Chapter Summaries

Ling An fought Glacio Rider in the Tacet Field, but the Explosive Lance malfunctioned and had to be triggered by force. After witnessing the Midnight Rangers’ final charge, Ling An hurled the lance at Glacio Rider, determined to break their cage of fate.

• Ling An overwhelmed Glacio Rider and threw a Purple Flame Spear, but Flamebloom pollen formed a shield around his opponent.
• Professor Woodrow fired the Explosive Lance, but it malfunctioned, and Mortefi explained that it needed an external force of Overlord-Class power to activate.
• Ling An seized the lance and advanced through Glacio Rider’s flames, while visions of the Midnight Rangers charging toward the core Resonance Mark appeared around him.
• Ling An hurled the Explosive Lance at Glacio Rider, declaring that he would break the cage of fate.

Ling An defeated the Glacio Rider, absorbed its power, and advanced to the Tacet Discord class before destroying the Core Resonance Mark and restoring the Flaming Sea as a sea of flowers. After celebrating with the returning Night Wardens and his friends, he headed back toward Jinzhou with Mimika and asked if she wanted to ride a motorcycle.

• Ling An survived Jiting's Explosive Lance, then used his power to absorb the weakened Glacio Rider.
• Ling An advanced to the Tacet Discord class and destroyed the Core Resonance Mark with the final Explosive Lance.
• The Flameblooms vanished and a new sea of peach-pink flowers spread across the Flaming Sea as the Night Wardens departed.
• Woodrow, Mimika, Yuni, and the others celebrated Ling An's return among the flowers.
• Ling An and Mimika set off for Jinzhou, and Ling An asked her if she wanted to try riding a motorcycle.

Ling An returned from the Flaming Sea, reported the fate of Jingming’s brother, and reunited with Yinlin, who gave him photographs linked to the Black Shores. Following a trail in the hills, he met Verina, whose accidental press of his Miniature Gourd’s audio switch made her pick him up.

• Ling An returned Mimika to Wuwu Logistics, accepted a premium membership card from Tang Manliu, and told Jingming that his brother had died without regrets.
• Ling An gave Yinlin a flower from the purified Flaming Sea, then received photographs of black petals that she had found while tracking the Fractsidus.
• Ling An traced the photographs’ latest location to the hills behind Jinzhou and followed flowers to a hidden field.
• Ling An met Verina in the flower field and introduced himself as a Jinzhou Patroller.
• Verina accidentally pressed Ling An’s Miniature Gourd audio switch, heard it say “Hug me!”, and picked him up.

Ling An followed a Black Flower’s presence to Screen Court Mountain and was captured by Camellya, the Black Shores’ Flower Keeper. As Tide Sis and Yangyang learned that he had gone to the summit, Ling An weighed whether to reveal his true form and overpower Camellya.

• Ling An found a Black Flower petal near Verina’s flower field and hurried toward the summit, while Tide Sis and Yangyang arrived to ask Verina about the flower.
• Verina made a convincing imitation of the Black Flower, and Yangyang and Tide Sis planned to use it to draw out the Black Shores’ informants.
• Ling An recognized Camellya as the person who had watched him in Jinzhou, but her vines quickly bound him when he tried to dodge her attack.
• Camellya questioned Ling An about how he had found her and who had told him where she was, while he stayed silent and considered revealing his true form.
• Verina told Tide Sis and Yangyang that Ling An had gone to the summit, and Tide Sis grew alarmed when she learned he was there with Camellya.

Ling An revealed his true Tacet Discord form to overpower Camellya and learned she had suspected he was Crownless while watching him for the Black Shores. Tide Sis arrived as Ling An pinned Camellya down, and her pointed remark left both of them sensing danger.

• Ling An transformed from a cat into his powerful true form and pinned Camellya beneath him.
• Camellya revealed that she suspected Ling An was Crownless and had been observing him on behalf of the Black Shores.
• Ling An decided to bring Camellya to Tide Sis, but Tide Sis arrived and found him holding her down.
• Ling An claimed he had gone to the Flaming Sea to get his new look because he thought Tide Sis would like it.
• Tide Sis noted that she had not been the first to see Ling An's new form, and Ling An and Camellya sensed danger.

Ling An, Tide Sis, and Rover escaped Camellya and returned to Jinzhou, where they planned to use the Black Flower to draw out the Black Shores. Ling An then headed to the Six Envy Teahouse to meet a Taoist, while Tide Sis learned that Yangyang wanted to join the Jinzhou Cat-Cat Cult.

• Camellya fled after Tide Sis and Ling An fought off the vines, and Tide Sis stopped Ling An from chasing her when Yangyang arrived.
• Tide Sis carried Ling An back to Jinzhou, where Chixia explained that Ling An's deed at the Flaming Sea had made him a celebrity and inspired the Jinzhou Cat-Cat Cult.
• Tide Sis proposed using the Black Flower to draw out the Black Shores, and Yangyang and Rover agreed to wear it around the city.
• Chixia told Ling An that a Taoist at the Six Envy Teahouse was looking for him, and Tide Sis warned him that their quarrel was not over.
• Ling An set off for the Six Envy Teahouse while Yangyang quietly asked Chixia how to join the Cat-Cat Cult.

Jianxin asked Ling An to help her improve her combat ability, and he decided that confidence was what she lacked. With music and shouted battle lines, he helped her unleash a stronger punch, but the force sent him flying onto the teahouse roof.

• Jianxin thanked Ling An for his part in helping the Exiles and asked him to teach her.
• Jianxin demonstrated a punch that knocked down six wooden posts, and Ling An judged that she needed confidence more than instruction in technique.
• After Jianxin mistook his question about special abilities and played music on her stray lock of hair, Ling An proposed using a battle line to build her confidence.
• Ling An played music from the Gourd while Jianxin circulated her qi, then told her to send him flying.
• Jianxin's force knocked down six posts and cracked a seventh, while Ling An was launched onto the teahouse roof.

Jianxin mastered her force technique with Ling An’s help, then asked to join the Jinzhou Cat-Cat Cult. Ling An tried her training method and destroyed all twelve pillars, along with the wall of the Six Envy Teahouse’s back courtyard.

• Jianxin used the music and Ling An’s guidance to unleash a force that shattered eight pillars.
• Jianxin asked Ling An if she could join the Jinzhou Cat-Cat Cult, and he told her to ask Chixia.
• Ling An sent Jianxin the music recording, and she returned to setting up her training pillars.
• Ling An tested his own explosive power and smashed through all twelve pillars and the courtyard wall.
• Jianxin opened her eyes and found the training ground and part of the courtyard demolished.

Ling An accidentally destroyed the backyard wall while demonstrating his strength to Jianxin, then discovered Yinlin had secretly slipped an intimate photo of herself with him into a stack he offered as compensation. Jianxin promised to keep the photo secret, hugged and nibbled Ling An’s ear to prove her trustworthiness, then resumed training and sent him flying with another burst of energy.

• Ling An admitted his strike against Jianxin’s pillars had not been full strength, though it had still destroyed the backyard wall.
• Ling An offered Jianxin Yinlin’s photos as compensation, and Jianxin found a secret picture of Yinlin cuddling and nibbling his ear while he was a cat.
• Ling An took the photo back and made Jianxin promise to keep it secret, offering to consider them even over the wall and the picture.
• Jianxin described Yinlin as confident, then hugged Ling An and nibbled his ear to show that she could be trusted.
• Jianxin restarted her training, unleashed another burst of energy, and sent Ling An flying again.

Ling An learned that a dangerous Taoist had arrived in Jinzhou, then met Encore and Verina while patrolling. As Chixia and Tide Sis questioned Aalto, Encore and Verina approached with Ling An, drawing Tide Sis’s attention.

• Chixia warned Ling An that a deranged Taoist from Huanglong had killed several Resonators and might be in Jinzhou; the Taoist then muttered about a fated opportunity after seeing Ling An’s picture in the newspaper.
• Ling An found Encore beside a pool, agreed to play with her, and nearly tasted the poisonous mushroom soup she had made.
• Verina stopped Ling An from eating the mushrooms and explained that she had followed Encore from the Back Mountain to keep her safe.
• Encore picked up Ling An and ran toward the city, with Verina chasing after them.
• On Commercial Street, Chixia and Tide Sis questioned Aalto, who said he was looking for a pink-haired little girl; Chixia pointed out Encore and Verina as they approached.

Ling An, Chixia, Verina, and Tide Sis encountered Encore and Aalto, who revealed that the Black Shores had come to warn Jinzhou that a Threnodian was about to awaken. Aalto gave Tide Sis the location of a Jiting ruin and departed with Encore, while Ling An wondered what Encore had learned from him.

• Encore called Aalto, Chixia, Verina, Rover, and Ling An good people, then promised to make more of her poisonous mushroom soup.
• Aalto fled when the group realized he and Encore were from the Black Shores, but Ling An quickly caught up with them.
• Aalto told Ling An that a Threnodian was about to awaken and that the Black Shores wanted to contact Tide Sis.
• Aalto shared the coordinates of a Jiting ruin with Tide Sis and asked her to retrieve an old Data Beacon with him.
• Tide Sis took Ling An home and reminded him that they still had to settle their score from the Back Mountain.
• As Aalto left Jinzhou with Encore, he heard her repeating “Man” and then saying “Mambo,” and wondered what Ling An had taught her.

After evolving by devouring the Glacio Rider, Ling An set out to find Chixia after Yangyang reported that she had disappeared. He suspected she had gone to investigate a Deranged Taoist targeting Resonators and raced toward her last known location near Yunling Valley.

• Tide Sis admired Ling An's evolved true form, and he agreed to spar with her another time.
• Yangyang told Ling An that Chixia had been missing since dusk and that her last Terminal location was outside the city.
• Ling An declined Tide Sis's offer to help and reasoned that Chixia had likely gone to investigate the Deranged Taoist targeting Resonators.
• A city guard confirmed that Chixia had left around dusk to investigate something, and Ling An sped out of the city.
• Ling An raced through the wilderness on a flame-wreathed motorcycle, vowing to find Ma Xiaofang.

Ling An confronted the Mad Daoist, who had captured Chixia and used his Resonance Ability to summon Tacet Discords. Ling An turned the Mad Daoist’s own technique against him and, after revealing his Violent form, prepared to unleash a true Magic Treasure.

• Ling An reached the abandoned Tacet Field and found Chixia unconscious and bound in the Mad Daoist’s hands.
• The Mad Daoist explained that he planned to use Ling An to attain immortality, then summoned Overlord Class Tacet Discords with his gourd-shaped Terminal.
• Ling An summoned a Glacio Rider, which destroyed the Mad Daoist’s spawned Tacet Discords and left him unable to use his gourd.
• The Mad Daoist tried to flee, but Ling An revealed his Violent Tacet Discord form and blocked his escape.
• Ling An raised his miniature Terminal and told the Mad Daoist, “Treasure, please turn around.”

Ling An rescued Chixia from the Fake Taoist, then took control of the lingering Tacet Field and attached its Core Resonance Mark to his miniature Gourd. After confirming the Gourd had become a portable Tacet Field, he invited the Glacio Rider inside.

• Ling An killed the Fake Taoist with a spear of Crimson Gold Flowing Flame and untied the sleeping Chixia.
• Chixia briefly woke, apologized for investigating alone, and fell back asleep after Ling An reassured her.
• Ling An realized the active Tacet Field and its Core Resonance Mark might let him command Tacet Discords.
• Ling An controlled the Core Resonance Mark, shrank it, and branded it onto his miniature Gourd, turning it into a portable Tacet Field.
• Ling An confirmed the Gourd still worked and pointed it at the Glacio Rider, inviting it to come inside.

Ling An used the Gourd to capture the Glacio Rider and returned to Jinzhou with Chixia, who woke with a burned bottom and began searching for the hidden hero responsible. Sanhua warned Ling An about alarming Jinzhou with his Tacet Field, then invited him to help Huaxu Academy with its Holographic Projection project.

• Ling An summoned the Glacio Rider into the Gourd and rode back to Jinzhou with unconscious Chixia on his flaming Motorcycle.
• Chixia woke with a burned bottom, and the next day Panhua encouraged her to investigate the mysterious hero she suspected was hiding in Jinzhou.
• Chixia left Pan Hua Restaurant for the Public Security Bureau, while Sanhua arrived to speak with Ling An.
• Sanhua told Ling An that his Tacet Field had alarmed Huaxu Academy and asked him to notify the Border Fortress or Research Institute before doing something similar again.
• Sanhua said she had kept Ling An's nighttime trip secret from others and confirmed Chixia had not discovered his identity.
• Sanhua told Ling An that Baizhi wanted his help testing Huaxu Academy's Holographic Projection project.

Ling An tested the Holographic Projection at Huaxu Academy and overwhelmed its first-level opponent as Baizhi began recording his abilities. Meanwhile, Chixia tried to draw out the Dark Night Hero by pretending to be in danger, but the Exiles fled and she chased after them.

• Ling An asked Baizhi to add speech conversion to his Miniature Terminal, and she installed an Audio Module while noticing a resonance mark on his Gourd.
• Ling An entered the virtual space, chose Crownless, and effortlessly crushed the difficulty-one phantom Resonator, leaving Baizhi concerned the projection would be too easy.
• Chixia found no clues about the Dark Night Hero and concluded that he had used Ling An's identity to disguise himself.
• Chixia went to an Exiles camp and pretended to need rescuing, sending Yangyang the distress coordinates she had arranged.
• The Exile leader suspected Chixia was using the group as bait and ordered the Exiles to leave, so Chixia followed them while continuing to cry for help.

At Huaxu Academy, Ling An pretended to struggle through the early hologram difficulties before effortlessly destroying the phantom Resonators and preparing to reveal Crownless’s true strength on the final setting. Outside Jinzhou, Chixia mistook Jianxin’s rescue for the arrival of the hero of the night and fainted after realizing she had spent two hours chasing Exiles for nothing.

• Ling An exaggerated his struggle against the phantoms at hologram difficulties one through three while Baizhi watched.
• Chixia chased the Exiles outside Jinzhou until their leader fired a shot, drawing Jianxin, who swept the Exiles away with her qi.
• Chixia mistook Jianxin for the hero of the night, learned she had merely followed the noise, and fainted from exhaustion and disappointment.
• At difficulty four, Ling An shattered the phantom Resonator in a single strike and told Baizhi to begin recording the next challenge.
• Ling An instantly defeated phantom Resonators at difficulty five while taunting them, and Baizhi started the final difficulty.
• The final phantom Resonator searched for Crownless, then found Ling An smiling before him and asking whether he had seen his crown.

Ling An finished recording a Crownless hologram challenge for the Huaxu Academy, then reassured Chixia after she encountered a mysterious nighttime hero. At the Jinzhou City Training Camp, Jingming entered the new challenge and saw its name: Hologram: Crownless.

• Ling An completed the Crownless hologram recording, and Baizhi said it would be ready for challengers within two and a half hours.
• Ling An left Baizhi and met Chixia at Pan Hua Restaurant, where she described Jianxin defeating Exiles outside the city.
• Ling An hinted to Chixia that she might soon discover the nighttime hero’s identity, and Panhua cheered her up with food.
• Jingming read the notice about the new hologram challenge and joined the line at the Training Camp.
• Jingming entered the hologram as a Resonator phantom and found the challenge titled Hologram: Crownless.

Jingming and the recruits repeatedly failed to survive Crownless’s first punch at Hologram difficulty 4, despite clearing the earlier levels. Veteran Resonator Dongyang returned to the Training Camp, heard their story, and entered the Holographic Projection to challenge Crownless.

• Jingming cleared Hologram difficulties 1, 2, and 3 with ease, then Crownless defeated him with one punch at difficulty 4.
• Jingming tried difficulty 4 again, but Crownless struck him down before he could react and taunted him, saying, “It's okay, you already did great.”
• The recruits discovered that Crownless used different taunts but had defeated every trainee with his first punch at difficulty 4, so they kept challenging him to try to dodge it.
• Dongyang returned from the Norfall Barrens front on important business and asked why the recruits looked miserable.
• Jingming explained the challenge, and Dongyang entered the Holographic Projection as the recruits watched expectantly.

Dongyang entered the Holographic Projection expecting to breeze through every difficulty, but Crownless defeated him twice at difficulty four. After the recruits mistook his first exit for a clear of all six levels, Dongyang returned to the challenge determined to beat Crownless.

• Dongyang easily defeated Crownless at difficulties one through three and confidently began difficulty four.
• Crownless struck Dongyang before he could react, and Dongyang exited the projection while Jingming wondered why he had come out so quickly.
• Dongyang told the recruits he had reached difficulty six, then discovered that only the first three difficulties were marked complete.
• Dongyang challenged difficulty four again, blocked Crownless's opening uppercut, but was defeated by its force and taunted to bring grown-ups to fight.
• Dongyang claimed he had come out for air, learned the taunt meant that fighting him was like fighting children, and reentered the projection determined to win.