Chapter Summaries

Xie Antong persuaded Jiang Yuan to join Divine Punishment by claiming she could lead him to the Lord, while Wu Changkong failed to recruit him for the Heaven and Earth Society. She brought Jiang Yuan toward Lu Ce’s city, where Lu Ce remained unaware that a fervent believer was coming to visit him.

• Jiang Yuan stopped fighting after Xie Antong hinted that the person he sought was in the world and that she could find him.
• At the All-Knowing Eye’s urging, Jiang Yuan agreed to join Divine Punishment, confusing the Dragon Group and the watching public.
• Wu Changkong arrived on his skateboard and tried to recruit Jiang Yuan into the Heaven and Earth Society, but Jiang Yuan said he had never wanted to join it.
• The Dragon Group and Xie Antong argued with Wu Changkong until Jiang Yuan settled on joining Divine Punishment, and Wu Changkong rode away in anger.
• Xie Antong led Jiang Yuan and the Dragon Group toward Lu Ce’s city, explaining that Divine Punishment had been founded because of the Lord.
• Unaware that Jiang Yuan was coming to visit, Lu Ce left his residence without putting on his mask.

Lu Ce went downstairs to learn about Dragon Group’s efforts to maintain order among players ahead of the game’s next descent. He was caught off guard when Xie Antong appeared and Jiang Yuan was introduced as the city’s new expert.

• Black Knight revealed that it could transform into a bracelet and accompanied Lu Ce downstairs.
• Lu Ce listened as Zhao Jiacheng urged players to stay in the community, protect ordinary citizens, and help maintain order.
• Zhao Jiacheng announced that a powerful expert had arrived in the city.
• Lu Ce spotted Xie Antong watching him and then saw Jiang Yuan greet the crowd beside Zhao Jiacheng.
• Someone told Lu Ce that his fan had insisted they come find him.

Jiang Yuan introduced himself to the people gathered by Divine Punishment, alarming them with blunt warnings about his destroyed world and the danger facing theirs. After the crowd dispersed, Xie Antong introduced him to Lu Ce, and Jiang Yuan asked whether they had met before.

• Jiang Yuan introduced himself as a new member of Divine Punishment and unintentionally revealed that Zhao Jiacheng had asked him to demonstrate his strength.
• Jiang Yuan said his former world had been destroyed and warned that this world might face the same fate, while promising to help protect it.
• Jiang Yuan threatened people who planned to betray their side, frightening the crowd into silence.
• Zhao Jiacheng tried to calm everyone with polite remarks and temporary policies, and the crowd dispersed.
• Xie Antong introduced Jiang Yuan to Lu Ce as another strong member of Divine Punishment, and Jiang Yuan asked Lu Ce whether they had met before.

Jiang Yuan sensed that Lu Ce carried an aura from his former world, while Zhao Jiacheng warned that a new force serving the game might emerge. Elsewhere, hidden players identified themselves as Apostles and discussed their plans, unaware that a pebble inside their barrier was watching them.

• Jiang Yuan sensed traces of his world in Lu Ce and asked whether Lu Ce had come from the Qianling Continent.
• Lu Ce released his aura, calming Jiang Yuan, and the two shook hands.
• Zhao Jiacheng warned Jiang Yuan, Lu Ce, and Xie Antong that the Dragon Group suspected a force of humans serving the game was forming.
• Xie Antong quietly pressed a hand to her temple and appeared to observe something.
• A group of players gathered in a building's fitness area, identified themselves as Apostles, and discussed their first operation and the Starburst Plan.
• A woman raised a shielding barrier around the Apostles as a small pebble among the broken bricks and stones trembled.

Xie Antong uncovered the Apostles’ plan to cause chaos with the Starburst Plan and warned Zhao Jiacheng that traitors were infiltrating humanity. Two days later, Game 3.0 finished loading, announcing a new real-world game called Realm of the Chosen, with its first benefit selection beginning in eight hours.

• The Apostles discussed continuing the Starburst Plan and keeping Jiang Yuan occupied while they targeted the city.
• The All-Knowing Eye revealed itself after secretly recording the Apostles’ conversation, and Xie Antong realized their city was far stronger than they expected because Lu Ce was there.
• Xie Antong told Zhao Jiacheng that traitors were organizing and that worldwide chaos was inevitable, then left after telling Jiang Yuan to follow Lu Ce.
• Lu Ce spent the next two days with Jiang Yuan as the world awaited Game 3.0.
• The game announced that Proxy War had finished loading and that the first benefit selection, Realm of the Chosen, would begin in eight hours.

The game announced the rules for the Realm of the Chosen, a worldwide event beginning in eight hours in which people could choose whether to enter contracting zones. As the Dragon Group prepared to preserve order and guard against the Apostles, Lu Ce encountered a woman who recognized him as a player and asked if the world still had hope.

• The game showed the Chosen Ones a holographic Earth and explained that people inside the contracting zones after three hours would participate, while everyone would be evaluated and could earn rewards or be chosen by the gods.
• The Dragon Group advised players who stayed out to maintain order and urged ordinary people not to enter the game zones, while acknowledging that Sin's brutal games had helped curb reckless enthusiasm.
• The Grand Elder ordered the elders to station people in every provincial capital and declared that he would protect the Capital City from the Apostles.
• Lu Ce watched the anxious streets and remained calm as the world prepared for the game.
• A woman with a wicked appearance approached Lu Ce, identified him as a player by his aura, and asked whether he thought the world still had hope.

Lu Ce recognized Zhong Lirui as an Apostle recruiter and rejected her pitch, mocking the Apostles’ beliefs and their contempt for Sin. He walked away without attacking her, while Black Knight questioned his restraint.

• Lu Ce recognized Zhong Lirui from Xie Antong’s video and recalled the Apostles’ plan to recruit players and stir up chaos.
• Zhong Lirui questioned how Lu Ce knew about her ability, and he mocked her claims about her perception.
• Zhong Lirui urged Lu Ce to join the Apostles, praising their gods and calling Sin foolish for opposing the game.
• Lu Ce pointed out that Sin’s actions had helped bring about Game 3.0 and the Apostles’ rise, leaving Zhong Lirui flustered.
• Lu Ce ignored Zhong Lirui’s warning that he had missed an opportunity and walked away while Black Knight asked why he had not killed her.

Lu Ce recalled Xie Antong’s theory that the gods had created the Game but could not freely alter its original rules, and that he was a bug they wanted to remove. As the Game’s contraction approached, he discussed the theory with the Black Knight and prepared to deal with the Apostles.

• Lu Ce watched a growing crowd of apparent players gather in the community ahead of the region’s contraction.
• Xie Antong told Lu Ce she suspected the Game restricted the gods and proposed that they either created it together without full control or found adding rules easier than changing existing ones.
• Xie Antong compared the gods to programmers, the Game to a program, and Lu Ce to a bug they were trying to remove without risking the system’s collapse.
• Lu Ce asked the Black Knight whether peering into the abyss or challenging it was more dangerous, and the Black Knight advised him to let Xie Antong investigate the theory while he focused on the Apostles.

Lu Ce prepared for the Realm of the Chosen’s arrival and watched as the Apostles began stirring up chaos. When one Apostle attacked a Dragon Group member and urged civilians to join the game, Lu Ce stepped forward to confront him.

• Lu Ce told Jiang Yuan to trust his own judgment and left him behind.
• The countdown ended, and the Realm of the Chosen descended as the sky changed and the game zones began contracting.
• Crowds flooded the streets while the Dragon Group tried to guide civilians and fires broke out across the city.
• A mohawked Apostle attacked a Dragon Group member and urged people to join the Apostles and enter the game.
• Lu Ce interrupted the Apostle, who formed another spear and hurled it at him.

Lu Ce stopped a mohawked Apostle’s attack by crushing his steel spear with his bare hand, then demanded to know the Apostles’ mission. The Apostle claimed Lu Ce was one of them, but Lu Ce prepared to kill him after learning what he knew.

• The mohawked man attacked Lu Ce, who caught and crushed his steel spear with one hand.
• Lu Ce frightened the man into revealing that the Apostles were meant to make people believe becoming players was the only way out and to spread fear and chaos.
• Black Knight shot the man in the thigh and claimed he was lying, though Lu Ce did not know whether that was true.
• Lu Ce told the man he was with Divine Punishment, and the Apostle insisted they were supposed to be the same kind of people.
• The Apostle broke down, and Lu Ce prepared to kill him after clarifying that he had never promised to spare his life.

Lu Ce questioned Dragon Group members about the Apostles and raced toward a purple shrinking zone to investigate them. In another city, Xie Antong used her new Sky Net ability to read an Apostle’s mind and discovered that the Apostles had been stealing business, making an old accidental success significant.

• Lu Ce killed an Apostle with Black Knight’s Dead Silence Line, then learned Black Knight had only guessed that the man was lying.
• Lu Ce asked Dragon Group members where the Apostles were causing trouble and headed toward a purple shrinking zone.
• Xie Antong used her Sky Net skill to track Apostles across the city and capture one in her mental web.
• Xie Antong probed the captive Apostle’s mind and learned that the Apostles had been stealing business.

Xie Antong interrogated an Apostle and uncovered the group’s plan to kill Sin, along with the game’s rewards and the purpose behind the Proxy War. After silencing the Apostle, she headed toward the violet light, possibly converging on the same destination as Lu Ce.

• Xie Antong used Heavenly King to extract information from an Apostle and learned that the Apostles supported the game’s transformation of the world and treated Sin as their main obstacle.
• The Apostle revealed that one of the Apostles’ core missions was to kill Sin, and Xie Antong realized their goals overlapped with Divine Punishment’s role.
• Xie Antong connected the game’s rewards and the Proxy War to the effort to find divine envoys willing to eliminate Sin.
• The Apostle broke down and called for help, but Xie Antong stopped his screams and withdrew the barrier item.
• Xie Antong charged toward the violet light, possibly heading to the same destination as Lu Ce.

Lu Ce hunted Apostles and confirmed that they mistakenly believed Divine Punishment was on their side. As an Apostle attacked an evacuation, Lu Ce intervened, and a police officer called him a hero.

• Lu Ce interrogated Apostles and learned that they thought Divine Punishment was allied with them.
• An Apostle grew frustrated when communications stopped and attacked Dragon Group personnel, police, and civilians being evacuated.
• A police officer stood his ground and fired at the Apostle, then faced him with a baton after running out of ammunition.
• Lu Ce appeared beside the Apostle, crushed his armor, and tore off his arm.
• The officer called Lu Ce a hero, and Lu Ce asked what he had called him.

Lu Ce questioned and killed an Apostle, then entered the contraction zone as the world game began. The announcement welcomed participants to the City of Lust.

• Lu Ce questioned an Apostle about Divine Punishment and learned the Apostles had assumed the organization belonged to them, then killed him.
• Black Knight suggested Lu Ce was anxious that a woman might be lying, but Lu Ce dismissed the concern and headed for the game.
• A police officer thanked Lu Ce and asked how strong he was; Lu Ce said many people were stronger before rushing into the contraction zone.
• Lu Ce wondered whether others would mistake his strength for Sin, and Black Knight mocked him for forgetting his masked past.
• The contraction ended, the world began reorganizing, and the announcement welcomed everyone to the City of Lust.

Lu Ce entered the City of Lust selection game, chose his Lust form, and discovered that the scenario had been raised to the highest level because Sin was participating. The game then unexpectedly became a joint game of Joy and Lust, leaving Lu Ce eager to see Joy again.

• Lu Ce used the Soul of the Seven Deadly Sins and selected the Lust form before the game began.
• Lu Ce explored the restored city and realized that Love and Decree was reacting to the power behind the scenario.
• The Emissary of Lust announced that Sin was participating and that the game had been raised to the highest level.
• The Emissary of Lust revealed that the game would be a joint game of Joy and Lust after detecting Joy's power in the space.
• Lu Ce recognized that Joy had been selected into his area and said he hoped to see how much she had improved.

Lu Ce and the other players learned the rules of Lust’s love-themed game, where violence was forbidden and faction members risked elimination by firing at the wrong targets. The game began with everyone seeking Special Function Cards and pretending to be happy, while the threat of Sin remained in the background.

• The Emissary of Lust reassured the players that killing through force would bring severe punishment, while its rules heavily targeted Sin.
• Lust dismissed the idea that the game’s restrictions had weakened it, and the Black Knight worried that the game was setting a trap for Lu Ce.
• Xie Antong read the rules: Red Lovers and Blue Lovers could change factions by shooting each other, while Narcissus players could only safely shoot other Narcissus.
• The players learned that firing at the wrong faction member caused elimination, and that displaying happiness could earn them a Special Function Card.
• The town fell silent, and the players began acting happy as they sought Special Function Cards before anyone started shooting.

Participants began performing cheerful everyday roles to seek Special Function Cards as Love's game started. Xie Antong used her All-Knowing Eyes to weave a Sky Net around the players, but Lust sensed it and manipulated her emotions from afar.

• A man pushed a candied hawthorn cart through the empty streets, forcing himself to smile and call out to customers.
• Participants across the city acted out their ordinary jobs and routines while trying to obtain Special Function Cards.
• Xie Antong scattered her All-Knowing Eyes and began weaving a Sky Net to watch the players and identify their roles.
• Xie Antong spotted Lust and decided to test her theory about the game by targeting him.
• Lust sensed the invisible threads around him and flicked his finger, causing Xie Antong's emotions to tremble from afar.
• Lust called the distant interference a challenge from someone who overestimated herself.

Lust accepted Xie Antong’s challenge, then rode the Black Knight through the city to seek amusement. He confronted a balloon seller and criticized his forced smile.

• Xie Antong challenged Lust with all her abilities, and he accepted her challenge.
• Lust tossed the Black Knight to the ground, and it transformed into a motorcycle and urged him to find the special card.
• Lust dismissed the Black Knight’s advice and said the world had been created to serve him and entertain him.
• Lust complained that the Black Knight smelled of motor oil, but eventually set off riding it through the city.
• Lust approached a balloon seller and told him his smile looked fake and ugly.

Lust, also known as Sin, took balloons from a player who could not bring himself to fire the “Light of Love,” then continued tormenting people at a ring-toss stall. Xie Antong watched from several blocks away and recognized that he was deliberately acting mean and flashy to provoke the game’s demand for love and joy.

• Lust confronted the balloon seller, whose fear and emotional turmoil made him release the balloons instead of firing his light.
• Lu Ce cut the balloon strings, loaded the balloons onto Black Knight, and rode away with Lust.
• The balloon seller realized that firing the light required him to be filled with love and tried to force himself to feel happy.
• Lust grew bored at a ring-toss stall and mocked two people, including an Apostle, for considering an attack but lacking the courage to act.
• Lust declared that the others were toys in his game, while Xie Antong observed that he was intentionally acting mean and flashy.

Xie Antong watched Lust’s actions through the All-Knowing Eye and concluded that the game tested the ability to influence and control others, not the Special Ability Card. Lust continued provoking the contestants as he rode through the city, then told Black Knight to fly.

• Xie Antong monitored Lust and reasoned that the game’s real challenge was manipulating others into becoming chess pieces.
• Lust insulted the Apostles and left without guarding his back, but none of the contestants dared attack him.
• Lust rode through the city with balloons and a loud speaker, while the other contestants avoided him.
• Lust passed within a block of Xie Antong’s internet café, but neither noticed the other.
• Lust interrupted Black Knight and told him to take off and add excitement to the city.