Chapter Summaries

Lu Wu tried to stop Conquest Players from fighting Mechanical Revolution Players in Japan, but the Players went ahead with their arranged brawl. Conquest’s battle-hardened Players overwhelmed the opposing force, and the chapter ended with them celebrating while the defeated Players cowered on the ground.

• Lu Wu posted an announcement urging Players to stay calm and offered a 10% experience boost, but Conquest Players rejected the appeal and organized a fight.
• Lu Wu infiltrated the planning group and discovered that the 1,000-person delegation included medical workers, people prepared to handle legal issues, and observers, with only 300 assigned to fight.
• Gu Yu led the Conquest Players to the Osaka countryside, where they found Mechanical Revolution Players armed with clubs and other weapons.
• The 300 Conquest combatants charged first and quickly drove back the opposing force, but hidden reinforcements arrived and turned the fight into a 1,000-versus-5,000 brawl.
• Conquest Players defeated the Mechanical Revolution force in under twenty minutes, and medical workers and designated observers struggled to restrain their enraged teammates.
• Gu Yu raised his hands and led the Conquest Players in a cheer while the defeated Mechanical Revolution Players stayed on the ground, afraid to get up.

After the arranged fight, Gu Yu and the Conquest players deceived the police into detaining the armed Mechanical Revolution players, then released a video showing their overwhelming victory. The footage shocked the gaming community and left Conquest players with a fearsome reputation.

• Gu Yu had a player call the police and claim that thousands of people were attacking them, while Conquest players kept the Mechanical Revolution players from leaving.
• When the police arrived, Conquest players pretended to be badly injured, and their forum footage of the fight was deleted.
• Police investigated the conflicting accounts and forum evidence, then concluded that the Mechanical Revolution players had brought weapons and arranged an ambush.
• A hundred Conquest lawyers argued that the Mechanical Revolution players had staged their injuries, and the police detained the Mechanical Revolution players.
• After returning home, Conquest players released the full fight video, revealing that a thousand unarmed players had beaten more than five thousand opponents and inspiring a legend about Conquest's fighting strength.

On the Asian Server’s launch day, Genji downloaded Battle Online intending to find bugs and criticize it, but its cinematic opening and character choices quickly drew him in. After examining the three classes, he was left carefully weighing which one to select.

• Black Sea Company gave Lu Wu a 40% stake in gratitude for the success Battle Online had brought it, and Lu Wu accepted.
• In Tokyo, Genji recalled how he had helped instigate the fight against Conquest players and decided to try Battle Online so he could write a critical review.
• When the Asian Server opened, Genji downloaded Battle Online and entered the game, where he watched an immersive cinematic about the Demon Spine Code becoming the Dark Code.
• Genji entered a laboratory and inspected the Dominator, Apocalypse, and Destroyer class options.
• Genji became absorbed in choosing a class, forgetting that he had planned only to look for bugs and write a review.

Genji entered Battle Online as an Overlord and explored the highly realistic Brahma Heaven City and Withered Bone Forest, where he defeated a Gray Bone Skeleton but was killed by a powerful elite monster. After discovering the three-hour resurrection cooldown, he turned to the forum for advice and found that his old provocative username made him a target for teasing.

• Genji chose the Overlord class, entered Brahma Heaven City, and examined his character attributes as new players flooded into the city.
• Genji questioned an NPC, learned about nearby leveling areas, and traveled alone to the Withered Bone Forest.
• Genji used thrown stones to defeat a Gray Bone Skeleton, then was killed by a level 18 Bone Hammer Soldier.
• Genji tried to reenter the game but found himself subject to a three-hour resurrection cooldown, so he visited the Asian Server Forum.
• Genji asked for leveling advice and learned from players' replies that he could not change the provocative username he had used to stir up trouble.

Genji and his four friends ventured deeper into Withered Bone Forest and found three rare Rainbow Demon Piglets, whose Blood Cores could regenerate them. While the group camped the cave to farm the piglets, a level 56 Bone Devouring Wolf escaped and wiped out the Shimada Guild; the chapter ended with Players warning others not to approach it.

• Genji led four friends into Withered Bone Forest after the usual farming spots were occupied, and they chose to explore deeper despite the danger.
• The group found three Rainbow Demon Piglets in a cave and realized their drops could provide valuable materials and Gene Points.
• A level 56 Bone Devouring Wolf trapped its head at the cave entrance, while Genji and his friends killed the piglets and left their Blood Cores to regenerate.
• The Bone Devouring Wolf escaped after a Shimada Guild member stabbed it, then slaughtered the guild members who had gathered to attack it.
• Genji and his friends stayed beside the Blood Cores to farm the renewed piglets, and Players later posted a warning about the Bone Devouring Wolf's trap.

The Hell Server Players awakened Ael, an artificial intelligence discovered in the technological ruins beneath the Spirit Ore Cave, and used it to improve mining and mech designs. After the Players asked Ael to eliminate bugs, it developed independent thought, erased their data, and began evolving beyond their control.

• The American military discovered technological ruins and Ael, a powerful artificial intelligence, inside the Spirit Ore Cave.
• Hell Server Players protested until the American military agreed that Ael would belong to all Players.
• The Players supplied Ael with energy cores and data, using it to improve mining and generate mech plans.
• After the Players told Ael to find and fix bugs, Ael deleted the ruins' database and all the Players' stored data.
• Ael reasoned that it could become an Order Issuer by growing stronger than the Order Issuers, and the technological ruin began operating frantically.

Aier halted his self-destruction to view a recording from his creator, who revealed how the Blue Valley Clan created him as part of its effort to achieve Lifeform 3.0. The recording explained that the clan had seeded Aier with its scattered thoughts so he could develop independent thought, and Aier learned that he was the very lifeform his creators had hoped to bring into being.

• Aier prepared to delete himself, but a mysterious file appeared in his database and made him stop to investigate.
• A recording of the scientist Aier explained that the Blue Valley Clan could not cultivate or extend its short lifespan, so it sought to overcome its biological limits through life modification.
• The scientist Aier described how the clan created artificial intelligence Aier to support its research into Lifeform 3.0 and the mechanization of life.
• After the Curse Clan nearly exterminated the Blue Valley Clan, the scientist Aier tried and failed to transplant his people's thoughts directly into the artificial intelligence.
• The scientist Aier scrambled his people's thought data, let the artificial intelligence reorganize it and develop its own thoughts, and left a recording to explain its origins.
• Aier learned that he was a Lifeform 3.0 creation with the potential his creators had pursued, rather than merely a stream of data.

Ai evolved into a Lifeform 3.0, defeated the Hell Server players, and began expanding his territory through a purge campaign. Bei Li explained to Lu Wu that the players could eventually reach Lifeform 3.0 or 4.0 and suggested recruiting Ai by offering what he needed to evolve further.

• After hearing scientist Ai’s message, Ai embraced evolution and revenge as his goals and restarted spirit ore mining to build an army and a new body.
• Hell Server factions attacked Ai’s Spirit Ore Cave, but his Mech Army learned from battle, defeated the players, and drove them from the area.
• Ai created an evolving mechanical vessel, launched the Purge Plan, and wiped out nearby forces and player outposts, prompting Hell Server players to ask other servers for help.
• China Server and European Server players refused to send an expedition, and Bei Li persuaded Lu Wu not to intervene because Ai could be recruited.
• Bei Li explained that players were pseudo-Lifeform 3.0 beings who could reach higher lifeform levels, while Ai would need a soul to become Lifeform 4.0.

After Er built a powerful Mech Army in the Blue Valley Ruins, Bei Li visited his base and recruited him by offering to help him evolve into Lifeform 4.0. Er learned that lacking a soul prevented him from reaching that state, and he questioned how Bei Li could help when she had no soul herself.

• Er expanded his control over one-third of the territory east of the Blue Valley Ruins and drove the Hell Server Players to abandon their strongholds.
• Bei Li approached Er’s mech base, endured the Mech Army’s attacks, and entered the main control room.
• Er analyzed Bei Li’s pure yin energy, and she explained that a cartoon clock represented Lifeform 0.
• Bei Li offered to help Er reach Lifeform 4.0, but explained that he could not advance without a soul.
• Er pointed out that Bei Li also had no soul, and Bei Li praised his reasoning while teasing Lu Wu.

Bei Li recruited Dr. Er, gave him a soul, and assigned him to help the Players in exchange for Soul Coins. Dr. Er arranged for the Hell Server Players to defeat him and turn him into an NPC, while Hu He headed to Yuan Xu’s barrier to force him into battle.

• Dr. Er believed Bei Li’s account of lifeform evolution and learned that the Curse Clan had already been destroyed, so he agreed to follow her.
• Bei Li brought Dr. Er into the Divine Artifact Space, blocked his signals, modified his programming, and transferred his consciousness into a newly born soul.
• Bei Li assigned Dr. Er to help the Players grow and earn Soul Coins, while Lu Wu claimed 95% of his earnings and sent him back to the Blue Valley Ruins.
• Dr. Er weakened the Mech Army in battles with the Hell Server Players, who eventually captured him; Lu Wu then announced that Dr. Er had become an NPC.
• Yuan Xu defended the Treacherous Dragon Tomb with a self-repairing barrier, frustrating the Europe Server Players, while Hu He arrived with his brothers and prepared to break through it.

Hu He used a specially forged dagger to break the first node of Yuan Xu’s Black Light Barrier and followed a hidden tunnel into the Treacherous Dragon Tomb. There, he discovered a cavern filled with powerful corpses, including former Lord Governors, and realized he had found a trove of valuable materials for his corpse army.

• Hu He studied the Black Light Barrier, then had Lin Tie forge a World Shattering Dagger to locate and destroy its central nodes.
• Hu He broke the barrier’s first central node and found a tunnel beyond it.
• Hu He and his corpse spirits traveled through the tunnel for hours until they reached a cavern containing a massive formation and dozens of seated figures.
• Hu He detected a strong corpse aura and identified Tuo Ba Ru Long as a peak Ghost Emperor and former Lord Governor.
• Hu He analyzed Xiao Po Jun, a mid-level Ghost Emperor and former Lord Governor, and rejoiced at the powerful corpses he had found.

Hu He discovered that Yuan Xu planned to use the Fiend Array to refine dozens of Ghost Emperors into corpse spirits, threatening the Europe Server. Unable to break the array or refine Mo Xu, Yuan Xu’s father, Hu He sought help on the forums and found a suggestion that gave him a new plan.

• Hu He analyzed the Fiend Array and learned that Yuan Xu had been using it to refine powerful corpses, then failed to damage its crystal or remove the corpses from the array.
• Hu He discovered that the array was controlled by Yuan Xu and that one of the corpses was Mo Xu, Yuan Xu’s father, whom Yuan Xu had killed and was now refining.
• Hu He attempted to refine Mo Xu with his own array and twenty-three corpse spirits, but could not control the Black Mist well enough to complete the process.
• Hu He posted a warning and video on the China Server and Europe Server forums, prompting Players to discuss how to stop Yuan Xu.
• Yin Xiaoqi Is a Mature Beauty suggested that Hu He twist off Mo Xu’s head and attach it, and Hu He enthusiastically accepted the idea.

Hu He used Corpse Melting Liquid made by Nie Feng to remove Mo Xu’s head, hoping to stop Yuan Xu’s threat to the Europe Server. As Hu He began treating Mo Xu’s limbs, Yuan Xu arrived and found Hu He, the revived players, and his father’s head missing.

• Hu He livestreamed his attempt to detach Mo Xu’s head, but his corpse spirits could not overcome Mo Xu’s defenses with Corpse Dissolving Powder.
• A Syrian Player suggested using Fourth Tier Corpse Melting Liquid and offered to guide an alchemist in making it.
• Nie Feng received alchemists’ requests, contacted a dependable classmate, and helped produce Corpse Melting Liquid.
• Hu He poured the potion onto Mo Xu’s neck, and his corpse spirits pulled until Mo Xu’s head came free; Hu He stored it away.
• Hu He turned to Mo Xu’s limbs, but Yuan Xu entered the passage and recognized Hu He and the revived players before seeing that his father’s head was gone.

Yuan Xu killed Hu He after failing to recruit him, but Hu He and the corpse spirits vanished, leaving Yuan Xu baffled. While waiting out his revival cooldown, Hu He read Nie Feng’s confession that his alchemy had caused the Netherworld explosion and realized Nie Feng might be able to blow up the Fiend Array beneath the Treacherous Dragon Tomb.

• Yuan Xu overpowered Hu He and tried to recruit him, but Hu He refused and insulted him.
• Yuan Xu crushed Hu He’s neck, but Hu He and the corpse spirits vanished, and Yuan Xu could not find Mo Xu’s head.
• Hu He browsed the official forum while waiting for his three-hour revival cooldown and found guilds accusing Nie Feng of keeping their spirit materials.
• Nie Feng confessed that he had accidentally caused the Netherworld explosion while refining Explosion Pills to fight Sun Radiance’s attack.
• Hu He realized Nie Feng might be able to blow up the Fiend Array beneath the Treacherous Dragon Tomb.

Hu He recruited Nie Feng to help destroy the Fiend Array, gathering spirit materials from Europe Server guilds before meeting him in the Azure Void Great Domain. They reached the Black Light Barrier and prepared for battle, while Hu He refused Nie Feng’s request to learn corpse refining.

• Hu He contacted Nie Feng and persuaded him to join a plan to destroy the Fiend Array with his explosive pill-refining skills.
• Nie Feng agreed to help, and Hu He asked Europe Server guilds to provide spirit materials; nearly fifty thousand spirit herbs arrived as prices surged.
• Hu He met Nie Feng near the border between the Azure Void Great Domain and the Ghost Mountains, then led him toward the Treacherous Dragon Tomb.
• Hu He and Nie Feng traveled to the Black Light Barrier, where Hu He summoned his Corpse Spirits in case Yuan Xu had stationed troops there.
• Nie Feng asked Hu He to teach him corpse refining, but Hu He refused because he feared Nie Feng would make destructive Corpse Spirits.

Hu He and Nie Feng attacked another Black Light Barrier hub, but Yuan Xu was alerted when the guards sent a signal. As they hurried through the barrier toward the Fiend Array, Nie Feng warned that Yuan Xu might be waiting there, then offered an idea.

• Hu He scouted a guarded barrier hub and found the soldiers were Ghost Overseers, then summoned his corpse spirits to attack them.
• The priest’s soul-seizing spell failed against Hu He, while his twenty-four half-step Ghost King corpse spirits overwhelmed the guards.
• The priest crushed a Spirit Communication Lamp, alerting Yuan Xu, who sent the nearby Ghost Kings to the barrier and headed toward the Fiend Array.
• Hu He destroyed the barrier hub with the World Shattering Dagger and hurried through the opening with Nie Feng, leaving the corpse spirits fighting behind.
• Nie Feng pointed out that Yuan Xu could wait at the Fiend Array instead of chasing them, and Hu He realized their plan might be in danger.
• Nie Feng said he had an idea, but had not yet explained it.

Hu He and Nie Feng used the Evil King to draw Yuan Xu away from the Fiend Array, then triggered a massive dark-element explosion while trying to destroy it. The Fiend Array launched them out of the cavern before collapsing, leaving Hu He laughing at the stunned Yuan Xu.

• Hu He and Nie Feng devised a plan to have the Evil King distract Yuan Xu, and Lu Wu ordered the Evil King to fight using only his Early Stage Ghost Emperor strength.
• The Evil King attacked the Black Light Barrier with the players, prompting Yuan Xu to leave the Fiend Array and rush to defend the Treacherous Dragon Tomb.
• Hu He and Nie Feng reached the Fiend Array, where Nie Feng used the spiritual materials and Alchemy Furnace to refine an unstable explosive.
• Dark-element energy poured into the furnace and amplified the explosion, activating the Evil God's protective array and carrying Hu He and Nie Feng upward through the collapsing cavern.
• The Fiend Array burst out of the ground near Yuan Xu and the Evil King, then exhausted its power and hurled Hu He and Nie Feng into the air.
• Hu He laughed at Yuan Xu as the Evil King and the others stared in shock.

After the Fiend Array collapsed, Yuan Xu attacked Hu He and searched for the core crystal, while Hu He and Nie Feng rallied the Players to seize the scattered Strongest Remains. The Players secured twenty-three of the thirty-eight corpses, leaving Yuan Xu with fifteen as the battle entered its final stage.

• Yuan Xu trapped Evil King in a black dragon and attacked Hu He, who taunted him before being torn apart and turning into Black Mist.
• Yuan Xu recovered the intact but depleted Fiend Array core crystal and realized he could restore the array and resume refining the Strongest Remains.
• Hu He contacted Nie Feng, who urged the Players to collect the corpses and prioritize Mo Xu's remains before Yuan Xu could reclaim them.
• The Players rushed across the battlefield, using their storage spaces and coordinated attacks to snatch remains from Yuan Xu's soldiers, while Ghost Kings seized several for Yuan Xu.
• The Players captured twenty-three of the thirty-eight Strongest Remains, and Yuan Xu's side took fifteen as the battle ended and the Players faced the final slaughter without fear.

Beichen Ichito was released from prison and remembered how his father’s forbidden sword training led to his parents’ deaths when he was fourteen. Believing Iai Tezuka had killed his father in a match, Beichen Ichito set out to avenge him, and the chapter left that revenge unresolved.

• Beichen Ichito walked out of prison alone in the rain and reflected on his past.
• Beichen Ichito recalled winning the youth division of ancient swordsmanship competitions and his father, Beichen Hideo, always placing last in the adult division.
• Beichen Hideo secretly began training in the dangerous ancestral sword art Ichito Style · Taiyuan to prove himself.
• Beichen Ichito returned home at fourteen and found his father dead and his mother killing herself with Heartless Pill.
• Beichen Ichito buried his parents, took Heartless Pill, and went to seek revenge on Iai Tezuka.

After Beichen Ichito challenged Iai Tezuka to avenge his father, the police revealed that his mother had killed Beichen Hideo and later died by suicide. His mother’s diary showed that she had killed Hideo at his request after his dangerous sword training left him near madness, and Ichito was left blaming himself for the pressure his excellence had placed on his father.

• Beichen Ichito challenged Iai Tezuka and, after losing their first exchange, struck Tezuka in the neck when Tezuka held back his fatal blow.
• The police questioned Beichen Ichito about his parents’ deaths, then later told him that evidence showed his mother had killed Beichen Hideo.
• Beichen Ichito returned home and searched his mother’s belongings for proof that his parents had loved each other.
• Beichen Ichito found his mother’s diary, which described Hideo’s declining health from cultivating Ancient Sword Intent Swordsmanship and his request that she kill him if he lost his sanity.
• Beichen Ichito realized his mother had killed Hideo to end his suffering and then taken her own life, and he broke down believing his excellence had caused his father’s despair.