Chapter Summaries

Fanger discovered that the Players had divided the Immortal Palace territory into fortified enclosures for humans of different power levels, confirming their plans to dominate and exploit humanity. Fire Cloud Cthulhu betrayed Xingzai and later urged the fortress to surrender, while Xin renewed his ultimatum and the siege continued.

• Fanger investigated the Players and found that they had built captive-rearing enclosures for ordinary people and superpowered individuals of different ranks.
• Fire Cloud Cthulhu secretly poisoned Xingzai, captured him, and tried to flee with him so he could bargain with Xin, but Fanger and the others intervened and drove him off.
• After Xingzai recovered, he returned to the fortress battle, where its defenders held the Players off until October of the eighteenth year of the Shenzhou Calendar.
• Xin came to persuade the fortress defenders to surrender, and Fire Cloud Cthulhu claimed the Players would treat them well, causing some people to waver while many remained loyal to Xingzai.
• Xin gave Xingzai one final week to surrender, then left with Fire Cloud Cthulhu and a new army that joined the assault on the fortress.

After the fortress suffered heavy losses, Shangguan Xie led a group to the Players to test their offer of surrender and awakened a second supernatural ability. Xin used their transformation to persuade Xingzai’s side to surrender, but they refused; as the Players intensified their assault, Fire Cloud Cthulhu and Shangguan Xie turned against them and sought refuge with the defenders.

• After a battle left around a hundred people dead or wounded, Shangguan Xie proposed pretending to surrender, and Xingzai let him lead more than a dozen people to the Players while Fanger watched them.
• Seven days later, Xin arrived at the fortress with Fire Cloud Cthulhu, Shangguan Xie, and the others, whose awakened second abilities served as proof of the Players’ offer.
• Xin urged Xingzai and the fortress leaders to join the Players, but Xingzai and Landlady rejected his claims, so Xin ordered an attack on the fortress.
• By November of the eighteenth year of the Shenzhou Calendar, the Players’ relentless assaults had exhausted the defenders and caused daily casualties.
• After Players repeatedly humiliated and forced Fire Cloud Cthulhu to fight, he unleashed Universal Force, killed nearby Players, and defected to Xingzai’s side; Shangguan Xie and his group followed.
• Xingzai allowed the defectors to remain outside the fortress’s inner layer and asked Shangguan Xie to reveal the secrets they had learned among the Players.

Shangguan Xie, Fire Cloud Cthulhu, and the others were consumed by the Players’ Superpower Potion, while Xingzai and the exhausted defenders fought to hold the fortress against relentless attacks. On December 31, a blood rain and a White Bone Heavenly Ladder appeared outside the fortress as Xin and the Players waited for something.

• Shangguan Xie, Fire Cloud Cthulhu, and the other potion users went berserk and vanished as blue light consumed their flesh, bones, and souls.
• The Players launched attacks without regard for casualties, and Xingzai, Fanger, and the remaining top experts fought while medical superpower users focused on keeping them alive.
• Xin returned in mid-December, used a high-level ability to see through the fortress, and directed attacks at its weak points.
• By late December, the defenders were exhausted but continued sealing breaches as Xin intensified his assaults.
• On December 31, blood rain flooded the ground outside the fortress and formed a White Bone Heavenly Ladder, while Xin prayed and the Players watched from behind him.

Xingzai recounted how blood rain and white light killed more than a million players, whose souls ascended the Thorny White Bone Heavenly Ladder and became pieces in the Chessboard World. As the blood rain destroyed the Immortal Palace Territory and drove the remaining players away, Ding Ling learned the history and questioned a captured player named Yang Chengxu.

• Blood rain flooded the land, and white light caused more than a million players to rot and die before their souls climbed the Thorny White Bone Heavenly Ladder.
• Xingzai told Ding Ling that some dead players became soldiers and pawns in the Chessboard World, and Ding Ling captured one for questioning.
• The surviving players logged off as the blood rain grew heavier and targeted ability users, while Xingzai and Fanger recalled conflicting memories of attacking their allies.
• The blood rain destroyed the Immortal Palace Territory and left an Asura Blood Sea, leading Ding Ling to connect its origins to the Thorny Heavenly Ladder in other worlds.
• Ding Shu restored the captured player's memories, and Yang Chengxu recognized Xingzai and Fanger before kneeling to thank Ding Shu and ingratiate himself with Ding Ling.

Ding Ling and Xingzai questioned Yang Chengxu about the Players’ failed mission in the Immortal Palace Territory, learning how the Players were judged and what happened to those who resisted. The chapter ended with Xingzai and Fanger examining their new Chessboard World bodies and asking Yang Chengxu about the Lord of the Immortal Palace, whom he knew little about.

• Yang Chengxu identified himself as a former minor leader of a thousand Players and described his Blue Star Continent World, which closely resembled Ding Ling’s world.
• Yang Chengxu explained that the Players’ mission counted as a failure if they did not completely conquer the Immortal Palace Territory’s Natives, after which the Lord of the Immortal Palace selected one-tenth of the Players for death and used their bodies, abilities, and souls.
• Yang Chengxu said the Corrosive White Light and blood rain came on the final day of the eighth year, and the Players who failed their mission faced judgment before choosing whether to leave or stay.
• Yang Chengxu recounted how his father, Yang the Demigod, deliberately failed a mission to test the judgment, but the Players who remained to resist never returned.
• Xingzai and Fanger said their current bodies were not their originals, though they could still use their abilities, and Yang Chengxu admitted he had only heard unreliable rumors about the Lord of the Immortal Palace.

Ding Ling questioned Yang Chengxu about the Players, their Character Panels, and the Immortal Palace, while Yang Chengxu recounted what he had learned about veteran Players and their missions. His account explained how divided newcomer teams had allowed Xingzai and Fanger to survive, and left Ding Ling with a clearer but still incomplete picture of the harsher worlds faced by veterans.

• Yang Chengxu explained that Players received missions through their Character Panels, but said he had lost his panel after dying.
• Ding Ling examined Yang Chengxu's soul and found it unusually tough, then questioned whether Gao Yulan had been a Player.
• Yang Chengxu described how veteran Players used online platforms to gain followers, share their exploits, and recruit teams.
• Yang Chengxu explained that newcomer Players competed to become the sole Demigod, and that their failure to unite had let Xingzai, Fanger, and the other Natives endure.
• Yang Chengxu described veteran Players' mission worlds as far harsher, with Blood Sea monsters, hostile Natives, and enough supernatural energy for many Demigods.

Yang Chengxu explained the shifting dangers old Players faced in the Immortal Palace Territory, including worlds with powerful Natives and near-fatal Divine Envoy Missions. Ding Ling learned that the Second Game World offered far less protection than his own and considered visiting it, while Xingzai and Fanger worried that Players might have plundered their true bodies.

• Yang Chengxu said old Players encountered Immortal Palace patterns ranging from manageable missions to impossible modes, and many logged off rather than risk certain death.
• Yang Chengxu explained that old Players could enter only after each territory’s unpredictable safe period ended, and described one Player who gained great benefits by following a powerful imperial Native.
• Xingzai and Fanger feared that Players might have discovered and plundered their true bodies in the Asura Blood Sea.
• Yang Chengxu connected Huo Yuanjia and Chen Zhen’s small worlds, Wan Jianyi and Tian Buyi’s trials, and Thirteen Aunt and Huang Feihong’s mission to different Immortal Palace patterns.
• Yang Chengxu said Divine Envoy Missions were extremely dangerous and that Gods or Heavenly Dao incarnations could permanently damage Players’ souls; Ding Ling compared this with his own Game World’s stronger protection.
• Yang Chengxu told Ding Shuixiang that True Gods were guided to Heaven Beyond Heaven, and Ding Ling considered entering the Blue Star Continent World to see it for himself.

Ding Ling rescued Xingzai, Fanger, and Yang Chengxu from the Chessboard World and brought them to the villas outside, where Yang Chengxu learned that Ding Ling was regarded as a God King. Ding Ling then explored 999 villas and questioned people from their Chessboard Worlds, gathering clues about Immortal Palace and its many trials.

• Ding Ling asked Yang Chengxu about Jieyin Divine Light and learned that Yang Chengxu had never seen it, though his father had.
• Ding Ling took Xingzai, Fanger, and Yang Chengxu out of the Chessboard World by splitting open the sky, and Yang Chengxu became convinced that Ding Ling was a True God and possibly a God King.
• Ding Ling reunited with Huang Feihong, Chen Zhen, Nezha, Yang Ling, and the others, then explained the newcomers' origins as they examined the villas and the tiny chessboard behind them.
• Ding Ling entered 999 villas, dispelled the demons afflicting each Chessboard World's leaders, and questioned people from 999 Heavens worlds about their experiences.
• Ding Ling learned that the Chessboard Worlds contained varied trials and difficulty levels, including Difficult Level 9999, whose design had been informed by data analyzed by technology companies for the college entrance examination.

Ding Ling questioned Black Fox and other restored chess pieces to learn about the Immortal Palace, the origins of the Chessboard World, and Gao Yulan. He learned that Gao Yulan may have become a God and that the Immortal Palace’s arrival had caused powerful distortions in the worlds, leaving him with more clues about the Chessboard World’s origins.

• Ding Ling used Black Fox’s account to learn that the Asura Blood Sea and Thorny White Bone Heavenly Ladder had formed from the deaths of Natives in Player missions and grew more corrupted across worlds.
• Black Fox recognized Gao Yulan as a feared veteran Player who had completed missions alone and was believed to have died, leading Ding Ling to suspect she had become a God.
• Ding Ling learned that chess pieces could originate from many kinds of beings, including animals, plants, and zombies, and that restoring their consciousness helped them recall their former worlds.
• A zombie from the Train to Busan world described how he had entered the Immortal Palace Territory and reached the Chessboard World after exposure to White Light.
• An Advisor who had once been a plant recalled that the sky and Earth Realm had distorted repeatedly, especially when the Immortal Palace descended upon its world.

The scholar described how blood light and illusions had driven the Fong Sai-yuk World’s inhabitants and players into a final slaughter, leaving only Fong Sai-yuk and Ordo alive. He then recounted how survivors from countless worlds crossed Rainbow Bridges into the Sea of Space-Time and entered the Chessboard World, where everyone was remade.

• The scholar explained that the Immortal Palace Territory’s blood light had caused illusions and identical figures to appear, driving players and Natives to kill one another until two survivors climbed the Thorns Curse Source and White Bone Sky Ladder.
• Tian Buyi, Wan Jianyi, Chen Zhen, Huo Yuanjia, Thirteen Aunt, and others feared that their friends and families had died, but Ding Ling reassured them that their worlds might have faced different outcomes.
• The scholar said only Fong Sai-yuk and Ordo had survived in his world, though both were grievously wounded after fighting through the blood light.
• The scholar followed Fong Sai-yuk and Ordo through a Rainbow Bridge into the Sea of Space-Time, where hundreds of millions or billions of beings gathered on a platform connected to the Chessboard World by a Silver Thread.
• The gathered beings followed Fong Sai-yuk and Ordo along the Silver Thread into the Chessboard World, where everyone was remade.

Ding Ling learned that zombies such as Kong Xue could survive the Sea of Space-Time and might lead him to Immortal Palace. He brought her to a Chessboard World to test her tracking plan, where they found Uncle Nine fighting a zombie Commander.

• Ding Ling and his allies advanced through several hundred Chessboard Worlds, encountering powerful zombie Generals and Commanders that Ding Ling refined into puppets.
• Ding Ling questioned Kong Xue, who said she could track a General or Commander's departing soul through the Sea of Space-Time to find the platform and Immortal Palace.
• Ding Ling agreed to help Kong Xue and took her into a Chessboard World where Uncle Nine was fighting a zombie Commander.
• The zombie Commander attacked Ding Ling, who pierced and severely wounded him with a Destruction Sequence strike.
• Ding Ling called for Ding Yanrong to exorcise Uncle Nine.

Ding Ling defeated Old Master Ren and helped Uncle Nine return to his original body through the Immortal Palace. With Kong Xue, Ding Ling entered the Sea of Space-Time and pursued Uncle Nine into the Immortal Palace, where they found it in an early, dreamlike state.

• Ding Ling killed Old Master Ren, burned away the zombie poison, and watched Uncle Nine begin ascending toward the Immortal Palace.
• Kong Xue struck a hidden node as Uncle Nine departed, taking herself and Ding Ling into the Sea of Space-Time.
• Kong Xue and Ding Ling reached the Immortal Palace gates before they closed, leaving the Sea of Space-Time behind them.
• Ding Ling followed a Tracking Trace Lock toward Uncle Nine through the Immortal Palace and noticed its scenery differed from the accounts he had heard.

Ding Ling discovered that Uncle Nine’s original body contained a hidden world and learned that Uncle Nine’s homeland had transformed into that world. He sent an incarnation inside to investigate, where it entered a technologically advanced city and began exploring.

• Ding Ling reached the Immortal Palace gate and found Uncle Nine hesitating beside his wounded original body.
• Old Ding warned Uncle Nine not to enter his body, so Ding Shu severed its Heavenly Dao bindings and Ding Shuixi made his soul tangible.
• Ding Ling discovered that Uncle Nine’s body contained a world and told him his homeland had transformed into it.
• Ding Ling sent a two-dimensional incarnation into the hidden world and found a populated realm with advanced technology.
• The incarnation followed a young woman into a high-rise building and rode a floating elevator to the ninety-eighth floor.

Ding Ling explored the advanced technological world hidden within Uncle Nine’s original body, discovering that it was the future world of Mr. Vampire, transformed after the Immortal Palace devastated it. He found news of an upcoming fully immersive game launch and followed Zhu Qingling to school, where she endured bullying.

• Ding Ling secretly entered Zhu Qingling’s home, learned about her life, and studied the world’s technology, culture, and knowledge online until he mastered its fields.
• Ding Ling discovered that the world was the future of Mr. Vampire, whose history recorded the Immortal Palace’s attack and a Maoshan Taoist named Gu rebuilding human civilization.
• Ding Ling found a report announcing the release of a fully immersive Game World and realized its launch coincided with his arrival.
• Ding Ling ended Zhu Qingling’s magically deep sleep, and she woke refreshed before going to school.
• Zhu Qingling reached her elite cloud-platform school, avoided her classmates’ traps, and silently endured their ongoing harassment.

Ding Ling used the Wish-Fulfillment Curse Source to grant Zhu Qingling’s wishes, causing her bully Zhong Shulei to go bald and making Zhu Qingling unexpectedly adept at dodging attacks. Zhu Qingling discovered she could remember anything after seeing it once, finished every book in the Library, and was selected for ten events at the school sports meet.

• Ding Ling applied the Wish-Fulfillment Curse Source to Zhu Qingling, and Zhong Shulei suddenly lost all her hair after pulling Zhu Qingling’s hair.
• Zhong Shulei attacked Zhu Qingling, but Zhu Qingling dodged every strike with astonishing agility while her classmates watched.
• Zhong Shulei’s parents arrived, took her from the classroom, and left Zhu Qingling’s classmates wondering about her apparent Kung Fu.
• Zhu Qingling discovered she could memorize lessons and an entire history book at a glance, then set out to read every book in the Library without being disturbed.
• On the fifth day after Ding Ling arrived, Zhu Qingling wished to compete in the sports meet and was selected for ten events.

Zhu Qingling broke ten world records at a school sports meet, became a global sensation, and earned more than twenty million Shenzhou currency through carefully chosen endorsements. She joined the National Team despite believing her records had come from a lucky tailwind, then discovered that her speed, endurance, strength, and appetite were all growing.

• Zhu Qingling ran the 100-meter preliminary race in 9.1 seconds, breaking the world record and shocking the sports meet.
• Zhu Qingling broke records in several other events, and videos of her performances made her famous across Shenzhou and around the world.
• Zhu Qingling posted short videos to earn money, signed selective advertising contracts, and made over twenty million Shenzhou currency in one day.
• Officials invited Zhu Qingling to join the National Team and compete in major events, and she agreed to train despite doubting her abilities.
• Zhu Qingling's strength, speed, appetite, and stamina surged during training, prompting the track-and-field officials to consider her for both sprinting and long-distance events.

Zhu Qingling’s appetite and abilities grew alongside her astonishing mutation, drawing national and international attention before the Olympics. In the first round of the competition, she ran the 100 meters in 8.1 seconds.

• Zhu Qingling credited her rapid improvement to eating and trained harder while privately wondering whether her parents’ blessings had changed her.
• Zhu Qingling ran the 100 meters in nine seconds during a test, and the track and field team publicized the record-breaking result.
• As Zhu Qingling’s appetite and strength increased, she ran the 100 meters in 8.4 seconds and demonstrated her power by smashing a sandbag with one punch.
• Shangguan, the head instructor of Shenzhou’s Olympic delegation, witnessed Zhu Qingling’s abilities and pledged to support her at the Olympics.
• Zhu Qingling competed in the Olympics’ first round and ran the 100 meters in 8.1 seconds.

Zhu Qingling won 27 Olympic gold medals, broke record after record, and became a worldwide sensation while keeping her mutation secret. After taking first place in the high school entrance examination, she looked at her parents’ memorial tablets and wished she could see them again.

• Zhu Qingling ran the hundred-meter sprint in 8.1 seconds in the semifinals and then improved her time to eight seconds in the final, winning Olympic gold.
• Zhu Qingling entered as many Olympic events as she could and won 27 gold medals, breaking records in track, field, and team competitions.
• After the Olympics, Zhu Qingling told a reporter that her extraordinary abilities came from innate talent and that she had not tested her limits.
• Zhu Qingling’s interview went viral, celebrities and online creators promoted her, and her fame and endorsement offers soared.
• Zhu Qingling scored full marks in every subject on the high school entrance examination and placed first.
• Zhu Qingling looked at her parents’ memorial tablets and wished she could see them again and share her achievements with them.

Zhu Qingling reunited with her resurrected parents, Zhu Yong and Jiang Enxi, who told her that a God had granted her Wish-Fulfillment and brought them back from the Sea of the Dead. As they neared the limit of their visit, Zhu Qingling prayed for the God to appear, and a dazzling young man arrived before dawn.

• Zhu Qingling watched her parents' spirit tablets as Zhu Yong and Jiang Enxi emerged from them and took physical form.
• Zhu Yong and Jiang Enxi reunited with Zhu Qingling and explained that a God had granted her Wish-Fulfillment and protected her since the night her fortunes changed.
• Zhu Yong and Jiang Enxi told Zhu Qingling they had to return to the Sea of the Dead by dawn or be destroyed, and Zhu Qingling begged them to stay.
• Zhu Qingling knelt and repeatedly kowtowed, praying to meet the God before her parents had to leave.
• A dazzling young man appeared, and Zhu Yong, Jiang Enxi, and Zhu Qingling recognized him as a God.

Ding Ling made Zhu Qingling a follower of the Nine Provinces Divine Sect, resurrected and protected her parents, and guided her rapid cultivation with the Wish-Fulfillment Curse Source. After Zhu Qingling reached the Martial Golden Core realm, her parents returned with game helmets for Ding Ling’s new game, Transcend the Myriad Worlds, which could send players’ souls into its Game World.

• Zhu Qingling offered her life to resurrect her parents, but Ding Ling asked her to become a follower of the Nine Provinces Divine Sect instead.
• Ding Shuixiang made Zhu Yong and Jiang Enxi fully solid, freeing them from the sun and the Sea of the Dead’s summons.
• Zhu Qingling cultivated Martial Dao True Understanding and reached the Martial Golden Core realm in a month with help from Wish-Fulfillment.
• Ding Ling realized that Wish-Fulfillment drew energy from the void, mostly from the Immortal Palace Territory, to accelerate Zhu Qingling’s cultivation.
• Zhu Yong and Jiang Enxi brought home four game helmets, and Jiang Enxi explained that Transcend the Myriad Worlds let players’ souls enter its Game World.