Recaps

Yu Sheng traded Heavenly Mountain Pool Water for Yu Yongyan’s sword and negotiated for driver’s licenses and cars, leaving Yu Mo baffled by his priorities. Yu Mo arranged to deliver the supplies by morning, while Sun Yingxiong watched Sun Wen and Yuan Qingshan traded threats with the Vice Principal.

• Yu Mo admitted he had briefly been tempted by Yu Sheng’s offer but said the two bottles of Heavenly Mountain Pool Water were too much for the sword.
• Yu Sheng asked to exchange the excess water for energy items and two driver’s licenses, prompting Yu Mo to offer licenses and two cars.
• Yu Sheng asked about crash safety and requested a dozen cheap cars, while Yu Mo advised him to drive only in the wilderness.
• Yu Mo extended his hand to seal the deal, but Yu Sheng refused to shake hands because Yu Mo was at the Sixth Awakening.
• Yu Mo arranged for the Ink Pavilion’s supplies to arrive by morning and asked Sun Yingxiong to escort them.
• The Vice Principal threatened Yuan Qingshan with bringing his grandson to visit, and Yuan flew off as the Vice Principal muttered about their old rivalry.

Yu Sheng collected payment from the Vice Principal, then sold Sun Wen Heavenly Mountain Pool Water so he could reroll his skills. Sun Wen’s first two new skills boosted his Fortune in unpredictable ways, leaving him frustrated rather than with the offensive abilities he wanted.

• The Vice Principal used his powers to make Xu Yuanqing agree to pay for the venue and protection, took Yu Sheng’s money, and tore up Xu Yuanqing’s contract.
• After the Vice Principal released his control, Xu Yuanqing attacked him, while Yu Sheng left.
• Sun Wen asked Yu Sheng to sell him Heavenly Mountain Pool Water, and Yu Sheng agreed to sell it for ten million per drop.
• Yu Sheng brought out a huge jug of Heavenly Mountain Pool Water, and Sun Wen used three drops to reroll a skill, gaining Fortune Explosion.
• Sun Wen used three more drops and gained Fortune Pair Collision, a skill that made two strands of Fortune collide and multiplied his Fortune depending on his luck.

Sun Wen repeatedly rerolled his fortune-based awakening skills, then awakened Fortune Tycoon and Fortune Sharing with a Poison Dragon Demon Core. When he tried to share his fortune with Xu Yuanqing, Xu Yuanqing’s Fire Phoenix blocked the skill, and he turned to Yu Sheng to ask about the unsold Phoenix Tears.

• Sun Wen wasted six drops of Heavenly Mountain Pool Water rerolling fortune skills, then decided to complete his Fifth Awakening.
• Sun Wen merged a fifth-level Poison Dragon Demon Core with his Gold Yuanbao, and the Gold Yuanbao’s influence transformed the Demon Core’s black aura into gold.
• Sun Wen awakened Fortune Tycoon, which doubled his overall fortune, then used his final three drops of Heavenly Mountain Pool Water to reroll and gained Fortune Sharing.
• Xu Yuanqing rushed into the dorm room and begged Sun Wen to share his fortune, but Xu Yuanqing’s Fire Phoenix blocked the golden light.
• Xu Yuanqing asked Yu Sheng whether he had sold his Phoenix Tears.

Yu Sheng gave Xu Yuanqing the Phoenix Tears in exchange for a favor, while Yu Mo considered whether Yu Sheng had multiple Awakening Objects. Yu Mo concluded that Yu Sheng might become humanity’s new hope and said his unusual abilities should be concealed while he was still vulnerable.

• Yu Sheng refused Xu Yuanqing’s offer of work and instead asked him for a favor in exchange for the Phoenix Tears, which Xu Yuanqing accepted.
• Zhao Zicheng and Sun Wen discussed combining their awakening skills, and Sun Wen considered how his skill might support Yu Sheng in the Demon Domain.
• Yu Mo questioned whether Yu Sheng’s abilities and energy needs indicated that he had more than one Awakening Object.
• Sun Yingxiong doubted Yu Mo’s theory, but Yu Mo argued that the unknown nature of awakenings left such possibilities open.
• Yu Mo told Sun Yingxiong that they should erase traces of Yu Sheng’s abilities because Yu Sheng might be humanity’s new hope and was still too fragile.

Yu Mo explained how false intelligence about a spatial storage experiment could divert the Evil Cult’s attention from Yu Sheng and Chu Yu, while Sun Yingxiong’s response made Yu Mo reconsider his plans. At Ink Academy, Chu Yu’s experiment was suspended pending moonlight grass, and the academy settled into an uneasy quiet during Xu Yuanqing’s absence.

• Yu Mo proposed leaking details of a supposedly successful spatial storage experiment to draw the Evil Cult’s attention away from Yu Sheng and Chu Yu and expose spies within the Ink Pavilion.
• Sun Yingxiong agreed that Yuan Qingshan should eventually lead the Ink Pavilion and said he would step down once Yuan reached the eighth awakening, prompting Yu Mo to reconsider his one-year plan.
• An old researcher told Chu Yu that her experiment was suspended until moonlight grass arrived to improve its chances and reduce the risk to her life.
• Chu Yu quietly looked toward the archway and artificial hill, then returned to her book after remembering a boy who had once sat there.
• After Xu Yuanqing had been absent for ten days, Zhao Zicheng and others speculated about his whereabouts while Ink Academy briefly became quieter and students pursued missions and traded for cultivation resources.

With missions scarce, Ink Academy's students struggled to earn points and afford cultivation resources. Yu Sheng celebrated getting his driver's license and mailed Shi Guang the other one, while Shi Guang's arena match revealed how closely her grim methods resembled his.

• Light Group's dominance reduced available missions, and Ink Academy's students began struggling with dwindling points and resources.
• Yu Sheng received his driver's license, called the driving school to share the news, and got his tuition refunded.
• Yu Sheng mailed the driver's license bearing Shi Guang's name, but she replied that she had already passed her driving test.
• In Mobei City, Shi Guang defeated a student in the arena, prompting the principal to ask why she had not pulled his teeth.
• Shi Guang explained that she handled digging holes and burying bodies while Yu Sheng handled interrogations, and the student panicked at the thought of being buried.

After Shi Guang’s match, the Principal tried to recruit her by offering care, lodging, and a trip, but she drew weapons and sent him running. Meanwhile, Sun Wen dressed the 140th Cohort in custom uniforms for the senior students’ graduation ceremony, prompting Zhao Zicheng to attack him over the word embroidered on his uniform.

• Shi Guang left the arena with her shovel, and the Principal decided to mentor her like Liu Qingfeng had mentored Yu Sheng.
• The Principal offered Shi Guang a place to stay, then suggested becoming her goddaughter and taking a trip together; Shi Guang drew a dagger and a large Crossbow, making him flee.
• Sun Wen gave Yu Sheng a set of custom uniforms for the 140th Cohort to wear at the senior students’ graduation ceremony.
• Zhao Zicheng saw that his uniform read “Quack quack” and charged at Sun Wen, who was soon sobbing as Zhao forced his fist to strike him.

Yu Sheng and his friends joked about eating the dormant egg while its bird struggled to wake inside. At Ink Academy, the Vice Principal tried to prepare graduating seniors Su Mo and Bai Yu for the ceremony, but their insults turned into a contest over who could wear more layers in the summer.

• Zhao Zicheng, Sun Wen, Lin Xiaoxiao, Mu Yu, A Tai, and Yu Sheng discussed whether the egg had gone bad and joked about roasting it after it hatched.
• The bird inside the egg absorbed the Mountain-Guarding Old Man's energy and repeatedly fell back asleep, comforted by the voices outside.
• The Vice Principal warned Su Mo and Bai Yu to behave at the graduation ceremony, where they were the only graduates that year.
• Su Mo and Bai Yu traded embarrassing stories from their student days until they prepared to fight.
• The Vice Principal pointed out that Su Mo's robe and Bai Yu's jacket would be unbearably hot, prompting them to challenge each other to add more layers.
• Su Mo left to prepare thicker clothes, then returned about half a minute later and sat down smiling while waving his fan.

Su Mo returned to the Vice Principal’s office, where the Vice Principal extorted twenty thousand from him to keep quiet. As Ink Academy’s graduation ceremony began, Xu Yuanqing arrived with newly strengthened phoenix flames, while the academy’s eccentric inner-courtyard residents gathered in solemn silence.

• Su Mo altered his clothes to cope with the heat, but the Vice Principal demanded ten thousand to keep his secret and threatened to tell Bai Yu.
• After reading Xu Yuanqing’s messages about needing money for clothes, Su Mo remembered the Vice Principal’s past treatment of others and raised his transfer to twenty thousand.
• The Vice Principal reflected that absorbing the Phoenix Tears had paved Xu Yuanqing’s path toward the seventh awakening, then lent him 200 for clothes and charged 1,000 interest against his salary.
• At two o’clock, the Principal announced the graduation ceremony, and the teachers assembled in formation on the high platform.
• Xu Yuanqing arrived with denser, hotter phoenix flames and took his place on the platform as the students entered the field.
• A usually drunken vagrant cleaned himself up and joined the other eccentric inner-courtyard residents, who watched the high platform solemnly.

At Ink Academy’s 140th Graduation Ceremony, Su Mo accepted his honors as the 135th Cohort’s sole surviving graduate and remembered the classmates and teacher he had lost. After the teachers and students saluted him, he bowed and stepped away from the platform, carrying their hopes into the future.

• Chu Yu left the crowd and watched the ceremony from atop the rockery as the academy’s teachers and students gathered.
• The Principal announced that Su Mo and Bai Yu were graduating, and the Vice Principal recited Su Mo’s achievements as he ascended the platform.
• Su Mo recalled the classmates and teacher who had once shared his ambitions, then declared that the entire 135th Cohort had no regrets about entering Ink Academy.
• The teachers revealed their Awakening Objects and formed a radiant path for Su Mo as the students saluted him.
• Su Mo bowed in thanks, then withdrew to a corner of the platform.

Bai Yu graduated from Ink Academy after years of fighting and loss, and his quiet ceremony left the new students reflecting on their own futures. Afterward, he suffered heatstroke in his heavy jacket, and Su Mo helped him only after charging him ten thousand.

• Bai Yu joined Su Mo on the platform for his graduation, stood silently through the ceremony, and hummed a tune with the drunk before bowing to him.
• Zhao Zicheng, Sun Wen, Lin Xiaoxiao, Mu Yu, and A Tai discussed their ambitions and imagined a more extravagant graduation ceremony for the 140th Cohort.
• The ceremony ended, the students dispersed, and the drunk took a swig of liquor before falling asleep by the archway.
• Bai Yu asked Su Mo for help because he had heatstroke, and Su Mo demanded ten thousand before assisting him.
• After Bai Yu transferred the money, Su Mo thanked him for his guidance and bowed, and Bai Yu warmly took his hand.

After graduation, Su Mo and Bai Yu discussed their futures before the vice principal tried to persuade Su Mo to teach at Ink Academy. Bai Yu was tricked into declaring he would teach too, but backed out and fled, while Su Mo remained undecided.

• Su Mo sold ice to heat-stricken Bai Yu, and the two joked before settling beneath a tree to discuss their plans after graduation.
• Su Mo said he might serve as a deputy general training newcomers at Demon-Suppressing Pass, while Bai Yu admitted he feared staying at Ink Academy as a teacher.
• The vice principal urged Su Mo over the loudspeaker to teach incoming students and suggested he might someday become vice principal.
• Bai Yu returned to retrieve his luggage and overheard the vice principal insulting him while praising Su Mo, so he angrily declared that he would teach too.
• When the vice principal made Bai Yu promise not to back out, Bai Yu barked, grabbed his luggage, and ran out of Ink Academy.

Su Mo agreed to stay at Ink Academy on a three-year contract, while his friends ended Summer Vacation with boisterous teasing. In the Demon Domain, Old White Ape secured Black Flood Dragon’s promise of support for his bid to rule the Ten Thousand Demon Forest and then summoned Ji Hong down from Eagle Ravine Mountain.

• Su Mo accepted a three-year contract after the Vice Principal promised not to dock his pay, and the Vice Principal muttered that he had tricked another recruit.
• Zhao Zicheng and Sun Wen discussed the academy’s graduation requirements and Sun Wen bragged about his rapid awakening, prompting Mu Yu to start bullying him with the Gravestone.
• Old White Ape asked Black Flood Dragon to back his plan to kill Gu Diao and rule the Ten Thousand Demon Forest, promising to serve as the Flood Dragon Clan’s loyal informant.
• Black Flood Dragon agreed to announce that Old White Ape was his subordinate if Eagle Ravine Mountain helped kill Gu Diao, but warned that the ape would die if he lacked the strength to match his ambition.
• Old White Ape traveled to Eagle Ravine Mountain and asked Deputy Mountain Lord Ji to come down for a talk, and Ji Hong descended after studying him.

Old White Ape tried to bargain with Ji Hong for help killing Gu Diao, offering to keep Ji Hong’s secret in exchange for help taking over Ten Thousand Demon Forest. After testing Ji Hong’s willingness to die and panicking when he seemed ready to, Old White Ape offered further concessions, and Ji Hong agreed to hear his plan for eliminating Gu Diao.

• Old White Ape told Ji Hong he knew why Ji Hong had come to the Demon Domain and offered to keep his secret if Ji Hong helped him kill Gu Diao.
• Ji Hong refused to acknowledge the threat, and Old White Ape walked away before turning back to admit he was afraid to die.
• Ji Hong said he might die alongside Old White Ape, prompting Old White Ape to frantically urge him to value his life.
• Old White Ape offered to serve Ji Hong and provide resources and help in exchange for staying alive.
• Ji Hong said he welcomed a reason to wipe out the Gu Diao Clan and asked Old White Ape to explain his plan.

Ji Hong watched Old White Ape leave after a cryptic exchange, while the balding principal persuaded Shi Guang to travel with him to the Veterans' Camp. At Ink Academy, the first half of the semester ended and Zhao Zicheng admitted he had spent all his credits on training resources.

• Old White Ape whispered to Ji Hong, then left the wilderness after saying he still had to put on an act.
• The balding principal tried to lure Shi Guang to the Veterans' Camp with promises of scenic views, while Shi Guang posted suspicious questions about his intentions on a forum.
• After reading the replies, Shi Guang agreed to go with the principal, took a dagger from her backpack, and searched her phone for information about the law as they drove away.
• Xu Yuanqing announced that Ink Academy students could do as they pleased during the first week of the second half of the semester.
• Zhao Zicheng told Sun Wen that he had spent all his credits on Beast Blood, demon plants, and food, though the resources had improved his strength.

Yu Sheng’s companions ran out of credits and chased him for supplies while the vice principal watched Xu Yuanqing’s growing fortune. Meanwhile, Yuan Qingshan investigated Luo Yu’s disappearance from the Judicial Commissioner’s Office and realized Luo Yu may have hidden in the Interrogation Room until its door opened, leaving him to consider why Soul Hunt had turned its agent against them.

• Sun Wen, Mu Yu, Lin Xiaoxiao, and A Tai admitted they were out of credits, while Yu Sheng hurried away to avoid lending them supplies.
• Yu Sheng’s companions pursued him across campus, and the vice principal watched Xu Yuanqing’s account balance through a pinhole camera.
• Chu Yu listened distractedly as an old man in a lab coat discussed Moonlight Grass and new ideas for improving an experiment.
• Qi Changshan told Yuan Qingshan that Luo Yu had vanished during a ten-second gap in the Interrogation Room surveillance.
• After Yu Mo asked whether the Interrogation Room door had been opened, Yuan Qingshan theorized that Luo Yu had concealed himself inside until personnel opened it, then escaped through the main entrance.
• Yuan Qingshan concluded that he needed to investigate why Soul Hunt had turned Luo Yu against them at that moment.

Yuan Qingshan realized the Ink Pavilion had wasted Luo Yu’s usefulness by keeping him locked up, while Qiu Xiaoxiao prepared to let the Demon Domain’s forces clash with the Ink Academy and Soul Hunt. At the academy, Yu Sheng’s companions enjoyed a meal but struggled to adjust to earning credits through small jobs instead of major missions.

• Yuan Qingshan learned that Qi Changshan had kept Luo Yu in the Interrogation Room for months and criticized the Ink Pavilion for squandering a potential asset.
• Qi Changshan dismissed the larger conflict as none of his concern and left to continue hunting fugitives and pursue a performance award.
• Qiu Xiaoxiao heard that the Demon Domain was dissatisfied with the Divine Cult, ordered her people to watch the Ink Academy, and decided to let the Demon Domain’s forces take the lead.
• Qiu Xiaoxiao said that Zong Ren would become involved and warned that he would not escape this time.
• Zhao Zicheng, A Tai, Sun Wen, and the others ate heartily in the Cafeteria while Yu Sheng watched them struggle with the academy’s lack of easy ways to earn credits.

Sun Wen persuaded the group to take Ink Academy’s low-paying talent-assessment mission, planning to use his intelligence network to find wanted criminals and Evil Cultists for better rewards. Yu Sheng agreed to join, and Sun Wen promised to supply him with expensive cars, hoping to earn credits and become Ink Academy’s second richest person.

• Sun Wen found Ink Academy’s mission to assess young talents and argued that traveling across Human Race cities would let the group find wanted criminals and Evil Cultists.
• Zhao Zicheng agreed to give Sun Wen twenty percent of the credit rewards in exchange for access to his intelligence network.
• Yu Sheng said he lacked neither money nor credits, but Sun Wen persuaded him by pitching the trip as a chance for romance and profitable Evil Cult missions.
• Yu Sheng agreed to join because the mission could help with his bottleneck and was safer than returning to the Demon Domain.
• Sun Wen promised Yu Sheng a choice of cars worth at least a million each, hoping to turn his wealth into credits and become Ink Academy’s second richest person.

After the teachers assigned the tedious school-screening job to the newcomers, Xu Yuanqing realized he had missed a chance to make money and plotted to fleece Su Mo. The vice principal and Su Mo turned the scheme against him, and Xu Yuanqing ended the chapter losing 132.6 credits.

• The teachers celebrated getting a vacation after the newcomers accepted the screening assignment, while Xu Yuanqing cursed his absent financial backers and failed to contact Sun Wen.
• Xu Yuanqing decided he would fleece Su Mo when the group returned, unaware that the vice principal and Su Mo had heard him through the surveillance system.
• The vice principal and Su Mo agreed to split the proceeds, and Su Mo confronted Xu Yuanqing in his dorm and demanded thirty credits.
• Xu Yuanqing and Su Mo fought after trading insults, and Xu Yuanqing finally fought back after first trying to flee.
• The vice principal reprimanded both teachers and deducted 132.6 credits from Xu Yuanqing for knowingly breaking the rules.

Su Mo exploited the Vice Principal’s connections to get Xu Yuanqing’s pay docked, then learned the Vice Principal was using him to provoke Xu. Meanwhile, the Principal brought Shi Guang to a remote Veterans’ Camp, where an old man immediately told him to leave.

• Xu Yuanqing threatened to file a complaint, but the Vice Principal’s connections made him admit his pay deduction was deserved.
• Su Mo switched to a fan bearing the words “Heh heh” and left Xu Yuanqing, deciding that working with the Vice Principal could help him become Ink Academy’s top bully.
• The Vice Principal watched Su Mo and Xu Yuanqing through the surveillance feed, intending to keep Xu’s hostility focused on Su and push Xu toward his seventh awakening.
• The Principal drove Shi Guang to a secluded village and boasted about its peaceful scenery, while Shi assessed the villagers, buildings, and surrounding fields.
• An old man at the village entrance recognized the Principal and accused him of mooching food at the Veterans’ Camp, leaving the Principal awkwardly trying to explain himself to Shi Guang.

The Principal brought Shi Guang to a village and arranged for its elderly residents to act warmly toward her as part of a planned lesson. Shi Guang mistook their gestures and hospitality for signs of a criminal scheme, while the Principal believed his plan was succeeding.

• The Principal persuaded the old man to help stage a welcoming scene for Shi Guang, claiming she had the potential to become a great member of the Human Race.
• The old man led Shi Guang into the village, where residents gave her searching looks after he made discreet hand signs.
• An old woman offered Shi Guang food and water, but Shi Guang suspected the water might contain a knockout drug and drank only a small sip.
• The Principal watched the villagers' hospitality unfold and thought Shi Guang would soon be moved by their tragic heroism.

Shi Guang pretended to pass out, expecting the people around her to kidnap her, while the Principal and the Old Woman argued over whether to send her to Demon-Suppressing Pass. The chapter ended with Shi Guang asking why nobody had tied her up.

• The Principal arranged for elderly people to approach Shi Guang and tell her about Demon-Suppressing Pass, but Shi Guang pretended to faint before they could begin.
• The Principal, the Old Woman, and the elderly people wondered why Shi Guang had passed out while she lay still, waiting for them to kidnap her.
• The Old Woman scolded the Principal for trying to trick Shi Guang into going to Demon-Suppressing Pass and recalled how Yu Sheng had been mistreated after leaving Sin City.
• The Principal defended Liu Qingfeng and argued that talented young people had to step forward for the Human Race, admitting that sending students to die was painful for the teachers.
• The Old Woman accepted that the Principal was right, and Shi Guang sat up and asked why they were not tying her up.

Sun Wen organized the group’s nationwide student-selection routes, while Yu Sheng received a heavily reinforced car with a chatty driving assistant. As the group began its assignments, Gold Ingot Group prepared mission data for Yu Sheng’s first stop in Jiangbei Province.

• Shi Guang pretended to faint and offered to be tied up because she thought it would earn her a bonus.
• Sun Wen assigned the group routes across the Human Race and arranged for Gold Ingot Group professionals to compile student data.
• The others fled in their cars after Yu Sheng asked them to travel with him and showed them his new driver’s license.
• Yu Sheng followed the reinforced car’s driving instructions until he hit a tree, then smashed the central display to silence the assistant.
• Gold Ingot Group staff compiled mission routes and recommendations for Yu Sheng’s first stop in Jiangbei Province.

Yu Sheng reviewed North China City’s talented students and asked its Education Department director about upcoming assessments. The director arranged a citywide assessment for noon, while his superior learned that Yu Sheng had been given only a piece of beef jerky, which Yu Sheng had pocketed without eating.

• Yu Sheng considered how many promising students appeared on the filtered list and reflected that talent alone did not make someone a Human Race elite.
• The Education Department director tried to approach Yu Sheng with a local gift, but Yu Sheng backed away and watched his hand cautiously.
• The director revealed a piece of beef jerky, and Yu Sheng accepted it politely but kept it wrapped in his pocket because he feared it might be poisoned.
• Yu Sheng asked whether North China City had any upcoming assessments, and the director immediately arranged a citywide baseline assessment for noon.
• The director told his anxious superior that Yu Sheng had not eaten the beef jerky, then explained that he had given Yu Sheng only one piece to avoid improper gift-giving.
• The director said Yu Sheng had asked about assessments and guessed that he wanted to see North China City’s talented students.

Yu Sheng tracked down a Fourth Awakening fugitive hiding in North China City and overwhelmed him before he could summon his Awakening Object. The fugitive’s distress filled Yu Sheng with gray aura, and Yu Sheng looked at him with growing curiosity.

• A North China City official rushed to organize a showcase assessment after learning Ink Academy would attend, hoping two local prodigies would be admitted.
• Yu Sheng reviewed the Gold Ingot Group’s priority mission for a fugitive and followed surveillance leads to a deserted residential area.
• Yu Sheng knocked on the fugitive’s door and offered food, a bed, and bracelets, but the wary man fled over a courtyard wall.
• Yu Sheng teleported after the fugitive, then dismissed his threat and mentioned the bounty of 100,000 and two credits.
• Yu Sheng swiftly disarmed and restrained the fugitive, suppressing his Awakening Object before he could summon it.
• The fugitive’s distress released a large amount of gray gas into Yu Sheng, who watched him with curiosity.