Chapter Summaries

Gu Ding stunned Wu La City by defeating Kelsa with one punch, then learned the third-round selection rules and waited for the middle-division matches. The chapter left him called to fight first in the middle division, though his opponent’s name was unknown.

• Kelsa charged at Gu Ding after Gu Ding repeatedly refused him, but Gu Ding struck him once and knocked him unconscious.
• City Lord Capson praised Gu Ding as an exceptional dark horse while Vice City Lord Saker watched his fallen son.
• Capson announced that the second round had ended and explained the third-round selection rules for the lower and middle divisions.
• Gu Ding watched the lower-division matches, noticed several young competitors with strong Martial Dao Intent, and waited for the middle division to begin.
• The Spirit Communication Giant Tablet listed Gu Ding’s number 11 in the first middle-division match, and Gu Ding searched for his opponent.

Gu Ding faced Ba Mu in the Martial Dao competition and proved stronger in their opening hand-to-hand exchanges. Ba Mu then announced he would use his true strength, and Gu Ding said he would stop holding back too.

• Ba Mu called for 9527 to meet him in Number One Arena, and spectators identified him as Wu La City's strongest Half-Step True God.
• Gu Ding entered the arena and exchanged confident remarks with Ba Mu before Ba Mu launched the first attack.
• Gu Ding and Ba Mu traded powerful punches, with Gu Ding gaining the advantage as their speed and strength astonished the spectators.
• Ba Mu stopped the warm-up and said he would use his true strength, and Gu Ding replied that he would no longer hold back.

Gu Ding defeated Ba Mu with precise martial techniques, then faced Jia Geer in the next round and overwhelmed him with a powerful Soul Impact. Gu Ding remained undefeated as the arena matches continued.

• Ba Mu transformed into a Third Sequence True God, but Gu Ding broke his ribs, shattered his spine, and crippled both arms before knocking him unconscious.
• Gu Ding won the first-round match, prompting spectators to investigate his identity as contestant 9527 and learn only that he registered as Gu Lotte and was sixteen hundred years old.
• After the intermediate-rank first round ended, Gu Ding drew Jia Geer as his opponent and suspected the supposedly random pairings were arranged.
• Jia Geer demanded that Gu Ding become his servant, then attacked with a Soul Impact after Gu Ding refused.
• Gu Ding countered with the soul strength of a seven-star Half-Step True God, leaving Jia Geer collapsed and securing another win.

After securing a preliminary-round slot, Gu Ding learned why Wu La City valued the Martial Dao Tournament and met the mysterious Ninth Sequence True God Lilian over lunch. Lilian left without discovering Gu Ding’s secret, while Sea Emperor warned him to remain cautious as the tournament approached.

• After the selection ended, Capson announced the slots, with Gu Lotte ranked first in the middle tier, and explained the rewards for the Martial Dao Tournament.
• Sea Emperor told Gu Ding that the tournament’s top finishers could earn resources and that the top three could comprehend the Heavenly God Tablet.
• Lilian approached Gu Ding and accompanied him to a barbecue restaurant, where she said she was searching for someone and asked why he had entered the competition.
• After lunch, Lilian introduced herself and predicted Gu Ding could win the middle-tier championship, while Gu Ding said he felt she could win the high-tier championship.
• Lilian departed, and Sea Emperor cautioned Gu Ding to keep his identity hidden; Gu Ding promised to be careful.

Gu Ding and the other contestants arrived at the Heavenly God Palace’s mountain, where Bartley explained that the preliminary round was a timed climb through changing gravity and demon-beast territory. After the advanced-rank assessment ended, Gu Ding set off at an easy pace for the intermediate round, prompting Capson to bet he would finish in the top three.

• City Lord Capson explained that contestants had to climb Mount Silas Teal on foot to reach the Heavenly God Palace.
• Examiner Bartley announced the timed mountain-climb rules and started the advanced-rank assessment.
• Lilian questioned about twenty Ninth Sequence True Gods about events in Shattas Main City four months earlier, asking about a Crimson Flame Demon Tree and powerful battle-energy fluctuations.
• Bartley announced that 36,861 of more than 80,000 advanced-rank contestants had passed, then started the intermediate-rank assessment.
• Gu Ding strolled toward the mountain, and Capson bet Lancier and other city lords that Gu Ding would place in the top three.

Gu Ding climbed the mountain’s gravity-heavy slopes, defeated the demonic beasts in his way, and overcame the waterfall and Frost Zone challenges. He reached the summit plaza first, while Examiner Bartley watched his progress.

• Sea Emperor explained that the mountain’s gravity increased with altitude and warned Gu Ding about its demonic beasts and obstacles.
• Gu Ding killed eleven Black Armor Wolf Beasts with Finger Force and continued climbing without taking a detour.
• Gu Ding climbed through the heavy-water waterfall, enduring repeated falls and crushed rocks, and reached its top after more than two hours.
• Gu Ding crossed the mountain’s later challenges and entered the Frost Zone, where he used muscle tremors and Crimson Blood Crystals to keep warm.
• Gu Ding cleared the Frost Zone and reached the summit plaza as Examiner Bartley observed his progress.

Gu Ding completed the first preliminary round in record time and rested while other contestants arrived. After Li Bo eliminated a contestant who arrived late, he explained that the second round would take place in a Trial Space, where contestants had to collect ten tokens without killing anyone; the hunting game began as Gu Ding entered first.

• Gu Ding reached the summit plaza in six hours, and examiner Li Bo told him he had broken the preliminary round speed record.
• A woman in black arrived second, questioned Gu Ding's time, and then rested as more contestants reached the plaza.
• After the twenty-hour limit, Li Bo announced that 32,817 contestants had qualified and killed a burly man who tried to enter late.
• Li Bo explained that contestants had to collect at least ten tokens in the Trial Space, while forbidding killing and allowing teams.
• Li Bo transported the contestants to the Trial Space, where Gu Ding entered first and the woman in black followed.
• The contestants entered through the massive door, and Li Bo watched their movements on a screen as the hunting game began.

Gu Ding learned that an ancient Death Servant threatened everyone in the Trial Space and tried to reduce the danger by hypnotizing contestants into surrendering their metal plaques and sparing the native lifeforms. Despite Sea Emperor's warnings that the Death Servant might awaken soon, Gu Ding refused to leave and continued his effort.

• Sea Emperor told Gu Ding that a sleeping Elementary Death Servant controlled the corpse-transformed natives and could awaken if too many were killed.
• Gu Ding decided to keep other contestants from killing the natives, then hypnotized a burly man and took his metal plaque while ordering him to spare them.
• Gu Ding collected over a hundred plaques and hypnotized over a hundred contestants in one day, while the examiner watched and mistook his actions for kindness.
• After two days, Gu Ding had hypnotized more than two hundred and eighty contestants, but Sea Emperor reported that native deaths had exceeded one hundred thousand and urged him to leave.
• Sea Emperor refused to give Gu Ding another target's location and argued that he needed to survive for their companions and their three-year agreement, but Gu Ding insisted on continuing.

Gu Ding entered the Death Servant’s curse area and discovered that his Darkness Immunity and the pyramid in his Soul Space could repel its attacks. He planned to use Absolute Seal on the Death Servant, but Heavenly God Palace’s reinforcements lacked the strength to hold it off and create an opening.

• After the Death Servant awakened, Li Bo contacted Heavenly God Palace’s Vice Palace Lord about corpsification and entered the secret realm to warn the contestants away.
• Many contestants rushed toward the energy source, while Gu Ding headed there intending to seal the Death Servant with Absolute Seal.
• Li Bo entered the black cloud vortex, succumbed to the curse, and rose again as a corpsified being.
• Gu Ding tested the curse at the vortex’s edge and found that Darkness Immunity repelled one attack while the pyramid in his Soul Space destroyed another.
• Sea Emperor reported that two Vice Palace Lords, five elders, and numerous Ninth Sequence True Gods had arrived, but no Tenth Sequence being or Heavenly God was among them.
• Gu Ding explained that he needed someone to distract the Death Servant so he could use Absolute Seal, and worried the reinforcements would be corpsified too quickly to help.

Gu Ding waited for Heavenly God Palace to confront the Dead Servant, then followed as its corpse army surrounded the four intruders. Lorinda’s soul attacks destroyed the Dead Servant’s control over many corpses, but it retaliated with a shriek and a Soul Impact.

• Kornahan led Lorinda and the elders into the black-cloud area after warning them about its soul attack and bodily corrosion.
• Gu Ding learned that four Heavenly God Palace members had entered the Dead Servant’s range, then approached while keeping his distance from them.
• Kornahan, Lorinda, and two elders found the Dead Servant, which raised tens of thousands of powerful corpses from the graveyard to surround them.
• Gu Ding used Soul Impact to destroy the Dead Servant’s influence over corpses that attacked him, while the Heavenly God Palace group struggled against the surrounding horde.
• Lorinda unleashed her soul force and toppled waves of controlled corpses, prompting the Dead Servant to strike the four with another Soul Impact.

The Death Servant overwhelmed Kornahan and the elders with its Soul Impact, while Lorinda fought to protect them and Gu Ding tried to seal it. Gu Ding’s Absolute Seal failed, and after the Death Servant struck him with Death Advent, his consciousness fell dormant as the creature examined him.

• Kornahan and the two elders lost consciousness under the Death Servant’s Soul Impact, while Lorinda wounded herself to stay alert and hurled them toward safety.
• Lorinda cut through the Death Servant’s black whips with her daggers and attacked, while Gu Ding secretly approached the battlefield.
• Gu Ding punched the Death Servant to activate Absolute Seal, but Sea Emperor warned him that the ability had failed as black whips swept toward him.
• The Death Servant released blue light that petrified Lorinda and Gu Ding, and Gu Ding’s consciousness faded into darkness.
• Sea Emperor could not wake Gu Ding, and the Death Servant examined him after noticing that Death Advent had left his consciousness dormant rather than extinguishing it.

After Death Advent left Gu Ding seemingly dead, a crimson-eyed being who had lived within him since birth took control and destroyed the Death Servant. The being warned Sea Emperor to keep its existence secret, leaving Gu Ding unaware of what had happened.

• Death Advent drained Gu Ding's life force, but Sea Emperor and the Death Servant sensed that he remained alive.
• Devouring Heaven opened the black door in Gu Ding's Soul Space, releasing a black-robed youth who looked like Gu Ding and had blood-red eyes.
• The youth took control of Gu Ding's body, shattered the ice crystals, and emerged as Red-Eyed Gu Ding.
• Red-Eyed Gu Ding crushed the Death Servant with a giant dark hand, causing the secret realm to shake.
• Red-Eyed Gu Ding told Sea Emperor that he had been within Gu Ding since birth and threatened to destroy him if he asked more questions.
• Red-Eyed Gu Ding ordered Sea Emperor not to tell Gu Ding about what he had witnessed.

After the Death Attendant died and the secret realm collapsed, Gu Ding survived in a Stabilization Point and returned to the Gravel World with a handful of other survivors. Heavenly God Palace suspended its competition and began investigating, leaving Gu Ding unable to pursue his mission to approach Celestine.

• Sea Emperor hid Red-Eyed Gu Ding's involvement in killing the Death Attendant and told Gu Ding he did not know who had killed it.
• Sea Emperor explained that Gu Ding was standing in a safe Stabilization Point, where he could wait out the secret realm's collapse and return to the Gravel World.
• Gu Ding and survivors from two other Stabilization Points emerged after the secret realm vanished, while most people inside it had been killed.
• Kornahan arrived with more than seventy survivors, suspended the competition, and ordered the survivors to register and cooperate with an investigation.
• Gu Ding noticed that Kornahan and several elders were injured, and Sea Emperor's scans showed Celestine's presence growing weaker as they neared Heavenly God Palace.
• Gu Ding was housed at a guest palace with the other survivors and began considering how to approach Celestine after the competition's suspension disrupted his plan.

Gu Ding was questioned by Heavenly God Palace about his unexplained rise, his arrival at the secret realm’s Stabilization Point, and the Dead Servant. After proving his soul strength and recounting what happened, he was to be brought before Palace Lord Celestine.

• The Grand Elder questioned Gu Ding about why Heavenly God Palace had no records of him, and Gu Ding said a Black Crystal had caused his sudden growth.
• Gu Ding explained that he had reached the Stabilization Point after being caught in the battle’s aftermath and revealed that his Darkness Immunity let him withstand the Dead Servant’s curse.
• Kornahan attacked Gu Ding with a Soul Impact, but the Grand Elder stopped him after confirming Gu Ding’s soul strength surpassed theirs.
• Gu Ding recounted the Dead Servant’s attack and how Lorinda saved Kornahan’s group, revealing that she had held back the monster alone.
• The Grand Elder decided to inform Celestine about Gu Ding, and Gu Ding prepared to meet the Palace Lord.

Gu Ding met Celestine and gave him a false account of the Abyss Soul Crystal and the secret realm before revealing Bartholomew from the ice coffin. Bartholomew trapped Celestine in a soul-sealing formation and summoned a massive black chain to strike him.

• Gu Ding worried that Bartholomew might fail and leave him vulnerable to Celestine.
• Kornahan escorted Gu Ding to meet Celestine, who questioned him about the Black Crystal and the Death Attendant's death.
• Celestine gave Gu Ding a bottle containing a drop of True Blood from a Tenth Sequence True God.
• Gu Ding brought out the ice coffin, and Bartholomew emerged and trapped Celestine inside a twelve-pillar soul-sealing formation.
• Bartholomew completed the formation, opening a hole in the sky and sending a massive black chain toward Celestine.

Bartholomew’s sealing technique trapped Lilian, but revealed that Celestine had a second soul who took control of their shared body. Celestine broke free and confronted the exhausted Bartholomew and Gu Ding, ending the chapter by attacking them.

• Bartholomew sealed Lilian inside a black cocoon, but she transformed into Celestine as the seal took hold.
• Celestine explained that he belonged to the Twin Soul Race and that sealing Lilian had given him control of their body.
• The Sea Emperor realized Bartholomew had nearly exhausted his soul power, so Gu Ding tried to flee with him.
• Celestine shattered the formation’s barrier, caught up with Gu Ding and Bartholomew, and threatened to kill them.
• Celestine formed a gigantic transparent claw and sent it toward Gu Ding and Bartholomew.

Celestine’s soul attack pushed Gu Ding’s Soul Space to the brink of collapse, awakening a terrifying red-eyed presence within him. The presence devoured Celestine and warned Bartholomew to keep its existence secret before Gu Ding regained consciousness, unaware of what had happened.

• Celestine’s soul attack overwhelmed Gu Ding and Bartholomew, while the Black Robe Young Man helped Gu Ding’s Soul Space recover.
• Gu Ding opened his eyes with a crimson gaze and released an aura that alarmed powerhouses throughout the Gravel World.
• Red-Eyed Gu Ding summoned a gigantic demonic idol and devoured Celestine after Celestine failed to escape its pull.
• Red-Eyed Gu Ding warned Bartholomew not to tell the main body about him, then vanished as Gu Ding collapsed.
• The Black Robe Young Man returned through the sealed door in Gu Ding’s Soul Space, saying he would be unable to intervene for some time.
• Gu Ding woke and asked where Celestine was, and Bartholomew claimed he had dealt with Celestine using a special divine ability.

Gu Ding and Bartholomew traveled around Gravel World until Gu Ding’s one-year term ended, but the expected teleportation never came. Sea Emperor concluded they had been knocked off course and could leave only if Gu Ding reached the Heavenly God level, putting his reunion with Lily and the others in doubt.

• Gu Ding and Bartholomew sampled food in Gao Le, and Bartholomew agreed to copy his recipes for Gu Ding’s chef companion.
• Gu Ding and Bartholomew spent several months traveling around Gravel World before Gu Ding’s one-year term ended.
• Bartholomew entered dormancy, and Gu Ding placed him in his Storage Space while waiting for the teleportation beam.
• When the expected teleportation failed to appear, Sea Emperor deduced that the passage tremor had knocked them off course and that Gate of Purgatory could no longer locate them.
• Sea Emperor told Gu Ding he would have to reach the Heavenly God level and shatter Gravel World’s void to leave, leaving Gu Ding worried he would miss his three-year agreement with Lily and the others.

Bygrave, Kachipul, and Gabriel believed Gu Ding had died after he failed to return from the Confinement Space, and they prepared to face Gu Zang’s wrath. Gu Ding was alive in the Gravel World, but Bartholomew explained that reaching his home plane could require Main God Level strength, while less than two years remained on Gu Ding’s agreement.

• Bygrave, Kachipul, and Gabriel waited at the Confinement Space for Gu Ding, but he did not return by the end of the day.
• Bygrave concluded Gu Ding had died and feared Gu Zang would retaliate against the Human Race; the three leaders decided to fight together rather than flee.
• Victoria and Belinda, along with prisoners on the Sixth Layer, assumed Gu Ding had died after he failed to emerge from the Death Mode Confinement Space.
• Gu Ding told Bartholomew that he could not return because the space-time teleportation trajectory had gone wrong.
• Bartholomew explained that Gu Ding might need Main God Level strength to cross the Space-Time Disordered Land and reach his original plane, leaving Gu Ding anxious about his agreement with less than two years remaining.

Gu Ding exhausted his cultivation resources and reached a bottleneck, then spent more than a century in the Time Acceleration Cabin feeding Crimson Blood Crystals to the little black dog in his Soul Space. With less than four months remaining before the three-year deadline, Sea Emperor identified an Old Shaman who might know how to leave the Gravel World.

• Gu Ding advanced to Two-Star Peak-rank God, raised his physical and soul strength to Eight-Star Half-Step True God, and found that his cultivation limits prevented further progress.
• Gu Ding tried to force a physical breakthrough with Crimson Blood Crystals, but the little black dog absorbed the blood-energy each time.
• Gu Ding deliberately fed the little black dog hundreds of millions of Crimson Blood Crystals over more than a hundred and twenty years until it grew to adult size but remained asleep.
• Sea Emperor warned Gu Ding that less than four months remained before the deadline and that only a little over thirty years remained inside the Time Acceleration Cabin.
• Sea Emperor told Gu Ding about an Old Shaman who had predicted disasters, Celestine's death, and Gu Ding's arrival, and who knew of Sea Emperor's existence.