Chapter Summaries

Li Qingshan learned from Ming Shuang that Zhuang Chenxing had agreed to his appointment because he expected Li to leave Azure Dragon for the Star Martial Hall. The chapter ended as a call arrived from Hua Yu of the Star Martial Hall.

• Li Qingshan questioned Ming Shuang about Zhuang Chenxing's unexpected agreement, while Zhuang reassured Ye Lei and Li Wenbo that Li Qingshan would soon leave Azure Dragon and Ye Lei would be safe.
• Ying Yu told Ying Shilan to return after Li Qingshan's paper drew the Star Martial Hall's attention, but Ying Shilan clarified that the paper had never been sent and had nothing to do with Bai Ze.
• Ye Hao reflected that Kong Xun had yet to connect his Dao to Starry Sky Beckons, while Li Qingshan had caught the Star Martial Hall's attention with a paper in only half a year.
• Two figures in the Fang District agreed that Li Qingshan's departure would end old grudges and warned against anyone making a move against him.
• Ming Shuang told Li Qingshan that the Star Martial Hall would contact him soon, and the call was followed by an incoming call from Hua Yu of the Star Martial Hall.

Li Qingshan learned that Zhu Ping had been cleared of wrongdoing, though Wan Keshan still suspected him without evidence. After five days of training, Li Qingshan discovered Liang Mingyu had beaten Zhao Hongzhou, Yu Lei, and Hong Qian, and called the Patrol Bureau rather than promising revenge.

• Wan Keshan told Li Qingshan that investigators found no evil god sacrifices in Luoping City over the past thirty years and that Zhu Ping was not connected to the corpse-replacement scheme, though Wan Keshan admitted he still distrusted Zhu Ping.
• Li Qingshan continued training and raised his Body Tempering realm from 95/100 to 96/100 over five days.
• Li Qingshan encountered Zhao Hongzhou, Yu Lei, and Hong Qian, who tried to avoid him because Liang Mingyu had beaten them.
• Liang Mingyu told Number Five that he had arranged for Li Qingshan to meet them, while Number Five said Liang Mingyu's task would be complete once he saw Li Qingshan.
• After learning Liang Mingyu had transferred to Luoping City's team, Li Qingshan called the Patrol Bureau instead of agreeing to avenge his friends.

Li Qingshan arrived at Dick New Star with Bao Hetong and learned that a Fallen One had used a virtual God Realm to corrupt the Erosion Dream Group. Bao Hetong explained how connecting such a realm to the network could destroy it, while Li Qingshan considered joining the Demon Subjugation Division but rejected its Reconnaissance Office.

• Bao Hetong revealed that Wu Nian had recently reached the thousandth step of the Dharma Manifestation realm, and Wu Nian hurried off to Dick New Star to cleanse its people.
• Li Qingshan and Bao Hetong reached Dick New Star, where Bao Hetong sent his subordinates to investigate the Erosion Dream Group before inspecting the underground base with Li Qingshan.
• Bao Hetong identified a Fallen One behind the virtual God Realm and explained that the underground base's layered defenses had isolated it from the network.
• Bao Hetong advised Li Qingshan to connect future virtual God Realms to the network so their data streams would be annihilated.
• Li Qingshan asked about the Demon Subjugation Division's work, then declined Bao Hetong's invitation to join the Reconnaissance Office because its missions seemed unlikely to earn him experience.

After Li Qingshan officially took over the Reconnaissance Office, corporations and auction houses across Horn Sector reacted to his appointment and his astonishing comprehension. Gu Feng guided Li Qingshan to Demon Subjugation Division headquarters, where Li learned that its crowded stellar system was filled with predecessors who had died attempting breakthroughs.

• News of Gu Feng's retirement and Li Qingshan's appointment spread across Horn Sector, prompting corporations to discuss visiting the new director.
• At Qiongqi Auction House, Tie Shan decided to personally bring Li Qingshan a gift, while Shi Yan at Black Scale Auction House ordered a review of information on Panlong and planned to meet him.
• Ying Shilan replayed footage of Li Qingshan absorbing the Blazing Sun Shard and contacted White Marsh headquarters, unwilling to miss the chance to approach him.
• Gu Feng waited for Li Qingshan after their hyperspace jump, and Li admitted he had lost his way; Gu Feng advised him to use a starship until he reached the seventh rank.
• At headquarters, Gu Feng explained that the many celestial bodies were predecessors who had died during breakthroughs, and Li Qingshan recognized them as tombstones across the starry system.

Li Qingshan revealed himself to the oppressed cavern-dwellers as a human, then struck down the Seven Gods and destroyed the hundred cities of the other races. With the gods gone and their authority returned to the world, humanity looked toward Divine Realm Mountain without fear.

• The Seven Gods confronted Li Qingshan after he appeared above Divine Realm Mountain, while the other races cursed him and the cavern-dwellers watched in fear.
• Li Qingshan told the cavern-dwellers that he was human and that they were human too, prompting them to recognize their shared appearance.
• The Seven Gods tried to silence Li Qingshan and close the rift in the sky, but he declared them guilty of usurping heaven's mandate, stealing Divine Realm Mountain, and humiliating humanity.
• Li Qingshan's blade shattered the sky, razed the hundred cities, and killed the Seven Gods.
• The Seven Gods' authority returned to the world as rain fell, and humanity stood beneath a blade hanging above Divine Realm Mountain without fear.

Li Qingshan received an unfinished cultivation method designed to push the seventh-order God Phase toward its limit and considered whether it could let him fight an eighth-order martial artist. After Zhuang Chenxing paid him ten million to avert trouble, Li Qingshan revealed that he had already declined the Star Martial Hall's invitation.

• Hua Yu explained that the unfinished method aimed to cultivate a Gaseous Giant Star Body and control its collapse, warning Li Qingshan that the final step was extremely dangerous.
• Hua Yu said Li Qingshan's powerful God Phase might let him contend with ordinary eighth orders, but cautioned him not to act rashly.
• Li Qingshan examined the method's eighteen-level Gaseous Giant Star Body plan and worried over the immense variety and cost of its required resources.
• Zhuang Chenxing called Li Qingshan to clear up misunderstandings, and Li Qingshan used his cash-spending eyes to prompt him to contribute ten million.
• Zhuang Chenxing asked when Li Qingshan would depart for the Star Martial Hall, and Li Qingshan revealed that he had declined its invitation.

Across repeated reincarnations, Li Qingshan lived quietly while Yu Ling searched for him and awakened later each time. After a thousand lives, Yu Ling finally awakened in a courtyard beside Li Qingshan, who recognized him as an old neighbor.

• In their third life, Li Qingshan died peacefully beneath the Mulberry Tree while Yu Ling died in anger, and another cycle of reincarnation began.
• Across hundreds of lives, Yu Ling gradually awakened later and later while searching for Li Qingshan, whose life followed a quieter path.
• In their five-hundredth life, Yu Ling awakened at Song Yujia’s wedding and ran from the Lin Estate, still determined to find Li Qingshan.
• After a thousand lives, Yu Ling awakened beside Li Qingshan beneath two trees and declared that he would find him.
• Li Qingshan sighed and told Yu Ling that he had finally awakened.

Xie Sen vanished into the turbulent storm as the Formless Celestial Devil attacked the expanding God Realm, and Beiao and Xue Yan believed the intruder was about to be trapped. The Celestial Devil revealed himself as Li Qingshan, whose ancient-level True Spirit stunned Beiao before Li Qingshan killed Xue Yan and confronted Beiao over stealing his kill.

• Xie Sen disappeared into the turbulent storm just as the Formless Celestial Devil turned to attack the God Realm.
• Beiao dismissed Xue Yan's concerns about Xie Sen and believed the God Realm would engulf the weakened Celestial Devil.
• A starry giant face appeared above the God Realm, and Beiao recognized its owner as a True Spirit approaching the ancient.
• Beiao speculated that the Celestial Devil clan had discovered the Authority of Reincarnation, but Li Qingshan rejected the idea.
• Li Qingshan killed Xue Yan with the dark-green snakes, then accused Beiao of stealing his kill after Beiao swallowed the hundred islands.

The Academy announced Zhao Ran as Dick Star’s second True Dragon Chosen, while Li Qishan reflected on what her extraordinary talent meant for her growth. At the Erosion Dream Tower, Shi Tianhe learned his people had been betrayed and struggled to decide how to respond to the public uproar over Li Qishan’s arrival.

• Old Star and New Star netizens debated Li Qishan’s visit to Shi Tianhe after the Academy announced that Li Qishan had forced the Erosion Dream Group to back down.
• Wei Huaian introduced Zhao Ran in a livestream, and she proudly called herself the “Liaoyang Sword.”
• Li Qishan considered Zhao Ran’s True Dragon talent and worried that an unusually smooth path might not give her the tempering needed to understand her own Dao.
• Shi Tianhe learned that his people had been tracked and blamed Kong Lanxin for betraying him.
• Shi Tianhe rejected Yang Cheng’s suggestion to respond publicly, noting that either admitting or denying the truth could cost him face.

After Qing Feng died attempting Apotheosis as a Star, the Four Saints and Ten Fiends debated whether Li Qingshan should risk the same final step at the Eighteenth Layer of Divine Appearance. Jin Yuanli contacted Li to explain the danger, but Li first asked whether he wanted to complete the cultivation-method project.

• Across the Four Saints and Ten Fiends, news spread that Qing Feng had failed his Apotheosis as a Star and died, prompting debate over the Star Martial Hall's research and the risks facing Li Qingshan.
• Hua Yu contacted Li Qingshan and warned him not to attempt Apotheosis as a Star after hearing of Qing Feng's death.
• Jin Yuanli took over the call and said that only four people across the Primeval Supercluster remained at the Eighteenth Layer of Divine Appearance.
• Li Qingshan interrupted Jin Yuanli's explanation and asked whether he wanted to complete the project.

After completing eighteen layers of Divine Appearance, Li Qingshan investigated the next stage of cultivation and visited the Yin-Yang Sect to observe its ancestor. There he met Azure Dragon Councilor Taishang, whose explanation of Apotheosis as a Star gave Li Qingshan a sudden insight.

• Li Qingshan finished refining 256 million Quantum Star Nuclei but found that his cultivation method still showed no completion or nineteenth layer.
• After reviewing reports of a peaceful year and a message from Yang Xiaoyu, Li Qingshan traveled to the Yin-Yang Sect.
• Yin Zhengyu greeted Li Qingshan and directed him toward the sect ancestor, Yin Chi, whose body encompassed the star system and hidden parts of the Star Realm.
• Taishang arrived, identified Yin Chi's cultivation as Myriad Manifestations Embodiment, and explained the difficulty of Apotheosis as a Star.
• Li Qingshan blinked during Taishang's explanation, fell into a daze, and returned to himself claiming the process was very difficult.

Li Qingshan discovered that Suixin had been controlling the Cold Moon Illusion and killed the gathered Evil Horn Tribe members before learning about the monk’s unusual past and Cold Moon cultivation. Suixin summoned the Moon Ascent Stairway, and Li Qingshan stepped onto it, entering the trials of darkness and solitude.

• Li Qingshan tested Suixin’s fear of death with controlled lightning, then asked why he had been controlling the illusion and what had happened to the Evil Horn Tribe members.
• Suixin revealed that the Evil Horn Tribe members had arrived recently, and Li Qingshan struck them with thunderbolts before they could wake.
• Suixin recounted how his master had expelled him and how he had entered the Star Realm Rift half a year earlier to cultivate.
• Li Qingshan introduced himself as the Crimson Federation’s sole True Dragon Chosen and tried to recruit Suixin, who agreed to exchange contact details but wanted to keep wandering.
• Li Qingshan persuaded Suixin to summon the Moon Ascent Stairway, and Suixin appeared on its thousandth step as Li Qingshan began climbing.
• Li Qingshan stepped onto the first stair and entered a silent darkness, where he let his consciousness drift without thought or desire.

Li Qingshan arrived at Crimson Flame Fortress and learned that a Blood Rot Clan Demon Child had led a deadly assault on the Black Flame Star Region. As Wang Duanxing prepared to explain the Coiling Dragon Auction House’s potential involvement, Li Qingshan realized they might take the chance to claim his kills.

• Li Qingshan reached the wormhole outside Crimson Flame Fortress and contacted Wang Duanxing, who hurried out to meet him.
• Wang Duanxing explained that the Evil Horn Tribe had joined forces with the Blood Rot Clan and opened Tier 5 rifts in the Black Flame Star Region.
• Wang Duanxing revealed that a Blood Rot Clan Demon Child had ambushed human forces, inflicted heavy losses, and possessed strength approaching Tier 6.
• Wang Duanxing said he had considered signing a resource zone contract and hiring reinforcements from the Coiling Dragon Auction House.
• Li Qingshan learned that the Coiling Dragon Auction House might send its own prodigies and reacted with concern that they would steal his kills.

Chi Wen entered the Demonic Thought Execution Ground and faced a terrifying projection shaped by his deepest fear, but Li Qingshan arrived and confronted the beast that had killed him in his first Martial Dao Space trial. Li Qingshan slew Wolf Venom and pressed the yellow and green buttons, leaving the counter showing both values rising from zero to one.

• Ye Yukong and Zhou Yunze urged Chi Wen to wait for Li Qingshan, but Chi Wen entered the Demonic Thought Execution Ground alone.
• The execution ground revealed an eighth-rank Flesh Demon God projection, recalling the projection Chi Wen had barely defeated fifty thousand years earlier.
• Li Qingshan kicked Chi Wen out of the arena and faced the beast, which appeared as Wolf Venom, the monster that had killed him during his first Martial Dao Space trial.
• Li Qingshan drew his sword and cut Wolf Venom in two, causing the beast and the execution ground to dissolve into blue smoke.
• Li Qingshan thanked the dissolving smoke and pressed the yellow and green buttons on his counter, making both displayed values change from zero to one.

Xingyun compelled the sect masters to join Tianji Group and dismissed their fears about immortals descending, prompting them to suspect that Chairman Li Qingshan was behind the group’s changes. In World 1573, Feng Boyong claimed to have read every book in the Heavenly Tome Pavilion and sealed his master’s Golden Core when the old man prepared to ascend.

• Xingyun released Lin Haofeng and the other sect masters from his restraint, and they recognized him as the Tianji Taoist and bowed to him.
• Tianyun presented the alliance agreement, and the sect masters signed its terms after Xingyun ordered them to join Tianji Group.
• Lin Haofeng questioned the plan to stop ascension and warned that immortals might descend, but Xingyun said he had not claimed he could handle them.
• Tianyun explained that Xingyun was seeking a replacement executive director and was returning to report to Chairman Li Qingshan, leading the sect masters to suspect Li Qingshan was behind Tianji Group’s changes.
• In World 1573, Feng Boyong told his master he had read every book in the Heavenly Tome Pavilion and identified the master’s Golden Core cultivation limit.
• When Feng Boyong’s master prepared to ascend, Feng Boyong sealed his Golden Core and told him not to ascend.

Ye Tai explained the dangers and stages of becoming a Venerable, then urged Li Qingshan to stay at Ironclad Bulwark and strengthen his foundation. Li Qingshan agreed before hurrying away after receiving a message, leaving Ye Tai suspicious.

• Li Qingshan suggested attacking the alien race’s ancestral land, but Ye Tai warned him against taking such a risk.
• Ye Tai explained that Star Ascension required crushing the celestial bodies within one’s body into a Natal Star and raising it Above the Nine Heavens, while Evil Gods could interfere with the breakthrough.
• Ye Tai described illuminating the myriad universes as the third step and explained that Frontier Constellations anchored Venerables’ Natal Stars and reflected their strength.
• Li Qingshan confidently declared that he would forge ahead, but Ye Tai urged him to remain at Ironclad Bulwark and consolidate his foundation.
• After a message appeared on his wrist, Li Qingshan told Ye Tai he understood and hurried off, making Ye Tai wonder why he had changed his mind so easily.

Ye Tai explained that Above the Nine Heavens was the source of starlight and that its true starry sky had a missing piece, which Li Qingshan realized was inside his Martial Dao Space. Ye Tai then described the first step toward becoming a Venerable, leaving Li Qingshan intrigued by the prospect of fighting in an alien ancestral land.

• Li Qingshan asked Ye Tai about Above the Nine Heavens, and Ye Tai explained that the starry skies above star realms were reflections of it.
• Ye Tai revealed that the real starry sky Above the Nine Heavens had a flaw and was connected to the Opening Aperture Realm and the source of Star Origin Force.
• Li Qingshan examined the sky in his Martial Dao Space and concluded that the missing piece of Above the Nine Heavens was inside it.
• Li Qingshan recognized that he could not uncover the sky's secrets until he reached the Ninth Layer of Star Zenith.
• Ye Tai explained that the first step to becoming a Venerable was ascending beyond the Ninth Layer of Star Zenith, and Li Qingshan remarked on the alien foes he might encounter.

Li Qingshan trained for months, reaching Body Tempering Ninth Level and advancing his martial arts. He decided to seek work with the Patrol Bureau and entered virtual combat, where he was matched against Fu Wu.

• Li Qingshan practiced Thunderclap Saber and Starry Sky Beckons while spending nearly all his time training.
• On New Year’s Eve, Zhao Hongzhou, Yu Lei, and Hong Qian invited Li Qingshan out to celebrate the arrival of Ziying Calendar 5627.
• Li Qingshan continued his daily training and reached Body Tempering Sixth, Seventh, and then Eighth Level between January and March.
• On April 25, Li Qingshan reached Body Tempering Ninth Level, recording a speed of 50 meters per second and punch force of 7 tons.
• Li Qingshan decided to ask Wan Keshan whether the Patrol Bureau accepted part-timers, then entered the virtual combat space to raise his ranking.
• After defeating several opponents, Li Qingshan was matched against the saber-wielding Fu Wu and recognized the coincidence.

Li Qingshan discussed his ambition to expand humanity’s safe zone across the star map and continued toward Ironclad Bulwark with the fleet. Meanwhile, Youming ordered spies sent through the Star Realm Rift to probe humanity’s rear, while Xie Sen sensed an unseen terror in the darkness.

• Li Qingshan told Song Mo, Tang Yetian, and Qiu Lan that humanity should expand its safe zone across the entire star map and help Zhihui Seat take shape.
• Li Qingshan realized Ye Tai had instructed Qiu Lan to keep an eye on him, then learned the fleet’s voyage to Ironclad Bulwark would take about ten years.
• Xie Sen fled through a Hyperspace Channel but was seized by a gigantic claw and brought before Youming.
• Youming questioned Xie Sen, then decided to send spies through the Star Realm Rift to probe humanity’s rear.
• Xie Sen looked toward the starry sky and sensed an unseen terror descending from the darkness.

Li Qingshan escorted a pioneering fleet to Frontier Constellation 269, the Ironclad Bulwark, and learned that its star systems had been rebuilt by Star Forger Envoys. After recognizing the Star Graveyards as places where future generations could cultivate, he left the Ironclad to visit someone.

• After ten years of uneventful travel, Li Qingshan and the fleet arrived at Frontier Constellation 269.
• The pioneering ships separated from the fleet and followed their assigned routes to begin settling the Desolate Stars.
• Li Qingshan observed the orderly star systems and learned from Song Mo that Star Forger Envoys had forged most of them anew.
• Li Qingshan recognized the Star Graveyards as sites where he had once completed the Materialization stage and resolved to preserve them as cultivation grounds for future generations.
• Song Mo said the Overseer's Office lay at the center of the bulwark, about a year away by ship, but Li Qingshan chose to leave and visit someone.