Chapter Summaries

After a Throne Fighter’s threat vanished from the road, Chen Chuan and Head Xie decided the Federation was testing their resolve, and Chen Chuan went sightseeing in the capital. The tour took an unsettling turn when Chen Chuan recognized the guide’s story about a cannibal feast might refer to the church beside the river.

• A Throne Fighter conjured a vision of a devastating punch to threaten Chen Chuan, but Chen Chuan dispelled it before anyone on the street noticed.
• Chen Chuan told Head Xie what had happened, and Head Xie advised him that the Strategic Affairs Department was bluffing and testing their resolve.
• Chen Chuan set out by yacht with Gui Zihan, guards, and guide Samuel Ash to see the capital’s sights.
• Samuel Ash described the Thousand Lamps Long Bridge, and a Red-bellied Tit interrupted with a love poem before a guard shot it at Chen Chuan’s order.
• Ash introduced the Saint Flo Great Church, and Chen Chuan asked whether it was the abandoned church where Ash had nearly become part of a cannibal feast.

Ash guided the group along the river, recounting a cannibal banquet and arranging an Invitation to a Primitive Sect gathering. At the church ruins, a supposed sacrifice escaped into the river, revealing a monstrous creature as robed figures and more lake-dwellers attacked the gathered boats.

• Ash told Yuan Qiuyuan about a cannibal banquet he had witnessed at a Mystical Gathering and offered to arrange an Invitation.
• Wei Changan gave Ash an old Federation silver coin, which Ash tossed into the lake to request an Invitation from the Primitive Sect.
• Ash guided the group past the Pillars of Eternity and said one contained the world's last surviving Mermaid.
• At dusk, Ash received an Invitation to a sect gathering, and the yacht returned to the church ruins that night.
• A woman in blood-red silk escaped the procession and was rescued by passengers, but she transformed into a scaly, finned creature that resisted bullets and leaped into the water.
• More creatures emerged from the lake, seized people in the water, and began biting them as screams and blood spread among the boats.

Chen Chuan disrupted a Primitive Sect sacrifice in the Federation Capital by destroying the ritual materials beneath the lake, then returned to the Red Rock Garrison and found Zhao Ming awake. Meanwhile, the Non-Body Faction Dojo gained a fighting reputation, but protests demanding its return to the Federation began, prompting Head Xie to prepare to act.

• Ash explained that the lake gathering was a Primitive Sect sacrifice using human offerings, while Chen Chuan sensed that the ritual drew power from the attendees’ emotions.
• Chen Chuan found the ritual network beneath the lake and used his mental power to destroy its biological materials, causing the ritual leaders, participants, and lake monsters to collapse.
• Chen Chuan returned to the Red Rock Garrison, sent a message to the Covert Department, and discovered that Zhao Ming had awakened and grown larger.
• The Non-Body Faction Dojo defeated the Infantry Fighting Hall more often than it lost, restoring its reputation after the Migas Fighting Hall backed down.
• Protesters demanded that Great Shun return the dojo to the Federation, and Head Xie decided it was time to take the initiative.

Head Xie tried to counter the pressure on the Non-Body Faction dojos by meeting Federation officials and setting a plan in motion. An Aluson Country team attempted to attack him, but the assault failed, and the chapter ended with two men escaping with a mirror-like object after Bayero's apparent death.

• Head Xie arranged support for the dojos, recruited personnel, contacted the First Visiting Delegation and Chen Chuan, and began meeting Federation officials.
• An Aluson Country team identified Head Xie as a target and decided to act that day to uncover the negotiations' secrets.
• A gunman shot at Head Xie's car, but Wang Tongshan caught the bullet while Bian Zhijie subdued the shooter and dealt with other attackers, including transparent Mutated Creatures.
• Head Xie and Wang Tongshan waited for city security, and Bayero approached them before a flash of light left charred remains where he had stood.
• Wang Tongshan helped Head Xie into the car, and two formally dressed men retrieved a multifaceted mirror-like object and hurried away.

After the attack on Head Xie, the delegation used a planted Strategic Affairs Department badge to pressure the Federation, while Gui Zihan suspected the attackers came from Aluson Country. As the delegation continued its plans, Origin Company president Gao Xinjian ordered Joe Petre to arrange a meeting with Chen Chuan.

• Head Xie confirmed that the attackers had used a high-grade Lost Object to steal prepared false memories, and Gui Zihan found a Strategic Affairs Department badge at their base.
• Head Xie concluded that the attackers' methods pointed to the Norros Theocracy and Aluson Country, then left to meet the Executive Hall staff team and Deputy Head Tu.
• Chen Chuan asked Gui Zihan to lead a student exchange with Vault Sword Academy, and Gui Zihan revealed that an unknown fighter from the capital had defeated him in a Domain Field match.
• Gao Xinjian told Joe Petre to arrange a meeting with Chen Chuan and studied a photograph of Chen Chuan severing Krosal's head.

After learning about the Primitive Sect’s influence and its life-force rituals, Chen Chuan planned to investigate a suspected Rift at one of its strongholds. Meanwhile, the sect’s leaders discussed a plan to lure him into a siege in the West Coast region and capture him if he proved to possess the Golden Trait.

• Chen Chuan warned his team to stay vigilant, explained that a Security Team would guard the estate’s exterior, and gave the team combat guidance before granting them half a day off.
• Chen Chuan read the Covert Department’s report on the Primitive Sect and concluded that its suspected Rift at the Creekland Great Inner Lake stronghold needed investigation.
• Chen Chuan sent a seed infused with Purple Qi to investigate the Primitive Sect’s lakeside stronghold through an ownerless body.
• At the Great Ladder Divine Temple, a masked man told the Primitive Sect’s leaders that Chen Chuan’s ritual assessment suggested he was close to the Golden Trait and might be a Child of Gold.
• The Primitive Sect’s leaders considered restarting the New Light Sect’s proposed siege, hoping the Visiting Delegation would send Chen Chuan to support Kavatua and give them a chance to capture him.

A purple seed revived Lao Zheng and drove him to offer his life to the Primitive Sect, while Chen Chuan waited for the seed’s report and accepted an invitation from the Origin Company. The chapter ended as Chen Chuan arrived at Motetu Pillar Hall to meet Gao Xinjian.

• The purple seed entered Lao Zheng’s corpse in Migrant Bird Street, restored his body, and led him to the Primitive Sect checkpoint to sell himself.
• Lao Zheng qualified for the crossing, boarded a ferry with other recruits, and swallowed a sedative before falling asleep.
• Chen Chuan expected the seed to locate the Rift and report back within two days, then accepted an invitation from Origin Company head Gao Xinjian.
• Chen Chuan resumed cultivating and left Red Rock Manor the next afternoon with his guards for Motetu Pillar Hall.
• Chen Chuan climbed to the banquet pillar and found Gao Xinjian waiting with a black-haired woman behind him.

Chen Chuan met Gao Xinjian, who explained Origin Company's advanced Puppet technology and its reasons for seeking closer ties with Great Shun. The meeting ended with Chen Chuan understanding Gao Xinjian's hope that the Gao family’s return to the Eastern Continent would prove worthwhile.

• Gao Xinjian welcomed Chen Chuan and introduced Jade Cream, a rare drink now produced in large quantities using New Era techniques.
• Gao Xinjian introduced Gao Yueying as Origin Company's lifelike, combat-capable Puppet, explaining that she had grown on him like a daughter despite being nearly impossible to replicate.
• Gao Xinjian told Chen Chuan that his children had died from the Gao family's hereditary disease and described how the family’s struggle for survival had shaped Origin Company’s development.
• Gao Xinjian explained that Origin Company feared the Union's balance of power might fail after the Great Collision and wanted to move some industries to Great Shun.
• Chen Chuan questioned whether Origin Company would truly be safe in Great Shun, and Gao Xinjian said the choice carried risks but that he hoped it was right.
• Gao Xinjian signaled Gao Yueying to summon the banquet attendants.

Chen Chuan met with Gao Xinjian, learned more about Origin Company, and received a Lost Object that could create a convincing duplicate of himself. Meanwhile, the Primitive Sect’s strategy group used the Federation’s Eros entity to prepare a plan targeting Chen Chuan at an upcoming foreign affairs exchange conference.

• Gao Xinjian hosted Chen Chuan for a meal, discussed international affairs with him, gave him a black card, and warned him to beware of the Primitive Sect.
• After Chen Chuan left, Gao Xinjian asked Gao Yueying how Chen Chuan would treat her if she went to Xinwen, and she answered that he would destroy her.
• Chen Chuan concluded that Gao Xinjian had been probing him and examined the card, discovering that it was a Level Two Lost Object that produced a speaking duplicate of himself.
• The Primitive Sect’s strategy group abandoned plans to target Chen Chuan at Vault Sword Academy and chose the foreign affairs exchange conference instead.
• The group submitted its preliminary plan to Eros, received a detailed version, and sent it to the operations department.

Chen Chuan oversaw the Non-Body Faction Fighting Hall’s rebranding as the Divine Heart hall before joining a delegation banquet motorcade with precautions against the Primitive Sect. When the Sect’s operatives used the checkpoint to perform a ritual on his decoy, Chen Chuan recognized it and ordered Plan B.

• Chen Chuan and Head Xie agreed to recruit more native Federation citizens and rename the Non-Body Faction Fighting Hall after Chen Chuan sent it a new fighting technique manual.
• Nobu Goro and the others renamed the hall Divine Heart, while Chen Chuan sensed that the seed had been waiting on an island in Creekland Great Inner Lake.
• Chen Chuan accepted an invitation to a Federation foreign affairs banquet and rode in the motorcade’s last car while a Lost Object double traveled ahead as a precaution.
• Primitive Sect operatives disguised as Federation security personnel prepared to use the checkpoint ritual on Chen Chuan’s simulated figure.
• The operatives activated the ritual on the decoy, and Chen Chuan recognized the domain field, sent coordinates to his team, and ordered Plan B as Gui Zihan and the armed guards moved into action.

The Great Shun Delegation seized evidence of a secret ritual operation and handed the captives to the Federation, while Chen Chuan realized the Primitive Sect’s Prayer Feast Day was approaching. Meanwhile, Lao Zheng was transported with other captives to a hidden ritual site, where an elderly woman prepared to undergo initiation by sacrificing them.

• Gui Zihan, Wang Tongshan, and Bian Zhijie restrained the Federation Fighter as Great Shun’s guards seized the fallen operation team and its ritual evidence.
• Chen Chuan told Head Xie to preserve a copy of the evidence and hand the captives over to the Federation, then the delegation continued to the Banquet Hall.
• Chen Chuan noticed his planted seed moving and realized the next day was the Primitive Sect’s monthly Prayer Feast Day.
• Lao Zheng was transported with more than a hundred emaciated captives to Great Snail Peninsula, given medicine, and taken into a mountain facility.
• Lao Zheng awoke in a circular arena as a tall figure explained that the captives would be sacrifices for an elderly woman’s initiation ritual.
• The elderly woman asked to see the great existence before the ritual, and the tall figure agreed.

Lao Zheng infiltrated a Primitive Sect initiation ceremony to confirm whether a hidden rift was stable. He reached the rift and confirmed it was permanent before his body disintegrated.

• Lao Zheng watched initiates jump into a pool of dissolving liquid, which triggered the stone pillars’ domain field power.
• Lao Zheng saw rift-light behind the golden curtain and planned to approach it while the ceremony continued.
• Lao Zheng caused a commotion among the drugged participants, then charged toward the curtain as the elderly woman yearned to touch the light.
• Lao Zheng smashed through the elderly woman and entered the hidden passage, where a concealed Fighter tried to stop him.
• Lao Zheng unleashed his mutated tissue, severed the Fighter’s arm, and confirmed that a glowing opening in the biological wall was a stable rift.
• Lao Zheng dispersed his power and disintegrated, while the Fighter healed his arm and returned outside.

Chen Chuan confirmed that the Primitive Sect possessed an illegal rift near the Federation Capital and secured authorization from the International Investigation Group to investigate it. He prepared to notify the Federation government, expecting it to delay the operation, and told Head Xie they would act themselves if necessary.

• Connelly killed the unconscious ritual materials after an infiltrator disrupted the ritual, then ordered the entrances and exits sealed and the sect notified.
• Chen Chuan sensed that his seed had destroyed itself, concluded that a powerful Fighter guarded the rift, and contacted the International Investigation Group's local inspector, Elverston Darrow.
• Daro refused to authorize Chen Chuan at first, but agreed to send a telegram to the group leader, Mataiola, after Chen Chuan said he would contact him directly.
• Mataiola approved Chen Chuan's request to assist with the investigation, giving Chen Chuan the authorization he needed.
• Chen Chuan told Head Xie his plan to notify the Federation government, and Head Xie supported the operation while warning that officials would obstruct it.

Chen Chuan followed the required procedures after the Federation failed to investigate the rift, then set out to act against the Primitive Sect’s site at Da Luo Island. He reached Luo Mountain and struck its sealed entrance with a powerful burst of light, triggering dangerous domain field alarms.

• The Federation investigated the Primitive Sect incident, punished the personnel involved, and apologized, but repeatedly delayed answering questions about the rift.
• Chen Chuan concluded that the Federation would not uncover the truth and prepared to intervene under the international investigation procedures.
• The First Visiting Delegation argued over his plan, and Jiang Hongzhi instructed the delegation to support reasonable action.
• After notifying Head Xie, Chen Chuan ignored warnings from Federation security and flew toward Da Luo Island.
• Chen Chuan found the concealed entrance to the rift beneath Luo Mountain and unleashed a bright attack that set off dangerous domain field alarms.

Chen Chuan attacked a cavern on Da Luo Island and discovered a rift to the Other Side World, guarded by a powerful Primitive Sect fighter. He began a fierce fight against the man while trying to prove the rift existed before reinforcements arrived.

• Chen Chuan's Spiritual Impact triggered alarms across Creekland and the Federation Capital, but the Executive Government delayed authorizing a response.
• Chen Chuan blasted open the mountain on Da Luo Island, killing everyone inside and exposing a cavern that had been hollowed out by human hands.
• Chen Chuan entered the cavern and found a formally dressed man guarding a golden curtain that leaked the Other Side World's aura.
• Chen Chuan recognized the man as a familiar opponent wielding Profound Cave Observation power and attacked him with the Snow Monarch Blade.
• The man dodged Chen Chuan's opening attacks and used a mental technique, but Chen Chuan severed one of his arms and continued pressing him.
• Chen Chuan unleashed his mutated tissue to accelerate his blade and brought its flames close to the man's cheek.

Chen Chuan overwhelmed his opponent in a brutal clash while the Rift behind them began opening, then forced the man to his knees and suppressed the Aspect of the Gods within him. The chapter ended with Chen Chuan holding his defeated opponent down as the threat from the Rift remained unresolved.

• Chen Chuan battered the man with successive blade strikes and used the Furnace Breathing Method to drive him into the rock wall.
• The man's power grew under pressure, but Chen Chuan continued forcing him to defend at close range.
• The severed arm lunged at Chen Chuan from behind, and the Red-Clothed Woman deflected it with three precise strikes.
• The golden curtain dissolved as the Rift widened, but Chen Chuan ignored the disturbance and broke through the man's defenses.
• Chen Chuan forced the man to his knees and pressed the emerging Aspect of the Gods back into his body.

Chen Chuan killed the divine presence’s vessel and destroyed its escaping essence before confronting the immense entity emerging from the mountain rift. His attack shattered the mountainside and exposed the rift to the Federation, but the entity continued drawing power through it, so Chen Chuan set out to find its core.

• Chen Chuan tore the face from the man containing the Aspect of the Gods, split his body with the Cross Longsword, and struck down the escaping divine essence with his blade.
• Chen Chuan left the chamber and found an enormous presence halfway through the rift, then used his Spirit Manifestation to pin it down and blasted through it with a Spiritual Impact.
• Chen Chuan’s attack ruptured the mountain and exposed the rift, which the Combat Airships from Central City and the surrounding central cities detected.
• The Federation’s Executive Government made dealing with the rift its immediate priority as Chen Chuan emerged from the rubble.
• Chen Chuan realized the presence could keep returning while the rift remained open and resolved to find its core with the Snow Monarch Blade.

Chen Chuan found and destroyed the core sustaining the Rift on Da Luo Island, then recovered a jade object and the Cross Swords. As the Rift remained open but subdued, Jiang Hongzhi sent Fan Zhentong’s projection to investigate.

• Chen Chuan expanded his domain around the Rift and pinpointed a core hiding in the glittering mist while Federation airships approached.
• Chen Chuan sent a simulacrum through the Rift to distract the entity beyond it, then struck the core and shattered it.
• Chen Chuan found a talisman-inscribed jade object in the wreckage and recovered the Cross Swords, considering their connection to the Primitive Sect.
• The entity beyond the Rift made no further move, and Chen Chuan left the site for the Federation to handle.
• Jiang Hongzhi learned that a Rift had appeared on Da Luo Island and asked Fan Zhentong to investigate, so Fan Zhentong sent a projection toward the island.

Chen Chuan confronted two Federation Throne Fighters at the Rift on Luo Mountain and defended the legality of his investigation, while the Federation took control of the site. After returning to Central City, he encouraged Mr. Darrow to trust those willing to resist the approaching threat.

• Joel spotted Airships carrying Federation personnel and the International Investigation Group near Luo Mountain as Chen Chuan guarded the Rift.
• Drian Krosal and Vico Durant arrived, and Durant demanded that Chen Chuan leave the site and submit to the Federation investigation.
• Chen Chuan presented his International Investigation Group authorization and challenged the Federation's delayed response; Fan Zhentong arrived to remain as a witness while Chen Chuan left for Great Shun's Airship.
• A diviner examined the Rift near Creekland Great Inner Lake, read the celestial signs, and disappeared into the sky.
• Chen Chuan returned to Central City, where Mr. Darrow delivered a telegram from the International Investigation Group head and heard Chen Chuan urge him to trust others resisting the threat.

After the Luo Mountain rift was sealed, the Primitive Sect faced political and financial losses and considered attacking Kavatua to recover them and possibly capture Chen Chuan. Meanwhile, Gao Xinwen sought answers from Small Awakening Temple, and Chen Chuan received word that the jade analysis was complete.

• The Federation sealed the Luo Mountain rift and began investigating the Primitive Sect, prompting the Executive Government to restructure departments and sever many of the sect’s ties.
• Primitive Sect leaders debated whether to stop targeting Chen Chuan, then considered an improved plan to attack Kavatua and lure him into a capture attempt.
• Xiang Boqing told Gao Xinwen that the fighters’ strength might not be enough to defeat Chen Chuan, making Gao Xinwen anxious.
• Gao Xinwen contacted Small Awakening Temple to seek answers from the Venerable One and ordered an airship to take him there.
• Chen Chuan reflected that the Federation’s investigation would not reach the Primitive Sect’s most powerful members, then received a communication saying the jade analysis was complete.