Chapter Summaries

Chen Lun accepted a locked Club commission to hunt the Red Apple Church, then went to Galena City as Spade Knight Joko and attacked Bishop Sommerfick. The bishop was split apart by Joko’s sword as the imprisoned residents remained trapped in the cathedral district.

• Chen Lun considered how the commission would weaken the Red Apple Church and earn him Contribution and resources.
• Bishop Sommerfick ordered the imprisoned residents used as sacrifices in an Atonement Ritual to refine Sinblood.
• Chen Lun arrived at the Red Apple Cathedral district as Spade Knight Joko and killed four red-robed clerics.
• Joko burned Sommerfick’s Ghoul head and pursued the bishop as he fled by transforming into bats.
• Sommerfick re-formed his human body, but Joko appeared behind him and slashed him from crown to crotch.

Chen Lun killed Bishop Sommerfick and the Red Apple Church’s fighters, then rescued Lucy, a supernatural hybrid with powerful charm. After learning she had been abducted for an auction in Peacock City, he connected her past to the city’s trafficking business and let her stay close to him.

• Chen Lun killed Bishop Sommerfick, collected the sinblood, and healed Lucy after she begged him to save her.
• Lucy revealed her supernatural charm, and Chen Lun discovered she was a hybrid born to a Saint of Stars and a sea demon.
• Back at an inn in Peacock City, Chen Lun considered Lucy’s abduction and suspected the Blue Sail Gang, the Black Knife Brotherhood, and Viscount Harrington were involved in human trafficking.
• Lucy bathed and changed into new clothes, then clung to Chen Lun and pleaded to remain by his side.

Chen Lun saved Lucy in Peacock City, learned her supernatural beauty trait, and decided to help her pursue admission to Aomto Academy instead of taking her along as a maid. He left her with money and asked her to look for Francis and Carmen’s Notes, then returned to Jack Winery.

• Chen Lun used Animal Mimicry to learn Lucy’s Ultimate Beauty trait and replaced Abyssal Touch with it.
• Lucy was captivated by Chen Lun’s enhanced beauty, while Chen Lun noticed her luck had risen from 9 to 15 after he saved her.
• Chen Lun refused Lucy’s offer to become his maid and gave her money to help her seek admission to Aomto Academy.
• Chen Lun asked Lucy to watch for a student named Francis and a mysterious book called Carmen’s Notes.
• Chen Lun left the hotel by carriage and returned toward Jack Winery, noting the locations of Peacock City’s local organizations.

Chen Lun infiltrated the Maritime Treasure Hunt aboard a freighter and discovered an auction trafficking women, where Peacock City’s elite bid on the captives. After accepting a quest to investigate and stop the auction, he set a fire in the dining hall and continued upstairs toward the ship’s guarded decks.

• Chen Lun disguised himself as Baron Hodgson, left the real baron bound in his carriage, and boarded the freighter.
• Viscount Harrington discussed the auction with Black Knife Brotherhood leaders and learned their men had failed to kill Chen Lun.
• Chen Lun watched the trafficking auction begin and accepted a quest to uncover its mastermind and stop it.
• Chen Lun embraced a bald, bearded guest, causing him to set fire to liquor and start a blaze in the dining hall.
• Chen Lun ignored the spreading fire and headed upstairs, where Blue Sail Gang guards stopped to question him.

Chen Lun fought through the Treasure Hunt freighter, defeated Viscount Harrington’s Craft Puppet, and uncovered a lead to the Grade B Mysterious Object Hope Workshop. He pursued Harrington to the dock, where he found him dead before he could question him, and three shadowy figures confronted him.

• Chen Lun killed the Black Knife Brotherhood members and disabled Harrington’s Craft Puppet, then stored it in his Blood-Poem Ring.
• Chen Lun disguised himself as Duhalu and ordered the blue-vested men to move the caged women off the burning ship.
• Chen Lun flew to the dock in search of Harrington and found the Treasure Hunt attendees fleeing amid gunfire and chaos.
• Chen Lun discovered that Harrington had been killed by a stray bullet and prepared to summon his soul for questioning.
• Three dark figures appeared before Chen Lun and demanded to know what had happened.

Chen Lun wiped out the Black Knife Brotherhood in Peacock City and recovered information about a hidden opportunity in Viscount Harrington’s villa. After returning to the winery, he claimed his rewards and strengthened his abilities, while the Containment Bureau began investigating the attack and considered recruiting him.

• Chen Lun killed the three Black Knife assassins, questioned Viscount Harrington’s soul, and learned that the opportunity he sought was hidden in the viscount’s study.
• Chen Lun found the Black Knife Brotherhood’s underground hideout and slaughtered its members before returning to the winery.
• Chief Amos learned that a lone intruder had nearly destroyed the Black Knife Brotherhood and suspected the attacker was Jack Spade.
• Amos ordered the bureau to verify the incident, destroy the Blue Sail Gang, and help the abducted women, then prepared to report Jack’s potential as an ally.
• Chen Lun claimed the quest rewards, raised [Sequence 6 - Aerialist] to level 26, saved his attribute points, and used his blessing point to raise [Nature's Favor (Blessing)] to lv4.

After Viscount Harrington's death, Tracy turned to Chen Lun for help securing her inheritance, and he arrived at the family manor with Noah. As Tracy showed Chen Lun around, Noah prepared to stop her relatives from attacking him.

• Tracy visited Chen Lun at the Winery and told him that her relatives were fighting over Viscount Harrington's estate and title.
• Chen Lun promised to help Tracy claim her inheritance, then brought her home while a woman in a black dress watched them from the stairs.
• The next morning, Tracy refused to sign documents surrendering her inheritance to her uncles and aunts.
• Chen Lun arrived at the manor with Noah, but Tracy's aunt insulted him and her uncle raised his cane to strike him.
• Noah's Bone Key selected the Three-Color Child painting, and brilliant vortices appeared in his eyes.

Chen Lun protected Tracy from relatives scheming to take her estate, then found the Hope Workshop hidden in her father’s study and accepted it as a gift. He left her weapons and a token to call on Jack’s Circus, and Noah reported capturing two dangerous Beyonders while away on commissions.

• Noah used Deep Hypnosis to make Tracy’s relatives repent and forget their scheme, while Chen Lun assured Tracy she would inherit the estate.
• Chen Lun found the Hope Workshop, a mysterious cube hidden in the study that could create Craft Puppets, and explained that it had made her father’s steel puppet bodyguard.
• Tracy gave the cube to Chen Lun and asked whether they could remain friends; Chen Lun assured her they already were.
• Chen Lun gave Tracy weapons and a Silver Snake Pendant she could use to request help from Jack’s Circus.
• On the carriage ride back, Noah told Chen Lun that he had captured a Sequence 7 Shark Wrestler and a Sequence 7 Magic Mage using the White Bone Gallery.

Chen Lun used Hope Workshop to create powerful Black Crystal Craft Puppets and assigned them to protect the Winery and assist Connie. He then continued searching Peacock City for two remaining opportunities while intensifying his attacks on the Red Apple Church across Rock State.

• Chen Lun demonstrated Hope Workshop to Connie, who eagerly began directing its Steel Puppet in the Winery’s new forging workshop.
• Chen Lun tested different puppet materials and found that Longli stone produced the strongest and most practical Black Crystal Craft Puppets.
• Chen Lun recycled the other puppets and made thirteen Black Crystal Craft Puppets, bringing his total to fourteen.
• Chen Lun assigned the puppets to patrol the Winery, gave Connie four for her exclusive use, and left Fuluoyin to help oversee their management.
• Chen Lun sent Golov, Barton, and Morey to search Peacock City for clues while Miss Tracy committed resources to helping him.
• Chen Lun continued taking Murder Club commissions and killed Red Apple Church leaders and Transcendent clerics across Rock State as Spade Knight Joko.

After the Red Apple Church ambushed Chen Lun with three Rose Teams, he paused his hunts and received an unexpected promotion to Gold Cup in the Murder Club. Two days later, Tracy brought news that Francis had been found as a newly transferred student at Aomto Academy.

• Chen Lun escaped an ambush by three Rose Teams, returned to the Winery, and decided to pause his hunts after building up nearly three hundred thousand experience points.
• Chen Lun canceled his Murder Club commission, and the Club's Faceless Attendant told him he had been promoted directly to Gold Cup.
• The Faceless Attendant explained the Gold Cup's privileges, and Chen Lun accepted the token and tipped him four Gold Pounds.
• Tracy visited the Winery, where Fuluoyin escorted her to Chen Lun and hinted at her closeness to him.
• Tracy told Chen Lun that Francis had been found and explained that he had recently transferred from elsewhere to Aomto Academy.

Chen Lun went to Aomto Academy to observe Francis and discovered that Lucy had found Carmen’s Notes before him. He took the book from Lucy and left with her to her rented studio apartment, where he intended to read it.

• Chen Lun visited Aomto Academy to look for signs of Francis’s opportunity.
• Chen Lun saw Francis give Lucy Carmen’s Notes and watched her leave with the book.
• Lucy met Chen Lun and handed him Carmen’s Notes, which she had found while completing his task.
• Chen Lun used Fate Peering and saw that Lucy had exceptionally high Luck Value.
• Chen Lun asked Lucy to take him to her studio apartment, and she mistook the request for a romantic reward.

Chen Lun visited Lucy, encouraged her studies, and gave her a ring that could access the Lakeside Cabin and knowledge for the Stars Faction Sequence 9 path. He then examined Carmen's Notes, learned the Frederic Meditation Method, and realized the notes were only the first of three volumes.

• Chen Lun followed Lucy to her apartment and told her she did not need to work while studying at Aomto Academy.
• Lucy told Chen Lun that Francis had given her a book after she manipulated his interest in her.
• Chen Lun gave Lucy a Silver Snake Ring with access to the Lakeside Cabin and explained its purpose.
• Chen Lun wrote out Stars Faction Sequence 9 - Hunter Transcendent Knowledge for Lucy and urged her to follow the Stars pathway.
• Chen Lun read Carmen's Notes and learned about the Magic pathway's three schools and Carmen's teacher, Phiredcui, and the figures she revered.
• Chen Lun comprehended the Frederic Meditation Method and concluded that Carmen's Notes had three volumes, with the one he held being the first.

Chen Lun strengthened his control by mastering meditation, while Lucy advanced to Hunter and investigated Francis. A dream divination led Chen Lun to identify the Simon Museum as the likely location of the remaining volumes of Carmen's Notes, and he prepared to investigate it.

• Chen Lun spent four skill points to max out meditation, boosting his willpower and precision with Levitation and Playing-Card Throwing Knife.
• Lucy successfully advanced to Hunter, and Chen Lun asked her to keep watching Francis before he left.
• Lucy told Chen Lun that Carmen's Notes had been donated to Aomto Academy by Donmaen Simon, a wealthy alumnus from Peacock City.
• Chen Lun used dream divination on the first volume and saw a museum guarded by a gargoyle, which he connected to the remaining volumes and the History and Ritual Society.
• Chen Lun sent Golov, Barton, and Morey to investigate Peacock City's museums, and they identified the Simon Museum as the only match.
• Chen Lun decided to investigate the Simon Museum under cover of darkness and take the remaining volumes if he could.

Chen Lun investigated the Simon Museum’s guarded exhibits and learned from Huoyiner that Donmaen Simon was giving away and moving much of the collection. When the museum’s crates were loaded onto carriages, Chen Lun rushed to the scene, suspecting the History and Ritual Society would intervene.

• Chen Lun visited the Simon Museum and spotted History and Ritual Society Beyonders guarding a stone fragment, a parchment manuscript, and Carmen’s Notes.
• Chen Lun asked Huoyiner about the museum and learned that Donmaen Simon was donating antiques and planning to move most of the collection out of town.
• Chen Lun asked Huoyiner to help him obtain one of the exhibits, offering to pay for it.
• Golov reported that the museum had closed and that four carriages were being loaded with crates, so Chen Lun teleported to the museum while Barton and Morey continued watching.
• The loaded carriages began to move as Chen Lun approached the museum.

Chen Lun followed the carriages carrying Tang Ma'en’s antiques after the History and Ritual Society’s agents pursued them. Osmon’s group robbed Tang Ma'en of three artifacts, but a black-armored figure appeared before they could take them away.

• Chen Lun dismissed Barton and Morey, changed his appearance, and followed the carriages while watching for the History and Ritual Society.
• Osmon and more than a dozen History and Ritual Society members stopped Tang Ma'en’s carriages outside Peacock City and demanded three exhibits.
• Osmon’s subordinates searched the crates while Osmon knocked Tang Ma'en to the ground after he fired his flintlock.
• The Society members found a Stone Stele Fragment, a Parchment Manuscript, and an ancient book.
• A black-armored figure carrying a silver Broadblade approached, and Osmon sensed danger and turned to face it.

Chen Lun seized three collectibles from Osmon and the History and Ritual Society, then killed the fleeing group despite promising to spare them. After Osmon used Historical Rewind to survive the first attack, Chen Lun killed him and collected the group’s mystical substance, while recognizing the Balag Armor was intensifying his bloodlust.

• Chen Lun confronted Osmon and demanded the three collectibles held by his subordinates, and Osmon ordered them handed over.
• Chen Lun pursued the fleeing History and Ritual Society members and cut Osmon and several others in half with one sword strike.
• Osmon used Historical Rewind to return to an earlier moment, but Chen Lun’s Greatsword followed him and split him from head to toe.
• Chen Lun surveyed the corpses, reflected on the Balag Armor’s influence, and collected fourteen low-sequence portions and one middle-sequence portion of Earth Faction mystical substance.

Chen Lun examined the Fate Monument fragment and Sid Mitchell’s travel notes before learning and maximizing the Thought Sharing skill from Carmen’s Notes. Meanwhile, the History and Ritual Society crushed the Simon Family after its failed operation, and Huoyiner invited Chen Lun to meet him at a tavern.

• Chen Lun identified the stone fragment as part of the Fate Monument and found no clear explanation for the value of Sid Mitchell’s travel notes.
• Chen Lun learned Thought Sharing from Carmen’s Notes and spent four skill points to maximize it.
• Pearson learned that Spade Knight Joko had killed Osmon and fourteen Beyonders, then retaliated against the Simon Family.
• Tang Ma’en failed to find help from his friends, and the Peacock City Containment Bureau’s Amos confronted Pearson without improving the family’s situation.
• Huoyiner invited Chen Lun to a tavern, where Chen Lun found him drinking alone.

Chen Lun disrupted the History and Ritual Society by sending a frenzied Red Apple Church Bishop into its headquarters, ending its suppression of the Simon Family. Huoyiner told Chen Lun that the family’s businesses had recovered and that Donmaen Simon planned to retire and pass control to his heir.

• Huoyiner confessed that the History and Ritual Society’s suppression had devastated the Simon Family, and Chen Lun took him back to the family manor after he passed out.
• Chen Lun accepted a Murder Club commission, killed Bishop Kelifu in Rainflower City, and brought him to the History and Ritual Society’s headquarters in Peacock City while driving him into a frenzy.
• Kelifu attacked the Society’s headquarters, killing President Pearson and numerous members before the Containment Bureau and Madman School killed him.
• The Society halted its operations in Peacock City, allowing the Simon Family’s businesses and City Garden Grand Theater to reopen.
• Huoyiner visited Chen Lun to celebrate the family’s recovery and said the Hailing Group would replace the Society in overseeing Peacock City.
• Huoyiner said Donmaen Simon had decided to retire and hand control of the family to his heir.

Huoyiner thanked Chen Lun with the final volume of Carmen’s Notes and another fragment of the Monument of Fate, and Chen Lun learned Magic Flying Cards before accepting Carmen’s quest to deliver her poems to Phiredcui. He then entered Wonderland to continue exploring the Blood River and encountered the fleshy vine again.

• Huoyiner told Chen Lun that Tang Ma'en had entrusted him with the Simon family businesses and gave him a Monument of Fate fragment and the third volume of Carmen’s Notes.
• Chen Lun read the notes, learned Magic Flying Cards, and spent skill points and experience to raise the skill to its maximum level.
• Chen Lun accepted Carmen’s quest to deliver her poems to Phiredcui at the Meteor Mage Tower, but decided to postpone the dangerous journey.
• Chen Lun resumed searching for the third opportunity and entered Wonderland to explore beyond the Blood River.
• A fleshy vine attacked Chen Lun, who dodged it and split it open with a powerful kick before preparing a spade Magic Flying Card.

Chen Lun explored the Canyon’s Blood River, learned that the Crystal Mountains were home to the mad God of Murals Clarenso, and received Maggie’s blessing at its statue. After surviving a glimpse of Clarenso’s contaminated mural, he began to suspect Lady Witch expected him to become a god.

• Chen Lun destroyed five Corpse Carpets and tested the cutting, restraining, and healing effects of his enchanted cards.
• Chen Lun reached the Lake of Blood, touched the Cat God Maggie Milna’s statue, learned the routes to the Crystal Mountains, and received Nature’s Favor Blessing at its maximum level.
• Chen Lun flew across the lake, evaded a giant octopus, and struck its head with diamond cards.
• Chen Lun glanced at the island’s cliff and witnessed the contaminated mural “Mr. Jingyao and Her Scorpio,” losing 99 Sanity before Maggie’s Statue kept him alive.
• Chen Lun recovered and realized the mural depicted Clarenso’s path to becoming Mr. Jingyao’s God’s Attendant, leading him to wonder whether Lady Witch expected him to become a god.