Chapter Summaries

Lin Xiaoxiao entered Jiangcheng riding her intelligent level-two Demon Beast, Big White, while reporters crowded around Zhao Qingyi for photographs. Zhao Zicheng and Yu Sheng discussed a formidable stranger carrying a gravestone and the danger Zhao Zicheng might face in Sin City.

• Lin Xiaoxiao rode Big White into Jiangcheng and told the wary crowd that the Demon Beast was her Awakening Object.
• Reporters marveled at Lin Xiaoxiao's age, her Demon Beast, and her apparent power as she disappeared into the city.
• Pavilion Master Lin left Zhao Qingyi to handle reporters who swarmed her after deciding to promote her as a beautiful genius.
• Zhao Zicheng asked Yu Sheng whether he could beat the man carrying a gravestone, and Yu Sheng warned that the man could smash him with it.
• Zhao Zicheng claimed his looks gave him an advantage, but Yu Sheng warned that being good-looking in Sin City could get him beaten up.

As Jiangcheng's admissions exam drew near, Tombstone Boy's reputation rose while Zhao Qingyi's beauty unexpectedly brought Spirit Mind University a flood of applicants. Spirit Martial High School's principal ordered his staff to recruit students, then angrily confronted Spirit Mind University by phone, only to learn the other side had muted him.

• Young geniuses arrived in Jiangcheng, and Tombstone Boy badly injured a challenger, causing his betting odds to fall to 1:0.1.
• Zhao Qingyi drew widespread attention, and Spirit Mind University's claim that she ranked eighth in looks prompted many applicants to choose the school.
• Spirit Martial High School's principal scolded his staff for failing to find attractive students and threatened to send them to Demon-Suppressing Pass if recruitment fell behind.
• The principal showed his staff a photograph of his younger self, then punched a teacher through a wall after the teacher identified him as Ou Chi.
• The principal called Spirit Mind University to accuse them of unfair recruitment, but the person on the other end said they had muted the call.

Zhao Zicheng worried that his rising fame would make him a target, while Yu Sheng warned him that he could not protect him from a serious attack. Meanwhile, Zong Ren took command of Jiangcheng’s Divine Cult followers and learned that Ink Academy tolerated the local criminals so its students could hunt them for practice.

• Zhao Zicheng celebrated flattering news coverage until Yu Sheng warned that the Evil Cult might kill him to make an example of him.
• Zhao Zicheng declared he would hide inside Ink Academy, but Yu Sheng said he could not stop whoever the Evil Cult might send after him.
• Zong Ren announced that all Divine Cult followers in Jiangcheng would serve under his command for the next six months.
• A cult member explained that Ink Academy allowed the criminals to remain in Jiangcheng as targets for student missions, with each cult member’s head worth twenty credits.
• The cult members told Zong Ren that several of their predecessors had already died when Ink Academy students came looking for mission rewards.

Zong Ren learned that the Evil Cult had killed twelve Ink Academy students, convincing himself his mission might be manageable. As the entrance examination approached, the academy sealed Jiangcheng and summoned candidates, but two crashes at the eastern city gate brought the Guard Bureau and Reserve Corps rushing there.

• Zong Ren heard that Jiangcheng cultists had killed twelve Ink Academy students, and he grew hopeful about completing his mission.
• An Ink Academy man offered one credit for a task, and three students raced to claim it before he assigned one to seal the city gates for three days.
• The Ink Academy announced that candidates had to gather at its gates at eight the next morning, while the city gates were shut and reporters were escorted away.
• A student who had helped seal the city returned to find the academy gates closed and consoled himself that being locked out would earn him a credit.
• Two crashes sounded at the eastern city gate, prompting the Guard Bureau and Reserve Corps to mobilize.

Yu Sheng watched a giant force his way through Ink Academy’s sealed gate, then spent the night secretly preparing something at the academy before returning to the hotel. In the morning, he woke Zhao Zicheng with a foul-smelling prank and headed out for the assessment.

• A giant smashed a hole in Ink Academy’s eastern gate after a student refused to let him and the other exam candidates into the city, and the academy ignored their entry.
• Yu Sheng watched the incident and guessed that Ink Academy rewarded unconventional action, then left to inspect the academy’s main entrance.
• Yu Sheng secretly moved around Ink Academy for two hours while an unidentified man watched him from the wall and found him interesting.
• Yu Sheng woke early, checked his weapons and fishing line, and tried to rouse Zhao Zicheng for the assessment.
• Yu Sheng tossed a small porcelain bottle onto Zhao Zicheng’s bed, and Zhao Zicheng came out accusing him of making the room stink.

Yu Sheng and Zhao Zicheng arrived at Ink Academy for the exam, where Xu Yuanqing let most candidates enter but rejected the last three without a clear reason. One rejected candidate, Sun Wen, offered Xu Yuanqing five hundred thousand in exchange for getting inside, and Xu welcomed him in.

• Yu Sheng told Zhao Zicheng to get ready for the exam, and they went to Ink Academy before its gate opened.
• Xu Yuanqing introduced himself as a teacher and let the candidates enter the academy.
• Xu Yuanqing barred the final three candidates, saying he disliked their looks, and dismissed their complaints.
• Sun Wen returned to the gate and offered Xu Yuanqing five hundred thousand, revealing that his grandfather was Sun Yingxiong.
• Xu Yuanqing welcomed Sun Wen into Ink Academy and began discussing his company's future development.

Xu Yuanqing charged late examinees for entry and used a former prodigy to intimidate the crowd, while Yu Sheng asked to skip the assessment. Xu Yuanqing admitted Yu Sheng directly, and Yu Sheng calmly held a remote with a large red button.

• Xu Yuanqing let Sun Wen enter after taking five hundred thousand, then shut the gate on later arrivals, including the Demon-Slaughtering Pavilion chief's grandson.
• When a proud youth criticized Ink Academy's fairness, Xu Yuanqing had the apron-wearing Zhao Zicheng knock him out and throw him outside for one credit.
• Zhao Zicheng offered to help remove more examinees for a share of the credits, and Xu Yuanqing sent him back to the kitchen to earn his cooking credits.
• Yu Sheng stepped forward and asked Xu Yuanqing whether he could skip the assessment and be admitted directly.
• Xu Yuanqing recognized Yu Sheng from Sin City and declared him an official Ink Academy student; Yu Sheng accepted calmly while holding a remote with a large red button.

Yu Sheng outwitted Xu Yuanqing during the Ink Academy entrance exam by pretending to have planted explosives, though they were only dirt and crushed firecrackers. Xu Yuanqing still let him enroll, then turned his attention to the remaining students to make up for the credits he had lost.

• A student tried to copy Yu Sheng by stepping forward, but Xu Yuanqing had him thrown over the courtyard wall.
• Yu Sheng explained that he had used fake explosives to bluff Xu Yuanqing into letting him advance.
• Xu Yuanqing criticized Yu Sheng for saying he would not have detonated the explosives, then learned they could not have exploded.
• Yu Sheng revealed he had used firecrackers to fake the smell of gunpowder and had expected the Ink Academy to notice him burying the explosives.
• The loudspeaker deducted one hundred credits from Xu Yuanqing for poor exam supervision and insulting a superior.
• Xu Yuanqing told Yu Sheng he would enroll and promised to remember him, then turned to the remaining students to recoup his losses.

Xu Yuanqing began Ink Academy’s first assessment by requiring each candidate to fight Yu Sheng, but Yu Sheng turned the test into a paid staged defeat before the rules were enforced. The loudspeaker ruled that the assessment could not be changed, and the giant stepped forward as Yu Sheng’s next opponent.

• Xu Yuanqing announced that candidates who lost one-on-one fights against Yu Sheng would be eliminated, and Yu Sheng offered to throw each fight for ten thousand.
• Zhao Zicheng paid Yu Sheng and staged a challenge, after which Yu Sheng pretended to lose and reported the result to Xu Yuanqing.
• Xu Yuanqing tried to revise the assessment, but the loudspeaker warned that changing an established test would cost him three years of salary.
• The loudspeaker ordered all assessments to follow the rules and regulations, while Xu Yuanqing watched Yu Sheng with resentment.
• The giant approached Yu Sheng and offered to concede, worried that he might not be able to hold back against him.

Yu Sheng defeated the giant with evasive tactics and a precise counterattack, then negotiated a higher reward through the loudspeaker. Xu Yuanqing’s attempt to end the exam was interrupted, and he took out his frustration on a student before the vice principal mocked him in turn.

• Yu Sheng used the giant’s blind spots to evade his attacks while Xu Yuanqing watched and praised his combat skills.
• The exhausted giant leaped into the air and spotted Yu Sheng, but Yu Sheng evaded his punch, struck him, and held a crossbow to his neck.
• Yu Sheng pulled out one of the giant’s teeth and shoved the crossbow into his mouth, leaving the giant injured and dazed.
• The loudspeaker offered Yu Sheng ten thousand to admit defeat, and Yu Sheng demanded twenty thousand; the voice agreed to deduct it from Xu Yuanqing’s salary.
• Xu Yuanqing started to announce the giant’s elimination, then scolded a student for laughing and deducted three academic credits.
• The loudspeaker’s voice mocked Xu Yuanqing by saying that the vice principal’s word was the rule.

Yu Sheng fought Tombstone Boy in Ink Academy’s entrance assessment, using his Awakening Object’s skill to create an opening but retreating instead of taking a lethal attack. Tombstone Boy admitted defeat yet asked to keep fighting, leaving the match unresolved.

• Yu Sheng shattered a loudspeaker, and the vice principal fined Xu Yuanqing for the damage and for the broken training-ground flooring.
• Tombstone Boy fought Yu Sheng with his chained tombstone, smashing more flooring as Sun Wen offered to cover the costs and promised an extra gift for seriously injuring Yu Sheng.
• Cornered by Tombstone Boy, Yu Sheng triggered explosions from scattered speakers and briefly moved in to attack, but his instincts made him withdraw before striking.
• Xu Yuanqing noted the onlookers’ poor combat judgment on the assessment list, while Tombstone Boy recovered and raised his tombstone as a shield.
• Tombstone Boy told Yu Sheng he had lost but asked to continue fighting.

Yu Sheng continued the Ink Academy assessment, defeating Tombstone Boy by threatening him with a crossbow before he could use his Awakening Object. Sun Wen then passed by offering the academy money and valuable equipment, leaving the vice principal eager to welcome him.

• Yu Sheng accepted a fifty-thousand payment to fight Tombstone Boy, then stopped him from writing on his tombstone by aiming a crossbow at him.
• Xu Yuanqing recorded Tombstone Boy's poor combat judgment and argued that the academy should pay for the fight; the vice principal fired him from the Education Department.
• Yu Sheng asked whether he would be paid to fight the next student, but the vice principal refused and said the loser would be eliminated.
• The next student charged Yu Sheng and was thrown over the wall by the person who had been watching from the kitchen.
• Sun Wen hinted that he could fund renovations and provide new equipment, while mentioning his nine-mark potential.
• The vice principal enthusiastically welcomed President Sun and congratulated him on becoming the second student to pass the assessment that year.

After the assessment ended, Sun Wen demonstrated the strength behind his supposed rich-kid image, and the remaining candidates were retained through further deals. During the lunch break, Yu Sheng and Sun Wen ate from the cafeteria dishes despite a warning that one might contain laxatives, leaving Sun Wen uncertain whether to swallow.

• A student objected to the assessment’s unfairness, but Xu Yuanqing told him to stay or leave and then proposed a spar with Sun Wen to settle the dispute.
• Sun Wen revealed his Awakening Object, a gold ingot with two crystals, and persuaded the student to leave without fighting.
• The assessment continued, with the vice principal paying to retain several candidates and agreeing to Yu Sheng’s demand for eighty thousand to keep Lin Xiaoxiao.
• Xu Yuanqing announced a thirty-minute meal break and rushed to the kitchen, where the student who had cooked revealed that one of six dishes might contain laxatives.
• Yu Sheng took cafeteria food and sat down to eat, followed by Sun Wen, who copied his dish choices before learning Yu Sheng did not know which dish was unsafe.

Zhao Zicheng impressed Xu Yuanqing with his Awakening Object, Sandbag, and was enrolled in Ink Academy’s 140th class as Xu Yuanqing’s personal student. Xu Yuanqing then tricked students into eating laxative-laced steamed buns, leaving the newcomers clutching their stomachs.

• Zhao Zicheng tried to claim cafeteria food as Yu Sheng’s family member, and Xu Yuanqing threw him aside.
• Xu Yuanqing tested Zhao Zicheng’s Sandbag by punching it, then enrolled him in Ink Academy’s 140th class and offered to mentor him.
• Yu Sheng revealed that Liu Yu had hidden laxatives in the steamed buns, and Xu Yuanqing threatened everyone into keeping quiet.
• Xu Yuanqing warned incoming students about the poisoned buns while encouraging them to eat, and the newcomers soon realized they had been tricked.
• The students cursed Liu Yu and Xu Yuanqing as they clutched their stomachs.

Xu Yuanqing began the second assessment, requiring each examinee to punch Liu Yu in the face and record it within two hours. Most failed, but one candidate passed with a staged punch, and Lin Xiaoxiao also presented a video that left Xu Yuanqing speechless.

• Xu Yuanqing resumed the assessment after lunch and told the examinees to act alone, punch Liu Yu in the face, and record it within two hours.
• Sun Wen offered to pay Liu Yu for the required punch or a more outrageous alternative, while Yu Sheng said killing Liu Yu might be easier than dealing with him alive.
• The examinees returned with bruised faces, and Xu Yuanqing let the unsuccessful candidates leave.
• The first successful candidate showed a video of Liu Yu accepting a staged punch and advanced to the third round.
• Lin Xiaoxiao showed Xu Yuanqing a video in which she asked Liu Yu if she could flick his little willy.

The Ink Academy’s candidates completed another assessment, while Xu Yuanqing and an unseen speaker judged Liu Yu’s weakness and assigned him dangerous work in the red-light district. The remaining youths stayed for the final assessment at midnight, and the chapter ended with Liu Yu roaring angrily from the dormitory.

• Lin Xiaoxiao gently punched Liu Yu after he agreed to let her, then thanked him and left.
• Xu Yuanqing told the hidden speaker that Liu Yu was too soft to survive, and the speaker assigned Liu Yu to handle security in the red-light district.
• Tombstone Boy passed Liu Yu’s assessment by transferring money and punching him, while Xu Yuanqing said he was barely worth thirty thousand.
• The giant revealed that he had knocked out one of Liu Yu’s teeth with a sneak attack, but Xu Yuanqing failed him because he had no video evidence.
• Xu Yuanqing warned the remaining candidates that people could die in the final assessment, but none withdrew.
• Xu Yuanqing told Yu Sheng and two others to follow him to observe the midnight assessment, then left to use the bathroom as Liu Yu shouted angrily from the dormitory.

Xu Yuanqing overheard a plan to ambush him, then led the new candidates toward his room and arranged for Sun Wen to take the beating meant for him. The chapter ended with the attackers realizing they had targeted the wrong person.

• A group of students force-fed Liu Yu food laced with laxatives while plotting to ambush Xu Yuanqing.
• Xu Yuanqing overheard the plot and left, relieved that he had learned of the danger.
• Xu Yuanqing warned eight candidates that the final assessment could be deadly, and one withdrew because the Ink Academy did not suit him.
• Xu Yuanqing led the remaining candidates away, while Zhao Zicheng dragged a suspicious Sun Wen toward Xu Yuanqing’s room.
• Zhao Zicheng shoved Sun Wen into the room, where the ambushers attacked him with status effects and fists.
• The attackers realized Sun Wen was not Xu Bighead and cried that they had been tricked.

Yu Sheng escaped an ambush in Teacher Xu’s dorm after Zhao Zicheng’s plan to trap the older students fell apart, leaving Zhao Zicheng and Sun Wen to be beaten and locked inside. Zhao Zicheng explained the academy’s credit system, then demonstrated his Awakening Object to the short-haired senior, whose reaction left the other students confused.

• Yu Sheng and Zhao Zicheng dragged Sun Wen outside, tossed a foul-smelling bottle into the dorm, and shut the door on the older students.
• Yu Sheng abandoned Zhao Zicheng when black gas seeped through the door and let the older students out, while Sun Wen tried to flee.
• The short-haired woman had Zhao Zicheng and Sun Wen dragged back into the dorm, where they endured the stench for two hours.
• Zhao Zicheng told the older students that the vice principal offered credits for taking down older students and explained that getting beaten could also earn credits.
• Zhao Zicheng summoned his Awakening Object and invited the short-haired woman to punch it; she reacted with intense excitement, confusing the other older students.

Zhao Zicheng’s Awakening Object made the senior students eager to hit him, while Yu Sheng prepared for an assessment that allowed almost anything short of death. After the night’s events, the senior students wondered whether Zhao Zicheng’s behavior had been a setup to give Yu Sheng time to act.

• Zhao Zicheng reluctantly summoned his Awakening Object, and the senior students strung him up when he refused to summon it again.
• Yu Sheng asked the assessment supervisor about the rules and credit rewards, then left Ink Academy to prepare before secretly entering rooms around the school.
• The senior students beat Zhao Zicheng until dawn, increasing his strength, then lowered him and promised to protect him.
• Zhao Zicheng found a smiling-face message, muttered about earning credits from the senior students, and left while hiding his pain.
• The short-haired woman suspected Zhao Zicheng had deliberately revealed his Awakening Object to distract them, and the senior students realized Yu Sheng might have been buying time.

The upperclassmen deduced that the academy had encouraged Yu Sheng and Zhao Zicheng’s attack, then planned to retaliate by catching Yu Sheng in the dorms. Their traps exploded before they could lure him in, killing three people and earning the two freshmen 400 credits.

• Liu Yu and the upperclassmen concluded that academy authorities had arranged the credit-rewarded attacks and decided to strike back at the freshmen.
• The short-haired woman warned Liu Yu not to meddle with the Allure Gate, then sensed a box of explosives in her dorm room.
• The upperclassmen found timed explosives in their rooms, moved them back inside, and waited outside for Yu Sheng to return.
• The explosives detonated, and an aged voice announced that one third-year student, two second-year students, and one teacher had died, while Yu Sheng and Zhao Zicheng had earned 400 credits.
• The upperclassmen protested the credit deductions, but the aged voice dismissed them and urged them to take revenge on Yu Sheng.