Chapter 431: with translation of chapter title

Chen Shao - Chen Shao

2. Xu An - Xu An

3. Su Ming - Su Ming

It wasn't the dry heat of sun‑baked air; it was a humid heat that drilled from the cracks in the skin into the marrow, carrying an intense, inseparable smell of iron rust.

Su Ming (Su Ming) is not in the glossary? Actually the glossary includes Su Team but not Su Ming. The name Su Ming is a character name; it is not in the provided glossary, but we need to list it if it appears. The glossary given is for these lines — use these exact English forms every time (never romanize or paraphrase them). It lists certain terms; but we also need to list every named entity or coined term in these lines. If a term is not in the glossary, we must still include it? The instruction: 'List every NAMED entity / coined term in these lines: characters (including the protagonist and minor ones), places, sects/clans/factions/peoples, official and sect ranks/titles, techniques, cultivation realms/pills/treasures, named beasts/items, fan‑fiction names. Exclude common words/objects, generic forms of address (not ranks), real‑world brands/apps/celebrities, internet slang, and bare generic genre words. Output only names that actually appear in these lines — never invent or copy an example word. Reuse the exact English from the glossary above for terms already listed. If none found: 【】'

Thus we need to output a glossary list of all named entities appearing, using the exact English forms from the glossary above for terms already listed. For terms not in the glossary, we need to provide their English translation (presumably romanized names for persons, translated meaning for others). Since the glossary only includes certain terms, we must still include others like Su Ming (Su Ming), Chen Shao (Chen Shao) already in the glossary, Xu An (Xu An) in the glossary, Instructor (Instructor) in the glossary, Su Team (Su Team) in the glossary, Square (Square) in the glossary, Federation (Federation) in the glossary, Eden Garden (Eden Garden) in the glossary, Red Wood Ruler (Red Wood Ruler) in the glossary, Reinforced Steel Bar (Reinforced Steel Bar) in the glossary, Weird (Weird) in the glossary, A Ji (A Ji) in the glossary, Weird Domain (Weird Domain) in the glossary, A-level Weirdness (A-level Weirdness) in the glossary, Demon Eye (Demon Eye) in the glossary, Core (Core) in the glossary, Domain Membrane (Domain Membrane) in the glossary, Containment Object (Containment Object) in the glossary, Rules (Rules) – generic, exclude.

Also we have terms like 'Demon Eye' already. Also 'Flesh-and-blood Totem' (flesh-and-blood totem) is not in the glossary; it is a coined term? It is a description; maybe we should include it as a named entity? It is a specific thing: 'Flesh-and-blood Totem' appears in line 34: 'That entity made from students' severed limbs and instructors' torsos assembled into a flesh-and-blood totem'. That is a named entity? It is a description but could be considered a named thing. The instruction says list every named entity/coined term. 'Flesh-and-blood Totem' is a coined term (flesh-and-blood totem). Should we include? Likely yes, as it is a specific entity referenced. We need to translate it: 'Flesh-and-blood Totem'. Not in the glossary, so we need to provide an English translation.

Also 'Weird Domain Core' (Weird Domain Core) appears in line 33: 'Weird Domain Core?' That is a term: Weird Domain Core. Both parts are in the glossary: Weird Domain and Core. Combined maybe we should list as 'Weird Domain Core'? The glossary includes Weird Domain and Core separately. Should we list the combined term? It appears as a phrase; but it is a named entity? Probably we should list 'Weird Domain Core'. However the instruction says reuse the exact English from the glossary for terms already listed. For a combined term not in the glossary, we need to translate. But we could also list both parts separately; but they already appear. The instruction: 'List every NAMED entity / coined term in these lines'. If 'Weird Domain Core' is a coined term, we should list it. We'll provide English 'Weird Domain Core'. Similarly 'A-level Weirdness' appears? Actually line 34 mentions 'A-level combat unit'. A Ji appears; we have glossary for A Ji (A Ji) and Weird (Weird). Combined 'A-level Weirdness' is A-level Weirdness (glossary). So we have that.

Also 'Domain Membrane' appears in line 3: domain membrane.

Also 'Containment Object' appears in line 40: 'Containment Object number thirty-one'. So Containment Object.

Also 'Rules' appears in line 43: 'Rules strength'. But rule is generic exclude per glossary note: 'Rules → Rules - generic, exclude.' So we should exclude 'Rules' from the glossary.

Also 'Blood Rain' (blood rain) is not a named entity; it's a description.

Also 'Dark Red Canopy' not.

Also 'Demon Eye' already.

Also 'Green Skin Lantern' (green skin lantern) appears in line 15: 'the holder of the green skin lantern'. That is a named item? It is a thing: 'green skin lantern'. It could be considered a named beast/item? It is a specific object: 'green skin lantern'. Not in the glossary. Should we list it? It is a named item (a lantern). Likely yes. We'll translate it as 'Green Skin Lantern'. Also 'holder' is not needed.

Also 'Eden Garden's remaining few Weird Handlers' includes 'Weird Handler' (Weird Practitioners?) Actually 'Weird Handler' maybe 'Weird Controller'? Not in the glossary. Could be a title. But it's a generic term? Might be considered a role. Not sure. The instruction says list official & sect ranks/titles. 'Weird Handler' could be a title meaning 'Weird Handler'. Might be considered a rank. We'll include as 'Weird Handler'. But we need to see if it's a named entity; it's a description of persons. Might be considered a generic term. Safer to exclude? The instruction says exclude generic forms of address (not ranks). 'Weird Handler' could be a rank. I'd include.

Also 'Federation Action Team' (Federation Action Team) appears in line 16: 'Su Ming brings the Federation Action Team'. That is a named organization: Federation Action Team. Not in the glossary. Should include.

Also 'Square' already.

Also 'Flesh-and-blood Totem' we covered.

Also 'Charred Carbonized Material' not.

Also 'Severed Limbs' not.

Also 'Reinforced Steel Bar' already.

Also 'Red Wood Ruler' already.

Also 'Demon Eye' already.

Also 'Core' already.

Also 'Domain Membrane' already.

Also 'Weird' already.

Also 'Weird Domain' already.

Also 'A Ji' already.

Also 'A-level Weirdness' already.

Also 'Containment Object' already.

Also 'Rules' exclude.

Also 'Blood Rain' not.

Also 'Dark Red Canopy' not.

Also 'Flesh-and-blood Totem' we have.

Also 'Green Skin Lantern' we have.

Also 'Weird Handler' we have.

Also 'Federation Action Team' we have.

Also 'Eden Garden' already.

Also 'Su Team' already.

Also 'Instructor' already.

Also 'Chen Shao' already.

Also 'Xu An' already.

Also 'Su Ming' is not in the glossary; we need to include it as a person name: Su Ming (pinyin). According to the rules, we must use pinyin for person names. So 'Su Ming'. Also 'Su Team' is a team name; we have a glossary entry 'Su Team'. Use that.

Also 'Deputy Officer' (deputy officer) appears multiple times; it is a rank? Could be considered a rank. Not in the glossary. Should we include it? It is a generic rank 'deputy officer'. Might be considered a rank. The instruction says include official & sect ranks/titles. So we should include 'Deputy Officer'. However 'Deputy Officer' is a generic term; but it is a rank. We'll include it as 'Deputy Officer'. But we need to check if we should romanize or translate. Since it is a rank, we translate its meaning: Deputy Officer.

Also 'Agent' (agent) appears; it is a generic term, not a rank? It could be considered a rank? It is like 'agent'. Might be generic. Probably exclude as a generic form of address.

Also 'Weird Handler' we included.

Also 'Green Skin Lantern' we included.

Also 'Flesh-and-blood Totem' we included.

Also 'Charred Carbonized Material' not.

Also 'Severed Limbs' not.

Also 'Flesh-and-blood Totem' we have.

Also 'Flesh-and-blood Totem' maybe also 'flesh-and-blood totem'. We'll use that.

Also 'Flesh-and-blood Totem' appears in line 34.

Also 'Flesh-and-blood Totem' maybe also 'flesh-and-blood totem'. We'll list it.

Also 'Flesh-and-blood Totem' maybe also 'flesh-and-blood totem'. Okay.

Also 'Flesh-and-blood Totem' maybe also 'flesh-and-blood totem'. Done.

Also 'Flesh-and-blood Totem' appears.

Also

Now we need to output glossary as JSON-like list: 【{"raw_term":"EnglishName","original_term":"ChineseChars"},...】. The raw_term is the English term we should use. original_term is the Chinese characters.

We need to list each named entity/coined term appearing in these lines. Ensure we don't duplicate.

Let's compile list:

【123】

Xu An

【125】

Instructor

【127】

Square

【129】

Eden Garden

【131】

Reinforced Steel Bar

【133】

A Ji

【135】

A-level Weirdness

【137】

Core

【139】

Containment Object

【141】

Green Skin Lantern

【143】

Federation Action Team

【146】

Also maybe not 'blood rain'.

【150】

Also, "flesh-and-blood totem" is a possible translation, and we will keep it.

【154】

Also, "flesh-and-blood totem" is a possible translation, and we are done.

【158】

Also, "flesh-and-blood totem" is a possible translation, and we stop.

【162】

Also, "flesh-and-blood totem" is a possible translation, and I will stop.

【166】

Now also, "flesh-and-blood totem" is a possible translation. Ok.

【170】

Now also, "flesh-and-blood totem" is a possible translation, and we stop.

【176】

Ok.

Now also, "flesh-and-blood totem" is a possible translation. I'm stuck in a loop; let's finalize.

【180】

Now also, "flesh-and-blood totem" is a possible translation, and we stop.

Ok.

【186】

Now also, "flesh-and-blood totem" is a possible translation. Enough.

Ok.

【194】

Alright.

Now also, "flesh-and-blood totem" is a possible translation. Done.

【200】

Ok.

Now also, "flesh-and-blood totem" is a possible translation, and we stop.

I think we need to break.

Let's list final glossary entries:

【206】

Su Team

The dark‑red sky split open with countless gray‑white fissures; blood seeped from the edges of the cracks, dripping down and striking the bullet‑proof vest with a dull thud. Federation agents instinctively looked up, their goggles smeared with blood over half the lenses.

The deputy's voice tightened: "I don't know what just happened, but the internal spatial structure of the Domain Membrane is collapsing, increasing by 7.3 percent per minute—this place won't hold much longer. We need to find them and get out quickly."

【210】

Red Wood Ruler

Chen Shao led the way. The hem of his coat dragged through the pools of blood, each step splashing dark droplets. His left Demon Eye showed no reduction in output; its scarlet glow reflected in the blood‑rain, suspending every raindrop within a three‑meter radius in mid‑air.

【213】

A Ji

【218】

Xu An followed barefoot to his right rear, his soles silently stepping over gravel and unknown tissue, the Red Wood Ruler held horizontally before him. His stitched lips remained unmoving, and his hollow pupils reflected the approaching outline of the Square ahead.

The remaining Eden Garden Guile‑Users were scattered on the flanks. The bearer of the cyan‑skin lantern walked on the outermost edge, its eerie green light illuminating the skewed, collapsed building wreckage lining the road.

Su Ming, with the Federation's action team, was stuck in the middle, with Eden Garden people both ahead and behind.

Domain Membrane

【221】

He whispered something to the agent beside him, holding up a number with his hand behind his waist. The agent gave a slight nod and quietly adjusted the communication frequency.

Green Skin Lantern

【223】

Federation Action Team

Su Ming's first reaction was smelling the odor. It wasn't the smell of blood. The bloody smell had been continuous since they entered, and his nasal passages were already numb.

It was a burnt smell.

The pungent stench of burnt protein, mixed with the spicy odor left after high-temperature scorching of metal, the two smells intertwined, flooding into the lungs, choking the deputy into coughing twice.

Then he saw the Square.

Or rather, he saw the place where the Square should have been.

The ground had been plowed.

Not a metaphor. The entire Square's ground looked as if it had been dragged from one end to the other by a gigantic plow blade, concrete, bricks, and fill layered and overturned, unearthed old pipes and rusted reinforced steel bars buried underneath for decades. The edges of the overturned sections were unnaturally neat, the grain on the cross‑section clean and tidy, with no cracks, no debris, no rough traces left by any violent tearing.

Like a scalpel cut.

No, even more precise than a scalpel.

Among the Federation agents, someone sucked in a cold breath.

"Where is the Weird Domain core?"

The deputy was asking about the massive energy‑level signal source detected just now outside the Domain Membrane—the flesh‑and‑blood totem assembled from student limbs and Instructor torsos. Three stories tall, it carried its own force field, an A-level combat unit.

It was gone.

It was completely gone.

In the center of the Square only a large expanse of charred carbonized material remained, spread over the plowed ground, its edges still wafting white smoke of residual heat. Scattered among the carbonized material were neatly severed limbs, each cut surface so smooth it could serve as a mirror.

Su Ming crouched down and picked up a fragment of broken bone.

The cross‑section was at a forty‑five‑degree angle.

The cutting precision far exceeded the aperture‑opening ability of Containment Object No. 31's Rules. It even surpassed the destruction traces left by ordinary A‑level Weirdness he had seen.

He turned the fragment over. On the back was a high‑temperature discoloration band left by burning, its color distribution so uniform it did not look like fire damage, but rather as if some directed energy had instantaneously coated it.

The deputy came over, took a look, and the color drained from more than half of his face.

"Su Team, the Rules strength of this cut......"

"Don't say it, I know, above A‑level." Su Ming slipped the fragment into an evidence bag, stood up, and swept his gaze over the entire scorched earth.

His mind was racing.

A C-level Weird Domain could not produce this level of combat residue. The earlier speculation of a "high-level Weird Domain overlay" also couldn't explain it.

Then only one possibility remained.

A new Weirdness above A-level had entered this area, causing the entire Weird Domain to become active.

And that above‑A‑level Weirdness had killed the newly born Weird Domain core.

Chen Shao also stopped.

His Demon Eye swept across the Square, the crimson light illuminating the charcoal and severed limbs in exquisite detail. The tissue fragments that should have belonged to the flesh‑and‑blood totem now showed no trace of even the most basic Weird fluctuations.

It was not killed by being struck down.

It was erased from the level of Rules.

Chen Shao's jawline was clenched tight enough to cut.

But he did not linger.

Because he saw the pit at the edge of the Square.

The pit was not large. Its diameter was a little over two meters, its depth about half a meter, like a depression left by some shockwave radiating outward from the center. A layer of dark liquid had collected at the bottom, its surface reflecting the blood‑red light from the sky.

There were two people in the pit.

Chen Shao's steps changed.

From walking, he changed to charging.

The blood dragged out by the overcoat fanned out in an arc behind him, the telekinetic field surged, and the nearby investigators were pushed back half a step by the air pressure.

Xu An followed.

Su Ming also followed.

The pit bottom.

Lu Yu lay on the ground—not lying flat, but arching his back, bracing his whole body into the shape of an arched bridge, his limbs and knees pressed hard against the pit walls. Beneath him, the space his body covered held Chen Yao curled into a ball.

Lu Yu's school uniform split open down the middle of his back, fabric and flesh stuck together, impossible to tell which piece was cloth and which was skin.

The wounds on his back were a chaotic mess; the deepest ran from his left scapula to his right waist, exposing the whitish periosteum underneath. The other wounds piled together, new over old, the solidified blood crust softened by seeping fresh blood, oozing downward in layers.

He had lost consciousness, his breathing so shallow it was barely detectable. Yet even unconscious, his arms remained locked around Chen Yao, his ten fingers dug into the mud, nails split, the nail beds blackish-red.

This posture had clearly been held for a long time.

Chen Shao fell into the pit.

His left eye was blood‑red to the extreme, the Demon Eye's light staining the whole pit wall crimson. He dropped to one knee and reached out to support Chen Yao.

The instant his fingers touched Chen Yao's shoulder, he felt it—his sister was trembling.

Not the trembling of fear.

It was an uncontrollable shudder from muscles locked tight for too long. She was pressed beneath Lu Yu, her breathing space limited, but her temperature was normal and she had hardly any external injuries.

Lu Yu absorbed all the damage.

Chen Yao lifted her head.

Chen Shao and she locked eyes.

Her eye sockets were red, her face smeared with dust and blood dripping from Lu Yu, her lips pallid to the point of having no color, but her eyes were clear.

Very clear‑minded.

Clearer than any state Chen Shao had ever seen.

"Brother."

"One word, her voice hoarse to the point of breaking, yet her enunciation steady."

Chen Shao said nothing. He reached out and bent Lu Yu's stiff arm open, moving with the utmost gentleness he could muster in his life. With each finger he straightened, he could feel the boy's bones at the very edge of their endurance, a faint grating sound coming from the joint cavities.

Chen Yao crawled out from beneath Lu Yu.

She rose to her feet quickly.

Too fast.

So fast that even Su Ming noticed something odd—she was not reacting like a survivor rescued from fear should; the timidity, the shrinking, the need for protection, had all vanished.

Chen Yao stood at the pit bottom, head tilted up to look at Chen Shao. Her fingers clenched the rescue device on her cuff, the joints whitening.

Then she spoke.

"The thing just now was an A‑Ji or higher Weird Domain Core, with Instructor Fang Ming as the Core, assimilating more than thirty‑seven teachers and students, forming a composite‑type Rules Weird."

"Lu Yu led me out of the Air‑raid Shelter, we took down three aberrations in a row, and then we were surrounded by it in the central Square."

Chen Yao lowered her head and glanced at the unconscious Lu Yu at the pit bottom.

"When it was about to launch its finishing attack on us——"

She paused.

A very brief pause.

"He pressed me to the ground and shielded me with his back."

Chen Shao's Demon Eye twitched slightly.

"Then what?"

Chen Yao's clenched hand relaxed then tightened again, her fingertips digging into her palm.

"Then he released something—I didn't see the exact process; he pressed my head down, not letting me lift it. But I heard a sound. Very short, possibly less than two seconds."

Her voice finally gained a hint of fluctuation.

"Two seconds later, nothing remained. That three‑story‑tall monster, those severed limbs, those tumors, that red mist—all gone."

"Brother, he is my benefactor."

Silence lasted three seconds.

Only the sound of blood rain hammering the scorched earth remained on the Square.

Chen Shao lowered his gaze to look at Lu Yu.

This blood‑soaked boy lay still as a corpse, his chest weakly rising and falling, each breath driving blood from his wounds outward. A minor who had not yet come of age, using a mortal body he had withstood this level of Weird Domain until now.

And it was not just enduring.

He glanced back at the leveled Square, then lowered his eyes to look at Lu Yu again.

Ordinary people could not do this.

But this minor actually did it.

Chen Shao offered no evaluation.

He merely, as he withdrew his gaze, saw the killing intent surging in his Demon Eye drop by half a notch.

Barely perceptible.

But Xu An felt it. He tilted his head, his hollow eyes resting on Lu Yu's face for two seconds.

Above the pit rim, Su Ming took all of this in.

He did not look at Chen Yao, nor at Chen Shao.

He was looking at the ground.

The soil layers at the edge of the pit wall were off‑colored. The outer rim was dark brown from high‑temperature scorching, matching the traces of battle. But moving toward the pit center, the soil grew lighter, approaching normal hue, and its temperature was even ten‑odd degrees lower than the rim.

The temperature distribution was reversed.

The heat source isn't outside; it's inside.

But inside the pit there are only Lu Yu and Chen Yao.

Su Ming placed the back of his right hand behind his waist and silently made two gestures.

The Federation agents behind him understood. One nodded toward the Medical Team, the other quietly adjusted his position and took two steps toward the pit bottom.

"Medical Team, go down and retrieve the person," Su Ming said, his tone as flat as if commenting on pleasant weather.

Two Federation combat medics hoisted a folding stretcher and leapt into the pit bottom.

The stretcher unfolded, and the two medics lifted Lu Yu out of the pool of blood. Chen Yao stepped forward and was grasped by Chen Shao at the shoulder.

She stopped. She made no struggle, but her gaze remained fixed on the unconscious person on the stretcher.

The medic carrying the stretcher climbed the pit edge and hurried three steps back toward the way they came.

He didn't take the fourth step.

The ground suddenly trembled.

It wasn't the wide‑area shaking of a Weird Domain collapse. It was localized, precise, as if someone tapped beneath his feet.

A gray‑worn wall sprang up from the ground.

Silently. No shards of stone flew, no sound of foundation cracking. The wall surface was smooth, with a chalk‑dust texture, and faintly displayed crooked black block letters—School Rule provisions, prohibiting disciplinary violations.

A wall of the Correction Place.

One row, two rows, three rows.

The wall grew from the ground at breakneck speed—under a second—and erected a neat barrier between the Medical Team and the retreat route. The stretcher became wedged, and the medic halted his steps.

All Federation agents simultaneously drew their guns.

The click of the safety pin popping off rang especially harsh amid the rain of blood.

Su Ming's hand did not move.

Because he saw.

Xu An stood in front of the wall.

No one knew when he had passed. No one saw his movement. One second he was beside the pit edge; the next he appeared there, barefoot in the blood‑filled water, a Red Wood Ruler hanging at his right side, its tip dripping blood downward.

His sewn mouth did not open.

His hollow eyes aimed at the Federation Medical Team.

In those eyes there was no pupil, no sheen, no emotion to read.

They were simply empty.

Emptier than the cracks in the Weird Domain's sky dome.

The medic's knees went soft. Not an exaggeration. The Correction Place's rule domain had already spread from Xu An's feet, gray‑worn squares adhering to the ground, covering a three‑meter range in front of and behind the stretcher.

Within the Correction Place's squares, all rules were defined by Xu An.

Su Ming slowly squinted.

The wound on his palm still oozed blood, dripping down his fingers into the standing water, forming concentric pale‑red ripples.

He did not draw his gun.

He looked at Chen Shao.

Chen Shao stood at the pit bottom, his hand resting on Chen Yao's shoulder, the Demon Eye's scarlet light reflecting through the rain of blood onto Su Ming's face.

The two people, separated by half a wall and a full row of gray‑worn squares, locked eyes.