Chapter Summaries

Yu Sheng killed the Dog Demon while turning the encounter into a dramatic performance, and the driver defended the Ink Pavilion’s willingness to guide even selfish people toward serving humanity. As Monitor A reconsidered his comfortable job, Pavilion Master Lin prepared to close a trap on the convoy while watching a strange courtyard battle on his computer.

• Yu Sheng finished speaking to the camera, then killed the Dog Demon when it attacked him again.
• Monitor A challenged the driver’s decision to cooperate with Yu Sheng, and the driver argued that the Ink Pavilion’s rules could turn Yu Sheng’s selfish desires toward saving people.
• Monitor A thanked the driver and considered leaving his clerical job to serve at Demon-Suppressing Pass, while the driver invited him to train with the Reserve Corps.
• Pavilion Master Lin learned that the Dark Pavilion was following the convoy and ordered his contact to close the net in ten minutes, regardless of whether they lured out a major target.
• Pavilion Master Lin turned on his computer and watched vegetables attack demon beasts in a peaceful courtyard as a small sun rose from time to time.

Zhao Qingyi ambushed a convoy carrying supplies, while Ink Pavilion members quietly reclaimed the crates and Pavilion Master Lin traded insults with a caller. Luo Yun then confronted a group of cultists charging an abandoned factory and decided to leave one for others to handle.

• Zhao Qingyi used her ice sculpture to kill the convoy guards, then fell after floating away and disappeared into the night.
• Hidden Ink Pavilion members loaded the overturned truck’s supplies onto the remaining trucks and drove back toward Baichun City.
• Pavilion Master Lin insulted a hoarse-voiced caller who accused him of dishonesty, then returned to his computer game and blamed the caller for his loss.
• A suited cult leader rallied his followers to charge an abandoned factory, claiming the divine servant and God were watching over them.
• Luo Yun merged with his wolf silhouette, knocked the cook aside, and chased the fleeing suited man while leaving a muttering beggar to continue toward the factory.

Yu Sheng faced a level-one cultist during the assessment while the students and teachers watched. After Liu Qingfeng told him cultists could be killed and that a level-one awakener carried a hundred-thousand reward, Yu Sheng killed the beggar.

• A young man learned that Luo Yun and Wang Wenxuan were in Mobei City and Zhao Qingyi had appeared in Baichun City, then ordered someone to set out by the old route.
• A level-one cultist dressed as a beggar entered the factory and attacked the students with an enormous bowl.
• The students collapsed and relied on Yu Sheng to protect them, while Liu Qingfeng stopped the teachers from intervening.
• Yu Sheng dodged the beggar and wounded him, but held back from killing him because he thought killing was against the law.
• Liu Qingfeng told Yu Sheng that cultists could be killed and that a level-one awakener carried a hundred-thousand reward.
• Yu Sheng swiftly cut the beggar's throat, and the beggar fell dead.

Yu Sheng killed the beggar who attacked the students, and Liu Qingfeng ordered the class to confront the corpse and their fear. Outside the factory, Liu Qingfeng asked about Yu Sheng’s past, and Yu Sheng revealed he had killed people in Sin City when he was five or six.

• Yu Sheng asked Liu Qingfeng about the policy that applied only to true awakeners after killing the beggar.
• Liu Qingfeng challenged the students for fearing the corpse and ordered them to sit beside it until they overcame their fear.
• Du Xu and Zhao Zicheng sat near the corpse, while most of the students refused; Liu Qingfeng told the other teachers to arrange a bus to return those students to school.
• Liu Qingfeng took Yu Sheng outside and asked whether he had killed before and when he first did so.
• Yu Sheng said he had killed people in Sin City at around five or six years old, then insisted that it had not been illegal.

After Yu Sheng revealed that he had killed someone at five, Liu Qingfeng urged him to protect himself while also standing by his teammates and helping humanity. Yu Sheng agreed to try, and the chapter ended with Liu Qingfeng preparing to guide him while Yu Sheng considered selling the demon beast’s parts.

• Liu Qingfeng asked Yu Sheng whether he had been scared the first time he killed someone, and Yu Sheng said there had been no time to be scared.
• Liu Qingfeng praised Yu Sheng’s talent but told him that, as a teacher, he expected Yu Sheng to stand with his teammates and help the human race.
• Yu Sheng said he would try not to turn his weapons against humanity and to save people when he could.
• Yu Sheng reminded Liu Qingfeng that the Ink Pavilion owed him a reward, and Liu Qingfeng promised to pay him himself if necessary.
• Yu Sheng took out a dagger to butcher the demon beast, but Liu Qingfeng told him it was worthless and that its meat tasted bitter.

After Yu Sheng left, Luo Yun and Liu Qingfeng discussed the assessment and the students’ prospects, then Luo Yun hurried to arrange the rewards. Meanwhile, Wang Wenxuan befriended Yu Sheng and hoped to profit from working with him, while Yu Sheng warned him against breaking rules or killing people.

• Luo Yun emerged after Yu Sheng left and spoke with Liu Qingfeng about their past and the difference between teaching and soldiering.
• Luo Yun judged Du Xu and Zhao Zicheng promising, considered Yu Sheng suited to the Dark Pavilion, and agreed with Liu Qingfeng that the young man needed more observation.
• Liu Qingfeng reminded Luo Yun to deliver the assessment rewards promptly, and Luo Yun drove off to handle them.
• Wang Wenxuan proposed splitting rescue footage to collect twice, but Yu Sheng refused, saying that would break the rules.
• Wang Wenxuan asked Yu Sheng to exchange contact details, and Yu Sheng warned him not to consider killing anyone.
• Wang Wenxuan changed his contact name to “Gentle, Cute Little Bunny,” secured Yu Sheng’s friend request, and imagined getting rich by working with him.

An Xin and the Demon-Slaughtering Pavilion's Third Squad ambushed a truck outside Huaihai City and discovered it was carrying abducted, abused girls. They freed the captives and set off for Baichun City, leaving the driver in the squad’s hands.

• An Xin stopped a truck with her Awakening Object and the Third Squad captured its driver as he tried to escape.
• The squad tied up and beat the driver, then An Xin opened the truck’s cargo compartment.
• An Xin found bound and injured girls inside, reassured them that the Ink Pavilion had not forgotten them, and gave them the squad’s clothes.
• An Xin turned on the driver and allowed the squad to beat him while he remained alive.
• An Xin sat on the truck roof as the squad drove toward Baichun City.

A young man in the Divine Cult blamed the Ink Pavilion for disrupting their plans and urged a Divine Attendant to begin their operation early. After the students survived a terrifying night at the abandoned factory, Du Xu asked Yu Sheng to teach him how to kill, while Zhao Zicheng offered to handle something for Yu Sheng.

• A young man called a Divine Attendant and urged the Divine Cult to start its plan ahead of schedule, then marked Mobei City on a map of Jiangbei Province.
• As the students waited for dawn beside a corpse, Wang Wenxuan questioned Yu Sheng about his killings and life in Sin City, and Yu Sheng warned that people who talked too much died first.
• At daybreak, Wang Wenxuan sent the students home and told them that their fear had helped them see their limits before facing a real crisis.
• Monitor A and Monitor B stayed to handle the corpse and prepare the assessment summary while the shaken students left for Baichun City.
• Zhao Zicheng told Yu Sheng he would take care of something for him, and Yu Sheng called him a true brother.
• Du Xu told Yu Sheng he wanted to follow him and learn how to kill.

Yu Sheng returned to school with Wang Wenxuan and tried to claim first place in the assessment so he could turn in his mission. The principal eagerly courted Wang Wenxuan for funding until he learned that Wang belonged to the Reserve Corps, leaving him to cancel the lavish meal he had ordered.

• Yu Sheng wondered whether his earlier theory about the Dragon-Patterned Staff and the egg was wrong after the staff’s base solidified but the egg showed no reaction.
• Wang Wenxuan followed Yu Sheng and offered to protect him while accompanying him to exchange his money in Baichun City.
• Yu Sheng told the principal he was turning in his mission, then asked Wang Wenxuan to name his assessment rank; Wang declared him first.
• Yu Sheng presented Wang Wenxuan as an official from the provincial office, prompting the principal to warmly welcome him and ask Director Sun to prepare a feast in hopes of securing funding.
• Wang Wenxuan revealed that he was from the Reserve Corps, and the principal withdrew his welcome and rushed to stop Director Sun from arranging the meal.

Yu Sheng collected the principal’s Demon Crystals and learned that Zhao Zicheng had arranged for his uncle to face a longer sentence. Meanwhile, the Demon-Slaughtering Pavilion’s Third Squad witnessed the Dark Pavilion’s efficient rescue operation before An Xin led them to the Ink Pavilion to claim a reward.

• Yu Sheng took Wang Wenxuan to the school cafeteria, received three Demon Crystals from the principal, and took three days off.
• Zhao Zicheng told Yu Sheng that his father was reading palms for prison clerks and that he had extended his uncle’s sentence and moved him to a private room.
• Wang Wenxuan drove Yu Sheng toward Baichun City in a military off-road vehicle.
• Dark Pavilion staff processed the rescued girls, while the Demon-Slaughtering Pavilion’s Third Squad admired the organization’s resources and facilities.
• An Xin told her squad she would show them how to make money and led them to the Ink Pavilion to collect a reward.

An Xin’s squad went to the Ink Pavilion to claim a reward for their mission, and she persuaded a clerk to review their request with a tearful story and edited video. Wang Wenxuan tried to imitate her, but Yu Sheng warned him that their injured boss was standing right behind him.

• Wang Wenxuan boasted about the provincial capital’s Ink Pavilion, but the clerks put up “Service suspended” signs when they recognized him.
• An Xin told a clerk that their boss had been badly injured saving people and asked to claim a reward.
• The clerk watched An Xin’s edited mission video, remained unsure it proved what happened, and went to find her supervisor.
• Wang Wenxuan realized An Xin had the same reward scheme and suspected Luo Yun had revealed their idea.
• Wang Wenxuan staged a tearful plea for a reward, then changed his story and praised their boss when Yu Sheng pointed out the boss behind him.

Yu Sheng met Chen Yimo, who learned of his wealth and promised to help him get money, while An Xin and Wang Wenxuan secretly negotiated over the payment. Chen Yimo then blocked a clerk and a suited man, demanding that they handle his claim first.

• Wang Wenxuan tried to flatter Yu Sheng’s boss, but Yu Sheng reminded him of his earlier insults and he struggled to explain himself.
• After Wang Wenxuan whispered to him, Chen Yimo greeted Yu Sheng and promised protection in Baichun City in hopes of earning his future business.
• Yu Sheng said he disliked fighting but liked making money, and Chen Yimo vowed to get the money for him.
• An Xin and her team planned to collect their money and leave, while An Xin and Wang Wenxuan haggled over an undisclosed arrangement.
• Chen Yimo confronted the clerk and a suited man, insisting they process his claim first because he was supposedly reduced to just a head.

Yu Sheng used his knowledge of the law to stop Chen Yimo and the Ink Pavilion manager from fighting, then insisted that the Ink Pavilion process his reward claim. An Xin stayed to watch him, studying him thoughtfully.

• Wang Wenxuan and An Xin demanded that the Ink Pavilion process their business, but the suited manager refused and put them on the reception blacklist.
• Chen Yimo introduced Yu Sheng as his dear little brother and threatened the manager for refusing to pay Yu Sheng his reward.
• The manager and Chen Yimo prepared to fight until Yu Sheng cited the laws and warned them about the penalties for fighting in the city.
• Yu Sheng took a queue number, went to his assigned counter, and asked the clerk to process his business.
• The manager sat beside Chen Yimo while Chen Yimo painfully held him in place, and An Xin watched Yu Sheng without leaving.

Yu Sheng secured approval for a bounty at the Ink Pavilion, where Pavilion Master Lin tried to recruit him and Chen Yimo complained that the Reserve Corps had lost a promising recruit. After Yu Sheng disappeared from An Xin's team, he suspected they had been tailing him and judged their methods amateurish.

• Yu Sheng submitted edited battle footage and explained that he had intervened to save students, and Pavilion Master Lin approved the full standard bounty.
• Pavilion Master Lin offered Yu Sheng a place in the Dark Pavilion, but Yu Sheng declined for now and accepted his business card.
• Chen Yimo berated Pavilion Master Lin for trying to recruit Yu Sheng, kicked Wang Wenxuan, and asked Yu Sheng to consider the Reserve Corps for future work.
• An Xin and her team lamented their lack of money for equipment, dinner, and loan payments before leaving to seek daily-wage work.
• The bounty arrived within two hours, and Yu Sheng slipped away from An Xin and her team's pursuit.
• Yu Sheng watched An Xin's team retreat and concluded that their clumsy tailing could leave evidence after a killing.

Yu Sheng returned to Mobei City, transferred most of his prize money to an account, and waited at home as the golden lines spread across his egg. When he returned to school, Zhao Zicheng told him other schools were causing trouble and asked him to help fight back.

• On the coach to Mobei City, Yu Sheng nearly reported an old man selling illicit discs, but the old man stopped him and later escaped the Guard Bureau through a window.
• After getting off the coach, Yu Sheng transferred most of his prize money to an account and briefly showed sadness before returning to his usual calm.
• Yu Sheng spent two days at home, watching the golden lines on his egg grow as his awakening drew closer.
• At school, Zhao Zicheng told Yu Sheng that students from the other two schools had been causing trouble at Second High School while the teachers did nothing.
• Zhao Zicheng urged Yu Sheng to join him in fighting back, and Yu Sheng asked whether Zhao Zicheng would handle the cackling.

Yu Sheng learned that Zhao Zicheng had arranged for Du Xu to transfer to Second High School, while students from First High School were preparing to challenge them. In class, Liu Qingfeng explained Demon Cores and warned that the three schools would merge in a week, making the upcoming entrance assessment crucial for the students’ futures.

• Du Xu joined Yu Sheng and Zhao Zicheng, saying he wanted to follow Yu Sheng after the schools merged.
• Zhao Zicheng urged Yu Sheng to fight off their challengers and become one of Mobei City’s big bosses, but Yu Sheng warned that big bosses met horrible ends.
• Zhao Zicheng revealed that he had arranged Du Xu’s early transfer from First High School, and Yu Sheng realized why First High School students were coming to fight at Second High School.
• Liu Qingfeng taught the class how Awakening Objects used Demon Cores and warned students to choose compatible cores instead of blindly seeking powerful ones.
• Liu Qingfeng announced that the three schools would merge in a week and warned that poor results in the entrance assessment could leave students without college admission or a chance to choose their futures.

Liu Qingfeng explained how difficult it was to qualify for university assessments and challenged Yu Sheng to consider the Human Race’s dangerous situation. After telling Yu Sheng about the injured veteran who ran the school’s breakfast shop, he asked whether Yu Sheng would save him, and Yu Sheng admitted he did not understand why anyone should protect others.

• Liu Qingfeng explained the university assessment process and warned the students that talent without effort would not earn them a place.
• Liu Qingfeng called Yu Sheng out of class and took him to the steps near the school gate.
• Liu Qingfeng told Yu Sheng that Wang the Cripple had trained in the Reserve Corps, been sent to Dawn Pass, and returned home with a broken leg after surviving a Demon Clan attack.
• Liu Qingfeng asked whether Yu Sheng would save someone like Wang the Cripple if he faced danger.
• Yu Sheng said he did not know, recalling betrayals and deaths in Sin City and questioning why anyone should protect others.

Liu Qingfeng tried to explain to Yu Sheng why people protected others, then took him to the Veterans' Camp beyond the safe zone. Yu Sheng followed without asking where they were going, and the chapter ended with Liu Qingfeng asking the villagers for a meal.

• Liu Qingfeng saw Yu Sheng's fear and understood that the boy's harshness came from trying to survive.
• Liu Qingfeng asked Yu Sheng about his friend in Sin City, and Yu Sheng said he would kill anyone who threatened her.
• Liu Qingfeng compared Yu Sheng's protectiveness of his friend to the middle-aged man's efforts to protect the common people.
• Yu Sheng said he would kill his friend if she tried to kill him, though he trusted his instinct that she would not.
• Liu Qingfeng took Yu Sheng out of the city to the Veterans' Camp, where they met disabled veterans who joked with him.
• Liu Qingfeng said he and Yu Sheng would stay for a couple of days and asked the villagers whose family had dinner ready.

Yu Sheng visited Liu Qingfeng’s veterans’ camp, where Elder Zhong praised him as a prodigy and privately confronted him about the discs he had sold. The chapter left Elder Zhong arguing over Yu Sheng’s price to keep his embarrassing fake-disc scheme secret.

• Liu Qingfeng brought Yu Sheng to the veterans’ camp, where the veterans watched the unfamiliar student with interest.
• Elder Zhong recognized Yu Sheng from their encounter on the coach, praised him before the veterans, and tried to pull him aside for private instruction.
• Yu Sheng silently held up three fingers, and Elder Zhong agreed before leading him to a secluded corner.
• Elder Zhong complained that Yu Sheng was charging thirty yuan, but Yu Sheng clarified that he meant three hundred.
• Yu Sheng calculated Elder Zhong’s profit from selling fifteen discs, while Elder Zhong suppressed his anger to keep the fake discs’ true nature secret.

Yu Sheng pressured Elder Zhong into paying him 300 yuan by threatening to report his counterfeit and pornographic sales. The veterans then discussed Zhong Yushu’s sacrifices and his refusal to accept a rare cure for his injuries, while he prepared to spend his remaining years in his hometown.

• Yu Sheng called the Guard Bureau to threaten Elder Zhong with a report, and Zhong grabbed the phone but accidentally let the call connect.
• After denying his identity to the person on the line, Zhong agreed to pay Yu Sheng 300 yuan, which Yu Sheng took despite Zhong’s pleas.
• The retired veterans watched Zhong bargain with Yu Sheng and praised Yu Sheng, while several criticized Liu Qingfeng and claimed they should teach him instead.
• The veterans recalled that Zhong had returned to Mobei after a lifetime at Demon-Suppressing Pass, leaving behind only his name and his service.
• Liu Qingfeng asked whether Zhong could recover, and the veterans explained that Zhong had refused a cure made from a slain divine beast because he did not want to use resources meant for a future Human Race expert.