Chapter Summaries

At a North Star meeting, Han Qiu argued that the country should allow Ascendants to compete for ranking rewards despite the deaths it could cause, while Zhang Minglu opposed the idea and Gao Liangwei faced a difficult decision. Meanwhile, Guan Tong sold secret information about the Sixteenth Apocalypse Rule to eight buyers, earning enough Ascension Coins to pursue his plans.

• Han Qiu proposed one-on-one deathmatches to give North Star's Ascendants a chance to compete for ranking rewards, and Zhang Minglu firmly objected.
• Han Qiu argued that top-tier Ascendants could become vastly stronger than ordinary ones, convincing some attendees that cultivating the strongest might be necessary for humanity's survival.
• Gao Liangwei was about to decide the issue when a report announced that the Site Owner of Ascendant's Home was selling secret information about the rule.
• Guan Tong received payments from eight buyers at 500,000 Ascension Coins each and considered that powerful countries, parasites, and the Fire Thief Cult might have bought copies.
• Guan Tong counted his earnings at over eight million Ascension Coins and planned to use them to hire Ascendants for Mind Power and develop his [Wordless Book].

Countries announced how they would handle Ascenders who kept their challenge invitations, while Yelena, Guan Tong, and Shangyuan Zi chose to become contestants but forgo competing for rankings. The chapter ended when Guan Tong stopped an RPG attack on Yelena and confronted the attackers.

• Guan Tong sent buyers details of the Hidden Rule allowing teammates to betray each other, prompting countries to announce their policies for contestants.
• Solloma announced public stadium competitions with paid admission, while North Star discouraged ranking competition and Xisiya allowed closed-off competitions at designated locations.
• Yelena, Guan Tong, and Shangyuan Zi emerged from their meeting as contestants; Guan Tong and Shangyuan Zi had changed their nicknames to Shepherd Boy and Yuan Lü.
• Guan Tong told Yelena that he and Shangyuan Zi would not pursue points or rankings, but would act if anyone threatened them or Yelena.
• An attacker fired an RPG at Yelena's office, but Guan Tong blocked the blast and overturned the attackers' vehicle with his Shadow.

Team Leader Wei Xuan led a crew from Dream Boat One to investigate the Empire Pioneer’s silent survival base and found its astronauts frozen in terror. A recording revealed that Robert’s last warning had been, “Leave! There are demons on this planet!”

• Wei Xuan and his crew left Dream Boat One to investigate the Empire Pioneer after its astronauts stopped responding to communications.
• Wei Xuan sent a Sky Spider Investigator ahead and found no enemies or damage around the sealed survival base, but detected the astronauts inside.
• Wei Xuan and his crew entered the base and found the Empire Pioneer astronauts alive but stiff and frozen in expressions of terror.
• Wei Xuan reviewed the base’s surveillance footage and saw the astronauts suddenly scream before becoming rigid.
• Robert briefly regained his composure, warned Wei Xuan to leave because there were demons on the planet, and then fell back into terror.

After an attack on Yelena, she and Guan Tong suspected Valery was exploiting the crisis to expand the Security Bureau’s influence. Yelena trusted Guan Tong to resist any attempt to bribe him and prepared to use force if her enemies pushed her too far.

• Valery berated the Xisiya Administrative Building guards, but Yelena stopped him from punishing them and assigned Sigaoxin to interrogate the captured attackers.
• Guan Tong explained to Shangyuan Zi that the independently governed Xisiya Security Bureau could not be controlled by Yelena without evidence or a vote.
• Yelena agreed to Valery’s proposal to replace her guards, hoping it would draw her enemies into revealing their plans.
• Yelena reasoned that her enemies might identify Guan Tong as Shadow and attempt either to defeat him or recruit him.
• Guan Tong agreed to investigate if the enemy approached him, and Yelena said she would not rule out destroying the Security Bureau and her other enemies if necessary.

Xiao Cao hosted a symposium where the characters discussed their appearances and the unresolved mysteries of the fifteenth rule. Xiao Cao promised that the mysteries connected to the main plot would be resolved later, and the meeting ended with everyone left to wait.

• Xiao Cao opened the fifteenth symposium and assured Yelena that she would have more scenes in the next rule.
• Xiao Cao stopped an argument involving Louis, Pope, and Prophet and asked them to settle their grudges in the main story.
• Black Star asked whether he would appear again, and Bai Xing expressed confidence in their future importance.
• Sigaoxin listed unresolved mysteries involving several factions, the Digital Life Project, the Mind Network, Terra's astronauts, and the Nanite Swarm's connection to the Wordless Book.
• Xiao Cao promised that the unresolved mysteries were connected to the main plot and would be resolved later.
• Sigaoxin summarized the discussion as waiting, and Xiao Cao adjourned the meeting.

Han Qiu resigned from the Countermeasure Research Institute after protesting the authorities’ decision to protect Ascendants from competing, while Gao Liangwei asked Zhang Minglu to contact Shadow about a new collaboration. In Xisiya, Yelena prepared for possible conflict with the Security Bureau and delayed plans for revenge as Guan Tong sought a way to grow stronger; Black Star and Bai Xing then debated meeting a client who might be Shadow.

• Han Qiu told Zhang Minglu that forfeiting was his way of following the Fire Thief’s route, then left after criticizing excessive protection.
• Gao Liangwei approved Han Qiu’s resignation subject to a six-month waiting period and asked Zhang Minglu to contact Shadow about a new collaboration.
• Yelena assigned Sigaoxin to lead the mobile unit at the competition arenas and ordered her to be ready to attack Security Bureau headquarters if necessary.
• Yelena considered public pressure to retaliate against the parasites and Fire Thief Cult, while Guan Tong advised her to delay opening another front.
• Guan Tong decided to seek out Ascendants to build up his Mind Power without competing for rankings.
• Black Star received a request to meet from the client who had previously bought information about Rieka, and he argued with Bai Xing that refusing might harm their reputation as intermediaries.

The Suoloma Space Administration threatened to destroy Dream Boat One if it returned before the mysterious danger on Terra was investigated, but its director was forced to back down. On Terra, Wei Xuan chose to let those who wanted to return take Robert and the other incapacitated astronauts home while he and the others continued the mission; Robert’s eyelids briefly fluttered as they left.

• The Suoloma director threatened to shoot down Dream Boat One if it returned before the alleged demon was investigated, prompting North Star to end the call.
• The Grand Elder reprimanded the Suoloma director for risking conflict with North Star and ordered him to repair relations.
• Wei Xuan told the doctor that he could not accept abandoning the mission without investigating what had happened to Robert and the others.
• Wei Xuan proposed that volunteers return aboard Dream Boat One with the incapacitated astronauts while the remaining crew continued the mission aboard the Empire Pioneer.
• Robert’s rigid eyelids fluttered twice after Wei Xuan and the doctor left the infirmary.

Guan Tong hired Black Star to organize a long-term supply of Mind Power, offering generous payment for the crystals to be filled twice daily. Bai Xing recognized the risks of the commission, and Guan Tong used Shadow to reveal his identity before leaving, leaving Black Star to abandon his plan to skim the purchase price.

• Guan Tong met Black Star at the Twin Star Bar and showed him twelve crystals that could each store 500 points of Mind Power.
• Guan Tong offered to pay one Ascension Coin per point of Mind Power and an extra 500 coins for each daily quota completed, and Black Star accepted the ongoing commission.
• Guan Tong traded the crystals to Black Star and arranged to collect them twice a day starting the next day.
• Bai Xing warned Guan Tong that taking the commission could bring trouble, and Guan Tong offered an extra 5,000 Ascension Coins as risk compensation.
• Shadow blocked Black Star from following Guan Tong, confirming to Bai Xing that Guan Tong was the World First Ascender.
• Black Star told Bai Xing that Guan Tong had revealed his identity as a warning, and he dropped his plan to buy Mind Power at a discount.

UHC members considered a Super City proposal from smaller nations, while Gao Liangwei contacted Guan Tong to recruit him for an operation against the Fire Thief Cult. Guan Tong remained in Xisiya and had not yet agreed to lead the mission to Fahuo Nation.

• Several smaller nations proposed that the UHC help build a Super City as a backup to space immigration and digital life.
• Mary, Tolofte, and Gao Liangwei agreed to study the proposal but made it secondary to digital life and conditioned construction on eliminating the parasites and Fire Thief Cult.
• After the conference, Gao Liangwei and Zhang Minglu contacted Guan Tong, who said he was still in Xisiya handling unresolved matters.
• Gao Liangwei asked Guan Tong to lead a team to Fahuo Nation to eliminate the Fire Thief Cult's leaders.

Guan Tong discussed a possible operation against the Fire Thief Cult’s Pope with North Star, but postponed joining until he finished his business in Xisiya. He left to retrieve a charged Mind Power Crystal from Black Star while continuing to prioritize protecting Yelena and storing Reserve Mind Power.

• Gao Liangwei asked Guan Tong to cooperate in eliminating the Fire Thief Cult’s Pope, and Guan Tong said he could not go to Fahe until he completed his work in Xisiya.
• Zhang Minglu noticed Guan Tong had only one point in the Rule competition, and Guan Tong said he had chosen not to participate.
• Gao Liangwei agreed to wait until Guan Tong finished his business and told Zhang Minglu to share intelligence about the Fire Thief Cult with him.
• Guan Tong considered the danger of targeting the Pope but decided to focus for now on protecting Yelena and stockpiling Reserve Mind Power.
• Guan Tong told Shangyuan Zi he was going to Twin Star Bar to retrieve the fully charged Mind Power Crystal from Black Star, then used Shadow to travel there.

Guan Tong bought Mind Power crystals from Black Star and converted them into Reserve Mind Power, while planning ways to accelerate the process. He then accompanied Yelena to Solloma’s newly opened competition arena, where Yishan announced her plan to seize points and the first free-for-all match was introduced.

• Guan Tong collected twelve fully infused Mind Power crystals from Black Star, who warned him that bulk purchases could draw unwanted attention.
• Black Star and Bai Xing discussed Guan Tong’s reputation and arranged more Ascendants to help supply Mind Power.
• Guan Tong converted six thousand Mind Power into 600 Reserve Mind Power and planned to seek transmission items through his prospective cooperation with the Countermeasure Research Institute.
• Guan Tong returned to Yelena’s manor, and Yelena asked him to accompany her to the competition venue as governor.
• Spectators packed Solloma’s arena, where Yishan said she intended to reach the top three by taking points from other competitors.
• The host announced that each round would pit fifteen Ascendants against one another in a free-for-all, with the last contestant standing advancing.

The Xisiya competition began with brutal elimination matches, while Yelena and Guan Tong confronted the cost of the government’s own deadly contest. After Guan Tong received an invitation from Valery, he went to Night Health and refused its demand that he change clothes, leaving him at the entrance to the Feast Hall.

• In the first arena, contestants who had fought desperately were attacked by those who had hidden, and a weaker survivor advanced after a powerful fighter ran out of Mind Power.
• A white-haired contestant used lightning to kill all fourteen opponents in the second round, catching the spectators’ attention and intriguing Yishan.
• At the government competition, Yelena addressed the contestants, and an official secretly delivered Guan Tong a note inviting Shadow to meet Valery at 18 Xiye Street.
• Guan Tong discussed the possible recruitment attempt or diversion with Yelena and Shangyuan Zi, and they agreed that Shangyuan Zi would stay with Yelena while Guan Tong investigated.
• Guan Tong visited Black Star for information, then went to Night Health and refused the attendants’ request to change before entering.
• Valery opened the silver doors and told Guan Tong that Shadow did not need to follow Night Health’s rules.

Valery tried to recruit Guan Tong into the faction controlling Xisiya by offering him money and resources to kill Sigaoxin. Guan Tong accepted the deposit but reported the plot to Yelena, who considered using the meeting footage against the Security Bureau despite the risk that it would also implicate him.

• Valery showed Guan Tong a list of officials backing Rieka and claimed that their faction controlled Xisiya's military, politics, finances, and intelligence.
• Valery offered Guan Tong three times Yelena's pay and membership in his faction if he killed Sigaoxin, then transferred him a one-million-Ascension-Coin deposit.
• After Guan Tong left, Valery and his associates discussed threatening him with the remaining four million and releasing edited footage if he refused to act, unaware that Shadow was listening.
• Guan Tong returned to the manor and told Yelena and Shangyuan Zi about Valery's offer and the officials on the list.
• Yelena considered releasing the hidden-camera footage to target the Security Bureau, while Shangyuan Zi warned that it also showed Guan Tong accepting the deposit.

Wei Xuan led the remaining astronauts back to orbit, then risked his life to investigate the silent Dream Boat One and found Robert amid a pool of blood. Meanwhile, Shi Jingyi’s Condensation cultivation pushed her Mind Power Cap past one thousand points.

• Wei Xuan and five other astronauts stayed aboard the Empire Pioneer to continue the Terra mission, while the others returned to Tianshui Star for treatment.
• The command center ordered Wei Xuan’s team to abandon Terra after Dream Boat One lost contact, but Wei Xuan requested permission to investigate the ship alone.
• After the team entered orbit and located Dream Boat One, Wei Xuan piloted an ejection pod to its airlock and boarded it.
• Wei Xuan found blood on the floor inside Dream Boat One and heard Robert warn him that he should not have come.
• Shi Jingyi used her Condensation method to cultivate Mind Power and broke through a Mind Power Cap of one thousand points.

Guan Tong was tracked to an abandoned park, where he killed a gang of robbers who tried to steal his Ascension Coins and gained their points. Back at Yelena’s manor, he and Yelena agreed to obtain a recording that night and move against Valery’s group before Rule End.

• Guan Tong noticed a drone following him after leaving Twin Star Bar and lured it to an abandoned park.
• More than a dozen armed robbers confronted Guan Tong, demanding his Ascension Coins after watching Black Star’s shop.
• Guan Tong caught a bullet, then used Shadow Thorns to kill the robbers and took their points, raising his total to 37.
• Guan Tong returned to Yelena’s manor, where Yelena said Sigaoxin had agreed to cooperate with their plan against Valery.
• Guan Tong and Yelena planned to obtain a recording that night, then strike Valery’s group and expose their crimes before Rule End.

Wei Xuan confronted Robert aboard Dream Boat One and was driven into a stress state by the horrors he witnessed. After a briefing announced the deaths of twenty-three astronauts, Guan Tong received crucial information from Shi Jingyi through Ascendant's Home.

• Wei Xuan found Robert covered in blood with a score of 22 and realized the other astronauts had likely been killed.
• Wei Xuan tried to contact the Empire Pioneer and ground control, but Robert said his signal could not get through.
• Robert revealed a grotesque face and showed Wei Xuan horrific visions, leaving him in a dazed stress state.
• At a joint briefing, officials announced that twenty-three astronauts had died and promised to investigate while bringing the five survivors home.
• Guan Tong watched the briefing and wondered whether Fire Thief had caused the disaster.
• Shi Jingyi sent Guan Tong important information through Ascendant's Home, and he reacted with shock.

Guan Tong learned that breaking through a thousand Mind Power Cap reactivated the Mind Network and brought major physical improvements, while Shi Jingyi agreed to wait before revealing her ability. Meanwhile, Shadow infiltrated the Night Health Club and stole recordings that could expose Valery’s powerful faction, leaving Guan Tong with evidence to aid Yelena.

• Shi Jingyi told Guan Tong that crossing one thousand Mind Power Cap reactivated the Mind Network, increased natural Mind Power growth, transformed the body, and raised the Terminal Panel’s evaluation to “Perfect.”
• Guan Tong urged Shi Jingyi not to contact the Countermeasure Research Institute yet because a leak could make her a target, and she agreed to wait until he returned to North Star.
• Shi Jingyi offered to repay the Ascension Coins she owed, but Guan Tong told her that her information was worth far more than the loan.
• Valery and Xisiya’s military, government, finance, and intelligence power brokers celebrated their plan to kill Sigaoxin, undermine Yelena, and discard Shadow after he completed their dirty work.
• Guan Tong sent Shadow into the Night Health Club, where Shadow incapacitated the surveillance operators and retrieved recordings Valery’s group used to control influential people.

Guan Tong stole the surveillance equipment from Night Health, prompting Valery to mobilize the Security Bureau against Yelena. After Valery disappeared using a Teleportation Item, Guan Tong decided to summon help from North Star and conceal the ally with Yelena’s device.

• Guan Tong triggered the monitoring room’s alarm, took all its equipment with his Storage Ring, and escaped before security arrived.
• Valery found the surveillance equipment missing, reassured his companions that its data was encrypted, and ordered more than a hundred agents to prepare for an attack on Konia Manor the next day.
• At Konia Manor, Yelena planned for Sigaoxin to attack the Security Bureau while she, Guan Tong, and Shangyuan Zi defended the manor.
• Guan Tong saw Valery communicating privately and then teleporting away, preventing Shadow from tracking him.
• Guan Tong proposed summoning an ally from North Star and using Yelena’s Passerby Transformation Device to hide her identity.

Shi Jingyi joined Guan Tong and Yelena Konia’s plan to wait for Valery’s forces and reclaim control of the country, while Guan Tong and Shi Jingyi discussed the Mind Network and their future plans. Before dawn, Valery led an assault on Yelena’s manor with Lucifer as his hired reinforcement, but Lucifer broke away to confront Shadow himself.

• Shi Jingyi agreed to help Yelena, and the group planned to wait at Konia Manor for Valery to make his move while Mask worked on cracking the data device.
• Guan Tong and Shi Jingyi failed to establish a Mind Network and discussed parasites, the Fire Thief Cult, and the academy’s ban on competitors fighting each other.
• Valery led more than a hundred elite agents toward Yelena’s manor and ordered them to eliminate everyone except Yelena, while Lucifer was tasked with holding Shadow back.
• Valery refused Lucifer’s demand to leave the vehicle early, and Lucifer threatened him before tearing through the roof and flying toward the manor to challenge Shadow.

Sigaoxin moved to seize Security Bureau headquarters while Guan Tong confronted Lucifer at Konia Manor. Valery’s attack on Yelena’s manor was crushed by Yelena, Shi Jingyi, and Shangyuan Zi, ending with Yelena killing Valery as Guan Tong’s battle with Lucifer remained unresolved.

• Yelena ordered Sigaoxin to seize Security Bureau headquarters, and Sigaoxin led most of her forces there as Valery headed for Konia Manor.
• Guan Tong lured Lucifer away from the attic and fought him in the farmland, where Lucifer pierced his Shadow Walls with Storm Feather Blades and unleashed a blinding white bead against Shadow Domain.
• Valery’s agents broke into Konia Manor, and Yelena, Shi Jingyi, and Shangyuan Zi confronted them after Valery declared the manor’s occupants accomplices.
• Shi Jingyi, Shangyuan Zi, and Yelena overwhelmed Valery’s agents, while Shi Jingyi broke Valery’s hand as he tried to escape with a Teleportation Item.
• Yelena killed Valery with her twin ice swords after he begged her to spare him.