Chapter Summaries

Tianyang checked his ascension progress and learned that killing the Ghost Car had raised it to 40%. When Zhou Wang tried to force Xun into marriage aboard the train, Tianyang intervened and knocked him unconscious.

• Tianyang checked his status and saw that his Avenger class was Rank 1: Assassin, with 40% ascension progress and Eradicator as his next rank.
• Xun reflected on becoming an Ascender and looked forward to her family receiving better prospects after she returned to the Fortress.
• Zhou Wang apologized to Xun, proposed marriage, and boasted about his rank and the Zhou Family’s strength, but she refused him.
• Zhou Wang grabbed Xun and covered her mouth, threatening to force her into marriage before Tianyang entered the corridor.
• Tianyang punched Zhou Wang, dodged his attempt to form an elemental spear, and knocked him unconscious as Xun warned him to watch out.
• Luo Shan came out of the dining car and asked Xun whether the men were fighting over her.

Zhou Wang was arrested and expelled from the Nightwalkers after assaulting Xun, while Tianyang returned to the Lower City eager to see his mother. He found the Volcano Bar closed and learned Kaidi had been badly beaten, leaving him worried that his mother had gone missing.

• Luo Shan and the Train Conductor confronted Zhou Wang, and the Train Conductor revealed that the Nightwalkers had expelled him and handed his case to Iron Wall.
• Zhou Wang learned that his family had abandoned him and blamed Tianyang for his downfall.
• Tianyang returned to the Fortress, discovered his ascension progress had reached 42%, and looked forward to Xun cooking for him in three days.
• Tianyang bought food for his mother and found the Volcano Bar shut, then learned from a homeless man that Kaidi had been beaten and taken to Cripple on East Street.
• Tianyang raced home, saw dust on his front door, and grew more anxious about what had happened to his mother.

Tianyang discovered that his mother, Nanfei, had been taken and rushed to the Black Mine after Kaidi revealed where she was. He reached the mine at night and faced its guards at the main gate.

• Tianyang found his home ransacked and his mother missing.
• Tianyang went to Cripple’s shop and found Kaidi badly injured.
• Kaidi told Tianyang that someone had taken Nanfei to the Black Mine.
• Tianyang rode out of the Fortress and reached the mine’s main gate.
• A guard challenged Tianyang and asked why he had come to the mine.

Tianyang forced his way into the Black Mine to find his mother, Nanfei, and discovered she had been brutally abused and left without medical care. As he recognized her, mine manager Yingqi realized her imprisonment might be part of a conspiracy involving an Ascender.

• Tianyang opened the Black Mine's gate with his rifle and ordered manager Yingqi to search the records for Nanfei.
• Yingqi found that Nanfei had been transferred from the Fortress four days earlier and assigned to work area three.
• Tianyang and the supervisors found Nanfei injured and neglected in the workers' quarters, where a scarred supervisor was dragging her through the rubbish.
• Tianyang shot the supervisor in the knee, kicked him down, and recognized the badly injured woman as his mother.
• Yingqi realized that an Ascender's mother being imprisoned at the mine suggested a dangerous conspiracy.

Tianyang watched his mother Nanfei die and nearly killed the Mine overseers in grief, but Ling Feng persuaded him to lower his weapon and promised an investigation. Ling Feng ordered Lin Yang to identify who had sent Nanfei to the Mine, suspecting powerful officials but needing evidence.

• Nanfei mistook Tianyang for Lie before she died, then imagined Lie leading her into the light as she left her grieving son behind.
• Tianyang pointed his rifle at the male overseer but spared him because Nanfei had taught him not to let hatred rule him, then shot through the man's right arm after he admitted whipping her.
• Tianyang shot Yingqi in the shoulder and demanded to know who had sent Nanfei to the Mine.
• Ling Feng told Tianyang to lower his rifle and promised a medical examination and an investigation that would identify the responsible person within three days.
• Tianyang agreed to trust Ling Feng, who ordered Lin Yang to investigate and said he would inform the Commander.

After learning that Tianyang’s mother, Nanfei, had died in the Black Mine, Chu Yan ordered an investigation and wondered whether she was someone from his past. Tianyang returned home and mourned Nanfei, regretting that he had never apologized to her.

• Song Qiao told Chu Yan that Ling Feng wanted to speak with him, and Chu Yan agreed when he heard Ling Feng’s name.
• Ling Feng told Chu Yan that Tianyang’s mother, Nanfei, had died in the Black Mine and warned that Tianyang might clash with whoever was responsible.
• Chu Yan told Ling Feng to find the mastermind, then privately wondered whether Nanfei was someone he knew and sent a message asking about women with that name.
• Tianyang returned home after the hospital took Nanfei’s body away, then looked at her photograph and remembered the injuries she had suffered protecting him.
• Tianyang realized he had put off apologizing to Nanfei and sobbed alone in the dark.

After learning that his mother had died in the Black Mine, Tianyang discovered Qin Jie had framed her and arranged her imprisonment. Ignoring Ling Feng’s warning to leave the matter to the authorities, Tianyang prepared to seek revenge, while Kaidi understood what he intended.

• Kaidi visited Tianyang, learned Nanfei had died, and struck Tianyang when he refused to reveal who was responsible.
• Tianyang stopped Kaidi from seeking revenge and said he would handle it himself, as Nanfei’s son.
• After waiting two days for news, Tianyang learned from Ling Feng that Qin Jie had planted restricted items in his home and bribed an Examiner to send Nanfei to the Black Mine.
• Tianyang ate his first meal in three days, put on armor, took his rifle, and went to the Volcano Bar for a blade.
• Kaidi gave Tianyang a blade and watched him leave, recognizing that he was going after the people responsible.

Xun prepared a lavish dinner for Tianyang, unaware that he was heading to the Upper City to confront Qin Jie over his mother’s death. Qin Jie prepared an ambush, but Ling Feng and the others blocked Tianyang’s path and urged him to let the Nightwalkers handle the matter.

• Xun prepared dinner for Tianyang and waited with her brother Xiao Jie, while Luo Shan’s guards watched over her.
• Qin Jie recalled ordering Tianyang’s mother sent to the Black Mine, where she died, and readied Gold Hunters, a rank-3 Ascender, and Security Office personnel to kill Tianyang.
• Qin Jie learned Tianyang had entered the Upper City and eagerly anticipated his arrival.
• Tianyang drove toward the Qin Residence, but Ling Feng, Han Shu, Old Xu, Cang Du, and Ji Yu blocked the road with their cars.
• Ling Feng urged Tianyang to leave Qin Jie to the Nightwalkers and pursue justice through proper procedures.

Tianyang refused Ling Feng’s warnings and set out to kill Qin Jie, insisting he had to avenge his mother despite the risks to himself and the Nightwalkers. Ling Feng let him go with a warning about Qin Jie’s hired sniper, while Han Shu lent Tianyang Cang Du’s sword, Spring Water.

• Tianyang rejected Ling Feng’s offer to secure Qin Jie’s imprisonment and removed his Nightwalkers gear, saying he would act as an ordinary citizen.
• Tianyang explained that he had to avenge his mother, who had sacrificed everything to raise him in the Lower City.
• An elderly voice called Ling Feng and told him to let Tianyang go, so Ling Feng warned Tianyang about Qu Gao, a rank 3 Master Sniper hired by Qin Jie.
• Ling Feng allowed Tianyang to take his armor and Stellar Essence Rifle, and Han Shu gave him Cang Du’s sword, Spring Water.
• Tianyang traded the blade Kaidi had given him to Cang Du and rode toward the Qin Residence on his Electromagnetic Motorcycle.

Tianyang studied the enemy’s identities and the Qin Residence before devising a plan to kill Qin Jie. Unable to locate Qu Gao or confirm whether Qin Jie was inside, he left his hiding place after rehearsing his next moves.

• Tianyang memorized the photographs of Qu Gao and Qin Jie, then deleted the message and images.
• Tianyang surveyed the family district and assessed the open terrain and the strength of Qin Jie’s forces.
• Tianyang formed a plan to eliminate Qu Gao first, kill Qin Jie, and escape before public security arrived.
• Tianyang climbed into a plaza sculpture and used thermal imaging to watch the Qin Residence.
• Tianyang suspected Qu Gao was hiding inside the residence but could not identify the motionless figure in a second-floor room.
• Tianyang rehearsed his next moves for ten minutes, then climbed down from the sculpture.