Chapter Summaries

Xu Kun entered the Tenth Floor and learned from Yue Yun about Yanhuang City, its quests, and the exploration tree map that charted known and unknown regions. He ended by asking Yue Yun what he needed to know about secret realms.

• Qian Manlou told Xu Kun that Daji was the Nine-tailed Fox Clan’s saintess and explained that Yang Yao had a path her father could not prevent her from taking.
• Qian Manlou gave Xu Kun a hundred Minor Energy Pills and told him he had received SS-tier human race authority, usable after his first entry into the Myriad Races Battlefield.
• Xu Kun entered the City of Yanhuang, contacted Yue Yun, and asked him to explain the floors above the Tenth.
• Yue Yun took Xu Kun to a teahouse and explained that many city residents were NPCs created from people who had died in the Haotian Pagoda, then described city and wilderness quests.
• Yue Yun showed Xu Kun an exploration tree map, explaining its green, yellow, red, and black regions and warning him about dangerous unexplored areas and trap quests.
• Xu Kun shared the valuable map with Yang Yao using one of his free shares, then asked Yue Yun about secret realms.

Xu Kun learned that humanity’s original secret realms had strict entry requirements and diminishing rewards as his level rose, so he planned to clear Thunderclap Marsh and Eternal Divine Tree first. He then asked Yue Yun about Daji of the Nine-tailed Fox Clan, and Yue Yun called her ties to the City of Yanhuang a disgrace to humanity.

• Yue Yun explained that original secret realms capped monsters at Level 0 of Tier 10 and reduced experience and drops as entrants gained levels.
• Yue Yun showed Xu Kun that Blazing God's Tomb had no entry restrictions and predicted it would become a popular, profitable secret realm.
• Xu Kun chose a lightning-element secret realm as his first target, and Yue Yun introduced Thunderclap Marsh, which required a two-person team and specific talent and lightning attributes.
• Xu Kun realized Sikong Ting could accompany him into Thunderclap Marsh after clearing his awakening secret realm.
• Yue Yun introduced the Eternal Divine Tree secret realm, and Xu Kun worked out that five trusted companions could bring their team’s average talent to S-tier.
• Xu Kun asked Yue Yun about Daji of the Nine-tailed Fox Clan and her ties to the City of Yanhuang, and Yue Yun called the matter a disgrace to humanity.

Yue Yun explained the history of humanity’s Six Main Cities and how races could fight over protected city resources using War Horns. Xu Kun learned that the Nine-tailed Fox Clan had defeated humanity in a devastating siege, taken Xuanyuan Tomb, and later destroyed the secret realm, leaving Lord Tianyan unable to reclaim it.

• Yue Yun traced the Six Main Cities to the Lords of the Era and explained that each city had its own history, population, and purpose.
• Yue Yun told Xu Kun that a City-Building Token could rarely drop from an SSS-tier wilderness boss and was required to establish a main city.
• Yue Yun revealed that the Nine-tailed Fox Clan had used Xuanyuan Tomb to reconstruct Daji’s soul, causing the secret realm to be destroyed.
• Yue Yun explained how War Horns let races challenge one another for city resources and described the heavy costs and advantages of defending a city.
• Yue Yun recounted how the Nine-tailed Fox Clan used thousands of War Horns to defeat humanity at the City of Yanhuang and seize Xuanyuan Tomb.
• Yue Yun said Lord Tianyan had later gathered humans to reclaim Xuanyuan Tomb but found that the secret realm had already been destroyed.

Xu Kun learned why Yue Yun and the Beiwei Army had spent ten years guarding the City of Yanhuang, then used his wealth and Six Ding Divine Fire to learn beginner medicine making from alchemist Li Xuetang. He left with a new E-grade formula, while his herb-gathering quest remained unfinished.

• Yue Yun told Xu Kun that the Nine-tailed Fox Clan sought Daji's final soul fragment in Xuanyuan Tomb and that he and the Beiwei Army had stayed below the Twentieth Floor for ten years to protect the City of Yanhuang.
• Yue Yun revealed that his agreed-upon guard duty would end in a month and speculated that Xu Kun might be the person they had been waiting for.
• Xu Kun visited a drugstore, bought its pills, and won the clerk's favor so he could meet alchemist Li Xuetang and accept herb-gathering and medicine-making quests.
• Xu Kun used his Six Ding Divine Fire to purify ten F-grade medicinal herbs almost instantly, impressing Li Xuetang and completing the medicine-making quest.
• Xu Kun learned Beginner Medicine Making and received the E-grade formula Marching Pill after Heavenly Blessing: Child of Fortune upgraded the Blood Activating Powder formula.

Xu Kun learned beginner Pharmaceutical Art from Li Xuetang and then sought to learn Forging Art at Wang Mengmeng’s blacksmith shop. After impressing the blacksmiths with his strength, he began their trial to forge ten pieces of fine iron.

• Li Xuetang advised Xu Kun on alchemy, gifted him an F-grade Qi Replenishment Pill prescription, and sent him off to gather herbs.
• Xu Kun visited the blacksmith shop and told Wang Mengmeng he wanted to learn Forging Art.
• Xu Kun lifted Wang Mengmeng’s heavy hammer and flattened a piece of pig iron with one strike, winning the blacksmiths’ respect.
• Wang Mengmeng gave Xu Kun a trial requiring him to forge ten pieces of fine iron and offered him heated pig iron to work.
• Xu Kun repeatedly hammered the pig iron until it cooled, then asked Wang Mengmeng whether it was finished.

Xu Kun completed Wang Mengmeng's blacksmithing trial, learned Beginner Forging Art, and impressed her enough to earn access to the hidden quest for the Starfall Nine Heavens Hammer. The chapter ended with Xu Kun facing a five-minute challenge to lift the divine hammer and gain its artifact spirit's recognition.

• Xu Kun forged ten pieces of refined iron under Wang Mengmeng's guidance, with the best reaching 99% purity.
• Xu Kun completed the Blacksmith's Trial, learned Beginner Forging Art, and received the E-grade Ranger Set blueprint after his F-grade blueprint advanced through Heavenly Blessing.
• Xu Kun's performance raised Wang Mengmeng's friendliness to Reverence, and she apologized before deciding to show him her family's heirloom.
• Wang Mengmeng and the blacksmiths brought out the Starfall Nine Heavens Hammer, which cracked the bricks and sank into the ground under its weight.
• Xu Kun triggered the SSS-tier hidden quest Divine Hammer Seeks a Master, which required him to lift the hammer and gain its artifact spirit's recognition within five minutes.

Xu Kun attempted the five-minute hidden quest to earn the Starfall Nine Heavens Hammer’s recognition by forging an SSS-tier ore with it. He entered the legendary state of Man and Hammer as One and completed the forging as the countdown ended, though the hammer’s response remained unclear.

• Xu Kun met the hammer’s 18,888 Strength requirement and lifted it, but initially received no response from its artifact spirit.
• Xu Kun unleashed the Six Ding Divine Fire and smelted an SSS-tier ore, then began striking it with the Starfall Nine Heavens Hammer.
• Xu Kun kept forging despite his arms bleeding and his body nearing collapse, while violet-gold patterns lit up across the hammer.
• Xu Kun entered the state of Man and Hammer as One and refined the metal into a tiny, pure essence that pierced the ground.
• Xu Kun’s final strike destroyed the smithy and sent Wang Mengmeng flying; he then tried to seize the blazing metal essence with Extreme Ice Imprisonment.
• The five-minute countdown ended with Xu Kun standing unharmed in violet-gold radiance, and the bleeding from his body stopped.

Xu Kun gained the Starfall Nine Heavens Hammer’s recognition, received the God of Starforging’s blessing, and accidentally destroyed Wang Mengmeng’s blacksmith shop while forging SSS-tier metal. He left with an S-grade blueprint and the refined Heart of Dark Silver, but realized he needed a powerful water-element seed to improve his forging.

• Xu Kun passed the Starfall Nine Heavens Hammer’s trial, gained strength and stamina, and received the Starforging God’s blessing as the hammer acknowledged him as its master.
• The God of Starforging urged Xu Kun to climb toward the Apex Realm before his projection vanished, and Xu Kun returned to find Wang Mengmeng’s blacksmith shop reduced to ruins.
• Xu Kun shrank Starfall Nine Heavens, learned that his Forging Art had advanced, and accepted Wang Mengmeng’s ancestral S-grade Whispers of the Stars blueprint in exchange for promising to forge him a piece of equipment.
• Xu Kun used Nine Heavens Blazing Sun to dig up the SSS-tier metal he had forged, revealing a Heart of Dark Silver with 88% purity and a weight of 7,680 jin.
• Xu Kun put away the Heart of Dark Silver and concluded that he needed a powerful water-element seed to improve his quenching process.

Xu Kun gathered ores and herbs outside Yanhuang while preparing to forge a Ranger's Hunting Blade, unaware that the God of Smelting had ordered the Titan Race to search for his Star Forging Divine Hammer. After collecting enough materials, Xu Kun prepared to turn in his herb-gathering quest before attempting the forge.

• Xu Kun examined the Whispers of the Stars blueprint and decided to focus on raising his Forging Art, while ruling out Sewing because of the shop auntie's notorious quests.
• Xu Kun rode the Flame Dragon Scale Horse beyond Yanhuang and used his luck and Fiery Eyes of Truth to gather ores and herbs together.
• The God of Smelting learned that the Star Forging Divine Hammer had appeared and ordered the Titan Race to find it, then issued a quest offering great rewards for clues or the hammer itself.
• Xu Kun mined for more than half an hour until he had collected the metals needed for the Ranger's Hunting Blade, though his upgraded ores were higher-grade than its recipes required.
• Xu Kun noted that he had gathered no F-grade herbs but had collected higher-grade ones, and decided to turn in the herb-gathering quest before forging the blade.

Xu Kun completed Li Xuetang’s herb-gathering quest and accepted an SS-tier hidden quest to retrieve a Ginseng Spirit Fruit from a dangerous area guarded by an SS-tier snake boss. Li Xuetang lent him the S-tier Golden Striker, and Xu Kun went to Yue Yun’s home to use his forging tools and metals.

• Xu Kun brought Li Xuetang five high-quality E-tier herbs, learned F-tier Herb Gathering, and impressed him with his gathering ability.
• Li Xuetang told Xu Kun about the Ginseng Fruit Tree and its dangerous guardian, then issued him the SS-tier hidden quest to bring back one S-tier Ginseng Spirit Fruit above 60% quality.
• Li Xuetang lent Xu Kun the Golden Striker and explained how to gather and protect the fragile fruit.
• Xu Kun left the herbal shop intending to forge but found the smithy closed, so he contacted Yue Yun for help.
• Yue Yun invited Xu Kun to his home, where he could use forging tools and low-rank metals.

Xu Kun used Yue Yun’s forging workshop to make three Ranger’s Hunting Blades, improving his Forging Art as he worked. By adding Blue Copper to the last blade, he created a poisoned D-rank weapon and fulfilled the conditions to advance his Forging Art to E-rank.

• Xu Kun smelted and forged E-rank metals in Yue Yun’s workshop, completing his first Fine-quality Ranger’s Hunting Blade, which Heavenly Blessing: Child of Fortune raised to Perfect quality.
• Xu Kun gained 49 proficiency points in Forging Art and inspected the Perfect blade’s attributes and his signature as its forger.
• Xu Kun forged a second Ranger’s Hunting Blade at Good quality, which Heavenly Blessing raised to Fine and added 40 proficiency points.
• Xu Kun decided to incorporate Blue Copper into his third blade, carefully forged it, and produced a Perfect-quality poisoned Ranger’s Hunting Blade.
• Heavenly Blessing raised the poisoned blade to D-rank, and Xu Kun filled his F-rank Forging Art proficiency and met its advancement conditions.

Xu Kun advanced his Forging Art by absorbing an E-rank crafting inheritance, then decided to test whether his maxed-out Luck could help him forge B-rank equipment. After he asked Qian Manlou for a weapon blueprint and three sets of materials, Qian Manlou connected the request to a Titan Race bounty and spotted an opportunity; Xu Kun headed for the City Lord’s Mansion, where his cousin messaged him.

• Xu Kun used an E-rank Crafting Inheritance to advance his Forging Art from F-rank to E-rank, while Starforge raised its effective rank to C-rank.
• Xu Kun decided to attempt forging a B-rank weapon to test whether his maxed-out Luck could improve his odds.
• Xu Kun asked Qian Manlou to find a B-rank weapon blueprint and gather three sets of materials.
• Qian Manlou reconsidered a Titan Race bounty after connecting it to the God of Smelting and Xu Kun’s request for B-rank equipment.
• Xu Kun left Yue Yun’s house and headed to the City Lord’s Mansion to buy a property, where his cousin messaged him.

Xu Kun arranged to enter Thunderclap Marsh with Sikong Ting, then went to the City Lord's Manor to buy a home and discovered that the best-equipped properties cost enormous sums. After inspecting the city’s property map, he asked the guards about ten imposing buildings near the manor, leaving their purpose unexplained.

• Sikong Ting told Xu Kun he had cleared an SS-tier wind-and-lightning Awakening Secret Realm using his advanced talent and family-provided equipment.
• Xu Kun invited Sikong Ting to join him in Thunderclap Marsh, and Sikong Ting agreed after arranging to report his results to his family.
• Two manor guards refused to let Xu Kun buy discounted F-rank housing because he had not reached the required tier, but explained that higher-ranked properties had no such level restriction.
• Xu Kun tipped the guards, who led him to the Property Purchasing Office and showed him the city’s property model.
• Xu Kun inspected A-rank, S-rank, and SS-rank homes, focusing on detached courtyards equipped for forging and alchemy.
• Xu Kun asked about ten magnificent buildings near the City Lord's Manor, and the two guards fell silent.

Xu Kun learned that the City of Yanhuang’s reserved residences belonged to humanity’s Lords of the Era and discovered that Qin Emperor was the forgotten Lord branded a traitor. As Yang Yao, Mirage, Hao Jian, and Zhan Rourou completed their trials, the companions reunited and the Tenth Floor’s contest began.

• Xu Kun learned that the ten reserved residences belonged to humanity’s Lords of the Era, including Yang Yao’s Jade Pool Palace and Mirage’s unfinished tower.
• A manor guard named Qin Emperor as the owner of Xianyang Palace, leading Xu Kun to identify him as the Lord of the Era who had been branded a traitor.
• Xu Kun decided not to buy a manor, tipped the guards, and hoped to benefit from Yang Yao’s or Mirage’s private residence instead.
• Yang Yao completed the Awakening Secret Realm with an SSS-tier rating and placed fifth, while Mirage placed seventh, giving humanity three of the top eight rankings.
• Yang Yao told Xu Kun she was coming to find him, Mirage said she had a gift for him, and Hao Jian and Zhan Rourou messaged that they had cleared their trials.

Yang Yao reunited with Xu Kun in the City of Yanhuang and revealed that her resurrection had awakened the Jade Pool Heart hidden trait, which required her to face nine life-and-death tribulations to become a god. She insisted on pursuing the tribulations despite Xu Kun's fear of losing her, leaving him unable to change her mind.

• Yang Yao reunited with Xu Kun, while Shen returned from the Awakening Secret Realm exhausted and fell asleep in his arms.
• Yang Yao led Xu Kun and their companions to the Jade Pool Palace annex, then took Xu Kun aside to explain her changes.
• Yang Yao revealed the Jade Pool Heart hidden trait and its nine tribulations, explaining that her first death had activated it and that her father had likely known about it.
• Yang Yao reasoned that her father had concealed the trait and used Daoist Lu Ya's attack to trigger it, balancing his duties as her father and a Lord of the Era.
• Xu Kun begged Yang Yao to avoid the dangerous tribulations, but she argued that the chance to become a god was too valuable to abandon and held firm to her choice.

Xu Kun and Yang Yao shared an intimate moment before Mirage woke and interrupted them. Mirage gave Xu Kun a damaged fragment of the Kongtong Seal, which recognized him as its master and began to respond to the fragment he already possessed.

• Xu Kun urged Yang Yao to stay by his side during future tribulations and showed her his luck buffs.
• Yang Yao and Xu Kun kissed and talked about how her parents reacted when she died, then grew intimate until Mirage woke.
• Mirage asked Xu Kun to hold her, explaining that being near him eased the curse affecting her.
• Mirage presented Xu Kun with a damaged Kongtong Seal fragment, explaining that only the Seal's chosen master could use its pieces.
• Xu Kun accepted the fragment, and the two pieces began to call to each other.

Xu Kun fused two Kongtong Seal Fragments, learned more about the artifact and Little Mirage’s inheritance, and discovered that forbidden-spell kills did not trigger his Myriad Races Bestiary. He split the group to grind secret realms, leaving Hao Jian to find teammates on his own.

• Xu Kun fused the Kongtong Seal Fragments, doubling their bonuses and raising his HP above 1.6 million.
• Little Mirage explained that the incomplete Kongtong Seal lacked the powers of a complete divine artifact and described the harsh inheritance trial she endured in the Ancient Sea Ruins.
• Xu Kun discovered that kills made with forbidden spells could not trigger the Myriad Races Bestiary, though he gained several talents from Sea Race powerhouses.
• Xu Kun arranged to clear Thunderclap Marsh with Sikong Ting, while Yang Yao planned a group run through the Eternal Divine Tree Secret Realm with the others.
• Yang Yao led Zhan Rourou and Little Mirage toward the Hall of the God of Light, while Hao Jian, excluded because his metal and earth attributes did not fit, went to seek suitable teammates.

Xu Kun and Sikong Ting traveled from City of Yanhuang to Olympus City, where they discovered that entry to every secret realm had been made conditional on paying a steep fee or meeting a special requirement. Xu Kun suspected the fee scheme was a cover for Zeus’s search for someone with E-grade Forging Art, and Sikong Ting realized Xu Kun might be the person they sought.

• Xu Kun charmed the shop auntie into selling him teleportation and return scrolls cheaply, then he and Sikong Ting traveled to Olympus City.
• Xu Kun and Sikong Ting reached Thunderclap Marsh and found trial takers facing a one-B-grade-Spirit-Stone entrance fee across Olympus City’s secret realms.
• The fee collectors demanded twice the usual payment from Xu Kun and Sikong Ting as outsiders, and Xu Kun paid while questioning the search for someone with E-grade Forging Art.
• After the two entered Thunderclap Marsh, the fee collector’s soldiers revealed that finding a target who met Caesar’s requirements mattered more than collecting fees.
• Xu Kun told Sikong Ting that Zeus, not Caesar, was searching for a tenth-level trial taker with E-grade Forging Art, and Sikong Ting suspected Xu Kun was that target.

Xu Kun and Sikong Ting entered the SSS-tier Thunderclap Marsh dungeon and began its B-tier floor. Xu Kun swept the marsh’s monsters and boss in one attack, collected the drops, and handed the loot to Sikong Ting as they prepared to continue.

• Xu Kun and Sikong Ting entered Thunderclap Marsh after meeting its requirements and paying the Energy cost.
• The dungeon assigned them to the B-tier Swamp Zone, where they had to defeat one hundred Thunderous Marsh Element Orbs and the Thunderous Marsh Greater Element Orb.
• Xu Kun told Sikong Ting to draw the monsters together while Xu Kun handled the fighting and collected the drops.
• Sikong Ting used Threads Without End and Lightning Net to lure all one hundred minor monsters and the boss toward them.
• Xu Kun killed the gathered monsters with Wildfire Scorches the Plains, Blood Poison Myriad Miles, and Earth Tremor, earning 20% experience.
• Xu Kun gathered the drops and tossed the pile to a stunned Sikong Ting.

Xu Kun and Sikong Ting cleared the A-grade swamp zone, shared its loot, and moved on to the S-grade zone. After learning Thunderclap Sever from the alligator king’s skill book, Xu Kun prepared to test it on a swarm of lightning serpents.

• Sikong Ting received half of the A-grade zone’s drops, including Lightning Spirit Orbs, and learned how Xu Kun’s requirements boosted the loot.
• Xu Kun gave Sikong Ting the Thunderclap Ring and split the spirit stones with him, while keeping the Entangling Lightning Lash skill book.
• Xu Kun rode the Thunder Marsh Great Alligator King through the pool, killed 100 Thunder Marsh Great Alligators, then killed the boss and collected the drops.
• Xu Kun learned the S-grade skill Thunderclap Sever from the alligator king’s skill book and entered the S-grade swamp zone with Sikong Ting.
• A swarm of lightning serpents appeared, and Xu Kun swung Nine Heavens Blazing Sun to test Thunderclap Sever.