Chapter Summaries

Lawless Outlaws confronted a little girl from the Soul Hunt Team after she arrived at his coffee shop with an injured middle-aged man and Zong Ren. After they settled down for coffee, Lawless Outlaws prepared to question them about their actions against Spirit Mind and whether their visit had been planned.

• Lawless Outlaws withdrew the auras targeting the middle-aged man when a little girl entered the coffee shop and identified herself as the leader of Group Three in the Soul Hunt Team.
• The little girl apologized for the middle-aged man's recklessness, and Lawless Outlaws asked whether her word carried weight in Soul Hunt.
• The little girl said her boss had ordered the move against Spirit Mind, claimed the coffee shop visit was a coincidence, and stabbed the middle-aged man to answer Lawless Outlaws' complaint that he was angry.
• Zong Ren stabbed himself twice, prompting the little girl to stab the middle-aged man again for failing to match him.
• Lawless Outlaws invited them to talk over coffee, and the middle-aged man began doing the little girl's homework while she drank.

In the café, Zong Ren explained how Qiu Xiaoxiao’s planned attack and death would benefit the Divine Cult and help Soul Hunt, while seeking an alliance with the little girl. She agreed to consider working with him if he survived two months under the Ink Pavilion’s pressure without resources, and reminded him to stop his bleeding.

• The Lawless Outlaw let Zong Ren and the little girl continue talking, while he listened and mocked Soul Hunt through a walkie-talkie.
• Zong Ren told the little girl that Qiu Xiaoxiao would attack the freshmen that afternoon and explained his plan to drive her to her death for the Divine Cult’s benefit.
• Zong Ren described how Qiu Xiaoxiao’s death would draw the Ink Pavilion’s attention and give Soul Hunt a reason to support an obedient Divine Cult.
• Zong Ren admitted he mainly wanted resources to survive and grow stronger, and would join Soul Hunt or form another cult if it suited him.
• The little girl said she would consider working with Zong Ren if he survived two months of Ink Pavilion pressure without resource support, then told him to stop bleeding.

Lawless Outlaws forced the little girl and Zong Ren to pay him before they left his café, then cleaned the shop and closed it. At Ink City, Shi Guang won the Individual Competition, Lu Sen placed second, and Li Zi took third; Yu Sheng received a message and left Ink Academy.

• Lawless Outlaws threatened the little girl with reinforcements, charged her nearly a million for coffee, and made her injured companion clean up the blood.
• After leaving the café, the little girl reprimanded the middle-aged man for testing the place and threatened to use him in her next experiment.
• Zong Ren paid Lawless Outlaws with a bank card and Demon Cores, then left after discussing his work with Soul Hunt and the Evil Cult.
• Lawless Outlaws cleaned the café, packed his backpack, and closed the shop after only two days of business.
• Yu Sheng received a text at Ink Academy and left, while the Individual Competition results named Shi Guang champion, Lu Sen runner-up, and Li Zi third place.

Qiu Xiaoxiao joined an Evil Cultist attack on the freshmen, seeking to kill them before reinforcements arrived. Bai Haitang intercepted her, but four fifth-awakening death warriors slipped past toward the crowd.

• Qiu Xiaoxiao vowed to take revenge on the Divine Cult and left her hotel.
• Qi Changshan and Yuan Qingshan discussed investigating Ordinary University, then Yuan guessed the third assessment would begin soon.
• As the freshmen returned along the main street, the teachers left to investigate a powerful aura, and disguised Evil Cultists attacked the students.
• Shi Guang fought back as the Evil Cultists tried to kill as many freshmen as possible within three minutes before self-detonating.
• Qiu Xiaoxiao and several fifth-awakening death warriors arrived as reinforcements, but Bai Haitang confronted Qiu Xiaoxiao and the death warriors charged toward the freshmen.

Yuan Qingshan announced a bonus assessment as Ink Pavilion fighters attacked the freshmen, while the Military Academy quickly organized and outperformed the other schools. Lin Xiaoxiao faced a fifth-awakening cultist and prepared to prove that she was not weak.

• Teachers from other universities rushed to intercept Ink Pavilion fighters as Qiu Xiaoxiao questioned why they had not been stopped.
• Yuan Qingshan announced that students could earn points by killing evil cultists, but warned them of the danger and offered the option to withdraw.
• The Military Academy freshmen coordinated and killed a second-awakening cultist, while students from the other schools mostly fought alone.
• Yuan Qingshan and Qi Changshan discussed Qiu Xiaoxiao's motives and the anonymous letter, then Yuan asked whether there was news of Yu Mo.
• A fifth-awakening cultist threatened Lin Xiaoxiao, and she drew her spear after explaining that her classmates considered her the weakest in their year.

Lin Xiaoxiao revealed the abilities granted by her Fourth Awakening and defeated a Fifth Awakening Evil Cultist through her coordination with Big White. She then asked Old Yuan for extra points, while Yuan Qingshan and Qi Changshan argued over how to deal with her.

• Lin Xiaoxiao explained that after her Fourth Awakening, she could fight alongside Big White while keeping him outside her body.
• Lin Xiaoxiao and Big White worked together to wound the Evil Cultist, who tried to exploit their coordination by attacking her directly.
• Lin Xiaoxiao swapped places with Big White at the last moment and pierced the Evil Cultist's heart with her spear.
• Lin Xiaoxiao asked Old Yuan for another 0.5 points for Ink Academy, but the screen remained dark.
• Yuan Qingshan tried to power up the screen so he could show Lin Xiaoxiao up and recruit her for Spirit Mind Academy, while Qi Changshan suggested sneaking into her room.

Yuan Qingshan and Qi Changshan watched the freshmen turn the battle against the Evil Cult while Bai Haitang fought Qiu Xiaoxiao, who realized Zong Ren had manipulated her with drugs and psychological suggestion. Elsewhere, Yu Mo learned that researchers had developed a prototype firearm capable of harming Demon Beasts below the fourth level, though major problems remained.

• Bai Haitang attacked Qiu Xiaoxiao, who realized Zong Ren had switched her drugs and manipulated her into planning revenge.
• Qiu Xiaoxiao demanded to know why Bai Haitang was fighting her, and Bai Haitang answered, “Liu Yu,” before attacking again.
• As the freshmen gained control of the battle, Qiu Xiaoxiao cried out Zong Ren’s name, and Yuan Qingshan told Qi Changshan to keep an eye on him.
• Researchers showed Yu Mo a prototype submachine gun whose bullets could injure or kill Demon Beasts below the fourth level, but firing a magazine would ruin it.
• Yu Mo asked when firearms might work against fourth-level Demon Beasts, and the lead researcher said their toughness, speed, and the unstable energy source made the problem difficult to solve.

Yu Mo wondered whether Zong Ren had sent him an anonymous letter to encourage him to kill an enemy or establish an alliance. In Haicheng, Yu Sheng reunited with his childhood friend Xiao Nan, whose bounty had risen to fifty million, and learned that Xiao Nan had reached the peak of the Fifth Awakening.

• Yu Mo speculated about Zong Ren's motives and said another batch of people in the human race would have to be killed.
• Yu Sheng followed a scripted tea order to identify himself to the teahouse owner, Xiao Nan, who greeted him after nearly three years apart.
• Yu Sheng noted that Xiao Nan's bounty was fifty million and considered turning him in, while Xiao Nan proposed splitting the reward if Yu Sheng captured him.
• Xiao Nan knocked Yu Sheng's sword away with his energy, revealing that he had reached the peak of the Fifth Awakening and expected to reach the Sixth within a year.
• Two Sixth Awakening Persons locked onto Yu Sheng, so he sat back down and put away his sword.
• Xiao Nan teased Yu Sheng about their past in Sin City and hinted that he knew where Old Black was, but Yu Sheng stayed silent.

Yu Sheng told the owner that the former residents of Sin City ran the Human Race's Black Market and explained that he had vetoed the owner's membership because he talked too much. The owner then proposed a business deal based on a plot by Soul Hunt and the Evil Cult, but Yu Sheng tried to negotiate a larger share and offered to ask Zong Ren what they had planned.

• The owner told Yu Sheng he had found that former residents of Sin City were alive and gathered together, and Yu Sheng revealed they had set up the Black Market.
• Yu Sheng said he had joined the group and rejected the owner's membership because he would be too noisy during meetings.
• The owner complained about their history in Sin City, then tried to convince Yu Sheng that he could still join the organization.
• The owner told Yu Sheng that Soul Hunt and the Evil Cult had plotted at his café and offered to split a resulting business deal fifty-fifty.
• Yu Sheng demanded a ninety-ten split, then said Qiu Xiaoxiao had attacked Ink City and offered to call Zong Ren to learn what the plot involved.

Yu Sheng and Lawless Outlaws negotiated a partnership while discussing Soul Hunt’s coming operation and the Evil Cult’s remaining plans. Yu Sheng proposed a theory about Soul Hunt’s objective, and Lawless Outlaws paid his exorbitant travel expenses and promised him a favor to hear it.

• Yu Sheng negotiated an eighty-twenty split with Lawless Outlaws, who agreed and tried to serve him cheap tea as a treasured brew.
• Lawless Outlaws shared his deductions that Soul Hunt would act within two months and that the Evil Cult would also make a move soon.
• Yu Sheng questioned what Soul Hunt could target while the Four Great Passes were peaceful and the Freshman Competition was over.
• Yu Sheng said he thought he knew Soul Hunt’s objective, but threatened to leave unless Lawless Outlaws reimbursed his 1.32 million travel expenses.
• Lawless Outlaws agreed to pay and owe Yu Sheng a favor, and the two resumed their discussion until dark.

Bai Haitang killed Qiu Xiaoxiao in Ink City and avenged Liu Yu, after which Yuan Qingshan criticized the freshmen for fighting as individuals despite their injuries. Back at the hotel, Lin Xiaoxiao urged Shi Guang to trust her teammates, but Shi Guang’s work digging holes and burying bodies left the conversation unresolved.

• Bai Haitang killed the wounded Qiu Xiaoxiao and said she had avenged Liu Yu.
• Yuan Qingshan praised the freshmen for having no deaths, then scolded them for fearing death and failing to work as a team.
• The freshmen returned to the hotel, where Lin Xiaoxiao asked Shi Guang how long she had known Yu Sheng and learned it had been fourteen years.
• Lin Xiaoxiao encouraged Shi Guang to trust her companions, but Shi Guang said she dug holes and buried bodies.
• Lin Xiaoxiao left with Big White to get food after advising the freshmen to ask Yu Sheng for help building bonds.

Shi Guang questioned why people needed friends, while Zong Ren prepared to leave the Divine Cult in the hands of a newly appointed bishop. He then celebrated his blind daughter An An’s sixth birthday, briefly showing an emotion he quickly concealed.

• After Lin Xiaoxiao left, Shi Guang wondered whether friends like Yu Sheng mattered and why people needed friends.
• Zong Ren told a Divine Cult leader that anyone could become a god, then appointed him the new bishop and urged him to lead the cult toward Divine Advent.
• Zong Ren collected a birthday cake under the name Li Yang and accepted a red envelope from Auntie Liu for An An.
• At home, Zong Ren helped An An celebrate her sixth birthday as she wished to see the world and her father someday.
• Zong Ren promised to find a way to cure An An’s eyes, and her cheerful reassurance briefly left him dazed before he regained his composure.

Zong Ren prepared to abandon his identity and disappear with An An, while setting up a fanatic named “Zong Ren” to lead a brief riot. After killing Liu Shen'er and disguising himself and An An, he left the alley with her as the riot began there.

• Zong Ren decided to change identities and planned to make it appear that Li Yang and he had died, while taking An An away.
• Zong Ren told An An they were moving to a big city for her treatment, and she reluctantly agreed to wait at home while he packed.
• Zong Ren persuaded “Zong Ren” that he was God and instructed him to lead the Evil Cultists in a five-minute riot that night.
• Zong Ren killed Liu Shen'er, then concealed the death by letting the neighbors believe her heart trouble had taken her.
• Zong Ren disguised himself and An An, told her they could not say goodbye to Grandma Liu, and led her out of the alley.
• “Zong Ren” led the Evil Cultists in a riot that night, beginning their attack in the alley.

Zong Ren staged his apparent death in a fire and escaped with An An, while Yu Mo recognized the act as a calculated message and ordered an investigation into the alley. The chapter ended with Yu Mo probing why Zong Ren had chosen that location.

• Zong Ren set the alley ablaze, fought the Guard Bureau and Dark Pavilion forces, then exploded himself to fake his death.
• Outside the city, Zong Ren told the sleeping An An they were going to a new home and planned to rebuild the Divine Cult.
• Yu Mo concluded that Zong Ren had staged his death to erase his identity and remove unstable Evil Cult members from view.
• Yu Mo and a long-haired man discussed whether the café linked the fire to Lawless Outlaws and Soul Hunt.
• Yu Mo ordered an investigation into every alley resident, their relationships, and suspicious incidents from the past six months.

Yu Mo examined the investigation files on the alley fire and suspected that the dead residents’ bodies might reveal a clue about Zong Ren. At Ink Academy, Xu Yuanqing announced that the next advancement assessment would be easier because the students had fought at Demon-Suppressing Pass, then watched them expectantly as he prepared to explain the new requirements.

• The long-haired man reported that the alley’s longtime residents had died in the fire and that an older woman surnamed Liu had died of a sudden heart attack that morning; he arranged for her body to be sent to Ink City.
• Yu Mo reviewed the files, noticed that An An and Li Yang’s bodies were also on their way to Ink City, and wondered whether Zong Ren had left an obvious opening or another trap.
• Xu Yuanqing returned to Ink Academy’s training field and teased his students about missing him after reaching the seventh awakening.
• Zhao Zicheng begged Lin Xiaoxiao to beat him up so he could improve, while Sun Wen and the others mocked Xu Yuanqing’s claims about refusing an administrator’s position.
• Xu Yuanqing said Ink Academy would ease its advancement assessment because the students had taken part in the battle at Demon-Suppressing Pass, then paused as if waiting for them to take the bait.

Xu Yuanqing announced the Light Group advancement assessment, but the vice principal took over and explained its rules: veterans would team with first-years, who would evaluate them. Sun Wen approached Li Zi to form a team, while the assignments remained to be settled.

• Xu Yuanqing announced that students would spend six months gaining experience in the Light Group, working in pairs and writing evaluations.
• Xu Yuanqing proposed pairing veterans with newcomers, and Sun Wen paid him two hundred thousand to avoid being paired with Li Zi.
• Xu Yuanqing introduced the first-years and began a selection game before the vice principal relieved him of his examiner duties.
• The vice principal said teams would be assigned by drawing lots, except for Yu Sheng and Shi Guang, and clarified that only newcomers would evaluate veterans.
• Sun Wen approached Li Zi and offered to team up, citing his money and their shared resemblance to Wang Youcai.

Li Zi and Sun Wen agreed to partner for the assessment, and the other students formed teams while Yu Sheng and Shi Guang were assigned together with increased difficulty. After the students received old phones and were ordered to avoid contact for three months, the Vice Principal’s secret test was noticed by Xu Yuanqing, who demanded twenty credits for his silence.

• Li Zi accepted Sun Wen as her partner after reasoning that seniors and freshmen would likely become opponents in the assessment.
• Wang Youcai offered Mu Yu logistical support, and the remaining students formed teams, leaving Yu Sheng and Shi Guang together.
• The Vice Principal assigned Yu Sheng and Shi Guang to the same team with a harder assessment, then ordered all teams to surrender their phones and avoid contacting one another for three months.
• Xu Yuanqing’s examiner status was restored, and he told the students to collect replacement phones and find their missions on them.
• Yu Sheng and Shi Guang collected old phones from a young woman at the Academic Affairs Office and left without questioning her.
• The Vice Principal watched the office through surveillance and mocked the students’ lack of suspicion, but Xu Yuanqing appeared at his window and demanded twenty credits to keep quiet.

Xu Yuanqing secured a raise from the Vice Principal by offering him the complete, uncut version of Seven-Colored Fairy. Meanwhile, Yu Sheng and Shi Guang arrived in Ink City to join the Light Group, where Yu Mo expected them to work at the level of full-fledged team members.

• Xu Yuanqing demanded a raise from the Vice Principal and persuaded him to double his salary by offering Seven-Colored Fairy.
• Yu Sheng and Shi Guang left for Ink City, deciding not to bring their cart.
• Yu Mo explained that Ink Academy students were being sent to several cities and said Yu Sheng and Shi Guang should be trained as full-fledged team members.
• Yu Mo privately hoped pressure would prepare Yu Sheng to shoulder the Ink Pavilion and Shi Guang to become an emotionless replacement after his death.
• At the station, Yu Sheng and Shi Guang found a pickup sign instructing them to reach Sky Group Headquarters by 10:35 and warning that lateness would cost them a month's salary.

Yu Sheng and Shi Guang ignored the long-haired man’s hidden clues and waited out his attempt to test them, then confronted him at the pickup sign. Yu Sheng argued that he had followed the stated rules and warned that poor leadership would make dangerous work not worth the rewards, leaving the long-haired man asking how Yu Sheng would rate him.

• Yu Sheng and Shi Guang found no taxi driver who recognized Light Group, suspected the pickup sign marked a test, and chose to eat rather than search for clues.
• The long-haired man waited by a billboard, expecting the newcomers to follow his clues, then returned to the station pickup sign after they failed to appear.
• Yu Sheng and Shi Guang watched the long-haired man from the restaurant and approached him after he stopped at the pickup sign.
• Yu Sheng pointed out that the rules had not required them to follow his clues and said he had already paid the appropriate penalty for arriving late.
• Yu Sheng warned that if the long-haired man retaliated out of humiliation, he would ask the Ink Academy to withdraw him from the advancement assessment because an unintelligent leader increased the death rate.
• The long-haired man admitted that he had ended up being tested himself and asked Yu Sheng what score he would give him.

Yu Sheng and Shi Guang traveled with the long-haired man to the Light Group headquarters, where Yu Sheng repeatedly tested the man with questions he could not answer. Yu Mo welcomed Yu Sheng as a temporary member and hinted that Lin Siyuan was capable but unlucky.

• Yu Sheng asked whether the long-haired man had lived in the Reserve Corps, then clarified that he meant to ask whether the man was returning to Ink Academy; the man became irritated when Yu Sheng said he was not going back for now.
• As the long-haired man drove, Yu Sheng gave him more than thirty difficult workplace dilemmas, and the man failed to settle on an answer to any of them.
• The long-haired man asked whether Yu Sheng had invented the questions or found them in an ancient book, and Yu Sheng said he had found them in a book with no answers.
• At the Light Group headquarters, the long-haired man welcomed Yu Sheng, who declined to shake his hand.
• Yu Mo wheeled out of the building, gave Yu Sheng a box, and welcomed him to the Light Group on a temporary basis.
• Yu Mo told Yu Sheng that Lin Siyuan was good at getting things done but sometimes unlucky.