Chapter Summaries

Zhang Xuezhou and Ren Anran pursued Tuer Kelanduo, believing Huang Daoxian was controlling her and would seek Luo Zhong's remains in Emperor Luo Wu's Mausoleum. As they paused outside the mausoleum, Wang Haoran warned Zhang Xuezhou that the monitors had shown something unusual about Linna.

• Zhang Xuezhou and Ren Anran followed Tuer Kelanduo while discussing Huang Daoxian's long-range mental control and the injuries he might have suffered.
• Ren Anran contacted Ning Que and learned that he and Zhang Manqian were safe and had arranged patrols around the museum.
• Zhang Xuezhou explained that Huang Daoxian might enter Emperor Luo Wu's Mausoleum to use Luo Zhong's remains as a medium for a Technique.
• Zhang Xuezhou and Ren Anran stopped to rest outside the mausoleum, and Linna caught up with them before leaping away to continue the chase.
• Zhang Xuezhou received Wang Haoran's message warning that the monitors had shown something unusual about Linna.

Zhang Xuezhou and Ren Anran pursued Linna after Wang Haoran warned them that something might be wrong with her, and they questioned whether she was controlled or Huang Daoxian in disguise. Linna entered Emperor Luo Wu's Mausoleum to confront Kelanduo, and the two followed her inside to help.

• Zhang Xuezhou received Wang Haoran's warning about Linna and suspected she might be controlled or Huang Daoxian in disguise.
• Zhang Xuezhou and Ren Anran caught up with Linna, who said Kelanduo and the others had entered Emperor Luo Wu's Mausoleum.
• Linna doubted that Zhang Xuezhou and Ren Anran could fight Kelanduo, a Fifth Sequence Holder, with their abilities.
• Zhang Xuezhou urged Linna to use her anesthetic needles on Kelanduo while he and Ren Anran backed her up.
• Linna entered the mausoleum, and Zhang Xuezhou and Ren Anran followed with lights to assist her.

Zhang Xuezhou and Ren Anran followed the suspicious Linna through the traps in Emperor Luo Wu's Mausoleum while Zhang tried to expose her identity. They found Bahetuomu and the others injured, leaving Linna pressured to treat them.

• Zhang Xuezhou questioned Linna and watched her behavior, suspecting she was an impostor or under Huang Daoxian's control.
• A trap triggered when Zhang touched something, sending twelve ironwood poles down at Linna, who dodged them and continued through the passage.
• Zhang and Ren Anran broke through the poles and continued following Linna, discussing the danger and the diplomatic consequences of the theft.
• The group found Bahetuomu and the others injured by a trap, and Zhang urged Linna to treat them.

Linna treated Bahetuomu and his two companions after they were injured by arrow-porcupine quills in Emperor Luo Wu's Mausoleum. Zhang Xuezhou suspected she was being controlled or used by Huang Daoxian, and he planned to get the wounded out before catching up with her and Kelanduo.

• Zhang Xuezhou suspected Linna was Huang Daoxian in disguise, controlled through a special medium, or being controlled by Huang Daoxian nearby.
• Linna identified the arrow-porcupine quills that had pierced Bahetuomu and his companions and assured them the quills were not poisonous.
• Linna pulled out the quills and stopped the bleeding, causing Bahetuomu and both companions to faint from the pain.
• Linna took a searchlight and went ahead to look for other injured people, leaving Zhang Xuezhou and Ren Anran to look after the wounded.
• Zhang Xuezhou told Ren Anran he knew a shortcut to take the wounded out and planned to use the eavesdropping signal to locate Kelanduo and catch up with Linna.

Zhang Xuezhou and Ren Anran searched Emperor Luo Wu's Mausoleum for Tuer Kelanduo and found Linna gravely wounded by a creature that had burst out from inside her. Linna briefly woke and named Feng Xiangyu as the person she had encountered.

• Zhang Xuezhou carried Bahetuomu and the others out of the mausoleum, then received Wang Haoran's message that the professor was investigating where Linna had first acted strangely.
• Zhang Xuezhou and Ren Anran returned to the mausoleum and followed the signal from Zuo Denggao's listening device toward Tuer Kelanduo, passing Xie'ertong without stopping to help him.
• Ren Anran smelled blood, and Zhang Xuezhou found Linna unconscious beneath a toppled statue with a wound through her waist.
• Zhang Xuezhou healed Linna's wound and concluded that a creature had burst out through her waist, likely a spellcasting medium that had been living as a parasite.
• Zhang Xuezhou revived Linna enough to ask whom she had encountered, and she weakly answered, “Feng Xiangyu.”

Zhang Xuezhou realized Huang Daoxian might be using Feng Xiangyu’s appearance and deception to control people, then joined Montes Arthur’s group as they pursued the possibly compromised Omega. He used the larger team as a distraction while heading toward the meeting point of Omega and Tuer Kelanduo.

• Linna mentioned Feng Xiangyu, and Zhang Xuezhou concluded Huang Daoxian might have impersonated or controlled him to mislead her.
• Zhang Xuezhou and Ren Anran resumed their pursuit after noticing Linna’s medical kit was missing.
• Zhang Xuezhou found Batia, Adrian, and Montes Arthur after Omega had gone mad and attacked them.
• Montes Arthur gave Ren Anran a sidearm and invited Zhang Xuezhou and Ren Anran to join the pursuit of Omega.
• Zhang Xuezhou’s group charged after Omega, and he used the distraction to head toward where Omega and Tuer Kelanduo were about to meet.

Zhang Xuezhou and his group pursued Omega through Emperor Luo Wu's Mausoleum, but Omega used the narrow passages and traps to attack them. After defeating the group, Omega found Tuer Kelanduo trapped among the spikes.

• Zhang Xuezhou led the group toward Tuer Kelanduo while they avoided traps and tried to catch Omega.
• Montes Arthur changed course toward Tuer Kelanduo, but Omega attacked the group from behind as Batia shielded them.
• The group retreated through the passage, where traps struck Montes Arthur and scattered the others.
• Omega overcame Batia and found Zhang Xuezhou, Ren Anran, Montes Arthur, and the others lying on the iron spikes.
• Omega treated her wounds, then cleared floor tiles and discovered Tuer Kelanduo trapped among the spikes.

Omega discovered that Luo Zhong had passed on the mental strength she sought, then her jellyfish-like true body emerged and sent a message through the corpse fire. Zhang Xuezhou and his companions destroyed the creature, but Huang Daoxian's phantom warned that he would return.

• Omega found only a small remnant of mental strength in Luo Zhong's head and realized he had passed it on.
• A jellyfish-like creature emerged from Omega's body and sent threads of flame through the tomb passage.
• Montes Arthur shot the creature, but Huang Daoxian's mental assault struck him before Zhang Xuezhou and Ren Anran escaped the spike trap.
• Zhang Xuezhou identified Huang Daoxian and smashed the creature's exposed roots with a wooden automaton.
• Huang Daoxian revealed that Zhang Xuezhou had found the Corpse Flower, then vowed to return before his phantom vanished.

Zhang Xuezhou and Ren Anran destroyed Huang Daoxian’s true body and followed its fading ghostly flames back to the Last Monarch Museum. There, they found Ning Que and Zhang Manqian caught in a mental struggle involving Huang Daoxian and Huang.

• Zhang Xuezhou buried Huang Daoxian’s remains beneath yellow sand, then followed the ghostly flames with Ren Anran toward Ning Que.
• Ren Anran led the way while Zhang Xuezhou recovered from Huang Daoxian’s mental attack, and they flew back to the museum in minutes.
• At the museum, they found Ren Yisheng questioning Feng Xiangyu, Feng Ziqiang, and the others about what they had encountered.
• Zhang Xuezhou discovered Ning Que and Zhang Manqian lying beneath an offering table, with three streams of mental power battling between them.
• Zhang Xuezhou recognized that Huang had joined the struggle against Huang Daoxian.

Zhang Xuezhou, Ren Yisheng, and Ren Anran joined forces against Huang Daoxian’s disembodied consciousness, which was trying to consume a dead man’s spirit. Huang Daoxian escaped the mental clash, but Zhang Xuezhou pursued him, and Ren Yisheng realized his opponent had no way to return to a body.

• Zhang Xuezhou, Ren Yisheng, and Ren Anran entered the mental clash, where Huang Daoxian sought help devouring a dead man’s spirit to restore his strength.
• Ren Yisheng and Zhang Xuezhou attacked Huang Daoxian while Huang charged head-on, and they warned him that his mental strength would run out.
• Huang Daoxian broke through the mental world and escaped into a crack as the museum came back into view.
• Zhang Xuezhou flew after Huang Daoxian, while Ren Yisheng recognized the place where Huang’s body had been and realized it had already been destroyed.
• Ren Anran asked whether Huang Daoxian had another body, and Ren Yisheng concluded that Huang could not return to life again.

Zhang Xuezhou and the others cornered Huang Daoxian, whose spirit had possessed a dog, and fought to stop him from unleashing his seeds. Huang Daoxian escaped by shedding the dog’s skin, but Zhang Xuezhou took his eight abilities and left him trapped in the hyena’s body.

• Zhang Xuezhou, Ren Yisheng, Ren Anran, and Feng Ziqiang confronted the yellow dog and confirmed that Huang Daoxian possessed it.
• Huang Daoxian threatened to unleash his seeds and devastate the land, but the group kept closing in and attacked him.
• Zhang Manqian struck the dog, and Huang Daoxian unleashed a burst of spirit power that reduced everything nearby to ash.
• Zhang Xuezhou emerged unharmed with Huang Daoxian’s dog skin and eight dark purple chips, explaining that his Technique had bound Huang Daoxian to the hyena’s body.
• Zhang Xuezhou explained that Huang Daoxian had taken over the mutated hyena he had tamed, and that the Beast Control Technique would keep binding him as he resisted.

The Scarlet Alliance State contained the Gene Seed disaster after seeds were dumped in Qinmeng, while Zhang Xuezhou and his companions rescued survivors from Emperor Luo Wu's Mausoleum. Montes Arthur sought closer ties with Zhang, who described how the Scarlet Alliance State neglected his fighting-technique training.

• Ren Yisheng reported that the Gene Seed disaster had been contained and that the risk from seeds spilled during transport was low.
• Zhang Xuezhou told Ren Yisheng how he had discovered Huang Daoxian was a hyena exotic beast as the group argued over the mausoleum ambushes.
• Zhou Yueyan admitted she had gotten lost in the burial passages after smashing traps while searching for Tuer Kelanduo.
• Omega accused Zhou Yueyan of setting them up, but Zhou denied it and Omega followed the group in silence.
• Montes Arthur thanked Zhang Xuezhou and said he hoped they could cooperate in the future, recognizing the Scarlet Alliance State's handling of the Fire Meteor creature.
• Zhang Xuezhou told Montes Arthur that the Scarlet Alliance State had not provided him with a customized fighting technique, and Montes Arthur praised his talent and offered support from the Aomeijia Alliance.

Zhang Xuezhou relived his frozen-time confrontation with Huang Daoxian and chose to spare him after the fugitive warned that human nature could eventually threaten Zhang’s survival. He left Huang Daoxian fleeing into the night, with the nine chips and their powers shattered.

• At East Mountain, Zhang Xuezhou and the others discussed Huang Daoxian’s escape and considered asking Montes Arthur to track his life signs.
• Zhang Xuezhou recalled that during Huang Daoxian’s mental attack, he had moved while time seemed frozen and seized the nine chips containing Huang’s abilities.
• Huang Daoxian emerged from the hyena’s shed hide and begged Zhang Xuezhou to spare him, warning that human suspicion would eventually endanger Zhang.
• Zhang Xuezhou said Qinmeng’s five Fire Meteor creatures provided enough outside pressure, but Huang Daoxian argued that alliances could still fracture and Karmic Fortune would not protect Zhang forever.
• Zhang Xuezhou agreed to give Huang Daoxian one chance to live and shattered the nine chips, then released him as the Control faded and Huang fled into the night.

After Huang Daoxian’s defeat, Zhang Xuezhou reflected on the control he still held over him and spent the day cultivating, experimenting with Huang Daoxian’s Fortune Technique crystal chip. By evening, Ren Yisheng found him training and praised his concentration, while Zhang Xuezhou looked forward to life becoming more normal now that the immediate danger had passed.

• Zhang Xuezhou recognized that the Soul-Upsetting Beast Control Technique still bound Huang Daoxian, and that hatred only tightened its hold.
• After leaving the others to sleep, Zhang Xuezhou practiced his Techniques outside the Imperial Mausoleum Administration Office.
• Zhang Xuezhou refined a Fortune Technique crystal chip he had kept from Huang Daoxian, discovering that its numbing side effect helped circulate his Poison Avoidance Instruction.
• Zhang Xuezhou returned to cultivating his Evasion Techniques, but found that refining and connecting acupoints grew harder at higher levels.
• Ren Yisheng noticed Zhang Xuezhou’s cultivation and praised his concentration, while Zhang Xuezhou reflected that fear of the Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon had driven him to keep working.

After the gene-plant disaster was officially assessed at a Sequence meeting, Zhang Xuezhou and Zuo Teng discussed catalyst research and the next Sequences they hoped to reach. Zuo Teng recommended that Zhang Xuezhou recruit Luo Burang to help develop higher-level catalysts, and Zhang prepared to return to North Rehe to see him.

• Zhang Xuezhou attended a Sequence meeting where officials reviewed the gene-plant disaster and its resolution.
• Zuo Teng told Zhang Xuezhou that he and Zuo Denggao had produced a small trial batch of the R33 Catalyst, then asked about obtaining the R34 formula from Qimeng Haige.
• Zhang Xuezhou warned Zuo Teng that advancing through the Sequences would require more than copying catalysts, including research into the R37 Catalyst.
• Zuo Teng agreed to cooperate with Zhang Xuezhou and urged him to involve Luo Burang in catalyst research.
• Zhang Xuezhou learned that Luo Burang's guidance had accelerated the R33 work and prepared to return to North Rehe to meet him.

Zhang Xuezhou proposed that Luo Burang help research a method for removing his disordered Gene Power, and Luo accepted after learning the technique might let him become a normal person and eventually advance through the Sequences. Zhang Xuezhou began adapting the Primal Core Technique to Luo Burang as the two started their experiment.

• Zhang Manqian landed the aircraft roughly at the B13 Research Institute, and Luo Burang explained that her growing strength made it difficult to handle the controls gently.
• Zhang Xuezhou invited Luo Burang to join the Zuo Household's weak-gene catalyst project and revealed that Qimeng Haige had designed the catalyst.
• Zhang Xuezhou described the Primal Pill Method as a way to condense and expel disordered Gene Power, giving Luo Burang hope that he could become a normal person and later cultivate.
• Luo Burang agreed to study the method with Zhang Xuezhou, who explained the risks of condensing and destroying a core.
• Zhang Xuezhou infused Luo Burang with purple-wreathed Law Power to begin helping him condense a Demon Core.

Zhang Xuezhou used Law Power to help Luo Burang purge the conflicting forces in his body, and Luo Burang proposed that condensing Gene Power into a Primal Pill could strengthen Gene Sequences. Zhang Xuezhou considered exploring the idea, despite the dangers once associated with Golden Core cultivation.

• Ren Wuyang visited Zhang Xuezhou and Luo Burang as Zhang Xuezhou used Law Power to guide Luo Burang's cultivation, and he debated Ren Anran about how difficult Zhang Xuezhou's methods were to spread.
• Luo Burang retched out stone-like grit and discovered that his body had been purged of the conflicts that had tormented him for more than twenty years.
• Luo Burang suggested using a Primal Pill to guide Gene Power and potentially improve Gene Sequences at higher levels.
• Zhang Xuezhou compared the proposed method to the Demon Race's Demon Cores and the lost human Golden Core Method, which had once led to ruthless pill refining and cultivation theft.
• Zhang Xuezhou considered letting Luo Burang experiment further with the Primal Pill method.

Zhang Xuezhou and Luo Burang developed a personalized Gene Sequence method and chose Ren Wuyang, who was stuck at the threshold of the Fifth Sequence, to test it. Ren Wuyang reluctantly agreed as the group prepared to see whether it could help him break through.

• Zhang Xuezhou and Luo Burang discussed Gene Sequence techniques on scrap paper while Ren Anran joined their research.
• Zhang Manqian served roast chicken while Ren Wuyang avoided talking about the method and reflected on his past experiences as a test subject.
• Zhang Xuezhou asked Ren Wuyang to test their method, explaining that the others were unsuitable or would not provide useful results.
• Ren Anran urged Ren Wuyang to accept the test, and Zhang Xuezhou and Luo Burang began tailoring the method to him.
• Ren Wuyang reluctantly agreed to try the method, and Luo Burang said they would adjust it if it failed.

Zhang Xuezhou and his research team tested a modified Primal Core Technique on Ren Wuyang, then debated how to prevent the resulting Sequence Lock from being exploited. Zhang Xuezhou introduced Law Power as a possible way to refine it further, and Luo Burang tried the cultivation method, immediately suffering its harsh side effects.

• Zhang Xuezhou helped Ren Wuyang cultivate the modified Primal Core Technique and formed a seed of Gene Power inside him.
• Ren Anran warned that the seed could cause trouble, and Zhang Xuezhou agreed that the technique needed protection against exploitation.
• Luo Burang explained that reversing a Sequence Lock could cause genetic collapse, and he said they needed a comparable method to refine the process.
• Zhang Xuezhou identified the power as Law Power and offered Luo Burang the cultivation method and a jar of black paste.
• Luo Burang swallowed the paste, suffered nausea and dizziness, and plunged his head into the trash can.

Luo Burang proved unusually gifted at cultivating the Realm Technique and helped advance research into the Sequence Lock. Ren Wuyang used it to break into the Fifth Sequence, but learned that the technique still needed testing and could carry serious risks.

• Luo Burang began cultivating the Realm Technique, and Ren Anran recognized his exceptional talent despite his lack of Mental Strengthening.
• Zhang Xuezhou admitted he did not consider himself a genius, prompting Luo Burang to define a true genius as someone who made unprecedented achievements remembered by history.
• Luo Burang concluded that Ren Wuyang no longer needed blood serum and could use the Sequence Lock to reach the Fifth Sequence.
• Ren Wuyang activated the Sequence Lock and broke through to the Fifth Sequence as his gene sites expanded toward the places associated with the Dragon Elephant Combat Technique.
• Luo Burang warned that the Sequence Lock required further tests and might need to be remade, leaving Ren Wuyang concerned that his Gene Sequence could collapse.