Chapter Summaries

Lin Xiaowei prepared for the Martial Arts Tournament by training Bart Yuda, promoting the event, and setting its ticket price. She left Jiang Zhiying stunned by insisting that 350 Gold Coins was practically free.

• Lin Xiaowei had the Training Masters spar with Bart Yuda so he could learn to use every type of armor and test its limits.
• Thousands of renowned warriors signed up for the tournament, while Lin Xiaowei planned to use its promotion to encourage spending and broader prosperity in the Main World.
• Lin Xiaowei returned to Weiyang Palace to cultivate, but Jiang Zhiying interrupted her to ask how much tournament tickets should cost.
• Lin Xiaowei set tickets at 350 Gold Coins, reserved some for the organizers and Han Plane dignitaries, and planned to sell the rest on the forum.
• Jiang Zhiying questioned whether the price was too high, and Lin Xiaowei declared that it was practically free.

Lin Xiaowei rigged the Martial Arts Tournament ticket sale and used hired scalpers to sell tickets at inflated prices, turning the event into a continent-wide resale frenzy. As prices climbed past 10,000 Gold Coins and the tournament gained publicity, Lin Xiaowei decided the time was ripe for her next move.

• Lin Xiaowei told Jiang Zhiying she would block official ticket buyers, declare the tickets sold out, and resell them through paid shills posing as scalpers.
• Jiang Zhiying questioned the scheme, but Lin Xiaowei justified it as a way to profit from wealthy nobles and publicize the tournament.
• Lin Xiaowei's scalpers sold tickets for two to four times their original prices, and monarchs, princes, and magnates quickly bought them up.
• Early ticket buyers resold their tickets at higher prices, driving the cost from around 3,000 Gold Coins to more than 10,000 Gold Coins.
• The resale frenzy spread across the Magic Internet and gave the World's First Martial Arts Tournament another wave of publicity.
• Lin Xiaowei declared that the time was ripe.

Lin Xiaowei prepared to turn the World’s First Martial Arts Tournament into a livestream and use public screenings to expand entertainment and Magic Internet access. She aimed to make terminals more affordable, leaving plans for a wider information age underway.

• Lin Xiaowei built on her storybook readership and trained the first batch of film workers, then chose the Martial Arts Tournament as the subject of a live show.
• Lin Xiaowei addressed the shortage and high cost of Magic Internet terminals by funding research into making them more accessible.
• Lin Xiaowei planned to use broader access to terminals to encourage more people to develop mage technology and expand the network.
• Lin Xiaowei recognized that nobles with terminals gained an early information advantage, and she turned her attention to minor nobles and the newly wealthy.
• Lin Xiaowei planned to turn magic screens in the main-city plazas of each nation into cinemas.

Master Kentji, Moganton, and Kilise toured Chang'an during the World's First Wudang Tournament, marveling at Gwenia’s innovations and the city’s bustling sights. They ended their tour at a restaurant, where a waitress began listing an overwhelming number of specialties.

• Master Kentji repeatedly asked where the tournament was being held, and Moganton reminded him it was in Kentji Square.
• Kilise complained that Kentji favored Gwenia, while Moganton reflected on the renown and historical importance of her achievements.
• Kentji, Moganton, and Kilise wandered through Chang'an and saw unfamiliar foods and flying recording devices that Kentji explained used new signal technology.
• The three visited exhibitions featuring Gwenia’s rice varieties, weapons, steam locomotives, research, and commercial developments, impressing Kilise with Gwenia’s brilliance.
• Kentji, Moganton, and Kilise entered a grand restaurant, where a halfling waitress listed so many specialties that all three stared in astonishment.

Master Kentji, Master Moganton, and Kilise visited De Yun Grand Restaurant, where a halfling fairy introduced the food and the storytelling and crosstalk show. Kentji and Moganton went to watch the performers, leaving Kilise behind feeling neglected by her teacher and senior brother.

• A halfling fairy impressed the three legendary mages by enthusiastically listing the restaurant’s dishes, prompting Master Kentji to suspect that something had mysteriously influenced him.
• Master Moganton asked the halfling fairy about the laughter in the hall, and he explained that De Yun She’s storytelling and crosstalk performances were the restaurant’s signature attraction.
• The halfling fairy promoted that day’s performers, Mr. He Tang and Mr. Jiu Liang, and offered tickets for 288 Gold Coins.
• Kilise tried to stop Master Moganton from buying tickets, but let him go after he signaled that Master Kentji wanted to see the show too.
• Master Kentji and Master Moganton entered the hall, while Kilise stayed behind and grumbled that her teacher and senior brother favored Junior Sister Gwenia.

Lin Xiaowei opened the World's First Martial Arts Tournament with a king-of-the-hill format and named goblin warrior Bart Yuda as its reigning champion. The spectators jeered at Bart, and Lin Xiaowei ended by asking who would challenge first.

• Kilise waited outside De Yun She while Master Kentji and Mage Moganton watched Gwenia's cross-talk performance, then proposed adapting it for immersive hypnosis.
• Master Kentji, Moganton, and Kilise flew to the tournament venue, where Lin Xiaowei greeted her teacher and sent Moganton to show Kilise around.
• Lin Xiaowei explained the tournament's seven-day king-of-the-hill rules and introduced Bart Yuda as the champion.
• The crowd doubted and jeered at Bart because he was a goblin, but Lin Xiaowei stayed composed and asked who would challenge first.

At the Martial Arts Tournament, Bart Yuda used the Strong Strike Armor to defeat ten powerful challengers, prompting nobles and rulers to wonder whether they could use the armor themselves. As the first day ended, a sacred radiance descended on Lin Xiaowei, and the clergy recognized it as a Divine Revelation.

• Klu Nan challenged Bart Yuda, who wore the Strong Strike Armor and knocked the rock warrior unconscious with a series of punches.
• The audience erupted in cheers after the referee declared Bart Yuda the winner.
• Bart Yuda defeated several more warriors, including Nord Barbarians, Sub-Dragon Lizardmen, and Cursed Orcs, completing ten consecutive victories.
• Lin Xiaowei ended the first day of the Martial Arts Tournament as Master Kentji prepared to question her about the armor.
• A sacred radiance filled with runes and mechanical components descended on Lin Xiaowei, and the clergy identified it as a Divine Revelation.

Lin Xiaowei received a calling from the God of Craftsmen and Artifice to become His True God's Emissary and the Craftsmen God Sect’s supreme saint. As she considered accepting, Master Kentji reacted to the divine poaching by declaring he would slay the god, and Mage Moganton tried to restrain him.

• The God of Craftsmen and Artifice offered Lin Xiaowei the title of True God's Emissary and supreme saint, promising that their relationship could be an exchange of arts and skills rather than worship.
• Lin Xiaowei weighed the authority, resources, and knowledge she would gain against her reluctance to praise a god, then imagined transforming the Craftsmen God Sect into a Mechanical God Sect or Science God Sect.
• Master Kentji saw Lin Xiaowei considering the offer and announced that he was going to slaughter a god.
• Mage Moganton grabbed Master Kentji and warned him that Haositeruis was an ally and that a battle could devastate the Han Plane.
• Master Kentji outlined a plan to destroy the god’s divine will and take His divine spark, while Moganton urged him to hold back for Gwenia’s sake.

Lin Xiaowei considered becoming Haositeruis’s Supreme Saint and negotiated with her teacher, Master Kentji, over the god’s intervention. After Master Kentji resolved the matter, Lin Xiaowei prepared to receive a baptism at the Craftsmen God Sect’s headquarters and told Li Da Yao he could become the God Child afterward.

• Lin Xiaowei asked Haositeruis for time to discuss his offer with Master Kentji, then explained her concerns to her teacher.
• Master Kentji agreed to visit Haositeruis and, after Lin Xiaowei cautioned him against killing the god, left to settle the matter.
• Lin Xiaowei continued hosting the World's First Martial Arts Tournament, reconciled with Mage Kilise, and earned money from rising viewership and interest in the Han Plane.
• Master Kentji returned and told Lin Xiaowei she would receive a divine oracle and travel to the Craftsmen God Sect’s Craftsmanship Great Hall for baptism.
• Lin Xiaowei messaged Li Da Yao that she would be unreachable during the baptism and promised he would become the God Child afterward.

After completing the purge of anomalies in Gangin Fruit, Li Yao received new orders and celebrated the Inspection Delegation’s success while joking with Lin Xiaowei. As Kou Kou explained the delegation’s security arrangements, several Armored Jeeps at the front were blasted into the air.

• Li Yao and the Wallfacers completed the purge of the anomalies in Gangin Fruit’s great basin, though the French anomalous organization kept some anomalies in the subspace.
• Countries and factions placed orders for the Wallfacers’ work, giving Li Yao money to buy a Particle Acceleration Weapon for Lin Xiaowei and funding for the Spiritual Research Academy and Maeve’s intelligence network.
• Li Yao misunderstood Lin Xiaowei’s message about “zi,” teased her about becoming a Big Boss, and then told her he could now buy the weapon for her.
• Li Yao rode back with Kou Kou and Oslia while Chen Xi explained that he often used his phone; Kou Kou said the delegation was arranged to protect him.
• Kou Kou began questioning why anyone would attack the Inspection Delegation, and several Armored Jeeps at the front were blasted into the air.

The Inspection Delegation’s convoy was ambushed by a large alliance of human and nonhuman attackers, and Ye Yu, Kou Kou, and the other superhumans fought back. The battle escalated when three enormous Tier 6 Behemoths charged the convoy, leaving Oslia to command its remaining defenders.

• A bomb destroyed a vehicle in the convoy, and Kou Kou got out while Ye Yu ordered the team to prepare for an attack.
• Attackers emerged from the surrounding terrain, and Ye Yu led the Tier 5 superhumans into battle while Kou Kou followed him.
• Oslia noticed the attackers included humans, other species, and hybrids as Ye Yu and Kou Kou cut through their ranks.
• Three giant Behemoths charged the battlefield, prompting Kou Kou to warn the others about the Tier 6 threat.
• Ye Yu engaged two Behemoths, Kou Kou called Katerina and the others to hold back another, and Oslia ordered Wei Dadong and the remaining defenders to open fire.

Li Yao was caught in a monster’s attack during the battle, but Sauron freed him from a mental assault and Li Yao unleashed the power of his Azvik Mage Armor. He left the battlefield ablaze, while Oslia and the others realized his strength came from his equipment.

• Li Yao watched the battle from the Armored Jeep’s sunroof until Oslia shoved him back inside as a giant monster charged the vehicle.
• Li Yao escaped through the windshield with Chen Xi and the driver, and Chen Xi struck the monster while carrying Li Yao out of its reach.
• Oslia attacked the monster, but underground tentacles knocked her away as Li Yao succumbed to a mental attack.
• Sauron broke Li Yao free from the mental assault and attacked the tentacled creature, while Li Yao armored himself and destroyed the Behemoth-like monster with a barrage of fireballs.
• Li Yao replaced the Mage Armor’s exhausted Essence Magic Crystal and fired chained spells into the enemy ranks as Ye Yu, Oslia, Kou Kou, and the others watched.

After the battle, Li Yao tended to his allies and let Sauron claim the defeated monsters, while Chen Xi resolved to become stronger. Kou Kou then tried to buy Li Yao’s armor, and he demanded that she pay him one yuan.

• Li Yao ended his explosive assault after using six Essence Magic Crystals, leaving the highway destroyed and several allies injured.
• Li Yao gave healing potions to Ye Yu for their side and reassured Chen Xi before handing her an improved Vitality Potion.
• Chen Xi pointed out more slain monsters, but Sauron tried to claim the prisoners Ye Yu’s team wanted to interrogate.
• Li Yao stopped Sauron from taking the prisoners immediately and told Ye Yu to send them to Sauron after interrogation.
• Kou Kou asked to buy Li Yao’s armor, broke his one-yuan coin to meet his condition, and heard him demand payment of one yuan.

After the battle, Ye Yu reported that hired Espers had attacked alongside large aberrations, but the Wallfacers ended the Inspection Delegation’s mission and ordered everyone home. As the groups departed, Kou Kou kissed Wei Dadong goodbye and promised to marry him when she returned.

• Li Yao refused to sell Kou Kou a coin after she shattered it, then left her to talk with Ye Yu about reporting the situation.
• Oslia told Chen Xi that their president had nearly introduced her to Li Yao, then asked Chen Xi to keep her commitment to non-marriage a secret.
• Ye Yu reported the battle and his suspicions about a global organization to Madam Qian, who terminated the Inspection Delegation’s mission.
• Professor Paramount opened a portal for those heading toward Miskatonic University, and Katerina gave Li Yao her contact card before leaving with her people.
• Kou Kou kissed Wei Dadong goodbye, promised to marry him when she returned, and left through Kassel’s portal.
• Ye Yu gathered the Wallfacers’ group and led them through their portal to go home.

At Hydra’s reef base north of Tahiti, a refined young man assessed the failed Gangin Fruit operation and the seven figures Supreme Wisdom had ranked at the top of Earth’s Threat Sequence. He demanded control of the entire council’s forces to advance his lord’s plan.

• A bald Hydra subordinate reported that the Gangin Fruit operation had failed and the whole team had been wiped out.
• The refined youth transformed the porthole into a starry mural and displayed the seven people at the top of Supreme Wisdom’s Earth Threat Sequence, including Li Yao.
• The youth concluded that targeting Li Yao was no longer viable because the failed attack would cause other factions to increase his protection.
• The youth demanded that Hydra’s council put all its power under his command so he could plan their next actions.
• The youth told the subordinate to inform the council that his success would be his lord’s success and the council’s glory.

After Li Yao and his companions returned from Gangin Fruit, Lu Xingshen helped investigate the Hydra-linked assassination attempt and ordered a Special Task Force operation. He left the provincial capital to join the force, while Ye Yu accepted responsibility for the deaths of four soldiers.

• Li Yao and the others returned to the Phoenix Legion camp, where Lu Xingshen arranged care for the wounded and asked Ye Yu about the casualties.
• The Staff Department reported that Hydra was involved in the attack, but investigators could not determine whether it had been authorized by multiple Snake Heads or carried out by individuals.
• Lu Xingshen told Madam Qian that the assassination was also a provocation and warned that its true objective might be difficult to discern.
• Lu Xingshen ordered Ye Yu to select agents for the Special Task Force and angrily reproached him for failing in his duties as Sword Holder.
• Ye Yu requested punishment and asked to join the operation as an agent, and Lu Xingshen approved.
• Lu Xingshen told Li Yao to stay at his tavern under protection while he left for the operation, then reminded Ye Yu that he bore great responsibility for the four soldiers' deaths.

Lu Xingshen reflected on the grim secrets he had learned as a seventh-rank Deterrent, then visited the Training Field and found Old Squad Leader GuoTou teaching resurrected military-soul soldiers to use computers. His attempt to repair a malfunctioning computer failed until GuoTou hit the monitor, and GuoTou explained that the trainees were using old equipment so advanced machines could be reserved for scientific research.

• Lu Xingshen left the administrative building, troubled by the universe's hidden dangers and the burden his teacher had carried.
• A battalion commander told Lu Xingshen that Old Squad Leader GuoTou had been using the internet and playing 4399 games.
• Lu Xingshen found GuoTou teaching resurrected military-soul soldiers to use old CRT computers in the computer room.
• Lu Xingshen tried to repair a trainee's computer, but it failed to start until GuoTou punched the monitor and the desktop appeared.
• GuoTou told Lu Xingshen that the trainees used obsolete computers because newer machines should be left for scientists.

Lu Xingshen visited the computer room, where he discovered that an old trainee’s computer was overloaded with antivirus and bundled software. Old Squad Leader GuoTou explained how the former soldiers were adapting to modern life, then took Lu Xingshen to the cafeteria as Lu asked what everyone else was doing.

• Old Squad Leader GuoTou worried that the facility was wasting expensive equipment, and he complained that modern TV remotes were confusing.
• A trainee reported that his computer was lagging, and Lu Xingshen found it cluttered with antivirus programs and bundled software the trainee had installed by mistake.
• Lu Xingshen arranged for the trainee to use another computer and have the faulty one fixed, while Old Squad Leader GuoTou sent the trainees out for lunch and warned them not to return early.
• Old Squad Leader GuoTou told Lu Xingshen that he taught computer classes and worked in the cafeteria, and that five or six hundred people used the computer room in shifts.
• Lu Xingshen asked what the others were busy with as he followed Old Squad Leader GuoTou to the cafeteria.

Lu Xingshen visited Old Squad Leader GuoTou and learned how the veteran heroes had adapted to modern life, then struggled to answer GuoTou’s questions about troubling trends in society. After GuoTou affirmed his trust in the organization, Lu returned to work reviewing Special Task Force personnel applications, carrying the weight of that trust.

• Lu Xingshen met Old Squad Leader GuoTou and heard that the veterans had started training classes, repairing vehicles, studying communications and farming, and running convenience stores.
• Old Squad Leader GuoTou asked Lu Xingshen why celebrity gossip dominated Weibo and why housing prices were so high, leaving Lu silent at first.
• Lu Xingshen said the country was addressing unhealthy social and economic trends, and GuoTou reassured him that the veterans trusted the organization.
• Ye Yu called Lu Xingshen about operational agents’ applications, and Lu left to review the Special Task Force’s core personnel.
• As he walked back to his office, Lu Xingshen reflected on why the veterans had been shielded from outside public opinion and on the need to fight society’s wrongs to protect what was good.

After returning to the Lost Tavern, Li Yao rested while Chen Xi trained and grew more determined to become stronger. He later sent a message to his offline best friend beneath the moonlight, then prepared an alchemy experiment; the next morning, he and Chen Xi discussed the tavern’s falling revenue over breakfast.

• Li Yao woke at the tavern and watched Chen Xi practice swordsmanship beneath the moonlight.
• Li Yao gave Chen Xi a thermos of calming, restorative drink, and she finished her training before going to bed.
• Li Yao messaged his offline best friend about recent events and told her that the moon was beautiful that night.
• Li Yao went upstairs to prepare an alchemy experiment.
• The next morning, Chen Xi served Li Yao breakfast and apologized for the tavern’s declining revenue, but Li Yao blamed the hot weather and said the money did not matter.