Chapter Summaries

Ding Ling returned to the Wang Residence and prepared to take Diao Chan, Cai Wenji, and his companions to the Immortal Realm. As they departed, Zhen Mi joined them, while the Zhen Family resolved to cultivate until more of its members could follow.

• Ding Ling told Diao Chan to pack and bring the others with him, and she introduced Cai Wenji, whom she had welcomed into the Wang Residence.
• Ding Ling put Diao Chan in charge of the harem and later gathered Diao Chan, Cai Wenji, Xiao Qiao, Zhao Zilong, Pan Feng, Du Qingcheng, Zhen Jiang, and others at the Dragon Ladder.
• Zhen Mi reunited with Ding Ling and told Zhen Jiang she could climb the Dragon Ladder because she had trained to the level of a second-rate military general.
• Ding Ling and his companions set off for the Immortal Realm, and Zhen Yi resolved to have the Zhen Family cultivate until more of them qualified to follow.
• Cao Ren asked Xiahou Yuan and Xiahou Dun whether Pan Feng's entire family had left, and they confirmed that they had.

After learning that cultivation in the Immortal Realm and Heavenly Court far surpassed the mortal world, Cao Mengde began preparing to hand over power while Cao Pi and Cao Zhi clamored to go there. Ding Ling brought his companions to the Immortal Realm and took them aboard a Dragon Boat bound for the Heavenly Court, where he began explaining the Celestial River’s strange vastness.

• Xiahou Dun, Xiahou Yuan, Cao Hong, and the others learned that many of Wang Yue’s followers and Tong Yuan’s disciples had left for the Immortal Realm, so they sent Li Dian to scout it.
• Li Dian returned after seven days and reported that the Immortal Realm had far denser spiritual energy than the Lower Realm and that cultivation in the Heavenly Court was more than a thousand times faster.
• Cao Mengde named Cao Pi crown prince, but Cao Pi and Cao Zhi both insisted they wanted to reach the Immortal Realm; Cao Mengde told them to improve their cultivation first and began transferring authority to his officials.
• Ding Ling led Diao Chan, Xiao Qiao, Zhen Mi, Cai Wenji, Cao Chong, Cao Ang, and the others to the Immortal Realm and brought them aboard a Dragon Boat.
• The Dragon Boat sailed up the Celestial River toward the Heavenly Court, and Ding Ling told Zhen Mi that the river’s immense appearance came from a power of laws unique to the Immortal Realm and Heavenly Court.

Ding Ling brought his companions through the South Heaven Gate to the Heavenly Court and explained the choices and consequences of becoming gods. After everyone agreed, he began conferring divine positions, appointing Diao Chan as the Great Sage Queen Mother of Jade Pool and giving her a Divine Decree.

• Ding Ling led everyone through the South Heaven Gate, where they marveled at the Heavenly Court’s palaces and cloudlike ground.
• Ding Ling explained that gods could share Heaven and Earth’s lifespan but would lose that protection if they traveled to the Upper Realm; after discussing the terms, Zhao Zilong, Tong Yuan, Diao Chan, and the others chose to become gods.
• Ding Ling began conferring divine positions and appointed Diao Chan the Great Sage Queen Mother of Jade Pool, responsible for disasters, virtue, evil, and the female immortals.
• The Heavenly Dao recognized Diao Chan’s appointment, granting her most of the merit and a Divine Decree that let her communicate with the Heavenly Dao and share Heaven and Earth’s lifespan.
• Ding Ling realized that the Kings Yama’s Divine Decrees could also become tangible as the Immortal Realm’s system of gods took shape.

Ding Ling established the Heavenly Court by conferring divine titles on his allies and taking the Jade Emperor’s position himself. As the Immortal Realm recovered and connected with other historical worlds, he sent a Dragon Ladder down to the Late Sui world.

• Ding Ling conferred Tong Yuan as Zi Wei Great Emperor and Wang Yue as Southern Pole Eternal Life Great Emperor, and the Heavenly Dao granted them merit and divine decrees.
• Ding Ling appointed Zhao Zilong, Du Qingcheng, Pan Feng, Cai Wenji, Zhen Mi, Da Qiao, Xiao Qiao, Cao Ang, Cao Chong, and his other allies to divine offices.
• Ding Ling conferred himself as Jade Emperor, and the newly appointed gods bowed to him and agreed to help rebuild the Heavenly Court.
• Ding Ling sensed that the gods’ appointments had increased his merit and accelerated the Immortal Realm’s recovery.
• Ding Ling sensed that the Immortal Realm had connected with the Late Sui and Late Qin worlds, then sent a Dragon Ladder through the South Heaven Gate to the Late Sui world.

Ding Ling visited Yu Ji in the Human Realm, healed his patients with talismans cast in midair, and gave him a Medical Canon. He then told Yu Ji that he had killed Zuo Ci and Old Immortal Nanhua, leaving Yu Ji shocked.

• Ding Ling traveled from the Immortal Realm to Yu Ji’s Daoist temple near Wan County to visit him.
• Ding Ling healed more than a hundred patients by casting talismans in midair, astonishing Yu Ji and the onlookers.
• Ding Ling offered Yu Ji a Medical Canon to repay him for teaching The Supreme Path to Great Peace.
• Yu Ji read part of the Medical Canon and praised its remarkable treatments.
• Ding Ling told Yu Ji that he had killed Zuo Ci and Old Immortal Nanhua, and Yu Ji reacted in shock.

Ding Ling discovered that Old Immortal Nanhua had planted soul power inside Yu Ji and removed it, but the Black Python's destruction killed Yu Ji. Unable to confer godhood, Ding Ling took Yu Ji's soul into the Underworld, where they continued along Yellow Springs Road.

• Daoist Yu Ji accepted Ding Ling's account of Old Immortal Nanhua and Zuo Ci and allowed Ding Ling to examine him.
• Ding Ling found hidden soul power woven through Yu Ji's body and warned that it could let someone control him.
• Yu Ji agreed to abandon his cultivation, and Ding Ling stripped away the soul power and burned it as a Black Python.
• Yu Ji's vitality rapidly faded, and Ding Ling realized the soul power had bound Yu Ji's life to its own destruction.
• Ding Ling took Yu Ji's soul into the Underworld, where Yu Ji reassured him and thanked him for freeing him from control.
• Ding Ling and Yu Ji traveled along Yellow Springs Road as the Puppet Soldiers disciplined the ghosts and bowed to Ding Ling.

Ding Ling brought Yu Ji through the Underworld and arranged for him to be reborn with his memories intact. Yu Ji chose to be born into a poor family in the Late Sui Dynasty World, leaving the Underworld ghosts amazed by Ding Ling’s authority.

• Ox-Head, Horse-Face, and King Qinguang bowed to Ding Ling, shocking Chen Sheng, Wu Guang, Dou Jiande, and Yuwen Huaji.
• Ding Ling asked King Qinguang to take Yu Ji through the reincarnation process, and King Qinguang escorted them to the Six Paths of Reincarnation.
• Ding Ling offered Yu Ji a choice of world and family, and confirmed that Yu Ji could retain his memories after rebirth.
• Yu Ji chose the Late Sui Dynasty World and a poor family, explaining that he already had his memories and knowledge of The Supreme Path to Great Peace and the Medical Canon.

Ding Ling arranged for Yu Ji to be reborn in the Late Sui Dynasty World and asked Tong Yuan and Tian Feng to reserve him a godhood. Yu Ji’s extraordinary childhood made him famous, and nearly four years later the Dragon Ladder opened the way to the Immortal Realm for both the Late Sui and Late Qin worlds.

• Yu Ji chose rebirth into a poor family, and King Qinguang sent him into the Human Path after Ding Ling approved.
• Ding Ling asked Tong Yuan and Tian Feng to reserve Yu Ji a godhood, then helped Cai Wenji cultivate alongside his other wives.
• Cai Wenji revealed to Zhen Mi that her cultivation had advanced through her relationship with Ding Ling and promised to help her get closer to him.
• Born with his memories intact, Yu Ji displayed supernatural abilities and healed villagers, who came to believe he was a deity’s reincarnation.
• After outsiders learned of Yu Ji and some sought to capture him for Li Shimin, he left the village, leaving talismans and Great Medicine for his parents.
• Nearly four years later, the Dragon Ladder and Immortal Path opened to the Late Sui and Late Qin worlds, and players and Natives connected Yu Ji’s legend to Ding Ling.

Ding Ling conferred godhood on Cao Mengde and his followers, then helped Diao Chan and the others reach the Shattering Realm before leaving the world. He transferred his divine authority to Diao Chan and chose to return to the Romance of the Three Kingdoms world.

• Ding Ling welcomed Cao Mengde, Dian Wei, Xu Chu, and others to the Heavenly Court and conferred godhood upon them, making Cao Mengde Marshal Tianpeng.
• Cao Mengde took charge of the Celestial River, where players and Natives reacted with envy to his immortal status and high rank.
• Huang Yueying arrived in the Immortal Realm with Huang Chengyan and resolved to work toward ascending to the Heavenly Court so she could draw closer to Ding Ling.
• News spread that Cao Mengde and his followers had gained immortality, while Diao Chan, Du Qingcheng, Big Qiao, Little Qiao, Zhen Jiang, and Cai Wenji reached the Shattering Realm.
• Ding Ling transferred the Divine Decree and authority to confer godhood to Diao Chan, then departed for the Sky Ladder and selected the Romance of the Three Kingdoms world.

Ding Ling left the Three Kingdoms World through the Gate of Glory and was transported to The Deer and the Cauldron. He reached a tea stall in Zhao Family Village and asked the old man where he was.

• Ding Ling decided to leave the Three Kingdoms World, having arranged for Diao Chan and the others to take the World Furnace and ascend when they were ready.
• Ding Ling entered the Gate of Glory, which sent him along the Great Path to Heaven of The Deer and the Cauldron instead of The Smiling, Proud Wanderer.
• Ding Ling arrived in the new world after losing the Heavenly Heart Imprint and realized he could no longer travel between worlds with a single step.
• Ding Ling headed toward Chang'an, stopped at a tea stall in Zhao Family Village, and asked the old man where he was.

Ding Ling met Mu Jianping while asking for directions to Zhao Family Village and learned that she had fled the Mu King's Mansion after Duolong’s attack. He agreed to let her travel with him, and they set off toward his destination.

• Ding Ling learned from an old man and Mu Jianping that Qingyun Town was under Lin'an’s jurisdiction, then paid for tea and started to leave.
• Mu Jianping chased after Ding Ling and asked him to take her with him, explaining that the Mu King's Mansion had been attacked and she had been separated from her elder brother.
• Ding Ling recognized Mu Jianping’s name and asked whether she knew Wei Xiaobao, but she said she disliked him.
• Ding Ling tested Mu Jianping by pretending he might betray her, but she insisted she trusted him because his actions showed he was a good person.
• Ding Ling agreed to let Mu Jianping follow him and told her to ride her horse as they walked.

Ding Ling traveled with Mu Jianping toward Xiangyang, deciding to visit Kyoto and read the libraries of the Deer and the Cauldron World before leaving. Their journey ended when Qing cavalry surrounded them and Wei Xiaobao appeared.

• Ding Ling outpaced Mu Jianping on the road, then agreed to let her call him Brother Ding after they shared a meal at an inn in Qingyun Town.
• Ding Ling decided to travel to Kyoto and read the world's libraries, while Mu Jianping grew close to him and learned that he was an Outsider formerly known as the Jade Emperor.
• Ding Ling and Mu Jianping traveled toward the Xiangyang region together.
• Qing cavalry surrounded Ding Ling and Mu Jianping before they reached the city, and Mu Jianping recognized the official who rode out as Wei Xiaobao.

Wei Xiaobao confronted Mu Jianping and Ding Ling, demanding that Mu Jianping marry him. Ding Ling killed Wei Xiaobao and his three hundred cavalrymen with the Six Meridian Divine Sword, then offered to teach Mu Jianping the technique.

• Wei Xiaobao found Mu Jianping and claimed her brother had agreed to their marriage, but she rejected him.
• Wei Xiaobao grew jealous of Ding Ling and ordered his cavalry to seize him so he could force Mu Jianping to marry him.
• Ding Ling killed the charging cavalry with the Six Meridian Divine Sword, then killed Wei Xiaobao and the rest of his three hundred armored cavalrymen.
• Ding Ling invited Mu Jianping to leave with him and offered to teach her the Six Meridian Divine Sword.

Ding Ling left Chang'an with Mu Jianping after killing Wei Xiaobao and offered to teach her martial arts before departing for the Upper Realm. He used the Empowerment Method to open her Eight Extraordinary Meridians and raise her cultivation to the Innate Realm, leaving her determined to repay his kindness.

• Mu Jianping watched Ding Ling leave after he killed Wei Xiaobao and understood why he was feared as the Jade Emperor.
• Wei Xiaobao died regretting that he had not brought Outsiders with him, while his eyes remained fixed on Ding Ling and Mu Jianping as they departed.
• Ding Ling avoided going to Xiangyang and told Mu Jianping that he would soon leave for the Upper Realm.
• Mu Jianping asked whether she could find Ding Ling there someday, and he said they might meet again if she studied seriously and fate allowed it.
• Ding Ling used the Empowerment Method to open Mu Jianping's Eight Extraordinary Meridians and boost her cultivation to the Innate Realm.
• Mu Jianping remembered the circulation route, thanked Ding Ling, and resolved to repay him in the future.

Ding Ling taught Mu Jianping several martial arts skills, then set out with her toward the Sky Ladder. Mao Shiba and his men tried to stop them, but Ding Ling killed them; Feng Xifan arrived with more than ten thousand Qing cavalry and confronted Ding Ling.

• Ding Ling taught Mu Jianping divine incantations and several lightness, movement, sword, and palm techniques, which she learned with surprising speed.
• Mu Jianping asked to accompany Ding Ling to the Sky Ladder, and he agreed.
• Mao Shiba and more than a hundred men surrounded Ding Ling and Mu Jianping, threatening them over Wei Xiaobao's death as Qing cavalry approached.
• Ding Ling killed Mao Shiba with a sword intent and slew the other men with sword qi.
• Feng Xifan arrived with thousands of cavalry, confirmed that Ding Ling and Mu Jianping had killed Wei Xiaobao and Mao Shiba, and faced Ding Ling.

Ding Ling killed Feng Xifan and more than ten thousand Qing soldiers after Feng Xifan demanded that he surrender for killing Wei Xiaobao. He took Mu Jianping toward Kyoto, while urging her to grow accustomed to bloodshed if she wanted to keep following him.

• Feng Xifan demanded that Ding Ling bind himself and return to Kyoto, unaware of Ding Ling's strength and identity.
• Ding Ling killed Feng Xifan with one palm, then wiped out the surrounding Qing army with Dragon-Subduing Qi Force.
• Ding Ling took the shaken Mu Jianping to a distant mountain and asked whether she would keep following him to Kyoto.
• Mu Jianping chose to follow Ding Ling and promised to try to adapt to bloodshed.
• Ding Ling carried Mu Jianping hundreds of li toward Kyoto, and she marveled at his speed and abilities.

Ding Ling used the Divine Meditation Technique to find and read every book in Kyoto’s Royal Library, mastering its martial arts and other knowledge. He then located Mu Jianping’s imprisoned brother, Mu Jiansheng, and freed him.

• Ding Ling and Mu Jianping appeared inside the Royal Library, where Ding Ling subdued the guards and began reading its manuals.
• Ding Ling used his techniques to read the library’s million books in less than half a day, mastering numerous skills and gaining Buddhist energy and Upright Qi.
• Ding Ling took Mu Jianping to Wei Xiaobao’s residence and found prisoners held in a courtyard.
• Ding Ling knocked out the guards, opened the prisoners’ door, and freed Mu Jiansheng.
• Mu Jianping explained Ding Ling’s identity and deeds to Mu Jiansheng, who was so shocked that his legs nearly gave way.

Mu Jianping reunited with Fang Yi at the Duke of Mount Deer's Residence, where Ding Ling revealed overwhelming power and escaped with Mu Jianping and Mu Jiansheng. A'ke and the others learned his identity, then received an urgent letter from Xiangyang that left A'ke nearly fainting.

• Fang Yi reunited with Mu Jianping and learned that she had married Wei Xiaobao and was carrying his child.
• Mu Jianping said she and Ding Ling had flown into the residence, then chose to leave with Ding Ling and Mu Jiansheng.
• A'ke ordered Ding Ling stopped, but Ding Ling incapacitated the Qing guards with a glance and vanished with Mu Jianping and Mu Jiansheng.
• Players identified Ding Ling as the legendary World's Finest, and A'ke and the others feared provoking him.
• A'ke received an urgent letter from Xiangyang and nearly fainted after reading it; Fang Yi read it and was shaken as well.

After Wei Xiaobao’s death, Fang Yi and the other women chose to divide the Duke of Mount Deer’s household and protect his unborn children. Ding Ling left Mu Jianping and Mu Jiansheng outside Chang’an, where Mu Jianping remained determined to follow him to the Upper Realm.

• Fang Yi warned Shuang'er and Princess Jianning that confronting Ding Ling would endanger everyone, and argued that Wei Xiaobao’s wives should prepare to raise his children.
• Zeng Rou agreed to stay with Fang Yi, and A'ke accepted that the household should be divided; the nearby players scattered toward the treasury.
• Ding Ling carried Mu Jianping and Mu Jiansheng to Chang’an, said goodbye to Mu Jianping, and vanished toward the Upper Realm.
• Mu Jiansheng realized Mu Jianping had fallen for Ding Ling and worried that her connection to him would bring trouble from Emperor Kangxi’s faction.
• Mu Jianping suggested going to the Upper Realm and claimed she could climb the Sky Ladder, while Mu Jiansheng urged her to forget Ding Ling.

Ding Ling entered the world of Flying Swords of Dragon Gate and discovered Japanese pirates massacring Fuqing City. He rescued Gu Shaotang and Feng Lidao from a volley of crossbow bolts, then vanished before they could speak to him.

• Mu Jianping leapt toward the Sky Ladder at astonishing speed, leaving Mu Jiansheng amazed by her improvement and suspecting Ding Ling had transformed her.
• Ding Ling entered the Flying Swords of Dragon Gate world and used the Divine Meditation Technique to survey the surrounding land and identify Fuqing City.
• Ding Ling saw Japanese pirates slaughtering civilians and attacking a small group of defenders led by Gu Shaotang, with Feng Lidao beside her.
• As crossbow bolts threatened to kill Gu Shaotang and the others, Ding Ling stopped them in midair and sent them back, killing more than a hundred pirates.
• Gu Shaotang and Feng Lidao stared in disbelief as Ding Ling disappeared before they could thank him.