Chapter Summaries

Summary: “Lokasky Takes a Disciple”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Cheng and Lokasky return to the isolated island to fulfill Chen Cheng’s promise to help Dandan begin cultivating.
• Dandan’s grandfather, wary of strangers and potential enemies, tests Chen Cheng’s identity before allowing him inside. Chen Cheng patiently recounts their previous meeting, proving who he is.
• Chen Cheng reveals that he has found Dandan a master: Lokasky, a powerful figure at the pinnacle of the world.
• Dandan cleverly recognizes Lokasky’s role and immediately performs the formal ceremony of accepting him as master.
• Lokasky examines Dandan’s aptitude and confirms that the boy possesses an exceptionally rare constitution, though hardship and malnutrition have weakened him.
• Lokasky brands a powerful secret rune into Dandan’s body using his Demigod Domain. The rune can unleash a full-force attack to protect Dandan and may also strengthen and purify his body once he begins cultivating.
• Lokasky warns Dandan that cultivation requires extraordinary suffering and discipline. Dandan innocently worries only about whether he will still be able to eat good food.
• Chen Cheng and Lokasky reassure him that he will be well fed and cared for. Lokasky then takes Dandan flying and promises to bring him delicious food.
• Dandan’s grandfather tearfully thanks Chen Cheng, but Chen Cheng urges him to leave the island as well, warning that the Sea Clan will soon make the region unsafe.
• The grandfather hesitates because he is deeply attached to his fields and simple livelihood, highlighting the difficulty ordinary people face when abandoning everything for a better future.

Character Developments

• Chen Cheng demonstrates patience, compassion, and responsibility. He respects the grandfather’s caution and fulfills his promise to secure Dandan’s future.
• Lokasky transitions from a skeptical potential master into a warm and protective mentor. He recognizes Dandan’s talent, gives him a powerful protective inheritance, and immediately treats him affectionately.
• Dandan shows intelligence and quick judgment by identifying Lokasky as his intended master and accepting him without hesitation. His innocence, hunger-driven priorities, and optimism make him emotionally endearing.
• Dandan’s grandfather remains cautious and survival-minded, but his distrust gives way to gratitude and emotional relief. His attachment to his land reveals both his humility and his reluctance to abandon the only life he knows.

Significant Themes

• Trust earned through actions: The grandfather’s suspicion is portrayed as justified by the dangers of his world, while Chen Cheng proves his reliability through patience and fulfilled promises.
• Opportunity and transformation: Dandan’s rare aptitude allows him to escape poverty and potentially become a great cultivator.
• Mentorship and legacy: Lokasky sees Dandan as a future disciple and successor, while the secret rune symbolizes both protection and the beginning of his cultivation journey.
• The cost of advancement: Dandan must endure physical suffering to gain extraordinary strength, reinforcing the theme that greatness requires sacrifice.
• Family, poverty, and difficult choices: The grandfather wants Dandan to have a better life but struggles to give up his land and livelihood, showing the emotional cost of leaving poverty behind.
• Innocence amid danger: Dandan’s concern about food and play contrasts with the surrounding violence, political instability, and threat of the Sea Clan.

Character Interactions

• Chen Cheng reassures and protects the cautious grandfather rather than taking offense at his deception.
• Chen Cheng introduces Lokasky as Dandan’s master, while Lokasky proudly accepts the role and tests Dandan’s aptitude.
• Dandan immediately bonds with Lokasky, formally greeting him and later trusting him enough to enjoy their flight together.
• Lokasky responds warmly to Dandan’s innocence, comforting him about food and treating him like a cherished child.
• Chen Cheng mediates between Lokasky, Dandan, and the grandfather, ensuring both Dandan’s future and the grandfather’s safety are considered.

Chapter Summary: “Black Tiger Arrives”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Cheng and the others return to their island base with the old man and Dandan.
• The old man identifies a concealed underwater passage in the northeast that the Sea Clan could use to infiltrate the island. Lokasky immediately orders it sealed.
• Using his knowledge of the surrounding waters, the old man points out several other weaknesses in the island’s defenses, greatly improving the group’s security.
• The old man and Dandan are sent to rest, with plans made to escort them to a permanent new home the following day.
• Lokasky decides that Dandan should become his disciple, recognizing both the boy’s talent and the old man’s balanced, worldly wisdom.
• Chen Cheng jokingly complains that Lokasky owes him compensation for recommending Dandan, but Lokasky refuses to pay, insisting that Chen Cheng merely fulfilled an earlier promise.
• The next morning, Chen Cheng exercises while Lokasky jokes about preparing a seafood breakfast. Their banter highlights Lokasky’s notorious stinginess.
• Black Tiger Venerable finally arrives, accompanied by A Bei and Fox. They explain that they insisted on coming because they distrust the worldly and experienced members of Chen Cheng’s group to deal fairly with their straightforward elder brother.
• Black Tiger firmly supports A Bei and Fox, warning Chen Cheng and Lokasky not to object to their presence.
• Chen Cheng welcomes the additional allies and gives A Bei the guild’s preliminary investigation materials concerning the Sea God Ruins.
• The records reveal that the Sea God’s Divine Kingdom supposedly has 108 Divine Gates located at the four poles of the World Sea. Although none has ever been found, the Eye of the Storm is a confirmed route to the Twisted Realm and may be connected to the Divine Kingdom.

Character Developments

• The old man demonstrates valuable survival knowledge, practical judgment, and loyalty despite his humble status. His careful nature makes Lokasky view him as an ideal mentor and influence for Dandan.
• Dandan is recognized as a gifted child with the potential to become a future successor within Lokasky’s guild. His character appears gentle and promising, especially under the old man’s guidance.
• Lokasky reveals both his strategic leadership and his extreme frugality. He also shows insight into the qualities needed to lead a worldly organization, valuing moderation and social understanding over raw talent.
• Chen Cheng remains playful and opportunistic, attempting to turn his recommendation of Dandan into a reward while also managing the group’s preparations efficiently.
• Black Tiger Venerable proves protective and dependable, standing firmly by A Bei and Fox and ensuring they are not excluded or exploited.
• A Bei and Fox show concern for Black Tiger’s welfare and distrust of outsiders, but they cooperate once Chen Cheng provides the investigation materials.

Significant Themes

• Practical wisdom versus exceptional talent: The chapter argues that leadership requires judgment, balance, and awareness of human nature—not merely power or genius.
• Mentorship and succession: Dandan’s future importance is emphasized, with both the old man and Lokasky positioned to shape him into a capable successor.
• Trust and protection: A Bei and Fox’s insistence on accompanying Black Tiger reflects the importance of loyalty and guarding one’s companions from manipulation.
• Preparation and vigilance: The hidden sea passage and other defensive flaws stress the need to anticipate threats before entering the ruins.
• Comedic camaraderie: The arguments over payment and food lighten the chapter while revealing the close, teasing relationships among Chen Cheng and Lokasky.

Character Interactions

• The old man respectfully helps Chen Cheng and Lokasky strengthen the island’s defenses, earning their gratitude.
• Lokasky and Chen Cheng exchange playful insults over Dandan’s discipleship and Lokasky’s refusal to offer compensation.
• Lokasky warmly accepts Dandan as his future disciple and takes personal responsibility for him.
• Black Tiger confronts the group protectively on behalf of A Bei and Fox, while Chen Cheng defuses the tension by welcoming them.
• Chen Cheng and A Bei begin cooperating directly as Chen Cheng shares the group’s findings about the Sea God Ruins, setting the stage for their descent into the underwater region.

Summary of “Ruins Beneath the Sea”

Key Plot Points and Events

• A Bei asks Chen Cheng and the others whether they have a way to restrain the supposed god sealed within the underwater ruins. Chen Cheng dismisses the danger, reasoning that the deity is probably only a legend or has been immobilized for centuries.
• Lokasky warns that the greater danger may be the ruins’ condition. Most Ancient Civilization ruins are heavily damaged, often deliberately destroyed by their original inhabitants before being abandoned.
• The discussion turns to Artificial Suns. Lokasky explains that some ruins contain miniature suns so dangerous that anyone entering them is instantly incinerated. He recounts how even a powerful fire-element mage was killed while attempting to study one.
• Chen Cheng suggests that the ruins he previously explored were safe because their miniature suns were protected by intact transparent shells. Black Tiger Venerable adds that the great kingdoms and the Church possess several intact ruins, which may explain how their rulers maintain control over powerful beings such as Attendants.
• Upon reaching the marked sea coordinates, Lokasky surrounds the group with a protective domain and leads them into the ocean.
• They descend more than ten thousand meters, following carvings associated with the ruins. At the bottom, they enter a deep trench and eventually pass through a strange barrier.
• Instead of finding ordinary seabed, they emerge onto a sandy shore beneath a miniature sun. The “sky” above them is actually a curtain of seawater, revealing that they have entered a sealed, self-contained ruin beneath the ocean.

Character Developments

• Chen Cheng shows growing curiosity and confidence regarding Ancient Civilization ruins. He wants to investigate personally despite the potential danger and uses his previous experience to form logical theories about the Artificial Suns.
• Lokasky is established as an experienced but cautious ruin explorer. His knowledge of deadly ruins and his protective domain make him the group’s guide and primary source of safety.
• Black Tiger Venerable reveals his familiarity with powerful kingdoms and past ruin expeditions, suggesting deeper knowledge of the political and military balance of the world.
• A Bei and Fox are astonished by the revelations about hidden weapons and the true source of the rulers’ authority. Their understanding of the world expands as they realize political control is ultimately backed by superior force.
• Chen Cheng’s trust in Lokasky remains practical rather than unquestioning; he listens to the warnings but continues seeking explanations and preparing to proceed.

Significant Themes

• Curiosity versus survival: The group knowingly enters a potentially deadly ruin because the desire for knowledge and discovery outweighs their fear.
• The dangers of ancient technology: Artificial Suns and other relics demonstrate that the Ancient Civilization possessed forces beyond the understanding or control of modern people.
• The fragility of ruins and history: Ancient ruins are not merely abandoned treasures; many were deliberately destroyed, leaving behind dangerous remnants and incomplete records.
• Power behind political authority: The conversation reveals that rulers maintain control not only through diplomacy but through access to overwhelming ancient technologies or weapons.
• The unknown beneath appearances: The underwater descent leads not to ordinary ruins but to a hidden world with its own land, sun, and enclosed environment, emphasizing that reality within Ancient Civilization sites can defy expectation.

Important Character Interactions

• A Bei and Chen Cheng: A Bei seeks reassurance about the sealed deity, while Chen Cheng offers a rational but uncertain explanation.
• Chen Cheng and Lokasky: Chen Cheng questions Lokasky about ruins and Artificial Suns, and Lokasky responds with valuable warnings based on experience.
• Chen Cheng and Black Tiger Venerable: Their discussion connects Ancient Civilization technology with the power held by kingdoms and the Church.
• The entire group: Lokasky leads and protects them during the descent, while the others remain alert for monsters or other defenses surrounding the ruins.

Chapter Summary: World of Giant Beasts

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Cheng, Lokasky, Fox, Black Tiger Venerable, and their companions explore a vast underwater ruin containing an artificial sun.
• Chen Cheng explains that the “sun” is likely protected by a magnetic-field containment device rather than divine material, warning the others not to damage it.
• A Bei volunteers to return through the deep seawater and locate or guide the rest of Lokasky’s people.
• Lokasky explains that the ruin suppresses domains and prevents flight, but Chen Cheng demonstrates that he can still fly by using Divine Power to create repulsive force rather than relying on his domain.
• From the air, Chen Cheng surveys the enormous ancient forest and discovers that the ruin contains giant primitive birds and other enormous creatures.
• He creates a terrain map for the group. Lokasky believes the ruin may contain remnants of the Ancient Civilization, while Chen Cheng privately suspects it is more likely an abandoned research facility than a former residential area.
• At Fox’s request, Chen Cheng carries her toward the giant birds so she can communicate with them and learn about the ruin.
• They discover signs of a gigantic bird that has destroyed part of the forest. Chen Cheng and Fox track it down and find a divine-looking bird with a wingspan over one hundred meters carrying a massive rat.
• Fox uses her ability to communicate with animals, calming the bird and causing it to land. She then converses with it in an unknown beast language.
• Chen Cheng attempts to imitate the language, but the bird laughs at his effort, with Fox translating its reaction.

Character Developments

• Chen Cheng demonstrates ingenuity and confidence by finding a way to fly despite the ruin’s suppression of domains. He also shows caution and responsibility by explaining the artificial sun’s mechanism and mapping the terrain for the others.
• Fox reveals that she can communicate with animals, making her especially valuable for investigating the ruin’s wildlife. Her flirtatious, teasing personality remains evident in her interactions with Chen Cheng, though she takes her ability seriously.
• Lokasky acts as an experienced ruin explorer, quickly assessing the site’s potential and dangers. His assumption that flight is impossible is disproven by Chen Cheng.
• A Bei shows initiative and courage by volunteering to navigate the dangerous trench alone.
• Black Tiger Venerable recognizes the usefulness of Fox’s ability and encourages Chen Cheng to take her along.

Significant Themes

• Exploration and discovery: The group enters an enormous, largely unknown ruin filled with ancient technology and giant wildlife.
• Ancient civilization and lost knowledge: The artificial sun and abandoned facilities hint at the technological achievements of the Ancient Civilization and the mysteries left behind after its collapse.
• Adaptability and ingenuity: Chen Cheng overcomes the ruin’s restrictions by applying Divine Power in an unconventional way.
• Communication across species: Fox’s ability suggests that understanding rather than fighting the creatures may be the key to surviving and learning about the ruin.
• The contrast between appearance and reality: The artificial sun appears divine but is actually technological, while the giant bird appears extraordinary yet is merely a mutated ordinary animal.

Character Interactions

• Chen Cheng reassures Lokasky and the others about the artificial sun, establishing himself as knowledgeable and calm under pressure.
• Lokasky questions Chen Cheng’s methods, especially after discovering that Chen Cheng can fly despite the ruin’s restrictions.
• Fox playfully persuades Chen Cheng to carry her through the air, while Black Tiger Venerable supports her request for practical reasons.
• Chen Cheng and Fox cooperate closely while tracking and approaching the giant bird.
• Fox calms the bird through her animal-language ability, while Chen Cheng observes and tries unsuccessfully to imitate her communication.

Chapter Summary: “Giant Kingdom”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Cheng asks the fox to question a giant bird about the ruins and whether intelligent races live there.
• The fox discovers that giants inhabit the region and that the bird is a war eagle raised by them. The bird’s cry summons its owners.
• Several enormous giants—each over one hundred meters tall—arrive. Chen Cheng uses the Dragon Horn Sword’s dragon aura to force the war eagle into submission and escapes on its back with the fox.
• The giants attack with stone spears, boulders, uprooted trees, and other improvised weapons. Chen Cheng sends the fox and war eagle back toward the guild, instructing them to bring President Lokasky and the others.
• Chen Cheng follows the giants alone, hoping to locate their settlement and uncover clues about the Ancient Civilization.
• The giants butcher a giant rat with practiced skill, carefully sorting its organs and collecting wild fruits. Their behavior reveals that they possess organization, intelligence, and established customs rather than being primitive brutes.
• Chen Cheng eats one of the wild fruits and discovers that it is an unrecorded heavenly treasure capable of strengthening blood, qi, and Battle Aura. He realizes the forest may contain immense resources.
• After traveling roughly one hundred li, the giants reach an ancient road and a huge fortified pass. Beyond it lies the unmistakable outline of a ruined ancient city.
• At the pass, giant soldiers inspect the returning group. They take portions of the giant rat’s organs but leave the valuable fruits untouched, suggesting corruption or an established system of tribute.
• The soldiers mock the giants for losing their war eagle. A higher-ranking giant wearing crude but magically inscribed metal armor arrives, demonstrating that the giant society possesses at least some Transcendent power.
• Chen Cheng realizes the giants may understand that their world is a Small World and may have inferred that his group are outsiders. He suspects the giant leadership is preparing to respond to their intrusion.

Character Developments

• Chen Cheng demonstrates decisiveness and tactical flexibility. He suppresses the giant bird with the Dragon Horn Sword, separates from the fox to investigate independently, and remains alert to both danger and opportunity.
• His understanding of the ruins develops significantly. His previous encounter with the King of Ground Rats leads him to connect the ancient structures and restrictive dungeons with primitive Magic-Ban Formations.
• Chen Cheng also recognizes the economic and strategic value of the region after discovering the powerful wild fruits, increasing his motivation to explore the giants’ territory.
• The fox shifts from playful amusement to genuine fear and seriousness when the giants arrive. She faithfully translates for Chen Cheng and accepts his plan to return for reinforcements.
• The war eagle is revealed to possess notable intelligence, using conversation to stall for time, but it submits immediately under the Dragon Emperor’s aura.
• The giants are shown to be intelligent, organized, and culturally developed. Their hunting, food preparation, military guards, ancient language, city-state, and use of magical equipment contradict the expectation that they are merely savage monsters.
• The armored giant is established as a powerful leader or elite warrior, possessing both authority and rudimentary Transcendent abilities.

Significant Themes

• Discovery of a lost civilization: The chapter confirms that an ancient giant civilization survives within the ruins, complete with roads, cities, military forces, social hierarchy, and language.
• Appearance versus reality: Although the giants use stone tools and appear primitive, their disciplined behavior and magical craftsmanship reveal hidden sophistication.
• Power and dominance: The Dragon Horn Sword’s aura allows Chen Cheng to control the war eagle instantly, emphasizing the overwhelming authority of dragons over other beasts.
• Exploration and opportunity: The ruins contain not only historical secrets but also valuable resources such as previously unknown body-tempering fruits.
• Cultural conflict and suspicion: Chen Cheng’s group has entered a secluded society without permission. The giants’ reaction suggests that exploration may quickly become confrontation.
• Echoes of ancient history: The ancient road, city, magic patterns, and giant society deepen the connection between the present ruins and the vanished Ancient Civilization.

Character Interactions

• Chen Cheng relies on the fox as a translator, though he teases and urges her when she hesitates.
• The fox’s questioning provokes the war eagle, leading Chen Cheng to intervene and threaten it with the Dragon Horn Sword.
• Chen Cheng and the fox cooperate during their escape, but he deliberately separates from her so she can summon guild reinforcements while he investigates the giants.
• The giants communicate among themselves in an ancient language and interact according to a clear social hierarchy.
• The giant soldiers ridicule the returning hunters for losing their war eagle, while the armored superior reprimands or confronts them after learning what happened.
• Chen Cheng observes these exchanges from concealment, positioning himself as an outsider gathering information while the giants begin to recognize the threat posed by his presence.

Chapter Summary: Forbidden Land of the Ancient Forest

Key Plot Points and Events

• A giant general’s terrifying roar shakes the Ancient Forest and frightens the giant bird carrying Lokasky, Black Tiger Venerable, the fox, and their companions. Lokasky and Black Tiger suppress the roar’s pressure with their Legendary power while the fox calms the bird.
• Concerned for Chen Cheng, Black Tiger orders the bird to fly faster. Lokasky uses Battle Aura to split the air, allowing them to travel beyond the speed of sound.
• Chen Cheng hears the roar but avoids confrontation when the giant general and five other giants enter the mountain pass. He retreats into the forest and waits for the others.
• After reuniting, Chen Cheng explains what he witnessed. The group samples the Ancient Forest’s wild fruits and discovers that they greatly strengthen vitality, blood, and physical foundations.
• Lokasky realizes the forest is likely an orchard maintained by the giants. The giant bird confirms that the region within a hundred miles of the pass is indeed an ancient orchard occupied and tended by the giants.
• The bird also reveals legends about the Forbidden Land: no living creatures survive there, and anything that approaches is devoured by giant demons. Even the giants fear crossing the boundary.
• Chen Cheng suspects the “giant demon” may be a monster beneath the sea, but Lokasky says he sensed nothing during his earlier journey there.
• Because the situation is uncertain, Chen Cheng asks Black Tiger to return to the beach camp and protect the guild members, especially A Bei. Black Tiger agrees after entrusting the fox’s safety to Lokasky.
• Before leaving, Black Tiger warns Lokasky that he will hold him responsible if anything happens to his younger sister. Lokasky acknowledges Black Tiger’s loyal and straightforward nature.

Character Developments

• Chen Cheng becomes increasingly cautious and strategic. Rather than blindly pursuing the giants, he waits for reinforcements and separates Black Tiger’s defensive role from the expedition.
• Black Tiger Venerable demonstrates his devotion to Chen Cheng and his family. Although blunt, he prioritizes protecting the camp and A Bei over continuing the exploration.
• Lokasky shows both power and practical insight. He helps the group travel rapidly, identifies the forest as a cultivated orchard, and displays interest in bringing the precious fruits back for Dandan’s future cultivation.
• The fox continues serving as the group’s interpreter and mediator. She carefully handles communication with the bird and worries about offending Lokasky, revealing her awareness of his ruthless reputation.
• The giant bird proves unusually intelligent and provides crucial information about the orchard and the Forbidden Land, though its knowledge remains limited and vague.

Significant Themes

• Caution in the face of unknown danger: The group avoids provoking the giants or entering the Forbidden Land without understanding its threats.
• Protection and responsibility: Black Tiger’s decision to return to the camp highlights the importance of safeguarding companions rather than pursuing personal gains.
• Trust and restraint: Chen Cheng cooperates with Lokasky but deliberately keeps some distance, recognizing that alliances require safeguards.
• Hidden ancient power: The orchard, the giants’ fear, and the rumored giant demons suggest that the Ancient Forest contains forces far older and more dangerous than the current explorers understand.
• Kindness versus ruthlessness: The fox’s defense of Black Tiger emphasizes the value of his pure-hearted loyalty in contrast to the manipulation and betrayal common in their world.

Character Interactions

• Chen Cheng and Black Tiger share mutual concern: Black Tiger wants to protect Chen Cheng, while Chen Cheng later sends him back to protect the camp.
• Lokasky and Black Tiger cooperate effectively despite their different personalities and uncertain mutual trust.
• The fox mediates between the group and the giant bird, while Chen Cheng reassures her that she may speak freely around Lokasky.
• Black Tiger directly challenges Lokasky to protect the fox, showing his fierce loyalty as an older brother.
• Lokasky and the fox discuss Black Tiger’s nature, ultimately agreeing that his apparent simplicity is actually sincere kindness and moral purity.

Chapter Summary: Divine Envoy

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Cheng, Lokasky, and Fox arrive at the edge of an ancient forest and observe a ruined pass leading to a massive Divine City.
• They determine that the pass and city were built by an ancient, religious civilization rather than the crude giants who now inhabit them.
• Using their small size and the gaps in the damaged structures, they sneak through the pass and approach the city.
• Near the city, Chen Cheng and Lokasky sense a powerful but weakened life aura, confirming that an ancient and potentially dangerous existence is hidden within the ruins.
• Fox persuades them to take her along, hoping to communicate with the giants and increase her share of any future spoils.
• Their attempt to enter through a crack in the city wall triggers an intact warning formation. Giant guards discover them, forcing the group into a chaotic chase through the city.
• After escaping, Lokasky suggests capturing a giant for questioning. Chen Cheng and Fox lure one into an ambush, where Lokasky knocks it unconscious.
• Fox uses her communication ability to establish contact with the giant’s mind. The giant has intelligence below that of ordinary humans but is still capable of communication.
• When awakened and restrained, the giant believes Chen Cheng’s group are divine beings punishing him. He identifies them as “divine envoys” and begins begging for mercy.
• Fox adopts this identity and questions him about the term, learning that similar divine envoys may have appeared in the region before.

Character Developments

• Chen Cheng demonstrates caution and leadership, protecting Fox and devising the plan to capture a giant. He also reassures her that he will honor his promise to Black Tiger Venerable.
• Lokasky remains observant and practical, sensing the hidden powerful life aura and proposing interrogation after the group loses track of it inside the city.
• Fox proves both opportunistic and resourceful. She deliberately joins the expedition to improve her eventual rewards, uses her communication ability effectively, and quickly exploits the giant’s belief that the group are divine envoys.
• The captured giant is portrayed as intellectually limited but emotionally reactive. His fear and religious beliefs cause him to mistake the group’s restraint for divine punishment.

Significant Themes

• Ruins of a lost civilization: The Divine City and pass suggest an ancient, highly religious society whose achievements greatly exceed those of the current giant inhabitants.
• Power and perception: Because of their small size, abilities, and the giant’s religious worldview, the protagonists are mistaken for supernatural beings.
• Exploration and danger: The expedition shifts from observation to immediate peril when the city’s warning formation activates.
• Manipulation and survival: Fox and the others exploit the giant’s fear and beliefs to gain information.
• Ancient hidden threats: The powerful but weakened life aura hints that the city contains an ancient monster or other major secret.

Character Interactions

• Chen Cheng and Lokasky jointly recognize the importance of the powerful presence within the city.
• Fox negotiates her inclusion and uses flirtatious humor with Chen Cheng, though her underlying fear is clear.
• Chen Cheng promises to protect Fox, strengthening their cooperative relationship.
• The trio works together during the chase and later coordinates the giant’s capture.
• Fox acts as translator and interrogator, while Chen Cheng and Lokasky physically restrain the giant.
• The chapter ends with Fox questioning the giant about the identity of “divine envoys,” opening the possibility that the group’s arrival resembles events that occurred in the distant past.

Summary of “Giant Mage”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Cheng’s group learns the legend of the Divine City’s temple. According to the giants, their ancestors destroyed the temple until its divine statue came alive, killed the demolishing giants, and produced three “divine envoys.” These envoys forbade the temple’s destruction and taught the giants farming, hunting, and other knowledge.
• Chen Cheng doubts that Ancient Civilization survivors are truly present, suspecting the “divine envoys” were illusions or another form of deception.
• When Chen Cheng asks whether the envoys punished other giants, the captive giant reveals that they did not, but claims they granted knowledge to the clan’s wise men.
• Fearing that Chen Cheng’s group fulfills a prophecy of destruction, the giant suddenly roars to alert the city. Lokasky knocks him unconscious, but the roar exposes their location.
• Three armored giant commanders break through Chen Cheng’s magical barrier and attack. Lokasky repels all three with powerful palm strikes, while Chen Cheng carries Fox into the air and spots the concealed temple at the city’s center.
• A giant mage attacks them, but Fox blocks the spell. The mage speaks Human language, revealing himself to be an important figure. Chen Cheng quickly defeats him, breaks his magical shield, and abducts him outside the city for questioning.
• The giants, seeing their prophet captured, turn against the supposed “divine envoys.” Chen Cheng leaves Lokasky behind in the city, forcing him to fend off wave after wave of attacking giants without killing them, since an instinctive warning prevents him from doing so.
• Outside the city, Chen Cheng interrogates the giant prophet about the Giant race’s origins. The prophet claims that, when the giants were near extinction, the divine envoys brought them to the Divine City.
• This contradicts the story told by ordinary giants. The prophet explains that the commonly known history is only partly true and has been deliberately distorted by the ruling upper class to preserve its authority.

Character Developments

• Chen Cheng becomes increasingly skeptical and analytical. Rather than accepting the giants’ religious story, he compares testimonies and notices contradictions. He also takes direct control of the situation by capturing the giant prophet for more reliable information.
• Lokasky demonstrates overwhelming combat strength, effortlessly defeating the armored commanders and holding back the city’s giants. However, he is frustrated when Chen Cheng abandons him in the city.
• Fox serves as translator and remains alert to danger, blocking a magical attack aimed at Chen Cheng. Although she fears being blamed for withholding information, Chen Cheng trusts her and recognizes that the inconsistencies come from the giants’ conflicting accounts.
• The giant prophet is revealed to be far more significant than an ordinary giant: he can speak Human language, understands Chen Cheng’s strength, and possesses knowledge of the true history. His fear is motivated by a desire to prevent the destruction of his race.
• The ordinary giants are shown to be deeply influenced by prophecy and manipulated history, reacting violently when they believe Chen Cheng’s group threatens their civilization.

Significant Themes

• Truth versus manufactured history: The giants’ public legend is only partially accurate, while the ruling class has altered or concealed the truth to maintain power.
• Religious mythology and political control: The divine statue and “divine envoys” may represent misunderstood technology or supernatural phenomena, while religious narratives help legitimize the giants’ social hierarchy.
• Knowledge as power: The envoys’ teachings enabled the giants’ civilization, but access to the full truth is restricted to elites such as the prophet and upper-ranking leaders.
• Prophecy and fear: The giants’ belief that the divine envoys will bring destruction causes them to attack Chen Cheng’s group, turning fear and superstition into violence.
• Communication and interpretation: Translation barriers obscure the truth, while direct communication with the prophet reveals how much information is lost or distorted between cultures.

Character Interactions

• Chen Cheng relies on Fox to translate the ordinary giant’s testimony, then questions the giant’s behavior when his actions contradict the supposed divine-envoy tradition.
• Lokasky repeatedly protects Chen Cheng’s group, first knocking out the traitorous giant and later defeating the attacking commanders and crowds.
• Chen Cheng and Fox cooperate during the escape, with Fox shielding him from the giant mage’s surprise attack.
• Chen Cheng captures and interrogates the prophet directly, bypassing the unreliable translated testimony.
• Fox worries that the prophet’s denial will make her appear deceptive, but Chen Cheng’s reasoning shows that he trusts her and instead suspects that the giants’ official history is false.

Chapter Summary: “Perverted Deity”

Key Plot Points and Events

• A Giant mage explains how his ancestors came to live in the hidden paradise surrounding the abandoned Divine City. According to his initial account, a divine envoy brought them there without any apparent reason.
• The Giants originally knew nothing of farming and survived by scavenging food from the ruins. After exhausting the available supplies, they considered leaving the sanctuary to obtain food from the outside world.
• Chen Cheng challenges the Giant’s softened description, pointing out that the Giants historically survived through plunder rather than production. The Orcs had favored raising Humans over Giants because the Giants were violent, uncivilized raiders.
• The Giants could not find an exit from the secret realm. Their attempts to reach the beach failed because a powerful Troll devoured anyone who ventured there.
• Chen Cheng uses a Lightning Serpent to torture the Giant mage, disrupting his nervous system and forcing him to reveal the unvarnished history of the Giants’ migration. Chen then heals him, leaving the mage terrified and cooperative.
• The truth emerges: when the Giants exhausted the realm’s food, they began eating one another. A divine envoy eventually appeared and provided food, as well as knowledge of farming, fishing, and hunting.
• Some Giants, still driven by hunger and madness, attacked and ate the divine envoy.
• Despite this, another envoy later appeared and introduced civilization, social hierarchy, governance, and Transcendent power, repeatedly preventing the Giants from dying out.
• Chen Cheng concludes that the gods—or a particular divine faction—seem determined to preserve the Giants, repeatedly intervening whenever they approach extinction.
• Fox, initially skeptical of Chen’s detailed questioning, realizes how disturbing the situation is. She interprets the divine intervention as evidence of a god with an obsessive, unnatural need to control and “develop” the Giants.
• Fox asks whether they should kill the Giant mage, revealing her willingness to execute him despite her seductive and playful demeanor.

Character Developments

• Chen Cheng demonstrates his distrust of simplified historical accounts and his ability to analyze events from a broader theological and political perspective. He is ruthless when necessary, using torture to uncover the truth, but also clinically restores the Giant’s health afterward.
• The Giant mage changes from evasive and self-justifying to terrified and fully submissive. His account exposes the violent, cannibalistic, and uncivilized history of his people.
• Fox shifts from casual indifference to serious unease after understanding the implications of the Giants’ history. She also shows her hardened, ruthless side by offering to kill the mage.
• The Giants are revealed not merely as primitive survivors but as a race repeatedly rescued and “corrected” by divine intervention, yet consistently returning to violence and internal destruction.

Significant Themes

• Truth versus propaganda: The Giant mage initially disguises his ancestors’ crimes with polite explanations, while Chen insists on uncovering the bloody reality.
• Civilization and savagery: The Giants repeatedly receive tools of survival and civilization but fail to develop morally or socially, suggesting that material advancement alone cannot create a civilized society.
• Divine intervention and control: The gods’ repeated efforts to preserve and reform the Giants resemble an experiment or a game managed by an outside developer. This raises questions about whether the intervention is compassionate, obligatory, or disturbingly controlling.
• Nature versus nurture: Despite receiving food, knowledge, social systems, and supernatural power, the Giants continue to behave violently, implying that their destructive instincts may be deeply ingrained.
• The morality of salvation: Chen distinguishes between salvation motivated by kindness and intervention carried out as an imposed mission. The Giants’ repeated rescue suggests that some greater mechanism or divine obligation may be preventing their extinction.

Character Interactions

• Chen confronts the Giant mage’s attempts to glorify his ancestors and forces him to provide an honest account.
• Chen recalls the historical conflict between Giants, Orcs, and Humans, using it to challenge the mage’s narrative.
• Through torture and healing, Chen establishes complete psychological dominance over the Giant.
• Fox observes Chen’s interrogation and senses the mage’s agony through her divine ability, causing her to recoil.
• Chen notices Fox’s unease and teases her about being frightened, prompting her to respond flirtatiously and reaffirm her confidence in his protection.
• Fox then proposes killing the Giant mage, emphasizing both her loyalty to Chen and her own capacity for violence.

Chapter Summary: “Super Legacy”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The giant mage recognizes Fox’s threat and begs for mercy, explaining that the temple contains special restrictions created after a previous incident.
• He claims that only the ancestral magic passed down through his race can disable those restrictions. Chen Cheng intimidates him until he confirms that this is the truth.
• Chen Cheng leaves Fox to guard the giant while he returns to the Divine City to retrieve Lokasky. He orders Fox to kill the giant immediately if he makes any suspicious move.
• While Chen Cheng is gone, the giant tries to tempt Fox with his race’s complete inheritance—a powerful cultivation system capable of leading to the Legendary Rank.
• Fox is tempted by the inheritance but refuses to betray Chen Cheng. When the giant continues manipulating her, she burns one of his arms and threatens to kill him.
• Chen Cheng returns with Lokasky. After hearing about the inheritance, Lokasky immediately wants it, but Chen Cheng argues that it should belong to Fox since she obtained it.
• Chen Cheng pressures Lokasky into giving up his claim by threatening to cancel the armament he had promised him. Lokasky reluctantly pretends not to care.
• Fox initially tries to decline the inheritance, believing that changing cultivation systems may be unwise. Chen Cheng encourages her to accept it and suggests she could exchange it through his Legacy Exchange Platform if she does not wish to cultivate it.
• Chen Cheng and Lokasky torture the giant until he reveals every detail of the inheritance. They keep him alive because they may still need him to open the temple’s door or bypass its restrictions.

Character Developments

• Chen Cheng demonstrates increasing decisiveness, ruthlessness, and strategic thinking. He protects Fox’s claim to the inheritance while also promoting his Legacy Exchange Platform to attract her and the powerful experts associated with her.
• Fox proves loyal and disciplined despite the temptation of a complete Legendary Rank inheritance. She refuses to release the giant, showing that she recognizes Chen Cheng’s authority and understands the danger of acting selfishly.
• Lokasky reveals his opportunistic nature by immediately coveting the inheritance, but he is outmaneuvered by Chen Cheng. Their relationship remains comedic and adversarial, though Lokasky still assists with extracting the information.
• The giant mage shifts from pleading for mercy to scheming and attempting manipulation, but Fox’s threat and Chen Cheng’s torture leave him terrified and helpless.

Significant Themes

• Temptation versus loyalty: Fox’s desire for the powerful inheritance conflicts with her loyalty to Chen Cheng and her existing cultivation path.
• Power and coercion: Chen Cheng and his companions rely on intimidation, violence, and torture to force the giant to surrender valuable knowledge.
• Strategic generosity: Chen Cheng’s gift to Fox is both genuine and politically calculated, since gaining her support may also attract her powerful allies.
• Exploitation of resources: The giant is treated as a source of information and a tool for opening the temple, emphasizing Chen Cheng’s ruthless determination to extract every possible advantage.
• Comedic rivalry: The exchanges between Chen Cheng and Lokasky provide humor amid the threats and brutality, particularly over the inheritance and Chen Cheng’s earlier decision to leave Lokasky behind.

Important Character Interactions

• Chen Cheng frightens the giant into revealing the truth about the temple’s restrictions.
• Fox rejects the giant’s attempt to bribe her and punishes him by burning his arm.
• Lokasky tries to claim the inheritance, but Chen Cheng counters by threatening to revoke his promised armament.
• Fox attempts to give up the inheritance, while Chen Cheng insists that she accept it or exchange it for something more suitable.
• Chen Cheng and Lokasky cooperate in torturing the giant and extracting the complete inheritance, while planning to continue using him to access the temple.

Chapter Summary: “Giant Doomsday”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Cheng, Fox, and Lokasky return to the Divine City while carrying the giant mage above them in a triangular formation.
• Their arrival mirrors an ancient prophecy foretelling three divine envoys carrying a giant overhead, followed by the destruction of the Divine City and the near-extinction of the Giant race.
• The giant leaders recognize the prophetic image and panic. Instead of negotiating, they order the entire city to attack Chen Cheng’s group, hoping to prevent the prophecy from coming true.
• The giants use a crude battle formation and powerful weapons, briefly causing trouble for the three intruders.
• Lokasky defends the group, first knocking away the giants’ weapons and destroying their Magic Armor without killing them.
• When the giants continue attacking, Lokasky loses patience and unleashes a full-strength punch, obliterating the attacking giants and causing blood and body parts to rain across the city.
• The giant city’s central temple responds by firing a devastating magical beam at Lokasky. Chen Cheng throws away the giant mage he was carrying, sacrificing him to avoid interference, then uses his Divine Kingdom to protect Lokasky.
• Chen Cheng counters with his “Annihilation Roar Cannon.” The collision between the two attacks produces a massive explosion that destroys the Divine City and kills countless giants.
• Chen Cheng saves some nearby giants from the shockwave, but the Giant race is left devastated and nearly extinct.
• The survivors’ downfall fulfills the prophecy. Chen Cheng and the others conclude that the giants brought the disaster upon themselves through their greed and repeated slaughter of divine envoys.
• Rather than kill the remaining giants, the group decides to leave them alive, fearing that doing so might provoke the mysterious divine envoys to descend.
• The three enter the ruins of the central temple, discovering that it functioned as a massive magical cannon. Chen Cheng cannot decipher its magic patterns, suggesting that the temple was created by the Ancient Civilization.
• At the sealed temple entrance, neither Chen Cheng nor Lokasky can open the doors. They turn to Fox, implying that her abilities may be necessary to overcome the restriction.

Character Developments

• Chen Cheng demonstrates both overwhelming power and restraint. He initially attempts to avoid unnecessary violence, protects surviving giants during the explosion, and considers the broader consequences of exterminating the race. However, he also makes the ruthless decision to discard the giant mage when the magical beam threatens Lokasky.
• Lokasky shifts from controlled defense to brutal retaliation. After his nonlethal attacks are ignored, his pride and anger drive him to kill the attacking giants with a single devastating punch. He also shows concern about the consequences of his actions and fears the intervention of the divine envoys.
• Fox remains largely silent and supportive, continuing to act as part of the three-person formation. Her importance increases at the end, when Chen Cheng and Lokasky rely on her to open the magically restricted temple doors.
• The giant leaders are consumed by fear of the prophecy. Their desperation causes them to act irrationally, attacking first and thereby bringing about the very catastrophe they hoped to prevent.
• The giant mage becomes an expendable casualty when Chen Cheng throws him into the temple’s annihilating attack.

Significant Themes

• Self-fulfilling prophecy: The giants’ attempt to resist the prophecy directly causes its fulfillment. Their fear prevents negotiation and drives them into the attack that destroys their city.
• Greed and moral responsibility: The giants’ past slaughter of divine envoys for power and resources is presented as the root cause of their punishment. Their extinction is tragic, but also portrayed as the consequence of their repeated choices.
• Restraint versus retaliation: Chen Cheng and Lokasky initially attempt to limit casualties, but the giants’ continued aggression eventually provokes overwhelming violence.
• The mystery of the “gods”: The divine envoys may be powerful beings constrained by rules that prevent them from directly harming the giants. Their possible descent remains a threat and a major unresolved mystery.
• Ancient Civilization and lost knowledge: The temple’s incomprehensible magic indicates technology or magical principles beyond even Chen Cheng’s extensive understanding, suggesting that the ruins may contain important secrets.
• Protected endangered species: Chen Cheng and Lokasky speculate that the giants exist within a protected zone, with special rules governing how outside forces and divine envoys may interact with them.

Character Interactions

• Chen Cheng leads the return while Fox and Lokasky support the captured giant mage.
• Lokasky asks Chen Cheng to bear responsibility for the consequences of his retaliation, showing trust but also awareness of the seriousness of his actions.
• Chen Cheng protects Lokasky from the temple’s magical cannon by expanding his Divine Kingdom around him.
• The group debates whether to kill the surviving giants, ultimately choosing mercy out of caution regarding the divine envoys.
• At the temple entrance, Chen Cheng acknowledges that Fox’s abilities are likely essential to progressing into the ruins.

Chapter Summary: “Precognitive Murals”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Fox begins deconstructing the powerful magical restriction sealing the temple doors. Lokasky prevents Chen Cheng from interfering at first, explaining that Fox is unraveling the runes rather than simply breaking them.
• Concerned about contributing to the group, Fox insists on continuing despite the restriction’s complexity. The seal is connected to the Giant Clan’s inheritance she has received.
• Lokasky returns to the beachside camp to organize the Guild’s relocation to the plains outside the ruined Divine City and to begin planning the Giant Clan’s future settlement.
• He tells Black Tiger Venerable that Chen Cheng gave Fox a Legendary Rank inheritance. Black Tiger and A Bei are shocked, with A Bei humorously speculating that Chen Cheng may be intending to become Fox’s brother-in-law.
• Meanwhile, Chen Cheng studies the restriction and gradually understands its structure. He joins Fox, helping her dismantle the composite spell more efficiently.
• Fox eventually masters the restriction’s basic principles and uses a more advanced technique to shatter the remaining layers. Chen Cheng then forces open the ancient temple doors using his earth-element giant strength.
• The temple is empty and filled with stale air, containing no statues or obvious treasures. However, its walls are covered in a sequence of carved murals.
• Chen Cheng identifies three historical periods represented by nine scenes. The first six scenes recount the Giant Clan’s known history after arriving in the region.
• The final three murals depict recent events—including the discovery of Chen Cheng, Fox, and Lokasky, the destruction of the Divine City, and the temple’s opening. This reveals that the murals are precognitive, portraying events as they happen.

Character Developments

• Fox demonstrates determination and responsibility, refusing to accept the Giant Clan’s inheritance without proving herself capable of handling its associated restriction. Her magical understanding grows rapidly as she works through the seal.
• Chen Cheng reveals strong adaptability and magical insight. Although Fox initially possesses greater expertise in the runes, he quickly grasps their composite structure and becomes an effective collaborator. He also displays caution by checking for danger before entering the temple.
• Lokasky acts as a practical leader and organizer, balancing concern for Fox with responsibility for the larger group. His mild bitterness over Chen Cheng giving Fox a Legendary inheritance highlights both his awareness of its immense value and his restrained personality.
• Black Tiger Venerable reacts with astonishment to Fox’s inheritance, while A Bei remains calm but amusingly misinterprets the situation as a possible romantic arrangement between Chen Cheng and Fox.
• Chen Cheng’s importance and status are emphasized through Lokasky’s thoughts: outside this location, Chen Cheng is effectively an emperor with control over the Northern Frontier and the Great Wall.

Significant Themes

• Inheritance and obligation: Fox believes receiving power requires her to contribute and prove worthy of it.
• Cooperation and complementary strengths: Fox’s magical expertise and Chen Cheng’s quick analytical ability allow them to overcome a restriction neither might have handled as efficiently alone.
• The tension between history and prophecy: The temple murals first appear to record the Giant Clan’s past, but the newest scenes depict ongoing events, suggesting that the temple can foresee or somehow reproduce the future.
• Power and generosity: Chen Cheng’s free gift of a Legendary inheritance is treated as an extraordinary act, emphasizing both his resources and the value of the inheritance.
• Uncertainty and hidden destiny: Chen Cheng appears as a mosaic in the mural, implying that his identity, role, or fate is obscured even within these prophetic records.

Character Interactions

• Lokasky initially restrains Chen Cheng from helping Fox but later returns to coordinate the group’s relocation.
• Chen Cheng and Fox work closely together, discussing the restriction’s magical structure and dismantling it as partners.
• Lokasky’s report about Fox’s inheritance shocks Black Tiger and A Bei, producing comic speculation about Chen Cheng’s relationship with Fox.
• Inside the temple, Fox discovers the murals and reacts with terror when she realizes they depict their own recent actions—including the opening of the temple itself.

Summary of “The Future Unfolded”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Fox and Chen Cheng discover an ancient mural depicting what appears to be a highly accurate sequence of future events, including their arrival, conflict with the giants, and a disturbing final scene in which Chen Cheng is surrounded while Fox and the others weep.
• Chen Cheng orders Fox to guard the temple entrance, suspecting that the mural was deliberately created and that the location may be dangerous.
• He carefully examines the mural, confirming that it is a genuine, ancient stone carving rather than an illusion or recent forgery. However, he doubts that it represents an unavoidable prophecy, reasoning that simply leaving the area would invalidate the later scenes.
• Lokasky arrives and initially wants to destroy the mural, but Chen Cheng stops him and suggests comparing it with the giants’ memories of the original events.
• The surviving giants confirm that the mural’s depiction of the initial encounter is false. They remember Chen Cheng and the others descending from the sky and using Divine Punishment, not discovering them in a gap in the city wall.
• Black Tiger Venerable independently recognizes that the mural is false. He explains that, because his karma is connected to the group’s arrival, he would have sensed any alteration to it. His confidence in his Legendary Rank and Dao Fruit allows him to dismiss the supposed prophecy immediately.
• Although the main prophecy is disproven, the final scenes—showing Chen Cheng apparently suffering an accident and the others grieving—continue to trouble the group.
• Chen Cheng devises an experiment based on the mural’s sequence. Black Tiger is deliberately excluded and sent to guard the upper level, while Chen Cheng, Fox, and Lokasky follow the mural’s events into the temple’s rear hall.
• They find that the rear hall matches the mural exactly, including a statue and a concealed door. Just as Chen Cheng is about to repeat the mural’s final action, he abruptly stops and returns to the front hall.
• Chen Cheng announces that he has identified the truth: the mural is not a prophetic record but a divine artifact capable of deducing possible future events.

Character Developments

• Chen Cheng shifts from alarm and skepticism to methodical investigation. He refuses to accept the mural at face value, tests its physical authenticity, compares it against witnesses’ memories, and ultimately deduces its true nature.
• Fox is visibly frightened by the mural and its implications but remains obedient and responsible, guarding the temple and assisting with the investigation. Her admiration for Black Tiger becomes more obvious after seeing how quickly he identifies the mural’s flaw.
• Black Tiger Venerable demonstrates exceptional insight and confidence. Rather than being unsettled by the mural, he evaluates it through karma and immediately recognizes that it cannot depict reality.
• Lokasky remains aggressive and suspicious, initially wanting to destroy the mural, but cooperates with Chen Cheng’s more analytical plan. He understands the experiment and helps enforce it.
• The surviving giants become compliant because their survival depends on Chen Cheng and Lokasky. Their testimony provides the evidence needed to expose the mural’s inaccuracies.

Significant Themes

• The difference between prophecy and possibility: The chapter questions whether a depiction of the future is inevitable or merely one outcome calculated from current circumstances.
• Reason overcoming fear: The mural produces terror because it appears to reveal unavoidable death, but Chen Cheng and Black Tiger counter that fear through examination, logic, and spiritual insight.
• The limits of fate: Chen Cheng’s observation that leaving the temple would change the later scenes suggests that the future is not fixed.
• Ancient knowledge and hidden technology: The mural’s age and precision indicate that the temple contains an advanced divine artifact rather than a simple religious decoration.
• Trust in different forms of intelligence: Chen Cheng relies on experimentation and deduction, while Black Tiger relies on intuition grounded in karma and cultivation. Both approaches expose the deception.

Character Interactions

• Chen Cheng orders Fox to protect the entrance, showing his trust in her reliability.
• He prevents Lokasky from destroying the mural and persuades him to use the giants as witnesses instead.
• Fox questions Black Tiger about his certainty, leading him to explain his understanding of karma and the power of Legendary Rank cultivators.
• Fox admires Black Tiger’s insight, while Chen Cheng and Lokasky are humbled by how quickly he sees through the illusion.
• Chen Cheng coordinates the group’s experiment, sending Black Tiger away and leading Fox and Lokasky through the sequence shown in the mural.
• The group’s shared anxiety over the final image—especially the possibility of Chen Cheng’s death—creates emotional tension despite their discovery that the mural is false.

Chapter Summary: A Future That Could Be Changed

Key Plot Points and Events

• The mural depicting the group’s future changes from showing four people opening the portal to showing only three, with Lokasky and another man mourning Chen Cheng. This reveals that the murals can project possible future outcomes.
• Lokasky abandons his promised Phase Weaponry reward and asks for the prophetic mural instead. Chen Cheng warns him that the mural is limited: it can only predict events within the ruins and may deliberately mislead viewers.
• Chen Cheng reasons that the mural’s final image—his apparent death while the others survive—is unlikely to be accurate. He suspects the mural cannot predict events beyond the ruins or that its prophecy may itself influence people’s actions.
• Chen Cheng and Lokasky conclude that the murals may be malicious psychological traps. Rather than destroy the valuable mural, Chen Cheng orders the group to cover it with cloth.
• Fox realizes that her magical inheritance belongs to an “Evolution” system, whose abilities involve analyzing current conditions and projecting possible futures, similar to the murals.
• The group prepares to enter the true ruins. To reduce risk, Fox remains outside while Black Tiger Venerable joins Chen Cheng and Lokasky.
• Using an Ancient Ruins identity token, Chen Cheng opens the hidden stone door in the rear hall. Beyond it is another mysterious door.
• The second door displays unsolvable formula symbols. Lokasky concludes that it cannot be opened normally and will require brute force.
• Black Tiger Venerable prepares to destroy the door with his physical strength.

Character Developments

• Chen Cheng demonstrates caution, skepticism, and analytical thinking. He recognizes both the potential value and psychological danger of the murals, refusing to accept their predictions literally.
• Lokasky is initially fascinated by the mural and tries to claim it as his reward, but he is persuaded by Chen Cheng’s reasoning and becomes more cautious.
• Fox gains an important insight into her inheritance, realizing that it is connected to future projection and evolutionary magic. Her understanding of her own abilities significantly deepens.
• Black Tiger Venerable remains confident and impulsive, volunteering to solve the second door through force, though Chen Cheng criticizes his lack of seriousness.
• The group becomes more defensive and wary after seeing the ominous mural, reinforcing their equipment before proceeding.

Significant Themes

• The uncertainty of fate: The mural presents the future as a projection rather than an absolute certainty. Chen Cheng emphasizes that small changes can produce completely different outcomes.
• The danger of prophecy: Seeing a predicted future may unconsciously influence people and make that future more likely, allowing the mural to manipulate them.
• Knowledge versus superstition: Chen Cheng uses logic and observation to challenge the group’s instinct to believe the mural unquestioningly.
• Ancient technology and hidden intentions: The ruins’ artifacts may possess remarkable powers, but their creators may have designed them with deceptive or harmful purposes.
• Preparation for danger: Even while doubting the prophecy, the characters strengthen their defenses, showing how fear can affect behavior despite rational skepticism.

Character Interactions

• Lokasky and Chen Cheng debate the mural’s value and reliability, with Chen Cheng ultimately convincing him that it should not be trusted.
• Chen Cheng advises covering rather than destroying the mural, balancing caution with the desire to preserve useful resources.
• Fox becomes absorbed in studying the murals until Chen Cheng calls her back and promises she can investigate them later.
• Chen Cheng scolds Lokasky and Black Tiger Venerable for behaving carelessly at the second door, prompting them to examine it more responsibly.
• Lokasky identifies the door’s formulas as unsolvable, while Black Tiger Venerable takes responsibility for forcing it open, ending the chapter on the verge of another dangerous breakthrough.

Chapter Summary: “Ambushed, Divine Power Drained Dry”

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Cheng stops Lokasky and Black Tiger from destroying the ruin’s entrance and correctly solves the familiar password formula.
• As the gate dissolves, the final event depicted in the mural occurs: a concentrated strand of Divine Power, carrying a suppressed god’s hatred and curse, attacks Chen Cheng.
• The attack unexpectedly comes from an ordinary-looking statue behind them rather than from inside the portal. It pierces Lokasky and Black Tiger’s hastily formed defenses and strikes Chen Cheng.
• Chen Cheng blocks the attack with his Divine Soul, but the Divine Power carries a terrifying godly curse and corruption. Black veins rapidly spread across his golden Dharma body and begin contaminating the Fortune Aura he uses to replenish his strength.
• Facing possible demonic corruption, Chen Cheng calls on Lokasky and Black Tiger to activate their Demigod Heaven-and-Earth abilities. The ruin’s suppression initially prevents them from doing so.
• Black Tiger sacrifices his own strength and manifests his Dao Fruit to create a temporary opening in the suppression. Lokasky then expands his Demigod Heaven-and-Earth and distorts the surrounding laws.
• Chen Cheng releases nearly all of his Divine Power, allowing the curse and divine energy to transform into Present World power. This turns the Divine City ruins and the surrounding area into a vast magical cultivation holy land.
• With Lokasky’s assistance, Chen Cheng purges most of the corruption. However, a remnant remains at the original wound, immune even to Lokasky’s law distortion. Its source has exhausted its power, leaving Chen Cheng able to suppress it.
• The attack drains almost all of Chen Cheng’s accumulated Divine Power. He goes from being the strongest member of the group to the weakest and retreats his Divine Soul into his Divine Kingdom for recovery.
• The three men recognize that the seemingly harmless statue was still alive and had nearly killed Chen Cheng, proving the ruin’s dangers were far greater than expected.

2. Character Developments

• Chen Cheng: Demonstrates his intelligence by solving the door’s formula and his resilience by resisting the curse. However, he suffers a major loss of power and is left weakened by the attack. His dependence on Fortune Aura is also revealed as a vulnerability because the curse can parasitize the ordinary people’s spiritual will within it.
• Lokasky: Shows loyalty and responsibility toward Chen Cheng, whom Samlet entrusted to him. He risks exhausting himself by distorting the laws around Chen Cheng and helps purge the corruption despite the immense burden.
• Black Tiger: Displays trust and gratitude by immediately cooperating with Lokasky, despite the danger of placing himself under Lokasky’s control. He uses his final measures—manifesting his Dao Fruit—to create the opening needed to save Chen Cheng.
• The suppressed god/statue: Is revealed to remain active despite appearing lifeless and ordinary. Its lingering Divine Power and curse make it an extremely dangerous hidden threat.

3. Significant Themes

• Hidden danger and false security: The characters prepare for an attack from the portal but are nearly killed by an overlooked statue, emphasizing that danger can come from the least conspicuous source.
• Trust and cooperation: Black Tiger willingly risks himself, while Lokasky prioritizes Chen Cheng’s survival over potential personal advantage.
• The cost of power: Saving Chen Cheng requires Black Tiger to expose his Dao Fruit, Lokasky to strain his Demigod Heaven-and-Earth, and Chen Cheng to expend nearly all his Divine Power.
• Corruption and survival: The godly curse represents a persistent, invasive force that cannot be completely destroyed, only contained.
• Opportunity amid crisis: Chen Cheng’s discarded Divine Power transforms the region into a powerful cultivation ground, turning a near-disaster into a valuable resource for future development.

4. Character Interactions

• Chen Cheng initially reprimands Lokasky and Black Tiger for trying to smash the gate and successfully takes control of opening it.
• After being struck, Chen Cheng urgently orders the others to help him, and Lokasky coordinates the rescue plan with Black Tiger.
• Black Tiger accepts the risk of allowing Lokasky to operate within his created world, showing mutual trust and respect.
• Lokasky acts out of both personal loyalty and practical interest: he wants to honor Samlet’s wishes, preserve Chen Cheng as the Empire’s last hope, and maintain a valuable alliance.
• After the crisis, the three reflect together on the statue’s unexpected attack and realize that their preparation had failed to account for the ruin’s most deceptive threat.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• The mural in the front hall changes, showing Chen Cheng standing beside Lokasky and Black Tiger. Although Chen Cheng remains a mosaic depiction, he is no longer shown as destroyed.
• Lokasky and Black Tiger prepare to smash a nearby statue, assuming it is merely a magical trap or decorative guardian.
• Chen Cheng stops them after realizing the statue may contain a petrified or sealed Outer Realm True God. He warns that awakening it could lead to catastrophe, especially because such beings possess nearly indestructible Undefeated Bodies.
• Chen Cheng explains that the Nanmu Ruins contained an entire room of similar divine statues, some of which his group had accidentally awakened in the past.
• Lokasky and Black Tiger are horrified by this revelation. They realize that even a severely weakened True God could potentially destroy the outside world.
• Lokasky openly addresses Chen Cheng as “Your Majesty” and anxiously asks whether Chen Cheng might destroy the world if his restoration fails. This confirms that both men now understand Chen Cheng’s identity and his potential power.
• Chen Cheng gives them the choice to enter the ruins or leave. Despite their fear, both decide to continue because of their commitments and cooperation with Chen Cheng.
• Before entering, Chen Cheng leaves Fox and the others a warning not to approach the temple.
• Chen Cheng enters the portal first and discovers that it uses an advanced scientific transportation method rather than magic. He arrives in a familiar white room resembling the Nanmu Ruins.

Character Developments

• Chen Cheng: Demonstrates caution and responsibility by refusing to interfere with the statue. His knowledge of the Ancient Civilization and Outer Realm True Gods has deepened, and he now recognizes dangers that he once overlooked. He also reveals more of his identity and potential role in the world’s destruction.
• Lokasky: His confidence gives way to fear after learning what the statue may contain. He becomes more respectful toward Chen Cheng, calling him “Your Majesty,” but still chooses to proceed because of his promise to Samlet and his alliance with Chen Cheng.
• Black Tiger: Initially eager to destroy the statue, he becomes deeply frightened after hearing about the True God statues in the Nanmu Ruins. Despite his fear, he remains loyal and follows Chen Cheng into the ruins.
• Fox and the others: They remain outside and are warned not to approach the temple, emphasizing the danger surrounding the site.

Significant Themes

• The danger of ignorance: Lokasky and Black Tiger nearly provoke disaster because they mistake a divine statue for an ordinary object. Knowledge of the Ancient Civilization’s relics becomes essential for survival.
• Reverence for power: The two experts, who normally stand at the pinnacle of their world, are terrified by the possibility of encountering even a weakened True God.
• Responsibility and restraint: Chen Cheng chooses caution instead of acting recklessly, understanding that one mistake could doom the outside world.
• Ancient civilization and science: The portal’s scientific design suggests that the Ancient Civilization had not fully transitioned from technology to magic before its decline.
• Loyalty despite fear: Although the ruins may contain unimaginable dangers, Lokasky and Black Tiger honor their commitments and accompany Chen Cheng.

Character Interactions

• Chen Cheng directly warns Lokasky and Black Tiger against attacking the statue, using grim humor to emphasize that he would flee if they awakened it.
• His explanation of the petrified True Gods transforms their attitude from aggression to panic.
• Lokasky’s respectful address of Chen Cheng reveals a major shift in their relationship: fear and awe now accompany their cooperation.
• Chen Cheng gives the two men a genuine choice, but their loyalty and existing agreements lead them to enter the ruins.
• The chapter ends with Chen Cheng, Lokasky, and Black Tiger entering the portal together, returning to a setting reminiscent of the Nanmu Ruins but with far greater power and awareness than before.

Summary: “Threat from Within the Ruins”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Cheng, Black Tiger Venerable, and Lokasky enter a seemingly empty ruin after Chen Cheng warns that dangerous remnants of ancient gods may still be present.
• They follow a white corridor, but when they reach its end, they discover that both the exit behind them and the path ahead have vanished.
• The corridor begins narrowing, threatening to crush them. Their attempts to use their domains fail because the ruin strongly suppresses both their powers and their perception.
• Chen Cheng activates a mysterious black pendant containing a key-like shape. The pendant disrupts the ruin’s spatial control, restoring the corridor and revealing a door.
• Chen Cheng realizes that the ruin’s physical structures can shift independently within fixed space, creating the illusion that doors and corridors do not exist. He confirms this by using Space Magic: disturbing the space causes the trap to reappear, while dispersing the magic restores the normal layout.
• The pendant does not grant Chen Cheng authority over the ruin; instead, it neutralizes the spatial magic controlling them.
• After entering the next hall, the corridor disappears completely behind them. A notice board then changes its message, revealing that an unseen controller is hiding in a central control room.
• The controller gives them one day to find the room, threatening not only the three explorers but also their allies outside for violating the Civilization Laws.
• Black Tiger and Lokasky become enraged because their trusted companions, including Fox and A Bei, are being used as hostages. Outside, the murals apparently change to depict the ruin as a landscape of corpses and blood, suggesting that everyone has been killed—or that the controller is deliberately manipulating what the others see.

Character Developments

• Chen Cheng remains analytical under pressure. Rather than immediately assuming the ruin is alive, he tests possible explanations and eventually deduces how its spatial mechanisms work.
• He is reluctant to use the mysterious pendant because its long-term effects are unknown, but the danger forces him to risk it. His successful use of it demonstrates both his resourcefulness and growing willingness to rely on dangerous artifacts.
• Black Tiger Venerable shifts from confidence to panic and anger. He is frustrated by the ruin’s suppression and especially furious when the controller threatens his companions.
• Lokasky acts as a practical and supportive ally. He proposes searching with their domains, physically braces the closing walls, and later shares Black Tiger’s anger despite trying to maintain a joking tone.
• The crisis strengthens the group’s unity: although trapped and threatened, the three remain committed to confronting the hidden enemy together.

Significant Themes

• Threat from within: The danger is not merely an abandoned ruin or ancient monsters but an intelligent force actively controlling the environment.
• Power and helplessness: Even Chen Cheng’s usually dominant Divine Domain is suppressed, forcing the characters to rely on ingenuity rather than overwhelming strength.
• Deception and perception: The shifting corridors, disappearing doors, altered murals, and false appearances emphasize how unreliable the ruin’s reality is.
• Hostage-taking and loyalty: The controller exploits the characters’ emotional bonds, turning their concern for their allies into a weapon.
• Ancient technology and hidden intelligence: The ruin behaves like a living or controlled system, suggesting that an ancient intelligence—or a surviving operator—still governs it.

Important Character Interactions

• Chen Cheng warns the others about possible divine remnants, establishing his caution and experience.
• Lokasky and Black Tiger try to use their domains together, but both discover that the ruin can suppress their abilities.
• Chen Cheng’s decision to activate the pendant saves all three, though Black Tiger and Lokasky initially cannot tell whether the experience was real.
• Chen Cheng explains the spatial mechanism after verifying it with Space Magic, giving the group a clearer understanding of their enemy.
• Black Tiger lashes out at the unseen controller, while Lokasky reassures him and promises that they will punish the enemy together.
• The chapter ends with the group trapped inside a deadly puzzle, racing against a one-day deadline while their allies remain under threat.

Chapter Summary: “Information Deception”

Key Plot Points and Events

• After receiving no response from the hidden enemy, Chen Cheng, Black Tiger Venerable, and Lokasky focus on escaping the deceptive space and locating Black Tiger’s opponent.
• Black Tiger suggests destroying the entire area by force, but Chen Cheng warns that damaging the space could trap them again.
• The group divides the hall into sections and searches its walls for hidden passages without touching anything recklessly.
• They identify sixteen possible abnormalities. At the first location—the entrance they originally used—Chen Cheng discovers a formula password. Entering it creates a phantom door leading back to the corridor.
• The group tests the remaining suspected locations, but none respond. Lokasky realizes that the spatial layout does not match the eight-direction structure of the Nanmu Ruins.
• To verify their theory, Lokasky and Black Tiger run around the hall with their hands against the wall, but no additional doors appear.
• Chen Cheng concludes that the hall is an artificial deception based on information taken from his identity token. The enemy had learned of his experience in the Nanmu Ruins and recreated a misleading version of them.
• Realizing that the true exit must be in the corridor rather than the hall, Chen Cheng leads the group out.
• The hall suddenly collapses and shrinks, attempting to crush them. The three escape through the spatial door and reach the room containing the genuine teleportation gate.
• Once they are safe, the corridor seals itself, confirming that the hall and everything beyond it had been an illusion or fabricated spatial trap.

Character Developments

• Chen Cheng demonstrates caution, leadership, and analytical ability. He restrains Black Tiger’s violent impulses, studies the spatial rules, and eventually recognizes the enemy’s psychological manipulation.
• He also realizes that the enemy exploited his past experiences and personal information, showing that he must be more careful about what information others can access.
• Black Tiger Venerable remains impulsive and aggressive, repeatedly favoring brute force. However, he follows Chen Cheng’s instructions and escapes when danger becomes apparent.
• Lokasky acts as a practical and perceptive mediator. He notices inconsistencies in the spatial arrangement, proposes a systematic test, and helps Black Tiger understand the need to keep following Chen Cheng.
• The three develop stronger tactical cooperation, relying on different strengths: Chen Cheng’s deduction, Lokasky’s observation, and Black Tiger’s speed and power.

Significant Themes

• Information as a weapon: The enemy uses Chen Cheng’s identity and memories to construct a customized deception.
• Psychological manipulation and false assumptions: The trap succeeds because the group assumes the area follows the structure of the Nanmu Ruins.
• Appearances versus reality: The apparent hall, doors, and spatial layout are fabricated representations rather than genuine structures.
• Caution versus brute force: The chapter emphasizes that reckless strength is ineffective against traps governed by spatial rules and deception.
• Adaptation and critical thinking: Survival depends on questioning familiar patterns and recognizing when previous experience is being used against them.

Character Interactions

• Chen Cheng repeatedly restrains Black Tiger’s impulsive suggestions, preventing him from destroying the space and worsening their predicament.
• Lokasky supports Chen Cheng’s investigation by identifying the inconsistency in the distances between supposed exits.
• Chen Cheng explains the deception to both companions, while Lokasky reinforces his authority by urging Black Tiger to follow him during the escape.
• Their successful escape demonstrates growing coordination and trust, despite Black Tiger’s continued impatience and reliance on force.

Chapter Summary: “The True Ruin”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Cheng realizes that the ruin they entered is another layer of deception. Although the previous location appeared genuine and contained a spatial gate, he determines that it was still a fake.
• The three—Chen Cheng, Black Tiger Venerable, and Lokasky—return through the gate and emerge outside a huge Magnetic Force Matrix. The statue from the temple’s rear hall is located at its center, revealing that this is the real ruin.
• An eerie consciousness speaks through the statue and explains that it has been trapped there as an energy source. Its “Indestructible Consciousness” has been used as an eternal furnace to power the ruin’s systems.
• Chen Cheng concludes that the being is an existence that has broken the laws of the world, making it suitable as a long-term power source despite the passage of time.
• The imprisoned entity admits that it created the earlier deception and used threats against Black Tiger’s younger siblings, Fox and A Bei, to manipulate the group.
• Black Tiger wants to destroy the statue, but Chen Cheng stops him, warning that damaging the matrix could activate the Ruin System’s defenses and kill everyone.
• The entity then attempts to manipulate Lokasky by claiming that it had protected the people outside from the Troll and threatening to stop restraining the creature, allowing it to devour them.
• Driven to madness by its endless imprisonment, the entity repeatedly begs Chen Cheng to kill it.
• Chen Cheng refuses to act immediately, explaining that the earlier ambush and the ruin’s suppression have drained their strength. He claims they cannot yet kill the entity safely, since allowing it to escape would be even more dangerous.
• Lokasky realizes that Chen Cheng is deceiving the imprisoned consciousness. He and Black Tiger pretend to be weakened and angry, supporting Chen Cheng’s claim that they lack the strength to destroy the statue.

Character Developments

• Chen Cheng demonstrates sharp perception by seeing through multiple layers of deception and identifying the real ruin. He also remains cautious, understanding the danger of the system and preventing Black Tiger from acting impulsively.
• Chen Cheng reveals himself as highly skilled in psychological manipulation. Rather than confront the imprisoned being directly, he exploits its desperation and convinces it that killing it is currently impossible.
• Black Tiger Venerable is shown to be fiercely protective of Fox and A Bei. His anger at the entity is genuine, but he is forced to restrain himself for the group’s survival.
• Lokasky proves observant and adaptable. He quickly understands Chen Cheng’s deception and helps maintain the false appearance of weakness.
• The imprisoned consciousness is revealed to be powerful but mentally tormented. Centuries of being used as a living power source have driven it into desperation, rage, and madness.

Significant Themes

• Deception and counter-deception: The chapter centers on layered traps, false ruins, fabricated information, and Chen Cheng’s ability to deceive the deceiver.
• Imprisonment and suffering: The entity’s endless consciousness has become a source of torment, raising questions about whether death can be a form of release.
• Power and exploitation: The ruin’s creators use a powerful, law-breaking being as a tool or fuel source, treating consciousness as a resource.
• Restraint versus revenge: Black Tiger wants immediate vengeance, but survival requires patience and discipline.
• Psychological warfare: Physical strength is less important than controlling information and manipulating the enemy’s expectations.

Character Interactions

• Chen Cheng explains the false nature of the ruin to Lokasky and Black Tiger, establishing himself as the group’s main strategist.
• The imprisoned consciousness confronts Chen Cheng and attempts to manipulate the group through threats, false claims, and emotional appeals.
• Black Tiger directly challenges the entity over its threats to his family, while Chen Cheng restrains him to prevent a catastrophic reaction.
• The entity tries to pressure Lokasky by threatening the people outside, but Lokasky resists and follows Chen Cheng’s lead.
• Chen Cheng, Lokasky, and Black Tiger secretly cooperate in pretending to be weakened, turning the entity’s desperation against it.

Chapter Summary: “Masterpiece of an Ancient Engineer”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Cheng confronts the imprisoned statue, which repeatedly begs to be killed. Chen suspects the statue is manipulating them into releasing it rather than genuinely seeking death.
• Chen proposes that the statue provide information about the weapons capable of killing it, since their current abilities cannot penetrate its divine “Undefeated Body.”
• The statue insists that it truly wants to die, explaining that its mind has been fused with and restrained by the ancient system surrounding it. It claims it cannot escape or control the system.
• Chen considers abandoning the statue after seeing a future deduction in which they simply leave. Since the statue had deceived them before, Chen sees no reason to trust it and believes they could search for another route.
• The statue reveals that the temple’s exit has been spatially redirected beneath its feet. Unless they kill it, they cannot leave. It also warns that their subordinates may be killed by Trolls if they remain trapped.
• It offers a solution: unlock the matrix, allowing the weapons to appear, and then use them to kill the statue.
• Lokasky confirms that there is no other exit, while Black Tiger tests the matrix by throwing in a piece of metal. The metal instantly disintegrates.
• The matrix activates, generating an electromagnetic storm and demonic runes that forcibly extract the statue’s power. During the process, a spatial gate to the temple’s rear hall appears beneath the statue.
• After an hour, the statue’s aura is severely weakened, but its Undefeated Body automatically draws power from the void and begins restoring itself.
• Chen realizes the ancient civilization designed the system as a self-sustaining mechanism: imprisoned gods were fused into the system, their power was repeatedly extracted to maintain it, and their divine bodies regenerated energy indefinitely.
• The group recognizes that they may remain trapped for an unknowable length of time unless they kill the statue, making the statue’s plea increasingly credible.

Character Developments

• Chen Cheng demonstrates cunning and skepticism. He attempts to expose the statue’s motives, refuses to trust its claims, and considers abandoning it rather than accepting a potentially dangerous bargain.
• His attitude gradually changes after witnessing the matrix’s operation. He begins to believe that the statue has genuinely suffered and understands why it longs for death.
• Lokasky provides practical judgment, recognizing that the temple has no usable exit and urging Chen to accept the statue’s proposal.
• Black Tiger Venerable reacts with anger and impatience, testing the matrix directly and revealing its lethal nature.
• The statue shifts from defiance and manipulation to desperation. Its pleas become more sincere as it explains the system’s torture and the impossibility of escape.

Significant Themes

• Immortality as torment: The statue’s Undefeated Body prevents death but forces it to endure endless imprisonment and repeated extraction of its power.
• Trust and manipulation: Chen must determine whether the statue is deceiving them or genuinely asking for release, with the statue using both threats and desperate appeals.
• Ancient technological ingenuity: The ancient engineers created a nearly self-sustaining system by exploiting divine regeneration, turning imprisoned gods into living power sources.
• The cost of progress: The system’s brilliance is inseparable from its cruelty, reducing a living god to a component in a perpetual machine.
• Necessity versus morality: The group must choose between leaving the statue to endless suffering, risking their own entrapment, or killing it to escape.

Character Interactions

• Chen and the statue engage in a tense verbal battle, each accusing the other of hidden motives.
• Lokasky supports the statue’s account and encourages Chen to cooperate once the lack of an exit becomes clear.
• Black Tiger’s physical test of the matrix confirms the danger of the system and forces the group to confront the statue’s suffering firsthand.
• By the end of the chapter, Chen’s distrust has not vanished, but witnessing the extraction process causes him to sympathize with the statue and seriously consider killing it.