Chapter Summaries

Lu PingAn learned that no reliable intelligence existed on Protector Sarla, while Big Cat outlined several possibilities for Sarla’s abilities. Their fight began with Sarla revealing himself as a heavily armored knight wielding a Rule-level weapon and launching Lu PingAn across the arena.

• Lu PingAn taunted the crowd and challenged one of his loudest critics, who fled instead of accepting.
• Wang Hai told Lu PingAn that information brokers had no useful intelligence on Protector Sarla.
• Big Cat suggested Sarla might be a high-level Pactbearer with defensive abilities and heavy armor.
• Protector Sarla entered the arena in heavy armor and struck Lu PingAn, sending him flying.
• Lu PingAn recognized Sarla’s Spiked Warhammer as a Rule-level weapon.

Lu PingAn struggled against Sarla, whose bone armor, warhammer, and layered magnetic marks made him overwhelmingly difficult to fight. After figuring out how Sarla's abilities worked, Lu PingAn decided to borrow Zhi Xi's body and copy his opponent's unusual tactic.

• Lu PingAn tried to fight Sarla's heavy armor and warhammer but was repeatedly battered and forced to retreat.
• Big Cat suggested Lu PingAn use his Rider ability, and he discovered Sarla's armor and weapons were made largely or entirely of bone.
• Lu PingAn and Big Cat worked out that Sarla used N and S marks to attract or repel targets, and that he could layer hidden marks before activating them.
• Lu PingAn realized that closing in or attacking from afar both gave him little chance of victory, then asked Zhi Xi to lend him his body so he could copy Sarla's tactic.

Lu PingAn fused Zhi Xi, Little Flame, and the Sun Demon Vine through his fourth-tier Life Contract ability, turning his armor into a powerful Flame Knight and unleashing a devastating Golden Crow attack. The bone Armor Knight survived the blast and began a counterattack with Polarity Reversal.

• Lu PingAn assembled Zhi Xi’s armor and strengthened it with his Combat System skills, but the opponent outmatched him in their first clash.
• Lu PingAn activated Life Contract, combining Zhi Xi’s body with Little Flame’s bloodline and transforming his armor into a nimble Flame Knight.
• Lu PingAn used Soul Attachment on Sun Flower, whose enlarged sun gave rise to the Golden Crow, Eastern Emperor Yang God.
• The Golden Crow’s attack blasted Lu PingAn away and badly burned the bone Armor Knight, who survived by shielding himself.
• The bone Armor Knight spoke for the first time and launched a counterattack with Polarity Reversal.

Sarla realized that he and his partner had underestimated Lu PingAn, whose Godslayer-granted evolution let him defeat them despite their accurate intelligence. As Sarla tried to reverse his life and death with Polar Exchange, a miracle transformed him into a skeletal monster that survived and faced Lu PingAn.

• Sarla recalled how he and his partner had judged Lu PingAn’s abilities accurately but failed to account for the Godslayer’s power to accelerate his evolution.
• A flaming bird struck Sarla, destroying half his body despite his defenses.
• Sarla used Polar Exchange and South Pole North Pole on himself, attempting to reverse his life form by turning his bones into his body.
• Sarla’s transformation seemed to fail as his old body died and his new one had not begun functioning.
• Immense martial fortune intervened, and Sarla emerged from death as a skeletal monster who smiled at Lu PingAn.

Lu PingAn struggled against a skeletal monster that revived through its talent and rapidly evolved, becoming immune to his Sacred Flame and impervious to his attacks. After the creature completed its transformation, it became the King of White Bones, at least a Quasi Rule-level monster.

• Lu PingAn and Big Cat realized that the monster had revived after an extraordinarily lucky life-and-death strike fueled by the deathmatch ritual.
• Lu PingAn found that the monster had incorporated his Sacred Flame into its body, retained its sanity, and fought with growing skill as it adapted to its new form.
• Big Cat warned Lu PingAn that the monster was still evolving and that the gods might intervene if it killed him.
• Lu PingAn tried his abilities and weapons against the monster, but its bones resisted every attack while it grew larger, stronger, and faster.
• The monster donned armor and grew a crown of white bone, completing its transformation into the King of White Bones, at least a Quasi Rule-level monster.

Lu PingAn waited for the King of White Bones to reach its peak, then provoked it into madness while explaining that its miraculous survival had doomed it. He began assimilating and reshaping its bones, and used Life Contract to overcome the secret realm’s suppression of his Rider abilities.

• Lu PingAn held back from using Spirit Fusion and judged that the King of White Bones, once a Professional mercenary, was destined to die or be killed by higher powers.
• Lu PingAn told the King of White Bones that becoming his material and nourishment might be its best outcome, provoking it into complete madness.
• The King of White Bones blamed Lu PingAn for its transformation and the deaths of its brothers, then unleashed storms of bone against him.
• Lu PingAn walked through the bone whirlwind and used Assimilation Corrosion and Control Reshape to turn a massive bone into a Bone Spike.
• When the secret realm’s suppression stalled his reshaping, Lu PingAn activated Life Contract and declared the bone to be part of his flesh.

Lu PingAn used Life Contract to seize control of the King of White Bones’ disorganized bones and dismantle the monster. During the fight, he developed Bone Extraction and ended with a divergent advancement of his Pale Hand profession.

• Lu PingAn assimilated the King of White Bones’ scattered bones with Life Contract and hurled Bone Spikes back at Sarla.
• Lu PingAn climbed onto Sarla’s head, eroded its bones, and explained that the monster’s chaotic, ownerless materials made it vulnerable to his control.
• Lu PingAn forged the bones into different molds as he studied their role in life and comprehended the Silver Middle Rank ability Bone Extraction.
• Lu PingAn used Bone Extraction to dismantle Sarla and strip away its bones until the monster died.
• The Master of Ceremonies declared Lu PingAn the victor, and the battle gave his Pale Hand profession a divergent advancement that combined with the Fighter path.

After his deathmatch, Lu PingAn awakened two possible profession paths and began considering how to combine them through the Forbidden Library. He negotiated a long break and Divine Grace from the Martial God’s rules, then prepared to continue fighting.

• Lu PingAn tested his advanced Bone Controller ability, making cleaned bones assemble into dancing figures and a skeletal carriage before concealing the materials again.
• Big Cat urged Lu PingAn to prioritize the Life Destroyer combat path, but Lu PingAn proposed fusing it with the Bone Controller path into one profession.
• Lu PingAn invoked the rules of the deathmatch secret realm to request a break for his advancement, and his request was approved as a two-hour lunch break.
• Lu PingAn received Brass Grade Divine Grace that accelerated stamina recovery and promised Priest Gan a spectacular martial battle.
• Lu PingAn handed Priest Gan his Divine Grace list, leaving the priest visibly conflicted.

Lu PingAn learned that Li Zhen had withdrawn and that his twin brother Li Fan would fight him, possibly using a powerful combination ability. He continued training in the Courtyard, where Big Cat directed his team to refine a bone exoskeleton and other last-minute preparations for the match.

• Wang Hai told Lu PingAn that Li Zhen had withdrawn and Li Fan would face him, while rumors claimed the twins could combine their strength through a special technique.
• Lu PingAn considered the dangers of twin-linked Life-type abilities and learned that Li Fan had metallic skin, though little else was known about him.
• Lu PingAn returned to the Courtyard and discovered it could isolate the secret realm's rules, letting him use other career pathways there.
• Lu PingAn tested an eight-armed bone exoskeleton, but its movements lacked precision, so he removed it for further modifications.
• Big Cat took charge of several rushed projects and proposed using a Gardener's abilities to improve the armor while preparing backup plans.

Lu PingAn negotiated with the Maiden of the Forest Church after its headquarters offered him a chance to join rather than eliminate him. He accepted affiliate status to gain knowledge and time to grow, but learned he would have to defeat the Holy Son to secure better treatment.

• Li Fan told Lu PingAn that the Forest Goddess Church was considering cooperation after the Eastern Kingdom authorities put pressure on it.
• Lu PingAn proposed joining as an affiliate, prompting Big Cat to protest because she hated Lady Lin.
• Li Fan offered Lu PingAn either Holy Son status at Church Headquarters or affiliate status with training and cooperation contracts.
• Lu PingAn chose affiliate status, explaining that he needed knowledge for his Gardener pathway and a chance to develop.
• Li Fan warned that Lu PingAn would need to fight the Holy Son for independent operating rights and treatment comparable to his own.

Lu PingAn reflected on the opposing paths of Chris and the Maiden of the Forest after successfully negotiating with the latter’s faction. He faced the Maiden of the Forest’s Holy Son, viewing the coming battle as a chance to demonstrate and test his own path.

• Lu PingAn’s strength allowed him to negotiate with the Maiden of the Forest’s faction, though Big Cat and Eve remained angry with her.
• Lu PingAn considered how the Maiden of the Forest’s path gathered rivals and followers while Chris pursued a solitary path of domination.
• Lu PingAn realized his own developing Life-type system was closer to the Maiden of the Forest’s path, and Chris told him he could begin from where she had ended.
• Lu PingAn faced the Maiden of the Forest’s Holy Son and summoned a massive skeletal hand through his Pale Hand profession, treating the confrontation as a test of his path and an extension of Chris’s.

Lu PingAn overwhelmed Li Fan with his new White Bone Great Bodhisattva ability, then pursued him after Li Fan fled. Lu PingAn privately admitted that the power was nearly beyond his ability to sustain, but his opponent had already lost the will to fight.

• Lu PingAn summoned a Divine Bone arm and shattered Li Fan's Vajra body with a single strike.
• Lu PingAn used the bone to mimic living flesh and trap Li Fan, while Li Fan's younger brother suffered from helping him escape.
• Li Fan revealed Lu PingAn's demonic Blood Vines and warned that the apparent life creation was only a simulation.
• Lu PingAn's bone arm unleashed three Quick Fist strikes, badly injuring Li Fan before he fled at his younger brother's urging.
• Lu PingAn dismissed the bone arm, followed Li Fan, and privately acknowledged that he could barely sustain the technique.

The Li Family Brothers used their linked Gifts to keep Li Fan alive and escape after Lu PingAn gravely wounded him. Li Fan took to the sky to gain the advantage, only to find Lu PingAn waiting above him on a flaming skeletal bird.

• Li Zhen used Truth Comes From the Mouth to heal Li Fan, but the effort left him badly injured and unable to fight.
• Li Fan laid Painted Trap snares and used his blood as a medium for Dreamer, reflecting on how Lu PingAn's Heavy Cannon had overwhelmed their abilities.
• Li Fan cut open his wounds and used War Makeup, Eagle to transform and fly into the air.
• Lu PingAn revealed he had ridden a flaming skeletal bird above the traps and taunted Li Fan to show him more tricks.

Lu PingAn easily defeated Li Fan and Li Zhen, but Li Fan transformed into a vessel for the demigod Akul, who descended into the secret realm as a weakened but formidable opponent. Akul greeted Lu PingAn as Kerdales’s successor and called himself his Martial Uncle.

• Lu PingAn mocked Li Fan after finding the two brothers far weaker than he had expected.
• Li Fan admitted that Lu PingAn’s simulated-life abilities marked him as a future Rule-level powerhouse, then activated a contingency that rewrote his body.
• Li Zhen used the True Word to transform Li Fan into a Spirit Fusion vessel for Akul, a Tier 9 demigod.
• Tyrannical Three-Faced weakened Akul’s descending presence, but allowed it into the secret realm as its ritual neared completion.
• Akul appeared in a muscular body with Quasi-Rules strength and addressed Lu PingAn as Kerdales’s successor and his Martial Uncle.

Lu PingAn questioned Akul about Kerdales and analyzed the limits of his God Descent, but Akul overpowered him with a powerful vessel. Akul offered Lu PingAn a place at his Research Institute, then resumed attacking without holding back.

• Lu PingAn learned that Akul and Kerdales had gone their separate ways decades earlier because she had become too extreme.
• Lu PingAn explained that God Descent strained both the vessel and its consciousness, and Akul revealed that the Li Family Brothers could wield twice the strength of an ordinary Spirit Fusion physique.
• Akul knocked Lu PingAn down before he could react, and Lu PingAn used Sun Flower to surround him with sacred flames that Akul avoided.
• Akul recognized Lu PingAn's abilities and invited him to join his Research Institute, while Lu PingAn said he would consider it if Akul beat him first.
• Akul said he would use the same method he had used against Kerdales, stopped answering Lu PingAn, and slammed him to the ground again.

Lu PingAn was overwhelmed by Akul’s superior combat technique and experience, despite Akul’s weaker physical strength. Just as Akul seemed poised to knock him out, Lu PingAn caught his punch and struck him down in return.

• Lu PingAn used the Multi-Armed God of War and wide-area attacks to keep Akul at bay, while Big Cat explained that Akul’s mastery of movement let him exploit Lu PingAn’s blind spots.
• Akul calmly walked through Lu PingAn’s tentacle attacks after learning their limits, then anticipated and countered Lu PingAn’s attempts to escape or defend himself.
• Akul confronted Lu PingAn and threw a punch that seemed certain to hit, leaving the arena believing the fight was over.
• Lu PingAn caught Akul’s fist without looking at him and punched Akul, sending him sprawling onto his back.

Lu PingAn defeated Akul’s possessed vessel, Li Fan, in seconds during the demigod game, while concealing the true nature of his attack. Later, Akul praised Lu PingAn’s potential at a meeting of the Forest Goddess Church, and reflected on Kerdales and the scale of her faction.

• Lu PingAn used a display of demonic dragons, Fire Rings, and the White Bone Great Bodhisattva to distract the audience as his countdown continued.
• Lu PingAn struck Li Fan beneath the heart, overloading his body and forcing Akul’s divine soul out before Li Fan collapsed.
• The replay showed Lu PingAn apparently walking over and punching the ground, leaving Akul and the officials unable to determine how he had won.
• At a remote meeting, Akul described Lu PingAn as a promising genius who could reach Rule-level within ten years.
• After the meeting, Akul raised a glass to the moon and reflected on Kerdales and the vastness of the Forest Goddess faction.

Lu PingAn reflected on the risks of Big Cat’s inheritance becoming known and learned from the strain of her full-power God Descent. As he returned to recover, Rule-level Divine Grace arrived as the prize for his victory.

• Big Cat and Lu PingAn discussed whether they had concealed her survival and concluded that his growing strength and the authorities’ support had helped keep others from acting against him.
• Lu PingAn planned to sign a contract with Lady Lin and use the authority’s and Forest Goddess Church’s backing as he entered the upper world.
• Eve sensed Big Cat’s presence, but Lu PingAn refused to explain unless Eve could beat him and went to recover instead.
• Big Cat explained that her full-power descent had overloaded Lu PingAn’s body, while giving him a firsthand glimpse of the microscopic control and Life Source Power used by high-tier fighters.
• A divine prize descended after Lu PingAn’s victory, and Big Cat identified it as Rule-level Divine Grace.

Lu PingAn received Tyrannical Three-Faced’s rule-level Martial Arts Ritual, which could force a duel and award spoils to the victor. As he prepared for his final match against Eve, Big Cat revealed that her Alona Crystal Beast swarm could replicate powerful foes and revive her through any Crystal Beast until her Biomass ran out.

• Tyrannical Three-Faced granted Lu PingAn the Martial Arts Ritual, a temporary ability that forced eligible opponents into one-on-one deathmatches and awarded the victor spoils.
• Big Cat explained that the Ritual gave Lu PingAn the core ability of the dueling path and could provide extra rewards when he defeated a stronger opponent.
• The Master of Ceremonies gave Lu PingAn an hour to prepare for his final match against Eve.
• Lu PingAn learned that Eve’s Alona Crystal Beast familiars could enter the arena as parts of her body and form an expanding swarm.
• Big Cat explained that Eve could replicate units she had consumed, had limited stored Biomass, and could revive through any Crystal Beast until her Biomass ran out.

Eve confronted Lu PingAn after learning that he had killed her mother and that the Fate Beacon’s promise of family had been misleading. Their clash began as Eve summoned a crystal army, while Xiao Mu arrived in the secret realm and cheered for Lu PingAn.

• Eve recalled how happy she had felt with Lu PingAn and Xiao Mu, then accused Lu PingAn of lying about their family bond and killing her mother.
• Lu PingAn admitted he had killed Chris and Kerdales, and Eve abandoned her hesitation and attacked him in the rain.
• Eve awakened ten Golden Wheat Ears, which released Demons resembling Dimon Mendel, and Lu PingAn prepared to fight seriously.
• Xiao Mu entered the secret realm and, after seeing the battle, chose to cheer for Lu PingAn.
• Eve heard Xiao Mu cheer for Lu PingAn and attacked him even more viciously.