Chapter Summaries

Ling Xin reviewed her defeat by Taimu at the International Exchange Meeting and learned from Ling Yao that Taimu controlled his own flow of time. Ling Yao then revealed that the dangerous cultivation technique he had taught Night was a dead end, leaving its potential practitioners at risk of dying in a breakthrough.

• Ling Xin recalled losing to Taimu, whose strange speed had eliminated her from the individual event and left only Xue Lan representing Zhendan in the quarterfinals.
• Ling Yao told Ling Xin that Taimu was likely a Mystic Faction cultivator who could control his own Time Flow Rate, and said major powers such as the Ling Family might try to recruit him.
• Ling Yao asked Ling Xin to contact Night because he had discovered a serious problem with the cultivation technique he had taught him in the Underground Ruins.
• Ling Yao explained that the technique stored the energy expended during cultivation and unleashed it at breakthrough, so continually resisting its costs with Vital Energy could cause the stored energy to overwhelm and destroy the body.
• Ling Yao said members of the ancient monster race had also tried to overcome the technique's final backlash, but nearly all had died, making the method a dead end.

Luo Jun reached the end of dissipating Nine Hells’ energy and discovered that he could finally attempt a breakthrough. After persuading Zhang Daozhi to guard him, he began breaking through to the Tenth Layer of the Body Refinement Realm.

• Ling Yao learned that Ling Kai might know how to contact Night, while Ling Xin heard that Luo Jun was safe with Wan Guiyuan in Yuandu.
• Luo Jun continued dissipating Nine Hells’ immense energy in the Confinement Room on Liangyi Mountain and drifted to sleep.
• After Luo Jun slept for four hours, his remaining energy began escaping as Innate Spiritual Qi, and he realized he had reached the end of Vital Energy dissipation.
• Luo Jun collected some of the escaping Qi, confirmed that his body resisted absorbing it, and sensed a bottleneck before a breakthrough.
• Luo Jun convinced Zhang Daozhi that he needed uninterrupted seclusion to eliminate Nine Hells, and Zhang Daozhi set up a barrier to guard him.
• Luo Jun used Black and White Reversal to succeed in his attempt to break through to the Body Refinement Realm Tenth Layer.

Luo Jun broke through the Body Refinement Realm Tenth Layer, survived a violent release of accumulated energy, and gained immense physical strength while losing access to his Vital Energy. Trapped inside the Old Celestial Master's barrier, he began claiming his dice rewards and realized the breakthrough had permanently transformed his attributes.

• Luo Jun completed a new circulation of his technique, reached the Body Refinement Realm Tenth Layer, and leveled up, but his meridians and organs began rupturing under a surge of Innate Spiritual Power.
• The dice's level-up recovery kept Luo Jun alive as the violent power repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt his body, tempering him into a vastly stronger physical state.
• Luo Jun found that he could no longer mobilize Vital Energy, then accidentally demolished the Confinement Room and crashed into the Old Celestial Master's barrier with small movements.
• Luo Jun drew More Opportunities and attribute points, then discovered that his Actual Attributes were too high for the panel to display and suspected the Saint Technique had made his enhancement part of his innate power.
• Luo Jun accidentally unleashed destructive sound waves by speaking and wondered where the Old Celestial Master had gone before summoning the Dice of Heavenly Secrets.

The King of Hell and Ji Wushuang confronted Zhang Daozhi at Liangyi Mountain, demanding the Nine Hells Remains to cure Zhuge Yan, and their refusal to back down sparked a battle that devastated the Celestial Master Residence. As Zhang Daozhi and Ji Wushuang resumed their fight, Luo Jun watched from nearby, while Wan Guiyuan stayed in the Main World and allowed the pair to pursue their goal.

• Zhang Daozhi received the King of Hell and Ji Wushuang, recognized their Ascension-level auras, and learned they had come for Nine Hells.
• The King of Hell accused Liangyi Mountain of hiding Nine Hells in its residence, and Ji Wushuang asked to borrow its remains to cure Zhuge Yan.
• Zhang Daozhi refused and ordered them to leave, so Ji Wushuang and the King of Hell attacked and engulfed the main hall in red light.
• Mu Lanshi told Wan Guiyuan that the King of Hell and Ji Wushuang had escaped to [Paranormal], and Wan Guiyuan said he had chosen not to stop them.
• As the battle's red and golden light filled Liangyi Mountain, the disciples fled under Zhang Daozhi's decree, while Luo Jun watched from behind a barrier and summoned the dice.
• Zhang Daozhi unleashed Heavenly Thunder, but Ji Wushuang nullified it; after he claimed to have destroyed the Nine Hells Remains, she fired a massive bolt of lightning at him.

Ji Wushuang and the King of Hell trapped Zhang Daozhi in an illusion while seeking Nine Hells's remains, but the King of Hell’s attempt to kill him was interrupted by a mysterious, extraordinarily fast stranger. The stranger stood before them holding the King of Hell’s severed arm, and his identity remained unknown.

• Ji Wushuang reflected Zhang Daozhi’s enhanced lightning, and he countered by attacking her with his golden-light-enhanced sword.
• Ji Wushuang transformed Liangyi Mountain into a Stone Giant while Zhuge Yan’s illusion made Zhang Daozhi believe villages were in danger.
• Zhang Daozhi entered the Stone Giant and found Zhuge Yan’s mental-power node, but was confronted by an illusion of his disciple Shao Yu and remained trapped.
• Ji Wushuang refused to kill Zhang Daozhi, but the King of Hell fired his golden pistol at him anyway.
• A Black Shadow intercepted the shot, severed the King of Hell’s gun-holding hand, and revealed himself to Ji Wushuang and the King of Hell.

Luo Jun transformed into the Cold-Blooded Butcher to protect Zhang Daozhi from King of Hell and Ji Wushuang, then pursued the pair after they attacked him. He recovered in a river and prepared to face them again as they caught up.

• King of Hell and Ji Wushuang recognized that the Butcher monster carried power connected to Nine Hells and tried to seize it while Zhang Daozhi remained trapped in an illusion.
• The Butcher resisted their attacks, protected Zhang Daozhi with layers of barriers, and fought King of Hell, whose power surged and faltered during the clash.
• Ji Wushuang blasted the Butcher off Liangyi Mountain, and King of Hell chased after it while Ji Wushuang retrieved his severed arm and followed.
• The Butcher landed in a river, where its damaged face revealed Luo Jun beneath the mask.
• Luo Jun explained how he had escaped the Celestial Master's restriction and used a Golden Core to power the Cold-Blooded Butcher Set transformation.
• After healing, Luo Jun sensed King of Hell and Ji Wushuang approaching and leaped into the air to confront them.

King of Hell and Ji Wushuang fought the Butcher, which broke King of Hell’s reattached arm and severed his thigh before Ji Wushuang blasted it into the lake. Ji Wushuang sealed the silent creature inside a huge obsidian block, and King of Hell began wearing down the Nine Hells Remains’ Soul Fragment inside an illusion.

• The Butcher ambushed King of Hell and Ji Wushuang, and King of Hell’s blade could not pierce its body before it crushed his right arm and severed his thigh.
• King of Hell recognized the Nine Hells Skeleton inside the Butcher and urged Ji Wushuang to attack it from a distance.
• Ji Wushuang bombarded Luo Jun with High-Temperature Rays, evaporated the lake, and froze the ground around the crater.
• Ji Wushuang extracted the Butcher, now silent, from the frozen lakebed inside a massive block of obsidian.
• King of Hell entered the obsidian block mentally and created a Colosseum illusion to make the Nine Hells Remains fight endless challengers and exhaust its Soul Fragment.

Luo Jun turned the King of Hell’s illusion against him, freed Zhang Daozhi, and defeated the spirit possessing the King of Hell. The obsidian Giant Stone shattered, revealing Luo Jun in the real world.

• The King of Hell combined the illusions trapping Nine Hells and Zhang Daozhi, forcing them to fight while he weakened Nine Hells.
• Two consorts stabbed the King of Hell after poisoned wine disrupted his control, and he shrank the illusion and forced Zhang Daozhi out.
• The waiter revealed himself as Luo Jun, cut off the King of Hell’s arm and leg, and reinforced the illusion so the King of Hell could not escape.
• A taoist-like monster emerged from the King of Hell, but Luo Jun allowed it to enter him and absorbed it.
• In reality, the King of Hell collapsed in Ji Wushuang’s arms as the Giant Stone exploded and an ordinary-looking young man appeared inside.

Luo Jun killed Ji Wushuang and the King of Hell after defeating Shao Yu, then learned from the recovered memories how Shao Yu had corrupted the King of Hell and caused the Essence Devouring Ghost incident. He gathered the fallen equipment and returned to the summit of Liangyi Mountain with Ji Wushuang’s treasures.

• Luo Jun used the ghosts as a decoy to strike Ji Wushuang with Mental Shock, then blinked behind her with the Instant Step Boots and killed her.
• Luo Jun learned that Shao Yu, Zhang Daozhi’s gifted disciple, had experimented with Nine Hells’ power, become a monster, and been sealed inside the King of Hell after Ji Wushuang refused to kill her former lover.
• Luo Jun learned that Shao Yu had manipulated Ji Wushuang into bringing the King of Hell back to [Paranormal] to seize Nine Hells’ power, but Luo Jun had devoured Shao Yu’s last remnant and left the King of Hell’s soul severely damaged.
• Luo Jun killed the crippled King of Hell, opened his Hundred Treasure Box with the Lockpick, and stored it in the Stabilization Box for later.
• Luo Jun recovered the Kai Ren Qi, collected the King of Hell’s equipment and Ji Wushuang’s Long Whip and gloves, then carried the latter items back to the summit of Liangyi Mountain.

After resolving the crisis at Liangyi Mountain, Luo Jun asked Zhang Daozhi to safeguard Ji Wushuang’s magic treasures and let him replenish his Vital Energy with pills. He reunited with his subordinates, explained his new limitations, and began planning how to enter the approaching Heavenly Origin Tournament.

• Zhang Daozhi awoke to find Luo Jun had refined both Nine Hells and thanked him for destroying them, eliminating Shao Yu, and driving off the hostile Feather Transformations.
• Luo Jun asked Zhang Daozhi to keep Ji Wushuang’s whip and gloves and to let him use Liangyi Mountain’s Essence Return Pills.
• Zhang Daozhi summoned his disciples to return and rebuild the Celestial Master Residence while Luo Jun ate every Essence Return Pill in the underground storehouse.
• Luo Jun reunited with his five Heavenly Kings and Han Guofei, then explained that he could no longer generate Vital Energy himself and needed his subordinates to produce it.
• Luo Jun restored the Gate of Myriad Realms Staff and told his subordinates he needed a plan to register for the approaching Heavenly Origin Tournament despite his condition.

Ji Wushuang told Wan Guiyuan about the unkillable monster that had killed A Yan, and he took the damaged shield as a clue to investigate. Back in the Main World, Luo Jun reunited with his companions, settled into his rental apartment, and called Ling Xin, whose flustered response to his marriage joke left him wondering whether his Master had been right about her feelings.

• Wan Guiyuan questioned Ji Wushuang about the monster, and she explained that it looked like a Vengeful Ghost, may have concealed a young man, and was connected to Nine Hells.
• Ji Wushuang showed Wan Guiyuan the Round Shield bearing the monster's bare-hand print, and he took it to investigate before restoring her restraints.
• Luo Jun brought Ailongtan and the others through a Space Gate to his rental apartment, sent Han Guofei back to [Paranormal], and had Ailongtan disguise himself to send away the apartment agent and prospective tenants.
• Luo Jun told Ailongtan and Lilith to arrange to buy the apartment, then checked his messages and called Old Yuan, who urged him to contact Ling Xin.
• Luo Jun called Ling Xin, joked that she should marry him, and heard her explain the Ling Family's requirements before she abruptly hung up.

Luo Jun learned about the Heavenly Origin Tournament selections and opened King of Hell’s treasure box, obtaining and testing a Mythic Golden Hoop that could suppress and torture its wearer. He stopped after Gabriel endured its punishments, then noticed an unusual option on the Golden Hoop’s list.

• Luo Jun watched Taimu defeat Xue Lan and learned that Taimu, Xue Lan, Ling Xin, Ottos, Eileen, and Gregory had earned direct-entry slots in the Heavenly Origin Tournament.
• Luo Jun read the rogue cultivator Preliminary Selection rules and considered whether Ailongtan or Aishiliya could compete in his place.
• Luo Jun used a Lockpick on Hades's Treasure Box and obtained the Mythic Golden Hoop.
• Luo Jun fitted the Golden Hoop on Gabriel, activated Reset, and tested its Level One burning punishment.
• Luo Jun lifted Reset and tested stronger punishments, stopping at Level Three before noticing an unusual punishment option.

Luo Jun tested the Golden Hoop’s Shackles punishment on Gabriel, then used it to practice controlling his overwhelming strength by resisting the hoops’ movements. After the others overheard the experiments and misunderstood what was happening, Luo Jun decided to make them try the restraints themselves.

• Luo Jun activated the Shackles punishment on Gabriel, testing its strength at different levels and discovering that level three immobilized him completely.
• Luo Jun freed Gabriel, put the Golden Hoop on himself, and found that even level nine could restrain only about half his strength in its default state.
• Luo Jun discovered that resisting the hoops while they moved could restrict nearly all his power, though precise control was difficult and mistakes could cause massive destruction.
• Luo Jun opened the bedroom door and found Ailongtan, Aishiliya, and Lilith eavesdropping while Sima Cheng explained what they had heard.
• Luo Jun removed the Golden Hoop and told the three eavesdroppers they would experience what had really happened, as Gabriel watched with delight.

At the preliminary selection for the Heavenly Origin Tournament, Yao Yuhui defended the Treasure Tool ban and Luo Jun arranged for Ailongtan and Aishiliya to qualify in his place. With the quarter-finals set for Zuna Island, Luo Jun went through the Gate of Myriad Realms to train his strength control on a deserted island.

• Yao Yuhui calmed the protesting contestants, demonstrated how he could disable all four Advanced Puppets, and urged them to strengthen their fundamentals.
• Luo Jun remotely guided Aishiliya, disguised as him, while Ailongtan registered under his own appearance; both passed the preliminary selection despite Treasure Tool restrictions.
• Ailongtan gave Luo Jun the qualification certificate, which showed that the quarter-finals would take place on Zuna Island in the East Ocean one week later.
• Luo Jun sent Ailongtan and Aishiliya ahead to prepare for the quarter-finals, then asked Lilith and Gabriel to guard the room and Sima Cheng to protect him while he trained.
• Luo Jun crossed the Gate of Myriad Realms with Sima Cheng and began intensive training with the level-nine Shackles penalty to adapt to controlling his strength.

Qi Xingzi reported that Old Ai had registered for the Heavenly Origin Tournament and was connected to Luo Jun, prompting Zheng Yuanqiang to send her, Qing Yi, and A Lun to investigate their base. The group reached Luo Jun’s rental building, where a resident’s terrified warning suggested something monstrous was inside.

• Qi Xingzi told Zheng Yuanqiang that Old Ai had passed the tournament’s preliminary screening and had met Luo Jun after leaving the registration site.
• Zheng Yuanqiang ordered Qi Xingzi to investigate Old Ai’s base with Qing Yi and A Lun, warning A Lun not to pursue Old Ai directly.
• Lilith detected approaching cultivators near the rental house, and she and Gabriel prepared to ambush them.
• Qi Xingzi identified Luo Jun’s building and learned from a neighbor that Xiao Liu’s blind date had begun speaking strangely about supernatural matters.
• A girl leaving the building called Xiao Liu a monster and fled in terror when Qi Xingzi said they were his relatives.

Lilith trapped Qi Xingzi and Qing Yi in illusions while A Lun fought Gabriel on the Paranormal Deserted Island. Luo Jun defeated A Lun, and Han Guofei successfully devoured his ability before Gabriel killed him.

• Qi Xingzi, A Lun, and Qing Yi entered the apartment, where an apparent demon lair trapped them and Qi Xingzi summoned Velociraptors and a detoxifying creature to help them fight.
• Qi Xingzi realized the apartment battle was an illusion created by Lilith, who had captured her and Qing Yi, while A Lun fought Gabriel through the Space Gate.
• Luo Jun learned about A Lun's Weapon Spirit ability and decided Han Guofei should take it for herself.
• Luo Jun blocked A Lun's saber with his body and battered him until he was barely alive.
• Han Guofei possessed A Lun and successfully devoured his Vital Energy and ability, after which Gabriel killed him.

Luo Jun arranged for A Fei to possess and revive A Lun, preserving his memories so she could spy on Zheng Yuanqiang’s black market. After moving his group to a secluded villa, Luo Jun opened a Cave Heaven with the Creation Chessboard to train without endangering the Main World.

• Luo Jun decided A Lun had to die, then helped Lilith trap A Lun’s emerging ghost while Han Guofei devoured his soul and memories.
• A Fei possessed A Lun’s repaired body, inherited his Treasure Tools and mission progress, and used the Golden Silk Vest to recreate his clothes.
• Lilith altered Qi Xingzi and Qing Yi’s memories, and A Fei left with them believing their visit had found nothing.
• Luo Jun’s group moved to a furnished villa in the southern suburbs, where he set Crisscross to Private Status for use as an ordinary vehicle.
• With the Quarter-finals approaching and little time to adapt to his body, Luo Jun opened a Cave Heaven using the Creation Chessboard to train.

Luo Jun discovered that removing the Golden Hoop still made his power uncontrollable, so he entered a Chaos Mission to find a place to cultivate before the Heavenly Origin Tournament. He arrived in a mission alongside Taimu, Eileen, and Gonzales, leaving his companions behind as they realized he had already departed.

• Luo Jun told Lilith, Gabriel, and Sima Cheng that he had destroyed the cave heaven after removing the Golden Hoop and needed a safer place to train.
• Luo Jun used the Chaos Key to start a Tier A mission after the Dice of Heavenly Secrets could not activate Endless Maze.
• Lilith and Gabriel sensed through the Dominator's Eye that Luo Jun had vanished from their world.
• Luo Jun arrived in a vast hemispherical room with six other participants and recognized Taimu and Eileen from the International Exchange Competition.
• Gonzales stopped a fan from pestering Taimu and warned the group to prepare for the dangers of [Chaos].

Luo Jun and five other challengers learned the rules of a lethal, round-based survival mission and prepared to face its first wave of monsters. Though Luo Jun claimed he could not use Vital Energy, the others fought to reduce the enormous zombie horde before the round ended, while he stayed idle and considered a plan.

• Gonzales, Hansen, Diana, Ivanka, Eileen, and Taimu introduced themselves, and Eileen recognized Luo Jun from his exploits in Zhendan.
• The Death Ground mission rules revealed seventy-two six-hour monster rounds, curses for surviving monsters, and escape passages tied to rewards; the challengers prepared for the first round.
• Luo Jun told the group he was sealed and unable to use Vital Energy, so they decided to fight as if he were not there and advised him to leave after the first round.
• Zombies appeared across the arena without fixed spawn points, and the challengers used firearms to suppress them for hours while leaving a vast horde alive.
• As the round neared its end, Gonzales, Ivanka, Diana, and Eileen charged into the horde with area attacks, while Hansen and Taimu continued using guns and Luo Jun contemplated an evil idea.

Luo Jun secretly summoned enhanced monsters to slow his teammates during the first two rounds, but the challengers survived the increasingly difficult waves and continued through the mission. They entered the sixth round, the final stage of the first cycle.

• Luo Jun summoned Plague Zombies that spread toxic mist, leaving more than twenty thousand ordinary zombies alive when the first round ended.
• The challengers passed the first round, received supplies, and chose to stay despite urging Luo Jun to escape through the passage.
• The Stagnation Curse increased Treasure Tool cooldowns, and the group fought Skeleton Soldiers while Luo Jun secretly added five thousand resurrecting skeletons to their ranks.
• The second round ended with more than ten thousand skeletons remaining, and the group rested before facing further waves.
• The challengers cleared rounds of ghouls, flying skulls, and explosive bloated zombies while Luo Jun continued his sabotage.
• The group reached the sixth round, the final stage of the first cycle.