunt, before exhaustion forced him to stop.
• Su Chen found his first-tier potion and Body Forging Method too inefficient and decided to address a problem before pursuing second-tier resources.
• Pan Yu confirmed that the 17th Patrol Squad had gone out the night Qi Chuan died and prepared to target its members to uncover more information.

Su Chen and Hu Xiang followed Pan Yu to Han Da’s home, then set a trap for him after realizing he was targeting people connected to Qi Chuan’s death. Pan Yu returned to the house and was caught when Hu Xiang’s spear struck him, leaving his fate uncertain.

• Hu Xiang reported that Pan Yu had broken his routine, and Su Chen used a Shadow-Painting Telescope to follow him.
• Su Chen recognized that Pan Yu was heading for Han Da’s home and inferred that he was investigating people who had been present when Qi Chuan died.
• Su Chen and Hu Xiang prepared a trap at Pan Yu’s safe house, though Hu Xiang questioned whether their plan amounted to breaking in and murder.
• Pan Yu found Han Da absent, then decided to target Zhou Li the next day and returned to his own home.
• Hu Xiang ambushed Pan Yu as motion-activated lights erased the shadows he needed to escape, and his flaming spear pierced Pan Yu.

Su Chen and Hu Xiang killed Pan Yu, a Cult of the Strange Gods member, and recovered the contents of his safe. A document inside triggered a forced Black Pagoda Believer class assignment, but Su Chen’s other professions intervened.

• Hu Xiang set Pan Yu ablaze, and Su Chen struck him with the Azure Cord before he could escape into the shadows.
• Su Chen identified Pan Yu as a Tier 2 Professional and arranged for Hu Xiang to burn the body down to its skeleton.
• Hu Xiang asked Su Chen to look for clues about the Mist Nightmare Pearl in Yingfeng, and Su Chen agreed.
• Su Chen stored Pan Yu’s bones and safe, then opened the safe and found Glazed Blood potions, Skyglow Stone, and a paper document.
• The document triggered a forced Black Pagoda Believer class assignment, but Su Chen’s other professions crowded forward to confront it.

Su Chen revealed that he had reached Tier 2 and sought training resources from the Inspection Department. Meanwhile, Yang Yan and Zhang Hongbo planned to use Su Chen as bait to draw out the Cult of the Strange Gods, unaware that his file still listed him as a refugee.

• Su Chen found that Blackflame Potions no longer affected him and went to the Inspection Department cafeteria for breakfast.
• Fatty Sun told Su Chen that Tier 2 potions were allocated to professionals and Body Forging Methods required a department head’s authorization.
• Su Chen admitted that he needed the resources himself, and Fatty Sun reacted with surprise when Su Chen confirmed he was already Tier 2.
• Fatty Sun urged Su Chen to go with him to see the City Lord and claim his training resources.
• Yang Yan and Zhang Hongbo discussed using Su Chen to lure out the Cult of the Strange Gods after their investigations found no clues.
• Yang Yan reviewed Su Chen’s file and was astonished to learn that the young Tier 1 Professional with Brilliant Silver body talent was listed as a refugee.

Su Chen was promoted to deputy chief of the Patrol Division and given valuable benefits after revealing that he had reached Tier 2, but he realized Zhang Hongbo planned to use his new post at the North City Inspection Branch as bait. He headed to logistics with Sun Tai to collect his promised rewards before taking up the assignment.

• Yang Yan and Zhang Hongbo discussed testing Yuan Chenyang by sending him on patrol before revising his records, while Gu Bing warned that Zhang Hongbo was using Yang Yan.
• Sun Tai brought Su Chen to Zhang Hongbo, who learned Su Chen had advanced to Tier 2 and offered him an honorary deputy chief position along with equipment, supplies, and training benefits.
• Zhang Hongbo quickly approved Su Chen’s promotion, assigning him concurrently as deputy branch chief at the North City Inspection Branch.
• Su Chen realized Zhang Hongbo intended to use him as bait and decided to collect his promised benefits from logistics first.
• Sun Tai accompanied Su Chen to logistics, hoping to get an additional item from his old friend Chief Qian.

Yuan Chenyang received word that Su Chen had advanced to a second-tier Profession, then dealt with Xia Hanshi’s inquiries about Southwind City and the Holy Word Stone. Meanwhile, Su Chen and Fatty Sun pressured Qian Hui into handing over the rare Azure-Scale Armor, leaving Su Chen equipped with a prototype that nearly reached the third tier.

• Yuan Chenyang learned from Sun Tai that Su Chen had advanced to a second-tier Profession.
• Xia Hanshi arrived, examined the information about the first-tier Profession, and questioned Yuan Chenyang about Southwind City’s ruins and the missing Holy Word Stone.
• Yuan Chenyang identified Zhou Xian as a suspect in the Holy Word Stone’s disappearance, and Xia Hanshi said he would arrest and question him.
• Fatty Sun confronted Qian Hui over the prototype armor, and Qian Hui finally brought out the Azure-Scale Armor for Su Chen.
• Su Chen activated the armor, which flowed over his body and fit like a warm inner layer; Qian Hui said it was a perfected peak second-tier prototype, nearly third-tier.

Su Chen collected a body-forging method, meditation method, and a week’s quota of Miasma Potion before settling into the North City Branch Office to train. As he investigated the disappearance of Pan Yu and prepared for trouble, Zhang Hengyu arrived to see him.

• Qian Hui gave Su Chen three tubes of Tier 2 Miasma Potion, and Fatty Sun obtained the Fierce Wind Body Tempering Method and Ethereal Meditation Method for him.
• Zhou Xian learned that Su Chen had become a Tier 2 Professional and considered acting against him while wondering what had happened to Pan Yu.
• Fatty Sun told Su Chen that Pan Yu had disappeared, his home safe was missing, and the Inspection Department suspected the Cult of the Strange Gods.
• Su Chen moved into the North City Branch Office, checked his room for surveillance, and trained with Miasma Potion, fivefold gravity, and the Fierce Wind Body Tempering Method.
• Someone summoned Su Chen downstairs early the next morning, where he found Zhang Hengyu waiting in the lobby.