Chapter Summaries

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.

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.