Chapter Summaries

Helian Yuan killed an Ironback Wolf, then survived a clash between a giant black tiger and three powerful figures in the mountains. After black blood entered his wound and awakened a tiger-shaped shadow, he fled into a cave, where the shadow rested a forepaw on his shoulder.

• Helian Yuan lured the injured Ironback Wolf into a trap and killed it with his short spear.
• A tiger's roar shook the valley, and three figures attacked a wounded giant black tiger on the cliffs.
• The black tiger released a blast that knocked Helian Yuan unconscious and left the valley devastated.
• Helian Yuan collected a few black bone fragments, and black blood from the tiger entered the wound on his right hand.
• Helian Yuan's shadow rose into a tiger-like shape, so he fled through the forest with the bones and hid in a cave.
• In the cave, Helian Yuan saw the tiger-shaped shadow place a forepaw on his shadow's shoulder.

Helian Yuan resisted and destroyed Old Mo’s possession, leaving a tiger-shaped shadow and heightened beast senses linked to the bloodline in his body. He fled from Greystone Town and decided to learn to control the shadow.

• Old Mo’s will seized Helian Yuan’s right arm and tried to take over his body, but Helian Yuan fought back with pain and memories of his own life.
• Helian Yuan’s bloodline rejected the invading will, and he broke free before Old Mo shattered into fragments that sank into his blood.
• A tiger’s shadow rose behind Helian Yuan and mirrored his movements, then turned toward a night mouse before he heard it.
• Helian Yuan wrapped the black bone fragment, left the cave, and went upstream to stay in an abandoned hunting shelter.
• After waking from a dream of a cage and an iron tag, Helian Yuan found clawlike marks in the doorframe and said he would learn to control the shadow.

Helian Yuan tested the tiger shadow’s limits and used its three-breath burst to kill a level-two Gray-Mane Boar. He recorded the ability’s effects and drawbacks, then left the hunting shelter to seek supplies and find out whether anyone was searching for what the black tiger had left behind.

• Helian Yuan found that the tiger shadow gave him a brief burst of power and perception, but became difficult to control after three breaths.
• Helian Yuan studied a Gray-Mane Boar’s route, set a trap to slow it, and lured it toward his ambush.
• Helian Yuan used the tiger shadow to drive his spear into the Gray-Mane Boar’s exposed armpit, then killed it by exploiting its wound and the slanted rock.
• Helian Yuan processed the boar and recorded the tiger shadow’s three-breath limit and its heightened perception, which caused a headache after withdrawal.
• Helian Yuan hid the black tiger bone, packed the boar hide and Ironback Wolf’s Magic Crystal Core, and left to seek supplies and check for anyone searching for the tiger’s remains.

Helian Yuan sold some demonic beast materials in Greystone Town, gathered supplies, and learned that outsiders were paying unusually high prices for tiger parts while asking about lairs and iron chains. Back at his shelter, he prepared for a hunt and caught the scent of a level-three Ironmane Bear nearby.

• Helian Yuan bargained over a boar hide, bought medicine, a used spearhead, and iron arrows, and concealed his silver in two pouches.
• At the tavern, Helian Yuan heard that the eastern valley was off-limits and that outsiders were seeking black demonic beast materials.
• The buying shop owner warned Helian Yuan that gray-robed outsiders were paying triple for tiger parts and asking about lairs, ravines, chains, and stakes.
• Helian Yuan hid the tiger bone deeper in his pack and studied a hunting map, deciding he needed valuable prey but could not risk anything tiger-related.
• At his shelter, Helian Yuan marked his recent kills, recorded his spending, and adjusted the spearhead until it struck straight.
• Helian Yuan smelled a level-three Ironmane Bear upstream, mixed with medicinal herbs, and realized it might already have detected him.

Helian Yuan killed a level-three Ironmane Bear with a carefully timed trap and claimed its Magic Crystal Core, but found evidence in its den that the beast had once been chained. A marked chain and fleeting memories of iron bars left him with a new mystery to pursue.

• Helian Yuan lured the Ironmane Bear toward a pitfall, exposed the scar on its neck, and drove his spear into it with the tiger shadow’s strength.
• After the bear collapsed, Helian Yuan confirmed its death, took its Magic Crystal Core, and carved a third hunt mark into its hide.
• Helian Yuan found faint marks beneath the bear’s neck scar and discovered a broken iron chain engraved with the number seven in the den.
• The chain stirred brief memories of iron bars and a chain dragged across a floor, while tracks suggested two visitors had recently refastened it.
• When he heard a distant beast roar, Helian Yuan hid the chain in his pack and left with a new lead connecting the number seven to the iron bars in his memories.

Helian Yuan recovered the Ironmane Bear's valuable parts and discovered that the old iron chain and the bear's den had once been part of a cage or restraint installation. As he descended toward Greystone Town, he took precautions against possible pursuers, then returned to mark the den and heard the chain in his pack make the same sound as in his dream.

• Helian Yuan salvaged the Ironmane Bear's hide, gallbladder, and Magic Crystal Core, then found that the chain fit a carved wooden wedge in the den, where square holes marked the walls.
• Helian Yuan dreamed of someone dragging a chain past numbered signs and woke with his hand on the pack lining where he had sewn the chain.
• Helian Yuan concealed the bear hide's spear wound, separated his valuables, and took a cautious route down the mountain while watching for trackers.
• Helian Yuan found fresh hunter's trail markers, redirected one, and returned to the bear's den to mark the wall holes and replace the wedge.
• Helian Yuan heard the chain clink inside his pack, matching the sound from his dream.

Helian Yuan sold the Ironmane Bear hide and realized that the gray-trimmed buyers were screening locals for knowledge of Blackwater Ravine. With the carriage heading east and the bear’s den at risk, he set out to find a map before his injured arm had healed.

• Helian Yuan sold the bear hide and Magic Crystal Core, taking medicine as part of the payment while the buyer concealed the hide from a gray-trimmed visitor.
• The visitor asked for tiger remains and information about dens, iron chains, wooden stakes, and inscribed plates, while watching Helian Yuan’s pack.
• The buyer warned Helian Yuan that the visitors were connected to earlier inquiries about the black tiger and had noticed the Blackwater Ravine mud on his boots.
• Helian Yuan bought supplies and reinforced his spear, then noticed the visitors’ carriage carried the same dark mud and had headed east toward Blackwater Ravine.
• Helian Yuan deduced that the visitors were testing who knew about tiger dens, learned they were offering money for routes, and decided to seek a map from Greystone Town’s old hunter.

Helian Yuan took a delivery job to the abandoned camp in Blackwater Ravine and discovered signs that it was a guarded transfer point rather than a simple shelter. After a stranger tested the camp without collecting the goods, Helian Yuan realized the job had given him access to an unmapped route leading east.

• Helian Yuan negotiated with the old hunter for a map and learned that a gray-gloved stranger had paid twenty coins for the delivery.
• Helian Yuan left the marked road, reached the old camp, and found traps, patrol signs, and newly repaired hinges.
• Helian Yuan left the sealed medicine chest and iron goods at the shed, set markers to detect anyone moving them, and noticed the chains resembled binding chains.
• A booted stranger approached the shed at night, confirmed the goods had arrived, and retreated into the fog without taking them.
• Helian Yuan followed the eastern stone road far enough to find claw marks by a collapsed fence, then added the road to his map and concluded the camp was an entrance to an unmapped route.

Helian Yuan investigated the stone road and collapsed facilities, discovering signs that demonic beasts had been registered and transferred through the area. After a level-four Lightning-Patterned Leopard patrolled the road and revealed the number seven on an iron plaque, Helian Yuan concluded that someone was still maintaining the abandoned camp and planned to investigate further.

• Helian Yuan followed the tracks of the person who took the medicine and joined a broken chain from the collapsed shed to the chain he had recovered from the Ironmane Bear.
• Helian Yuan found a cave entrance and identified fresh tracks from a level-four Lightning-Patterned Leopard, then located a drainage ditch that could serve as an escape route.
• Helian Yuan returned to the old camp and found that someone had taken a chain and four hinges, suggesting they were repairing a facility.
• Helian Yuan watched the camp from concealment as the Lightning-Patterned Leopard patrolled the stone road, inspected the chain, and revealed the number seven on an iron plaque.
• Helian Yuan examined water-damaged records and the plaque, concluding that the site had been part of a system for registering and transferring demonic beasts and was still being maintained.

Helian Yuan escaped the level 4 Lightning-Patterned Leopard by riding a dangerous stream through a narrow gap between boulders, but he suffered serious injuries and lost access to the tiger shadow. Back at the old camp, he documented the leopard’s tactics and concluded he would need a different plan for their next encounter.

• The level 4 Lightning-Patterned Leopard ambushed Helian Yuan near the drainage ditch and attacked his injured arm, knocking him into a stream.
• Helian Yuan let the current carry him through a narrow gap between two boulders, and the leopard stopped at the far side because it sensed another high-level magical beast’s territory.
• Helian Yuan reached the reeds with several injuries and could no longer summon the tiger shadow.
• He returned to the old camp, found the north shed stripped of its iron implements, and treated his wounds with the remaining supplies.
• Helian Yuan recorded the leopard’s combat habits, tested a scent lure, and marked the stream route as usable only once.
• Hearing the leopard growling closer to the east, Helian Yuan marked the sharp bend on his map and resolved not to repeat his escape plan.

Helian Yuan tested Tiger Shadow after his recovery and discovered that it could take the form of a black tiger for five breaths, sense nearby moving creatures, and still could not act independently. He left Blackwater Ravine for Greystone Town to replenish supplies, planning to return to the cave later.

• Helian Yuan returned to the Lightning-Patterned Leopard’s tracks and studied how it had moved, then confirmed he could face the area without losing his judgment to fear.
• Tiger Shadow formed a complete tiger-shaped outline behind Helian Yuan and sensed a Green-Eared Fox, which fled before the five-breath manifestation ended.
• Helian Yuan tested Tiger Shadow’s perception and tried to make it leap at a wooden stake, learning that it could detect moving creatures but could not leave his shadow without straining his body.
• Helian Yuan recorded Tiger Shadow’s limits, packed his remaining supplies, and prepared the old camp to discourage others from searching it.
• Helian Yuan found fresh claw marks where the Lightning-Patterned Leopard had checked his escape route and scratched out his note that the rapids were a viable way out.
• Helian Yuan left an iron nail as a marker by the cave entrance and departed Blackwater Ravine for Greystone Town without entering the cave.

Helian Yuan prepared to return to Blackwater Ravine while the gray-robed people investigated hunters, ironware, and a numbered iron tag. He hid the tag and chain separately, destroyed clues linking him to the ravine, and left town as their questions drew closer to him.

• Helian Yuan treated his claw-like rib wounds and traded bear armor scraps for sheet iron, while the buyer helped conceal his resources by pretending he owed a large debt.
• Helian Yuan had the blacksmith reinforce his short spear and carefully tested a breakaway wrist tether, then bought torches, nails, lamp oil, and a bowstring.
• The buyer told Helian Yuan that the gray-robed people were asking about wounded young hunters, scrap iron from Blackwater Ravine, and an iron tag marked with a seven.
• Helian Yuan watched the gray-robed attendant record hunters' claims in ledgers and paid a drunk hunter for information, so he avoided asking about routes to Blackwater Ravine.
• Helian Yuan hid the numbered tag and old chain in separate places, discarded his muddy boot insoles, and returned to the eastern road before sunset.

Helian Yuan defeated the Red-Maned Wolf alpha by turning the pack’s trap against it, then found a scrap pointing deeper into Blackwater Ravine. The surviving wolves regrouped near an unexplored cave route, and Helian Yuan prepared to follow the clue toward the numbered facility.

• Helian Yuan lured three Red-Maned Wolves into a narrow passage, then used a taut chain to restrain the alpha and kill it with his short spear.
• Helian Yuan drove off the remaining wolves with burning oilcloth and secured the old camp while he treated his shoulder and concealed his iron tag and record papers separately.
• Helian Yuan examined the alpha and concluded that the surviving wolves were organized, cautious, and likely shaped by captivity in the numbered facility.
• Helian Yuan followed the pack’s retreat route, discovered that the wolves had regrouped, and found a blackened scrap marked with the word “Record” and a red arrow pointing deeper into Blackwater Ravine.
• Helian Yuan traced the wolves’ drag marks toward an unexplored cave entrance in the cliff and decided the new route might lead toward the numbered facility.

Helian Yuan discovered records showing that Blackwater Ravine had been used to hold numbered demonic beasts, then evaded two inspectors and concealed the evidence he found. He left with the real number-seven tag and two pages of records, suspecting the torn final line held the key to what the gray-clothed group was seeking.

• Helian Yuan found records linking the Redmane Wolf, Ironmane Bear, and Thunderstripe Leopard to numbered holding facilities in Blackwater Ravine.
• He discovered that someone had deliberately torn the final line from a map and hid the missing information.
• Two gray-clothed inspectors called the den “house number seven,” checked that its tag remained, and communicated with metal strikes.
• Helian Yuan replaced the real tag with a crude fake, hid the genuine tag and two record pages, and left the rest of the evidence arranged to delay discovery.
• He examined the inspectors’ tracks and concluded that the sought-after number seven referred to more than the dead Redmane Wolf, with the answer likely in the torn line.

Helian Yuan deceived a gray-robed buyer who was probing for iron tags from Blackwater Ravine, then evaded a watcher and returned to the cave. Inside, he found numbered tags and a locked iron door marked seven, from behind which came the sound of a chain being dragged.

• Helian Yuan refused to sell the gray-robed man the Red-Maned Wolf pelt at first, then sold it cheaply to disguise his knowledge of the numbered iron tags.
• The buyer gave Helian Yuan dry rations but made clear he would cooperate only to protect his shop.
• Helian Yuan split his money, spotted a fresh wheel track, and used a stream to evade the person following him back to Blackwater Ravine.
• Helian Yuan found that someone had turned the marker nail inward and left a dragging trace leading into the cave.
• Helian Yuan descended the cave steps and found tags marked three and thirteen, then reached an iron door marked seven as a chain dragged behind it.

Helian Yuan cautiously explored the cave, mapping escape routes and uncovering records about numbered demonic beasts and recent human activity. He opened the door marked seven and heard someone dragging a chain in the northern passage, where he waited out of sight for whoever was inside.

• Helian Yuan marked and tested a route through the cave, rationed his torch, and avoided opening the door marked seven.
• Helian Yuan found records identifying numbers three and thirteen as members of the same batch, while number seven was missing from the records.
• Helian Yuan followed drag marks through a trap and discovered a recently forced door, black armored hide, and signs that someone had brought supplies into the cave.
• Helian Yuan noticed that the cord outside the passage had been disturbed and began ensuring he had a second way out whenever he opened a door.
• Helian Yuan cautiously opened the door marked seven and found a transfer room with the entry for number seven torn out and fresh scrape marks leading north.
• Helian Yuan heard someone dragging a chain deeper in the northern passage and moved aside, preparing to detect a sudden approach.

Helian Yuan searched the record room and found evidence that Number Seven had been transferred to a Fourth Hunting Ground at Sunken Bone Slope, where the gray-robed man had recently been. As he escaped the old site, the cave began collapsing and the route out started closing.

• Helian Yuan entered the record room and examined a ledger whose records showed the hunting system had shifted from raising beasts to tracking transferred targets.
• Helian Yuan found that Number Seven had been transferred to the Fourth Hunting Ground, and connected the location to Sunken Bone Slope using a map hidden among the records.
• Helian Yuan discovered a fresh piece of fabric matching the gray-robed man's robe and inferred that the man had recently visited the record room.
• Helian Yuan took the Sunken Bone Slope map, two pages about Number Seven, and the fabric, then left signs to test whether someone else had disturbed the ledger.
• Helian Yuan heard the mountain breaking apart and hurried toward the exit as rubble fell and the passage collapsed around him.
• Helian Yuan secured a failing rope anchor and continued through the closing route with the map, realizing his discovery had triggered the old site's last passable way out.

As Blackwater Ravine collapsed, Helian Yuan abandoned his search for the records-room box and escaped with evidence that the gray-robed organization had moved number seven to Sunken Bone Slope. He found a hidden waterway exit but ended the chapter facing a level-four demonic beast in the pool below.

• Helian Yuan chose to retreat through the collapsing tunnels, using sand and wall scratches to navigate after the markers diverged and vanished.
• He escaped a chain-trapped bottleneck with help from the tiger shadow, cutting his bootlace and leaving his boot pinned beneath the rubble.
• In a watchroom, Helian Yuan found a key matching the records-room box and a map note stating that number seven had been moved to Sunken Bone Slope.
• He discovered a hidden waterway route, collected a strand of short black fur, and marked the side passage before descending toward the sound of water.
• At the bottom of the slope, Helian Yuan saw a huge shadow and two green lights beneath the pool, realizing he had reached another level-four demonic beast.

Helian Yuan crossed a flooded underground pool guarded by a chained level-four Azure-Scaled Water Python and escaped through a drainage channel with documents from an old facility. He emerged at a surface stream with Blackwater Ravine still flooding and hurried upstream to reach safety.

• Helian Yuan tested the pool's current and used meat to draw the Azure-Scaled Water Python away from the hut.
• He reached the half-submerged hut, noted the rising water level, and unlocked an iron box containing a transfer slip, a gray-marked iron tag, and a map of the eastern passage.
• When the python broke into the hut, Helian Yuan joined its tail chain to an old chain and used its movement to expose a drainage opening.
• Helian Yuan crawled through the rising-water channel, evaded loose chains and debris, and escaped through the mountain into a surface stream.
• He checked his records and injured leg, then climbed upstream because Blackwater Ravine was still flooding and the passage risked being sealed.

Helian Yuan escaped the collapsing caves at Blackwater Ravine and used several maps and tokens to trace the route to Sunken Bone Slope. After finding evidence that the gray-robed organization was actively transporting supplies there, he turned toward Greystone Town to resupply, while someone else waited at the hunting ground to retrieve No. 7.

• Helian Yuan climbed out of the flooded passage, escaped a falling door and rubble, and reached a mountain gully at dawn.
• He treated his injuries, compared the maps and tokens, and concluded that Blackwater Ravine was an old entrance and records repository connected to Sunken Bone Slope.
• Helian Yuan disguised his escape trail and found fresh wheel ruts and a broken chain that showed the gray-robed organization was still using the eastern route.
• He followed the trail to Sunken Bone Slope, confirmed the terrain matched his map, and hid the chain before heading to Greystone Town for supplies.
• A further collapse shook Blackwater Ravine as Helian Yuan left, while someone waited at Sunken Bone Slope to retrieve No. 7.