Chapter Summaries

The Eastern Kingdom's councilors debated the costs of the Nirvana Plan before coastal states pressed Wanjing over the Outer Dragon State disaster and the threat to their shores. Wanjing revealed its preparations and proposed a Maritime Mobile Patrol Force led by General Su Yun.

• Councilors from several states demanded that the Nirvana Plan be halted, while others treated the complaints as a familiar bid for compensation and concessions.
• Coastal states questioned whether their seas were safe after the Outer Dragon State suffered mass casualties and the destruction of three cities.
• Wanjing reported that it had recalled legions from Mercury 42, Mercury 115, and Bo Suo Lai World for naval operations.
• Wanjing proposed forming a Maritime Mobile Patrol Force from personnel provided by each state and locality, with General Su Yun as commander-in-chief.
• The proposal named Lieutenant General Jiang Shuisheng and Lieutenant General Lu PingAn among the regional patrol commanders.

Lu PingAn accepted a nominal appointment as commander of the Third Legion, which was being formed to protect the Eastern Kingdom’s coast, and helped unite its various factions. As the new unit prepared for possible deployment, Lu PingAn was surprised to find Senior Brother Guan among its members.

• Lu PingAn learned that he had been appointed commander of the Third Legion, a mobile force being organized to respond to attacks along the coast.
• After learning that the Third Legion would defend Outer Dragon State and surrounding regions, Lu PingAn accepted the appointment because of his ties to Lady Lin’s southern faction.
• Lu PingAn attended video conferences and found that the authorities, military, Forest Goddess Faction, and Mercury 42 faction had provided elite troops and commanders, leaving him with a mostly symbolic role.
• Lu PingAn let his people choose whether to keep doing business or join the military, while he kept in touch with Ancient City and Changping Province.
• Lu PingAn met Senior Brother Guan, who had left his pursuit of godhood to join the Third Legion.

Lu PingAn reflected on Guan Xinxian’s choice to sacrifice his ascension and return to protect others, then promised to help him recover and settle the consequences. He planned to contact the authorities and seek help from the Forest Goddess Church and Lady Lin.

• Lu PingAn agreed to help Guan Xinxian deal with the consequences of his actions, despite warning that there would be repercussions.
• Lu PingAn saw that Guan Xinxian had torn part of the God's Ark from himself to leave Mercury 42 and had become a weakened, godlike being.
• Lu PingAn understood that Guan Xinxian’s drive to save others came from both his hatred of Eight-Clawed and his inability to abandon those he loved.
• Lu PingAn promised to handle matters while Guan Xinxian rested and recovered.
• Lu PingAn decided to speak with the authorities and seek help from the Forest Goddess Church and Lady Lin.

Lu PingAn reported to the LinHai Military Region and settled into a largely nominal command role, leaving the staff to manage operations while he remained available for coordination. Your Excellency Xiu Yi later updated him on the fighting on Mercury 42, Liu XiYan’s expected return, and approval for him to communicate with Lady Lin.

• Lu PingAn visited the General Staff Department late at night and offered to order food, easing the staff’s worries by making clear he would not interfere with their work.
• Lu PingAn left the Command HQ and planned to hand over duties to his nominal deputy, who actually commanded the military region.
• Your Excellency Xiu Yi contacted Lu PingAn and told him that most demigods could not leave their posts, but Liu XiYan would return within a month.
• Your Excellency Xiu Yi told Lu PingAn that his request to communicate directly with Lady Lin had been approved, while warning him not to expect much from her.

Lu PingAn settled into his emergency role as a regional commander and reviewed the escalating war against Eight-Clawed across multiple worlds. As he prepared for a meeting with Lady Lin, he hoped she would accept Guan Xinxian as her subordinate god.

• Lu PingAn toured the hastily assembled military headquarters, got lost, and escaped the base by teleporting over its wall.
• Lu PingAn rented a hotel room in Shuwen City and found that his schedule was mostly empty before his meeting with Lady Lin in ten days.
• Lu PingAn considered asking Lady Lin to take Guan Xinxian as her subordinate god to help repair Guan's damaged divine kingdom and bind him to a powerful ally.
• Lu PingAn learned that the war on Mercury 42 had intensified, with the Fishmen Kingdom attacking Eight-Clawed territory and demigods causing widespread destruction.
• The Eastern Kingdom and allied churches sent forces to train and prepare for conflict, as the struggle with Eight-Clawed spread across at least twenty worlds.

As war spread across the worlds, Lu PingAn took on coastal-defense and public-relations duties for the Second Military District. His televised interview became a source of jokes, but the plummeting stock market showed that reassuring the public was part of preparing for a long war.

• Big Cat explained that Eight-Clawed had been cultivating influence in this world and that foreign evil gods could draw worlds together through their cultists.
• Lu PingAn accepted his role as Brigade Commander of the Coast Guard's Temporary Second Military District and gave a television interview about defending the sea frontier.
• Viewers laughed at the grand titles shown during the broadcast, including Lu PingAn's title, while his companions teased him about his appearance.
• Lu PingAn's family told him that his hometown had watched the interview and wanted to celebrate him as a general.
• Lu PingAn learned that the East Great Stock Market had been falling for a month and recognized the importance of keeping public morale steady.

Lu PingAn escaped his endless military meetings by volunteering for coastal patrols, where he slaughtered thousands of invading sea creatures but found their numbers impossible to contain. His patrols reduced coastal attacks and bought time for defenses, yet he ended the chapter troubled by how much he had to hold back to protect Earth.

• Lu PingAn delegated his administrative duties and left to patrol the coast, keeping the Rebirth Merchant Guild's Secretary Team to handle liaison work.
• Riding a great white shark, Lu PingAn used his Eye of Truth to hunt sea monsters and otherworldly creatures, killing thousands but finding that more kept arriving.
• Lu PingAn learned that the Southern Islands were suffering attacks and that temporary military districts were establishing coastal defenses as invaders adapted to the environment.
• Lu PingAn helped military districts by clearing routed enemies and intercepting powerful creatures, then continued patrolling without reporting back or attending meetings.
• Lu PingAn's solo patrols halved the rate of coastal violent crimes, while residents fled coastal properties and inland housing prices rose.
• Lu PingAn considered using shark swarms, water mines, or polluted waters to stop the invaders, but refrained because Earth was his home.

Lu PingAn spoke bluntly on television about the dangers facing the coast and the need to relocate residents, then learned that shipyards across the country were booked with military orders. As he considered inspecting ships for his military district, Cat Cat suggested building a Fusang Wood Battleship, and Lu PingAn wondered whether his group should enter shipbuilding.

• Lu PingAn gave televised interviews warning that the coast was not yet safe and urging residents to follow relocation arrangements.
• Lu PingAn called Mayor Li to discuss projects for Homeworld, but learned that Ancient City's factories were already overwhelmed with orders.
• Lu PingAn discovered that shipyards nationwide had years of warship orders, suggesting that the Eastern Kingdom planned to counterattack after defending its coast.
• Lu PingAn discussed large, repairable ships as floating bases for War Machines and beast packs.
• Cat Cat suggested a Fusang Wood Battleship, prompting Lu PingAn to consider entering shipbuilding and bringing the Lamp Tree along.

Lu PingAn planned to establish a warship production base near Ancient City by contaminating a secret realm at Su Nan Mountain, but Big Cat warned him that his divinity was pushing him toward godhood. He decided to dredge the river channel himself so large ships could reach the estuary.

• Lu PingAn considered turning Ancient City into a long-term warship production hub and chose Su Nan Mountain as a possible site.
• Lu PingAn nearly acted on the impulse to let his Courtyard erode Earth, but Big Cat warned him that his divinity was driving him to verify his power and ascend.
• Lu PingAn decided to contaminate an existing holy land at Su Nan Mountain rather than create a Kingdom of God from scratch.
• Lu PingAn and Big Cat discussed the site’s security and river access, noting that the Fishmen could attack upstream and the channel was too shallow for large cargo ships.
• Lu PingAn decided to dredge the river himself before shipbuilding began.

Lu PingAn returned to Ancient City and signed an agreement to build a shipyard and Special Port Area with local officials and other partners. He left the chapter arranging additional facilities and investments around the project.

• Lu PingAn arrived in Ancient City, greeted local leaders, and discussed the shipyard project.
• Lu PingAn rejected the Phosphorus People's offer to invest and assured officials that he could build the Special Port Area, signing the contract with them.
• Lu PingAn and the Gu City Official agreed to develop commercial land and living facilities around the port, with favorable tax terms and support for recruitment.
• Gu City University offered Lu PingAn technical support, student workers, and an entrepreneurship loan while adding his project to a student employment competition.
• Lu PingAn requested more facilities for the area, including a Taming Garden, a hospital, and an arena.

Lu PingAn watched a flattering TV report about his inspections and plans, reflecting on the military’s technological and combat gaps and his efforts to help prepare Ancient City for the coming Plane War. After returning home and becoming busy with his new projects, he was unexpectedly invited to a class reunion.

• Lu PingAn watched the broadcast misrepresent his shipyard visit, where he had criticized outdated designs and revised blueprints on the spot.
• Lu PingAn recalled warning local military leaders about the strength of Fishmen, sea beasts, and enemies he had faced, and hoped the armed forces would prepare for the Plane War.
• Lu PingAn agreed to invest in an experimental park and work toward establishing a Sea Battle Training Base in Ancient City.
• Lu PingAn returned to Ancient City and was surprised when someone invited him to a class reunion.

Lu PingAn met Liu Yu at a high school reunion and learned that the city's steel workers' union hoped his biological-abilities project could help absorb workers facing mass layoffs. He left the meeting considering the request but made no promise to prioritize local workers over foreign labor.

• Lu PingAn met Liu Yu at Gu City Hotel, where Liu Yu admitted he had arranged the reunion partly to approach him about a major project.
• Liu Yu explained that his family's steel business had benefited from Ancient City's growth in automobile manufacturing and shipbuilding, and said he had spare money to invest.
• Liu Yu told Lu PingAn that more than ten percent of steel workers had already been laid off and that another twenty percent or more, including at least fifty thousand mostly older workers, might lose their jobs.
• Lu PingAn realized the steel workers' union had asked Liu Yu to contact him and considered how his project might help workers who could not readily find jobs elsewhere.
• Liu Yu urged Lu PingAn to take care of workers from their hometown instead of relying on cheaper foreign labor, but Lu PingAn said he would think about it and made no promise.

After a class reunion, Lu PingAn considered Liu Yu’s request to create jobs for local workers and began arranging production facilities in Ancient City. As he prepared for war and a possible retreat, Big Cat explained that the authorities’ trust in him extended to permitting him to turn his domain into a refuge for the city’s people.

• Lu PingAn attended a reunion with former classmates, exchanged contact information, and listened to their gossip and questions about his life.
• Lu PingAn weighed Liu Yu’s request to prioritize local workers over cheaper laborers from Mercury 42 and decided to bring production lines to Ancient City.
• Lu PingAn called to begin negotiations over establishing a production base and attracting military-industrial enterprises to the city.
• The Phosphorus People contacted Lu PingAn to propose equal-terms competition, but he refused to agree to unrestricted competition or to drive them out entirely.
• Big Cat explained that the authorities had entrusted Lu PingAn with an area of Ancient City and would allow him to use it as a domain, potentially raising his God Seat and evacuating the city’s residents if war went badly.

Lu PingAn followed worsening reports of the invasion, which involved the Eight-Clawed faction, Giant Soldiers, and Phantom Rays. As attacks spread across the island chain and devastated the Sakura Kingdom, the Eastern Kingdom began preparing its civilians for war.

• News reports confirmed that more than ninety percent of Australia's population had disappeared after the continent fell to the invaders.
• Authorities identified the Eight-Clawed faction, Giant Soldiers, and Phantom Rays as the invasion's main forces and described their differing capabilities.
• Phantom Rays and Giant Soldiers attacked the Sakura Kingdom, destroying parts of its capital region and causing blackouts, panic, and thousands of casualties and missing people.
• Lu PingAn watched the reports at a noodle shop as the Eastern Kingdom began broadcasting survival advice, distributing supplies, and organizing firearms training.

Lu PingAn faced pressure to help Ancient City modernize its failing steel industry as war accelerated economic upheaval. The officials then revealed plans for an independent trade zone for outsiders and asked him to act as its military deterrent and promote his Courtyard, while hoping he would reach rank eight.

• Steel industry representatives warned Lu PingAn that outdated production lines would be shut down, risking widespread layoffs, and asked for help upgrading Ancient City's industry.
• Lu PingAn learned that local officials and the Labor Union wanted to establish new Development Zones and transform the city's economy, but he resisted taking responsibility for the plan.
• Ancient City's officials proposed creating an independent Special Zone and Direct Port to attract foreign races and other realms, double the city's output and population, and provide jobs before war erupted.
• The officials asked Lu PingAn to deter threats, promote his Courtyard's safe superhuman transformation in exchange for five years of lifespan, and, if possible, become rank eight.

Lu PingAn agreed to help Ancient City build a special zone and secure resources from other worlds as global shortages threatened. As he considered asking the Forest Holy Maiden for help, she appeared in person and greeted him, provoking an angry response from Chris.

• Lu PingAn learned that soaring mineral prices and collapsing shipping had pushed Ancient City to seek its own resource channels through other worlds.
• An official explained that Ancient City planned to attract outside investment with its Courtyard and high-level combat power, and Lu PingAn agreed to build the special zone framework.
• Lu PingAn realized he could use his Green Planet shares, alien contacts, and biotechnology connections to supply Ancient City with resources.
• Lu PingAn considered asking the Forest Holy Maiden to help Guan Xinxian ascend, despite expecting difficult negotiations.
• The green-haired Forest Holy Maiden appeared at a noodle stall, greeted Lu PingAn, and called out to Chris, who angrily called her a bitch.

Lu PingAn met the Maiden of the Forest to ask that Guan Xinxian become her subordinate god, but found her far more perceptive and dangerous than her friendly appearance suggested. He made the request directly, and she revealed she had seen through his plan to prolong the meeting.

• The Maiden of the Forest sent Big Cat flying after Big Cat insulted her, and Lu PingAn muted Big Cat when she continued cursing through their connection.
• The goddess read Lu PingAn’s thoughts and offered to make him her Holy Son, but he refused and changed forms to block her access to his information.
• The Maiden of the Forest pressed Lu PingAn to call her Senior Sister, while he kept their relationship professional and wary of the risks of accepting a title.
• Lu PingAn asked the Maiden of the Forest to make Guan Xinxian her subordinate god.
• The Maiden of the Forest asked whether Lu PingAn had avoided dragging out the conversation to make her spend more power.

Lu PingAn rejected Lady Lin’s offer to become a Holy Son and compete for the King of the Forest, wary that her Woodland would bind him to her. Lady Lin revealed her history with Chris, leaving Lu PingAn unsettled by the betrayal and obsession between the two former allies.

• Lu PingAn recognized Lady Lin’s Woodland as the source of her power and understood that its Kings of the Forest could become nourishment for it.
• Lady Lin offered to make Lu PingAn her Holy Son and help him ascend to godhood within three months, but he refused, saying he would not become a consumable or be contained by her.
• Lady Lin said she had once hoped Chris would become king, but Chris had failed the trial she set for her.
• Lady Lin described Chris as the most beautiful beast in her Woodland and lamented that she had refused to become her Beast King and consume her Beast Child.
• Lu PingAn said Chris had called Lady Lin delusional and told her to die, while Lady Lin dismissed Chris’s insults as her sharp tongue.

Lu PingAn met with the Maiden of the Forest, whose attempts to provoke him exposed how sharply their values and goals differed. He left with a divine key and permission for Guan Xinxian to act as a subordinate god, but Lady Lin had now taken an interest in them.

• Lu PingAn and the Maiden of the Forest met under the watch of Gu City Official snipers, who stood ready to prevent the confrontation from destroying Ancient City.
• The Maiden of the Forest provoked Lu PingAn by attacking his trust in the officials, insulting those he cared about, and offering him a chance to prove himself through a fight.
• Lu PingAn rejected Lady Lin’s vision of Woodland and its wars, which he believed would sacrifice mortals and undermine social order.
• Lu PingAn obtained Lady Lin’s Wooden Staff, which gave him authority to mobilize much of Changping Province’s Forest Goddess Faction, and secured permission for Guan Xinxian to act as a subordinate god.
• Lu PingAn planned to establish Life Woodland, gather Gardeners and resources, transform the demonic plants, and work with the Salvation Church.
• Chris warned Lu PingAn that Lady Lin was dangerous and urged him to trust the mortal members of the Forest Goddess Church rather than its gods.

Lu PingAn began building a Kingdom of God on Earth in a new territory, but discovered he could not advance to eighth rank until he established his Logic as a source in this world. He started planting Lamp Flower Trees and bringing life from his Courtyard into the river valley, gradually making the land accept his existence.

• Lu PingAn learned that the Holy Maiden resented him because his past actions had caused her search for the Ancient City Heritage to fail and cost her standing in Lady Lin's church.
• Lu PingAn assigned Gu City Official a week to settle the land disputes, and the authorities finalized his three-hundred-year usage rights in less than three days.
• Lu PingAn told the higher-ups he was preparing to advance, but found himself unable to reach eighth rank because his Logic had not been fully proven in this world.
• Lu PingAn identified the missing achievements and began planting Lamp Flower Tree seeds in a river valley, while construction crews widened the river channel and prepared a furnace and volcano for flame creatures.
• Lu PingAn's Courtyard revived creatures that could not adapt to the local environment, and its gates gradually opened as outsiders arrived and helped fulfill his Life Transaction philosophy.