Chapter Summaries

Wang Ye and Meng Po watched as the Heavenly Court and Spirit Mountain overwhelmed the Heaven Group, while Maitreya challenged Zhang Ziliang and Zhao Hai. Zhang Ziliang called on the Dare-to-Die Squad, and a hundred second-Awakening Superhumans emerged from Jiangning City, ready to fight despite being dismissed as weak and cowardly.

• The tower sealed most of the ghosts and stabilized the battlefield, allowing the Heavenly Court and Spirit Mountain to press the Heaven Group again.
• Wang Ye retreated beside Meng Po and said they would flee if the Heaven Group lost, since their deaths would not turn the battle around.
• Maitreya declared himself a true genius and taunted Zhang Ziliang and Zhao Hai, while Zhang Ziliang answered that he could use the weak to overcome the strong.
• Zhang Ziliang roared that he would die in place of the Dare-to-Die Squad in the next life.
• Yang Chen appeared beside Zhang Ziliang to guard him as a hundred second-Awakening Superhumans came out of Jiangning City, ready to advance.

The Sword Cultivators sacrificed themselves to forge a hundred blood swords, devastating the Heavenly Court and Spirit Mountain forces and allowing the Underworld and Daoist sect to surround Maitreya. Maitreya revealed his golden form and called on Li Tianwang to help him hold out until another team returned from Linjiang City.

• The hundred Sword Cultivators recited their vows, shed their blood, and rose into the air as Zhang Ziliang and Zhao Hai retreated.
• Maitreya charged Zhang Ziliang, but Yang Chen repeatedly blocked him despite being blasted through a wall.
• The Sword Cultivators formed a blood sword and unleashed a rain of swords that killed two Heavenly Kings and grievously injured the remaining Heavenly Court and Spirit Mountain fighters.
• Zhong Kui, Cui Jue, Black and White Impermanence, and the others surrounded Maitreya as Zhang Ziliang said the wolf pack would now attack the lions.
• Maitreya merged with his phantom to turn golden and told Li Tianwang that another team was returning from Linjiang City and would arrive in ten minutes.

Lu Wu confronted Li Tianwang after learning that Li Tianwang had led the attack that destroyed Jade Pool. Fueled by revenge and A Yao’s final feelings, Lu Wu unleashed his full power and trapped himself and Li Tianwang inside a sealing formation.

• Wang Ye told Lu Wu and Meng Po to kill Li Tianwang if possible or hold him until the others defeated Maitreya.
• Lu Wu confronted Li Tianwang, who revealed that he had led the attack on Jade Pool and boasted that its Lord had deserved her fate.
• Meng Po appeared and refused Li Tianwang’s offer to stay out of the conflict.
• Li Tianwang insulted Jade Pool’s survivors, prompting Lu Wu to vow to kill him and offer to work overtime for free.
• Lu Wu consumed a sphere of energy, greatly increased his mental power, and briefly saw A Yao’s emotions appear through his soul crystal.
• Lu Wu formed a peak-grade Jade Pool formation that sealed him and Li Tianwang together, leaving Meng Po outside.

Lu Wu confronted Li Tianwang inside a confinement formation linked to his life, vowing to avenge Yaochi’s 38,652 dead. As Meng Po left to join the fight against Maitreya and Wang Ye quietly collected the fallen Heavenly Kings’ artifacts, Li Tianwang appeared to destroy Lu Wu with the Seven Star Sword, but the formation remained.

• Li Tianwang armed himself with the Exquisite Pagoda, Seven Star Sword, and Dragon Pattern Golden Armor as Lu Wu’s formation trapped them both.
• Meng Po went to assist on Maitreya’s battlefield and warned the recovering fighters to stay put.
• Wang Ye secretly collected an umbrella and pipa from the two fallen Heavenly Kings while Zhang Ziliang explained why Sword Cultivators were so difficult to train.
• Lu Wu expanded his formation with killing and weakening effects, but Li Tianwang’s pagoda deflected its spiritual power.
• Li Tianwang used the Seven Star Sword’s starlight to rot Lu Wu until his skeleton crumbled into ash, then realized the confinement formation still remained.

Lu Wu trapped Li Tianwang in his Blood-Colored Jade Pool illusion while Wang Ye worried that the battle could cost him his new employee. Meanwhile, Maitreya escaped to Heavenly Court’s camp, and Zhong Kui charged after him despite the danger.

• Lu Wu appeared unharmed, revealed that Li Tianwang was caught in an illusion, and used his Blood-Colored Jade Pool to torment him with the dead civilians of Jade Pool.
• Wang Ye considered helping Lu Wu attack Li Tianwang but respected Lu Wu’s choice, even as Lu Wu’s soul crystal strained him.
• Maitreya escaped Zhong Kui and the others and led the Spirit Mountain group into Heavenly Court’s defensive line.
• Zhong Kui cursed Maitreya from outside the line, then declared he would take responsibility and charged Heavenly Court with his greatsword.

Maitreya helped the Underworld ambush and destroy the Heavenly Court forces, then tried to negotiate with Zhang Ziliang. Zhang Ziliang considered killing Maitreya but hinted that Spirit Mountain faced a greater danger elsewhere, leaving Maitreya frantically searching for the real trap.

• Maitreya ordered the wounded Arhats and Bodhisattvas to join the Underworld forces in a surprise attack that wiped out the Heavenly Court in five minutes.
• Maitreya explained that Spirit Mountain and the Heaven Group had aligned interests, but Zhang Ziliang pointed out that Spirit Mountain needed the Heaven Group more.
• Zhao Hai recommended killing Maitreya and the other Spirit Mountain forces, and Zhang Ziliang agreed that doing so would be safer.
• Maitreya revealed that his avatar would hold off Zhang Ziliang while the Arhats and Bodhisattvas escaped, but Zhang Ziliang implied that the Buddha in Shangjing was in danger.
• Maitreya realized Zhang Ziliang was stalling and frantically tried to identify the trap, while Zhang Ziliang and Zhao Hai kept him distracted.

Wang Ye repeatedly disrupted Maitreya’s attempt to think through his plan, giving Zhang Ziliang precious time. The chapter left Maitreya confused and furious while Wang Ye watched from hiding, and Zhang Ziliang reminded Zhao Hai that unity and humanity mattered more than appearances.

• Zhang Ziliang tried to use a few seconds to gain an advantage, but Zhao Hai refused to take his bundle and looked down on the tactic.
• Wang Ye threw grenades around the Lingshan crowd, repeatedly jolting Maitreya out of his thoughts while Zhang Ziliang praised Wang Ye for understanding him.
• Wang Ye’s black Fruit exploded over the gathered Lingshan figures, covering them in a foul smell and provoking Maitreya to order his followers to kill Wang Ye.
• Zhang Ziliang told Zhao Hai that those few seconds held endless possibilities for Wang Ye and urged him to remember that he was human.
• Wang Ye endured attacks from Arhats and Bodhisattvas, grabbed Maitreya’s thigh, and detonated explosives strapped to himself, leaving behind a sheet of human skin.
• Maitreya struggled to regain his composure as Wang Ye hid in the grass, continuing to disrupt his thoughts.

Wang Ye’s revolting avatar disrupted the confrontation, and Maitreya crippled his senses to think through the trap. He realized the Buddha Kingdom was in danger and sacrificed himself to send Lingshan reinforcements, while Lu Wu’s formation killed Li Tianwang and left Lu Wu badly injured.

• Wang Ye’s human-skin avatar released a stench that forced the opposing sides to retreat, and Maitreya destroyed his phantom and crippled his five senses to regain his composure.
• Maitreya realized Zhang Ziliang might have sent Li Xinghe to attack the Buddha Kingdom and wrote a warning telling Lingshan to return and reinforce it.
• Maitreya self-destructed to delay the underworld’s pursuit while the Lingshan Arhats and Bodhisattvas fled toward the Buddha Kingdom.
• Lu Wu’s blood strengthened his formation, making Li Tianwang kneel and die when its veins coiled around him.
• Lu Wu survived the fight but suffered severe internal injuries, and the soul crystal between his brows dimmed.

Lu Wu defeated Li Tianwang and claimed his Seven Star Sword, while Wang Ye discovered that Li Tianwang had been a lotus-root-bodied clone and kept the truth from Lu Wu. A strange eyeless monk awakened after hearing Wang Ye’s name, and the others waited for news of Boss Du’s battle.

• Lu Wu told Li Tianwang that the lowborn he had scorned had slain a god, then asked Wang Ye for the sedan chair as payment for fighting.
• An eyeless fat monk heard that Wang Ye had appeared in two messages, grew golden eyes, and left an abandoned village after deciding to awaken early.
• Wang Ye returned to the battlefield and took Li Tianwang’s Seven Star Sword and remaining belongings, while Lu Wu planned to retrieve his sedan chair.
• Wang Ye cut Li Tianwang’s skin and found lotus-root segments beneath it, confirming that Li Tianwang had been a clone, but he hid this from Lu Wu so he could recover without losing hope.
• Zhong Kui and Zhang Ziliang concluded that the promised reinforcements had been a bluff, then wondered how Boss Du’s battle was going.

After the battle, Zhang Ziliang and Zhao Hai discussed what counted as light and whether humanity’s protectors might become a new darkness. Wang Ye promised to keep future generations in check, then left Zhang Ziliang chasing after him to bargain over the spoils.

• Zhao Hai asked Zhang Ziliang why the people from Buddha Kingdom would not withdraw, and Zhang Ziliang explained that Qingfeng Village was a newly emerged force.
• After the others departed, Meng Po’s fake body collapsed into fingers that burrowed into the soil, while Zhang Ziliang paid tribute to the light.
• Zhang Ziliang told Zhao Hai he feared that heroes who protected humanity could become another kind of darkness after true peace arrived.
• Wang Ye assured Zhang Ziliang that he would stop the next generation from causing trouble, even if he had to kill people and erase records.
• Wang Ye threatened Zhao Hai with Chu Tian’s hammer, but Zhao Hai quickly left; Zhang Ziliang then explained that he saw Zhao Hai as ambitious and useful rather than trustworthy.
• Zhang Ziliang demanded a share of Wang Ye’s spoils, and Wang Ye walked away while Zhang Ziliang chased him and lowered his demand.

Baosheng Buddha tried to escape a confrontation outside Shangjing City, but Du Ziren, Greedy Wolf Star Lord, Meng Po, and Ksitigarbha surrounded him. He used a crimson armor to break away, leaving his pursuers behind.

• Baosheng Buddha asked Du Ziren to stop fighting, but Du Ziren refused because Baosheng Buddha had once conspired against him.
• Greedy Wolf Star Lord blocked Baosheng Buddha and challenged his claims that Mount Ling and the Buddha would punish the Heavenly Court.
• Meng Po joined Du Ziren and Greedy Wolf Star Lord to surround Baosheng Buddha, who summoned a golden lion and tried to flee.
• Ksitigarbha stopped the lion, prompting Baosheng Buddha to drive a dagger into his chest and transform it into crimson armor.
• Baosheng Buddha used the armor to escape at great speed, and Du Ziren and Meng Po discussed how Buddha-level fighters relied on survival techniques.

Du Ziren and Dizang discussed the coming Third Awakening of Eternal Night and Dizang’s changed identity, while Dizang revealed his fierce, irreverent side. In Jiangning, Wang Ye kept Zhao Hai away from Ghost Gate Pass and questioned Zhang Ziliang’s trustworthiness as Zhang defended his willingness to sacrifice himself.

• Meng Po warned Du Ziren that the Third Awakening of Eternal Night was near and that he would become a sinner if he died before it.
• After Meng Po and Greedy Wolf Star Lord left, Du Ziren asked Dizang whether he had awakened and remembered everything; Dizang said he could not return to Ghost Gate Pass as Xiao Wu.
• Du Ziren urged Dizang to settle his inner conflicts, then teased him about his past; Dizang cursed at him and said he was going to pick up Xiao Er.
• Wang Ye refused Zhao Hai’s proposal to return to Ghost Gate Pass and disguised him as a beggar, where a Jiangning resident took him home for New Year dumplings.
• On the city wall, Zhang Ziliang challenged Wang Ye’s distrust, then said he remembered everyone who had died because of his plans and believed everyone, including himself, must sacrifice when needed.

Wang Ye and Zhang Ziliang discussed Zhang’s plans for humanity after the war and the dangers he expected to face. They ended the night on the city wall, setting off fireworks together, though Zhang ultimately could not bring himself to light one.

• Zhang Ziliang told Wang Ye that he should survive the war and watch over future generations, while Zhang expected to die because of his reputation and lack of strength.
• Wang Ye considered how power and temptation could threaten peace and understood why Zhang wanted to keep ordinary cultivation techniques secret.
• Wang Ye asked about Li Xinghe, and Zhang said Li was safe and that they would expose him when the time was right.
• Wang Ye brought out fireworks he had stored away and lit one with Zhang on the city wall.
• Zhang picked up a small firework and took the lighter, but withdrew the match before he could ignite it.

Wang Ye gave Zhang Ziliang fireworks and supplies as a New Year gift before returning to Ghost Gate Pass. After Wang Ye left, Zhang Ziliang endured a painful bout of illness and discussed with Zhao Hai whether they might become enemies.

• Wang Ye gave Zhang Ziliang the fireworks and spare supplies he had collected, and the two agreed to light one final firework together the following New Year.
• Wang Ye wished Zhang Ziliang a happy New Year and returned to Ghost Gate Pass, worried about Liang Zhi Shui.
• Zhang Ziliang suffered a violent coughing fit after Wang Ye left, then recovered and lit another cigarette.
• Zhao Hai confronted Zhang Ziliang about practicing the Sword Cultivation Technique, while Yang Chen appeared beside Zhang Ziliang.
• Zhang Ziliang considered killing Zhao Hai to resolve his doubts about Zhao Hai's value to the Heaven Group, but Zhao Hai said he wanted Zhang Ziliang to offer more bargaining chips.
• Zhang Ziliang and Zhao Hai discussed Zhao Hai's experience of the New Year before Zhang Ziliang jokingly called himself noble, pure, and handsome.

Wang Ye returned to his home in Ghost Gate Pass and mistook Xiao Wu for a powerful intruder before discovering him with Xiao Er. During New Year’s Eve dinner, Wang Ye recognized that the mysterious Old Zhang who had brought them dumplings might have been following Xiao Wu.

• Wang Ye returned home after seeing Liang Zhi Shui on patrol and sensed someone hiding in the dark.
• Wang Ye prepared to confront the intruder, but Xiao Wu turned on the lights and revealed himself with Xiao Er.
• Xiao Wu invited Wang Ye to share dumplings for New Year’s Eve and said Old Zhang had brought them over.
• Wang Ye told Xiao Wu that his investigation had found no Old Zhang running a steamed bun shop in Shangjing.
• Xiao Wu offered to investigate Old Zhang, but Wang Ye said the man would likely be prepared and suggested they eat first.

Wang Ye planned to grow stronger before Eternal Night by absorbing more Buddha relics, while Xiao Wu and the others enjoyed a peaceful day. In the Buddha Kingdom, the Bodhisattvas withdrew to Little Leiyin Temple after the destruction, waited for Maitreya, and ordered corpses brought in to restore their strength.

• Wang Ye planned to rest for three days, then use relics and Merit Pool water to strengthen himself before Eternal Night.
• Xiao Wu watched Xiao Er run on the treadmill while Wang Ye considered his training plans.
• A group of old farmers carrying coffins left the ruined Buddha Kingdom after their leader called the withdrawal.
• Several Bodhisattvas and Arhats arrived, blamed Maitreya for the failed plan, and retreated to Little Leiyin Temple to await his return.
• A Bodhisattva ordered vital blood energy for their recovery, and an Arhat returned with sacks of corpses.

Zhang Ziliang asked Wang Ye to help assess candidates for Zhang Xiao’s new Fourth Awakening method, and Wang Ye reluctantly agreed. Zhang Ziliang and Zhao Hai then discussed their real plan to use Lu Wu’s illusions to infiltrate a Heaven stronghold, ending with Zhang Ziliang questioning whether Wang Ye truly belonged to the Heaven Group.

• Zhang Ziliang told Wang Ye that Zhang Xiao was moving her laboratory to Ghost Gate Pass and had developed a resource-intensive method for reaching the Fourth Awakening.
• Wang Ye considered Zhang Xiao’s arrival alongside Mao Yong’an’s presence suspicious but agreed that cooperation with the Heaven Group remained useful.
• Zhang Ziliang asked Wang Ye to create an illusion-based assessment for selected Heaven Group members, and Wang Ye agreed to help during his three-day vacation.
• After Wang Ye hung up, Zhang Ziliang told Zhao Hai they should delay borrowing Lu Wu because Wang Ye had become wary of his schemes.
• Zhao Hai argued that they needed Lu Wu’s illusions to infiltrate a well-stocked Heaven stronghold, and Zhang Ziliang asked who had said Wang Ye belonged to the Heaven Group.

Zhang Ziliang explained to Zhao Hai how to deal with Wang Ye and others without taking their favors for granted. Wang Ye prepared for a midnight scare assessment near Ghost Gate Pass, recruited Lu Wu, and began planning how he and his ghosts would frighten the examinees.

• Zhang Ziliang told Zhao Hai that Wang Ye was tsundere and warned him not to use moral pressure or take favors for granted.
• Zhang Ziliang texted Wang Ye the assessment details: five hundred examinees would gather at a low mountain east of Ghost Gate Pass at midnight, and one hundred would pass by scaring people.
• Wang Ye called Lu Wu and persuaded him to help with the assessment, promising to take him to see something after the Third Awakening of Eternal Night.
• Xiao Wu eagerly took charge of the ghost-scare task, while Xiao Er obeyed him and was sent back onto the treadmill.
• Wang Ye decided to use ghost stories and possibly bring in old Wasteland acquaintances, then called Xiao Wu, Xiao Si, and Xiao Er to prepare, but Xiao Er stayed on the treadmill.

Wang Ye led the Ghost Messenger squad on its first full-team operation, which involved impersonating ghosts, and recruited Lu Wu to build a large illusion array for training. Lu Wu finished the array despite his complaints, giving Wang Ye a jade pendant to control it; the array would last three days.

• Wang Ye rallied Xiao Wu, Xiao Er, and Xiao Si, then led them through Ghost Gate Pass dressed and styled to look intimidating, prompting frightened pedestrians to report them.
• Wang Ye asked Lu Wu to create an illusion array that could hold five hundred people and let him control the plot inside it.
• Lu Wu tried to leave, but Wang Ye reminded him that the training was for the fight against the Heavenly Court after Eternal Night, so Lu Wu agreed to build the array.
• Lu Wu spent five hours drawing the array while drinking, then gave Wang Ye a jade pendant and explained that the array would sustain itself for three days.
• Wang Ye used the pendant to inspect and control the array, and found that seeing Lu Wu's work helped him understand array formations he had been studying.

Wang Ye and Zhang Ziliang began Heaven Group’s assessment for five hundred Superhumans at the site where three hundred members had once departed on a fatal mission. The candidates entered an illusion that stripped away their memories, while Wang Ye and Zhang Ziliang watched through a projection.

• Zhang Ziliang explained that Zhao Hai was secured in a dungeon under heavy surveillance and would not interfere with the assessment.
• Zhang Ziliang reminded the candidates that three hundred Heaven Group members had left from the site to die for humanity, then warned that the assessment carried real danger.
• Wang Ye told Zhang Ziliang that the illusion erased entrants’ memories while preserving their personalities and judgment, and Zhang Ziliang continued the briefing without revealing the change.
• Lin Xi declared his admiration for Wang Ye and his readiness to face death, then entered the illusion with the other Superhumans.
• Wang Ye closed the entrance with the jade pendant and projected the scene inside, while Zhang Ziliang noted that monitoring over five hundred people would be difficult.