Chapter Summaries

Lu PingAn managed the aftermath of the growth potion’s effects on Xiao Mu and Phil while checking on the Garden’s overflowing harvests and the accelerated growth of the Long-Hand Tribe. He learned that their employer had delayed the battle plan to let more outsiders enter the world before the coming confrontation.

• Lu PingAn pushed Xiao Mu off him and learned that Eve had stayed awake until four in the morning before giving out.
• Xiao Mu explained that the Dragon Liquid had accelerated her growth and awakened her latent power, while Phil’s split body had become unstable and left Lu PingAn to care for her main body.
• Lu PingAn heard that the Garden’s warehouse was overflowing with accelerated crops and told Xiao Mu to grow more vegetables because food prices remained high.
• Lu PingAn saw Long-Hand Tribe children eagerly drinking the fountain potion to become adults and learned that organizations were recruiting children for work and training.
• Lu PingAn learned that their employer had postponed the battle plan because more outsiders were entering the world and It wanted to wait for a larger force to be trapped.

As earth-vein tremors released ancient beasts from amber, the creatures attacked invaders across the world. Mudar, an Ancient Hero awakened from slumber, received orders to contact the humans, protect the Long-Hand Tribe, and kill the Abyss insects before flying toward the battlefield.

• A Lava Clan city was found deserted, its inhabitants dead with their pupils torn out, as invisible Hounds hunted across the world.
• Lu PingAn read reports of rare magical beasts, including a poisonous armored arthropod, a flaming six-legged warhorse, and attacking sea monsters.
• Witnesses revealed that earth-vein cracks had freed ancient beasts from yellow amber, releasing powerful creatures that targeted nearby invaders.
• Mudar awakened among the broken Tears of Eternal Slumber and reflected on how his master treated him and the other Ancient Heroes as figurines.
• Mudar received orders to communicate with the humans, protect the Long-Hand Tribe, and kill the Abyss insects, then flew toward the battlefield.

Lu PingAn learned that the world's will had repeatedly used Ancient Heroes to guide or destroy civilizations, and he prepared his forces before temporarily leaving. After recognizing the heroes as potential overseers for the human camps, he asked Mudar whether he wanted to help destroy the world.

• Big Cat explained that killing a world or its self-awareness was extremely difficult.
• Mudar arrived and introduced himself as a publicity worker, while Lu PingAn recognized his expertise in information warfare.
• Mudar and other Ancient Heroes described how the world's will had used them in at least seven or eight cycles of civilizational elimination.
• Chris told Lu PingAn that the world's will could not cheaply or safely control intelligent beings directly, easing his fears about its influence.
• Lu PingAn cultivated saviors in the Courtyard and prepared them to fight, knowing they could grow while he was away.
• Big Cat warned that divine beasts and the newly awakened Ancient Heroes could serve as the world's will's military force and observers, and Lu PingAn asked Mudar to help him smash the world.

Lu PingAn learned from the Ancient Hero Mudar that the Lord had destroyed the Kunka civilization for its own amusement and kept the survivors as toys. As the Lord began losing control of the world, Lu PingAn saw a chance to act against it.

• Lu PingAn told Mudar that they planned to wreck the Lord's place, and Mudar explained how the Lord forced Heroes back into amber after missions.
• Lu PingAn learned that Mudar's people had returned and told him he had visited their homeland and seen the Lord worshipped there.
• Mudar revealed that the Lord had arranged the Kunka's disasters and world-ending flood after they defeated the Thirteen Revelation Beasts.
• Mudar explained that most Ancient Heroes hated the Lord, which enjoyed their hatred and repeatedly cast them into tragedies for its amusement.
• Mudar said the Lord was losing control of the world and might awaken its stored Heroes to stop outsiders, giving them a chance to act.

After learning more about the World's Will and realizing it was using Mudar to drive him away, Lu PingAn organized the team's departure to God's Ark. Most chose to go with him, but Guan Xinxian stayed to protect people and continue the group's work, leaving Lu PingAn uncertain what the world would look like when he returned.

• Big Cat explained that divine beasts could serve as vessels for consciousness, and Mudar described how the World's Will relied on them.
• Lu PingAn learned that powerful gods could control a world's will, but a self-aware World's Will would fight back against being controlled.
• Lu PingAn realized that Mudar had become the World's Will's beacon and that its pressure was forcing him to leave.
• More than ninety percent of the team chose to accompany Lu PingAn to God's Ark, while Guan Xinxian decided to stay and save people.
• Lu PingAn left Guan Xinxian the Redemption, resources, and plans for support, then prepared to depart for the heavens.

Lu PingAn learned why many companions chose to remain on Mercury 42 with Guan Xinxian and Redemption: they wanted to pursue opportunities, fight on the front lines, and complete research. He left them behind with resources and authority, hoping they could grow stronger while the rest of the team continued onward.

• Lu PingAn entrusted Guan Xinxian with Redemption, resources, and authority to keep the trading company operating on Mercury 42.
• Madam Marian explained that Catherine wanted to fight as a knight rather than spend her days handling Lu PingAn’s administrative work, and asked him not to dismiss her wishes.
• Lu PingAn realized that his rapid progress had left many companions feeling pressure to catch up and pursue their own ambitions.
• A teacher stayed with the research team to process accumulated magical plants and life samples, while connected research, potion, and bodyguard groups also remained behind.
• Lu PingAn recognized that the companions who stayed hoped to strengthen themselves during this new era.

Lu PingAn explained how the opening of other worlds accelerated Professionals’ growth and how returning Travelers helped Earth evolve. As the time-acceleration plan succeeded, the ocean world lost much of its seawater and revealed land.

• Lu PingAn concluded that the number of Professionals who could evolve was limited and that the Nirvana Plan fed them with resources from other worlds.
• Lu PingAn explained that Travelers carried rules and resources between worlds, helping Earth integrate what they brought back.
• The time-acceleration operation began, but only six of the Eight Great Otherworld Points lit up.
• Lu PingAn said the missing pillars meant the plan had succeeded in creating holes that would force the World's Will to spend more power maintaining stability.
• The accelerated world began shifting forward in time, and seawater poured through a spatial rift into the void.
• The rift closed after the ocean world lost enough water to reveal land, leaving it roughly eighty percent ocean and twenty percent land.

Aboard God's Ark, Lu PingAn trained while the crew discovered that Xue En had been left behind, and he watched signs of war and new gods emerge on Mercury 42. On Mercury, a one-eyed general rallied the Long-Hand Tribe, Fishmen, and Abyss Insectoids for battle beneath banners of rebellion.

• Lu PingAn learned that Xue En had been left behind after falling overboard, and blamed the crew's oversight on a failure to check the management roster.
• Lu PingAn observed a new God of Sparks and War arise on Mercury 42 and worried that creating gods was draining the world's strength.
• Lu PingAn saw powerful outsiders being sent into Mercury 42 to force connections between their worlds and the sealed planet.
• The people of Mercury spread Lu PingAn's words urging slaves to resist, carrying banners of chains shattered by a battle axe.
• The one-eyed female general led Long-Hand Tribe members, Fishmen, and Abyss Insectoids toward the darkness and promised victory, death, glory, and immortality.

As the astral signs stabilized and the passage between worlds neared completion, Big Bear met with the Savior Army’s Marshal to discuss the Chamber of Commerce’s possible shift from neutrality toward the war. He confirmed that her master was expected to return soon, leaving their factions poised to negotiate cooperation.

• People in Sha Wusuo La Damuxi’s Ordinary Bar discussed the approaching end of the blockade, the war, and the reinforcements that might come through the opening passage.
• A cloaked woman waited at the bar, and Killer Bear entered, startling the patrons before joining her.
• The woman asked Big Bear whether her master would return, and he said the man should be back soon.
• Big Bear warned that the returning leader might cause the Chamber of Commerce to change direction and possibly enter the war.
• The woman, revealed as the Savior Army’s Marshal, agreed to discuss cooperation with the Chamber of Commerce on the condition that its services came at a price.

Lu PingAn emerged onto a Floating Island after two months away and learned how the war and local society had changed. He began investigating the situation and the fate of the Saint Ark Merchant Guild, but the Long-Hand Tribe member’s story left him suspicious.

• Lu PingAn hired a Long-Hand Tribe guide and learned that the Savior Army had splintered into hundreds of branches, some already fighting over fertile land.
• The guide explained that the New World gods’ portals were bringing people into the conflict, while the front remained relatively stable despite internal disputes.
• Lu PingAn learned that the Abyss Insectoids had split into a recognized Return Faction and an enemy faction being surrounded, while the Lava Clan had lost its bases and was trapped in its own world.
• Lu PingAn asked about the Rebirth Merchant Guild, and the guide said he had been born aboard a Saint Ark Merchant Guild ship that rescued his tribe.
• Lu PingAn grew suspicious as the guide described his tribe’s rescue and questioned whether the account was merely a myth.

Lu PingAn explored the Eastern Kingdom’s cultural and economic influence, discovered that local food and plants improved his physique, and heard Zhao Zhaochuan recount the fates of human heroes. He ended by asking what Senior Brother Guan had done to earn his reputation as the Saint of the Human Realm.

• Lu PingAn learned that Eastern Kingdom Language had become widespread because of commerce, military influence, and popular entertainment.
• Lu PingAn ate local fish dishes and noticed that Zhao Zhaochuan could not easily afford the meal.
• Lu PingAn’s system reported that the food and magical plant had slightly improved his physique, and Chris assessed the region’s spiritual contamination.
• Lu PingAn asked Zhao Zhaochuan about legendary figures, learning that several former acquaintances were alive and had become prominent heroes.
• Lu PingAn heard Senior Brother Guan called the Saint of the Human Realm and asked what he had done to earn the title.

Lu PingAn learned that the Rebirth Merchant Guild had become the well-regarded Ark of Redemption, helping cities rebuild while remaining a neutral force. He chose to wait for the coming war and watch how the situation developed, but someone acted after only three days.

• Lu PingAn heard that many of his old companions were alive but scattered and occupied with their own pursuits.
• Zhao Zhaochuan explained that the Rebirth Merchant Guild had become the Ark of Redemption, trading aid for repayment while helping cities develop and defend themselves.
• Lu PingAn learned that the Long-Hand Tribe viewed humans more favorably because of the merchant guild's work.
• Lu PingAn decided to avoid reuniting with his companions for now and wait for reinforcements, the war, and other factions' plans to unfold.
• After only three days, someone could no longer wait.

Mei Yuge used her rain and ice powers to save a village from Lava Clan bandits, then learned that Lu PingAn had returned to the region. She left the village eager to find him.

• Mei Yuge summoned a downpour as Lava Clan bandits attacked the village, while the villagers’ militia held the line.
• Mei Yuge overwhelmed the bandits with a storm, ice spikes, and Three States of Water, killing them before leaving the battlefield.
• Mei Yuge accepted the agreed payment but refused the villagers’ food.
• A young villager told Mei Yuge he had seen someone wearing the Saint Ark Merchant Guild insignia.
• Mei Yuge recognized the description as Lu PingAn and excitedly learned that he was nearby.

Lu PingAn quietly observed the island’s recovering society through newspapers and books while trying to understand his place among the Long-Hand Tribe. He found two radical bestsellers credited to an unnamed “Mentor” and wondered whether their author was an Earthling.

• Lu PingAn examined his rented room’s comforts and spotted a crooked imitation of his trading company’s Scale emblem on the bedding.
• Lu PingAn watched the city from his window and decided to keep his identity hidden while waiting to see what would happen when the gates opened.
• Lu PingAn visited bookstores and learned that divine graces had helped restore papermaking and copying, accelerating the spread of knowledge.
• Lu PingAn read the popular book As the Mentor Says and suspected its unnamed, radical reformer might be an Earthling.
• Lu PingAn opened On Trade, recognized it as a condensed version of Das Kapital, and noted that it was also credited to “Mentor.”

Lu PingAn read Teacher's Discourse and other popular philosophy books, discovering how Eastern Kingdom ideas had shaped the younger generations and the peoples of Rebirth. He concluded that the spread of these ideas might give the world enough hope and resilience to survive the trials ahead.

• Lu PingAn examined Teacher's Discourse and recognized that its radical arguments against oppression and religious authority could reshape society if widely adopted.
• Lu PingAn considered how the book's support for law, order, and fair trade tempered its incendiary ideas while still threatening the Gods Church's influence.
• Lu PingAn read other philosophical works and found that Eastern Kingdom ideas, rather than sea-power theories, dominated discussions of politics, economics, and race.
• Lu PingAn realized that the Long-Hand Tribe and Free Fishmen had absorbed Eastern Kingdom cultures, which helped explain why he received preferential treatment.
• Lu PingAn decided to investigate the identity and role of Teacher after he returned, and felt that the world's people might now be able to withstand coming trials.

Lu PingAn witnessed the God of Breeding and Watching fall as the World's Will was attacked and a shower of mysterious Light Orbs descended across the world. Cut off from his former contacts, he was left bewildered when a woman suddenly embraced him and called him Regiment Commander Lu.

• Lu PingAn heard a scream and saw the God of Breeding and Watching fall toward the mortal realm, recognizing the deity as Old Liu.
• Another New God fell, and Lu PingAn realized humanity had launched a coordinated attack on the World's Will.
• The sky shattered and countless threatening Light Orbs scattered across land and sea.
• Lu PingAn tried to contact humanity's leaders but found himself cut off from his former allies.
• A woman embraced Lu PingAn and called him Regiment Commander Lu, but he did not recognize her.

Lu PingAn reunited with Mei Yuge, now a peak Lawbearer, and learned that she and six others had left the Rebirth Merchant Guild to seek more battles. After hearing of the deaths, injuries, and retirements that followed, he refused to blame her and set out to learn who had killed their people.

• Lu PingAn recognized Mei Yuge, who had become a powerful Professional, and invited her inside to talk.
• Mei Yuge ate snacks and drank tea while Lu PingAn listened as she described the hardship of the years apart.
• Mei Yuge apologized for leaving the ship and explained that seven members had departed to seek more combat after Lu PingAn was gone.
• Mei Yuge said only she and Simir remained active; one of the others had died, two were severely injured, and two had retired in a remote city.
• Lu PingAn told Mei Yuge not to blame herself and offered to bring the others home.
• Lu PingAn asked who had killed their people and said he would go investigate with Mei Yuge.

Lu PingAn learned that the severed connection to the God's Arks threatened to isolate humanity's forces, then opened a secret report explaining how Old Liu had contaminated the World's Will with a Natural Curse. The World's Will had fallen into the mortal realm, though it was unclear whether Old Liu's attempt to destroy it had succeeded.

• Mei Yuge told Lu PingAn that the Dragon Mountain Calamity and Eight-Clawed's Hunting Squad remained beyond her reach, so they decided to confront the divine beast first.
• Lu PingAn and Mei Yuge discovered that the God's Ark teleportation network was unavailable because contact between the gods and the ground had been severed.
• Church staff gave Lu PingAn a sealed intelligence pouch, which he opened with his Holy Emblem before it burned to ashes.
• Lu PingAn read that Old Liu had used his demigod-level Natural Curse, Integrating into Nature, to become Deadly Poison and contaminate the World's Will.
• Lu PingAn concluded that the World's Will had fallen into the mortal realm, but its complete destruction was uncertain.

Lu PingAn and Mei Yuge discussed the World's Will, the cost of its apparent defeat, and the fallen Star Fragments as Lu PingAn prepared to travel to a Fallen Crash Site. Meanwhile, new Space Rifts and strange awakenings signaled that threats were spreading across the world.

• Lu PingAn waited at the docks with Mei Yuge and offered to have Fang Wen make her a better-fitting Prosthetic Limb.
• Mei Yuge described the changes among the Long-Hand Tribe and asked whether the World's Will had truly fallen asleep.
• Lu PingAn explained that the falling meteors might have been parts cut away from the World's Will to survive, or the only parts of it that could still be saved.
• The human leadership ordered people to hunt the fallen fragments, and Lu PingAn set out for the nearest Fallen Crash Site.
• New Space Rifts brought more Otherworld Invaders as Star Fragments stirred a Heaven Swallowing Giant Beast, revived a Flame Saint Beast, and filled young villagers with starlight.

Lu PingAn and Mei Yuge survived a pirate attack on their passenger ship, with Mei Yuge defeating the attackers using her rain domain and water abilities. After learning that the world’s Divine Grace system was weakening because the World’s Will had been badly damaged, they realized the loss could undermine ordinary warriors across the world.

• Pirates ambushed the passenger ship, tethering it with harpoons and bombing its engine while passengers and crew panicked.
• Mei Yuge used her rain domain, whirlpools, Water Elementals, and Ice Crystal Blades to destroy the pirate ships and kill the attackers in the sea.
• Pirates boarded the ship and tried to rob the passengers, but Mei Yuge froze or impaled them before Lu PingAn needed to act.
• The captain thanked Lu PingAn and Mei Yuge and explained that the crew’s gods had stopped responding, leaving their Divine Grace weakened and the ship without its usual mercenaries.
• Lu PingAn and Mei Yuge recognized that the weakening Divine Grace system could threaten the world’s ordinary warriors, and Lu PingAn hoped the authorities already had a response.