Chapter Summaries

Yu Jingming questioned his father's decision to send him into the Supervision Bureau, while Shen Heng's squad investigated a Gray-Clawed Xingxing killed by another Calamity Beast. Shen Heng suspected the same predator was responsible for two nearby incidents and wondered why it had not attacked any people.

• Yu Zhenzhong overruled Yu Jingming's objections and decided the family would send someone to join the Supervision Bureau.
• Yu Chunhe tried to reassure Yu Jingming, but he recalled the horrors of Calamity Beast attacks and questioned whether joining the Bureau was necessary.
• Shen Heng and the Linhai Supervision Bureau squad arrived to find a dead Gray-Clawed Xingxing with wounds that looked like bites from another Calamity Beast.
• Wang Hai learned that the beast had already been dead when officers arrived, and Shen Heng found no sign of the other Calamity Beast nearby.
• Shen Heng and Le Gu Nan noted that this incident resembled one from a month earlier at a location three minutes away, suggesting the same predator might be involved.
• Shen Heng questioned why the suspected predator had not killed any people, since he doubted a beast willing to attack other Calamity Beasts would fear humans.

Shen Heng continued searching Linhai City for the Calamity Beast that had attacked another beast and drove Li Jianguo and Dahuang to Lanshan District. During the ride, Li Jianguo described his years at the Supervision Bureau and explained his Fatigue Resistance ability.

• Shen Heng told Wang Hai he would thoroughly search Linhai City after failing to find Calamity Beasts in Kaiping and Jiangning District.
• Wang Hai asked Shen Heng to take Li Jianguo home and continue searching Lanshan District, and Shen Heng offered to check Li Jianguo's residential complex.
• Shen Heng teased Dahuang in the Supervision Bureau lobby, and Dahuang gave up trying to bite him and licked his arm instead.
• Shen Heng drove Li Jianguo and Dahuang toward Lanshan District and asked Li Jianguo about his eight years at the Supervision Bureau.
• Li Jianguo told Shen Heng that his Fatigue Resistance ability reduced mental fatigue but did not prevent physical tiredness.

Shen Heng learned about the Supervision Bureau’s losses and promised Li Jianguo he would do his best to protect the team. After searching Linhai for Calamity Beasts without success, Shen Heng saw a photograph of a batlike creature flying in the sky.

• Old Li told Shen Heng that Zheng Anlin could predict the weather one day ahead and recalled how Wang Hai’s rise to Third Tier had helped stabilize the Supervision Bureau’s team.
• Li Jianguo asked Shen Heng to hold the team together and do his best to prevent anyone from dying, and Shen Heng promised he would.
• Shen Heng used Echolocation to search indoor spaces across Linhai for several days but found no creatures that might be Calamity Beasts.
• Wang Hai said the Calamity Beast might have left Linhai, then showed Shen Heng a photograph of a cold-white, batlike creature flying through the sky.

Shen Heng received news of a Firmament Breath Beast in Longzhou and arranged to hunt it, with Han Ling assigned to accompany him. At dinner, Shen Heng also wondered whether Han Ling liked Wang Hai, while the team celebrated the possibility that the beast could cure Shen Heng’s mother.

• Wang Hai showed Shen Heng a photo of a Firmament Breath Beast taken by military comrades in the wilderness near Longzhou and asked him to repay the information with a favor.
• Shen Heng agreed to take a few days off to hunt the beast, and Wang Hai explained that another bureau member should accompany him so he could return quickly to help the team find Calamity Beasts.
• Han Ling brought Wang Hai a bamboo cicada she had promised to buy for Little Bell, and Shen Heng wondered whether she liked the captain.
• Wang Hai told Han Ling to pack for a trip with Shen Heng, then revealed that they had found a Firmament Breath Beast for Shen Heng to hunt.
• Han Ling and Wu Cheng celebrated the news that the beast might cure Shen Heng’s mother, while Wei Leyang remarked that fate offered guidance when needed.

Shen Heng and Le Gu Nan traveled to Longzhou to hunt a Firmament Breath Beast, which Shen Heng needed for his mother's treatment. They arrived at Longzhou Airport, where a butler was waiting for Le Gu Nan and Shen Heng.

• Han Ling persuaded Le Gu Nan to accompany Shen Heng to Longzhou, and Le Gu Nan's family approved the trip.
• Le Gu Nan told Shen Heng that her family would provide a private plane instead of having them book tickets.
• Shen Heng said goodbye to his mother, Xu Yuqin, and told her he was going to find a doctor who might treat her Weak Breath Disease.
• Shen Heng and Le Gu Nan flew to Longzhou without incident and were greeted at the airport by Le Gu Nan's family's butler.

Shen Heng and Le Gu Nan registered at the Longzhou Public Security Supervision Bureau before setting out to search for the Firmament Breath Beast. There, Shen Heng encountered Wu Hongxuan, who revealed that inspectors from nearby provinces were also looking for it, and Wu Hongxuan returned to the bureau with his mission still unfinished.

• Uncle Zhang gave Shen Heng and Le Gu Nan their room cards, and he gave Shen Heng the requested car and wilderness supplies.
• Shen Heng and Le Gu Nan drove to the Longzhou Public Security Supervision Bureau, where Chen Zhixuan checked their credentials and explained the rules for visiting inspectors.
• As Shen Heng and Le Gu Nan left the bureau, they ran into Wu Hongxuan, a fellow trainee from Shen Heng's training camp.
• Wu Hongxuan told Shen Heng that inspectors from nearby provinces had arrived to search for the Firmament Breath Beast, prompting Shen Heng to decide to hurry.
• After Shen Heng and Le Gu Nan left, Chen Zhixuan asked Wu Hongxuan whether he had finished his mission, and he began to explain why he had returned.

Shen Heng and Le Gu Nan traveled to the Qi Mountains to search for the Firmament Breath Beast, knowing another family was also seeking it. They began their search and camped in a cave, where Shen Heng took responsibility for keeping watch.

• Shen Heng told Le Gu Nan they would postpone the hotel and stay in the mountains while searching for the Firmament Breath Beast.
• Le Gu Nan worried that killing the beast would destroy another family’s hope of treating a relative’s Weak Breath Disease, but chose to continue with Shen Heng.
• Shen Heng and Le Gu Nan met Zhao Ruifeng at the Longzhou Military District, and he led them to the eastern section of the Qi Mountains.
• After Zhao Ruifeng left, Shen Heng and Le Gu Nan gathered their gear and entered the mountains to search.
• That night, Shen Heng cooked sharp-horned pig for Le Gu Nan and told her to rest while he kept watch.

Shen Heng and Le Gu Nan arranged to share night watch duties while sheltering in a cave, then spent three days searching the wilderness for Calamity Beasts. The chapter ended as Shen Heng noticed something in the distance while they ate lunch in the mountains.

• Le Gu Nan insisted that Shen Heng share the night watch because searching for Calamity Beasts during the day exhausted him, and they agreed that he would watch until five in the morning before she took over.
• Le Gu Nan made a wooden bed in the cave and settled down to sleep while Shen Heng kept watch beside the fire.
• Three days later, Shen Heng used sound waves from his saber to scan the surroundings and concluded that no Calamity Beast was on that mountain.
• Shen Heng and Le Gu Nan continued traveling through the wilderness and stopped for lunch on a large boulder.
• Shen Heng paused while eating and looked toward something that caught his attention, prompting Le Gu Nan to ask what was wrong.

Shen Heng and Le Gu Nan encountered a Fourth Tier Earth-Splitting Lizard, then spotted the Firmament Breath Beast they had been searching for and followed it while waiting for it to descend. When Shen Heng heard another pair of hunters nearby, he realized they needed to change their plan and turned to Le Gu Nan.

• Shen Heng used a Dragon Armor Beast's roar to lure the Earth-Splitting Lizard away from him and Le Gu Nan.
• Shen Heng and Le Gu Nan continued searching and spotted a Firmament Breath Beast flying high above the forest.
• They followed the beast for nearly an hour, waiting for it to descend within reach.
• Shen Heng heard the joyful voice of two other people searching for the Firmament Breath Beast and realized he had to change their approach.
• Le Gu Nan watched Shen Heng, waiting for him to explain what had happened.

Shen Heng and Le Gu Nan changed their plan and lured the Firmament Breath Beast low enough to attack its wings. Shen Heng’s sonic strike knocked the beast from the sky, but it recovered before Le Gu Nan’s conical bolt hit, leaving the attack’s outcome unresolved.

• Shen Heng told Le Gu Nan that they needed to try killing the Firmament Breath Beast before it met the other pursuers.
• Shen Heng proposed mimicking a Calamity Beast’s cry to draw the Firmament Breath Beast down, then striking its wing membranes.
• Shen Heng imitated the cry, and the Firmament Breath Beast descended toward the sound while Shen Heng and Le Gu Nan waited beneath the canopy.
• When the Firmament Breath Beast spotted them and tried to climb, Shen Heng struck it with a vibrating sonic attack that stunned it and sent it falling.
• Le Gu Nan fired a conical bolt at the falling beast, but the Firmament Breath Beast regained consciousness and tried to dodge.

Shen Heng killed the wounded Firmament Breath Beast and collected its Lung Crystal and Origin Crystal before Hu Yang and Tao Man arrived. Tao Man then knelt before Shen Heng and Le Gu Nan, pleading for the Lung Crystal to save five-year-old Yaoyao.

• Hu Yang and Tao Man hurried toward the falling Firmament Breath Beast, fearing they would lose their chance to obtain its Lung Crystal.
• Shen Heng used a sound-wave attack and his vibrating blade to kill the Firmament Breath Beast.
• Shen Heng cut out the Firmament Breath Beast's Lung Crystal and extracted its Origin Crystal as Hu Yang and Tao Man arrived.
• Tao Man approached Shen Heng and Le Gu Nan, knelt, and begged them to give her the Lung Crystal for Yaoyao.

Shen Heng initially refused Tao Man’s plea for the Firmament Breath Beast’s Lung Crystal, but Le Gu Nan proposed extracting material from the beast to make an inferior substitute that could prolong her child’s life. Shen Heng agreed to let her try, and Le Gu Nan began analyzing the crystal and the beast’s corpse.

• Tao Man begged Shen Heng for the Firmament Breath Beast’s Lung Crystal, but he refused and walked away with Le Gu Nan.
• Le Gu Nan stopped Shen Heng and explained that she could try making an inferior Lung Crystal to slow the child’s Weak Breath Disease.
• Shen Heng agreed to return with Le Gu Nan and told Tao Man and Hu Yang that her attempt might extend the patient’s life by only a short time.
• Le Gu Nan analyzed the Lung Crystal for more than ten minutes, then began searching the Firmament Breath Beast’s corpse for usable material.
• Le Gu Nan continued working on the corpse as half an hour, an hour, and then two hours passed.

Le Gu Nan exhausted her ability to purify a Lung Crystal, giving Tao Man three months more time to seek help for her child. Shen Heng carried Le Gu Nan away, while Hu Yang and Tao Man reflected on how they had obtained the crystal.

• Le Gu Nan purified the Firmament Breath Beast's Lung Crystal a second time, exhausting herself but extending its effect by three months.
• Shen Heng gave the crystal to Tao Man and carried the weakened Le Gu Nan away after introducing himself and Le Gu Nan as being from Linhai.
• Le Gu Nan explained that overusing her ability left her unable to move and unable to use it normally for about a dozen days.
• When Shen Heng asked whether her effort had been worth it, Le Gu Nan said it was worth giving Tao Man's child more time and hope.
• In a cave in the Qi Mountains, Hu Yang questioned why Tao Man had begged Shen Heng and Le Gu Nan for the crystal, and Tao Man said the alternative was giving up or fighting them.
• Hu Yang realized he had avoided Tao Man's glance before she knelt to beg, then apologized to her.

Shen Heng camped with Le Gu Nan after hunting a strange Calamity Beast and examined the Firmament Breath Beast's Lung Crystal he planned to use to treat his mother. He considered how to spend his points and settled on looking into Sevenfold Force to improve his close-quarters fighting.

• Shen Heng finished preparing a cave and log bed while Le Gu Nan slept, then cooked meat from an unknown Calamity Beast and planned to report its details to the Supervision Bureau.
• Shen Heng examined the Firmament Breath Beast's Lung Crystal and planned to ask Le Gu Nan to help spread its powder through his mother's respiratory tract.
• Shen Heng considered spending his accumulated points on armor, weapons, items, or combat techniques, but saw little value in armor or a better saber technique.
• Shen Heng decided that Sevenfold Force could amplify his physical strength and help him fight head-on when his ability failed to end a battle.

Shen Heng considered exchanging for Sevenfold Force while cooking a Calamity Beast, as a local Supervision Bureau team failed to catch the wary Golden Rat in a warehouse. The captain decided to request headquarters for help, and Wu Hongxuan reacted to the plan.

• Shen Heng calculated that his points could buy up to the fourth layer of Sevenfold Force and noted the high cost of the remaining layers.
• The Golden Rat emerged from beneath the warehouse floor, blocked the team's spear and arrows, then escaped underground with its target.
• Wu Hongxuan and the others realized the Golden Rat had anticipated their ambush and mocked them as it fled.
• The captain decided to abandon the mission and request suitable support from headquarters.
• Wu Hongxuan froze and turned to look at the captain after hearing the plan.

Shen Heng and Le Gu Nan recovered enough to leave the wilderness and checked into a hotel, planning to return the next day after reporting to the local Supervision Bureau. Wu Hongxuan found Shen Heng there and asked for help dealing with a Golden Rat that could tunnel underground.

• Shen Heng carried the still-weak Le Gu Nan out of the wilderness, and they agreed to share credit for helping the people they had encountered.
• Shen Heng and Le Gu Nan reached a hotel, where they planned to eat at its rooftop restaurant before returning the next day.
• Shen Heng received a knock at his door and found Wu Hongxuan waiting outside.
• Wu Hongxuan told Shen Heng that a Golden Rat had caused trouble and that he hoped Shen Heng's ability could help deal with it.

Shen Heng agreed to help the Longzhou Supervision Bureau briefly restrain the Golden Rat while they carried out their plan. Le Gu Nan joined him, and the group began reviewing the operation at the bureau.

• Wu Hongxuan told Shen Heng that the Longzhou team needed him to hold the Golden Rat in place briefly, and Shen Heng agreed after reporting to his captain.
• Shen Heng told Le Gu Nan he was leaving to help with the Calamity Beast, and she asked to accompany him.
• Wu Hongxuan accepted Le Gu Nan joining as long as she followed the plan, and the three drove to the Longzhou Supervision Bureau.
• Wang Zhi welcomed Shen Heng and Le Gu Nan and called the team to discuss their plan.
• The team displayed an image of the Golden Rat in the conference room.

Shen Heng watched footage of the Longzhou Supervision Bureau’s failed attempts to capture the Golden Rat and learned how they had tracked it. The team planned to use Zhou Le'an’s Induction ability to lure it, but the Golden Rat had repeatedly resisted the bait.

• Wang Zhi showed Shen Heng footage of the Golden Rat’s first appearance in Zhaoyuan Subdistrict, where it stole gold from a van and escaped after being struck by an arrow.
• Wang Zhi explained that the Bureau had tried to encircle the Golden Rat three more times, but each attempt failed as it grew more cautious and escaped underground.
• Shen Heng watched footage of the three attempts, in which the Golden Rat avoided traps at a van, a jewelry store, and a dark warehouse.
• Shen Heng asked how the Bureau kept encountering the Golden Rat, and Wang Zhi said Zhou Le'an used his C-rank Induction ability to draw it toward gold.
• Zhou Le'an explained that he carried gold through the city to attract the Golden Rat, while Shen Heng realized the ability could be used to locate Calamity Beasts.

Wang Zhi outlined a plan to lure the Golden Rat into the Longzhou People's Bank vault, where Shen Heng would immobilize it long enough for the team to attack. The meeting ended with Shen Heng asking whether the Bureau would provide food.

• Wang Zhi explained that the team would move gold into the passage as bait, hide inside the steel-lined vault, and rely on Shen Heng to hold the Golden Rat in place when it emerged.
• Shen Heng estimated that he could control the Third Tier Golden Rat for three to four seconds, and Wang Zhi judged that sufficient.
• Shen Heng explained that he had developed a way to strengthen his sound waves without stacking them, and that his Origin Power control let him conceal his tier from others.
• Shen Heng told the group that he and Le Gu Nan were both Tier 3 and that his city’s Supervision Bureau had six Tier 3 members.
• After Wang Zhi asked whether anyone had more questions, Shen Heng asked if the Bureau provided meals.

Shen Heng and Le Gu Nan ate dinner while waiting for the Longzhou Supervision Bureau’s plan to lure the Golden Rat into a bank vault. Their conversation turned to Shen Heng’s mother and Le Gu Nan’s future role in treating her, before Shen Heng noticed a young man trying to move a coin with Origin Power.

• Le Gu Nan ordered a large truffle-themed meal as she and Shen Heng waited for the bureau’s Golden Rat operation to begin.
• Le Gu Nan worried the clever Golden Rat might avoid the trap, but Shen Heng said they should carry out the plan and adapt if it failed.
• Shen Heng asked Le Gu Nan to pose as a doctor and use Lung Crystal to help his mother once Le Gu Nan’s ability recovered in eleven or twelve days.
• Shen Heng and Le Gu Nan discussed whether Shen Heng’s mother would believe that Le Gu Nan could treat Weak Breath Disease.
• Shen Heng overheard Cheng Mo’s friends challenge him to move a coin with Origin Power and saw a faint wisp of power trying to rock it beneath his hand.