Chapter Summaries

Chu Huai used his final quota to send Xiao Liu out of Sin City, then asked Yu Mo to look after the two people who had already left. Yu Mo offered Chu Huai another quota on the condition that he fight in this year’s Exit-the-City Battle, but Chu Huai refused it and departed with his group.

• Chu Huai urged the woman outside the gate to stay loyal to the Ink Pavilion and asked Yu Sheng and Shi Guang to look after her and the other person who had left.
• Chu Huai offered his final doll to Xiao Liu, but Xiao Liu refused to leave, and the rest of Chu Huai’s group resisted the temptation to take it.
• Chu Huai pushed the doll into Xiao Liu’s arms and sent him through the gate, granting him an Exit-the-City Quota.
• Chu Huai and his seven remaining companions bowed to Yu Mo, asking him to treat the two people who had left kindly, then Chu Huai led them away.
• Yu Mo offered Chu Huai the remaining quota if he would enter this year’s Exit-the-City Battle, but Chu Huai refused and left with his group.

Chu Huai refused to take the available Exit-the-City Quota because leaving would abandon the others in Sin City, while Yu Mo tried to recruit him and threatened the group. The standoff ended with Yu Mo calling to the blind elder and asking for eight more quotas.

• Chu Huai explained that he would not leave the others behind and told them to trust him.
• Yu Mo revealed his cruel reputation and demanded that Chu Huai leave with him or watch the others die.
• Chu Huai and the others prepared to defend themselves, but Yu Sheng refused Yu Mo's order to kill Chu Huai.
• Yu Mo argued that Chu Huai should trust the others to find their own way out and focus on a more important task.
• Yu Mo called to the distant blind elder and asked him for eight more Exit-the-City Quotas.

Yu Mo secured an Exit-the-City Quota for Chu Huai, who left Sin City after saying he would keep Yu Mo wondering what kind of person he was. Yu Mo then discovered that his own sentence still kept him inside the city for three months.

• Yu Mo persuaded the old man to transfer the dead Zong Ren’s unused Exit-the-City Quota to Chu Huai.
• Chu Huai said goodbye to his companions and left Sin City, telling Yu Mo that he would never know whether Chu Huai was kind or a hypocrite.
• Yu Mo turned to Yu Sheng, Shi Guang, and the Confucian Scholar and announced that they should leave Sin City too.
• An invisible barrier stopped Yu Mo at the city gates, and the old man explained that Yu Mo could not leave until his three-month sentence ended.
• Yu Mo told the five people outside the gates to find Lin Siyuan of the Light Group in Ink City and assured them he would be out soon.

After the gates of Sin City closed, Chu Huai’s former subordinates vowed to grow stronger and leave the city on their own. An An returned home and secretly promised to avenge her father, remembering the voices of those who had killed him.

• Chu Huai left with the others, while Yu Mo stopped Old Man from freeing Yu Sheng, Shi Guang, and Confucian Scholar because he feared being left alone.
• Confucian Scholar pushed Yu Mo’s wheelchair at full speed, and Shi Guang activated its mudguards as they headed away.
• Chu Huai’s seven remaining subordinates encouraged one another to keep training until they could leave Sin City without relying on him.
• Yu Sheng and Shi Guang left the bloodstained road, and Yu Sheng reflected that Sin City seemed to hold some light after all.
• After the gates closed, An An returned home with her caregiver, washed off the blood, and vowed to avenge her father while gripping a doll.

Eight-Tailed Fox planned to use the war against the Human Race to train Demon Domain troops and suspected that a hidden spy was gathering information near Skyvault Ravine. In Ink City, Chu Huai and four others arrived from Sin City and told Lin Siyuan that Yu Mo would be out in half a month.

• Eight-Tailed Fox learned that the Human Race was reinforcing its defenses and explained to Seven-Tailed Fox that the coming battle would train troops and commanders, even if the Demon Domain suffered heavy losses.
• Eight-Tailed Fox suspected a Human Race spy near Skyvault Ravine had absorbed a Mirage Dragon Demon Core and ordered Seven-Tailed Fox to find him.
• Eight-Tailed Fox reasoned that Yu Mo had gone to Sin City, explaining why the Human Race's strategist had not yet countered his plans.
• Chu Huai introduced himself and his companions to Lin Siyuan as people who had come from Sin City, and Lin Siyuan realized they had come from Yu Mo.
• Chu Huai told Lin Siyuan that Yu Mo was doing all right and would be out in half a month, then he and his companions eagerly accepted Lin Siyuan's offer to take them somewhere to eat.

Five visitors from Sin City arrived at the Light Group headquarters, where Lin Siyuan discovered they had crossed half the distance with almost no food and could quickly identify his precautions against a mole. After verifying their identities, Lin Siyuan introduced himself and agreed to give Chu Huai information about the Light Group.

• The five visitors silently ate huge portions of food at the Light Group dining hall, and Chu Huai explained they had shared one flatbread on the journey because they had no money.
• Chu Huai said the group had also taken Xiao Liu to undergo an awakening on the way to Ink City.
• A shy young man and Chu Huai deduced that Lin Siyuan was guarding against a mole inside the Light Group and had been trying to draw the mole out.
• Chu Huai requested detailed information about the Light Group, while Lin Siyuan received confirmation that the five had indeed traveled from Sin City to Ink City.
• Lin Siyuan introduced himself as the Light Group's acting deputy group leader and a Sixth Awakening Person, and Chu Huai identified himself as a Sin City native who needed a sixth-level demon core.

Lin Siyuan recruited Chu Huai, Xiao Liu, Xu Han, Zhang Heng, and Lu Xiao into the Light Group, where they requested Demon Cores and prepared to begin work. Meanwhile, Yu Mo remained bored in Sin City, lamenting the month he was wasting there and pleading with the Confucian Scholar to talk.

• Chu Huai told Lin Siyuan that he had advanced to the sixth awakening after leaving Sin City, and Lin Siyuan promised to arrange Demon Cores and an assessment of his Awakening Object.
• Xiao Liu, Xu Han, Zhang Heng, and Lu Xiao introduced themselves and requested Demon Cores for their awakenings.
• Lu Xiao challenged Chu Huai to a fight, but backed down after the boy appeared before him and warned him that being his brother could be dangerous.
• Chu Huai asked Lin Siyuan to assign them work, and Lin Siyuan led the group away as the Light Group members dispersed.
• Yu Mo complained that his time in Sin City was being wasted and begged the silent Confucian Scholar to chat with him.

Yu Mo refused Old Man’s demand that he leave Sin City and was forcibly sent toward its outskirts. Confucian Scholar followed him, while Old Man wondered whether Yu Mo had truly discovered his secret.

• Sin City’s residents fled Yu Mo’s noisy presence, and Old Man appeared to tell him to leave the city.
• Yu Mo insisted that he had repented and praised Sin City as peaceful, friendly, and thriving.
• Yu Mo tried to guess Old Man’s surname, but Old Man silenced him and used an unseen force to push him toward the outskirts.
• Old Man asked Confucian Scholar whether he had thought it through, but Confucian Scholar misunderstood and agreed to leave.
• Confucian Scholar followed Yu Mo and looked back at the sky as Old Man wondered whether Yu Mo had figured him out.

Yu Mo left Sin City after realizing its seal had let him remain himself, and the city’s residents watched him go with relief. The old man who had claimed to hold Yu Mo as a child called him another poor child before disappearing into the darkness.

• Yu Sheng and Shi Guang waited at Sin City’s gate and joked about Yu Mo paying his wages or being sent off in their cart.
• As the city’s red light fell over everyone but Confucian Scholar, Yu Mo realized Sin City sealed his abilities and reflected on how free he had felt there.
• Yu Mo tried to make a dramatic farewell, but Shi Guang started his wheelchair too early and sent him through the gate.
• Sin City’s residents breathed with relief when Yu Mo left, though they acknowledged his noisy presence had brought the city some warmth.
• The old man who had lost his cane watched Yu Mo leave, called him another poor child, and vanished into the darkness.

Yu Mo and his companions left Sin City after Confucian Scholar briefly remembered his identity and spoke of the road ahead being severed before forgetting again. Yu Mo returned to the Wilderness determined to rely on himself, while the blind Old Man vanished and Sin City closed behind them.

• Confucian Scholar thanked the blind Old Man and the chained man, declared he would leave to bring peace and prosperity, then lost his clarity and walked out of Sin City.
• Yu Mo questioned whether the blind Old Man was surnamed Li, but the Old Man warned him not to investigate Sin City and disappeared.
• Yu Mo reflected on Sin City's residents and resolved that the Human Race's road ahead was not severed and that he would rely on himself.
• A Sixth Awakening Person arrived, expressed disgust that Yu Mo was alive, and left after Yu Mo confirmed he had returned.
• Yu Mo declared that he still had the final say in the world as his confidence spread through the Wilderness, while Yu Sheng and Shi Guang continued arguing over who would drive.

Chu Huai and his allies prepared a trap at Third Prison to catch Soul Hunt, while Yu Mo returned to Ink City after Yu Sheng and Shi Guang completed their mission. Yu Mo entered the city alone and was met with furious shouts from people who had expected him to die.

• Lin Siyuan questioned the obvious trap, but Chu Huai decided to go to Third Prison and lure Soul Hunt with valuable information.
• Xiao Liu reported that the prison defenses had been revised, and Chu Huai arranged further safeguards against Soul Hunt’s abilities.
• Chu Huai predicted Soul Hunt would attack within two days and assigned Lin Siyuan to the first night’s watch.
• Yu Sheng gave Yu Mo a slip bearing his account number, then left with Shi Guang without lingering.
• Yu Mo asked the Confucian Scholar to push his wheelchair, then used his energy to roll himself into Ink City.
• People in Ink City recognized Yu Mo and shouted angrily, demanding to know why he was still alive.

Yu Mo answered the crowd’s abuse by condemning those who had never fought demons, while the Confucian Scholar silently followed him. At Ink Academy, the Special Training Class filled with 15,000 recruits, and Xu Yuanqing tried to secure a New Year bonus as the Vice Principal looked on.

• Yu Mo defended himself from the crowd, insisting that those who had never killed demons had no right to insult him, while veterans of the Four Passes continued to curse him.
• After Yu Mo left, some onlookers resolved to join the army, while others silently dispersed; the Confucian Scholar remained unaware of the confrontation.
• Ink Academy completed enrollment for its Special Training Class with 15,000 recruits and assigned returning students to lead teams competing for advancement slots through Merit Points and survival rates.
• Xu Yuanqing and the Vice Principal reflected on the approaching New Year before Xu Yuanqing asked for a bonus and quickly disguised the request as solemn concern.

Xu Yuanqing learned his students would be delayed returning as events unfolded in Er City, while Yu Sheng and Shi Guang set out for the city. In the Demon Domain, Eight-Tailed Fox prepared for war with the Human Race but ordered schools established to educate young beasts and summoned the Thousand-Li Demon Plain’s leaders.

• Xu Yuanqing asked when his students would return, and the vice principal said developments in Er City would delay them by about half a month.
• Yu Sheng told Shi Guang they were going to Er City, and the two boarded a long-distance bus with their cart.
• An azure bird watched Skyvault Ravine, where Seven-Tailed Fox had tightened security, then flew away without attempting to enter.
• Seven-Tailed Fox told Eight-Tailed Fox that the Demon Domain was ready to attack the Human Race, but Eight-Tailed Fox chose to let the humans prepare and ordered merit deductions for surviving Demon Lords who had volunteered to fight.
• Seven-Tailed Fox reported that most Demon Lords resisted studying human culture, though the leaders of the Thousand-Li Demon Plain and Fei of Eagle Ravine Mountain had strong foundations.
• Eight-Tailed Fox ordered schools established for young beasts and summoned the leaders of the Thousand-Li Demon Plain, while placing Fei lower on the list.

Old White Ape and Ji Hong accepted Eight-Tailed Fox’s invitation to Skyvault Ravine, knowing he suspected them and intending to probe him in turn. They arrived in Qingqiu and began a lavishly hosted meeting, with Eight-Tailed Fox praising Ji Hong and expressing interest in Old White Ape’s Half-Demon Human Plan.

• Old White Ape and Ji Hong agreed to meet the suspected mastermind behind the Demon Clan’s new era and assess him.
• Seven-Tailed Fox told Eight-Tailed Fox that the guests had arrived, and Eight-Tailed Fox ordered him to let them in.
• Eight-Tailed Fox warmly welcomed Ji Hong, praised his military achievements, and asked to discuss Old White Ape’s Half-Demon Human Plan.
• Eight-Tailed Fox had monkey wine and demon plant fruits brought out, and the three began drinking together.

Ji Hong and Old White Ape used a banquet with the Eight-Tailed Fox to criticize Fei’s rule and discuss the Demon Domain’s failures. Old White Ape accused Fei and other Mountain Lords of controlling resources and manipulating battlefield deaths, while Ji Hong’s final explanation positioned him as the Eight-Tailed Fox’s equal.

• The Eight-Tailed Fox asked Ji Hong and Old White Ape why they had appeared to quarrel on the Thousand-Li Demon Plain, and Old White Ape explained that they had feigned hostility to protect themselves from Fei.
• Old White Ape praised the Eight-Tailed Fox’s policies and described the Demon Domain as stagnant, while Ji Hong agreed that its power structure was corrupt.
• The Eight-Tailed Fox asked what they thought of the current situation, and Old White Ape complained that Demon Kings like them lacked authority and influence.
• Old White Ape accused Fei, Xiangliu, and the Mountain Lords of controlling resources, then alleged that Fei could arrange battlefield deaths to prevent others from surpassing its Merit Points.
• Ji Hong apologized for Old White Ape’s drunken outburst and said Old White Ape had believed the Eight-Tailed Fox’s reforms could save the Demon Domain.

At the banquet, the Eight-Tailed Fox shared his vision of reforming the Demon Domain into a flourishing civilization and asked Ji Hong and Old White Ape to join him. Ji Hong agreed to hear him out, leaving the three ready to talk.

• The Eight-Tailed Fox asked Ji Hong what he thought of Old White Ape’s words about their friendship, and Ji Hong said he considered Old White Ape his closest friend.
• Ji Hong tried to leave with the drunken Old White Ape, but the Eight-Tailed Fox persuaded him to stay and explained that the Twelve God Clans and their interests constrained his rule.
• The Eight-Tailed Fox described his hope for a Demon Clan that embraced virtues like loyalty and compassion and built a civilization beyond its human origins.
• The Eight-Tailed Fox asked Ji Hong and Old White Ape to walk the reforming path with him, and Old White Ape revealed that he had only pretended to be drunk.
• Ji Hong nodded, and Old White Ape invited the Eight-Tailed Fox to talk.

The Eight-Tailed Fox tried to persuade Ji Hong and the Old White Ape to challenge the Merit System, offering them Eagle Ravine Mountain if they succeeded. The Old White Ape negotiated for Ji Hong to become the mountain's lord and presented him as a model for reform.

• The Old White Ape questioned why the Eight-Tailed Fox thought he and Ji Hong could break the Merit System's shackles, and the Fox admitted it was acting on intuition.
• Ji Hong and the Old White Ape began to leave after bluntly criticizing the Fox's lack of a concrete offer.
• The Eight-Tailed Fox promised that no one in Skyvault Ravine would oppose them becoming the Mountain Lords of Eagle Ravine Mountain if they fought their way through.
• The Old White Ape mocked the Fox's offer, prompting it to argue that reform required pioneers to endure hardship and use its aura to sway them.
• Ji Hong helped the Old White Ape resist the Fox's influence, and the Old White Ape then criticized Fei's rule and proposed Ji Hong as a fair and righteous Mountain Lord who could serve as a model for reform.

Ji Hong and Old White Ape negotiated with Eight-Tailed Fox for support in taking over Eagle Ravine Mountain, while Eight-Tailed Fox privately assessed their motives and ordered Seven-Tailed Fox to keep searching for someone. After leaving Skyvault Ravine, Old White Ape worried that the two of them had bullied Eight-Tailed Fox.

• Old White Ape and Ji Hong asked Eight-Tailed Fox to recommend Ji Hong as Eagle Ravine Mountain Lord, suggesting Fei might soon die of illness.
• Eight-Tailed Fox agreed to recommend Ji Hong but warned that he would face pressure if Ji Hong killed too few humans in the coming war.
• After the two monkeys left, Eight-Tailed Fox told Seven-Tailed Fox that he had tested their intentions and believed they were alike.
• Eight-Tailed Fox asked whether Seven-Tailed Fox had found anyone near Skyvault Ravine, and Seven-Tailed Fox promised to keep searching.
• Seven-Tailed Fox asked whether he should summon Fei, and Eight-Tailed Fox left the decision to him.
• Far from Skyvault Ravine, Old White Ape worried that he and Ji Hong had embarrassed themselves by teaming up to bully Eight-Tailed Fox.

Ji Hong and Old White Ape discussed the Eight-Tailed Fox’s ambitions and planned to kill Fei on the Demon Plain before taking control of Eagle Ravine Mountain. Meanwhile, Chu Huai rejected Soul Hunt’s offer to exchange intelligence for its captured operative and kept the lockdown in Er City in place.

• Old White Ape criticized the Eight-Tailed Fox’s idealistic Great Unity Under Heaven but praised his political skill, admitting he might surpass them with more experience.
• Old White Ape suggested Ji Hong’s Human Race kill the Eight-Tailed Fox, but Ji Hong gave no answer and said Fei would soon replace them on the Demon Plain.
• Ji Hong proposed killing Fei and taking charge of Eagle Ravine Mountain with Old White Ape, while Old White Ape insisted he was a Demon Clan hero rather than a turncoat.
• Ji Hong mocked Old White Ape’s use of poetry and sped away, leaving Old White Ape cursing as he tried to catch up.
• Chu Huai read Soul Hunt’s offer to provide intelligence in exchange for its operative arrested in Er City, dismissed it as a test, and ordered the lockdown to continue.

Yu Mo returned to the Light Group and set his staff to work while Chu Huai issued Soul Hunt an ultimatum to eliminate every faction in Er City. As Soul Hunt began withdrawing its people under Ink Academy surveillance, Sun Wen confronted an old man and pressed him to leave too.

• Yu Mo ordered Lin Siyuan to compile three months of events, requested a normal wheelchair, and told him to replace the ceiling above his office with clear glass so Senior could look at the sky.
• After Soul Hunt delivered its Second Letter, Chu Huai demanded that it defend Demon-Suppressing Pass for a year in exchange for its man, then added an order to eliminate every faction in Er City.
• The Deputy Commissioner of the Guard Bureau attacked A Tai in his office, but A Tai survived and pursued him as he fled.
• Soul Hunt operatives tried to withdraw from Er City while Ink Academy members watched them, and they were ordered to avoid causing any Ink Academy students' deaths.
• Sun Wen confronted an old man in the Ink Pavilion's Pavilion Branch Master office, urged him to leave before the others escaped, and heard him insist that his earlier presence had been a coincidence.