Chapter Summaries

Yang Shan arrived in Black Seal City as Eight Gates fell and negotiated a three-way alliance with Yin Gu Lao and Su Mei, securing a share of the city’s profits for Bloodshed Hall. The chapter ended with the factions agreeing to cooperate and leaving forces behind to manage the city.

• Yin Gu Lao and Su Mei attacked Black Seal City while Eight Gates split into factions, leaving its Third Elder to resist them at headquarters.
• Su Mei prepared to face Yin Gu Lao, trusting Su Yitang’s promised reinforcements to arrive.
• Yang Shan and Luo Xie appeared, and Yang Shan told Su Mei by voice transmission to cooperate with him.
• Yang Shan proposed that Bloodshed Hall, the Heavenly Yin Sect, and Rakshasa Gate divide Black Seal City’s profits, then demonstrated his alchemy by presenting a Break Emperor Pill.
• Yin Gu Lao and Su Mei accepted the deal, left forces to help Bloodshed Hall manage the city, and Su Mei arranged a banquet for Yang Shan.

Yang Shan and Su Yitang reviewed the newly unlocked leaderboards, which revealed Yang Shan’s enormous lead over other players. He gave Su Yitang a Spirit Rosy Flower, then planned to send her to Jia Nan Academy to gain levels while he hunted both NPCs and players.

• Yang Shan allied with Su Mei, whose favorability toward him and Su Yitang rose after the banquet.
• A global announcement unlocked the leaderboards after 100 players reached Dou Wang, and Yang Shan and Su Yitang went to inspect them.
• Yang Shan ranked first on the Combat Power and Weapon Rankings, while Hao Yunqi ranked second in combat power and first in armor.
• The leaderboards showed that several players, including Su Yitang and Zhu Tianpeng, had developed faster than they had in Yang Shan’s previous life.
• Yang Shan gave Su Yitang a Spirit Rosy Flower and told her he would take her to Jia Nan Academy to collect a quest and farm NPCs.
• Yang Shan planned to farm both NPCs and players while Su Yitang gained levels.

Yang Shan learned that he needed to visit the Soul Palace’s Ghost Wither Branch Hall to obtain Dark Soul Mist, then joined Su Yitang in attacking Black Alliance forces at Spirit Eucalyptus Valley to farm assists and points. As Jia Nan Academy’s side began to falter, a powerful presence arrived and threatened to beat Yang Shan to death.

• Luo Xie gave Yang Shan magic cores, and Hun Dan explained that Dark Soul Mist had to be obtained through a Soul Palace branch hall.
• Yang Shan learned the Ghost Wither Branch Hall’s location and received a map, then returned to Maple City and asked Pill Slave about Black Alliance deployments.
• Yang Shan and Su Yitang exchanged intelligence and chose Spirit Eucalyptus Valley, where the Black Alliance had gathered a large force.
• Yang Shan entered the Black Alliance command tent, impressed its commanders with his reputation, and learned their battle plan before joining the southwest force.
• Yang Shan and Su Yitang fought from the rear as Jia Nan Academy’s forces clashed with the Black Alliance, with Yang Shan farming assists and Su Yitang collecting kills.
• As Jia Nan Academy’s side began to lose ground, a powerful pressure descended and a young-sounding woman shouted that she had finally found Yang Shan and would beat him to death.

Yang Shan escaped an ambush by Zi Yan, Liu Qing, Lin Xiuya, and Xiao Aotian with Su Yitang’s help, then reunited with Zi Yan and joined the battle against the Black Alliance in Spirit Eucalyptus Valley. The chapter left Yang Shan clearing a swath through the enemy army while Xiao Aotian watched enviously.

• Zi Yan, Liu Qing, Lin Xiuya, and Xiao Aotian ambushed Yang Shan as Cheng E, forcing him to fight while hiding his strongest abilities.
• Su Yitang arrived and combined her Raging Sound Thousand Waves with Xiao Aotian’s Flame Splitting Tsunami Ruler, creating an explosion that let Yang Shan escape unseen.
• Yang Shan changed his disguise and thanked Su Yitang for helping him, then returned to the battlefield after she warned him about the Black Alliance forces.
• Yang Shan reunited with Zi Yan, apologized with Accompanying Amethyst Source, and placated her before they joined the fighting in Spirit Eucalyptus Valley.
• Yang Shan unleashed Lingering Spirit Hundred Howls and Lightning Arc Absolute Barrier over the Black Alliance troops, while Yu Feifei recorded him and Xiao Aotian watched with envy.

As Version 1.3 neared shutdown, Yang Shan urged players to keep pressure low while preparing for the next version and reunited with his friends at a virtual gathering. The chapter ended with Su Yitang caring for abandoned animals at a shelter, revealing that she had entered Battle Through the Heavens to support them before meeting Yang Shan.

• Players debated Version 1.3's end and rumors about a new feature, while Yang Shan used his verified forum post to discourage them from drawing attention to the issue.
• Yang Shan absorbed 100,000 points of Pure Soul Energy from his filled Soul Accumulation Pearl and met Jin Shankao, Ye Suifeng, Chao Bafang, Zhu Tianpeng, and other friends in a virtual courtyard.
• Jin Shankao and Wang Tianhao argued over their guilds, while Yang Shan agreed to consider helping Hero King Manor and kept his Three Thousand Thunder Movement secret from his friends.
• Yu Feifei, Mei Yangyang, Little Dolphin, Xiao Aotian, and Li Batian joined the gathering, where the group reminisced and Ye Suifeng asked after Su Yitang.
• Su Yitang fed the cats and other animals at an understaffed stray animal shelter and recalled that she had entered Battle Through the Heavens to earn money for them before meeting Yang Shan.

Yang Shan reunited with his parents during the server shutdown, then returned to Battle Through the Heavens when Version 2.0 launched and learned that his Soul Strength had reached Spirit Realm Middle Stage. After reassuring Zi Yan and giving her Accompanying Amethyst Source, he flew toward the Tagor Desert.

• Yang Shan bought a Looking Up XU8 for his father and a Looking Up XU7 for his mother, then drove home for the New Year.
• Yang Shan's parents arranged blind dates for him, while Su Yitang agreed to let her mother arrange one for her.
• Tian Yao Company announced Version 2.0's new regional conflicts, faction choices, and Black-Corner Region death rules as Players waited for the servers to reopen.
• Yang Shan logged in after seven days and received a system notification that his Soul Strength had advanced to Spirit Realm Middle Stage.
• Yang Shan gave Zi Yan ten bottles of Accompanying Amethyst Source and promised to accompany her to find her kin before flying toward the Tagor Desert.

Yang Shan traveled to Shimo City to hasten the Serpent-People tribe’s capture of the city and bring forward the opening of the Mystic Refinement Sect Ruins. After overpowering Yue Mei at the border, he prepared to force her to discuss cooperation.

• Yang Shan arrived in Shimo City and ordered the Mittel branch manager to evacuate the branch and give him intelligence on the Tagor front.
• Yang Shan learned that Yue Mei commanded a key Serpent-People defensive position and flew there to negotiate an attack on Shimo City.
• Yue Mei attacked Yang Shan with water arrows and a water python, but Yang Shan evaded her and damaged her Dou Qi Armor with his Finger Strength.
• Yang Shan revealed his Extraterrestrial Ghoul Lightning and proposed cooperation, but Yue Mei refused to work with him.
• Yang Shan used his soul attack to disorient Yue Mei, seized her by the throat, and carried her to a nearby mountaintop.

Yang Shan persuaded Yue Mei to cooperate in capturing Shimo City after revealing that the Jia Ma Empire was distracted by Yun Shan’s breakthrough to Dou Zong. After confirming that Mo City and Salt City lacked Dou Wang defenders, Yue Mei mobilized her tribe’s forces, while Yang Shan secured a promise to help him in the future.

• Yang Shan pressured Yue Mei into considering cooperation and explained that he wanted her help finding something in Shimo City.
• Yang Shan told Yue Mei that Yun Shan had become a Dou Zong and that the Jia Ma Empire could not focus on the Serpent-People tribe.
• Yue Mei agreed to cooperate after Yang Shan threatened her and demanded a future favor in return for saving her life.
• Yang Shan and Yue Mei flew to Mo City, where Yue Mei’s detection technique found no defenders, then checked Salt City and found it similarly unguarded.
• Yue Mei ordered a guard to mobilize a hundred thousand warriors, and Yang Shan pointed out that she wanted the forces to reduce casualties rather than help him.

Yang Shan learned that Yi Qingyang had rapidly climbed the Combat Power Rankings after obtaining powerful sword techniques, while Yue Mei captured Shimo City without waiting for him. After Yang Shan accepted her apology and ordered her to search for relic tokens, a video revealed Yun Shan’s return to the Misty Cloud Sect, and someone called out to Yang Shan as he planned to visit Ya Fei.

• Yang Shan read the forum posts about Yi Qingyang’s surge in combat power and concluded that he had obtained the Great Condensing Gold Art and Eight Desolations Sword Control Method.
• Yue Mei attacked Shimo City with twenty thousand Serpent-People and fifty wan Players, and its three thousand defenders surrendered with little resistance.
• After Yue Mei apologized for acting without him, Yang Shan told her to search inside and outside Shimo City for rusted weapons linked to the Mystic Refinement Sect Ruins.
• A Tianyao video showed Yun Shan returning and announcing that he would once again lead the Misty Cloud Sect.
• Yang Shan decided to visit Ya Fei after finishing his business, but a voice nearby shouted that it had missed him.

Yang Shan gathered his employees in Shimo City to search for rusty weapons tied to the Mystic Refinement Sect Ruins, but the ruins’ anomaly appeared earlier than expected and drew the attention of every Player. By exploiting the weapons, searching with Extraterrestrial Ghoul Lightning, and having Su Yitang break the ruins’ barrier, Yang Shan found the entrance ten minutes before the announced opening and urged his group to enter.

• Su Yitang and Chao Bafang joined Yang Shan in Shimo City, where they learned about the large-scale secret realm and went to find Zhu Tianpeng.
• Yue Mei gave Yang Shan three rusty weapons connected to the area’s anomaly, and he encouraged her to search for more.
• Golden meteors appeared after Yue Mei found a rusty spear, and Yang Shan sent her forces and his employees to search for the secret-realm entrance.
• A Global Announcement said the Mystic Refinement Sect Ruins would manifest in thirty minutes, so Yang Shan’s group continued searching while he swept the area with Extraterrestrial Ghoul Lightning.
• Yang Shan detected an energy barrier east of Shimo City, and Su Yitang’s Wind Zenith Sound cracked it while Yang Shan struck the fracture with Finger Strength.
• The barrier revealed the Mystic Refinement Sect Ruins entrance, and Yang Shan told his group to enter immediately.

Yang Shan used the Mystic Refinement Sect Token to locate valuable trials, defeated the first floor’s puppets, and obtained a Relic Key that sent him to the second floor. He began clearing the second floor with the same strategy, while the chapter ended with him destroying another Brass Puppet almost as soon as it activated.

• Yang Shan, Su Yitang, Chao Bafang, and Zhu Tianpeng entered the first floor, and Yang Shan told them to search separately while staying in contact.
• Yang Shan used the token’s reactions to identify promising trials and shared his method with the others; Su Yitang obtained a Mystic Rank Intermediate Dou Skill.
• Yang Shan quickly destroyed a Three-Star Dou Wang Brass Puppet and found Blue Water Mysterious Iron, which he told the others to sell to Old Man Tie Yang.
• Yang Shan helped Chao Bafang and Zhu Tianpeng defeat a Four-Armed Brass Puppet, took its Relic Key, and headed to the second floor.
• Yang Shan used the token to select a trial on the second floor and destroyed its Five-Star Dou Wang Brass Puppet as it began to rise.

Yang Shan found a Mystic Rank Advanced Dou Skill on the second floor, then entered a weapon-filled wasteland on the third floor and fought a Golden General Puppet. He discovered that a soul attack crippled the puppet’s movements, killed it, and obtained the Iron Blood Gauntlet.

• Yang Shan defeated a Special Silver Puppet on the second floor and took the Luo Ling Palm Secret Manual.
• Su Yitang, Zhu Tianpeng, and Chao Bafang trapped a Four-Armed Puppet and delivered its key to Yang Shan, allowing him to advance to the third floor.
• Yang Shan discovered that the third-floor weapons summoned puppets when touched, then used Extraterrestrial Ghoul Lightning to awaken hundreds of them, including a Golden General Puppet.
• Yang Shan struck the Golden General Puppet with Lingering Spirit Hundred Howls, scattering the soul that controlled it and slowing its movements.
• Yang Shan hacked apart the Golden General Puppet and obtained the Iron Blood Gauntlet.

Yang Shan and Su Yitang awakened two powerful general puppets on the third floor and struggled to damage them. Meanwhile, Zhu Tianpeng and Chao Bafang escaped Hao Yunqi by reaching the third floor, where they joined Yang Shan to fight the puppets.

• Su Yitang used the Wind Harp to awaken numerous puppets, including the Royal Halberd General and Brute Force General, whose strength made Yang Shan wary.
• Yang Shan found that his attacks barely hurt the Brute Force General, while the Royal Halberd General threatened him with its powerful strikes.
• Yang Shan called for Zhu Tianpeng and Chao Bafang, who were dealing with Hao Yunqi and a Silver Four-Armed Puppet on the second floor.
• Hao Yunqi attacked Zhu Tianpeng, but hesitated when Zhu claimed Yang Shan was coming; Chao Bafang defeated the Silver Four-Armed Puppet and secured its key.
• Zhu Tianpeng and Chao Bafang escaped to the third floor and joined Yang Shan and Su Yitang, then began helping battle the two general puppets.

Yang Shan and his team defeated two General Puppets, claimed powerful armor and a halberd, and retreated to recover. On the first floor, Tang Baizhan confronted a sword-wielding group from Shu Xian Lou and suspected their leader was Yi Qingyang.

• Yang Shan used Lingering Spirit Hundred Howls to weaken the Royal Halberd General and Brute Force General while Chao Bafang, Zhu Tianpeng, and Su Yitang attacked.
• Yang Shan and his teammates exposed the Brute Force General's throat as a weak point and destroyed it, earning the Thousand Scale Heavy Armor, which Yang Shan gave to Zhu Tianpeng.
• The four defeated the Royal Halberd General and obtained the King Breaking Halberd, then divided the value of both drops according to their contribution rates.
• Zhu Tianpeng and Chao Bafang rose to fifth and sixth on the Combat Power Rankings, while Yang Shan led the team away to recover their Dou Qi.
• Wang Tianhao sent Tang Baizhan and three elites to seize a Four-Armed Puppet, but a golden longsword controlled by a Shu Xian Lou martial artist blocked them.
• The Shu Xian Lou leader said the Four-Armed Puppet belonged to his group, and Tang Baizhan wondered if he was Yi Qingyang.

Yi Qingyang confronted Wang Tianhao’s Tian Hao Alliance over a Four-Armed Puppet, and their dispute escalated into a battle. When Shu Xian Lou’s flying-sword cultivators arrived, Yi Qingyang prepared to end the fight quickly after hearing that Yang Shan might already be exploring the upper floors.

• Tang Baizhan admitted War Soul Hall had joined the Tian Hao Alliance because its guild was struggling to make money, and Wang Tianhao arrived with elite members and his Fifth-Tier Amethyst Winged Lion King.
• Wang Tianhao refused to let Yi Qingyang take the Four-Armed Puppet and ordered his allies and Eggplant to send Yi Qingyang to the resurrection point.
• Yi Qingyang fought off Wang Tianhao’s sword attack and Eggplant’s flames, then evaded the Amethyst Winged Lion King’s Demon Spirit Cannon and tested its defensive barrier with a golden flying sword.
• More than ten Shu Xian Lou Players with flying Dou Qi techniques joined Yi Qingyang, and one told him that Yang Shan had been spotted in Shimo City and might have reached the third or fourth floor.
• After hearing that Yang Shan was nearby, Yi Qingyang told Wang Tianhao he wanted to settle the fight quickly and summoned eight golden flying swords.

Yi Qingyang joined Yang Shan’s group after losing their agreed spar, and the group rushed to the fourth level as NPC forces entered the ruins. There, Yang Shan and Su Yitang discovered formations of powerful puppets and launched an attack on one of them.

• Yi Qingyang reached the third level, met Yang Shan’s group, and agreed to help them in exchange for a spar.
• Yang Shan defeated Yi Qingyang in a single lightning-fast move, and Yi Qingyang joined the group after playfully asking Chao Bafang for a red clown nose.
• System notices announced that the Serpent-People tribe and the Ten Thousand Scorpion Gate had entered the ruins, so Yang Shan’s group hurried to find the next-level keys.
• The group defeated two Silver Four-Armed Puppets; Yang Shan and Su Yitang used their keys to enter the fourth level while Chao Bafang and Zhu Tianpeng stayed behind.
• Yang Shan and Su Yitang found twelve clearings containing formations of powerful puppets, then attacked one formation with lightning and wind, breaking its five-colored barrier.

Yang Shan’s group hid on the fourth floor of the Mystic Refinement Sect Ruins, gathered core treasures, and waited for the factions to fight over the only key to the fifth floor. When Hao Yunqi obtained the key, Yang Shan seized it and became its holder.

• Yang Shan, Su Yitang, Chao Bafang, and Zhu Tianpeng defeated two Five Elements Killing Arrays and found a Mystic Forging Hammer and a Naling.
• Yang Shan’s group concealed themselves while the Serpent-People tribe, the Ten Thousand Scorpion Gate, Players from Tian Hao Alliance and Shu Xian Lou, and other factions arrived on the fourth floor.
• Yang Shan reasoned that only one key opened the fifth floor, so his group watched Hao Yunqi’s attempt to defeat a set of five puppets.
• Hao Yunqi and the reinforced Tian Hao Alliance defeated the puppets, and Hao Yunqi opened the chest containing the only key to the fifth floor.
• Yang Shan struck Hao Yunqi’s Dou Qi Armor, prompting Hao Yunqi to throw away the key, which Yang Shan caught and claimed.

Yang Shan stole the key to the fifth floor and outmaneuvered pursuers from several factions, including the arriving Black Emperor Sect, before teleporting into the ruins’ final chamber. There he encountered a Four-Star Dou Zong puppet, whose spirit Tao Ye tried to possess, triggering a soul-strength contest that left Tao Ye shocked by Yang Shan’s size.

• Yang Shan used Three Thousand Thunder Movement to seize Hao Yunqi’s key, then evaded attacks from the Serpent-People tribe, the Misty Cloud Sect, and the Ten Thousand Scorpion Gate while the countdown ran down.
• Yun Cha reported that Yang Shan’s three employees had stolen the Misty Cloud Sect’s puppets, and the factions’ elders joined forces to attack Yang Shan.
• Mo Ya of the Black Emperor Sect arrived and tried to claim the key, but Yang Shan stalled him until the key teleported him to the fifth floor.
• Yang Shan found the Ink Iron Marshal, a Golden Word Seal puppet with Four-Star Dou Zong combat power, and called Tian Yao customer service for information, but received no useful answer.
• The Ink Iron Marshal attacked Yang Shan, then Tao Ye’s soul revealed itself and selected him for possession, activating a battle determined by soul strength.
• Yang Shan arrived in the possession confrontation and towered over the child-sized Tao Ye, who cried out in terror at Yang Shan’s size.

Yang Shan defeated Tao Ye and trapped his weakened soul in a Jade Bottle, then claimed the Mystic Refinement Sect’s three legacy treasures. He left with a new puppet companion and praised the game’s developers, while the treasures’ use and the next stage of his journey remained ahead.

• Yang Shan subdued Tao Ye, spared him, and sealed him in a Jade Bottle with a pinch of Extraterrestrial Ghoul Lightning.
• Yang Shan deduced how Tao Ye had tried to possess Medusa Queen in his previous life and learned that the system had weakened Tao Ye for Players.
• Yang Shan opened two treasure chests and found the Army Puppet Forging Method and an Equipment Orb that could be customized after he left the ruins.
• Yang Shan planted a soul imprint on the Ink Iron Marshal, claiming it as the Mystic Refinement Sect’s third treasure and unlocking puppet control.
• Yang Shan tested Thought Control and Immersive Control, then ordered the Ink Iron Marshal to earn him experience.
• Yang Shan contacted customer service to correct his earlier complaint and offered the developers a ten-thousand-RMB thank-you gift.

Yang Shan returned to the fourth level and fought the factions waiting to seize his spoils, using the Ink Iron Marshal to kill Mo Jia and drive Mo Ya into retreat. He ordered the Marshal to capture Mo Ya alive, hoping to use the Black Emperor Sect Young Master to bargain with Mo Tianxing.

• Yang Shan appeared on the fourth level, where Mo Ya, the Misty Cloud Sect, and the Ten Thousand Scorpion Gate had gathered to ambush him after attacking the Serpent-People tribe.
• Yang Shan summoned the Ink Iron Marshal, and together they killed Mo Jia, earning Yang Shan enough experience to rise to Eight Star Dou Wang.
• Mo Ya conceded that Yang Shan had a powerful puppet and tried to retreat, but Yang Shan decided to kill him after receiving a notification that Mo Ya still hated him.
• Yang Shan attacked Mo Ya while Su Yitang's allies stopped the other elders from escaping, and four Dou Wangs engaged Mo Yi and Mo Bing.
• Yang Shan blocked Mo Ya's escape and changed his order, telling the Ink Iron Marshal to capture him alive so he could use him to negotiate with Mo Tianxing.