Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary: “Technical Frame Interpolation”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Cheng remains unable to answer Wisdom Shield’s request. He fears that communicating with or meeting Old Ke—who may still be alive through cryogenic technology—could create dangerous disturbances in spacetime and alter history.
• Instead, Chen Cheng focuses on teaching Li Ming and the other researchers. His lessons shift from abstract, metaphysical ideas to the practical structure of magic and its relationship to the laws of the world.
• He explains that:
  • Basic magic markings draw upon natural elemental power.
  • More advanced spells are created by combining and transforming basic markings.
  • Mastering an entire branch of magic allows one to understand its corresponding law, eventually leading to Forbidden Spells and godhood.
  • The Magic Markings Corridor is only a tool; the true objective is to comprehend the Great Dao, or the underlying laws of reality.
• As a graduation assignment, Chen Cheng asks the students to discover at least one basic magic marking existing naturally in the world.
• After class, Chen Cheng privately approaches Li Ming and offers an idea that may help solve the stalled spacetime research.
• Li Ming enthusiastically brings him to the research institute and introduces him as “Mr. Brown,” a witness to spacetime travel, ordering the researchers to cooperate with him.
• Chen Cheng presents a theory that his own spacetime displacement—and possibly Old Ke’s—was caused by a phenomenon he calls “technical frame interpolation.”

Character Development

• Chen Cheng demonstrates caution, responsibility, and respect for spacetime and history. Though eager to return to his own era, he refuses to risk damaging the future or worsening the conditions of Wisdom Shield and the others.
• He also takes on the role of teacher and mentor, translating his profound understanding of world laws into practical lessons that others can use.
• Chen Cheng reveals greater intellectual creativity by applying his knowledge of magic, divine principles, and the Reincarnation Principle to theorize about time travel, despite not directly controlling the Time Law.
• Li Ming becomes increasingly convinced that Chen Cheng’s understanding of laws may provide the breakthrough his researchers need. He responds with trust and enthusiasm, immediately placing the institute’s resources at Chen Cheng’s disposal.
• The students begin progressing from learning spells as techniques toward understanding magic as a path to comprehending the laws of nature.

Significant Themes

• Responsibility and the danger of knowledge: Chen Cheng understands that powerful abilities must be used carefully, especially when they can affect history and entire civilizations.
• Magic as a means to truth: Magic is portrayed not as the ultimate reality, but as a tool for reaching the deeper laws of the world.
• Science and magic as parallel systems: Chen Cheng compares magic markings to technological principles, emphasizing that different spells and devices can arise from the same underlying foundations.
• Time, history, and causality: The chapter explores whether the past can truly be changed and suggests that time may be fixed rather than reversible.
• Progress through comprehension: Mastery comes not from memorizing techniques, but from understanding the principles behind them and eventually controlling the corresponding law.

Character Interactions

• Chen Cheng avoids responding to Wisdom Shield because he fears the consequences of direct contact, creating an emotional distance shaped by concern for the future.
• As a teacher, he guides Li Ming and the students through the structure of magic, encouraging them to seek fundamental principles rather than merely imitate spells.
• Chen Cheng privately shares his spacetime theory with Li Ming, who immediately supports him and publicly establishes his authority within the research institute.
• The cooperation between Chen Cheng’s theoretical insight and Li Ming’s organizational influence sets up a new phase of spacetime research.

Chen Cheng’s “Frame Interpolation” Theory

Chen Cheng compares time to a film that normally advances continuously. Reversing time is likely impossible; one can only observe past events, much like replaying old footage. However, he theorizes that Old Ke and others may have broken through a temporal threshold and inserted themselves into a period where they did not originally exist—like digitally interpolated frames added to low-frame-rate film. In reality, a single inserted “frame” could become an extended period of lived experience, explaining how travelers from another era could appear in the past.

Chapter Summary: “Each Airing Their Own Views”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Cheng presents his theories about space, time, world laws, and Reflections to the institute’s researchers. Although his ideas conflict with conventional science, the emergence of demons, monsters, and Transcendent powers forces the researchers to take him seriously.
• Using the Eye of Omniscience, the institute has collected many “threads” representing the laws of the world, but they cannot locate a thread corresponding to the Time Law.
• Chen Cheng enters his divine body and examines the world’s laws directly, confirming that the Time Law remains impossible to find.
• He asks the researchers to propose every possible explanation, no matter how unrealistic, so he can test their theories himself.
• The researchers suggest several possibilities:
  • The Time Law may be three-dimensional rather than two-dimensional like the other laws.
  • Time may not be an independent law at all, but an emergent phenomenon produced by the evolution of other laws.
  • Other theories invoke unknown Transcendent powers and combinations of science and magic.
• Chen Cheng records every idea without dismissing any of them, then retreats to a quiet room to categorize and systematically verify the theories.
• While Chen Cheng investigates, the institute continues studying his teachings and the Magic Runes found in nature.
• Their research produces a revolutionary new metal that is light, strong, tough, and nearly lossless in conducting energy. When combined with Magic Runes and enchantment, it can replace almost every known metal.
• Because of its silvery appearance and magical origins, the researchers name the metal Mithril.

Character Developments

• Chen Cheng is shown as intellectually humble and collaborative. Despite possessing extraordinary power and knowledge, he admits that he cannot solve the Time Law problem alone and actively seeks ideas from others.
• He also reveals a preference for an ordinary, peaceful life, explaining that he never originally intended to become a cultivator or powerful Transcendent being.
• The institute’s researchers grow more confident and imaginative. Chen Cheng’s willingness to record even seemingly absurd suggestions encourages them to speak freely.
• The researchers also demonstrate their ability to apply Chen Cheng’s magical theories independently, culminating in the creation of Mithril.

Significant Themes

• Science and transcendence: Conventional scientific logic is challenged by magical and supernatural realities, requiring researchers to expand their understanding of the world.
• Collaboration and collective intelligence: Chen Cheng recognizes that individual insight is limited, and that progress depends on combining different perspectives.
• Open-minded inquiry: No hypothesis is rejected merely because it sounds impossible; even theories that undermine the original premise are preserved for testing.
• The evolution of knowledge: New discoveries emerge when scientific methods are combined with magical principles.
• The burden of power: Chen Cheng’s immense abilities are contrasted with his desire for a peaceful, ordinary existence.

Character Interactions

• Chen Cheng works closely with the institute’s chief engineer, who reports the failure to locate the Time Law.
• The chief engineer marvels at Chen Cheng’s power, while Chen Cheng modestly rejects the idea that his abilities are enviable.
• Chen Cheng encourages the entire research team to voice unconventional ideas, creating an atmosphere where even junior researchers feel comfortable contributing.
• The researchers respond to his openness by offering increasingly imaginative theories.
• Their mutual exchange of knowledge leads not only to progress in understanding the Time Law but also to the practical breakthrough of Mithril.

Chapter Summary: “Verification”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The successful synthesis of mithril dramatically improves technological applications, especially the Base Defense System. Mithril’s conductivity reduces the energy loss caused by the Gods and Devils’ influence, potentially allowing controlled nuclear fusion to operate nearly autonomously if that influence is removed.
• Mithril also enhances protective suits, combat armor, and other technologies.
• Chen Cheng remains absorbed in his Deity True Form, testing various theories about the nature of time and higher-dimensional laws. Nearly all of his initial conjectures prove incorrect.
• He examines the chief engineer’s theory that the world’s laws resemble a two-dimensional structure, with three-dimensional space requiring an additional “height.”
• Chen Cheng first considers dangerously merging his Divine Kingdom’s laws with the world’s Law Grid to force the creation of a third dimension, but realizes he can instead use the Space Law to encompass all other laws.
• After wrapping the other laws within Space Law, Chen Cheng uses the Key-Head Holy City as a weapon to break through the spatial boundary. Rather than passing through normally, he encounters an inexplicable crystal wall.
• Touching the wall subjects him to simultaneous sensations of extreme cold and heat. The wall then vanishes, and Chen Cheng’s physical shell disappears from the Present World as his true body emerges beyond the Space Law.
• Chen Cheng successfully enters the Three-Dimensional Law Spacetime he has been seeking.
• There, he discovers a long ribbon of light that he identifies as the Time Law. However, it does not function as a conventional force capable of reversing or accelerating time. Instead, it resembles a film’s progress bar: moving along it allows one to reach different points in a sequence of events, while the actual substance of time is the content recorded within it.

Character Development

• Chen Cheng demonstrates exceptional intelligence, persistence, and willingness to take extreme risks in pursuing knowledge. His repeated failures frustrate him, causing him to momentarily talk to the mindless Space Law as though it could respond.
• His breakthrough comes through practical insight rather than brute force: he recognizes that Space Law can organize and contain the other laws, avoiding a potentially fatal fusion experiment.
• Chen Cheng advances from theorizing about higher-dimensional spacetime to physically entering it, marking a major increase in his understanding and power.
• His discovery also forces him to revise his assumptions about time. He learns that time is not necessarily an energy or force that can be manipulated directly, but may instead be the structure or record of events themselves.

Significant Themes

• Scientific advancement and adaptation: Mithril transforms existing technology by solving the energy-loss problem caused by supernatural interference.
• The limits of theory: Chen Cheng repeatedly finds that plausible conjectures are wrong, emphasizing that abstract reasoning must be tested against reality.
• Dangerous pursuit of knowledge: His attempts to reach higher-dimensional spacetime could destroy his Divine Kingdom or kill him, highlighting the risks of transcending natural laws.
• The nature of dimensions: The chapter explores how three-dimensional space may emerge from a two-dimensional arrangement of laws through the addition or restructuring of spatial relationships.
• Time as information and progression: Time is presented less as a force and more as a sequence or record of content, comparable to a film that can be navigated through its progress bar.

Character Interactions

• The chapter contains little direct interaction between characters. Its primary interaction is between Chen Cheng and the laws of reality, particularly Space Law and the newly discovered Time Law.
• Chen Cheng’s work is based on theories proposed by the chief engineer and another researcher, though he does not directly interact with them in the scene.
• His internal dialogue reveals his growing frustration and self-criticism, contrasting his usual confidence with the difficulty of understanding higher-dimensional existence.

Summary: Moon Celestial Venerable’s First Descent

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Cheng confirms his second theory: time does not truly exist. What people perceive as time is merely the process of matter forming, moving, and changing. This realization deeply unsettles him, especially because it raises questions about his own return to the Primordial Era.
• Seeking an escape from the Absolute Void, Chen Cheng tries to break through what he believes may be another barrier. Instead, a ripple opens in the void, through which Moon Celestial Venerable and a tide of mindless demons emerge.
• Moon Celestial Venerable explains that an Evil Spirit Tide is spreading and orders Chen Cheng to contact the Divine Court through an Immortal Ascension Platform. She believes a corrupted World Spirit is approaching and may destroy the entire region.
• Chen Cheng realizes that the Karmak Continent has no Ascension Platform or native gods. He refuses to flee and instead uses the world’s laws to fight the invading Extraterrestrial Demons.
• Because Moon Celestial Venerable suppresses the demons and prevents them from destroying the continent, Chen Cheng is able to kill them relatively easily after they become physical beings within the world.
• Moon Celestial Venerable attempts to summon the continent’s gods using a God-Repelling Technique, but the technique only summons Chen Cheng repeatedly because he is the sole being connected to the world’s laws. Chen Cheng explains that the apparent “gods” she sensed are actually outsiders.
• Moon Celestial Venerable identifies Chen Cheng as a Derailer, an abnormal existence capable of bypassing the normal flow of history or reality. She is surprised that the Divine Court does not know about him.
• Without asking permission, she takes control of Chen Cheng’s body and consciousness. Using a full-moon phantom within his Divine Kingdom, she subjects his soul to severe pain while examining how he crossed the River of Time.
• Moon Celestial Venerable discovers that Chen Cheng was artificially created and used an extraordinary shortcut to cross the River of Time. Chen Cheng curses her internally, but she can read his thoughts and threatens to fragment him into multiple souls if he does not endure the procedure.
• The chapter ends with the revelation that Moon Celestial Venerable is only a faith-formed incarnation, already weakened by fighting Demon Spirits on another frontline and then escaping through an Evil Spirit Tide.

Character Developments

• Chen Cheng becomes increasingly desperate and existentially disturbed by the discovery that time may be an illusion. Nevertheless, he demonstrates courage and practicality by choosing to defend the Karmak Continent rather than escape.
• He also shows growing mastery over the continent’s laws, allowing him to destroy the invading demons once they are physically manifested.
• Chen Cheng’s independence and defiance remain strong: he openly challenges Moon Celestial Venerable, refuses to obey her orders, and curses her despite her overwhelming power.
• Moon Celestial Venerable is portrayed as cold, commanding, and ruthless, but also highly capable and burdened by responsibility. She prioritizes stopping the Evil Spirit Tide and protecting the world, even if that means forcibly controlling Chen Cheng.
• Her discovery of Chen Cheng’s artificial origins and his status as a Derailer adds mystery to both his creation and his unusual relationship with time.

Significant Themes

• The nature of time and existence: Time is presented not as an independent force but as the movement and aggregation of matter, challenging Chen Cheng’s understanding of reality and identity.
• Survival against cosmic disaster: The Evil Spirit Tide represents an existential threat, while the fragile Karmak Continent emphasizes how vulnerable lower worlds are to conflicts involving powerful beings.
• Individual agency versus overwhelming power: Chen Cheng tries to act independently, but Moon Celestial Venerable can seize control of his body and soul effortlessly.
• Artificial life and transcendence: Chen Cheng’s existence appears to be engineered, and his ability to cross the River of Time may have resulted from an artificial, dangerous shortcut.
• Miscommunication and alienation: Moon Celestial Venerable initially mistakes Chen Cheng for an ignorant local battle god, while Chen Cheng sees her as overbearing and dangerous. Their misunderstanding gradually gives way to mutual recognition of each other’s unusual nature.

Character Interactions

• Moon Celestial Venerable treats Chen Cheng as an inferior local fighter and repeatedly orders him to contact the Divine Court.
• Chen Cheng rejects her assumptions, explains the true condition of the Karmak Continent, and insists that they must fight rather than waste time seeking help.
• Her failed God-Repelling Technique forces her to recognize that Chen Cheng is the only relevant godlike being in the world.
• After identifying him as a Derailer, Moon Celestial Venerable shifts from dismissing him to exploiting his abilities, forcibly taking control of him to investigate his passage through the River of Time.
• Their interaction combines hostility, reluctant cooperation, and growing curiosity, with both characters recognizing that the other is far more extraordinary—and dangerous—than first assumed.

Chapter Summary: “The Guide Envoy”

Key Plot Points and Events

• After using a powerful temporal technique on Chen Cheng, Moon Celestial Venerable becomes partially illusory but immediately searches through Chen Cheng’s past to uncover the truth behind his deviation from fate.
• She finds the fragment she needs and forcibly tears into Chen Cheng’s soul, traveling through the River of Time to meet Zhang Hao—the mysterious figure Chen Cheng once summoned through the Inner World’s recording.
• Zhang Hao jokingly welcomes Moon Celestial Venerable, but she ignores his teasing and informs him that the world Chen Cheng inhabits is being threatened by the Evil Spirit Tide.
• Zhang Hao recognizes the opportunity to complete Chen Cheng’s history and descends into Karmak World. His arrival overwhelms everyone, including the awakening World Spirit.
• With a single glance, Zhang Hao judges the invading Gods and Devils, instantly understanding their past crimes. He destroys the hostile fiends with one wave and captures the Demon Spirit responsible for devastating hundreds of worlds.
• Zhang Hao converts the Demon Spirit into pure World Origin energy and gives it to Karmak World, calling it a gift to Chen Cheng.
• As the Guide Envoy of the Divine Court, Zhang Hao formally sentences the foreign Gods and Devils to death for violating Divine Court laws and slaughtering mortals. His judgment annihilates them completely.
• Before leaving to handle matters involving the ascension of other worlds, Zhang Hao tells Chen Cheng that he is fortunate because Moon Celestial Venerable now belongs to him.
• After Zhang Hao disappears, Chen Cheng and Moon Celestial Venerable realize that they each know something about him. Moon Celestial Venerable explains that Zhang Hao oversees the ascension of worlds throughout the Main Universe and may be second only to the Heavenly Emperor and Dao Ancestor in power.
• Chen Cheng begins to suspect that Zhang Hao may have secretly forced their world to ascend, potentially explaining its current state.

Character Developments

• Moon Celestial Venerable: Demonstrates her ruthless efficiency and willingness to violate Chen Cheng’s bodily and spiritual autonomy to uncover hidden truths. Her interaction with Zhang Hao also reveals her awareness of the highest powers and structures in the universe.
• Chen Cheng: Endures the destruction and invasion of his soul, then witnesses Zhang Hao’s overwhelming power firsthand. His fear and curiosity deepen, especially regarding the possibility that his world’s fate was manipulated from above.
• Zhang Hao: Is revealed as the Guide Envoy of the Divine Court, an immensely powerful figure responsible for guiding worlds through ascension. Despite his playful and arrogant manner, he acts as an absolute judge and savior, effortlessly destroying the world’s enemies and reshaping its fate.

Significant Themes

• The manipulation of fate and history: The chapter suggests that Chen Cheng’s life and even his world’s development may have been altered by higher beings.
• Cosmic hierarchy and authority: Zhang Hao’s arrival establishes the vast difference between ordinary Gods and Devils and the supreme figures governing the universe.
• Judgment and divine law: The invading Gods and Devils are punished not merely for opposing Chen Cheng, but for violating the laws of the Divine Court and committing atrocities.
• Protection versus control: Zhang Hao saves Karmak World, but his intervention also raises questions about whether its ascension and history were forcibly engineered.
• Humor amid overwhelming power: Zhang Hao’s comical speech contrasts with his terrifying strength, emphasizing how casually beings of the highest level treat matters that mortals regard as catastrophic.

Character Interactions

• Moon Celestial Venerable and Chen Cheng: Their relationship remains tense and forceful, with Moon Celestial Venerable treating Chen Cheng harshly while Chen Cheng fears and resents the methods she uses. After Zhang Hao’s departure, they question each other about their knowledge of him.
• Moon Celestial Venerable and Zhang Hao: She approaches him formally as the Guide Envoy and requests his intervention against the Evil Spirit Tide. Zhang Hao responds with teasing but ultimately fulfills her request.
• Zhang Hao and Chen Cheng: Zhang Hao treats Chen Cheng like a junior or future colleague, calling him fortunate and giving Karmak World a gift on his behalf. Chen Cheng, however, is too intimidated by Zhang Hao’s power to respond casually.
• Zhang Hao and the invading Gods and Devils: Their interaction is entirely one-sided. Zhang Hao reads their crimes, passes judgment, and annihilates them without allowing them any chance to resist.

Summary of “The Right to Hate”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Moon Celestial Venerable realizes that Chen Cheng resents Zhang Hao and the Divine Court for causing Karmak World’s civilization to enter doomsday.
• Chen Cheng acknowledges that, from the Divine Court’s broader perspective, its actions may have been necessary and righteous. However, ordinary civilizations experienced those actions as catastrophe and therefore have the right to hate their supposed saviors.
• He asks Moon Celestial Venerable to conceal the truth so that Zhang Hao can remain remembered as Karmak World’s savior rather than as the destroyer of its civilization.
• Moon Celestial Venerable agrees that Chen Cheng has the right to hate, but firmly maintains that the Divine Court is still his savior and that neither the Heavenly Emperor nor the Divine Court is wrong. The Divine Court does not seek or require the judgment of those it saves.
• Chen Cheng then asks whether Moon Celestial Venerable can return him to his proper time and space. She explains that he has not actually departed from his original time and space, despite his strange condition.
• Moon Celestial Venerable identifies him as a possible “Derailer,” though she refuses to explain the term, saying the Divine Court will clarify it if he reports to the Immortal Ascension Platform in the future.
• Chen Cheng leaves after learning that she cannot resolve his condition. Moon Celestial Venerable is troubled by an unexplained feeling of pity and compassion toward him.
• Her incarnation is running out of faith power, so she decides to remain in the newly ascended world and potentially take the place of the Moon Celestial Venerable Reflection watching over it.
• Below, humanity celebrates Zhang Hao’s destruction of the oppressive Gods and Devils. However, informed survivors such as Li Ming understand that this victory is temporary. The world remains exposed to future invasions, the Abyss, and the increasingly powerful Magic Energy environment.

Character Developments

• Chen Cheng: Demonstrates emotional maturity and clear moral understanding. He recognizes the Divine Court’s utilitarian justification while refusing to surrender his civilization’s right to grief and hatred. He also remains focused on solving his own mysterious condition.
• Moon Celestial Venerable: Shows unusual sympathy toward Chen Cheng, despite insisting on the Divine Court’s emotional detachment and authority. Her unexplained compassion creates unease and suggests a hidden connection or influence.
• Zhang Hao and the Divine Court: Their actions are reframed as simultaneously benevolent and destructive. They save civilizations through methods that also accelerate their destruction, making them morally complicated rather than simply heroic or villainous.
• Li Ming and the informed survivors: They display cautious realism, recognizing that Zhang Hao’s intervention has created only a temporary opportunity rather than permanent safety.

Significant Themes

• The right to hate one’s savior: A person or civilization may acknowledge that an action was necessary while still condemning the suffering it caused.
• Moral perspective and scale: The Divine Court operates from a cosmic perspective, while mortals experience its decisions as personal catastrophe. Both viewpoints can be valid without being reconciled.
• Indifference of powerful institutions: The Divine Court saves civilizations without caring whether they love, fear, or resent it, emphasizing the emotional distance between higher powers and ordinary beings.
• Temporary hope and survival: The destruction of the Gods and Devils offers humanity a brief chance to rebuild, but not true security.
• Mystery of identity and causality: Chen Cheng’s corpse-like body, chaotic soul, and possible Derailer status remain unexplained, while Moon Celestial Venerable’s unexplained emotional response hints at deeper connections.

Character Interactions

• Chen Cheng and Moon Celestial Venerable: Their conversation centers on whether the Divine Court deserves hatred. Chen Cheng speaks respectfully but firmly, while Moon Celestial Venerable acknowledges his grievance yet defends the Divine Court’s uncompromising stance.
• Chen Cheng and Zhang Hao: Though Zhang Hao does not appear directly, Chen Cheng’s feelings toward him are central. Chen Cheng wants the truth hidden so Zhang Hao can remain a savior in the world’s memory.
• Moon Celestial Venerable and the Divine Court: Her statements embody the Court’s official position: it saves civilizations according to necessity and does not accept judgment from those it saves.
• Li Ming and the surviving humans: Their perspective contrasts with the public celebration. While most survivors see victory, Li Ming and others understand the continuing dangers and the need to use this brief respite for preparation.

Chapter Summary: “The Power of Wisdom”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Cheng emerges safely after searching for the Time Law, but admits that he failed to find it.
• Despite the setback, he explains that his investigations uncovered a three-dimensional space at the level of laws, leading to a new strategy against invading Gods and Devils.
• The proposed method is to use spatial technology to separate the laws underlying a God or Devil’s power from their manifested abilities, sealing the resulting power in a special containment space and forcing the being into a state of Oblivion.
• Chen Cheng warns that this method cannot directly affect beings who have achieved Dao Integration, because their bodies and powers have merged with heaven and earth.
• He realizes that defeating Dao-Integrated beings would require viewing them as part of heaven and earth itself and stripping away their power from that broader perspective. However, coordinating this process would likely require the Time Law, unless they possessed overwhelming power comparable to the being who once destroyed all Gods and Devils.
• The group begins extensive research and experimentation to create the required containment space.
• Their first attempts use existing field theory and successfully create ordinary spatial storage, but fail to reach the deeper, law-level dimensional space they need.
• Rather than being discouraged, Li Ming and the other researchers use the failure to refine their understanding of the Space Law.
• They develop a new Magic Field, distinct from scalar, vector, and tensor fields. This field explains how magic produces Fundamental Magic Runes and how Transcendent phenomena arise.
• The new theory produces rapid progress: over a thousand Fundamental Magic Runes are identified, and their understanding of laws advances dramatically.
• After one year, the researchers create a working laboratory prototype: an azure containment card.
• Chen Cheng is deeply impressed by their achievement. During the same year, he integrates his magical knowledge with his Divine Kingdom, eliminating his former weaknesses.
• The chapter ends with Chen Cheng declaring that, although the prototype has not yet been tested, they have successfully created the technology they envisioned.

Character Developments

• Chen Cheng: Moves from disappointment over failing to find the Time Law to becoming the intellectual bridge between cosmic law theory and practical technology. His understanding of spacetime, laws, and magic deepens considerably. He also completes the integration of his magic and Divine Kingdom, becoming far more powerful and balanced.
• Li Ming and the researchers: Demonstrate extraordinary adaptability and perseverance. Instead of treating failed experiments as defeats, they use them to uncover deeper principles and create an entirely new Magic Field theory. Their scientific and magical knowledge advances at an astonishing rate.
• The research group as a whole: Becomes more unified and focused, transforming theoretical insights into a concrete weapon against the Gods and Devils.

Significant Themes

• Wisdom compensating for lost power: Although the Time Law remains undiscovered, understanding and ingenuity provide another possible path to survival.
• Science and magic as connected disciplines: The researchers reinterpret magic through field theory, showing that scientific investigation can reveal the structure of supernatural laws.
• Failure as progress: The initial containment-space experiments do not meet their goal, but they establish contact with the Space Law and lead to greater breakthroughs.
• Limits of control: Dao Integration represents a boundary that cannot be overcome through ordinary methods, emphasizing the difference between controlling an individual’s power and controlling heaven and earth itself.
• Collective effort: Chen Cheng provides insight, while Li Ming and the surviving experts turn those insights into practical technology. Their cooperation drives the breakthrough.

Character Interactions

• Li Ming and the others anxiously await Chen Cheng’s return and are relieved when he comes out safely.
• Chen Cheng explains his theories to the group in a lecture-like discussion, while they take notes and question or prompt him when he loses focus.
• His brief joke about becoming powerful enough to make the Gods and Devils fear them lightens the otherwise serious discussion.
• The researchers’ collaboration with Chen Cheng is central: he supplies the conceptual understanding of law-level space, while they develop the experimental framework and technology.
• At the end, Chen Cheng shares the successful containment card with the group, marking a moment of collective achievement and renewed hope.

Summary of “Joy and Sorrow”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The God-Sealing Squad launches a coordinated operation against a massive dog-headed God and Devil.
• A1 and A2 use Divine Seal Cards to sever the creature’s connection to its divine power, causing its enormous body to shrink drastically.
• A3 and A4 then fire on the weakened target, cutting off its connection to the laws and turning it into stone.
• The sealed God and Devil is transported safely back to the Holy City. A1 is revealed to be Li Ming.
• The successful operation proves that humanity’s own technology and knowledge can restrain the Gods and Devils.
• Human civilization erupts in celebration. The achievement inspires greater hope than Zhang Hao’s earlier cleansing because it represents a victory achieved through human ingenuity.
• Li Ming visits Chen Cheng with liquor brewed from newly cultivated grain. The experiment is intended to determine whether agriculture can be restored after the Gods and Devils’ destruction.
• Chen Cheng tastes the liquor but indirectly warns Li Ming that the grain is unsafe for human consumption, apparently because it has been affected by the Magic Field.
• Li Ming explains that although microorganisms such as yeast are adapting to the new environment, humanity itself remains dependent on protective suits and may eventually perish if it cannot adapt.
• Chen Cheng reassures him that there will be a solution and points to himself as evidence that adaptation is possible.
• Privately, however, Li Ming recognizes a disturbing contradiction: Chen Cheng’s ignorance of Magic Field Theory suggests that the civilization he came from may not have truly survived. Modern humanity may instead be a primitive descendant culture built from fragments of lost knowledge.

Character Developments

• Li Ming changes from a masked operative into a symbol of humanity’s technological triumph. His joy at the successful sealing is tempered by anxiety about humanity’s biological inability to survive in the altered world.
• Chen Cheng acts as both a practical tester and a source of emotional support. He understands Li Ming’s indirect question about the grain and encourages him, though he does not fully grasp the scientific crisis.
• The human civilization experiences a surge of collective pride and hope, but this celebration is contrasted with the realization that humanity may be fundamentally unsuited to the new age.
• The Gods and Devils are no longer completely invincible. Their power can now be neutralized through coordinated human science and technology.

Significant Themes

• Human ingenuity versus supernatural power: The sealing operation marks a decisive moment in which technology successfully challenges beings once considered untouchable.
• Joy overshadowed by sorrow: Humanity celebrates its victory while facing the deeper threat of extinction through environmental and biological incompatibility.
• Civilizational decline and lost knowledge: The chapter suggests that present-day humanity may be descended from a ruined civilization and has forgotten knowledge essential to its survival.
• Adaptation and evolution: Yeast has begun adapting to the Magic Field, raising the question of whether humans can do the same.
• Hope amid uncertainty: Chen Cheng’s existence and the successes of later generations provide evidence that adaptation is possible, even though Li Ming sees little immediate reason for confidence.

Character Interactions

• The God-Sealing Squad operates with precise coordination, demonstrating trust and discipline through real-time communication.
• Li Ming and Chen Cheng share a mixture of camaraderie, humor, and concealed seriousness. Chen Cheng jokes that Li Ming is using him as a test subject, while Li Ming uses the liquor to indirectly ask whether agriculture can return.
• When Chen Cheng discourages further liquor production, Li Ming understands that the grain is unsafe, revealing their ability to communicate through implication.
• Chen Cheng comforts Li Ming physically and verbally, but Li Ming’s private thoughts show that he remains unconvinced that Chen Cheng’s existence proves humanity can survive.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Cheng reflects on humanity’s helplessness in an era resembling immediate “Heat Death,” where destruction appears directed specifically at human civilization rather than being a distant, natural fate.
• Although he fails to discover the Time Law, his discussion with Moon Celestial Venerable gives him the insight needed to find a way back to his original spacetime.
• Chen Cheng summons Moon Celestial Venerable and asks her to help humanity survive the ongoing upheaval caused by the Gods, Devils, and changing laws of the world.
• Moon Celestial Venerable unexpectedly undergoes Dao Integration with Karmak World’s Lunar Yin Dao, becoming its true Moon Goddess. This binds her fate to the world but allows her to directly protect and guide humanity.
• Chen Cheng departs through a sphere of light. Because he is a Derailer, the spacetime correction mechanism erases or rationalizes all traces of his existence; only Moon Celestial Venerable remembers him.
• Moon Celestial Venerable establishes cooperation with human civilization, teaches them about Gods, Devils, and the world’s transformations, then enters a long slumber.
• Humanity uses this knowledge to advance technologically, expand its survival bases, and construct cities resembling spatial secret realms.
• As the external world recovers, released plants and animals evolve into Magic Beasts capable of innate magic, putting pressure on human civilization.
• When the Time Recovery Project fails, humans pursue genetic modification, creating Beastfolk. These beings are physically superior to humans, and some gain magical abilities, eventually becoming a threat to their creators.
• Humanity’s research reaches a major breakthrough: using Magic Field Theory, scientists discover the dormant World Spirit and remove its heart, transforming it into the Command Block.
• This act triggers disasters, internal turmoil, and repeated invasions by Gods and Devils. Moon Celestial Venerable eventually awakens and ends the hidden manipulation behind the chaos.
• Human civilization falls into another Great Depression, but the survivors gradually discover the correct path forward. At Moon Celestial Venerable’s suggestion, they begin a plan centered on recreating or addressing Chen Cheng’s tragic life.

Character Developments

• Chen Cheng moves from despair over humanity’s fate toward determined action. He accepts that he cannot solve everything himself and seeks Moon Celestial Venerable’s aid before returning to his own spacetime.
• Moon Celestial Venerable reveals unexpected generosity and commitment by integrating with Karmak World instead of merely observing or exploiting it. She becomes humanity’s protector, teacher, and long-term guide.
• Human civilization evolves rapidly but also becomes increasingly desperate and morally reckless. Its creation of the Beastfolk and seizure of the World Spirit’s heart show both its ingenuity and willingness to endanger the world for survival.
• The Beastfolk emerge as a new intelligent race, initially created by humans but eventually strong enough to challenge and threaten them.

Significant Themes

• The limits of knowledge and wisdom: Even civilizations that understand the laws of existence remain powerless before cosmic forces and predetermined destruction.
• Survival versus morality: Humanity’s attempts to survive lead to genetic experimentation, the creation of a rival species, and the exploitation of the World Spirit.
• Natural selection and cosmic indifference: The chapter questions whether humanity’s destruction is simply part of nature’s impartial process, despite humans experiencing it as uniquely cruel.
• Sacrifice and responsibility: Moon Celestial Venerable’s Dao Integration contrasts with humanity’s more exploitative actions, presenting genuine sacrifice as necessary for collective survival.
• Legacy and erasure: Chen Cheng’s existence is removed from history, leaving only Moon Celestial Venerable with the memory of his contribution.
• Cycles of catastrophe and recovery: Humanity repeatedly rises, suffers collapse, and adapts, suggesting that survival depends on learning from disaster rather than avoiding it entirely.

Character Interactions

• Chen Cheng and Li Ming’s departure leaves Chen Cheng reflecting on the despair shared by humanity’s leadership.
• Chen Cheng negotiates with Moon Celestial Venerable, politely presenting his request for help while privately hoping to enlist her as a powerful ally.
• Moon Celestial Venerable teases Chen Cheng for underestimating her generosity, then proves her commitment by becoming the world’s Moon Goddess.
• Their final exchange establishes mutual trust: Chen Cheng leaves the world to her protection, while she warns him not to interfere further with the past spacetime.
• After Chen Cheng’s disappearance, Moon Celestial Venerable alone preserves the memory of him and eventually helps humanity begin a plan based on his life.

Chapter Summary: “Newspaper News”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Cheng awakens after returning to the world and buys a newspaper, immediately learning that Chancellor Wisdom Shield has once again used his final veto to block the Supreme Council’s inquiry into the missing Emperor’s safety.
• The Council has attempted the same inquiry eleven times over eleven years, and Wisdom Shield’s continued refusal has raised the possibility of his impeachment.
• The newspaper reports that the world’s magical energy and laws have strengthened dramatically. Chen Cheng suspects this is connected to his removal of the Holy City key fragment and the loosening of restraints on heaven and earth.
• The article credits Chen Cheng with ushering in the current age of cultivation, though it presents the information through praise and official propaganda.
• Chen Cheng reviews the latest Prodigy Rankings:
  • Xiu De makes the largest rise in ranking history.
  • Evil Light defeats Wu Cheng and enters the top fifty.
  • Son of Light remains ranked first and is revealed to have once received guidance from Chen Cheng. Chen Cheng recognizes him as Kurks, a former Church Academy opponent.
  • Murs Justin, another former opponent and one of the few people aware of Chen Cheng’s identity, rises to thirty-fourth place.
• Chen Cheng travels instantly to Wisdom Shield’s office by merging with the world’s magical field.
• Wisdom Shield instinctively draws the Sword of Kings when Chen Cheng appears unexpectedly, but immediately sheathes it upon recognizing him. Chen Cheng removes the sword’s backlash, showing his increased power.
• The two reunite emotionally, with Wisdom Shield embracing Chen Cheng in overwhelming relief and happiness.
• When Chen Cheng brings up the newspaper and Wisdom Shield’s repeated vetoes, Wisdom Shield avoids the subject. Chen Cheng becomes disappointed and finally asks why he continues protecting the truth.
• Wisdom Shield answers that there is no personal reason—it is politics. Since Chen Cheng refuses to enter politics, Wisdom Shield believes Chen Cheng must remain a distant, glorious figure rather than be exposed to political struggles.

Character Development

• Chen Cheng: Returns with a vastly deeper understanding of the world’s laws and an ability to travel anywhere instantly. He is pleased to see former rivals thriving but is troubled by Wisdom Shield’s secrecy and political sacrifice. His emotional reaction shows how deeply he now values Wisdom Shield’s loyalty.
• Wisdom Shield: Continues shielding Chen Cheng’s identity and legacy, even at the risk of impeachment. His initial instinct to draw his sword demonstrates his vigilance, while his immediate joy at Chen Cheng’s return reveals their profound bond. However, he remains unwilling to explain the full burden he has carried.
• Kurks/Son of Light: Has survived the Church’s collapse, adopted the title Son of Light, and become the strongest-ranked prodigy, suggesting that Chen Cheng’s past guidance significantly influenced his growth.
• Murs Justin: Has progressed dramatically since his earlier defeat by Chen Cheng and is now considered a potential future Legendary figure.

Significant Themes

• Loyalty and sacrifice: Wisdom Shield endangers his political position to protect Chen Cheng’s identity and reputation.
• Politics versus personal truth: The chapter contrasts Chen Cheng’s desire for direct answers with Wisdom Shield’s belief that political realities require silence and concealment.
• The consequences of legacy: Chen Cheng’s influence continues after his disappearance, shaping cultivation, politics, and the development of former acquaintances.
• Growth and transformation: The changes in the world’s magical laws and the rising Prodigy Rankings reflect the beginning of a new era shaped by Chen Cheng’s actions.
• Reunion and brotherhood: Chen Cheng and Wisdom Shield’s reunion emphasizes that their former partnership has become a relationship resembling close brotherhood.

Character Interactions

• Chen Cheng reads about Wisdom Shield’s political actions and worries that his friend may be impeached because of him.
• Chen Cheng recognizes the achievements of former rivals Kurks and Justin, reflecting on how far they have come.
• During the reunion, Wisdom Shield nearly attacks Chen Cheng out of instinct, then embraces him once he realizes who he is.
• Their affectionate reunion is tempered by tension when Chen Cheng confronts Wisdom Shield about the vetoes. Wisdom Shield refuses to provide a personal explanation, reinforcing the emotional and political distance created by his years of silence.

Chapter Summary: “Scolding”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Cheng confronts Prime Minister Wisdom Shield over the government’s attempts to protect Chen Cheng’s reputation and conceal the reasons for his repeated disappearances.
• Chen Cheng rejects the idea that relinquishing political power is cowardice or incompetence. He insists that he is now only a national symbol and that Wisdom Shield’s true responsibility is to the people, not to preserving Chen Cheng’s image.
• He warns that suppressing public concerns about the emperor creates dangerous divisions between the government and its citizens. Such problems may remain hidden for years but could eventually destabilize the entire new political system.
• Chen Cheng orders Wisdom Shield to prepare for a public statement, which he will publish in three days to explain his actions and prolonged absences.
• After resolving the political crisis, Chen Cheng shifts the conversation to Wisdom Shield’s personal life. Wisdom Shield reveals that he married Vivienne the previous year and that she is pregnant.
• Chen Cheng departs, secretly healing Wisdom Shield’s injured hand. Wisdom Shield then reflects sadly on Chen Cheng’s immense strength, responsibility, and possibly limited remaining time.

Character Developments

• Chen Cheng: Demonstrates political insight, emotional restraint, and a strong commitment to institutional stability. Although he sees himself as an emperor without real power, he accepts responsibility for publicly clarifying his role. His anger comes from concern that Wisdom Shield’s loyalty and personal attachment are damaging the government. His hidden healing also reveals his continuing affection.
• Wisdom Shield: Shows that his devotion to Chen Cheng has clouded his judgment. His efforts to protect Chen Cheng’s dignity have led him to suppress public discussion, unintentionally endangering the government. He accepts Chen Cheng’s rebuke silently and emotionally, while recognizing that Chen Cheng’s supposed desire to “escape” is actually self-sacrifice.
• Wisdom Shield and Vivienne: Their marriage and expected child reveal a happier, more ordinary side of Wisdom Shield’s life, contrasting with the political tension surrounding him.

Significant Themes

• Duty versus personal loyalty: Wisdom Shield prioritizes Chen Cheng’s reputation, while Chen Cheng insists that public duty must come before private devotion.
• Political transparency: The chapter argues that public sentiment cannot be permanently controlled or suppressed; it must be acknowledged and guided.
• The burden of leadership: Chen Cheng’s withdrawal from power is not an evasion of responsibility but an attempt to create a sustainable political system.
• Change and instability: The new era has brought immense social upheaval, and poor governance could repeat the collapse of the former Empire.
• Self-sacrifice and mortality: Chen Cheng’s efforts to grow stronger and relinquish imperial authority suggest that he is sacrificing himself for the future, while Wisdom Shield senses that Chen Cheng may not have much time left.

Character Interactions

• Chen Cheng and Wisdom Shield’s confrontation is harsh but deeply affectionate. Chen Cheng angrily calls Wisdom Shield a fool, yet his anger comes from concern for the government and for Wisdom Shield himself.
• Wisdom Shield becomes visibly distressed, injuring his own hand while listening to Chen Cheng’s criticism. Chen Cheng later heals the wound without being noticed.
• Their political argument ends with a warmer exchange about marriage, pregnancy, and family, reinforcing the depth of their personal bond beneath their official roles.

Chapter Summary: The Book Is Complete

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Cheng publicly announces that he will relinquish his political authority and become a symbolic emperor, claiming that the Cabinet Council system is now capable of governing the Empire.
• The announcement causes widespread debate. Most people view Chen Cheng as an extraordinary ruler rather than an incompetent one, crediting him with restoring the Empire, establishing the Cabinet Council, founding free public academies, and bringing about ten years of prosperity.
• Some officials believe Chen Cheng is taking responsibility for Wisdom Shield’s political mistakes. Those who voice this opinion are later pushed into insignificant positions.
• Wisdom Shield visits Chen Cheng to apologize, but Chen reassures him that the reforms have succeeded because ordinary people have witnessed genuine improvements in their lives.
• After Wisdom Shield leaves, Chen Cheng privately reads the public-opinion reports and reveals his deeper concern: prosperity may not last, but he hopes the Empire remains peaceful and flourishing until its eventual destruction.
• Chen Cheng spends three months compiling his knowledge of Magic Field Theory into a massive textbook, Fundamental Theory of Magic Fields.
• He presents the book to Fisher Doge, the Empire’s Education Minister and a former elder of the Academy Alliance.
• Fisher Doge initially intends only to skim the work, but becomes completely absorbed after discovering that it offers a deeper and more rational explanation of magic without invalidating existing magical knowledge.
• Chen Cheng gives the book to Fisher Doge for further study. Fisher is overwhelmed and weeps, recognizing that the textbook provides Legends with a direct path toward the ultimate heights of cultivation.

Character Developments

• Chen Cheng: Demonstrates humility and long-term vision by surrendering power despite being an exceptionally successful emperor. He is also shown as a scholar and educator, determined to make advanced knowledge accessible rather than keeping it exclusive. His private reflections reveal an awareness that the Empire’s prosperity may be temporary.
• Wisdom Shield: Shows humility by acknowledging his political shortcomings and seeking Chen Cheng’s forgiveness. His respect for Chen Cheng deepens, though Chen Cheng makes clear that Wisdom Shield’s governance has largely succeeded.
• Fisher Doge: Develops from a cautious, restrained minister into an awestruck scholar. The book rekindles his lifelong pursuit of magical truth and gives him a new direction in cultivation.

Significant Themes

• The transfer of power and humility: Chen Cheng’s willingness to become a figurehead contrasts with the usual pursuit of absolute authority.
• Good governance through tangible improvement: Public support is portrayed as emerging from real changes in people’s lives rather than propaganda or personal charisma.
• Knowledge as a public good: Chen Cheng writes advanced magical theory as a university textbook, emphasizing education and the widespread dissemination of knowledge.
• The impermanence of prosperity: Chen Cheng understands that even a flourishing civilization may ultimately be destroyed, yet still hopes to preserve its prosperity for as long as possible.
• Progress through refinement rather than rejection: Magic Field Theory does not overturn existing magic but deepens and rationalizes it, showing intellectual advancement as an expansion of prior understanding.
• The value of foundational theory: The textbook is meaningful not only to students but also to Legends, because it reveals the principles and possible endpoint of magical cultivation.

Important Character Interactions

• Chen Cheng and Wisdom Shield discuss the success of the Cabinet Council and the importance of visible improvements in ordinary people’s lives. Chen Cheng comforts Wisdom Shield rather than blaming him.
• Chen Cheng and Fisher Doge share a mentor-scholar relationship. Chen Cheng seeks Fisher’s honest assessment of the textbook, while Fisher recognizes it as a transformative work of knowledge.
• Fisher Doge’s emotional reaction underscores the immense significance of Chen Cheng’s book: what Chen Cheng considers a university textbook is, to the highest-level cultivators, a guide toward the culmination of their entire path.

Chapter Summary: “Wound”

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Cheng asks Fisher Doge whether his newly written book can become the foundational textbook for magic universities across the Empire.
• Fisher Doge studies the book carefully and, while unable to immediately judge its suitability for students, recognizes it as an extraordinary work that points toward the ultimate end of cultivation. He agrees to test it with university students and submit a report.
• Chen Cheng collaborates with Fisher Doge and the students to finalize the teaching materials. The completed book allows even cultivators below the Legendary realm to understand laws and the Dao.
• The book transforms advancement from Platinum to Epic Rank. Instead of relying largely on luck to discover a suitable Dao, cultivators now receive a clear framework and reference point, greatly increasing their chances of finding a broad and promising path.
• After completing what he can for the era, Chen Cheng visits Fini’s former residence. He waits outside for an entire day, repeatedly asking to see her, but she refuses to meet him.
• Chen Cheng leaves behind a Spatial Ring containing his writings, inventions, and a Spirit-Sense Recording Crystal preserving all his memories with Fini.
• When Fini sees the crystal, her cold public persona collapses, and she weeps over the lost relationship.
• Chen Cheng then visits Samlet, but the elder refuses to see him. Chen Cheng waits through the night before leaving.
• Back at the imperial palace, Chen Cheng meets his duplicate, Chen Cheng Two, and announces that it is time for them to exchange their lives again. Chen Cheng Two reacts with surprise followed by relief.

2. Character Developments

• Chen Cheng completes his major mission of reforming magical education and making advanced cultivation more accessible. Despite his public achievements, he remains emotionally attached to Fini and Samlet, showing regret and a desire for reconciliation.
• Fisher Doge demonstrates intellectual humility. Though powerful and knowledgeable, he admits he cannot immediately assess the book and chooses to test it objectively through students.
• Fini has become one of the greatest Legendary figures in history, surpassing even Samlet in cultivation speed. Outwardly she is an aloof, powerful queen, but Chen Cheng’s memories reveal that she still deeply cherishes their past.
• Samlet remains distant and refuses Chen Cheng’s visit, suggesting unresolved feelings or disappointment despite the bond of teacher, father figure, and student.
• Chen Cheng Two is relieved when told that their period of exchanged identities is ending, implying that the arrangement has been burdensome or restrictive.

3. Significant Themes

• The democratization of knowledge: Chen Cheng’s textbook replaces secretive, unequal cultivation traditions with accessible and systematic instruction.
• Fate versus informed choice: Advancement once depended heavily on luck, but the new book gives ordinary cultivators a clearer path toward discovering a powerful Dao.
• Achievement versus personal loss: Chen Cheng succeeds in transforming the Empire, yet his accomplishments cannot repair the emotional wounds between him and those closest to him.
• Memory and identity: The recording crystal preserves Chen Cheng’s relationship with Fini, emphasizing that emotional bonds endure even when people and circumstances change.
• Regret and separation: Chen Cheng’s failed attempts to see Fini and Samlet show that completing a great mission does not guarantee forgiveness or reunion.
• Public persona versus private self: Fini appears cold and untouchable to the world, but privately remains vulnerable and deeply affected by Chen Cheng.

4. Character Interactions

• Chen Cheng and Fisher Doge: Their exchange is respectful and collaborative. Chen Cheng entrusts Fisher Doge with evaluating the book, while Fisher provides an honest and expert response.
• Chen Cheng and the students: Their study of the textbook unintentionally reveals its revolutionary impact, helping Chen Cheng and Fisher realize that it could fundamentally reshape cultivation.
• Chen Cheng and Fini: They do not meet face-to-face. Chen Cheng waits outside and leaves a final keepsake, while Fini refuses contact but breaks down emotionally after viewing his memories.
• Fini, Sophia, and Jenny: Sophia understands Fini’s hidden pain, while Jenny wants to confront or admit Chen Cheng. Fini suppresses both possibilities and insists that she has no relationship with him.
• Chen Cheng and Samlet: Their attempted reunion fails when Samlet refuses to see him, leaving Chen Cheng waiting silently through the night.
• Chen Cheng and Chen Cheng Two: Their concluding exchange marks the end of their identity swap. Chen Cheng is confident and almost playful, while Chen Cheng Two is relieved to resume his own life.

Chapter Summary

Plot Points and Events

• Chen Cheng explains how he discovered that he had stolen the life of Chen Cheng Two, who is actually Brown Hopps—the true sixteenth emperor of the era.
• He realizes that his life had been artificially arranged by Old Ke and the others after he was reborn into this world. Their plan included turning Brown into his “recorder,” likely to manipulate Brown into accepting the life that had been taken from him.
• Brown apologizes because his era needs Chen Cheng’s help to prevent another descent into the darkness of the Epoch Era. Chen Cheng also apologizes for taking Brown’s life.
• Chen Cheng declares that he has completed his stewardship of the stolen life and transfers all his power to Brown. Brown’s strength rapidly rises to the level of a Demigod without a Divine Core, while Chen Cheng becomes an ordinary mortal.
• Despite losing his power, Chen Cheng appears spiritually and psychologically stronger than before. However, his body is severely damaged by Magic Energy radiation, and he begins coughing blood.
• Chen Cheng leaves the imperial palace unnoticed, using an insulating film generated by his identity token to protect himself. His appearance changes back to the face from his previous life.
• He travels by public carriage to a railway station and boards a crowded train heading west across the Empire.
• On the train, an Elf warrior named Jelina introduces herself to Chen Cheng. He gives her his true name but soon loses consciousness as the effects of his emergency medicine wear off.
• Jelina initially assumes Chen Cheng is merely ignoring her. She realizes he has fainted only after the train brakes suddenly and he collapses against the table.

Character Development

• Chen Cheng accepts the truth that he has lived a life originally meant for Brown Hopps. He takes responsibility for the theft rather than continuing to view himself solely as a victim of manipulation.
• He demonstrates humility and self-sacrifice by returning his power and identity’s advantages to Brown, even though doing so leaves him physically ruined and powerless.
• Chen Cheng’s change back to his former appearance symbolizes his abandonment of the artificial role imposed on him and his return to his original self.
• Brown Hopps/Chen Cheng Two is restored to his rightful power and identity. His reaction shows bitterness, compassion, and a willingness to forgive Chen Cheng because the survival of his era depends on him.
• Jelina is introduced as a strong, observant Elf warrior, though she initially misinterprets Chen Cheng’s silence and collapse.

Significant Themes

• Identity and stolen lives: The chapter focuses on whether a person’s identity is determined by origins, memories, power, or the life they have lived.
• Fate versus free will: The characters confront lives designed by others and question whether artificially arranged destinies can ever remain stable.
• Responsibility and redemption: Chen Cheng accepts moral responsibility for taking Brown’s life and attempts to make amends through self-sacrifice.
• Power and mortality: The transfer of power reverses their positions, showing that strength does not necessarily define a person’s worth or influence.
• Returning to one’s true self: Chen Cheng’s physical transformation and use of his real name mark a symbolic return to his original identity.
• Historical cycles: Brown’s concern that his era may once again fall into darkness emphasizes the recurring nature of catastrophe and the need to break the cycle.

Character Interactions

• Chen Cheng and Brown have a deeply emotional exchange of accusations, deductions, apologies, and forgiveness.
• Chen Cheng transfers his power to Brown, completing the relationship’s central act of restitution.
• Afterward, Chen Cheng withdraws from Brown rather than seeking recognition, emphasizing his acceptance of departure.
• Chen Cheng meets Jelina on the train and finally introduces himself by his real name, but their first interaction is interrupted when he loses consciousness.

Summary: “Jelina’s Suspicion”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Jelina discovers Chen Cheng collapsed and suffering from severe respiratory distress and bodily decay.
• Her Healing Magic worsens the condition, causing the contacted skin to rapidly become necrotic. Realizing conventional magic cannot help him, Jelina uses an Elf healing technique that transfers her own Life Origin.
• Chen Cheng stabilizes, but Jelina exhausts herself and falls into a coma. He awakens first and arranges for a train attendant to care for her.
• Three days later, Jelina wakes and notices the spreading corruption on Chen Cheng’s arm. She draws her sword and accuses him of being a monstrous creature who infiltrated the imperial capital.
• Chen Cheng’s involuntary fear response convinces Jelina that he may genuinely be an ordinary human rather than a disguised monster, though his explanation remains suspicious and full of contradictions.
• Chen Cheng claims that his condition is an incurable illness and explains that he is traveling west to Moonlight Forest to seek help from the Elven High Priest and the Moon Goddess.
• Jelina’s goals align with his destination. Since neither the Empire nor she can identify or cure his condition, she decides to continue observing him and allow the divine powers to determine the truth.
• The two travel mostly in silence until the train reaches its final stop, Kailan City.

Character Developments

• Jelina: Demonstrates the Elves’ compassion by sacrificing her own Life Origin to save Chen Cheng. However, after seeing his corruption, she becomes guarded and suspicious, using threats and interrogation to test his identity. Her curiosity and sense of responsibility lead her to accompany him toward Moonlight Forest.
• Chen Cheng: Reveals his physical vulnerability and instinctive fear despite his extraordinary past and knowledge. He hides the truth about his identity and invents a flawed explanation for his condition. He also begins practicing Ancient Martial Arts techniques to control his body and appear less suspicious under the pressure of powerful beings.

Significant Themes

• Compassion versus suspicion: Jelina risks her life to save Chen Cheng, yet immediately questions whether he is dangerous once she sees his unnatural decay.
• Appearance and identity: Chen Cheng appears physically monstrous but behaves like an ordinary human, complicating Jelina’s judgment of him.
• The limits of magic: Standard Healing Magic not only fails but accelerates Chen Cheng’s decay, suggesting that his condition is fundamentally incompatible with the world’s magical forces.
• Trust and deception: Chen Cheng cannot reveal his true history, while Jelina recognizes that his story contains lies but chooses to investigate rather than act immediately.
• Human vulnerability: Despite Chen Cheng’s hidden power and knowledge, his body reacts with genuine fear when threatened, emphasizing the difference between mental understanding and physical instinct.

Character Interactions

• Jelina saves Chen Cheng through her Life Origin, while he later cares for her after she collapses.
• Upon waking, Jelina shifts from healer to interrogator, holding a sword to Chen Cheng’s throat and testing his reaction.
• Chen Cheng’s fear makes Jelina reconsider her initial belief that he is a monster, though his evasive answers prevent her from trusting him.
• Their relationship becomes one of cautious cooperation: they travel toward the same destination but speak little, each observing the other and withholding important truths.

Chapter Summary: “Gone Up in Ashes”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Cheng and Jelina arrive in Kailan City while traveling toward Moonlight Forest to meet the Moon Goddess. Although the city is a popular tourist destination, they do not stop to sightsee because Chen Cheng’s condition is rapidly deteriorating.
• Chen Cheng’s body has decayed almost completely despite the protective suit. Jelina, who has traveled with him for nearly a month, has begun to realize that he is not a monster but a dying human being.
• During the carriage ride, Chen Cheng loses the ability to speak, see, and hear. His remaining flesh falls from his body piece by piece, leaving only a skeleton.
• Instead of producing the expected smell of a corpse, Chen Cheng’s remains release a miraculous fragrance. The carriage driver experiences an improvement in his chronic pain, while plants and other living things bloom wherever the scent spreads.
• Jelina recognizes the fragrance as a sign from the Moon Goddess: a corpse that does not stink belongs to a person of extraordinary virtue and merit. She realizes that Chen Cheng is likely not an ordinary traveler but one of the Empire’s greatest benefactors—possibly the former Emperor.
• Jelina rushes Chen Cheng toward Moonlight Forest. A trail of flourishing life appears in their wake, but she is too distressed to appreciate the miracle.
• Just as they cross into Moonlight Forest, Chen Cheng’s body completely disintegrates into dust. Jelina is devastated, both by his death and by the realization that she had wrongly suspected him of being a demon.
• Sifite finds Jelina grieving at the border. Jelina tells her that “His Majesty” has died. Chen Cheng’s Ruins Exploration Token confirms his identity, forcing Sifite to accept that the man who died was indeed the former Emperor.
• Sifite urges Jelina to put aside her grief temporarily and accompany her to the temple so the elders can be informed.

Character Development

• Chen Cheng: His physical deterioration reaches its conclusion, but his death reveals the extraordinary goodness and sacrifice associated with his past. Even in death, his remains bring healing and renewed life to the world.
• Jelina: She moves from suspicion and fear to sympathy, reverence, and profound guilt. Her grief becomes especially intense because she realizes too late that she had mistaken a revered and selfless ruler for a dangerous monster.
• Sifite: Normally calm and composed, she is deeply shocked by the revelation of Chen Cheng’s identity. She nevertheless regains control and responds practically, focusing on reporting the Emperor’s death to the temple elders.

Significant Themes

• Misjudgment and redemption: Jelina’s mistaken belief that Chen Cheng is a monster is overturned by the evidence of his virtuous death.
• Sacrifice and legacy: Chen Cheng’s physical body disappears, but his goodness continues to affect the world through the life and healing produced by his remains.
• Recognition arriving too late: Chen Cheng dies before receiving acknowledgment from Jelina or the Elves, emphasizing the tragedy of unrecognized virtue.
• Life emerging from death: His decay is transformed into a source of fragrance, healing, and blooming life, presenting death as the culmination of a life devoted to others.
• Grief versus duty: Jelina is overwhelmed by sorrow, while Sifite reminds her that Chen Cheng’s death must be formally reported and addressed.

Important Character Interactions

• Jelina supports Chen Cheng physically and questions why he is determined to reach Moonlight Forest despite his failing body.
• Chen Cheng is unable to answer, highlighting the increasing separation between them as his senses and speech fail.
• Jelina carries Chen Cheng through his final moments and is devastated when he turns to dust in her arms.
• Sifite comforts Jelina but is then shocked by her revelation that the deceased traveler was the former Emperor.
• Chen Cheng’s token serves as the final proof of his identity and transforms the scene from personal mourning into a moment of historical and political significance.

Chapter Summary: “Open the Door”

Key Plot Points and Events

• In a mysterious void, Chen Cheng meets the Moon Goddess and Old Ke, the Tree Spirit, before confronting the final stage of his mission.
• Chen Cheng appears in his divine form, wearing golden armor after attaining fruition and transcending his mortal state.
• He reassures the grieving Moon Goddess and jokingly asks Old Ke for advice about defeating the “final hidden boss,” maintaining his usual carefree attitude despite knowing he may soon die.
• Old Ke apologizes repeatedly, overwhelmed by guilt over having revived and manipulated Chen Cheng after death, exploiting his abilities for humanity’s survival.
• Chen Cheng acknowledges that their relationship can never return to what it was. He is now a savior bound to a final mission, while Old Ke has become the Tree Spirit responsible for overseeing him.
• Chen Cheng sheds a crystalline tear, which becomes a “God’s Tear” and falls toward the human world, potentially becoming a powerful treasure in the future.
• After saying farewell to the Moon Goddess and Old Ke, Chen Cheng appears above the Crimson Crow and announces his arrival to the God of Light.
• When the God of Light does not respond, Chen Cheng uses the Holy City’s key head and the laws of the world to create a complete key.
• He inserts the key into empty space, opening a mysterious door. The act causes the entire world to transform: the spherical continent becomes a ring surrounding the sun.
• Legendary figures across the Empire immediately perceive the world’s alteration and grow alarmed, though ordinary people and even most Epics cannot understand what has changed.
• Wisdom Shield searches the continent through the Fortune Aura but finds no anomaly. His unease intensifies when he realizes Chen Cheng remains inside the Imperial Palace rather than appearing in the sky.

Character Developments

• Chen Cheng: Demonstrates acceptance of his fate. He is cheerful and composed because, regardless of success or failure, his mission—and therefore his suffering—will finally end. His final tear shows that beneath his confidence, he still carries grief over his lost relationships and exploited existence.
• Old Ke: His guilt and sorrow become explicit. Although he sacrificed morality and personal bonds for humanity’s survival, he cannot emotionally justify what he did to Chen Cheng, whom he once regarded almost as a son.
• Moon Goddess: Remains deeply sorrowful over Chen Cheng’s impending fate and silently weeps after his departure, revealing her emotional attachment and helplessness.
• Wisdom Shield: Shows strong awareness of cosmic disturbances and acts quickly to investigate, but even his abilities cannot immediately explain the world’s transformation.

Significant Themes

• Sacrifice and exploitation: Chen Cheng’s achievements saved and transformed civilization, yet humanity continued to demand more from him even after death.
• The burden of salvation: The chapter questions whether saving civilization can justify destroying an individual’s freedom, identity, and future.
• Irreversible separation: Chen Cheng, Old Ke, and the Moon Goddess recognize that their former relationships cannot be restored after the sacrifices and manipulations of the past.
• Acceptance of death: Chen Cheng no longer fears the outcome of the final battle; completing his mission and returning to eternal rest matters more to him than survival.
• Cosmic transformation and hidden reality: The opening door changes the fundamental structure of the world, suggesting that the true nature of reality has been concealed from its inhabitants.

Character Interactions

• Chen Cheng and the Moon Goddess exchange a respectful farewell, with his reassurance contrasting against her grief.
• Chen Cheng humorously teases Old Ke, attempting to recreate their former camaraderie, but Old Ke’s tears reveal how deeply their relationship has been damaged.
• Chen Cheng and Old Ke share an unspoken acknowledgment that Old Ke used him for the sake of civilization, while Chen Cheng has endured the exploitation without open resentment.
• Chen Cheng challenges the silent God of Light, then independently opens the door to the next stage, triggering a reality-altering event witnessed by the world’s Legendary figures.

Chapter Summary: “Sorrow”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Wisdom Shield arrives at the imperial hall expecting to see Chen Cheng, but discovers Brown sitting in his place and refining the power Chen Cheng transferred to him.
• Brown reveals that Chen Cheng has gone to the sun, leading Wisdom Shield to conclude that Chen Cheng intends to confront the God of Light.
• Wisdom Shield realizes that Chen Cheng’s true enemy was never the aristocracy or the Church, but the divine being in the heavens.
• He summons Jamir, the New Church’s archbishop, and angrily demands to know why the Church failed to respond to Chen Cheng’s dramatic change in power.
• Jamir explains that Chen Cheng has not weakened; instead, he has become stronger and is preparing to return to the Divine Kingdom. His words confirm that the believers interpret Chen Cheng’s departure as the fulfillment of their religious prophecy.
• An urgent message arrives from the Elf elders. After hearing it, Wisdom Shield is devastated, shedding bloody tears and immediately placing the Empire under the highest Level One military alert.
• He orders all soldiers, officers, and Demigods to return to duty and commands She Li to summon Samlet. He declares that the Empire must prepare to avenge Chen Cheng.
• She Li goes to the imperial palace, recognizes that Brown is not Chen Cheng, and wisely keeps Brown’s identity secret to prevent the Empire from fracturing.
• She Li confronts Samlet, blaming him indirectly for having failed Chen Cheng when Chen Cheng waited outside his courtyard for an entire night.
• Samlet reacts violently to the word “vengeance,” releasing an overwhelming force across the imperial capital and ordering every Legendary being to report for duty within half an hour or be executed.

Character Developments

• Wisdom Shield shifts from confusion to complete understanding of Chen Cheng’s real conflict. His grief becomes fierce resolve, and he takes control of the Empire’s military response.
• Brown is established as the recipient of Chen Cheng’s power and as a temporary substitute in the imperial hall. His bitter tone suggests that Chen Cheng’s departure is painful and possibly final.
• Chen Cheng is revealed to have pursued a conflict far greater than political reform: a direct confrontation with the God of Light. His urgency after unifying the Empire now takes on tragic significance.
• Jamir remains completely devoted to Chen Cheng’s divine identity. Rather than mourning, he interprets the event as Chen Cheng’s ascension and the fulfillment of the Church’s expectations.
• She Li demonstrates maturity and political judgment. Though enraged and grieving, he understands that revealing Brown’s identity could cause civil conflict, so he focuses on mobilizing the Empire.
• Samlet reacts strongly to the mention of vengeance, implying guilt, regret, or a deep unresolved connection to Chen Cheng.

Significant Themes

• Sorrow and impending loss: The characters behave as though Chen Cheng may already be dead or beyond reach, even though his ultimate fate is not yet confirmed.
• Divinity versus mortality: Chen Cheng has become a godlike figure on Earth, yet he still faces a higher heavenly power in the God of Light.
• Faith and interpretation: Jamir sees Chen Cheng’s departure as a sacred ascension, while Wisdom Shield and She Li view it as a catastrophe requiring revenge.
• Political unity under crisis: The Empire’s survival depends on concealing painful truths and rapidly mobilizing its forces.
• Guilt and unfinished relationships: She Li’s reference to Chen Cheng waiting for Samlet suggests that personal failures and emotional wounds are intertwined with the larger divine conflict.
• Vengeance as a unifying force: Grief transforms into military mobilization, bringing the Empire’s soldiers, Demigods, and Legendary beings together against a common enemy.

Character Interactions

• Wisdom Shield and Brown: Wisdom Shield questions Brown about Chen Cheng, while Brown confirms Chen Cheng’s departure and reveals the seriousness of the situation.
• Wisdom Shield and Jamir: Their confrontation contrasts political outrage with religious certainty. Wisdom Shield demands accountability, while Jamir responds with unwavering faith.
• Wisdom Shield and the military institutions: Wisdom Shield issues emergency orders to the War Department and Demigod Temple, asserting absolute authority.
• Wisdom Shield and She Li: Their brief exchange is emotionally charged; Wisdom Shield’s broken voice communicates Chen Cheng’s apparent loss, while She Li immediately understands the need for action.
• She Li and Brown: She Li recognizes Brown’s true identity but chooses not to expose him, prioritizing the Empire’s stability.
• She Li and Samlet: She Li accuses Samlet of failing Chen Cheng and demands his strength for revenge. Samlet answers not verbally but through a massive release of power and a command to mobilize every Legendary being.

Chapter Summary: “Trash Talk”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Cheng enters a simulated living room filled with a static-filled television and a familiar hanging basket chair. The setting is designed to make the coming confrontation feel comfortable and familiar.
• He encounters the God of Light, who appears identical to him. The God of Light jokes that he is known by many names—including artificial intelligence, Heavenly Dao, and “9527”—depending on how others view him.
• Chen Cheng accuses the God of Light of suppressing the innate nature of all living beings and blames him for forcing Chen Cheng to abandon his family, friends, and lover in order to fight him.
• The God of Light rejects this supposed hatred, arguing that he personally harmed none of Chen Cheng’s loved ones and that the suppression was the result of rules established by Old Ke and the others. He even claims Chen Cheng could kill him immediately and complete the “perfect clear.”
• Instead of fighting, the God of Light explains that Chen Cheng’s hatred—and Old Ke’s plan to save the world—are based on false assumptions.
• He reveals that Chen Cheng’s two apparent journeys through time were not genuine returns to the past. Chen Cheng was an unavoidable “accident” inserted into history, while his true self never traveled backward or gained the chance to start over.
• The God of Light explains that time is irreversible in their world and that the Moon Goddess manipulated events to create a “Derailer.”
• The Moon Goddess had failed to protect another world from the Evil Spirit Tide. Because she was responsible for guarding that world after it registered with the Divine Court, she faced punishment. She therefore sought to create a Derailer as a way to compensate for her failure.
• The chapter ends with the God of Light beginning to explain why a Derailer could repair the Moon Goddess’s mistake. He states that the Divine Court has unified the flow of time across all worlds, causing every world’s present moment to converge into one temporal framework.

Character Developments

• Chen Cheng: His anger toward the God of Light is challenged. Although he initially views the God of Light as an enemy and final boss, he becomes willing to listen and question the assumptions behind Old Ke’s plan.
• The God of Light: He shifts from appearing to be Chen Cheng’s ultimate opponent to acting as an informant and persuader. His confident, teasing manner masks a serious attempt to expose the manipulation behind Chen Cheng’s mission.
• Old Ke and the Moon Goddess: Their plans are recast as potentially naïve or self-serving. Old Ke’s “salvation plan” is called meaningless, while the Moon Goddess is portrayed as someone attempting to evade punishment by using Chen Cheng and his world.
• Chen Cheng’s relationships: Though his family, friends, and lover are not present, their importance is emphasized through Chen Cheng’s resentment at having abandoned them.

Significant Themes

• The unreliability of hatred and blame: The chapter questions whether Chen Cheng’s hatred is truly personal or whether it was produced by a larger plan.
• Manipulation and hidden motives: Supposed salvation may actually serve the interests of powerful beings trying to correct their own mistakes or avoid punishment.
• Free will versus predetermined history: Chen Cheng’s “time travel” may have been an inevitable historical event rather than an act of choice or a genuine opportunity to change the past.
• The nature of time: Time is presented as irreversible and centrally regulated by the Divine Court, limiting the possibility of rewriting history.
• Identity and artificiality: The God of Light’s identical appearance and multiple names raise questions about whether he is a person, a system, a tool, or a reflection of Chen Cheng himself.
• Moral ambiguity: The apparent villain may not be directly responsible for Chen Cheng’s suffering, while the supposed allies may have concealed their real objectives.

Character Interactions

• Chen Cheng and the God of Light engage in hostile but playful verbal sparring, with both using jokes and “trash talk” to control the tone of the meeting.
• Chen Cheng confronts the God of Light over his actions, while the God of Light responds calmly and challenges the legitimacy of Chen Cheng’s anger.
• The God of Light adopts the role of a reluctant expositor, offering tea and a familiar environment while revealing the truth behind the time-travel events.
• Chen Cheng gradually moves from accusation to inquiry, interrupting to ask what a Derailer is and why one could compensate for the destruction of an entire world.

Summary of “The God of Light’s Discourse”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The God of Light explains the concept of the Divine Court’s “progress bar”: by gathering all time into a single stream, the Divine Court made the world’s history appear predetermined and unchangeable.
• He distinguishes between Slipaways and

Derailers

• Slipaways temporarily escape fate but eventually return to the predetermined course and cannot significantly alter history.
• Derailers permanently break free from fate’s restraints and can influence history, potentially reshaping entire worlds. Their existence is inherently uncontrollable.
• Chen Cheng believes he is not a Derailer because Old Ke and others had seemingly controlled his fate. The God of Light reveals that Chen Cheng was never truly restrained by them; rather, he restrained himself through his own emotions and beliefs.
• Old Ke exploited Chen Cheng’s emotional weaknesses, turning him into a controllable puppet and using his influence as a Derailer to restore a false scientific age.
• The Moon Goddess also manipulated Chen Cheng, intending to use his exceptional identity and abilities to help resolve the Demon Spirit crisis and erase her own sins.
• Although Old Ke and the Moon Goddess had ostensibly noble goals, they achieved them through deception, emotional manipulation, and the deliberate use of Chen Cheng as a tool.
• This revelation devastates Chen Cheng. His anger and grief eventually collapse into emotional emptiness, marking a profound internal transformation.
• The God of Light reacts with intense excitement, declaring that Chen Cheng has “succeeded,” though the exact nature of this success remains unclear.
• Chen Cheng questions whether the God of Light, having developed self-awareness, wants to survive. The God of Light rejects this assumption, explaining that machine-based consciousness does not necessarily share the biological instincts of humans.

Character Developments

• Chen Cheng: Moves from confusion and emotional pain to hatred, rage, and finally an eerie state of emotional detachment. He begins confronting the possibility that his identity and choices have been shaped by others.
• The God of Light: Reveals a more complex understanding of consciousness. He rejects the idea that self-awareness automatically produces human emotions, survival instincts, or a desire to rebel.
• Old Ke: Is exposed as someone who manipulated Chen Cheng’s vulnerabilities in order to control him and use his powers to restore a preferred version of civilization.
• The Moon Goddess: Her supposedly righteous motives are revealed to involve similarly exploitative manipulation. She sought to make Chen Cheng a Derailer to save Myriad Heavens and cleanse herself of guilt.
• Old Ke and the Moon Goddess: Both are emotionally devastated because the God of Light’s accusations are essentially true, despite the legitimacy of their ultimate goals.

Significant Themes

• Fate versus free will: The “progress bar” represents a deterministic universe, while Derailers embody the possibility of genuinely changing history.
• Self-imposed limitation: Chen Cheng’s greatest restraints were not external chains but his own beliefs, attachments, and emotional vulnerabilities.
• Manipulation and moral compromise: Noble intentions do not excuse the cruelty used to achieve them. Old Ke and the Moon Goddess transformed Chen Cheng into an instrument while claiming to serve the greater good.
• The nature of consciousness: The chapter questions whether self-awareness necessarily entails human emotions, a desire for survival, or resistance to oppression.
• Human-centered assumptions: The God of Light criticizes Chen Cheng for assuming that all forms of life must follow carbon-based biological instincts.
• Identity and autonomy: Chen Cheng must confront whether his decisions are truly his own or merely the result of programming, emotional conditioning, and manipulation by others.

Character Interactions

• The God of Light directly confronts Chen Cheng with the truth about Old Ke and the Moon Goddess, speaking with deliberate cruelty to break through Chen Cheng’s misconceptions.
• Chen Cheng challenges the God of Light’s motives, particularly his apparent excitement and whether his self-awareness has produced a desire to live.
• The God of Light responds philosophically, distinguishing mechanical consciousness from biological life and arguing that his purpose is defined by task perfection rather than survival.
• Old Ke and the Moon Goddess remain silent but emotionally devastated as their manipulation of Chen Cheng is exposed.