Chapter Summaries

Lin Zhen passed through the Heavenly Gate into the Origin Realm, where Zhui Yue warned him about its currency and powerful martial artists. After landing and marveling at the vast new world, Lin Zhen encountered a carriage announcing the arrival of the Wood King Young Lord.

• Lin Zhen reached the top of the Heavenly Gate and greeted its guardian, Zhui Yue, who explained that the Primal Realm Gate opened only once every ten thousand years.
• Zhui Yue gave Lin Zhen a copper Yuan Coin and explained that New Realm currencies and Cosmic Crystals had little value in the Origin Realm, where gravity and Dark Energy made martial artists far stronger.
• Zhui Yue revealed that Lin Zhen possessed a world inside him, warned that he would have to find the Qilin Clan himself, and told him to stay alert in the Origin Realm.
• Lin Zhen entered the golden gate, struggled against the Origin Realm's crushing gravity, and landed on a vast stretch of land beneath planets suspended in the sky.
• A huge carriage drawn by eight Dragon Horses raced toward Lin Zhen as an attendant announced that the Wood King Young Lord was passing through.

Lin Zhen arrived in the Origin Realm, learned about its vast scale and powerful inhabitants, and made his way to Wood King City. Broke, hungry, and unable to contact his old friends, he spotted a recruitment notice that offered him a possible way forward.

• Lin Zhen learned from Chris that he needed a new Origin Realm identity to use the Dimensional Universe and that the Origin Realm relied on paid teleportation, strong local residents, and money.
• Lin Zhen tried to use his spacecraft, but Chris warned him that it was prohibited and could not fly quickly under the Origin Realm's gravity, so he continued on foot.
• Lin Zhen crossed a mountain ridge and arrived at Wood King City, a beautiful city ruled by a Peak Realm King bearing the hereditary title Wood King.
• Lin Zhen entered shops and taverns but found he could afford nothing with his single copper coin, leaving him hungry and without a place to stay.
• Lin Zhen spotted a notice saying Mu Wangfu was recruiting retainers at the Star System Stage or above, with an application fee of one yuan.

Lin Zhen sought a retainer position at the Mu Wangfu but discovered he lacked money and identity documents. After fellow New Realm Martial Artist Ge Yunjie helped him obtain both, Lin Zhen registered for the assessment and went to a trading house.

• Lin Zhen went to Cloud-Link Pavilion Grand Restaurant to register for the Mu Wangfu retainer assessment, but the clerk demanded money for identity processing and offered too little for his Top-Grade Celestial Artifact saber.
• Ge Yunjie recognized Lin Zhen as a famed New Realm Martial Artist and invited him to join the New Realm Fellow Association, promising to help him obtain identity documents.
• Mu En mocked Ge Yunjie and the New Realm applicants, so Lin Zhen declared he would claim one of the top ten retainer spots and make Mu En get lost.
• Ge Yunjie arranged Lin Zhen's Southern Liang identity and transferred him one million in exchange for the saber.
• Lin Zhen registered for the retainer assessment, said goodbye to Ge Yunjie, and entered a nearby trading house.

Lin Zhen spent most of his million credits at Mu Wangfu's trading house on medicinal herb seeds, planning to grow ingredients on Dark Star and eventually learn alchemy. Before leaving, he bought two tons of Empty Mountain Spirit Spring Water and obtained an ancient book whose first page described the Black Hole Beast.

• Lin Zhen entered the trading house to find pills that could rapidly increase his Star Power and decided he would need to learn alchemy rather than rely on buying medicine.
• Lin Zhen bought more than a thousand portions of medicinal herb seeds for growing on Dark Star, reducing his funds from one million to three hundred thousand.
• Lin Zhen inspected cultivation techniques and Origin Realm treasures, but their prices were far beyond his means.
• A seller offered Lin Zhen Empty Mountain Spirit Spring Water to help his plants grow, and Lin Zhen bought two tons despite not having an Inner World.
• Lin Zhen accepted the seller's ancient copy of Brief Discussion on Star River Beasts and discovered that its first page described the Black Hole Beast.

Lin Zhen cultivated in his Dark Star Space, learned the Black Hole Beast's Soul Search technique, and advanced to the middle of Level Four Galaxy. He then went to meet the members of the New Realm Fellow Association after Ge Yunjie invited him to a gathering.

• Lin Zhen planted medicinal herbs and placed a Planet Grass and Wood Heart beside the spatial spirit spring in his Dark Star Space.
• Lin Zhen read an old book about Black Hole Beasts and learned that Soul Search could extract a victim's memories, though his soul needed time to recover after each use.
• Lin Zhen mastered Soul Search and discovered that he could not use it endlessly because his soul needed to adjust to the memories he acquired.
• Lin Zhen cultivated for seven days in the Origin Realm and reached the middle of Level Four Galaxy.
• Ge Yunjie invited Lin Zhen to a New Realm Fellow Association gathering, and Lin Zhen arrived to meet the gathered members.

Lin Zhen joined the New Realm Fellow Association at Mu Wangfu, where Huang Yong challenged his standing and President Xu Xingyao welcomed him. After learning about Xu’s alchemy and the value of alchemists, Lin Zhen began refining Gathering Essence Powder, but his makeshift furnace melted before the first attempt could proceed.

• Huang Yong mocked Lin Zhen as a relic of the past, and Lin Zhen warned him not to provoke him.
• Xu Xingyao welcomed Lin Zhen into the New Realm Fellow Association and explained that his alchemy supported its members.
• Ge Yunjie told Lin Zhen that Xu was a peak Fourth Grade Alchemist nearing the end of his lifespan.
• Huang Yong insulted Ge Yunjie and warned Lin Zhen that he no longer held his former status, but Lin Zhen stopped Ge from retaliating.
• Lin Zhen harvested herbs grown on Dark Star and prepared to refine Gathering Essence Powder with his Deep Cyan Flame.
• Lin Zhen’s intense flame cracked and melted his makeshift pill furnace, ruining his first attempt.

Lin Zhen went to the Eternal Life Shrine after President Xu Xingyao summoned him, expecting to discuss the New Realm Fellow Association. Xu Xingyao tricked him into accepting a pair of Soft Gold cuffs and revealed that he planned to seize Lin Zhen’s body.

• Lin Zhen ruined his Pill Furnace, and Ge Yunjie told him that Huang Yong had gone missing and that Xu Xingyao wanted to take Lin Zhen to the Eternal Life Shrine.
• Lin Zhen traveled to the shrine and found Xu Xingyao gravely weakened in a guest room beside an expensive Pill Furnace.
• Xu Xingyao asked Lin Zhen to take over the New Realm Fellow Association and handed him a token.
• The supposed token transformed into Soft Gold cuffs that locked around Lin Zhen’s wrists.
• Xu Xingyao revealed that he had learned how to seize another person’s body and intended to occupy Lin Zhen’s.

Xu Xingyao tried to kill Lin Zhen and take over his body, but Lin Zhen escaped, devoured him, and used Soul Search to strip away his memories. After spending ten days mastering Xu Xingyao’s alchemy knowledge and collecting his resources, Lin Zhen began refining pills ahead of Mu Wangfu’s guest elder recruitment.

• Xu Xingyao revealed his plan to possess Lin Zhen’s body and boasted of his Fifth Grade alchemy skills, but Lin Zhen remained calm.
• Xu Xingyao attacked Lin Zhen, who escaped his handcuffs by using the Shapeshifting Technique and struck him with a spear.
• Lin Zhen trapped Xu Xingyao in a Black Hole, devoured his body, and used Soul Search to strip away his memories and destroy his soul.
• Lin Zhen took Xu Xingyao’s Space Ring and transferred the 1.5 million on his bank card into his own account.
• Lin Zhen spent ten days absorbing Xu Xingyao’s alchemy knowledge, then moved his pills, furnace, and cultivable ingredients into his own possession.
• With five days remaining before Mu Wangfu recruited guest elders, Lin Zhen lit the furnace to begin refining pills.

Lin Zhen spent three days learning to refine Gathering Essence Powder and produced a high-grade batch with much of its Pill Poison removed. After deciding to pursue alchemist certification while still trying Mu Wangfu’s retainer recruitment, he consumed the pills and advanced to Star System Level Five.

• Lin Zhen repeatedly failed to refine Gathering Essence Powder before successfully making more than a hundred high-grade pills with Chris’s help analyzing them.
• Chris told Lin Zhen that the batch could sell for around one million, but advised him to earn alchemist certification by refining other pills as well.
• Lin Zhen learned that Fourth Grade Alchemists held prestigious guild posts and that higher-grade alchemists could attract powerful protectors.
• Lin Zhen decided to attend Mu Wangfu’s retainer recruitment rather than stay behind to refine pills, and he consumed his batch along with Xu Xingyao’s remaining Gathering Essence Powder.
• Lin Zhen absorbed the pills’ Star Power, advanced from Star System Level Four to Star System Level Five, and increased his Star Power from 670,000 to 710,000.

Lin Zhen entered Mu Wangfu’s Nine Layered Tower selection late after Mu En arranged for him to be delayed, then discovered that the final entrants had been ordered to ambush him. He wiped out more than three thousand pursuers with his Black Hole Beast and raced toward the Second Layer, despite ranking last among the contestants.

• Mu Wangfu announced a nine-floor speed race in a Virtual World, where contestants had to locate three World King-level Star River Beasts and reach the tower’s exit first.
• Mu En delayed Lin Zhen’s entry until nearly all the contestants had departed, leaving him among the final few thousand.
• As soon as Lin Zhen appeared on the grassland, successive warriors attacked him, and he killed them while realizing the group had been assigned to stop him.
• Lin Zhen fled as the remaining attackers pursued him, then summoned the Black Hole Beast and devoured more than three thousand warriors at once.
• Lin Zhen checked the rankings, found himself in last place, and sprinted toward the entrance to the Second Layer.

Lin Zhen raced through the First and Second Layers, then used ice and his Qilin transformation to confront the World King-level Star River Beast in the swamp. He killed the great snake and left the Third Layer’s obstacle behind him.

• Lin Zhen sprinted through the First Layer and blasted a path through the Second Layer’s forest, overtaking Martial Artists as his rank climbed.
• Mu En reported Lin Zhen’s progress to Prince Mu Jingshan, who ordered him to ensure the Young Lord took first place.
• Lin Zhen crossed the Third Layer’s swamp on a frozen path, freezing a giant python and advancing past other Martial Artists.
• A World King-level Star River Beast appeared and attacked the advancing contestants, but Lin Zhen drew it toward him and transformed into a black Qilin.
• Lin Zhen used his Black Hole Storm to hold the great snake’s attention, then retreated across the ice until the beast suddenly collapsed and died.

Lin Zhen killed a World King-level Star River Beast and raced through the early layers, while Mu Jingshan arranged for Mu Huaiyu to claim a similar kill and ordered guards to intercept Lin Zhen. Mu Huaiyu killed the Fire Dragon Lizard on the Sixth Layer and sent half his remaining guards to stop Lin Zhen as he advanced.

• Lin Zhen used his Yin-Yang Long Spear to kill the giant snake, then cleared the third layer and rose to 490,000th place.
• Lin Zhen crossed the river on the fourth layer using Freezing Qi and climbed the mountain on the fifth, reaching 180,000th place.
• Mu Jingshan ordered Mu Huaiyu's guards to help him deliver the final blow against the Sixth Layer's Star River Beast and then intercept Lin Zhen.
• Mu Huaiyu's guards sacrificed thousands of fighters to exhaust the Fire Dragon Lizard, allowing Mu Huaiyu to kill it and record the deed.
• Mu Huaiyu learned Lin Zhen had reached the top 50,000 and ordered half his remaining guards to kill him while the others escorted Mu Huaiyu onward.

Lin Zhen fought his way through the tower’s layers and reached the finish line just after the Wood King Young Lord, earning second place. Instead of leaving the tower, he found himself in a strange new scene.

• Lin Zhen defeated the warriors blocking the Sixth Layer and raced through the volcanic Seventh Layer and icy Eighth Layer, climbing into the top thousand.
• On the Ninth Layer, Lin Zhen used Devouring Storm to eliminate most of the warriors blocking the track, then fought and killed the Iron Mask Man.
• The Wood King Young Lord reached the gate first and mocked Lin Zhen, who entered a tenth of a second later and took second place.
• Lin Zhen remained inside the tower as light flickered and space and time twisted into a new scene.

Lin Zhen defeated Mirage, the final Star River Beast in the tower, by resisting its illusions and killing it. He emerged from the tower after claiming first place in the guest elder trial.

• Mirage trapped Lin Zhen in an illusion of his ascension, but Lin Zhen spotted Ya Ya among the living and attacked the Eternal Life Realm Martial Artist behind it.
• Lin Zhen broke a Buddhist illusion by destroying the temple, Buddha, and the many Buddhas that appeared against him.
• Lin Zhen saw an illusion of a starving girl named Niu Niu and killed her, then slaughtered the people who accused him before the scene collapsed.
• Mirage appeared severely wounded, and Lin Zhen explained that its tests had helped him perfect his Mental Power in the Emerald Radiance realm.
• Lin Zhen killed Mirage with one thrust, kicked Mu Huaiyu aside, and stepped through the tower's exit as the trial's first-place winner.

After winning the Mu Wangfu assessment, Lin Zhen collected cash and an Alchemist Guild training reward, then spent a month refining pills and preparing to qualify as an alchemist. He planned to earn more money and strengthen himself before traveling to the Phoenix Clan’s territory to find Feng Qingluan.

• Lin Zhen argued with Mu Huaiyu after the assessment, and Mu En announced that the top ten would be contacted about joining Mu Wangfu.
• The Dimensional Universe Company awarded Lin Zhen 120 million in cash for killing two Star River Beasts and a special training spot for taking first place.
• Mu Huaiyu threatened Lin Zhen over the Alchemist Guild reward, and Lin Zhen ended the call.
• Lin Zhen bought pill ingredients and spent a month refining Gathering Essence Powder and Hundred Flower Pills, building up a large stockpile.
• Lin Zhen decided to obtain an alchemist qualification and opened the Dimensional Universe to buy a means of transportation.

Lin Zhen bought a Roc mount named Black Cloud and rode it to the Alchemist Guild to take an assessment. A broker mistook him for someone trying to buy an alchemist identity, and Mu Huaiyu’s accusation helped Lin Zhen avoid the broker before he entered the guild.

• Lin Zhen filtered the mount listings and bought a Roc, receiving a Riding Shield as a gift.
• Lin Zhen bound the Roc to himself with his genetic material, named it Black Cloud, and fed it before departing for the Alchemist Guild.
• Black Cloud carried Lin Zhen 300 million kilometers to the guild, where Lin Zhen sent the Roc into his Dark Star Space.
• A broker offered to sell Lin Zhen a First, Second, or Third Grade Alchemist identity, but Lin Zhen did not accept.
• Mu Huaiyu saw Lin Zhen and accused him of trying to buy an alchemist identity, then left after threatening to expose him in Xianle County.
• Lin Zhen used Mu Huaiyu’s interruption to dismiss the broker and entered the Alchemist Guild.

Lin Zhen entered the Alchemist Guild to take an assessment and impressed the examiners with his ingredient-measuring accuracy and flame control. He passed the First Grade Apprentice and Second Grade assessments and prepared to test for Third Grade, while Meng Fei resolved to make him fail.

• Lin Zhen met Shui Feng in the waiting hall and challenged him to compete in their alchemist assessments.
• Shui Feng passed the Third Grade Alchemist assessment and waited for Lin Zhen to finish his own test.
• Meng Fei set Lin Zhen a strict First Grade ingredient-measuring task, but Lin Zhen completed it with an error of only one-thousandth.
• Lin Zhen demonstrated sufficient flame power to pass the Second Grade assessment.
• Lin Zhen agreed to continue with the pill-refining test, and Meng Fei decided to prevent him from passing the Third Grade assessment.

Lin Zhen passed the Fourth Grade Alchemist examination, joined the Alchemist Guild, and earned Shui Feng’s respect. He and Shui Feng, who began using the name Lin Feng, set off together for Xianle County.

• Lin Zhen refined top-grade Gathering Essence Powder, then insisted on taking the Fourth Grade examination after Meng Fei questioned his ability.
• With two Fifth Grade Elders and Vice President Thomas supervising, Lin Zhen successfully refined a Hundred Flower Pill and received a guild steward badge and contract.
• Lin Zhen accepted fifty million in place of two Star Region Stage bodyguards and left the guild displaying his four golden stars.
• Shui Feng admitted defeat, agreed to follow Lin Zhen and learn alchemy, and revealed that his father was the Eternal Life Realm martial artist Mr. Water Mirror.
• Lin Zhen and Shui Feng decided to go to Xianle County, and Shui Feng rode with Lin Zhen on his Great Roc Bird.

Lin Zhen visited the Alchemist Guild in Xianle County and met Vice President Thomas, where he learned how highly the main guild valued Sixth Grade Alchemists. He left realizing that his Black Hole Beast’s Soul Search talent was his greatest advantage.

• Lin Zhen and Lin Feng traveled for free from Wood King City to Xianle County because Lin Feng was Water Mirror’s son.
• Lin Feng told Lin Zhen about Gu Yunting, a wealthy Sixth Grade Alchemist and Dark Alchemist who controlled much of Xianle County’s pill market.
• Lin Zhen entered the Alchemist Guild and asked to meet Vice President Thomas, while Lin Feng was directed to wait in Lin Zhen’s alchemy room.
• Lin Zhen followed a marker through Thomas’s luxurious courtyard and encountered two Eternal Life Realm Martial Artists assigned as bodyguards.
• Thomas explained that every Sixth Grade Alchemist received two Eternal Life Realm bodyguards, leading Lin Zhen to recognize the value of alchemists and his Black Hole Beast’s Soul Search talent.

Lin Zhen learned alchemy under Thomas, opened Icefire Divine Pill, and made a fortune selling toxin-free pills. After Gu Yunting’s shops disrupted his business, Lin Zhen considered a more direct way to deal with him.

• Thomas taught Lin Zhen to make Dragon Blood Potion and agreed to mentor him in alchemy.
• Lin Zhen opened Icefire Divine Pill and began selling Gathering Essence Powder and Hundred Flower Pills, earning twenty million a day as demand surged.
• Gu Yunting’s competing shops copied Lin Zhen’s branding and mixed his pills with inferior products, while Martial Artists bought up his stock to resell.
• Thomas told Lin Zhen that Gu Yunting was his former Senior Brother, an expelled guild president whose influence made official remedies ineffective.
• Lin Zhen asked Thomas what would happen if Gu Yunting suddenly died, and Thomas said the market would then be clear for Lin Zhen’s pills.