Chapter Summaries

Zhang Hongbo, Yang Yan, and Gu Bing struggled to respond to the Strange God threat when Sun Tai reported that Su Chen had been attacked. Xia Hanshi brought Su Chen safely to the Inspection Department and punished the two envoys and Zhang Hongbo, revealing that Su Chen was his student.

• Zhang Hongbo, Yang Yan, and Gu Bing admitted they had no clear way to find the Strange God priest or stop the threat to Southwind City.
• Sun Tai told Zhang Hongbo that someone had attacked Su Chen, then learned that Xia Hanshi was with him and that Su Chen was safe.
• Xia Hanshi brought Su Chen to the Inspection Department and casually speculated that the fog might come from the depths of the starry sky.
• Xia Hanshi punished Yang Yan and Gu Bing for speaking behind a chief judge's back, making them cough up blood.
• Xia Hanshi struck Zhang Hongbo into a wall for using his student Su Chen as bait, and Zhang Hongbo apologized.

Su Chen became Xia Hanshi’s student, and the talent tests revealed that both his mental and physical talents were Red Gold. As Xia Hanshi celebrated his new prospect, Zhang Hongbo proposed seeking help from nearby cities to find the Cult of the Strange Gods’ hidden site.

• Sun Tai realized that Xia Hanshi had taken Su Chen as his student and left the room.
• Xia Hanshi ordered a talent test for Su Chen and confirmed his mental talent was Red Gold.
• Xia Hanshi warned that the cult’s hidden preparations to summon a vessel for the Strange God would be difficult to locate.
• Su Chen’s physical talent also tested as Red Gold, exciting Xia Hanshi and surprising the others.
• Zhang Hongbo proposed calling in investigators from nearby cities, but Yang Yan warned that the cities might refuse, and Xia Hanshi recognized that Zhang wanted him to confront their City Lords.

Su Chen prompted Sun Tai to reveal a lead about the Trade General Warehouse, where Xia Hanshi and the others discovered a Cult of the Strange Gods operation preparing to summon the Black Pagoda. Zhang Hongbo lost his position as City Lord, while Xia Hanshi ordered Su Chen to stay put.

• Xia Hanshi agreed to request help from nearby cities, but Su Chen suggested investigating clues from Sun Tai first.
• Under pressure from Zhang Hongbo and Xia Hanshi, Sun Tai reported that something connected to the Cult of the Strange Gods had entered the Trade General Warehouse.
• Xia Hanshi refused to use Southwind forces and went with Yang Yan, Gu Bing, and Zhang Hongbo to investigate the warehouse.
• A battle erupted at the warehouse, where the group found the Priest and a Black Pagoda Statue, and learned that the Cult had been preparing to summon the Black Pagoda.
• Xia Hanshi told Zhang Hongbo he could no longer remain City Lord, and Zhang Hongbo accepted responsibility.
• Xia Hanshi returned without Zhang Hongbo and ordered Su Chen to remain in his office.

Su Chen learned that the Black Tuo Believers’ plan had been exposed, Zhang Hongbo had secretly lost his City Lord position, and Yuan Chenyang was returning to act in his place. As Zhang Feng tried to flee Southwind City with Zhang Yunqing and Zhang Hengyu, Zhang Hongbo confronted him over his ties to the Cult of the Strange Gods.

• Xia Hanshi confirmed that the Black Tuo Statue housed the Strange God’s consciousness and went to watch Zhang Hongbo after the City Lord was secretly removed.
• Gu Bing told Su Chen that Yuan Chenyang was being summoned back to serve as acting City Lord, while Yang Yan warned him not to trust rumors about Xia Hanshi’s missing students.
• The wounded Black Tuo priest suspected Zhou Xian had leaked his location to Xia Hanshi and cursed him for betraying the cult.
• Su Chen told Sun Tai about Zhang Hongbo’s removal and Yuan Chenyang’s return, then pieced together how his interference had disrupted the Black Tuo Believers’ plans.
• Zhang Feng urged Zhang Yunqing and Zhang Hengyu to flee, revealed that Zhang Hongbo had ties to the Cult of the Strange Gods, and asked Zhang Hongbo to join him in seeking eternal life.

Zhang Hongbo exposed Zhang Feng’s collusion with the Cult of the Strange Gods and revealed that Su Chen was Xia Hanshi’s Double Red Gold student. Meanwhile, the cult’s priest forced Zhou Xian to become a believer, and Yuan Chenyang returned to the Inspection Department, where Zhang Hongbo prepared to explain the emergency.

• Zhang Hongbo told Zhang Yunqing and Zhang Hengyu that Zhang Feng had colluded with the Cult of the Strange Gods, praised Zhang Hengyu, and revealed that Su Chen was Xia Hanshi’s student with a Double Red Gold body and spirit.
• The priest accused Zhou Xian of leaking the Trade General Warehouse’s location, then made him swear allegiance to the Holy Lord and accepted his proposal to target the refugee district.
• Su Chen reviewed his training progress, worried about the Black Pagoda Statue’s constantly shifting location, and prepared to meet Yuan Chenyang.
• Yuan Chenyang returned to the Inspection Department and found Zhang Hongbo, Yang Yan, and Gu Bing waiting in his former office.
• Zhang Hongbo asked Yang Yan and Gu Bing whether they wanted to announce why Yuan Chenyang had been summoned.

Yuan Chenyang learned that Zhang Hongbo had been removed as Southwind City Lord and that Xia Hanshi had taken Su Chen as his student. After hearing about the danger still threatening the city, Yuan took charge and considered appointments for the Inspection Department.

• Gu Bing announced that Zhang Hongbo had been removed as City Lord and Yuan Chenyang would serve as acting City Lord.
• Zhang Hongbo explained that his younger brother Zhang Feng had colluded with the Cult of the Strange Gods, while Gu Bing said Xia Hanshi had cleared Zhang Hongbo of personal wrongdoing.
• Xia Hanshi confirmed he had taken Su Chen as his student and explained that Yuan’s discovery of Su Chen had helped him gain the City Lord position without obstruction.
• Yang Yan briefed Yuan on the Black Pagoda Statue and the escaped priest, and Xia Hanshi said Zhang Hongbo could bear responsibility if the crisis worsened.
• Yuan found Zhang Hongbo’s order to transfer Su Chen as bait, then spoke with Su Chen about his new teacher and their future.
• Yuan asked Su Chen about appointing Du Jingming as Inspection Department Minister, and Su Chen recommended Sun Tai for the deputy minister position.

Su Chen used an anonymous letter to lead Xia Hanshi toward Strange God activity in the refugee district, prompting him to gather Yuan Chenyang, Zhang Hongbo, and Gu Bing for an attack. The priest remained hidden and injured, but Zhou Xian arrived with news that he had found the delectable soul.

• Yuan Chenyang told Su Chen that his two Red Gold talents could once have made him a Core Seed, and Su Chen explained that the Sage and Scholar Professions had improved them.
• Yuan Chenyang took over as City Lord from Zhang Hongbo, and the city’s senior officials settled their concerns after meeting behind closed doors.
• Jiang Rong told Jiang He that Xia Hanshi had taken Su Chen as his student and ordered her to leave for Cloudwave before returning as a third-tier Arcane Weaver.
• Su Chen gave Xia Hanshi an anonymous letter pinpointing Strange God activity near the Refugee Administration Bureau’s West City Branch, and Xia Hanshi decided to investigate with Yuan Chenyang, Zhang Hongbo, and Gu Bing.
• The injured priest waited near the city wall, hoping the delectable soul remained in Southwind City, until Zhou Xian arrived and announced that he had found it.

The Black Pagoda priest’s ritual was exposed when Xia Hanshi attacked, but Zhou Xian escaped and later ambushed Su Chen at Inspection Headquarters. Su Chen survived Zhou Xian’s assault as Du Jingming moved to hold him off.

• The priest identified Su Chen as the soul sought by the Black Pagoda and ordered Zhou Xian to finish the ritual arrays before Xia Hanshi stormed their hideout.
• Xia Hanshi attacked the priest’s ritual site after a warning from someone with a strong sense of justice, while Zhou Xian realized the priest was likely doomed and chose to pursue another opportunity.
• Sun Tai invited Su Chen home, but their elevator plunged and Zhou Xian attacked Inspection Headquarters after detecting Su Chen’s movements through the electrical arcs.
• Su Chen countered Zhou Xian’s electrical attack with Azure Cord, then survived being hurled through walls when Zhou Xian struck him again.
• Du Jingming confronted Zhou Xian and told Su Chen and Sun Tai to flee while he held Zhou Xian off until reinforcements arrived.

Su Chen defeated Zhou Xian after their battle revealed that both men could invoke the Black Pagoda’s power, leaving Zhou Xian fatally wounded. As Su Chen recovered with Sun Tai, Du Jingming, and the Inspection Guards, they saw the western sky glowing gold.

• Su Chen fled through the elevator shaft while Du Jingming disrupted Zhou Xian’s elemental transformation with exposed electrical cables.
• Su Chen entered the Wind-Thunder Envoy state and struck Zhou Xian with the Azure Cord, but Zhou Xian summoned a Black Pagoda Statue.
• Su Chen revealed a Black Pagoda aura and crushed the Holy Eye crystal, summoning a second statue that shielded him from Zhou Xian’s attack.
• The two statues turned their attention on Zhou Xian when his faith wavered, blasting him through several walls; Su Chen then killed him with a strand of wire.
• Sun Tai and Du Jingming reached Su Chen, and Emergency Response Department staff treated his injury as Zhao Xiong joined them.
• Su Chen and the others saw the western sky glowing gold and wondered whether things beyond the Inspection Department were under control.

Xia Hanshi killed the Black Pagoda priest and seized the statue while Su Chen's group returned to find Zhou Xian dead and Su Chen unharmed. As the crisis wound down, Xia Hanshi agreed to let Zhang Hengyu attend the Tribunal at Su Chen's request.

• Xia Hanshi destroyed the priest's head and bound the Black Pagoda Statue in golden chains.
• Yuan Chenyang and the others returned to the Inspection Department and found Su Chen safe, then learned that Zhou Xian had died there.
• Su Chen explained that Du Jingming had wounded Zhou Xian and that Zhou Xian's attempt to summon a Black Pagoda phantom had killed him.
• Yuan Chenyang reported that Xia Hanshi had killed the priest and seized the Black Pagoda Statue, which Su Chen briefly inspected.
• Zhang Hongbo asked Xia Hanshi to take Zhang Hengyu to the Tribunal, and Xia agreed after Su Chen spoke in his favor.

Su Chen learned that three people from Southwind would attend the Tribunal assessment, while Xia Hanshi stayed behind to investigate the Cult of the Strange Gods and the missing Spatial Crystal. After detecting lingering power in the Black Pagoda Statue, Su Chen checked with Gu Bing, then continued training as the group prepared to leave Southwind.

• Gu Bing told Su Chen that Zhang Hengyu and Bai Fengxi would join another Southwind candidate at the Tribunal, and Yuan Chenyang agreed to change Su Chen's records to ordinary resident status.
• Xia Hanshi told Su Chen that the priest had been caught by surprise, then said he would investigate the Cult of the Strange Gods, the missing Spatial Crystal, and Southwind's Holy Word Stone while Su Chen traveled with Yang Yan and the others.
• Su Chen sensed lingering power from the Black Pagoda Statue, asked Gu Bing about it, and learned that she and Xia Hanshi believed it was only an empty shell.
• Su Chen trained with Miasma Potion and Illusion Essence as the Southwind divisions arrested hidden Strange God believers in a citywide purge.
• Su Chen met Bai Fengxi and Little Pigeon at the Inspection Guard cafeteria, learned they would leave for Yingfeng in three days, and reassured Little Pigeon that she could go there someday.

Su Chen traveled from Southwind City to Yingfeng aboard a spacecraft, learning about the planet and hearing rumors of an Ink Jadeite talent in the new Tribunal class. A corrupted consciousness escaped from the Black Pagoda Statue and invaded an Inspection Guard, but Su Chen’s system tamed it and rapidly evolved the guard into a Black Pagoda Priest.

• Su Chen boarded the spacecraft with the Southwind delegation, including Zhang Hongbo, Zhang Hengyu, and Zhang Yunqing, while Yang Yan carried the Holy Word Stone and its partially deciphered materials.
• Su Chen studied Yingfeng’s history and institutions during the journey, and Du Yu told him about a rumored Ink Jadeite talent who might become the Chief Judge.
• In the cargo hold, Zhao Hong heard a sound from the Black Pagoda Statue’s crate and looked inside, where the statue’s eye sent black mist into him.
• Zhao Hong approached Su Chen’s room under the corrupted consciousness’s control, and the consciousness tried to invade Su Chen.
• Su Chen’s system detected and tamed the corrupted consciousness, infusing Zhao Hong with Black Pagoda Faith Power and evolving him into a Fanatic Believer and then a Priest.

Su Chen discovered that he had advanced to Black Pagoda Priest, then explored mechanical ruins with the others and asked Xia Hanshi about Scholar- and Sage-like professions. Xia Hanshi revealed that Scholar, Sage, and Saint belonged to a rare profession series that could improve talent, and that the Translation Office controlled much of the knowledge about them.

• Su Chen transformed into a Black Pagoda Priest and found no corrupting consciousness or new knowledge within himself; Yang Yan and Gu Bing later examined him after Zhao Hong appeared outside his room.
• Su Chen opened Yuan Chenyang's case of Miasma Potions and Illusion Essence, then continued training during the journey.
• The spacecraft arrived at mechanical ruins, where Su Chen saw a huge fortress and Zhang Hongbo explained what mechanical ruins could contain.
• Su Chen encountered Xia Hanshi and asked whether Yingfeng had professions like Scholar or Sage, prompting Xia Hanshi to take him aside and ask how he had acquired them.
• Xia Hanshi explained that Scholar and Sage could improve talent and might be prerequisites in a profession series, while the Translation Office had recently deciphered Saint and guarded its research.

Su Chen completed the Fierce Wind Body Tempering Method’s Master level and reached Yingfeng, where he discovered a hidden Morning Star Rank Profession recorded on the city’s metal rings. After receiving his identification card, he was singled out by adjudicators retrieving the Black Pagoda Statue, and their leader learned his name.

• Su Chen decided the Translation Office might help him acquire another Profession, while Xia Hanshi promised to seek Saint for him and warned him to be careful in Yingfeng.
• Su Chen mastered the Fierce Wind Body Tempering Method, gained Fierce Wind Resilience, and began training with the Thunderflash Body Tempering Method.
• Su Chen arrived at Yingfeng and spotted symbols on its metal rings that revealed the Morning Star Rank Profession Crimson Flame Thunder Venerable and its Mystic Purple talent requirement.
• The Population Administration Bureau registered Su Chen and the other passengers, issuing them identification cards before the adjudicators arrived.
• Wang Pan led adjudicators aboard to retrieve the Black Pagoda Statue, identified Su Chen, and left after Gu Bing warned him that Chief Adjudicator Xia had seized it.

Su Chen accompanied Yang Yan to Yingfeng’s Translation Office to deliver Southwind’s Holy Word Stone and learn more about how the office worked. They were left waiting to meet Professor Sang Vast Sea, while Yang Yan warned that information about high-ranking Professions could itself be dangerous.

• Gu Bing told Su Chen he would have to remain outside the Tribunal until his assessment, and Su Chen asked Yang Yan to take him to the Translation Office with Southwind’s Holy Word Stone.
• Yang Yan explained that translation depended on accumulated knowledge, though people with an affinity for a stone’s Profession might perceive some of its information directly.
• Su Chen and Yang Yan traveled through Yingfeng and arrived at the Translation Office after nightfall.
• Yang Yan warned Su Chen to remind the Translation Office about Southwind only once, then presented his credentials at the guarded entrance and requested an appointment with Professor Sang Vast Sea.
• While they waited, Yang Yan said the highest Profession rank was unknown and warned Su Chen that exposure to information about high-ranking Professions could be harmful.

Su Chen accompanied Yang Yan to the Translation Office, where he helped Sang Vast Sea decipher a Holy Word Stone and earned an invitation to assist with the translation. After settling into a hotel in Yingfeng, Su Chen learned that two Ink-Jade Talent holders were competing for the Tribunal’s limited Core Seed positions and the chance to pursue Chief Justice.

• Yang Yan explained that high-tier professions had strange requirements and could be dangerous to study, while Su Chen realized that professions could be traded.
• Jin Yunxuan used his translator priority to cut ahead of Yang Yan and Su Chen, then examined the Holy Word Stone from Southwind City.
• Sang Vast Sea recognized Su Chen as the rare dual-talent Red Gold from Southwind and agreed to share the deciphered information with the city.
• Su Chen suggested that the Holy Word Stone required fewer Spatial Crystals and a mental-type profession, helping Sang Vast Sea narrow down the translation.
• Sang Vast Sea invited Su Chen to assist with deciphering the profession, and Jin Yunxuan offered to work with him in the future.
• Yang Yan helped Su Chen exchange Skyglow Stones, register on Yingfeng’s network, and find a hotel, where Su Chen read about the Ink-Jade Talent contenders and the Tribunal’s Core Seeds.

Su Chen began working with Sang Vast Sea at the Translation Office, quickly deciphered a Holy Word Stone clue, and sought advice about his Profession advancement. After reuniting with Southwind acquaintances, he met Xia Hanshi’s student Bu Siqi, who warned him that the Tribunal’s chief examiner might target him and confirmed that a rival had an Ink-Jade Talent.

• Su Chen visited the Translation Office, where Sang Vast Sea explained Profession advancement options and warned that the Saint Profession had been sealed away.
• Su Chen sensed that the Holy Word Stone required a Tier Two mental-type Profession, and Sang Vast Sea verified his answer within half an hour.
• Su Chen attended a gathering with Du Yu, Zhang Yunqing, and other Southwind students, where they discussed Yingfeng’s recruitment standards and the Tribunal assessment.
• Du Yu told Su Chen that Jiang He had arrived in Yingfeng, and Zhang Yunqing later said Gu Bing had asked for Su Chen’s location.
• Bu Siqi met Su Chen and warned him that Wei Yinshuo, the Tribunal’s chief examiner, might make trouble because of old grudges against Xia Hanshi.
• Bu Siqi confirmed that Wei Yinshuo had taken in a student with Ink-Jade Talent, leaving him concerned about how Su Chen would fare in the assessment.

Su Chen helped Sang Vast Sea decipher the Space Storage User Profession and learned the Saint’s requirements, while his panel revealed a path toward the Flawless One. As Sang Vast Sea introduced him to a powerful visitor who recognized him, Su Chen realized his growing connections might bring new complications.

• Bu Siqi agreed to find Su Chen training potions, a grade-E meditation technique, and news of a Mist Demon Orb in exchange for Su Chen’s gold and dagger.
• Sang Vast Sea used Su Chen’s new resonance with the Holy Word Stone to identify the Space Storage User Profession and begin verifying its requirements.
• Su Chen chose to learn the Saint’s requirements, which included Scarlet-Gold mental talent, personally saving one thousand people, and never killing a living being.
• Su Chen’s panel linked Saint with Scholar and Sage, then revealed a Path of the Flawless One after Sang Vast Sea mentioned the Spirit Master Profession.
• An elderly visitor called Old Yuan entered the laboratory, recognized Su Chen, and drew his attention.

Su Chen learned that the Saint’s requirements had been eased and accepted an invitation to Chu Xuan’s banquet in exchange for a Mist Demon Orb. He left without joining Chu Xuan’s faction and considered how to fulfill the revised requirement to help one hundred people.

• Yuan Poshan met Su Chen at the Translation Office, and Sang Vast Sea explained that Su Chen had helped decipher the Holy Word Stone.
• The panel reduced the requirement to personally help one hundred people and erased the prohibition on killing after the Crimson Flame Thunder Venerable vouched for Su Chen’s kind-hearted past life.
• Three of Chu Yunze’s men invited Su Chen to Chu Xuan’s banquet and offered him a Mist Demon Orb, which he accepted.
• At the banquet, Su Chen met Chu Yunze, Pang Xingwen, Meng Qi, and Chu Xuan, then took the Mist Demon Orb and left without agreeing to join Chu Xuan’s group.
• On the ride back, Su Chen considered the guests’ motives and wondered whether forcibly helping someone would count toward his requirement.

Su Chen worked toward the Saint Profession requirement by helping commuters, dealt with a follower through Bu Siqi and Xia Hanshi, and reached 50% development in two Professions, gaining fused abilities. On the day of the Tribunal assessment, Du Yu and Zhang Hengyu arrived at his hotel and found him still training.

• Su Chen discovered that helping a pregnant commuter secure a seat counted toward his requirement, and his total reached six during the morning rush hour.
• Su Chen noticed a man following him; Bu Siqi later captured him and took him to Xia Hanshi, who ordered the Pang Family member's head sent to the family and warned of several Strange Gods cooperating in a major scheme.
• Su Chen reached 50% development in Wind-Thunder Envoy and Mystic Mind Adept, gaining Frenzied Thunder Wind Armor and Mental Control through ability fusion.
• Su Chen continued helping people and training as the Tribunal assessment approached, reaching eighty-six helped targets and deciding to wait until he had an official identity before visiting the Translation Office.
• Du Yu and Zhang Hengyu arrived just after midnight on assessment day and found Su Chen training; Su Chen said he planned to leave for the Tribunal later that morning.