Recaps

Bai Zhu fought the ancient corpse, whose attacks combined crystal powers with techniques from Bai Zhu’s memories. He discovered that the Star Tracks disrupted the figure’s movements and used them to bind him, leaving Bai Zhu pointing Ryujin Jakka at his brow.

• The ancient corpse attacked Bai Zhu with crystal fragments, fire and water techniques, and a Shadow Clone, forcing him to evade a chain of deadly blows.
• Bai Zhu noticed that the ancient corpse avoided the blue Star Tracks and blasted them with Sōkatsui, disrupting the figure’s movements.
• Bai Zhu changed tactics, using the Star Tracks to constrain the ancient corpse’s movement and make his teleportation difficult.
• Bai Zhu unleashed Bakudō #96: Ittō Kasō and trapped the slowed ancient corpse in a cage of flaming pillars and chains.
• Bai Zhu raised Ryujin Jakka toward the bound figure’s brow and declared that the game was over.

Bai Zhu survived the ancient-robed figure’s test and received the Kidō Analysis reward, but the figure warned him that his system might not belong to him and told him never to analyze its underlying code. Outside Black Tower, the tower devoured Lakeheart Oasis as Ging sensed that Bai Zhu’s energy had been extinguished and reignited in a purer form.

• Bai Zhu’s golden flame prison shattered, and the ancient-robed figure immobilized him, knocked him unconscious, and declared the assessment passed.
• Bai Zhu woke to find the Kidō Analysis module progressing at 0.01% and a new black tomoe mark on Soul King's Pen.
• The ancient-robed figure opened the way out, called himself a gravekeeper, and warned Bai Zhu that his system might not belong to him and that he must never analyze its underlying code.
• The one-eyed black cat owl spread its wings over Black Tower and drained Lakeheart Oasis until its lake and vegetation withered into sand and ash.
• Ging sensed Bai Zhu’s energy briefly vanish and reignite with greater purity, then concluded that Black Tower was a furnace for purification.

Bai Zhu followed the one-eyed owl into the Black Tower and found Zhang Ye’s damaged diary, which connected the tower and other places to ancient calamity seals. He discovered that Chimera was one of dozens of sealed threats, and wondered whether the Ant King incident had been only a fragment that escaped its seal.

• The core observation chamber vanished, and a one-eyed owl appeared and opened a passage deeper into the Black Tower.
• The owl suppressed Bai Zhu’s abilities and led him across a bridge above the tower’s water-vein tracks as its systems repaired themselves.
• The owl opened a stone box containing a glowing black pen nib and Zhang Ye’s damaged diary, and Bai Zhu read the diary’s records of building a protective ring against calamities.
• Bai Zhu recognized Ring Island, Meteor City, and the Black Tower among the diary’s seal sites, matching them to places from his own experiences and known legends.
• Bai Zhu found Zhang Ye’s entry naming Chimera as a devouring-type calamity and noticed that the diary listed dozens of other seal designations.

Bai Zhu read Zhang Ye's diary and discovered the origins of the Safe Zone, the nature of the Chimera seals, and the purpose of the artifacts he had found. After he joined the black nib to the Soul King's Pen, the owl transformed and a beam of light teleported him away.

• Bai Zhu learned from Zhang Ye's diary that Zhang Ye had sealed powerful monsters and used their life energy to create the Safe Zone.
• Bai Zhu recognized the feather pen and Ring Island map as parts of Zhang Ye's handover package, then read that Chimera referred to rules of devouring, fusion, and evolution.
• Bai Zhu examined the black nib and joined it to the feather pen, raising the Soul King's Pen repair progress to 3/5 and revealing a small increase in Kidō Analysis progress.
• The owl's black feathers turned silvery-white, and its face came to resemble the Landlord Bai Zhu had seen on Ring Island.
• A pillar of light enveloped Bai Zhu and began teleporting him as he asked the owl how the property management fee was calculated.

Bai Zhu paid the Giant One-Eyed Owl its promised rent in snacks as the Black Tower sank beneath the desert. The owl left him a black shard containing a pulsing insect egg, which the Soul King's Pen identified as a source of contamination that had entered human society.

• Bai Zhu saw Lakeheart Oasis reduced to a dry wasteland as the Black Tower sank, while Milluki angrily accused him of making him work for free.
• The Giant One-Eyed Owl circled above the tower, and Hua Qiulang ordered the surviving Specialist Association team to record everything.
• Bai Zhu offered the owl a pile of snacks as rent, and it accepted them before giving him a black shard.
• The Soul King's Pen warned that the source of contamination had entered human society, and Hua Qiulang recognized the shard with alarm.
• The shard cracked open to reveal a pulsing insect egg as the Black Tower disappeared beneath the desert and the owl flew east.

After Oasis collapsed, Bai Zhu gave Ging a dangerous insect egg from the Chimera ruins and warned him about its ability to devour, fuse, and evolve. Ging invited Bai Zhu to test a new game, and Bai Zhu eagerly agreed to play once it was ready.

• Milluki confronted Bai Zhu over unpaid overtime and compensation while Piyu filmed them.
• Bai Zhu gave Ging the black shard containing the pulsing egg and explained its Chimera origins and dangers.
• Ging accepted the shard and said he would investigate it, while Bai Zhu reminded him to pay the agreed commission.
• Ging invited Bai Zhu to test a game he was developing with friends, and Bai Zhu eagerly agreed and suggested naming it Greed Island.
• In the investigation report, Razor described Bai Zhu's energy as transformed and reborn, and noted that Pariston would likely have another headache.

Bai Zhu told Morel he wanted to become a real Marine Hunter, go to sea, and make money, then offered to show him valuable material in exchange for investing in his dream and letting him ride along. Morel and Gela Jiang took Bai Zhu to Morel’s shipyard, where they met Morel’s partner Ramos.

• Bai Zhu asked Morel for a chilled coconut, then said he wanted to become a real Marine Hunter and go to sea.
• Bai Zhu promised Morel material that would make his ship seem like a bathtub, and Morel agreed to take him to the shipyard.
• Gela Jiang joined Morel and Bai Zhu, and Morel used his ability to speed them by boat to the shipyard.
• Ramos introduced himself as Morel’s partner and returned to work without entertaining the visitors.
• Morel led the group farther into the shipyard, proudly showing it off.

Bai Zhu revealed a colossal Sea Lord's horn at Morel's shipyard and offered it to him for a shipbuilding project. Morel abandoned his hundred-meter exploration ship and decided to buy an eight-hundred-meter Titan-class battleship as a more suitable vessel.

• Morel showed Bai Zhu the nearly completed Deep-Sea Pioneer and explained its advanced materials and high cost.
• Bai Zhu cleared the assembly platform and summoned a gigantic black Sea Lord's horn from a spatial rift.
• Morel inspected the intact horn in awe, while Gela Jiang complained that Bai Zhu had given him no share of it.
• Morel decided the Deep-Sea Pioneer was far too small to use the horn properly and terminated the project.
• Morel called Blackwater International and ordered the purchase of its retired Titan-class super battleship.

Morel bought the Black Gold Horn and formed an alliance with Bai Zhu to refit it into a mobile fortress for exploring the world and finding the keys in Zhang Ye's diary. An S-rank warning about a swarm-devouring signal in the Caspian Sea halted large-vessel travel, and Ging postponed the game's closed beta to join Bai Zhu.

• Milluki secretly accessed Morel's encrypted phone line and was stunned by the enormous purchase price.
• Morel bought the Black Gold Horn and envisioned turning it into a mobile fortress capable of exploring the Dark Continent.
• Morel offered Bai Zhu a forty percent stake in the ship, and Bai Zhu accepted while explaining he wanted to visit seal sites and find the remaining keys from Zhang Ye's diary.
• Morel received news that the Association's Three Sages had issued an S-rank warning after a sonar array detected a swarm-devouring signal near the Caspian Sea, freezing all large-vessel sailing permits.
• Ging called Bai Zhu to announce the game's server was ready for closed beta testing, then postponed the test and said he would come join Bai Zhu after hearing about the warning.

Bai Zhu treated the cruise to the Caspian Sea as a vacation and led an entourage around the ship while Ging and the others investigated a strange sonar signal. Ging connected the signal to the Chimera Ruins and the Specialist Association’s past expedition, but let Bai Zhu enjoy his stroll before summoning him to the meeting.

• Bai Zhu lounged on the cruise ship and claimed his indulgences were part of the investigation, then took his birdcage and entourage to the tea lounge.
• Ging arrived, exchanged greetings with Bai Zhu, and learned from Piyu that Bai Zhu had been acting like an old master since the three girls boarded.
• Morel forced Piyu to attend the meeting while Milluki and Gela Jiang discussed a game mechanic resembling the Swarm Devouring phenomenon.
• Ging and the others compared reports and found that Caspian Sea sonar signals were vanishing in scattered areas every forty minutes, unlike the expanding signals from the old NGL incident.
• Ging connected the disappearing signals to something devouring everything in its path and linked the timing to the Specialist Association’s expedition to the Chimera Ruins in Kakin.
• Morel offered to fetch Bai Zhu, but Ging told him to wait while Bai Zhu continued circling the deck with his mynah.

A joint blockade force boarded the cruise ship to detain Bai Zhu and seize the birdcage, while Milluki discovered that a creature beneath the Caspian Sea was tracking signals aboard. The creature homed in on Ging’s insect-egg wafer, and as it surged toward the ship, Bai Zhu told Ging to throw the egg away.

• Morel slowed the cruise ship near the blockade, but patrol ships intercepted it and announced that its clearance had been revoked.
• Robson boarded with Joint Investigation personnel and demanded Bai Zhu’s belongings and birdcage; Piyu verified the inspection documents and suspected Pariston had arranged the Association’s cooperation clause.
• Milluki analyzed the sonar data and discovered that the underwater creature was copying signals and had locked onto Ging and then Bai Zhu.
• Milluki warned the bridge as Robson ordered his team to seize Bai Zhu; the creature’s detection echoes formed a ring beneath the ship and its approach disrupted the blockade buoys.
• The Soul King’s Pen wrote that the source of contamination was requesting return to the nest, and Ging realized that the insect eggs in his wafer were attracting it.
• The eggs struck their shell as the creature rose beneath the cruise ship, and Bai Zhu told Ging to throw the wafer away while Morel urged everyone to hold on.

A gigantic sea creature seized Ging's black sliver and ended the threat surrounding the cruise ship. Bai Zhu forced the Joint Fleet to let his ship pass, while Ging asked what the sliver was as they sailed on.

• Ging threw the black sliver into the sea, and a colossal tentacle rose from the water to catch it before sinking again.
• The tentacle's departure ended the replication signal and swept the cruise ship aside, while Bai Zhu and his allies remained ready for battle.
• Bai Zhu mocked Robson, kicked him down, and threatened the fleet until Robson and his people withdrew.
• The Joint Command opened a passage, and the cruise ship left the blockade as its passengers recorded and watched the patrol ships recede.
• Ging asked Bai Zhu whether he feared retaliation from the Kakin Empire, then asked what the egg was.

Bai Zhu and the others discovered that the giant tentacled creature had retrieved an escaped egg while a separate predator lurked beneath the Caspian Sea. As the team investigated, Bai Zhu suspected Pariston had lost something in the ruins, and Robson secretly fabricated a report portraying Bai Zhu as a threat.

• Bai Zhu told Ging that the giant creature had returned the egg to its rightful owner and suggested Ging ask Pariston for details.
• Morel received Joint Command's clearance for the ship to leave, conditional on Hunter Association personnel investigating sonar anomalies in the northern Caspian Sea.
• Milluki concluded that the tentacled creature and the Swarm Devouring signal were separate entities, with the creature acting as a courier and the signal as a predator.
• Bai Zhu read the diary's account of a gatekeeper that retrieved things escaping from ruins and called Brother Lippo to investigate whether Pariston had lost something.
• Robson edited the boarding footage and sent his Kakin superiors a report accusing Bai Zhu of provoking and controlling the seabed creature.

Bai Zhu dismissed the crew’s analysis of the sea anomaly and proposed sailing to Kakin to confront the people behind it. Ging, Gela Jiang, Milluki, and Morel agreed to go, while Bai Zhu left to resume his afternoon tea.

• Bai Zhu entered the conference room and declared that the giant octopus was a gatekeeper collecting escaped creatures, while the other sea monster had retreated for now.
• Bai Zhu argued that the voyage’s main objective was testing the newly acquired Titan-class ship, not rushing to investigate the anomaly.
• Bai Zhu pointed to Kakin and proposed confronting Pariston’s mess there by sailing to the empire and demanding answers directly.
• Bai Zhu said Kakin had tried to seize his ship and wanted his blood, while Piyu recorded his plan as a story about bombarding the empire over a personal grudge.
• Ging, Gela Jiang, Milluki, and Morel agreed to join Bai Zhu, who then left the conference room to have afternoon tea.

Tserriednich and Pariston plotted how to use the conflict over Bai Zhu’s arrival in Kakin, while Bai Zhu, Ging, Piyu, and the others relaxed on the cruise ship. The ship continued toward Kakin, with Tserriednich’s plan to draw in his second sister now underway.

• Tserriednich learned that Robson had failed, the Joint Fleet had cleared the shipping lane, and Bai Zhu’s cruise ship was nearing Kakin.
• Pariston warned that the First Queen’s preparations might drive Bai Zhu toward Tserriednich’s second sister, and suggested borrowing that conflict for their own purposes.
• Tserriednich ordered a waiter to leak Bai Zhu’s arrival to his second sister’s guards and disguise it as a surprise from their mother.
• Bai Zhu lounged on deck with Ging and teased Piyu as she struggled to imitate his relaxed manner.
• Gela Jiang and Milluki played a game on deck while Bai Zhu refused to weigh in on their argument.

Morel briefed the group on Kakin’s plan to separate them for identity checks at Ulo Port, but Bai Zhu decided to go ashore and confront the scrutiny on his own terms. He left the ship carrying Mynah in a cage after teaching it a provocative greeting for the First Queen.

• Morel found Bai Zhu, Piyu, Ging, Milluki, and Gela Jiang lounging and playing games on deck, then ordered them to discuss business.
• Morel explained that Kakin would verify Bai Zhu, Ging, and Milluki at three separate locations in Ulo Port, where their signals could be blocked.
• Piyu warned that the port was controlled by the Kakin Royal Family, while Milluki proposed leaving a backdoor and Morel cautioned him not to act rashly.
• Bai Zhu agreed to submit to the inspections but said he would take the civilized route, despite Morel warning him that powerful Kakin royals might be watching.
• Bai Zhu put Mynah in a cage and taught it to shout, “First Queen! Knife up the ass!” before setting off for shore.

Bai Zhu returned to Kakin, fought off a royal guard who threatened his Mynah, and met First Princess Consort Unma, who offered him money for his blood. He agreed to provide as much as she wanted, while secretly calculating his next move.

• Bai Zhu tried to flee Kakin after seeing the harbor’s unhygienic conditions, but Ging stopped him and called him low caste.
• Bai Zhu entered customs with his Mynah, whose insults enraged two officers until a royal guard intervened and threatened the bird.
• Bai Zhu swiftly stomped the guard to the ground and learned that Unma wanted to meet him.
• Unma demanded Bai Zhu’s blood for royal medical research, but he started to leave until she offered one hundred million Jenny per milliliter.
• Bai Zhu accepted Unma’s offer and invited her to take as much blood as she needed, hiding his calculations behind an eager smile.

Bai Zhu sold 30 milliliters of blood to Unma for three billion Jenny, then warned her that Tserriednich was close to Pariston. After his blood caused an abnormal reaction in Kakin’s laboratory, Tserriednich sent him a message about the Second Princess’s guards coming to collect him before morning.

• Bai Zhu made Unma sign a napkin contract with a 50-billion-Jenny breach penalty before selling her 30 milliliters of blood for three billion Jenny.
• Bai Zhu told Unma that Tserriednich had been getting close to Pariston, then left while her guards escorted him out.
• Bai Zhu passed a silent, veiled figure in a corridor as Ging and Milluki separately faced Kakin officials and technicians.
• Bai Zhu showed Ging, Milluki, and Morel his payment and contract, then discovered that selling his blood had unlocked an achievement and triggered a system warning about an abnormal reaction.
• Unma watched Bai Zhu’s blood turn a culture medium eerie gold, while nearby Nen Beast embryos recoiled from it.
• Tserriednich messaged Bai Zhu that the Second Princess’s guards would come for him before morning, and Bai Zhu suspected the Fourth Prince wanted to test his sister’s reaction.

Bai Zhu met Camilla, who asked him for a copy of a recording that could help her escape the Succession War, but he doubted her claims and left after realizing Ella was still hidden behind Camilla’s persona. As he returned to the ship, Tserriednich texted him to ask whether he was satisfied with his second sister’s hospitality.

• Bai Zhu received a letter inviting him to meet an old friend, then took Ging, Milluki, and Piyu to an abandoned Church while Morel and Gela Jiang stayed to guard the ship.
• Camilla met Bai Zhu and asked for a copy of the Creation Society recording so she could prove she had been raised as a vessel and bargain for freedom from the Succession War.
• Bai Zhu demanded to know where Ella was, rejected Camilla’s claim that she was Ella, and refused to hand over the recording without seeing her.
• Camilla briefly revealed Ella’s timid demeanor when Bai Zhu asked about Feng Xia, but she fell silent, and Bai Zhu left after delivering Tserriednich’s message about a coming surprise.
• Milluki asked whether Ella had betrayed their friends, and Bai Zhu said he did not know before receiving a text from Tserriednich about Camilla’s hospitality.

Bai Zhu realized Pariston might be manipulating Kakin’s succession struggle and asked Ging to arrange a secret meeting with Chairman Netero. After telling Ging he could see fragments of the future, Bai Zhu learned that Ging had sensed an ominous Nen trace on him, and the chapter ended with Netero answering Ging’s call.

• Bai Zhu connected Pariston’s dealings with Tserriednich and Oito to a possible plan involving Kakin’s succession struggle, but he remained uncertain of Pariston’s true goal.
• Bai Zhu asked Piyu and Ging to arrange a secret meeting with Chairman Netero, and Ging eventually agreed on the condition that he accompany Bai Zhu.
• Ging questioned Bai Zhu about his behavior, and Bai Zhu told him he could see incomplete fragments of the future and believed someone was pushing him into Kakin’s succession struggle.
• Ging revealed that he had sensed a brief, pitch-black Nen trace on Bai Zhu after Bai Zhu left Camilla’s place, and he said it reminded him of Dark Continent calamities.
• Ging contacted Netero through a brooch and told him that Bai Zhu wanted to see him.

Bai Zhu and Ging traveled across the ocean to Gina Island to meet Netero in secret. Bai Zhu began to explain that he had something that might interest the Chairman.

• Netero recognized Bai Zhu and invited him and Ging to meet on Gina Island.
• Ging explained the Association's internal factions and revealed that he could reproduce other people's abilities.
• Ging carried Bai Zhu across the ocean in a series of jumps, while Bai Zhu questioned his strength and his secretive abilities.
• Ging and Bai Zhu arrived on Gina Island and found Netero fishing beside his refueling airship.
• Netero asked why Bai Zhu wanted to meet him, and Bai Zhu said he had something that might interest him.

Bai Zhu met Netero on the island and discussed the schemes surrounding Kakin’s royal family, the Succession War, and Pariston’s role in drawing him into the conflict. Netero ended by asking Bai Zhu what he was truly afraid of, leaving him unable to answer.

• Netero invited Bai Zhu and Ging to his cabin, where Bai Zhu refused to spar and then described the threats he had faced in Kakin.
• Bai Zhu suspected Pariston was manipulating events to prepare for an heir with Beyond’s bloodline, and Netero said Beyond could have left a child in Kakin.
• Netero explained that the Seed Urn’s cycle meant the Succession War was unlikely to begin for several years, and Bai Zhu confirmed Camilla had no Guardian Spirit Beast.
• Netero reasoned that Unma wanted Bai Zhu’s blood to influence the Seed Urn and strengthen Benjamin’s future Guardian Spirit Beast.
• Bai Zhu realized Pariston had sent him back to Kakin and exposed his information to stir up the factions.
• Netero asked Bai Zhu what he was truly afraid of, and Bai Zhu could not answer.

Bai Zhu discussed his fears and the dangers surrounding his blood and unknown abilities with Netero and Ging. Netero explained how Pariston exploited Bai Zhu’s fear of losing control, then advised him to get stronger as the threats gathered around him.

• Bai Zhu admitted that he wanted to stay alive and make money rather than become a hero, and Netero accepted that as a valid reason.
• Netero and Ging explained that Bai Zhu’s unknown power and blood made him a target for people studying Nen, bloodlines, and calamities.
• Netero told Bai Zhu that Pariston manipulated him by making him fear losing, prompting him to investigate and follow prepared clues.
• Netero said the Caspian Sea threat was being watched by three factions and that Unma could only prepare for the succession ceremony for now.
• Netero advised Bai Zhu to get stronger and flicked his melon-rind cap crooked when Bai Zhu complained that the advice was obvious.

Bai Zhu took Netero’s advice to stop fearing every possible consequence and focus on training, but their conversation shifted to the dangers surrounding Ring Island and the Caspian Sea ruins. He revealed that Ging had returned a suspicious insect egg to the giant squid, which Bai Zhu believed was guarding the ruins and retrieving escaped disasters.

• Netero told Bai Zhu that he relied too heavily on finishing fights with one powerful move and needed to improve his body, reactions, and flexibility.
• Bai Zhu accepted that he could not control every outcome and said he would train rather than let Kakin or Pariston use him as a chess piece.
• Netero questioned Bai Zhu about the Caspian Sea squid and a photograph of the One-Eyed Owl, and Bai Zhu explained his connection to the owl as its former tenant.
• Bai Zhu described Ring Island’s World Tree-like plant, the owl’s home, the Sea Lord’s lake, the ruins, and the time-and-space-distorting Lighthouse.
• Ging explained that Specialist Association members had entered ruins beneath the Caspian Sea and brought samples back into human society.
• Bai Zhu admitted that he had given an insect egg from the ruins to Ging, who later threw it into the sea when the squid pursued them; Bai Zhu argued that the squid was returning the egg to its rightful place.

Bai Zhu learned that Pariston was trying to combine his blood, the Seed Urn, and a contamination sample in Unma’s laboratory, so he and Ging planned to investigate and use Bai Zhu’s contract to pressure Unma. As Ging rushed Bai Zhu back toward Kakin, an unknown sender revealed a beast growing in golden culture fluid and warned that Bai Zhu’s blood was awake.

• Netero showed Bai Zhu an application linking contamination research with the Royal Family’s bloodline, and Bai Zhu realized Pariston was using Unma’s laboratory to test his blood with the Seed Urn and a contamination source.
• Ging memorized the researchers’ names and burned the briefing, while Netero stopped Bai Zhu from rushing to destroy Unma’s lab and reminded him of the contract limiting blood use and setting a fifty-billion-Jenny penalty.
• Bai Zhu, Ging, and Netero agreed that Bai Zhu would bait Unma into revealing the experiment’s progress, Ging would investigate the researchers and their funding, and Netero would block the application within the Association.
• Netero warned Bai Zhu not to treat Pariston as the final enemy, and Ging began taking Bai Zhu back toward Kakin.
• An unknown sender sent Bai Zhu a photograph of a claw and black feather growing in golden culture fluid with the message, “Mr. Bai, your blood is awake.”
• Ging continued rushing Bai Zhu across the sea, while Bai Zhu cheered up at the thought of raising his price or demanding the contract penalty.