Chapter Summaries

Qin Xiaoxia and Su Su tested the type A and type B cultures, finding that the potion could temporarily strengthen animals but was too dangerous for Dawn’s ordinary members. Their work also showed that type C cells could multiply while supplied with nutrients, but the experiments exhausted Brother Gou’s blood stock.

• Su Su found that animals injected with type B died as Baru’s blood cells overwhelmed them, while type A caused severe reactions in the surviving animals.
• Qin Xiaoxia had Flower of Life petals given to the struggling animals, and several transformed into huge, muscular rabbits and mice before exploding and dying.
• Qin Xiaoxia concluded that the type A potion was too painful and risky for Dawn’s members, though it could help ordinary people and might suit soul-burning Knights with better materials.
• The group observed that type C cells had begun multiplying, but the experiments used up all three tubes of Brother Gou’s stock before dawn.
• Gou Junbao woke from a nightmare and asked Xiao Lili to help him contribute more to the Association, while the Red Banshee overheard them through the mystic realm.

At the Special Security Team’s year-end review, Tao Xingzhi reported on diplomatic cooperation, anomalous changes, and preparations for a dark tide. The report showed that the nationwide defense effort was advancing, but none of the two hundred super civil defense bases was ready for use.

• Huang Jiutian and Liu Yue discussed their responses to magic-crystal experiments and the institute’s examinations of Liu Yue.
• Huang Jiutian and Liu Yue attended the Special Security Team’s year-end review meeting, where Tao Xingzhi presented the agenda.
• Tao Xingzhi reported that Huaguo had established cooperation with the Dawn Association and founded the World Anti-Dark Tide Convention Alliance with five other countries.
• Tao Xingzhi presented evidence of rapid forest growth and warned that mutated animals, including giant rats and the Monkey King’s macaques, increased the monitoring burden.
• Tao Xingzhi reported that military construction was 67 percent complete, designated storage areas were 40 percent full, and the two hundred civil defense bases were all unfinished.

Tao Xingzhi briefed Huaguo’s officials on its preparations for the Dark Tide, including a new mobile defense station and plans to recall veterans, identify Evolvers, and teach the public to evacuate safely. The meeting left Huaguo and the World Anti-Dark Tide Convention Alliance secretly accelerating their preparations for a possible crisis.

• Tao Xingzhi reported that construction on bases and other megaprojects was accelerating, though they would not shelter the entire population.
• Tao Xingzhi presented the Mobile Modular Defense Station, explaining its weapons, rapid assembly, and use in forming mobile defensive perimeters around cities.
• Tao Xingzhi said Huaguo would recall eligible veterans once preparations passed seventy percent and stage apparent international tensions to justify military training.
• Tao Xingzhi reported that the Special Security Team had recruited roughly thirty Evolvers and planned public education on safe evacuation.
• Tao Xingzhi reviewed the Wrath of the Sea God incident in Japan and emphasized the value of cooperation with the Dawn Association.
• Huaguo and the other alliance nations continued their defense reviews and military preparations in secret.

Du Peipei was called away from home to lead a team pursuing Zhang Yi, an Evolver suspected of killing his girlfriend. The team headed to arrest him under orders that allowed lethal force if he resisted.

• Lin Dong asked his parents for a phone, and Du Peipei agreed to buy him one.
• Du Peipei received an urgent assignment and left home to join her team.
• An agent briefed Du Peipei that bartender Zhang Yi had fled after his girlfriend was found dead with her neck broken.
• Du Peipei learned that Zhang Yi was an Evolver and that headquarters had authorized the team to use its usual force.
• Du Peipei and her team set out to arrest Zhang Yi, aiming to take him alive if he did not resist dangerously.

Du Peipei’s team raced to find Zhang Yi after investigators estimated a high chance that he was undergoing Second or Third Category evolution. She found him eating alone at a noodle shop after he had accidentally killed his girlfriend, and she approached him while her agents surrounded the area.

• Technical investigators reported that Zhang Yi’s phone had briefly been switched on and that his appetite had risen sharply over the past half month.
• Researchers estimated a sixty percent chance that Zhang Yi was undergoing Second or Third Category evolution, prompting Du Peipei to order the driver to speed up.
• Du Peipei’s team reached the noodle shop, where she sensed the smell of death and sent four agents to watch the street while she went inside.
• Zhang Yi recalled that his strength had surged after a period of exhaustion and that he had accidentally snapped his girlfriend’s neck while hugging her.
• Du Peipei sat down with Zhang Yi, who mistook his attraction to her for love at first sight, while she was certain he could not escape.

Du Peipei apprehended Zhang Yi after learning he had killed his girlfriend, but as she prepared to take him away, the Dawn Association’s Enchantress appeared and demanded that he be handed over. The team faced off against the powerful newcomer, with Zhang Yi’s fate unresolved.

• Du Peipei restrained Zhang Yi at a noodle shop, confronted him over his girlfriend’s death, and persuaded him to come with her by claiming an Evolver could escape legal punishment.
• Du Peipei stopped Zhang Yi from fleeing by assaulting and threatening him, then brought him to the team’s van.
• Zhang Yi noticed the unusual colors surrounding Du Peipei and the other team members and realized they might relate to his superpower.
• The Enchantress appeared beside the van and said she had to take Zhang Yi with her.
• The Special Security Team recognized the Enchantress as a dangerous Dawn Association member and aimed their guns at her.

The Enchantress intervened when the Special Security Team tried to arrest Zhang Yi, warning that his strange eyes would kill him if they took him away. Tao Xingzhi ordered Du Peipei to let Dawn take him, and Su Su carried Zhang Yi off while refusing to promise he would survive.

• The Enchantress confronted Du Peipei and the Special Security Team, saying Zhang Yi was not a Second Category Evolver and that there were no Demons in the city.
• Su Su warned that Zhang Yi would die because he could not endure his own eyes, and Zhang Yi realized the Enchantress was far beyond ordinary humans.
• An agent received Tao Xingzhi's order to stand down and let Dawn take Zhang Yi.
• Du Peipei handed Zhang Yi over, and the Enchantress vanished with him.
• Su Su carried Zhang Yi through Shenzhen City and told him she had never promised he would not die.

Su Su brought Zhang Yi into a Shenzhen mystic realm, where its monstrous plants and supernatural inhabitants became visible to him after she marked him. As Zhang Yi watched the Skyward Martial Arts Hall disciples fight, his fingernail fell off, beginning the horrible death Su Su had warned him about.

• Su Su explained that Zhang Yi would truly die as his body gradually fell apart, then carried him toward the mystic realm in a Shenzhen park.
• Qin Xiaoxia’s account described the Skyward Martial Arts Hall’s Skywalker requirements and identified Old Master Mo, Mo Shaoge, and Mo Qingxue as its three current members.
• Zhang Yi saw a black cat that Su Su identified as a Mystic Realm Spirit, then entered the park and perceived its plants as terrifying monsters.
• Su Su marked Zhang Yi, making the mystic realm’s monstrous silhouettes appear gentler to him.
• Zhang Yi watched Ding Yi defeat another Skyward Martial Arts Hall disciple in a fast martial arts match and wondered if he could become that strong.
• Zhang Yi’s little fingernail came off, and he feared that his body’s collapse had begun.

Su Su brought Zhang Yi to the Association Headquarters, where Qin Xiaoxia explained that Zhang Yi would inevitably die and that even their power could not guarantee they could preserve him. The chapter left Zhang Yi facing his fate and asking to distribute his savings to his parents and Xiao Mo's family.

• Su Su healed Zhang Yi's injured finger with a Flower of Life and took him, Ding Yi, and Uncle Qiao to headquarters.
• Ding Yi, Uncle Qiao, and Zhang Yi were awed by the transformed mystic realm and met the Red Banshee.
• The Red Banshee warned Su Su not to give Zhang Yi more Flowers of Life because suppressing his body's breakdown could make him explode.
• Qin Xiaoxia arrived with a potion and told Zhang Yi that he would inevitably die, though the organization would try to keep him from vanishing outright.
• Zhang Yi accepted that he might not be saved and asked to leave 150,000 to his parents and the rest to Xiao Mo's family.

As Zhang Yi’s body deteriorated, Qin Xiaoxia and the others used the Demon Spirit Elixir to begin his transformation, with Doudou accelerating the potion’s effects. During the agonizing change, Zhang Yi glimpsed a vast, mysterious figure behind Lord Sage, leaving him with a vision branded into his soul.

• Zhang Yi called his parents, recorded the words he could not say aloud, and learned he could not contact Xiao Mo’s family because the government had classified her death as a suicide.
• Qin Xiaoxia began the first human use of the Demon Spirit Elixir on Zhang Yi, while Ding Yi and Uncle Qiao used needles to open the flow of his qi and blood.
• As Zhang Yi’s flesh fell away and the potion struggled to keep pace, he called for Doudou, who used a gold coin and the Language of Magic to accelerate its effects.
• Zhang Yi’s body lit up and dimmed as his soul underwent the transformation, and he screamed as colored light poured from his face.
• After his physical eyes ruptured, Zhang Yi glimpsed a vast hazy figure surrounded by purple flames behind Lord Sage, and the sight remained imprinted on his soul.

Zhang Yi’s body collapsed as his soul underwent a dangerous evolution, leaving him as a being of light and shadow. After deciding he was no longer Zhang Yi or human, he accepted Qin Xiaoxia’s name for him: Shadow.

• Zhang Yi’s body disintegrated during his evolution, and Qin Xiaoxia used the mystic realm’s power to help contain the damage to his soul.
• Zhang Yi emerged as a fragile luminous figure and told Qin Xiaoxia that he remembered his human life but felt detached from Zhang Yi’s identity.
• Qin Xiaoxia urged him to decide for himself whether he was still Zhang Yi, and the figure concluded that he was not.
• The figure formed a hooded human shape and said he did not want to become a monster.
• Qin Xiaoxia named him Shadow, and Shadow accepted the name before glimpsing strange stars in the sky.

Shadow visited the Special Security Team headquarters on Dawn’s behalf, delivering Potion No. 1 and apologizing for Zhang Yi’s death. He left them Zhang Yi’s recording and warned that even Third Category Evolvers faced risks, while sensing that the world held unknown forces and possibilities.

• The Holy Spirit listened to Qin Xiaoxia’s warning, while Doudou and Gou Dandan demanded an all-fish feast and Su Su agreed to summon Gou Junbao and Xiao Lili to teach Gou Dandan manners.
• Mumu planted demon seeds across Silent Moon Island with help from Gou Junbao and Xiao Lili.
• Du Peipei reported on Shenzhen City’s affairs at Special Security Team headquarters, where Tao Xingzhi learned a Dawn representative would come to apologize for the Enchantress taking Zhang Yi.
• Shadow introduced himself to Tao Xingzhi and the others as an Earth-born Holy Spirit, then gave them test tubes of Potion No. 1.
• Shadow apologized for Zhang Yi’s death, asked the government to help his parents live peacefully, and gave Du Peipei a phone containing Zhang Yi’s recording.
• Shadow told Tao Xingzhi that Third Category Evolvers faced considerable awakening risks, then sensed hidden forces and possibilities in the world.

Qin Xiaoxia and the Red Banshee completed a Transmutation Spell Formation Array that used magic crystals and mystic realm power to convert materials. Its first tests successfully produced suspected magic steel and pure potions, leaving Qin Xiaoxia delighted with the results.

• The Holy Spirit returned to headquarters after reporting its observations of Huang Jiutian and Du Peipei.
• Qin Xiaoxia and the Red Banshee finished inscribing their third revision of the Transmutation Spell Formation Array in the Qing Town Sanctuary.
• Qin Xiaoxia and the Red Banshee activated the array and completed its magic-script circuits, carbonizing the test tube used during the process.
• Qin Xiaoxia tested the array by converting prepared metals into ingots suspected to be magic steel.
• Qin Xiaoxia switched the array's circuits and produced clear, pure potions without needing human blood for basic and lower sequences.
• Qin Xiaoxia called the successful results the best New Year's gift.

Peter received a nearby mission to inspect an old Association building, but paused after hearing Frank describe Dawn as a long-vanished organization of con artists. Frank’s story about his ancestor and the Dawn Seal left Peter offended and convinced the ancestor had never been worthy of joining Dawn’s inner circle.

• Qin Xiaoxia reconsidered Dawn’s research plans after the conversion Spell Formation succeeded, shifting production to headquarters and making magic crystal consumption the main bottleneck.
• At Munich University, Peter showed Tim sketches of weapons from the Silent Knight Order’s catalog and explained that their magic-steel costs put them beyond his current points.
• After learning the professor had fallen and class was canceled, Peter accepted a mission to inspect an old Association building at 119 Tulip Road and learn what its owner knew about Dawn.
• Peter overheard Frank tell classmates that Dawn had been an organization of con artists, based on stories passed down by an ancestor who had failed its Mentor assessment.
• Frank described the Dawn Seal branded on core members’ right palms, and Peter touched his own seal before deciding Frank’s ancestor had not been worthy of joining Dawn.

Peter and Nisso investigated the Dawn Association’s address on Tulip Street, where the occupants ignored their doorbell. The chapter ended with Peter spotting Frank arriving at the house and recognizing him from school.

• Frank’s classmates searched for Dawn and found conflicting, sparse accounts of the organization’s history, while one sharp student questioned Frank’s family story.
• Peter left campus and rode with Nisso, who explained the Association’s magic-steel forging bottleneck as they discussed equipment and training.
• Peter and Nisso reached number 119 on Tulip Street, rang the bell repeatedly, and waited in their car when no one answered.
• A man inside the house ignored the doorbell, then woke to his sister Manni calling and telling him to get up and help clean.
• Peter saw Frank arrive at the house and told Nisso that he had seen Frank at school and that Frank had not left a good impression.

Peter and Nisso gained entry to the Neumann home by pretending Peter was Frank’s old university friend, then explored the unusual building and questioned the family about its history. They left after meeting Manni, concluding that the Neumann siblings did not recognize their salute and had been changed by the power of time.

• Peter and Nisso approached Karl and Frank, and Nisso claimed they were researching historic buildings.
• Peter pretended to recognize Frank from Professor Gordon’s biology class, and Frank played along, persuading Karl to let the visitors inside.
• Peter and Nisso privately noted dark miasma and a faint smell of sulfur on Karl, then toured the house and photographed its unusual features.
• Karl teased Frank about forgetting Peter and urged him to confess his feelings to Liroya.
• Peter and Nisso discussed university life and the Neumann Family’s history with Karl and Frank, then met Manni when she returned home.
• As they left, Peter and Nisso performed an unusual salute; afterward, they said the Neumann siblings did not know and reflected on the power of time.

Frank recognized Peter and Nisso’s salute as the Dawn Salute from his family’s old notes, prompting him and Karl to suspect a link to the supposedly vanished organization. After a month of uneasy friendship between Frank and Peter, Old Neumann returned home, while Nisso raced toward a terrifying aura.

• At dinner, Frank recalled a written description of the unfamiliar salute and found the Dawn Salute described in the family notes upstairs.
• Frank wondered whether Peter had deliberately befriended him, and Karl later discovered the same passage and confronted Frank about it.
• Frank explained his suspicions, and the brothers agreed the gesture alone proved nothing; Karl then closed the bank account tied to Old Neumann’s weekly transfers.
• Over the following month, Frank and Peter became friends while Peter considered buying the Neumann house for the Association.
• Old Neumann returned to the family home after a month away, and Nisso raced toward the city while tracking a terrifying aura.

Old Neumann reunited with his children after more than a decade away, and they began to reconcile over dinner. Meanwhile, Peter prepared to intercept a flying Demon near Munich, where it descended toward Frank’s family and he launched two bronze spears at it.

• Karl punched Old Neumann when he returned home, but Manni soon embraced their tearful father and the siblings shared their feelings.
• Nisso raced toward Munich while tracking a descending Demon, and Peter waited at Lauch Park for it to arrive.
• Frank drove his family through the park, spotted Peter smashing a phone booth, and stopped the car.
• Peter tore bronze spears from ancient warrior statues and shouted for Frank to get his family away.
• Peter launched himself toward the approaching Demon and hurled both spears as Frank and Karl watched in shock.

Peter wounded a flying Demon with bronze spears, but it overwhelmed him in the ensuing fight. As the Demon turned on Karl and Peter lay injured, Nisso arrived and knocked the monster onto its side with a powerful punch.

• Peter threw two bronze spears and struck the Demon, damaging its leg and wing and forcing it to descend toward Lauch Park.
• Karl warned his family, sent emergency messages, and fired his Glock at the Demon when it attacked Peter.
• The Demon hurled a spear at Peter, then injured him with its claws, tail, and spiked wing, sending him crashing into the statue's base.
• Karl's gunfire distracted the Demon long enough for Peter to escape its attack.
• Nisso arrived in a Volkswagen sedan, leaped from its hood, and punched the Demon in the head, flipping it onto its side.

Peter and Nisso fought the Demon, but its sonic shriek and rain of needles left them gravely wounded as it escaped. The Neumann family found them, and Peter’s brand revealed they belonged to the real Dawn, prompting Old Neumann to rush them to safety.

• Peter attacked the fallen Demon with a bronze sword while Nisso recovered, but the Demon unleashed a devastating sonic blast that left both men injured and unable to hear.
• The Demon took flight and fired a dense rain of steel needles, piercing Peter and Nisso before fleeing the battlefield.
• Old Neumann and his family ran to the wounded warriors, where Nisso repeatedly asked them to take the men away and mentioned the Flower of Life in his pocket.
• Peter’s severed arm revealed a scorched Daybreak brand, and Old Neumann recognized Peter and Nisso as members of the real Dawn.
• Old Neumann and his children began pulling Peter and Nisso free of the needles so they could take them to his house for treatment.