Chapter Summaries

Ren Yu persuaded Guan Xing to travel with him to Bai Lu City, and she agreed despite remaining wary of him. He then pursued the fleeing Raven and caught up with her again.

• Ren Yu warned Guan Xing that other assassins might target her and urged her to rest in Bai Lu City before traveling on.
• Guan Xing considered her dwindling wishes and agreed to go with Ren Yu, keeping her remaining wishes as a safeguard.
• Guan Xing asked whether Raven could be allowed to escape, and Ren Yu assured her that Raven could not get away.
• Ren Yu carried Guan Xing as he pursued Raven and suddenly appeared behind her in the forest.
• Raven was startled by Ren Yu's arrival, transformed into black smoke, and fled again.

Raven struggled to decide whether to flee after Ren Yu told her to meet him in Bai Lu City, then chose to head there. In the city lord’s manor, Jackal tried to recruit the gray-haired Bella, who remained unmoved.

• Ren Yu caught up with Raven again and told her to meet him in the Second Prince’s chambers at the city lord’s manor in Bai Lu City.
• Ren Yu and Guan Xing left Raven behind, and Raven agonized over whether to run before deciding to head toward Bai Lu City.
• At the manor, a burst of electricity knocked the recovering elite guards down again, after which the Second Prince and Strategist Big Wolf ordered them to withdraw.
• Jackal returned to the chambers and tried to recruit Bella with offers of employment and a salary.
• Bella continued drinking tea without reacting to Jackal’s proposal.

Ren Yu returned to Bella's room with Guan Xing, startling Kiana and Jackal and revealing that the princess was safe. Jackal feared that her attempted assassination of Guan Xing had been exposed as Guan Xing looked toward her.

• Jackal offered Bella unchanged terms and promised Ren Yu the title of Commandery Prince once the Second Prince reunified the Empire and became Emperor, but Bella could not understand her.
• Ren Yu climbed through the window carrying Guan Xing after Bella opened it for him.
• Kiana and Jackal recognized Guan Xing, and Jackal worried that Raven had failed or revealed her role in the assassination plot.
• Kiana expressed relief that Guan Xing had returned safely and said she had no desire to take the throne.
• Jackal asked Guan Xing whether she intended to return to the imperial capital and ascend the throne.

Guan Xing let Jackal leave despite noticing her nervousness, keeping the strategist close at hand while the Submarine Altar remained unrepaired and the ferocious beast unsealed. After Jackal left, Kiana wondered whether Ren Yu was Guan Xing’s subordinate and whether his presence made Guan Xing’s claim to the throne certain.

• Jackal panicked when Raven arrived, realizing Raven was alive and seemed to know Ren Yu.
• Guan Xing noticed Jackal’s nervousness and asked whether she was unwell.
• Jackal claimed she had urgent matters to attend to, and Guan Xing allowed her to leave.
• Guan Xing chose not to purge the traitors before the Submarine Altar was repaired and the ferocious beast sealed away.
• Kiana wondered whether Ren Yu served Guan Xing and considered giving up her own bid for the throne.

Wang Li delivered General Durandal’s urgent report that the northern defense line was about to collapse under a sudden surge of Honkai Beasts. Guan Xing realized the attack had come two months earlier than her calculations predicted, and her face went pale as she recalculated.

• Wang Li presented his jade insignia and was escorted through the City Lord’s Manor to deliver his report.
• Kiana let Wang Li enter the bedchamber, where he recognized the supposedly missing Guan Xing.
• Wang Li told Kiana that the Honkai Beasts had multiplied and Durandal could hold the northern line for only seven more days without reinforcements.
• Guan Xing questioned Wang Li about when the Honkai Beasts had surged, and he said it had happened that day.
• Guan Xing realized the surge came two months earlier than she had predicted and turned deathly pale after recalculating.

Kiana feared the northern defensive line would fall early and leave Bai Lu City exposed to Honkai beasts, while Anti-Entropy and Schicksal forces arrived at Sea Abyss City to investigate the deep well and search for Ren Yu. The chapter ended with a red-haired girl watching the agents at the control console.

• Kiana learned that the northern defensive line was close to collapsing and feared the Honkai beasts, including Yama, would reach Bai Lu City.
• Anti-Entropy agents arrived at Sea Abyss City to take over the deep well under Miss Wadeline's orders.
• Rita joined the mission to find Ren Yu and blamed herself for letting him face danger without her.
• Cocolia arrived with Rosaliya and Liliya, who argued until Cocolia made them stop.
• A red-haired girl stood near the deep well and impatiently watched the Anti-Entropy agents at the control console.

Sie waited impatiently for the passage to be repaired so she could return to search for Ren Yu, while Cocolia and the twins arrived at the deep-well area. The chapter ended with Inner Sie restraining Rosaliya with a crimson tentacle as the girl tried to hug her.

• Inner Sie demanded that the Anti-Entropy agents hurry their repairs, but refused to leave the passage to rest.
• Cocolia saw Sie from a distance, hesitated, and told Rosaliya and Liliya to go ahead without her.
• Rosaliya and Liliya discussed Cocolia's sadness over Sie and Bronya before approaching Sie.
• Rosaliya tried to hug Sie, unaware that Inner Sie was controlling her body.
• Inner Sie summoned a crimson tentacle that wrapped around Rosaliya and lifted her into the air.

Anti-Entropy agents restored Sea Abyss City's systems, but the fortress began using the deep-well area as fuel and prepared to seal the passage. The agents realized Executor Ren was still inside and desperately tried to stop the countdown.

• Liliya watched Rosaliya plead with Sister Sie, who had her suspended in the air.
• Anti-Entropy agents completed the repairs to the deep-well passage, activating Sea Abyss City's lights and defenses.
• Sea Abyss City fired an energy beam that destroyed the Honkai Beasts surrounding it.
• The agents discovered that the fortress's remaining 5% energy came from materials converted from the deep-well area.
• Sea Abyss City announced it would close the deep-well passage in ten seconds, and the agents shouted that Executor Ren was still inside.

Rosaliya, Liliya, and Rita tried to enter the deep well before its energy supply shut off, but Rita failed to cross in time. The well went dark, leaving Rita unconscious in the darkness.

• Rosaliya ran toward the deep well and fell inside, while Liliya followed her despite Cocolia's warning.
• Rita rushed toward the well with her thruster, determined to reach Ren Yu before the countdown ended.
• Rita's thruster overheated and shut down just as the countdown reached zero, leaving her short of the crossing.
• The well's energy supply was cut off, and Rita heard someone order that she be pulled out before she lost consciousness.

Prime Minister Rita woke from a brief nap with memories of another world, then heard a second consciousness speaking inside her body. As Rita panicked over the apparent possession, dozens of Otherworlder guards rushed into her room.

• Rita woke from her nap and asked Yu'er how long she had been asleep.
• Rita sent Yu'er away and wondered if she had dreamed of visiting another world.
• A second consciousness spoke inside Rita, and Rita realized someone else seemed to be in her body.
• Rita panicked and demanded to know who the other presence was.
• Dozens of black-robed Otherworlder guards entered Rita's room.

Rita told her guards that a mysterious consciousness had taken control of her body, but an imperial physician found no clear cause and Yu'er urged her to rest. Unable to sleep, Rita remained troubled by the voice and the Empire’s future as she recalled strange iron boxes moving along busy roads.

• Rita told Chen Shiyi and the other guards that a voice had appeared in her mind and her body had moved beyond her control.
• Chen Shiyi’s guards searched Rita’s room, and they arranged for an imperial physician to examine her.
• Yu'er dismissed Rita’s fear as a hallucination caused by exhaustion and tucked her into bed.
• After Yu'er left, Rita tossed and turned, wondering whether fatigue explained the voice and thinking about strange iron boxes on the roads.

Su discovered that Rita’s consciousness had traveled to another world, leaving her body in suspended animation, and considered asking an expert for help. In Bai Lu City, Guan Xing learned that Exotic Beast Yan Luo had appeared ahead of schedule and began planning how to respond.

• Su examined Rita in the emergency room and concluded that her consciousness had left her body for another world or World Bubble.
• Su told the medical staff to maintain Rita’s nutrient supply and wait, then considered asking an old friend who specialized in consciousness and the mind for help.
• Wang Li left Bai Lu City after reporting the urgent frontline situation to Second Prince Kiana, worried that General Durandal could not hold out much longer.
• Guan Xing lamented that Exotic Beast Yan Luo had appeared too early and reconsidered her plan to repair the formation disk at the Submarine Altar.
• Guan Xing decided she could not rely entirely on the prophesied variable to help eliminate Yan Luo and Formless.

Guan Xing prepared for the worst as Ren Yu reflected on how his arrival had changed the story. Bella struggled with her growing reluctance to leave him, and her feelings surfaced when he offered to shorten her contract.

• Guan Xing said she had to plan for the worst because the situation depended on a key variable.
• Ren Yu considered how his arrival had disrupted events, including Yama’s return and the threatened northern defensive line.
• Ren Yu promised Bella she could leave when their ten-month contract ended, but Bella felt unexpectedly upset.
• Ren Yu offered to reduce Bella’s contract to two months, and Bella blurted out, “No, absolutely not!!”
• Bella blushed as she realized what she had said and recalled Ren Yu saving her by injecting energy into her Herrscher Core.

After Ren Yu and Bella were given guest rooms, the story shifted to Rita, who awoke from a nightmare muttering Ren Yu’s name. Her alarming condition set the Prime Minister’s Mansion into a panic.

• Bella blushed after realizing Ren Yu had shared his remaining energy with her, while Kiana and Guan Xing noticed her reaction.
• Female guards led Ren Yu and Bella to guest rooms, where they spent the night.
• Rita woke from a nightmare in a cold sweat and repeatedly asked who Ren Yu was.
• Yu'er found Rita in distress and called for help, prompting the mansion to raise the alarm and summon guards, officials, and physicians.

Ren Yu and the others arrived at the imperial city, where the checkpoint’s unusually strict guards raised suspicions that something had happened inside. The group prepared to enter the city and find out what was going on.

• Ren Yu and Benares kept pace with the others on foot as they rode Gale Wind Horses toward the imperial city.
• Benares accused Ren Yu of mistreating her, and he promised to repair her Herrscher Core within the next ten months.
• At the city checkpoint, guards arrested a man who tried to bribe them and enforced strict inspections on those entering.
• Guan Xing said the guards’ behavior was unusual, and Ren Yu decided the group should enter the city to investigate.

Kiana and her group arrived at the Prime Minister's Mansion, where candidates competed for a thousand taels of silver to cure the young Prime Minister's strange illness. Ren Yu became curious about the selection and slipped into the courtyard, where the Prime Minister was about to appear.

• Soldiers escorted Kiana to the Prime Minister's Mansion, while passersby discussed her status as the Second Prince.
• Guan Xing learned that people were seeking a thousand taels of silver, and Ren Yu saw Da Gang and Liu Jie quarrel over their claims to exorcism skills.
• Guards arrested Da Gang and Liu Jie for causing trouble outside the mansion.
• The steward welcomed Kiana and said Lady Rita would meet her after finishing the matter inside; Ren Yu stayed behind to investigate.
• Kiana and her group entered the mansion, and Ren Yu secretly climbed over the defenses into the central courtyard.
• Attendants brought two women out as the gathered candidates prepared to meet the Prime Minister.

Yu'er offered a fifth-rank official post and five thousand taels of silver to anyone who could cure Rita, drawing eager responses from the assembled masters. As a Taoist volunteered to examine the chancellor, Ren Yu remained puzzled by how weak she seemed despite her healthy pulse and heart rate.

• Rita grew paler and weaker after several scares, while her innate charm captivated the men around her.
• Ren Yu examined Rita from a distance and wondered why she seemed near death despite having a healthy body and normal pulse.
• Yu'er promised anyone who cured Rita five thousand taels of silver, a fifth-rank post, and a yearly stipend.
• A long-bearded Taoist claimed experience dealing with demons and monsters and asked to treat Rita.
• Yu'er agreed and invited the Taoist to come forward.

A Taoist failed to treat Rita and was arrested after allegedly attacking her, frightening the other eccentrics who had come to offer their services. Yu'er kept them under guard and said they would each get a turn, while Ren Yu suspected they had been lured into a trap.

• Imperial Guards searched the Taoist and let him approach Rita under a strict five-minute limit.
• The Taoist performed his methods while Ren Yu listened to the other eccentrics doubt that he would succeed.
• The Taoist was carried away after a soldier accused him of attacking Rita when his treatment failed.
• The eccentrics grew fearful and considered fleeing, but armored soldiers surrounded them.
• Yu'er told the eccentrics to wait patiently for their turns, and Ren Yu suspected they had been baited into a trap.

Rita recognized Ren Yu among the crowd and ran to him, overjoyed to find him safe. Ren Yu wondered whether she had chased him all the way to the Sea of Quantum, despite their shared memories being illusory.

• Rita suffered a violent coughing fit, and Yu'er offered to call an imperial physician.
• Rita spotted Ren Yu in the crowd and reacted with disbelief.
• Rita pushed past the Imperial Guards and hurried toward Ren Yu, calling out that she had finally found him.
• Rita reached toward Ren Yu in tears, relieved that he was safe.
• Ren Yu froze and wondered whether Rita had pursued him to the Sea of Quantum, though he knew their memories together had been fake.

Assassins attacked Prime Minister Rita while Big Wolf used the Military Seal to stop the soldiers outside the mansion and accuse Rita of treason. Big Wolf ordered the generals to kill Rita and rescue Guan Xing, pursuing her plan to seize the throne.

• Hidden weapons flew at Rita, but a burly archer shot one aside with a steel arrow as other attackers joined the assault.
• Kiana and the others saw Prince Li, Prince Liu, and Big Wolf outside the mansion, where Big Wolf held up the Military Seal and ordered the soldiers to kneel.
• Prince Liu rebuked the generals for hesitating, and they reluctantly knelt before the Military Seal.
• Big Wolf planned to kill Rita, blame General Durandal, and take the throne.
• Big Wolf accused Rita of imprisoning Guan Xing and conspiring to dominate the Empire, then ordered the generals to kill Rita and rescue Guan Xing.