Chapter Summaries

Feng Xuan took Hela from practical training to a theory lesson about Variant Artifacts and the strength levels of humans and Variants. He explained the realm rankings and the danger posed by high-level Variants.

• Xing Lan collapsed from exhaustion while Hela and Liu Xiaogang continued fighting after more than two hours.
• Feng Xuan arrived, praised Xing Lan’s training, and called Hela away for a theory lesson.
• Liu Xiaogang stopped Xing Lan from leaving, insisting that her training was not over.
• Feng Xuan led Hela to the lounge and explained the three tiers of Variant Artifacts, including the captain’s Black Crow and Xing Lan’s blade.
• Feng Xuan described the human and Variant strength realms, noting that Variants were generally stronger than humans at the same level.

Hela completed two months of training and prepared to leave for the year-long recruit training camp in Guangshen. As Feng Xuan flew her there, she reflected on the aircraft that had once blown her up and asked whether Si Xiaobei and Nanming were a couple.

• After Sun Hai returned, he took over Hela's combat training, and she improved until she could fight Xing Lan to a draw and defeat her once.
• Feng Xuan made a packing list, and Si Xiaobei took Hela and Xing Lan shopping for supplies for the camp.
• Xing Lan gave Hela a hidden-blade pendant, but Sun Hai took it away and warned that it could cause trouble for Hela.
• Feng Xuan brought Hela aboard the invisible aircraft and flew her toward the recruit training camp in Guangshen.
• Hela remembered that the aircraft resembled the one that had blown her up, then asked Feng Xuan whether Si Xiaobei and Nanming were a couple.

A pair of brothers prepared to leave Neon for Great Xia, while Han Xiaoxiao signed up for recruit training despite a serious disability. At the training camp, Hela survived a fall from an aircraft and healed in front of the recruits and instructors.

• The white-haired boy told his brother he was returning to Great Xia that night, and the brothers said they missed their mother.
• Han Xiaoxiao signed the recruit training camp application despite being diagnosed with a grade-three limb disability.
• Chief Instructor Li Hu and Instructor Chuan discussed the new recruits and Chuan praised a capable Symbiote named Hela.
• Feng Xuan brought Hela to the training camp by aircraft, and she jumped out without using the parachute.
• Hela hit the ground, then her twisted limbs and wounds healed rapidly as the stunned onlookers watched.
• Instructor Chuan identified Hela as the recruit he had high hopes for, and Li Hu agreed she stood out.

Hela joined the training program, found a room in the girls’ dormitory, and met her new roommate, Han Keru. After the two introduced their abilities, Hela returned to unpacking while Keke wondered whether they would get along.

• The instructor dispersed the crowd around Hela, asked why she had come, and directed her to the dormitories.
• Hela chose an empty bed in a double room, made it, and changed into her uniform.
• Han Keru arrived, introduced herself as Hela’s roommate, and asked whether Hela was a foreigner.
• Hela said she was a [Symbiote] partnered with [HeLa Cell], and Han Keru demonstrated her ability to control metal.
• Hela praised Han Keru’s ability and went back to organizing her belongings.

Hela showed Keke around the training camp, then waited for the recruits’ first assembly whistle. She reached the instructors first by leaping from the seventh-floor window and sprinting to the martial arts platform.

• Keke guided Hela around the training camp and showed her its main buildings and facilities.
• Keke spotted two handsome people playing badminton near the supply station before she and Hela returned to their dorm.
• The next morning, Hela got up early while Keke slept, and later the assembly whistle woke them.
• Hela recalled Xing Lan’s instructions and jumped from the seventh-floor window to reach the assembly quickly.
• Hela arrived first at the martial arts platform, surprising the instructors as the first recruit to arrive was female.

Hela and the other recruits began a training game in which five instructors hunted them, while recruits could earn excellent ratings by stealing bells. The game quickly turned violent as the instructors attacked the recruits and a scarred recruit used a sonic power against them.

• Head Instructor Li Hu called the recruits rookies and announced a game where they had to evade five instructors until two o'clock, with stolen bells earning an excellent rating.
• The instructors used Variant Artifacts to suppress their strength to High Rank, then started the game.
• Hela ran from the assembly area, and Keke followed her, while most recruits stayed behind.
• An instructor stomped the ground and blasted several recruits unconscious, prompting the others to attack the instructors with their powers.
• Instructor Chuan Cheng's barrier stopped the recruits' attacks, but a scarred recruit's sonic attack left the instructors clutching their ears.

Hela and Keke escaped the instructors and went to the armory for weapons. After Hela opened the locked doors and chose a straight blade, a one-armed girl entered, took a blade, and left.

• Yan Wusheng fought an explosion-wielding instructor with sound waves, but a blade-wielding instructor joined the attack and forced him to flee.
• Li Hu let Hong Wei chase Yan Wusheng to draw pressure away from the other recruits, then Deputy Chief Instructor Li ordered the instructors to move out.
• Keke followed Hela to the armory, where Hela kicked open the locked doors using Xing Lan's strategy.
• Hela took a straight blade, and Keke hurriedly chose a dagger.
• A one-armed girl entered the armory, took a straight blade with her left hand, and left without acknowledging Hela or Keke.

Yan Wusheng’s attempt to escape Instructor Hongwei caused an explosion that scattered the recruits and left Hela shaken. When Head Instructor Li Hu confronted her in the cafeteria, Hela recovered her nerve and prepared to fight for his bells.

• Hela asked Keke to team up and approached a recruit to ask whether he was strong.
• Yan Wusheng crashed into the armory, grabbed a rocket launcher, and fired it at Instructor Hongwei, blasting the room and knocking out nearly all the recruits.
• Keke found herself alone with the weakened Hongwei, who asked her to help him up.
• Hela escaped through a thick cement wall and ran to the cafeteria, where her injured hands healed; Yan Wusheng thanked her for helping him escape and left.
• Hela’s fear of explosions lingered until Head Instructor Li Hu entered, prompting her bone whip to strike him and drive him back.
• Li Hu recognized Hela’s High Rank strength, while Hela focused on the five bells at his waist and transformed her hands into thin whips.

Ye Yiqing intervened when an instructor nearly eliminated a one-armed recruit, then challenged the instructor himself. He disarmed the instructor in their exchange, but the instructor’s two other swords reached Ye Yiqing’s back as he prepared another strike.

• An instructor found a one-armed girl hiding in a classroom and attacked her with his floating swords, knocking her to the ground.
• Ye Yiqing protected the girl with a giant skeleton and cut the instructor’s cheek with sword qi.
• Ye Yiqing helped the girl up, then told the instructor he was an ordinary person with some swordsmanship and no ability.
• The instructor attacked Ye Yiqing with three swords, but Ye Yiqing blocked them and countered with a series of slashes.
• Ye Yiqing disarmed the instructor and swung at him again, while the instructor’s other two swords closed in on Ye Yiqing’s back.

Ye Yiqing fought the instructor for his bells while Ye Ciqing and Han Xiaoxiao left the area. After Hela fell from the sky and joined the fight, Ye Yiqing and Hela teamed up against the instructor, who struggled to defend himself without risking her life.

• Ye Yiqing fought off the instructor's three flying blades while Ye Ciqing introduced himself to Han Xiaoxiao.
• Han Xiaoxiao left with Ye Ciqing as Ye Yiqing and the instructor continued their duel.
• The instructor praised Ye Yiqing's swordsmanship, and Ye Yiqing encouraged him before noticing Hela falling from the sky.
• Ye Yiqing caught Hela, and she introduced herself as a Symbiote partnered with a HeLa Cell.
• Hela charged the instructor and let his blades pierce her while Ye Yiqing attacked, leaving the instructor unable to pull out his swords or defend himself effectively.

Hela and Ye Yiqing defeated Qin Gucheng, took his five bells, and fled when Chief Instructor Li Hu arrived. The chapter then shifted to Ye Ciqing and Keke struggling against two High Rank instructors, with Keke unable to control her twisted iron block.

• Hela attacked Qin Gucheng with her bone whips and tentacles while Ye Yiqing pressed him with sword strikes.
• Qin Gucheng broke free of Hela’s bone-whip attack, but Hela grabbed and pinned him while Ye Yiqing stopped his blades and seized them.
• Hela removed all five bells from Qin Gucheng, but Li Hu arrived before she could decide how to divide them.
• Ye Yiqing struck at Li Hu with sword qi, then grabbed Hela and fled with her and Qin Gucheng’s blades.
• Qin Gucheng admitted he doubted his ability to teach, and Li Hu urged him to regain confidence.
• Ye Ciqing and Keke fought two High Rank instructors; Keke’s iron block was twisted beyond her control, and Ye Ciqing hurled a bone spear at an instructor.

Ye Yiqing arrived during the fight between Ye Ciqing, Yan Wusheng, and the two instructors, and intervened with a powerful sword strike. The battle was left unresolved as the instructors’ stone defenses stopped his attack, but Ye Yiqing and the others had disappeared.

• Instructor Hongwei argued with Ye Ciqing and Yan Wusheng while Zhang Kai helped him recover.
• Ye Ciqing and Yan Wusheng struggled against Zhang Kai and Instructor Hongwei’s attacks, unable to reach them or find a way to end the fight.
• Hela arrived, frightening Keke into fainting, and Ye Yiqing examined Keke before asking Hela to hold her.
• Ye Ciqing called for help when Ye Yiqing approached, and Ye Yiqing said he had obtained a bell and had come to assist him.
• Ye Yiqing unleashed a powerful sword qi attack, forcing Zhang Kai to raise layers of stone walls to protect the instructors.
• The instructors’ defenses stopped the sword qi, but Ye Yiqing and the others were gone when they looked up.

Keke woke on a rooftop after the fight and met Ye Yiqing and Ye Ciqing, while Hela explained her tentacle ability. Ye Yiqing divided the bells among the group and thanked Hela, but Hela reacted briefly when she heard the name Han Xiaoxiao.

• Keke woke in Hela's arms, backed away in fear, and apologized after Ye Yiqing checked that she was unharmed.
• Ye Ciqing complained that he had fought alone while Keke was unconscious and that Scarface had refused a bell and walked away.
• Hela showed Keke how her hand became tentacles, and Keke asked her to change it back.
• Keke introduced herself and her [Three-Dimensional Metal Body] ability, while Ye Ciqing and Hela introduced themselves and their abilities.
• Ye Yiqing gave bells to Hela, Keke, and Ye Ciqing, then offered Hela another and thanked her for helping them.
• Ye Yiqing asked about the rescued girl, and Hela trembled when Ye Ciqing said her name was Han Xiaoxiao.

Li Hu dismissed the recruits after criticizing their uneven abilities and poor teamwork. At the cafeteria, Hela, Keke, Ye Ciqing, and Ye Yiqing discovered their meal was a frozen potato and roasted flour, and struggled to eat it.

• Li Hu praised the outstanding recruits, including Ye Yiqing, then scolded the group for their lack of teamwork and the wide gap between their strengths.
• After Li Hu dismissed them for lunch, Ye Ciqing raced toward the cafeteria, and Hela carried the exhausted Keke there on her shoulder.
• Hela and Keke found a frozen potato and roasted flour on their tray, and Hela remembered Xing Lan had warned her that the first meal would be difficult.
• Ye Yiqing and Ye Ciqing ate their potatoes, Hela followed, and Keke hurt her teeth trying to bite hers before eating the roasted flour instead.

Yan Wusheng caused a scene over the cafeteria food, but Ye Yiqing and Ye Ciqing confronted him before Instructor Li Hu broke up the dispute. After ordering Yan Wusheng to run twenty laps, Li Hu confiscated Ye Yiqing’s katana for the duration of training camp.

• Yan Wusheng complained about the food and tried to overturn a table, so Ye Yiqing stopped him and Ye Ciqing joined the argument.
• Yan Wusheng threatened to fight the brothers, but Instructor Li Hu arrived and separated them.
• Ye Yiqing explained what had happened, and Li Hu defended the food before ordering Yan Wusheng to run twenty laps.
• Li Hu noticed Ye Yiqing’s katana, inspected it, and confiscated it until training camp ended.
• Ye Ciqing laughed at Ye Yiqing for losing his sword, while the group returned to eating.

Han Xiaoxiao asked Ye Yiqing to teach her his saber technique, but he harshly rejected her because of her disability before agreeing to think about it. As the group left, Hela bluntly told Ye Yiqing she would not be his girlfriend.

• Keke accidentally sprayed flour onto Ye Ciqing, who teased her about liking him.
• Han Xiaoxiao approached Ye Yiqing and asked him to teach her his saber technique, promising to do anything he asked.
• Ye Yiqing told Han Xiaoxiao that a disabled person like her could not learn the saber or belong in the training camp, and urged her to leave.
• Han Xiaoxiao grabbed Ye Yiqing's clothes and pleaded again, so he said he would think about it before leaving.
• Keke encouraged Han Xiaoxiao as Hela led her away from the dining area.
• Ye Yiqing explained that he was trying to protect Han Xiaoxiao, then Hela rejected him before he could finish speaking.

Hela and the other recruits began their first day of formal training at the camp, where they were assigned grueling physical drills. After running twenty laps, Keke was exhausted while Hela remained unfazed, and the recruits enjoyed a better lunch than the day before.

• Keke tied Hela's uniform cuffs before they went downstairs to assembly.
• Li Hu introduced himself as chief instructor and explained the recruits' daily schedule, with Hongwei handling physical training.
• Hongwei ordered everyone to run twenty laps in fifty minutes, threatening ten extra laps for anyone who missed the limit.
• Hela led the run while Keke fell behind, and Ye Ciqing worried about facing Hongwei after previously insulting him.
• At lunch, Hela carried the exhausted Keke into the cafeteria, where Ye Ciqing and Ye Yiqing joined them for a meal of rice, vegetables, and meat.

Ye Yiqing and the others began cold-weapons training under Qin Gucheng, but Keke’s staged fainting left Ye Yiqing leading the recruits. At the infirmary, Keke learned Qin Gucheng was preparing an IV and finally opened her eyes.

• Ye Yiqing gave Hela the fatty pork from his tray while Han Xiaoxiao offered him lean meat, and Ye Ciqing teased them.
• Qin Gucheng introduced himself as the recruits’ cold-weapons and close-combat instructor, then taught them about straight sabers.
• Keke fell after accidentally dozing off and continued pretending to be unconscious as Qin Gucheng carried her to the infirmary.
• Qin Gucheng left Ye Yiqing in charge of teaching basic saber swings to the recruits.
• The medical worker found Keke was fine, but Qin Gucheng prepared an IV, prompting Keke to open her eyes.

Keke apologized internally after bringing up Qin Gucheng’s painful memories, then spent months training alongside Hela. One night, instructors secretly carried the recruits away for special training, and after a five-hour drive, Hela still did not know where they were headed.

• Keke refused Qin Gucheng’s attempts to give her an IV and asked about the person he had wronged, prompting him to leave in sorrow.
• Keke felt guilty for lying to Qin Gucheng and mentioning his painful memories, then went to sleep.
• After months of training, Keke asked Hela to help her undress, and the two went to bed.
• Hela noticed instructors secretly enter the dormitory and carry Keke away, then let them take her too after they covered her eyes with a mask.
• The instructors carried Hela and the other recruits in a vehicle for nearly five hours before it stopped.

Hela was abandoned in a remote forest for special training and set out to find the other recruits. She found the frightened Keke, who felt safer with Hela but could not stand because her legs had gone numb.

• An instructor carried Hela into the wilderness, left her with a tracking bracelet and four candies, and told her to wait before moving.
• Hela removed her blindfold, realized she had no instructions, and began searching the forest for the scattered recruits.
• Hela followed a familiar human scent through the forest and heard Keke crying.
• Keke mistook Hela for a threat, then recognized her and clung to her in relief.
• Hela told Keke the instructors had brought them there for special training, but neither knew what to do next.
• Keke tried to stand and hug Hela but fell back onto the grass because her legs were numb.