Chapter Summaries

Key plot points and events

• Erika Kujo arrives on the tenth floor with a masked accomplice, only for him to be incapacitated immediately by Bai Xuan and Liu Mufei.
• Erika’s Ghostflame reveals that both Bai Xuan and Liu Mufei have a combat power of 9,999. Terrified and realizing Nine of Hearts misled her, she is unable to resist Liu Mufei’s command to enter the room.
• Nine of Hearts sends Eight of Clubs to intervene. Eight arrives using her dark-matter ability and summons Shadow Man to attack, but a mysterious white light freezes them both. Eight rapidly shrivels and dies; Bai Xuan cannot tell whose power caused it.
• Liu Mufei seals off the room and reveals her true identity as Huaguo’s fourth-ranked Advanced Investigator. Erika realizes the Investigation Bureau has been anticipating the Evil Organization’s operations—and suspects it has a mole inside the organization.
• Liu Mufei binds Erika with White Bandages and teleports her to the Investigation Bureau for later use. Erika’s Demon Blade falls and shatters; Bai Xuan asks for the fragments, and Liu Mufei lets him keep them.

Character developments

• Erika Kujo shifts from confidence to fear and bitter resignation when faced with opponents far stronger than herself. She also recognizes the Evil Organization’s failures may stem from bad intelligence and an enormous power gap.
• Bai Xuan remains largely out of the fight but is eager to claim the shattered weapon fragments, suggesting an interest in the spoils.
• Liu Mufei demonstrates commanding, overwhelming power, captures Erika rather than killing her, and casually gives Bai Xuan the unusable weapon fragments.
• Eight of Clubs is introduced as an attacker who can become dark matter and summon Shadow Man, but is swiftly defeated by an unidentified ability.

Significant themes

• The danger of unreliable intelligence: Erika’s expectations, shaped by Nine of Hearts, collapse when she discovers Liu Mufei’s true strength.
• Power imbalance and fear: Combat-power readings turn a confrontation into a hopeless struggle for Erika.
• Hidden identities and infiltration: Liu Mufei’s disguise and Erika’s suspicion of a mole underscore the covert conflict between the Investigation Bureau and the Evil Organization.
• Control and helplessness: Erika is compelled to obey and ultimately captured, while the attackers are immobilized before they can act.

Character interactions

• Liu Mufei calmly identifies and commands Erika, then reveals herself and explains that Erika is being kept alive for a purpose.
• Nine of Hearts communicates with Erika, then redirects Eight of Clubs when contact is lost.
• Eight of Clubs berates Erika and orders Shadow Man to attack, but is stopped before the confrontation can begin.
• Bai Xuan asks Liu Mufei for the Demon Blade fragments; she agrees, noting that only a bloodline heir could use the weapon.

Key plot points and events

• Bai Xuan collects the fragments of the Cherry Blossom Demon Blade, identified as a legendary Ghost God weapon that only someone with Ghost God blood can wield. The World Book says he can use it, and he considers whether Rag Doll could wield it too.
• Ye Xinxue and Liu Mufei discuss their capture of Erika Kujo, a member of the Evil Organization and a summoning medium for Sakura Country’s Ghost God. Liu explains that other mediums exist and warns Bai Xuan that the organization remains a threat.
• Liu teleports away, and Ye Xinxue teases Bai Xuan about booking a couples’ hotel room before apparently leaving as well.
• Bai Xuan returns to the Lakeside Villa, finds Su Yue absent, and uses teleportation to bring her home from school. He tells her he expects to leave for White Sea City soon to join Liu’s Investigation Bureau under their deal.
• Su Yue reports that the doll Bai Xuan gave her is helping: classmates are noticing her more, and some can now see her, though they still quickly forget her. She hopes to overcome her Existence Erasure power’s limits.
• Elsewhere, Nine of Spades learns that several operatives have gone missing or lost their life signals. Suspecting the organization has a mole, he tells Nine of Hearts that he suspects Nine of Hearts herself.
• The chapter ends with Bai Xuan contacting Isia and asking to visit; she agrees.

Character developments and interactions

• Bai Xuan gains a potentially powerful weapon and learns more about the Ghost God threat. He is increasingly involved with the Investigation Bureau, while his playful exchanges with Ye Xinxue and Su Yue reveal his casual, teasing side.
• Su Yue shows early progress in being noticed despite her Existence Erasure ability. She is anxious about Bai Xuan leaving and suspicious of his arrangement with Liu Mufei, warning that Liu’s deals may be dangerous.
• Liu Mufei treats Bai Xuan as an ally and shares sensitive information with him, but remains focused on protecting White Sea City.
• Ye Xinxue provides comic relief by teasing Bai Xuan and questioning whether he truly belongs among them.
• Nine of Spades turns against Nine of Hearts, raising the possibility of internal betrayal within the Evil Organization.

Significant themes

• Growing alliances and trust: Bai Xuan is drawn deeper into the Investigation Bureau and its conflict with the Evil Organization.
• Identity and visibility: Su Yue’s gradual recognition offers hope against the isolating effects of Existence Erasure.
• Secrecy and suspicion: The Ghost God’s summoning plot and the suspected mole reveal threats both outside and inside the organization.
• Power and responsibility: The Demon Blade may offer new abilities, but Bai Xuan has yet to understand its full potential.

Key plot points and events

• Bai Xuan travels to Aeria World and meets Pope Isia. He proposes an embarrassing scheme to help Xilin advance, and Isia agrees to cooperate despite her misgivings.
• Their conversation becomes a comic misunderstanding: Bai Xuan implies they might use Isia’s private chambers—or even the Golden Throne—while Isia protests. He leaves before she can respond. Back at the villa, he tells Xilin that Isia wants her to visit that night.
• Bai Xuan checks the World Book and accepts the C-rank quest “Shadow of the Demon Sword” in White Sea City. He also assigns Marée Alaira and others a separate D-rank mission.
• He recruits the newly joined Su Yue for the C-rank mission. After an awkward interruption while she is changing, she joins Bai Xuan and Xilin at a sealed skating rink, where a purple demon sword is floating.
• Bai Xuan explains that the sword is an otherworldly monster with Abyssal Power, then tells Su Yue to observe while Xilin handles it. Xilin draws her Lightless Sword as the chapter ends.

Character developments and interactions

• Bai Xuan remains confident, teasing, and irreverent. He persuades Isia to help Xilin, though he deliberately—or seemingly—pushes the conversation into provocative territory. He also begins training Su Yue through fieldwork.
• Isia shows that her commitment to saving the world outweighs her embarrassment, but she remains wary of Bai Xuan and struggles to keep control of their exchange.
• Xilin accepts the invitation to see Isia without questioning it and is poised to confront the demon sword.
• Su Yue is introduced to practical mission work. Her limited experience with supernatural threats contrasts with her curiosity and willingness to follow the others.

Significant themes

• The chapter mixes world-saving duty with comedy and flirtatious misunderstandings, especially in Bai Xuan and Isia’s exchange.
• It also emphasizes mentorship and growing competence: Su Yue is brought along to learn, while Xilin takes the lead against a threat suited to her abilities.
• Cooperation across different roles and worlds continues to drive the group’s efforts to address calamities.

Key plot points and events

• Xilin enters the skating rink to confront the shadow guarding the demon sword. The shadow can instantly copy her swordplay and magical attacks, and even counter Bai Xuan’s surprise arrow.
• Bai Xuan realizes the shadow’s weapon may be its weakness and tells Xilin to try taking the sword.
• Xilin creates a blazing double with the Flame of Justice. The shadow copies her, and the four figures clash in a storm of light and darkness. When the magic clears, Xilin has taken the demon sword; the shadow dissolves.
• Bai Xuan’s World Book identifies the weapon as a gold-quality Lust Demon Sword, especially powerful in a Succubus’s hands. He gives it to Xilin, who accepts it and considers fighting with two swords.
• The group teleports back to the villa. Marée Alaira returns from her own mission and eagerly seeks praise; Bai Xuan congratulates and affectionately pats her head.
• Bai Xuan submits two completed missions. The demon-sword mission rewards him with a purple-quality Replica Pride Demon Sword, which he can use. The chapter also records the completed Centaur Warrior mission and its blue-quality character profile reward.

Character developments

• Xilin proves resourceful under pressure, using Bai Xuan’s suggestion to find a way past the shadow’s copying ability. She gains a powerful new weapon and may adopt a dual-sword style.
• Bai Xuan guides Xilin strategically, then recognizes her achievement and rewards her. He is surprised to receive a second demon sword and a weapon he himself can wield.
• Su Yue is impressed by how quickly the group resolves the danger, but her confusion grows as she watches Bai Xuan praise and manage his companions.

Significant themes

• Adaptability over brute force: Xilin wins by changing tactics rather than overpowering an opponent that mirrors her.
• Trust and teamwork: Bai Xuan identifies a possible weakness, and Xilin acts on his advice.
• Power and reward: Weapons and mission rewards expand the team’s abilities, while Bai Xuan’s praise reinforces loyalty and belonging.
• Comic contrast: Su Yue’s doubts about the group’s seriousness contrast with the team’s affectionate, game-like dynamic.

Character interactions

• Bai Xuan warns Xilin about the shadow and later suggests she seize its sword; she credits him for the idea.
• Xilin presents the captured sword to Bai Xuan, who gives it back to her as a reward.
• Su Yue takes cover behind Bai Xuan during the magical clash and later questions the group’s unusually casual, efficient behavior.
• Marée Alaira enthusiastically asks Bai Xuan for praise after completing her mission, and he responds with approval and a head pat.

Plot points and events

• Bai Xuan completes enough quests to raise his map to level 4, increasing his daily teleportations to ten. The next upgrade will require one A-rank and three B-rank quests.
• He prepares for an evening visit to the Church of Light, bringing Xilin along and assigning Marée and Seliphina other work.
• At the Temple of Light, Pope Isia briefly ends the world’s Freeze. She explains that it can only be ended permanently once Xilin defeats the Witch of the Evernight.
• Isia asks to speak privately with Xilin, then requests to borrow Bai Xuan, apparently to test him in connection with the Saintess Pendant. Xilin agrees, though she feels uneasy.
• Isia then summons Bai Xuan alone. He tells her how to cooperate with him, and she hesitantly asks whether he is sure about his proposed approach. He insists that he is.

Character developments and interactions

• Bai Xuan remains confident and pragmatic: he pursues the map upgrade, encourages his companions, and takes the lead in explaining what Isia should do.
• Xilin is delighted to see Isia restored, reaffirms her resolve to defeat the Witch, and trusts Bai Xuan—though the request to “borrow” him leaves her with an unexplained flicker of discomfort.
• Isia reveals both the limits of her power over the Freeze and her concern that time is short. Despite her authority, she admits she lacks experience with the private matter she and Bai Xuan are about to undertake.
• Marée eagerly accepts extra work in exchange for barbecue. Seliphina remains jealous and resentful of Marée’s closeness to Bai Xuan.

Significant themes

• Trust and dependence: Xilin relies on Bai Xuan and her companions, while Isia places her confidence in Xilin’s ability to save the world.
• Urgency and hope: The Freeze remains only temporarily lifted, and the looming Witch makes the mission feel pressing.
• Jealousy and affection: Seliphina’s resentment and Xilin’s subtle unease hint at tensions in Bai Xuan’s relationships.
• Authority versus inexperience: Isia is the Pope, yet in her private interaction with Bai Xuan she must rely on his guidance.

Key plot points and events

• Bai Xuan agrees to do whatever is needed to help Xilin complete her advancement. Isia explains that she must perform certain procedures on him, and Xilin secretly listens from outside the temple.
• Isia uses the Light of Discipline on Bai Xuan. She presents it as a pleasant purification, but it is painful to him; Xilin, who associates it with a rewarding sensation, envies him.
• Isia tells Bai Xuan to kneel and swear faith to the Goddess of Light so she can begin his transformation. Xilin is thrilled by the apparent honor, while Bai Xuan suspects the arrangement is unfair and refuses.
• Bai Xuan demands a chance to strike back. Isia gives him the whip, but it breaks against her protective magic before it can hit her.
• Believing Isia is weakened while maintaining World Freeze, Bai Xuan tackles and pins her. He insists they stop the unnecessary theatrics; Isia agrees, though asks him to move his hand.

Character developments and interactions

• Bai Xuan is eager to help Xilin but increasingly wary of Isia’s explanations. He pushes back against being the sole target of the ritual and takes charge when he thinks Isia is vulnerable.
• Isia shifts from formal and cold to playful and teasing, disguising a serious procedure as an act. She appears to indulge Bai Xuan’s demands, but her protection remains strong enough to shatter the whip.
• Xilin watches from outside and interprets the scene through her own experience: she envies Bai Xuan’s supposed reward and the chance to swear faith, unaware of his discomfort.
• The contrast between Xilin’s expectations and Bai Xuan’s painful reality drives the comedy, while Isia and Bai Xuan’s playful power struggle turns physical before he insists on a more straightforward approach.

Significant themes

• Miscommunication and contrasting perspectives: Xilin sees honor and pleasure where Bai Xuan experiences pain and coercion.
• Power and trust: Bai Xuan questions Isia’s methods and tries to negotiate a fairer role, while Isia maintains control through magic and teasing.
• Devotion and transformation: The advancement ritual is tied to discipline, faith, and the Goddess of Light, though its true purpose and terms remain unclear.

Plot points and events

• Bai Xuan and Isia stage a mock “sacred baptism” in the Holy Temple, with Isia playing the role of a forgiving goddess and Bai Xuan enthusiastically extending the act.
• Outside, Xilin secretly watches through the door. Her Lust Demon Sword reacts to the scene, releasing lustful magic that influences both people inside.
• Isia realizes Xilin’s magic is affecting her as she begins responding involuntarily to Bai Xuan’s touch. Bai Xuan initially misunderstands what is happening.
• Isia warns Bai Xuan to resist Xilin’s influence, but he assures her they are only pretending. Her conflicted expression and reactions leave him unsure whether she wants the performance to remain an act.
• The scene ends as the magic, Isia’s reactions, and Bai Xuan’s own attraction overwhelm his self-control.

Character developments

• Bai Xuan begins treating the encounter as role-play, but becomes increasingly tempted and uncertain about Isia’s intentions.
• Isia struggles between her authority and her involuntary reactions, feeling shame, anger, and apparent anticipation as Xilin’s magic affects her.
• Xilin remains outside, fascinated and embarrassed by what she witnesses; her sword’s magic intensifies the situation without her fully recognizing its effect.

Significant themes

• The blurred boundary between pretending and reality.
• The loss of control under magical influence and desire.
• Tension between public authority, private vulnerability, and conflicting emotions.

Character interactions

• Isia and Bai Xuan exchange playful, provocative dialogue that shifts into a tense struggle over whether their staged ritual is still pretend.
• Xilin watches their encounter from outside, her thoughts and the sword’s magic indirectly shaping what happens inside.
• Isia tries to warn Bai Xuan about Xilin’s influence, while Bai Xuan reassures her—though neither fully understands the other’s feelings.

Plot points and events

• Pope Isia is trapped by the lingering effects of Xilin’s magic while using nearly all her Divine Power to maintain World Freeze. Though she insists she wants Bai Xuan to keep away, her body acts against her wishes.
• Isia’s desire grows stronger, and she eventually switches positions with Bai Xuan, telling him it will happen “just this once.”
• Bai Xuan takes photos of the moment. Isia orders him to delete them, but he refuses; she offers to reconsider if she succeeds at what she is trying to do.
• Xilin secretly watches from outside the Holy Temple, captivated by the scene. Isia knows she is being observed and resents both Xilin and Bai Xuan, but is too affected by the magic to resist.

Character developments

• Isia struggles to maintain control and dignity as Xilin’s influence intensifies. Her outward anger clashes with her involuntary actions, and she fears that giving in further could bring punishment.
• Bai Xuan remains confused by Isia’s contradictory behavior, but responds playfully and eagerly—especially by preserving the moment in photographs.
• Xilin watches with fascination, her excitement evident, while her magic continues to affect Isia.

Significant themes

• Conflict between will and influence: Isia’s behavior exposes the tension between her conscious resistance and the magic affecting her.
• Power and vulnerability: Despite her authority as Pope, Isia is weakened by maintaining World Freeze and unable to fully control the situation.
• Voyeurism and embarrassment: Bai Xuan’s photos and Xilin’s watching deepen Isia’s humiliation and frustration.

Character interactions

• Isia alternates between scolding Bai Xuan and physically drawing close to him; he answers her protests with teasing reassurance and refuses to delete the photos.
• Xilin observes the pair from hiding, while Isia silently blames them both for her predicament.

Plot points and events

• Bai Xuan’s and Isia’s efforts unlock Xilin’s character quest, which points them to a Succubus Nest in the Ailandia Kingdom. When Bai Xuan asks where it is, Isia reveals that it lies inside the Church of Light.
• Isia leads Bai Xuan and Xilin into a frozen, guarded forbidden area. There, a flower-like bud stirs in response to Xilin.
• Isia explains that Xilin was entrusted to the Church as a baby, still inside the bud, by a black-robed woman who claimed to be her mother.
• Isia gives Bai Xuan a black ring the woman left behind. His World Book identifies it as the Witch’s Ring, containing “a wisp of the truth of the evernight.”
• The discovery makes Isia suspect Xilin’s mother could be the legendary Witch of the Evernight, though she cautions herself that the ring alone proves nothing. The chapter ends as Bai Xuan approaches the bud.

Character developments and interactions

• Bai Xuan remains playful—even teasing Isia while she struggles with an excessive burst of Holy Light—but turns serious when the quest reveals a mystery tied to Xilin. He reassures Isia that he will help awaken Xilin’s sealed power.
• Isia shifts from irritated banter to solemn cooperation. She shares the Church’s secret history with Xilin and reacts with alarm to the ring’s implications.
• Xilin learns that the Church’s forbidden area is her birthplace and that she was left there by a mysterious mother. The bud’s response suggests her dormant nature is beginning to awaken.
• Isia guides Xilin toward the truth of her past, while Bai Xuan serves as interpreter and investigator, analyzing the ring and offering to help.

Significant themes

• Hidden origins and identity: Xilin’s birth and sealed power are tied to secrets kept by the Church.
• The unexpected within the sacred: A Succubus Nest exists inside the Church of Light, challenging assumptions about the Church’s relationship with beings considered evil.
• Mystery and uncertain evidence: The Witch’s Ring raises the possibility of a legendary connection, but Isia recognizes that its meaning remains unconfirmed.

Key plot points and events

• At Xilin’s birthplace, Bai Xuan discovers that the enormous, living flower bud responds to Xilin’s touch but will not open until she wears the Witch’s Ring.
• Inside, they find a huge transparent crystal sphere. Bai Xuan discovers that touching it restores his depleted Life Magic.
• A system message identifies the place as the Succubus Nest and unlocks the hint “Witch Bubble!” The bubble is described as key to defeating the Witch of the Evernight, but the challenge must be entered with Xilin and requires thorough preparation. Bai Xuan decides to wait until he is stronger—at least B-rank.
• Bai Xuan and Xilin leave after thanking Isia. Left alone, Isia watches the sphere and reflects on the Witch of the Evernight.
• Back at the villa, Bai Xuan finds someone who appears to be Bai Yu. Their familiar, sisterly exchange makes him think she is the real Bai Yu, but her sudden unreadable smile prompts him to call her “Liu Mufei.”

Character developments and interactions

• Bai Xuan investigates the bud, uses the Witch’s Ring to help Xilin open it, and responds cautiously to the newly revealed challenge. He jokes to Xilin that Isia was so impressed by his “philosophical” conversation that she promised to make him a Cardinal.
• Xilin follows Bai Xuan’s instructions, and her connection to the bud—especially alongside the ring—proves essential. The quest hint confirms she must accompany him into the Witch Bubble.
• Isia is surprised by the sphere’s existence and by Bai Xuan’s success, since her own attempts had failed. Though exhausted, she lets them leave and remains preoccupied with the Witch.
• Bai Xuan and the apparent Bai Yu share a playful, affectionate moment, but the final reveal suggests the person may actually be Liu Mufei—or that Bai Xuan’s suspicion about her identity is not settled.

Significant themes

• Hidden origins and identity: Xilin’s birthplace conceals a powerful secret, while the mystery surrounding the Witch and the final identity twist deepen questions about who people really are.
• Preparation before danger: The system warns that the Witch Bubble is crucial but dangerous, reinforcing Bai Xuan’s need to grow stronger before attempting it.
• Trust and connection: Xilin’s role in opening the bud and the familiar teasing at home show how relationships shape both discovery and daily life.

Key plot points and events

• Liu Mufei reveals that a powerful Anomalous Calamity is nearing Huaguo after destroying a city in Sakura Country. White Sea City and Yanjing’s Investigation Bureaus will join forces to confront it.
• Though Bai Xuan had previously been excused from the mission, he agrees to observe the response. Liu Mufei takes him invisibly to the heavily fortified coastline, where dozens of Investigators and public security forces are assembled.
• A man in white explains that Yanjing has sent Advanced Investigator Lu Tai and five Intermediate Investigators. Lu Tai hopes to prove his standing in the coming battle.
• Liu Mufei suspects Yanjing has an ulterior motive: its officials may be targeting Bai Xuan, hoping to uncover his secrets. She asks him to investigate, and promises to protect him.
• As they talk, the assembled crowd notices something rising over the horizon—the Calamity is arriving.

Character developments and interactions

• Bai Xuan is wary of being drawn into dangerous work, but his curiosity about the Calamity and the large-scale response leads him to accompany Liu Mufei. He also realizes Yanjing may be interested in him personally, making him uneasy. He responds to Liu’s promise of protection with playful flirtation.
• Liu Mufei shifts from teasing Bai Xuan to acting as his guide and protector. She suspects Yanjing’s deployment is connected to him and enlists him to learn more.
• Lu Tai, though absent from the scene, is introduced as an ambitious new Advanced Investigator seeking recognition through the battle.
• Liu Mufei and Bai Xuan trade jokes and flirtatious remarks, while the man in white discusses Investigator rankings and the use of “Superheroes” to improve public confidence.

Significant themes

• Power and institutional interest: The Calamity prompts a major official response, while Yanjing’s attention to Bai Xuan hints that organizations may seek to control or investigate unusual individuals.
• Public image and heroism: The discussion of Superheroes contrasts official Investigators’ practical role with the public-facing spectacle of heroic reputations.
• Trust and protection: Bai Xuan relies on Liu Mufei’s judgment and protection, even as he remains cautious about being pulled into danger.

Plot points and events

• The Da Qi Serpent, a colossal anomalous creature that previously destroyed a city in Sakura Country, approaches Huaguo’s coast. Investigators identify it as a B-rank calamity, but it stops offshore and circles rather than attacking.
• The Investigation Bureau activates coastal defenses and fires missiles. The blasts do not visibly harm the serpent: a burst of black magic power appears to absorb or counter the impact.
• Bai Xuan suspects the serpent has an internal energy source sustaining its enormous body and shielding it from attacks. Since instruments cannot penetrate its unusual skin, he suggests that someone may need to enter the creature to locate the source.
• Liu Mufei agrees to pass the idea to the Bureau. Before a plan is made, Deputy Director Li Manxiu arrives with a group of investigators to assist.

Character developments

• Bai Xuan shows keen observation and tactical insight, identifying the black magic power as the likely reason missiles fail. He also recognizes the danger of investigating the serpent from within.
• Liu Mufei remains composed and pragmatic, weighing Bai Xuan’s theory and agreeing to report it.
• Li Manxiu presents himself as a capable, serious official but reveals a personal motive for taking the assignment: he volunteered partly to check on his younger sister.

Significant themes

• The limits of conventional force: Even powerful weapons seem ineffective against a major anomalous threat.
• Reasoning under uncertainty: The investigators must infer how the serpent works before they can devise a way to defeat it.
• Risk and sacrifice: Learning the serpent’s weakness may require an extremely dangerous mission inside its body.
• Personal ties amid crisis: Official duties overlap with family concern.

Character interactions

• Bai Xuan and Liu Mufei discuss the serpent’s threat, the failed missile strike, and the possibility of locating its energy source.
• Liu Mufei’s relaxed manner with Bai Xuan shifts to professional seriousness when Li Manxiu arrives.
• Li Manxiu and Liu Mufei exchange formal greetings. He says he has come to support the operation and mentions that he volunteered to see how his younger sister is doing.

Chapter summary

• Li Manxiu arrives on a mission and tells Liu Mufei that the Investigation Bureau’s higher-ups have handed command of the operation against the Da Qi Serpent to Lu Tai. He invites Liu to Lu’s strategy meeting, but she declines, saying her abilities are poorly suited to fighting a colossal creature.
• Liu leaves without appearing upset. Bai Xuan suspects office politics, and Liu confirms that the Bureau has never fully trusted her because she is not from this world.
• Bai Xuan jokingly wonders whether she is not human. Liu pretends to threaten him, then laughs it off, pointing out that humanity may not be the only category that matters.
• Liu reveals that she does intend to act against the Serpent: she believes the group cannot defeat it without her help. She gives Bai Xuan a ritual diagram used by Sakura Country to summon a Ghost God.
• Liu proposes that they summon a Ghost God of their own to counter Sakura Country’s. She knows how from memories retained after the Bureau once captured a Sakura Country woman who understood the ritual. The Bureau does not know Liu has this knowledge.
• Liu explains that Ghost Gods are not true gods but powerful anomalous calamities—typically stronger than B-Rank—brought into the world through ritual.

Character developments and interactions

• Liu Mufei appears outwardly indifferent to losing command, but Bai Xuan recognizes that her exclusion likely reflects the Bureau’s distrust of her. She shifts from seeming detached to revealing a risky, independent plan.
• Bai Xuan shows curiosity about Liu’s origins, but makes clear he is not troubled by the possibility that she—or others around him—might not be human. He is cautious about her secret plan and asks for an explanation before agreeing to anything.
• Li Manxiu and Li Hongyou have a tense, familiar sibling exchange: Hongyou challenges him about his mission, while he refuses to disclose details and tells her to follow the Bureau’s arrangements. Liu’s easy dismissal of the official meeting contrasts with the seriousness of her private proposal.

Significant themes

• Distrust and outsider status: Liu’s unusual origins undermine her standing despite her authority and ability.
• Power and institutional politics: The Bureau’s decision to give Lu Tai command suggests that formal hierarchy and personal trust may matter as much as capability.
• Dangerous knowledge and secrecy: Liu’s undisclosed knowledge of the Ghost God ritual could offer a way to face the threat, but it also means she is acting beyond the Bureau’s oversight.
• What counts as human—or divine: Liu’s teasing question about humanity and her explanation of Ghost Gods blur the distinction between people, supernatural beings, and calamities.

Key plot points and events

• Liu Mufei explains that Ghost Gods are dangerous anomalous beings that can be controlled through human intervention—but only at the cost of a sacrifice. Comparable beings exist elsewhere, including in Huaguo, where they are called “immortals.”
• Bai Xuan agrees to work with Liu Mufei. For now, they decide to wait for the right opportunity to act against either the Investigation Bureau or the Evil Organization.
• Li Hongyou rejects her grandfather’s order to return to Yanjing, insisting that her family ignores what she wants. She also angrily refuses a list of proposed blind dates.
• Lu Tai, appointed chief commander of the operation, asks Li Manxiu to persuade Liu Mufei to take command instead. He says he is willing to step aside, but views Liu primarily as an asset to be used for Huaguo’s benefit.
• Back at the villa, Bai Xuan worries that the Evil Organization may be able to control Ghost Gods, making them a greater danger than the Da Qi Serpent. He tells Luo Miaoyin everything, and she takes him into her world to show him something. As pink light and bell-like music fill the sky, otherworldly figures begin descending from the clouds.

Character developments

• Bai Xuan accepts Liu Mufei’s offer and begins thinking more deeply about the wider supernatural threat. He trusts Luo Miaoyin enough to share all his concerns.
• Liu Mufei remains measured and strategic, preferring to wait for a favorable moment rather than rush into action.
• Li Hongyou makes clear that she resents her family’s control and values her independence, even when their demands are framed as concern for her future.
• Li Manxiu is caught between his sister and the authorities. Though skeptical of Lu Tai’s motives, he agrees to pass along the request.
• Lu Tai presents himself as willing to yield command, but his language reveals a pragmatic, exploitative attitude toward Liu Mufei.
• Luo Miaoyin responds to Bai Xuan’s anxiety with quiet reassurance and appears ready to demonstrate a connection between herself and the beings he has been wondering about.

Significant themes

• Power and sacrifice: Controlling supernatural beings comes at a price, raising questions about the cost of using them.
• Trust and exploitation: The authorities may value Liu Mufei less as a person than as a tool, while Bai Xuan’s trust in her is more personal.
• Family control versus autonomy: Li Hongyou refuses to let her family dictate her life, even under the guise of protection.
• Hidden supernatural realities: The distinction between Ghost Gods, Huaguo’s “immortals,” and beings like Luo Miaoyin suggests a much larger world beyond the known threats.

Character interactions

• Liu Mufei treats Bai Xuan warmly, while the two agree to work together cautiously.
• Li Hongyou clashes with Li Manxiu over their grandfather’s demands; he eventually stops pressing her.
• Lu Tai approaches Li Manxiu to influence Liu Mufei indirectly, using both political pressure and Li Manxiu’s family ties.
• Luo Miaoyin listens patiently as Bai Xuan confides in her, then takes his hand and brings him into her world.

Key events

• Bai Xuan encounters phantom musicians formed from the Immortal Realm’s Great Dao. Though he expected a peaceful experience, Luo Miaoyin tells him to defeat them and absorb their power for its benefits. He draws his greatsword and prepares to fight.
• Two Investigators are sent into the Da Qi Serpent to search for its Energy Core. Li Manxiu sees them off, noting that Red Pomelo has obtained useful information from Liu Mufei, though Liu still refuses to take command.
• Sensing danger offshore, Li Manxiu forms a task force and finds the Nine of Spades on an island. The masked enemy attacks with black tendrils, destroying two helicopters and knocking their occupants into the sea.
• Lu Tai arrives in time to save Li Manxiu from another tendril, then flies to confront the Nine of Spades. Li Manxiu organizes the rescue and evacuation.
• At the base, Li Hongyou worries when she learns her brother is at the front. Liu Mufei reassures her and asks her to obtain the Da Qi Serpent operation files. Li Hongyou agrees after teasingly accepting Liu’s lollipop.
• Li Hongyou asks whether Liu is truly nonhuman. Liu neither confirms nor denies it; Li accepts the possibility and wishes her luck living among humans.

Character developments and interactions

• Bai Xuan shifts from expecting rest to embracing combat when told the phantom musicians can strengthen him.
• Li Manxiu acts decisively in response to danger, while Lu Tai takes on the Nine of Spades to protect the others.
• Li Hongyou’s concern for her brother reveals her affection beneath her blunt manner. Her conversation with Liu Mufei also shows growing trust and acceptance.
• Liu Mufei remains composed and resourceful, using her friendly rapport with Li Hongyou to secure access to the files.

Significant themes

• Power through struggle: Even a seemingly tranquil encounter becomes an opportunity to gain strength through battle.
• Duty and sacrifice: Investigators willingly enter danger to protect the world, and Lu Tai stays to face a powerful enemy.
• Trust across differences: Li Hongyou responds to Liu Mufei’s possible nonhuman nature with understanding rather than rejection.
• Uncertainty and escalating danger: The Energy Core is still only a possibility, while the Nine of Spades’ sudden attack signals a serious threat.

Key plot points and events

• Liu Mufei tells Li Hongyou that an Evil Organization member recently infiltrated a school in Ninghang City, but was driven back by a mysterious force. She suspects someone connected to that force is hiding there.
• Li Hongyou points to Bai Xuan, who attends the school and is Bai Yu’s younger brother. Liu Mufei suggests investigating him, but Li Hongyou refuses, dismissing him as unimportant.
• Liu Mufei then offers Li Hongyou a more important task, but the details are not revealed.
• Bai Xuan completes a difficult training session against powerful fairy phantoms. After defeating them, he absorbs a snow-white energy identified as Immortal Energy.
• He discovers that Immortal Energy can move his sword, serve as offense and defense, and strengthen his magic, though he still lacks full control.
• When Bai Xuan goes looking for Luo Miaoyin, Luo Yuyin appears instead. She demands to see his progress, claiming Miaoyin asked her to check on him. Bai Xuan doubts her and threatens to tell Miaoyin if she bullies him, leaving Yuyin startled.

Character developments and interactions

• Liu Mufei playfully teases Li Hongyou while steering her toward investigating Bai Xuan, then pivots to a new, undisclosed assignment.
• Li Hongyou is confident in her theory but reluctant to investigate Bai Xuan herself; her irritation at Liu Mufei’s teasing remains evident.
• Bai Xuan makes a major breakthrough with Immortal Energy, showing growing strength and resourcefulness. He also stands his ground against Luo Yuyin rather than submitting to her pressure.
• Luo Yuyin remains fiercely protective of Luo Miaoyin and determined to make her abandon Bai Xuan. Her claim that she is acting on Miaoyin’s request is met with skepticism, and Bai Xuan’s threat to appeal to Miaoyin catches her off guard.

Significant themes

• Power gained through perseverance: Bai Xuan endures punishing training and earns access to a powerful new energy.
• Suspicion and hidden identities: The investigation into the mysterious organization turns toward Bai Xuan, though the evidence is only circumstantial.
• Protectiveness versus control: Luo Yuyin frames her interference as concern for Miaoyin, while Bai Xuan sees it as meddling.
• Teasing and rivalry: Liu Mufei and Li Hongyou’s banter contrasts with the sharper conflict between Bai Xuan and Luo Yuyin.

Plot points

• Luo Yuyin confronts Bai Xuan for using Luo Miaoyin as leverage. Though furious, she honors her promise to treat him well and asks what would convince him to trust her.
• Bai Xuan asks her to teach him to use Immortal Energy. He demonstrates that he has already mastered Object Manipulation, shocking Luo Yuyin because he learned it in only a few hours despite being a mortal with no cultivation aptitude.
• Luo Yuyin explains that Immortal Energy can perform many kinds of magic, but requires exceptional control; mastering it is a step toward the Immortal Path.
• She demonstrates Immortal Spirit Flame, an intermediate art. Bai Xuan immediately reproduces a weaker version after watching once.
• Luo Yuyin then summons the Nine-Heavens Divine Thunder, an advanced art, and destroys a distant mountain with a single lightning strike. Awestruck, Bai Xuan begs her to teach him the technique.

Character developments and interactions

• Bai Xuan proves extraordinarily quick at learning Immortal Arts and seems to control the Immortal Energy within him with unusual ease. He remains curious and eager, treating Luo Yuyin as a teacher.
• Luo Yuyin moves from resentment toward reluctant cooperation. Bai Xuan’s talent surprises her, while his open admiration gives her an unexpected sense of satisfaction.
• Their dynamic shifts from hostile bargaining to a teacher–student exchange, though Luo Yuyin remains prickly and Bai Xuan’s teasing has recently angered her.

Significant themes

• Innate limits versus unexpected potential: Bai Xuan is considered incapable of cultivation, yet learns techniques at astonishing speed.
• Knowledge through observation: He can imitate Immortal Arts after seeing them once, suggesting his abilities—or Miaoyin’s gifted energy—are exceptional.
• Power and mentorship: Luo Yuyin’s demonstrations reveal the immense destructive force of Immortal Arts and turn her into Bai Xuan’s reluctant instructor.

Key plot points and events

• Luo Yuyin offers to teach Bai Xuan an advanced Immortal Art, claiming her Fairy Spirit could help him learn its basics in a few months—if he agrees to keep his relationship with Luo Miaoyin from crossing a forbidden boundary.
• Bai Xuan refuses because even a few months seems too long. He points out that Miaoyin could teach him instead, undermining Yuyin’s attempt to bargain.
• When Yuyin turns to leave, Bai Xuan offers to keep his distance from Miaoyin in exchange for instruction. He persuades Yuyin by suggesting that helping him might break her stagnant routine and help her attain enlightenment.
• Yuyin agrees to teach him, while insisting she will never fall for him.
• She transmits the art’s formulas directly into his consciousness. Bai Xuan experiences the process as pleasant, but Yuyin suffers intense, unexplained pain through her divine sense and eventually has to stop.
• Though shaken and exhausted, Yuyin says she is merely tired. Bai Xuan prepares to practise the art himself.

Character developments

• Bai Xuan is confident, pragmatic, and casually irreverent. He negotiates on his own terms and seems unusually unconcerned by the time and difficulty that would challenge most cultivators.
• Luo Yuyin begins from a position of superiority, but Bai Xuan’s talent and arguments make her reconsider her rigid approach. Her cultivation has been stalled for decades, and she becomes open to changing her routine—while defensively denying any romantic interest in him.
• Luo Miaoyin does not appear directly, but her relationship with Bai Xuan motivates Yuyin’s warning and shapes Yuyin’s decision.

Significant themes

• The contrast between conventional cultivation timelines and Bai Xuan’s exceptional pace.
• Rules, desire, and the tension between ascetic ideals and personal attachment.
• The possibility that change—and helping others—might break spiritual stagnation.
• The mysterious costs or consequences of power, hinted at by the pain Yuyin experiences while transmitting the art.

Character interactions

• Yuyin tries to control Bai Xuan’s closeness to Miaoyin by making instruction conditional on his restraint.
• Bai Xuan challenges her assumptions, first by questioning the taboo and then by pointing out he could learn from Miaoyin instead.
• Their teasing negotiation shifts into a more serious exchange when Bai Xuan encourages Yuyin to seek a breakthrough.
• During the instruction, their experiences sharply diverge: Bai Xuan feels comfort, while Yuyin bears the pain.

Plot points

• Bai Xuan tries to learn an Immortal Art from Luo Yuyin. He reproduces it after watching her once, but his version is strangely different: pink clouds and heart-shaped flashes.
• His pink lightning strikes a distant mountain and causes a gigantic white lotus to bloom instead of destroying the peak. Luo Yuyin cannot explain the result and suggests asking Luo Miaoyin, who is more skilled with Immortal Arts. She leaves before Miaoyin appears.
• Back at the villa, Su Yue announces that she has partly overcome Existence Erasure: some people can now see and speak to her.
• A test shows her progress is uneven. Xilin can see her, but Marée Alaira cannot—though Marée can hear Su Yue and suspects a ghost or illusion.
• Liu Mufei arrives, having found the group by sensing their energy signatures. She remembers Su Yue and says an event restored memories she had lost, including the memory that she had copied Su Yue’s ability.
• Liu Mufei says she cannot sense Bai Xuan’s energy and suggests he may not belong to this dimension. She then offers intelligence the Investigation Bureau recovered from inside the Da Qi Serpent, and Bai Xuan agrees to hear it.

Character developments and interactions

• Bai Xuan shows an uncanny ability to copy techniques, though the bizarre lotus-producing result leaves him and Luo Yuyin baffled. He is also unsettled by Liu Mufei’s claim about his dimensional origins.
• Luo Yuyin is surprised by Bai Xuan’s quick imitation but admits uncertainty about the failed-looking technique and defers to Luo Miaoyin’s greater talent.
• Su Yue is encouraged that her condition has improved, but Marée’s inability to see her shows that her recovery is incomplete or not universally perceptible.
• Liu Mufei has recovered memories of Su Yue and gained a new ability to perceive energy signatures. Her arrival links the group to the Investigation Bureau’s discoveries.

Significant themes

• Unpredictable power: Bai Xuan’s copied Immortal Art produces an absurdly different effect from the original.
• Partial recovery and perception: Su Yue’s visibility varies from person to person, highlighting the uncertain effects of Existence Erasure.
• Identity and belonging: Liu Mufei’s inability to sense Bai Xuan raises questions about his relationship to this world and dimension.
• Incomplete knowledge: Neither Luo Yuyin nor the others fully understand the abilities and events unfolding around them.

Plot points and events

• Liu Mufei shows Bai Xuan a recording taken inside the Da Qi Serpent. Investigators found a glowing green sapling growing within the serpent, apparently the source of its power. The two investigators survived but were shaken and given a month off.
• Bai Xuan suspects the tree may need to be destroyed to defeat the enormous serpent, though its protective green aura suggests that will be difficult.
• Liu Mufei gives him a leaf from the tree. The World Book identifies it as a World Tree leaf, revealing the sapling’s identity.
• Marée Alaira and Seliphina describe a World Tree from their world as tens of thousands of meters tall; Xilin says Aeria World’s World Tree is about a thousand meters tall and belongs to the elves.
• Bai Xuan wonders whether each world has its own World Tree, why their sizes differ, and whether one exists in their current world.
• He asks Su Yue to use her Astral Spirit Sight to search for it. As she begins, Liu Mufei copies Su Yue’s appearance and activates the same ability, revealing that she can use powers she has witnessed.

Character developments and interactions

• Bai Xuan connects the serpent’s power source to the World Tree and shifts from considering how to destroy it to investigating the tree’s origin and searching for others.
• Liu Mufei shares both the recording and the leaf, then demonstrates her ability to copy Su Yue’s newly revealed power.
• Su Yue agrees to test Astral Spirit Sight, despite uncertainty about what she is meant to find. She also notices that Bai Xuan named her power without asking, but accepts the name.
• Marée Alaira, Seliphina, and Xilin contribute knowledge of World Trees from their respective worlds, helping Bai Xuan compare their scale and significance.

Significant themes

• Discovery and hidden knowledge: The tree inside the serpent changes the group’s understanding of the creature and raises new questions about their world.
• Power and adaptation: Bai Xuan seeks ways to counter the serpent, while Liu Mufei’s copying ability lets her adopt a newly observed power.
• Worlds and interconnected mysteries: Different worlds contain World Trees of varying sizes, suggesting a broader connection between worlds, their age, and their inhabitants.