Chapter Summaries

Xu Le encountered the Red Flower Society after discovering that a parasitic spider tied to Rose’s forces was infecting one of its workers. He intimidated Thirteen Sister, then agreed to consider working with her for a fee, leaving her convinced that his support could help the gang rise.

• Xu Le let a hostess into his dark room, where his Soul Tree branches restrained her and he discovered a parasitic spider inside her lungs.
• Xu Le recognized the spider as possibly connected to Rose and learned that Thirteenth Sister of Changfeng Road had sent the hostess to recruit him for the Red Flower Society.
• Thirteen Sister arrived with two thugs, and Xu Le restrained the thugs and briefly seized her by the throat before letting her go.
• Xu Le named fifty thousand as his price for taking action, and Thirteen Sister promised to send him an apology gift the next morning.
• After Xu Le shut the door, Thirteen Sister trembled from his fear-inducing aura and concluded that securing his help could let the Red Flower Society expand.

Xu Le joined a thirty-person pioneering mission in Tianrui Lifeng, where the casual recruitment and fearless mercenaries unsettled him. The team set out with guide Bai Jing, and she began briefing them on dangers outside the city.

• Xu Le heard the Red Flower Society arrange gifts to secure a connection with him, then left the Little Tavern to explore Tianrui Lifeng and find work.
• Xu Le visited Mercenary Square, studied its memorials to warriors, and chose pioneering mission 1033 from the crowded mission screen.
• Xu Le registered as a Red Moon Warlock and learned the mission paid a standard Level 2 Warrior wage, had no details, and would leave as soon as its thirty-person team filled.
• The receptionist, Bai Jing, recruited the remaining mercenaries and became the guide for Xu Le's hastily assembled team.
• Bai Jing led the team onto an old steam-powered bus, introduced herself, and warned that uncontrolled desires could attract a heart-tearing Succubus.

Xu Le traveled with Bai Jing and a group of mercenaries on a pioneering mission in Tianrui Lifeng, learning how dangerous and disorganized the work could be. After a Burrowing Worm damaged their bus, the group stopped to repair it, and Bai Jing warned Xu Le away from a poisonous plant as he examined it.

• Bai Jing introduced the pioneering mission and advised the mercenaries not to betray their teammates in the wilderness.
• Bai Jing sat beside Xu Le on the bus, recognized him as a newcomer, and explained the dangers of missions and her own experience as a guide.
• Bai Jing gave Xu Le her business card and invited him to join her on a future mission, but he refused to share much about himself.
• A Level 2 Burrowing Worm struck the bus, and Bai Jing attacked it while the mercenaries got out and prepared to defend themselves.
• After the bus's wheel hub was damaged, Bai Jing ordered the group to repair it and camp in the exposed area.
• Xu Le examined an unfamiliar plant with the Soul Tree, and Bai Jing warned him that it was poisonous.

Xu Le explored the wilderness around the Mercenary camp, harvested toxins from plants, and destroyed a nest of Burrowing Worms with Thunderlight. He returned with worm meat, and after telling Bai Jing it tasted fantastic, watched her and Ding Ke discover how awful it was.

• Ding Ke questioned why Xu Le kept his distance from Bai Jing, and Xu Le said he wanted to follow his own path by studying the world and pursuing advancement.
• An old Mercenary told Bai Jing that Xu Le was the feared Red Beard-Ding Ke who had killed more than a dozen people at the Changfeng Road Guard Hall, leaving her confused about the rookie she had met.
• Xu Le stripped toxins from wilderness plants, then encountered a nest of Burrowing Worms after leaving the camp and destroyed them with his Thunder Buddha technique.
• Xu Le cut meat and collected juices from a Burrowing Worm before returning to camp and asking Bai Jing whether the meat was edible.
• Xu Le called the worm meat delicious, prompting Bai Jing and Ding Ke to taste it; Bai Jing grimaced and Ding Ke vomited.

Xu Le cultivated by the lake, then confronted a Level 4 Black Spirit Serpent and used his Soul Tree to consume it. Bai Jing watched as the serpent withered and a tree rose from the lake, leaving her to wonder whether it was a Guyinduo Tree.

• Xu Le discussed justice and strength with Bai Jing before spending the night absorbing Moon Spirit at camp.
• Bai Jing followed Xu Le’s footprints to the lake and found Ding Ke, who confirmed Xu Le was underwater.
• Ding Ke called into the lake, and Xu Le surfaced atop a Level 4 Black Spirit Serpent.
• Xu Le let the serpent inject its venom while his Soul Tree took root inside its body.
• The Soul Tree consumed the Black Spirit Serpent, which shriveled away as a large tree grew in the middle of the lake.

Xu Le and Bai Jing reached the ruins of an advanced city from the Second Era and began exploring Mission 1033 with a group of Mercenaries. When Slime Oddities attacked, one Mercenary was badly wounded, and Xu Le noticed another danger inside a nearby building.

• Xu Le grew a nameless blue tree that produced a strange fruit, gave the fruit to Bai Jing, and called himself a Tree Herder.
• Bai Jing led the team toward the mission site, where they passed charred burrowing worm corpses and discovered a sprawling Second Era city.
• Bai Jing assigned the newcomers to her group and began exploring the area with Xu Le and the other Mercenaries.
• Xu Le pushed a young Mercenary out of the way when a Level 3 Licking Ghoul attacked, but a second Slime Oddity emerged and tore into a female Mercenary's thigh.
• Xu Le noticed something lurking in the dark entrance of a nearby building.

Xu Le and Chang Fengle searched a ruined shopping mall while Xu Le taught the novice about wilderness dangers and combat. After an explosion drew them to Bai Jing's group, they found Bai Jing had killed a Level 2 Skeleton Lizard.

• Bai Jing left the wounded Juna behind with food and water, and Xu Le explained to Chang Fengle how her injuries and Heart Energy fluctuations could attract Oddities.
• Xu Le and Chang Fengle searched the mall, where Xu Le shot a Living Corpse and later killed Oddities hiding in the restroom.
• Xu Le taught Chang Fengle about scouting, coordinating with teammates, targeting Oddities, and controlling lustful Heart Energy.
• An explosion prompted Xu Le and Chang Fengle to hurry toward Bai Jing's group, where Bai Jing finished off a Level 2 Skeleton Lizard and asked Xu Le if her moves were good.

Xu Le helped Bai Jing’s mercenary team clear a thirty-one-story building, advising them to rest before confronting a Level 3 Oddity and secretly empowering Bai Jing to defeat it. He planted a seed in a Level 4 Oddity on the top floor, and the group discovered a fruit-bearing Soul Tree there, leaving Bai Jing wondering what Xu Le was trying to accomplish.

• Xu Le advised Chang Fengle that warriors should rely on firearms and ranged weapons when possible, and Chang Fengle recognized that the exhausted team should rest before continuing.
• Bai Jing ordered the team to rest on the thirtieth floor, but a Level 3 Licking Crawler burst through a wall and attacked her.
• Xu Le used his ability to enhance Bai Jing with lightning, allowing her to cut down the Licking Crawler.
• Xu Le flew to the top floor, killed the Oddities surrounding a Level 4 Malignant Tumor, and planted a seed in its brain.
• Xu Le returned and spoke with Chang Fengle about Tianrui Lifeng and its goal of smashing the Red Moon Holy Temple.
• The team reached the thirty-first floor and found a fruit-bearing Soul Tree, while Bai Jing asked Xu Le what he was trying to do.

Xu Le distributed special Fruits that he had infused with non-destructive lightning power, and Chang Fengle gained a body-enhancing ability after eating one. Bai Jing agreed to test the ability by fighting Chang Fengle, leaving the trial just as she struck at him.

• Bai Jing warned the Mercenaries to secure the top floor, and they found twelve Fruits among Xu Le’s strange trees.
• Xu Le ate a Fruit and urged the Mercenaries to eat theirs, explaining that they were not Guyinduo Fruits and might be confiscated if appraised.
• Chang Fengle ate his Fruit, sparked electricity from his mouth, and learned that the power enhanced his body rather than granting lightning control.
• Xu Le explained to Bai Jing that he wanted to give people another way to grow stronger, and she agreed to help test the Fruits.
• Bai Jing challenged Chang Fengle and thrust her blade’s hilt at him before he could finish preparing.

Xu Le tested the lightning-granting fruits on the Mercenaries, and Chang Fengle gained a powerful new attack while Bai Jing ate a mixed fruit that showed no effect. After the team moved into an alley, Bai Jing became separated from everyone and suspected a Ghost-Type Oddity had trapped her in an illusion.

• Bai Jing defeated Chang Fengle in one exchange, and Xu Le realized his lightning fruit experiment needed a better demonstration.
• Bai Jing questioned Xu Le about the fruits’ risks and whether they interfered with Guyinduo Fruits; Xu Le said they did not, and she ate a mixed fruit containing Heart Energy, darkness, lightning, Guyinduo, and Red Moon.
• Chang Fengle used his new lightning enhancement to shatter a concrete pillar with one slash, and the Mercenaries saw that the fruits boosted combat strength by roughly ten to thirty percent.
• Bai Jing’s mixed fruit showed no visible effect as the team cleared three buildings without injuries, while Chang Fengle improved under Xu Le’s combat instruction.
• Bai Jing ordered the team onward instead of resting near the injured Ju, then went ahead with Old Wang to scout the alley.
• Bai Jing realized Old Wang and the rest of the team had vanished and wondered whether a Ghost-Type Oddity had trapped her in an illusion.

Xu Le killed the Silk Floss influencing the group, then watched Bai Jing fight her way through their illusion. Bai Jing awakened her Fruit's lightning, Heart Energy, and darkness, destroyed the Oddities sustaining the hallucination, and returned to reality beside Xu Le.

• Xu Le told Old Wang to cover his ears, then annihilated the nearby Silk Floss with Dark Particles.
• Xu Le found Bai Jing trapped in an illusion and watched from a rooftop as she fought endless Shadow Beasts.
• Bai Jing steadied her resolve, awakened her Fruit's lightning and Heart Energy, and struck down crowds of Shadow Beasts.
• Bai Jing unleashed darkness that consumed the Silk Floss and ended the illusion.
• Bai Jing realized she had been hallucinating, and Xu Le told her that everything was false except power.

Xu Le explained that Bai Jing’s lightning, Heart Energy, and darkness powers had been real and remained within her, while she struggled with her need for strength and distrust of Warlocks. After Xu Le encouraged her to trust her talent, Bai Jing awakened her power and filled the other Mercenaries with fear.

• Bai Jing questioned Xu Le about the powers she had briefly wielded, while he reassured her that the team and Old Wang were safe.
• Back at camp, Xu Le drew the shortest watch lot and stayed up guarding the team as Bai Jing sat apart, troubled by her experience.
• Bai Jing reflected on her family’s needs and her desperate desire for power, then approached Xu Le to ask how she could regain her abilities.
• Xu Le told Bai Jing that the Fruit’s powers were already hers and that her self-doubt had prevented her from using them.
• Bai Jing focused and awakened her power, causing the eight other Mercenaries to wake from nightmares as she recognized it as fear.

Bai Jing secretly experimented with the Guyinduo Fruit’s Heart Energy and discovered that her sorrow could spread to nearby Mercenaries. The next day, she lured a Mountain Troll out of its cave with anger-infused Heart Energy and prepared to attack it with darkness.

• Xu Le warned Bai Jing that Heart Energy was dangerous and urged her to develop her power through her own thinking and understanding.
• Bai Jing mourned her mother and accidentally spread sorrow to nearby Mercenaries, then resolved to master the fruit’s power in secret.
• Chang Fengle teased Xu Le about his relationship with Bai Jing, and Xu Le told him to stop gossiping and focus on cultivation.
• Bai Jing found a huge pile of dung, left the group alone, and tracked it to a Mountain Troll’s home.
• Bai Jing sent anger-infused Heart Energy into the cave, drew out the Mountain Troll, and launched her strongest darkness attack.

Bai Jing secretly tested the Power of Darkness, killed a Mountain Troll, and began training with Xu Le to control her rapidly growing abilities. After several days of dramatic improvement, she asked why her darkness powers caused chaos, and Xu Le suggested she lacked the Lord of Darkness’s recognition.

• Bai Jing used Dark Particles to contaminate a Mountain Troll, then destroyed it with Dark Chaos Blade and burned its corpse to conceal her power.
• Bai Jing returned to the Mercenaries, and Xu Le warned her that uncontrolled use of the Power of Darkness could corrupt her.
• Bai Jing asked Xu Le to help her master Lightning, Heart Energy, and the Power of Darkness, and he began guiding her.
• Over the following days, Bai Jing rapidly improved, killed eleven Oddities in forty seconds, and began meditating to keep her judgment abreast of her growing strength.
• Bai Jing asked Xu Le why her Power of Darkness produced chaos, and he said she might not have gained the Lord of Darkness’s recognition.

Xu Le and Bai Jing’s exploration team encountered dense water vapor that threatened to suffocate them, apparently linked to the death of another mercenary. Bai Jing asked Xu Le to save the team, and he ordered everyone to gather firewood, hinting that a decisive fire could help them escape.

• Xu Le’s dark power surrounded him, leading Bai Jing to believe he was connected to the Lord of Darkness and to resolve to grow stronger.
• During the mission, Bai Jing became increasingly withdrawn and powerful, while Xu Le and the mercenaries continued exploring.
• The team found the suffocated body of a veteran mercenary, cremated him, and resumed their search.
• Xu Le detected unnatural water vapor, and Bai Jing suspected it could cause suffocation before ordering the team to retreat.
• The vapor grew denser and made breathing difficult, so Bai Jing pleaded with Xu Le to protect the mercenaries.
• Xu Le told the team to gather firewood and prepare a fire, calling the flames decisive to their fate.

Xu Le guided Bai Jing through a Warlock ritual that awakened a new ability and helped her dispel the water vapor suffocating the mercenaries. After choosing the Jewel card and enduring the black flames, Bai Jing sensed hidden Heart Energy and followed it into the Ancient City, where she demonstrated her newfound strength.

• Xu Le instructed Bai Jing to choose a Guyinduo Card and take the black flame of his Fate-Puppet on Strings.
• Bai Jing chose the Jewel card and endured the flames as they burned away her past and ignited the gathered firewood, clearing the water vapor and saving the mercenaries.
• Bai Jing sensed the mercenaries’ guilt and decided she would no longer live to help others at her own expense.
• Xu Le told Bai Jing to follow the Heart Energy she sensed, and she began tracking its source through the Ancient City.
• A Level 2 venomous Malformed-Type Oddity attacked Bai Jing, and she sliced it in half with a single chopping strike.
• Bai Jing identified her new ability as Heart Energy Sight and continued toward the source of the Heart Energy.

Bai Jing killed a Level 3 Guyinduo Offspring called the Soul-Sucking Monster and realized how much stronger her new darkness, lightning, and Heart Energy abilities had made her. After returning to the group, she thanked Xu Le for helping her change her fate and offered to help him once they returned to Tianrui Lifeng.

• Bai Jing fought through the Soul-Sucking Monster’s Water Curtain and killed it with a lightning-charged Thunder Tail Sweep, releasing the souls of its victims, including her ten teammates.
• Xu Le identified the creature as a Level 3 Guyinduo Offspring with Soul Absorption and Water Curtain, and told Bai Jing that her current strength surpassed her old limits.
• Bai Jing returned to the mercenaries with Xu Le and announced that she might quit being a mercenary after the mission, while keeping her distance from the group.
• Xu Le reflected that Bai Jing’s changed understanding had helped her merge with darkness and gain an endless supply of Dark Particles.
• Bai Jing asked whether Xu Le had come to Tianrui Lifeng for a purpose, thanked him for helping her gain power, and offered to help him after they returned.

After returning from the failed Pioneer mission, Bai Jing rejected her family’s demands and went drinking alone, while Xu Le parted ways with her. As several people followed Bai Jing into a dark alley, the black cat watched the darkness deepen until she emerged.

• Bai Jing led the survivors back to Tianrui Lifeng after they found six bodies and failed to locate four missing Squad Two members.
• Xu Le and the other Mercenaries received unusually high commissions and death benefits, then Xu Le and Bai Jing went their separate ways.
• Bai Jing refused to give her mother money for her older brother’s wedding and left home to seek work and live for herself.
• Bai Jing drank nine glasses of strong liquor at a tavern, then walked into a dark alley as several vagrants and others followed her.
• The black cat watched the alley become darker than night, and Bai Jing eventually walked back out.

Ding Ke encountered Bai Jing and Chang Fengle's Mercenaries, unwittingly encouraging the formation of the Polluters and the Tree Herders. Over the following days, both organizations rapidly gained influence in Changfeng District.

• Bai Jing told Ding Ke she had used darkness to corrupt her followers, and he urged her to continue; she named the group the Polluters as the homeless men pledged themselves to her.
• Chang Fengle proposed that his Mercenary team form an organization called the Tree Herders, and Ding Ke offered him guidance.
• Xu Le questioned Ding Ke about his late return and learned only that the cat had set people on the right path.
• The Polluters began recruiting sinners who confessed and accepted punishment, while the Tree Herders organized wandering Mercenaries to hunt Oddities in exchange for Lightning-enhancing Fruits.
• The Polluters and the Tree Herders rapidly expanded across Changfeng District and drew widespread attention.

Ai Li discovered that Xu Le was in Tianrui Lifeng and arranged a discreet assignment that would take her there. Meanwhile, Xu Le met Chang Fengle, who revealed that he had founded the Tree Herders in Xu Le’s name.

• Ai Li found a Tianrui Lifeng newspaper report naming the Tree Herders and concluded that Xu Le was there, then decided to travel to him without drawing attention.
• Ai Li asked Li Wen for a roaming assignment in other cities, and he approved her plan to find Xu Le.
• Li Wen arranged for Ai Li to lead a Bodyguard Corps delegation, which departed for Lighthouse before continuing to Tianrui Lifeng.
• Xu Le, staying in Tianrui Lifeng under the name Red Beard Ding Ke, received a desperate Chang Fengle, who asked him for more Lightning Fruits.
• Chang Fengle told Xu Le that he had founded the Tree Herders for him.