Chapter Summaries

Norton expanded the evacuation perimeter as the Red Banshee’s song provoked a Hell Shard into breaking through the world’s barrier. The shard’s flames spread through the sky, and a huge horned monster carrying a flaming whip landed on a Bayview District rooftop as Qin Xiaoxia and the forces below watched.

• Norton analyzed the tremors, ordered a red alert, and expanded the evacuation perimeter beyond the city center.
• Qin Xiaoxia and Doudou saw a fiery shard pressing against the world’s barrier as the Red Banshee’s singing triggered roars and increasingly violent earthquakes.
• Qin Xiaoxia used the Language of Magic to stop the Red Banshee’s song and learned the intruding object was a shard of Mogalongsi, also called a Hell Shard.
• A tremendous impact shook St. Louis, disrupted helicopters, and opened fiery cracks in the sky above the Bayview District.
• Lava-like flames poured through the breach, and a giant horned monster with wings, four legs, two arms, a long tail, and a flaming whip emerged and landed on a residential rooftop.

Qin Xiaoxia and the soldiers fought the flaming monster in St. Louis, but their attacks barely harmed it and its whip devastated the troops. After Qin Xiaoxia was struck from a rooftop, he summoned a torrential rain that began hissing against the monster’s flames, and he invoked the Sea Nymph.

• The soldiers bombarded the flaming monster while Qin Xiaoxia used the Shadow of the Red Banshee to misdirect its whip, but the creature survived and retaliated with devastating force.
• The monster’s whip destroyed vehicles and ignited soldiers, while Norton ordered the troops to stop explosive attacks and switch to armor-piercing rounds.
• Qin Xiaoxia spent another magic crystal to summon dark clouds, but the monster struck him and the Shadow of the Red Banshee from the rooftop to the ground.
• As Norton ordered covering fire, Qin Xiaoxia used magic to unleash heavy rain across the battlefield.
• The rain poured over the monster as Qin Xiaoxia spoke the magical word for Sea Nymph.

Qin Xiaoxia sensed that the Flame Demon was trapped by the world’s instinctive hunger, and he tried to stall it while waiting for the helicopters to return. As the aircraft prepared to drop liquid nitrogen tanks, the Flame Demon noticed them overhead.

• The Flame Demon destroyed the Shadow of the Red Banshee and prepared to attack Qin Xiaoxia and Doudou.
• Qin Xiaoxia sensed invisible shackles around the Flame Demon and used the Language of Magic to warn it that it was near death, buying time despite his own peril.
• Qin Xiaoxia realized the world itself seemed to hunger for the Flame Demon and felt afraid of that instinct.
• Military and firefighting helicopters returned, and Norton ordered the first wave to drop half of their liquid nitrogen tanks.
• The Flame Demon heard the helicopters buzzing and looked up at them.

Qin Xiaoxia used liquid nitrogen and the Bitter Cold spell to weaken the Flame Demon, then escaped with Doudou while hiding the demon’s whip. The American forces found the Flame Demon immobilized and apparently near death as they moved in to investigate.

• The Flame Demon destroyed seven helicopters and dodged the falling liquid nitrogen tanks, while Qin Xiaoxia used a Magic Crystal to hold the tanks in the air and evade its whip.
• Qin Xiaoxia cast Bitter Cold, freezing the Flame Demon’s whip arm and making it drop the whip as the liquid nitrogen and rain drained its strength.
• The Flame Demon collapsed and roared at Qin Xiaoxia, who fell beside Doudou after losing nearly all his strength.
• Doudou woke, used a Wish spell to hide the Flame Demon’s whip in a sewer, and vanished with Qin Xiaoxia.
• Norton ordered the helicopters to keep their distance and sent ground troops toward the Flame Demon, which knelt motionless against an office building.

After the battle in St. Louis, Norton’s forces cooled and preserved the Flame Demon’s corpse while disaster relief began. Qin Xiaoxia recovered in a hospital under an assumed rescue story, leaving Su Su and Doudou at his bedside as the news blamed the destruction on a meteor.

• Norton ordered soldiers to approach the Flame Demon, measure its temperature, and cool its corpse with helicopters and high-pressure hoses.
• Su Su and Jenny feared their Mentor had died in the final clash until Doudou sent them a reassuring message.
• Su Su and Jenny led a civilian rescue team to Qin Xiaoxia and Doudou, who were trapped beneath a collapsed shopping center floor slab.
• Qin Xiaoxia and Doudou were freed and taken by ambulance to St. Louis Central Hospital, where Qin Xiaoxia entered intensive care to recover.
• A day later, Qin Xiaoxia watched the news describe the battle as a meteor strike while Su Su translated and Doudou teased him.

Qin Xiaoxia told Doudou that the Shadow of the Red Banshee had shattered, leaving their Mystic Realm greatly weakened and disrupting Qin Xiaoxia’s plans. As the Flame Demon’s remains were examined in St. Louis, Mumu guarded the Mystic Realm’s crystal vein, then panicked at strange noises inside the building.

• Su Su, Doudou, and Qin Xiaoxia ate Jenny’s lunch, leaving her blackened dish untouched.
• Qin Xiaoxia told Doudou that the Shadow of the Red Banshee had shattered, and explained that the Mystic Realm had lost much of its power and could no longer support his plans for linked realms.
• Norton reviewed test results from the Flame Demon’s remains and decided to report in person to Washington and seek an audience with the president.
• Mumu secured the Crystal Forest’s underground corners until the weakened Mystic Realm stabilized, then emerged to rest in the sunlight.
• Mumu heard clanging and banging inside the building and frightened itself by imagining what might be there.

Mumu investigated the fallen Kormir's Statue and discovered that it had come to life, then called Qin Xiaoxia for help. Qin Xiaoxia and Doudou learned the news while he was sensing changes to his magic power.

• Mumu animated the plants around the sanctuary and searched the Empty Hall for whatever had knocked over Kormir's Statue.
• Mumu lifted the statue with its Thorn Vines, and the statue's red hair moved before it murmured and fell back to the floor.
• Mumu concluded that Kormir's Statue had come to life, retreated to the Crystal Forest, and called Qin Xiaoxia.
• Qin Xiaoxia answered Mumu's call in the hospital room, and Doudou froze when Mumu explained that the statue had gained life.

While Kormir's Statue began to stir in the Empty Hall, Qin Xiaoxia hurried to leave the hospital and retrieve the enormous whip from the sewer. He reclaimed and transformed the weapon, which revealed its name as the Endless Abyss.

• Mumu sealed the Empty Hall with enchanted vines after sensing a disturbance in the pollen, then heard Kormir's Statue sigh and hid underground.
• Qin Xiaoxia left the hospital with Su Su and Jenny, eager to return home and recover the whip he had left behind.
• Qin Xiaoxia and Doudou entered the sewer and found a dying Demon Vine still wrapped around the whip.
• Qin Xiaoxia channeled purple flames into the whip, cleansed it, and changed it into a manageable size.
• Qin Xiaoxia recognized the whip's name as the Endless Abyss.

Qin Xiaoxia returned from dealing with the Flame Demon and headed to the Empty Hall to meet Komir, who had gradually come to life. He and Doudou recognized the red-haired figure as a Red Banshee.

• Qin Xiaoxia tested the Flame Demon’s whip, while Doudou failed to make it work and could barely lift it.
• Qin Xiaoxia, Doudou, and Su Su left for the airport, and Jenny drove them there while boasting about a promised foundation grant.
• Gou Junbao picked Qin Xiaoxia and the others up at Qiantang Airport, and Qin Xiaoxia returned to the Mystic Realm with Mumu.
• Mumu told Qin Xiaoxia that Komir had come to life gradually and was now picking flowers and berries to look at.
• Qin Xiaoxia entered the Empty Hall with the Endless Abyss and found a stiff-moving, red-haired figure counting berries.
• Qin Xiaoxia and Doudou recognized the figure as a Red Banshee.

Qin Xiaoxia and the others discovered that the shattered Shadow of the Red Banshee had revived through Kormir's Statue. After Inspiration Sharing revealed the Red Banshee’s memories and feelings, she spoke to Doudou and joined the group in a new body.

• Doudou and Qin Xiaoxia recognized the living Kormir's Statue as the Red Banshee, and Su Su fetched a robe to cover her.
• Qin Xiaoxia and Doudou used Inspiration Sharing to connect with the Red Banshee, who then offered Doudou tiny red fruits and spoke his name.
• Su Su took the Red Banshee upstairs to dress, while Qin Xiaoxia considered how the Shadow of the Mystic Realm had transferred its memories into the statue.
• The Red Banshee returned wearing a blue dress, and Qin Xiaoxia welcomed her aboard.

The Red Banshee used her knowledge of the mystic realm and her awakened order magic to help Qin Xiaoxia restore and transform it. Their collaborative weaving left the realm changed into a dazzling, self-contained world.

• Doudou asked the Red Banshee how she died, and she recalled being blinded and having her heart removed at the Jade Sea Shore.
• Qin Xiaoxia explained that the Red Banshee could use her magic to help restore the fragile mystic realm, and she agreed.
• The Red Banshee examined the realm and began weaving its magic, revealing that she had deep knowledge of its structure and was not slow-witted.
• Qin Xiaoxia joined her by using the Endless Abyss to create mirrored spell formations as they worked together to reshape the realm.
• The mystic realm shut off from the outside world and filled with changing sights before their magic weakened and the transformation settled.

Qin Xiaoxia and Red Banshee rewove the Mystic Realm into a stronger place that could contain real terrain, while Red Banshee adjusted to her new life. Meanwhile, Norton welcomed Huaguo’s delegation to investigate the Flame Demon incident, and Huang Jiutian and Baru recognized each other as members of the Association.

• Qin Xiaoxia praised the newly rewoven Mystic Realm as stronger than his earlier attempt, and Su Su supported Red Banshee as she recovered.
• Red Banshee marveled that the Crooked Loach River led to the sea, and Qin Xiaoxia promised to take her there before heading home exhausted.
• Qin Xiaoxia expanded the Mystic Realm to the riverbank, restoring its sky and sunlight and letting it contain real surroundings within its illusions.
• After the Flame Demon incident became difficult to conceal, France and Huaguo sought cooperation, and Norton’s long-awaited construction plan was approved.
• Norton brought Baru and his team to St. Louis International Airport to welcome Huaguo’s delegation, where Huang Jiutian and Baru recognized each other as members of the Association.

Huang Jiutian uncovered evidence that the Americans had concealed a third party’s role in defeating the Flame Demon, forcing Norton to take Huaguo’s knowledge of Evolvers seriously. At the research base, Huang Jiutian examined a patient named Ben and prompted him to expel the fire trapped in his lungs.

• On the Flame Demon battlefield, Huang Jiutian sensed traces of three powerful forces and told Tao Xingzhi that the Americans’ account was false.
• Tao Xingzhi demanded information about the party that had helped defeat the monster, and Norton called his superiors before offering to show Huaguo the Flame Demon’s corpse.
• After Baru mentioned the patients with lung fever, Huang Jiutian insisted on visiting the Treatment Observation Area.
• Huang Jiutian ordered Ben’s respirator and ice packs removed, then told him to vomit when his throat began to itch.
• Ben suddenly spewed a jet of crimson flame from his mouth, and Huang Jiutian calmly asked whether he felt better.

Huang Jiutian explained the three types of evolvers after Ben demonstrated his fire-breathing ability, prompting the Americans to share more of their research and seek closer cooperation with Huaguo. Tao Xingzhi and Huang Jiutian continued their secret investigation into the fire-breathers, while Huang Jiutian wondered when he would gain magic power of his own.

• Huang Jiutian explained that evolvers could result from natural genetic selection, passive anomalous erosion, or awakening evolution, and identified Ben as a case of passive anomalous erosion.
• Aiven provided Ben's medical records, and the group concluded that Ben's new abilities and heat resistance had developed alongside his illness.
• Norton briefed his superiors on evolvers, and the Americans offered Huaguo Flame Demon fragments, shared information, and proposed a future visit.
• Tao Xingzhi continued the secret Fire Kid observation program with Huang Jiutian, who sensed that the fire-breathers might eventually control flames.
• Huang Jiutian reflected on magic power and hoped Qin Xiaoxia would help him obtain it, while Tao Xingzhi wondered whether a Spirit-Type Creature from American records was connected to mysterious beings in Huaguo.

Ben’s struggle to control his fire-breathing ability led to an accidental explosion and Aiven’s severe injuries. Huang Jiutian discovered that an unknown entity had fused symbiotically with Ben’s chest and lungs, leaving the group to investigate what had awakened inside him.

• Ben told Aiven he feared missing Annie’s birthday and could not safely hug her, and Aiven urged him to keep trying rather than give up on treatment.
• An explosion destroyed much of the treatment-area isolation shelter, badly burned Aiven, and sent Ben to a fireproof testing enclosure.
• Norton assured Ben that Aiven was fine, and Ben explained that suppressing his urge to breathe fire had made him increasingly agitated before the explosion.
• Ben sensed something besides humans nearby, and Huang Jiutian identified it as an entity fused with Ben’s lungs and chest cavity.
• Huang Jiutian said the entity was symbiotic and helped Ben and itself evolve, while Ben’s distress eased when the group realized he had not breathed fire for some time.

Ben’s examinations revealed that his symbiotic entity was changing his body, prompting Chinese and American researchers to begin studying Type Two Evolvers together. Meanwhile, The Oriole's Pursuit staff learned their investigations had drawn government scrutiny, and Cui Ying urged them to probe once more despite the risk.

• Ben underwent extensive testing, and Huang Jiutian helped establish that the entity reacted to Ben’s emotions, oxygen deprivation, and nearby flames while his metabolism and body continued to change.
• Norton reconsidered how to handle the potentially dangerous Evolvers, while joint Chinese and American research began developing theories about symbiotic entities and the soul.
• Ben’s planned weeklong visit to America stretched into a month as the researchers worked together to study his condition.
• Cui Ying and her coworkers at The Oriole's Pursuit worked overtime to revise articles after being ordered to remove inappropriate information.
• The chubby coworker told the editorial staff that government investigators had questioned people connected to their Strange Tales stories, including Haohao’s family.
• Cui Ying declared that the staff should test the waters one last time, even if the government investigated them again.

After Cui Ying and Xiao Mei encountered a rat as large as a golden retriever on Orange Street, their dashcam footage prompted an emergency response in Shencheng. Liu He investigated the likely mutated animal while Tao Xingzhi wondered what other creatures might be affected.

• Cui Ying drove Xiao Mei home and nearly hit a giant rat on Orange Street before fleeing the scene.
• Cui Ying reviewed the dashcam footage the next morning, and the editorial staff saw the enormous rat and called the police.
• Liu He and Shencheng officials inspected the area and reinforced manhole covers while assessing the rat’s likely size and range.
• Liu He told Tao Xingzhi that experts suspected a mutated brown rat and that Jiu Tian would arrive that night.
• Tao Xingzhi considered whether other animals might also have been affected.

Liu Yue and the authorities struggled to contain suspected mutant rat colonies across Shencheng, while Huang Jiutian discovered he could not reliably sense the rats in the sewers. He warned the Special Security Team that Qin Xiaoxia and her mysterious organization might appear, leaving the authorities to consider how to meet them without provoking a fight.

• Firefighters sealed a manhole with raw meat and cheese bait after hearing movement below.
• Liu Yue learned that nine suspected rat colonies had been found, vastly expanding the area that might need to be contained.
• Huang Jiutian arrived in Shencheng but could not distinguish mutant rats from ordinary mice with his perception.
• Tao Xingzhi and officials discussed sealing and poisoning the sewers or evacuating residents and driving the rats toward a trap.
• Huang Jiutian told the meeting he sensed Qin Xiaoxia's organization might come and urged them to ease its wariness.

Liu Yue and Huang Jiutian discovered that something underground was driving the rats toward the authorities’ trap. As the fleeing rats poured through the manholes, blood-drenched thorn tendrils burst out and slaughtered them, revealing the mysterious threat.

• Liu Yue and Huang Jiutian heard rats panicking beneath the ground and alerted the command vehicle.
• Huang Jiutian traced the rats’ escape routes and sensed an oppressive force underground.
• Police and armed forces gathered at a construction site, removed the manhole reinforcements, and released the fleeing rats into an electrified perimeter.
• The rats kept pouring out and piling up as the soldiers prepared their weapons.
• Blood-drenched thorn tendrils erupted from the sewers and impaled the rats, shocking the Special Security Team.

Mumu, the intelligent thorn sent by Qin Xiaoxia to kill rats in Shencheng's sewers, slaughtered the swarm and then spoke to the encircling forces. When Huang Jiutian asked whether Mumu was the thorn from Rong Town, Mumu angrily claimed to have been shot without warning, leaving the scene in stunned silence.

• Mumu's thorns and the armed forces' flamethrowers and electrical traps wiped out the rats trapped around the manhole.
• Liu Yue and Huang Jiutian waited in darkness as Jiu Tian sensed that the thorn was intelligent and warned everyone not to fire.
• Mumu demanded that the humans stop pointing their weapons and identified themself as a plant, prompting Jiu Tian to suggest negotiations.
• Doudou and Su Su watched from a nearby rooftop while Qin Xiaoxia remained expressionless about Mumu's faltering act.
• Huang Jiutian asked why Mumu was in the sewers and whether Mumu was the thorn from Rong Town.
• Mumu claimed the Sage had ordered them to kill the rats and angrily insisted that they had been shot without warning upon arriving underground.