Chapter Summaries

The entrance exam began as students entered a forest filled with Demon Beasts, while Yu Sheng quietly advanced and Li Yihan tried to follow his example. Elsewhere, Luo Yun’s group and the principal’s forces continued fighting the God Servants, and the Divine Attendant pressed his attack on the wounded Liu Qingfeng.

• At the exam countdown’s end, the students charged into the woods, where Demon Beasts drove many of them back.
• Zhao Zicheng and Du Xu pushed deeper by enduring the beasts’ attacks, while Yu Sheng moved stealthily and Li Yihan followed until he lost sight of him.
• Luo Yun cursed a fallen squad member and attacked recklessly as Wang Wenxuan, Zhao Qingyi, and An Xin struggled against their opponents.
• The wounded Liu Qingfeng refused to yield his position to the principal, citing battlefield orders and his two Cloud Patterns.
• The Divine Attendant decided to speed up the fight and charged Liu Qingfeng again.

Yu Sheng awakened the Dragon-Patterned Staff’s power and fought through the Demon Beasts to reach the finish, driven by his promise to Liu Qingfeng and his need to see what happened outside. He killed a level-one Tiger Demon and vanished through the red ring, leaving the proctor astonished that he might have taken first place.

• Yu Sheng found the woods blocked by Demon Beasts and decided to push on so he could see Liu Qingfeng.
• Yu Sheng’s Dragon-Patterned Staff awakened, giving him the ability to confuse nearby Demon Beasts, and he named it “Sucker Punch.”
• Yu Sheng dodged and fought through the woods while the proctor tracked his rapid progress and recognized him as a possible prodigy.
• Yu Sheng reached the red ring but found a level-one Tiger Demon blocking his way.
• Yu Sheng killed the Tiger Demon with a coordinated attack and left through the red ring, while the proctor reacted in disbelief.

Yu Sheng took first place in the assessment and headed for Mobei City despite the clerk’s warnings. Meanwhile, Zhong Yushu killed Wei Le, ordered Chen Yimo to close the net, and departed to begin the final purge of the Evil Cult in Jiangbei Province.

• Yu Sheng emerged from the illusory doorway, learned he had placed first in Mobei City, and set off toward the city despite his injuries.
• Yu Sheng threatened the Ink Pavilion clerk with his crossbow, fired a bolt at his feet, and rushed toward Mobei City.
• Zhong Yushu killed Wei Le and the two old men accompanying him, then told Pavilion Master Lin to call Chen Yimo and close the net.
• Pavilion Master Lin realized Zhong Yushu had been fishing for enemies and revealed that he had resigned from his post that morning.
• Zhong Yushu packed his worn bundle and left as veterans called out their support, beginning the final purge of the Evil Cult in Jiangbei Province.

Liu Qingfeng held the Divine Attendant at bay while the teachers and veterans of Mobei City Second High School fought to protect their students. Yu Sheng entered the city seeking someone at the school, and Zhao Qingyi killed her opponent before making her way there, badly wounded.

• Liu Qingfeng stood his ground against the Divine Attendant, buying time for the defenders despite his severe wounds.
• The students watched the veterans risk their lives to shield them and understood the cost of their protection.
• Yu Sheng ignored Wang Wenxuan's warning and hurried toward the school, focused on finding someone.
• Wang Wenxuan and the other defenders fought more fiercely after seeing Yu Sheng head toward the battlefield.
• Zhao Qingyi killed the God Servant with an ice knife, suffered wounds from his exploding Awakening Object, and set off toward the school.

An Xin killed a wounded God Servant while the defenders continued fighting, and Liu Qingfeng used his final sword strike to kill a Divine Attendant at the cost of a mortal wound. Yu Sheng arrived after taking first place in Mobei City and spoke with Liu Qingfeng as he lay dying.

• An Xin stopped short of the God Servant and crushed him with the power of her book, then pursued Zhao Qingyi despite her own injuries.
• Wang Wenxuan cursed the fighters as both sides continued their desperate battle.
• Liu Qingfeng lured the Divine Attendant into close combat and unleashed the sword’s final strike, killing him as his wings pierced Liu Qingfeng’s abdomen.
• Yu Sheng arrived and told Liu Qingfeng that he had taken first place in Mobei City.
• Liu Qingfeng praised Yu Sheng and confessed that he hated being a teacher while Yu Sheng watched in silence, struggling with his imminent death.

Liu Qingfeng died after giving Yu Sheng his Cloud Pattern Medal and urging him to live by his own convictions and find reasons to smile. Enraged, Yu Sheng attacked the Evil Cult members at the school, but an old man with a goatee arrived and ended the fight, leaving the sports field strewn with the dead and wounded.

• Liu Qingfeng gave Yu Sheng the bloodied Cloud Pattern Medal and asked him to protect what mattered to him and live brightly.
• Yu Sheng accepted Liu Qingfeng's final touch before Liu Qingfeng died with a smile.
• Yu Sheng placed the medal in his schoolbag, then charged the Evil Cult members with poisoned daggers.
• An Xin and Zhao Qingyi joined Yu Sheng, turning the battle into a rout.
• An old man with a goatee appeared, killed the remaining Evil Cult members with a spear, and surveyed the dead and wounded in silence.

After the massacre at Mobei Second High School, Yu Sheng helped honor the dead and buried Liu Qingfeng, while the wider Human Race celebrated a brief victory before suffering another devastating attack. Having ranked first in the province, Yu Sheng faced university offers but was unsure what to do because Ink Academy had not invited him.

• The principal asked Zhong Yushu to protect Second High School and its teachers’ descendants, then called the students to clear the battlefield before fainting.
• The students laid out the dead and cleaned the sports field, while Yu Sheng carried Liu Qingfeng away and reminded Zhong Yushu to pay him for killing twenty-three Evil Cultists.
• A young God Servant from Baichun City realized the attack had targeted Zhong Yushu, changed into a school uniform, and left.
• News of Zhong Yushu’s recovery and victories against the Evil Cult and Demon Clan briefly lifted Human Race morale, but two Level Eight Demon Lords later attacked Dawn City and caused heavy casualties.
• Yu Sheng held a solitary funeral for Liu Qingfeng, buried his ashes, and left the headstone bearing only Liu Qingfeng’s name.
• After ranking first in the province, Yu Sheng received assessment invitations from the Three Major Universities, including a strong offer from the Military Academy, but wondered why Ink Academy had not invited him.

After Liu Qingfeng’s death, Yu Sheng returned to his solitary routine while Zhong Yushu explained that he had recommended him to Ink Academy. Li Yihan and Zhao Zicheng then arrived with news of their school prospects, leaving Li reconsidering his career and Zhao celebrating his admission to Spirit Martial High School.

• Zhong Yushu asked Yu Sheng whether he blamed him for Liu Qingfeng’s death, then said he had recommended Yu Sheng to Ink Academy and urged him to live up to Liu’s medal of merit.
• Yu Sheng resumed cultivating alone, until Li Yihan visited and announced that he had been invited to the military academy’s assessment.
• Yu Sheng asked Li Yihan to kill Evil Cult members and give him the bounty money, prompting Li to look up the reward and decide to become a hero who hunted cultists for profit.
• Zhao Zicheng arrived the next day and showed Yu Sheng his exam-free admission letter to Spirit Martial High School.
• Yu Sheng imagined that Zhao’s awakened ability would make him a popular punching bag among the school’s body-training students.

Zhao Zicheng celebrated receiving an assessment invitation from Ink Academy, then fled when Yu Sanshui revealed himself as the man Zhao had reported. After Yu Sheng received a message and left to take care of something, Yu Sanshui called Xiaoli and got ready to meet her.

• Zhao Zicheng celebrated his Ink Academy assessment invitation and smashed his phone against the coffee table.
• Yu Sanshui confronted Zhao Zicheng over reporting him, and Zhao fled while Yu Sanshui chased him with a mop.
• Yu Sanshui learned that Zhao Zicheng's father was the Head of the Guard Department and awkwardly asked Yu Sheng about his exams.
• Yu Sheng received a message, picked up his schoolbag, and left to take care of something.
• Yu Sanshui called Xiaoli, arranged to meet her, and changed into a tracksuit before heading out.

Yu Sheng reflected on Liu Qingfeng, continued cultivating, and prepared to attend Second High School’s graduation ceremony. There, the principal honored the 56 dead students and explained how generations of awakened humans had sacrificed themselves to protect humanity, leaving the graduates with the weight of that legacy.

• Yu Sheng cultivated at Liu Qingfeng’s house, noticed a faint second shadow beside Sucker Punch, and recalled that Ink Pavilion’s assessment was scheduled for half a month later.
• Yu Sheng set traps and slept with a dagger in hand, then dismantled the traps and checked his equipment before going out the next morning.
• Second High School held a solemn graduation ceremony surrounded by 56 photographs of the dead.
• The principal urged the students to remember those who died protecting them and to become strong enough to protect others.
• The principal recounted how the first three patriarchs and other awakened humans had sacrificed themselves to defend the Human Race.
• The principal said no sixth-awakening human had died of old age in 149 years and explained that eight of Ink Pavilion’s Ten Elders remained hidden so they could strike the Demon Clan if necessary.

At Liu Qingfeng’s memorial, Yu Sheng reflected on the medal and chose to pursue medals of his own by hunting the Evil Cult. He asked an unnamed contact for information, then planned a route from Mobei City to Jiangcheng to earn enough merit before school began.

• At the graduation ceremony, the principal honored the Human Race’s silent protectors and urged the students to become pillars of humanity.
• After the students left, Yu Sheng placed wildflowers before Liu Qingfeng’s portrait and wondered what had made the Cloud Pattern Medal a source of pride.
• Yu Sheng decided to earn medals and called an unnamed contact, spending a favor to learn where the Evil Cult’s people were; the contact promised information by seven that evening.
• Yu Sheng planned to travel from Mobei City to Ink Academy in Jiangcheng, hoping to earn enough merit before school started.
• As Yu Sheng considered how to arrange transportation, his phone rang.

Yu Sheng joined Zhao Zicheng on a drive toward Ink Academy after Zhao escaped his father’s attempt to steer him elsewhere. They barely made it beyond the city before Zhao’s antique vehicle broke down, leaving Yu Sheng determined to avoid anyone connected to the Reserve Corps.

• Zhao Zicheng told Yu Sheng that his father opposed his plan to attend Ink Academy, and Yu Sheng suggested his father might doubt his ability to pass the entrance assessment.
• Zhao arrived bruised after his father learned about his Awakening Object, which let him supply energy to an opponent and increase his own output when allies beat him.
• Yu Sheng photographed Zhao’s shifting expressions, then climbed into Zhao’s old vehicle with him as they set out toward the outskirts of the city.
• At the Guard Bureau, Zhao’s father learned that Zhao had left the city and decided not to send anyone after him, though he was angry that Zhao had driven without a license in an uninspected vehicle.
• Less than ten li beyond the city, Zhao’s vehicle slowed to a stop and broke down, and Yu Sheng resolved to avoid people from the Reserve Corps and their relatives.

Yu Sheng negotiated with a black-market contact for a car after Zhao Zicheng’s plan to buy one failed because he did not know the bankbook PIN. The contact agreed to provide a Tiger XS for free in exchange for Yu Sheng answering one future information request, and Yu Sheng accepted.

• Zhao Zicheng suggested using his bankbook to buy a car, but Yu Sheng asked whether he knew the PIN and Zhao Zicheng froze.
• Yu Sheng called the black-market contact and proposed reporting his businesses unless he provided a car.
• Yu Sheng offered information about who would next leave Sin City, but the contact dismissed it as obvious and Yu Sheng hung up.
• The contact repeatedly called Yu Sheng back as Yu Sheng kept hanging up and walking away with Zhao Zicheng.
• The contact offered Yu Sheng a free Tiger XS in exchange for answering one future information request that did not harm Yu Sheng’s interests, and Yu Sheng agreed.

Yu Sheng collected a car from the man whose wife he had killed, then found and removed a tracking device before Zhao Zicheng drove them away. In Baichun City, a God Servant reported what had happened to a woman who demanded to know why he had not died in place of her older brother.

• Yu Sheng reassured the man on the phone that he had not planned to report him, then sent him his location to collect the car.
• Yu Sheng and Zhao Zicheng hid nearby while the man arrived in a heavily armored off-road vehicle and left after failing to find them.
• Yu Sheng explained that the man was proud and unlikely to kill him secretly, then searched beneath the car and found a flashing tracking device.
• Yu Sheng let Zhao Zicheng drive, and they set off together despite neither of them having a license.
• A God Servant from Baichun City told a woman that he had been badly injured while escaping, and she coldly asked why he had not died in her older brother's place.

A Myriad Gods Church operative accepted a mission to kill two Ink Academy students in Jiangcheng in exchange for promotion. Meanwhile, An Xin and Zhao Qingyi left their companions behind, each hiding how much the farewells hurt.

• The Goddess ordered a young fourth-awakening God Servant to go to Jiangcheng and kill two Ink Academy students, promising to seek his promotion to Divine Attendant if he succeeded.
• The young man accepted the mission, burned his documents, and left his shabby room for Jiangcheng.
• An Xin told Luo Yun that the academy had assigned her a new trial in Jiangcheng, then left Baichun City after saying goodbye to her surviving squadmates.
• After leaving the Dark Pavilion, Zhao Qingyi crouched out of sight and cried because she would miss everyone, then put on sunglasses when footsteps approached.
• Pavilion Master Lin approached Zhao Qingyi and remarked that her tear tracks were too obvious.

Pavilion Master Lin warned Zhao Qingyi that Jiangcheng was dangerous, but she insisted on going there to protect the Human Race. He set out for Jiangcheng with her, using a staged threat to teach her not to trust anyone; Zhao Qingyi followed, still keeping her distance.

• Zhao Qingyi decided to go to Jiangcheng instead of completing Spirit Mind University's assessment at the Dark Pavilion, despite Pavilion Master Lin's warning that she was unsuited to the battlefield.
• Pavilion Master Lin cautioned Zhao Qingyi that Jiangcheng was dangerous and told her to remain vigilant, distrustful, and ready to use force against enemies.
• Zhao Qingyi tried to leave for the station, but Pavilion Master Lin revealed that he was also headed to Jiangcheng after resigning from the Ink Pavilion.
• Pavilion Master Lin pressed a knife to Zhao Qingyi's neck and claimed to be an Evil Cult member, then revealed the threat was a lesson about trusting no one, even him.
• Pavilion Master Lin told Zhao Qingyi they would walk to Jiangcheng and continue her training, while she followed him warily and kept increasing the distance between them.

Yu Sheng and Zhao Zicheng raided Evil Cult hideouts, with Yu Sheng dispatching the cultists while Zhao Zicheng recorded and began confronting his fear of killing. At a second hideout, Yu Sheng called the Guard Bureau to report the bodies and collect the bounty while Zhao Zicheng was chased by the lone survivor.

• Yu Sheng ordered Zhao Zicheng to ram through an iron gate at an Evil Cult hideout, then gave him lines to perform and record.
• Zhao Zicheng delivered a speech to the cultists, but fled when five of them charged at him.
• Yu Sheng ambushed the cultists with a crossbow and sharpened fishing line, then told Zhao Zicheng to call the Guard Bureau and collect the bounty.
• Zhao Zicheng asked Yu Sheng to leave an enemy for him to fight next time so he could prepare for the dangers ahead, and Yu Sheng agreed.
• At another hideout, Zhao Zicheng ran from the last surviving cultist while Yu Sheng sat on the car roof and called the Guard Bureau to report the bodies and request the bounty payment.

Yu Sheng filmed Zhao Zicheng fighting an Evil Cultist while refusing to intervene, and Yu Sanshui prepared to meet Yuxin after calling her with a melancholy act. Pavilion Master Lin took Zhao Qingyi to train by raiding Evil Cult hideouts, only to find that Yu Sheng and Zhao Zicheng had already cleared them all; bounty hunting then spread across the cities, leaving Evil Cultists afraid of both outsiders and their own comrades.

• Yu Sheng judged that Zhao Zicheng could defeat the Evil Cultist, told him to keep fighting, and filmed him instead of helping.
• Yu Sanshui returned home, called Yuxin, and set the scene to appear heartbroken and drunk while waiting for her.
• Pavilion Master Lin brought Zhao Qingyi to a factory hideout and found its gate destroyed and its Evil Cultists already gone.
• Pavilion Master Lin led Zhao Qingyi toward more hideouts, but discovered that every site in his records had been wiped out.
• Pavilion Master Lin learned that Yu Sheng and Zhao Zicheng had razed many hideouts for bounties, inspiring teams to hunt Evil Cultists for money.

Yu Sheng stopped Zhao Zicheng from attacking more Evil Cult hideouts, and the pair hurried toward Jiangcheng while Pavilion Master Lin and Zhao Qingyi traveled behind them. When Lin led Zhao Qingyi to another hideout, its cultists mistook her for Yu Sheng and surrounded her.

• Yu Sheng warned Zhao Zicheng that the Evil Cult had likely learned of their attacks and could ambush them if they continued.
• Zhao Zicheng reluctantly stopped hunting cultists and drove toward Jiangcheng, where they expected to arrive three days before the assessment.
• Pavilion Master Lin refused to buy a car and told Zhao Qingyi that walking would help improve her physical conditioning.
• Lin found an intact Evil Cult hideout, filmed Zhao Qingyi approaching, and coached her to deliver a speech about opposing the cult.
• The hideout's cultists mistook Zhao Qingyi for Yu Sheng, and four third-awakening and two fourth-awakening fighters surrounded her.

Pavilion Master Lin defeated a group of Evil Cult members while filming himself, then drove to Jiangcheng as the city prepared for Ink Academy’s admissions. Yu Sheng and Zhao Zicheng drew attention upon arriving, followed by the mysterious Tombstone Boy, whose apparent approach to his second awakening made him an instant sensation.

• Pavilion Master Lin ambushed the Evil Cult members after they beat Zhao Qingyi, defeated them, and complained that Zhao Qingyi had not used his Awakening Object.
• Pavilion Master Lin bought a flashy pink sports coupe and sped toward Jiangcheng the following afternoon.
• Reporters and gamblers focused on Yu Sheng and Zhao Zicheng as their Fierce Tiger XS entered Jiangcheng, and betting houses listed their chances of entering Ink Academy.
• A short, unknown boy carrying a chained tombstone entered Jiangcheng with energy surging around him, leading people to suspect he was nearing his second awakening.
• The gambling houses listed the boy as Tombstone Boy and gave him strong odds to enter Ink Academy as public attention rapidly grew.