Chapter Summaries

Yu Sheng and Yu Mo visited Xin Yongfeng, whose search for his missing turtle shell Little Green disrupted their serious conversation. Yu Mo left for Demon-Suppressing Pass, and Yu Sheng followed, while Xin Yongfeng stayed on the mountain, vowing to protect him and finding peace in his solitude.

• Yu Sheng asked Yu Mo whether Xin Yongfeng should remain on the mountain, and Yu Mo said each person had their own path and urged Yu Sheng to fulfill his responsibilities.
• Xin Yongfeng searched for Little Green, a polished Heavenly Water Turtle shell, and suspected Yu Sheng and Yu Mo had taken it.
• Yu Mo guessed that Zhong Yushu had taken Little Green, prompting Xin Yongfeng to curse him and threaten to hit him with a stick.
• Yu Mo told Yu Sheng that people at Demon-Suppressing Pass awaited his return, then left in his wheelchair.
• Yu Sheng bowed to Xin Yongfeng and set off toward Demon-Suppressing Pass, and Xin Yongfeng promised to keep him safe at the foot of the mountain.
• Xin Yongfeng stayed on the mountain, dismissed talk of paths, and felt peaceful as his understanding of the laws advanced.

At Demon-Suppressing Pass, Zhong Yushu startled Yu Sanshui by rushing at him, then revealed he wanted to collect the Red Dragon Demon God's blood from Yu Sanshui’s body and clothes. Yu Sanshui joined in, helping gather the blood for the Reserve Corps soldiers’ future cultivation.

• At Demon-Suppressing Pass, exhausted Yu Sanshui rested against the wall while soldiers celebrated and examined the Red Dragon Demon God's corpse.
• Zhong Yushu asked the Confucian Scholar to hide him from view, then charged at Yu Sanshui, terrifying him with suggestive remarks.
• The Confucian Scholar obscured the scene and its sounds, while the soldiers misread what was happening between Zhong Yushu and Yu Sanshui.
• Zhong Yushu explained that he wanted to save the Demon God blood clinging to Yu Sanshui, since it could strengthen young soldiers.
• Yu Sanshui relaxed and helped Zhong Yushu scrape and wring the blood into a porcelain bottle.

Zhong Yushu and Yu Sanshui's private moment was mistaken for something scandalous after the Confucian Scholar accidentally broadcast their words across Demon-Suppressing Pass. Later, the exhausted Army-Breaker troops returned home and were welcomed at the gates, though the guards still had to follow security procedures.

• The Confucian Scholar accidentally let the soldiers hear Zhong Yushu and Yu Sanshui's words through the mist, then left to protect Yu Mo.
• Zhong Yushu and Yu Sanshui found the crowd staring at them, and gossip about them spread through Demon-Suppressing Pass.
• The human forces returned to their duties, while experts escorted the Demon God's corpse toward Ink City.
• Reserve Corps soldiers spotted a banner at night and recognized the returning Army-Breaker troops.
• An officer ordered the gates opened and welcomed Army-Breaker, while Sixth Awakening experts explained that they had to inspect the soldiers for attached Demon Beasts.

Army-Breaker’s exhausted soldiers waited outside Demon-Suppressing Pass until Yu Sheng returned, refusing to enter without him. After Yu Sheng thanked them and welcomed them home, they celebrated and prepared to show off their victory.

• Army-Breaker’s soldiers stayed in formation beneath Demon-Suppressing Pass, and the Reserve Corps officer decided not to screen them.
• The soldiers waited through the night until Yu Sheng appeared at dawn.
• Army-Breaker’s acting officer reported that all 11,026 expected soldiers had returned from the force of 18,653.
• Yu Sheng thanked Army-Breaker, whose soldiers cheered and raised their homemade flag.
• The officer told Yu Sheng that Shi Guang had left to pursue the Ninth Awakening so she could kill Yu Sanshui.
• Yu Sheng told the soldiers to go home, and they marched toward the pass with animal-hide signs boasting of their victory and offering group photos.

Army-Breaker returned to Demon-Suppressing Pass after winning a battle with almost no losses, but their boasts earned them wary silence from the reservists. Their return sparked widespread celebration across the Human Race, while forum users increasingly praised Yu Sheng, Ink Pavilion’s new Pavilion Master.

• The Reserve Corps stopped cheering when Army-Breaker displayed its signs, and the soldiers teased the reservists for their jealousy.
• The reservists threatened to teach Army-Breaker’s boastful members a lesson, prompting some soldiers to hurry through the pass.
• Army-Breaker rested for an hour at Demon-Suppressing Pass, ate breakfast, and continued toward the Human Race’s interior.
• Human Race websites and forums celebrated the victory and the slaying of a Demon God with almost no losses.
• Army-Breaker posted a photograph of its flag over Skyvault Ravine with the caption “We did it,” and the post topped trending searches.
• Forum users praised Yu Sheng, Ink Pavilion’s new Pavilion Master, as interest in him spread.

Yu Sheng returned to Ink Pavilion headquarters and faced his secretary, who feared punishment for spreading rumors about him and Flower Street. Yu Sheng remained unaware of the rumors, leaving the secretary relieved and the watching staff baffled by the Pavilion Master's calm.

• Yu Sheng's secretary clung to him and tearfully apologized for claiming Yu Sheng planned to expand the Flower Street industry.
• Yu Sheng did not understand what the secretary meant, and the secretary wrongly assumed he had not been forgiven and said he would go to Sin City.
• Yu Sheng asked whether the secretary would bring him the documents that needed his signature, and the secretary hurried off to get them.
• Ink Pavilion staff concluded that the secretary must be Pavilion Master Yu's own son after watching him escape punishment.
• Yu Sheng calmly signed documents while his colleagues wondered why he ignored the praise being posted about him on the forums.

Xin Yongfeng returned to Deep Mountain and reunited with Zhong Yushu, who boasted about helping kill the Red Dragon Demon God and intimidated Xin Yongfeng out of challenging him. Xin Yongfeng said he had returned because he could no longer find an opponent in Skyvault Ravine.

• Zhong Yushu found Xin Yongfeng back on the mountaintop and said he should not have returned.
• Xin Yongfeng tried to check the forum on his phone, then asked Zhong Yushu for the new Demon-Suppressing Pass signal password.
• Zhong Yushu teased Xin Yongfeng about his Eighth Awakening and described how he helped kill the Red Dragon Demon God.
• Xin Yongfeng asked Zhong Yushu about the battle, then quickly backed down when Zhong Yushu's spear Awakening Object suppressed his Wolf Fang Club.
• Zhong Yushu asked why Xin Yongfeng had returned, and Xin Yongfeng said he could no longer find an opponent in Skyvault Ravine.

Xin Yongfeng agreed to guard the mountain for the remaining three years while Zhong Yushu tried to reach the Ninth Awakening. Their solemn reunion ended in an argument when Zhong demanded a thousand for the signal tower password.

• Xin Yongfeng bragged to Zhong Yushu about visiting Skyvault Ravine, meeting Demon Gods, and helping Army-Breaker hang its flag there.
• Zhong Yushu said the war would decide the fate of the Human Race within three years and that he needed to focus on breaking through to the Ninth Awakening.
• Xin Yongfeng recalled guarding and tending the mountain for decades, then promised to stay until the end, even if he died there.
• Xin Yongfeng asked Zhong Yushu for the signal tower password, but Zhong insisted it still cost one thousand.
• Xin Yongfeng cursed Zhong Yushu for charging him after his sentimental speech, while Zhong said Yu Sheng had taught him business and refused to give in.

Xin Yongfeng lost a playful contest with Zhong Yushu, then reflected on his duty to protect an old friend and entered a state of unity with the mountain. At Ink Pavilion headquarters, Yu Sheng told Yu Mo that he had fought Old White Ape after reaching the eighth awakening and won only by the same means as before.

• Zhong Yushu defeated Xin Yongfeng in their half-hour battle and teased him about the money he owed.
• Xin Yongfeng reflected on the three years remaining and vowed to protect his old friend in life and death.
• Yu Mo asked Yu Sheng why people were waiting for him, but Yu Sheng already knew and refused to play confused for Yu Mo's benefit.
• Yu Sheng told Yu Mo that Old White Ape was stronger than him in a direct fight at the seventh awakening.
• Yu Sheng revealed that after reaching the eighth awakening, he fought Old White Ape again and won in the same way as before.

Yu Sheng told Yu Mo that Old White Ape had repeatedly endured his attacks without injury and revealed that he wanted Yu Sheng to grow stronger as a whetstone. Yu Mo regained his confidence by deciding to make his own plans for the three years before the war, then wondered whether Yu Sheng feared anything at all.

• Yu Sheng described how Old White Ape had escaped his attacks at the Seventh and Eighth Awakenings without being hurt.
• Yu Sheng repeated Old White Ape's words, and Yu Mo realized Old White Ape had been acting as a whetstone and backdrop for Yu Sheng.
• Yu Mo grew overwhelmed by Old White Ape's power, but Yu Sheng said Old White Ape was mad and did not have to consider the Demon Domain's future.
• Yu Mo regained his confidence and decided his plans for the next three years could be as effective as Old White Ape's.
• Yu Sheng said he had no awe or fear in his heart, leaving Yu Mo wondering whether anything in the world frightened him.

Yu Mo explained to Yu Sheng why Old White Ape would delay the final battle for three years and try to balance the Human Race and Demon Domain. Yu Sheng proposed exploiting Old White Ape’s pride by making him misjudge the Human Race’s strength.

• Yu Sheng told Yu Mo he feared going hungry and discouraged him from interrupting his work with emotional appeals.
• Yu Mo reasoned that Old White Ape would hold the final battle in three years, as planned, so the Grand Feast would draw a large audience.
• Yu Mo said Old White Ape would try to keep the Human Race and Demon Domain evenly matched because he wanted a brutal, glorious battle and lacked certainty of victory.
• Yu Mo reviewed how Old White Ape had weakened the Demon Domain and concluded that he now believed its strength was close to the Human Race’s.
• Yu Sheng suggested exploiting Old White Ape’s pride through a mistaken assessment, and Yu Mo agreed they should make him misjudge the Human Race’s situation.

Yu Mo analyzed Old White Ape’s hidden plans and motives, then reconsidered his past role in helping Yu Sheng kill a Mirage Dragon. He concluded that Old White Ape must also be a Mirage Dragon.

• Yu Mo reasoned that Old White Ape had secretly planted fallback measures in the Demon Domain and was pressuring the Human Race to cooperate with his plan.
• Yu Mo questioned whether Old White Ape was a madman or warmonger, unable to understand why he seemed to have no affection for the Demon Domain.
• Yu Sheng recounted a dying woman’s words about spirit beasts betraying them, prompting Yu Mo to connect the clues to Mirage Dragons.
• Yu Mo asked Yu Sheng to describe how Old White Ape had helped him kill a Mirage Dragon, and Yu Sheng recalled the events in detail.
• Yu Mo concluded that Old White Ape must be a Mirage Dragon because he had helped Yu Sheng kill one for no apparent benefit.

Yu Mo and Yu Sheng deduced that Old White Ape’s rise in power began when the Mirage Dragon died, possibly because the dragon’s death broke a shackle that had suppressed him. They suspected Old White Ape might seek the destruction of both races and the creation of a new world, and planned to search ancient texts for proof.

• Yu Mo connected Old White Ape’s rise to power with the Mirage Dragon’s death and proposed that the two had a hidden link.
• Yu Mo reasoned that Old White Ape’s prolonged humiliation might have driven him to seek revenge against the world.
• Yu Sheng suggested Old White Ape might intend to destroy both the Human Race and the Demon Clan and establish a new order.
• Yu Mo accepted that Old White Ape could be deceiving them into cooperating while concealing his true goal.
• Yu Sheng said he would have people search ancient texts for secrets connecting Old White Ape and the Mirage Dragon.

Yu Sheng told Yu Mo that the path to the Ninth Awakening felt wrong for him, though he did not know what path to take instead. Yu Mo weighed the Human Race’s need for speed against his concern for Yu Sheng as a friend, but Yu Sheng called out his sentimental act and demanded the conclusion.

• Yu Sheng and Yu Mo agreed that their goal remained strengthening the Human Race and weakening the Demon Domain.
• Yu Mo asked whether Yu Sheng had gained insight into the Ninth Awakening and offered the Human Race’s accumulated resources to help him reach it.
• Yu Sheng said he had opened five worlds and understood Space Laws, but the current path did not feel right for him.
• Yu Sheng admitted he did not know which path was right, leaving Yu Mo to weigh the Human Race’s urgent needs against his hopes for Yu Sheng.
• Yu Mo said the current path could help Yu Sheng subdue the Demon God, but Yu Sheng should seek a path of his own; Yu Sheng then exposed Yu Mo’s sentimental act.

Yu Mo encouraged Yu Sheng to pursue his own path and decided to enter the coming Grand Feast as an independent wild card. He then called Chu Huai, praised his progress against Soul Hunt, and told him to leave the operation to someone else.

• Yu Mo told Yu Sheng that the Human Race could endure the consequences of his gamble and that Yu Sheng should follow his own path.
• Yu Sheng left Yu Mo alone in the office, and Yu Mo decided he would join the final Grand Feast as a third-party force.
• Yu Mo called Chu Huai, who reported that Soul Hunt would be eliminated within half a month and that he could trap its Ninth Awakening expert.
• Yu Mo told Chu Huai to stop working on Soul Hunt because he considered the task a waste of Chu Huai's talents.
• Chu Huai fell silent on the call, breathing increasingly heavily.

Yu Mo confronted Chu Huai about scheming against Soul Hunt and agreed to clear the younger members’ records if Chu Huai worked for him. Chu Huai accepted a new job covering for Yu Sheng as Ink Pavilion Head, leaving to report to the Ink Pavilion in secret.

• Chu Huai angrily protested when Yu Mo told him to stop pursuing Soul Hunt.
• Chu Huai offered to do any job in exchange for wiping the younger members’ records clean.
• Yu Mo saw through Chu Huai’s attempt to negotiate and warned him not to play games.
• Yu Mo agreed to Chu Huai’s request and told him to cover Yu Sheng’s work as Ink Pavilion Head while wearing a mask.
• Chu Huai questioned the arrangement, but Yu Mo ordered him to report to the Ink Pavilion and keep the substitution secret.

The Demon Gods dismissed Red Dragon’s death and focused on their search of the Sea of Space and an approaching decisive battle with the Human Race. Old White Ape then visited Ji Hong at Skyvault Ravine, revealing new power as he renewed their conversation.

• Zhu Yan told the hidden Demon Gods that Red Dragon had died, and they treated the loss as unimportant while prioritizing the Sea of Space.
• The Demon Gods discussed giving White Ape authority in the Demon Domain and predicted a decisive battle against the Human Race in three years.
• Old White Ape reached Ji Hong at Skyvault Ravine without being hindered by the mountain mist and greeted him after a long time apart.
• Old White Ape said their friendship had ended and used his power to make nearby branches form a chair.
• Ji Hong identified Old White Ape’s display as Growth Laws, but Old White Ape dismissed it as a minor technique of cancellation.

Old White Ape told Ji Hong that he had finally shed the mask he had worn for years and now felt free to control the Demon Gods. He challenged Ji Hong to do the same, then recalled how their alliance had given him a reason to keep going.

• Old White Ape described how he had mistaken his mask for his true self until he could finally remove it.
• Old White Ape declared that the Demon Gods were no longer in the world and mocked them for pursuing a future promised by the Eight-Tailed Fox.
• Ji Hong congratulated Old White Ape, but Old White Ape angrily seized his collar and demanded that he remove his own mask.
• Old White Ape admitted that Ji Hong had supported him when he was vulnerable and exhausted.
• Old White Ape recalled that working with Ji Hong had made life interesting enough for him to consider helping the Human Race wipe out the Demon Domain.

Old White Ape revealed his plan to make Ji Hong witness a war that would destroy humans and demons, but Ji Hong challenged whether Old White Ape still remembered who he truly was. Old White Ape left the summit in anger, leaving Ji Hong alone as the story reached the end of Volume Ten.

• Old White Ape recalled his friendship with Ji Hong and angrily accused him of choosing the Human Race over him.
• Old White Ape described his plan to make humans and demons kill each other and then create a world for the Heavenly Race and the Spirit Race.
• Ji Hong told Old White Ape that his many masks had become part of him and asked whether he remembered who he used to be.
• Old White Ape insisted that he knew who he was, then walked down the mountain in anger.
• Ji Hong remained alone on the summit, reflecting on masks as laws continued to circle his body.

Yu Sheng returned to Jiangcheng during Ink Academy’s new student arrival and visited the Academy, where he ran into Xu Yuanqing and the Principal. The reunion was cut short as the Principal chased after Xu Yuanqing, leaving Yu Sheng to look around the Academy for now.

• Jiangcheng residents speculated about the talents of the young people arriving for Ink Academy’s new class.
• The residents spotted Yu Sheng and realized he had returned to Jiangcheng from Ink City.
• Yu Sheng avoided the Academy’s main entrance, vaulted over a wall, and startled Xu Yuanqing, who was skulking there.
• Xu Yuanqing asked Yu Sheng to stop the Old Man, then ran off as the Old Man emerged from the Back Courtyard.
• The Principal greeted Yu Sheng, praised his recent work, and hurried after Xu Yuanqing.