Chapter Summaries

Key plot points and events

• The Old Celestial Master unleashes a Gatling gun on the Wild Wind Special Forces as they charge through the smoke. The barrage kills the team, including Captain Yamamoto—or so it seems—and leaves the cemetery transformed into a gruesome slaughterhouse.
• Trapped in an iron cage, Ito Yūgorō initially mistakes the gunfire for a rescue attempt. Seeing the rescuers slaughtered by the Taoists, he breaks down in terror.
• Yue Xiaofei watches the massacre and approves of the ruthless response against the enemy.
• Yamamoto rises from the bodies, gravely wounded but alive. He injects himself with a forbidden enhancement drug, which rapidly heals him and greatly increases his strength.
• Rather than freeing Ito, Yamamoto reveals that the Female Chancellor ordered Ito’s execution to erase the disgrace he represents. He attacks him through the cage with a sword.
• Just as the blade is about to strike Ito, the Emperor Engine’s heartbeat sounds. Yue Xiaofei suddenly appears between Yamamoto and the cage.

Character developments and interactions

• The Old Celestial Master demonstrates overwhelming firepower and uncompromising brutality, wiping out the attacking force.
• Ito Yūgorō loses what remains of his composure, then discovers that Yamamoto has come to kill him rather than rescue him.
• Yamamoto survives catastrophic injuries by using the enhancement drug. His mission shifts from combat to carrying out the Female Chancellor’s order, even at the cost of killing Ito.
• Yue Xiaofei admires the Taoists’ vengeance but intervenes when Yamamoto threatens Ito, setting up a direct confrontation.

Significant themes

• Vengeance and retribution: The Taoists answer the attackers’ violence with overwhelming force.
• Loyalty versus expendability: Yamamoto obeys the Empire’s command to kill Ito, treating him as a liability rather than a comrade.
• Dehumanizing power: The battlefield carnage and Yamamoto’s drug-fueled transformation show how violence and ambition distort human bodies and relationships.

Key plot points and events

• Yue Xiaofei stops Yamamoto’s sword strike with two fingers, breaks the blade, and kills Yamamoto before he can harm Ito Yūgorō.
• He tells Ito that the old man cannot die unless Yue permits it, leaving Ito overwhelmed by fear and despair.
• After the battle, which lasted less than ten minutes, the Taoists emerge and methodically secure and clean the battlefield. Their professionalism surprises Yue.
• At the Old Celestial Master’s request, Yue searches Yamamoto’s body and finds an active encrypted satellite communicator.
• Yue answers a call from the mission’s organizers, reveals that Yamamoto is dead and Ito is alive, and recognizes the caller as the Female Chancellor.
• He threatens to travel to Eastern Japan and repay the Yue family’s historical grievances before crushing the communicator.

Character developments and interactions

• Yue Xiaofei demonstrates overwhelming strength and control, shifting from battlefield fighter to deliberate messenger of vengeance. He protects Ito while asserting power over his fate.
• Ito Yūgorō survives, but his relief is absent: Yue’s declaration that he cannot die without permission leaves him terrified and powerless.
• The Old Celestial Master remains calm and compassionate after the slaughter, ordering cleanup and speaking of religious atonement, yet his earlier combat role reveals a fierce side.
• The Taoists show themselves to be disciplined and highly capable, efficiently handling the aftermath.
• The Female Chancellor reacts with rage when she learns the mission failed; Yue turns the call into a direct threat.

Significant themes

• Power and control: Yue not only defeats his enemies but claims authority over Ito’s survival.
• Patriotism and collective strength: Yue sees the Taoists’ and Dragon Kingdom’s readiness to defend their people as evidence of national backbone.
• Vengeance and historical grievance: His threat to settle debts reaching back more than eighty years sets up a broader conflict.
• Violence and moral burden: The Old Celestial Master’s prayer and vow of atonement contrast with the battlefield’s brutal efficiency.

Key events

• After destroying the communicator, Yue Xiaofei reflects that he wants not only to defeat his enemies but to leave them living in fear.
• Zhang Huaiyu asks how Yue Xiaofei became so powerful so quickly. Yue explains that, after being badly injured, he underwent genetic modifications through the secret Kunlun Project.
• The Old Celestial Master condemns the project as a violation of nature and warns that Yue’s enhanced strength may be borrowed power that will eventually damage his body. Yue thanks him and promises to heed the warning.
• Once the battlefield is cleared, Yue asks the Old Celestial Master to divine the fate of his missing elder brother, Yue Feng, who went alone to search for their mother at Cloudtop Heavenly Palace.
• The mention of Ning Hongye and Cloudtop Heavenly Palace alarms the Old Celestial Master. After a strenuous divination, he gives a cryptic prediction: Yue Feng is trapped in a dangerous predicament, but can escape by overcoming bloody trials and rising to great heights.

Character developments and interactions

• Yue Xiaofei shows both a ruthless desire to psychologically torment his enemies and a respectful willingness to accept advice. His worry for Yue Feng reveals his loyalty and vulnerability.
• Zhang Huaiyu recognizes the dramatic change in Yue’s power and questions him directly, prompting Yue to reveal the Kunlun Project.
• The Old Celestial Master shifts from stern criticism of Yue’s enhancement to genuine concern for its cost. His taxing divination suggests the situation surrounding Yue Feng is grave.
• Yue speaks openly with his allies, while the Old Celestial Master responds with both care and ominous restraint.

Significant themes

• Power and its price: Artificially gained strength may bring hidden consequences, while earned strength is presented as more dependable.
• Nature versus human ambition: The Old Celestial Master sees the Kunlun Project as an attempt to defy natural limits.
• Family loyalty and uncertainty: Yue’s urgent search for news of his brother drives the chapter’s final turn.
• Endurance through adversity: The prophecy frames Yue Feng’s escape as a struggle requiring bloodshed, perseverance, and eventual ascent.

After the Old Celestial Master warned Yue Xiaofei that Yue Feng was trapped but not in immediate danger, Yue Xiaofei resolved to uncover the mysteries surrounding his brother and punish Ito Yūgorō. Han Duoduo posted a photograph of the Old Celestial Master’s battle on the international dark web, where the revelation of his identity terrified underground forces and left them wary of provoking the Dragon Kingdom.

• The Old Celestial Master told Yue Xiaofei that Yue Feng was trapped in a dangerous predicament but was alive for now, then departed with his disciples.
• Yue Xiaofei pondered the Old Celestial Master’s cryptic words about Yue Feng, Cloudtop Heavenly Palace, and his mother, then turned his attention back to the imprisoned Ito Yūgorō.
• Han Duoduo uploaded a photograph of the Old Celestial Master with a Gatling gun at the Martyrs' Cemetery, captioned with a warning against violating the Dragon Kingdom.
• Dark web users identified the dead soldiers as members of Eastern Japan's Wild Wind Special Forces and recognized the Taoist priest as Zhang Daoxuan, the Old Celestial Master.
• Underground organizations worldwide were shaken by the photograph and added a warning never to provoke the Dragon Kingdom.

After Wild Wind Special Forces were wiped out and [Hua Gate] attacked Eastern Japan’s overseas interests, the Female Chancellor swore revenge and chose an extreme provocation. Her ministers pleaded with her not to visit the “Sacred Toilet” in three days, warning that it would further inflame the Dragon Kingdom.

• The Female Chancellor smashed the furnishings in her residence as she reacted to the photograph of Wild Wind Special Forces’ defeat.
• An intelligence officer reported that more than a dozen secret bases had been attacked, three freighters had been impounded, and the Mitsui Conglomerate chairman had been assaulted, with [Hua Gate] claiming responsibility.
• The Female Chancellor decided to divert attention from Eastern Japan’s losses by making a provocative official visit to the “Sacred Toilet.”
• The intelligence officer, the Defense Minister, and other officials urgently tried to dissuade the Female Chancellor, warning that the visit could drive the Dragon Kingdom to retaliate even more severely.

Eastern Japan’s Old Witch announced she would visit the Sacred Toilet in three days, provoking outrage in the Dragon Kingdom and drawing the world’s attention. At Hua Gate headquarters, Lu Zhenhua reacted with icy fury as his Hall Masters urged him to retaliate.

• The Old Witch rejected her ministers’ pleas and insisted she would visit the Sacred Toilet in Eastern Japan, protected by the Self-Defense Forces.
• Eastern Japan’s government announced the visit, prompting the Dragon Kingdom to issue a forceful protest and its people to call for vengeance.
• Lu Zhenhua watched the announcement at Hua Gate headquarters and crushed the walnuts in his hand.
• The Hall Masters urged Lu Zhenhua to intensify economic sanctions and abduct Eastern Japanese business leaders.

Lu Zhenhua rejected limited retaliation and ordered Hua Gate to launch the Dog-Slaughter Plan against the Old Witch, despite his failing health. He sent his granddaughter Lu Qingxue to Jiangcheng to find Yue Xiaofei and test whether he could help lead the operation.

• Lu Zhenhua dismissed economic sanctions and kidnappings as inadequate and declared that Hua Gate would take direct action.
• Lu Zhenhua ordered every Hua Gate elite fighter committed to the Dog-Slaughter Plan, targeting the Old Witch within three days.
• After the Hall Masters left, Lu Qingxue asked Lu Zhenhua whether his health could withstand the operation, and he said he would not die with his old regrets unresolved.
• Lu Zhenhua instructed Lu Qingxue to go to Jiangcheng, find Yue Xiaofei, and assess whether he could serve as Hua Gate's trusted contact and spearhead.
• Lu Qingxue departed for the Dragon Kingdom while Lu Zhenhua vowed to make their enemies pay for their blood debts.

Yue Xiaofei demanded permission from Bureau 7 Chief Zhang Beihai to use [Reverse Scale] to kill Eastern Japan’s leader over her planned shrine visit, but Zhang refused and warned that acting alone would be treason. Left furious and powerless, Yue Xiaofei understood why his father and eldest brother had left the military and acted outside its rules.

• Yue Xiaofei watched the Dragon Kingdom’s Foreign Ministry condemn Eastern Japan’s planned shrine visit and grew enraged.
• Yue Xiaofei called Zhang Beihai and requested permission to go with [Reverse Scale] and kill the Old Witch.
• Zhang Beihai denied the request, citing Eastern Japan’s trap and the risks to the Dragon Kingdom, and ordered Yue Xiaofei not to leave the country without authorization.
• Yue Xiaofei slammed his fist into a wall after Zhang Beihai warned that disobedience would be treated as treason.
• Yue Xiaofei reflected on why his father, Yue Changlong, had left the military and his brother, Yue Feng, had gone overseas to establish Asura Hall.

After official orders prevented Yue Xiaofei from acting, a mysterious woman who knew his recent exploits invited him to meet alone at Jiangcheng Old Wharf. Suspecting she might offer a way to break free of his restrictions, Yue Xiaofei decided to go despite the possibility of a trap.

• Yue Xiaofei decided to act on his own after Bureau Chief's orders barred him from leaving the country.
• An unknown woman called Yue Xiaofei, recited details of his identity and recent exploits, and asked whether he would obey his restrictions or break free.
• The woman invited Yue Xiaofei to meet her alone at Jiangcheng Old Wharf at midnight, then hung up.
• Yue Xiaofei considered whether the invitation was a trap or a recruitment attempt by a mysterious third party.
• Yue Xiaofei chose to attend the meeting, confident he could fight his way out even if it was an ambush.

Key plot points and events

• Yue Xiaofei accepts the mysterious woman’s invitation to meet, but prepares carefully first: he wears Bureau 7’s concealed armor and carries a suppressed pistol, a dagger, and grenades.
• At Jiangcheng’s abandoned Old Wharf, he detects four hidden Grandmasters waiting in ambush. He recognizes the meeting as a trap but remains eager to test himself against them.
• He approaches the woman in white, who signals two men to open cases containing a huge sum of US dollars and a case full of gold bars.
• The masked woman formally offers him wealth and a comfortable life abroad if he leaves Bureau 7 and joins the powerful consortium behind her.

Character developments

• Yue Xiaofei shows caution as well as confidence: he prepares for danger, detects the ambushers, and stays composed despite being outnumbered.
• His confidence borders on arrogance; he looks forward to discovering that the Grandmasters’ attacks may be ineffective against him.
• The woman presents herself as controlled, imposing, and self-assured, using wealth and the promise of security to recruit him.

Character interactions

• Yue and the woman meet face-to-face for the first time. She addresses him by name and makes a direct offer; he has not yet responded.
• The woman’s two silent attendants display the money and gold, while four concealed fighters remain ready to attack if Yue makes a threatening move.

Significant themes

• Loyalty versus temptation: Yue is asked to abandon Bureau 7 in exchange for wealth, safety, and a new life.
• Power and intimidation: The ambush and the lavish bribe are two forms of pressure used to influence him.
• Confidence and hidden danger: Yue appears unfazed, but the meeting remains a potentially deadly confrontation.

Yue Xiaofei rejected the masked woman’s offer of wealth, declaring his loyalty to the Dragon Kingdom and the Yue Family. When four Grandmaster assassins attacked, he remained still until his Emperor engine activated and he finally moved.

• The woman in white offered Yue Xiaofei an astronomical fortune in exchange for his cooperation.
• Yue Xiaofei scorned the money and declared that he served the Dragon Kingdom and the Yue Family.
• The woman in white ordered her four hidden Grandmaster assassins to attack Yue Xiaofei.
• The four assassins launched a coordinated assault, but Yue Xiaofei stood unmoving as they closed in.
• Yue Xiaofei’s heartbeat thundered across the dock as his Emperor engine activated, and he moved.

Yue Xiaofei effortlessly defeated the four Grandmaster-level assassins sent by the masked woman, who revealed they belonged to Hua Gate and had been testing him. After Yue Xiaofei unmasked and interrogated her, she claimed he had passed both a loyalty test and a strength test.

• Yue Xiaofei stomped one attacker away, caught another's kick, and hurled him into a third, defeating all four assassins in seconds.
• The woman in white drew a pistol and threatened Yue Xiaofei, but she gave up when he continued approaching.
• The woman claimed the attack was a test and identified the fallen fighters as Hua Gate's Double-Flower Red Poles.
• Yue Xiaofei dismissed Hua Gate's fighters, grabbed the woman by the throat, and removed her silver mask.
• The woman said Yue Xiaofei had passed her loyalty and strength tests, leaving him confused.

Yue Xiaofei learned that Lu Qingxue was his younger cousin and that Hua Gate had tested his loyalty and strength before inviting him into a dangerous plan. Lu Qingxue revealed the plan’s codename, [Dog Butcher], and its target: the Female Chancellor of Eastern Japan, whom they intended to capture alive.

• Lu Qingxue revealed that she was the granddaughter of Lu Zhenhua, Yue Xiaofei’s missing granduncle, making her his younger cousin.
• Yue Xiaofei apologized for nearly strangling Lu Qingxue, and she explained that Hua Gate had staged the encounter as a test.
• Lu Qingxue said Hua Gate had tested Yue Xiaofei’s loyalty with money and his strength by sending four top enforcers to fight him.
• Yue Xiaofei asked what important plan Hua Gate wanted him to join, and Lu Qingxue named it [Dog Butcher].
• Lu Qingxue said the plan was to capture the Female Chancellor of Eastern Japan alive when she visited in three days.

Lu Qingxue asked Yue Xiaofei to join the Hua Gate's plan to capture the Old Witch alive in Eastern Japan, and he agreed to take on another identity beyond Bureau 7's rules. Lu Qingxue then showed him the Sacred Toilet's security plans and the Old Witch's planned route and schedule.

• Lu Qingxue told Yue Xiaofei that Granduncle Lu Zhenhua had spent decades preparing to settle old blood debts and was willing to sacrifice the Hua Gate to execute the Old Witch publicly.
• Lu Qingxue said the mission needed a top-tier assault specialist and asked Yue Xiaofei to join them.
• Yue Xiaofei agreed, declaring that they would kill whoever Bureau 7 could not and vowing to punish anyone who provoked the Dragon Kingdom.
• Yue Xiaofei and Lu Qingxue struck fists together, sealing their pact to carry out the mission.
• Lu Qingxue showed Yue Xiaofei the Sacred Toilet's layout and security maps, along with the Old Witch's planned route and schedule.

Yue Xiaofei reviewed Hua Gate’s plan to capture the Old Witch during her visit to the Sacred Toilet and recruited Han Duoduo to provide cyber support. Han eagerly agreed to take on Eastern Japan’s networks as Yue prepared to act without authorization.

• Lu Qingxue explained Hua Gate’s sniper backup and drainage-pipe assault plan for capturing the Old Witch alive.
• Yue Xiaofei said the plan needed a fallback fighter and technical support, then called Han Duoduo.
• Han Duoduo realized Yue Xiaofei planned to enter Eastern Japan without Brother Octopus’s authorization and warned him he had lost his mind.
• Yue Xiaofei asked Han Duoduo to attack Eastern Japan’s security, power, traffic, and military networks during the operation.
• Han Duoduo eagerly agreed, excited to challenge Eastern Japan’s Amaterasu defense system.

Key plot points and events

• Yue Xiaofei persuades hacker Han Duoduo to support an operation against Eastern Japan. Han agrees but says she’ll need the rest of Reverse Scale; she promises to assemble the squad within a day.
• Lu Qingxue realizes Yue Xiaofei is the younger brother of the legendary Yue Feng, Reverse Scale’s captain. Though she says this doesn’t increase her confidence, she is eager to see Eastern Japan “running red with blood” in three days.
• Reverse Scale’s emergency summons—a blood-red mouse symbol—reaches its members across the country. Ugly Ox, Stone Monkey, Jade Rabbit, Spirit Snake, and White Tiger abandon their various duties and head to Jiangcheng. The squad’s stated mission is to capture an old witch alive.
• Three hours later, the members begin arriving at an abandoned factory where Yue Xiaofei and Lu Qingxue are waiting. Han greets Yue playfully, then enthusiastically admires Lu Qingxue. The chapter ends as the reunited operatives arrive.

Character developments

• Yue Xiaofei grows more confident once Han secures the squad’s support and takes charge of preparing for the operation.
• Han Duoduo shows her enthusiasm for dangerous technical challenges and her strong loyalty to Reverse Scale, while keeping her familiar teasing manner with Yue.
• Lu Qingxue learns of Yue’s connection to the famous Yue Feng and shifts from surprise to fierce anticipation of the coming operation.
• The returning operatives are introduced through their contrasting civilian appearances and specialties: Ugly Ox handles weapons, Stone Monkey technology, Jade Rabbit intelligence and psychological analysis, Spirit Snake disguise and assassination, and White Tiger covert operations and infiltration.

Significant themes

• Loyalty and unity: Reverse Scale members respond immediately to the emergency call, leaving their separate lives and assignments behind.
• Hidden identities and contrasts: The operatives look ordinary or even gentle, yet possess formidable skills and deadly capabilities.
• Escalating conflict: The promised mission against a foreign power raises the stakes, while the order to capture the “old witch” alive adds a clear objective.

Character interactions

• Han and Yue trade playful banter before turning to business; she also teases him about introducing Lu Qingxue.
• Lu remains reserved when Han scrutinizes and compliments her, while Yue identifies her as his cousin and the operation’s client.
• Yue’s history with Ugly Ox is briefly noted, recalling their earlier fight against Ito Makoto.

Yue Xiaofei gathered Reverse Scale and assigned roles for the Dog-Slaughter Plan, an operation to capture Eastern Japan’s Female Chancellor and put her on trial in a global livestream. As the team prepared to infiltrate Eastern Japan, Yue Xiaofei resolved to make the mission his first step toward rescuing his older brother, Yue Feng.

• Yue Xiaofei introduced his cousin Lu Qingxue and explained the plan to capture Eastern Japan’s Female Chancellor, winning Reverse Scale’s eager support.
• Yue Xiaofei assigned Han Duoduo to take control of Eastern Japan’s capital networks and Stone Monkey and Ugly Ox to prepare equipment and heavy weapons.
• Yue Xiaofei tasked Spirit Snake and Bai Bing with infiltration and intelligence gathering, while Jade Rabbit coordinated intelligence and contingency plans.
• Lu Qingxue thanked Yue Xiaofei for joining the mission, and he said the Yue Family would not be left out of the fight.
• Yue Xiaofei prepared to travel with Lu Qingxue to Eastern Japan and vowed to raise hell while thinking of his brother Yue Feng.

Yue Xiaofei received the Crimson Firmament Sword from Lu Qingxue as he prepared for the mission in Eastern Japan. Meanwhile, Han Duoduo hacked into the capital’s surveillance network and began targeting its traffic system.

• Yue Xiaofei and Lu Qingxue reviewed the Hua Gate’s route and the team’s arrangements for reaching the capital before the Old Witch’s visit.
• Lu Qingxue gave Yue Xiaofei the Crimson Firmament Sword, which Lu Zhenhua had inherited from Lu Lanxin and passed down for the mission.
• Yue Xiaofei drew the sword, learned its history, and vowed to use it to avenge those killed by the Japanese invaders.
• Han Duoduo and [Stone Monkey] prepared for the operation from an apartment in the capital of Eastern Japan.
• Han Duoduo breached the Amaterasu System, accessed surveillance feeds across the capital, and began hacking the traffic system.

Han Duoduo paralyzed the capital of Eastern Japan’s traffic system as a diversion while Yue Xiaofei and Lu Qingxue arrived in Yokosuka to prepare for an operation against the Old Witch. With intelligence revealing formidable guards and a suspected underground energy weapon, the team began Operation [Dog Butcher].

• Han Duoduo turned every traffic light in the capital red, trapping vehicles across the city and distracting its authorities.
• Yue Xiaofei and Lu Qingxue arrived at Yokosuka Port, where Long Wu’s Hua Gate operatives supplied them with vehicles, forged documents, weapons, and a communicator.
• Yue Xiaofei’s group left the port for the capital, and Han Duoduo assured him that she had framed hackers from Eagle Country and could restore the traffic system later.
• Han Duoduo reported that the Sacred Toilet was guarded by thousands of soldiers and police, at least two hundred powerful Shrine Guard members, and four exceptionally strong experts, one possibly nearing S-Level.
• Han Duoduo also warned Yue Xiaofei of a high-intensity energy signature beneath the Sacred Toilet and reminded him to capture the Old Witch alive.
• Yue Xiaofei agreed to rely on his team to handle the guards, and Han Duoduo declared Operation [Dog Butcher] underway.

Key plot points

• The morning of her planned visit to the “Sacred Toilet,” the Female Chancellor prepares for the politically provocative ceremony.
• Her security chief, Koji Sato, reports extensive precautions: a five-kilometer lockdown, thousands of troops and police, elite shrine guards, four Grandmasters, and an underground laser-defense network.
• Confident that no one can stop her, the Chancellor intends to defy Dragon Kingdom’s protests, strengthen her domestic support, and please Eagle Country.
• After Sato leaves, she contacts the masked figure known as Demon, a representative of Skull and Bones. Demon reveals that the visit is meant to provoke Yue Xiaofei into an impulsive attack so the organization can capture him alive and exploit a secret within his body.
• The Chancellor agrees to play her role, tempted by the promise of a grand future.

Character developments and interactions

• The Chancellor (Miaozi): Publicly arrogant and contemptuous of Dragon Kingdom, but privately submissive to Demon. Her ambition and greed make her willing to serve as a pawn.
• Koji Sato: Loyal and confident in the security plan; he believes the preparations make the visit virtually invulnerable.
• Demon: Reveals Skull and Bones’ true objective and treats the Chancellor’s political spectacle as a tool for luring Yue Xiaofei.
• Their contrasting interactions show that the Chancellor’s apparent power is limited: she boasts to Sato but bows to Demon.

Significant themes

• Arrogance and manipulation: The Chancellor’s defiance is partly staged to provoke a desired response.
• Power behind the scenes: Her public authority conceals her dependence on Skull and Bones.
• Political provocation: The visit is presented not only as a ceremony but as a deliberate challenge to Dragon Kingdom.
• Greed and ambition: The promise of personal advancement overrides the Chancellor’s fear and reinforces her willingness to cooperate.