Chapter Summaries

Yu Sheng and Zhao Zicheng returned to the dormitory after the explosives and knockout drug incapacitated Liu Yu and the other students. Zhao Zicheng filmed himself beating them, while Yu Sheng revealed how much he preferred the Ink Academy’s brutal rules; the short-haired woman asked for more of the drug, but he refused.

• Yu Sheng continued toward the dormitory to collect credits, and Zhao Zicheng followed despite his fear.
• Yu Sheng offered the short-haired woman half the operation’s credits, then handed Zhao Zicheng a stick to beat the unconscious students.
• Zhao Zicheng filmed himself striking Liu Yu and the others, then asked Yu Sheng to reshoot the footage so Liu Yu’s face was clear.
• The short-haired woman asked whether Yu Sheng feared she would betray him, and he said he treated the Ink Academy like Sin City, where anything short of killing was allowed.
• The short-haired woman asked Yu Sheng for more knockout drug, but he said she could not have any.

At Ink Academy, the new students and examinees faced beatings, surveillance, and a brutal entrance trial. Xu Yuanqing brought the surviving recruits into the academy and warned them that their initiation ceremony had killed sixty-three people over the past 140 years.

• A short-haired woman returned to the dormitory while Zhao Zicheng photographed the unconscious students; Yu Sheng distanced himself from Zhao Zicheng, who was forced to his knees by a wave of energy.
• An old man shared surveillance photos of the students and Zhao Zicheng in the group chat, where the others laughed and Mr. Xu promoted his food-delivery business idea.
• Outside Jiangcheng, Xu Yuanqing urged the examinees to defeat the level-two Demon Beasts, while Lin Xiaoxiao offered to fight for a fee and argued with him about her enrollment.
• Zhao Qingyi and An Xin discovered they were both assigned to the Dark Pavilion and immediately renewed their rivalry.
• The next morning, Xu Yuanqing led Tombstone Boy, Lin Xiaoxiao, and the giant into Ink Academy, then told the new students to rest before the initiation ceremony and warned them to write their wills.

Sun Wen tried to sell his classmates protective jade pendants for one million each, but Yu Sheng exposed their much lower Black Market price. The chapter ended with Yu Sheng asking Sun Wen for two pendants at a discount and threatening to stop him from climbing Demon-Suppressing Pass if he refused.

• Sun Wen explained the dangers of the new students' trip up Demon-Suppressing Pass and offered his grandfather's jade pendants for one million each.
• The giant agreed to buy a pendant on credit and signed Sun Wen's contract, while Tombstone Boy showed interest and Yu Sheng stopped Zhao Zicheng from buying one.
• Lin Xiaoxiao and Big White ignored Sun Wen's pitch as he lamented that they had passed up a chance to save their lives.
• Xu Yuanqing realized Sun Wen was selling cheap pendants at a huge markup and regretted not selling them himself, then worried Sun Wen had withheld the final digits of his password.
• Yu Sheng told Sun Wen the pendants cost thirty thousand each through a Black Market connection and demanded two for ten thousand each, threatening to injure his legs if Sun Wen refused.

Yu Sheng and Zhao Zicheng obtained Sun Wen’s jade pendants, and Yu Sheng learned to handle negotiations more tactfully outside Sin City. He then registered at the Bounty Hall and left with a card that let him access bounties.

• Yu Sheng refused Sun Wen’s offer until Sun Wen begged him for one yuan, and Zhao Zicheng gave Sun Wen the money before taking one jade pendant each for himself and Yu Sheng.
• Zhao Zicheng asked Sun Wen to lend him the one yuan and pocketed it again, prompting Yu Sheng to reflect on his more tactful approach.
• Tombstone Boy and the giant moved toward Sun Wen, who warned them that his uncle commanded Jiangcheng's Reserve Corps and ran away.
• Zhao Zicheng returned to the hotel to pack while Yu Sheng walked to the Bounty Hall.
• Yu Sheng registered at the Bounty Hall, received a dark-red card, and learned how to view and complete bounties.

An Xin finished her missions at the Bounty Hall and decided Zhao Qingyi should take her place handing out flyers. That night, Xu Yuanqing drove the Ink Academy group toward Demon-Suppressing Pass in a battered van, towing the giant on Tombstone Boy’s tombstone, while Pavilion Master Lin chased them in his pink sports coupe.

• An Xin turned in her missions at the Bounty Hall, then guessed that a familiar figure had been nearby and decided Zhao Qingyi would hand out flyers in her place.
• Xu Yuanqing gathered the Ink Academy students for their trip to Demon-Suppressing Pass and offered to write last letters for thirty thousand each.
• Xu Yuanqing loaded the students into a shabby van, then towed Tombstone Boy’s tombstone with the giant sitting on it and a dog running behind them.
• Xu Yuanqing sped along the highway and overtook Pavilion Master Lin’s pink coupe, prompting the giant to shout at Lin.
• Pavilion Master Lin tried to catch up, called the Transportation Department to report the street racing, and vowed to catch the van and its passengers.

Xu Yuanqing and Pavilion Master Lin raced to Demon-Suppressing Pass, where their teasing rivalry gave way to a solemn farewell. After reporting for duty, Lin Feng urged Xu Yuanqing to join him there as their generation prepared to take on greater responsibility.

• Xu Yuanqing kept ahead of Pavilion Master Lin during their drive until both men parked outside Demon-Suppressing Pass, where they and the others took in the imposing fortress.
• Xu Yuanqing and Pavilion Master Lin exchanged insults and nearly fought until soldiers reminded them that fighting was prohibited at the pass.
• Pavilion Master Lin threatened the giant, then presented his identification and underwent identity and skeletal scans at the checkpoint.
• The soldiers saluted Lin Feng as he reported to Demon-Suppressing Pass under orders, and he returned their salute.
• Lin Feng told Xu Yuanqing that their generation needed to step up, then walked toward the pass and called that he would be waiting for him.
• Xu Yuanqing watched Lin Feng go and shouted for him to leave the car keys behind.

Xu Yuanqing brought the Ink Academy students to Demon-Suppressing Pass for their initiation, where Yu Sheng’s mistrust of the checkpoint inspection nearly caused a confrontation. After the soldiers verified his medal, the group passed through, newly stirred by the honor of defending humanity.

• Xu Yuanqing stopped Yu Sheng from sabotaging his van, then threatened to deduct a credit before backing down when Yu Sheng prepared to damage it.
• Xu Yuanqing presented his identity and the students’ files at the Demon-Suppressing Pass checkpoint.
• Yu Sheng refused to let the soldiers touch his face unless he could first touch one of their necks, prompting Xu Yuanqing to explain that he was an eighteen-year-old first-class Cloud Merit recipient.
• The soldier verified Yu Sheng’s medal and allowed the inspection to proceed after Yu Sheng placed a hand on his neck.
• The soldiers saluted the students and opened the checkpoint, and Zhao Zicheng and the others felt proud of their humanity and looked forward to returning as soldiers.

Yu Sheng and the other students climbed the Torch Inheritance Road, where the names and wishes of fallen defenders showed them the Human Race’s history of sacrifice. At the top of Demon-Suppressing Pass, they witnessed wounded soldiers being carried away and a legless soldier’s defiant farewell, while Zhong Yushu stood atop the wall.

• Xu Yuanqing explained that the bloodstained stairs and carved names represented 149 years of the Human Race’s struggle, then shared his wishes for the students and sent them onward.
• Yu Sheng read the inscriptions of Xu Yuanqing, Zhong Yushu, Chen Sanjiu, and Liu Qingfeng, and paused at Liu Qingfeng’s words while questioning whether he could trust them.
• The group reached an inscription by Ji Hong that read, “Let everything end with our generation,” and ascended Demon-Suppressing Pass.
• Yu Sheng and the others saw soldiers resting amid blood as logistics personnel carried away the wounded, some of whom smiled and cursed through their reluctance to leave.
• A soldier who had lost both legs sat up on his stretcher and roared toward the Demon Domain, and the soldiers, including Zhong Yushu, struck their fists against their chests.

Xu Yuanqing showed the new students the devastation left by war on Demon-Suppressing Pass, then explained the sacrifices made by healing-type awakened. As Zhong Yushu took Yu Sheng aside, Sun Wen persuaded the shaken students to buy medicine so they could face their first visit to the pass.

• Xu Yuanqing warned the students that the war had just ended and showed them the battlefield's corpses and wounded, leaving Yu Sheng quiet and the others shaken.
• An elderly healer used his seven-petaled flower Awakening Object to heal the soldiers, and Xu Yuanqing explained that using healing abilities aged him.
• Zhong Yushu interrupted Xu Yuanqing's story about his first visit to Demon-Suppressing Pass, then invited Yu Sheng to walk with him.
• Sun Wen offered medicine to the frightened students, and Tombstone Boy and the burly young man agreed to buy some.

Sun Wen sold calming capsules to students at the Demon-Suppressing Pass and explained that their effect came from psychological suggestion. After the Third Entrance Ceremony began, Zhong Yushu asked Yu Sheng for help with his struggling company and learned that Sun Wen’s Golden Ingot Group was competing with him, leaving Zhong Yushu eyeing Sun Wen with murderous intent.

• Sun Wen sold Lin Xiaoxiao two capsules for Big White and told Xu Yuanqing the capsules were ordinary pharmacy products whose effects came from suggestion.
• Xu Yuanqing gossiped about Zhong Yushu and Yu Sheng, then knelt after Zhong Yushu looked his way; Pavilion Master Lin also dropped to his knees, and Zhao Zicheng photographed them and demanded money to delete the picture.
• Xu Yuanqing told the students to begin the Third Entrance Ceremony Event and help medical staff transport the wounded and handle the bodies.
• Zhong Yushu told Yu Sheng that his company in Jiangbei Province was losing business to a copycat and that he had failed to register a trademark or print the company name on his discs.
• Yu Sheng suggested that Zhong Yushu rob Sun Wen, and Zhong Yushu realized Sun Wen’s Golden Ingot Group was the rival taking his business and glared at him with murderous intent.

At Demon-Suppressing Pass, Yu Sheng and the Ink Academy freshmen helped clear the aftermath of battle before hearing the soldiers’ hopes and guilt on Hero Road. As the students began their descent, a new enemy attack came from Eagle Ravine Mountain, and Xu Yuanqing sent them on while joining the fight.

• Zhong Yushu pulled Sun Wen aside and spoke with him, leaving Sun looking distressed, while the soldiers later pinned down Zhao Zicheng for a friendly exchange.
• Yu Sheng and the other freshmen helped with logistics as workers removed the dead and wounded and processed the Demon Beasts.
• Xu Yuanqing introduced Hero Road, and Zhong Yushu told the students to honor the veterans and strengthen the Human Race.
• The soldiers and commanders struck their chests and wished the freshmen strength, moving Lin Xiaoxiao to tears and stirring Yu Sheng’s desire to belong.
• An enemy attack sounded from Eagle Ravine Mountain as the students started down Hero Road, and Xu Yuanqing ordered them not to look back before joining the battle.

Yu Sheng and the other freshmen descended Hero Road after confronting the words left by those who had died defending the pass. Xu Yuanqing finally joined them, welcomed them to Ink Academy, and announced their return to school.

• Yu Sheng reflected on the words carved into Hero Road, decided to find his own path, and descended from the pass without hesitation.
• Zhao Zicheng joined Yu Sheng beneath the night sky, spoke about training to survive, and vowed to grow stronger at Ink Academy.
• Tombstone Boy, Sun Wen, Lin Xiaoxiao, and the giant descended from the pass, while the group waited for Xu Yuanqing.
• Xu Yuanqing arrived injured and exhausted, welcomed the freshmen as members of Ink Academy, and told them to return to school before collapsing asleep.
• Zhao Zicheng asked Sun Wen to lend him his pen.

Zhao Zicheng defaced and photographed the sleeping Xu Yuanqing, then the group set off for Jiangcheng with Yu Sheng driving the manual van. They reached the city safely, but Yu Sheng wrecked Xu Yuanqing’s car, and Xu Yuanqing woke to find it missing.

• Zhao Zicheng borrowed a pen from Sun Wen, drew on Xu Yuanqing’s face, and posted a photo of them on the Ink Academy campus forum.
• After the group reached the checkpoint, nobody wanted to drive, so Yu Sheng reluctantly took the wheel while Zhao Zicheng steered from the passenger seat when needed.
• Yu Sheng drove erratically through the night, nearly flinging the giant off the roof and terrifying everyone in the van.
• The group arrived outside Jiangcheng at dawn, but Yu Sheng’s failure to downshift left Xu Yuanqing’s modified van smoking and ruined.
• The group carried Xu Yuanqing into Jiangcheng on Big White’s back, and Xu Yuanqing later woke and asked where his car was while Yu Sheng slipped into the academy.

Xu Yuanqing brought the new students’ paperwork to the old man responsible for entering their information, but caught him watching Seven-Colored Fairy. After the six students were added to Ink Academy’s roster, Xu Yuanqing praised the cartoon and provoked the old man.

• Xu Yuanqing left Zhao Zicheng to be chased by Liu Yu and the other older students, who had seen Zhao’s photo of Xu Yuanqing’s doodled face on the academy forum.
• Xu Yuanqing took the new students’ paperwork to the old man’s courtyard and demanded that he enter their information so Xu Yuanqing could take them to choose dorm rooms.
• Xu Yuanqing plugged in the old man’s computer and revealed that it was playing Seven-Colored Fairy, which the old man denied watching.
• The old man entered Yu Sheng, Zhao Zicheng, Lin Xiaoxiao, Sun Wen, Tombstone Boy, Mu Yu, Giant, and A Tai into the academy roster, recording six new students.
• Xu Yuanqing praised Seven-Colored Fairy, and the old man glared at him and asked if he was courting death.

Xu Yuanqing blackmailed the old man into returning credits, while Sun Wen tried to sell supplies to Yu Sheng and Lin Xiaoxiao. Sun Wen suspected his Lawless Outlaws stock was fake and ordered an investigation before pitching Lin Xiaoxiao an expensive skincare product.

• Xu Yuanqing threatened to expose the old man’s love of Seven-Colored Fairy unless he returned 100 credits and paid another 100, and the old man told him to collect the credits from the academic affairs office.
• The old man warned that Xu Yuanqing could blackmail him only once over the same matter, then watched the anime again after Xu Yuanqing left.
• Sun Wen offered Yu Sheng everyday supplies and Lawless Outlaws cultivation goods, but Yu Sheng rejected them as fakes.
• Sun Wen called Secretary Sun and ordered an inquiry into Lawless Outlaws, telling him to prepare an economic blockade if the goods were confirmed fake.
• Sun Wen tried to sell Lin Xiaoxiao supplies and an unreleased freckle-removal product, claiming it was worth 200,000 but offering it to her for 9,999.

Sun Wen sold Lin Xiaoxiao and other new students supplies and gathered their IOUs while the Evil Cult planned to ambush the incoming class. At Zeshan, Qiu Xiaoxiao met the surviving Ji Hong and requested an audience with Lord Xiangliu.

• Sun Wen persuaded Lin Xiaoxiao to spend 580,000 on supplies for herself and Big White, then sold to Mu Yu and other new students.
• The Evil Cultists discussed Ink Academy's limits on who could attack the new students, and Zong Ren ordered them to try to bury the entire class.
• Qiu Xiaoxiao arrived at Zeshan and met Ji Hong, a former rising star of the Human Race who had survived under the mountain's protection.
• Qiu Xiaoxiao flirted with Ji Hong, who withdrew into the black mist and declined to see her off.
• Qiu Xiaoxiao asked for an audience with Lord Xiangliu.

Qiu Xiaoxiao negotiated with Xiangliu and Ji Hong for a plan to destabilize the Demon-Suppressing Pass and nearby regions, but Ji Hong threatened her when she tried to test his limits. At Ink Academy, the freshmen gathered early and admired Mu Yu’s gilded chains and A Tai’s custom outfit, while Zhao Zicheng questioned Sun Wen’s suspiciously generous pricing.

• Qiu Xiaoxiao proposed exploiting a Demon Clan assault and unrest in Jiangcheng, Ink Academy, and Demon-Suppressing Pass, and Xiangliu agreed after Ji Hong endorsed the plan.
• Qiu Xiaoxiao asked about Demon Crystals and questioned Ji Hong’s standing, but he led her away without answering.
• Qiu Xiaoxiao flirted with Ji Hong, who warned her that the Divine Cult could replace her and threatened her if the operation disappointed the Demon Domain.
• The Ink Academy freshmen gathered outside the teaching building an hour before their scheduled meeting.
• Sun Wen showed off Mu Yu’s gold-painted chains and A Tai’s custom outfit, which bore the words “Reckless” and “Man.”
• Zhao Zicheng asked how much A Tai had paid for his outfit, and Sun Wen claimed he had sold it to him for fifty thousand after a supposed discount.

Sun Wen became Xu Yuanqing’s target after giving him a false bank card PIN, but the two quickly made peace when Sun Wen revealed his password could not be guessed. Xu Yuanqing appointed Sun Wen class monitor, and Yu Sheng interrupted before the teacher could finish announcing the pay.

• Zhao Zicheng questioned Sun Wen’s sales to Lin Xiaoxiao, and Yu Sheng pointed out that Zhao’s bulletproof vest would not protect his awakening object.
• Xu Yuanqing confronted Sun Wen over the false PIN, lifted him into the air, and kicked him after revealing he had spent the night trying combinations.
• Sun Wen explained that his premium account password could include letters or symbols, and Xu Yuanqing abruptly softened after checking something on his phone.
• Xu Yuanqing announced he would be the 140th cohort’s homeroom teacher and appointed Sun Wen class monitor without opposition.
• Yu Sheng raised his head and objected just as Xu Yuanqing began to announce the class monitor’s monthly pay.

Xu Yuanqing made Sun Wen class monitor after negotiating a monthly credit split with Yu Sheng, then explained that Ink Academy used credits as its only currency. Sun Wen realized his earnings from yesterday could not be converted into cash and was left devastated by the school’s prices.

• Yu Sheng nominated himself for class monitor, but Xu Yuanqing argued that Sun Wen was better suited and the others backed Yu Sheng’s demand for credits.
• Xu Yuanqing appointed Sun Wen class monitor and arranged for him to give nine of his ten monthly salary credits to Yu Sheng and one to Xu Yuanqing.
• Xu Yuanqing explained that Ink Academy required credits for campus resources and banned exchanging credits or credit-bought goods for cash.
• Sun Wen learned he could not turn his profits into cash, then asked about cafeteria prices and the credit reward for getting beaten up by upperclassmen.

The 140th Cohort arrived at Ink Academy, where Xu Yuanqing explained its lax classroom setup and assigned them to earn twenty credits in one day. When Mu Yu proposed killing an Evil Cultist for the credits, Zhao Zicheng rejected the idea and left, preaching that he would rather earn credits through suffering.

• Sun Wen complained that Lin Xiaoxiao still had Potato Chips, but Xu Yuanqing said food brought before enrollment was allowed and reminded the freshmen to sign a confidentiality agreement.
• Sun Wen declared the 140th Cohort had arrived, insulted an older student, and was immediately beaten while Xu Yuanqing led the others onward.
• Xu Yuanqing showed the freshmen their dusty classroom, said uniforms were out of stock, and assigned them to earn twenty credits in one day.
• Yu Sheng said he had already earned a few hundred credits and left, while Mu Yu suggested earning twenty credits by killing an Evil Cultist.
• Zhao Zicheng scolded Mu Yu for assuming the freshmen could fight the Evil Cult, then said he wanted to reform them through virtue and would rather earn credits through suffering.