Chapter Summaries

Ye Shiwen asked Panshi to help her rabbit evolve into a divine beast, but he explained that Blood Cleansing Pills were expensive and unlikely to work without many doses. After hearing that a King-Grade Spiritual Material might help, Ye Shiwen decided to buy a Blood Cleansing Pill on credit for the rabbit.

• Ye Shiwen's rabbit clung to Panshi and tried to eat him, while Panshi joked about eating the rabbit in return.
• Ye Shiwen told Panshi that her rabbit wanted to evolve into a Divine Rabbit, and Panshi said he could not directly evolve its bloodline.
• Panshi explained that Blood Cleansing Pills cost 8,888 Soul Coins each and that one would not have much effect on the rabbit.
• Panshi said eating a King-Grade Spiritual Material could greatly improve the rabbit's physique, but he could not provide one.
• Ye Shiwen asked to buy a Blood Cleansing Pill on credit, deciding to let the rabbit use it despite the cost.

Ye Shiwen bought a Blood Cleansing Pill for the rabbit, which awakened its Moon Rabbit bloodline and made it a Medicine-Pounding Rabbit with extraordinary spirit-material abilities. After Panshi offered Ye Shiwen two months of alchemy work, a Game Notification revealed that her favorability with the rabbit had reached 100 and offered them a contract, leaving Ye Shiwen eager to secure the rabbit’s safety.

• Ye Shiwen bought a Blood Cleansing Pill from Panshi despite the rabbit urging her not to spend the money.
• The rabbit swallowed the pill and awakened its Medicine-Pounding Rabbit bloodline, gaining the abilities to search for and identify spirit materials.
• Panshi explained the rabbit’s value to alchemists and offered Ye Shiwen the pill in exchange for two months of work refining pills.
• The rabbit demonstrated its ability by identifying a Golden Spirit Flower, then cheered up after Panshi said its bloodline could improve its fighting ability.
• Ye Shiwen declined Panshi’s invitation to become an alchemist permanently and agreed to work for him for two months before exploring again.
• A Game Notification offered Ye Shiwen a contract with the rabbit after their favorability reached 100, and the rabbit agreed to stay with her forever.

Shi Ying entered the newly occupied Nine Radiance Great Domain to steal the Ice Thorn from the Black Demon Clan for Proud Sword. After spotting Rahu soldiers everywhere, he recalled a Player’s bald-head trick as he prepared to continue toward Peak Wolf Ridge.

• The Rahu factions seized Nine Radiance’s resources and began dividing them while preparing Luo Xiu’s coronation.
• Shi Ying reached Nine Radiance and confirmed with Proud Sword that the Ice Thorn was at Peak Wolf Ridge, now controlled by the Black Demon Clan.
• Shi Ying accepted Proud Sword’s request to steal the Ice Thorn, hoping to use his Thief Sect skills and prove his prowess as an assassin Player.
• Shi Ying set out for Peak Wolf Ridge but found Rahu soldiers patrolling the region and nearly got discovered.
• Shi Ying remembered the forum saying, "Bald heads keep you safe," inspired by Yuan Fang’s exploits in the Rahu Domain.

Shi Ying shaved his head and infiltrated a Black Demon Clan camp at Peak Wolf Ridge to search for Ice Thorn. His search was interrupted when Yuan Fang arrived at the camp entrance and triggered an alarm.

• After learning that bald Players were safer around Rahu soldiers, Shi Ying shaved his head and traveled toward Peak Wolf Ridge to steal Ice Thorn.
• Shi Ying studied maps posted on the forum and began checking the eight former Nine Luminaries Army camps for Ice Thorn.
• At the first camp, Shi Ying avoided the guarded entrances and climbed over the mountain to slip into the rear undetected.
• Shi Ying began searching the camp's more luxurious wooden houses, aware that the Black Demon Clan's powerful warriors could make escape impossible if he was discovered.
• Yuan Fang appeared at the camp entrance, and the Rahu soldiers sounded the alarm and rushed to confront him while Shi Ying hid on a rooftop.

Yuan Fang returned to the Black Demon Clan garrison, where the warriors feared attacking him after their elder's Life Decay Curse backfired and nearly killed him. Yuan Fang strolled into the garrison while the soldiers followed without resisting, leaving Shi Ying baffled.

• The Black Demon Clan elder cursed Yuan Fang with the Life Decay Curse, but Yuan Fang's Mahayana Immeasurable Body reflected the damage and left the elder weakened and aged.
• The Black Demon Clan warriors became too frightened to attack Yuan Fang, who kept returning to their territory to provoke them.
• Yuan Fang asked to look around the garrison, then walked inside despite the commander's protests.
• The Black Demon Clan soldiers followed Yuan Fang through the garrison instead of stopping him, while Yuan Fang privately wondered why they would not attack.
• Shi Ying watched Yuan Fang stroll through the garrison and wondered why the soldiers let him in when Shi Ying had struggled to enter.

Yuan Fang provoked the Black Demon Clan by freely strolling through their camp, while Shi Ying watched and reconsidered his own difficult break-in. Shi Ying found Yuan Fang and proposed taking the Ice Thorn together, leaving Yuan Fang tempted after Shi Ying argued that stealing from their enemies might not count as theft.

• Shi Ying watched Yuan Fang enter the Black Demon Clan camp openly, where the warriors avoided attacking because their curse marks would harm them if they got too close.
• Yuan Fang asked the Black Demon Clan general to have their elder renew his Withering Life Curse, then deliberately stumbled among the warriors and left after taunting them.
• Shi Ying abandoned his investigation of the camp and decided Yuan Fang could help him locate and take the Ice Thorn.
• Shi Ying followed Yuan Fang through the forest and proposed working together to steal the Ice Thorn.
• Yuan Fang objected that a monk could not steal, but Shi Ying argued that taking the Ice Thorn from their enemies would not count as stealing, and Yuan Fang seemed tempted.

Shi Ying persuaded Yuan Fang that taking the Ice Thorn would not violate his Buddhist precepts because it belonged to Star Radiance and was needed by Proud Sword. They traveled to a Black Demon Clan base, where Yuan Fang boldly entered while the wary warriors followed without daring to attack.

• Yuan Fang refused Shi Ying’s request to steal an item, insisting that taking another’s belongings would violate his precepts.
• Shi Ying convinced Yuan Fang to take the Ice Thorn by explaining that it was Star Radiance’s weapon and that Proud Sword needed it.
• Shi Ying offered Yuan Fang spirit fish slices, but Yuan Fang refused because he had no justification to eat meat, and he ate more than twenty pieces of bread instead.
• Shi Ying and Yuan Fang traveled to a Black Demon Clan base near Peak Wolf Lake to look for the Ice Thorn.
• Yuan Fang walked into the base despite the clan general’s threats, and the Black Demon Clan warriors followed him at a cautious distance rather than risk attacking.

Yuan Fang searched Black Demon Clan strongholds for Star Radiance's Ice Thorn, found captive Blue Blood Race children he could not rescue, and began taking weapons from the armories with Shi Ying's help. After Yuan Fang's curse immunity and reflected damage killed an attacker, the Black Demon Clan could only watch him leave with stolen equipment, and his raids prompted the clan to reconsider its cultivation paths.

• Yuan Fang found captive Blue Blood Race children in a stronghold and admitted he lacked the strength to free them safely.
• Shi Ying spotted the epic Soul Piercing dagger in the armory and persuaded Yuan Fang to take it as Star Radiance's property.
• A Black Demon Clan warrior attacked Yuan Fang, but his curse failed to harm Yuan Fang and reflected poison killed him, allowing Yuan Fang to level up.
• Yuan Fang took Soul Piercing and two more weapons, then taunted the Clan General with the words he had used about the captives before leaving.
• Yuan Fang and Shi Ying raided more Black Demon Clan strongholds, taking over ten pieces of equipment as Shi Ying claimed they belonged to various people.
• Black Demon Clan commanders resolved to raise practitioners of the Asura Sacrifice and Asura Body Paths, while many warriors decided to abandon their current cultivation paths.

Shi Ying and Yuan Fang searched the Black Demon Clan’s strongholds for Ice Thorn, but Yuan Fang was overwhelmed by Rahu Ghost Generals and captured. The Black Demon Clan buried him alive for five hundred years, and he eventually adapted to life underground, though being force-fed meat troubled him.

• After three days of searching six strongholds without finding Ice Thorn, Shi Ying and Yuan Fang traveled to the seventh stronghold.
• Rahu Ghost Generals from other clans joined the Black Demon Clan soldiers and beat Yuan Fang, while Shi Ying sent him Health Recovery Potions.
• With his potions gone, Yuan Fang was captured alive and taken to the Black Demon Clan Elder, who ordered him buried without being killed because of his fleshly clone technique.
• The Black Demon Clan buried Yuan Fang with only his head above ground and told him he would remain there for five hundred years.
• The Black Demon Clan borrowed soldiers to force-feed Yuan Fang, including meat, and he gradually adapted to life underground while worrying about breaking a precept.

After Yuan Fang refused Gu Yu’s rescue, Shi Ying sold the captured equipment and sought ideas for giving away most of the Soul Coins. He explored the forum’s Wish Column and discovered that Crayon_Shinchan had become a target of its users’ wishes because he relentlessly mocked them.

• Shi Ying contacted Gu Yu after Yuan Fang was captured, but Yuan Fang said he wanted to endure his imprisonment as ascetic cultivation and refused rescue.
• Shi Ying sold Yuan Fang’s equipment, mailed him one-tenth of the proceeds, and decided to distribute the rest according to the Thief Sect’s rules.
• Unable to decide how to give away the Soul Coins, Shi Ying asked the forum for suggestions and was directed to the Wish Column.
• Shi Ying found that the Wish Column was filled with bizarre requests and that its most-liked wishes called for Crayon_Shinchan’s death.
• Shi Ying learned that Crayon_Shinchan had earned the section’s hatred by mocking users’ wishes and laughed at the contrarian’s reach.

After discovering Crayon_Shinchan’s enormous bounty, Shi Ying decided to hunt the forum’s legendary troll and become the top assassin. He put his remaining Soul Coins into the bounty pool and began planning how to identify Crayon_Shinchan.

• Shi Ying browsed the forum and saw that Crayon_Shinchan had roasted players across many sections, earning a reputation as the Four Great Servers’ number one Argument God.
• Shi Ying opened the bounty rankings and decided that killing Crayon_Shinchan would restore his reputation and make him famous across the servers.
• Shi Ying transferred his remaining Soul Coins into Crayon_Shinchan’s bounty, raising it from 3.8 million to 3.9 million Soul Coins.
• Shi Ying began drafting a hunt plan, aiming to find clues in Crayon_Shinchan’s forum posts or uncover his identity in real life.

Shi Ying organized a mass search for Crayon Shinchan and followed a list of suspects to Mo Xiaoxin, who appeared to clear himself by sharing his character information and forum account. Mo Xiaoxin had arranged for his mother to post as Crayon Shinchan, and Shi Ying left without realizing he had been deceived.

• Shi Ying recruited Players to collect Crayon Shinchan’s old posts, used the clues to narrow the search to 108 suspects, and placed bounties on their coordinates.
• Mo Xiaoxin, a suspect, posted his own coordinates to collect Soul Coins and prepared his mother to cover for him on the forum.
• Shi Ying arrived at Mo Xiaoxin’s ship, questioned him, and checked his character details and shared forum account.
• When Shi Ying noticed the account was logged in on another device, his doubts faded after a Player reported that Crayon Shinchan was currently posting on the forum.
• Mo Xiaoxin watched Shi Ying leave and revealed that his mother had posted in his place to protect his identity.

Shi Ying was banned for trying to uncover Crayon_Shinchan’s IP, while Xin Ma decided to sell Mo Xiaoxin out for the bounty on his head. Mo Xiaoxin persuaded her to wait until the bounty reached 10 million Soul Coins, leaving him only a temporary reprieve.

• Shi Ying’s investigation groups failed to find Crayon_Shinchan, so he tried using IP Lookup Software and received a three-day account ban.
• Lu Wu’s player-protection feature blocked Shi Ying’s attempt and had previously punished other players for similar privacy violations.
• Xin Ma told Mo Xiaoxin she wanted to buy level-120 Purple Equipment and planned to make money by claiming the bounty on him.
• Mo Xiaoxin tried to dissuade Xin Ma, but she agreed only to wait until the bounty pool reached 10 million Soul Coins.
• Xin Ma went to play Conquest, while Mo Xiaoxin lamented that his mother planned to have him killed.

Lu Wu and Bei Li discovered that a bronze sapling posted on the forum was a root of the Heavenly Realm’s Bronze Ancient Tree, and planned to turn it into a totem that could siphon power from the original tree. Lu Wu offered the Player 1,000 Soul Coins for it, setting off an uproar on the forum.

• Lu Wu noticed a divine artifact marker on Wanderer in the Wind’s post about a bronze tree-shaped object dug up in a backyard.
• Bei Li identified the object as a root of the Bronze Ancient Tree and explained that the divine artifact could recognize treasures from images.
• Bei Li proposed planting the root in the Divine Artifact Space as a non-server totem, using Players’ growth to strengthen it and drain the Bronze Ancient Tree.
• Lu Wu raised concerns about the totem’s advantage over the others, and Bei Li suggested seeking other remnants of ancient Heavenly Realm gods to create more totems.
• Lu Wu replied to Wanderer in the Wind’s post, offering 1,000 Soul Coins, and the forum erupted.

Lu Wu opened a forum section to buy rare treasures with Soul Coins, hoping to find Heaven Realm remnants, and players flooded it with fakes and absurd claims. After Bei Li revived a Bronze Ancient Tree sapling, the original tree in the Heaven Realm sensed their connection and feared that powerful enemies, possibly the long-dead Human Emperor Tu Mie, might return.

• Lu Wu announced that Conquest Official would buy treasures valued by the boss for Soul Coins, and players flooded the new Rare Treasures section with junk, counterfeits, and fabricated stories.
• Lu Wu ignored the players' posts unless the items bore Divine Artifact markings, while Two collected the Bronze Ancient Tree artifact from its owner.
• Bei Li spent three million Soul Coins reviving and enlarging the Bronze Ancient Tree sapling, awakening its connection to the original tree and preparing it for future use by Africa Server players.
• The Bronze Ancient Tree in the Ninth Heaven sensed the infant sapling and suspected someone intended to siphon its power, but it could not locate the source.
• The Bronze Ancient Tree told the nine Golden Crows about the ancient taboos and the mighty Human Emperor Tu Mie, whom it believed had died beyond the realm, then returned to tree form to investigate the connection.

Lu Wu gathered more ancient god remnants for the planned African Server and considered its classes and future growth. In Tokyo, terminally ill former singer Kamiyama Arashi searched for work and discovered Battle Online’s Asian Server theme song contest, which offered a thirty-million-cash prize.

• Lu Wu obtained two more ancient Heavenly Realm god remnants, and Bei Li awakened the Elephant God’s divine consciousness crystal into a totem connected to the sacred elephant.
• Lu Wu decided to delay the African Server until he had collected all five planned totems and planned to hold an Individual Competition after its launch.
• Lu Wu praised Bei Li and resolved to lead the Players against the Underworld and Heavenly Realm while considering humanity’s future strength.
• Kamiyama Arashi agreed to break up with Eri while concealing that he had terminal cancer, twenty million in debt, and about a month to live.
• Kamiyama Arashi went to Bar High Five to seek singing work and saw Battle Online’s Asian Server theme song contest poster offering thirty million in cash or game rewards.

Kamiyama Arashi went to a Ginza bar seeking a one-time singing job to earn enough for living expenses, but the owner instead asked him to compete in the Conquest Theme Song Contest. The owner offered one hundred million and medical funding if Kamiyama won and chose the game rewards, leaving Kamiyama convinced his terminal illness was causing him to hallucinate.

• Kamiyama Arashi waited at the bar without ordering a drink because he had no money.
• Ueno Shuji introduced himself as the bar's owner and invited Kamiyama upstairs to discuss a collaboration.
• Ueno showed Kamiyama the Conquest Theme Song Contest poster, and Kamiyama realized Ueno wanted him to compete for the game rewards.
• Ueno explained that he had recruited composers and believed Kamiyama had the best chance of winning, while dismissing the thirty-million cash prize as a trick.
• Ueno offered Kamiyama one hundred million for first place and promised another three hundred million in medical funding and a world-class medical team.
• Kamiyama felt overwhelmed by the offers and thought his illness was making him hallucinate.

Kamiyama Arashi considered the tavern owner’s offer to pay him four hundred million for winning the Conquest Theme Song Contest, and decided to compete after learning that Sakai would be there too. He ended the chapter determined to beat Sakai again, but his frail body gave out after he tried to eat.

• The tavern owner explained that Conquest Company would not sell combat-affecting game privileges and urged Kamiyama Arashi to accept his offer before the contest deadline.
• The tavern owner arranged food and a place for Kamiyama Arashi to stay before leaving to play Battle Online in the Withered Bone Forest.
• Kamiyama Arashi decided to accept the offer, seeing the money and chance to extend his life as a rare opportunity.
• Kamiyama Arashi remembered how Sakai had revealed his illness to their company and taken over his former resources, then resolved to defeat him in the contest.
• Kamiyama Arashi tried to eat heartily to regain strength, but his weak body made him vomit blood and collapse onto the sofa.

Kamiyama Arashi researched Battle Online to learn about the theme-song contest and gradually accepted that the game was a hugely popular, lifelike virtual world. He was left bewildered by players who dismissed an offer of eight hundred million and preferred to keep or use in-game rewards.

• Kamiyama Arashi recovered from coughing up blood and searched online for information about Battle Online.
• Kamiyama Arashi doubted glowing reviews and claims of the game's realism, then visited Conquest's official website and saw its bustling forum.
• Kamiyama Arashi read diverse forum posts and realistic screenshots, and accepted that Battle Online was a Second World with enormous numbers of players.
• Kamiyama Arashi found a post in which Brahma of Buddhism offered eight hundred million to recruit a contestant for the Conquest Asian Server theme-song contest.
• Kamiyama Arashi read players' hostile replies, which argued that contestants should keep their rewards or sell them later, and questioned why they valued game items over cash.

Kamiyama Arashi tried Battle Online at a virtual game room, became captivated by its realistic world and the relief it offered his sick body, but ran out of money after three hours. The next morning, he agreed to help the bar owner enter the Conquest Theme Song Contest.

• Kamiyama Arashi went out in the middle of the night to find a virtual game room and used his remaining money to enter a Game Pod.
• Kamiyama Arashi played Battle Online for three hours, chose the Apocalypse telekinetic controller, and was amazed that his illness and pain vanished in the game.
• Kamiyama Arashi ran out of money, returned to the bar, and fell asleep while thinking about composing a theme song for Battle Online.
• The bar owner brought Kamiyama Arashi breakfast the next morning, and Kamiyama Arashi agreed to participate in the song contest.
• The bar owner thanked Kamiyama Arashi and promised to accommodate his requests, and the two shook hands.