Recaps

Yu Sheng repeatedly caught a fugitive and harvested Gray Aura by provoking him, eventually waiting for the Guard Bureau to take him away. Afterward, Shi Guang visited the school and asked about Yu Sheng’s past there before leaving.

• Yu Sheng repeatedly released the fugitive and caught him again when he tried to escape, drawing Gray Aura from his distress.
• Yu Sheng challenged the fugitive to recite classical texts and held a short blade to his neck, while the fugitive finally recited a line from “Who has ever lived and not died?”
• The Guard Bureau arrived and took the handcuffed fugitive away, leaving Yu Sheng pleased with the Gray Aura he had collected and relieved that the damaged house was due for demolition.
• The balding Principal told Shi Guang about Yu Sheng’s visit to the school, and an old man recalled Yu Sheng raiding birds’ nests and catching fish.
• Shi Guang asked whether the Principal would take her to raid birds’ nests, but he refused to condone stealing chickens, and she left.

Shi Guang tried to understand why Yu Sheng had enjoyed simple hunting, while the injured Zong Ren made his way toward Mobei City to investigate Yu Sheng. After Zong Ren left the Veterans' Camp, Shi Guang continued testing herself and remained unable to understand the pleasure of the activities.

• Zong Ren limped toward Mobei City, determined to attend Ink Academy and learn more about Yu Sheng.
• Shi Guang noticed Zong Ren trampling wheat and made him straighten it before he continued on his way.
• Shi Guang caught and roasted a fish, then aimed her Crossbow at Zong Ren when she noticed him watching; he apologized and left the area.
• Zong Ren stole dry clothes, burned his bloodstained garments, and boarded a bus to Mobei City.
• Shi Guang searched for bird eggs and tried climbing trees, but found empty nests and still could not understand Yu Sheng's enjoyment of hunting.

Yu Sheng finished assessing the students in North China City and promised their devoted director he would take the children seriously. Meanwhile, Evil Cultists continued watching Ink Academy for Soul Hunt, believing something inside the school mattered to their god.

• The director told Yu Sheng about his time at Spirit Martial High School and the Demon-Slaughtering Pavilion, while Yu Sheng silently assessed the institutions.
• After the assessment ended, Yu Sheng refused to disclose his opinions on the students, and the director offered him beef cubes, insisting he only wanted the children to have a fair starting line.
• Yu Sheng shared half of his beef cube with the director, then bowed and promised to take the students seriously before leaving into the moonlight.
• The director watched Yu Sheng's vehicle depart without its headlights and wondered aloud whether he could see clearly.
• In Jiangcheng, a middle-aged man questioned an Evil Cultist about activity near Ink Academy and ordered the group to keep watching for Soul Hunt.
• The middle-aged man urged the Evil Cultists to serve their god, then called someone to report the situation.

Old White Ape maneuvered between the Flood Dragon Clan and Eagle Ravine Mountain while Ji Hong persuaded Fei to help him undermine Gu Diao. Rumors accusing Gu Diao of plotting against the young flood dragons and colluding with humans spread through the Ten Thousand Demon Forest, stoking resentment against his clan.

• Qi Changshan warned the old man in white to protect Chu Yu during the Moonlight Grass experiment and stayed behind to guard against Soul Hunt.
• Ji Hong explained to Fei that killing Gu Diao and supporting Old White Ape could weaken the Flood Dragon Clan’s influence, but urged Fei to wait for Old White Ape’s signal.
• Old White Ape told Gu Diao that the Flood Dragon Clan had agreed to let bygones be bygones, then promised to pursue the Half-Demon Human experiments.
• Old White Ape wrote several notes and secretly left them in a tree hollow before returning to the White Ape Clan.
• Rumors spread that Gu Diao had attacked the young flood dragons and colluded with humans, fueling the Ten Thousand Demon Forest’s anger toward his clan.

Old White Ape’s rumors turned the Ten Thousand Demon Forest against Gu Diao, while Zong Ren devised a plan to infiltrate Ink Academy under a false identity. The chapter ended with Zong Ren impersonating Lin Qi and heading toward the Veterans' Camp after sending false intelligence about himself.

• Gu Diao’s standing among the demons collapsed after Old White Ape’s rumors spread, and Zhong Yushu’s visit near the Ten Thousand Demon Forest was taken as proof of collusion.
• Zong Ren weighed his options and decided he would still need to enter Ink Academy to investigate Chu Yu, despite not wanting to serve the Human Race.
• Zong Ren chose the identity of Lin Qi, a boy from Xiao'an Village, and practiced imitating his appearance and mannerisms.
• Zong Ren sent an anonymous message claiming that Zong Ren was hiding in the Veterans' Camp, hoping to use the alert to deal with Shi Guang or gain her trust.
• Zong Ren discarded his old belongings, adopted Lin Qi’s country-boy persona, and left Mobei City for the Veterans' Camp.

Yu Sheng left a frontier city on foot after reflecting on the teachers and ordinary people who quietly supported the next generation, and he worried about Shi Guang as he headed toward Mobei City. Meanwhile, the 140th Cohort’s group chat fell awkwardly silent, while Qiu Xiaoxiao planned to use a staged attack on the Veterans’ Camp to draw the Ink Pavilion’s attention and implicate Zong Ren.

• Yu Sheng left the city after his car broke down, thinking about the sincere teachers he had met and wondering whether Shi Guang had earned enough money without getting arrested.
• Yu Sheng walked toward Mobei City, ate part of a pancake given to him by a principal, and hoped Shi Guang was doing well.
• Zhao Zicheng and Sun Wen discussed how meaningful their assignment was, but no one responded to Sun Wen’s long message in the 140th Cohort group chat.
• Sun Wen sent a red packet, and Yu Sheng claimed the largest share before replying with a brief thank-you, leaving the chat silent again.
• Qiu Xiaoxiao told a Divine Attendant that she would use the Veterans’ Camp lead to provoke trouble, draw the Ink Pavilion to Mobei City, and potentially implicate Zong Ren.
• Qiu Xiaoxiao ordered elite-level Death Servants prepared for the operation so the staged attack could plausibly be blamed on Soul Hunt.

Qiu Xiaoxiao planned to use Soul Hunt’s attack to provoke a war with the Ink Pavilion, then suffered a strange episode after taking a pill. At the Veterans' Camp, Yu Sheng tried to help Shi Guang understand happiness by sharing a quiet moment and teaching her to catch fish.

• Qiu Xiaoxiao reasoned that Soul Hunt’s attack could make the Ink Pavilion suspicious and draw it into a fight, leaving the Divine Cult to benefit.
• After the Divine Attendant left, Qiu Xiaoxiao took a pill, became vacant and began dancing, then eventually regained her senses without seeming to remember what had happened.
• Yu Sheng found Shi Guang by the stream at the Veterans' Camp, where she asked whether catching fish had made him happy.
• Yu Sheng explained that happiness could feel good and invited Shi Guang to relax in the grass, but she remained confused and asked why she should seek happiness.
• Yu Sheng led Shi Guang into the stream and challenged her to catch fish without using energy or learned skills, focusing instead on the experience.

Yu Sheng tried to make Shi Guang happy by copying Liu Qingfeng’s playful antics, but none worked until she watched his earnest efforts and began to smile. Shi Guang said she had finally felt happiness, leaving Yu Sheng confused about how it happened.

• Yu Sheng splashed Shi Guang and forced a stiff laugh, but she showed no joy and Gray Aura flowed into his Scroll.
• Yu Sheng took Shi Guang to climb a tree, where they found hatched birds in a nest; his attempt to make her happy again failed.
• Yu Sheng shared roasted fish with Shi Guang and spent the afternoon showing her the outskirts of the Veterans' Camp, even stealing a chicken, without cheering her up.
• Yu Sheng reenacted Liu Qingfeng’s dramatic scene near Zhong Yushu’s thatched hut and ran; Shi Guang followed him to the spot where Liu Qingfeng had once stopped.
• Yu Sheng collapsed in frustration, and Shi Guang’s mouth curved into a faint smile as she realized she felt happiness.
• Shi Guang told Yu Sheng, “I felt it,” and he asked how she had felt it.

Yu Sheng and Shi Guang prepared for an attack by masked Fourth Awakening fighters while Shi Guang headed back to the village. The Principal spotted the enemy force and stood at the entrance, determined to protect the Veterans' Camp as the elders watched.

• Yu Sheng sensed approaching enemies and asked Shi Guang for crossbows and fishing line; she said she could not kill the attackers yet but could hold them off.
• Shi Guang went toward the village while masked fighters charged Yu Sheng, and he killed two with fishing line and the Long Staff.
• Shi Guang asked the elders for a handcart so she could transport the dead, then pushed it out of the village.
• The Principal spotted eighteen Fourth Awakening fighters approaching and recognized Yu Sheng among them.
• The Principal warned the elders to leave, then took his blood-red saber to the village entrance and prepared to fight while the elders watched.

The Principal tried to keep the Veterans' Camp residents out of the fight, but the Old Woman took command and led the hidden veterans against the masked attackers. After they defeated the first group, ten more black-robed figures emerged from the woods.

• The Old Man revealed he was Tang Feiyu, a former deputy commander at Dawn Pass, while the Old Woman outranked him as a former member of Squad 'Slaughter' and took command.
• The Old Woman ordered the veterans into battle, and Tang led a flanking team of elderly fighters around the village.
• Tang's team used their awakening objects and coordinated attacks to break through the enemy line, killing one attacker and badly injuring another.
• The Old Woman unleashed her Sixth Awakening ice attack, freezing the enemies in place as the veterans followed with ranged strikes and another charge.
• The Principal watched as the veterans defeated the attackers, but ten more black-robed figures appeared from the woods.

The Old Woman, Lao Tang, and the other Veterans' Camp retirees fled through the village with the Principal as black-robed Soul Hunt pursuers closed in. Lao Wei’s hidden explosives repeatedly blasted the pursuers and blocked their path, though his friends discovered he had planted bombs in their homes and belongings.

• The Old Woman called the Principal over, then led the elders into the village to draw the black-robed pursuers after them.
• An elderly man detonated explosives hidden in a stone bench, blasting a black-robed figure and wounding others with stone fragments.
• Lao Tang and the Old Woman revealed that Lao Wei had planted explosives in Lao Tang’s heated bed, so Lao Tang redirected the group toward his home.
• Lao Wei detonated explosives in the Old Woman’s house, destroying it and scattering two pursuers before the group continued fleeing.
• As two black-robed figures caught up, Lao Wei blew up a tree and bragged about his explosives, then awkwardly assured the elders that his bombs were reliable.

Shi Guang abandoned burying the dead after Yu Sheng explained how bounty collection worked, while Zong Ren gave up on approaching her because Yu Sheng was nearby. In the Ten Thousand Demon Forest, Gu Diao confronted Old White Ape over rumors, but Ji Hong and Fei appeared to support Old White Ape’s sudden defiance.

• Shi Guang began digging a pit for the dead, but Yu Sheng told her that bodies outside Sin City were collected and burying them would make the bounty difficult to claim.
• Zong Ren watched Yu Sheng at the Veterans' Camp, abandoned his plan to approach Shi Guang, and decided to use Lin Qi’s identity instead.
• Gu Diao summoned Old White Ape and accused him of stirring up rumors spreading through the Ten Thousand Demon Forest.
• Old White Ape stood up to Gu Diao and declared that he did not yet possess absolute power.
• Fei appeared above Gu Diao, and Ji Hong arrived beside Old White Ape, praising his defiant persona.

Old White Ape exposed Gu Diao’s schemes and condemned the Gu Diao Clan as traitors, while Ji Hong and Fei helped bring Gu Diao to the brink of defeat. At Flood Dragon Pool, Black Flood Dragon decided to rescue Gu Diao and keep him as an ally, hoping he had not acted too late.

• Old White Ape rejected Gu Diao’s accusation of betrayal and argued that the Ten Thousand Demon Forest was subordinate to Skyvault Ravine, then played a recording of Gu Diao plotting to take over Eagle Ravine Mountain.
• Gu Diao attacked Old White Ape with lightning, but Fei struck back, and Ji Hong stopped the lightning and shielded Old White Ape.
• Gu Diao offered Fei rewards and appealed to his divine beast bloodline, but Fei mocked him and continued the assault as the Gu Diao Clan’s members struggled to reach Old White Ape.
• Black Flood Dragon reasoned that saving Gu Diao would give him a dependent ally and a useful trump card, then hoped Gu Diao could hold out until he arrived.

Old White Ape and Ji Hong discussed how Gu Diao’s death could deepen the rift between Eagle Ravine Mountain and Black Flood Dragon, while pretending their partnership was free of traps. Black Flood Dragon arrived too late to save Gu Diao, whom Ji Hong and Fei killed as he watched.

• Black Flood Dragon left Skyvault Ravine for Ten Thousand Demon Forest, promising to return within a day.
• As Fei and the others overwhelmed Gu Diao and his clan, Old White Ape warned Ji Hong that Black Flood Dragon might come to rescue Gu Diao.
• Ji Hong accused Old White Ape of using Gu Diao’s death to create a rift with Black Flood Dragon, and the two reaffirmed their dangerous partnership.
• Old White Ape and Ji Hong discussed whether Black Flood Dragon would understand the psychological hint Old White Ape had planted, then Ji Hong checked their surroundings for recordings.
• Black Flood Dragon arrived and ordered them to stop, but Ji Hong urged Fei to kill Gu Diao, and they struck together, killing him.
• Black Flood Dragon reached them after Gu Diao’s corpse hit the ground and glared at the group in anger.

Black Flood Dragon appointed Old White Ape lord of Ten Thousand Demon Forest after Old White Ape absorbed Gu Diao’s Demon Core, and named the Fire Fox Clan chief as his deputy. He left the forest under their rule, with Fei warning its demons to behave.

• Black Flood Dragon praised Ji Hong for killing Gu Diao, then declared Old White Ape the lord of Ten Thousand Demon Forest.
• Old White Ape swallowed Gu Diao’s Demon Core while Black Flood Dragon used its Demon Crystal to stabilize his cultivation, helping him reach the seventh level.
• Black Flood Dragon appointed the Fire Fox Clan chief deputy lord and secretly instructed him to report any signs concerning the Human Race.
• Black Flood Dragon warned the forest’s demons to obey Old White Ape and the fire fox, then departed.
• Fei grumbled that Black Flood Dragon had taken his prepared speech and told the demons of Ten Thousand Demon Forest to behave.

Old White Ape secured his rule over the Ten Thousand Demon Forest while Dragon Python sent a deliberately insulting gift that brought back a fortune in tribute. Elsewhere, Lao Wei and the others remained under attack and realized no one had called for help.

• Ji Hong left Old White Ape and the Fire Fox Clan leader to cooperate, recognizing that Black Flood Dragon had placed a potential rival beside Old White Ape.
• Old White Ape warmly welcomed the fire fox, celebrated with his clan, and toured the tribes with fruit wine to ease their resentment.
• Dragon Python ordered Fire Carving to deliver a handful of dirt as a gift for Old White Ape’s ascension, and Old White Ape returned valuable Demon Plants and Demon Cores worth most of Gu Diao’s savings.
• Fire Carving suspected Dragon Python had become wary of him because of his egg and recalled Old White Ape’s whispered words before departing.
• Lao Wei and the other elders complained that the Guard Bureau and Dark Pavilion had not arrived, then discovered none of them had called the police.
• The elders blamed the Principal for failing to summon help and mocked him for being worse than someone from the Reserve Corps.

As black-robed attackers closed in on the Veterans' Camp, Lao Wei prepared to blow up the village, and the old veterans posed for what they expected to be their final moments. The Reserve Corps arrived to fight the attackers, while Shi Guang loaded the veterans into a cart and fled with the Principal.

• Lao Wei revealed that he had planted explosives beneath the village and planned to detonate them as the black-robed figures approached.
• The old veterans dismissed the Principal's chance to escape and struck dramatic poses while Lao Wei waited for the attackers to come closer.
• The Principal spotted the Reserve Corps charging toward the village, led by several sixth-awakening garrison commanders.
• Shi Guang appeared beside the veterans with a cart and explained that Yu Sheng had contacted the Guard Bureau.
• Shi Guang tossed Lao Wei into the cart, and the Principal loaded the other veterans before following her as she pushed them away.

Yu Sheng recorded the bodies of the black-robed attackers while the Reserve Corps arrived and discovered that the attackers had killed themselves with poison. Shi Guang kept pushing the elderly survivors away from the fighting until Yu Sheng called to tell her it was safe, but she left the cart and ran into the woods.

• Yu Sheng finished fighting the attackers, put away his Dragon-Patterned Staff, and filmed their bodies to keep count.
• Shi Guang pushed the cart carrying Lao Tang, the Old Woman, the Principal, and the other elders through the ruins as the Reserve Corps confronted the black-robed figures.
• The black-robed figures died after biting hidden poison, and Wang Wenxuan and the burly man identified the corpses as Soul Hunt operatives.
• The burly man recognized the elders as his honored seniors, but Shi Guang kept fleeing because she did not trust the people ahead.
• The Principal realized the Reserve Corps were their own people and stopped running after Shi Guang.
• Yu Sheng called Shi Guang to say it was safe; she left the cart by the road and ran into the woods.

Yu Sheng reunited with Shi Guang after the attack on the Veterans' Camp, where the old veterans and Reserve Corps dealt with the aftermath. Shi Guang told Yu Sheng about her lucrative driving-instructor work and her plans to expand the driving school near Jiangcheng, where they would both be heading for Ink Academy.

• The old veterans climbed off the cart, kicked Lao Wei back onto it, and insisted they had been able to handle the attackers themselves.
• The burly man arrived with the Reserve Corps, learned Yu Sheng had captured a survivor, and asked the veterans to stay elsewhere while the camp was repaired.
• Lao Wei volunteered to oversee the repairs, so Old Woman and the other veterans beat him while the Reserve Corps watched in confusion.
• In the woods, Yu Sheng asked Shi Guang how much she had earned, and she said her work as a driving instructor had brought in about a hundred thousand.
• Yu Sheng asked Shi Guang to repay him, and she said she had already transferred the money to his bank card; he replied that he had barely noticed the extra twenty thousand.
• Shi Guang told Yu Sheng she would also attend Ink Academy and that the driving school's expansion plan began in the Jiangcheng area.

After the Reserve Corps withdrew from the Veterans' Camp, Yu Sheng and Shi Guang reflected on the people they had met and spoke of protecting one another. The Principal questioned Yu Sheng about reporting his father, and Yu Sheng explained that he had kept his distance because he feared his father could kill him.

• Yu Sheng and Shi Guang argued over whether their medals let them deny one another admission to Ink Academy, and Yu Sheng left to collect the bounty.
• Wang Wenxuan quietly spoke with Yu Sheng and left inspired by a new way to make money for the Reserve Corps.
• The Reserve Corps completed the handover and withdrew as construction began at the Veterans' Camp, while Ink Pavilion officials investigated the site and took the sole survivor away.
• Yu Sheng and Shi Guang discussed how people in Mobei City differed from those in Sin City, then said they wanted to protect one another.
• The Principal expressed sympathy for Yu Sheng and Shi Guang, then asked Yu Sheng why he had reported his father; Yu Sheng said he had feared for his life and needed distance from him.

The Principal tried to draw out Shi Guang’s reflections on the Veterans' Camp, but Yu Sheng and Shi Guang soon left for Mobei City in his car. Yu Sheng’s disastrous driving left the Principal terrified and lamenting the damage to his beloved vehicle.

• The Principal asked Shi Guang whether the Veterans' Camp had changed her state of mind, and she recalled the shock of learning bodies could not be buried outside Sin City and her strange feelings about saving people.
• The Principal began a speech about love, but Yu Sheng and Shi Guang asked him for a ride to Mobei City, and he followed them to the car.
• Shi Guang took the driver’s seat, but Yu Sheng insisted on driving, so she moved to the passenger seat and began observing him.
• Yu Sheng mishandled the old manual car, veering toward a ditch and a tree while Shi Guang calmly recorded his driving and the Principal panicked in the back.
• The Principal tried to console himself that money was merely a worldly possession, then slammed into the seat ahead again as Yu Sheng continued driving.

Yu Sheng visited Liu Qingfeng’s grave and gave up his merit medals, then returned to Mobei Second High School to assess its students. Meanwhile, Zong Ren massacred a secluded village and declared that the world belonged to the strong.

• The Principal reached the city by taxi, while Yu Sheng and Shi Guang continued into town so Yu Sheng could visit someone.
• Yu Sheng placed his One-Pattern, Two-Pattern, and Three-Pattern Cloud Merit medals before Liu Qingfeng’s gravestone and left without speaking.
• The Principal learned Yu Sheng was the Ink Academy inspector and spent two days fussing over his former student, while Yu Sheng’s Photoshopped smiling portraits appeared around Second High School.
• Yu Sheng assessed nearly a thousand students by making them perform unusual tasks, including Shi Guang’s One-Man Crosstalk routine, and collected Gray Aura from the crowd.
• Zong Ren sat beside a village filled with murdered bodies and declared that the weak had surrendered control of their lives to the strong.

Zong Ren disguised himself as Lin Qi, a village survivor, and arrived at Mobei Second High School, where Yu Sheng assessed him for the Ink Academy. The chapter ended with Yu Sheng asking Shi Guang to fight Zong Ren and Sun Yingxiong opening a meeting about the incident at the Veterans' Camp.

• Zong Ren used a cursed dagger and rearranged the villagers' corpses to make it appear that they had helped Lin Qi escape.
• Zong Ren returned to Mobei City and went to Mobei Second High School, where he met Yu Sheng and the principal.
• Yu Sheng questioned Zong Ren and tested his abilities with a hurdle sprint, then asked Shi Guang to fight him.
• Sun Yingxiong convened a meeting at the Ink Pavilion to discuss the incident at the Veterans' Camp in Mobei City.

At a meeting about the attack on the Veterans' Camp, Yu Mo reconsidered his proposal to ignore the incident after Sun Yingxiong explained the camp’s importance to the Human Race. The meeting ended with plans for a broader investigation, while Yu Mo remained uncertain about Soul Hunt’s role.

• Yuan Qingshan argued that the attackers were likely framing Soul Hunt, and Qi Changshan mocked him for stating what others already knew.
• Yu Mo proposed downplaying the attack, but Sun Yingxiong explained that the Veterans' Camp embodied the faith and morale of the Human Race.
• Yu Mo changed his recommendation and suggested investigating Veterans' Camps across the Human Race and leaving personnel in each region afterward.
• The Reserve Corps officers embraced Yu Mo's plan, and the meeting ended after only twenty minutes.
• After the others left, Yu Mo admitted the first plan would have benefited them more but agreed that the second plan was worth pursuing.
• Yu Mo told Sun Yingxiong that Soul Hunt's calm, unconcerned behavior left him unsure where the organization stood.

Shi Guang defeated Zong Ren repeatedly during his assessment, while Yu Sheng watched for signs of his unusual potential. Afterward, Yu Sheng received a call from a Lawless Outlaws member who asked him to kill Shi Guang, not realizing she was beside him.

• Shi Guang repeatedly knocked Zong Ren down, and he kept trying to rise until he could no longer continue.
• Yu Sheng explained that he had asked Shi Guang to hold back so he could assess Zong Ren's potential and investigate his strange instincts.
• Shi Guang told Yu Sheng that her driving school's first expansion would be in Jiangcheng, and Yu Sheng abruptly left.
• A Lawless Outlaws member called Yu Sheng to collect a favor and asked him to kill Shi Guang, believing she had left Sin City.
• The caller realized Shi Guang was beside Yu Sheng, quickly apologized to her, and grew more nervous when she replied flatly.