Chapter Summaries

Qiu Tu used his growing influence and the Imperial Sword to force Heavy Stone God King to accept his authority over the Execution Department. He then met Ink God King, who immediately suggested that he had problems, leaving Qiu Tu unsure whether she had uncovered his secrets.

• Qiu Tu challenged Heavy Stone God King's accusations and ordered Han Hai God King to deliver the Execution Department's files and prepare the God Kings for a meeting.
• Heavy Stone God King told Han Hai God King to cooperate with Qiu Tu for now, then decided to approach Star Founder God King and reconsidered whether he should reconcile with Qiu Tu.
• Qiu Tu followed Qing E to meet Ink God King, uneasy about facing a High-Level God King but reassured when his Crisis Intuition did not trigger.
• Ink God King laughed and told Ilena that Qiu Tu truly had some problems, prompting Qiu Tu to wonder whether she had discovered his secrets.

Qiu Tu dismissed Guan Xiao’s concerns about releasing Jackal Dog and prepared to take the 7th Shelter, while the shelter’s three great families chose different responses to his advancing forces. Tang Feifei exploited Wei Zhengze’s defection to capture four states in a day, leaving the 7th Shelter’s core close to being surrounded as outside reinforcements approached.

• Qiu Tu reassured Guan Xiao that Jackal Dog was loyal and that he was strong enough to handle him, while Guan Xiao carried out his orders.
• Zhao Pan secretly sent his son and a team away from the 7th Shelter with the Zhao Family’s encoded wealth and research data, then fled himself.
• Han Qidong suspected Zhao Pan was escaping and resolved to fight Qiu Tu, while Wei Zhengze promised Guan Xiao that his forces would let the coalition army pass through Wei Family territory.
• Tang Feifei studied Guan Xiao’s intelligence and led Qiu Tu and Consort Xi’s coalition through cities that surrendered or offered little resistance.
• Tang Feifei captured four states and more than forty cities in a day, bringing the coalition army to the 7th Shelter’s core as the shelter’s defenses collapsed and reinforcements from the 3rd and 4th Shelters remained days away.

Qiu Tu secured Tang Feifei’s list of suspected spies in the Security Department after provoking her with a blunt assessment of her appearance. Tang Feifei demanded that he become her man, and Qiu Tu readily agreed, leaving their relationship poised to become more intimate.

• Liu Fuping was thrown out of her own home and tried unsuccessfully to listen through the well-insulated door.
• Tang Feifei asked Qiu Tu to rate her, and he gave her a nine out of a hundred while listing her supposed flaws.
• Angered by Qiu Tu’s critique, Tang Feifei ripped open her uniform and challenged him; Qiu Tu flirted back by flicking her chest binding.
• Tang Feifei wrote Qiu Tu a detailed list of suspected spies in the Security Department in exchange for him becoming her person.
• Tang Feifei clarified that she meant her man, and Qiu Tu agreed before beginning to unbutton his clothes.

Qiu Tu explained how he and Yan Yan had planned to win Ai Li's trust and secure her political support, then learned that Yan Yan's resentment toward her friends and father drove her betrayal. The next morning, Qiu Tu asked Ai Li to publicly support his crackdown on spies and extremists, leaving her uneasy about the request.

• Qiu Tu recalled how he used his Fourth-Order Mental Power to guarantee victory over Ai Li in gambling and staged an intimate encounter with Yan Yan to make Ai Li see him as a romantic interest.
• Yan Yan told Qiu Tu that jealousy of Ai Li and Xue Er, along with resentment toward her father Yan Chen for using her cells to clone Qin Shuman, motivated her betrayal.
• Qiu Tu offered to help Yan Yan take revenge on Yan Chen, and Yan Yan eagerly acted out his plan before he sent her back to the villa near dawn.
• Ai Li woke tired after spending the night thinking about Qiu Tu, and Xue Er noticed her nosebleed before Ai Li left for work.
• Qiu Tu met Ai Li outside the Investigation Department and asked her to support his plan to target Anti-Government Armed Forces and Extremist Religion personnel at the meeting.

Yan Chen suspected that Qiu Tu’s rapid rise and political maneuvers were connected to the strange upheaval during his failed ritual, while the Organization Department confirmed Qiu Tu’s appointment as Minister of the Political Department. Qiu Tu learned that Director Dai wanted to meet him and explain the truth behind his promotion.

• Yan Chen recalled the storm and lightning that had shattered his ritual and wondered whether the upheaval had changed Qiu Tu.
• Yan Chen concluded that Qiu Tu may have helped thwart his plans, but recognized that Qiu Tu’s new position made him too powerful to attack.
• The Organization Department ministers completed their meeting and discussed how the Tang family, Old Wang, and Dai Yukang had each encouraged support for Qiu Tu.
• Zhen Lie, Zhou Jingfu, and Meng Sanzhai wondered whether a powerful figure had personally selected Qiu Tu, since Councilor Ouyang had also intervened.
• Qiu Tu received Tang Feifei’s message that the plan had worked, then learned from Qin Shuman that his appointment was confirmed and Director Dai wanted to reveal why he had been promoted.

Qiu Tu arranged for Su Xiaowan to take Fang Tangtang and La Riluo around New Realm City while Qin Shuman persuaded Dai Yukang to support his plans. Reports on La Riluo’s defeat and the proposed Boundless Mind Sea expansion reached the Shelter, where Qiu Tu’s name drew the attention of a councilor.

• Qiu Tu asked Tang Feifei to lend him Su Xiaowan, then sent Su Xiaowan to take Fang Tangtang and La Riluo on an outing.
• Qin Shuman told Dai Yukang that Qiu Tu was a Security Department spy and argued that the department should support his plans.
• Dai Yukang deduced that La Riluo was likely hiding in one of Qiu Tu’s mistresses, but concluded Qiu Tu had already moved her beyond easy discovery.
• Dai Yukang agreed to discuss Qiu Tu’s proposals with General Ye and told Qin Shuman she was responsible for the man she had brought into the Military Department.
• A report crediting Liu Xiongyuan, Ye Mingfeng, and Wang Hu with slaying La Riluo reached the Shelter, followed by Qiu Tu and his allies’ Evil God Capture and Boundless Mind Sea Expansion plans.
• The Shelter’s upper echelons examined the reports, and an Investigation Department councilor noticed Qiu Tu’s name.

Heavy Stone God King and Han Hai God King weighed whether Hua Wanwan could be trusted, while Ilena advised Qing E to investigate her. Qiu Tu bound ten Order Heavenly Gods to his faction and began a breakthrough to Second Level God King, prompting Zhao Ji to decide to use her backup plan so she could keep pace with him.

• Heavy Stone God King agreed to try recruiting Hua Wanwan, and Han Hai God King prepared a gift and invitation for her.
• Ilena explained to Qing E why Qiu Tu might be gathering intelligence through his own abilities, but told her to test Hua Wanwan anyway.
• Hua Wanwan received invitations from Han Hai God King and Qing E and wondered whether Qiu Tu had exposed a flaw.
• Qiu Tu finalized his bonds with ten subordinate Heavenly Gods, rewarded them, and gained Order Path insight as they pledged themselves to him.
• Qiu Tu told Zhao Ji he would enter seclusion to break through to Second Level God King, then began his breakthrough.
• Zhao Ji resolved to use her backup plan because she wanted to stand beside Qiu Tu as his comrade-in-arms rather than fall behind him.

Qiu Tu met with Jia Shu, who tasked him with interrogating Cao Dabiao's group and investigating Yin Caimei's death. Qiu Tu's Crisis Intuition warned him that the death investigation was a dangerous trap with a ten-day deadline, but he accepted the assignment and briefed Jia Shu on his contact with the Security Department.

• Qiu Tu guessed that Jia Shu would let him review Cao Dabiao's group, and he increased Song Qing's loyalty by listening to her complaints.
• Jia Shu described the privileges of rising through the Investigation Department and told Qiu Tu to follow the right people; Qiu Tu declared his loyalty.
• Jia Shu assigned Qiu Tu to interrogate Cao Dabiao's detained group and decide their punishments, saying he had secured the opportunity from the director.
• Jia Shu told Qiu Tu that Yin Caimei had died and assigned him to investigate her death, demanding a quick conclusion that satisfied the political and business circles.
• Qiu Tu's Crisis Intuition warned that the case was a trap and gave him ten days to close it; he accepted the task and told Jia Shu that the Security Department still distrusted him.

Qiu Tu explained his plan to use Xiao Yuan Yao and the Chaos Path to distract Star Founder God King, then questioned Heavenly King Zhi Yan about Tian Nu. Zhi Yan revealed that Heavenly Fury had secretly joined the Order Shrine and caused the Heavenly God Cataclysm, while Qiu Tu continued questioning her with increasingly intimate gestures.

• Qiu Tu explained that Xiao Yuan Yao would use the coordinates he gave her to lead Chaos Path forces against Star Founder God King's Underground God Kingdoms.
• Zhu Wu warned that Star Founder God King might be using Yao Qin as part of a conspiracy, but Qiu Tu argued that the unexpected events left too little time to relocate the God Kingdoms.
• Zhu Wu and Qing Lan left Mandala City to advance to the Eighth Order, while Qiu Tu summoned Heavenly King Zhi Yan to his study.
• Heavenly King Zhi Yan described Heavenly Fury as a wary, ambitious schemer and said their union had been a political arrangement.
• Heavenly King Zhi Yan revealed that Heavenly Fury had discovered and joined the Order Shrine, then guided Star Founder God King and others to the Boundless Mind Sea, making him the true culprit behind the Heavenly God Cataclysm.
• Qiu Tu questioned Zhi Yan about the Order Shrine while touching her shoulder, and she hesitated over whether to refuse his advances.

Qiu Tu secured the support of Eighth Shelter’s leaders and unified the Northwest Region, becoming its president. As other Heavenly God Candidates began moving against him, the bald leader, Mei La, and Xin Duo prepared to seize the resources he had gathered.

• The bald leader, Mei La, and the twins Xin Duo debated targeting Qiu Tu, then agreed to wait until he became Northwest King before killing him and taking his resources.
• A child and the iron-tower-like Lao Hei burned the corpses in a Wild City manor and set out for Seventh Shelter to meet Qiu Tu.
• Rao Shou and Tang Wanli backed Qiu Tu’s plan to unify the region and told him they would bear the blame for his methods.
• Eighth Shelter dissolved and merged into the Ninth Shelter, completing Qiu Tu’s unification of the three nations in the Northwest Region.
• Qiu Tu was sworn in as Northwest Shelter President, while the bald leader, Mei La, and Xin Duo began calculating disaster supplies at the former Seventh Shelter hub.

Doris recalled Zhao Ji’s legendary past and formed an alliance with Tian Qi, while Zhao Ji challenged the North God King to restore Qiu Tu’s dignity. As Zhao Ji received no response from Bei Ze, Qiu Tu’s allies discussed using the upheaval to expand his influence.

• Doris remembered Zhao Ji’s rise to become Number One Under the Heavens at seventeen and teased Tian Qi about his old feelings for her.
• Tian Qi agreed to work with Doris and said he truly wanted to remain by Zhao Ji’s side; Qiu Tu and Zhao Ji had assigned him to lead the Mist Veil Society in handing the Southwest Area to the Human Faction.
• Zhao Ji praised Doris’s father, then left to confront those who had challenged Qiu Tu’s standing; Doris caught Qiu Tu’s attention by offering information about Tian Qi’s real intentions.
• Zhao Ji arrived outside the Northern Kingdom and challenged Bei Ze, but the North God King gave no response.
• Guan Xiao, Tang Feifei, and Consort Xi concluded that Qiu Tu had likely killed the three Heavenly God Level avatars and discussed exploiting the news to expand his faction, possibly targeting Siyuan Pavilion.

Qiu Tu unlocked the Salvage Game, obtained a Rosemary Love Potion, and sent Shen Ling Shuang to buy materials for the team. As he headed to the Investigation Department to pursue the Yin Caimei Case, Tang Feifei’s secretary stopped him with an offer to discuss another way out of his predicament.

• Qiu Tu assigned Eagle to salvage in the Boundless Mind Sea and started the Fighting Game with A Tai and Wang Xi before going to sleep.
• Qiu Tu checked the games the next morning, found A Tai had beaten Wang Xi again, and claimed a Rosemary Love Potion from Eagle’s salvage.
• Qiu Tu decided to save the potion for later and gave Shen Ling Shuang fifteen Small Gold Bars to buy Calamity Materials, potions, treasures, and medicinal herbs at the black market.
• Qiu Tu set out to investigate the Yin Caimei Case, but Tang Feifei’s secretary stopped him and said Tang wanted to talk about other ways to resolve his predicament.

Qiu Tu secured Dusk Night in the Crystal Prison, persuaded Zhao Ji to allocate the fallen Evil Gods’ areas to La Riluo, and returned to the Cataclysm Zone to contact East Industry State. His capture stunned the state’s Deputy Speakers and Huang Shangzong, who had just advanced to Fifth Order and was eager to act against Dusk Night.

• Zhao Ji sealed the powerless Dusk Night inside the Crystal Prison and tasked Qiu Tu with interrogating him for Mountain Root’s whereabouts after reaching Fifth Order.
• Qiu Tu persuaded Zhao Ji to give the areas left by the fallen Evil Gods to La Riluo, and Zhao Ji sent him back to the Real World to bring her over.
• In Trade Market, Qiu Tu found the infiltration plan’s safehouse, contacted East Industry State, and arranged an off-road vehicle for his return.
• Dai Yukang learned that Qiu Tu had captured Dusk Night and shared the shocking report with East Industry State’s Deputy Speakers.
• Huang Shangzong advanced to Fifth Order in Locust Township City, then learned Qiu Tu had captured Dusk Night and asked how soon Qiu Tu would reach the state.

Qiu Tu freed Shen Ling Shuang after using an extravagant gesture to persuade her to stay, then learned that a female spy had died and that he was a suspect. He realized Yan Chen might suspect him of silencing the spy, but before he could meet Qin Shuman, she pulled him into a room and attacked him.

• Qiu Tu returned Shen Ling Shuang’s freedom and left her money, prompting her loyalty to rise as she decided to stay.
• Qiu Tu reflected that he had deliberately used the money as a ploy to keep Shen Ling Shuang close, despite feeling guilty about manipulating her.
• At the Milan Hotel, Secretary Bai warned Qiu Tu that the female spy he had interrogated had died and that he was among the suspects.
• Qiu Tu realized Yan Chen might suspect him of killing the spy and decided he needed to investigate the case himself.
• Qin Shuman dragged Qiu Tu into Room 503 and slashed at his throat with a dagger.

Qiu Tu revealed a Yellow Phantom to Old Tang, Huang Shangzong, and three advisers, who spent the night confirming that the creature could not normally be perceived. After Old Tang handled his other business, he walked with Qiu Tu and asked whether Qiu Tu liked Tang Feifei.

• Qiu Tu nullified the Yellow Phantom’s invisibility, allowing the group to see it inside the Soul Shackles Altar, where it struggled and broke the altar’s Boundless God Crystal.
• Qiu Tu replaced the crystal, and Old Tang, Huang Shangzong, and the advisers examined the trapped Yellow Phantom while the advisers prepared to study it.
• The senior officials waited downstairs for a chance to meet Old Tang, and Tang Feifei arrived after Old Tang summoned her for an inquiry about the Area Masters.
• The three advisers studied the Yellow Phantom for more than ten hours and confirmed that it could not normally be seen, touched, smelled, or sensed.
• Old Tang told Huang Shangzong he would discuss his plan with others, then walked with Qiu Tu and asked whether Qiu Tu liked Tang Feifei.

Qiu Tu heard Consort Xi’s account of Old Pang and Ai Li’s parents, then secretly impersonated Dusk Night after staging his escape from prison. In New State, he met Dusk Night’s followers and learned that the Sixth Order evil god Yasha was coming to East Industry State over the Earth Vein Flower.

• Consort Xi said Old Pang opposed King Kang’s monarchical rule and was suspected of helping set up the mission that killed Ai Li’s parents.
• Qiu Tu grew suspicious of Consort Xi, contacted Rain Butterfly and Zhu Huoyan, then failed to decipher La Riluo’s Calamity Equation Set before dawn.
• Calamity Descendants attacked the East Industry State Security Bureau prison, and Qiu Tu publicly ordered a search for the escaped Dusk Night while his real body headed to New State in disguise.
• Dusk Night’s messenger received word that the impersonated Dusk Night had returned and began summoning his followers.
• Qiu Tu told the messenger he had intelligence about the Earth Vein Flower, but learned that Yasha already knew about it and was on her way to East Industry State.

Qiu Tu secured the 7th Shelter’s leadership when Consort Xi voluntarily resigned as head of state and the Council of Elders unanimously approved his temporary appointment. The news spread through the major Shelters as Consort Xi left without explaining her motives, while Qiu Tu remained unsure how Yan Yan had persuaded her.

• Elder Miao and Elder Xu learned that Qiu Tu had called a Council of Elders Meeting and decided to keep silent during it.
• Wei Zhengze learned that Qiu Tu had allegedly agreed to concessions with the Third Shelter and chose to wait for conflict between Qiu Tu and Consort Xi.
• Kou Xuan told Kou Yu that Commander Li Feng had offered the Kou Family the Second Shelter’s support, but he postponed his answer until he saw what Lin Xi would do.
• At the Council of Elders Meeting, Consort Xi announced that she would temporarily resign as head of state, and Qiu Tu would take over.
• Wei Zhengze and the other elders voted in favor, approving Qiu Tu’s appointment without a fight.
• Consort Xi declined Qiu Tu’s invitation and left with Yan Yan, while news of her resignation began spreading across the major Shelters.

Mei La’s group and other factions monitored Qiu Tu as he amassed resources, while the Mist Veil Society debated whether to protect him during his advancement. Qiu Tu reached Seventh Order Peak and refined forty-six Areas in three days, rapidly approaching the Eighth Order.

• Xin Duo advised Mei La and the bald leader to let Qiu Tu gather resources before attacking him near his attempt to reach the Eighth Order, while Mei La remained uneasy about the plan.
• Heavenly King Zhi Yan argued that the Mist Veil Society should protect Qiu Tu, but White Robe and Jin Ni discussed the risks and possible rewards before privately reaching a decision.
• Qiu Tu reached Seventh Order Peak, refined the Area Center of Anning Area, and began raising its Calamity Power with the resources gathered there.
• Over the next three days, Qiu Tu refined forty-six Areas, astonishing the Heavenly God Candidates watching his progress.

Qiu Tu revealed that Guan Xiao’s spy in the Alliance Special Operations Team was Miao Xiaoxiao, a shapeshifting cat who had completed her undercover mission. He also explained his warning about the assassination attempt and spent the day managing the fallout, then received a dinner invitation from Tang Feifei, who had prepared a gift for him.

• Guan Xiao coaxed Qiu Tu into a tea-drinking question game and asked about his warning to Yan Chen.
• Guan Xiao summoned Miao Xiaoxiao, who revealed herself as the spy embedded in the Alliance Special Operations Team and reported for duty.
• Qiu Tu explained that he had warned Yan Chen about the planned attack in a report, which could expose Yan Chen’s role in Lai Shun’s death.
• Qiu Tu and Guan Xiao continued their questions, and Guan Xiao flirted with him while asking about his personal details.
• Qiu Tu oversaw the capture and interrogation of all twenty Alliance Special Operations Team members, while Dai Yukang called to congratulate him and Qin Shuman.
• Tang Feifei invited Qiu Tu to dinner, and he realized she had spent the recent period preparing a gift for him.

Qiu Tu met Ilena, the Order Shrine’s western Garrison God King, and negotiated protection from the Star Founder God King in exchange for resolving the war. He presented his Lower Stratagem, a costly plan to sacrifice five Underground God Kingdoms, and Ilena asked to hear his Middle Stratagem.

• Qing E led Qiu Tu and the others through Ilena’s wine-scented Divine Kingdom to meet her in the palace.
• Ilena recognized Qiu Tu’s connection to the Star Founder God King after Qiu Tu explained his origins and Yao Qin described defecting to his side.
• Ilena promised to protect Qiu Tu, his companions, and his world if he successfully resolved the war, and said she would punish the Star Founder God King for breaking the rules.
• Qiu Tu offered three strategies for ending the war and described his Lower Stratagem: abandon five Underground God Kingdoms, concentrate forces in the remaining two, destroy the World Passage, kill the enemy, and relocate the World Coordinates.
• Ilena asked Qiu Tu to explain his Middle Stratagem.