Chapter Summaries

Li Wei learned that the Martial Immortals had approved her appointment as frontline commander of the support legion, and she received a major general’s uniform and a body-tempering technique from Zhang Luye. Li Huaiyuan warned her to behave around the legion’s actual commander, Ma Baoguo, whose name made Li Wei spit tea across his face.

• Li Huaiyuan told Li Wei that the Joint Command had appointed her frontline commander of the support legion and temporarily granted her the rank of major general.
• Li Wei opened the box and found a general’s uniform, major general’s epaulets, and light armor.
• Li Huaiyuan gave Li Wei a jade talisman containing Zhang Luye’s Diamond Body technique and relayed Zhang’s advice that she should build a sturdier physique.
• Li Huaiyuan explained that Major General Ma commanded the support legion and warned Li Wei not to put on airs around him.
• Li Huaiyuan revealed that the formidable commander’s name was Ma Baoguo, and Li Wei sprayed tea across his face.

Li Wei became the support army’s temporary frontline commander and received a powerful defensive Combat Method. After mastering Diamond Body, she unleashed a brilliant golden radiance that formed a sun above the 19th Army base.

• Li Wei returned to the 19th Army base in a general’s uniform and told Qin Lan she had been appointed frontline commander of the support army.
• Qin Lan gave Li Wei a hand-braided Peace Knot, which Li Wei tied to her tactical waist pouch before the soldiers celebrated her promotion.
• Li Wei used Zhang Luye’s jade talisman to receive the Diamond Body inheritance and recorded the Combat Method in her system.
• Li Wei spent nearly half her Abyss Essence rapidly mastering Diamond Body, and a dazzling golden sun rose above the 19th Army base.

Zhang Luye and Yun Heng discovered that Li Wei had perfected the Zhang family's Diamond Body, causing a dazzling phenomenon at the 19th Army's station. After the incident was covered up, Li Wei departed for the Support Legion, where Li Huaiyuan arranged for her arrival.

• Yun Heng warned Zhang Luye that Diamond Body could change Li Wei's appearance, and Zhang Luye rushed to find her a replacement technique.
• A brilliant golden light appeared above the 19th Army's station, and Zhang Luye and Yun Heng realized Li Wei had perfected Diamond Body.
• Li Huaiyuan took Li Wei to headquarters and questioned her about the technique; Yun Heng claimed the disturbance came from a trace of Zhang Luye's father's inheritance.
• The Defense Army classified the Golden Sun incident as an ammunition depot explosion and began a purge of negligent personnel.
• On September 9, Li Wei boarded a helicopter for the Support Legion, and Li Huaiyuan told his chief staff officer to inform Ma Baoguo that his trump card was on the way.

Ma Baoguo assigned Li Wei to lead the support legion’s assault for the Arctic Alliance, while he and the staff handled overall command. After Li Wei demonstrated her perfected Diamond Body, she accepted the mission and promised to clear a path for the legion.

• Ma Baoguo met Li Wei at the support legion’s base and corrected her for addressing him as Teacher Ma instead of using his rank.
• Ma Baoguo explained that Li Wei would lead the frontline assault, and Li Wei eagerly accepted after learning she would not have to command the legion.
• Ma Baoguo warned Li Wei against recklessness and individual heroism, but Li Wei demonstrated that her perfected Diamond Body could deflect a sword strike with a golden protective aura.
• Ma Baoguo assigned himself responsibility for overall command and coordination with the Arctic Alliance, while Li Wei agreed to lead the assault and reduce the legion’s casualties.

On September 9, Li Wei and Ma Baoguo attended an Arctic Alliance conference at Frost Fortress to plan a counterattack against the Abyssal Monsters. Li Wei favored an aggressive encirclement plan that reminded her of the Battle of Xuzhou, while the Alliance generals ended the chapter arguing over their strategy.

• Li Wei received notice of the conference and flew with Ma Baoguo to Frost Fortress.
• General Lebedev welcomed the Hua Nation delegation, and Ma Baoguo quietly translated his remarks for Li Wei.
• An Arctic Alliance lieutenant general defended the previous frontal strategy and proposed committing 2.5 times more troops and knights.
• A second lieutenant general proposed breaking through the occupied zone, circling around, and reclaiming the western fortress group with a pincer attack.
• Li Wei recognized similarities between the second plan and the Battle of Xuzhou as the Arctic Alliance generals broke into an argument.

Li Wei was asked to advise the Arctic Alliance generals on their counterattack plans and offered an awkwardly received proposal. The conference settled on a compromise offensive plan for September 12, while Li Wei’s support corps was assigned to the reserves.

• General Lebedev stopped the arguing generals and asked Li Wei for her opinion on the offensive plans.
• Li Wei argued for concentrating forces on a central breakthrough and encircling the western flank, prompting applause from supporters of Plan Two.
• When General Lebedev questioned how the offensive line would withstand an enemy attack, Li Wei compared the deployment to the Serpent of Changshan, and Lebedev explained why the metaphor did not fit.
• The generals settled on a plan focused on Dragon Tooth Bunker, combining a frontal assault with attacks on both flanks and a smaller circuitous maneuver.
• Li Wei asked to join the first wave, but Lebedev refused and assigned Hua Nation's support corps to the reserves; the counterattack was scheduled for September 12 at 8:00 a.m.

Min Zimo used Su Mo’s Reception Cloud Token to bring Gu Jinzhi into Heavenly Ruins, where he awakened in a cloud-shaped form and asked about someone’s safety. Min Zimo transformed him into a more solid body and welcomed him to the ruined celestial realm.

• Min Zimo persuaded Su Mo to hand over his Reception Cloud Token and hid it beneath Gu Jinzhi’s pillow as a soul-nourishing jade token.
• That night, Gu Jinzhi entered a cloud-filled realm and recognized the masked divine general as Min Zimo.
• Min Zimo called Gu Jinzhi “Husband Jiang,” and Gu Jinzhi’s cloud body darkened and nearly came apart from grief.
• Gu Jinzhi asked whether she was all right, but Min Zimo said their time was up and struck him with his spear.
• Gu Jinzhi emerged in immortal robes and a white jade mask, and Min Zimo welcomed him to Heavenly Ruins, a vast ruined realm among the clouds.

Gu Jinzhi learned that Jiang Xue was safe and heard Min Zimo explain the Heavenly Ruins, its inheritances, and membership rules. At the ruined Lingxiao Hall, Gu Jinzhi was drawn to the divine title Jade Emperor, which Min Zimo said all previous seekers had failed to obtain.

• Min Zimo told Gu Jinzhi about Jiang Xue's victories in the Western Frontier and reassured him that she was safe.
• Gu Jinzhi asked whether the Cloud Token or the Heavenly Ruins could help him wake up, and Min Zimo admitted he did not know.
• Min Zimo explained that the Venerate founded the Heavenly Ruins to preserve inheritances, and that each divine title allowed its inheritor only one inheritance.
• Min Zimo described the organization's membership rules, including the annual gathering and the requirements to become a full member.
• Gu Jinzhi was drawn to the ruined Lingxiao Hall, where Min Zimo revealed that its divine title was Jade Emperor and that previous seekers had all failed to obtain it.

Li Guitang and Yun Heng discussed the growing abyssal threat and the need to secure the passage before powerful factions joined forces. Meanwhile, the Mysterious Maiden reconsidered allowing Jiang Xue into the Heavenly Ruins after her nephew argued for it, then realized he might be acting out of personal interest.

• Li Guitang and Yun Heng watched Zhang Luye sulk after taking a hit and discussed Jiang Xue's extraordinary cultivation and potential.
• Yun Heng hoped Jiang Xue could eventually help Yun Sheng, but Li Guitang warned him that Yun Sheng might mistake his attention for an attempt to find a stepmother.
• Li Guitang told Yun Heng that another powerful being had emerged from the abyss, and Yun Heng revealed that the Beiku lineage might join Evernight, increasing the threat to the Western Frontier.
• A man asked the Mysterious Maiden for a Reception Cloud Token so he could invite Jiang Xue into the Heavenly Ruins, arguing that her talent could help humanity resist the abyss.
• The Mysterious Maiden began reconsidering her refusal, then realized her nephew might be trying to pull strings for Jiang Xue, and he said nothing.

Li Wei prepared with the Hua Nation Support Legion for the Arctic Alliance’s counterattack and saw how far the gray fog had spread through the Northern Sector. As the battle neared, she warned her commanders to stay alive—and, above all, not to follow when she charged.

• Ma Baoguo warned Li Wei to stay close to the main force and out of the fog because Middle Third Order battles could cause dangerous aftershocks.
• Li Wei entered Tunnel N-03 with the Support Legion convoy and reached its assembly position beneath the Northern Sector mountain fortress.
• At dawn, Li Wei saw that the gray fog had swallowed two rows of Dragon Tooth Bunker groups and formed a huge bulge in the defensive line.
• Li Wei had learned the Hua Nation military’s four basic Combat Methods and taught their perfect comprehension to more than a thousand Military Martial Artists, earning great prestige in the Support Legion.
• With twenty minutes left before the counterattack, Li Wei told the battalion commanders to keep their wits about them and not follow her when she charged.

Li Wei watched the Arctic Alliance’s counterattack stall against the Abyssal monsters and asked Ma Baoguo to seek permission for her to break the deadlock. She was ordered to wait, and the chapter ended as she realized Li Jiaqi might have captured her candid remarks on camera.

• The Arctic Alliance bombarded the occupied zone and launched a ground assault, but its forces advanced less than a kilometer and suffered heavy casualties.
• Li Wei called Ma Baoguo and asked to attack alone, but he told her to wait for General Lebedev’s permission and not act on her own.
• After more than an hour, Ma Baoguo relayed Lebedev’s order for Li Wei to stand by, and she complained about the stalled offensive and the soldiers’ losses.
• At noon, Li Wei criticized Lebedev as she watched more retreating troops, then met reporter Li Jiaqi in the trench.
• Li Jiaqi was surprised to see Li Wei’s major general rank and asked why she had come to the front; Li Wei began praising the Abyssal monsters before spotting the camera and asking whether it was livestreaming or recorded.

Li Wei’s staged battlefield broadcast was interrupted when a massive shock wave tore through the basin, wrecking equipment and scattering both human forces and Abyssal Monsters. As the Arctic Alliance’s line came under renewed attack, Li Wei charged toward the left wing, while Ma Baoguo’s delayed orders assigned the support corps to defensive positions and said Major General Jiang Xue must remain at her post.

• Li Wei asked Li Jiaqi to reshoot the prerecorded broadcast and posed for the camera until a huge shock wave erupted from the basin.
• Li Wei pulled Li Jiaqi into the trench as the shock wave struck, then confirmed the support corps had suffered no injuries but its electronic equipment was broken.
• Li Wei saw the Arctic Alliance’s formations in disarray and black tides of Abyssal Monsters advancing, while Li Jiaqi refused to leave until two Military Martial Artists carried her away.
• After watching the front line deteriorate, Li Wei ordered the battalion commanders to hold the position and charged toward the dangerous left wing alone.
• Yan Hua received Ma Baoguo’s orders assigning the battalions to fortress clusters and reserve duties, with Major General Jiang Xue instructed not to leave her post.

As the Spatial Tremor disabled the Arctic Alliance’s communications and equipment, General Lebedev organized a retreat while Ma Baoguo’s forces faced defeat. A golden-armored figure appeared on the front line, cutting through the Abyssal Monsters and reaching the soldiers who had been preparing to die.

• After the Spatial Tremor crippled the command center, Lebedev ordered the 5th Guards Army Group to hold its position and the other forces to withdraw toward Dragon Tooth Bunker.
• Lebedev thanked Ma Baoguo for his decisions and warned him to keep Major General Jiang under control because of her value.
• Warrant Officer Maxim ran out of ammunition while fighting Abyssal Monsters, but a golden-armored figure arrived and destroyed the Sea Urchin attacking his bunker.
• Commander Dmitri and his crew prepared to detonate their damaged mecha, then heard the fighting outside fall silent.
• Dmitri opened the hatch and saw the golden-armored figure charging through the Abyssal Monsters, leaving heaps of dead Sea Urchins behind.

Li Wei slaughtered Abyssal monsters and drew their growing horde toward herself, while the 5th Guards Army received orders to hold its position. The chapter ended with the Lieutenant General choosing to remain with his troops as he prepared for a likely final defense.

• Li Wei found that her Diamond Body could withstand the Abyssal monsters, then switched to wielding two battle-axes to kill them more efficiently.
• After half an hour of fighting, Li Wei cleared the area around her and realized the Abyssal army was charging toward her instead of Dragon Tooth Bunker.
• The Lieutenant General arrived at the 5th Guards Army’s forward command post and learned that the 17th Division Commander, Andrei, had been killed.
• The Lieutenant General delivered General Lebedev’s order for the 5th Guards Army to hold its position without retreating, then told the two Division Commanders he would stay with them.
• The Lieutenant General surveyed the damaged fronts from atop an Xiangqi-M and told a lieutenant that nowhere was safe anymore.

At the abyssal passage, Beiku explained to Eternal Night that he was letting humanity’s prodigy grow because humanity could help them face the coming Final. Beiku agreed to serve under Eternal Night, while warning her that the Great Dream planned to seize the Kunlun Mirror fragment on Blue Star.

• Eternal Night confronted Beiku over his attacks on humanity, and Beiku said humanity was currently useful against the coming Final.
• Beiku revealed that he had deliberately allowed humanity’s prodigy to grow and suspected she gained energy or strength by killing monsters.
• Eternal Night admitted she had less than a ten percent chance of surviving the Final, and Beiku said he had similar odds and hoped stronger humans would shift the balance.
• Beiku agreed to join under Eternal Night’s command but asked her to send more ninth-rankers to keep humanity from reclaiming the passage.
• Beiku warned Eternal Night that the Great Dream was plotting to seize the Kunlun Mirror fragment and might use it to break through the ninth rank.

After the Spatial Tremor, General Lebedev learned that the Abyssal monsters had turned away from the Fifth Group Army and discovered Li Wei killing them inside a four-colored domain. With Yun Heng promising to protect her, Li Wei headed deeper into the gray fog, leaving Ma Baoguo anxiously watching her go.

• General Lebedev contacted Lieutenant General "Plan One" and learned that the monsters had withdrawn from the Fifth Group Army's position but gathered near the gray fog.
• Lebedev launched the "Ling Falcon," whose footage showed countless Abyssal monsters melting inside Li Wei's four-colored domain as she sat on her damaged mech eating sunflower seeds.
• Li Wei saw that she had accumulated 10.79 million Abyss Essence but decided to strengthen her foundation instead of spending it all to attempt an immediate breakthrough.
• Yun Heng told Li Wei to go deeper into the basin and promised to protect her from danger.
• Li Wei dismissed her domain and plunged into the thick gray fog while Ma Baoguo watched in alarm.

Li Wei fought through the gray fog zone, slaughtering Abyssal monsters while Yun Heng guided her. After she cleared the northern occupied zone, Western Frontier forces began an armed parade and senior commanders considered reclaiming the passage lost thirty years earlier.

• Li Wei advanced through the gray fog, where stronger monsters and poor visibility made Yun Heng’s guidance essential.
• Yun Heng, Zhang Luye, and Li Guitang watched Li Wei’s fighting and discussed her potential to surpass Yun Sheng and perhaps reach beyond the ninth order.
• Yun Heng sent Alesheni to tell Lebedev to reclaim Dragon Tooth Bunker and asked Li Guitang to request support from Li Huaiyuan’s troops.
• Yun Heng told Zhang Luye he would take him to meet Li Wei and clarified that Zhang Yansheng, not Zhang Luye, had schemed against Gu Jinzhi.
• The three northern sectors of the Western Frontier launched a general assault, but the Abyssal monsters had vanished, turning the operation into an armed parade.

Li Wei fought through the monsters in the Northern Sector before Yun Heng brought her to a pavilion above the clouds and introduced her to Zhang Luye. After Li Wei reconsidered her grudge against the Zhang family, Yun Heng told her he planned to retake the passage they had lost thirty years earlier and asked whether she supported him.

• Li Wei advanced through the trench zone, ignored Yun Heng's warning about the minefield, and mistook an old metal plate for a land mine.
• An invisible force carried Li Wei out of the gray mist and into a white Octagonal Cloud Pavilion above the clouds, where Yun Heng and Zhang Luye waited.
• Yun Heng introduced Zhang Luye as Li Wei's Big Brother Zhang, and Li Wei realized he was a Zhang family Martial Immortal who had given her the Diamond Body.
• Zhang Luye claimed a younger relative had acted on his own against Old Gu and offered to bring him to Li Wei; Yun Heng reminded her that Zhang family Grandmasters had also helped her at the arena.
• Li Wei thanked Zhang Luye and said the Zhang family had more good people than bad, and Yun Heng asked whether she supported retaking the passage lost thirty years earlier.

Li Wei learned that Yun Heng planned to reclaim the passage and asked him about the strength and cultivation stages above her rank. Yun Heng warned her against rushing her advancement and explained that Martial Immortals were judged by “No-Self,” leaving Li Wei with a clearer picture of the path ahead.

• Li Wei questioned Yun Heng about the risk that the Abyss would break its agreement if humanity pushed too far, and he assured her that the Abyss could not afford to lose mid-tier combat power.
• Li Wei agreed to support Yun Heng’s plan and accepted his Cloud Mist Tea, which sharpened her thoughts.
• Li Wei asked Yun Heng to compare the energy strength of sixth-rank fighters, Grandmasters, and Great Grandmasters, and he described the Three Flowers Gathering at the Top and Five Qi Returning to Origin stages.
• Yun Heng warned Li Wei not to rush her advancement, explaining that Gu Litong’s hurried rise to Great Grandmaster had caused hidden injuries.
• Li Wei asked how a Martial Immortal’s strength was measured, and Yun Heng answered that it was judged by “No-Self.”

Yun Heng explained that Martial Immortals grew stronger by lowering their “I” progress, and Li Wei realized her own progress was already at 10%, the level associated with a Ninth-Order Supreme Powerhouse. After Yun Heng sent her plummeting through the clouds, Li Wei returned to the Northern Alliance fortress in a blazing, sunlike descent and was greeted as a hero.

• Yun Heng explained that a Martial Immortal’s strength increased as their “I” progress fell, with 10% marking the Ninth-Order Supreme Powerhouse level.
• Li Wei checked her panel and discovered her “I” progress was already 10%, then asked Yun Heng how powerful that level was.
• Li Wei asked how many deer Yun Heng was, and Yun Heng sent her plunging through the clouds.
• At the southern observation post, Li Jiaqi pressed a Northern Alliance lieutenant colonel about searching for Li Wei until Ma Baoguo assured her that Major General Jiang would return soon.
• Li Wei descended like a golden sun near the fortress, and General Lebedev led the Northern Alliance soldiers in cheering for her.
• Li Jiaqi told the cameraman to use the recorded broadcast and make clear that the footage had been filmed at night.