Chapter Summaries

Wang Zhifan killed a thousand-zhang Demon Venerable, then joined the human cultivators in battle as news spread that Carefree Wandering Dragon, Emperor Lord Heavenly Splendor, and Desert Peerless Spear had fallen. After learning that Master was suppressing the Demon Empress in the Nine Heavens, Wang Zhifan resolved to persevere and investigate the killers the next day.

• Wang Zhifan killed the thousand-zhang Demon Venerable but failed to catch its swift, stealthy accomplice, then drove other Demon Venerables into retreat with the human experts.
• A cultivator reported that Emperor Lord Heavenly Splendor and Desert Peerless Spear had died, and Wang Zhifan later discovered that Carefree Wandering Dragon had also fallen.
• Wang Zhifan led the cultivators onward to fight demon forces, then returned to Heavenly Origin City and discussed the war with Moon-Extinguishing Dragon Blade.
• Moon-Extinguishing Dragon Blade told Wang Zhifan that the Vermilion Bird Clan had found Master suppressing the Demon Empress and nearing Sagehood.
• Wang Zhifan encouraged the three players in the Martial Venerable Hall to persevere and decided to investigate the area where the fallen experts had died and avenge them.

Wang Zhifan searched Xuanzhou for the powerful Demon Venerable responsible for killing several human cultivators, but found no sign of it. In the ruins of Book Hill City, he reunited with Zhang Siqian, who revealed that demons had eaten his family.

• Wang Zhifan searched Xuanzhou for the Demon Venerable and killed an ordinary one and its nearby demons while remaining invisible.
• Wang Zhifan examined nearly a hundred Demon Venerables but found none bearing Emperor Lord Heavenly Splendor's national-fortune aura, while the Heavenless Earthless Daoist and the Demon-Subduing Elder offered intelligence and search support.
• Wang Zhifan recognized the ruins of Book Hill City and wondered whether Three Peaks Village had also been destroyed.
• Wang Zhifan watched a disheveled swordsman fight demons and recognized him as Zhang Siqian, his former Confucian acquaintance.
• Zhang Siqian told Wang Zhifan that demons had eaten his parents, wife, brothers, and sisters.

Wang Zhifan stopped Zhang Siqian from taking more deadly medicine and put him in the Sirius combat mech so he could avenge his murdered family by eliminating the demons in Book Hill City. After Zhang Siqian destroyed every demon, including both Demon Generals, his exhausted body collapsed, and he died after thanking Wang Zhifan and praising Sirius.

• Zhang Siqian thanked Wang Zhifan for saving him, then continued into the ruins, determined to avenge his family and die.
• Wang Zhifan followed Zhang Siqian and stopped him from drinking more medicine, warning that it would kill him before he could finish his revenge.
• Wang Zhifan put Zhang Siqian inside the Sirius mech and taught him its controls while freezing nearby demons to keep them from interrupting.
• Zhang Siqian learned to pilot Sirius and used its weapons to slaughter the demons across Book Hill City.
• Zhang Siqian destroyed both Demon Generals, then climbed out of Sirius and thanked Wang Zhifan before collapsing and dying.

Wang Zhifan buried Zhang Siqian, continued hunting Demon Venerables, and received a lead placing his elusive target in Rui Province. He found the Scholar Demon Venerable in a crowded city and called for reinforcements after sensing its overwhelming danger.

• Wang Zhifan buried Zhang Siqian in Book Hill City, then left to scout for his target and killed two free Demon Venerables during the night.
• Wang Zhifan returned to Heavenly Origin City to cultivate, but Heavenless Earthless Daoist and Demon-Subduing Elder informed him that the target had moved to Rui Province and that Golden Lotus Seed was investigating.
• Wang Zhifan decided to join the hunt and teleported to Rui Province after Golden Lotus Seed did not answer his message.
• Wang Zhifan found three Demon Venerables gathered in an inn and used a Dream Self avatar to investigate them.
• Wang Zhifan recognized the white-clad Scholar Demon Venerable as the likely killer of several top cultivators and identified its Jade Wandering Dragon Folding Fan.
• Wang Zhifan retreated and requested help; Heavenless Earthless Daoist warned him not to fight, while Demon-Subduing Elder sent his strongest avatar to assist.

Wang Zhifan discovered that the dangerous scholar Demon Venerable had captured and aged Golden Lotus Seed, and deduced that the enemy wielded time and space abilities. After the Demon Venerable froze his clones and appeared before him, Wang Zhifan faced the enemy as Withering Demon Light began to age the forest around them.

• Wang Zhifan withdrew to a forest outside Ruizhou and sent a powerful Dream Self clone to spy on the Demon Venerable while he waited for the Demon-Subduing Elder's support.
• Wang Zhifan recognized the old monk playing Go as Golden Lotus Seed and realized that the Demon Venerable had likely aged him through a time-based ability.
• Wang Zhifan decided to probe the Demon Venerable with three clones, sending two to engage the servant Demon Venerables while the powerful clone attacked the scholar.
• The Demon Venerable stopped time within a hundred meters, freezing the clones and Golden Lotus Seed, then used a space ability to appear before Wang Zhifan in the forest.
• The Demon Venerable unleashed Withering Demon Light, causing nearby trees to wither as Wang Zhifan faced him.

Wang Zhifan battled the Scholar Demon Venerable, whose time and spatial powers initially seemed to make it a difficult opponent. After the demon escaped to Xuanzhou, Wang Zhifan used the Blade of Time to rewind it to its earlier position and strike it down.

• Wang Zhifan charged through the Scholar Demon Venerable's Withering Demon Light and landed a punch when its Time Stop failed to affect him.
• Wang Zhifan evaded the demon's Spatial Blades and surrounded it with clones, while the Scholar Demon Venerable realized it was at a disadvantage and tried to escape.
• The Scholar Demon Venerable froze Wang Zhifan's clones, forced his true body back with a Spatial Blade, and teleported away toward Xuanzhou.
• Wang Zhifan waited nine seconds, then used the Blade of Time's Rewind to pull the Scholar Demon Venerable back to its former location.
• Wang Zhifan activated the Blade of Time's Time Stop and slashed through the demon's head.

Wang Zhifan learned that the scholar Demon Venerable had escaped to the Demon Realm rather than died, though driving it from the Calamity Realm earned him merit. Afterward, he investigated why he had resisted its Time Stop and suspected his Overlord title had protected him from the status effect.

• Wang Zhifan waited after chopping the scholar Demon Venerable into pieces, but the Demon-Sealing Ranking initially showed no increase in his merit points.
• The remains vanished, and Wang Zhifan's Rewind failed to pull the Demon Venerable back; he then found no nearby trace of it on the ranking's map.
• Wang Zhifan arrived at the tavern and discovered that the Demon-Subduing Elder's clone had rescued the aged Golden Lotus Seed from two dead servant Demon Venerables.
• The Demon-Subduing Elder explained that a Demon Lord had likely pulled its descendant back to the Demon Realm, and that expelling demons earned merit; Wang Zhifan then found his score had risen by three thousand points.
• The Demon-Subduing Elder planned to spread the news, Golden Lotus Seed prepared to recuperate, and Wang Zhifan continued hunting demons.
• Wang Zhifan examined his abilities and equipment, then concluded that his Overlord title's immunity to negative statuses likely let him act during the scholar Demon Venerable's Time Stop.

After Zhang Taiqing became a Sage, he defeated the Demon Empress and drove the Demon Realm armies from the Calamity Realm, ending the nearly year-long war. Wang Zhifan and the other players then received their dungeon settlement, including a level-up and a selection of possible rewards.

• The human cultivators gradually gained the upper hand in the war against the Demon Realm armies.
• Zhang Taiqing announced that he had attained Sagehood, then defeated the Demon Empress and forced her to flee the Calamity Realm.
• The Demon Realm armies retreated, bringing the war to an end after nearly a year and almost ten billion casualties.
• Wang Zhifan leveled up to Lv20, unlocked Blade Aura Lv1, and received attribute and storage increases.
• Wang Zhifan and the other players saw the settlement screen and could choose up to three rewards from the listed items.

Wang Zhifan chose three legendary rewards after the instance ended, then met the other players and learned that one of them had received an epic drop. He prepared to attend Master’s assembly in Shuyue City, where the fallen cultivators in the Demon-Sealing Ranking’s top hundred would be revived and he would be offered one reasonable wish.

• Wang Zhifan selected the legendary Azure Emperor Saber, True Spirit Protection, and the Eternal Freedom Profound Canon of All Time and Space as his rewards.
• The other three players arrived, and the freckled white woman revealed through telepathy that she had received an epic drop, while Wang Zhifan kept his own gains secret.
• Wang Zhifan stopped the Xia Kingdom man and the island nation woman from pressuring the white woman, then told everyone the instance had concluded and they could leave or settle their affairs.
• Wang Zhifan considered what wish to request from the Sage but struggled to find something he did not already possess.
• Master announced an assembly in Shuyue City for the day after tomorrow, promising to revive the top hundred cultivators, explain Sagehood to the top ten, and fulfill Wang Zhifan’s wish as the first-ranked cultivator.
• Wang Zhifan looked forward to seeing fallen comrades revived, but regretted that Qingyangzi and Huayangzi would not return because they ranked nearly a thousandth.

Wang Zhifan prepared to leave the Calamity Realm, comforted Mieyue Xi, and arranged for his disciples and Martial Venerable Hall to continue without him. At the postwar assembly in Shuyue City, the Master invited him to discuss his first-place reward, and Wang Zhifan settled on what he would request.

• Wang Zhifan told Mieyue Xi he could not stay, gave her the Sea God's Eye necklace for her and their child, and promised they would meet again.
• Wang Zhifan returned to Heavenly Origin City, gave his disciples cultivation inheritances and exceptional-grade equipment, and placed He Kuang in charge of Martial Venerable Hall with Mieyue Xi as its powerful protector.
• Wang Zhifan traveled with Mieyue Xi, Zhenxuzi, and others to the postwar assembly in Shuyue City, where they reflected on the devastation and sacrifices of the war.
• Qingfeng Jushi told Wang Zhifan that the Master wished to discuss the reward for his first-place ranking before the assembly.
• Wang Zhifan considered his wish and decided he did not need to pursue anything elaborate.

At the postwar assembly, Sage Master resurrected the fallen top-ranked cultivators and offered Wang Zhifan his one wish. Wang Zhifan used it to resurrect Qingyangzi and Huayangzi, and Master began bringing them back as the assembly continued.

• Wang Zhifan attended the postwar assembly with Dragon Girl, Zhenxuzi, and the other cultivators, where they witnessed Sage Master’s transformed presence.
• Master summoned the true Demon-Sealing Ranking and used its power to resurrect the fallen cultivators ranked in its top hundred.
• Master asked Wang Zhifan to name the wish he had chosen, and the attendees speculated about what he would request.
• Wang Zhifan asked Master to resurrect Qingyangzi and Huayangzi, surprising the assembly and prompting several cultivators to urge him to reconsider.
• Wang Zhifan reaffirmed his choice, and Master opened a spatial rift to retrieve Qingyangzi and Huayangzi from the moments of their deaths at Ultimate Origin Mountain.

After Sage Master revealed the secret to becoming a Sage and ended the assembly, Wang Zhifan said goodbye to Dragon Girl Mieyue Xi and was forced back to Blue Star. He inventoried his rewards and discovered that his legendary Azure Emperor Saber had a will of its own and that he had awakened the Vermilion Bird as his True Spirit Protection.

• Sage Master explained to the top ten that becoming a Sage required reaching the peak of the Transcendent Xiantian Realm and surviving a naturally occurring great tribulation, and warned them to keep the secret.
• Sage Master announced that the three Sages had repaired the Calamity Realm Boundary Formation and would hold preaching assemblies in one month, then departed as the cultivators gathered to reunite.
• Wang Zhifan asked Qingyangzi and Huayangzi to protect Tianyuan City and the Martial Venerable Hall while he was away, then left the illusion realm with Dragon Girl Mieyue Xi.
• Wang Zhifan promised Dragon Girl Mieyue Xi that he would return, but the world's rejection forcibly pulled him back to Blue Star before he could finish speaking.
• Wang Zhifan examined the Azure Emperor Saber and agreed to leave it outside his personal space after sensing that it objected to being confined.
• Wang Zhifan reviewed his All-Time-Space Eternal Freedom Scripture and discovered that his True Spirit Protection was the Vermilion Bird, a powerful deity that could protect him for up to one shichen each day.

Wang Zhifan reviewed his gains from the Calamity Realm, then failed to make any progress cultivating the All-Time-Space Eternal Freedom Scripture. He traveled to Tigerhead Town to visit Wind-Snow Tower, where his subordinates were arguing over how to handle the Celestial Venerable’s growing following.

• Wang Zhifan checked his panel and noted his level, attributes, and techniques had improved after the Calamity Realm, while Blade Aura was of little use to him.
• Wang Zhifan spent the day attempting to contact the laws of time and space but stopped after making no progress, deciding to await an opportunity rather than force his cultivation.
• Wang Zhifan traveled to the Limitless Sect’s world and concluded he would treat the path of faith as an experiment rather than a commitment.
• Wang Zhifan arrived at Wind-Snow Tower and found Old He, Wu Xun, and Yang Qingqing arguing about the Celestial Venerable’s followers.
• Old He urged action against the followers, while Wu Xun favored restraint because he and Yang Qingqing had become shallow believers.

Wang Zhifan turned the Celestial Venerable’s Holy Tower Descension in Tigerhead Town into a publicity and development plan, then traveled to the demon hunter world to rescue his seven believers from pursuit. He ended by beginning to establish a secure shelter where they could gather and resist the kingdom.

• Wang Zhifan rejected Old He’s call to expel the Celestial Venerable’s followers and announced the slogan “Humanistic Tigerhead, Celestial Venerable’s Homeland” as a plan to attract people and develop the town.
• Wang Zhifan assigned Wu Xun, Yang Qingqing, and Old He to carry out the publicity campaign, approving five hundred taels of silver for it despite Old He’s objections.
• Wang Zhifan used his Universe Lord Badge to travel to the demon hunter world, where Gate, Elena, and Bella had become fanatical believers and four rescued witches and wizards had become true believers.
• Wang Zhifan located his seven believers traveling north by carriage while furtive light cavalry followed them, then teleported ahead to meet them.
• Wang Zhifan teleported the seven believers and their carriage a hundred li north to escape surveillance and announced that he would create a shelter space exclusively for the Celestial Venerable’s believers.

Wang Zhifan built a hidden shelter for seven believers in the Witcher World, then returned to Gaia Planet to review the Succubi’s discoveries. He was impressed by a talking insect but remained unconvinced by their claims about a strange nut.

• Wang Zhifan asked the seven believers what they wanted in a shelter, then used spatial power to build a hidden refuge with sunlight, water, air, and room to expand.
• Wang Zhifan marked the seven believers with spatial blessings that served as keys, explained how to move supplies and leave, and stocked the shelter with weapons and medicine.
• The believers explored the shelter and said its safety would help them organize their resistance to the kingdom.
• Wang Zhifan left the Witcher World and returned to Gaia Planet, where Yilin and Yali showed him their survey discoveries.
• Yilin demonstrated that specimen Number 11 could imitate speech and follow instructions, while Yali described a nut that caused strange visions; Wang Zhifan decided he would need to assess valuable finds himself.

Wang Zhifan delivered fourteen alien species to Urban Planet to advance its biotechnology plan, then lent Ying a spacecraft to explore her ruined world. After testing the Azure Emperor Saber against Anomaly monsters and unlocking its true power, he taught Ying to fly and received the Quantum Dream Domain's administrative authority from her.

• Wang Zhifan gave Catherine fourteen alien species for Urban Planet's biotechnology research and instructed her to continue developing the industry plan.
• Wang Zhifan collected his purchased spacecraft and traveled to Ying's devastated world to lend it to her for searching for survivors.
• Wang Zhifan fought nearby Anomaly monsters with the Azure Emperor Saber, whose restored blade and saber lights annihilated them.
• Wang Zhifan returned to the spacecraft and taught Ying how to pilot it.
• Ying gave Wang Zhifan the Quantum Dream Domain's administrative authority and shared everything she knew about it.

After Ying departed to search for survivors, Wang Zhifan traveled to a new world called Purgatory, where he learned that its depths held valuable equipment. He set aside treasure hunting to cultivate the All-Time-Space Eternal Freedom Scripture at a rift with weak Space Law and succeeded in influencing space himself.

• Ying flew away from the spatial gate, and Wang Zhifan used the Universe Lord Badge to travel to a new world.
• Wang Zhifan met a mummified old man, learned the world was called Purgatory, and followed his directions toward its safer outer region.
• Wang Zhifan overheard three adventurers discuss treasures and perfect-grade equipment rumored to lie deep within Purgatory.
• Wang Zhifan found Purgatory's exit at a rift with unstable Space Law and decided to cultivate there instead of searching for treasure.
• After about three hours of practice, Wang Zhifan created visible ripples in space by influencing the Space Law.

Wang Zhifan agreed to help the Dongjiang Second Bureau after completing his daily instance, then chose to enter a mining-base instance as a security captain. He arrived at the base as its personnel gathered for a meeting, where the commander announced harsher work requirements for the next month.

• Captain Li asked Wang Zhifan to help eliminate foreign outlaw players near Dongjiang City, and Wang Zhifan agreed to go after finishing his instance.
• Wang Zhifan entered an instance on K54 Prison Planet and chose the security captain identity, which gave him command of twenty guards and one hundred miners.
• Wang Zhifan found the first-floor hall, disguised himself in a captain's uniform, and observed the other security personnel and miners, including several people he suspected were players.
• The base commander announced that only fourteen employees had met their targets and declared that the All-Staff Drive Plan would begin at midnight, cutting daily rest time from seven hours to four.

Wang Zhifan learned about the prison planet, the mining base, and the dangers facing its workers while preparing his squad for the new work schedule. As he headed to gather his miners, a player-miner appeared and asked to cooperate with him.

• Wang Zhifan sent his miners back to their dormitory to rest before the midnight shift, then spoke with Captain Qian Yalun about the work schedule and hazards on K54 Prison Planet.
• Wang Zhifan reviewed public records on the office computer and learned about Kaibo Interstellar Group, the base’s cyborg staff, and the living conditions and facilities for prisoners and guards.
• Wang Zhifan toured the base, gathered his captain’s equipment, and ordered his twenty squad members to assemble before midnight.
• A female player-miner appeared in a sealed corridor, recognized Wang Zhifan as a player, and asked to cooperate with him.

Wang Zhifan led his miners and security team out of the base toward their assigned mine, where a swarm of Battle Cockroaches attacked their transport. He calmly shot the creatures until they stopped pursuing the bus, then ordered everyone to prepare for work as they neared the mine.

• A female prisoner miner approached Wang Zhifan with an offer to cooperate, but he pretended not to understand and let her leave.
• Wang Zhifan assembled his hundred miners and twenty security team members, then beat two late team members into submitting to his authority.
• Wang Zhifan escorted the miners out of the base aboard an armored transport and admired the alien landscape on the way to the mining area.
• A swarm of Battle Cockroaches approached the transport, and Wang Zhifan opened a window and fired his captain-grade rifle despite his team's warnings.
• The Battle Cockroaches stopped pursuing the bus without seriously attacking it, and Wang Zhifan ordered everyone to prepare to enter the mine and work.