Chapter Summaries

Zhang Xuezhou treated Zhou Yueyan while the survivors prepared to face Zhang Qiao'en, who had survived the rocket strike and discovered the Twilight Years Mansion. The chapter left the Sequence Committee members under threat as Zhang Qiao'en advanced on the mansion and Ren Wuyang called for help to free Committee Member Changkong.

• Zhang Xuezhou used Divine Grace to heal Zhou Yueyan and warned the Zhou siblings to protect their heads against Zhang Qiao'en.
• Ren Yisheng admitted he could not face Zhang Qiao'en alone, while Zhang Xuezhou and the others considered how to restrain him.
• Zhou Yueyan ordered Zhu Shengnan to seize the rocket launch site and bring in the people involved, suspecting Zuo Jin and Zuo Quan had authorized the strike.
• Zhang Qiao'en emerged from the smoke, realized the Twilight Years Mansion was hidden nearby, and moved toward it.
• Zhou Rihui prepared to confront Zhang Qiao'en despite warnings about his defenses, while Song Bu'er and Zhong Zhenzhen reported that bullets had failed to injure him.
• Ren Wuyang shouted that Zhang Qiao'en was charging into the mansion and called for the secret key to release Committee Member Changkong.

Zhang Qiao'en led an assault on the Twilight Years Mansion, determined to kill the Sequence Committee and seize control, while Zhou Rihui pursued him through the burning compound. A hidden Seventh Sequence Holder disrupted Zhang Qiao'en with an illusion of his dead son, leaving him to face Zhou Rihui's attack.

• A rocket blast exposed the Twilight Years Mansion's entrance, and Zhang Qiao'en recognized the hidden facility from his intelligence.
• Zhang Qiao'en ordered his followers to kill the residents inside, then forced open the partition doors and led them forward while covering their retreat.
• Zhang Qiao'en deflected a marksman's shots with his saber, but the shooter changed positions and remained difficult to locate.
• Zhou Rihui pursued Zhang Qiao'en through the flames as Zhang prepared a short blade to counter the unseen gunman.
• A voice called, "General Zhang, please stay," and Zhang Qiao'en saw an illusion of Zhang Li before breaking free of its influence.
• Zhang Qiao'en recognized that a Seventh Sequence Holder skilled in intimidation had targeted him and met Zhou Rihui's iron-blue fists head-on.

A rocket blast exposed Twilight Years Mansion, forcing Zhang Xuezhou and the others to abandon their preparations and enter the escalating battle. As casualties mounted and Zhang Qiao'en threatened to become unstoppable, the fighting reached its final fever pitch.

• Zhang Xuezhou treated Zhou Yueyan as much as time allowed, borrowed Song Bu'er's three-round-burst gun, and leaped onto Jianing Hall's roof to test it.
• Wang Yi'an called Wang Haoran, left him the Wang Household inheritance as a last testament, and returned to the fighting despite his wounds.
• Zhong Zhenzhen listed the Sequence Committee members killed in the riot, including Zhu Wei, and Zhu Shengnan charged into battle with her Thousand-Blade Slash.
• A rocket blast tore open the area around Twilight Years Mansion, forcing Ren Yisheng, Zhang Xuezhou, and the others to move as the fighting intensified around Zhang Qiao'en.

Zhang Xuezhou and the Sequence Committee’s forces fought Zhang Qiao'en at Twilight Years Mansion, but his attacks barely slowed the powerful fighter. Ren Yisheng coordinated an intimidation strike that finally disrupted Zhang Qiao'en, leaving him vulnerable to Zhou Rihui’s bite.

• Zhang Xuezhou fired at Zhang Qiao'en but accidentally hit Zhou Rihui, then used the Halt Warfare Formula as more than a hundred task force members entered the battle.
• Zhang Qiao'en fought Zhou Rihui while watching Ren Yisheng and the distant sniper, and he relied on his associates to finish their mission inside Twilight Years Mansion.
• Zhang Qiao'en threw a knife that killed four task force members and threw the advancing crowd into disorder.
• Ren Yisheng called out that Zhang Qiao'en was within intimidation range, and the combined attack engulfed him in a sensation of flames and fear.
• Zhang Qiao'en forced himself back to awareness and saw Zhou Rihui biting down on his neck.

Zhang Qiao'en fought off Ren Yisheng’s mental influence while Zhou Rihui clung to him, but an attack that sent iron sand burrowing into his wounds drove him to tear out his own windpipe. He realized the self-inflicted injury was real as his bone spurs and throwing knives erupted, leaving his fate uncertain.

• Zhou Rihui restrained Zhang Qiao'en and bit his neck while Ren Yisheng used intimidation to make Zhang Qiao'en see his son, Zhang Li.
• Zhang Qiao'en broke Ren Yisheng’s influence, then battered Zhou Rihui until he was nearly unconscious.
• Zhang Qiao'en threw a knife at Ren Yisheng, but Zhou Yueyan took the hit, and Wang Yi'an attacked with his Gene Weapon.
• Iron sand burrowed into Zhang Qiao'en’s wounds, causing an unbearable itch that made him claw at his neck.
• Zhang Qiao'en pulled out his own windpipe, then saw blue bone spurs rise from his back and nine throwing knives shoot from their sheaths.

Zhang Xuezhou helped bring down Zhang Qiao'en using the Yellow Sand Entangling Technique and poisoned iron sand, but Zhang Qiao'en’s flying knives left him critically wounded. Ren Wuyang revived him, while Zhou Rihui faced the toll of the attack and called for Divine Grace.

• Zhang Xuezhou ran out of bullets, then used iron sand and Spirit-Forging Pill powder with the Yellow Sand Entangling Technique to poison Zhang Qiao'en through his neck wound.
• Zhang Qiao'en unleashed nine flying knives, stabbing Zhang Xuezhou and several others before he was stopped.
• Ren Wuyang treated Zhang Xuezhou with the Supreme Purity True Technique and told him about the casualties, including Zhou Rihui and Wang Yi'an.
• Zhang Xuezhou recognized Ren Wuyang as his benefactor and relied on his techniques and the Nine Revolutions Qi Uniting Technique to stay alive.
• Zhang Xuezhou was taken away on a stretcher, and Zhou Rihui urged them to find a large amount of Divine Grace.

The Sequence Committee debated the causes of Zhang Qiao'en’s rebellion and how to prevent another upheaval, while members disagreed over whether to target former-dynasty remnants or confront the powerful Sequencers directly. The meeting ended with the discussion turning to the veteran members as possible leaders in resolving the crisis.

• Li Yingbo temporarily presided over a Sequence Committee meeting to investigate Zhang Qiao'en’s rebellion and determine how to prevent a recurrence.
• Zuo Denggao blamed Flying Entertainment Livestream for provoking the rebellion, while Zuo Teng warned him that their father’s rocket-artillery order could ruin the Zuo Household.
• Li Yingbo proposed rooting out the Zhang Household and placing high Sequence Holders connected to former-dynasty remnants under centralized control.
• Song Bu'er, Wang Haoran, and Qin Wenhan challenged the proposal, pointing to the difficulty of controlling powerful Sequencers and the danger of further weakening Western Capital City.
• The discussion turned to the Sequence Committee’s sidelined veteran members as the remaining people who might be able to resolve the crisis.

After the Luofu Imperial Palace unrest, Zhang Xuezhou survived surgery to remove Zhang Qiao'en’s blade and considered the danger facing Zuo Teng. He hoped Changkong Yinghao and Changkong Yinglian would recover soon so they could help deal with the aftermath in Western Capital City.

• The unrest left many people dead or wounded, while the Sequence Committee and Western Capital City’s lineages struggled with the fallout.
• Wang Yi'an mourned his dead son and became despondent after Zhang Qiao'en severed both his legs; Zhou Rihui, Zhou Yueyan, Ren Yisheng, and Zhong Zhenzhen recuperated in medical pods.
• Changkong Yinghao and Changkong Yinglian asked about Zhang Xuezhou, fearing their own recovery would depend on his Divine Grace.
• Doctors removed the blade from Zhang Xuezhou’s chest, and Changkong Yinghao and Changkong Yinglian wheeled into the operating room to see him.
• Zhang Xuezhou reflected that Zuo Teng might be in danger if Zhang Qiao'en had learned the news from Zuo Quan, but he lacked the authority to intervene.
• Zhang Xuezhou hoped Changkong Yinghao and Changkong Yinglian would find the Egret Bird blood preparation soon and recover enough to help clean up the aftermath.

Li Yingbo and the current Sequence Committee clashed with former committee members over the Twilight Years policy and the risks facing Western Capital City. The meeting turned toward Ren Yisheng’s status, whose fair designation could determine whether the current committee survived.

• Changkong Luo and other former committee members challenged the leadership’s ability to control high-Sequence Holders and demanded a review of the Twilight Years policy.
• Li Yingbo argued that Ren Yisheng should not be treated as being in his twilight years, while Zuo Lianguang cited his attack on Changkong Luo as evidence against him.
• Song Bu’er defended Ren Yisheng, and the discussion widened into disputes over the Twilight Years Rules and the former committee members’ grievances.
• Li Qi and Wang Haoran argued that Ren Yisheng had been unfairly sent to the Twilight Years Mansion because he lacked a powerful Lineage.
• The current committee members urged the former members to correct the past mistake, and the meeting focused on winning Ren Yisheng’s support to preserve the third Sequence Committee.

Zhang Xuezhou told Changkong Yinghao that Tuer God's Divine Grace might still treat his injuries, but only after the Egret Bird matter was settled. The Changkong elders discussed their precarious position in Western Capital City, and Changkong Yinglian learned that the Egret Bird blood agent would arrive that day.

• Changkong Yinghao asked Zhang Xuezhou to treat his injuries, but Zhang Xuezhou said he could not use Divine Grace again until they settled the Egret Bird matter.
• Changkong Yinghao and Changkong Yinglian explained that their people were obtaining Egret Bird exotic beasts and blood agents, while Zhang Xuezhou said he was in no hurry.
• Changkong Yinghao and Changkong Yinglian discussed how they could not safely surrender power, since Zhang Qiao'en might target them and their family.
• Changkong Yinglian urged her son Changkong Tenglong to hurry with the Egret Bird blood agent.
• Changkong Yinglian told the others that Changkong Tenglong would deliver the blood agent that day, and Zhang Xuezhou said he would test whether he still needed it.

Zhang Xuezhou visited Ren Yisheng as he recovered in the X432 device and helped him consider why Zhang Qiao'en had broken through his Dragon Elephant Combat Technique. Zhang Xuezhou connected Zhang Qiao'en’s power to Huang’s, leaving Ren Yisheng with a practical lead to investigate.

• After Zhang Xuezhou’s saber was removed and his injuries were treated, he visited Ren Yisheng, who was using the X432 device to recover and think about Mental Strengthening.
• Ren Yisheng asked Zhang Xuezhou why his advanced Dragon Elephant Combat Technique had failed to suppress the Sixth Sequence Zhang Qiao'en, who had broken through it twice before dying.
• Zhang Xuezhou explained that Zhang Qiao'en’s saber had reminded him of Huang’s axe and the overwhelming power Huang had shown in their brain-domain struggle.
• Ren Yisheng realized Huang’s cultivation might share important merits with Zhang Qiao'en’s Saber Bone and considered asking Huang for insight.

Ren Yisheng began reviewing his defeat by Zhang Qiao'en and joined Luo Tianming and other former sequence committee members to discuss the Mental Strengthening Chapter. The group supported Ren Yisheng after he saved their lives, while he decided to avoid joining the Sequence Committee until his health and circumstances improved.

• Zhang Xuezhou urged Ren Yisheng to exchange ideas with Luo Tianming, Changkong Luo, and the others instead of cultivating alone.
• Ren Yisheng joined Luo Tianming's livestream, and Zhang Xuezhou invited former sequence committee members to take part in their discussion.
• Thirteen former committee members joined the livestream, where they discussed Ren Yisheng's twilight-years situation and their confinement.
• Zuo Lianguang and Changkong Luo thanked Ren Yisheng for defeating Zhang Qiao'en and saving them during the riot.
• Ren Yisheng said his health made committee work difficult and chose to wait until he or his successors were better prepared.

Li Yingbo tried to manage a Sequence Committee meeting as former members joined Ren Yisheng’s livestream and pressed for a way out of the Twilight Years Rules. Ren Yisheng chose to abide by the rules for himself while acknowledging the Twilight Years Mansion’s safety problems, and he gradually became the meeting’s real influence.

• Li Yingbo realized he needed to satisfy the former committee members, who wanted Ren Yisheng freed from the Twilight Years Rules and hoped to leave the Twilight Years Mansion themselves.
• Li Yingbo asked Changkong Luo for permission to join Ren Yisheng’s livestream, and Changkong Luo reluctantly agreed.
• Ren Yisheng recognized that the weakened Sequence Committee and the riot had created an opening for a temporary group to gain lasting power, but he refused to take the risk of joining them.
• After consulting Zhang Xuezhou, Ren Yisheng said he would personally abide by the Twilight Years Rules while welcoming future reforms that could assess old age and declining rationality.
• Zuo Lianguang, Li Qi, and Zhu Bufan objected that the Twilight Years Mansion could not protect them from further attacks, while Ren Yisheng agreed that its problems needed to be resolved.
• Ren Yisheng’s comments gradually steered the Sequence meeting, despite his participating remotely from a medical center.

Ren Yisheng and Zhang Xuezhou discussed how to keep the weakened Sequence Committee stable, and Zhang Xuezhou proposed building several Twilight Years Mansions to preserve the former committee members’ deterrence. As questions about the unrest’s inside source remained unresolved, Zuo Teng asked Zhang Xuezhou for a chance to help, recognizing his far-reaching influence.

• Ren Yisheng asked Zhang Xuezhou how the Sequence Committee could manage conflicts without enough strength to suppress them.
• Zhang Xuezhou suggested building several Twilight Years Mansions so they could not all be breached at once, and Ren Yisheng praised the defensive plan.
• Zhang Xuezhou and Ren Yisheng discussed the unknown informant who had provided Zhang Qiao'en with information and the risks of investigating Zuo Quan.
• Zhang Xuezhou warned Zuo Teng not to act without conclusive evidence until the unrest had passed, and Zuo Teng agreed.
• Zuo Teng considered Zhang Xuezhou’s connections across generations and decided he was the best person to turn to for help.

Zuo Teng asked Zhang Xuezhou for help in gaining enough strength and influence to replace Zuo Quan as head of the Zuo Household. After offering blood serum for the partnership, Zuo Teng questioned whether Zuo Quan had been affected by the purple sword orchid grass, leaving Zhang Xuezhou to suggest investigating the Luofu emperors’ final years.

• Zuo Teng met Zhang Xuezhou outside the B13 Research Institute and offered household blood serum in exchange for help taking control of the Zuo Household.
• Zhang Xuezhou accepted sixteen doses of high-grade blood serum and agreed to advise Zuo Teng about threats and connections among the higher-ups.
• Zuo Teng asked whether the imperial mausoleums expedition survivors had changed in personality, and Zhang Xuezhou said many participants had died and they might have been targeted.
• Zuo Teng asked if the purple sword orchid grass had taken control of Zuo Quan, and Zhang Xuezhou said it was possible and suggested examining the Luofu emperors’ behavior before their deaths.
• Zhang Xuezhou warned Zuo Teng to take precautions around Zuo Quan, but Zuo Teng grimaced at the prospect of fighting while covered in opaque sheeting and relying on cameras.

Zhang Xuezhou investigated how Zhang Qiao'en learned about the mausoleum incident, then tested his body and the remaining Spirit-Forging Pill. He discovered that the pill temporarily introduced unknown genes that vanished from his blood while leaving his skin and strength altered.

• Zhang Xuezhou reviewed Zhang Qiao'en's livestream records and found an anonymous, altered call directing Zhang Qiao'en to New Flying Entertainment to discuss the Twilight Years Mansion and the Sequence Committee.
• Zhang Xuezhou grew more wary of Zuo Quan, then sequenced his blood and found only weak Egret Bird genes despite his increased strength and toughness.
• Zhang Xuezhou swallowed the remaining Spirit-Forging Pill and used the Sand Transformation Technique to steady the surge of Law Power.
• Zhang Xuezhou sequenced his blood again and found invasive genes from an unknown creature, which soon disappeared while leaving his skin pale green and his body stronger.
• Zhang Xuezhou asked Zhou Yueyan for access to gene-bank images and sensed the pill's lasting effects, estimating that three pills had brought him close to a thousand jin of force.

Zhang Xuezhou investigated how the Spirit-Forging Pills had altered his genes and used Zhou Yueyan’s database to identify the unfamiliar sequence. He concluded that the pills contained a Ferocious Beast extract and that consuming them had accidentally let him bypass the usual restriction on absorbing one before the Sixth Sequence.

• Zhang Xuezhou found that the pill’s powerful genes had spread through his body, while the Egret Bird genes had retreated into his bones and could later resist the changes.
• Zhang Xuezhou sequenced his blood and found that its gene chart no longer showed any Egret Bird genes.
• Zhou Yueyan gave Zhang Xuezhou access to her gene database, but his chart did not match any listed creature closely.
• After Zhang Xuezhou sent her the chart, Zhou Yueyan identified it as the sequence of a giant ant Ferocious Beast and recalled that Gongyi Xingguangyu had asked her about extracting it.
• Zhang Xuezhou deduced that the Ferocious Beast extract had passed from Gongyi Xingguangyu to Puresainuoru and then into the Spirit-Forging Pills, which he had swallowed.

Zhang Xuezhou realized that Spirit-Forging Pills made with Ferocious Beast extracts might grant powerful abilities, and he obtained giant bird extract from Zhou Yueyan. After Zhou Tianhao delivered it to the B13 Research Institute, Zhang Xuezhou recruited him to test a new batch of pills.

• Zhang Xuezhou asked Zhou Yueyan for spare giant bird extract, and she agreed to send him a ten-milliliter dose in exchange for treatment the next day.
• Zhou Yueyan recalled the baffling circumstances of Zhang Qiao'en's death, then ordered Zhou Tianhao to deliver the extract to Zhang Xuezhou that night.
• Zhou Tianhao arrived at the B13 Research Institute at eleven at night with the sealed extract and told Zhang Xuezhou that Zhou Yueyan and Zhou Rihui had both scolded him.
• Zhang Xuezhou examined Zhou Tianhao and asked him to help test pills made with the giant bird extract, and Zhou Tianhao agreed.
• Zhang Xuezhou prepared to refine another batch of Spirit-Forging Pills that night.

Zhang Xuezhou confirmed that his recreated pill worked but caused severe side effects, then received Egret Bird blood preparations from Changkong Tenglong. Changkong Tenglong urged his daughter to build ties with Zhang Xuezhou, and the chapter ended with news of an uprising in Western Capital City and the arrival of two gravely injured Zhou Household members.

• Zhang Xuezhou tested the pill on himself and Zhou Tianhao, identified its four major adverse effects, and left Zhou Tianhao recovering in the laboratory.
• Zhang Xuezhou met Changkong Tenglong, who delivered eighteen Egret Bird blood preparations and said his family was continuing to acquire more.
• Changkong Tenglong called Changkong Yinghao, endured his father's scolding, and then advised Changkong Weiguang to get closer to Zhang Xuezhou.
• An aircraft arrived at the North Rehe Research Institute, and an ambulance brought the badly injured Zhou Yueyan and Zhou Rihui to B13.
• Changkong Tenglong learned that an uprising had broken out in Western Capital City and realized his trip had spared him from the danger there.

Zhang Xuezhou used Egret Bird blood serum to reverse the Ferocious Beast changes in his body, then treated Zhou Yueyan and Zhou Rihui's injuries with Divine Grace. The chapter ended with Zhou Tianhao apparently discovering he could fly while feathers fell from his body.

• Zhang Xuezhou injected himself with R32 Catalyst and low-grade Egret Bird blood serum, which rapidly reduced the birdlike changes caused by the Ferocious Beast genes.
• Zhang Xuezhou wondered how high-sequence holders handled injections, and Zhou Yueyan and Zhou Rihui later explained their methods for getting medicine into their tough bodies.
• Zhang Xuezhou treated Zhou Rihui and Zhou Yueyan's injuries with Divine Grace, healing Zhou Rihui's facial wound but leaving scars where his front tooth was missing.
• Zhou Tianhao called out from outside the quiet room, and Zhang Xuezhou saw him rise into the air as down drifted from his body.