Recaps

Xu Zhi underwent further tests at Zhuang Xu’s clinic, where the doctor was puzzled by how quickly her injuries were healing. Zhuang Xu and the others learned that the army had arrived in the slums to investigate a brutal series of murders, leaving Xu Zhi to suspect the case was tied to the army’s search for something.

• Xu Zhi questioned the quality of Zhuang Xu’s reagents, and he admitted that better tests were unavailable in the lower levels.
• Xu Zhi completed a thorough examination, and Zhuang Xu was surprised by her rapid recovery.
• Zhuang Xu’s friend rushed into the clinic and announced that the army had arrived earlier than expected.
• The friend reported that soldiers had surrounded the slums and were searching for a killer while questioning residents.
• The friend described how a suspected supernatural being had murdered and dismembered scavengers during the seasonal fog, and Zhuang Xu wondered whether the case was connected to the army’s other business.

Zhuang Xu gave Xu Zhi medicine for her severe internal injuries and warned the sisters to return home before the military search implicated them. When soldiers stopped Xu Zhi and Qi Yanxin for questioning, Xu Zhi claimed the medicine belonged to her and revealed that she was Lamp-aligned.

• Zhuang Xu prepared Xu Zhi's medicine and instructed her to take the doses as prescribed.
• Xu Zhi and Qi Yanxin headed home, and Qi Yanxin admitted she was frightened of the military.
• Soldiers stopped the sisters near the slums and took them to a temporary tent for questioning.
• The officer found medicine for Gifted users among the sisters' belongings and asked which of them was Gifted.
• Xu Zhi claimed the medicine was hers and said she was Lamp-aligned, surprising the officer.

A female officer tested Xu Zhi and confirmed her rare [Lamp] attribute, then questioned her identity, awakening, and injuries. Xu Zhi’s amnesia and discovery in a garbage dump prompted the officer to order surveillance footage retrieved, leaving Xu Zhi uncertain about what it might reveal.

• The officer tested Xu Zhi with a reagent that turned pale gold, confirming her [Lamp] attribute.
• The officer sent the other scavengers out and asked Xu Zhi when she had awakened and whether she had registered an identity; Xu Zhi said she had no registration and could not remember awakening.
• The adjutant questioned Xu Zhi’s memory, and Qi Yanxin explained that she had found Xu Zhi in a garbage dump a few days earlier.
• The officer asked Qi Yanxin for the time and location where she found Xu Zhi, then ordered the adjutant to retrieve the dump’s surveillance footage.
• The officer questioned Xu Zhi about her injuries and clinic visit, then tested her knowledge with questions; Xu Zhi’s genuine ignorance convinced her that Xu Zhi had lost her memory.

Xu Zhi and Qi Yanxin were placed under military supervision after the officer found suspicious gaps in the surveillance footage and ordered them to move into a tent. When the military announced that they had found the murderer, Xu Zhi asked to see him and a guard agreed to take her there.

• The officer reviewed Doctor Zhuang's evidence and learned that Xu Zhi's injuries were too severe to have been self-inflicted.
• The adjutant reported that a magnetic field had disrupted part of the surveillance footage, and the officer ordered Xu Zhi and Qi Yanxin to move under military supervision.
• Xu Zhi and Qi Yanxin packed their few belongings and moved into a military tent while investigators examined the crime scene.
• After nightfall, Xu Zhi heard that the military had found the murderer and asked the guard to take her to see him.
• The guard waited for his superior's instructions, then agreed to escort Xu Zhi.

Xu Zhi watched a military assault on a suspected serial killer in the Rat’s Den and recognized the black-and-red blade he wielded as her knife. The operation exposed the killer as a monstrous, corrupted figure, leaving the soldiers and their observers stunned.

• Xu Zhi entered the command tent and watched soldiers raid a location near the Rat’s Den.
• The killer’s black-and-red blade pierced a soldier’s protective uniform and drained his blood.
• Xu Zhi recognized the blade as her knife and deduced that it had corrupted the killer as he murdered factory workers.
• The soldiers threw a flare into the dark house, revealing the hairless, gaunt killer with black eyes and the blade in his hand.

An assault team subdued a seemingly unstoppable murderer by destroying the black knife that empowered him, then recovered the weapon. Military officials reviewed the footage and debated the knife’s origin and attribute without considering the vanished taboo [Cup].

• The assault team attacked the murderer, but his unnatural movements and resilience let him evade bullets and endure severe injuries.
• A [Forge]-aligned Transcendent bound the black blade with an orange chain, then used an incantation to blast it from the murderer’s wrist.
• The murderer fell motionless, and the team confirmed he was alive before safely wrapping and recovering the blade.
• Military officials watched the team return and questioned how such a powerful Transcendent item had appeared in the lower levels.
• The officials debated whether the knife belonged to Heart, [Forge], or Blade, while none mentioned [Cup].

Xu Zhi watched the military interrogate the murderer who had found her saber, while officers discovered his bloodlust and altered personality did not match the usual influence of a Transcendent item. The female officer ordered a private test of his attributes, and Xu Zhi realized the discovery of a [Cup] believer would end her peaceful life with Qi Yanxin and have wider consequences.

• The military brought the dying murderer and the strange saber to camp, where a Transcendent with the [Opening] attribute compelled him to answer questions.
• The murderer said he had picked up the blade by the roadside, and Xu Zhi connected this to her theory that she and her Familiars had been scattered across the real world.
• The murderer described his desire to kill and drink blood, especially during the Mist Season, while retaining clear memories and showing no usual attachment to the blade.
• The officers recognized that the blade had changed the murderer's personality in an unusual way, and the female officer ordered him taken away for a private Transcendent attribute test.
• Xu Zhi realized the test would reveal a believer of the [Cup] attribute and bring her peaceful time with Qi Yanxin to an end.

After an extraordinary being with the [Cup] attribute was discovered, Chi Qiusheng ordered everyone in the area to undergo attribute tests and kept Xu Zhi and her sister under guard. Xu Zhi considered how the incident might help her reach the upper levels, while the competition offered little to watch.

• After her attribute test took far longer than expected, Chi Qiusheng ordered a full screening and the arrest of anyone suspicious.
• Chi Qiusheng told Xu Zhi that she and her sister had to remain in the tent and answer questions honestly when asked.
• Xu Zhi learned Chi Qiusheng's name and reasoned that the discovery of a [Cup] follower would trigger a wide investigation.
• Xu Zhi returned to Qi Yanxin, confirmed that the murderer had been caught, and considered how the disruption might help her reach the upper levels.
• Xu Zhi watched the competition briefly and regretted doing so.

Xu Zhi and Qi Yanxin watched an enormous craft bearing the city’s golden lotus arrive from the upper levels, signaling that the authorities were taking the [Cup] crisis seriously. Qi Yanxin was found to have almost no chance of awakening, while Xu Zhi was summoned for an examination by a new doctor, whom she suspected came from the upper levels.

• Xu Zhi and Qi Yanxin spent a noisy night in the army camp, with Xu Zhi trying to rest despite the commotion.
• A massive black aircraft arrived above the camp and deployed smaller craft and fighter jets.
• Qi Yanxin explained that the golden lotus on the craft was a symbol associated with the upper levels.
• A soldier and a doctor tested Qi Yanxin and found that her Winter affinity was too weak for her to likely awaken.
• The soldier told Xu Zhi that a new doctor wanted to examine her, and Xu Zhi suspected the doctor was from the upper levels.

Representatives from the Light Institute, Star-Setting Consortium, Gods Heavy Industries, and Heavenly Heart Society arrived to investigate the dead killer and the discovery of traces of the Cup. When the Council delayed its arrival despite sending Upper House members, the representatives decided to proceed without waiting.

• The upper-level representatives learned that the killer had died after officers used extreme measures to question him, and the Star-Setting Consortium's young man berated the officer responsible.
• The Light Institute representative stopped the argument and said Xiao Yue of the Heavenly Heart Society could make the dead speak.
• The representatives discussed the Council's slow response and the danger of other cities learning that traces of the Cup had appeared in their city.
• The Light Institute representative received a message that the Council's people would arrive an hour late and would come from the Upper House.
• The Star-Setting Consortium's young man agreed with the others to investigate immediately rather than wait for the Council.

Xu Zhi underwent a comprehensive examination aboard the aircraft, where a doctor warned that Zhuang Xu’s medicine had drained her life force and diminished her supernatural potential. The doctor said the damage could still be remedied, leaving Xu Zhi waiting to hear how.

• A soldier took Xu Zhi to a treatment room aboard the aircraft and handed her over to a middle-aged doctor.
• The doctor reviewed Xu Zhi’s records and said Zhuang Xu’s medicine had serious side effects, which Xu Zhi said she had accepted to stay alive.
• Xu Zhi underwent a forty-minute examination using advanced medical equipment.
• The doctor explained that although Xu Zhi’s external injuries were improving, the medicine had weakened her body and drained her supernatural potential.
• The doctor reassured Xu Zhi that the damage was not beyond remedy.

Xu Zhi let the doctor examine her injuries and accepted an offer of free glasses and medicine in exchange for research on her extraordinary ability. She realized the agreement tied her to the doctor’s faction, but decided to wait and see how other factions approached her.

• The doctor told Xu Zhi that treating her depleted vitality required rare ingredients from the upper levels, then hinted that there might be a way to get her treatment despite her questionable identity.
• The doctor discussed Xu Zhi’s rare gray eyes and warned that her severe eye injuries could eventually lead to blindness.
• Xu Zhi pretended she could not afford the glasses and medicine, and the doctor offered them for free if Xu Zhi agreed to let her study her extraordinary ability.
• Xu Zhi accepted the offer and agreed that the arrangement would remain in place even if she later reached the upper levels.
• The doctor said she would have glasses made with circuits to protect Xu Zhi’s eyes, while Xu Zhi considered herself only tentatively allied with the doctor’s faction.

Xu Zhi received medicine and custom glasses from an upper-district doctor, then returned to Qi Yanxin and spent the night absorbing [Lamp]-attribute energy. At dawn, she broke through, sensed her Familiars again, and ordered Little One to reach her discreetly.

• The doctor gave Xu Zhi five days of medicine and custom glasses that restored her clear vision, though the glasses seemed to have no other effect.
• Xu Zhi returned to the tent, where Qi Yanxin worried about the free glasses and felt she could no longer help Xu Zhi; Xu Zhi relaxed more around her than around anyone else.
• Xu Zhi stayed awake absorbing [Lamp]-attribute energy until she broke through at dawn and sensed the locations and conditions of her Familiars.
• Xu Zhi discovered she could spend extraordinary energy to learn about and command her reconnected Familiars, then ordered Little One to come to her quickly without drawing attention.

After her breakthrough, Xu Zhi examined her changed abilities and discovered that the scar left by Midnight warned her when she tried to sense her distant Familiars. Little One reached the army camp and reunited with her, hiding as a bracelet before Qi Yanxin returned.

• Xu Zhi found that Cursed Speech had not leveled up and Little Aberration remained weak, though its life force had stabilized.
• When Xu Zhi tried to sense her three distant Familiars, Midnight's scar flared with pain, suggesting their location was connected to Midnight.
• Xu Zhi confirmed that the distant Familiars were stable and seemed to have improved, then noticed her control and self-healing had strengthened after her breakthrough.
• Little One entered the camp underground as a tiny snake and climbed onto Xu Zhi, nuzzling her cheek.
• Xu Zhi warned Little One that Qi Yanxin would soon return, and Little One curled around her finger and became a black jade bracelet beneath her sleeve.

Xu Zhi met a Star-Setting Consortium representative who offered her a twenty-year contract with substantial pay, resources, and support in exchange for becoming one of its transcendents. She accepted a Wing City badge as a gift, but the chapter left her reacting to the proposed contract.

• Xu Zhi concealed Little One’s traces from Qi Yanxin, who checked on her and opened the tent curtains.
• A representative wearing the Star-Setting Consortium’s golden scales brought Xu Zhi to a tent displaying city badges.
• Xu Zhi recognized a familiar falcon badge and accepted it as a meeting gift from the representative.
• The representative offered Xu Zhi a twenty-year contract, promising a salary, advancement materials, guidance, schooling, and other support.

Xu Zhi hesitated over the Star-Setting Consortium’s offer of a twenty-year contract and waited to hear what other factions would offer. After returning to her tent, she received a visit from a middle-aged man and a quiet young girl, who began discussing their terms.

• A Star-Setting Consortium representative defended its twenty-year contract, but Xu Zhi asked for time to consider it.
• After leaving the consortium’s tent, Xu Zhi noticed other factions watching her and anticipated their recruitment offers.
• A middle-aged man and a quiet young girl stopped Xu Zhi and asked to speak with her in her tent.
• Qi Yanxin let Xu Zhi and the visitors inside, where the middle-aged man asked whether Xu Zhi had chosen a faction yet.
• Xu Zhi agreed to hear what terms the visitors could offer.

Tan Jingyuan and Qi Yanxin explained what the Light Institute and Heavenly Heart Society could offer Xu Zhi, including education, access to Lost Lands, and help for her sister. Xu Zhi distrusted both offers and asked for time to decide, but Tan Jingyuan gave her only eight hours.

• Tan Jingyuan introduced himself as a representative of the Light Institute and offered Xu Zhi a place in its inner academy in exchange for joining the institute permanently.
• Tan Jingyuan described the Light Institute’s resources and access to Lost Lands, while Xu Zhi recognized that its inner academy meant a lifelong commitment.
• Qi Yanxin explained that the Heavenly Heart Society offered more freedom after graduation and claimed it could make Xu Zhi’s ordinary sister a supernatural being without side effects.
• Xu Zhi compared the four factions, rejected the Heavenly Heart Society as a threat to her secrets, and judged the Light Institute’s lifelong allegiance dangerous too.
• Xu Zhi asked to think about the offers, and Tan Jingyuan gave her eight hours to decide.

Qi Yanxin asked Xu Zhi not to leave her behind, and Xu Zhi promised to take her along while weighing her recruitment options. Meanwhile, Chi Qiusheng and the upper-district figures argued over the mysterious blade and agreed to let Gods Heavy Industries trace it before Tiyet’s preparations produced results.

• Qi Yanxin admitted she feared being abandoned, and Xu Zhi reassured her that she would take her along.
• Xu Zhi considered the conglomerate, the Heavenly Heart Society, and the Light Institute, finding each option troubling.
• Chi Qiusheng reported that the blade’s wielder had acted by accident and that no other Transcendents were known in the Plain District.
• A Gods Heavy Industries representative described the blade’s unusual material and offered to trace its origins in the furnace.
• The councilor allowed the representative to take the blade, noting that Tiyet was preparing and would produce results within twelve hours.

After the councilor confirmed that the corpse carried Cup’s trail, Xu Zhi weighed the factions’ offers and chose the Light Institute. She demanded access to the Lost Land as a smokescreen, leaving the Light Institute to consider her terms.

• The Star-Setting Consortium representative said Xu Zhi had recognized Yavi’s emblem, and the councilor ordered everyone to erase traces of the corpse and leave before dawn.
• The councilor privately confirmed to his chairman that the corpse bore Cup’s trail and agreed to conceal the information while the chairman used Xu Zhi as bait.
• The doctor offered Xu Zhi a place with Gods Heavy Industries in exchange for her extraordinary circuit, but Xu Zhi decided not to accept.
• Xu Zhi chose the Light Institute and demanded that it grant her qualification to enter the Lost Land.

Xu Zhi secured admission to Light Institute and the right to compete for a Lost Land qualification, then prepared to leave the lower levels with Qi Yanxin. They boarded an aircraft bound for the fifth level, where their new lives would begin.

• Xu Zhi failed to obtain a guaranteed Lost Land qualification but secured the right to compete for one after entering Light Institute.
• Xu Zhi asked for Qi Yanxin to accompany her, and the Light Institute representative agreed to arrange housing and registration for them both.
• Xu Zhi told Qi Yanxin they would leave for the upper levels, and they packed their few belongings.
• The next morning, Xu Zhi and Qi Yanxin followed a soldier onto the aircraft and were shown to their room.
• The soldier told Xu Zhi and Qi Yanxin to stay in their room until the aircraft reached the fifth level in about two hours.

Xu Zhi arrived on the Fifth Floor and learned that the Light Institute had arranged her registration and enrollment in advance. As Ke Yi escorted her to the institute, she heard about the Fifth Floor’s academies and commercial district, while continuing to consider how to regain her strength and act freely.

• Xu Zhi planned to restore her strength, complete her [Moth] extraordinary circuit, and return to the lower levels when the fog came again.
• The aircraft passed identification verification and arrived, and Qi Yanxin helped Xu Zhi out into the bright sunlight of the Fifth Floor.
• Tan Jingyuan introduced Ke Yi, who said Xu Zhi’s household registration was complete and that she would take her to the Light Institute for enrollment.
• Xu Zhi realized the Institute’s arrangements left her little chance to leave the transport route before reaching the Light Institute.
• Ke Yi explained that the Fifth Floor housed advanced academies and supporting facilities, and warned Xu Zhi about the costly temptations of the Star-Setting Consortium’s commercial district.

Xu Zhi arrived at the Light Institute with Ke Yi and Qi Yanxin, learning about the academy’s layout, rules, and assessments. She entered the grounds as a specially recruited student and heard how the corporations tested and exploited supernaturals.

• Ke Yi warned Xu Zhi that corporations could trap people in debt and explained that the fifth level was governed by order and law under the Council.
• After a three-hour journey, Ke Yi brought Xu Zhi and Qi Yanxin to the Light Institute, which occupied a mountain peak.
• Ke Yi obtained one-use temporary passes for Xu Zhi and Qi Yanxin and explained that unauthorized people inside could be attacked.
• Xu Zhi crossed the entrance and felt an unexplained threat, then learned that outer academy students could qualify for the inner academy by climbing the mountain steps.
• Ke Yi described the Light Institute’s outer and inner academy assessments and warned Xu Zhi that corporations extracted supernaturals’ blood, marrow, and energy to assess their potential.

Xu Zhi and Qi Yanxin traveled with Ke Yi to the Light Institute’s inner academy, where Xu Zhi learned about its surveillance, facilities, and restricted areas. Xu Zhi completed registration and officially became an inner academy student.

• Ke Yi led Xu Zhi and Qi Yanxin through the gated outdoor elevators and explained that the Light Institute would record students’ biological identities after enrollment.
• Xu Zhi rode the elevator to the vast mountaintop inner academy while Qi Yanxin grew nervous at the height.
• Ke Yi took Xu Zhi and Qi Yanxin by accessible electric cart to the Academic Affairs Office and warned Xu Zhi to avoid areas where powerful Transcendents lived.
• An office worker gave Xu Zhi her enrollment materials and had her register with a fingerprint.
• The office worker announced that Xu Zhi had become a student of the Light Institute’s inner academy.

Xu Zhi began her extraordinary assessment at the Light Institute, where the first test identified her as a Level Four, Proficient [Lamp] extraordinary being. The second assessment began, leaving her results unknown.

• A stern teacher explained Xu Zhi’s enrollment, credits, classes, and eligibility for the Lost Land selection trials.
• Ke Yi guided Xu Zhi to the second floor and explained the Academic Affairs Office’s functions.
• A staff member described how the assessment would test Xu Zhi’s attribute, rank, and extraordinary affinity.
• Xu Zhi entered the sealed assessment room as the Light Institute monitored her.
• The first assessment identified Xu Zhi’s attribute as Lamp and her rank as Level Four, Proficient.
• The room announced that the second assessment was beginning.

Xu Zhi completed the Light Institute’s supernatural affinity tests, impressing the observing teachers with her high absorption rate, composure, and exceptional recovery speed. Her results ranked her first in supernatural affinity, earning her an extra 100 credits each month.

• Xu Zhi absorbed nearly all the supernatural energy in the test room, prompting teachers to note her 92% absorption rate.
• Xu Zhi let the Winter-attribute circuits drain her supernatural energy without showing distress, astonishing the teachers watching her.
• Xu Zhi absorbed enough energy to reach saturation in two seconds, leading the teachers to compete over who would supervise her.
• Xu Zhi received her test results: excellent supernatural affinity, academy rank No. 1, and an additional 100 monthly credits.