Chapter Summaries

Lucia reflected on how the Internet Palace, online teaching, and Conquest of Sub-Plane had renewed her sense of purpose and freedom. After Yu Sheng'an summoned her, she shared feedback on the game, then offered a suggestion that left him trembling.

• Lucia recalled how the Forum and Online Courses had eased her loneliness and helped her Magic advance toward the Grand Archmage realm.
• Lucia described the joy of experiencing sunlight and freedom through her Mud Golem in Conquest of Sub-Plane.
• Yu Sheng'an summoned Lucia and asked her to share her experience playing the game so he could improve its Conquest function.
• Lucia said the Mud Golems felt stiff and suggested weapons, then criticized the final-kill Merit Point system for rewarding players unfairly.
• Lucia offered another suggestion that made Yu Sheng'an tremble.

Erin encountered Dendall, who offered the Magic Forest generous support, then discovered its members were caught up in Conquest of Sub-Plane’s new Puppet Transformation feature. Yu Sheng'an realized the update had inspired a broader upgrade path for Players, but he still needed to work out how to implement Prosthetic Armor when Dendall sent him a message.

• Erin greeted Dendall, who promised to provide the Magic Forest with the supplies her experiments needed.
• Erin arrived at the Magic Forest and found its members excitedly discussing the new Transformation feature in Conquest of Sub-Plane.
• Players across the Kevil Empire reshaped their Puppets into everything from beautiful humanoids to bizarre forms designed for combat.
• Yu Sheng'an learned that Lucia's suggestion had prompted the update and realized Players could upgrade Elemental Puppets with Magic Runes and Prosthetic Armor.
• Yu Sheng'an considered how to persuade Aphnora to test the Prosthetic Armor idea when Dendall sent him a message.

Yu Sheng'an agreed to let Kevil Empire apprentices conduct trials in the Conquest of Sub-Plane and accepted the Magic Gods’ proposal to sell powerful equipment to wealthy players. After drafting pay-to-win rules, he reconsidered their effect on ordinary players and decided to add an incentive for them.

• Dendall, Zimor, and Bethany asked Yu Sheng'an to hold Apprentice Mage trials in the Conquest of Sub-Plane, and he approved their plan to have apprentices build Magic Towers using Puppets.
• Yu Sheng'an decided to create a professional Q&A community on the Internet to gather ideas for Magic Colonization Equipment.
• Bethany and Dendall asked Yu Sheng'an to let nobles buy advanced Puppets and weapons with Gold Coins, and he agreed.
• Yu Sheng'an drafted pay-to-win rules, including equipment exchanges and VIP Forum nicknames, with a minimum first purchase of one thousand Gold Coins.
• Yu Sheng'an worried that pay-to-win could demoralize ordinary players, so he began adding a new rule to encourage them.

Dudod returned to Kabayer boasting that he could buy a Lava Golem through the newly opened Cross-Dimensional Purchase function, while Players in Conquest of Sub-Plane struggled with the sudden advantage wealth gave nobles. After Caesar urged Humphrey to accept the change, a Player revealed that Merit Points could be exchanged for vouchers, and Caesar froze as he realized the discovery might help him, a man born paralyzed.

• Kabayer shop owners learned that Dudod and the other two pests had been sent to the Labor Camp in Conquest of Sub-Plane, where they earned Merit Points hauling bricks.
• Dudod rode through Kabayer with gold-filled carriages, boasting that he would buy a Lava Golem using the new Cross-Dimensional Purchase function.
• Players on Dorphy City's walls saw wealthy users acquire high-grade Puppets and weapons with Top-Up Points, leaving F2P Players angry and discouraged.
• Caesar reminded Humphrey that Players still had opportunities through the Internet and Conquest of Sub-Plane, and Humphrey tried to accept the situation.
• A Player told Caesar that Merit Points could be exchanged for vouchers redeemable for Gold Coins at the Magic Tower, and Caesar froze as he considered what that meant for his paralysis.

Caesar’s success in Conquest of Sub-Plane earned his family money and gave them hope of finding a mage to cure his disability. After seeing how the Internet had transformed Caesar’s life, Yu Sheng'an reviewed the Gold Coin exchange system and considered how to encourage commoner Players to grow stronger.

• Old Xi returned to Dakan Village with Caesar and proudly showed the gossiping women the supplies he had bought with Caesar’s five Gold Coins.
• Old Xi told the women that Caesar had killed more than ten Orcs in Conquest of Sub-Plane and said a mage in Willis could cure him for a few hundred Gold Coins.
• Caesar recalled how the Internet and his strong Soul Power had given him hope, freedom, and the ability to earn money for his family.
• Villagers gathered at Old Xi’s home, and Caesar settled into his new bedding before reciting the God of the Internet’s prayer.
• Yu Sheng'an reviewed the Internet’s Gold Coin exchanges and decided he needed to motivate commoner Players to pursue greater strength.

Yu Sheng'an devised tiered Kill Leaderboards to motivate ordinary Players, then Aphnora confronted him over the Mana Pool running dry as his Players and Internet spread through Dorphy City. He offered her a share of the Source Essence and promised Mages to help expand the Mana Pool, but she remained furious.

• Yu Sheng'an planned weekly or monthly Kill Leaderboards that would let Players compete against others using Puppets of the same level and win high-tier Puppets.
• Aphnora stormed into Asheff's bedchamber and demanded to know why the Puppet Mana Pool was being consumed so quickly.
• Yu Sheng'an blamed the growing Player population and defended enabling Cross-Dimensional Purchases in the Kevil Empire by pointing to the Orcs' retreat.
• Aphnora accused Yu Sheng'an of draining her Mana Pool and turning Dorphy City's residents into his followers through the Internet.
• Yu Sheng'an offered Aphnora half the Source Essence from Dorphy Plane users and promised to send at least ten thousand Mages to build Magic Towers and expand the Mana Pool.
• Aphnora stayed coldly silent, and Yu Sheng'an tried to placate her by saying she looked better when she smiled.

Yu Sheng'an apologized to Aphnora after she confronted him about acting without consulting her, and she agreed to let the Novice Village continue operating in exchange for half of Dorphy City's Source Essence. He then proposed splitting the Source Essence from a Music section on the Internet and asked Aphnora to condense a Virtual Godhead for him, prompting her to burst into laughter.

• Aphnora accused Yu Sheng'an of endangering Dorphy City and excluding her from decisions, and Yu Sheng'an realized she was angry that he had acted without treating her as an ally.
• Yu Sheng'an apologized, but Aphnora concluded that he was placating her until the Kevil Mages built a Magic Tower and his Fourth Calamity could operate without her.
• Aphnora demanded half of Dorphy City's Source Essence in exchange for maintaining the Novice Village at its current Mana consumption, and Yu Sheng'an agreed.
• Yu Sheng'an asked Aphnora to settle their arrangement over the Music platform, proposing that they split the Source Essence users spent listening to songs.
• Aphnora challenged Yu Sheng'an's ability to create a Music section, and he asked her to condense a Virtual Godhead and give it to him, making her burst into laughter.

Yu Sheng'an offered Aphnora his Virtual Godhead in a bid to form an alliance against the Five Great Gods, and she agreed to exchange Godheads after questioning his ambitions and trusting her intuition. After they negotiated and signed a detailed soul Contract, they exchanged Virtual Godheads and formally became allies.

• Yu Sheng'an revealed his Virtual Godhead and proposed that he and Aphnora join forces to overthrow the Five Great Gods and reshape the Divine Realm.
• Aphnora inferred that Yu Sheng'an had multiple Godheads and intended to lead the future Pantheon, then decided to exchange Virtual Godheads with him.
• Yu Sheng'an produced a soul Contract with clauses meant to expose deception, and Aphnora added detailed safeguards before they both signed it.
• Yu Sheng'an and Aphnora exchanged their Virtual Contract and Virtual Music Godheads, breaking the Curse of the Dark Forest Law and becoming allies.

After obtaining the Virtual Music Godhead, Yu Sheng'an realized its power came from mechanical waves and immediately discovered new ways to use it. Aphnora struggled to understand how he could wield the Godhead so creatively, while Yu Sheng'an prepared to test even more dangerous applications.

• Yu Sheng'an recognized the Virtual Music Godhead as a Mechanical Wave Godhead, and Aphnora accused him of taking the Contract Godhead from Thorne.
• Yu Sheng'an said the Five Great Gods had killed Thorne, and Aphnora concluded that he possessed more than one Godhead.
• Yu Sheng'an used the Music Godhead to fly, explaining that sound waves could lift him by exerting force or changing air pressure.
• Yu Sheng'an cut a groove into a stone-hard wall with concentrated ultrasound and explained the technique as Ultrasonic Cutting.
• Yu Sheng'an proposed testing Resonance and Infrasonic Waves on buildings and Orcs, leaving Aphnora wondering whether she was too weak or he was simply too strong.

Yu Sheng'an tested new abilities from the Music Godhead and brought Aphnora back to record songs. Meanwhile, the Five Gods gathered to discuss Thorne and how to stop the God of the Internet, ending with the God of Death supporting a campaign against the Kevil Empire.

• Yu Sheng'an judged Infrasonic Wave, Resonance, Ultrasonic Cutting, Levitation Flight, and Sonar Detection, then refused to learn Divine Melody.
• Yu Sheng'an asked Aphnora to help record energetic Divine Melodies and took her back toward his palace.
• The Five Gods animated their statues in the Stone Palace and debated whether Thorne had faked his death or given away the Contract Godhead.
• The God of Death said the Internet's source aura did not belong to Thorne, and the Gods discussed how to deal with the God of the Internet.
• The God of War called for conquering the Kevil Empire, and the God of Death unexpectedly agreed, warning that Conquest of Sub-Plane could grow stronger.

The Five Great Gods agreed to invade Kevil, while Yu Sheng'an recorded music with Aphnora and built a new music service for the Internet. His idea for turning punctuation into spectrum bars led him to a discovery about using tiny marks as pixels.

• God of Death proposed that the Five Great Gods attack Kevil within a month, and God of Life and God of War agreed despite the risks to their churches.
• The Five Great Gods planned a feint against the Bayer Empire, diplomatic deception, and an assault on Kevil from three directions.
• Yu Sheng'an taught Aphnora new melodies and recorded more than a hundred songs, impressing her with his musical talent.
• Yu Sheng'an created the Music Sanctuary, where Aphnora would review submitted songs and users could listen to ordinary music or Divine Melodies.
• Yu Sheng'an realized that enlarged punctuation could act as spectrum bars and that infinitely shrinking punctuation might serve as pixels.

Yu Sheng'an discovered that his Contract Godhead could create color images and wondered whether his understanding of light could unlock destructive powers. Meanwhile, Yvonne met with the secretive Awakening Society, whose members were studying through the Internet, until authorities raided their gathering.

• Yu Sheng'an created a color portrait with the Contract Godhead and considered whether its connection to light could give him access to invisible radiation or electron-based powers.
• Aphnora saw her portrait on Yu Sheng'an's Scroll, misunderstood the situation, and hurried away after he made the image disappear.
• Yvonne rebuffed a student singing Lady in the Hall and took winding routes to reach the Awakening Society's secret meeting place.
• The society's members prepared to attend Instructor Youth's online Magic lesson, and Yvonne was startled by something on the Internet.
• Authorities kicked open the courtyard gate, sensed divine power, and ordered the arrest of everyone inside.

Yvonne and the Awakening Society were arrested and publicly condemned for using the Internet, until Bailier announced that the Goddess of Music had allied with God of the Internet. The Music Sanctuary appeared on Virtual Screens throughout Vias, and the crowd began discovering the Internet for themselves.

• The City Guard Office arrested Yvonne and the Awakening Society, dragged them through the streets, and accused them of worshipping Evil God.
• Shalin challenged Knight Kane, while Yvonne and the others insisted they had used the Internet to study Magic and had not performed a ritual.
• Yvonne told the crowd that the Internet had a Music Sanctuary, but Kane pulled her to the ground and bloodied her face.
• Bailier freed Yvonne and announced that the Goddess of Music had formed an alliance with God of the Internet, declaring that seeing God of the Internet was seeing Her Goddess of Music.
• Yvonne opened the Internet, and music played from her Virtual Screen as screens lit up across the crowd and Vias residents eagerly explored the new features.

Keshan confronted Clementine over her devotion to the Internet, but her words forced him to face his own doubts about the Ke Royal Family’s authority. The chapter ended with news that a delegation from the Saint Todd Federation would arrive at the Empire’s border in five days.

• Keshan learned that Clementine and the ladies were using the Internet and went to Morton Garden to confront her.
• Clementine showed Keshan the Internet’s new interface styles and avatars, then asked to have a portrait made for her profile.
• Clementine praised Asheff and challenged Keshan’s belief in noble bloodlines, citing the Internet and the achievements of commoners.
• Clementine reflected on how the Internet had exposed her limitations and changed her view of ordinary people, while Keshan struggled to answer her.
• A servant told Keshan that the Saint Todd Federation had sent a diplomatic Magic letter and that its delegation would reach the Empire’s border in five days.

The Saint Todd Delegation entered Willis and was astonished by the Internet’s widespread use and the city’s prosperity. Yu Sheng'an watched their arrival, then sensed that the Young Dragon was about to hatch.

• Gorde and Walton accompanied the Saint Todd Delegation into Willis under the watch of Kevil mages.
• Gorde discovered that the green fields outside Willis were growing Black Grain despite the bitter winter.
• The delegation saw Willis’s citizens using glowing screens and learned that they were Divine Art granted by the God of the Internet.
• A Kevil guide showed Gorde and Walton publicly available cultivation knowledge, provoking an argument about the Internet and Divine Art.
• Yu Sheng'an praised the guide’s exchange with the delegation, then sensed that the Young Dragon was about to hatch.

Yu Sheng'an hatched the Dark Dragon Dillon Adam, but their teasing encounter was interrupted when Thorne appeared and reclaimed the Contract Godhead. Thorne recovered his youth, then discovered something unexpected about the Godhead.

• Yu Sheng'an hatched Dillon Adam, who introduced itself as a Dark Dragon and thanked him for rescuing it from the Death Abyss.
• Dillon Adam flew beside Yu Sheng'an to rest, but Yu Sheng'an teased it about its sex and grabbed the back of its neck when it tried to attack him.
• Thorne entered the Divine Palace, claimed the Contract Godhead as his own, and ignored Lucia's shocked arrival.
• Thorne used the power of Contract to pull the Godhead out of Yu Sheng'an and take it for himself.
• Thorne regained his youthful appearance after obtaining the Godhead, then reacted with shock when he sensed it.

Yu Sheng'an fought Thorne for control of the Contract Godhead, using his believers and the Internet Godhead to turn the inheritance struggle into a life-or-death battle. Yu Sheng'an won the Godhead, while Thorne died after damaging the magic array in his Ancient Castle and sending out a powerful magical signal.

• Thorne discovered that tens of millions of believers were channeling Source Essence through the Contract Godhead and celebrated Yu Sheng'an's new use for it.
• Yu Sheng'an claimed the Internet Godhead through his thirty million believers, and the Contract Godhead split between the two conflicting Contracts.
• Thorne and Yu Sheng'an exchanged attacks, with Yu Sheng'an destroying the Divine Throne and Thorne using Spatial Collapse against him.
• A young Dark Dragon ambushed Thorne while Yu Sheng'an's Ultrasonic Cutting devastated the Temple, and the Life-Sharing Contract helped the dragon endure the attack.
• The Contract Godhead entered Yu Sheng'an, and two Devils tore apart Thorne's soul as he admitted defeat.
• Before dying, Thorne used his remaining power to damage the magic array in his Ancient Castle, sending magical fluctuations in every direction.

After surviving Thorne’s attack, Yu Sheng'an escaped Divine Palace Castle through random teleportation and discovered it had landed in an unknown Prime Plane. He began cautiously investigating the world, where his Divine Projection encountered an ironclad ship.

• Yu Sheng'an restored control of Divine Palace Castle, used decoys and spatial disturbances to evade pursuing gods, then teleported without coordinates.
• Divine Palace Castle appeared underwater in an unknown Prime Plane, and Yu Sheng'an weighed its dangers against the chance to make it his base.
• Yu Sheng'an checked the surrounding sea for gods, spoke with the injured Dillon Adam, and told Lucia to take care of things.
• After a day without signs of discovery, Yu Sheng'an created a Divine Projection and explored toward land while avoiding Sea Monsters.
• Yu Sheng'an spotted land and froze when an ironclad warship belching black smoke passed overhead.

Yu Sheng'an explored a steel-filled City in a world ruled by four Primal Gods, gathering information while hiding his identity. After midnight, a Cowboy shot at a man who had attacked Yu Sheng'an, and the man transformed into a wolf-headed monster.

• Yu Sheng'an entered the City, exchanged gold for local currency, and observed its technology, poverty, and customs.
• Yu Sheng'an learned that people worshipped the Four Primal Gods and feared Sea Monsters, whose flesh and blood could have restorative effects.
• Yu Sheng'an left a tavern after midnight and walked through streets lit by Whale Oil Lamps as an Airship searchlight swept overhead.
• A Cowboy blocked Yu Sheng'an's path, then shot a middle-aged man who lunged at Yu Sheng'an.
• The middle-aged man transformed into a wolf-headed, human-bodied monster despite being hit by several bullets.

Cowboy and Yu Sheng'an escaped the Night Watchers after fighting a Werewolf, then went to a hidden workshop where Cowboy repaired his body. There, Cowboy accused Yu Sheng'an of being an Imperial spy, and the old man's weapons turned on Yu Sheng'an.

• Cowboy fought the Werewolf with his blunderbuss and mechanical weapons, but it tore off his right arm and left him badly injured.
• Yu Sheng'an killed the Werewolf by sending Cowboy's broken Steel Blade into its skull, then agreed to let Cowboy drink its blood as fuel.
• Cowboy's arm grew back after he drank the Werewolf's blood, and he led Yu Sheng'an to a Slums apartment building called Jiulong to seek repairs.
• At the workshop, Yu Sheng'an recognized Divine Arts engraved inside a dismantled steam engine, while Cowboy and Yu Sheng'an questioned each other about tracking the Werewolf.
• Cowboy accused Yu Sheng'an of being an Imperial spy, and the old man's mechanical weapons aimed at Yu Sheng'an.