Chapter Summaries

As the Demon Beasts launched their decisive assault on Demon-Suppressing Pass, the exhausted Human Race prepared to hold the battlements. Behind the pass, An Xin and Zhao Qingyi said goodbye, exchanged lollipops, and cut their hair before setting out together for the final stretch.

• Lin Xiaoxiao, Big White, Mu Yu, and Zhao Zicheng left the battlements to recover from their injuries.
• The Eight-Tailed Fox rallied the Demon Beasts and beat the Demon God Drum as their forces charged Demon-Suppressing Pass.
• Yu Mo watched the Beast Tide from his wheelchair, while wounded soldiers recovered and hurried back to the battlements.
• An Xin and Zhao Qingyi exchanged a halting goodbye and resumed their usual insults.
• An Xin gave Zhao Qingyi a lollipop, then both women cut their hair before facing the final stretch together.

An Xin and Zhao Qingyi split up and raced toward the Beast Tide, while the defenders at Demon-Suppressing Pass prepared for a desperate battle. An Xin reached the center of the horde and unleashed a mysterious gray energy before falling into it, leaving her fate uncertain.

• An Xin and Zhao Qingyi said goodbye and ran in opposite directions toward the Beast Tide.
• Yu Mo announced that the wind had arrived, identified himself as a Yu, and called on the soldiers to salute the two heroes as Yuan Qingshan joined him.
• An Xin used her Sixth Awakening power to evade Demon Beasts and charge toward the center of the horde, while Zhao Qingyi continued running on the other side.
• An Xin's Awakening Object exploded, sending nearby Sixth Level Demon Beasts flying and carrying her into the air above the Beast Tide.
• As a Seventh Level Demon King approached, An Xin declared herself An Xin of the Human Race and struck her pocket, releasing gray energy across the Beast Tide before she fell into it.

Zhao Qingyi died after releasing the Ten Thousand Poisons Fruit, spreading deadly gray poison across the Beast Tide and forcing a Demon God to negotiate. Yuan Qingshan honored Zhao Qingyi and An Xin as the Demon forces began to retreat from the poison.

• Zhao Qingyi was mortally wounded by two seventh-level Demon Kings, released the Ten Thousand Poisons Fruit, and died as its gray aura spread through the Beast Tide.
• A Demon God tried to stop the poison by proposing that the Demon Domain withdraw for a year, but the Old Woman rejected the offer and demanded justice for An Xin.
• The Demon God accepted the Demon Domain's losses and withdrew, while the Beast Tide began moving again under the spreading poison.
• Yuan Qingshan understood what had happened and struck the lightning drum, leading the soldiers in a farewell tribute to An Xin and Zhao Qingyi.
• Yu Mo ordered the Confucian Scholar to shield Demon-Suppressing Pass and noted that the Demon Clan had no fake Demon Gods left.
• The Old White Ape recognized the Ten Thousand Poisons Fruit and ordered an immediate retreat, while the Eight-Tailed Fox chose not to challenge his authority.

The Eight-Tailed Fox’s forces were routed by the Gray Aura, and it realized Old White Ape had anticipated its plans. Old White Ape offered the Eight-Tailed Fox a way to preserve its position, while signaling that he expected something in return.

• Old White Ape, Ji Hong, and the Demon Lords shielded the retreating Demon Beasts, but fewer than twenty percent escaped the Gray Aura’s destruction.
• The Eight-Tailed Fox reviewed the battle and suspected Old White Ape had known its plans and prepared for the defeat.
• The Eight-Tailed Fox joined Old White Ape in treating the wounded and publicly mourned the losses, blaming itself for the defeat.
• Old White Ape forgave the Eight-Tailed Fox and promised that he and Mountain Lord Ji would help it rise again.
• Old White Ape reassured the Demon Beasts that they could rebuild within three years, while silently asking the Eight-Tailed Fox to grant him what he wanted.

The Demon Domain withdrew after agreeing that Old White Ape and Ji Hong would join the Eight-Tailed Fox at Skyvault Ravine for three years, while Yu Mo saw the pause as a chance to overturn the Human Race’s fortunes. Yu Mo then nearly fell into poisonous gas because the Confucian Scholar misunderstood his instructions, leaving him to retreat in embarrassment.

• The Eight-Tailed Fox invited Old White Ape and Ji Hong to Skyvault Ravine for three years to redraw the Demon Domain’s plans, and they accepted the arrangement.
• The Demon Domain withdrew from Demon-Suppressing Pass with renewed confidence, while Yu Mo privately celebrated the three years of peace he had secured.
• The Confucian Scholar sent Yu Mo over the edge of Demon-Suppressing Pass, misunderstanding which part of Yu Mo’s plan had been canceled.
• The Confucian Scholar pulled Yu Mo back from the poisonous gas, and Yu Mo left in his wheelchair after the Reserve Corps soldiers watched his mishap.
• Yu Mo urged the Confucian Scholar to push faster so his archvillain persona would remain intact.

After the battle ended, Yu Sheng quietly returned to Human Race territory, while victory announcements and casualty lists spread across the region. Yuan Qingshan and Qi Changshan took over as Ink Pavilion Heads, and Yu Sheng remained asleep at Ink Academy as spring arrived.

• Yu Sheng left Demon-Suppressing Pass, returned through Deep Mountain, and studied driving instructions before setting off by the book.
• Zhao Zicheng and the soldiers learned that the battle was over as reports announced a Human Race victory and memorialized the dead.
• Kong Hongfang gave Yuan Qingshan a list of materials for his next awakening and asked him to deliver bracelets to his wife and daughter.
• Families across Human Race territory welcomed returning soldiers and mourned those named on the casualty lists.
• On the ninth day after the war, Yuan Qingshan and Qi Changshan officially became Ink Pavilion Heads.
• Yu Sheng remained asleep after seven days at Ink Academy while Zhao Zicheng and other students recovered, and Sun Wen continued transporting wounded people and supplies.

Xu Yuanqing used his new authority as Ink Academy’s vice principal to pressure Zhao Zicheng into surrendering his battle bonus, then settled into his new role as the academy’s students recovered from the war. Yu Sheng remained unconscious, Shi Guang had left, and the former vice principal disappeared after changing his online handle.

• Xu Yuanqing confronted Zhao Zicheng, threatened him, and declared that he would deduct Zhao’s bonus for disrespecting the vice principal.
• Zhao Zicheng argued that Xu Yuanqing had no right to take his money, but Xu Yuanqing left after deciding to deduct it through the academy.
• Ink Academy’s students exchanged their battle credits for cultivation supplies and returned to their missions, while Sun Wen came back and slept for three days.
• Yu Sheng remained unconscious nearly half a month after the battle, and energy in his room seemed to affect the egg on his windowsill.
• Shi Guang exchanged her credits for supplies and quietly left after seeing Yu Sheng badly injured.
• Xu Yuanqing dismantled and sold the academy loudspeakers, while the former vice principal changed his online handle to “Carefree Wanderer” and vanished into legend.

Yu Sheng woke after fifteen days unconscious and left the Ink Academy to find Yu Mo in Jiangcheng. Poison Bee brooded about everyone being pawns in a hidden player’s plans, while Yu Sheng remained focused on retrieving his sword and setting out.

• The 140th Cohort began its third year with every student alive, while Zhao Zicheng spread the slogan that the 142nd Cohort would graduate with zero deaths.
• Yu Sheng woke, searched for his weapons, and picked up his sword as Poison Bee rambled about Demon Gods and Ninth Awakening experts being pawns.
• Yu Sheng dressed, strapped on his sword, and left the quiet Ink Academy without anyone noticing he was awake.
• Yu Sheng called Yu Mo, learned he was at Liu Laosan's restaurant in Jiangcheng, and drove there.

Yu Sheng brought Yu Mo, the Confucian Scholar, Yuan Qingshan, and Qi Changshan to the Human Race's Back Mountain to reveal what he had found in the Demon Domain. After Yu Sheng brought out a complete Demon God's remains, the Confucian Scholar sensed something watching them.

• Yu Sheng found Yu Mo at a restaurant and asked him to bring the Confucian Scholar to a secluded, very large space.
• Yu Sheng drove Yu Mo and the Confucian Scholar to Ink City's Human Race's Back Mountain, where Yuan Qingshan and Qi Changshan joined them.
• Yu Sheng asked the Confucian Scholar to conceal the aura of a Demon God, and the Confucian Scholar shielded the Back Mountain from ninth-awakening observers.
• Yu Sheng opened a rift and dropped an enormous island into the Back Mountain, revealing the complete remains of a Demon God.
• Yu Sheng explained that the Ten Thousand Poisons Fruit had been growing inside the remains, and the Confucian Scholar suddenly sensed something in the air and appeared to investigate.

Confucian Scholar convinced Poison Bee that immortals watched over the world, and the two pondered the supposed truth together. Yu Sheng delivered a Ten Thousand Poisons Fruit for Xiao Nan before leaving, while Yu Mo and the others prepared to exploit Poison Bee and beat Yu Mo for showing off.

• Poison Bee emerged and lamented being a pawn, but Confucian Scholar mistook its melancholy for enlightenment and told it that immortals existed in the heavens.
• Poison Bee concluded that the chess players might be immortals, and Confucian Scholar agreed with its speculation as they stared into space together.
• Yu Sheng recounted the events to Yu Mo, Qi Changshan, and Yuan Qingshan, then left a Ten Thousand Poisons Fruit for Xiao Nan to receive.
• Yu Mo and the others discussed using Poison Bee as a cultivation ground or a test of willpower, while Yu Mo remarked that Yu Sheng had changed.
• Yu Mo claimed Yu Sanshui as his godfather and threatened to have him punish the others, so Yuan Qingshan and Qi Changshan beat Yu Mo for half an hour.
• Yuan Qingshan and Qi Changshan left in high spirits, discussing how to make use of the Demon God's corpse.

Poison Bee accepted Confucian Scholar’s claim that their separation was part of a chess player’s plan, while Yu Mo considered ways to use the Demon God’s skeleton and reward Yu Sheng. At Ink Academy, Sun Wen and Zhao Zicheng watched the freshman selections and complained that the Special Training Class had taken all the available missions.

• Poison Bee wondered where his guide had gone, and Confucian Scholar persuaded him to trust the chess player’s plan and simply go with the flow.
• Confucian Scholar claimed he was not a chess piece, and Poison Bee took his mysterious answer as a sign of special understanding between them.
• Yu Mo considered building a Demon God skeleton or turning it into a war machine, then decided to reward Yu Sheng with a family dinner involving his godfather.
• Sun Wen collected his bet winnings after a freshman advanced, then invited Yu Sheng to gamble while Zhao Zicheng mocked the idea.
• Zhao Zicheng complained that the Special Training Class had made it impossible for them to secure missions, even with his mission-snatching cheat.

After Sun Wen was exposed as the one behind Zhao Zicheng’s budget-model purchase, Zhao Zicheng beat him up with help from their examiner. Xu Yuanqing announced that Divine Ruins would appear in Human Race territory in a week and ordered the group to depart that afternoon, leaving Sun Wen to organize them for the trip.

• Yu Sheng compared the budget and premium versions of a product, prompting Zhao Zicheng to realize Sun Wen had tricked him and corner him for a beating.
• Zhao Zicheng, Sun Wen, and their examiner were caught brawling, and Xu Yuanqing deducted credits and threatened their pay before stopping the fight.
• Xu Yuanqing announced that Divine Ruins would appear in Human Race territory in a week and said Yu Mo had requested that the group explore them, so they would leave that afternoon.
• Sun Wen concluded that Xu Yuanqing had used the punishment as a pretext to sell them information and suspected there was an advantage to arriving early.
• Sun Wen told the group to meet at the school gates in ten minutes, promised to explain on the way, and reminded them to wake Yu Sheng, who was still cultivating while AFK.

Yu Sheng and his companions traveled to Ink City for an assessment in the Divine Ruins, while Sun Wen reasoned that the trip would test young students and might reward them by ranking. In Ink City, Yu Mo revealed that records from a past Divine Ruins expedition had led him to a site near the city, where new ruins might appear within three days.

• Yu Sheng put away the Demon Crystal and headed for the dormitory as Zhao Zicheng and Sun Wen mocked each other and discussed A Tai’s rougher fighting style.
• The group boarded a custom passenger van bound for Ink City, and Sun Wen deduced that the Divine Ruins trip was likely a confidential assessment with possible rewards based on rankings.
• Zhao Zicheng eagerly declared that the Blood-Colored Twin Fiends would return, while Sun Wen urged the group to arrive early and observe their competitors.
• At Ink Pavilion, Yuan Qingshan questioned Yu Mo about his claim that new Divine Ruins would appear near Ink City and asked how he had located them.
• Yu Mo explained that records from his past expedition had led him to identify a Divine Ruins site near Ink City, with the opening date uncertain by no more than three days.

Yu Mo explained his theory that the Divine Ruins came from an ancient cataclysm that destroyed the Ancient Human Race and Ancient Demon Clan, and said he was sending students there because the ruins might offer resources vital to preparing for another Demon Domain invasion in three years. He admitted he had disguised the danger as an assessment to force clever young people to learn through painful mistakes, and Yuan Qingshan ultimately accepted his reasoning despite fearing casualties.

• Yu Mo theorized that the Ancient Human Race fled a cataclysm in a small world, which shattered and became the Divine Ruins, while its survivors failed to escape or live again.
• Yu Mo told Yuan Qingshan that the Divine Ruins held valuable resources but could not support many high-level awakened, making university students suitable explorers.
• Yu Mo said he hoped the students would find fortuitous encounters because the Human Race had only three years before the Demon Domain regrouped and invaded again.
• Yu Mo admitted he had presented the mission as an assessment so overconfident students would suffer setbacks and mature.
• Yuan Qingshan worried that the students' mistaken assumptions could get them killed, but Qi Changshan defended Yu Mo's plan and Yuan tacitly approved it.

Ink Academy’s students gathered at Ink City’s General Education Department for a Divine Ruins assessment, but Sun Wen and Yu Sheng sensed that someone was watching them and warned the group to stay alert. Yu Mo observed them from inside and confirmed that their time there was already part of the assessment.

• Sun Wen arrived at the playground, where students from several academies had gathered, and the Ink Academy group took up positions in the center.
• Zhao Zicheng reminisced about his dramatic arrival at the previous Freshman Tournament.
• Sun Wen sensed that the relaxed atmosphere was suspicious, and Yu Sheng said an opponent he could not beat was watching him.
• Sun Wen told the group to discard their earlier theories and adapt to whatever happened, and the students spread out into a defensive formation.
• Yu Mo watched the students on a Large Screen and told Yuan Qingshan that their presence was part of the assessment.

Yu Mo explained how the Divine Ruins assessment would test the entrants, then defended his little brother Yu Sheng when Yuan Qingshan pointed out that he fit Yu Mo’s description of a clueless candidate. In Skyvault Ravine, Ji Hong and Old White Ape recognized that the Eight-Tailed Fox had kept them away from power, and resolved to seize their own opportunities before the Demon God lost interest in them.

• Yu Mo described a seemingly isolated and inattentive boy on the screen as a strong candidate whose fate in the Divine Ruins could make or break him.
• Yuan Qingshan pointed out that Yu Sheng matched Yu Mo’s description, prompting Yu Mo to insist that his little brother was actually sensing danger and preparing himself.
• The Eight-Tailed Fox gave Ji Hong and Old White Ape Peach Blossom Pool for their service, then left to handle other matters.
• Old White Ape concluded that the Eight-Tailed Fox had banished them to the frontier to keep them away from the Demon Domain’s power and resources.
• Ji Hong said they would take what they needed themselves while the Demon God still favored them, and Old White Ape agreed that Skyvault Ravine should get livelier starting the next day.

Yu Mo tried to intimidate the students heading to the Divine Ruins, but Zhao Zicheng and the Ink Academy students derailed his speech by discussing dinner. After the students left, Yu Mo threatened to cut Ink Academy's funding, only for Yuan Qingshan and Qi Changshan to refuse to support him.

• Yu Mo warned the students about the Divine Ruins and mocked them for their inexperience.
• Zhao Zicheng asked whether dinner was served, and the Ink Academy students debated what to eat instead of listening to Yu Mo.
• The students drew lots to choose dinner and went to a restaurant serving whole roast lamb.
• Yu Mo returned to his department and threatened to cut Ink Academy's funding if its students caused trouble.
• Yuan Qingshan and Qi Changshan said they disagreed, leaving Yu Mo frustrated.

As the Divine Ruins approached opening near Ink City, Sun Wen equipped the students with newly developed bombs and prototype spirit artifacts. Yu Mo led the group to the guarded site, where the Divine Ruins finally opened.

• Yu Mo announced that the Divine Ruins would appear within an hour and ordered the students to prepare.
• Sun Wen brought in baskets of powerful Demon Crystal bombs, which Yu Sheng stored while the team took a few for their mission.
• Sun Wen distributed prototype spirit artifacts, including a spear he gave to Lin Xiaoxiao.
• Yu Mo led the students to the eastern suburbs, where Reserve Corps soldiers guarded the unstable space.
• The space cracked and formed a black vortex as Yu Mo watched, and the Divine Ruins opened.

Yu Mo warned the students about the unpredictable dangers inside the Divine Ruins before they entered the passage. After they departed, Yuan Qingshan worried about the loss of talented young people, while Yu Mo insisted that hardship and blood were necessary for them to grow.

• Yu Mo told the students that anything inside the Divine Ruins could be dangerous, including the landscape, and warned that living creatures might exist there.
• Yu Sheng recalled feeling as though he might have been watched during his previous visit, though he could not be sure.
• Zhao Zicheng called A Tai, and the two entered the passage before Yu Sheng, Mu Yu, Sun Wen, and Xiao Xiao followed.
• Other students entered the Divine Ruins as the passage stabilized, leaving Yu Mo alone outside.
• Yuan Qingshan warned Yu Mo that losing too many promising students would be a great cost to humanity.
• Yu Mo replied that the students needed to endure hardship to shoulder the future, even if their growth came through blood.

Yu Sheng tested the deadly plants in a sea of flowers and forced his way through them, discovering that blood made them grow stronger. He considered spreading the demon plants through the Demon Domain, then returned to study them for possible seeds.

• Yu Sheng released moles into the flower field and watched a sunflower swallow one, the earth trap another, and a vine strangle a third.
• Yu Sheng concluded that the flowers posed a threat around the fourth awakening and used his hammer to break through their attacks.
• Yu Sheng noticed that the sunflower attacked faster after absorbing blood and wondered whether blood accelerated the plants' growth.
• After leaving the flower field, Yu Sheng considered using demon plants against the Demon Domain but decided powerful demon beasts and Demon Gods could stop them.
• Yu Sheng went back into the flowers to inspect a thorn-covered purple vine and split one of its thorns, releasing blood-red sap.