Chapter Summaries

After becoming Train Conductor, Zhang Guangmu sealed the dead leads in coffins, stopped time on the train, and set its course for Singularity Station. He stepped off the train into a swamp, where the Director said the supposedly true ending was an unavoidable Despair Ending and that they could finally face the Ultimate Life.

• Zhang Guangmu received the Train Conductor’s implanted memories and restored the office, sealing Li Xiaoxiao, Ling Xu, and Xiao Qiu in coffins.
• Chu Fan asked Zhang Guangmu to kill him and promised him to resurrect him; Zhang Guangmu gently ended Chu Fan’s life and sealed him in the last coffin.
• Zhang Guangmu selected Singularity Station on the Dynamic Map and froze time throughout the train.
• The Director, Yang Lehan, explained that he had not used the Script Prompt Disguised Inner Voice because Chu Fan already trusted Zhang Guangmu and had chosen to die.
• The Death Train stopped, and Zhang Guangmu stepped off into a swamp as the Director said they could face the Ultimate Life.

Zhang Guangmu confronted Li Xuanji, who revealed that the planet was his Primordial Spirit Domain and that its people were merely parts of his body. Li Xuanji planned to clear the planet of its remaining humans and called Zhang a rare, valuable Super Cell.

• Zhang Guangmu arrived on Singularity Station, where multicolored smoke gathered into the gigantic form of Li Xuanji.
• Li Xuanji sized up Zhang Guangmu as if he were food, while Zhang recognized the emperor's gaze but felt no fear of him.
• Li Xuanji explained that the planet was his Primordial Spirit Domain, formed from his spiritual power, flesh, treasures, and other irreplaceable cultivation objects.
• Zhang Guangmu questioned whether his memories of the modern world were false, and Li Xuanji said they were real stages in the domain's development.
• Li Xuanji said he would clear out the planet's remaining 237 million humans and described Zhang Guangmu as a rare Super Cell valuable for research and cultivation.

Zhang Guangmu confronted Li Xuanji, learned that the world’s railways were Li Xuanji’s meridians, and recognized the overwhelming difference between their strength. Though Li Xuanji expected him to submit or be consumed, Zhang Guangmu defied him and hinted that he still had a way to survive.

• Li Xuanji demonstrated that railroad tracks across the planet were like meridians in his body and asked whether Zhang Guangmu had any regrets.
• Zhang Guangmu assessed that Li Xuanji’s Eighth Realm power far surpassed his own Third Realm strength, but refused to give up resisting.
• Zhang Guangmu asked Li Xuanji for his name, then declared that Li Xuanji was doomed and that even the Dao Ancestor could not save him.
• The Little White Balls erupted in praise and mockery after Zhang Guangmu’s defiant threat.
• Zhang Guangmu reasoned that he could risk defying Li Xuanji inside the Subconscious Film World without giving the imperial family grounds for revenge in the Real World.

Zhang Guangmu survived Li Xuanji’s planet-level attack by teleporting to another train and deduced that Li Xuanji could not destroy every train without endangering his own cultivation. The chapter ended with Zhang Guangmu confident that the trains were Li Xuanji’s weakness.

• Li Xuanji blasted the area around Zhang Guangmu’s former location, but Zhang Guangmu reappeared atop a train a thousand kilometers away.
• Zhang Guangmu explained that Xiao Qiu had told him Train Conductors could teleport between trains, and that he could use this authority without sacrificing the Creation Xuanji divine ability.
• Zhang Guangmu challenged Li Xuanji’s claims and argued that Li Xuanji would not destroy all the trains or the planet.
• Zhang Guangmu questioned Li Xuanji about his attachment to the trains, and Li Xuanji’s expression revealed that they mattered to him.
• Li Xuanji’s thoughts revealed that the trains were tied to his Nascent Soul and had appeared in past eras as the River Diagram and Luo Book, the Nine Cauldrons, the Imperial Seal of the Realm, the Supreme Divine Sword, and Steam Unit One.
• Zhang Guangmu declared that the trains were Li Xuanji’s weakness and prepared to exploit it.

Zhang Guangmu endured Li Xuanji’s attack by surviving the hostile conditions aboard the train, then reforged The Birth of a Thespian Anecdote Record through fire and discovered he could develop a new ability from it. He began adding Chu Fan, Li Xiaoxiao, Ling Xu, and Xiao Qiu to the book, leaving their fate unclear.

• Li Xuanji altered the air around the trains, raising the temperature and removing oxygen to try to kill Zhang Guangmu.
• Zhang Guangmu used mist to make an insulating layer and oxygen supply, surviving the environmental attack for the moment.
• Zhang Guangmu summoned The Birth of a Thespian Anecdote Record, which burned to ash as oxygen rushed into the carriage.
• Zhang Guangmu concluded that Li Xuanji’s powers were affected by the train and that supernatural abilities could be cultivated through knowledge and imagination.
• Zhang Guangmu reforged the book, changed “sketching” into “painting,” and spent an ability point to gain Painting 1.
• Zhang Guangmu wrote Chu Fan, Li Xiaoxiao, Ling Xu, and Xiao Qiu into the book and began drawing on its pages.

Zhang Guangmu used The Birth of a Thespian Anecdote Record to copy the dead passengers’ supernatural abilities and pursue a way to usurp Li Xuanji’s powers. He bypassed the memory-erasure segment and continued advancing, with his Witchcraft achievement rising to Jun.

• Zhang Guangmu copied Chu Fan’s strength, Li Xiaoxiao’s enhancement, Ling Xu’s lightning, the power to pre-read the future, and Xiao Qiu’s Creation Xuanji by using their blood and portraits.
• Zhang Guangmu wrote Li Xuanji’s name and drew his portrait to anchor the book to him, hoping passenger samples would let him steal Li Xuanji’s abilities.
• Li Xuanji watched Zhang Guangmu tear through the carriages and reach Carriage No. 19, where Zhang Guangmu stopped before the purple-red fog leading to Carriage No. 20.
• Zhang Guangmu saved some of his blood, crippled his Creation Xuanji ability, teleported to another train, and used the book to reacquire the ability, skipping the memory-erasure segment.
• Zhang Guangmu concluded that the train, swamp, sky, and air were parts of Li Xuanji’s body, and his achievement changed from Witchcraft (Lead) to Witchcraft (Jun).

Zhang Guangmu used The Birth of a Thespian Anecdote Record to absorb the world around him, forcing Li Xuanji to abandon his threat and bargain for peace. They agreed to a truce on the condition that Li Xuanji resurrect Zhang Guangmu’s fallen comrades, but Director Yang Lehan then called “Cut,” freezing the world and revealing its universe resembled a carriage.

• Li Xuanji threatened to refine the planet’s two hundred million survivors unless Zhang Guangmu surrendered, but Zhang Guangmu refused to be swayed.
• Zhang Guangmu refined a train seat with The Birth of a Thespian Anecdote Record and began absorbing the planet’s matter, causing Li Xuanji’s portrait in the book to grow more vivid.
• Li Xuanji saw that his possible futures ended in defeat and offered to resurrect Zhang Guangmu’s fallen comrades in exchange for a truce.
• Zhang Guangmu accepted the offer and agreed to retract his threat against Li Xuanji if the resurrection could be done; the two shook hands for peace.
• Director Yang Lehan called “Cut,” freezing the world as the camera pulled back to show a universe shaped like a box resembling the first carriage.

Zhang Guangmu returned from filming “The Birth of a Thespian” with an excellent evaluation, then reassured Director Yang Lehan and exchanged praise with Xiao Qiu. As colleagues debated legal letters and a possible strike against Directors, he told them to leave the matter to their superiors and invited Wang Shangqing to train as his punching bag.

• Zhang Guangmu woke from the film with an excellent final evaluation and saw that viewers were divided over whether he or Li Xuanji would win.
• Yang Lehan apologized to Zhang Guangmu for the difficult filming and invited him to a production-team gathering, which he accepted in exchange for a meal.
• Zhou Mo greeted Zhang Guangmu, and Xiao Qiu praised his courage to keep climbing after reaching the summit.
• Wang Shangqing asked the Loving Earthlings group about colleagues sending legal letters to Directors and discussing a joint strike.
• Zhang Guangmu told the group to let their superiors handle the matter and challenged Wang Shangqing to train with him as a punching bag.

Zhang Guangmu reassured Chu Fan about his lack of courage, inspiring him to focus on training his marksmanship instead of attending Director Yang’s dinner. Li Xiaoxiao reflected on his own performance in “The Birth of a Thespian” and concluded that courage was his only strength, leaving him unsure how to catch up with his exceptional crewmates.

• Zhang Guangmu watched public complaints about films falling apart and decided to focus on improving his skills while awaiting “The Path of the Great Emperor.”
• Chu Fan admitted that fear of death and failure had kept him from repeating the success of his finale in “Magic: Crossing Two Realms.”
• Zhang Guangmu encouraged Chu Fan to rely on partners and make up for one another’s weaknesses.
• Chu Fan resolved to skip Director Yang’s dinner and train his marksmanship, declaring that he would become the strongest Gun God at Zhang Guangmu’s side.
• Li Xiaoxiao reviewed his actions in “The Birth of a Thespian” and judged that, aside from courage, he lacked strength and wisdom compared with Zhang Guangmu and Zhao Zhengrong.

After the production of "The Birth of a Thespian," Zhang Guangmu joined Yang Lehan and others for a meal with Mooncake, where he received his acting fee and saw his remaining medical debt. As he left the hotel, he felt his Usable Ability Points arrive.

• Li Xiaoxiao left to train, and Zhang Guangmu told Yang Lehan he would fetch Mooncake before joining the dinner.
• Zhang Guangmu and Mooncake enjoyed the meal while Yang Lehan and the others relaxed around them.
• Zhang Guangmu discussed raising a cat and joked that he wished Emperor Li Xuanji could attend to talk about the production.
• Zhang Guangmu accepted a transfer of 698 Dragon Shields as his acting fee and saw that he still owed 43,901 Dragon Shields in medical debt.
• After eating his fill, Zhang Guangmu stood up with Mooncake and felt his Usable Ability Points arrive.

Zhang Guangmu advanced Imperial Body Forging Technique to level 20, gaining extraordinary memory and sharper judgment. Meanwhile, Emperor Li Xuanji’s generous incentives and promise of government posts drew people across the Empire into Subconscious Films, ushering in a mass frenzy ahead of The Path of the Great Emperor.

• Zhang Guangmu used the Book of Acting to interpret a review about negotiating with Li Xuanji, then added its ability point to Imperial Body Forging Technique.
• Zhang Guangmu reached Imperial Body Forging Technique 20 and found that his physique, memory, judgment, and composure had greatly improved.
• Zhang Guangmu read the Subconscious General Bureau’s report and learned that this year’s participants in The Path of the Great Emperor would receive ten times the usual pay.
• Zhang Guangmu and Mooncake decided to enter The Path of the Great Emperor after learning that Li Xuanji would compete in person.
• Li Xuanji promised that high-performing Subconscious Actors could enter the imperial court as officials, with the best potentially governing a commandery.
• People from across the Empire rushed into the Subconscious Film Industry to qualify for the competition, beginning the Deep Dive Era.

On his eighteenth birthday, Zhang Guangmu celebrated with the Endless warship crew as Cao Guan arrived after being pardoned and released from prison. The gathering ended with news that Zhang Guangmu had risen to thirty-sixth on the Fantasy Dragon General Ranking, leaving Cao Guan stunned by how much had changed while he was imprisoned.

• Zhang Guangmu reflected that this year's Seven Stars had extraordinary fortune and that his Bright Moon title would guarantee him a supernatural talent in May's The Path of the Great Emperor.
• At Zhang Guangmu's birthday gathering, Luo Zhuan drank and felt relieved that his captain had turned eighteen, easing his anxiety about the Endless warship's future.
• Cao Guan arrived with a roast-meat birthday cake and revealed that he had been pardoned and released that morning along with other Directors.
• Cao Guan joined the Endless warship's celebration, met Jiang Ling, and toasted her as a genius after learning she was a new member.
• Tang Lanshan announced that Zhang Guangmu had climbed to thirty-sixth on the Fantasy Dragon General Ranking, leaving Cao Guan shocked by the ranking and wondering how long he had been in prison.

Zhang Guangmu celebrated his birthday with his companions, received a flood of generous red packets, and reflected on his rising ranking and connections. As Spring Festival approached, the final Seven Stars list and the identities of the seven Children of Destiny remained uncertain.

• Zhang Guangmu saw that his Fantasy Dragon General Ranking had risen from eighty-eighth to thirty-sixth place, bringing the ten-thousand-Dragon-Shield milestone reward closer.
• Zhang Guangmu asked Cao Guan about Director Qian, and Cao Guan explained that Qian Yiyuan had refused the pardon so he could keep writing and directing from prison.
• Zhang Guangmu returned home with Mooncake and received birthday red packets from friends and colleagues, totaling more than nine hundred Dragon Shields.
• Zhang Guangmu noted that Ling Xu had held onto the provisional Seven Stars list with help from his good deed in The Birth of a Thespian and support from fans.
• Zhang Guangmu checked the calendar and saw that Spring Festival was approaching, when the seven Children of Destiny would be revealed.

Zhang Guangmu learned that Yang Chi had deliberately disfigured himself and taken an unorthodox path after being haunted by his defeat and by Zhang Guangmu’s rise. They agreed they would welcome working together again, and the story moved to the Spring Festival, when the year’s Seven Stars list was finalized.

• Zhang Guangmu searched for Yang Chi after receiving his 30 Dragon Shields red envelope and found that Yang Chi had disfigured himself.
• Yang Chi told Zhang Guangmu that he had burned his face and broken his nose to keep his promise to teach Zhang Guangmu a lesson, and that he had chosen an unorthodox path.
• Yang Chi explained that his defeat and later inability to compete with Zhang Guangmu had driven him to dwell on how their past encounters might have gone differently.
• Zhang Guangmu reassured Yang Chi, and Yang Chi said he was extremely willing to collaborate with him again; Zhang Guangmu replied that he was looking forward to it.
• On February 23, the Spring Festival, the year’s Seven Stars list was finalized as people watched for a chance to enter The Path of the Great Emperor.

Zhang Guangmu and the Endless Food Bucket Group watched the countdown to the Xuanlong Empire’s Seven Stars list as Li Xiaoxiao warned them about his formidable brother Li Yan and Zhang assessed the fiercely competitive rookies. With the list still pending, Zhang received an offer for a film titled “King Yama’s Perspective.”

• Zhang Guangmu opened a video conference so the Endless Food Bucket Group could watch the final Seven Stars list together.
• Li Xiaoxiao described how Li Yan had spent nearly two hundred years training in a Subconscious Training Camp and warned everyone not to underestimate him.
• Zhang considered Li Yan and the other ambitious rookies, including Ling Xu, strong contenders for the Seven Stars.
• With thirty minutes left before the list was finalized, Zhang received an offer for a film called “King Yama’s Perspective.”

Zhang Guangmu accepted the film King Yama's Perspective and learned that the Seven Stars list had been finalized. He rallied the Endless warship team to prepare for the coming interstellar battlefield.

• Zhang Guangmu accepted the film King Yama's Perspective, which Cao Guan had written and Takada Mokasai was directing, after seeing its cast included Long Xiaofan, Yang Chi, Luo Zhuan, and Jiang Ling.
• Zhang Guangmu considered Long Xiaofan a worthy opponent and prepared to act in the film without first reading its script details.
• Mooncake urged Zhang Guangmu to check the finalized Seven Stars list, which named Li Yan, Matt Morgan, Fang Yi, Alexander Stuart, Shirley Einstein, Ling Xu, and Shiina Hayate.
• Zhang Guangmu told Zhao Zhengrong, Li Xiaoxiao, Chu Fan, Tang Lanshan, Luo Zhuan, and Jiang Ling to prepare to crush their rivals on the approaching interstellar battlefield.
• Jiang Ling pledged to develop universal medicine, Luo Zhuan promised to scout for danger, and Li Xiaoxiao declared she would act as the team's Sword Holder.

Tang Lanshan revealed her plan to use divination-backed investments to make the Endless warship wealthy, while the team pledged to protect and support Zhang Guangmu. More than two months before “The Path of the Great Emperor” began, Zhang Guangmu arrived at a production building and reunited with Yang Chi.

• Tang Lanshan promised that the team would be free from poverty by using her occult skills to guide business and investment ventures.
• Zhao Zhengrong vowed to protect everyone, and Chu Fan reaffirmed his goal of becoming the Xuanlong Empire’s strongest Gun God.
• The Endless warship’s members held an enthusiastic oath-taking rally, though “The Path of the Great Emperor” was still more than two months away.
• Zhang Guangmu arrived at a production building carrying a portable Infiltration Pod and met Yang Chi, whose appearance had become frightening.
• Zhang Guangmu greeted Yang Chi as the Young Fortress Lord, and Yang Chi was pleased that Zhang Guangmu treated him cordially.

Zhang Guangmu spoke with Yang Chi, who had rebuilt his confidence after his disfigurement and admired Zhang Guangmu as a kindred spirit. After reading Luo Zhuan’s report about Long Xiaofan, Zhang Guangmu concluded that Earth’s environment had changed and that Long Xiaofan was likely among the first people to awaken supernatural powers.

• Yang Chi told Zhang Guangmu he had been reborn and embraced both light and darkness, while Mooncake leapt from the Infiltration Pod to defend Zhang Guangmu.
• Zhang Guangmu corrected Yang Chi when he called Mooncake a pet, then discussed Yang Chi’s interest in Nietzsche and encouraged him to show what he could do.
• Yang Chi went to the lounge to rest, and Zhang Guangmu learned from the receptionist that Jiang Ling and Luo Zhuan had entered their Infiltration Pods more than an hour earlier.
• Zhang Guangmu read Luo Zhuan’s note describing Long Xiaofan as withdrawn, cold, arrogant, and indifferent to everyone around him.
• Zhang Guangmu connected reports of supernatural side effects with changes in online censorship and concluded that a few people had awakened weak supernatural powers; he suspected Long Xiaofan was one of the Original Awakened Ones, while Yang Chi remained ordinary.

Zhang Guangmu tested his strength against Long Xiaofan, a newly awakened ice-wielding Transcendent, and easily overwhelmed him. He then discovered that his past achievement-based powers from the Subconscious Film World could be inherited in reality once his Carrying Capacity was high enough, leaving him confident he could eventually reach the Ultimate Tier.

• Long Xiaofan questioned Zhang Guangmu's lack of detectable supernatural power and identified Mooncake as the source of the powerful energy he sensed.
• Zhang Guangmu challenged Long Xiaofan to a test, and Long Xiaofan formed an Ice Crystal Shield to defend himself.
• Zhang Guangmu shattered the shield and sent Long Xiaofan flying with a light shake, leaving him bruised and astonished by Zhang Guangmu's strength.
• Zhang Guangmu checked his Book of Acting and found an achievement note stating that his former Transcendent realms and powers could be inherited in reality when his Carrying Capacity reached the required level.
• Zhang Guangmu reviewed his achievement ranks and concluded that he could eventually reach the Ultimate Tier, with at least the Transcendent Ninth Realm guaranteed.

After growing stronger, Zhang Guangmu reflected on Mooncake’s possible Supernatural Power and prepared to enter the Infiltration Pod. Director Takada Mokasai praised his past performance and said she would treat him fairly while directing King Yama's Perspective.

• Zhang Guangmu concluded that his investment in the Imperial Body Forging Technique would help him meet the ability-point requirements for transcending.
• Long Xiaofan assumed Zhang Guangmu had become even stronger, challenged him to prove himself in the Subconscious Film World, and entered his Infiltration Pod.
• Zhang Guangmu questioned whether Mooncake’s immense appetite came from her awakened Supernatural Power, then teased her until she smacked him.
• Takada Mokasai approached Zhang Guangmu and praised his performance in Martial Way Diary, hoping he would bring much of that strength to King Yama's Perspective.
• Takada Mokasai acknowledged Zhang Guangmu’s prejudice toward people from Yingzhou but promised to keep her personal feelings out of her Script Prompt Disguised Inner Voice.