Chapter Summaries

Cheng Tian received an expanded blessing as the Lake Goddess’s agent and appointed Arthur, Lancelot, and Percival as Grail Knights. The dungeon then fused with Berserk into a persistent Great Expedition battlefield, with the Scorching Sun Legion able to enter and explore it.

• The Lake Goddess granted Cheng Tian the ability to exchange low-tier items for a choice of gold or silver upgraded versions, and he kept her identity secret.
• Cheng Tian named Arthur, Lancelot, and Percival Grail Knights, and they drank from miniature Grails to gain new abilities.
• Cheng Tian offered the Grail to Arthur, who accepted the duty of becoming Britannia’s king and raised Excalibur in a vow to protect his people and destroy evil.
• The dungeon transformed into the Knights of the Round Table and Berserk fusion dungeon Branded Knight, where Scorching Sun Legion members could enter and continue the Great Expedition.

Cheng Tian publicized the Branded Knight dungeon’s benefits, tightened recruitment for the Scorching Sun Legion, and offered Holy Grail trials to prospective Grail Knights. As Arthur’s expedition returned to Britannia to claim his throne, the nobles recommended a famed mercenary commander called the Eagle of Light.

• Scorching Sun Legion members learned they could enter the Branded Knight dungeon to hunt monsters and keep any rewards they secured, with reduced risk from hostile Players.
• Cheng Tian updated the legion’s recruitment description, raised admission requirements, and considered having Saul Toba and Root of Mars help manage the growing legion.
• Cheng Tian announced five available Holy Grail trials for Players seeking the Grail Knight class and explained its requirements and demanding kill quotas.
• Cheng Tian returned to Chosen Space and left the surviving sacrifices for Arthur to handle.
• Arthur’s victorious expeditionary force rested at Lion King Fortress before returning to claim the throne, where the nobles recommended a renowned monster-fighting mercenary commander known as the Eagle of Light.

After returning from the Branded Knight instance, Cheng Tian offered five Grail Trial slots to Players who had missed other advancement opportunities and tasked Saul Toba with screening applicants. The chapter also revealed Saul’s new body and the Clock Tower’s Sealing Designation for Cheng Tian, though its executor had already caught up with him in bed.

• Cheng Tian used the five remaining Grail Trial slots to offer aspiring Grail Knights a chance to enter the Branded Knight instance, including Players outside the Scorching Sun Legion.
• Cheng Tian asked Saul Toba to assess applicants’ character, relying on Saul’s experience and improved understanding of other worlds.
• Cheng Tian had Touko Aozaki place Saul’s soul inside a Bio-mechanical Doll, allowing him to live almost like an ordinary person.
• Cheng Tian learned that the Clock Tower had classified him as a target for Sealing Designation after his recent major incidents.
• The chapter revealed that the Designated Executor pursuing Cheng Tian had already caught up with him in bed.

Cheng Tian expanded the Scorching Sun Legion’s management team while preparing for the next dungeon cycle. Its modifiers led him to identify Journey to the West: The Great Sage's Fury as the likely Main Dungeon, and he looked forward to meeting Son Goku.

• Cheng Tian gave Smart Head a Grail Knight advancement opportunity in exchange for helping establish the Scorching Sun Legion’s management framework, though Smart Head chose to attempt the Branded Knight Dungeon trial first.
• Smart Head recognized Brother Gen’s managerial talent, and Cheng Tian tacitly approved giving him additional responsibilities.
• The Scorching Sun Legion continued growing as new dungeon benefits attracted recruits, while rejected applicants fueled negative comments about the legion.
• Cheng Tian received the Five Elements Cycle and Gods and Buddhas Manifest, Demons Run Rampant dungeon modifiers for the coming cycle.
• Cheng Tian narrowed down the possible Main Dungeons and concluded that Journey to the West: The Great Sage's Fury was the likely choice.

Cheng Tian studied Journey to the West: The Great Sage's Fury guides and prepared for the possibility of entering Tongtian River by collecting underwater-breathing items. He found several options among his legion's submissions, ending on a seemingly ordinary Minecraft wooden door with strange rules.

• Cheng Tian reviewed available guides and learned that dungeon stages were expanded into prolonged campaigns with added factions and choices involving Immortals and Buddhas.
• Cheng Tian worried about being sent to Tongtian River, where weak water made underwater travel especially dangerous for a land creature.
• Cheng Tian bought Underwater Breathing Potions and issued a Military Merit task for non-technological underwater-breathing items.
• Legion members submitted various items and abilities, including a Glowfish Fishing Pole, Demon Breath, and an engineering diving helmet, but each had drawbacks.
• Cheng Tian noticed a Water Vine staff and Aztec's Cursed Coin among the submissions, then stared in surprise at an ordinary Minecraft wooden door endowed with strange rules.

Cheng Tian and his companions entered the Tongtian River dungeon, where they learned they would need to confront the Great Spirit King and collect treasures tied to the Five Elements. After assessing the dangerous river, Cheng Tian led the group toward Chen Family Village to meet their employer.

• Cheng Tian reviewed the dungeon’s rules, the Chen Family Tycoon’s commission, and the team’s Grail Quest objectives.
• Cheng Tian steadied himself after realizing he had been assigned to the Tongtian River scenario he had hoped to avoid.
• Cheng Tian and his companions arrived beside the vast, wave-tossed Tongtian River and gathered around a weathered stele.
• Cheng Tian used his Heavenly Eye to scan the river but found that its waters swallowed his Psychic Power and caused him pain.
• Cheng Tian decided the group needed to reach Chen Family Village and meet the Chen Family Tycoon before entering the river.
• A lingering bell toll echoed through the air as Cheng Tian and his companions stood by the river.

Cheng Tian gathered information in Chen Family Village and learned that Great Spirit King controlled the village’s livelihood and demanded human sacrifices. The village mourned as the wealthiest family prepared to provide this year’s sacrifice.

• A Player recognized Cheng Tian and decided to approach him about forming a Gray Contract among the human Players.
• Cheng Tian bought goods from local merchants to learn why Chen Family Village had so many travelers.
• Cheng Tian learned that travelers were stranded because Great Spirit King had made Tongtian River difficult to cross.
• A merchant told Cheng Tian that Great Spirit King extorted the village and demanded children as sacrifices each year.
• Cheng Tian noticed the village’s sorrowful mood and realized the wealthiest family was likely preparing to offer its child.

Cheng Tian met Chen Qing, accepted the quest to kill the Great Spirit King, and activated his Heavenly Eye at the Tongtian River. The dungeon then loaded a supporting-character template based on True Lord Erlang, Manifestation of Divine Power/Yang Jian.

• Chen Qing welcomed Cheng Tian and his party into the Chen residence after the Taoist priests departed.
• Cheng Tian saw memorial tablets for Chen Guanbao and Yi Chengjin, then heard Chen Qing offer a thousand taels to eliminate the Great Spirit King.
• Chen Qing explained why he would not substitute other children for the Chen family descendants and said he wanted to solve the village’s problem at its source.
• Cheng Tian’s quest updated to require killing the Great Spirit King and offered a generous reward.
• Cheng Tian returned to the Tongtian River and opened his Heavenly Eye, making the aquatic monsters feel exposed.
• The Game Master talent loaded the True Lord Erlang, Manifestation of Divine Power/Yang Jian supporting-character template for Cheng Tian.

Cheng Tian loaded the True Lord Erlang, Manifestation of Divine Power template to prepare for the Tongtian River battle, awakening his Heavenly Eye and drawing the attention of the world’s Erlang Shen. Erlang Shen approved his record of slaying demons but warned that he must act according to the identity of a Heavenly Court Special Police or face punishment.

• Cheng Tian considered the risks of loading the Erlang Shen template while the genuine Erlang Shen existed in the instance, but decided he could no longer resist using it.
• Cheng Tian loaded the template, transforming his Tai Chi True Eye into a Heavenly Eye and making his aura resemble that of a native Immortal.
• Cheng Tian’s Heavenly Eye saw through the Tongtian River, unsettling the River Delicacy Yokai, the Sea Urchin King clan, the Great Water Monster clan, and the Great Spirit King.
• Erlang Shen noticed Cheng Tian using the template and assessed whether he deserved to wield an alternate-timeline incarnation.
• Erlang Shen approved Cheng Tian’s history of killing demons but warned that he had to follow the conduct of a Heavenly Court Special Police or risk Erlang Shen’s intervention.

Cheng Tian used Erlang Shen’s Tai Chi Heavenly Eye and water-related power to create a vast vortex in the Tongtian River, devastating the Great Spirit King’s aquatic forces. The furious Great Spirit King erupted from the river to confront him.

• Cheng Tian invoked the Tai Chi Heavenly Eye and formed a massive underwater vortex in the Tongtian River.
• The vortex swept away river creatures and demon servants, while the Great Spirit King was shaken from his throne and struggled to hold on inside his manor.
• Cheng Tian’s companions watched in awe as the vortex killed aquatic demons and exposed their true forms.
• The Great Spirit King roared in fury and burst from the water wielding a pair of Nine-Petal Crimson Copper Hammers.

Cheng Tian provoked the Great Spirit King by exposing his crimes and condemning Guanyin Bodhisattva for letting her goldfish run amok. After drawing Guanyin’s attention and making Erlang Shen laugh, Cheng Tian forced the Goldfish Spirit to chase him away from the Tongtian River.

• The Great Spirit King emerged from the water and demanded that Cheng Tian explain the attack on his forces and underwater palace.
• Cheng Tian mocked the Great Spirit King for seizing Old Turtle’s palace and taunted him about his crimes against villages and children.
• Cheng Tian accused Guanyin Bodhisattva’s teachings of producing a thief and killer, drawing Guanyin’s angry attention and Erlang Shen’s laughter.
• Guanyin realized Cheng Tian’s identity was unusual and worried that her goldfish was in danger.
• Cheng Tian used Hate Lock to fix the Great Spirit King’s hatred on him, then fled and lured the furious Goldfish Spirit away from the Tongtian River.

Cheng Tian drew the Goldfish Spirit away from the Tongtian River, weakened him in the dry mountains, and trapped him inside a reinforced Demon Nightmare barrier. He then unleashed a storm of Flying Swords, leaving the Goldfish Spirit facing an overwhelming attack.

• Cheng Tian lured the Goldfish Spirit away from the Tongtian River, reducing the water demon's strength in the dry mountainous forest.
• Cheng Tian revealed a Three-Pointed, Double-Edged Halberd, and the Goldfish Spirit tried to flee.
• Cheng Tian trapped the Goldfish Spirit in a Demon Nightmare barrier enhanced with Holy Radiance Barrier effects, making it far harder to break.
• Cheng Tian summoned Flying Swords from the Gate of Babylon and launched them at the trapped Goldfish Spirit with Sword Sweeps Mountains and Rivers.

Cheng Tian unleashed a swarm of Flying Swords at the Goldfish Spirit, whose blood-fueled water tornado triggered a flood of summoned Royal Guards. As Cheng Tian noticed the Goldfish Spirit’s Escape into Illusion ability, it enveloped him in midair.

• Cheng Tian sent 262 real and illusory Flying Swords at the Goldfish Spirit.
• The Goldfish Spirit sacrificed essence blood to create a powerful water tornado barrier, damaging his vitality and reducing his Strength Attribute.
• The Flying Swords’ Special Effects summoned nearly a thousand Royal Guards and other troops around the Goldfish Spirit.
• The blood tornado dispersed, and the stunned Goldfish Spirit was struck in the forehead by a Shadow Serpent Form.
• Cheng Tian noticed the Goldfish Spirit’s Escape into Illusion ability and considered how his Five Elements Fire might interact with it.
• Escape into Illusion appeared above the Goldfish Spirit and enveloped Cheng Tian in midair.

Cheng Tian was trapped in the Goldfish Spirit’s water-aligned away-field illusion, which weakened him and empowered his opponent. Protected by Erlang Shen’s template and aided by World, Cheng Tian shattered the illusion’s rules and forced the Goldfish Spirit’s true body into the fight.

• The Goldfish Spirit pulled Cheng Tian into an away-field illusion that suppressed his fire attribute and prohibited fire-based abilities.
• Cheng Tian found himself in an underwater landscape modeled on the Tongtian River, while the illusion strengthened the Goldfish Spirit’s speed and power.
• The Goldfish Spirit ambushed Cheng Tian with his Nine-Petal Crimson Copper Hammer, but Cheng Tian dodged the blow.
• World appeared, pinned the Goldfish Spirit’s hammer, and punched him with a strike infused with Data Tampering.
• World shattered the word “illusion” above the Goldfish Spirit, and the rules dragged the Goldfish Spirit’s true body out of the formation’s core before Cheng Tian.

Cheng Tian’s team stopped Goldfish Spirit’s followers from reaching him while Smart Head drew them in with his enhanced group taunt. Sea Urchin King charged into the crowd and impaled Goldfish Spirit’s own grunts before crashing into Smart Head’s shield.

• Cheng Tian’s team blocked Goldfish Spirit’s two follower groups from rushing to their king’s aid.
• Smart Head used his Level 14 Loyal Guardian to taunt the nearby demons and draw their attacks onto his shield.
• Goldfish Spirit’s grunts battered Smart Head’s shield, and some broke their weapons against it.
• Sea Urchin King’s family charged through the taunted grunts, impaling them on their spines before Sea Urchin King slammed into Smart Head’s shield.

Smart Head and the archers contained the Sea Urchin King clan while Bazett fought two Lesser Water Monsters. When their health fell below a threshold, one devoured the other and transformed into a full-health Great Water Monster.

• Smart Head used his shield, taunt, and fear-inducing armor to hold the Sea Urchin King and its descendants in place.
• Eileen and Mina shot the immobilized sea urchins while the other Grunt Units stayed behind them.
• Bazett overpowered the two Lesser Water Monsters with brute force, rapidly reducing their health.
• Lesser Water Monster No. 1 swallowed No. 2 and recovered to full health as it transformed into a Great Water Monster.

Bazett and Smart Head used a Portable Spring and a taunt to redirect the enraged Great Water Monster into the Sea Urchin King. As the monsters were crushed together, a gigantic axe appeared where Cheng Tian had been fighting the Goldfish Spirit.

• Bazett realized she could not fight the enraged Great Water Monster head-on and ran toward Smart Head.
• Smart Head lined up the Great Water Monster, Bazett, and the Sea Urchin King, then used Loyal Guardian to draw the monster’s Aggro.
• Bazett placed a Portable Spring in the Great Water Monster’s path, launching it into the air as she leapt over the spring.
• Smart Head charged out of the Sea Urchin clan’s encirclement while the Great Water Monster crashed down onto the Sea Urchin King, piercing the monster and crushing its shell.
• A gigantic axe appeared at the distant site where Cheng Tian had fought the Goldfish Spirit and smashed toward the ground.

Cheng Tian trapped the Goldfish Spirit’s true body inside an inescapable illusion realm and attacked with his Heavenly Eye laser and Stand World. The Goldfish Spirit fled in terror, and Cheng Tian chased him through the underwater arena.

• Cheng Tian used Primordial Spirit Emergence to shatter the illusion and drag the Goldfish Spirit’s true body into the realm, where neither could escape until one died.
• Cheng Tian placed a wooden door to create an air-filled space, then fired his Heavenly Eye laser at the Goldfish Spirit.
• Stand World charged the Goldfish Spirit while Cheng Tian’s laser drove him backward through the water.
• The Goldfish Spirit abandoned his hammer and fled from Stand World, and Cheng Tian pursued him.

Cheng Tian pursued Goldfish Spirit through the Tongtian River and used a series of lightning-enhanced attacks to overcome the demon’s environmental healing. Goldfish Spirit retreated into Tongtian Tornado, where Cheng Tian prepared to strike him with the Mountain-Splitting Axe.

• Cheng Tian pursued Goldfish Spirit with a Thunder Halberd-infused Three-Pointed, Double-Edged Halberd, using its Five Elements Wood attribute to deal full damage.
• Cheng Tian accidentally made Librom swallow river water, then gave him an Underwater Breathing Potion.
• Cheng Tian used Knight's Throw and Combination Magic to launch a lightning-enhanced projected blade at Goldfish Spirit.
• Cheng Tian combined the lightning attribute with several weapons to unleash repeated attacks that weakened Goldfish Spirit's environmental healing.
• Goldfish Spirit unleashed Tongtian Tornado and curled up inside it, but Cheng Tian brought down the Mountain-Splitting Axe with Cleave Peaks, Sever Mountains.

Cheng Tian killed the Goldfish Spirit with the Mountain-Splitting Axe after trapping him in the Tongtian Tornado. Guanyin’s anger was checked by Erlang Shen, and a golden treasure chest appeared from the corpse.

• Cheng Tian used the Mountain-Splitting Axe to strike the Goldfish Spirit, who could not escape the Tongtian Tornado.
• The axe split the Goldfish Spirit in two, killing him for his crimes.
• Guanyin’s pressure descended on Cheng Tian, but Erlang Shen’s cold snort drove it away.
• Cheng Tian bowed toward the sky as Guanyin set aside the basket she had been weaving and fell silent.
• A golden treasure chest emerged from the Goldfish Spirit’s corpse.