Chapter Summaries

Qiji’s decisive victory over Kamishiro Seigen and Liuli’s devastating backstory made the third episode of “Echo” a sensation, sending Qiji’s popularity soaring. After the episode’s success, the system announced that “Echo” episode 2 had finished airing and its overall tally was complete.

• Liuli betrayed Kamishiro Seigen and helped Qiji, revealing her despair over the life she had endured.
• Kamishiro Seigen unleashed his strongest strike, but Qiji dismissed him as an ant and defeated him with a single elbow strike.
• Qiji taunted the dying Kamishiro Seigen, earning fans’ admiration and the nickname “king of swagger.”
• Liuli mutilated her brother’s corpse, and her broken, unsettling character became even more popular.
• “Echo” drew a flood of positive reviews, while Qiji’s channel followers and real-time views surged.
• The system announced that “Echo” episode 2 had finished airing and its overall tally was complete.

Qiji reluctantly agreed to join his class’s monthly mission after Huomu and Setsuna dragged him away from his rooftop nap. At the stairwell, their argument over whether they had planned to kneel to persuade him ended with Bai Lili admitting she felt useless despite her family’s wealth.

• Qiji received 91,919 Popularity Points from the completed third episode of "Echo" and decided to save toward a million-point shop item rather than repay his five-million-point debt.
• Over six days of streaming, Qiji’s popularity rose as he saved 233,000 points and drew record numbers of viewers.
• Huomu and Setsuna persuaded Qiji to attend the class’s monthly mission, despite his preference for sleeping.
• Bai Lili welcomed Qiji and thanked Huomu and Setsuna for bringing him, then recalled that she had been unable to help persuade him herself.
• Setsuna denied kneeling to Qiji, while Huomu revealed that he had planned for them both to kneel; Bai Lili then confessed that classmates had called her useless apart from her family’s wealth.

Qiji accepted Bai Lili’s money and promised to make her investment worthwhile before joining Class Eight on a mission escorting potions and a caravan to a frontline outpost. As they crossed a difficult D-class rift route, Teacher Tsukimi rode comfortably on the cart while the students struggled to carry it.

• Bai Lili gave Qiji a bulging pouch of money, and he promised to repay her generosity with results.
• Teacher Yuejian Ren assigned Class Eight to deliver potions to a frontline outpost while escorting a caravan.
• The caravan owner explained that two children were traveling to see their wounded parents, and Yuejian allowed them to come but refused to look after them.
• Huomu cleared space on a mule cart for Yuejian, then carried the displaced cargo while Setsuna criticized him.
• Class Eight and the caravan entered a D-class rift route, where the students had to carry the cart over rough terrain as Yuejian read on the cart bed.

Class Eight faced a catastrophic Void Beast stampede in the rift after the Kamishiro Family's Red-Hot Incense drove the beasts into a frenzy. As the students begged Yuejian to protect them, he refused to intervene and blamed them for stopping to rest.

• Yuejian ordered the exhausted students to continue onward, and Qiji sensed danger and warned everyone.
• A horde of frenzied Void Beasts charged toward the group, and Qiji recognized the scent of the Kamishiro Family's Red-Hot Incense.
• Qiji realized his killing of Kamishiro Seigen had likely changed the mission and caused the unexpected attack.
• The terrified students called on Yuejian for help, but he kept reading and insisted he was irresponsible.
• Bai Lili reminded Yuejian that the situation was beyond training and that regulations required him to protect the students.

Qiji stayed behind to hold back the approaching Void Beast tide while the others fled toward the rift’s exit. Liuli handed him the Sword of No Thought, and Qiji advanced to meet the beasts.

• Yuejian dismissed the students’ pleas as the Void Beast tide approached, and the group turned to Qiji for help.
• Qiji ordered everyone to drop unnecessary cargo and run to the exit while he stayed behind to hold off the beasts.
• Liuli urged Bai Lili and the others to follow Qiji’s instructions so they would not become a burden.
• Qiji walked toward the beast tide and called out to Liuli, who threw him the Sword of No Thought.
• Qiji caught the sword, praised it, and continued forward to face the Void Beasts.

Qiji faced the Void Beast tide alone at the narrow valley entrance while Huomu and the others evacuated Yuejian and the children. As the group watched from afar, Qiji cut down every beast that tried to cross his sword-marked boundary.

• Qiji ordered the group to bring Yuejian, escape through the other exit, and warn them that enemies had caused the Void Beasts’ rampage.
• Huomu cleared the mule cart, loaded Yuejian and the children, and led the others toward the exit.
• Qiji warned the group to stay alert, then faced the charging Void Beasts alone at the valley entrance.
• Qiji used the Spotlight Card, Sound System Card, and Filter Card as he prepared to hold the pass.
• Qiji swiftly killed the attacking Void Beasts, and none crossed the line he had drawn.
• The group looked back and saw Qiji standing alone against the beast tide.

Qiji held back the ground-based beast tide while Teacher Tsukimi criticized the students for relying on him, prompting Huomu to vow to grow strong enough to fight beside him. A swarm of Flying-Winged Poison Flies then attacked the group, and Huomu was left in danger as Teacher Tsukimi subtly reacted.

• Teacher Tsukimi praised Qiji's strength but argued that people who took on too much responsibility often died young.
• Liuli and Huomu insisted Qiji would win, and Huomu said he would follow Qiji's orders and become strong enough to fight at his side.
• Teacher Tsukimi challenged Huomu to prove his resolve when an enormous swarm of Flying-Winged Poison Flies appeared overhead.
• Setsuna organized the students' defense, while Bai Lili protected the children and restrained two flies as the swarm attacked.
• Several flies nearly stung Huomu, whose movement was restricted by the cart ropes, and Teacher Tsukimi subtly opened his eyes.

Yuejian secretly used moonlight to help the students survive their battle with the Void Beasts, then left the mule cart to meet Kamishiro Seian on a distant cliff. Seian confronted Yuejian over abandoning his former identity as Moon Bearer and warned that he might kill him if they fought.

• Yuejian subtly altered the moonlight so students escaped fatal attacks and struck the Void Beasts.
• Yuejian sensed someone approaching, left the battlefield, and appeared on a distant mountain facing Kamishiro Seian.
• Kamishiro Seian recognized Yuejian as his former mentor, Moon Bearer, and recalled meeting him at an Echo exchange conference thirteen years earlier.
• Kamishiro Seian condemned Yuejian for no longer living up to his idealized image of Moon Bearer and threatened to kill him if he would not reclaim that identity.
• Yuejian dismissed Seian's demands and said he wanted to finish work and get home for Dorothy's new show.
• Kamishiro Seian pleaded with Yuejian to avoid a fight, warning that he might lose control and kill him if Yuejian had truly grown weaker.

Class Eight fought on after Yuejian vanished, but two Metal-Rending Battle Eagles drove them to the brink while Qiji and Yuejian faced their own battles elsewhere. As Huomu, Setsuna, and Bai Lili struggled to protect the group, viewers pleaded for Qiji to help, though he was holding a beast tide alone.

• Yuejian confronted Kamishiro Seian over being forced to work overtime and manifested the God of the Moon Scroll.
• Qiji noticed anxious livestream comments warning that Huomu and the others were in danger.
• Class Eight survived the first fly swarm, then faced two diving Metal-Rending Battle Eagles after Yuejian disappeared.
• Setsuna charged at one battle eagle while Huomu drew the other away from Bai Lili and the children.
• Bai Lili hid the children beneath a cart and joined the fight despite her fear and doubts about becoming an Echoer.
• Viewers flocked to Qiji's livestream to ask for help while he held a beast tide alone, and Yuejian clashed with Kamishiro Seian at a cliff's edge.

Qiji shed his weighted trench coat and tore through the Void Beast horde, aiming to reach the person controlling it. Kamishiro Seiki realized Qiji was charging straight toward him and feared he could not escape.

• Qiji checked the livestream and decided to hurry to Class Eight’s aid, believing the crisis had begun because he killed Kamishiro Seigen.
• Qiji killed several Void Beasts with the Sword of No Thought, then dropped his weighted trench coat and crushed another beast beneath it.
• After removing the weights, Qiji unleashed a burst of speed and brutally plowed through the beast tide.
• Qiji recalled the Sword of No Thought and charged toward the circuit’s controller, reasoning that killing the Echoer would stop the beasts.
• Kamishiro Seiki saw Qiji carving a path through the horde and realized Qiji was coming for him, leaving him terrified and unsure how to escape.

Qiji killed Kamishiro Seiki and all thirteen fleeing sword attendants, ending the array that had driven the Void Beasts into a rampage. But when he checked the livestream, the two Metal-Rending Battle Eagles were still attacking Setsuna, Huomu, and the others.

• Kamishiro Seiki ordered his sword attendants to stop Qiji, but they panicked and fled.
• Qiji used the Sword of No Thought to kill all thirteen attendants with one strike, then killed Kamishiro Seiki.
• With Kamishiro Seiki dead, the circuit dimmed and the surviving Void Beasts regained their senses and prostrated themselves before Qiji.
• Qiji checked the livestream, but the two Metal-Rending Battle Eagles continued their frenzied attacks on Setsuna, Huomu, and the others.

Liuli held one Metal-Rending Battle Eagle at bay while Huomu and Setsuna fought the other, and Qiji realized someone else was controlling the eagles and rushed toward Class Eight. The second eagle then targeted two terrified children, and Huomu threw himself in front of them before being struck aside.

• Qiji realized Kamishiro Seiki could not control upper second-tier beasts and raced toward Class Eight, leaving the subdued Void Beasts too frightened to move.
• Liuli used her disguised Mind Echo to stop one Metal-Rending Battle Eagle and asked Bai Lili to protect her while she concentrated.
• Huomu joined Setsuna against the other eagle, while Bai Lili stayed beside Liuli and tried to steel herself.
• The second eagle caught the scent of two children hiding beneath a mule cart and swooped toward them.
• Huomu rushed to shield the children, but the eagle struck him aside with its wing.

Qiji saved Huomu, Setsuna, and the children by swiftly killing both Metal-Rending Battle Eagles. After Huomu and Setsuna argued over his reckless attempt to protect the children, Qiji urged him to consider the consequences of his actions as he pursued becoming a hero.

• Qiji appeared as the Metal-Rending Battle Eagle attacked the children and killed it with a swift sword strike.
• The female Metal-Rending Battle Eagle charged Qiji, who threw the Sword of No Thought and pinned her to a rock wall.
• Qiji checked Huomu's chest wound and found that the attack had narrowly missed his heart.
• Setsuna scolded Huomu for risking his life, while Huomu insisted that he would still protect the children.
• Qiji patted Huomu's head and explained that being a hero did not mean saving everyone, urging him to consider what would have happened if he and Setsuna had fallen.

Qiji helped Huomu understand Setsuna’s choices and accept responsibility for his recklessness, while the rescued children thanked them both. Yuejian defeated Kamishiro Seian, but Seian’s final attack veered toward Liuli, whose identity Yuejian had already recognized.

• Qiji told Huomu that a hero had to make difficult choices and asked him to consider why he lacked the power to protect people.
• Huomu apologized to Setsuna for acting recklessly and thanked Qiji for saving everyone.
• Qiji reassured Huomu and called him a hero for protecting the two children, who thanked both boys.
• Yuejian defeated Kamishiro Seian with the God of the Moon Scroll’s armament, and Seian praised Yuejian despite his defeat.
• Seian launched a blood arrow at Yuejian, then redirected it toward Liuli, whom Yuejian recognized as Kamishiro Ruri.

Yuejian’s attack failed to kill Kamishiro Seian, who escaped into the Sea of Consciousness, and Yuejian gave up pursuit. A blood arrow then targeted Liuli, but Bai Lili pushed her out of its path, prompting Qiji to rush in and catch Bai Lili as the arrow arrived.

• Yuejian fired a compressed beam of moonlight at Kamishiro Seian, but an enormous dog’s head emerged from the Sea of Consciousness and swallowed him before the attack landed.
• Yuejian’s beam struck the mountainside, and he stopped pursuing Kamishiro Seian because his shift had ended.
• A blood arrow flew toward Liuli while she stood dazed after overexerting her Echo.
• Bai Lili warned Liuli and shoved her clear of the arrow, leaving herself in its path.
• Qiji sensed the arrow’s immense power and activated Blurring of Illusion and Reality, then swept the off-balance Bai Lili into his arms as the arrow arrived.

Qiji rescued Bai Lili from a deadly blood arrow and briefly revealed the lower half of his face, stirring feelings in her that she had never experienced with her arranged fiancée, Suyo. The chapter leaves Bai Lili realizing that her heart is racing for Qiji, not Suyo.

• Bai Lili believed the blood arrow would kill her even as Qiji flew in to save her.
• Qiji split his mask and removed its lower half, giving Bai Lili a glimpse of his face.
• Bai Lili recalled how she had accepted her arranged marriage to Suyo and tried to earn Suyo's affection.
• Bai Lili's heart raced as Qiji held and rescued her, and she recognized the feeling as different from anything she felt around Suyo.
• Bai Lili realized she might be falling for Qiji, though he was not Suyo.

Qiji saved Bai Lili from a devastating blood arrow by using the mask’s Echo, and the onlookers grew curious when she ended up wearing half his mask. The danger passed, but Bai Lili’s embarrassment and the viewers’ excitement over Qiji’s hidden face remained.

• Qiji split his mask and used [Blurring of Illusion and Reality] on himself and Bai Lili as the blood arrow struck them.
• The blood arrow passed through Qiji and Bai Lili, then blasted a huge crater into the ground, but both emerged unharmed.
• The crowd noticed Bai Lili wearing half of Qiji’s mask and wondered why she was blushing.
• Bai Lili reflexively stopped Qiji from taking back the mask, then apologized and let him remove it.
• Qiji rejoined the mask halves and confirmed that [Lie] was still in effect.
• Viewers flooded the broadcast with comments demanding to see Qiji’s face.

After Qiji rescued Bai Lili, Liuli pulled her away from him and guarded against further contact, while the girls eagerly questioned Bai Lili about Qiji’s concealed face. The chapter ended with Setsuna staying alert, aware that the attacker behind the blood arrow remained hidden.

• Bai Lili realized she had shared an indirect kiss with Qiji and, when he asked, decided the rescue had been worth the money.
• Liuli confronted Qiji for holding the engaged Bai Lili, then caught Bai Lili when she lost her balance and shielded her from him.
• Liuli thanked Bai Lili for saving her, while privately resenting that Bai Lili had interrupted her attempt to die.
• The girls asked Bai Lili about Qiji’s face, and she said he was even more handsome than the idol Yile.
• Setsuna remained wary, recognizing that the source of the blood arrow was still unknown and could attack again.

Qiji and Class Eight survived the attack, and Liuli took back the Sword of No Thought, explaining that it needed special care. After Qiji revealed he had cleared the canyon of Void Beasts, the caravan returned to search for its lost cargo.

• Qiji told Setsuna the hidden enemy had stopped attacking because Yuejian was gone.
• Liuli asked Qiji for the Sword of No Thought and explained that her family had to restore its power and that Qiji could borrow it from her when needed.
• Class Eight completed the mission with no student deaths, but three caravan members had died, seven were seriously injured, and most of the cargo was lost.
• Qiji told the caravan boss he had already dealt with the Void Beasts in the canyon, giving him hope of recovering some cargo.
• Qiji and the others returned to the canyon, where the caravan members and Class Eight students searched among the wreckage.

After completing the escort mission, Qiji learned that the caravan owner's injured friend had died and took his sister Xiwang out for a late-night meal. A viewer's gift revealed that the livestream had gained a tipping feature that converted gifts into Popularity Points and stored revenue in Qiji's channel backend.

• Qiji refused the caravan owner's extra money, saying he would accept only the payment agreed upon for the mission.
• At the outpost, Qiji learned that the siblings' father had died before they could see him, and he comforted the grieving caravan owner.
• Qiji came home near dawn and, after claiming he had not eaten, invited Xiwang to celebrate his mission pay at a restaurant.
• Qiji covered the menu prices so Xiwang could order freely, while viewers praised him and one viewer gifted him a plane.
• Qiji checked the livestream system and discovered new features for converting tips into Popularity Points and storing tip revenue in his channel backend.