Chapter Summaries

After the snake disaster, Hua Yin reported his battle and breakthrough to the Special Affairs Bureau, then learned that officials considered his devouring ability unstable. Elder Li confronted him about losing control, while Director Liu launched an investigation into the destroyed Spirit-Pattern Pillar and the attack on Youcheng.

• The Snake Mother's death threw the snake swarm into disarray, and the Special Affairs Bureau's reinforcements and Captain Wang's team cleared the campus.
• Bai Ye questioned Hua Yin about the battle, and Hua Yin gave a detailed account while withholding some details about his ability.
• After the interview, Hua Yin overheard analysts worry about his instability and wonder why headquarters had not taken him away for assessment.
• Li Siyuan appeared in Hua Yin's dormitory and told him that he had lost control during the battle, which Hua Yin silently acknowledged.
• Liu Zhenguo ordered a weeklong investigation into the destroyed Spirit-Pattern Pillar, the Nether-Ring Viper Queen's appearance, and possible threats within Youcheng.

After Hua Yin lost control during the battle, Li Siyuan reassured him, explained why headquarters had left him in the field, and urged him to use his healing power to help others. Hua Yin politely agreed but remained committed to relying on himself and pursuing strength on his own terms.

• Li Siyuan told Hua Yin he was not blaming him for losing control and praised his role in breaking the mother snake’s consciousness.
• Li Siyuan acknowledged that Hua Yin had heard analysts call him an unstable factor and explained the scrutiny that came with being an S-rank Awakened.
• Li Siyuan explained why headquarters was letting Hua Yin grow through real crises and encouraged him to use his Pale Bewitching Butterfly to heal other people.
• Hua Yin agreed to practice healing but privately resisted changing his behavior to earn others’ approval.
• After Li Siyuan vanished, Hua Yin summoned a Lost Butterfly and reaffirmed his resolve to devour, evolve, control his power, and follow his own path.

Hua Yin led a Special Affairs Bureau mission to summon Li Fu over the destruction of a Spirit-Pattern Pillar, but his half-brother Chen Xu attacked and insulted him in public. Hua Yin had Chen Xu detained for assaulting an officer and left the mountain road resolved to treat his family as part of his past.

• Hua Yin, Sun Haoran, and Zhao Tiezhu confronted Li Fu at a gathering on Changlin Mountain Road and summoned him for questioning.
• Su Wenzhang identified Hua Yin as Chen Xu’s older half-brother, humiliating Chen Xu in front of the gathered rich youths.
• Chen Xu kicked Hua Yin from behind, and Zhao Tiezhu restrained and handcuffed him.
• Hua Yin formally detained Chen Xu for assaulting a Special Affairs Bureau officer and ordered Zhao Tiezhu to take him in alongside Li Fu.
• Hua Yin returned to the Bureau SUV, accepting his identity as White Butterfly and leaving his family ties behind.

Hua Yin chose to meet Chen Xu’s parents after arresting him, hoping to see how they would respond. He revealed his identity as a Special Affairs Bureau officer, leaving Li Xiulin and Chen Xingfeng stunned as he explained that Chen Xu’s attack had been witnessed and recorded.

• Sun Haoran told Hua Yin that Chen Xu’s parents had arrived, and Captain Wang offered to handle the meeting for him.
• Hua Yin insisted on meeting them himself and went to Reception Room Three.
• Li Xiulin and Chen Xingfeng were shocked to learn that Hua Yin was the officer who had arrested Chen Xu.
• Chen Xingfeng tried to dismiss Chen Xu’s attack as a misunderstanding, but Hua Yin stated that Chen Xu’s identity did not change the assault’s nature and that it had been witnessed and recorded.

Hua Yin rejected Li Xiulin and Chen Xingfeng’s pleas to settle Chen Xu’s assault privately, insisting the case would be handled according to law. He left the family behind and continued his work as the Special Affairs Bureau officer codenamed White Butterfly.

• Hua Yin told Li Xiulin that witnesses and body-camera footage documented Chen Xu’s assault on an officer performing official duties.
• Li Xiulin pleaded with Hua Yin to forgive Chen Xu, but Hua Yin addressed her formally and refused to treat the assault as a private family matter.
• Chen Xingfeng offered compensation and asked Hua Yin to show flexibility, but Hua Yin said the case would follow regulations and oversight.
• Hua Yin ordered the duty clerk to handle the family’s questions and keep Chen Xu in temporary custody pending the investigation.
• Hua Yin left the reception room, accepted that his remaining family ties were severed, and headed toward the interrogation observation area.

Li Fu confessed that Scarface King had recruited him to damage the Spirit-Pattern Pillar, leading Captain Wang to send Hua Yin and his teammates to the West District black market. There, Hua Yin spotted his old classmate Qing Wuyan, whose presence in the dangerous market left him uneasy.

• Li Xiulin and Chen Xingfeng argued over Hua Yin's refusal to help them, then decided to seek favors to get Li Fu released.
• Li Fu told Captain Wang and Hua Yin that Scarface King had promised him a way to become an Awakened in exchange for damaging the Spirit-Pattern Pillar.
• Captain Wang ordered Hua Yin, Sun Haoran, and Zhao Tiezhu to find and arrest Scarface King at the underground black market.
• The team entered the black market beneath the old industrial park and headed toward Old Smokestack's stall for information.
• Hua Yin recognized Qing Wuyan at a stall and wondered why his old high school friend was in the black market.

Hua Yin and his teammates chased Old Smokestack through the black market after the vendor exposed their operation, while Qing Wuyan helped point out the fugitive’s route and was injured by a black-market dealer. After Hua Yin healed him and the Special Affairs Bureau captured Old Smokestack, Qing Wuyan was released and arranged to meet Hua Yin for dinner, leaving Hua Yin hoping his friend had visited the black market only out of curiosity.

• Old Smokestack spotted Hua Yin and his teammates approaching, shouted that the police were there, and fled through the black market.
• Hua Yin pursued Old Smokestack while Sun Haoran and Zhao Tiezhu followed, and Qing Wuyan directed Hua Yin toward a hidden passage.
• A black-market vendor threw a sharpened iron pellet at Qing Wuyan, cutting his cheek and knocking him from a pile of wreckage.
• Zhao Tiezhu tackled and captured Old Smokestack as Captain Wang and Special Affairs Bureau reinforcements arrived to control the black market.
• Hua Yin used the Pale Bewitching Butterfly to heal Qing Wuyan’s face, and Qing Wuyan later gave a statement before being allowed to leave.
• Qing Wuyan invited Hua Yin to their usual beef noodle shop that evening, and Hua Yin agreed while privately hoping Qing Wuyan had gone to the black market only out of curiosity.

Hua Yin watched Old Smokestack evade questioning while Chen Xingfeng and Li Xiulin considered asking Hua Yin to soften his report about Xiaoxu. Over noodles with Qing Wuyan, Hua Yin learned Lin Qingqiu was seeking a Genetic Potion, and Qing Wuyan secretly arranged for the Lin family to receive one.

• Hua Yin and Captain Wang concluded that Old Smokestack would not reveal crucial information without harder evidence or another approach.
• Chen Xingfeng told Li Xiulin that Xiaoxu would likely face consequences and proposed privately asking Hua Yin to show leniency in exchange for compensation.
• Hua Yin met Qing Wuyan at their old noodle shop, where Qing Wuyan said Lin Qingqiu's family was seeking a Genetic Potion so she could become stronger.
• After Hua Yin left, Qing Wuyan received an encrypted message and replied, "Give the Lin family a Genetic Potion."

At school, Qing Wuyan told his classmates about Hua Yin’s powers and offered Lin Qingqiu a lead to a hidden black market where she might obtain a Genetic Potion. In Youcheng’s North District, Scarface King faced a shadowy young figure who condemned him for a failed mission.

• Qing Wuyan recounted Hua Yin’s healing butterflies and the Special Affairs Bureau’s raid, gaining attention from his classmates.
• Lin Qingqiu told Qing Wuyan she was still considering a Genetic Potion because she wanted the strength to face the dangerous world.
• Qing Wuyan gave Lin Qingqiu a black Introduction Card and directions to a hidden North District black market, warning her to prepare carefully.
• Lin Qingqiu took the card and said she would consider visiting the market.
• Scarface King met a concealed young figure in a soundproof chamber, who said the mission had failed, the operatives had been captured, and Scarface had disappointed him.

Old Smokestack broke under interrogation and gave the Special Affairs Bureau locations for Scarface King, prompting an assault operation in the North District. Lin Qingqiu's parents destroyed her black-market introduction card, but she remained determined to seek strength as the Bureau convoy prepared to strike.

• Old Smokestack confessed Scarface King's hideouts, contacts, and enforcers after investigators presented evidence and pressured him.
• Captain Wang assigned White Butterfly, Sun Haoran, and Zhao Tiezhu to lead the assault on Scarface King's underground hideout, with Hua Yin supporting the operation.
• Lin Qingqiu told her parents that Qing Wuyan had given her an introduction card to the high-end black market so she could seek a Genetic Potion.
• Lin Qingqiu's parents refused to let her use the card, and her father shredded it while promising to pursue legal channels for a potion.
• Lin Qingqiu lay awake still longing for strength as the Special Affairs Bureau convoy arrived at the abandoned factories.

At the abandoned Third Textile Factory, Hua Yin used his newly revealed wings to carry Sun Haoran and Zhao Tiezhu into the building through a damaged skylight. The team regrouped and prepared to infiltrate the underground warehouse and apprehend their targets.

• Captain Wang directed Team One to enter through a damaged ventilation duct while Teams Two and Three secured the perimeter.
• Hua Yin revealed his butterfly wings and offered a faster, safer route than the sewage pipe.
• Hua Yin flew Sun Haoran and Zhao Tiezhu through a damaged skylight into the factory's upper level.
• Sun Haoran and Zhao Tiezhu praised Hua Yin's flight ability, then joined him in preparing to locate and apprehend the targets.

Hua Yin, Sun Haoran, and Zhao Tiezhu infiltrated Scarface King's factory hideout and killed three sentries, but Scarface King discovered them before they could breach the underground entrance. Scarface King and his followers surrounded the team, and the confrontation erupted into battle.

• Hua Yin sent his Pale Bewitching Butterflies down the stairs, and they silently killed three armed sentries.
• Sun Haoran tracked Scarface King's scent to a concealed underground passage, and the team approached its partly open iron doors.
• Scarface King emerged from the shadows and recognized Hua Yin as the likely killer of Li Fu and Old Smokestack.
• Scarface King attacked Hua Yin as seven or eight armed followers burst through the iron doors, trapping the infiltrators between enemies.

Hua Yin and his teammates fought Scarface King, whose overwhelming strength and combat experience left Hua Yin badly injured and near defeat. As Scarface King prepared a final blow, Hua Yin considered using his butterfly’s dangerous devouring power, but a sudden change interrupted the attack.

• Scarface King shattered Hua Yin’s butterfly barrier and hurled him into a metal tank with a powerful punch.
• Sun Haoran and Zhao Tiezhu attacked Scarface King, but he easily repelled their efforts and injured Zhao Tiezhu.
• Hua Yin tried to evade Scarface King and strike his vulnerable points, but Scarface King countered and battered him with a relentless assault.
• Scarface King broke Hua Yin’s left forearm and advanced on him, declaring that he wanted to eat the flesh and blood of a genius Awakened to break through the genetic lock.
• Hua Yin considered forcibly devouring Scarface King despite the risk, but a sudden change occurred as Scarface King raised his fist for a final blow.

Bai Ye arrived at the factory just as Scarface King was about to kill Hua Yin and incapacitated him with a flaming spear. As Bai Ye mocked and threatened Scarface King, Hua Yin recovered enough to reflect on the vast gap between their strength.

• Bai Ye burst through the factory wall with a flaming spear and pinned Scarface King to a pillar before he could kill Hua Yin.
• Sun Haoran and Zhao Tiezhu subdued the remaining desperadoes while Hua Yin sat up, badly injured.
• Bai Ye pulled the spear from Scarface King and taunted him for attacking an agent of the Special Affairs Bureau.
• Hua Yin began healing with spiritual power and Spirit Stones as he considered the difference between Bai Ye's Domain Transformation Realm strength and Scarface King's crude power.

After the Special Affairs Bureau arrested Scarface King, Hua Yin healed himself and his teammates, and their warmth helped him feel he belonged in the Operations Department. Meanwhile, Qing Wuyan received news of the arrest, deleted the message, and hinted that his plan had begun.

• Captain Wang’s forces secured the factory, arrested Scarface King, and detained the gang members.
• Hua Yin used the Pale Bewitching Butterfly and Spirit Stones to heal his injuries, then treated Sun Haoran and Zhao Tiezhu.
• Sun Haoran and Zhao Tiezhu showed Hua Yin sincere gratitude, and he began to see himself as their companion, White Butterfly.
• Captain Wang praised the team’s work and ordered them to prepare their reports before withdrawing.
• Qing Wuyan received an encrypted message reporting Scarface King’s arrest, deleted it, and silently declared that his plan had begun.

After the Scarface King operation, Hua Yin asked Li Siyuan for harder training, but learned that headquarters had ordered Li Siyuan back. Li Siyuan arranged for Bai Ye to protect and train Hua Yin, leaving Hua Yin ready to begin brutal combat training the next morning.

• Hua Yin asked Li Siyuan to train him harder so he could fight effectively without relying on others to save him.
• Li Siyuan told Hua Yin that headquarters had urgently recalled all Demigod Realm experts stationed away from headquarters.
• Li Siyuan introduced Bai Ye as Hua Yin's temporary protector and combat instructor, explaining that Bai Ye's sharp fighting style would address Hua Yin's weaknesses.
• Bai Ye warned Hua Yin that his training would be dangerous and ordered him to report to the training ground at five the next morning.
• Li Siyuan left Youcheng Branch for headquarters, while Hua Yin prepared himself for training with Bai Ye.

Bai Ye put Hua Yin, Sun Haoran, and Zhao Tiezhu through brutal gravity-ring conditioning and combat training, leaving Hua Yin close to breaking through to the Spirit-Nurturing Realm. After receiving an urgent call that Li Xiulin was causing a scene at his old home, Hua Yin left the Special Affairs Bureau dormitory to confront her.

• Sun Haoran and Zhao Tiezhu joined Hua Yin for Bai Ye's special training, and Bai Ye equipped them with gravity rings.
• Bai Ye put the three through punishing physical conditioning, then tested Hua Yin's blade techniques and Pale Bewitching Butterflies under pressure.
• Hua Yin adapted to the gravity rings during combat practice and later cultivated until his spiritual power grew stronger, bringing him to the peak of the Meridian-Opening Realm.
• Uncle Zhang called Hua Yin to report that Li Xiulin was outside his home, crying and insisting on seeing him.
• Hua Yin left the dormitory and headed to his old house to settle matters with Li Xiulin.

Bai Ye stopped Hua Yin from confronting Li Xiulin and challenged him to reconsider the guilt that led him to abandon his birth name, Hua Xi. Hua Yin left the old neighborhood without seeing his mother, uncertain but beginning to question whether living in the shadows honored his father.

• Hua Yin hurried toward his former home, intending to settle matters with Li Xiulin, but Bai Ye blocked his way and told him he had called the police about her disturbance.
• Bai Ye revealed that he knew Hua Yin had once been named Hua Xi and asked why he had changed it to Hua Yin.
• Hua Yin explained that after his father died in a construction accident, others blamed him, and he came to believe that he had brought his family misfortune.
• Bai Ye told Hua Yin that his father's death was an accident, rejected the idea that Hua Yin's power came from guilt, and urged him to accept the hope behind his father's name for him.
• Hua Yin reconsidered whether adopting the name Yin was repentance or an escape, then turned away from the old building without confronting Li Xiulin.

Lin Qingqiu agreed to let Qing Wuyan investigate a black-market route to the Genetic Potion after her parents refused to help her. Qing Wuyan left to scout the place, but his cheerful smile faded once he was alone.

• At school, Lin Qingqiu told Qing Wuyan that her parents opposed the Genetic Potion and had torn up the card that could have helped her find it.
• Lin Qingqiu admitted she wanted the strength to stop feeling helpless, and Qing Wuyan suggested scouting the alley behind Old Records Bar after one in the morning.
• Qing Wuyan offered to investigate the black market for her, and Lin Qingqiu reluctantly agreed while warning him not to make deals or reveal her information.
• Qing Wuyan left the rooftop promising to report back, while Lin Qingqiu stayed behind feeling uneasy and guilty.
• Once he reached an empty corner, Qing Wuyan quietly let his radiant smile fade.

After Li Xiulin was released from the police station, Chen Xingfeng blamed her for worsening the family conflict with Hua Yin and left her behind. He then used Hua Yin’s Special Affairs Bureau connections to win favorable contract terms from Dawnlight Technology, unaware that word of his claims was already spreading and could draw the Bureau’s attention.

• Chen Xingfeng and Li Xiulin argued outside the police station, where he accused her of neglecting Hua Yin and making peace with him impossible.
• Chen Xingfeng left Li Xiulin alone and returned to Starwind Trading Company to handle its business problems.
• Chen Xingfeng implied to President Wang of Dawnlight Technology that Hua Yin was an influential Special Affairs Bureau member.
• President Wang softened his negotiating position, and Chen Xingfeng secured a preliminary agreement on favorable terms.
• Chen Xingfeng ordered his legal department to draft the contract and privately justified using Hua Yin’s name.
• News of Hua Yin’s supposed contributions began circulating among business contacts as the Special Affairs Bureau’s monitoring network tracked activity in the ordinary world.