Chapter Summaries

Ye Buyu led the examinees through the cave by following Kou Ying’s arrows while Su Wuwei stayed behind to meet the late arrivals. Mu Bingge fought the Wind-Thunder Cantor and Yan You until Lou Guanshan and Wan Lan arrived as reinforcements.

• Su Wuwei explained how Ye Buyu had reached the forest’s depths first, and Ye Buyu found Kou Ying’s arrow marking the route into the cave.
• Su Wuwei and several examinees stayed behind to meet Mu Bingge and the late arrivals while Ye Buyu led the others deeper into the cave.
• Mu Bingge fought the Wind-Thunder Cantor and Yan You, but the two enemies overwhelmed her defenses.
• Lou Guanshan arrived, stopped the lightning strike aimed at Mu Bingge, and joined her in attacking the Wind-Thunder Cantor.
• Yan You attacked Lou Guanshan with paper arrows, but Wan Lan arrived and destroyed them with shots from her green longbow.

Mu Bingge, Lou Guanshan, and Wan Lan escaped Yan You and the Wind-Thunder Cantor using Water-Form Shadow Shift, while Yan You became intent on capturing Ye Buyu to study her ability. At the abandoned warship, Ye Buyu began advancing with level-four materials and endured intense pain as the process started.

• Wan Lan and Lou Guanshan fought the Wind-Thunder Cantor until Mu Bingge ordered them to retreat through her Water Mirrors.
• Yan You learned that Ye Buyu's ability had forced the Wind-Thunder Cantor to pay a cost, and decided to capture her for the Void Order.
• Mu Bingge, Lou Guanshan, and Wan Lan emerged several kilometers away, took recovery potions, and headed toward the cave entrance.
• At the abandoned warship, Kou Ying and the other examinees worked to crack the signal password, repair devices, and set up the Teleportation Channel.
• Ye Buyu used level-four materials to advance with Little Whale's help, then trembled in pain as the energy battered the shackles around her heart.

Ye Buyu and Kou Ying opened a Teleportation Channel and prepared to evacuate the examinees, but the Wind-Thunder Cantor’s growing tornado threatened those holding the line outside. Ye Buyu spotted the enemy through the storm and directed Kou Ying’s cannon shot, leaving the battle’s outcome uncertain.

• Ye Buyu recovered enough to stand as Kou Ying opened the Teleportation Channel and confirmed the examinees could evacuate safely.
• Kou Ying activated the abandoned warship’s systems and showed that Mu Bingge and the others were approaching through the surveillance feeds.
• The Wind-Thunder Cantor’s tornado destroyed the defenders’ barriers, and Su Wuwei and the remaining fighters prepared to hold the line while the others evacuated.
• Kou Ying aimed the warship’s cannon at the storm, but Ye Buyu stopped him and adjusted the aim toward the Wind-Thunder Cantor.
• Kou Ying fired an Ion Cannon Shell at the target Ye Buyu had identified, and the tornado faltered after the shell struck its core.

Ye Buyu and Kou Ying used the derelict warship’s cannon to hold off the Wind-Thunder Cantor while the examinees evacuated through the Teleportation Channel. After the Wind-Thunder Cantor invoked the Tempest Fiend’s power and repeatedly attacked the ship, their ammunition ran out, leaving Ye Buyu facing an incoming lightning strike.

• Ye Buyu guided Kou Ying’s cannon fire to hit the Wind-Thunder Cantor, then Kou Ying gathered materials to power more shots despite his terrible luck.
• The Wind-Thunder Cantor revealed his true body and summoned a Lightning Scepter using a sliver of the Tempest Fiend’s authority.
• Ye Buyu fired an Ion Beam to intercept the Wind-Thunder Cantor’s attack and protect the warship and its Teleportation Channel.
• Lou Guanshan took over gathering materials while Ye Buyu, Mu Bingge, Su Wuwei, Wan Lan, and Kou Ying continued defending the ship.
• After more than a dozen minutes of exchanges, the warship went dark and Ye Buyu’s cannon stopped firing as lightning rushed toward her.

Ye Buyu restored the Teleportation Channel with a piece of the Wind-Thunder Cantor’s scepter, but Yan You ambushed her as the students escaped. She disrupted Yan You’s power and urged Lou Guanshan to attack, then tried to stop Yan You’s blood ritual by refusing his payment.

• Mu Bingge threw Ye Buyu toward the evacuating students while the Wind-Thunder Cantor’s attack split the warship apart.
• Ye Buyu shot the Wind-Thunder Cantor with the Flower Edict, prompting him to throw her a piece of his scepter, which she used to power the Teleportation Channel.
• Lou Guanshan charged the Wind-Thunder Cantor as the students began evacuating, but Yan You appeared, grabbed Ye Buyu, and tried to shut down the channel.
• Ye Buyu stomped on Yan You’s foot, disrupting his power, then slapped him and told the students to escape.
• Ye Buyu urged Lou Guanshan to cut down Yan You as the Wind-Thunder Cantor rebuked him, but Yan You began a blood ritual and offered Ye Buyu payment.
• Ye Buyu refused Yan You’s payment and demanded that he stop what he was doing.

Yan You captured Ye Buyu and joined the Wind-Thunder Cantor in cornering the exhausted examinees. The remaining students refused Yan You’s offer to join the Void Order and braced for death, while Kou Ying stirred faintly on the ground.

• Lou Guanshan cut off Yan You’s head, but Yan You re-formed from scraps of paper and struck Ye Buyu unconscious before throwing Kou Ying into the warship wreckage.
• The Wind-Thunder Cantor attacked the remaining students, and Mu Bingge used Water Mirror to shield them before teleporting away as the defense failed.
• Su Wuwei recognized the few students still trapped, including Wan Lan, Lou Guanshan, Mu Bingge, Kou Ying, Meng He, Chu Lie, Wei Changming, and Yu Qin.
• Yan You kicked aside Lou Guanshan and taunted the battered students, then offered them a chance to survive by joining the Void Order.
• Wan Lan, Wei Changming, Meng He, Yu Qin, and Chu Lie rejected Yan You’s offer and remained defiant.
• Kou Ying moved his fingers slightly and wondered whether the end had come.

Little Whale took control of Ye Buyu's body and killed Yan You while crippling the Wind-Thunder Cantor, but she soon returned to Ye Buyu's consciousness space. Lan Huaiyu arrived to protect the survivors, and the Wind-Thunder Cantor detonated himself to escape.

• Little Whale awakened inside Ye Buyu, used the Flower Edict to strike Yan You, and destroyed his soul with her ability.
• Little Whale's attack overwhelmed the Wind-Thunder Cantor and began erasing the mark of the calamity lord's blessing.
• Sensing energy approaching, Little Whale returned to Ye Buyu's consciousness space, and the Wind-Thunder Cantor summoned his scepter to attack Ye Buyu again.
• Lan Huaiyu arrived, blocked the lightning with the Greenwood Spear, and moved to fight the Wind-Thunder Cantor.
• Mu Bingge found Ye Buyu unconscious but alive and suspected she had caused Yan You's death.
• The Wind-Thunder Cantor detonated himself to escape, and Lan Huaiyu raised a barrier to protect the surviving examinees instead of pursuing him.

After the Gaokao crisis, the principals confronted Chen Ze over the Social Security Bureau’s role in the dangerous assessment. Chen Ze revealed the bureau’s operation against [Tempest Fiend]’s remaining forces and defended its safety measures, while the principals remained furious over how badly the students had suffered.

• The Wind-Thunder Cantor withdrew after deciding not to provoke Great Xia examinees again until he had grown stronger.
• Lan Huaiyu brought the battered students to the Observation Group, where healers treated them and Lou Guanshan and the others passed out.
• Lan Huaiyu, Zhao Zhe, Lei Yue, and Ding Ruixue accused Chen Ze and the Social Security Bureau of allowing or engineering the attack on the assessment.
• Chen Ze explained that each student’s backpack held an Emergency Transfer Device and that the bureau had arranged the assessment to investigate the Tsunami Lord, the Rift Lord, and [Void Order].
• Chen Ze said [Void Order] was secretly working with the surviving forces of [Tempest Fiend], which the bureau had been trying to expose.
• Chen Ze admitted the bureau had not planned for the Wind-Thunder Cantor and argued with the principals about the dangerous Gaokao assessments they had previously imposed on examinees.

After the Gaokao Assessment went awry, the Principals decided to hold a competition to score the examinees while conserving resources. Ye Buyu learned the danger had not been real, concealed Little Whale’s role in killing the Void Cultist, and lamented that her healing ability made finding teammates difficult.

• Chen Ze admitted that the Assessment could not fairly measure everyone’s individual abilities, so Ding Ruixue proposed a competition in the Intercollegiate League arena.
• The Principals agreed to hold a Points Competition where examinees would kill monsters and calamities.
• Ye Buyu revealed she had woken during Chen Ze’s breakdown, and Chen Ze confirmed they had never been in real danger.
• Chen Ze told Ye Buyu that the Void Cultist was dead, while Little Whale reminded her that she had killed the conjurer.
• Ye Buyu said she wanted to sit out the competition because her healing ability made her a poor teammate, and Zhao Zhe challenged Lan Huaiyu’s claim that she was timid.

After the Assessment, the candidates discussed the Points Competition and compensation, then reflected on how helpless they had been against their enemy. Ye Buyu rejected Little Whale’s suggestion that she become a Blessed One and ended the chapter embarrassed after her outburst drew the teachers’ attention.

• Chen Ze explained the Points Competition, and Ye Buyu, Wan Lan, and Kou Ying complained about having to participate.
• Su Wuwei and the teachers pressed Chen Ze for compensation, and he offered to request that unused Emergency Transfer Devices be converted into lifesaving devices.
• Mu Bingge and Ye Buyu reflected on how they needed to become stronger after nearly being helpless against their opponent.
• Little Whale told Ye Buyu she could gain the power to kill enemies by becoming a Blessed One of the Calamity Whale of Wailing, and Ye Buyu angrily rejected the idea.
• Lan Huaiyu mistook Ye Buyu’s outburst for a stress reaction, and Chen Ze praised her bravery as she apologized for slamming the table.

After the Wind-Thunder Cantor incident, the principals tried to recruit the examinees while the Void Order recovered intelligence about the cost of crossing tiers. Ye Buyu sought stronger ammunition for her Flower Edict but found none, and an eager equipment specialist approached her.

• Chen Ze dismissed the examinees and left with his team, while the principals began trying to recruit students for their universities.
• Ding Ruixue urged the examinees to choose schools suited to their abilities and reminded Mu Bingge and Ye Buyu they could reconsider Four Symbols Academy.
• A black-robed figure in the War-Torn Zone received Yan You's intelligence about a mandatory cost for crossing tiers and decided to investigate.
• The examinees learned the Social Security Bureau had used them as bait and complained on the awakened network, while Ye Buyu questioned Little Whale about improving her combat ability.
• Ye Buyu went to the Equipment Room looking for powerful bullets for the Flower Edict, found none, and was approached by a young man offering equipment advice.

Ye Buyu met Qiu Zhi, an Artifact Refinement Department student who offered to modify a weapon for her in exchange for testing his inventions. She proved she could handle their calamity aura and began testing weapons while Qiu Zhi prepared her custom weapon.

• Qiu Zhi introduced himself to Ye Buyu and offered her free weapon modifications if she helped test his inventions.
• The supervising teacher warned Ye Buyu that Qiu Zhi's weapons carried calamity aura that could cause corruption.
• Ye Buyu agreed to test the weapons because she believed she could withstand and clear the calamity aura.
• Qiu Zhi brought Ye Buyu to the department's manufacturing facility and explained how to test the weapons on a machine.
• Ye Buyu activated a blade, absorbed its calamity aura without harm, and struck the testing machine.

Ye Buyu tested Qiu Zhi’s Calamity-tainted weapons without being affected and helped him choose lightning for her upgraded Flower Edict. A week later, she prepared for the Points Competition and learned that Mu Bingge still planned to team up with her.

• Ye Buyu tested weapons for nearly an hour while Qiu Zhi worried about Calamity corruption, and she explained that her unusual Healing Type ability kept the aura from affecting her.
• Qiu Zhi asked Ye Buyu to choose an elemental attack for her weapon, and she picked lightning.
• A week later, Ye Buyu received her modified Flower Edict and tested its Lightning Bullet at the shooting range.
• Ye Buyu prepared to attend the Points Competition and decided she would find teammates despite the risks of her ability.
• Mu Bingge arrived to team up with Ye Buyu, who guessed that Mu Bingge was trying to make things harder for herself.

Ye Buyu and Mu Bingge arrived at the Points Competition, where Kou Ying’s terrible luck and Lou Guanshan’s dramatic entrance drew attention before Principal Zhao Zhe explained the rules. The competition began as a miniature fortress appeared overhead and activated its protective barrier.

• Ye Buyu and Mu Bingge reached the venue, where students recognized Ye Buyu for warning people about an earlier danger.
• Kou Ying stumbled after a leaf struck his face and rolled down the cleared path, and Lou Guanshan landed in a cloud of dust and announced that he would take first place.
• Lou Guanshan helped Kou Ying up, while Kou Ying asked him to keep his distance for safety.
• Principal Zhao Zhe explained that examinees would earn points by defeating calamities, exchanging materials, or defeating other participants, and said their competition score would be averaged with their written and assessment zone scores.
• Zhao Zhe began the competition, and a miniature mobile fortress appeared overhead surrounded by a protective barrier.

The candidates fought through a relentless first wave of Calamities while the four Principals escalated the Points Competition with more enemies. Just as everyone caught their breath, a huge horde of zombies descended, including high-level Calamities.

• Ye Buyu and Mu Bingge fought together against the Calamities, while the four Principals decided to send twice as many enemies and add level-four Calamities.
• Su Wuwei and other candidates urged everyone to spread out and cooperate, and weaker candidates were teleported out of the arena.
• Lou Guanshan charged through the battlefield carrying Kou Ying as he swung his Mo Dao, while Wan Lan and Guan Xiaomei fought nearby.
• The candidates cleared most of the first wave, and Ye Buyu praised Mu Bingge for protecting her.
• Ye Buyu spotted a massive group approaching, and Mu Bingge identified them as zombies before the candidates saw the horde fill the sky.

As millions of Calamities overwhelmed the candidates, Ye Buyu discovered she could use the Flower Edict to compel one to attack others. The giant wooden figure adapted and charged at her, but Mu Bingge and Lou Guanshan killed large Calamities while Kou Ying and the other candidates unleashed their abilities.

• Ye Buyu used the Flower Edict to force a giant wooden figure to attack nearby Calamities, then tried the tactic again.
• The giant wooden figure used a smaller Calamity to block Ye Buyu’s shot and charged toward her.
• Mu Bingge leaped onto the giant wooden figure and killed it with her Mirror Blade.
• Lou Guanshan used Rock Soul to trap another giant wooden figure before decapitating it with his Mo Dao.
• Kou Ying spread his shadow beneath dozens of Calamities and killed them with hidden blades.
• Ye Buyu watched the candidates unleash a storm of abilities against the Calamities.

Ye Buyu discovered that her unusual healing could rapidly restore energy and remove Calamity Aura through a slap or even a bullet. After Lou Guanshan asked to team up with her, he and Mu Bingge set aside their argument to clear the Calamities first.

• Ye Buyu healed Mu Bingge with a high-five, restoring her energy and clearing the Calamity Aura.
• Kou Ying paid Ye Buyu to heal him, and she restored him with a slap before explaining that her bullets could heal too.
• Ye Buyu shot Lou Guanshan’s Mo Dao and restored him, leaving the other examinees wary of asking for her help.
• Lou Guanshan asked Ye Buyu to team up, but Mu Bingge insisted Ye Buyu was her teammate.
• Lou Guanshan and Mu Bingge agreed to clear the Calamities first and charged into the battlefield.

As the candidates fought in the arena, the Principals debated which students they hoped to recruit and recalled the disaster three years ago that killed half the Four Symbols Academy’s students. Lan Huaiyu explained that the new universities were part of an effort to prevent concentrated resources from crushing ordinary Awakened, leaving the discussion focused on how the academy’s training system needed to change.

• Mu Bingge and Lou Guanshan charged into battle while Kou Ying protected Ye Buyu, who fired her gun from behind them.
• The teachers and Principals discussed Ye Buyu’s unusual healing, evaluated the candidates, and argued over which universities should recruit them.
• Zhao Zhe asked Lan Huaiyu why he had driven the other Principals out of the Four Symbols Academy and brought the academy back to the Present World.
• The Principals recalled the Void Invasion three years earlier, which killed half the Four Symbols Academy’s students and advanced the apocalypse progress bar by two percent.
• Lan Huaiyu said that concentrating resources on the strongest students had widened the gap and stifled the potential of ordinary Awakened.

Lan Huaiyu proposed joint training across the four major universities to prevent top students from concentrating at Four Symbols Academy. In the arena, Bajiao approached Ye Buyu for healing but revealed herself as a Void Cultist and attacked; Kou Ying rescued Ye Buyu and confronted her.

• Lan Huaiyu proposed that the four universities jointly train the top twelve Gaokao students, with slots changing monthly through challenges.
• Ye Buyu continued healing teammates with her unusual ability while most candidates avoided her because the treatment cost materials and looked strange.
• Bajiao, a wounded plant-ability girl, asked Ye Buyu for healing and stayed nearby to rest.
• Bajiao revealed knowledge of Ye Buyu's encounter with a Void Cultist, then attacked her with vine-like tendrils and a clawed hand.
• Ye Buyu's bullets dissolved Bajiao's vines, and Kou Ying used shadows and spikes to pull Ye Buyu to safety and identify Bajiao as a Void Cultist.

Bajiao ambushed Ye Buyu and questioned her about Yan You, her unusual ability, and the River of Forgetfulness Incident, but Kou Ying forced her to retreat. Afterward, Kou Ying helped Ye Buyu withdraw from the Assessment, leaving her with half his points and reflecting on her rare healing ability.

• Bajiao seized Ye Buyu and asked who killed Yan You, why her ability was unusual, and whether she was connected to the River of Forgetfulness Incident.
• Kou Ying attacked Bajiao from the shadows and pretended he could break her formation, prompting her to escape through a passage.
• Ye Buyu tried to shoot Bajiao as she vanished, then learned Kou Ying had only been bluffing to attract the Principals' attention.
• Kou Ying blasted a path through the Calamities, transferred half his points to Ye Buyu, and watched her withdraw from the Assessment.
• Kou Ying reflected that Ye Buyu's Absolute healing was exceptionally rare.