Chapter Summaries

After surviving a night of hunting ghosts, Jiang Chen returned home, slept, and prepared for an upcoming group mission by drawing cards and shopping in the Underworld App. Zhao Qian mistook his polite “Definitely next time” for romantic acceptance, while her mother planned to investigate him.

• Jiang Chen left the bus at Jiangyuan Residential Community, and Zhao Qian invited him to dinner, shopping, and a movie; he replied, “Definitely next time!”
• Zhao Qian asked her mother, saved in her contacts as Sister Zhao, for advice, and her mother decided Jiang Chen was playing hard to get and planned to visit him with Zhao Qian.
• Jiang Chen went home, slept until well after midnight, and woke refreshed before drawing two One-Star Monster Transformation Cards and a Two-Star Elder Guzhi card.
• Jiang Chen decided to save his points rather than buy a fragile magical artifact, then bought a bottle of Spirit-Gathering Pills and a bottle of Blood-Coagulating Powder.

Chen Xue took Jiang Chen to a hidden Black Market where Unusual Persons traded items beyond the reach of the Netherworld and the Dao Alliance. After navigating a concealed route through a residential complex, Jiang Chen recognized that a formation had led them to the market.

• Chen Xue waited for Jiang Chen outside Jiangbei University of Finance and Economics in a red Porsche 911, and her teasing remarks drew an envious crowd.
• Lin Youwei watched Chen Xue drive Jiang Chen away, then called Xiao Chan to ask for a car more expensive and better than a 911.
• Chen Xue told Jiang Chen she was taking him to the Black Market, where Unusual Persons traded with money or Underworld points.
• Chen Xue showed a card to enter a residential complex and led Jiang Chen along a specific route before they exited through its back gate.
• Jiang Chen and Chen Xue arrived at a crowded, old-fashioned street hidden beneath the high-rises, and Jiang Chen wondered if a formation had brought them there.

Jiang Chen explored the Black Market with Chen Xue, learned how sellers passed off fakes, and encountered the prominent young talents Yang Ziyun and Zhao Sanlong. Zhao Sanlong sensed a dangerous presence in Jiang Chen as he passed.

• Chen Xue gave Jiang Chen a mask and explained that her Chen Family armband protected them from trouble in the local Black Market.
• After browsing the stalls, Jiang Chen nearly bought a fake rune-covered saber before Chen Xue exposed the seller’s Yin Fire Talisman trick.
• Yang Ziyun entered with his family, and Jiang Chen praised his talent, earning an appreciative glance from the Yang Family heir.
• Jiang Chen recognized Yang Chan among Yang Ziyun’s group.
• Zhao Sanlong arrived, studied the crowd for weaknesses, and sensed a fierce, dangerous presence within Jiang Chen.

At the Black Market, Jiang Chen met several young talents and watched Master Liu demonstrate her new Demon-Sound Drum, an artifact that briefly incapacitated nearby Unusual Persons. Jiang Chen realized the drum resonated with Te Chu Shi’s power and might be made from hide linked to the Kui Ox, but its 10,000-point minimum bid left him unable to afford it.

• Chen Xue introduced Chen Xiaoyu, a talented member of the Chen Family, and Qin Ze, the cheerful young man from the Qin family who would join their next mission.
• Master Liu opened her shop and presented the Demon-Sound Drum, an upper-grade, mid-tier magical artifact made from unusual hide.
• Liu Yunzhu demonstrated the drum, briefly blanking the minds of Unusual Persons within range, while Yang Ziyun and others sought the C-Class experts’ assessments.
• Jiang Chen hid his unusual eyes after the drum stirred Te Chu Shi’s power, then suspected the drumhead came from a creature with Kui Ox blood.
• Liu Yunzhu announced a sealed-bid sale with a minimum of 10,000 Underworld Points, extinguishing Jiang Chen’s hopes of buying the drum.

Jiang Chen bought yin energy at the Black Market, then learned that Gu Hongya’s family was facing a deadly supernatural crisis and agreed to help if needed. He also reviewed the details of the D+ group mission at Sunward Middle School, which he would undertake the next day.

• Liu Yunzhu sold the green-skinned drum to the Qin family for 21,500 Underworld Points, and Jiang Chen bought a jar of yin energy for 100 points.
• Jiang Chen and Chen Xue left the Black Market, but Chen Xue hurried home to prepare for the next day’s mission.
• Gu Hongya told Jiang Chen that her family had suffered strange accidents and deaths, and that her father was gravely ill after an expert investigating the haunting disappeared and was found dead.
• Jiang Chen agreed to go with Gu Hongya if her family’s other experts failed to resolve the supernatural crisis.
• Jiang Chen checked Chen Xue’s mission details for the D+ group assignment at Sunward Middle School.

Jiang Chen studied a profiler’s theory about the nameless schoolgirl whose death had haunted Sunward Middle School, then joined Chen Xue and a group of operatives outside the closed school. The team waited for a Yang Family member to arrive, while Jiang Chen noticed that Liu Kai and a middle-aged woman seemed to recognize Qin Ze.

• Jiang Chen read a theory that a bullied girl known as XX had been pushed from a balcony after classmates accused her of cursing a popular student.
• Jiang Chen speculated that the popular student might have helped bully XX before the girl’s death.
• Chen Xue picked Jiang Chen up, and they passed a guarded park to reach Sunward Middle School.
• Jiang Chen and Chen Xue met the waiting operatives, and Qin Ze introduced his cousins Qin Hai and Qin Feiyang, Liu Kai, and the others.
• Qin Ze said the team was waiting for a beauty from the Yang Family, and Jiang Chen noticed Liu Kai and a middle-aged woman give Qin Ze meaningful looks.

Qin Ze split the Unusual Persons into teams to investigate Sunward Middle School, assigning Jiang Chen, Chen Xue, and Yang Chan to search the campus grounds. As the three approached the sports field, Yang Chan warned them about the ghost security guard who burned joss paper beside the flower beds.

• Qin Ze divided the group among the classroom buildings, girls’ dormitory, and campus grounds, leaving Jiang Chen, Chen Xue, and Yang Chan to investigate the grounds.
• Yang Chan recognized Jiang Chen as someone Lin Youwei liked and told him to give up on her, so Jiang Chen teased Yang Chan by claiming she liked women.
• Chen Xue mistook Jiang Chen’s teasing for confirmation and began spreading the gossip, while Yang Chan angrily denied it and followed them onto campus.
• Jiang Chen, Chen Xue, and Yang Chan felt the temperature drop as they entered and headed toward the sports field, where they found piles of black ash.
• Yang Chan warned Jiang Chen and Chen Xue that the ghost security guard appeared burning joss paper by the flower beds and that people who encountered him later died.

Jiang Chen lured out the running ghost Sun Zheming and used gossip to frighten him into revealing the story of the murdered Class Four homeroom teacher. After Jiang Chen broadcast Sun Zheming’s account across campus, the teacher’s ghost turned its murderous attention toward them.

• Yang Chan and Chen Xue explained that the sports field’s running ghost lured runners into exhaustion, and Jiang Chen volunteered to draw it out.
• Jiang Chen met Sun Zheming on the track, resisted his hypnotic conversation by steering their chat toward girls and gossip, and made Sun Zheming panic by loudly repeating rumors about Director Ma Hong.
• When Jiang Chen asked about the girl who had been pushed from a building, Sun Zheming redirected him to the Class Four homeroom teacher, who had witnessed the death but stayed silent.
• Sun Zheming explained that the teacher was later murdered with her eyes gouged out and mouth sewn shut, and that her ghost now killed people in classrooms.
• Jiang Chen played Sun Zheming’s recorded account through a megaphone, drawing the teacher’s ghost’s murderous gaze toward Sun Zheming.

Jiang Chen, Chen Xue, and Yang Chan worked together to defeat Sun Zheming, then investigated the Equipment Room, where they found signs that several ghosts had recently been present. The room was empty, leaving them unsure whether the ghosts had gone out to harm people or someone had already dealt with them.

• Jiang Chen baited Sun Zheming into attacking, allowing Chen Xue and Yang Chan to ambush and destroy the superior vicious ghost.
• Yang Chan reluctantly let Jiang Chen lead the group, and he chose to investigate the Equipment Room.
• Chen Xue explained that several people had died or gone missing in the Equipment Room, where witnesses had heard voices despite finding it empty.
• Jiang Chen knocked on the door, tossed Sun Zheming's corpse through a window, then opened the Equipment Room and found it empty and cold.
• Chen Xue used a talisman to reveal resentment-filled handprints and drag marks, then said the ghosts had left a few hours earlier.

Jiang Chen, Yang Chan, and Chen Xue suspected Qin Ze and Liu Kai’s groups had hidden motives, then found the Paper-Burning Security Guard, Zhang Hua. They tricked him into revealing himself as their target and launched a coordinated attack, but Zhang Hua retaliated with a curse.

• Yang Chan persuaded Jiang Chen and Chen Xue not to tell Qin Ze and Liu Kai about the ghosts’ disappearance because the other groups seemed to have their own agendas.
• The three crossed the sports field to find Zhang Hua mourning beside a flower bed while holding a cleaver.
• Jiang Chen and Yang Chan loudly discussed a murder plan, drawing Zhang Hua close as he tried to learn their intended victim’s name.
• Jiang Chen told Zhang Hua that they planned to kill Zhang Hua, then grabbed his neck and crushed it with Great Strength Bull Demon Fist.
• Zhang Hua burned spirit money and cursed Jiang Chen, causing pain in his right arm, while Yang Chan kicked Zhang Hua and Chen Xue attacked with a Golden Light Talisman.

Jiang Chen, Yang Chan, and Chen Xue killed Zhang Hua after a dangerous fight, then hurried to the Girls' Dormitory when Liu Kai called for backup against top-tier vicious ghosts. Meanwhile, Qin Ze took Qin Hai and Qin Feiyang upstairs to pursue his own plan, as Liu Kai continued fighting the school's Director of Discipline, Ma Hong.

• Jiang Chen, Yang Chan, and Chen Xue attacked Zhang Hua together and killed him after a hard-fought battle.
• Jiang Chen gained enough Ghost Qi from the ghosts to push his total past three thousand, while Yang Chan mistook his concern for her safety as a romantic confession and Jiang Chen privately decided she was terrifyingly clever.
• Liu Kai called for backup from the Girls' Dormitory, and Jiang Chen, Yang Chan, and Chen Xue ran toward it.
• Qin Ze killed a Female Student Ghost and led Qin Hai and Qin Feiyang upstairs, saying they needed to find the student who pushed someone and identify the school's most terrifying ghost.
• Ma Hong and Liu Kai continued their fierce fight outside the Girls' Dormitory, and Jiang Chen and the two women arrived.

Jiang Chen headed into the girls' dormitory to help Liu Kai's trapped companions while Liu Kai continued fighting Ma Hong. Inside, Zhang Ce was lured into chasing a ghost by a bloodstained note, and he and Sister Sun found themselves trapped between ghosts on different floors.

• Liu Kai told Jiang Chen that Ma Hong had entered the dormitory and begged him to save Zhang Ce and the others, so Jiang Chen went upstairs.
• Yang Chan misread Jiang Chen's encouraging words as support for pursuing love, while Chen Xue misinterpreted Yang Chan's muttering and hurried after Jiang Chen.
• Zhang Ce chased a disheveled woman after she slipped him a bloodstained note, then became bewitched into preparing to attack a ghost in the restroom.
• Sister Sun found Zhang Ce and snapped him out of his bewitchment, and the two heard a ghost on the third floor blocking their escape downstairs.
• On the sixth floor, a middle-aged woman chased a female ghost through the corridor while clutching a bloodstained note.

Jiang Chen, Chen Xue, and Yang Chan investigated the Girls' Dormitory, where a ghostly Cursed Note appeared and bewitched Yang Chan into chasing its ghost. Jiang Chen entered the restroom after it alone, while Chen Xue and a shaken Yang Chan remained outside, unsure whether he could survive.

• Jiang Chen noticed the dormitory walls were damp and moldy, and asked Chen Xue to search school records for other incidents.
• The group climbed toward the top floor, but Yang Chan felt an unseen touch on the third floor and found a bloodstained Cursed Note in her hand.
• A ghostly woman appeared and lured Yang Chan down the corridor, leaving her bewitched and unaware that she had separated from Jiang Chen and Chen Xue.
• Jiang Chen realized the ghost had targeted Yang Chan and chased after her, recognizing the third floor as the origin of the Cursed Note story.
• Yang Chan followed the ghost to the restroom, but Jiang Chen rushed inside ahead of her and invited her to join him.
• Chen Xue reminded Yang Chan what had happened, and Yang Chan realized the ghost had manipulated her before worrying that Jiang Chen had entered alone.

Jiang Chen baited a female ghost in an abandoned restroom until she fled in terror, then ambushed her when she searched the stalls. He attacked with a Golden Light Talisman and Wind-Thunder Leg, leaving the female ghost stunned.

• Jiang Chen knocked open the restroom stalls while pretending to search for a toilet buddy, making the female ghost increasingly nervous.
• The female ghost crawled beneath the partition to scare Jiang Chen, but she panicked when she saw his face staring back at her.
• Jiang Chen told the female ghost not to be afraid and said he was not a good person, startling her and confusing Chen Xue and Yang Chan outside.
• The female ghost charged into the neighboring stall, found it empty, and began searching the restroom for Jiang Chen.
• The female ghost opened the last stall and found Jiang Chen waiting, whereupon he attacked her with a Golden Light Talisman and Wind-Thunder Leg.

Jiang Chen, Chen Xue, and Yang Chan defeated two female ghosts in the dormitory, but each death intensified the building’s resentment and the sound of dripping water. After Sister Sun joined them in killing the second ghost, the group decided to flee and abandon Zhang Ce as a more terrifying presence seemed close to appearing.

• Jiang Chen, Chen Xue, and Yang Chan killed the female ghost in the restroom, but the resentment grew stronger and a bloodstained note revealed the words “is a ghost.”
• Jiang Chen, Chen Xue, and Yang Chan searched Room 414 and found only lingering resentment, then heard Sister Sun fleeing a female ghost up the stairs.
• Jiang Chen rushed out and challenged the female ghost to an eyeball removal surgery, then attacked her with Chen Xue, Yang Chan, and Sister Sun.
• The four killed the female ghost, and the dripping water began sounding in the corridor as resentment spread through the building.
• Sister Sun urged the group to escape and abandon Zhang Ce because they could not save him before the more terrifying ghost appeared.

Jiang Chen and the others faced the drowned ghost from Dormitory Room 303, who proved far stronger than they expected and badly injured the group. As the ghost attacked, Jiang Chen used his strange jokes to provoke her before beginning his Demon Transformation.

• Zhang Ce escaped a female ghost in Room 510, and Jiang Chen and the others killed her before fleeing downstairs.
• The group discovered that the stairwell's falling water could freeze and numb anyone it touched, while the drowned ghost approached from the first floor.
• Chen Xue identified the drowned ghost as the fourth roommate from Dormitory Room 303, who had drowned during summer vacation.
• The drowned ghost crushed Chen Xue's Golden Light Talisman and overpowered Yang Chan, Sister Sun, and Zhang Ce.
• Yang Chan realized the drowned ghost was a half-step vengeful ghost, leaving the injured group with almost no hope of survival.
• Jiang Chen asked the drowned ghost provocative questions that earned him Ghost Qi, then began Demon Transformation as she reached for his heart.

Jiang Chen used the Demon Rain Technique to overpower the drowned ghost, who unleashed her deadly resentment water when she began to lose. After Chen Xue’s Fire Dragon Talisman failed, Jiang Chen froze the falling droplets and turned them black, leaving the fight’s outcome unresolved.

• Jiang Chen transformed with the Demon Rain Technique and battered the drowned ghost while resisting her drowning bewitchment by claiming he was a fish.
• The drowned ghost attacked Jiang Chen with resentment, but he tore off her arm and struck her repeatedly until she used her trump card.
• The drowned ghost shattered the floor’s glass and sent her deadly water droplets raining down on everyone in the corridor.
• Chen Xue tried to stop the droplets with her Fire Dragon Talisman, but the female ghost extinguished the flames and knocked her aside.
• Jiang Chen shouted “Water Kan,” freezing the droplets in midair and turning them black with sinister energy.

Jiang Chen killed the female ghost with her own Resentment Water and spent 1,000 Ghost Qi to begin upgrading his system. He and the others found Liu Kai alive but gravely wounded after he drove Ma Hong away, while Liu Kai warned them that Ma Hong might still be lurking nearby.

• Jiang Chen used the Demon Rain Technique to turn the female ghost's Resentment Water against her, destroying her and gaining over 1,000 Ghost Qi.
• The system offered Jiang Chen an upgrade that would unlock enhancement, and he spent 1,000 Ghost Qi to start the eight-hour process.
• The others recoiled from Jiang Chen's brutal methods, and Yang Chan and Chen Xue recalled other times he had treated ghosts ruthlessly.
• Sister Sun remembered Liu Kai was downstairs, so Jiang Chen and the others hurried down to find him alive beside Ma Hong's severed arm.
• Liu Kai warned them to stay back, explaining that he had spent years of his lifespan and exhausted himself to wound Ma Hong, who might still be hiding nearby.

Jiang Chen provoked Ma Hong by repeatedly violating Sunward Middle School’s rules, drawing the Director of Discipline out of hiding. He then struck Ma Hong with the Demon Rain Technique and declared himself the next Director of Discipline.

• Liu Kai warned Sister Sun and Zhang Ce that he had lost his ability to fight and urged them to flee because Ma Hong was still nearby.
• Jiang Chen deliberately broke the school rules by spitting, entering the Girls’ Dormitory, stealing clothes, and inviting Chen Xue and Yang Chan on dates.
• Ma Hong charged out and announced that Jiang Chen would be punished with death for his violations.
• Jiang Chen pointed out Ma Hong’s own dress-code violations and claimed the position of next Director of Discipline.
• Jiang Chen pierced Ma Hong’s palm with a drop of demon rain, then unleashed more than a hundred drops at him.

Jiang Chen killed Ma Hong and led the group toward the school exit, while deciding not to rescue Qin Ze’s party. On the way, he discovered a ghost teacher conducting a terrifying lesson in an abandoned classroom, and she noticed him outside the window.

• Jiang Chen used the Demon Rain Technique and a punch to kill Ma Hong, earning more Ghost Qi.
• Sister Sun treated Liu Kai, and the group decided to leave Sunward Middle School and report the mission’s true danger to the Netherworld.
• When they saw Qin Ze and his companions fighting female ghosts, Jiang Chen pretended to chase another ghost so the group could later claim they had tried to help.
• Jiang Chen spotted a ghost teacher instructing dead students in a dark classroom, including two adults who appeared to have wandered into the school.
• The teacher noticed Jiang Chen peering through the window and walked toward the classroom door.