Chapter Summaries

Li Chen learned that his parents had died in battle and heard a voice in his mind urging him to remember and seek freedom from the Forbidden. He did not become a Sequence User, and the chapter ended with Su Zhe finding him sweeping streets and taking him away to eat and find work.

• At age six, Li Chen ate with the parents who had raised him, while his father warned him about Su Zhe and said things before his eyes might not be real.
• At Chuanhai Academy, Gu Xingyun told Li Chen's parents that Li Chen had come from the outside world and had never been human.
• In year seven of the Wilderness calendar, a silver-haired man brought Li Chen his parents' ashes and told him they had died in battle.
• That night, a voice in Li Chen's mind urged him not to be devoured by the Forbidden and asked whether he wanted freedom; Li Chen asked who it was and declared, "My name is Li Chen."
• Li Chen did not become a Sequence User, while Su Zhe and Su Xian became famous, and Li Chen worked at low-paying jobs such as sweeping streets and washing dishes.
• Su Zhe found Li Chen sweeping, pulled him into his car, and offered to take him to eat and find a job, as two passengers in the back questioned why he had picked up a street sweeper.

Li Chen joined Su Zhe, Cang Yue, and Du Yu at a luxurious hotel, where Su Xian said he needed Li Chen’s help because Li Chen was the foundation of their false world. Su Xian explained that he and others had dreamed of Li Chen and believed their world might exist within his dream.

• Su Zhe brought Li Chen to the hotel with Cang Yue and Du Yu, where they were expected by a mage.
• Su Xian welcomed the group, and Cang Yue sat beside Li Chen and put food in his bowl, declaring it was love at first sight.
• Su Xian told Li Chen he needed his help, but Li Chen protested that he was an ordinary person who had not awakened an ability.
• Cang Yue explained that their world was false and that Li Chen was its foundation, the source from which everything had been born.
• Su Xian said he, Su Zhe, and Cang Yue had dreamed of Li Chen and that their evidence suggested their world was an illusion created by Li Chen.

Li Chen realized that his world was a dream and watched Su Xian, Su Zhe, and the others dissolve as the dream began to collapse. In a prison in the real world, Yu Qingnian reached the imprisoned Li Chen, who began to wake.

• Su Xian told Li Chen that the world was false and urged him to wake up and end it.
• Li Chen heard his own voice in his head and accepted that recognizing the dream as false would make it collapse.
• Su Xian explained that he and the others were dream creations, then dissolved with Su Zhe and the others as Li Chen apologized.
• In the Imperial Capital prison, Qin Jiao opened the sealed chamber where the Eerie Lord was suspended above magma.
• Yu Qingnian entered the chamber and approached Li Chen, who stirred and began to speak.
• Yu Qingnian greeted Li Chen after a long separation.

Li Chen challenged Yu Qingnian over being used as a chess piece and revealed that he intended to become a God and find the freedom beyond their world. After Yu Qingnian left, the Special Affairs Bureau discussed Li Chen’s imprisonment and the campaign to retake territory.

• Li Chen told Yu Qingnian that he had never hated the world, but resented being treated as a tool for the Human Race’s survival.
• Li Chen said he wanted to become a God, find a land of freedom, and learn who truly controlled the worlds beyond theirs.
• Yu Qingnian left Li Chen alone in the prison, where his wounds began to heal as forbidden substance dripped into the magma.
• At Special Affairs Bureau headquarters, Light Fiend told Yan Qing and the others that Yu Qingnian had gone to see Li Chen, and Light Fiend vowed to kill anyone who tried to free him.
• When Yu Qingnian arrived, he claimed Li Chen had been unconscious, then criticized the Bureau’s remodeled prison and questioned why they were not helping advance toward Sinful Pass.

Light Fiend and Yu Qingnian clashed over whether to release Eerie Lord Li Chen and disrupt the future Elder Gu had foreseen. Old Man Dun halted their confrontation and urged them to postpone the decision until full-scale war began.

• Light Fiend explained that sealing the Wasteland Realm’s opening could provoke war with the Evil Cult and endanger ordinary people.
• Yu Qingnian said he no longer trusted Elder Gu’s plan and wanted to break the larger game by making the Eerie Lord a piece that could change its course.
• Light Fiend questioned whether Yu Qingnian wanted Li Chen released, warning that it could bring another disaster like the one in Huizhou City.
• Yu Qingnian argued that Li Chen’s family, friends, and expectations had all been fabricated, and said he wanted to discover who had brought the world-ending upheaval upon them.
• Yan Qing challenged Yu Qingnian over risking humanity for Li Chen’s chance to become a God, while Light Fiend refused to release him even if he died.
• Old Man Dun stopped the brewing fight and proposed waiting until full-scale war began before deciding whether Li Chen could be spared.

Yan Qing visited Li Chen in prison and revealed that she had seen him killing people on the night the world changed, eighteen years earlier. Her revelation shook Li Chen’s understanding of his identity and childhood memories.

• Yu Qingnian, Yan Qing, Light Fiend, and Old Dun left their discussion without deciding what to do about Li Chen.
• Yan Qing asked Light Fiend to arrange a meeting with Li Chen, and two days later she entered the underground prison.
• Yan Qing threatened to kill Li Chen, wounded him, and questioned why he showed no fear of death.
• Yan Qing told Li Chen that the world’s transformation began on her birthday eighteen years earlier, when a meteorite fell and monsters destroyed her home.
• Yan Qing said she had seen Li Chen killing people that night, leaving Li Chen to wonder whether his childhood memories and identity were real.

Li Chen confronted the figure on the throne about his origins and learned that Reincarnation Authority had trapped the Human Race in repeated cycles while shaping him into a variable capable of becoming a Forbidden God. The figure revealed that Li Chen was his reincarnation and that the Human Race’s plans had been devised by Li Chen himself in previous cycles.

• Yan Qing left after realizing something about Li Chen’s identity, while a voice in Li Chen’s mind affirmed, “My name is Li Chen.”
• Li Chen entered the fifth door in the Throne Space and witnessed a memory of the stars mutating until the universe became a paradise for Eerie Monsters.
• Li Chen questioned the figure on the throne about the annihilation eighteen years earlier, his birth, and whether he was being used as a pawn.
• The figure explained that Reincarnation Authority repeatedly reset Li Chen’s planet, where the Human Race and Eerie Monsters were trapped in a world that could not produce a God.
• The figure said Li Chen was his reincarnation, born as an uncontrollable variable within Reincarnation Authority, and that the Human Race’s schemes against him had been devised by Li Chen in previous cycles.

Li Chen learned that he had pursued freedom through countless reincarnations, yet chose to keep striving for the Forbidden Divine Throne. After recovering in prison, he escaped and hurried toward the surface, suspecting that the Human Race and Evil Cult had become embroiled in a conflict.

• Li Chen affirmed that he would keep trying to break the cycle and reach a place of freedom, even if this was his final reincarnation.
• After another half month, Li Chen recovered in his prison while his captors remained absent.
• Li Chen escaped his restraints and used Vector Manipulation to destroy the prison’s formations.
• Li Chen broke through the formation gate and realized he was underground, with no guards coming to stop him.
• Suspecting the Human Race and Evil Cult were fighting, Li Chen quickened his pace to escape while he could.

Li Chen confronted Qin Jiao after escaping prison and learned that the Human Race’s extermination campaign against the Evil Cult had ended in disaster. Surrounded by Twelve Zodiac squads, he remained unchallenged as they judged they had almost no chance of stopping him.

• Li Chen emerged from the prison and accused Qin Jiao of taking Vector from him.
• Qin Jiao attacked Li Chen, but he overpowered her and demanded to know what was happening outside.
• Qin Jiao told Li Chen that Lord Light Fiend and others had gone to Canghai Pass, where the Evil Cult counterattacked and breached the Blood Net.
• Qin Jiao explained that the forces sent to retake Huizhou City and Sinful Pass had suffered heavy losses, leaving the Human Race defeated.
• Li Chen faced the Shen Monkey, Yin Tiger, Chou Ox, and Si Snake squads, whose members recognized that they were too weak to stop him.

Li Chen destroyed a five-kilometer area of Imperial Capital City in retaliation for the Order of Justice’s torture, then returned to Sinful Pass and ordered the Eerie Monsters to withdraw from Human Race affairs. He resolved to pursue the Forbidden Divine Throne while the Evil Cults’ war against the Human Race escalated.

• Li Chen unleashed an explosion that razed everything within five kilometers of Imperial Capital City, and Sword Elder arrived too late to stop him.
• Li Chen returned to Sinful Pass, took his seat on the throne, and resolved to ascend to the Forbidden Divine Throne and break the planet’s Authority cage.
• Li Chen ordered Ling to withdraw the Eerie Tide to Sinful Pass and sent Calamity to kill the Evil Cult members keeping watch.
• Li Chen concluded that he needed to reach the Wasteland Realm and open the sixth door to explore Authority and continue toward godhood.
• Cang Yue told Li Chen that the God-Binding Cult was recruiting followers, the Deceit Angel had defected, and the God-Slaying Cult had occupied a Human Race border city after summoning beings like the Six Evil Gods.

Li Chen weighed whether to risk reaching the Wasteland Realm to survive the many factions opposing him, despite the Eldritch God threatening to break free. After learning that oversized Eerie Monsters crowded Sinful Pass, he headed there while Ling went to study human Sequence Users; the chapter then introduced Sword Mountain, a proving ground for sword cultivators.

• Li Chen considered the factions and Wasteland Realm experts arrayed against him and weighed advancing toward godhood against sealing the Eldritch God or dying.
• Li Chen wondered whether his previous-cycle self had planned the Eldritch God's role in breaking the world's cycle.
• Ling told Li Chen that the Eerie Monsters had withdrawn to Sinful Pass, where several huge ones were taking up too much space.
• Li Chen ordered Cang Yue to teach Ling the basics of human Sequence Users, then left for Sinful Pass.
• The narration described Sword Mountain, where sword cultivators had to demonstrate their own sword qi before ascending.

Sword Elder confronted Yu Qingnian over his plan to free Li Chen, which led to the destruction of the Imperial Capital. Xiao questioned Yu Qingnian's belief that Li Chen becoming a God was their best outcome, given his desire to destroy the world.

• Sword Elder told Yu Qingnian that the Imperial Capital had been razed and condemned him for allowing Li Chen to kill hundreds of thousands.
• Xiao arrived wounded after failing to reach the God Realm but claimed he had found his Path to Godhood.
• Yu Qingnian described an unknown force enclosing the world, while Xiao suggested it was the World Consciousness.
• Xiao gave Sword Elder peach blossom brew and said Li Chen's year at Sinful Pass had changed his state of mind in an unexpected direction.
• Yu Qingnian explained that Elder Gu had lost a struggle against an unknown person controlling events and that Li Chen becoming a God was the optimal outcome.
• Xiao warned that Li Chen wanted to destroy the world, while Yu Qingnian recognized that Li Chen no longer trusted the Human Race.

Li Chen considered why he wanted Eerie Monsters to become human and recognized that his expectations came from his former human perspective. As he headed toward the broken section of Sinful Pass, he wondered whether intelligent Eerie Monsters could form a new race and recalled Instructor Yu’s warning about such a possibility.

• Li Chen found that the Calamity Realm Eerie Monsters could obey him but could not communicate or learn like Ling, and he failed to transform them with Forbidden Substance.
• Li Chen let one Eerie Monster bite off and eat his arm, observing that it grew stronger by consuming his Forbidden Substance but did not change form.
• Li Chen questioned his desire to make the Eerie Monsters human and accepted that he was judging his subjects through his former human perspective.
• Li Chen reflected that humans and Eerie Monsters were both shaped by their circumstances and decided he could use the Eerie Monsters as pieces in his plans.
• Li Chen imagined intelligent Eerie Monsters forming a new Eerie Race and recalled Instructor Yu’s suggestion that such a race might already have emerged.

Li Chen reasoned that an intelligent Eerie Race might have formed in the Black Mist and that the Human Race needed a God to escape its cage. He stepped through the breach at Sinful Pass into the outside world, determined to find freedom despite the dangers and uncertainties ahead.

• Li Chen suspected that Ling’s existence meant an intelligent Eerie Race had emerged in the Black Mist, where it might have built a kingdom unknown to the Human Race.
• Li Chen considered how Authorities might represent great daos and concluded that the Human Race would need an unclaimed Authority and a human God to survive.
• Li Chen realized the old man had bet on him becoming a God because the Human Race could not break free without one.
• Li Chen walked through the breach in Sinful Pass and entered the outside world as Eerie Monsters passed by him.
• Li Chen continued into the Black Mist, saying that he had escaped reincarnation and would reach freedom at the end of the road.

Li Chen discovered the Eerie Race and learned that its people believed he carried their long-awaited emperor’s aura. Suspecting he had created them as part of a scheme, he agreed to go with them to Sin City.

• Li Chen walked across the blue-rose sea, survived its attack, and captured a horned figure who leaped from the dark lake.
• Li Chen began using Forbidden Substance to make the little Eerie his servant so Ling could help him understand the creature.
• Several Eerie people emerged from the lake and surrounded Li Chen, while their leader recognized the emperor’s aura on him.
• The leader said the Eerie Race had awaited its emperor for a thousand years and invited Li Chen to return with them to Sin City.
• Li Chen agreed to meet the Eerie Race, and the leader opened a water-curtain cave.

Li Chen learned the Eerie Race’s story of betrayal and exile, then entered their underwater city and questioned whether he was their lost emperor. He recognized Ink on the central altar and was stunned when the high priestess appeared, though their conversation had not yet begun.

• An Eerie man told Li Chen that the Eerie Race had been driven into the Black Mist after its emperor was betrayed and sealed inside the Forbidden Door.
• Li Chen wondered whether he was the vanished emperor and considered how the Eerie Race had survived across cycles of reincarnation.
• The Eerie men led Li Chen into a ring-shaped city and welcomed him as their emperor before an altar bearing Ink.
• Li Chen refused to accept the title until he learned the truth, and the high priestess arrived to speak with him.
• Li Chen recognized the aged high priestess and addressed her in surprise.

Li Chen learned that his mother and much of his life had been part of a scheme he had created in a past life, then accepted the crown of the Eerie Race. After hunting Eerie Monsters, he found his realm had stalled, and agreed to summon his Inner Demon to seek a breakthrough.

• The high priest told Li Chen that he had been brought into the Human Race as part of a plan to guide him along the Path to Godhood, and urged him to break the cages he could see.
• A bell rang in Sin City, and the Eerie Race gathered to welcome Li Chen as their emperor.
• Li Chen accepted the crown and declared that he would take control of the forces shaping his path.
• Li Chen hunted an enormous Eerie Monster in the Black Mist, but the high priest observed that his realm had not advanced and suggested an Inner Demon was holding him back.
• The high priest offered to summon Li Chen's Inner Demon, and Li Chen agreed.

During the Eerie Race’s Heart Sacrifice, Li Chen entered his Inner Demon and revisited memories of Chuanhai Academy and Canglan Academy. As familiar people and scenes returned, he questioned what he truly wanted and began answering a question about why he did not seek fame.

• The high priest began the Heart Sacrifice, wounded himself with the dagger, and collapsed as Li Chen sank into darkness.
• Li Chen found himself back in a Chuanhai Academy classroom, where Yu Qingnian reprimanded him and Su Zhe for disrupting the lesson.
• Li Chen watched Yu Qingnian and Su Zhe with affection but wondered whether Su Zhe had been planted beside him and whether their friendship was real.
• The scene shifted to a gathering at Canglan Academy, where Su Zhe, A Jin, Mu Hen, and Shao-jie shared food around a fire.
• Ji Mumu asked why Li Chen did not take Su Xian’s top spot, and Li Chen said he wanted to live in a peaceful age and a free world before stopping himself from revealing more.

Li Chen confronted the Inner Demon, which tried to trap him in the Warm Township by exploiting his memories and fear of loneliness. He acknowledged that solitude would follow his path but insisted that his pursuit of truth gave him a reason to continue.

• Su Xian spoke of the Human Race's Four Passes falling, leading Li Chen to suspect the Inner Demon was revealing knowledge from the future.
• Li Chen recognized the Inner Demon as another self trying to keep him inside the Warm Township.
• Weiyang urged Li Chen to stay, claiming the Warm Township could give him everything he wanted, but Li Chen rejected it as home.
• Weiyang taunted Li Chen with the prospect of losing everyone and enduring eternal loneliness, and her words briefly struck a chord with him.
• Li Chen admitted he wished he could return to an ordinary life, but said there was no turning back and loneliness was destined to accompany him.
• Li Chen argued that loneliness could draw people together, while losing one's goal was worse, and said his pursuit of truth had passed the point of no return.

Li Chen ended his confrontation with his Inner Demon but failed to break through, then discovered that the High Priest had died during the Heart Sacrifice ritual. As he struggled with his fading emotions, he received her notebook, which began recounting the events of 2025 that started the Wilderness.

• Li Chen rejected his Inner Demon and watched it dissipate, but gained no breakthrough in his state of mind.
• Li Chen found the High Priest dead on the altar and questioned his subdued grief as the Eldritch God mocked him.
• Li Chen argued that his sadness proved his humanity and gently straightened the High Priest's dress.
• A guard gave Li Chen the notebook the Priest had instructed him to deliver, titled [Trajectory].
• Li Chen read how, in 2025, a meteorite brought a baby and triggered mutations that killed a research team before the baby was taken away by armed forces.