Chapter Summaries

Luo Jun learned the Magic Shield spell from the one-eyed old man and traveled to Cuihua Island to find the Grandmaster of Soul Magic. After discovering the underground array draining the trees’ life force, he found its creator, who warned that destroying it would devastate the island.

• Luo Jun received the Magic Shield spell from the one-eyed old man and realized it could work alongside Void Siphon.
• Luo Jun traveled to Cuihua Island and met Hassen, who tasked him with finding the array draining the trees’ life force and restoring their red blossoms.
• Luo Jun sensed the array’s energy converging beneath the island and found an underwater cave leading to a cavern with an altar and coffin.
• An emaciated Old Man confronted Luo Jun and admitted he had built the array.
• The Old Man warned Luo Jun that destroying the altar would kill the island’s trees and cause a massive earthquake, and a Hidden Mission activated.

Luo Jun saved the cursed daughter of the array’s creator by supplying Life Energy, and the old man dismantled the array and rewarded him with a powerful Soul Magic skill. After returning to the Imperial Capital, Luo Jun headed to the fortress beneath the Sky-Piercing Tower to begin his campaign, but sensed something unusual at the Ascension Ladder.

• Luo Jun learned that the old man’s array had been sustaining his cursed daughter and offered his own Life Energy in exchange for its dismantling.
• The old man used the array to draw on Luo Jun’s life force until the girl awakened, then dismantled the array and gave Luo Jun a Mana-boosting Pill.
• The freed Cuihua Trees began changing, and Luo Jun returned to Hassen to claim the mission reward, the Soul Magic skill Live and Die Together.
• Luo Jun returned to the Imperial Capital and went to the fortress beneath the Sky-Piercing Tower, where he sensed an unusual atmosphere at the Ascension Ladder.

Luo Jun returned to the base and learned that the Main World’s players had rushed to the Ninety-Ninth Floor after the opposing side made an unexpectedly rapid advance. Sun Xiaowei explained that the Core Area’s monsters had been cleared instantly, and the players discovered that the floor had more than one lord.

• Luo Jun found the base nearly empty and learned that all combat personnel had gone to the Ninety-Ninth Floor.
• Luo Jun entered the labyrinth with Sun Xiaowei, whom he recognized from the International Exchange Meeting.
• Sun Xiaowei said the players had found an enormous area of Core Area monsters reduced to projections, despite the labyrinth walls preventing attacks from passing through.
• Luo Jun asked why the players did not simply kill the lord, and Sun Xiaowei revealed that the Ninety-Ninth Floor had multiple lords.

Luo Jun learned that the three lords on the floor shared Life Link and would revive unless all were killed close together, then joined Sun Xiaowei in heading toward the ongoing battle. They found the players concentrating their attacks on the mage lord while restraining the armored and liquid lords.

• Sun Xiaowei told Luo Jun that three powerful lords shared Life Link and that the opposing group had detected one lord's weakened aura recover.
• Luo Jun warned Sun Xiaowei that the enemy could attack all three lords at once, and learned that Dark Night was the sixth Ascended Expert leading the strategy team.
• Luo Jun and Sun Xiaowei heard explosions and learned that six Ascended Experts and other Peak experts were attacking one lord.
• Luo Jun ran toward the battlefield, and Sun Xiaowei followed despite the danger.
• Luo Jun saw players focus their attacks on the mage lord while using a smaller force to restrain the armored and liquid lords.

Luo Jun watched the players and Ascended Experts battle three lords in the Sky-Piercing Tower and realized that only the Ascended Experts could seriously damage the powerful monsters. The mage lord was defeated, while Dark Night continued fighting the Armor Monster.

• Sun Xiaowei failed to notice the Armor Monster’s shockwave, and Luo Jun countered it before telling her to leave the dangerous battlefield.
• Sun Xiaowei spotted Dark Night fighting the Armor Monster, and Luo Jun recognized his unevolved Midnight Mask and speed-focused combat style.
• Luo Jun observed that Scarlett’s team was controlling the Liquid Monster while the Ascended Experts and other players attacked the mage lord.
• Luo Jun concluded that [Game] skills dealt too little damage to high-floor lords, leaving Ascended Experts to rely on their own power to harm them.
• The Ice Queen, the God of Wealth, Ji Wushuang, and Ling Ao battered the mage lord until the Ice Queen’s freezing seal defeated it.

After killing the Mage Lord, Luo Jun and the others withdrew and explained how the kill could disrupt the rival group's raid. As they rested and waited for the Mage Lord to revive, their monitor spotted an unexpected change in the Armor Lord.

• Sun Xiaowei celebrated the Mage Lord's death as the players retreated from the arena and watched the remaining Lords through a magical screen.
• Luo Jun, Wan Zisheng, Ling Ao, and Ling Xin explained that killing one Lord would disrupt the rival group's timing and force them to face the other Lords while they could go berserk.
• Wan Zisheng concluded that the group would rest until the Mage Lord revived, then compete against the rival group in a fair raid.
• Sun Xiaowei expressed confidence in the Lord of the Night, but the Xiluo player monitoring the arena suddenly reported that the Armor Lord had weakened.

Luo Jun and the others discovered that the Lords revived far faster when multiple Lords were killed, making the Ninety-Ninth Floor’s timing extremely difficult. As the group debated how to respond, Luo Jun entered the Lord room alone and faced the Armor Lord’s attack.

• Luo Jun inferred that killing multiple Lords shortened their revival timers, and the others discussed the precise timing needed to clear the floor.
• Dark Night and Luo Jun urged the group to act before the opposing side could defeat the Lords.
• Luo Jun entered the Lord room alone, surprising the observers.
• The Armor Lord charged Luo Jun and brought down its hammer as Luo Jun reached toward it and invoked “Live and Die Together!”

Luo Jun used Live and Die Together to kill the Armor Lord and Fluid Lord, shocking the players watching the livestream. He then charged the remaining Mage Lord and reached for it, leaving the observers unsure how he could defeat it after using Refresh.

• Luo Jun cast Live and Die Together and instantly killed the Armor Lord.
• As the players debated what had happened, Luo Jun charged the Fluid Lord and Mage Lord through the Mage Lord’s attacks with Magic Shield protecting him.
• Luo Jun used Refresh to reset his magical abilities, then cast Live and Die Together again and killed the Fluid Lord.
• The Xiluo player told the stunned viewers that both lords had died, while the Ice Queen and Ling Ao discussed how to handle the last lord.
• Luo Jun braved the Mage Lord’s attacks, reached it, and raised his hand to grasp at it.

Luo Jun defeated the ninety-ninth-floor lords with Void Siphon and led the group through the gate to the hundredth floor. They arrived in an Arena where their game powers no longer worked, and Ling Yang appeared with his followers in a nearby section.

• Luo Jun used Void Siphon to drain the last lord's Mana and kill him instantly.
• Luo Jun collected the lords' drops, and a staircase to the hundredth floor appeared in the chamber.
• Luo Jun led the group through the gate, where they discovered they could no longer access their attributes or game powers.
• The group found themselves trapped in separate sections of a massive Arena, with dark night standing across from them.
• Ling Yang and more than a dozen followers, including A Jiali, emerged from the gate in the section opposite Luo Jun's group.

After clearing the Ninety-ninth Floor Lord, Luo Jun received a Clearance Reward and discovered that the Arena confined its entrants to separate areas. Famous Ascension Experts from [Martial World] and [Myth] began gathering there, including powerful monsters, leaving the assembled players to face a crowd of top fighters from different worlds.

• The Ice Queen explained that clearing their lord would weaken the lord on the other side, while Scarlett wondered whether reaching the floor first offered an advantage.
• Luo Jun returned from a blank state, said he had received a Clearance Reward, and urged everyone to pay attention to the Arena's rules.
• Wan Zisheng found that a transparent barrier prevented the group from leaving its area.
• Sword Saint Zuo Taixuan, Dragon Mother Ao Zhen, Blade Saint Guan Tianfeng, and other powerful figures from [Martial World] emerged in a neighboring area.
• Odin, Thor, Apollo, Artemis, Amaterasu, Susanoo, and other [Myth] deities entered the Arena.
• Luo Jun recognized Minotaurus as the Minotaur King, then watched Ymir and Shuten Doji emerge from the [Myth] gate.

After the Ninety-Ninth Floor of the Sky-Piercing Tower was conquered, powerful beings from many worlds gathered in the Heavenly Arena to compete for the twelve surviving Godhoods. The chapter ended as three doors in otherwise empty sections rippled and unknown things began to emerge.

• Rex Hell Creek explained that the Heavenly Edict invited powerful beings from across the worlds to enter the Arena and compete for the right to ascend to godhood.
• Luo Jun explained that the twelve remaining Godhoods would be awarded to the final twelve competitors, who would become True Gods.
• Experts from major factions entered the Arena, while an elder said Wan Guiyuan could join later because the invitation had no time limit.
• Yuan Shouzhen emerged from the door of darkness with former disciples who had become Polluters, prompting speculation that the door led to [Metropolis].
• Three doors in the empty sections rippled, and unknown things began emerging from them.

Luo Jun and the other contestants identified the powerful beings entering the Heavenly Arena from different worlds, including ancient gods, giant beasts, Chaos Creatures, and Pope Saint Nicholas with Grand Nun Andariel. They learned that the deities’ return would strip Ascension-level cultivators of their power if they lost, just as a giant man appeared to welcome them to the competition.

• Yulia identified the half-human, half-beast beings as ancient gods from [Utopia], while Luo Jun recognized Mosayus and explained that the Arena had shrunk the monsters.
• Scarlett and Ling Ao recognized giant beasts from [Natural Disaster] and creatures from [Wilderness], while terrifying flesh-like monsters emerged from [Chaos].
• Pope Saint Nicholas and Grand Nun Andariel walked out of the [Chaos] door, surprising the contestants who knew they were candidates competing for Godhood.
• Ji Wushuang asked why so many Peak Level experts could compete, and Luo Jun explained that Ascension-level cultivators would lose their connection to the Laws of Heaven and Earth and regress if the deities returned.
• The Gold Emperor said Ascension-level cultivation had emerged only after The Fall of Gods, and Wan Zisheng complained that the players had not been told the rules.
• A huge Holographic Projection appeared above the central platform, and a stocky, large-headed man welcomed the contestants to the Heavenly Arena.

Dias introduced himself as the creator of the [Game] world and organizer of the Heavenly Ascension Ceremony, revealing that he had acquired most of his authority in a previous contest for Godhoods. His identity shocked the Holy See and drew the anger of Angrimar and Hercules, who accused him of taking Jupiter’s authority.

• Dias displayed the Heavenly Ascension Ceremony’s details, including its three-item equipment limit and the ban on maintainers unless they relinquished their authority.
• Dias explained that he had built the world as a stage for a new Divine Descent to prevent another brutal struggle for Godhoods.
• Dias named himself, shocking the Holy See because its believers regarded Dias as their one true god.
• Angrimar recognized Dias as the enemy who had seized her authority as a maintainer of [Hell].
• Hercules confronted Dias over taking his father Jupiter’s authority, and Dias recalled Jupiter as a worthy opponent.

Dias defended the Heavenly Ascension Ceremony, revealed twelve Supreme Godhoods, and explained that he hoped another contender could reach the True God realm after he failed. He laid out the deadly initial selection, but no one stepped forward to challenge a monster.

• Hercules and others accused Dias of luring them into a trap, and Dias silenced the arena before insisting that the ceremony was their only chance to reclaim what they had lost.
• Dias opened twelve Space Rifts containing Supreme Godhoods and said that he wanted someone else to achieve the goal he could no longer reach.
• Luo Jun questioned Dias's motives, and Dias replied that the contestants could either compete under his control or refuse without using violence.
• Dias summoned Emperor-level Natural Disaster monsters and Mosayus as opponents for Feather Transformation contestants, then brought in Wilderness monsters for weaker challengers to fight to the death.
• Dias invited the contestants to choose their opponents, but no one stepped forward.

Luo Jun became the first challenger in Dias’s Heavenly Ascension Ceremony and faced Yamata no Orochi in a trial to protect an ordinary girl named Emily for thirty minutes without attacking the monster. The challenge began with the beast’s ice-and-fire assault engulfing them, leaving the spectators uncertain how Luo Jun could protect Emily.

• Luo Jun stepped forward as the first challenger, despite Sun Xiaowei’s warning that the ceremony might be a trap.
• Dias sent Luo Jun to face Yamata no Orochi and assigned him to protect Emily for thirty minutes while forbidding him from attacking the beast or removing Emily from the arena.
• Dias moved the challenge to a wilderness and broadcast it to the spectators through a Holographic Projection.
• Yamata no Orochi launched simultaneous attacks of flames and freezing air, and Luo Jun remained beside Emily as the assault swallowed them.
• Ling Xin and Ling Ao explained that shielding Emily from the Emperor-level beast’s attacks would be extremely difficult, and Ling Ao suggested opposing elemental power might be necessary.

Luo Jun endured Yamata no Orochi’s barrage while protecting Emily, leaving the spectators baffled by how she survived the attacks. The chapter revealed that Luo Jun had used Life Link to distribute damage between them, a magic he gained as a reward for defeating the Ninety-ninth Floor Lord.

• Ling Ao explained that an Elemental School expert could pass the challenge by fighting Yamata no Orochi for half an hour, while Wan Zisheng assumed Luo Jun was an Illusion Faction member doomed to fail.
• An explosion carved a huge pit, but the Countdown kept running, and Luo Jun and Emily appeared unharmed in midair.
• The spectators debated how Emily survived the explosion and lack of oxygen, while Wan Zisheng suggested Luo Jun had stripped her clothes to mislead them.
• Yamata no Orochi unleashed attacks from all eight heads, and Luo Jun continued to withstand them while holding Emily.
• Luo Jun asked whether Emily was hurt, and she said the attacks only felt tingly, itchy, hot, or cold.
• The narration revealed that Luo Jun had linked their lives with master-level Soul Magic, distributing damage between them, and that he had gained the magic for killing the Ninety-ninth Floor Lord.

Luo Jun passed the initial screening by enduring Yamata no Orochi’s attacks with Emily protected by Life Link. As the contestants hesitated to challenge the monsters, Magnus stepped forward, and Yulia revealed that the legendary Royal Archmage might predate the Authority War and the Ascension-level realm itself.

• Luo Jun used Life Link to share his Health Points with Emily, allowing them to withstand Yamata no Orochi’s attacks until the challenge ended.
• Dias announced that Luo Jun had passed the initial screening and moved him to the qualified contestants’ waiting area.
• The contestants hesitated to challenge the monsters after seeing how difficult Luo Jun’s test had been.
• Magnus, the [Empire]’s Royal Archmage, volunteered to take on a challenge.
• Yulia explained that Magnus had been a Magic Master in ancient times and might have lived before the Authority War, when the Gods still existed.

Magnus chose Yamata no Orochi’s challenge, which required him to evade its attacks for thirty minutes without attacking or letting his body or Vital Energy get hit. He survived the first twenty-nine minutes, but the monster began bombarding nearly the entire arena, leaving only tiny openings as the chapter ended.

• Magnus chose Yamata no Orochi, and Dias revealed a challenge that would deduct points whenever its attacks struck Magnus or his Vital Energy.
• Magnus questioned whether Dias had targeted him, but Dias started the challenge and Yamata no Orochi attacked.
• Magnus used Wind Element and his footwork to evade the monster for more than twenty minutes without losing points.
• Yamata no Orochi increased the frequency and density of its attacks, forcing Magnus into increasingly difficult evasions.
• In the twenty-ninth minute, Yamata no Orochi bombarded the arena with nearly continuous attacks, and the onlookers noticed Magnus facing the limit of what he could evade.

Magnus completed Yamata no Orochi’s Elemental Turbulence challenge by using Light Element Avatar with extraordinary precision, and more contestants advanced after him. After Dias explained that failed contestants might enter a revival round, A Jiali volunteered to challenge next.

• Gold Emperor identified Magnus’s flashes as Light Element Avatar rather than Flash Ability.
• Magnus evaded the turbulence with precise Light Element Avatar movements until he completed the challenge and entered the Advancement Zone.
• Several Ascension-level contestants failed their challenges, while several Peak Level contestants succeeded and advanced.
• Dias announced that some failures would be selected as substitutes for a revival round, but kept the consequences of failing that round secret.
• A Jiali volunteered to take on the challenge, and Luo Jun recognized her.

A Jiali chose Leviathan for a challenge that required her to evade its three Whale Swallows without attacking or leaving the water. As the challenge began, the spectators realized the blue holographic image showed a curved surface, and a mass of black shadows appeared beneath it.

• Dias welcomed Ling Yang as a Traveler and teleported A Jiali into the arena to choose an opponent.
• A Jiali selected Leviathan, the gigantic Emperor-level monster from the [Natural Disaster] world.
• Dias revealed rules requiring A Jiali to survive three Whale Swallows without attacking Leviathan or leaving the water.
• A Jiali and Leviathan vanished from the arena as their challenge appeared in a Holographic Projection.
• The spectators realized the projection showed a curved blue surface, and a vast mass of black shadows emerged beneath it.