Chapter Summaries

Lu PingAn helped Xiao Mu bring forth Another Me, then tried to use the same power to revive Big Cat but failed because she was beyond his current limits. Big Cat rejected the idea of returning to her old life, challenged Lu PingAn to spar, and left him badly beaten but aware of how much he had grown.

• Lu PingAn watched Phil emerge as Xiao Mu's complete Twin, and Phil began settling old scores with Eve.
• Lu PingAn realized he could use the power of Another Me to give himself a fresh start, but his attempt to revive Kerdales produced only a fleeting illusion.
• Lu PingAn concluded that he could not gestate Big Cat's demigod-level spirit body until he reached Rule-level.
• Big Cat told Lu PingAn she was not interested in returning to her old path or becoming his thug, and Lu PingAn promised to give her the choice if revival became possible.
• Big Cat challenged Lu PingAn to spar, and by nightfall he had lost several hours of memories from the beating.
• Lu PingAn reached for the ceiling lamp in bed and reflected that Big Cat's strength was no longer completely beyond his understanding.

Lu PingAn prepared the Rebirth Merchant Group for its coming deployment to Mercury 42, balancing logistics work, combat training, and intelligence gathering. The chapter ended with him recognizing familiar enemies in reports about the devastated world.

• Lu PingAn reviewed the group's procurement, bonuses, and aquatic combat preparations, and learned that most members were investing in their own growth.
• Lu PingAn explained that the Rebirth Merchant Group would focus on logistics and trade rather than serve as a frontline battle group.
• Lu PingAn obtained intelligence revealing that Mercury 42 was a dangerous quasi-frontline world where Rule-level combatants and demigods could fight.
• Lu PingAn learned that Mercury 42's inhabitants, the Bulo People or Long-Hand Tribe, had been nearly wiped out and their civilization destroyed by Otherworld Invaders.
• Lu PingAn spotted the fishmen and Eight-Clawed among the forces described in the reports.

Lu PingAn examined the curses linking him to the Lord of the Octopi and realized how the god’s forces threatened Mercury 42 and humanity. He prepared to confront the curse source, hoping a quasi-god could help.

• Lu PingAn analyzed his curses and learned that entering Mercury 42 would trigger an evil-god assassin, while his immunity let him keep useful aquatic traits.
• Lu PingAn inferred that the Lord of the Octopi was a vast conceptual existence that consumed ocean worlds through its incarnations.
• Lu PingAn recognized the Mercury 42 war as a way for humanity to resist the Lord of the Octopi’s expansion beyond Earth and reduce pressure on their homeland.
• Lu PingAn suspected that the earlier destruction of a suburban county and Teacher Hanna’s lost ocean world were tied to the Lord of the Octopi’s forces.
• Lu PingAn decided to deal with his curse before going to Mercury 42 and hoped a quasi-god would assist him.

Lu PingAn visited Oboro Moon, the demigod guarding Dragon Moon Island, to ask for help with the three God Power Curses he carried. He discovered that Liu XiYan had fused with the entire island and asked him for a favor.

• Lu PingAn decided he needed a powerful ally to deal with his curses before they endangered his teammates on Mercury 42.
• Old Deer escorted Lu PingAn through the forest after Liu XiYan agreed to meet him.
• Lu PingAn realized that the forest and mountains around him were part of Liu XiYan’s body and found the demigod sitting as a skeleton by a lake.
• Liu XiYan explained that he had fused with all of Dragon Moon Island and was known as the Dragon Moon Lord.
• Lu PingAn asked Liu XiYan to help him with his curses.

Lu PingAn met the demigod Liu XiYan, traded a favor for help controlling his divine curse, and received an ancient mask that could hide him from Lady Lin. The demigods warned Big Cat not to involve others in her conflict with her sister, while Lu PingAn left with the mask and Big Cat remained determined to settle their score someday.

• Lu PingAn refused Liu XiYan’s offer to control his curse in exchange for an unspecified favor and negotiated instead to deal with a fugitive when he encountered him.
• Liu XiYan gave Lu PingAn documents about the Tier 6 fugitive, and Lu PingAn agreed to remember the task.
• Liu XiYan delivered an ancient skull-patterned wooden mask, while Lu PingAn’s cold jokes left their conversation awkward.
• Speaking for several demigods, Liu XiYan explained that the mask could prevent Lady Lin from sensing Lu PingAn.
• Liu XiYan warned Big Cat not to drag others into her conflict with Lady Lin and said the demigods would not erase Lu PingAn if he followed his own path.
• Liu XiYan vanished, and Lu PingAn departed through the forest as Big Cat stayed silent but remained intent on confronting her sister.

Lu PingAn learned that the mask could conceal his God's Curse and reviewed the desperate state of Mercury 42, where outsiders had displaced its original inhabitants. The chapter ended with a Long-Hand Tribesman speaking hopefully about a human promise to give his people a place to survive.

• Lu PingAn tested Old Liu's mask and confirmed that wearing it isolated his God's Curse, even when he wore it as a bracer.
• Lu PingAn learned that Mercury 42 had been divided among humanity, the Lord of the Octopi, a volcanic species, and an Abyssified insect swarm, while its natives had been driven into the gaps between them.
• Lu PingAn saw a Long-Hand Tribesman in a life-support suit describe Earth as beautiful and learned that Mercury 42's civilization had struggled for centuries before collapsing.
• Lu PingAn discovered that humans and the Forest Goddess Faction valued the Long-Hand Tribe as laborers and other resources, despite offering them better treatment than other outsiders did.
• A Long-Hand Tribesman lecturer recalled an unnamed human Explorer's promise to give his people a small place to live and a chance for their descendants to survive.

Lu PingAn felt the Long Hand People’s suffering as he practiced Annihilate Space, then asked Old Deer about the Forest Goddess Church’s attitude toward them. He learned that, as a powerful warlord, he could set his own policy and influence the tribe’s survival, leaving him unsettled by his own authority.

• Lu PingAn practiced Mimicry Boxing and Annihilate Space, realizing that the Three Absolute Kills arose from helplessness, rage, and despair.
• Lu PingAn reflected on the Long Hand People’s suffering and recognized that their leader used his people’s misery to gain sympathy and goodwill.
• After asking Big Cat and Old Deer about the Forest Goddess Church’s stance, Lu PingAn learned that the Church’s teams generally treated the Long Hand Tribe with relative goodwill but had no shared standards.
• Old Deer explained that Lu PingAn’s rank, forces, and influence let him establish a policy for the Long Hand People and make other teams respect it.
• Lu PingAn realized he could affect the survival of hundreds of thousands of people and felt numb at the scale of his power.

Lu PingAn secured a Parish Bishop post while preparing his team for war and overseeing the Redemption’s refit. He helped Shuttle Factory One sell its new waterborne flying boats to Dragon Moon Island’s forces, urging the factory to use the coming trials to improve its products.

• Lu PingAn became a Trainee Priest and was appointed Parish Bishop on Dragon Moon Island after an unusually low-threshold selection.
• Chris grew furious when Lu PingAn joked that she would ignore him for three days, but she could not find a way to punish him.
• Lu PingAn brought the refitted Redemption and Shuttle Factory One’s first batch of Jetskis to Dragon Moon Island for local testing and training.
• Frontline visitors praised the Jetskis’ stability and durability, and Lu PingAn and other buyers placed orders.
• Lu PingAn explained that Dragon Moon Island’s forces needed equipment quickly and advised Wang Xi'er to collect combat data and improve the designs before large-scale delivery.

With twenty-three days left before departure, Lu PingAn rushed to prepare his living-wood ship for deep-sea operations and expanded his investment in the valuable world of Mercury 42. He left the chapter with a Submersible Shuttle production line and its staff being moved into his Courtyard.

• Lu PingAn issued a Recall Order and warned the ship engineers that their vessel needed stronger waterproofing and pressure resistance for deep-sea travel.
• Lu PingAn used Invest Life to reinforce the ship’s deck with living vines and explained that Mercury 42’s underwater cities made deep-sea operations necessary.
• Lu PingAn learned that Mercury 42 was the origin of Spirit Holy Water and recognized the world’s potential value.
• Lu PingAn and Wang Xi'er negotiated with Ancient City to purchase a Submersible Shuttle production line, with Lu PingAn taking a thirty-percent share.
• Shuttle Factory One supplied the production line, technical materials, supporting engineers, and more than two hundred skilled workers for relocation to Lu PingAn’s Courtyard.

Aboard God's Ark, Lu PingAn spent the journey trying to soothe Eve after she argued with Phil over lessons and felt that Phil favored Xiao Mu. He agreed to take Eve to watch a cartoon, while Big Cat avoided getting involved in the family squabble.

• Lu PingAn encountered the Li Family Brothers aboard the ship, and Eve's challenge drove them to leave awkwardly.
• Eve complained that she was bored and revealed that she had argued with Phil over lessons and rewards for Xiao Mu.
• Lu PingAn tried to explain that Xiao Mu and Phil were two sides of the same person, but Eve insisted that Phil was biased toward Xiao Mu.
• Lu PingAn defended Phil's efforts to teach the girls, and Eve accused her sister of ruining their movie plans.
• Lu PingAn offered to take Eve to watch Little Pony Polly, while Big Cat fled their telepathic exchange.

Akul met privately with the Chief King, who revealed that he had given Lu PingAn the seed and agreed to buy him time to develop. Meanwhile, Lu PingAn prepared his team and business projects for the journey, which ended with their arrival in the ocean-filled New World.

• Akul visited the Chief King in secret and asked what he thought of Lu PingAn.
• The Chief King said Lu PingAn was not bad and revealed that he had given him the seed.
• Akul agreed to hold back their opponents and divert their attention for four or five years so Lu PingAn could develop.
• Lu PingAn trained in boxing and oversaw his companions' preparations while they traveled.
• Lu PingAn's team completed its project tasks and arrived in the New World.

Lu PingAn arrived on Mercury 42 and began learning about Floating Fall City, local commerce, and the gods who governed human survival there. After obtaining the first basic Divine Grace ritual, he wondered whether enough contributions could earn access to true high-level Divine Graces.

• Lu PingAn and his group arrived on Mercury 42 and met Liu Wenke, who offered local guide and agency services.
• Lu PingAn asked Liu Wenke for information on local commerce, industries, racial groups, and survival requirements.
• Liu Wenke explained that the Three Gods Association organized the Eastern Kingdom faction and named the three gods overseeing the conflict on Mercury 42.
• Liu Wenke performed a prayer ritual that granted him a Divine Grace to filter harmful toxins from the local air and water.
• Lu PingAn recorded the ritual and learned that additional Divine Graces granted humans underwater breathing and the ability to sense nearby alien races.
• Lu PingAn wondered whether people could obtain powerful Divine Graces by making enough contributions.

Lu PingAn observed the city’s hunting economy and used Hometown Cuisine to build local connections while considering the plight of the Long-Hand Tribe. He left without intervening, but his restaurant’s recruitment offer soon drew a crowd of desperate workers.

• Lu PingAn watched a Numa Beast being hauled to the harbor and reflected on the city’s reliance on hunting and fishing.
• He considered selling vegetables and planned to open a Hometown Cuisine Restaurant, both to support Zhi Xi’s dream and earn gold coins.
• Lu PingAn saw Long-Hand Tribe members ask a human for work and food, but remembered Xia Qin’s request and decided he could not take on their plight.
• Lu PingAn returned toward his temporary base as a man announced that Hometown Cuisine Restaurant was hiring porters, cooks, and general laborers, drawing a crowd.

Lu PingAn toured the Spirit Holy Water purification base and learned how its technology and the Ocean God’s Divine Grace powered production. He declined an investment that would tie him to the city, but said he had come to discuss a major deal.

• Lu PingAn inspected the enormous purification base and learned that it turned seawater into Spirit Holy Water using technology adapted by water-element controllers.
• Su Menglin explained that workers could obtain Water Control and temporary Divine Grace through Sacrifices to the Ocean God.
• Su Menglin offered Lu PingAn a share in the water plant, including a possible 50% stake in its planned Fourth Generator Unit.
• Lu PingAn declined the investment because he had not decided where to invest and wanted to explore other cities.
• Lu PingAn told Su Menglin that although he was not interested in the purifier, he had come to discuss a major deal.

Lu PingAn discovered that local Spirit Holy Water could be combined with potion ingredients grown in his Courtyard to make powerful Long Sleep Potions at low cost. He began arranging a supply deal for fresh holy water, hoping to build a profitable potion business.

• Lu PingAn reviewed his team's travel records and development suggestions, then learned many members could not afford local spiritual potions because supplementary ingredients were scarce and expensive.
• Lu PingAn drank a Long Sleep Potion and greatly increased his spiritual power, while Cat Cat protested and received a potion too.
• Lu PingAn confirmed that potion plants grown in his Gardener's Sacred Ground retained their effectiveness in the local world and could be produced cheaply.
• Lu PingAn concluded that high-grade Long Sleep Potions could be mass-produced, though their effects diminished after three uses.
• Lu PingAn proposed trading high-quality Long Sleep Potions for a stable, fresh supply of local Spirit Holy Water.

Lu PingAn expanded his business into a commercial district backed by the Redemption and used Phil and Eve’s reputations to deter local troublemakers. Phil asked him to help guide Eve and look after Xiao Mu, leaving Lu PingAn taking the girls shopping as the household’s chaos continued.

• Lu PingAn built a row of shops around Hometown Dishes, drawing crowds with Gourmet food and free porridge while raising prices and having Zhi Xi manage the porridge stand.
• Lu PingAn refused local captains’ requests for permanent shops and relied on the Redemption’s presence and Phil and Eve’s identities to establish his group’s strength.
• Phil asked Lu PingAn to help teach Xiao Mu and take Eve out, since she wanted her sister to mature and gain common sense.
• Lu PingAn agreed to take Eve swimming and bring Xiao Mu into the city to buy clothes, while Xiao Mu insisted on joining them.
• Lu PingAn asked Big Cat what he should call her, and Big Cat told him to get lost.

Lu PingAn’s team spent half a month adapting to Mercury 42’s underwater combat and testing new equipment before joining the world’s battlefield. Training continued as the Underwater Shuttles were refined, despite repeated accidents leaving trainees injured.

• Lu PingAn checked the team’s recovery and learned they needed at least another half month of water-combat training.
• The veterans trained the team to use Biological Reconnaissance to sense underwater enemies and report battlefield information instead of relying on their eyes.
• Lu PingAn told those without other elemental abilities to learn Water Control and had the warriors practice using Underwater Shuttles.
• An Underwater Shuttle exploded and injured a trainee, whom Lu PingAn rescued with Deferred Payment.
• Lu PingAn ordered the engineers to report the failure, while Cat Cat complained about the painful injuries and received doubled training.

Lu PingAn’s forces fought off a fishman tribe that attacked the Redemption, and he evaluated how his new recruits handled battle. After the fishmen fled, Lu PingAn went underwater to retrieve Senior Brother Guan, who had been sent to the fishmen’s homeworld.

• Cat Cat spotted a large fishman force, and the Redemption’s crew deployed to meet the attack.
• Lu PingAn’s veterans and Hero Units fought the fishmen underwater while recruits defended the ship’s deck.
• The recruits began to falter as fishmen boarded, but the Bear (Cat) Person and Catherine’s Sealing Knights steadied the defense.
• After fourteen minutes, the fishmen’s blessing faded and the survivors fled; Phil reported that about 900 of more than 2,600 fishmen had died.
• Lu PingAn ordered cleanup and doubled combat bonuses, then entered the water to bring back Senior Brother Guan.

After another battle, Lu PingAn reflected on his crew’s casualties and realized his forces needed more people. He reached Pingnan City, found a chaotic settlement of outsiders and foreign races, and prepared to continue onward.

• Lu PingAn brought Guan back after Guan lost control while fighting the fishmen, and Guan admitted he had acted recklessly.
• Lu PingAn checked on his crew, ordered maximum compensation for the dead, and noted that the recruits were generally coping with battle.
• After several more skirmishes, Lu PingAn concluded that his small force needed more manpower despite the fishmen’s weak individual combat strength.
• On the seventh day, Lu PingAn’s group arrived at Pingnan City, a busy transit station filled with foreign races, outsiders, and guides seeking work.
• After learning that Pingnan City had grown around a safe outpost but remained a chaotic settlement, Lu PingAn resupplied his ship and prepared to leave.

Lu PingAn explained why the Eastern Kingdom limited overseas migration and how those policies shaped his own development plans. He decided his group needed local recruits, but only after setting out a vision of treating intelligent native races as equals and trading partners.

• Lu PingAn reasoned that the Eastern Kingdom restricted exploration to encourage return migration and prevent overseas colonies from becoming rival regimes.
• Lu PingAn recognized that his group could not manage the war-torn Other World alone and needed to recruit local members.
• Lu PingAn said they first had to decide how to treat the native races and what role they would play in the Other World.
• Lu PingAn rejected turning natives into slaves or cannon fodder and proposed equality, trade, and exchange as the basis of their relationship.