Chapter Summaries

Lu PingAn balanced his growing need for sleep with his duties to Courtyard, whose population and industry were rapidly expanding. He planned to keep control during the coming chaos while building opportunities for the local Orcs to grow and develop their own professional paths.

• Lu PingAn ate with his family, then explained that his expanding main body was making him drowsy, though he refused to devote all his consciousness to growth and lose control.
• Hua Xueyi said the group felt less secure when Lu PingAn was absent, and he recognized that he would need to stabilize his people if chaos erupted.
• Catherine referred Lu PingAn's questions about Courtyard's operations to Fang Wen, who reported that a new industrial zone was being built to produce conventional vehicles.
• Lu PingAn discussed seeking Heroic Spirit Technology through a trade with Earth gods, but expected he could only pursue it after returning.
• Lu PingAn described his plans to provide Courtyard's Orcs with opportunities for growth, combat professions, and paths of evolution, without requiring them to become warriors.

Lu PingAn coordinated his growing faction at a family banquet and established rules for racial cooperation in the Courtyard. He left the group with a foundation of mixed habitation, relative equality, and opportunities for all races to develop.

• Lu PingAn assigned Mu Mu to monitor the Tree Dragon territory and advised Little Flame and Ajiu on building the Burning Legion around stable mortal species.
• Catherine recorded the family banquet’s decisions so the Secretary Team could turn them into plans for the faction’s departments and races.
• Lu PingAn ordered mixed racial habitation and relative equality of treatment in the Courtyard to reduce future conflict between races.
• Lu PingAn explained that fairness meant protecting basic survival and providing opportunities, not limiting the strong or guaranteeing equal outcomes.
• The Courtyard adopted Lu PingAn’s principles as its foundation, giving the weak support and opportunities to grow stronger.

Zeta Duna returned to the City of Silver with the rescued jungle hunters after helping them win first place in the harvest. Welcomed by Lu PingAn, she reflected on the world's apparent madness and found hope in his concern for the refugees.

• Zeta Duna considered how she had joined Lu PingAn's pantheon to secure a future for her followers and had earned a low-level Animal Husbandry Divine Authority.
• Zeta Duna recalled that a subordinate god who contacted the World's Will had been attacked and left bedridden, supporting Lu PingAn's theory that the world was corrupted and fighting itself.
• Zeta Duna entered the City of Silver, where the guards greeted her as Lord Shepherd God Aries for her efforts to save others.
• Lu PingAn welcomed Zeta Duna and comforted the exhausted refugees who followed her.
• Zeta Duna wondered whether Lu PingAn's empathy meant she was not the only one who rejected a world that treated living beings as expendable.

Lu PingAn considered bringing Zeta Duna into his Inner Circle after her dangerous rescue missions, while new reports confirmed the world was already dead and nearing fragmentation. A former Hero then prayed to him about discovering ruins, but gave no name or location.

• Lu PingAn ordered Zeta Duna to hibernate because her health and combat strength had deteriorated, and invited her to breakfast with his family.
• Zeta Duna accepted the invitation, while Lu PingAn planned for Chris to take her as a disciple and bring her closer to the Inner Circle.
• Lu PingAn learned that the world had already died and would eventually break apart, though he continued searching for mortals and World Origin Fragments.
• A former Hero prayed to Lu PingAn about finding ruins from a previous civilization but failed to identify themself or give their location.

Rabbit Qi Shan learned that writing and knowledge carried a curse that rapidly aged those who preserved them, while the Knowledge Keepers secretly guarded records of past civilizations. After refusing to take over the dying shopkeeper’s duty, she gave him vitality and vowed to protect him and the knowledge herself.

• At the Dawn lamp shop, Rabbit Qi Shan stopped the foxkin shopkeeper from killing himself and persuaded him to explain his connection to Art Al, the Knowledge Keepers.
• The shopkeeper revealed that recognized symbols and written knowledge became Time Poison, causing scholars and Gravekeepers to age and die quickly.
• He told Rabbit Qi Shan that civilization had been rebuilt at least five times and that the shop’s lamps held the ancestors’ records and his own writings.
• The shopkeeper asked Rabbit Qi Shan to guard the knowledge, but she refused to take his place.
• Rabbit Qi Shan restored the shopkeeper’s vitality and promised to protect him and the knowledge as a Hero.

Lu PingAn answered Rabbit Qi Shan’s prayer and descended into a weak physical avatar to learn about the world’s cruel treatment of its people. After acknowledging their endurance, he prepared to act against the world despite his avatar having only thirty-seven Life Points.

• Rabbit Qi Shan performed a ritual using her blood and Life Points, and Lu PingAn rebuked her for failing to report her location and needs clearly.
• Rabbit Qi Shan repeated the prayer with precise coordinates and explained that people in the world were raised as livestock for their extraordinary abilities.
• Lu PingAn decided to descend personally, and Rabbit Qi Shan sacrificed nearly all her Life Points to form his physical avatar in the lamp shop.
• Lu PingAn examined an old man’s painful body, learned that the man had grown new teeth before losing his old ones, and bowed in respect for the people’s endurance.
• Lu PingAn declared that the world was beyond saving and said no one could stop him, despite his avatar having only thirty-seven Life Points.

Lu PingAn descended into the mortal world and used a Life Coin to heal a dying Gravekeeper, though the World's Curse and Time Poison still threatened him. He promised to bring the Gravekeepers to his territory and preserve their inheritance, while the scale of that inheritance remained unknown.

• Lu PingAn completed his first God Descent and examined the fragile mortal body endowed with divine power.
• Lu PingAn discovered that the Old Man's World's Curse and Time Poison could not be fully removed.
• Lu PingAn dissolved a Life Coin to restore the Old Man's body and grant him three more months to live.
• Lu PingAn promised to take the Gravekeepers to his territory, where they could preserve their lives and pass on their civilization.

Lu PingAn oversaw a forced evacuation plan in a seemingly peaceful town, where the rabbit Hero was to manufacture a disaster and persuade its residents to flee. A mysterious message then summoned every Gravekeeper to the legendary Great Cemetery, and Ke Er’s lamp pointed east toward it.

• Lu PingAn toured the town with Ke Er and a rabbit Hero, observing its stagnant, contented society and concluding that the residents would not believe warnings of the coming apocalypse.
• Lu PingAn let the rabbit Hero and her team create a crisis, stir up unrest, remove the local lord, and use the Hero’s authority to demand the town’s relocation.
• An ancient lamp in Ke Er’s room sent a message ordering all Gravekeepers to abandon their work and belongings and go to the Great Cemetery.
• Lu PingAn learned that the Great Cemetery was a legendary burial site with no known location, while Ke Er’s lamp flame pointed steadily east.

Lu PingAn traveled east with Old Fox and the rabbit-person Hero to search for the Great Cemetery, while urging the Hero to live with her past rather than seek death as atonement. The Hero embraced her choice to save people, gained new strength, and continued the journey.

• Lu PingAn, Old Fox, and the rabbit-person Hero headed east through the safe zone in search of the Great Cemetery.
• The Hero said she hoped to atone for the innocents she had killed, but Lu PingAn told her that guilt could not be erased and that her past did not cancel out the good she could do now.
• Lu PingAn encouraged the Hero to choose her own future and live rather than destroy herself in pursuit of redemption.
• The Hero vowed to carry her sins, keep living, and make her life more valuable, causing her aura and abilities to grow.
• Lu PingAn watched the Hero follow him and told her not to die because her future mattered.

Lu PingAn reached a Great Cemetery and learned how Gravekeepers preserved forbidden knowledge after death. He offered to help the failing residents and left the cemetery’s hidden inheritance exposed beneath its fertile fields.

• Lu PingAn reflected on how Heroes’ evolving abilities and shared knowledge could strengthen his path and create new Career Paths.
• Lu PingAn reached the nearest Great Cemetery after only a few days of travel and met its feline-looking master.
• The master told Lu PingAn that about a hundred residents were gravely unwell and that their number might fall to seventy by the following week.
• Lu PingAn offered to extend the residents’ lives and asked the master to identify those close to death.
• The master explained that the Great Cemetery collected Gravekeepers’ relics and Bones of Knowledge, and Lu PingAn realized that the fertile fields covered countless Gravekeeper bones.

Lu PingAn learned that the Great Cemeteries were hidden libraries preserving the bones and knowledge of earlier eras. He discovered the world had passed through successive ruling races and agreed to take as much of the Gravekeepers’ inheritance as he could.

• The old Gravekeeper explained that the Gravekeepers guarded bones containing knowledge that could not survive in ordinary records, and invited Lu PingAn to take them.
• Lu PingAn used a silver umbrella covered in bones to read the collection’s outline and uncover the world’s history.
• Lu PingAn learned that dragons, giants, mixed-blood Dragonkin, and beasts had ruled in successive eras before their descendants displaced them.
• Lu PingAn realized that ancient Orcs had resisted evolution to preserve their rule, while the current Orcs carried traits inherited from earlier races.
• The old Gravekeeper explained that predecessors had recorded their knowledge and firsthand experiences, and Lu PingAn agreed to take as much of the inheritance as possible.

Lu PingAn ordered his people to search for Gravekeepers and Great Cemeteries, hoping to recover ancient knowledge and soul-shaping techniques before the world’s erosion reached its critical point. As more Explorers lost contact and safe zones shrank, he struggled to locate the nearest Great Cemetery while the world’s collapse drew closer.

• Lu PingAn ordered everyone to prioritize finding Gravekeepers and Great Cemeteries so they could recover forbidden knowledge.
• Lu PingAn discovered ancient knowledge about shaping soul creatures and ordered the search expanded for techniques that could strengthen Zhi Xi's Imperial Guards and the Burning Legion.
• Lu PingAn warned that the world could reach its critical point in less than two months, while erosion rapidly consumed safe zones and Fallen Zones.
• Lu PingAn’s people continued trying to evacuate mortals from safe zones, often tricking them into leaving before the destruction became undeniable.
• Lu PingAn asked where the nearest Great Cemetery was, but as more Explorers lost contact, time to recover its knowledge ran short.

Lu PingAn studied records of the Cloud Giants, weighing their conflicting histories and seeking the ancient supernatural knowledge they contained. The Courtyard launched expeditions to locate giant ruins, and its researchers began examining recovered remains and unknown artifacts.

• Lu PingAn read accounts describing the Cloud Giants as both benevolent hosts and cruel hunters, and concluded that both perspectives could be true.
• He became interested in the Cloud Giants' flight techniques, genetic modules, spells, and other parts of their supernatural system.
• The Courtyard deployed teams to investigate suspected giant sites, though several locations in the Fallen Zone remained inaccessible.
• Expeditions found little at most sites, but some uncovered ancient biological remains and unknown artifacts for the Courtyard to study.
• Lu PingAn waited for the research and excavations to produce valuable discoveries.

A world-shaking disaster shattered the land and erased its barrier, allowing Outland creatures to pour in as the ecosystem collapsed. Lu PingAn set the Ark in motion to seize new territory, but the City of Silver was immediately attacked by Stone Men.

• Lu PingAn witnessed the world's space distort and its earth veins break, leaving the land fragmented and causing crops, plants, and water to wither away.
• The world barrier vanished, and Outland creatures began invading through the cracks as deities claimed the dying world's remaining territories.
• Lu PingAn launched the Ark with a land fragment in tow and traveled to a nearby area where the City of Silver began invading.
• The City of Silver detected powerful life signatures, and Lu PingAn's war legions moved to defend its walls.
• Stone Men attacked the City of Silver after its arrival, bringing the battle to its walls.

Lu PingAn reflected on how he used war to give the desperate a chance to resist, then offered the dead on the ruined battlefield the choice of eternal rest or becoming Burning Ghosts. As he made his promise, the whole world began to burn.

• Lu PingAn explained that although he despised war, he used its profits and power to help the weak resist and survive.
• Lu PingAn sensed the dead trapped on the battlefield, unable to enter the Underground World or begin reincarnation.
• Big Cat pointed out that Lu PingAn had already made the dead into customers, as shown by his Burning Legion.
• Lu PingAn offered the dead eternal sleep if they wished to rest, or another chance as Burning Ghosts if they sought revenge.
• The whole world began to burn.

Lu PingAn’s domain transformed the dead into flame creatures who fought the Outer Domain invaders, earning him the Death and Revenge Authorities. As Chris entered the battle, Lu PingAn reflected with Xia Qin on his fear of death and asked her to keep him true to himself.

• The dead awakened as Flame Spirits, remembered the invaders’ slaughter, and attacked the nearby Outer Domain forces.
• The Flame Spirits used their Paths and fiery abilities to fight the stone creatures across Lu PingAn’s domain.
• Lu PingAn’s life-and-death cycle earned him the Death Authority and the Revenge Authority.
• Chris entered the battlefield to face the invaders’ strongest fighters, while Lu PingAn trusted the power of his Divine Realm.
• Xia Qin helped Lu PingAn recognize that his fear of death drove him to cherish life, and he asked her to correct him if he lost sight of his original heart.

Lu PingAn established rules allowing insured believers killed in battle to return as Burning Warriors, with service and Life Point costs for revival and continued existence. The Courtyard’s new systems also let its residents change species and eventually return to living forms, completing the foundation of Lu PingAn’s kingdom.

• Lu PingAn declared that believers with Life Insurance could have their souls retrieved after death and receive Rebirth by dissolving Life Points.
• He made unpaid military service a cost of revival and allowed Burning Warriors to earn merit and Life Points toward reincarnation.
• The Courtyard’s statues and Life Wish Spring expanded their functions, letting residents pay Life Points to change species and Burning Warriors pay to become living beings again.
• Lu PingAn set a daily maintenance fee of one Life Point for those restored from Burning Warriors, requiring them to keep working or hunting to sustain their lives.
• The revival rules lifted the frontline warriors’ morale, and Lu PingAn hoped to acquire the world’s heroic spirit technology to complete his kingdom’s cycle.

Lu PingAn’s forces quickly defeated the Outland Visitors, and he ordered research into the Stone Men while his Exploration Team searched the newly revealed terrain. After assessing the costs and morale of the revived Burning Warriors, he turned to the spoils of war.

• Lu PingAn’s legion overwhelmed the Stone Men, who neither fled nor surrendered because they had no concept of life or death.
• Lu PingAn ordered the biological Research Department and craftsman department to investigate the Stone Men, hoping their nature could help the Metalfolk evolve.
• The Exploration Team searched the section’s borders and found ancient tombs and a vast underground labyrinth, which Lu PingAn planned to use for training and cultivation.
• After the battle, Lu PingAn learned that most revived warriors accepted the daily point cost, while many converted from energy bodies into weaker flesh-and-blood forms.
• Lu PingAn confirmed that the fallen warriors were emotionally stable and began turning his attention to the spoils of war.

Lu PingAn managed the Courtyard’s competing research departments as they sought access to rare specimens and ancient ruins, while confronting the rising death toll among researchers who could revive. He planned to increase the cost of repeated deaths and awaited a project subcontracting meeting and further research results.

• Lu PingAn listened as Miss Lu explained how independent research departments competed for funding and why they needed access to frontline specimens and technology.
• Miss Lu asked Lu PingAn to prioritize the Alchemy Laboratory for an Underground Area expedition, saying that rare research opportunities had driven researchers to take extreme risks.
• Lu PingAn learned that the researchers’ death rate had risen more than tenfold and decided to raise the costs of repeated deaths through a future Life Insurance patch.
• Lu PingAn described how his administration evaluated research results, awarded bonuses, and guided departments toward the Courtyard’s needs.
• Lu PingAn learned that the project subcontracting meeting would wait for Lady Chris to recover, while the complete racial report and Stone Men weaponization results were nearing completion.

Lu PingAn’s researchers identified the Stone Men as Soul-Devouring Pseudo-Humans, soulless logical weapons that turned souls into material and grew stronger by hunting. Their remains proved useful for construction and weapons, but the chapter ended with concern that processed high-level weapons could overcome immortality and that stronger Stone Men required caution.

• Researchers concluded that the Stone Men were not ordinary lifeforms and lacked the psychic fluctuations found in other creatures.
• Lu PingAn’s team confirmed that the Stone Men were pseudo-humans governed by a cycle of slaughter, nest-building, and reproduction.
• Researchers discovered that the creatures could convert souls into material, and testing showed that a Soul-Devouring Stone Sword grew stronger by hunting living beings.
• The researchers named the creatures Soul-Devouring Pseudo-Humans and began using their remains for City of Silver walls and weapons.
• Lu PingAn’s side recognized that high-level Soul-Devouring Weapons could threaten their immortality and that mid- and high-ranking Stone Men posed a serious danger.