Recaps

Zhao Zicheng explained how Shi Guang nearly defeated him, then received a penalty from the loudspeaker for his performance. Ji Hong outlined a plan for Zeshan to evade Skyvault Ravine’s demands while preparing to involve Ten Thousand Demon Forest in the first battle.

• Zhao Zicheng recalled how Shi Guang’s combat experience overcame his physical advantage and how her poison and explosives nearly took him down.
• Zhao Zicheng vowed to train harder, and Sun Wen accused him of making him look bad.
• The loudspeaker penalized Zhao Zicheng 50 credits for damaging Ink Academy’s reputation.
• Fei asked Ji Hong about Skyvault Ravine’s likely plans after the one-year agreement ended, and Ji Hong predicted Eagle Ravine Mountain would attack Demon-Suppressing Pass while Zeshan was sent to Ghost Gate.
• Ji Hong proposed appearing to fight hard at first, then citing heavy losses to avoid further action until Eagle Ravine Mountain was transferred back.
• Ji Hong said Ten Thousand Demon Forest must join the first battle as cannon fodder, and Fei enthusiastically agreed.

Ji Hong went to Ten Thousand Demon Forest to discuss the attack on Demon-Suppressing Pass, while Old White Ape tried to use the campaign to consolidate his control over the forest. Ji Hong saw through his maneuver and attacked him, leaving Old White Ape injured and the negotiations unresolved.

• Fei praised Ji Hong's service and sent him to speak with Ten Thousand Demon Forest.
• Old White Ape greeted Ji Hong humbly and deliberately wounded himself to hide his improving strength.
• Ji Hong questioned Old White Ape about the forest's internal politics as Fire Fox approached.
• Old White Ape volunteered Ten Thousand Demon Forest as the vanguard against Demon-Suppressing Pass and proposed sending rival tribes to fight under Fire Fox's command.
• Ji Hong recognized that Old White Ape was using the battle to strengthen his authority and blasted him backward with his demon aura.

Old White Ape persuaded Ji Hong to let him remain in Ten Thousand Demon Forest and secretly pursue an alliance with the Human Race, while committing the forest to the campaign against Demon-Suppressing Pass. Fire Fox then accepted the Fire Fox Clan becoming subordinate to the White Ape Clan, leaving Old White Ape with control over its future.

• Old White Ape refused to serve as the vanguard, claiming he needed to stabilize Ten Thousand Demon Forest and care for two injured human prodigies.
• Old White Ape offered Ji Hong a recorder as proof of his supposed collusion with the Human Race and proposed sending humans resources and a message of peace.
• Ji Hong ordered Ten Thousand Demon Forest to spare no effort in the coming campaign, then departed.
• Old White Ape warned Fire Fox not to visit Skyvault Ravine and cautioned him about the approaching war.
• Fire Fox offered to make the Fire Fox Clan a vassal of the White Ape Clan, and Old White Ape took possession of Black Flood Dragon's scale rather than let Fire Fox destroy it.

Sun Wen announced the second enrollment test after Wang Youcai humbled Qi Tian and helped him make progress. The candidates had three hours to destroy Su Mo’s fans, and Sun Wen prepared to send them his coordinates.

• Old White Ape returned to the dungeon beneath the Ten Thousand Demon Forest and left the tree hollow open.
• Wang Youcai introduced himself to Sun Wen, revealed that his father was the Ink Pavilion Finance Department Minister, and began fanning him.
• Wang Youcai invoked his seniority to chastise Qi Tian, who apologized and addressed him as uncle.
• Sun Wen hinted that Qi Tian should follow his own sense of justice, and Qi Tian made progress before turning a dangerous gaze on Wang Youcai.
• Sun Wen announced that candidates had three hours to destroy Su Mo’s fans, with solo success earning admission and teams of up to five advancing to the next round.

Wang Youcai gathered information from Sun Wen about Su Mo and then approached Xu Yuanqing to negotiate for Su Mo’s fans. Xu Yuanqing became interested when Wang Youcai offered credit agreements from two promising freshmen, leaving the negotiation about to begin.

• Several freshmen left to find Su Mo, but none agreed to team up with the others.
• Wang Youcai gave Sun Wen a signed contract transferring its proceeds and traded more contracts for fruit and information about Su Mo.
• Sun Wen learned that Wang Youcai’s Awakening Object was his eyes, though Wang Youcai refused to explain its abilities.
• Wang Youcai asked Sun Wen whether Su Mo carried his fan and where he kept spare fans, then left with the information.
• Wang Youcai visited Xu Yuanqing and offered Qi Tian’s and Yuan Zhong’s credit agreements in exchange for Su Mo’s fans, prompting Xu Yuanqing to perk up.

Wang Youcai paid Xu Yuanqing with twelve agreements to retrieve the folding fans from Su Mo, and Xu Yuanqing left to confront him. After beating Su Mo and taking the fans, Xu Yuanqing left him to face Yuan Zhong, who arrived carrying a sack and tools.

• Wang Youcai gave Xu Yuanqing twelve agreements in exchange for retrieving every fan from Su Mo.
• Xu Yuanqing promised to return with the fans, then charged into Su Mo’s dormitory and attacked him.
• Xu Yuanqing pinned Su Mo down, took twelve inscribed folding fans, and left with them.
• Yuan Zhong arrived carrying a sack, rope, and steel needles, and Su Mo kicked him while venting his anger.

After buying his way into Ink Academy with a fan, Wang Youcai turned the remaining fans into a bidding business, drawing approval from the Vice Principal. The battered examinees returned to find him had destroyed all but one fan and announced that the highest bidder would get it.

• Su Mo dragged Qi Tian into his dormitory and beat him alongside Yuan Zhong.
• Xu Yuanqing delivered twelve fans to Wang Youcai, who left without drinking Xu Yuanqing's expired cola.
• Wang Youcai presented Sun Wen with a fan and was admitted to Ink Academy as the second successful examinee after Shi Guang.
• Wang Youcai set up a fan auction and offered Sun Wen and the Vice Principal shares of the proceeds; the Vice Principal approved the arrangement.
• After Yuan Zhong, Qi Tian, and the other examinees returned battered, Wang Youcai tore up ten of his eleven fans and put the last one up for the highest bidder.

Wang Youcai’s attempt to auction a folding fan for direct admission faltered when the candidates refused to buy their way in. Sun Wen explained Ink Academy’s values and offered the lone bidder a dangerous special assessment, which the boy accepted before heading east.

• Wang Youcai destroyed ten fans and tried to sell the last one, but only one boy bid 500 credits.
• Sun Wen told Wang Youcai that Ink Academy valued character and growth more than credits, and Wang Youcai thanked him for the lesson.
• Sun Wen told the bidder he could earn direct admission by retrieving pink fur from a dangerous demon near the East Campus energy chamber.
• The boy accepted the assessment despite the risk of dying and carried the fan toward the east side of the field.
• Sun Wen told Wang Youcai that the dangerous test represented Ink Academy’s true style, and Wang Youcai silently acknowledged him.

Yu Sheng discovered that the egg beside his bed produced gray aura when he smoked it, and he began tormenting it to cultivate. The chick inside realized it had to grow stronger than Yu Sheng to hatch and started absorbing energy frantically, while Yu Sheng looked forward to both his fourth awakening and a tastier meal.

• Yu Sheng returned to his dormitory and wondered why the fiery-red egg had stopped absorbing energy.
• The egg shook when Yu Sheng suggested roasting it, and the chick inside blamed the old man who had delayed its hatching.
• Yu Sheng noticed gray aura seeping from the egg and entering his body.
• Yu Sheng smoked the egg over a fire, causing the gray aura and the chick's resentment to intensify.
• Yu Sheng infused the egg with energy, and the chick began absorbing it frantically so it could become strong enough to hatch.

Yu Sheng subdued Yuan Zhong and made him help roast the egg while Yuan Zhong’s fear produced abundant gray aura. The chapter left Yu Sheng considering whether to cut Yuan Zhong’s wig for even more.

• Yu Sheng dodged Yuan Zhong’s attack and used Teleportation to pin a dagger against his neck.
• Yu Sheng refused Yuan Zhong’s offer of credits and made him hold the egg while he prepared to roast it.
• Yu Sheng adjusted Yuan Zhong into a humiliating crouch, and gray aura poured from above Yuan Zhong’s head.
• Yu Sheng approached Yuan Zhong with scissors, frightening him into producing even more gray aura.
• Yu Sheng asked why Yuan Zhong was so upset about his hair when it was only a wig.

Yu Sheng trimmed Yuan Zhong’s wig after the egg absorbed Gray Aura, then returned to cultivation. At Ghost Gate, Zhong Yushu prepared for the coming threat and arrived to address the Reserve Corps, leaving his speech about to begin.

• Yu Sheng cut Yuan Zhong’s blue-green wig after Yuan Zhong held the egg until it stopped producing Gray Aura, then took the egg back and resumed cultivating.
• Old Ghost arrived at Ghost Gate to purge the Dark Pavilion, while Zhong Yushu discussed his chances of reaching the Ninth Awakening and warned that the Demon Domain might attack within a month.
• Old Ghost ordered the soldiers to rest and recuperate, return to the walls in half a month, and prepare scouts and weapons.
• Sun Yingxiong went live from the Ink Pavilion rooftop, told the Reserve Corps he hoped as many of them as possible would return alive, and yielded the microphone to Zhong Yushu.
• Zhong Yushu appeared on the rooftop with a solemn expression and faced the livestream camera.

Zhong Yushu sent the Reserve Corps to defend several passes, then mourned the young soldiers who would likely die and blamed himself for failing to protect them. He and Sun Yingxiong discussed the Ninth Awakening and leadership succession before their solemn conversation turned into teasing about Sun Yingxiong’s past.

• Zhong Yushu asked the Reserve Corps whether they were ready to die, and its members answered that they were always ready.
• Zhong Yushu ordered the Reserve Corps from several provinces to report to different passes, then quietly wished the departing soldiers safety.
• Zhong Yushu told Sun Yingxiong that he blamed himself for leaving the next generation to bear the burden of defending the Human Race.
• Zhong Yushu and Sun Yingxiong admitted they were not fully confident of reaching the Ninth Awakening, and Sun Yingxiong said he still needed an opportunity.
• Sun Yingxiong said Yu Mo was not suited to lead and that they had time to find a successor, prompting Zhong Yushu to accuse him of showing off.
• Zhong Yushu mocked Sun Yingxiong’s old name and recalled his perfect record at Ink Academy, while Sun Yingxiong threatened to beat him after his Ninth Awakening.

After the final assessment, Sun Wen announced that only three of the nine remaining examinees would be admitted, setting off an unrestricted overnight contest. He walked away under the returning students’ threats, while the examinees eyed one another warily.

• Sun Wen congratulated the fewer than ten examinees who had advanced, but a bloodied youth returned clutching pink beast fur and collapsed after declaring that he had succeeded.
• Sun Wen congratulated the unconscious youth on becoming a future junior and sent Wang Youcai to carry him to the Infirmary.
• With returning students and teachers waiting to retaliate, Sun Wen postponed the next exam until eight the following morning and announced that only three spots remained.
• Sun Wen told the nine examinees that alliances, poison, ambushes, and traps were allowed, while forbidding outside help from combatants and advising them not to kill.
• Sun Wen invoked his examiner status to deter the returning students from beating him, then left with A Tai as they vowed to hang him later.
• The nine examinees departed cautiously, watching one another and reacting nervously to every movement.

After Qi Tian left, Zhao Zicheng tried to gather stories about Yu Sheng from Shi Guang and asked her to hit him, but she shut him out. In Jiangcheng, Qiu Xiaoxiao secretly vowed revenge on the Ink Pavilion while Zong Ren decided to distance himself from her; Xiangliu stirred the Demon Domain as Yu Sheng considered returning there to seek his next Awakening Object.

• Qi Tian insulted the others and left, while Yuan Zhong and the remaining candidates also departed and Shi Guang put away the Remote Control.
• Zhao Zicheng escorted Shi Guang to her dorm, coaxed stories about Yu Sheng from her, and asked her to hit him, but she searched online and shut the door in his face.
• Zong Ren told Qiu Xiaoxiao that few survivors remained after the Ink Pavilion’s actions and warned her to recover or he would find another teammate.
• After Zong Ren left, Qiu Xiaoxiao revealed her hatred of the Ink Pavilion and vowed to destroy it and this year’s geniuses, while Zong Ren resolved to leave her behind.
• In Zeshan, Xiangliu read a letter and stirred up marsh gas and demon aura that panicked nearby Demon Beasts.
• Yu Sheng considered returning to the Demon Domain to find the next Awakening Object, then closed his eyes without revealing his decision.

Jiangcheng descended into chaos as examinees fought and schemed through the night, while Sun Wen, A Tai, Zhao Zicheng, and Mu Yu watched their antics from a hotel rooftop. The chapter ended with Zhao Zicheng asking Sun Wen how many surveillance cameras he had hidden around the city.

• Yuan Zhong tried to persuade Qi Tian to cooperate, but Qi Tian refused and declared he would wait in the street for anyone who wanted to stop him.
• A woman threw a cabbage core at Qi Tian and scolded him for shouting in the middle of the night, briefly disrupting his dramatic challenge.
• An ambusher struck Yuan Zhong with a brick, but Yuan Zhong escaped, sneaked up behind the attacker, knocked him out, and tied him up.
• Wang Youcai knocked on Sun Wen's door to ask about his dorm room, then wondered if he should act stupider the next day.
• Sun Wen, A Tai, Zhao Zicheng, and Mu Yu watched the examinees on a large screen from the top floor of the Gold Yuanbao chain hotel.
• Zhao Zicheng asked Sun Wen how many surveillance cameras he had hidden around Jiangcheng.

Sun Wen and Zhao Zicheng watched the examinees and discussed Qi Tian and Wang Youcai, while Mu Yu unexpectedly admitted she liked Qi Tian because he would make a satisfying target to beat. Sun Wen critiqued Wang Youcai’s judgment and business sense, then asked Zhao Zicheng what he thought of Shi Guang.

• Sun Wen and Zhao Zicheng criticized the examinees’ weak tactics and Yuan Zhong’s revenge-driven response to an ambush.
• Mu Yu said she liked Qi Tian, explaining that his defiant nature made him especially satisfying to beat up.
• Zhao Zicheng decided to imitate Qi Tian’s defiance so others would want to hit him, horrifying Mu Yu.
• Sun Wen assessed Wang Youcai as clever but hasty, citing his failure to learn that Su Mo was a teacher and his misjudgment of Xu Yuanqing and Ink Academy’s Heavenly Prides.
• Sun Wen told Zhao Zicheng that Wang Youcai still needed practice, though he looked forward to seeing how the boy developed.
• Sun Wen teasingly asked Zhao Zicheng what he thought of Shi Guang.

Sun Wen fled Jiangcheng to avoid being beaten, leaving Zhao Zicheng and the others to watch the examinees. In the Demon Domain, Ji Hong learned that Zeshan would rest and reorganize instead of attacking Ghost Gate, raising suspicions about its loyalty to Eagle Ravine Mountain.

• Zhao Zicheng claimed he could kill Shi Guang in a real fight, while Mu Yu insisted Shi Guang was stronger than him.
• Sun Wen left Jiangcheng on a half-month mission to avoid the people waiting to beat him and asked his companions to tell Teacher Su Mo which examinees advanced.
• A Demon God's envoy announced that Eagle Ravine Mountain would lead this year's assault on Demon-Suppressing Pass.
• Ji Hong bribed the envoy with a white flower and learned that Zeshan would be resting and reorganizing.
• Fei wanted to confront Xiangliu, but Ji Hong warned that Skyvault Ravine might be sowing discord and urged caution.
• Ji Hong began preparing Eagle Ravine Mountain for war, while Fei stayed on the mountaintop and brooded over Skyvault Ravine, Zeshan, and Xiangliu.

Qi Tian, Yuan Zhong, and the twin-tailed girl reached Ink Academy after the assessment, battered from the ordeal while the girl remained unharmed. Xu Yuanqing announced the 141st Cohort in a spectacular display, and Qi Tian and Yuan Zhong entered the academy with renewed resolve, ending up in a scuffle at the gates.

• Zhao Zicheng found Qi Tian and Yuan Zhong barely standing and the twin-tailed girl unharmed, then welcomed the new juniors into Ink Academy.
• Senior students questioned Zhao Zicheng about Sun Wen, but he claimed ignorance and said he had secretly planted a tracking device on him.
• Xu Yuanqing filled the sky above Ink Academy with flames and announced the 141st Cohort, including Shi Guang, Wang Youcai, Shen Feng, Qi Tian, Yuan Zhong, and Li Zi.
• Qi Tian and Yuan Zhong were moved by the ceremony, and Yuan Zhong declared that joining Ink Academy might have been the best choice of his life.
• Qi Tian vowed to follow the path of the Qi Tian Great Sage, but after Yuan Zhong mentioned the monkey being trapped beneath Five-Finger Mountain, Qi Tian fell on top of him and told him to talk less.

Zhao Zicheng watched Xu Yuanqing boast about the credits he had earned, only for Xu to turn humble when he realized he had no money yet. Later, Su Mo met his new students and assigned three of them to ambush and challenge the returning students for credits, drawing the older students’ hostile attention.

• Li Zi helped two new students inside while Zhao Zicheng confronted Xu Yuanqing about staging a grand display for Sun Wen.
• Xu Yuanqing bragged that five of the six new students owed him credits and boasted about his future salary, then quickly flattered Zhao Zicheng when he realized he could not afford dinner.
• The new students gathered on the field in the afternoon, and Su Mo introduced himself as their teacher.
• Su Mo dismissed Shi Guang, Li Zi, and Shen Feng, then assigned Wang Youcai, Yuan Zhong, and Qi Tian extra training.
• Su Mo ordered the three students to ambush returning students and earn credits by hurting them, prompting the returning students to stare at them coldly.

Su Mo assigned the students credit-earning missions, but Shi Guang and Li Zi’s attempt to ambush Yu Sheng failed badly. Yu Sheng left the dormitory while Qi Tian was carried toward Ink Academy’s gates, tied to a bamboo pole.

• Su Mo ordered Shi Guang to ambush Yu Sheng and Li Zi to target Zhao Zicheng, while Shen Feng chose to challenge senior students; Wang Youcai and Yuan Zhong chose to severely injure Sun Wen, and Qi Tian declared that he would challenge the students.
• Shi Guang refused to ambush Yu Sheng because she judged her chances of success to be less than one percent, so Li Zi offered to help her in exchange for help against Zhao Zicheng.
• Li Zi entered the 140th Cohort dormitory building and emerged injured after Yu Sheng countered her ambush; Shi Guang called off their deal and left her on a bench.
• Li Zi reflected on the gap in their strength, then limped toward the cafeteria, where Zhao Zicheng and Xu Yuanqing were eating breakfast.
• Shi Guang saw Yu Sheng leave with his backpack, then returned to her room to cultivate after a video call with her partner at the Driving School.
• Two senior students carried Qi Tian toward Ink Academy’s gates with him tied to a bamboo pole.

Qi Tian endured being beaten and hung from a tree by two senior students, then escaped and returned to Ink Academy determined to surpass them. Li Zi tried to approach Zhao Zicheng, but he saw through her apparent innocence and kicked her away, leaving her to demand an explanation.

• Two senior students beat Qi Tian, stripped off his golden armor, and hung him from a tree while passersby photographed and mocked him.
• After an hour, Qi Tian broke free, put his armor back on, and charged back into Ink Academy, vowing to make everyone submit.
• Li Zi appeared before Zhao Zicheng with a missing back molar, and Xu Yuanqing offered to connect her with a dentist who charged three credits.
• Zhao Zicheng suspected Li Zi had taken a task from Su Mo, but she insisted she had come to thank him for looking after her.
• Xu Yuanqing warned Li Zi that her tricks would not work at Ink Academy, while Zhao Zicheng kicked her away instead of catching her as she fell.
• Li Zi struggled to sit up and asked Zhao Zicheng whether he was going to say something.

Zhao Zicheng stopped Li Zi’s ambush and demanded repayment, while Yuan Zhong and Wang Youcai received Sun Wen’s location in Qingshan City. Yu Sheng then struck Yuan Zhong with his car at Ink Academy’s entrance, leaving him hanging from a tree as residents admired the compensation they expected him to receive.

• Zhao Zicheng spared Li Zi from being stripped and hung up but warned her to repay the credits she owed him.
• Li Zi regained her fighting spirit after Zhao Zicheng walked away, though she blushed as she remembered being hit by him.
• Yuan Zhong and Wang Youcai received Sun Wen’s moving location from Zhao Zicheng and learned he had reached Qingshan City.
• Wang Youcai went to get tools for sweeping while Yuan Zhong stayed at the entrance and considered how far Sun Wen had fled.
• Yu Sheng drove through Ink Academy’s entrance, hit Yuan Zhong, and sent him hanging from a tree as onlookers discussed Yu Sheng’s generous compensation and driving subsidies.

Bai Haitang publicly humiliated Qi Tian by hanging him from Ink Academy’s plaque, while Yuan Zhong photographed and mocked him. At Demon-Suppressing Pass, Chu Yu greeted the arriving reserve forces and sketched them before an unexpected vehicle arrived beneath the pass.

• Bai Haitang hung Qi Tian from Ink Academy’s plaque with a sign branding him a sneak attacker.
• Yuan Zhong took photos of Qi Tian and posted them in the Ink City group chat before leaving.
• At Demon-Suppressing Pass, Chu Yu received word that reserve forces from two provinces were arriving.
• The reservists climbed the pass, wrote their names on its walls, and set up camp under orders from a sixth-awakening commander.
• Chu Yu sketched the soldiers and wrote a wish for the mountains and rivers to remain unharmed and for everyone to stay safe.
• A vehicle stopped on the wall at the foot of Demon-Suppressing Pass with a sudden thud.

Yu Sheng was denied entry into the Demon Domain at Demon-Suppressing Pass, so he borrowed Cong Yunfeng’s car and drove away. At Ink Academy, Su Mo punished the new students for failing their first assignment, then gave them death waivers to sign for the enrollment ceremony, and Shi Guang signed first.

• Yu Sheng displayed his Four-Pattern Cloud Merit medal, and Cong Yunfeng respectfully greeted him at Demon-Suppressing Pass.
• Cong Yunfeng refused to let Yu Sheng enter the Demon Domain during wartime, so Yu Sheng borrowed his car and drove away.
• Su Mo told the 141st Cohort that they had failed their assignment and deducted ten credits from each student.
• Su Mo handed the students death waivers for Ink Academy’s enrollment ceremony and asked them to sign.
• Shi Guang read the agreement and signed it, while Li Zi asked if she would reconsider.

After signing their agreements to join Ink Academy, Su Mo and the new students set out in a battered minivan, but Shi Guang arranged learner cars to spare them the long, uncomfortable ride. The convoy raced into the wilderness with Yuan Zhong—who had failed his driving test four times—at the wheel and Qi Tian screaming beside him.

• Qi Tian and Yuan Zhong competed to prove their resolve by smearing blood on their agreements, and Yuan Zhong soaked his copy until its writing became unreadable.
• Li Zi and Shen Feng signed their agreements, and Su Mo welcomed the new students to Ink Academy, though Yuan Zhong had to sign a replacement agreement.
• Su Mo led the group away in a battered minivan that could barely manage thirty miles an hour.
• Shi Guang called for three learner cars, and she, Su Mo, and Li Zi took one while Yuan Zhong drove another with Qi Tian as his passenger.
• Yuan Zhong revealed that he had failed the second driving test four times, then sped into the wilderness with Qi Tian screaming beside him.