Chapter Summaries

Wu Youren used Hong Yan’s name to end a patrol Knight’s accusation, then kept his distance as the dispute faded without an official resolution. Later, Liu Jingming brought him news of a lucrative honey business, and the chapter ended when an intruder triggered one of Wu Youren’s traps and escaped.

• Wu Youren named Chief Instructor Hong Yan, prompting the Knight and his team to back down and treat the incident as an ordinary dispute.
• Luo Xi visited Wu Youren with Cynthia and Liu Jingming, relaying the Knight’s apology and warning that one injured student’s treatment had cost over thirty silver dollars.
• Wu Youren repaired his vegetable garden, added traps, and stayed close to his house while the academy and Mirage Sea Alliance kept their distance.
• Liu Jingming told Wu Youren that Red Sleeves Beckon wanted to buy large quantities of his honey, which he claimed had an astringent effect and could be sold with a secret-formula explanation.
• Wu Youren and Liu Jingming discussed limiting honey sales and whether Wu Youren would risk his life for Liang; Wu Youren then asked about Shi Linyuan.
• Wu Youren heard an intruder trigger a trap, stopped Liu Jingming from going outside, and found that the intruder had escaped after one of three arrows struck.

Wu Youren resisted pressure from Red Pine and the Life and Death Knot, then ventured outside the academy to learn about the Weird crisis. When the military and Intelligence Agency cornered him over his trap and tried to detain him, he escaped their encirclement and fled.

• Wu Youren denied using crossbow bolts when the administrator questioned him about the intruder and the traps.
• Shi Linyuan threatened Wu Youren by invoking his family, but Wu Youren refused to acknowledge their past connection.
• A burly man from the Life and Death Knot tried to recruit Wu Youren for an upcoming military battle, but Wu Youren refused because he was a hostage from Jin.
• After a stretch of calm, Wu Youren left Red Pine Martial Academy and learned that the military was containing the Weird Race in the mountains, where Great Knights had already been injured.
• A Red Pine graduate gave Wu Youren a motorcycle ride, but Wu Youren leaped off and fled when he realized the military was involved.
• Sister Hua and two others trapped Wu Youren, accusing him of wounding an Intelligence Agency member with a crossbow bolt; Wu Youren dodged their attack and broke through their encirclement.

Wu Youren fled three Intelligence Agency Knights, using decoys and explosives to reach the mountains, while the pursuers bargained over payment and followed him into the Weird Qi. After searching deeper into the mist without finding him, the group saw the fog thinning but still did not know whether he was alive.

• A motorcycle-riding Knight and Sister Hua pursued Wu Youren as he ran toward the mountains, while the yellow fog used an ability to make the ground and air viscous and slow him.
• Wu Youren escaped the yellow fog’s restraint, threw a shoe and other decoys, then used a powerful explosive to scatter the pursuers; Sister Hua initially stopped chasing.
• After another blast revealed a Weird-Exterminating Grenade, the yellow fog offered more money, and Sister Hua and the motorcycle rider agreed to continue pursuing Wu Youren into the mountains.
• Wu Youren reached the mountain mist, and the three Knights followed after the motorcycle rider fired a burst at him without seeing any sign that he had been hit.
• The Knights searched through increasingly dense Weird Qi, with the yellow fog insisting they continue while Sister Hua and the motorcycle rider questioned his motives and worried about the danger.
• After searching for over half an hour without finding Wu Youren, the group reached thinning mist and continued onward, unsure whether he had survived.

Wu Youren killed the Ability User Apprentice who pursued him, but the man’s shadow nearly possessed him before the Weird-Repelling Jue and throwing knives destroyed it. He then found Sister Hua and the motorcycle rider trapped with a soldier by the Weird Race, leaving him to decide whether and how to intervene.

• Sister Hua and the motorcycle rider turned back, but Wu Youren attacked the yellow mist with Weird-Exterminating Grenades, and their blasts drew the Weird Race’s attention.
• Sister Hua and the motorcycle rider fled while the yellow mist died; its shadow then attacked Wu Youren, who stopped and destroyed it with his Weird-Repelling Jue and throwing knives.
• Wu Youren looted the corpse, hid the booklet titled "Insights into Ability User Cultivation," and blew up the body with a Weird-Exterminating Grenade.
• Wu Youren located Sister Hua and the motorcycle rider, who were trapped alongside a soldier from the Tiger-Subduing Battalion amid the Weird Race.
• Sister Hua threatened the soldier for blocking their escape, while he explained that he was following military orders to contain the outbreak.
• The soldier suggested that the three move outward to create an opening, as Wu Youren stayed hidden and weighed what to do.

Wu Youren used the Weird Race’s attack to force Sister Hua and the soldier into a desperate bargain, then helped them escape with his stock of Weird-Exterminating Grenades. He led them to shelter among the boulders, leaving the three of them temporarily safe but still surrounded by Weird Qi.

• Wu Youren revealed that a Great Knight of the Weird Race was nearby and used his silence and taunts to make Sister Hua ask for his help.
• Sister Hua stabbed the motorcyclist, and the soldier cut him in half, leaving the two survivors to cooperate.
• Wu Youren dropped two Weird-Exterminating Grenades to Sister Hua and the soldier, who used them to clear a path and reach him.
• Wu Youren led Sister Hua and the soldier through the Weird Qi, which repeatedly veered away from them.
• Wu Youren directed Sister Hua and the soldier into a crevice treated with Weird-Dispelling Powder while he went toward a nearby cave.

Wu Youren, Sister Hua, and a military Knight survived a Weird disaster and escaped the mountains, while Sister Hua discussed Ershan’s suspicious death and the Intelligence Agency’s interest in Wu Youren. Wu Youren and Sister Hua began negotiating an exchange of supplies for Resentment Qi Crystals, but he insisted on a higher price and remained wary of her.

• Wu Youren refused Sister Hua’s request to share his shelter, and the three sheltered separately while the Weird Qi upheaval passed.
• Wu Youren led Sister Hua and the military Knight through the white mist, using a Resentment Qi Crystal to draw away three Knight Weirds.
• The military Knight left after they reached the ridge, and Sister Hua questioned Wu Youren about Ershan’s death and his possible Weird Transformation.
• Sister Hua admitted that the Intelligence Agency might have wanted to study Wu Youren’s potential awakening, while Wu Youren said he planned to keep fighting the Weird Race.
• Sister Hua offered to supply him with materials in exchange for his Resentment Qi Crystals, and Wu Youren countered her seventy-percent price with a demand for eighty percent.

Wu Youren negotiated with Sister Hua over supplies and Resentment Qi Crystals while hiding his activities and continuing to cultivate in the white mist. After returning from a twelve-day expedition, Sister Hua sensed he was nearing an awakening, and the military Knight reacted with interest when Wu Youren mentioned Resentment Qi Crystals.

• Wu Youren left Red Pine with food and water, secretly hid supplies on the ridge, and traded his last Resentment Qi Crystal to Sister Hua for combat gear and provisions.
• Sister Hua and a military Knight exchanged warnings as she searched the ridges for signs of Wu Youren, who later emerged from the white mist and dug a hiding cave.
• Sister Hua negotiated a minimum of eight Resentment Qi Crystals for their future trades, while Wu Youren refused to let her accompany him into the mountains.
• Sister Hua waited for Wu Youren and discovered that the Bewildering Incense she had put in his food had not made him addicted.
• Wu Youren spent twelve days in the white mist killing fiends and cultivating, using insights from an Ability User Apprentice's notes to develop his Dao cultivation methods.
• Sister Hua sensed that Wu Youren might be close to awakening, and the military Knight showed keen interest when Wu Youren said he had wanted Resentment Qi Crystals to study.

Wu Youren negotiated to give the military a share of his Resentment Qi Crystals and then left to restock supplies, despite Sister Hua noticing signs that he was nearing advancement. While carrying his provisions back, he was ambushed by a swordsman and an archer, and the chapter ended with the archer realizing a bullet had struck him.

• Wu Youren agreed to give the military four Resentment Qi Crystals in addition to Sister Hua’s eight and negotiated a discount for the military.
• Sister Hua pressed Wu Youren about nearing awakening, but he asked her for information and she left without providing any.
• Wu Youren met Cynthia and Liu Jingming to collect food and water, then ran back toward his dwelling with the heavy supplies.
• A swordsman and an archer ambushed Wu Youren, but he quickly wounded the swordsman and pursued the archer.
• Wu Youren used grenades and handguns to keep pressure on the fleeing archer, who eventually felt a bullet hit his back.

Wu Youren survived an ambush, recovered supplies and weapons, and refused a military Knight’s invitation to enlist. After spending several days in the white fog, he returned to find the Knight waiting and questioning where he had gotten his saber.

• Wu Youren killed the archer with gunfire and grenades, buried him, and hid his distinctive bow.
• Wu Youren found the saber wielder alive, then killed him in a fury over his damaged waterskins and supplies; he recovered water-purification materials and a curved saber.
• A military Knight confronted Wu Youren about his hidden food and water and offered to conceal his distrust of the Intelligence Agency if he joined the army.
• Wu Youren refused to enlist, saying he wanted to remain an ordinary person, and the Knight urged him to reconsider.
• Military convoys withdrew from the valley, and Instructor Ke Li returned among the urns of fallen martial artists.
• After six days in the white fog, Wu Youren emerged and the military Knight asked whether he had really picked up his curved saber.

Wu Youren learned that his curved saber might be linked to missing barbarian warriors, while the growing crisis around Suotu Town brought more troops and competing factions into the area. He decided to use the brief lull to recover before entering the Weird Domain again, as the two Knights suspected he might have awakened but a sensor showed he was still far from it.

• Wu Youren refused the military Knight's offer to enlist and concealed that he had advanced in the Daoist system.
• Sister Hua and the military Knight agreed on the crystal shares, and Wu Youren quickly brought out the fourth crystal.
• Sister Hua described Instructor Ke Li's return and the likelihood that the nearby Weird Domain would fully form as forces and researchers gathered in Suotu Town.
• Sister Hua examined Wu Youren's curved saber and explained that barbarians were investigating disappearances, making the weapon a possible source of trouble.
• Sister Hua and the military Knight argued over how the authorities would handle a clash between Wu Youren and the barbarians, then again urged him to enlist.
• Wu Youren chose to rest for a day before entering the Weird Domain again, while the two Knights discussed whether he had awakened and checked a sensor.

Wu Youren continued hunting in the mountains, developed his first Fireball Spell, and discovered that tormenting enemies before killing them yielded more experience. After finding a third crystal, he was confronted by two barbarian Knights and fled, then searched the area for others before returning to one of his concealed shelters.

• Wu Youren rejected Sister Hua’s offer to send a Knight to protect him and entered the fog alone.
• Wu Youren hunted in his mountain territory, killed a partly transformed Storage Eagle, and found a pale blue-green stone beneath its beak.
• Wu Youren successfully cast his first Fireball Spell and learned that weakening and tormenting enemies before killing them increased his experience gains.
• Wu Youren obtained a third crystal, but two barbarian Knights demanded it, so he fled into the fog.
• Wu Youren searched for other barbarians, found no second group, and returned to a concealed shelter to prepare a meal.

Wu Youren let two Teli Tribe members approach him while they tried to recruit him, but he turned hostile after suspecting they meant to rob him. He killed the burly man, trapped the chief’s daughter in a net, and searched for a weapon to finish her off.

• Wu Youren spoke with the burly man and the hairless woman, who offered to bring him to the Teli Tribe and provide cultivation resources.
• The hairless woman explained that the tribe had to hand over most Weird items to Great Liang, while the burly man said their fighters could keep what they acquired in Liang.
• After sharing food, Wu Youren suddenly killed the burly man with a saber and trapped the hairless woman in a net.
• Wu Youren told the captive woman he attacked because she resented Great Liang and had tried to rob him, while she insisted she could pay a ransom.
• Wu Youren found a sharp dagger on the burly man as the hairless woman pleaded with him not to do anything rash.

Wu Youren killed a Teli Tribe woman and her guard, survived her Blood Curse by directing it at an Arrow Beast, and erased the evidence before withdrawing from the mountains. After returning to Tianjing, he learned that barbarians were entering the mountains and planned to leave, but gunfire from barbarian infighting and Hong Yan’s arrival interrupted the discussion.

• Wu Youren killed the burly man and the Teli Tribe woman after she threatened him with a Blood Curse.
• The woman’s curse struck the bound Arrow Beast, and Wu Youren survived; he then searched the bodies, burned them, and erased the traces of the killings.
• Wu Youren emerged from the mountains with two Resentment Qi Crystals and told Sister Hua and the military Knight he wanted to return to Red Pine because barbarians were entering the mountains.
• Sister Hua and the soldier discussed moving Wu Youren elsewhere, but he stayed on the ridge for a few days while waiting for news.
• After concentrated gunfire and explosions came from outside the mountains, Sister Hua and the soldier arrived and reported that the barbarians were fighting among themselves.
• Hong Yan appeared and asked whether the soldier had been stopping Wu Youren from returning to Red Pine.

After Hong Yan took Wu Youren away from the mountain, she revealed that her motorcycle could shrink and asked him to help find rare items that could shrink it further. During the ride, she recognized that Wu Youren might be an Ability User and offered to invest in his awakening, while he grew wary of the Intelligence Agency and military suspecting he had hidden treasures.

• Hong Yan took Wu Youren back toward Red Pine after warning Sister Hua to stop restricting and exploiting him.
• Hong Yan retrieved a miniature motorcycle from a cave, enlarged it, and let Wu Youren ride with her.
• Hong Yan explained that a support-type Ability User could enlarge and shrink things and suggested Wu Youren might be an Ability User himself.
• Hong Yan asked Wu Youren to look for rare items that could shrink motorcycles, and he agreed to do his best.
• Hong Yan suspected Wu Youren had hidden a private stash in the mountains, making him fear the Intelligence Agency and military would target him once he was no longer useful.
• Hong Yan offered to invest in Wu Youren's attempt to awaken and asked him to consider what he wanted, while military and Martial Academy convoys passed them on the road.

Wu Youren refused Lei Lixing’s attempt to mend their relationship, then settled into a routine at Red Pine while studying Ability Users and preparing for his next mission. After ten days, he sneaked into the mountains to retrieve his hidden treasure, distracting the guards with explosions before approaching a military Knight to learn what had happened.

• Wu Youren told Liu Jingming he would not reconcile with Lei Lixing for three thousand silver dollars and said Lei Lixing should stay away unless he offered ten weird objects.
• A female Knight delivered Wu Youren a box containing twelve sets of Ability User materials, and he began studying them as part of his daily routine.
• After ten days without a visit from the Life and Death Knot, Wu Youren left Red Pine at midnight and headed into the mountains to retrieve his hidden treasure.
• Wu Youren detonated two small charges packed with Weird-Dispelling Powder, drawing the guards’ attention as the Weird Qi stirred.
• Wu Youren retrieved most of his hidden wealth and then approached a familiar military Knight, who said the recent incident needed investigation and reminded everyone about the Teli Tribe incident.

Wu Youren joined Hong Yan’s team to investigate the dangerous Bellflower Mountain Weird Domain, where a dispute with members of the newly formed New Army drew Hong Yan into a political encounter. Jeff, a New Army Great Knight, examined Wu Youren and declared that he wanted the student.

• Wu Youren avoided a search on the mountain, returned to Red Pine, and spent fifteen days studying Ability User materials while Liu Jingming waited for honey.
• Hong Yan assigned Wu Youren to join her team at Bellflower Mountain, and she arranged supplies for his mechanisms before they set out with Manna, Namuzha, and Luo Xi.
• The Red Pine group reached the military camp near the Weird Domain and learned that it covered more than two thousand square kilometers and remained dangerous despite its limited size.
• A New Army Great Knight and another team nearly fought after an argument, but Hong Yan intervened and helped end the dispute.
• Jeff, one of the New Army’s Eight Tigers, met the Red Pine group, examined Wu Youren, and told Hong Yan that he wanted the student.

Wu Youren and his companions entered the Bellflower Mountain Weird Domain to investigate unusual activity and establish a safe camp. After several encounters with Weird-transformed creatures, they found a sheltered site protected by transformed vines and set out to scout a reported disturbance in the Weird Qi.

• Great Knight Jeff questioned Wu Youren about his background, then secretly ordered a Knight to investigate him after the expedition.
• Hong Yan learned that Xia'erzi was in danger and agreed to hear his subordinates’ information before heading into the Weird Domain with them.
• Wu Youren’s group fought off a Spotted King Snake and a small deer, obtaining a Sturdy Stone and a Gale Hoof.
• The four martial artists camped in a hollow, then found a concealed shelter site shielded by Weird-transformed vines and moved their supplies there.
• Namuzha stayed behind to guard the shelter while Wu Youren, Manna, and Luo Xi headed to investigate abnormal Weird Qi reported by Marquis Tanyong’s Residence.

Wu Youren, Manna, and Luo Xi investigated a massive pillar of Weird Qi and learned why martial artists were forbidden to attack its surrounding masses. They killed a Weird-transformed Bone Sand Owl to investigate its drop, triggering a chaotic reaction that Wu Youren tried to disrupt with noise.

• Wu Youren, Manna, and Luo Xi found a huge pillar of Weird Qi surrounded by Weird-transformed creatures and decided to observe it rather than approach.
• A Weird-transformed sand owl watched their shelter through the night, and Manna explained that connected masses of Weird Qi could reinforce one another or suddenly grow stronger if attacked.
• Wu Youren revealed that Hong Da had asked him to investigate what weird items different creatures dropped, and Manna and Luo Xi agreed to help cautiously.
• At dawn, Luo Xi struck down the sand owl while Wu Youren threw two Weird-Exterminating Grenades to screen their escape route.
• As the Weird Qi rampaged, Wu Youren made a clamor to disrupt it, while Manna recorded the changes and Luo Xi guarded them.

Wu Youren, Manna, and Luo Xi escaped the Weird Qi and collected Bone Glue, then confronted a Great Knight whose group had pursued them. They returned to camp and shared their findings, while Namuzha later led a new expedition that returned after three days, ending with Wu Youren sensing danger near the camp.

• Manna collected a white substance from the sand owl’s remains, and Luo Xi identified it as likely Bone Glue.
• Wu Youren guided the trio away from the Weird Qi while the group of five pursuers tracked them through the fog.
• A Great Knight confronted the trio, but Wu Youren invoked the New Army and Luo Xi connected the pursuers to Anping Trading, prompting them to let the trio go.
• The Great Knight realized Wu Youren was a mental-type Ability User Apprentice and warned his group not to provoke the New Army.
• The trio returned to camp, showed Namuzha the Bone Glue, and agreed to leave the division of their gains to Hong Da.
• Namuzha and Manna went on a later expedition and returned after three days, but Wu Youren stopped short of camp with a grave expression.

Wu Youren and his companions drove off a Tianjing Martial Academy team with Weird-Exterminating Grenades, then treated Luo Xi after he was grazed by weird qi. As the group discussed leaving camp, Namuzha suggested pursuing their attackers, while the Tianjing team remained angry and humiliated.

• Namuzha, Manna, and Wu Youren confronted a Tianjing Martial Academy team searching near their camp, and Wu Youren used Weird-Exterminating Grenades to force them to retreat.
• The Tianjing Great Knight led his team away, and the group concluded that their opponents were volatile and that the dispute was not over.
• Wu Youren noticed that Luo Xi had been invaded by weird qi, and Manna, Namuzha, and Wu Youren used their Weird-Repelling Jue to help treat him.
• Manna kissed Wu Youren after he offered to give friends the Weird-Repelling Jue he had recovered, and the others reacted with surprise.
• Luo Xi and Manna urged the group to leave camp before the Tianjing team returned, while Namuzha asked Wu Youren whether they should pursue them.
• The Tianjing team regretted failing to retaliate immediately, and its head instructor told the students to prioritize their safety.