Chapter Summaries

Fei became excited after Old White Ape brought it a cultivation technique that might let it reach level nine, and it planned to test the technique on two imprisoned human women. Meanwhile, an eight-tailed fox prepared to act amid Skyvault Ravine’s unusual calm, while Zong Ren woke in Sin City and the Confucian Scholar embraced the power of worship.

• Fei accepted Old White Ape’s hide parchment, then privately celebrated the chance to become a Demon God and considered testing the technique on two imprisoned human women.
• Old White Ape returned to the Thousand-Li Demon Plain without meeting Ji Hong and raged at his residence, while the other demon beasts mocked him.
• An eight-tailed fox at Qingqiu Mountain heard that everything was ready and announced that Skyvault Ravine’s turmoil would soon quiet down before flying away.
• Yu Mo tried to wake Zong Ren, who opened his eyes after two days without food but was too weak and injured to sit up.
• Yu Mo told Zong Ren to thank the Confucian Scholar, who declared that he had felt the pure power of worship and called himself an immortal who saved lives and healed the wounded.

Yu Mo made Zong Ren endure a second ordeal by asking Confucian Scholar to treat his injured legs, while using Confucian Scholar’s Idealism to convince him that Zong Ren enjoyed the pain. The treatment left Zong Ren screaming as Yu Mo realized Confucian Scholar could sense the gratitude he believed was there.

• Yu Mo urged Zong Ren to crawl to a chair and told him he was the Light Group’s next head and successor.
• Yu Mo assigned Zong Ren a second mission, and Zong Ren protested that his wounds prevented him from walking.
• Yu Mo asked Confucian Scholar to treat Zong Ren’s legs, then persuaded him to heal them only halfway so he could receive gratitude in installments.
• Confucian Scholar used violent energy to treat Zong Ren, causing him extreme pain while Yu Mo insisted that Zong Ren enjoyed it.
• Confucian Scholar sensed the incense offerings he believed Zong Ren’s gratitude produced, and Yu Mo recognized the power of his Idealism Awakening Object.

Yu Mo sent the injured Zong Ren on a dangerous second mission while the Confucian Scholar healed him and grew more devoted to Yu Mo. After Zong Ren left, Yu Mo praised guiding evil people toward goodness, unknowingly inspiring the Confucian Scholar to another delusion.

• The Confucian Scholar healed one of Zong Ren's legs completely, and Zong Ren struggled to his feet despite his uneven legs.
• Yu Mo ordered Zong Ren to find a chained, burly man in the Outer City and tell him someone wanted to meet at eight that night.
• Zong Ren accepted the mission and left with a walking stick the Confucian Scholar had brought him.
• Yu Mo told the Confucian Scholar that guiding evil people toward goodness was the greatest undertaking and could earn more incense.
• The Confucian Scholar concluded that Yu Mo was guiding himself because the world was false, while Yu Mo enjoyed having Yu Sheng and Shi Guang away from him.

Yu Sheng and Shi Guang continued Yu Mo’s protection assignment while leaving him stranded in the courtyard, and Sun Yingxiong and Zhong Yushu discussed the Nine-Tailed Fox Clan’s sudden rise in Skyvault Ravine. They prepared for a possible Demon Clan offensive and considered who could succeed Zhong Yushu as Ink Pavilion Head.

• Yu Sheng and Shi Guang decided to continue the job, planning to collect Yu Mo’s body before leaving Sin City and hoping Lin Siyuan would trust Yu Sheng’s promise about the money.
• Yu Mo sent Shi Guang instructions to steer him to the back courtyard and watch Zong Ren, but Shi Guang left him alone after positioning his wheelchair over a hole in its seat.
• At the Ink Pavilion, Sun Yingxiong told Zhong Yushu that Skyvault Ravine’s eleven other God Clans had chosen the low-profile Nine-Tailed Fox Clan to govern the Demon Domain for twenty years.
• Zhong Yushu suspected the Nine-Tailed Fox Clan had a hidden plan, said he would contact demons in Skyvault Ravine, and ordered the Four Great Passes placed under martial law in preparation for a major move.
• Sun Yingxiong and Zhong Yushu discussed candidates to succeed Zhong as Ink Pavilion Head, rejected Yuan Qingshan as too erratic, and left Sun considering other possibilities.

After losing contact with his agents in Skyvault Ravine, Zhong Yushu warned Sun Yingxiong to prepare the Four Great Passes and sought help from the Mountain-Guarding Old Man. The old man agreed to leave his mountain and investigate, while Zhong Yushu remained worried about the Nine-Tailed Fox Clan’s movements.

• Zhong Yushu told Sun Yingxiong that his agents in Skyvault Ravine had been rooted out and urged the Four Great Passes to openly muster troops and strengthen their combat forces.
• Zhong Yushu ordered Sun Yingxiong to summon Kong Hongfang and use supplies seized from the Demon Domain to improve the troops’ strength.
• Zhong Yushu visited the Mountain-Guarding Old Man and explained that all his agents in Skyvault Ravine were dead, leaving the Human Race blind to events in its core region.
• The Mountain-Guarding Old Man agreed to leave after Zhong Yushu said the threat endangered tens of thousands of lives, telling him, “Guard the mountain for me.”
• Zhong Yushu stayed behind on the mountain, joked about the old man’s ruined Azure Bird eggs, and worried that the Human Race still needed time before the Nine-Tailed Fox Clan made its move.

Yu Sheng and Shi Guang ensured Zong Ren entered the house, though they were not responsible for what happened to him inside. In Cang City, Yuan Qingshan brought rare resources to the family of the unconscious Xiao Kong, and Xiao Kong’s wife asked whether they could stop treating him.

• Yu Sheng fired a crossbow bolt through the house window, prompting Zong Ren to turn away before the door opened.
• A burly man seized Zong Ren and carried him inside, leaving his cane outside; Yu Sheng told Shi Guang their mission was complete.
• Yu Sheng and Shi Guang decided to wait two hours for Zong Ren to come out before leaving.
• Yuan Qingshan visited Xiao Kong’s home, where Nian An and her mother recognized the case of resources he had brought.
• Yuan Qingshan opened the case, revealing valuable Demon Plants and an eighth-level Demon Core without a Divine Beast Blood Vein.
• Xiao Kong’s wife asked Yuan Qingshan if they could stop treating her husband.

Kong Hongfang’s wife told Yuan Qingshan how his repeated departures to fight at Dome Pass had left her and Nian An longing for him and fearing he would not return. She asked Yuan to do everything possible to bring Kong back alive, while Nian An vowed to take her father’s place when she turned eighteen.

• Kong Hongfang’s wife recounted how he had returned gravely injured, spent years unconscious, and left again soon after Yuan Qingshan cured him.
• She described how Kong returned unconscious after killing a Demon Lord, leaving medical books as a request to study when he woke again.
• Kong Hongfang’s wife revealed that after another five years, Kong woke and left for Dome Pass before he could see Nian An after school.
• She told Yuan Qingshan that she feared Kong would eventually return dead, but asked him to bring Kong back alive, even if he remained unconscious.
• Nian An stood behind her mother and declared that she would go in her father’s place when she turned eighteen.

After Yuan Qingshan revived Kong Hongfang from a four-year sleep, Kong Hongfang reunited with his wife and daughter before leaving for Dome Pass. He concealed the flaw in his Awakening Object and returned to a Reserve Corps welcome as General Kong.

• Yuan Qingshan used a case to restore Kong Hongfang, while members of the Reserve Corps waited outside in Dome uniforms.
• Kong Hongfang woke, learned he had been asleep for four years, and reunited with his wife and daughter, Kong Nian'an.
• Kong Hongfang left home with Yuan Qingshan after his wife told him she would wait for his return.
• Kong Nian'an called after her father that she would go in his place next time, and Kong Hongfang told her to do her best before departing.
• Kong Hongfang told Yuan Qingshan he had kept quiet about his Awakening Object's flaw because hope was not always a good thing.
• The Reserve Corps welcomed Kong Hongfang back at Dome Pass as General Kong.

Kong Hongfang led soldiers on a forced march toward Dome Pass while Yuan Qingshan remained behind, and Xin Yongfeng returned to the Demon Domain disguised as a cheetah to pursue Ji Hong. At Skyvault Ravine, the Eight-Tailed Fox demanded that the God Clan chiefs acknowledge their responsibility for the Mirage Dragon’s death, and the Black Flood Dragon King reluctantly agreed to issue a proclamation.

• Kong Hongfang ordered his soldiers to reach Dome Pass within thirty-six hours and asked Yuan Qingshan to protect Nian An and the others if he fell unconscious.
• Yuan Qingshan promised their safety but lamented that his potential to reach the ninth awakening kept him from fighting.
• Xin Yongfeng returned to the Demon Domain, transformed into a cheetah using the Mirage Dragon’s Illusion skill, and set out to kill Ji Hong.
• The Eight-Tailed Fox told the Skyvault Ravine chiefs that they had to acknowledge their faults for the Mirage Dragon’s death and their infighting.
• The Black Flood Dragon King and Red Dragon objected to apologizing to low-level demon beasts, but the Black Flood Dragon King yielded to the Eight-Tailed Fox and agreed to issue a proclamation.

The Eight-Tailed Fox pushed the God Race patriarchs to abandon their superiority, learn from humanity, and reform the Demon Domain. Its plan for unified resource allocation and merit-based promotions met fierce resistance, leaving the patriarchs divided over who would control the Demon Clan’s power and resources.

• The Eight-Tailed Fox urged the God Race patriarchs to stop treating themselves as rulers above the low-level demon beasts and to abandon titles such as “this king” and “this god.”
• The patriarchs objected to abolishing “this god,” but their ancestors appeared in the void and signaled their approval, silencing the opposition.
• The Eight-Tailed Fox told the patriarchs to study human knowledge and learn from the Gu Diao Clan’s Demon-Human Plan.
• The Eight-Tailed Fox proposed unified resource allocation, merit-based assessments, removing ineffective leaders, and admitting deserving tribes into the God Race.
• Most patriarchs rejected the reforms, while the Black Flood Dragon King stayed silent and saw possible benefits for its clan.

The Eight-Tailed Fox won support for a centralized Demon Alliance by offering a merit-based system and isolating those who resisted. After the chiefs joined, he called for vigilance over Mirage Dragon’s stolen Demon Core and proposed another offensive against the Human Race’s Four Great Passes.

• The Black Flood Dragon King backed the Eight-Tailed Fox’s reforms and offered up his clan’s resources, while the Taotie chief and others called for his clan’s removal from the God Race.
• The Qiongqi, Hundun, and Heavenly Dog chiefs supported the reforms, leaving the twelve tribes evenly divided.
• The Eight-Tailed Fox established the Demon Alliance and excluded the Taowu Clan from it unless it joined.
• The Red Dragon King switched sides, and the remaining opposing chiefs, including Taowu, joined the Demon Alliance.
• The Eight-Tailed Fox promised a merit-based reward and punishment system, ordered the chiefs to watch for signs of Mirage Dragon’s abilities, and proposed an offensive against the Human Race’s Four Great Passes.

Eight-Tailed Fox reorganized the Demon Domain through the Demon Alliance, tying the clans’ influence and resources to a new merit system. The Tengu King concluded that the Twelve God Clans’ era had ended and that Eight-Tailed Fox’s authority would keep growing unless the Demon Gods intervened.

• The Red Dragon King and several other clan chiefs volunteered to fight, while the Black Flood Dragon King pledged to lead his tribe’s first assault on Demon-Suppressing Pass.
• Eight-Tailed Fox praised the Black Flood Dragon King, then ordered the chiefs to prepare, submit edicts of self-reproach, and have their tribes’ human-culture progress inspected.
• Eight-Tailed Fox warned that failing to meet standards would cost merits and ruled that merits could not be sold or gifted.
• The clan chiefs recognized that the rules had undermined their alliances and placed them in competition under Eight-Tailed Fox’s leadership.
• The Tengu King reflected that the Twelve God Clans’ era was over, credited Yu Mo with understanding the force of political momentum, and wondered why the ancestors had chosen Eight-Tailed Fox.

The Eight-Tailed Fox planned to spread a merit system across the Demon Domain and considered how the Demon Clan might adopt technology after defeating the Human Race. At Thousand-Li Demon Plain, Old White Ape saw the Fox’s plan as an opportunity to take control of the Demon Domain, while Ji Hong warned that everyone around Old White Ape tended to meet a bad end.

• The Eight-Tailed Fox told the Seven-Tailed Fox that Demon Gods cared more about grand ambitions than their tribes and said the Human Race’s powerful successor could be worn down with enough lives.
• The Eight-Tailed Fox ordered the merit system spread throughout the Demon Domain and proposed adopting technology after the Human Race was destroyed, envisioning a cultured Demon Clan.
• Ao Eagles carried conches announcing the merit system across the Demon Domain, and regional Demon Lords collected them.
• At Thousand-Li Demon Plain, Old White Ape told Ji Hong he intended to take control of the Demon Domain and make the Eight-Tailed Fox his subordinate.
• Old White Ape said he would accept serving the Eight-Tailed Fox if it helped him survive and grow stronger, prompting Ji Hong to point out that Old White Ape’s superiors, subordinates, friends, and family never ended well.

Ji Hong considered Old White Ape’s ruthless plan to gain merit and rise within the Demon Domain, while a new conch message left him silently brooding. Meanwhile, Zong Ren dragged himself from his room and crawled through the street as Shi Guang and Yu Sheng watched without helping.

• Old White Ape explained how the Merit Token would spur competition among demon tribes and give Ji Hong a chance to gain status by killing humans and taking over Eagle Ravine Mountain.
• Ji Hong said he would think about Old White Ape’s proposal, then left.
• A goshawk delivered Ji Hong a new conch, and he listened to its message before putting it away in silence.
• Shi Guang saw Zong Ren emerge from his room badly injured, with both legs broken, and collapse outside.
• As Zong Ren crawled away, leaving a trail of blood, Shi Guang asked whether they should help him, but Yu Sheng refused because the mission did not require it and his friend wanted Zong Ren dead.

Zong Ren crawled toward the street, convinced Yu Mo would save him, while Yu Mo asked the Confucian Scholar to retrieve him and delay healing him to maximize his gratitude. The Confucian Scholar found Zong Ren on the brink of death and watched him lose consciousness, leaving his survival in the scholar’s hands.

• Shi Guang and Yu Sheng showed little concern for Zong Ren’s suffering, while Zong Ren kept crawling and believed Yu Mo would eventually save him.
• Yu Mo tried to get Shi Guang’s attention through the camera, then summoned the Confucian Scholar and asked him to bring Zong Ren back without healing him unless his life was in danger.
• The Confucian Scholar agreed that people were most grateful when rescued at their most desperate and left to find Zong Ren.
• As Zong Ren neared death, he thought of An An, renewed his resolve to become stronger, and continued crawling despite his grievous injuries.
• The Confucian Scholar found Zong Ren, who recognized that he would not die and then passed out as his life continued to ebb away.

The Confucian Scholar partially healed Zong Ren, then left him to limp away while Yu Sheng and Shi Guang returned to Yu Mo. Yu Mo learned that Yu Sheng still intended to kill Zong Ren and demanded compensation for being left outside in the cold.

• The Confucian Scholar slapped Zong Ren awake and used his energy to heal him halfway, causing him agonizing pain.
• The Confucian Scholar told Zong Ren to keep crawling, but Zong Ren picked up his cane and limped away instead.
• Yu Sheng and Shi Guang discussed their failure to answer the client’s messages, then Shi Guang wheeled Yu Mo back inside.
• The vultures watched Zong Ren leave, feared the Confucian Scholar’s energy, and searched the wilderness for food.
• Yu Mo asked Yu Sheng if he planned to kill Zong Ren, then complained about being left outside and demanded that ten million be deducted from Yu Sheng’s pay.

Yu Mo learned that Yu Sheng had tried to kill Zong Ren to fulfill his friend’s request and test Zong Ren’s supposed plot armor, then promised Zong Ren would die before they left Sin City. Meanwhile, Lin Siyuan set a trap for a suspected mole at the Light Group, and Yu Mo asked the returning Zong Ren what he had learned.

• Yu Sheng admitted he had tried to kill Zong Ren because his friend had asked him to, and he wanted to test whether Zong Ren had plot armor.
• Yu Mo told Yu Sheng that Zong Ren was useful for now and promised he would die before they left Sin City.
• At the Light Group, Lin Siyuan learned Zhao Xian of Third Team had tampered with files and ordered a staged search to lure him into passing on information.
• Yu Mo greeted the injured Zong Ren when he returned, then followed him inside and asked what he had learned.

Yu Mo learned that Zong Ren had been invited to meet someone at eight and gave him a pill before leaving. He then asked Confucian Scholar to help find Big Fool, but Confucian Scholar refused because he believed Big Fool was stronger than him.

• Zong Ren told Yu Mo that someone had said he would wait for him at eight that night, and Yu Mo questioned why Zong Ren had been allowed to return alive.
• Yu Mo admitted Zong Ren had little value left to offer but said he might survive future missions, then gave him a black pill that he claimed would kill him in three hours.
• Zong Ren swallowed the pill and went to sleep, while Yu Mo and Confucian Scholar watched the night sky and reflected on freedom.
• Yu Mo asked Confucian Scholar to help find Big Fool so they could redeem him and gain Incense.
• Confucian Scholar explained that Big Fool drew power from his body and muscles, feared being beaten to death, and refused to go.

Confucian Scholar agreed to seek out and redeem the powerful man, while Yu Sheng and Shi Guang returned to Sin City to finish their unfinished job. They killed the client’s target, then faced the middle-aged man whose people they had attacked.

• Yu Mo persuaded Confucian Scholar that he could flee if necessary and might earn great incense by redeeming the powerful man, so Confucian Scholar decided to go.
• Confucian Scholar joked that Yu Mo would be immortal in his dream and pushed him away in the wheelchair.
• Yu Sheng and Shi Guang decided to finish their job in Sin City, and Yu Sheng said he had seen the client alive the day before despite his changed face.
• Yu Sheng fired a grenade-tipped crossbow bolt into a house, and Shi Guang killed the injured burly man who emerged from the rubble.
• A middle-aged man confronted Yu Sheng for killing his people, while Yu Sheng explained that he had taken a paid job and Shi Guang asked whether anyone had a handcart.

Yu Sheng and Shi Guang killed a man in Sin City, then negotiated with his burly associate, who wanted to know why Chu Huai’s people had been behaving themselves. Their accidental revelation of Yu Mo’s quota tournament sent the burly man rushing off to claim a place, while Yu Sheng and Shi Guang cleaned up and left with the body.

• The burly man confronted Yu Sheng and Shi Guang over the killing, but ultimately agreed to let them go and arranged for them to get a cart.
• The burly man asked Yu Sheng what he had discussed with Chu Huai and why Chu Huai’s people had recently been quiet.
• Yu Sheng and Shi Guang realized they had forgotten to spread the word about Yu Mo’s tournament for quotas to leave the city.
• The burly man hurried away with his people to seek a place in the tournament, while a young man brought Yu Sheng and Shi Guang a cart.
• Shi Guang loaded the body onto the cart and left, while Yu Sheng cleaned the blood from the ground.