Chapter Summaries

The Awakened’s ambush against the Thorn Missionary Team failed when the Thorn Holy Warriors transformed and overwhelmed their attackers. As the group began retreating, priest Arius mutated and struck Borderland Swordsman with a control skill that left him slowed.

• The three Thorn Holy Warriors revealed their Twisted True Forms and, with their zealots, tore apart the treants blocking them.
• Borderland Swordsman’s ambush failed to kill the high-health Thorn Zealots, who recovered and surrounded him.
• Overlord was restrained and wounded by the Thorn Zealots and a transformed Holy Warrior before breaking free and killing the zealot clinging to his halberd.
• Borderland Swordsman ordered a retreat as he and Overlord struggled against the reinforced Holy Warriors and their damage-reflecting abilities.
• Arius mutated into a seven-tentacled, seven-eyed monster and hit Borderland Swordsman with Suffering Repentance, slowing his movement after he escaped its control effect.

Bai Pu’s allies fought to escape the Thorn Church’s forces as Arius revealed devastating power, but Bai Pu intervened by using Steel Heart to weaken their escape and empower the enemy. Arius praised Bai Pu as a devout believer who had received Divine Grace.

• Chen Ge used Natural Purification to remove Borderland Swordsman’s slowing effect, while Overlord summoned Clay Golems and Lan Feng fired a Frost Bloom Arrow to hinder the pursuers.
• Arius shattered the ice and destroyed a Clay Golem with Disintegration Ray, while the Thorn Church’s forces targeted Lan Feng and wounded her with throwing spears.
• Borderland Swordsman urged Lan Feng and Overlord to escape, then used Storm Surge as Chen Ge cast Enemy of Nature to trap their pursuers in living vines.
• Bai Pu told Blood Spider that their squads were more likely rivals than allies, changed into his armor, and used Steel Heart to weaken the escapees while boosting the Thorn Church’s speed.
• Arius praised Bai Pu as a devout believer who had received mighty Divine Grace.

Bai Pu defeated Overlord while Blood Spider drove Lan Feng to leave Original Sin World, and Borderland Swordsman escaped with Chen Ge. After the battle, Bai Pu earned Priest Arius’s trust and learned about the Thorn Church’s hierarchy and the formidable forces governing Original Sin World.

• Bai Pu challenged Overlord to a fair fight and wounded him repeatedly, while Blood Spider marked Lan Feng and forced her to leave Original Sin World with divine power.
• Borderland Swordsman stopped channeling Storm Surge, escaped Bai Pu’s Blood River Territory with Chen Ge, and resisted Bai Pu’s Lasso Strike with an ancient elven character.
• Bai Pu overwhelmed Overlord, who also used divine power to leave Original Sin World, ending the battle with two opponents gone and two escaped.
• Priest Arius inspected the corpses and took the Missionary Team back to Mulan City after Bai Pu’s offering of Overlord and Lan Feng’s lives secured his trust.
• Bai Pu questioned Priest Arius about Holy Qi Strength and the Thorn Church, learning about its three God-Favored Ones, its leaders, and its war against the Thorn Cutters.

Bai Pu learned that the Thorn Church was searching for powerful holy artifacts while Chen Ge’s group planned to ally with the Thorn Cutters. At the Thorn Church branch in Mulan City, Bai Pu and Blood Spider spotted two fishlike figures emerging from a ritual.

• Priest Arius told Bai Pu that Lord Gilded One was investigating the God-Given Sinkhole after an oracle foretold that its powerful holy artifact would emerge.
• Borderland Swordsman argued with Chen Ge over their failed mission, but Chen Ge took command and proposed seeking help from the Thorn Cutters.
• Yemang and Metallica discussed infiltrating the Thorn Church to take and purify its holy artifacts, while Yemang cruelly butchered two fish.
• Bai Pu and Blood Spider waited at the Mulan City branch until its Suffering Ritual ended, then noticed two fishmen in the departing crowd.

Bai Pu confronted Octopus Head Mo Shate, who claimed to serve Mu Sulu and warned him against opposing the Lord of Suffering. Bai Pu worked out how the Deities were competing for holy artifacts in the Original Sin World, while Mo Shate failed to convince Bishop Yakino to distrust him.

• Bai Pu recognized Mo Shate and noticed that the octopus-headed Awakened had gained two more fleshy tendrils.
• Mo Shate warned Bai Pu that the Original Sin World was the Lord of Suffering's Divine Kingdom on Earth and threatened him as a warrior blessed by Mu Sulu.
• Bai Pu inferred that the Lord of Suffering controlled the Thorn Church while allied Deities sent Reserve Chosen to compete for holy artifacts.
• Bishop Yakino arrived with Arius, and Mo Shate accused Bai Pu of lacking devotion to suffering but could not explain his suspicions.
• Mo Shate said he would watch Bai Pu, who struck himself with the Admonishment Rod and professed his faith in the Holy Mother and suffering.

Bai Pu joined the Thorn Church and received a missionary quest, while he and Blood Spider discussed using the faction for benefits despite its restrictions on humans. In Miracle Valley, Beacon Fire and Wan Zhen planned to lure out Two-Faced Man and seize his holy artifact.

• Bishop Yakino judged Bai Pu insufficiently devout for the Suffering Ritual and assigned him to protect Arius during missionary work and recruit 30 Thorn followers.
• Bai Pu and Blood Spider received Thorn Church reputation limits and quests, and Bai Pu argued that the church's growing power might put it in conflict with the Spirit Realm Will.
• Bai Pu told Blood Spider they should gather benefits from the Thorn Church before eventually turning against it because it favored mutated monsters over normal humans.
• In Miracle Valley, Beacon Fire's group completed their Main Quest by killing a monster priest and discussed their need to obtain a holy artifact from Two-Faced Man.
• Wan Zhen proposed spreading a false rumor about a place blessed by Divine Grace to lure Two-Faced Man out, and Beacon Fire agreed to meet the Thorn Cutters to carry out the plan.

Bai Pu and Blood Spider accompanied Priest Arius's missionary team through the Twisted Jungle, where Chen Ge and Lu Ge ambushed them. As the church's forces came under attack, Bai Pu refused to keep fighting without a tangible reward, leaving Arius to negotiate amid the battle.

• Bai Pu warned Priest Arius that the team might be ambushed in the jungle, but Arius refused to take a detour.
• Chen Ge attacked with the jungle's trees, killing a Thorn Zealot, while Lu Ge's storm-charged arrow struck a Thorn Holy Warrior.
• Priest Arius transformed and ordered the remaining Holy Warriors and Zealots to charge Lu Ge, whose arrows battered the pursuing fighters as he retreated.
• When Arius demanded that Bai Pu join the pursuit, Bai Pu said he was there to protect the priest.
• A squad of Thorn Cutters emerged and attacked Arius, prompting him to call for Bai Pu's help.
• Bai Pu refused to act until Arius offered a concrete reward, reminding him of the promised Holy Thorn Strip.

Bai Pu traded protection for a rental imitation Holy Thorn Strip, then used his abilities and shield to trap Lu Ge, the Borderland Swordsman, and the Thorn Cutter team. The Borderland Swordsman attacked Blood Spider, but Bai Pu's shield summoned spider demons to counter him.

• Priest Arius gave Bai Pu the imitation Holy Thorn Strip in exchange for Bai Pu protecting the Thorn missionary team during their missionary operation.
• Bai Pu activated Blood River Territory, boosting the missionary team and slowing the Thorn Cutters as Lu Ge continued to retreat under fire.
• Bai Pu used Lasso Strike and Wind Riding Slash to catch Lu Ge, then wounded him with Cleave while Blood Spider poisoned him.
• The Borderland Swordsman attacked Blood Spider to help Lu Ge, but Bai Pu threw his shield at him and rooted both him and the Thorn Cutters with webs.
• Bai Pu's shield summoned two enhanced spider demons, which lunged at the Borderland Swordsman.

Borderland Swordsman endured Blood Spider’s attribute-draining attacks while Chen Ge injured Bai Pu with a nature spell. Bai Pu killed Lu Ge and claimed his treasure chest, while Borderland Swordsman regained his strength and struck Blood Spider with Wind Blade Profound Truth.

• Blood Spider trapped Borderland Swordsman with Web Snare, then used Plunder to reduce his Agility and boost her own.
• Chen Ge attacked Bai Pu with a Wooden Spear spell, but his Blood River Douqi limited its growth and damage.
• Bai Pu charged after the fleeing Lu Ge and killed him with a final Mountain-Crushing strike, then took the Golden Treasure Chest.
• Borderland Swordsman survived Blood Spider’s assault until his attributes returned, then used Wind Blade Profound Truth to cut through her parry.

Bai Pu and Blood Spider defeated the Thorn Cutters after Bai Pu killed Lu Ge and joined the fight against Borderland Swordsman. Chen Ge escaped, while Priest Arius claimed the fallen enemies’ heads and Bai Pu left the credit to him.

• Blood Spider marked Bai Pu with Dragon Hunt Mark and fled Borderland Swordsman’s attacks toward him.
• Bai Pu’s Blood River Territory slowed Borderland Swordsman, while Priest Arius engaged Chen Ge with Disintegration Ray.
• Bai Pu fought Borderland Swordsman, endured his wind-blade attacks, and struck back with his Chainsaw Greatsword.
• Chen Ge escaped through the forest, and Priest Arius’s Confession trapped Borderland Swordsman long enough for Bai Pu to land a Mountain-Crushing attack that killed him.
• The Thorn Church routed the remaining Thorn Cutters, and Priest Arius ordered Lu Ge’s and Borderland Swordsman’s heads taken back for credit.
• Bai Pu gave Priest Arius the credit for the kills to reduce his hostility and preserve the chance to exploit him again.

Bai Pu trained with the imitation Holy Thorn Strip during the missionary journey, then returned to Mulan City with the Thorn Recruits and learned he had qualified for the Suffering Ritual. The chapter left him preparing to enter the ritual, confident in his ability to survive.

• Bai Pu discovered that whipping himself with Cruel Admonishment doubled both the health loss and his training gains, but he limited its use to avoid exhausting himself.
• Bai Pu opened Lu Ge's treasure chest, receiving 14,520 Spirit Energy Points, two Golden Enhancement Crystals, and a Storm Arrow skill book he could not use.
• Bai Pu returned to Mulan City with the Thorn Recruits and received 250 merit points as the Holy Thorn Strip (Imitation) became his to keep.
• Priest Arius claimed credit before Bishop Yakino, but Yakino recognized Bai Pu's role in Lu Ge's death and invited him to participate in the Suffering Ritual.
• Bai Pu learned that the ritual would test the Thorn Recruits and could transform survivors into Thorn Zealots or Thorn Holy Warriors, and he believed he could survive it.

During the Thorn Church’s Suffering Ritual, Bai Pu discovered that Bishop Yakino’s claims were false and exploited the constructed Spirit Realms to train Skin of Steel. He reached Level 4 and unlocked the rare Skin of Thorns effect, which reflected True Damage to physical attackers.

• Bishop Yakino addressed the hundred Thorn Recruits and used Spirit Energy to construct a Spirit Realm for each of them.
• Bai Pu recognized the ritual’s deception, activated Gene Mindscape, and secretly observed the other recruits’ Spirit Realms through the priests’ mental links.
• Bai Pu imagined enduring the Holy Thorn Strip’s whipping and repeatedly reset his Spirit Realm to safely raise Skin of Steel’s proficiency.
• Bai Pu’s Skin of Steel reached Level 3 and automatically advanced to Level 4, granting him the option to select a special effect.
• Bai Pu saw the rare Skin of Thorns effect, which reflected True Damage equal to Skin of Steel’s active damage reduction.

Bai Pu enhanced Skin of Steel with Skin of Thorns, allowing him to reflect True Damage, then watched the Thorn Recruits’ Spirit Realms manifest their self-inflicted suffering in the chapel. Bonnie nearly died after changing her ritual to being carved apart, but a mysterious power offered her life in exchange for becoming Bai Pu’s servant, and her body began to heal through evolution.

• Bai Pu chose the Skin of Thorns enhancement for his Level 4 Skin of Steel and realized it could reflect True Damage that bypassed most damage reduction.
• Bai Pu scanned the Thorn Recruits’ Spirit Realms and witnessed their extreme acts of self-harm manifest in the chapel.
• Bonnie, after days of fasting while bound in her Spirit Realm, imagined an executioner cutting strips of flesh from her body.
• Bonnie’s wounds appeared in reality, and as she died, she remembered her past in the Storm Church and her imprisonment by the Thorn Church.
• A voice offered Bonnie life and power in exchange for becoming its servant, and Bonnie accepted.
• The power revived Bonnie and fused her separated flesh back together, leaving blood streaks on her skin.

Bai Pu used Pure Blood to transform Bonnie’s resurrection and the Lord of Suffering’s divine power into a powerful new form. After the ritual, Bonnie was recognized as a Thorn Warrior, while Bai Pu’s unchanged appearance puzzled Priest Arius.

• Bai Pu’s Pure Blood absorbed the Lord of Suffering’s twisted power during Bonnie’s resurrection, evolving her into an Enhanced Elite with a metal arm and a massive sword.
• Bonnie thanked Bai Pu in the Spirit Realm, and he told her to keep playing the role of the Lord of Suffering’s warrior.
• After the Suffering Ritual, Bishop Yakino and the priests inspected the survivors while acolytes removed the corpses.
• Bishop Yakino recognized Bonnie’s Warrior-level aura, and she demonstrated that she could return to her frail human form by restraining her Holy Qi Strength.
• Bishop Yakino named her Warrior Bonnie, then Priest Arius questioned how Bai Pu had survived without advancing.

Bai Pu joined a Thorn Church expedition to the God-Given Sinkhole, where he learned the vanished city had reappeared and met other powerful Awakened. Yemang shared information about the Lost City in exchange for Bai Pu’s help, and warned him to watch out for the Formal Chosen, Rosen.

• Bai Pu concealed his failure to receive Divine Grace, and Bishop Yakino selected him for a sacred artifact mission to the God-Given Sinkhole.
• Bai Pu, Blood Spider, Mo Shate, and Bojar traveled with Bishop Yakino and met Lord Gilded One among more than a hundred Thorn Recruits.
• Bai Pu noticed Yemang and Metallica, powerful Awakened from Faliu City, and learned they had chosen the Thorn Church faction.
• Yemang told Bai Pu that the Lost City had reappeared and that its maze rooms admitted only level 6 lifeforms.
• Bai Pu agreed to help Yemang once in return for information, and Yemang identified Mo Shate, Bojar, Bai Pu, and Rosen as figures to watch, especially Rosen, the only Formal Chosen present.

The Gilded One explained that seven sacred artifacts awaited in the Lost City and that recruits had to collect Rune Words to form Rune Utterances and reach them. Bai Pu received a numbered Gilded Brand and discovered the runes could not be memorized; Rosen was assigned number 1.

• Rosen appeared as a Formal Chosen of the Lord of Death, and Mo Shate revealed the deity behind him while provoking Yemang and Metallica.
• The Gilded One announced that seven sacred artifacts were hidden in the Lost City and explained that recruits needed Rune Utterances to teleport to the Sacred Artifact Hall and unseal them.
• The Gilded One distributed numbered parchment scrolls and warned that he would seal the Lost City's only exit to prevent outsiders, including the Thorn Cutters, from stealing artifacts.
• Bai Pu received scroll number 17 and let its Gilded Brand burn the number onto his forehead, where it seemed to monitor him.
• Bai Pu found 104 numbered Rune Words and seven fixed Rune Utterances on his scroll, but discovered he could not remember the runes after looking away.
• Bai Pu saw that Blood Spider had number 30, Mo Shate number 4, Yemang number 2, and Rosen number 1.

Bai Pu challenged the Lost City’s stone tablets, defeated its monsters, and obtained Rune Word No. 4. After the Spirit Realm Will assigned him a mission to seize a holy artifact, he refused because he had promised the Shasha Divine Envoy, though he suspected he might still be able to complete the mission.

• Bai Pu activated the first stone tablet and killed ten Level 2 Elite Rabid Rats, opening three portals.
• Bai Pu entered another room, defeated two Level 3 Reinforced Elite Giant Wolves, and collected Rune Word No. 4.
• The Shasha Divine Envoy appeared and reminded Bai Pu of his promise to obtain a holy artifact.
• The Spirit Realm Will activated a Scavenger Mission offering a Silver Medal and an Amnesty Token for a Source Material Fragment, which it identified as a holy artifact of the Original Sin World.
• Bai Pu refused the mission because he had promised the Shasha Divine Envoy, then continued onward while suspecting the mission might still be possible to complete.

Metallica and a black-robed expert cleared rooms in the Lost City and collected Rune Words for their respective goals. At the exit, the Gilded One monitored the maze, praised Rosen’s progress, and rebuked the bishops for asking about the Lost City’s origins.

• Metallica defeated a room of dwarven warriors, collected Rune Word Number 19, and found that he needed Number 30 to complete the Rune Utterance “Endless Power.”
• A black-robed expert defeated a pack of tigers and collected a Rune Word, planning to complete a Rune Utterance, obtain a sacred artifact, and kill Thorn Recruits.
• The Gilded One showed the bishops a map of the Lost City and explained how the maze’s first two layers differed in difficulty.
• Lloyd mocked Mulan City’s participants, and Bishop Yakino privately blamed Bai Pu for failing to bring honor to the branch.
• The Gilded One noticed Rosen returning to the second layer to collect low-numbered Rune Words and predicted he would bring back a sacred artifact.
• The Gilded One refused to explain the Lost City’s origins, saying its secrets involved the Holy Mother and the gods.

Bai Pu explored the Lost City, learned that divine energy from its monsters could improve his combat expertise and skills, and continued seeking low-sequence Rune Words. In Mulan City, Bozo and Bonnie attacked the Thorn Church, and Bozo confronted the priests who had tortured his daughter.

• Bai Pu chose to explore the Lost City’s outer areas first so he could collect low-sequence Rune Words before pursuing higher-sequence ones.
• Bai Pu learned from Shasha Divine Envoy that fighting monsters formed from divine energy could improve his techniques and skills, then tested several abilities against Clay Golems.
• Bai Pu sensed his proficiency improving after the battle and chose the left teleportation gate to continue exploring.
• A Thorn Holy Warrior warned priest Arius that Bozo the Betrayer had attacked Mulan City, then revealed that Bonnie was fighting beside him against the Thorn Church.
• Bonnie broke into the Chapel of Wish of Suffering and attacked the priests, while Bozo arrived and vowed revenge for the torment his daughter had suffered.

Bai Pu chose the Strong Wind swordsmanship effect, then unexpectedly comprehended the Mountain Shattering Mystery while reflecting on the force of collapsing mountains. Shasha Divine Envoy explained that mysteries had different ranks, leaving Bai Pu to learn that Supreme Profound Truths were rarer than ordinary and rare mysteries.

• Bai Pu reached level 6 Two-Handed Swordsmanship and chose Strong Wind to improve his attack speed and deepen his understanding of wind.
• Bai Pu reflected on mountains and transformed the idea of their stillness into the violent force of Mountain Shattering.
• Bai Pu used his blade to unleash the Mountain Shattering Mystery, which increased attack damage and could ignore armor, maim, or instantly kill targets.
• Shasha Divine Envoy congratulated Bai Pu and called Mountain Shattering a Supreme Profound Truth.
• Shasha Divine Envoy explained the ranks of mysteries, describing ordinary mysteries, rare mysteries, and the exceptionally rare Supreme Profound Truths.