Chapter Summaries

Xu Shoushan introduced the rules for the Purifier Plan selection and oversaw the distribution of access keys for its simulated Starry Sky Battlefield. Jiang Fan reached C3 Section and entered his simulation pod, where he began inspecting its controls before the competition started.

• Xu Shoushan announced that the Elder Council had appointed him chief referee to ensure the selection was fair and impartial.
• Xu Shoushan explained that the selection had three rounds, beginning with a three-day team survival battle against a Star Beast Tide.
• Staff distributed access keys, and Jiang Fan received one marked C3 Section, No. 2.
• Zhong Zhengbai told Jiang Fan to follow the section markers because staff would guide contestants to the battlefield.
• A staff member led Jiang Fan to the C3 Section operation room and opened his hibernation pod with his key.
• Jiang Fan entered the pod, closed its hatch, and examined the simulation controls.

Jiang Fan entered the Star War Simulation System and began the team survival trial, realizing the virtual environment limited his cultivation but still let him fight with his combat skills. As Rippers swarmed the ruined starfield and delayed Zhong Zhengbai from joining him, Jiang Fan set out to reach his teammate while cutting through the Star Beasts.

• Jiang Fan entered the simulation pod and found himself in a realistic, ruined cosmic environment where his cultivation could not be brought in.
• The system confirmed Jiang Fan’s identity, issued the team survival mission, and displayed a three-day countdown and an empty leaderboard.
• Jiang Fan contacted Zhong Zhengbai, learned they were less than three kilometers apart, and agreed to meet.
• A wave of Rippers descended on the starfield, forcing Zhong Zhengbai to delay their meeting while he fought through the swarm.
• Jiang Fan killed two Rippers with his blade, earned two team points, and leapt into the air to attack the advancing beasts.

Jiang Fan rapidly killed Rippers and drove the 50th Province up the rankings while Zhong Zhengbai realized Jiang Fan was responsible for nearly all their points. Lu Xiaojian saw the 50th Province climbing and dismissed them as a threat, still intending to deal with Jiang Fan in the second round.

• Jiang Fan slaughtered Rippers across the Star Ruins, raising the 50th Province's score to around 15th place.
• Zhong Zhengbai told Jiang Fan that he was injured and struggling against the first wave, and Jiang Fan said he was one kilometer away and would reach him in about ten minutes.
• Zhong Zhengbai checked the rankings and realized Jiang Fan had earned more than 1,200 points by killing over 1,200 Star Beasts in about twenty minutes.
• Lu Xiaojian surveyed the rankings from a flagpole and decided to hold back for later waves of the three-day selection.
• Lu Xiaojian noticed the 50th Province had reached 15th place, but dismissed its progress and imagined killing Jiang Fan in the second round.

Jiang Fan joined Zhong Zhengbai against the Star Beast Tide, rapidly raising the 50th Province’s ranking. As the first wave neared its end, Jiang Fan insisted on continuing to hunt because he wanted to win the competition, not merely advance.

• Jiang Fan reached Zhong Zhengbai and helped him fight off the Ripper Star Beasts.
• Jiang Fan and Zhong Zhengbai fought back to back, and the 50th Province’s hunting data climbed rapidly.
• Lu Xiaojian noticed the 50th Province’s rise in the rankings and wrongly decided that the pair must be exploiting a system loophole.
• After hunting for a day, Zhong Zhengbai urged Jiang Fan to rest, but Jiang Fan continued killing Star Beasts during the final minutes of the first wave.
• Jiang Fan told Zhong Zhengbai that he always came in first and did not want this competition to be an exception.

Jiang Fan and Zhong Zhengbai survived the first Star Beast Tide wave and prepared for the arrival of the Void Hunters. After Zhong Zhengbai was injured by one of their attacks, Jiang Fan resolved to test the creatures’ spatial abilities.

• Zhong Zhengbai, inspired by Jiang Fan’s effort, renewed his determination to fight for first place for the 50th Province.
• The first wave ended, and the system announced that the second wave would arrive after a five-minute rest.
• Translucent Void Hunters appeared, and Zhong Zhengbai warned Jiang Fan that they could blink through space and drain qi and blood with their bites.
• A Void Hunter struck Zhong Zhengbai, leaving a wound that caused his qi and blood to keep falling inside the simulation.
• Jiang Fan realized perception and spatial abilities still worked in the simulation and decided to test the Void Hunters’ spatial abilities.

Jiang Fan used his control over space to easily destroy more than a hundred Void Hunters, while teams across the Star Ruins struggled against the second wave. Chang Kai rejected Gui Hai Zhi’s offer to cooperate, then checked the leaderboard and stopped mid-sentence after seeing the rankings.

• Jiang Fan tested the Void Hunters’ abilities, then dodged their ambush and killed more than a dozen with his ring blades.
• Jiang Fan folded space around a hundred-meter area, crushing more than a hundred Void Hunters and sharply raising his and his companion’s hunting points.
• Gui Hai Zhi proposed that his 51st Province team join Chang Kai’s 8th Province team in a defensive formation, with each team keeping credit for its own kills.
• Chang Kai refused to cooperate, and Gui Hai Zhi warned that his injured teammates might soon be in danger.
• Chang Kai checked the leaderboard while claiming his team had killed four Void Hunters, then abruptly fell silent.

Jiang Fan rapidly killed Void Hunters by countering their Spatial Blink with his Spatial Ability, sending the 50th Province’s score soaring and startling the other teams. Zhong Zhengbai realized how Jiang Fan had overcome the creatures and saw that the team might rise to first place.

• Chang Kai and Gui Hai Zhi noticed the 50th Province’s score climbing rapidly and wondered how the weak team had become so powerful.
• Lu Xiaojian of the 49th Province suspected Jiang Fan and his teammate were cheating and vowed to deal with them.
• Jiang Fan swept hundreds of Void Hunters into a Space Fold and collapsed it, clearing the battlefield around him.
• Jiang Fan explained to Zhong Zhengbai that his Spatial Ability suppressed the Void Hunters’ crude Spatial Blink, preventing their attacks and continuous damage.
• Zhong Zhengbai checked the rankings and realized the 50th Province might climb all the way to first place.

Jiang Fan and Zhong Zhengbai endured the final wave of the Star Beast Tide, fighting together as Rippers and Void Hunters attacked in greater numbers. The first round ended, and the contestants returned from the simulation to their dormancy pods.

• Zhong Zhengbai saw their points surpass the current first-place team while the second wave was still underway.
• After the second wave ended, Zhong Zhengbai collapsed from exhaustion, and Jiang Fan warned him that the final wave was about to begin.
• The third wave brought larger numbers of Rippers and Void Hunters, and Jiang Fan told Zhong Zhengbai to keep scattered beasts away while he hunted the rest.
• Jiang Fan and Zhong Zhengbai fought together through the third wave, gathering points until the simulation announced the end of the first round.
• The Star Beasts vanished, and the contestants were transported back to their dormancy pods at the Federal Arbitration Office.

Jiang Fan learned that the 50th Province had won the first round of the Team Survival Battle by a huge margin and concluded that its advancement was certain. Other contestants suspected the province had exploited a loophole, and some set off to demand an explanation from Elder Xu before Zhong Zhengbai spotted Jiang Fan.

• Jiang Fan woke from the hibernation pod and realized the vaporized energy liquid had kept him going without food.
• Jiang Fan viewed the leaderboard and saw the 50th Province ranked first with two contestants and 438,277 points.
• Jiang Fan concluded that the 50th Province would advance because it had the highest team average and he had the highest individual score.
• Contestants discussed the unusually difficult battle and speculated that the 50th Province had found a trick in the simulation system.
• Several contestants prepared to demand an explanation from Elder Xu, but Zhong Zhengbai excitedly spotted Jiang Fan.

After the 50th Province took first place in the simulated Star War System, Lu Xiaojian and contestants from other provinces accused Jiang Fan and Zhong Zhengbai of cheating. Zhong Zhengbai defended their result and lashed out at the accusers, until someone placed a hand on his shoulder.

• Lu Xiaojian confronted Jiang Fan and Zhong Zhengbai, demanding to know how they had taken first place.
• Zhong Zhengbai said they had earned their points by killing Star Beasts and accused Lu Xiaojian of refusing to accept the 49th Province's loss.
• Lu Xiaojian claimed the 50th Province had cheated and argued that its result could unfairly eliminate other provinces.
• Contestants from other provinces joined Lu Xiaojian in accusing Jiang Fan and Zhong Zhengbai and urging them to confess to Elder Xu.
• Zhong Zhengbai angrily defended the 50th Province's result and insulted the accusers, then felt someone press a hand on his shoulder.

Jiang Fan provoked the competitors who accused him and Zhong Zhengbai of cheating, then Lu Xiaojian led them to report the pair to Elder Xu. Elder Xu announced that the 50th Province’s results were real and valid, leaving the furious crowd without grounds to disqualify them.

• Jiang Fan insulted the gathered competitors, while Zhong Zhengbai left with him rather than continue arguing.
• Jiang Fan challenged the crowd to fight or report them, and he and Zhong Zhengbai departed without anyone daring to attack.
• Lu Xiaojian decided to report Jiang Fan and Zhong Zhengbai to Elder Xu, believing he could still deal with them if they were expelled.
• Lu Xiaojian and the others accused Jiang Fan and Zhong Zhengbai of manipulating the simulated Star War System to farm points.
• Elder Xu announced that the Federal Arbitration Office had reviewed their results and found them real and valid.

Xu Shoushan defended the 50th Province’s results and warned the arbitrators against challenging the Federal Arbitration Office’s judgment. He realized that Lu Xiaojian and the others still resented Jiang Fan and Zhong Zhengbai and might target them in the second round, unaware of Jiang Fan’s true strength.

• Lu Xiaojian questioned Xu Shoushan’s explanation, but Xu Shoushan’s Level 13 pressure forced him to apologize.
• Xu Shoushan threatened to revoke the arbitrators’ qualifications, then forgave them after they begged for mercy.
• Xu Shoushan explained that the judging panel had reviewed the battles and recordings and found no cheating or exploitation of system loopholes.
• After Xu Shoushan dismissed the crowd, some arbitrators privately doubted his explanation and speculated about Zhong Zhengbai’s abilities.
• Xu Shoushan watched the arbitrators leave and suspected that Lu Xiaojian and others would obstruct Jiang Fan and Zhong Zhengbai in the second round, not realizing Jiang Fan was far stronger than Level 10.

Jiang Fan learned that the second round would be a free-for-all challenge in which contestants could fight without restraint, and Zhong Zhengbai warned that rivals would target the 50th Province’s high rankings. The first batch of challenge pairings was chosen, but Xu Shoushan froze as he read the cards.

• Xu Shoushan judged Jiang Fan to possess at least high Level 11 strength and warned that challengers might face grave consequences if they angered him.
• Contestants received the first-round results and the notice explaining that successful challenges would swap rankings while failed challenges would leave rankings unchanged.
• Jiang Fan and Zhong Zhengbai arrived at the Ring of Judgment, where four arenas had been set up, and Zhong Zhengbai warned Jiang Fan that rivals would likely target him.
• Xu Shoushan announced that four contestants at a time would select opponents, and the staff collected the first batch of challenge cards.
• Xu Shoushan began reading out the first batch of pairings, then froze when he saw the cards.

Xu Shoushan revised the challenge rules after four contestants chose Zhong Zhengbai, splitting his matches across separate batches and requiring successful challengers to swap rankings. When Numbers 44, 45, and 46 submitted their opponent choices, Xu Shoushan was dumbfounded again.

• Wang Gang, Xu Xingguang, and Cheng Jing'an all chose to challenge Zhong Zhengbai, who had also selected Meng Hanliu.
• Xu Shoushan announced that Zhong Zhengbai's four matches would take place in separate batches and added contestants ranked 44 through 46 to the first batch.
• Xu Shoushan ruled that any successful challenge would swap the contestants' rankings, even when a higher-ranked contestant challenged a lower-ranked one.
• Xu Shoushan called on contestants ranked 44, 45, and 46 to submit their opponent choices, then was dumbfounded when he received their cards.

After several contestants chose to put Zhong Zhengbai through the Gauntlet, Jiang Fan asked Elder Xu for permission to challenge every contestant from the other provinces alongside Zhong Zhengbai. The chapter ended with Jiang Fan proposing that the winners take first place and the losers stop complaining.

• Xu Shoushan announced that contestants Number 44, Number 45, and Number 46 had also chosen Zhong Zhengbai, extending the Gauntlet against him.
• Zhong Zhengbai panicked about facing seven matches, and Jiang Fan reassured him that things would not come to that.
• Jiang Fan approached Xu Shoushan and accused the other provinces of repeatedly targeting the 50th Province.
• Jiang Fan asked to team up with Zhong Zhengbai and challenge everyone from the other provinces, offering them first place if they won and silence if they lost.

Jiang Fan insisted on challenging every provincial team alongside Zhong Zhengbai, and Xu Shoushan approved a special ring-stage rule for them. Zhong Zhengbai feared they would be overwhelmed, but Jiang Fan told him to stay beside him while he handled the challengers.

• Jiang Fan brought Zhong Zhengbai with him to request a challenge against all provincial teams, drawing loud objections and support from the teams below.
• Xu Shoushan urged Jiang Fan to endure the doubts and avoid risking his future, but Jiang Fan refused to back down.
• Xu Shoushan added a rule allowing Jiang Fan and Zhong Zhengbai to face challenges from every provincial team, with the 50th Province losing its ranking if they were defeated.
• The other provincial teams accepted the rule, and Jiang Fan confirmed that he agreed to it.
• Zhong Zhengbai worried that the pair could not withstand the gauntlet, but Jiang Fan told him to stay beside him and leave the fighting to him.

Jiang Fan and Zhong Zhengbai entered the team challenge arena, where Lu Xiaojian’s team from the 49th Province became their first opponents. Jiang Fan refused to limit the opposing team’s numbers, and the two sides began fighting.

• Xu Shoushan explained the team challenge rules and officially opened the tournament.
• Lu Xiaojian volunteered his team from the 49th Province to challenge Jiang Fan and Zhong Zhengbai first.
• Xu Shoushan warned Lu Xiaojian to avoid extreme actions, but Lu Xiaojian said he would not kill them.
• Jiang Fan declined Xu Shoushan’s offer to limit the opposing team to two fighters.
• Lu Xiaojian and his two teammates surrounded Jiang Fan and Zhong Zhengbai, then attacked from different directions.

Jiang Fan effortlessly broke Lu Xiaojian’s team’s coordinated attack, leaving Lu Xiaojian and his companions injured and stunned. He seized Lu Xiaojian by the neck and asked him to name his biggest mistake.

• Lu Xiaojian and his two teammates launched a coordinated attack to defeat Jiang Fan and Zhong Zhengbai at once.
• Jiang Fan moved Zhong Zhengbai behind him and countered with a single strike that shattered their attack and injured all three opponents.
• Lu Xiaojian accused Jiang Fan of using underhanded methods when he could not explain how his team’s Sealing Cage had been broken.
• Jiang Fan pulled Lu Xiaojian toward him, grabbed him by the neck, and asked what his biggest mistake had been.

Jiang Fan provoked the other teams after defeating Lu Xiaojian, and Xiao Xingzhi led the 26th Province in challenging the 50th Province. The 26th Province unleashed a powerful combined attack, but Jiang Fan pierced through its giant fist phantom with a single finger, leaving the fight unresolved.

• Jiang Fan dared the other teams to challenge him, and Xu Shoushan prepared to declare him first when no one initially stepped forward.
• Xiao Xingzhi announced that the 26th Province would challenge the 50th Province, prompting other teams to voice support for taking Jiang Fan on in successive matches.
• Xu Shoushan began the challenge, and Xiao Xingzhi and his two teammates faced Jiang Fan and Zhong Zhengbai in the arena.
• Xiao Xingzhi and his teammates fused their Blood Qi Power into a giant phantom fist and launched it at Jiang Fan and Zhong Zhengbai.
• Jiang Fan touched the phantom fist with one finger, piercing it and causing it to collapse and scatter its energy across the arena.

Jiang Fan easily defeated Xiao Xingzhi and two others, then challenged the teams from the other provinces to attack him together. The teams accepted, setting up a mass fight against Jiang Fan.

• Jiang Fan defeated Xiao Xingzhi and two others with a single strike, shocking the spectators.
• The crowd recognized Jiang Fan's strength and wondered how the 50th Province had recruited him.
• Jiang Fan invited the assembled teams to challenge him all at once to avoid wasting time on successive fights.
• The crowd angrily accused Jiang Fan of arrogance, but he taunted them into reconsidering their strategy.
• The teams agreed to attack Jiang Fan together, warning him not to regret it if he lost.