Chapter Summaries

Repeated impacts from the Grit World devastated Bamboo Gourd Country and the Ghost Realm, forcing the Bamboo Gourd King and Ghost God to end their war and cooperate in rebuilding their fused Divine Kingdoms. Lu Yao then used Yanjui to promote peace and decided to send Calamity Beasts to help address the realms’ water disasters.

• The Bamboo Gourd King’s forces advanced against the Ghost Realm until repeated Grit World impacts unleashed disasters across both Divine Kingdoms.
• After several impacts, the Bamboo Gourd King abandoned the war and agreed to a ceasefire with the Ghost God through Yanjui.
• The Bamboo People, Reed People, Ghouls, and Funeral Tribe worked together to repair damage as their Divine Kingdoms and part of the Grit World fused into a shared realm.
• Lu Yao instructed Yanjui through Rule Refinement to encourage peace and common development between the Divine Kingdoms.
• With Bamboo Gourd Country suffering water shortages and the Ghost Realm enduring floods, Lu Yao decided to release Calamity Beasts to help regulate their water disasters.

Lu Yao established the Wandering Yanjui Plan to expand Yao Clan influence through exchanges with the Ghost Realm and Bamboo Gourd Country, while sending Calamity Beasts to help repair their lands. Back in the Abyss, Hai Zhe led newly created Clay Corpse Demons in a planned invasion of the second layer, and Lu Yao watched cautiously.

• Lu Yao discovered that the Calamity Beasts’ Wisdom suppressed their instincts, but their flood and drought powers still worked when they were separated, so he commanded them to repair disaster-stricken areas.
• Yanjui explained that the Calamity Beasts carried Lord Yao’s Power of Faith, and Lu Yao gifted them to the locals; Yanjui settled them in the border region between the Ghost Realm and Bamboo Gourd Country.
• Lu Yao decided to use Yanjui as an ambassador and send Yao Clan transcendents to train in the Ghost Realm, forming the Wandering Yanjui Plan to build closer ties among Divine Kingdoms.
• Lu Yao observed that the Ghost Realm and Bamboo Gourd Country remained cautious and isolated after their war, then turned his attention to cultivating the Yao Clan World.
• Lu Yao discovered that Hai Zhe had cultivated Clay Corpse Demons in the Abyss and had become a legend; Hai Zhe rallied his Sinister Legion to seize the second layer.
• Lu Yao worried that the second layer might still contain powerful threats, including the Star Sea God, but chose to observe Hai Zhe’s advance before intervening.

Lu Yao watched Hai Zhe lead the Corpse Demons into the second floor of the abyss, where they defeated the recovering Star Sea God and claimed his remains. Hai Zhe’s godslaying became the Yao Tribe’s first Epic, and Lu Yao ended by commissioning a song for him.

• Hai Zhe united the Clay Tribe and Ghouls into Corpse Demons, then led the Sinister Legion into the second floor of the abyss.
• The Corpse Demons found the wounded Star Sea God and attacked him with repeated self-destructive charges.
• Hai Zhe ordered the Legion to consume the Star Sea God’s remains, and the Corpse Demons killed him despite heavy losses.
• The Corpse Demons gathered the god’s fragments and the second floor’s earth-element resources, while some fallen warriors completed Rebirth.
• Lu Yao blessed Hai Zhe’s godslaying as the Yao Tribe’s first Epic, granting the tribe bonuses and increasing its Faith.
• Lu Yao reconsidered the value of Sinners and requested the song “Lone Brave” for Hai Zhe.

Lu Yao empowered Hai Zhe to lead the growing Corpse Demon forces in the abyss, then discovered that Philes had become a legend by inventing the Fire-Steam Furnace. The furnace successfully powered a mechanical forging system, opening a new path for the Yao Clan Civilization.

• Hai Zhe vowed to gather Flame of Faith for Lu Yao, and Lu Yao raised him from LV2 to LV60 with Flame of Faith.
• The Corpse Demons witnessed Hai Zhe’s power and continued training their Self-Destruct and Rebirth techniques under his command.
• Lu Yao checked on Philes and learned that he had invented the Fire-Steam Furnace and become a legend.
• Philes and the dwarves tested the furnace, using steam to drive a rotating mechanism that powered hammers to forge iron.
• Lu Yao learned that Philes had developed the furnace over decades using Fire Element, coal, and Omnipotence Stone.

Hammer Endless and Philes developed the Fire-Steam Furnace after their arguments led to the creation of the first Ghost Armor prototype. Its invention transformed industry and transport across the cities, and Lu Yao named the new age the Fire Vapor Era.

• Hammer Endless argued with Philes over whether a full-body prosthetic could work, and Philes showed him a brass armor shell he had built.
• Hammer Endless and Philes worked together for several days, beginning the design that became the Ghost Armor, and Philes admitted Hammer Endless had been right about the shell's limitations.
• Hammer Endless and Philes's continued collaboration produced the Fire-Steam Furnace, which Hammer Endless recognized as the heart of a new kind of machine.
• Lu Yao watched the furnace spread to the Twin Cities as Yao City and Salt City developed printing, textile machines, land boats, steamships, and other innovations.
• Lu Yao named the new age the Fire Vapor Era, and the Yao Tribe entered it.

Lu Yao watched new technologies transform Yao City and Salt City as the Fire Vapor Era reshaped trade, manufacturing, and daily life. As Martial Cultivators lost status to Armored Warriors, Nong Lei arrived at the struggling association to apply, determined to follow in Yanjui’s footsteps.

• Printing Technology emerged in Yao City after generations of research, making books widely available and ending the wealthy and Scholars’ monopoly on knowledge.
• Land Boat Routes, Earth-Treader Ships, and Steamships expanded Salt City’s trade, while Lu Yao created the Salt City Bathhouse as a new Wonder.
• Scholars, Craftsmen, and merchants debated the dangers and costs of Fire-Steam Furnaces as their spread increased equipment supplies and strengthened the Armored Warriors.
• The Salt City Martial Cultivator Association lost members and funding as many practitioners abandoned the profession for the Armored Warriors.
• Nong Lei, a level 22 Ghost Warrior, came to the association to apply as a Martial Cultivator, but found its doors shut and waited after a passerby told him the path had no future.

Nong Lei overcame illness, hardship, and years of fighting the Locust Swarm to become a renowned locust killer, then joined the Martial Cultivator Association in Salt City as he questioned whether bare-handed fighters could keep pace with armored warriors. A mysterious Messenger invited him to a world-spanning Martial Arts Tournament, and Nong Lei eagerly prepared to test himself.

• Nong Lei practiced combat despite his illness and poverty, moved to Crystal City, and died after killing six Slaughter Locusts during his first trip outside the city.
• Nong Lei became a Ghost Warrior, spent years taking revenge on the Locust Swarm, and set aside his grudge after killing his ten-thousandth Slaughter Locust.
• Nong Lei traveled to Salt City to join the Martial Cultivator Association, where he saw how Twin Cities Armor and modern weapons allowed young Armored Warriors to match him in combat.
• Nong Lei registered as a Martial Cultivator and considered the strengths and weaknesses of the two fighting paths as he left the decaying association.
• A mysterious Messenger invited Nong Lei to a Martial Arts Tournament for bare-handed transcendents, promising the victor a special reward from God.
• Nong Lei learned that the tournament would begin in one month and eagerly resolved to prepare for the chance to fight Martial Cultivators from around the world.

Lu Yao used the Wishing Star to learn that people were anxious about the Fire Vapor Era and that Martial Cultivators were losing their place. He planned a tournament to give them a new purpose, while Slaimod advised him that his believers’ strength would deter nearby Gods.

• Lu Yao reviewed wishes in the Wishing Star and saw that people sought survival, reproduction, and opportunities, while many feared being displaced by new technology.
• Lu Yao ordered publicity and education to reassure laborers that the Fire-Steam Furnace was an assistant and encourage them to learn new skills.
• Lu Yao decided to support declining Martial Cultivators by holding a Martial Arts Tournament at Cloud Temple every five years, with level 20-and-above participants competing without weapons or equipment.
• Lu Yao planned to reward the winner with a god's Blessing and the chance to become a Sand Walker, then connect Sand Walkers to the Ghost Realm for further advancement.
• Slaimod explained that Gods feared Title Gods and that Lu Yao's believers would be enough to deter the two Gods involved in the future plans.

Slaimod explained how gods became Title Gods, and Lu Yao oversaw the first Martial Arts Tournament in Cloud Temple. After tying for the championship, Nong Lei chose to train in the Ghost Realm, where he met and fought Yanjui.

• Slaimod explained that Title Gods used Strange Objects, great power, and transformed Divine Bodies to bring their Divine Kingdoms into the Leap Zone, and that their titles were unique rules.
• The Yao Tribe Martial Cultivators drew lots and competed in the tournament; Shi Xiao defeated Fishgu, and Nong Lei and Shi Xiao reached the final.
• Lu Yao stopped Nong Lei and Shi Xiao from fighting to the death, declared them joint champions, and raised both of their levels.
• Nong Lei and Shi Xiao advanced to Sand Walkers, but Nong Lei chose to seek further training while Shi Xiao returned to the Yao Tribe.
• Lu Yao sent Nong Lei to the Ghost Realm, where he met Yanjui and asked him to fight.
• Yanjui defeated Nong Lei, who praised his strength.

Nong Lei, a Sand Walker from the Yao Tribe, arrived in Pillar Mountain after Martial Cultivators lost ground to Armored Warriors in his homeland. Lu Yao saw the connected Divine Kingdoms become a place where declining groups could find new opportunities, while Bulo and Zhunan formed an alliance to face future challenges.

• Nong Lei arrived at Pillar Mountain, fought Yanjui, and introduced himself to Apostles Bulo and Zhunan as a Martial Cultivator from the Yao Tribe.
• Nong Lei explained that advances in equipment and weapons had made Armored Warriors dominant, and he had crossed realms to seek a future for Martial Cultivators.
• Nong Lei told Yanjui about changes in Yao Clan cities and how Armored Warriors had killed off the Calamity Beasts there.
• Bulo and Zhunan, speaking as their Gods, concluded that God Yao was testing whether Sand Walkers could evolve in other worlds and agreed to form a strategic alliance.
• Lu Yao recognized the Divine Kingdoms as a place to reemploy groups out of step with their era and help them find new paths.

Lu Yao learned from Slaimod how Title Gods manipulated the Gods through a prolonged cycle of trials, then chose to keep testing Ghost God and Bamboo Gourd King with Sand Walkers. Back in the Yao Clan World, he discovered that Pinkman had grown powerful Killer Black Roses.

• Slaimod explained that Title Gods rarely recruit or declare their intentions, instead letting the Gods pursue their favor through long trials while accepting tribute without rejecting it.
• Lu Yao rejected Slaimod’s suggestion to demand tribute and decided to continue sending Ghost God and Bamboo Gourd King less useful Martial Cultivators changed into Sand Walkers.
• Lu Yao returned his view to the Yao Clan World and wondered how Pinkman had produced black roses, which were taboo and dangerous in the Rose Kingdom.
• Red Leaf and Yellow Fierce guarded a patch of black roses in the Rose Garden of the Valley of Gods while Pinkman paced anxiously.
• Lu Yao inspected a level 6 Killer Black Rose and saw that its damage was 52, an exceptionally high attack stat.

Pinkman explained how the accidental Killer Black Rose became a powerful but short-lived weapon, and Lu Yao approved further research into biological tools. Five years later, the second Martial Arts Tournament introduced the Eighteen Calamity Beasts challenge, and Ice Fist refused a class change to remain proud of being an Ice Giant.

• Pinkman told Lu Yao that Killer Black Rose had grown after he used Scavenger's Feces as fertilizer, and explained that it was a non-self-aware weapon flower rather than a traditional Black Bloodline Rose Envoy.
• Pinkman demonstrated that Killer Black Rose fired lethal petals but withered within seven days, and Lu Yao approved continued research into a safer, more reliable variety.
• Lu Yao saw that Shi Xiao had become Canopy City's guardian and that the Yao Tribe's extraordinary beings were training for another tournament.
• Five years later, 51 contestants entered the second Martial Arts Tournament, which an LV26 Ice Giant won before every challenger failed against the first of the Eighteen Calamity Beasts.
• Ice Fist declined the offered class change, telling Lu Yao that he wished to remain an Ice Giant and continue challenging himself.

Long Ji taught Yao City scholars about dragon society and created the Blood-Consuming Spell, opening a way for ordinary people to cast spells. Meanwhile, Pasha decided he was the child of the Dark Sun rather than a dragon.

• Long Ji presented his Dragon Language vocabulary work at Yaoshao’s tomb and taught scholars about dragon curses and the dragons’ reproductive customs.
• Long Ji explained how dragon families monopolized Dragon Language and ranked pure-blood, mixed-blood, and other dragons by lineage.
• Slaimod told Lu Yao that Pasha might be an Outcast Dragon born from a dragon and Dark Star, and Jimmy convinced Pasha that Dark Star was his parent.
• Long Ji analyzed two Dragon Language Sorceries and created the Blood-Consuming Spell, explaining how a Hybrid Potion could help ordinary people cast spells safely.
• Pasha celebrated being the child of the Dark Sun and declared that he was done being a dragon.

Long Ji led the Yao Clan’s scholars in a broad effort to develop Blood-Consuming Spells, but White Fortress’s experiments stalled over the lack of Dragon Bones to balance spells. The chapter left the researchers considering a radical proposal from archaeologist Shang Xun: building an artificial dragon to cast them.

• Long Ji gathered the Yao Clan’s leading experts to study sorcery, and they established teams at White Fortress to investigate dragon language, potions, construction, and casting tools.
• The Magic Potion Team created Artificial Dragon Blood from [Hybrid Potion], animal fat, and Omnipotence Stones, reducing the need for human blood but introducing complications from wounds and infection.
• White Fortress’s experiments found that human bones could not reliably balance external spells, while touch-based casting risked severe harm to the caster.
• Philes, Long Ji, Hammer Endless, and others offered a reward to anyone who could solve the problem, drawing many unsuccessful suggestions.
• Shang Xun proposed building an artificial dragon with a complete Dragon Bone and specially made blood so it could cast spells.
• Shang Xun introduced himself as an archaeologist who aspired to follow Mr. Ululu, though he denied being his disciple.

Shang Xun explained how to build a Fire-Steam Furnace-powered Earth-Treader Ship, earning a lifelong position as a Scholar of White Fortress and the ship he needed to modify. Meanwhile, the Yao Tribe created the Brass Furnace Dragon, whose appearance greatly increased Lu Yao’s Flame of Faith.

• Shang Xun recalled how his family lost its fortune and how his own work as an archaeologist grew from his fascination with Earth-Treader Ships and the legendary driver Ululu.
• Shang Xun met Red Leaf and fell in love, but he told her he would return to marry her only after he had piloted an Earth-Treader Ship.
• Shang Xun traveled to White Fortress to pursue a large technical bounty and proposed a Fire-Steam solution to the scholars’ problem of letting humans cast spells with Dragon Tongue.
• Philes made Shang Xun a lifelong Scholar of White Fortress and agreed to provide an Earth-Treader Ship for his modification plan.
• Lu Yao saw that the Yao Tribe had created the Brass Furnace Dragon, which inspired worship among transcendent beings and increased his Faith by 320,175.

Lu Yao examined the Brass Furnace Dragon, a stationary spell device built by the Yao Clan to cast Dragon Language Sorcery, and saw how it could make spell experimentation easier. As White Fortress continued improving it, Shang Xun invented the Steam Carriage, triggering a surge of faith.

• Philes showed Pasha the Brass Furnace Dragon, and Pasha left White Fortress after seeing its flattened metal skeleton.
• Lu Yao inspected the device’s construction and learned that its eight Casting Positions could use Artificial Dragon Blood to cast spells, including the Psychic Curse and Endurance Curse.
• Lu Yao considered expanding beyond the Yao Clan’s civilization by building a city in Cloud Temple and opening a Silk Road to Bamboo Gourd Country.
• Shang Xun invented the Steam Carriage, and the Yao Clan’s worship of Lu Yao increased, raising his Faith Reserve to 21.66 million.

Shang Xun invented the Steam Carriage, returned to the Valley of Gods, and married Red Leaf as the vehicle spread across the Yao Clan. Lu Yao then learned that Ululu had discovered Black Demon, a living, oil-like substance underground.

• Shang Xun built a Fire-Steam-powered Steam Carriage after abandoning his attempt to control an Earth-Treader Ship, then drove it from White Fortress to the Rose Garden.
• Shang Xun and Red Leaf married in a ceremony witnessed by Pinkman, while Fishgu was heartbroken and requested another long vacation.
• Shang Xun published the Steam Carriage’s designs, and Salt City quickly produced and sold private and cargo models, gaining control of much of the market.
• Steam Carriages spread through the cities and displaced Earth-Treader Ships from the Land Boat Route.
• Ululu discovered Black Demon underground, and Lu Yao read that it formed from decomposed extraordinary remains and evolved into a dense, powerful oil-like substance.

Ululu and Slaimod found a way to lure the elusive Black Demon beneath Aegir's Fire, where it supplied the Wuji Tribe with Black Wu Mud and yielded valuable Magic Oil. The Yao Clan then used its Deep Extraction ability to refine metals and improve equipment, while Lu Yao turned his attention to building a Pilot City in Cloud Temple to connect with outside Divine Kingdoms.

• Lu Yao sent Slaimod to help Ululu capture the Black Demon, and Slaimod lured it beneath Aegir's Fire with carrion and heat.
• The Black Demon began producing Black Wu Mud, easing the Wuji Tribe's supply shortage, and Ululu discovered its pale-yellow grease was high-grade Magic Oil.
• Hammer Endless used the Black Demon to refine Twin Cities Armor, improving its properties, while an attempt to refine a Kindling Item failed.
• Yao Clan members began using the Black Demon to refine metals and devices, and researchers gathered more Black Demons beneath Aegir's Fire.
• Lu Yao shifted his focus to the outside world and decided to build a Pilot City in Cloud Temple as a link to outside Divine Kingdoms.

A Treant punished three Pine-Shoe Mice for planting trees in Sand City's protected desert, then taught them why Lord Yao had restored Cloud Temple and why its desert heritage had to be preserved. The mice ran to hear Guest-receiving Monk speak, while the Treant reflected on how the once-barren world had revived.

• The Treant scolded the three Pine-Shoe Mice for planting in the desert and assigned them a month of sand-protection work instead of expelling them.
• The Treant explained that Lord Yao had rebuilt Cloud Temple to preserve the spark of its civilization and restore life to the world.
• The Pine-Shoe Mice answered the Treant's questions about Sand City's history, its purpose, and its first envoy, Fish-Gurgle.
• The Treant spotted Guest-receiving Monk approaching, and the Pine-Shoe Mice and other learners hurried to hear the Apostle's lecture.
• The Treant remembered its early lessons with the Ice Giant and looked over Sand City's thriving communities and the protected desert monuments.

Lu Yao established Sand City in Cloud Temple and tasked Slaimod with developing it as a hub for Yao Clan civilization to expand into other Divine Kingdoms. As residents settled in and began transforming the desert, the Wuji Tribe discovered valuable minerals, and a Martial Arts Tournament brought Fishgu and the powerful Sand King Shak into the spotlight.

• Isabelle, Salina, Philes, and Slaimod advised Lu Yao on Cloud Temple, and Slaimod explained how a city there could spread Yao Clan civilization into other Divine Kingdoms.
• Lu Yao appointed Slaimod to build the city, then named the completed settlement Sand City and invited residents from Yao Clan World to move there.
• Wuji Tribe members, ghosts, Little Elves, and Pine-Shoe Mice settled in Sand City, where Lu Yao created an artificial lake and the newcomers began planting trees.
• The Wuji Tribe explored the desert and discovered gypsum and borax, improving Yao Clan soil treatment, forging, and glassmaking.
• Sand City hosted the third Martial Arts Tournament, where Fishgu competed again and Shak appeared as a level 33 Sand King.