Chapter Summaries

Xu Kun defeated the remaining Heavenly King Realm experts, but a shell fired by Graves killed Lin Ye as he protected him. Graves then trapped Xu Kun with his Gravity Domain and attacked him, until Xu Kun's hidden Unyielding Starfire shattered Graves's life-saving pendant and his Moon Glow Transformation began to fade.

• Xu Kun left Yang Yao to investigate a powerful aura and found Lin Ye trapped in the Profound Darkness Three Talents Formation by Hundred Losses Taoist and the Profound Darkness Duo.
• Xu Kun killed Hundred Losses Taoist while Lin Ye broke the formation, and the two then killed Deer Staff Master and Crane Brush Elder together.
• Lin Ye protected Xu Kun from a shell that Graves fired from afar, taking a fatal blast; Xu Kun survived through Moon Glow Transformation.
• Graves restrained Xu Kun with Gravity Domain and bombarded him, but Xu Kun remained unharmed and warned Graves he would regret it.
• Xu Kun used Unyielding Starfire to blast Graves in the face, shattering Graves's life-saving pendant as the halo around Xu Kun faded.
• Graves answered with Gravity Iron Fist, transforming his fist into black metal and striking toward Xu Kun's face.

Sangtugong rescued Xu Kun, Lin Ye, and the dying Blazing Suanni from Graves, but they could not find Yang Yao. After Graves and Twisted Fate captured her and used her as bait, Xu Kun headed to the surface to face them.

• Sangtugong used Earth Collapse and poison attacks to save Xu Kun, Lin Ye, and the Blazing Suanni from Graves, then Xu Kun healed him with Wind's Elegy.
• Xu Kun and Sangtugong searched for Yang Yao underground but discovered she was missing, while Graves and Twisted Fate revealed that they had captured her.
• Graves threatened to shoot Yang Yao unless Xu Kun came out, and Sangtugong recognized the two enemies as the bounty hunters Graves and Twisted Fate.
• Xu Kun urged Sangtugong to send him to the surface, and Sangtugong used Underground Shuttle to help him go up as Graves reached the final seconds of his countdown.

Xu Kun fought Graves and Twisted Fate to rescue Yang Yao, but Graves’s Doomsday Bullet blasted half of Tongcheng District into a crater. Yang Yao summoned Saint-level power to kill Graves, and Xu Kun returned unharmed and annihilated the attacking Heavenly King Realm experts with Sky-Burning Phoenix Flames, leaving Twisted Fate to flee.

• Xu Kun warned Graves and Twisted Fate that Yang Yao belonged to the Imperial Capital Yang family, but they attacked him and activated the Five Elements Ghost Formation.
• Graves and Twisted Fate trapped Xu Kun with their skills, and Graves fired his Doomsday Bullet, destroying half of Tongcheng District while Twisted Fate took Yang Yao away.
• Yang Yao broke free, used her talisman to summon Cang Sheng, and killed Graves with an ancient divine script.
• Twisted Fate ordered an extermination of Tongcheng District, but Xu Kun appeared unharmed and challenged him.
• Xu Kun summoned Sky-Burning Phoenix Flames and killed the surrounding Heavenly King Realm experts, while Twisted Fate teleported away.

Xu Kun survived Graves' Doomsday Bullet and defeated the five major races' first three attempts to kill him, including their fifteen Five Elements Heavenly Kings and Graves himself. With Twisted Fate now isolated and the Ghost Formation's other attackers dead, Xu Kun advanced on him.

• The five major races' bounty-driven ambush failed after Zhan Yuye fought off the assassins and Yue Lao Ba defected.
• The fifteen Five Elements Heavenly Kings attacked Xu Kun while Lin Ye and the Blazing Suanni held back the Water and Ice experts; Xu Kun killed the Wood experts and then the remaining attackers.
• Twisted Fate brought Graves and other races' Heavenly Kings into Tongcheng District after the Dragon Sovereign ordered them to kill Xu Kun and activate the Five Elements Ghost Formation.
• Yang Yao used Cangjie's divine script copybook to kill Graves, and Xu Kun survived the Doomsday Bullet after sacrificing another life-saving measure.
• Twisted Fate tried to flee, but Xu Kun approached him and vowed to send him after Graves.

Xu Kun battled Twisted Fate, who trapped them in an Arena of Fate that stripped away their bonuses and made their attributes depend on random cards and dice. Xu Kun rolled a six while Twisted Fate rolled a one, but Twisted Fate revealed he still had seventeen card substitutes and challenged Xu Kun to defeat him in one shot.

• Xu Kun reflected Twisted Fate’s yellow card back at him, then used poison attacks and a prepared strike to damage him after he reappeared from a card substitute.
• Twisted Fate fled into the air, then trapped Xu Kun with him inside the Arena of Fate, which reduced their attributes and removed their talent and equipment bonuses.
• A fist card restored their melee physical stats, and Xu Kun discovered that Twisted Fate’s domain made the dice roll determine how much those stats were amplified.
• Xu Kun rolled a six, while Twisted Fate rolled a one despite claiming his home-field bonus doubled his result.
• Twisted Fate revealed that he had seventeen cards left and challenged Xu Kun to kill him with a single attack.

Xu Kun defeated Twisted Fate in the Arena of Fate, but Twisted Fate escaped and took Yang Yao hostage. Jia Sidao and Kong Ruitu killed Twisted Fate despite Xu Kun's attempt to honor their deal, then invited Xu Kun to safety while the enemy formation remained active.

• Xu Kun exposed how Twisted Fate's Arena of Fate favored higher Luck and destroyed his bodies and card substitutes, but Twisted Fate escaped as his domain collapsed.
• Twisted Fate seized Yang Yao outside the domain and demanded five seconds to build a teleportation array in exchange for releasing her, and Xu Kun agreed.
• Jia Sidao interrupted the formation and refused Xu Kun's demand to let Twisted Fate go, insisting the enemy had to be eliminated.
• Twisted Fate threatened Yang Yao, but Kong Ruitu punched through his chest and killed him; Xu Kun freed Yang Yao from the yellow card.
• Yang Yao explained the roles of the Jiangnan and Qilu Defense Forces, and Jia Sidao invited Xu Kun to accompany them while the foreign races' formation remained in place.

Xu Kun uncovered Jia Sidao and Kong Youde as traitors who planned to abduct him, then fought back against the two Emperor Realm commanders. He crippled Kong Youde and escaped with Yang Yao, but turned back to attack again as Jia Sidao and Kong Youde pursued.

• Xu Kun questioned Jia Sidao and Kong Youde about entering Tongcheng District and suspected they were traitors, while they pressured him to leave with them.
• Kong Youde killed Sangtugong after Jia Sidao recognized him, and Xu Kun accused the two commanders of serving other races.
• Kong Youde revealed his connection to Kong Changyan and attacked Xu Kun, while Jia Sidao restrained Yang Yao from escaping.
• Xu Kun activated his fire abilities and severely wounded both Emperor Realm opponents, cleaving open the Five Elements Ghost Formation and destroying Kong Youde's right arm.
• Xu Kun freed Yang Yao from her restraints and carried her away, then turned back and used Heavenly Fire Descent.

Xu Kun fought Kong Youde after the Emperor Realm expert transformed into a steel giant, dismantling the metal body with a relentless barrage of fire attacks. Kong Youde survived and overwhelmed Xu Kun in close combat, leaving him near death as his strongest abilities approached their limits.

• Xu Kun expanded Heavenly Fire Descent, burning Kong Youde and Jia Sidao before Kong Youde used Metal Assimilation to form a steel giant and pull Xu Kun and Yang Yao toward him.
• Jia Sidao left to activate the Five Elements Ghost Formation while Kong Youde attacked Xu Kun, who sent Yang Yao to safety and fought back with a chain of fire skills.
• Xu Kun shattered Kong Youde’s steel body and badly injured him, but Kong Youde recovered and used his Emperor Realm strength to knock Xu Kun across the battlefield.
• Kong Youde relentlessly attacked Xu Kun, driving his health into a dangerous range as Xu Kun’s Zhurong Right Arm neared the end of its duration.
• Kong Youde revealed that he and Shi Xian had been deployed as pawns in the Dragon Race’s plan to kill Xu Kun, then prepared to claim his head.

Xu Kun turned the fight against Kong Youde with the War God Scroll and crippled him, but Jia Sidao took Yang Yao hostage to force Xu Kun to surrender Ruitu. Bixiao arrived and bound Jia Sidao, allowing Xu Kun to execute Kong Youde while his soul was imprisoned, and Yang Yao was reunited with her protector.

• Xu Kun used the War God Scroll and Flying Star Grievance to weaken Kong Youde, then healed himself and beat him down with flaming attacks.
• Jia Sidao interrupted Xu Kun's execution by taking Yang Yao hostage and demanding Ruitu as the Five Elements Ghost Formation activated.
• Xu Kun revealed Yang Yao's connection to Yang Jian, but Jia Sidao still threatened her and stopped Xu Kun from striking.
• Bixiao appeared, bound Jia Sidao with the Dragon Binding Cord, and asked Xu Kun how to deal with the two traitors.
• Xu Kun beheaded Kong Youde, and Bixiao imprisoned Kong Youde's soul so he could revive only where he had died.
• Bixiao checked on Yang Yao, who affectionately called her Auntie Azure Sky instead of Martial Grand-Aunt.

Azure Sky saved Xu Kun and moved to confront the Five Elements Ghost Formation while Yang Yao guarded the captured Jia Sidao. Jia Sidao revealed that he and Rui Tu had helped the foreign races surround Jiangnan Base City, aiming to force Sky Eye and humanity’s leaders into a devastating battle.

• Xu Kun exhausted the power of his Zhurong Right Arm and Six Ding Divine Fire, collapsed, and was caught by Yang Yao as Azure Sky went to stop the Five Elements Ghost Formation.
• Yang Yao confronted bound Jia Sidao, who said the five major races were determined to kill Xu Kun and that he and Kong Youde had helped foreign forces enter Jiangnan.
• Jia Sidao defended his betrayal by condemning inequality and the sacrifices demanded of ordinary human soldiers, while Yang Yao accused him of using their deaths to excuse his greed.
• Jia Sidao attacked Yang Jian’s role in making humanity a subsidiary of the Black Tortoise Race and claimed Yang Jian would not dare intervene to save Xu Kun or Jiangnan.
• Jia Sidao revealed that he and Rui Tu had ordered their patrol armies to withdraw from Jiangnan’s northern and southern military districts, leaving the city undefended on every side.

Yang Yao watched Azure Sky battle the Five Elements Ghost Formation threatening Tongcheng District, while reflecting on humanity’s precarious position and resolving to grow stronger. Azure Sky broke the formation, but a Tortoise Venerable ambushed her while she was exhausted.

• Yang Yao rejected Jia Sidao’s surrenderist view and, holding Xu Kun’s hand, resolved to repay humanity’s enemies if they survived the crisis.
• Azure Sky tried to stop the five pillars of light, then used the Chaos Primordial Golden Chalice, Flower Plume Bird, and Golden Dragon Scissors to protect Tongcheng District.
• The ghost formation concentrated its remaining power on Azure Sky, but she severed the pillars and trapped them in the chalice, causing the formation to collapse.
• As Azure Sky turned away, a claw mark struck and wounded her, and a Tortoise Venerable emerged and challenged her while she was weakened.

The Turtle Venerable emerged beneath Tongcheng District, crushed Jia Sidao, and battled Azure Sky and Jiangnan Base City's Emperor Realm experts as civilians fled. Xu Kun revealed that the Turtle Venerable’s soul was injured, but after the elders’ attacks briefly weakened him, the Turtle Venerable protected himself with the Blackwater Sacred Shell and renewed his assault, leaving Xu Kun to ask whether any senior followed the Path of Fire.

• The Turtle Venerable rose from underground, killed Jia Sidao, and attacked Yang Yao before Azure Sky intervened.
• Azure Sky and dozens of Emperor Realm experts fought to restrain the Turtle Venerable and protect civilians evacuating Jiangnan Base City.
• Xu Kun woke, told the leading elder that the Turtle Venerable’s soul was injured, and urged the experts to attack it.
• Azure Sky and the Emperor Realm experts struck the Turtle Venerable’s soul, but his Blackwater Sacred Shell blocked further attacks as he expanded his mountain-and-sea domain.
• Xu Kun asked the elders whether any of them followed the Path of Fire.

Xu Kun and Zhang Huangyan broke Turtle Lord’s Mysterious Water Saint Shield with a combined fire attack, but Turtle Lord retaliated and devastated the defenders. Wang Shouren intervened to save them, then Wang Yun drew Turtle Lord into the Mountains and Seas Scroll to fight him.

• Xu Kun joined his Six Ding Divine Fire with Zhang Huangyan’s fire attack, and Zhang Huangyan hurled the Holy Fire Spear through Turtle Lord’s shield.
• Turtle Lord’s counterattack killed Zhang Huangyan, badly injured Azure Sky, and forced the surviving Emperor Realm powerhouses to retreat.
• Turtle Lord freed his enormous body from the teleportation formation beneath Jiangnan Base City and used his pressure to crush the defenders.
• Wang Shouren appeared, relieved the pressure, and sent the injured Emperor Realm powerhouses away before challenging Turtle Lord.
• Wang Yun expanded the Mountains and Seas Scroll into a vast painting and pulled Turtle Lord inside to fight him.

Wang Yun drew Turtle Venerable and the Thousand Li Rivers and Mountains Domain into a painting, temporarily removing the threat from Jiangnan Base City. Shen Kuo ordered a special black alert and preparations for further attacks, and the chapter ended with Xu Kun offering a mountain of S-Tier Spirit Stones to help activate the city’s defense array.

• Wang Yun vanished with Turtle Venerable and the Thousand Li Rivers and Mountains Domain inside a vast painting, leaving Jiangnan Base City temporarily safe.
• Shen Kuo reassured the injured experts that Wang Yun could hold Turtle Venerable back, then ordered a special black alert and the evacuation of civilians to shelters.
• Shen Kuo assigned Heavenly King Realm experts to rescue the injured and guard the evacuation, while he and the Emperor Realm experts prepared to activate the City-Level Defense Array.
• Shen Kuo warned that Turtle Venerable might have been only a test and persuaded the Emperor Realm experts to support the costly defense array.
• Xu Kun offered to contribute to the array’s expenses, and the experts were stunned when he produced a mountain of S-Tier Spirit Stones.

Xu Kun donated his Spirit Stones to help activate Jiangnan Base City’s grand formation, prompting Shen Kuo to rally the hesitant Imperial Realm powerhouses. After Yang Yao explained the dangers created by the missing patrol armies and Jiangnan’s exposed borders, Xu Kun headed for the eastern defensive line.

• Xu Kun offered hundreds of S-Tier Spirit Stones, and Shen Kuo used the gesture to shame the Imperial Realm powerhouses into activating the city’s grand formation.
• Shen Kuo praised Xu Kun, then told him to take Yang Yao to a shelter while the elders handled the defenses.
• Yang Yao warned Shen Kuo that Jia Sidao and Kong Youde had moved the northern and southern patrol armies, leaving gaps in Jiangnan Base City’s defenses.
• Yang Yao explained that hostile land, river, and sea races could exploit the gaps, while Ao Guang’s ocean forces posed the greatest threat along the eastern line.
• Xu Kun told Yang Yao to go to the shelter and set off for the eastern defensive line.

Xu Kun and Yang Yao hurried to the Eastern Military Region after Xu Kun predicted that Ao Guang would attack Jiangnan Base City’s eastern coast. A new skill, Power of the Masses, gave Xu Kun confidence that he could contribute despite losing access to his fire abilities.

• Yang Yao tried to stop Xu Kun from going to the battlefield, then agreed to accompany him as his chief of staff while staying away from the front lines.
• As they flew toward Hengsha Island, Yang Yao explained that the Eastern Military Region had concentrated most of its forces at the Yangtze River estuary.
• Xu Kun warned Yang Yao that Ao Guang could exploit the lightly defended eastern coast to invade Jiangnan Base City directly, and they decided to alert the region’s commander.
• Xu Kun checked his status and saw that Zhurong Right Arm had reduced his fire-related attributes to zero and disabled his fire skills.
• Xu Kun revealed that he had obtained the unranked skill Power of the Masses, which gave him Faith Power from people with strong positive feelings toward him.

Xu Kun and Yang Yao traveled to the Hengsha Island Military Region to warn Chief of Staff Shang Kexi that Ao Guang could lead a sea-race attack on the coast. Shang Kexi rejected their request to redeploy defenses, leaving the threat unresolved.

• Xu Kun examined the Power of the Masses skill and sent the Heart-Devouring Blood Ant Emperor back to Mist Island with a thousand Corrosive Poison Termites to secure a source of faith power.
• Xu Kun and Yang Yao crossed the Yangtze River estuary, where a powerful octopus creature knocked them from the Wind Fire Wheels before Xu Kun used Wind Dance to reach shore safely.
• Xu Kun presented his S-Rank Permission Card at the Hengsha Island Military Region and asked to meet its commander, but the guards sent Chief of Staff Shang Kexi to speak with them.
• Yang Yao warned Shang Kexi that Ao Guang could mobilize the East Sea forces and urged him to redeploy coastal defenses.
• Xu Kun cited the betrayals of Jia Sidao and Kong Youde and warned that the Eastern Military Region could not risk failing to prepare, but Shang Kexi dismissed their concerns and ordered them to leave.

After Shang Kexi dismissed their warning about the coastal defenses, Xu Kun and Yang Yao suspected that he might be untrustworthy and wondered what the Eastern Military Region’s other commanders were doing. They headed for the coastal defense line to find Vice Commander Wu, while Xu Kun felt uneasy about the quiet Yangtze River mouth.

• Yang Yao complained that Shang Kexi had ignored their warning, and Xu Kun explained that their equal S-Rank Authority did not let them overrule the Eastern Military Region’s commander.
• Xu Kun said he distrusted Shang Kexi, who had refused to prepare the coastal defenses, and speculated that Sky Eye might be using the crisis to expose traitors within humanity.
• Xu Kun and Yang Yao discussed the newly promoted Commander Yu and Vice Commander Wu, then noticed that General Zhang’s navy was missing from its usual berth.
• Xu Kun guessed that Commander Yu had taken the navy to make strategic deployments, and he and Yang Yao decided to seek help from Vice Commander Wu at the coastal defense line.
• Xu Kun and Yang Yao crossed the river amid attacks from aquatic creatures, and Xu Kun headed southeast while feeling uneasy about the river mouth.

Xu Kun and Yang Yao warned Wu Baipeng that the East Sea defensive line would face an attack, but he refused to mobilize forces from Hengsha Island. Xu Kun took over a cleared hundred-meter stretch of the front line, and when the enemy appeared, he opened the battle by firing twenty-five A-Rank cannons.

• Xu Kun and Yang Yao met Vice Commander Wu Baipeng, who recognized Yang Yao as the daughter of his former mentor.
• Xu Kun and Yang Yao warned Wu Baipeng that the East Sea Sea Race, including Ao Guang, would likely target the coastal defensive line, but he said he could not command Hengsha Island's troops.
• Xu Kun requested a cleared hundred-meter stretch at the front of the coastal line, and Wu Baipeng agreed to let him defend it alone for a day.
• Xu Kun set up twenty-five A-Rank Explosive Fireball Heavy Cannons on the empty stretch while Yang Yao stayed beside him.
• When Xu Kun spotted an enemy attack approaching on the waves, he fired all twenty-five cannons and killed advancing sea creatures in the opening barrage.

Xu Kun and Yang Yao helped hold the human coastal defense line as the sea race attacked with water cannons, armored razorclam crabs, and Shield Clams. When artillery could no longer break the Shield Clam wall, Xu Kun fired ten City-Breaking Ballistas at once and brought down nearly five hundred meters of it, leaving the muscular ballista commander impressed.

• Xu Kun's heavy cannons and the human artillery battalion halted the sea race's advance, but Crab-Armor Razorclam Cannons forced the artillerymen to build overhead earth shields.
• Yang Yao protected herself and Xu Kun with water and ice abilities while Xu Kun destroyed the armored crabs with his Explosive Fireball Heavy Cannons.
• The sea race sent Shield Clams forward as a defensive wall, rendering the ordinary artillery ineffective and prompting the City-Breaking Ballista Corps to replace it.
• Xu Kun joined the ballista corps, drew and fired a City-Breaking Ballista bolt through three Shield Clams, then set up ten ballistas along his defensive line.
• Xu Kun tied the ten ballistas together and fired them at concentrated targets, collapsing nearly five hundred meters of the Shield Clam line and earning the muscular commander's admiration.