Chapter Summaries

Lu PingAn spent a family vacation reflecting on the responsibilities that kept him fighting, then discussed his growing rivalry with Lady Lin. He remained on the offensive in their struggle for believers and influence, though he knew she could still retaliate.

• Lu PingAn watched his family enjoy a late-night barbecue while Chris cooked for the cats and Catherine worked through documents.
• Lu PingAn reflected that he could not stop fighting because his family, comrades, and thousands of people aboard the ship depended on him.
• Lu PingAn asked whether Lady Lin had quieted down, and Chris said she had stopped competing as aggressively since his return.
• Chris explained that Lu PingAn’s Life Value faction was gaining ground because Lady Lin’s competing churches lacked loyalty and some High-Level Professionals had defected to his Life Courtyard.
• Lu PingAn recognized that he had an advantage over Lady Lin but resolved to stay cautious of the old god’s retaliation.

Lu PingAn considered the risks and rewards of accepting the Eastern Kingdom's invitation to the New World, where he could face Lady Lin's forces while pursuing greater power. After negotiating for protection of his businesses, he learned the expedition would depart within two months and began preparing.

• Lu PingAn weighed how God Wars worked and why he and Lady Lin would keep competing for believers, organizations, and divine resources.
• Lu PingAn decided that traveling to another realm could let Lady Lin's subordinate gods target him, but could also provide opportunities to grow stronger.
• Big Cat urged Lu PingAn to prove he could keep his proper god slot, and Lu PingAn agreed to accept the invitation if the Eastern Kingdom protected his businesses while he was away.
• Lu PingAn learned the New World was a worldline formed from four worlds and included an Afterlife World of heaven and hell.
• Wanjing confirmed that the group would depart within two months, and Lu PingAn began planning his workload and preparations.

Lu PingAn welcomed Xia Qin back to Ancient City and spent the night with her before meeting with his cadres. He offered them a chance to ascend to godhood in a newly discovered world, but when no one accepted, he decided to trade the opportunity for development resources.

• Lu PingAn picked up Xia Qin, and they went to a Riverside Restaurant and hotel instead of returning home.
• Lu PingAn returned home at dawn with breakfast, and Xia Qin visited after he had eaten.
• Miss Lu, Hua Xueyi, Panda, and the other cadres gathered to report in, and Lu PingAn asked if anyone wanted to become a god in the new world.
• Panda, Hua Xueyi, and the other cadres declined the offer, so Lu PingAn decided to exchange the godhood opportunity for development resources.

Lu PingAn's executives organized an expeditionary force to explore another world, arranging personnel, supplies, intelligence, and military support while Catherine stayed behind to oversee the group's industries. After two months of preparation, Lady Lin's God's Ark began moving to intercept them, and the now-grown-up Chris was named commander.

• The executives reported that the group's overseas resource sites were generating enough revenue to sustain its other operations, while Lu PingAn and Xia Qin considered expanding naval exports.
• Catherine chose to remain behind and oversee the industries as the executives selected personnel for the expedition.
• The executives planned a regular expeditionary force with chariots, assassins, spies, the Holy Fire Legion, beast tamers, merchants, and two allied low-tier deities.
• Lu PingAn ordered factories and mechanics to prepare war machines, and the executives began assembling supplies, personnel, research teams, and survey teams.
• Two months later, Lu PingAn received word that Lady Lin's God's Ark was moving to intercept the force, which Chris would command.

Lu PingAn launched the Courtyard’s journey to another universe, enduring the strain of accelerating the divine world with help from its subordinate gods. As the Courtyard traveled, he went to the arena to train with Big Cat in a death match.

• Lu PingAn traveled through the void alone because ordinary God's Arks could no longer bear his weight.
• The Courtyard began its planar migration, and Lu PingAn felt weakened as its spatial engine consumed vast energy.
• Little Flame and the other subordinate gods activated Rule Buildings to share the burden of the Courtyard’s acceleration.
• After seventeen hours, Lu PingAn found the Courtyard’s acceleration easier to endure than before and went to the Gladiatorial Arena.
• Lu PingAn challenged Big Cat to a death match, and they clashed with a steel fist and tiger claw.

Lu PingAn trained in the Gymnasium to strengthen his combat fundamentals and prepared his forces for a dangerous journey to another world. Big Cat took charge of the Zoo to create creatures, while Lu PingAn ordered the Gardeners to grow combat treants and War Machines before the team’s arrival.

• Lu PingAn gained fighting skill, an awakened profession ability, and improved constitution through repeated Gymnasium death matches.
• Lu PingAn trained hand-to-hand with Big Cat to prepare for possible assassinations by demigods or divine incarnations.
• Big Cat took control of the Zoo to create invasive species, and Zhi Xi took over the Gymnasium.
• Lu PingAn visited the Botanical Garden, where the Gardeners reported that food and magical medicine reserves could sustain the team for three months.
• Lu PingAn ordered the Gardeners to grow combat treants and War Machines in preparation for trouble upon arrival in the new world.

After reaching Tier 9, Lu PingAn considered how to evolve beyond the limits of ordinary demigods and what kind of country the Courtyard should become. He concluded that he needed to expand life’s circulation to include the dead, and looked forward to seeking a principle of death on his journey.

• Lu PingAn rejected the idea that he was a god and reflected on how his pragmatic view of gods and organizations had shaped the Courtyard.
• Lu PingAn compared Shuichi’s branching selves and accumulated power with his own growth through the Courtyard and its Trading Grounds.
• Lu PingAn decided that the Courtyard should serve all living beings by helping life circulate, rather than concentrating resources in himself.
• Lu PingAn considered establishing a Courtyard for the dead to reclaim their life or return them to the living.
• Lu PingAn realized he needed a principle of death beyond the level of gods and grew eager to pursue planar conquest and the legendary Afterlife World.

Lu PingAn discussed the New World expedition with Xue En, who had returned to the team after getting married and having children. The team prepared for a rainforest region inhabited by powerful demi-humans and native gods, and replaced its metal equipment with wooden armaments before deployment.

• Panda Man noticed that Lu PingAn seemed different, and Lu PingAn teased him about his marriage and family before turning to the upcoming deployment.
• Lu PingAn reminded Xue En that he was weakened after having children and assigned him to handle logistics rather than charge into battle.
• Lu PingAn explained that the New World’s demi-humans favored beastlike features, so the team planned to adapt their appearances and fighting styles.
• Lu PingAn reviewed reports of demi-humans, native gods, wars, and a rainforest where metal weapons rusted easily.
• Lu PingAn’s team mass-produced wooden armaments and replaced its equipment as the New World expedition approached.

Lu PingAn and the Rebirth Merchant Guild arrived in a fertile, comfortable New World that showed no resistance to outsiders. He ordered a semi-permanent military outpost and research base built as his team began exploring the planet and studying its laws.

• Lu PingAn and the guild’s party arrived in the New World and marveled at its hospitable climate, air, and terrain.
• Lu PingAn found that his power met little resistance as he expanded a defensive territory, suggesting the world lacked hostility toward outsiders.
• Lu PingAn ordered the team to build a semi-permanent defensive bunker using low-grade extraordinary Magic Steel.
• Lu PingAn assigned his faction to establish a research and development center and logistics base, analyze local materials and laws, and develop communicators before vehicles.
• Lu PingAn noted that studying the world’s logic could reveal opportunities for new God Seats and rules.

Lu PingAn met with Eastern Kingdom commander Tie Xinping and former Martial God high priest Sun Xiaosheng to discuss cooperation and the Trading Ground. They arranged to prioritize machinery research and placed substantial orders with Lu PingAn, whose Courtyard offered valuable supplies and comforts from home.

• Tie Xinping and Sun Xiaosheng greeted Lu PingAn at his camp and discussed their ties to him and the Martial God Church’s interest in Chris.
• Lu PingAn explained that his partner was creating an independent incarnation, leaving her temporarily weakened.
• Tie Xinping asked about the Trading Ground, and Lu PingAn confirmed it could be activated without suppression and could help local demi-humans become supernatural beings.
• Tie Xinping described the cautious effort to contact the demi-humans, while the group discussed labor shortages and the need for machinery.
• The three parties reviewed their progress and plans, and Tie Xinping and Sun Xiaosheng ordered weapons, protective gear, equipment, and potion ingredients from Lu PingAn.

Lu PingAn rejected naming the new city Peace City because he feared becoming an even bigger meme, while Big Cat and Chris saw his viral image as a chance to spread faith. The city was ultimately named Returning Home City, a welcoming destination for newcomers and weary travelers returning home.

• Lu PingAn refused the proposed name Peace City after imagining people turning his image into a city-sized meme.
• Lu PingAn reflected on how PingAn Brand’s controversial marketing had made its products popular and turned him into a meme celebrity.
• Big Cat questioned Lu PingAn’s concern about portrait rights, while Chris considered using internet-style religious marketing.
• Lu PingAn decided not to interfere with the memes, reasoning that doing so could make them even more popular.
• The group named the new city Returning Home City because it would serve people arriving in Shenzhou and travelers coming back exhausted.

Lu PingAn’s faction struggled to establish Returning Home City as unfamiliar local materials, environmental conditions, and food made construction and settlement far harder than expected. He mobilized powerful allies and researchers to keep the project moving while the team adapted to the frontier.

• Construction crews found that local wood and cement defeated their tools and plans, so Lu PingAn learned that the hired Ancient City firm lacked experience with otherworldly construction.
• Lu PingAn ordered most people to stay in the Courtyard and said the faction should contact locals earlier to learn from their technology.
• Wild beasts threatened the camp, so Lu PingAn assigned warriors and Eve’s Crystal Legion to help secure and build the settlement.
• Food poisoning struck lower-ranked logistics workers, while unusual water conditions caused a sailor to drown and further disrupted development.
• Lu PingAn and other top-tier fighters used their abilities to cut trees, operate Living Armors, patrol the area, and keep sick workers alive as Potion Masters and researchers tackled urgent local problems.

Lu PingAn's group arrived in a prosperous Wasteland and began building a city for future Explorers, discovering that their planned farming and beast-taming services were largely unnecessary. As the first local Explorers set out, Lu PingAn recognized the vast profits available to those who controlled the infrastructure and services around otherworld arrivals.

• Lu PingAn's group found abundant food and easily tamed local beasts, making much of their planned agricultural and Beast Species work unnecessary.
• Lu PingAn's team began constructing a medium-sized city expected to house over a million people rather than rushing to explore.
• Lu PingAn realized that outposts, services, trade, and taxes made otherworld exploration a highly profitable business for the True God Churches.
• Lu PingAn considered opening artisan workshops and potion shops to profit from materials brought back by Explorers.
• The first batch of local Explorers set out while Lu PingAn had not yet begun his own exploration.

Lu PingAn explored New Luo Town, a demi-human settlement near the new human city, and observed its welcoming residents and unusual customs. He reached the agreed meeting place, where his cadres were already waiting.

• Lu PingAn rode through the Wasteland and reflected on how friendly and full of life this world felt.
• After two months spent helping develop the new city, Lu PingAn set out to visit nearby New Luo Town now that civilian Explorers had arrived.
• Town residents greeted Lu PingAn warmly, and he entered while wearing a makeshift wolf-clan disguise.
• Lu PingAn sampled local food and observed the town's nocturnal demi-humans, dim street lighting, and picture-based shop signs.
• Lu PingAn arrived at the meeting place and was greeted by a cadre who complained that he was late.

Lu PingAn gathered his friends into a disguised party to explore the unfamiliar world and collect honest impressions. With no specific mission yet, the team set out to learn about local society, species, and resources.

• Lu PingAn joined Cat Cat, Xia Qin, Miss Lu, and Hua Xueyi at a tavern, where they joked and ordered local food.
• The team discussed how they had encountered many subspecies and found that mixed-blood offspring with outsiders appeared possible.
• Hua Xueyi explained that their exploration could help assess local plants and animals for potion-making, while Miss Lu complained about being pulled away from the lab.
• Lu PingAn told Cat Cat that the party had no set mission and that he wanted to hear their candid observations before making plans for the organization.

Lu PingAn shared grim stories about adventuring with a group of young newcomers at a lakeside Transit Station, then learned about the demi-humans and their society. When he wondered how to investigate why they had no writing, the Little Guy suggested asking an old dragon.

• Lu PingAn warned the young adventurers that most newcomers died or left the profession early, though they mistook his otherworldly experiences for tall tales.
• Lu PingAn learned that the demi-human races shared ancestry and could produce offspring of different types, while the Dog-person siblings described their poor, crowded hometown.
• Lu PingAn discovered that the siblings had never read books and that their society had drawings but no written script.
• The Little Guy suggested that Lu PingAn seek out an old dragon, whose long life might make it a source of knowledge.

Lu PingAn’s team set out late after a leisurely morning and traveled through a world whose life-rich land and unusual demi-humans intrigued him. They met a brother and sister who wanted to join their senior team, and Lu PingAn learned they had an unmanageable mission in an Underground Labyrinth.

• Lu PingAn and his team slept in and did not prepare to leave until noon, then set off intending to travel through the night.
• Lu PingAn examined the fast-growing vegetation and soil, considering the world’s fertility, its gods, and the unusual compatibility of its peoples.
• Lu PingAn wondered whether the demi-humans had been artificially shaped, but decided he lacked enough information to draw conclusions.
• A familiar brother and sister approached Lu PingAn with a request, while Cat Cat complained that he was neglecting her.
• Lu PingAn welcomed the pair after learning they wanted to gain experience with his team and had a difficult Underground Labyrinth mission they could not handle.

Lu PingAn traveled with Fen Ke and the others, discovering that their innate professions and equipment drew power from spoken runes rather than ordinary magic. After testing his own Silver Rune, he offered to teach the group his Waves technique as they continued toward Tao Guo City.

• Lu PingAn discussed the different lifespans of the world's races and considered how professions could extend the lives of short-lived people.
• Fen Ke and the others fought off earth wolves using innate abilities that strengthened through chanting, weapons, and rune-marked gear.
• Lu PingAn used the Eye of Truth to trace the group's powers to vibrations and runes, then examined their protective charms and recognized them as a form of writing.
• On the way to Tao Guo City, Lu PingAn killed a magical beast with a snap and observed that his Silver Rune's power behaved unusually strongly in this world's rules.
• Lu PingAn offered to teach Fen Ke and the others his Waves cutting technique.

Lu PingAn investigated how this world's unusual, persistent vibrations altered his Wave Battle Axe techniques and taught the principles to four children. As his Black Flame spread, he began exploring whether the world could help him evolve his life-based powers.

• Lu PingAn discovered that his Wave Battle Axe techniques mutated in this world and that its vibrations could keep a Space Rift open and expanding.
• Lu PingAn canceled the lingering rift by striking it again, causing the two Vibration Sources to collide and dissipate.
• Lu PingAn taught the four Little Guys practical techniques based on the Wave Slash Technique rather than the technique itself.
• When an Ape-person's neck swelled from uncontrolled vibration, Lu PingAn stopped the vibration and concluded that using it directly on flesh was dangerous.
• Lu PingAn spread his Black Flame Legion around himself and studied how its life-born flames could burn and evolve in this world.

Lu PingAn experimented with evolving life into Black Flame but could not stabilize the transformation, then blessed the rookie team as he prepared to invest more in the world. His companions also explored ways to grow stronger, and the chapter ended with Miss Lu the pharmacist surprised that her power might evolve.

• Lu PingAn tried to transform ordinary life into Black Flame and back, but the process exploded, showing he still needed more genetic modules and Forbidden Knowledge.
• Lu PingAn gave the rookie team blessed protective charms and encouraged the Little Guys to pursue dangerous adventures.
• Lu PingAn considered increasing his investment in the world, including sending more people or legions from Mercury 42.
• Spirit Cat found that this world had strengthened its extradimensional form, while Hua Xueyi and Xia Qin sought local information to develop their abilities.
• Miss Lu the pharmacist was bewildered when she learned her power might have room to evolve.