Chapter Summaries

Zuo Teng defended the ring in a tournament that offered a path to Western Capital City's research institutes and the Sequence Committee. After Song Fengying announced that successful ring defenders could become Candidate Sequence Committee Members, a competitor stepped forward to challenge him.

• Zhang Xuezhou agreed to step in if Zuo Teng could not hold the ring, as long as the fights involved no weapons.
• Zuo Teng announced that anyone in the final eight who defeated him or drew with him could enter the final four.
• Song Fengying announced that finalists could buy gene drugs and that the champion and runner-up could receive Candidate Sequence Committee Member seats.
• Song Fengying read an official policy allowing provinces and cities to host touring challenge tournaments, whose victors could gain four-year candidate positions.
• Zuo Teng learned that he could become a Candidate Sequence Committee Member if he successfully defended the ring.
• A competitor leaped into the venue and challenged Zuo Teng.

Zuo Teng won eight consecutive bouts and secured a candidate seat on the Sequence Committee, while Zhang Xuezhou praised his potential and urged Wang Haoran to give him opportunities. News of the tournament and Gene Fighting Technique promotion spread widely, leaving the public and powerful groups questioning what the changes meant.

• Zuo Teng won eight consecutive challenges through composure and skill, earning a candidate Sequence Committee position without killing anyone.
• Zhang Xuezhou acknowledged Zuo Teng's ability and recommended that Wang Haoran give him opportunities to participate in future events.
• Young people asked when the next challenge tournament would take place and whether future rules would provide weapons and equipment for different fighting styles.
• Song Fengying's livestream drew nearly 300,000 viewers as questions and rumors about the tournament spread across the Scarlet Alliance State.
• Powerful groups and ordinary viewers speculated that Western Capital City planned to promote Gene Fighting Technique and wondered whether it faced a shortage of successors.

Zuo Teng became a celebrated candidate for the Sequence Committee and asked Zhang Xuezhou how to handle the sudden attention. Zhang Xuezhou advised him to carry on with ordinary life, while he and Song Fengying planned a trip to Pan'an for a livestream.

• Zuo Teng questioned Zhang Xuezhou about the alternate committee position and what it would mean for him.
• Zhang Xuezhou told Zuo Teng he would go to Pan'an with his mother, prompting Zuo Teng to decide to let events unfold and live as usual.
• Song Fengying celebrated her successful competition livestream and asked to host more events for the Sequence Committee.
• Song Fengying said she wanted to earn enough to help the family reach the Seventh Sequence, and Zhang Xuezhou agreed to her plan.
• Zhang Xuezhou and Song Fengying planned to drive to Pan'an the next day and livestream an exploration of the Pan'an Sinkhole that evening.

Zhang Xuezhou and his companions traveled to the Pan'an Sinkhole to investigate its history and the possible presence of Huang Daoxian. After learning about the Zhao Household's gene-seed research, Zhang Xuezhou proposed visiting them once the sinkhole investigation was finished.

• Zuo Teng drove Zhang Xuezhou, Wang Haoran, Song Fengying, and two caged exotic beasts toward the Pan'an Sinkhole while worrying about his father Zuo Quan and the purple gladiolus herb.
• Song Fengying led the group into the wooded hills, where Zuo Teng carried the cages as they prepared to scout the sinkhole before exploring it after nightfall.
• Zhang Xuezhou warned Zuo Teng to run if they encountered Huang Daoxian, and Wang Haoran described the legendary figure's dealings with four emperors and supposed supernatural powers.
• Zuo Teng explained that the Zhao Household, led by Zhao Changqing, owned Luo'an Province's largest gene-seed company and was under investigation.
• Zhang Xuezhou suggested visiting the Zhao Household after they investigated the Pan'an Sinkhole, and Wang Haoran agreed.

Zhang Xuezhou led Wang Haoran, Song Fengying, and Zuo Teng through Pan'an's sinkhole to investigate the site of an old meteor fall. At a small spring, Zuo Teng found his dead mother's severed head in his cupped hands.

• Zhang Xuezhou outfitted the group in light-blocking protective suits and set out with Song Fengying, Wang Haoran, and Zuo Teng to reach the place she had identified.
• The group searched the canyon and found no visible signs of a meteor impact, while Wang Haoran suggested the fireball had mostly burned up before striking the ground.
• Song Fengying led them through muddy terrain toward a spring, and she comforted Zuo Teng when he complained about the hot, stuffy suit.
• Zuo Teng approached the spring alone and found his dead mother's head in his hands, with no body beneath it.

Zuo Teng was trapped by a shard’s mental influence and saw his mother’s severed head in his hands. Zhang Xuezhou helped him recover and identified the shard as a likely remnant connected to Huang Daoxian and the Pan’an Sinkhole.

• Zuo Teng realized the vision of his mother’s head was a hallucination but could not escape it, and feared that Huang Daoxian was controlling him.
• Zuo Teng’s fear overwhelmed him until Zhang Xuezhou slapped him and broke the vision’s hold.
• Zuo Teng told Zhang Xuezhou and Wang Haoran what he had seen, then put on his gloves and hood again.
• Zuo Teng examined a transparent, multicolored shard through his viewer as Zhang Xuezhou said it might distort sight and confuse the mind.
• Zhang Xuezhou connected the shard to the one from the Eastern Mountain Imperial Mausoleums and suspected it was a remnant of an unusual plant being.

Zhang Xuezhou and the others searched the canyon, where Zuo Teng had found a mind-affecting crystal and Zhang Xuezhou used his Gene Weapon to clear a path through dense vegetation. After the cut plants began affecting Zuo Teng and Song Fengying, the group moved upwind, and Zuo Teng realized the canyon’s vegetation might have been altered by some unusual force.

• Zuo Teng examined the crystal he had found in the pool, and Zhang Xuezhou confirmed it resembled the red crystals from the Gebala Cave Corridor.
• Zhang Xuezhou sent his Infinite Edge through the dense vines as the group made their way toward the area he had visited before.
• Zhang Xuezhou and Song Fengying agreed to find a different place for their livestream after disturbing the original location.
• Zuo Teng expressed envy of Zhang Xuezhou’s mother, then became intoxicated by the scent of the freshly cut madder plants.
• Zhang Xuezhou told Zuo Teng and Song Fengying to move upwind, and Zuo Teng concluded that something was changing the plants and their effects.

Zhang Xuezhou cut through the mutated vines and exposed a gigantic yellow flower, but attacking it released a foul stench that knocked him and Wang Haoran unconscious. Song Fengying rescued Zuo Teng and reached safety on a cliffside rock, while Zhang Xuezhou and Wang Haoran remained in danger.

• Zhang Xuezhou used his Infinite Blade to cut through the madder vines while Zuo Teng watched and asked Song Fengying about Zhang Xuezhou's abilities.
• Song Fengying credited high society with their training, while Zuo Teng reflected on how Zhang Xuezhou and Zhang Manqian had outstripped him.
• Zhang Xuezhou cleared the vines and revealed a gigantic yellow flower, which Song Fengying confirmed was what they had come to find.
• Zuo Teng asked what the flower contained, and Song Fengying said the place reminded her of North Rehe.
• Zhang Xuezhou attacked the flower, triggering a blast that sent vines flying and released a terrible stench; Zhang Xuezhou and Wang Haoran were knocked unconscious.
• Song Fengying pulled Zuo Teng out of the danger and escaped to a rock on the canyon cliff, leaving Zhang Xuezhou and Wang Haoran behind.

Song Fengying and Zuo Teng rescued Wang Haoran and Zhang Xuezhou from the foul stench of a giant flower, while Zhang Xuezhou used the Infinite Blade to attack it from afar. After the others recovered, Zhang Xuezhou wondered whether the flower was Huang Daoxian’s true body.

• Song Fengying and Zuo Teng hauled the unconscious Wang Haoran and Zhang Xuezhou away from the stench-filled canyon.
• Zhang Xuezhou got back up and remotely sent the Infinite Blade to attack the giant flower, astonishing Zuo Teng.
• Zuo Teng gave Wang Haoran rescue breaths, but Zhang Xuezhou warned that residue from the flower might be poisonous.
• Wang Haoran woke up and vomited foul mucus, while Zuo Teng discovered that his lips had swollen.
• Zhang Xuezhou continued cutting through the giant flower and wondered if it was Huang Daoxian’s true body.

Zhang Xuezhou and the others identified and destroyed a giant poisonous flower they suspected was Huang Daoxian’s true body. They moved to a safer site to wait for the flower to be burned, while Song Fengying prepared to resume her livestream.

• Zhang Xuezhou used the Infinite Blade to chop apart the giant flower, whose crystalline reproductive organs distorted his vision.
• Wang Haoran and Zuo Teng recognized the flower as a dangerous supernatural creature, and Wang Haoran arranged for an aircraft to bring fuel to burn it.
• Zhang Xuezhou encouraged Song Fengying to switch from wilderness exploration to hosting challenge matches, and Zuo Teng discussed how her livestream could draw viewers seeking information.
• Zuo Teng questioned whether the flower was connected to Huang Daoxian and suggested investigating the Zhao Household, while Zhang Xuezhou waited to search for clues after the flower was burned.
• Wang Haoran led the group away from the canyon, and Song Fengying chose a sheltered mountain hollow where they could set up a signal booster and resume the livestream.

Song Fengying staged a supernatural livestream in the mountains while Zhang Xuezhou and the others concealed their involvement in the corpse flower’s destruction. After the stream, Zhang Xuezhou remained wary that the threat might survive, and Zuo Teng ended up agreeing to return to the canyon to investigate.

• Song Fengying livestreamed the small mountain depression as a mysterious meteor site, using the tamed viper, signal equipment, and staged figures to entertain viewers and promote a future visit to North Rehe.
• After the stream ended, Zhang Xuezhou explained that he had tried to avoid leaving clues, and Zuo Teng observed that he seemed to be concealing his presence.
• Zhang Xuezhou asked Wang Haoran whether the corpse flower had been burned completely, and Wang Haoran confirmed that they had used a hundred kilograms of liquid fuel.
• Zhang Xuezhou said the threat might not be fully dead, so he agreed with Zuo Teng to return to the canyon and check.
• Wang Haoran praised Zuo Teng as a prospective Sequence Committee member, then made clear that he would be sent in first; Zuo Teng reluctantly accepted the task.

Zhang Xuezhou and the others returned to the gorge to check whether the corpse flower associated with Huang Daoxian had been destroyed. They left Zuo Teng to scout the site while remaining cautious about Huang Daoxian’s unknown whereabouts and overwhelming mental strength.

• Zhang Xuezhou, Zuo Teng, Song Fengying, and Wang Haoran carried the caged viper and hyena through the dark forest toward the gorge.
• Zuo Teng asked to send the hyena ahead to scout, and Zhang Xuezhou agreed that he would not demand payment if it died.
• At the sinkhole, the group set up a communications signal booster and tied a rope around Zuo Teng before he entered to investigate while they watched his private livestream.
• Zhang Xuezhou told Wang Haoran that Huang Daoxian might be as powerful as Luo Zhong or stronger, and that they did not know where his real body was.
• The group proceeded cautiously, targeting the corpse flower because Zhang Xuezhou had no reliable way to confront Huang Daoxian’s spirit or soul.

Zhang Xuezhou cautiously investigated the burned site of the corpse flower, suspecting it might be Huang Daoxian or one of his creations. As Zuo Teng uncovered a transparent sphere in the pit, he suddenly saw his mother’s severed head.

• Zhang Xuezhou warned that the corpse flower had dangerous abilities beyond its poisonous gas and considered how Huang Daoxian might have contacted ancient emperors.
• Zuo Teng filmed the corpse flower’s burned remains while Zhang Xuezhou and Wang Haoran urged him to proceed carefully.
• Zuo Teng kicked the terrified hyena into the pit, but it escaped and fled into the forest.
• Zuo Teng scraped through the ash and uncovered a transparent sphere about the size of a longan.
• Zuo Teng’s vision blurred, and he saw his mother’s head in the pit, her eyes open in death.

Zhang Xuezhou and Wang Haoran investigated a fear-inducing pearl that drove Zuo Teng into a panic, then helped him recover and considered how the crystal chip might have affected his father, Zuo Jin. The chapter ends with Wang Haoran returning after retrieving the pearl and Zuo Teng learning how he might guard against its effects.

• Zhang Xuezhou and Wang Haoran realized the pearl was affecting Zuo Teng, and Wang Haoran warned that it might be a dangerous weapon before deciding to retrieve it carefully.
• Zuo Teng fled from the pearl, and Zhang Xuezhou and Song Fengying restrained him while Wang Haoran ran to collect it in a black pouch.
• Zhang Xuezhou used the Highest Clarity True Technique to calm Zuo Teng, who recalled seeing his mother's head and feeling as though he had stared into her eyes for months.
• Zuo Teng suspected Huang Daoxian or someone connected to his father might have controlled Zuo Jin and asked how he could protect himself.
• Zhang Xuezhou explained that a viewing device could block the crystal chip's effect and that darkness could prevent it from working; Wang Haoran returned with the pearl.

After raiding the Pan'an Sinkhole, Zhang Xuezhou and Wang Haoran planned an investigation of the Zhao Household and discussed opening Luo'an Province's businesses to wider trade. Zhang Xuezhou also revealed research into genetic medicines that might grant Resistance Layer abilities early, leaving Wang Haoran eager to obtain the giant ant extract despite the medicine's toxic side effects.

• Zhang Xuezhou reflected on Huang Daoxian's loss and resolved to build alliances and protect his body.
• Zhang Xuezhou, Wang Haoran, and their group returned to Changqing City, where Wang secured the bead and asked about investigating the Zhao Household.
• Zhang Xuezhou proposed visiting every household's operations and involving Professor Li Yingbo in a broader industry survey, and Li Yingbo agreed to help.
• Wang Haoran worried about the instability of the Sequence Committee, and Zhang Xuezhou explained that reaching the Seventh Sequence granted a Resistance Layer.
• Zhang Xuezhou said a genetic medicine made with giant ant extract might grant Resistance Layer abilities ahead of time, and Wang Haoran asked about its side effects.

Zhang Xuezhou persuaded Li Yingbo and Wang Haoran to investigate the Zhao Household in Luo'an Province, suspecting it was tied to Huang Daoxian’s local power. He asked Zuo Teng to watch his father for clues while he prepared to cultivate at the Eastern Mountain Imperial Mausoleums.

• News of the Sequence Committee resolution stirred the Lineages, and Li Yingbo complained to Wang Haoran about the backlash it had caused.
• Wang Haoran told Li Yingbo that the committee should investigate the Zhao Household and revisit the mystery surrounding the Eastern Mountain Imperial Mausoleums.
• Zhang Xuezhou suggested that Huang Daoxian had built a powerful local base in Luo'an Province and that the purple gladiolus plants were not Huang Daoxian himself.
• Wang Haoran, Li Yingbo, and the others began investigating Luo'an Province’s industries, while Zhang Xuezhou joined the team whenever it examined the Zhao Household.
• Zhang Xuezhou asked Zuo Teng to monitor his father for clues and notify him if Zuo Quan headed to the Eastern Mountain Imperial Mausoleums.

During a task force visit to the Zhao Household, Zhang Xuezhou observed Zhao Changqing and Zhao Keqing while the committee members discussed the household’s crops and seed-based fighting technique. Recognizing Zhao Keqing from a possible encounter in Sudong City, Zhang Xuezhou suspected the Zhao Household had once tested him using seeds.

• Wang Haoran, Li Yingbo, and Zhu Liangping led a task force delegation to visit the Zhao Household, where Zhao Changqing joined them in a wheelchair.
• Zhao Changqing praised the Zhao Household’s genetically modified crops, and Li Yingbo said successful varieties could be promoted for public use.
• Zhao Changqing explained that the household used rapidly germinating seeds that could latch onto opponents, take root, and cause injuries.
• At Wang Haoran’s request, Zhao Changqing agreed to demonstrate the technique, and Zhao Keqing arranged the demonstration.
• Zhang Xuezhou recognized Zhao Keqing vaguely and reasoned that they might have met when Zhao Keqing investigated him in Sudong City.
• Zhang Xuezhou suspected that the Zhao Household had tested him with seeds without his noticing.

Li Yingbo and the Sequence Committee delegation toured the Zhao Household’s breeding base, where Zhao Changqing and Zhao Keqing described their crops and combat-oriented genetic seeds. Li discussed possible cooperation and recruitment to the Sequence Committee, while privately remaining wary of the Zhao Household because of Zhang Xuezhou’s suspicions about Huang Daoxian.

• Zhao Changqing and Zhao Keqing explained the scale of the breeding base and their work developing flavorful, high-yield genetic crops.
• Li Yingbo praised the Zhao Household’s research while keeping his distance because Zhang Xuezhou had warned that Huang Daoxian might target the chairman of the Sequence Committee.
• Zhao Changqing and Zhao Keqing described using genetic seeds to repel or trap exotic beasts, and Zhao Changqing offered to have Zhao Keqing accompany Li Yingbo’s party to Qinmeng.
• Li Yingbo agreed to assess Zhao Keqing’s genetic seeds and a striking test rather than have them exchange blows.
• Li Yingbo told Zhao Keqing that each province or city could nominate a Fourth Sequence candidate for a rotating Sequence Committee seat, with renewals possible if local Lineages approved.

Zhao Changqing demonstrated the Zhao Household’s combat plants to Western Capital City’s task force, hoping to secure a place on the Sequence Committee. After the visitors left, Zhao Changqing considered whether Western Capital City might be able to treat his permanently damaged legs.

• Li Yingbo, Wang Haoran, Zhang Xuezhou, and the others toured the Zhao Household’s research base and examined its genetically modified crops.
• Zhao Changqing explained the combat plants’ capabilities and limitations while Zhao Keqing demonstrated their effects, including seeds that rapidly sprouted inside a pig’s mouth and nostrils.
• Wang Haoran observed that the Zhao Household’s combat seeds could be useful in surprise attacks, and Zhao Changqing presented the plants’ strengths and weaknesses to the task force.
• After Li Yingbo and the others departed, Zhao Keqing worried that his Fourth Sequence might prevent him from joining the Sequence Committee, while Zhao Changqing said his province had a strong chance at its slot.
• Zhao Changqing reflected on how Zhang Qiao'en had permanently damaged his legs and became interested in Western Capital City’s medical care after Zhao Keqing mentioned Wang Haoran’s recovered legs.

Zhang Xuezhou and the others tested a strange bead linked to Huang Daoxian by exposing Zhu Liangping to it. Zhu Liangping endured what felt like hours of an illusion, and the bead vanished as he saw Zhu Wei declare that they would meet again.

• Zhang Xuezhou proposed that the group investigate both the Zhang and Zhao Households and use Zuo Teng as another lead.
• Zhu Liangping agreed to test the bead while Zhang Xuezhou and the others watched from outside a sealed room.
• Zhu Liangping opened the box and saw an illusion of Zhu Wei's corpse, then experienced what seemed like hours passing despite the test lasting only seconds outside.
• Zhu Wei's apparition told Zhu Liangping, "I remember your face," and promised they would meet again before vanishing in a flash of colored light.
• Zhang Xuezhou and the others entered the room and discovered that the bead had disappeared.