Chapter Summaries

After discovering that the Earthfire Lure had vanished, Ji Hong and Old White Ape learned that Yu Sheng had taken it while impersonating a White Ape. They sensed him approaching again, but he disappeared among the Azure Wolves, leaving them unsure whether he knew they were there.

• Old White Ape questioned a sickly Fire Lion, which said a White Ape had taken the Earthfire Lure using Dragon Python's token and that the new clan leader had pursued him.
• Old White Ape and Ji Hong realized the thief was Yu Sheng, the Ink Academy student who had impersonated the White Ape Clan before.
• Ji Hong told Old White Ape that Yu Sheng had just raided the Thousand-Li Demon Plain and was unlikely to return soon, but they sensed him racing toward them.
• Old White Ape sensed Yu Sheng imitating the White Ape Clan's aura and agreed with Ji Hong that he was reckless to come back.
• Yu Sheng's aura vanished among a pack of Azure Wolves, leaving Ji Hong and Old White Ape wondering whether he had detected them.

Yu Sheng hid underground beneath a deer herd, but Ji Hong and Old White Ape worked out his hiding place and captured him. Ji Hong recognized him as a student from Ink Academy and asked whether he had discovered the Mirage Dragon’s location.

• Old White Ape and Ji Hong agreed to keep searching for Yu Sheng while making plans to kill him after their alliance ended.
• Yu Sheng concealed himself in a tunnel connecting two boulders and masked his aura with that of a deer.
• Ji Hong drove the herds and packs away, while Old White Ape deduced Yu Sheng was hiding underground beneath a herd with multiple escape routes.
• Ji Hong exposed a passage and found a young deer’s corpse, but Old White Ape uncovered a deeper tunnel as Yu Sheng fled through it.
• Old White Ape caught Yu Sheng and brought him to Ji Hong, who identified him as Yu Sheng from Ink Academy.
• Ji Hong asked Yu Sheng whether he had discovered the Mirage Dragon’s location.

Yu Sheng faced Ji Hong and Old White Ape, revealing that he had found the Mirage Dragon while calmly seeing through Old White Ape’s attempt to frighten him. Ji Hong recognized Yu Sheng’s insight and promised Old White Ape would not be allowed to kill him, while Old White Ape asked Yu Sheng not to imitate White Ape aura during future operations.

• Old White Ape approached Yu Sheng and pretended to threaten him, but Yu Sheng said he saw no real killing intent and did not believe the threat.
• Ji Hong asked whether Yu Sheng had found the Mirage Dragon, and Yu Sheng confirmed that he had.
• Yu Sheng questioned whether Ji Hong had ever served in the Reserve Corps, prompting Ji Hong to ask why Yu Sheng called him “sir.”
• Yu Sheng said he had worked out the truth without Sun Yingxiong telling him, and Ji Hong praised his promise for the Human Race’s future.
• Ji Hong warned Old White Ape that Yu Sheng was not someone he could kill, and Old White Ape asked Yu Sheng not to imitate White Ape aura when pursuing the Mirage Dragon.

Yu Sheng explained how he stole the Ice Lotus and Earthfire Lure, leaving Old White Ape grieving his clan and messenger. Ji Hong warned Yu Sheng that the Mirage Dragon was faster and more dangerous than rumors suggested, though its defense was weak.

• Yu Sheng showed Ji Hong and Old White Ape his White Ape disguise, and Ji Hong advised him to use a different identity because the clan was known to be dead.
• Yu Sheng revealed that he had delivered the Ice Lotus and Earthfire Lure to Ink Academy, and Old White Ape backed down from demanding them back.
• Yu Sheng recounted how he obtained the demon plants, and Old White Ape learned that his messenger had died too.
• Ji Hong teased Old White Ape about the loss of his clan, then warned Yu Sheng not to impersonate the White Ape Clan again.
• Ji Hong explained that the Mirage Dragon could kill through illusions and was likely as fast as a sixth awakening, but had poor defense.

Old White Ape used Demon Domain rumors to infer that the greedy Mirage Dragon hunted valuable treasures in the southwestern Thousand-Li Demon Plain, and Ji Hong devised a plan to lure it out using Yu Sheng as bait. Old White Ape rejected the risky scheme, leaving Ji Hong to reconsider it and the two to trade suspiciously playful remarks.

• Old White Ape pieced together clan records and rumors to conclude that the Mirage Dragon was greedy and operated within a five-hundred-li area in the southwestern Thousand-Li Demon Plain.
• Yu Sheng was impressed by Old White Ape’s deductions and wondered whether Ji Hong could keep him under control.
• Ji Hong proposed having Yu Sheng steal treasures, then staging a pursuit and offering the Ice Lotus and Earthfire Lure as a reward for killing him.
• Old White Ape objected that the bait could attract other High-Rank Demon Beasts and draw too much attention to them.
• Ji Hong admitted that his eagerness to show off had clouded his judgment, while Old White Ape wondered whether Ji Hong had deliberately left a flaw for him to spot.

Old White Ape, Ji Hong, and Yu Sheng devised a way to lure the Mirage Dragon out with a staged escape and a trace of Ice Lotus aura, while keeping themselves unconnected to the plan. Old White Ape then proposed using Vulture to spread a believable explanation for the Ice Lotus and Earth Core Fire before driving him toward the Mirage Dragon's hiding place.

• Old White Ape proposed having Yu Sheng provoke a fifth-level Demon Beast, flee while badly wounded, and let a trace of Ice Lotus aura escape from his torn backpack.
• Ji Hong judged the plan promising but warned that the Mirage Dragon would test Yu Sheng and inspect the area before acting.
• Old White Ape listed the Mirage Dragon's likely checks, including Yu Sheng's expressions, injuries, the surrounding area, and the Ice Lotus's origins.
• Old White Ape proposed capturing Vulture, spreading news that he had stolen the Ice Lotus and Earth Core Fire, then letting him escape southwest toward the Mirage Dragon.

Old White Ape and Ji Hong finalized a scheme that used Vulture’s punishment to lure the Mirage Dragon and strengthen Ji Hong’s standing, while Yu Sheng headed back to retrieve the Ice Lotus. When Yu Sheng returned to the mountains, Xin Yongfeng mistook his arrival for failure and declared that he would enter the Eighth Awakening.

• Old White Ape outlined a plan to punish Vulture publicly while secretly turning the incident to his and Ji Hong’s advantage.
• Ji Hong accepted Old White Ape’s scheme, and the two sent Yu Sheng to fetch the Ice Lotus.
• Old White Ape and Ji Hong discussed Yu Sheng’s abilities and whether he knew they had seen through him, then parted ways.
• Yu Sheng raced across the Thousand-Li Demon Plain and reached the remote mountains about half a day later.
• Xin Yongfeng sensed Yu Sheng, assumed his mission had failed, and announced that he would enter the Eighth Awakening with the Dragon Python’s Demon Core in hand.

Yu Sheng persuaded the Mountain-Guarding Old Man to delay using the Demon Core while a Demon Clan ally prepared a plan with a thirty percent chance of success. At Ink Academy, Xu Yuanqing entered the Seventh Awakening and challenged the Vice Principal, only to be swiftly defeated.

• Yu Sheng told the Mountain-Guarding Old Man that Eagle Ravine Mountain’s Seventh-level ally was cooperating with his operation, and the old man agreed to wait up to ten days.
• Yu Sheng lay down to sleep while the Mountain-Guarding Old Man watched the Demon Domain and kept the Demon Core ready.
• Xu Yuanqing’s Fire Phoenix appeared more solid as he broke through to the Seventh Awakening at Ink Academy.
• Xu Yuanqing challenged the Vice Principal to a match and demanded his money back.
• The Vice Principal revealed he had entered the Seventh Awakening decades earlier and was nearing the Eighth, then defeated Xu Yuanqing as students listened to his screams.

Xu Yuanqing recovered ten thousand from the vice principal after being beaten, while Lin Xiaoxiao prepared Ink Academy's freshmen for the entrance ceremony and competition. Yu Sheng left the mountains at dawn, leaving the Mountain-Guarding Old Man fussing over him.

• Xu Yuanqing returned bruised and battered with a bank card holding ten thousand, and vowed to avenge himself on the vice principal someday.
• Lin Xiaoxiao realized Xu Yuanqing had pocketed Ink Academy's travel allowance and told the freshmen to make a bold entrance by insulting people for credits.
• Lin Xiaoxiao demanded that Ink Academy take all six top places in the Freshman Competition's individual event, threatening expulsion for anyone who failed.
• Qi Tian and Yuan Zhong agreed to stop acting meek, and Qi Tian complained that he had been holding back for half a month.
• Yu Sheng left the mountains at dawn while the Mountain-Guarding Old Man lamented that he had not given him fruit for the road.

Yu Sheng set out with the Ice Lotus after Old White Ape reviewed their plan and gave him a Yellow Monkey coat for disguise. Old White Ape then attacked Vulture King over the deaths of the White Ape Clan’s younger generation and began torturing him repeatedly.

• Old White Ape told Yu Sheng that preparations were nearly complete, asked him to arrive the next morning, and explained that their side would begin in three days.
• Old White Ape gave Yu Sheng a Yellow Monkey coat and asked him to praise Old White Ape and Ji Hong to the Human Race, especially to Sun Yingxiong.
• Yu Sheng agreed to promote Old White Ape on television and left with the Ice Lotus, keeping to the shadows.
• After Yu Sheng departed, Old White Ape reflected on his plan and flew off to confront Vulture King.
• Old White Ape seized Vulture King and accused him of killing the White Ape Clan’s last younger generation.
• Old White Ape shattered Vulture King’s bones, fed him a healing demon plant, and repeatedly broke his bones again.

Old White Ape punished Vulture King for killing a member of his clan, while Ji Hong established his authority over the Thousand-Li Demon Plain and laid out rules for its future Mountain Lord. Ji Hong ordered Vulture King released and exiled, then exposed Porcupine King’s role in the earlier events involving Dragon Python’s scale.

• Old White Ape exhausted the Demon Plant’s energy, tortured Vulture King, and dragged him away, promising to keep him imprisoned for ten years.
• Ji Hong addressed the gathered Demon Beasts, promised that the first to reach the eighth level could become Mountain Lord, and warned them not to harm the Dragon Python Clan.
• Ji Hong confronted Old White Ape about Vulture King’s location, overruled his demand for revenge, and ordered Vulture King released and banished to the southwest for ten years.
• Ji Hong questioned Porcupine King about Dragon Python’s scale, identified the white ape’s use of Ice Lotus and Earthfire Lure to plunder the Demon Plain, and ordered Porcupine King to witness Vulture King’s release.

After taking control of the Thousand-Li Demon Plain, Ji Hong gained Vulture King’s loyalty and sent him to the southwestern district. Old White Ape returned to Fei with two captured human women, proposing to use them to test Ji Hong’s loyalty and as hostages against the Human Race.

• Ji Hong’s promises reduced hostility across the Thousand-Li Demon Plain, while Old White Ape’s reputation collapsed and he left the region after Vulture King was released.
• Vulture King pledged loyalty to Ji Hong, revealed secrets about the Demon Plain’s tribes, and then hurried to the southwestern district on Ji Hong’s orders.
• Old White Ape returned to Fei and accused Ji Hong of seeking independence, but Fei questioned him about Ji Hong’s letter alleging Old White Ape had pursued personal gain.
• Old White Ape presented An Xin and Zhao Qingyi as captured human hostages and argued that Ji Hong would expose his allegiance if he tried to save them.
• Fei learned that An Xin and Zhao Qingyi had reached the fifth awakening and considered Old White Ape’s plan to cultivate them into more valuable bargaining chips.

Fei kept An Xin and Zhao Qingyi at Eagle Ravine Mountain while sending Ji Hong a message affirming his trust in him and calling Old White Ape a pawn. Meanwhile, Yu Sheng traveled in disguise across the Demon Plain and followed an Azure Wolf’s trail to a concealed cave.

• Old White Ape left An Xin and Zhao Qingyi with Fei, and the girls entered a cave before quietly tidying it once they were alone.
• Fei sent Ji Hong a letter saying he still needed Old White Ape, who was only a pawn, and that Ji Hong remained his eternal adviser.
• Old White Ape suspected Fei had a human intelligence network and hoped the two girls would be useful, then left the mountain.
• Yu Sheng kept his White Ape disguise and hid in a tree near a scenic lake while waiting for nightfall.
• Yu Sheng moved away from the lake, evaded an Azure Wolf searching for prey, and followed its trail to a concealed cave.

Yu Sheng killed the Azure Wolf in its cave and made the place a concealed refuge. Watching demon beasts gather at the lake, he reasoned that the Mirage Dragon was likely using the nearby summit as an observation point and escape route.

• Yu Sheng masked the cave with Snake-Stench Grass, waited for the Azure Wolf to return, and killed it with a surprise sword strike.
• Yu Sheng hid several objects in the cave, checked his plan through a simulation, and returned to his tree to sleep.
• The next morning, Yu Sheng watched demon beasts drink from the lake and wondered how the Mirage Dragon hunted.
• Yu Sheng concluded that the Mirage Dragon likely watched the lake from the summit and could use hidden routes to escape.
• Yu Sheng reasoned that the Mirage Dragon might be able to fly, since its speed could rival that of a sixth-level demon beast.

Yu Sheng waited for the Vulture King to settle beside the lake, then secretly planted a trace of White Ape aura on a wild horse. When the Vulture King sensed that familiar aura the next morning, it erupted in rage, believing the White Ape responsible for its exile had returned.

• The Vulture King arrived and declared it had no intention of competing for territory, then chose to rest beside the lake.
• Yu Sheng hid in the trees, changed his aura, and observed the Vulture King following Old White Ape's plan.
• Yu Sheng attached a trace of White Ape aura to a sleeping wild horse, then moved to another tree and concealed himself as a grass snake.
• The next morning, the Vulture King suppressed its aura so local Low-Level Demon Beasts could approach the lake to drink.
• When the wild horse passed by, the Vulture King sensed the White Ape aura and erupted in anger, blaming the White Ape for its exile and suffering.

Yu Sheng used disguises and carefully timed movements to make the Vulture King believe a white ape was nearby. After waiting four days, Yu Sheng appeared as a starving white ape and began hunting, leaving the Vulture King watching for his chance to capture it.

• The Vulture King sensed the White Ape Clan's aura on a wild horse and watched the area, hoping to capture the white ape and claim the Ice Lotus and Earthfire Lure.
• The mirage dragon inferred that the Vulture King had found the Ice Lotus and Earthfire Lure, then approached the mountaintop in the guise of a gray snake.
• Yu Sheng followed Old White Ape's plan by changing his aura and hiding for three days, while the Vulture King grew impatient and wondered if the white ape had fled toward the Swamp Pool.
• On the fourth night, Yu Sheng entered a prepared cave in a yellow monkey disguise, changed into the white ape coat, and emerged looking starved.
• Yu Sheng wandered the plain, ate fruit, and fixed his gaze on a demon beast as he prepared to hunt.

Yu Sheng, disguised as a White Ape, fled from the Vulture King while using hidden treasures to resist its domain and heal his wounds. The Vulture King pursued him through the forest, while the Mountain-Guarding Old Man watched from the summit and recognized the treasures in Yu Sheng’s bundle.

• The Vulture King spotted Yu Sheng’s White Ape disguise and left the lake to hunt him, while the Mountain-Guarding Old Man suspected the encounter was timed too conveniently.
• Yu Sheng continued tearing at an elk until the Vulture King appeared overhead, forcing him to abandon his prey and flee through the trees.
• The Vulture King slowed Yu Sheng with its domain, but Yu Sheng ate a Blackgreen Flower and escaped the effect.
• The Vulture King struck Yu Sheng with demon-aura arrows, but Yu Sheng used a fruit to heal and kept running.
• The Mountain-Guarding Old Man identified the Ice Lotus, Earthfire Lure, Blackgreen Flower, Life-Force Fruit, Watermoon Root, and Jade-Green Lotus in Yu Sheng’s bundle, yet stayed on the summit.

The Vulture King pursued the White Ape through the forest, hoping to seize the Demon Plants in its bundle, until another sixth-level Demon Beast intervened after sensing them. The two agreed to split the spoils, but the White Ape vanished before they could catch it, leaving them searching the woods and suspecting each other.

• The White Ape ate Demon Plants from its bundle to endure the Vulture King's attacks while fleeing through dense forest.
• A sixth-level Demon Beast arrived, sensed the Demon Plants, and decided the White Ape was a valuable prize rather than an enemy to ignore.
• The Vulture King and the sixth-level Demon Beast argued over who would catch the White Ape, then agreed to split the spoils evenly.
• The two Demon Beasts sealed the forest with Demon Aura, but the White Ape disappeared before they could find it.
• The Vulture King urged the other Demon Beast to search the woods and denied having secretly taken the White Ape.

The Mirage Dragon considered taking Yu Sheng’s treasures but grew suspicious of the convenient opportunity and ultimately stayed away. Yu Sheng prepared an underground escape route, while the Vulture King sealed off the forest and began destroying obstacles to find White Ape.

• The Vulture King ordered the other sixth-level demon beast to guard the forest with him and vowed to destroy it if they could not find White Ape.
• The Mirage Dragon realized White Ape was hiding in a cave concealed by weeds and snake-stench grass, then debated whether to attack him and take his treasures.
• Yu Sheng dug an escape passage that came within three shovelfuls of reaching the surface two hundred meters away.
• The Mirage Dragon did not approach the cave during the day, leaving Yu Sheng uncertain whether it had noticed his trap.
• In the early hours, the Vulture King sealed off the forest and ordered his forces to destroy every obstacle near where White Ape had last been seen.

Vulture King and another sixth-level demon beast searched the ruined forest for White Ape but failed to find Yu Sheng, who stayed hidden underground. Mirage Dragon flew toward the heart of the Thousand-Li Demon Plain, Old White Ape continued hunting for the one impersonating his clan, and the Freshman Competition began in Ink City.

• Vulture King and another sixth-level demon beast destroyed the forest while searching for White Ape, but Yu Sheng stayed motionless in his underground hideout as they passed overhead.
• Mirage Dragon watched Vulture King’s fruitless search, then changed into an azure bird and flew toward the heart of the Thousand-Li Demon Plain.
• Vulture King and his companion decided to stay together and search again the following night after finding no trace of White Ape.
• Old White Ape ordered the tribes to keep investigating who was impersonating the White Ape Clan and swore revenge on Ji Hong.
• In Ink City, a middle-aged Education Department official announced the Freshman Competition’s Elimination Round, and the freshmen charged toward a remote mountain.