Chapter Summaries

Wenren Sheng enrolled at Desert Academy as its first human student and attended a class where Source Spirits presented their plans to study and consume humans. He ended the lesson by threatening to learn how to eat the Big Black Pot, who warned that consuming it would cause Entropy Increase.

• Wenren Sheng reached the tallest spire of the Eastern Tower Cluster, where the tower door identified him as human and offered him admission to Desert Academy.
• Wenren Sheng accepted a golden admission letter and chose the Solid State Institute after learning about the academy's departments and benefits.
• A senior student guided Wenren Sheng to class, where Big Wooden Stake Teacher welcomed him as a symbol of friendship between humans and Source Spirits.
• Wenren Sheng introduced himself by his real name, prompting classmates to recognize him as the human who had captured junior students and forced them to labor.
• Big Wooden Stake Teacher asked Iron Pot to explain the class, and Iron Pot described its study of ways to eat humans.
• Wenren Sheng said he wanted to learn how to eat Iron Pot, and Iron Pot warned that eating it would cause Entropy Increase.

Wenren Sheng learned that Anomalies regarded humanity as a way to reduce entropy and preserve their own will to live. Big Black Pot explained how Source Spirits maintained rationality and envied humans’ instinctive pleasures and desire to survive, leaving Wenren Sheng to understand why they sought to enter the Earth Universe.

• Wenren Sheng realized Anomalies cultivated humanity to reduce entropy and restricted technology partly to prevent humans from destroying themselves.
• Big Black Pot taught Wenren Sheng that Source Spirits developed unstable intelligence from consciousness fragments and needed knowledge and a sound worldview to resist madness.
• Wenren Sheng challenged the Anomalies’ claims about rationality, and Big Black Pot and its students joked about their teacher eating students who struggled with homework.
• Big Black Pot explained that Source Spirits often lacked a sense of life’s meaning, while humans gained motivation to live from bodily rewards and instincts.
• Wenren Sheng concluded that Anomalies pursued human emotions and the Earth Universe because they needed intelligence and a desire to survive to keep living.

Wenren Sheng investigated the death of a black qi mass in the Origin Realm, where Source Spirits had no useful physical evidence and relied on inspecting memories. After questioning more than a hundred connected spirits, he had not yet identified the killer and continued the investigation.

• Source Spirits questioned Wenren Sheng about human sensations, and he explained that satisfying a need brought a feeling of freedom from wants and desires.
• After a scream came from outside the classroom, Big Wooden Stake Teacher asked Wenren Sheng to investigate the apparent death, and the principal authorized him to use any resources he needed.
• Wenren Sheng recognized the victim as one of the black qi masses from the sand dune and found no physical traces at the scene.
• Big Wooden Stake gathered more than a hundred Source Spirits connected to the victim and reported that none remembered being the murderer.
• Wenren Sheng learned that the victim last saw the small white qi mass, followed by Black Mass One and Black Mass Two, but rejected Big Wooden Stake's suggestion to draw lots before they had finished investigating.

Wenren Sheng examined the academy’s students and identified Iron Stone as the murderer after the Seed of Mystery revealed its erased memories. Big Wooden Stake restored the stone’s memories and exiled it to the human world, while Wenren Sheng explained his deduction to the students.

• Wenren Sheng examined the academy’s students and learned that Iron Stone had a mechanical mind and had erased its memories.
• Big Wooden Stake restored Iron Stone’s memories, revealing that it had killed Black Qi Mass by glaring at it and then wiped its memories to evade responsibility.
• Big Wooden Stake exiled Iron Stone to the human world, and the students praised Wenren Sheng for solving the case.
• Black Qi Mass’s body was buried by the shifting dune, and a small white ball of qi appeared where it had died.
• Back in class, Wenren Sheng explained that Iron Stone had erased its nervous emotions along with its memories to avoid giving itself away.

Wenren Sheng learned that the Source Spirits sought humans with strong wills to serve as anchors for their descent into the material world. Big Wooden Stake showed him Li Cheng, a doctor whose research and convictions had drawn the Source Spirits’ interest.

• Big Wooden Stake led Wenren Sheng and the students to the tower’s upper hall to review how Source Spirits lived among humans.
• Big Wooden Stake explained that the Source Spirits wanted to strengthen human wills and turn people into towers that could anchor them in the material world.
• Big Wooden Stake showed Wenren Sheng Li Cheng, a doctor who relied on research rather than Mysterious Power to treat diseases.
• Chai Kun asked Li Cheng to support his vice dean campaign, and Li Cheng agreed after Chai Kun offered to double his research funding.

Wenren Sheng watched the Source Spirits plan to strengthen Doctor Li Cheng’s resolve, but a real attack disrupted their scheme. He identified Chai Kun as the attacker and explained how Li Cheng’s cover story still helped Chai Kun eliminate Professor He as a rival for the vice dean position.

• Big Black Pot proposed pitting Li Cheng against Chai Kun by arranging a patient’s death, while other students suggested further trials to test Li Cheng’s will.
• A disguised attacker stabbed Li Cheng in the research room, and Li Cheng faintly identified the attacker as Professor He before passing out.
• Wenren Sheng recognized Chai Kun as the real attacker, while police questioned Professor He based on the evidence and his lack of an alibi.
• Li Cheng woke and claimed the stabbing had been part of an online spell game, leading the detectives to leave without pursuing the case.
• Wenren Sheng explained that Li Cheng’s lie protected Chai Kun while leaving Professor He under suspicion, weakening his chances in the vice dean election.

After Wenren Sheng exposed Chai Kun as the attacker, the students learned that Chai Kun had also meant to test Li Cheng’s commitment to modern medicine. Li Cheng returned home and struggled with whether his principles against Mysterious Power should govern his child’s future, leaving him uncertain as the child asked for help with schoolwork.

• Chai Kun apologized to Li Cheng, who explained that Chai Kun had wanted to test whether he would reject magical treatment even when his life was at stake.
• Big Wooden Stake announced that the completed tower would let him descend into the present world, and the students urged him to do so.
• Li Cheng rode home, reflecting that Chai Kun’s attack had been calculated not to kill him and that he had spared Chai Kun from prison because criminals became test subjects.
• Li Cheng told his wife that their child must not use Enlightenment Art, despite the pressure to keep up with classmates who used it.
• Li Cheng dreamed that his wife had a terminal illness and woke questioning whether his refusal to use magic made him an outdated relic.
• At two in the morning, Li Cheng’s child said he could not solve a problem, and Li Cheng wondered whether he had the right to make his child bear the costs of his principles.

Wenren Sheng watched Li Cheng’s memories and learned how his father’s fatal misunderstanding of Big Wooden Stake’s words had begun Li Cheng’s distrust of anything conscious. Li Cheng agreed with a friend’s plan to reboot the world, then discovered the friend was recruiting him into an organization that promised resurrection for 8.88 million.

• Li Cheng recalled that his father had killed his mother after mishearing Big Wooden Stake’s advice to discuss seeking power with his wife.
• Big Wooden Stake explained that it had meant “discuss with wife,” but Li Cheng’s father had understood “kill wife,” while Wenren Sheng remained wary of trusting the monsters’ account.
• Li Cheng woke, helped his child with homework, and later discussed the world’s problems with a friend on a medical website.
• The friend described the Rebooters Organization’s plan to reformat the world, and Li Cheng questioned whether it had the right to erase everyone’s lives and memories.
• The friend offered Li Cheng resurrection in the rebooted world for 8.88 million, and Li Cheng realized his friend had been drawn into a scam or dangerous organization.

Li Cheng rejected Doctor Chen’s proposal to pay 8.88 million for a chance at resurrection, then faced a Source Spirit that offered to fulfill his scientific ambitions in exchange for marking his mind. Wenren Sheng watched Big Wooden Stake manipulate Li Cheng and learned that it could technically keep its promises while avoiding any commitment about when it would fulfill them.

• Doctor Chen urged Li Cheng to pay for a chance at resurrection, but Li Cheng called the offer a scam and shut off his laptop when Chen erupted at him.
• Li Cheng reflected on the limits of his position and his need for time, manpower, resources, and a suitable environment to advance technology.
• A childlike Source Spirit appeared on Li Cheng’s bed and offered to meet his requirements if he allowed it to mark his mind.
• Li Cheng stalled the spirit and secretly raised an alarm; he learned that his wife and child had been evacuated and was told to keep the entity occupied.
• The Source Spirit offered to send Li Cheng somewhere as proof of its abilities, while Wenren Sheng watched Big Wooden Stake’s deception.
• Big Wooden Stake admitted it could fulfill its promise without specifying when, and Wenren Sheng compared that tactic to companies making empty promises about future raises.

Wenren Sheng observed the Spirit Hunter Team’s attempt to confront Big Wooden Stake Teacher through Li Cheng. He secretly strengthened Gecko Captain’s attack, leaving Big Wooden Stake panicking as spiritual contamination spread rapidly through its anchor.

• The Spider, Rat, and Gecko entered Li Cheng’s bedroom to protect him and attack Big Wooden Stake Teacher.
• The Spider wrapped Li Cheng’s head in silk while the Rat gnawed the bed, and Wenren Sheng recognized their efforts as protection and isolation.
• Wenren Sheng used his aura to enter Li Cheng’s illusion and then shift to the spiritual confrontation between Gecko Captain and Big Wooden Stake.
• Gecko Captain poisoned Big Wooden Stake’s roots, but the contamination initially spread too slowly to threaten the powerful Anomaly.
• Wenren Sheng secretly accelerated the contamination, allowing Gecko Captain to press its advantage as Big Wooden Stake struggled to hold on to its anchor.

Wenren Sheng learned that some principals had opened secondary worlds to humans because they wanted to support potential players, while Big Wooden Stake offered to show him other teachers living among humans. Meanwhile, the Gecko Captain’s team reviewed their encounter with Big Wooden Stake and tracked Li Cheng to a meeting with Doctor Chen, whose body had been almost entirely replaced by machinery.

• Big Wooden Stake abandoned its attempt to anchor Li Cheng, spoke with Wenren Sheng, and explained that some principals wanted to support humans as potential players.
• Big Wooden Stake offered to show Wenren Sheng how other teachers lived among humans.
• The Gecko Captain, Spider Woman, and Mouse Man discussed their fight with the Teacher-Level Spirit Object and hoped the city could become lively again.
• Spider Woman found a platform message showing Li Cheng apologizing to Doctor Chen and agreeing to meet him in Lake Port.
• Li Cheng flew to Lake Port and met Doctor Chen, who revealed that only his head remained human.

Li Cheng learned that Doctor Chen had joined the Rebooters Organization after believing its claim that it possessed an Antimatter Bomb, though Li Cheng recognized the proof video as fake. Seeking answers about the organization and the threats against him, Li Cheng agreed to join and flew overseas with Doctor Chen to visit a nearby base.

• Doctor Chen told Li Cheng that the Rebooters Organization had shown him a video of an Antimatter Bomb destroying a planet.
• Li Cheng dismissed the video as computer-generated and questioned why the organization would deceive Doctor Chen.
• Li Cheng decided to infiltrate the Rebooters Organization because a monster had targeted him and he refused to rely on the Patrol Division to save himself.
• Doctor Chen called the organization's boss, who approved Li Cheng's trial membership and a visit to a nearby base.
• Li Cheng left the checkpoint with Doctor Chen, boarded a plane, and flew overseas.

Wenren Sheng watched Teacher Tuanzi’s memories of Yuanyuan, a girl whose second personality planned to restart the world. He noticed that her seemingly random coding included a line related to converting a human body into data, leaving him uncertain whether her actions were more than a delusion.

• Wenren Sheng arranged for two Mystery Seekers to follow Li Cheng, then watched Big Wooden Stake show him Teacher Tuanzi’s memories.
• Yuanyuan found Teacher Tuanzi hiding in a flowerbed, and the two discussed a terrifying woman who had made the spirit creature feel comfortable.
• After Yuanyuan went to sleep, Black Long Straight woke and began coding toward a planned world restart, while Teacher Tuanzi tried to dissuade her.
• Wenren Sheng initially dismissed Black Long Straight’s coding as random keystrokes, but noticed a line resembling code for converting a human body into data.

Wenren Sheng watched Black Long Straight select code to restart the world and learned that she wanted to erase the world because her parents died after taking an inferior Hibernation Drug. Big Wooden Stake reported that the principal did not care about her plan, and Wenren Sheng trusted someone else would handle it.

• Wenren Sheng watched Black Long Straight find the code hidden in the data left by a human body and open a group chat with Doctor Strange.
• Black Long Straight and Doctor Strange discussed recruiting an undercover agent and their belief that restarting the world was the only way to save it.
• Black Long Straight explained that her parents had died after taking an inferior Hibernation Drug and said she hoped to disappear in a restart.
• Wenren Sheng and Furball sighed together, and Big Wooden Stake remarked on their apparent connection.
• Big Wooden Stake checked the principal's reaction and told Wenren Sheng that it did not care about Black Long Straight's plan; Wenren Sheng said someone would solve it.

Wenren Sheng discussed the Rebooters Organization and the evacuation of the Nine Stars District with Inspector Liu, then weighed the risks of moving his family. In the Simulated Data Person, he challenged Big Wooden Stake’s case for coexistence and concluded that Source Spirits were invading Earth as they fled chaos.

• Wenren Sheng learned from Inspector Liu that the Rebooters Organization planned to use a mysterious code to reboot the world, and agreed to keep watch on them.
• Inspector Liu told Wenren Sheng that the Ordinary People had nearly all been relocated from the Nine Stars District and that the Supernatural Beings would be moved next, while some would stay on Earth.
• Wenren Sheng warned Inspector Liu about the hidden dangers of the Chaos Attack Art and considered whether to move people a few thousand at a time because of the risks of data conversion.
• Wenren Sheng entered the Simulated Data Person and challenged Big Wooden Stake’s examples of peaceful coexistence by asking whether Miken had been hit by a Nuclear Explosion.
• Big Wooden Stake argued that the Source Spirits were fleeing to a universe ruled by order and reason, but Wenren Sheng insisted that they were invading Earth.

Oasis Academy challenged Desert Academy to a high-stakes academic competition about human-related subjects, and Wenren Sheng realized their seemingly frivolous propositions were designed to divide the students. As Desert Academy began arguing over which side to take, its own team was already at risk of infighting.

• Big Black Pot told Big Wooden Stake that Oasis Academy had demanded an academic competition, with three hundred Second-Class Source Crystals and three Excellent Students at stake.
• Wenren Sheng asked to see the challenge, and Big Wooden Stake reluctantly agreed to compete.
• At Desert Academy, Oasis Academy’s leader proposed three debates and let Desert Academy choose a proposition and stance.
• Big Wooden Stake and the students panicked over the difficult propositions, while Wenren Sheng recognized how much human thought they could provoke.
• Wenren Sheng suggested using Tian Ji Horse Racing, but he and Big Wooden Stake immediately disagreed over Java and C++.

Wenren Sheng tried to secure Big Wooden Stake’s agreement for the debate but instead used force to establish himself as a judge. Oasis Academy then brought in its dean, Yin-Yang Face, leaving the competition poised to begin against a formidable opponent.

• Wenren Sheng used an amplified classroom illusion to argue that C++ made computer fundamentals easier to understand, but Big Wooden Stake countered that Java left more time to focus on people.
• Wenren Sheng abruptly struck Big Wooden Stake with an axe, and the two argued over whether debate victories came from reasoning or force before Big Wooden Stake reassembled.
• Big Wooden Stake asked Wenren Sheng to judge the debate over Mysterious Medicine and Traditional Medicine, and Wenren Sheng said he favored Traditional Medicine but used Mysterious Medicine for treatment.
• Wenren Sheng threatened Tall Handsome Man with a knife when he objected to a human serving as judge, and Big Wooden Stake argued that force underpinned every debate.
• Tall Handsome Man named Yin-Yang Face, Oasis Academy’s dean, as its judge, and Wenren Sheng recognized that she was powerful enough to match him there.

Wenren Sheng and Desert Academy faced Oasis Academy in a judged debate whose topics included tofu pudding, programming languages, and medicine. Desert Academy won the first debate and drew the second, leaving the final Traditional Medicine versus Mysterious Medicine debate to decide the match.

• Little Illusion arrived and argued with Wenren Sheng over sweet and salty tofu pudding, so he let her represent Desert Academy on the first topic.
• Wenren Sheng assigned Big Wooden Stake to argue for C++ and Big Black Pot to argue for Traditional Medicine.
• Little Illusion overwhelmed Oasis Academy's salty-tofu debater with her repeated claim that sweet tofu pudding tasted good, giving Desert Academy the first win.
• Big Wooden Stake and Oasis Academy's old debater clashed over C++ and Java as Wenren Sheng and Yin-Yang Face Woman manipulated the clocks, and the round ended in a draw.
• Big Black Pot argued for Traditional Medicine against a child representing Oasis Academy's Mysterious Medicine position, and the final debate began.

Wenren Sheng and Little Illusion helped Oasis Academy force a draw in a match before a false Chaos invasion cleared the hall. They met the school’s gatekeeper, who turned out to be Wang Yanhú, and Little Illusion’s demand for a red envelope left him flustered.

• The child’s argument about Traditional Medicine and Evil Gods shattered Big Black Pot, leaving the match tied at one win, one draw, and one loss.
• The Tall Handsome Man demanded a tiebreaker, but a student’s warning of a Chaos invasion sent both teams fleeing from the hall.
• Little Illusion began dismantling the clocks until the panda gatekeeper warned her that they were Living Ones and revealed that the school’s towers were the principal’s body.
• Wenren Sheng recognized the panda gatekeeper as Wang Yanhú during a barbecue in the desert, and Wang Yanhú dropped his disguise.
• Little Illusion demanded a red envelope from Wang Yanhú or one of the principal’s kidneys, but Wenren Sheng stopped her from making things difficult for him.

Wenren Sheng returned from the Origin Realm after gathering intelligence from Wang Yanhú about its inhabitants and their principals. Back home, he slept, dreamed of immortality, and suggested Little Octopus transform into a panda so others would want to play with it.

• Wang Yanhú told Wenren Sheng that Origin Realm life forms rarely survived a year in the real world, lacked a unified society, and often died after losing their rationality or purpose.
• Wang Yanhú explained that several principals were trying to unify Origin Realms, a plan that had drawn Principal-Level Disaster Anomalies into internal conflicts.
• Wang Yanhú returned to the academy, and Wenren Sheng withdrew his consciousness from the Origin Realm with the intelligence he had gathered.
• Wenren Sheng returned home and fell asleep in the study, where he dreamed of a debate about whether anything could escape death.
• Wenren Sheng stopped Little Octopus from crawling toward the fish tank and suggested it undergo a complete transformation into a Little Panda to attract attention, but Little Octopus hesitated.