Chapter Summaries

Li Wannian had Zhang Qing demonstrate how speed and combat power increased from the Glimmering Realm through the Sunrise Realm, showing that conventional firearms became ineffective at higher realms. After learning that four realms remained above Sunrise and that Specters could pose an even greater threat, the national elders asked about the Dark Realm, and Li Wannian called them enemies.

• At Li Wannian's request, Zhang Qing ran 100 meters in 7.1542 seconds at the Candlelight Realm, then in 2.0451 seconds at the Starflash Realm.
• Zhang Qing crossed the track in 1.1756 seconds at the Moon-Shattering Realm, and Li Wannian learned firearms at that level required machine-gun barrages or greater to contend with him.
• Zhang Qing ran 100 meters in 0.5641 seconds at the Sunrise Realm, and the tests showed that only heavy weapons such as warship close-in defense guns could offer resistance.
• Zhang Qing told Li Wannian that the Blazing Sun, Meteor, Falling Moon, and Martial God Realms remained above Sunrise, and warned that Martial God experts and powerful Specters might withstand nuclear weapons.
• Li Wannian gave Elder Zhan and the other national elders documents about the threat, and identified the Dark Realm as their enemies.

After Yang Man warned Zhang Qing about interfering in the City Lord’s affairs, he went to meet the City Lord, who had summoned him through Mo Li. Zhang Qing entered the blood-scented hall and came face to face with the peak Sequence Four City Lord.

• Yun Xiaoxi stopped Zhang Qing from leaving and persuaded him to stay with her before he slipped away the next morning.
• Yang Man told Zhang Qing that Mo Li had come to summon him and advised him to help the City Lord advance in exchange for a favor.
• Yang Man ordered Yan Qingshan to secretly support Zhang Qing’s people while keeping watch on them.
• Mo Li took Zhang Qing to the City Lord Mansion and said the City Lord was in a good mood.
• Zhang Qing entered the great hall, sensed its blood scent stir his killing intent, and saw Shami appear on the throne.

Zhang Qing gained Shami’s agreement to grant him a favor and learned that Shami planned to take him to a Pathbreaking Battle in a week. Yang Man explained that the battle tested whether a Sequence could enter the Orthodox ranks, and Zhang Qing realized the heavens controlled that trial.

• Shami confronted Zhang Qing for prying into his Sequence, but Zhang Qing appealed to his connections and asked for a favor; Shami agreed and invited him on an outing in a week.
• After Zhang Qing left, Shami spoke with a Specter and revealed that the Pathbreaking Battle was prepared to kill its challenger, after which he intended to push Zhang Qing toward Transcendence.
• Yang Man intercepted Zhang Qing and identified Shami’s planned outing as a Pathbreaking Battle.
• Yang Man explained that a challenger fought an opponent from the heavens using the same Sequence and Waypoint, and that losing meant death.
• Zhang Qing worried that his Destiny Branch Waypoint could expose Blue Star, then agreed to attend the battle with Yang Man.

Guan Yutian and Pusan began rallying oppressed villages on the outskirts of An City, using food, medicine, and weapons to help them fight Specters. Meanwhile, Great Xia launched a massive effort to build defensive walls, and both endeavors began gathering momentum.

• Guan Yutian led Pusan and their retainers to a Ratfolk village where a spider Specter was hunting villagers.
• Guan Yutian ordered a Sunrise Realm cultivator to sever the Specter's legs, then gave medicine to the wounded Ratfolk man.
• Guan Yutian forced the Ratfolk man to choose between taking up a sword to protect his child or having his village slaughtered, and the man attacked the Specter.
• Guan Yutian and Pusan traveled from village to village, using food, spirit pills, and Cultivation Techniques to build a growing force.
• Great Xia began a massive infrastructure campaign, sending workers and officials to build walls around its cities.

Zhang Qing continued balancing his work in Great Xia with plans to prepare for the players, then visited the Sixth Floor to see how Hu Ya had progressed. He found her sparring at the peak of the Morning Sun Realm against a Blazing Sun Realm martial artist, and Yang Man identified the opponent’s path as the legendary Martial Path Extreme.

• Zhang Qing worked nights at the Capital Ring Megacity construction site and memorized Dark Realm texts during the day.
• Zhang Qing decided to wait for the City Lord’s Pathbreaking Battle before choosing how to invest his Attribute Points or pursue martial arts.
• Yun Xiaoxi told Zhang Qing that the Sixth Floor had arrived, so he invited Yang Man, Hu Ben, and the others to visit Hu Ya.
• Fan Adkin said Hu Ya had nearly mastered her ghoulification and could open it to 99%, aided by a drop of Imperial Clan blood from the Abyssal Insect Ghoul Tribe.
• Zhang Qing and the others watched Hu Ya spar with He Wu, a Blazing Sun Realm martial artist, and Yang Man recognized his path as Martial Path Extreme.

Yang Man explained the Sixth Floor’s Martial Path Extreme, and Zhang Qing accepted Ares’s offer to try it despite her warnings about its demands. Zhang Qing and He Wu began a sparring match, each surprised by the other’s strength.

• Yang Man explained that the Sixth Floor embraced unusual paths of evolution, including Martial Path Extreme, and had arranged the gathering to attract Zhang Qing’s interest.
• Yang Man warned that Martial Path Extreme would divert time and energy from Zhang Qing’s Sequence advancement, but Zhang Qing still wanted to learn it.
• Ares offered to teach Zhang Qing, and Zhang Qing eagerly accepted despite Yang Man’s disapproval.
• He Wu finished sparring with Hu Ya, then agreed to test Zhang Qing and warned that he would hold back.
• Zhang Qing charged He Wu at close range with his Phoenix Blood Saber, and both fighters recognized the other’s exceptional strength.

Zhang Qing sparred with He Wu and discovered the power of Martial Path Extreme, then used Predation against him until Ares intervened with authority. The display left Zhang Qing determined to find a way to defeat the Lord City Lord and resist authority.

• Zhang Qing and He Wu traded martial strikes until He Wu unleashed a critical-hit saber slash that sent Zhang Qing flying.
• Fan Adkin explained how Martial Path Extreme practitioners combined Qi, their bodies, and will to deliver attacks beyond their realm, while Yang Man questioned how rare the path was.
• Zhang Qing stopped the spar, then agreed to use his Waypoint ability after Ares offered to control the fight.
• Zhang Qing used Predation on He Wu, who countered with Dying Blade and wounded the beast's jaws before Ares froze them with authority.
• Zhang Qing felt the force of Ares's authority scatter his strength and resolved to take down the Lord City Lord.

Zhang Qing received Ares's Martial Path Extreme manual and learned about the City Lord's coming advancement and the role of Imperial Cities. He left An City to hunt Specters for Attribute Points, then discovered a merchant caravan transporting bound Great Ghouls.

• He Wu left after telling Zhang Qing he would defeat him next time, and Ares gave Zhang Qing a manual on Martial Path Extreme.
• Fan Adkin explained that Imperial Cities would compete to recruit An City's City Lord when he advanced into the Transcendence Sequence.
• Zhang Qing studied the manual, decided to seek Attribute Points in the wilderness, and left An City with several retainers.
• Zhang Qing passed several Wei Cities and encountered a slave-trading caravan led by two Morning Sun Realm cultivators.
• Zhang Qing spotted several bound Great Ghouls among the slaves and wondered why Specters were being brought to An City.

Zhang Qing used a refused slave purchase as grounds to attack a caravan and uncovered Frost Snow Ghouls among its slaves. After killing one, he revealed his Hunter form when the remaining Specters surrounded him, leaving them stunned by his Heavenly Demon aura.

• Zhang Qing ordered Niu Qi to buy an alluring human slave, but Song Liao refused to sell her.
• Zhang Qing suspected the caravan of being spies and ordered his retainers to attack.
• The caravan's Frost Snow Ghouls revealed themselves amid the chaos, and Zhang Qing charged at them.
• Zhang Qing killed a Frost Snow Ghoul within seconds and gained 62 Attribute Points.
• The remaining Frost Snow Ghouls surrounded Zhang Qing, so he activated his Hunter form and appeared in crimson armor.
• Niu Qi and the Frost Snow Ghouls recognized Zhang Qing's Heavenly Demon aura, and their hesitation gave him an opening to attack.

Zhang Qing wiped out the Frost Snow Ghouls disguised among the slaves and exposed Liu An'an as another disguised Frost Snow Ghoul. He learned the tribe feared death and left intrigued by the City Lord's connection to them.

• Zhang Qing used Full Armor Deployment and Hunter's boost to kill the disguised Lin Qiang, a Blazing Sun Realm Frost Snow Ghoul, then hunted down the fleeing Ghouls.
• Zhang Qing returned to the clearing, where Niu Qi reported that none of the slaves had escaped and the retainers treated Zhang Qing with even greater deference.
• Zhang Qing approached Liu An'an, who claimed her name was Li Huaihuai, and took her into the roadside grass.
• Zhang Qing stabbed and interrogated Liu An'an, then used his mental power and peeled away her disguise when she refused to transform.
• Zhang Qing realized the Frost Snow Ghoul Tribe feared death and reflected that the City Lord's involvement made the situation more interesting.

Zhang Qing learned that the City Lord planned to side with the Specters and might sacrifice An City to advance, then led the rescued slaves onward. He used Attribute Points to advance to Blazing Sun Realm First Rank and boosted his Intelligence, leaving him with 260 points.

• Zhang Qing tortured a Frost Snow Ghoul and learned about the High-ranking Ghoul Race, its Imperial Clan bloodlines, and its name for Sequence Users: Outer Realm Heavenly Demons.
• Zhang Qing learned that the City Lord planned to side with the Specters and might sacrifice An City's inhabitants to advance through the Slaughter Sequence.
• Zhang Qing ordered Niu Qi to organize the surviving slaves and bring them along, while the retainers killed the two Sunrise Realm leaders.
• Zhang Qing spent Attribute Points to advance his cultivation techniques and reach Blazing Sun Realm First Rank.
• Zhang Qing raised his Intelligence from 100 to 500, increasing his Energy and leaving himself with 260 Attribute Points.

Zhang Qing visited Guan Yutian and Pusan’s growing refugee army, urged them to give their recruits a reason to fight, and returned in time to attend the Shami City Lord’s Pathbreaking Battle. On the journey, Yang Man and Yun Xiaoxi explained the Abyssal Sequence and revealed that Specters predated Sequence Users.

• Zhang Qing found Guan Yutian and Pusan commanding a camp of more than fifty thousand people, praised their progress, and warned them to maintain guards.
• Zhang Qing told Guan Yutian and Pusan to convince their recruits that they were fighting for their villages, families, and people.
• Zhang Qing returned to the Zhang Family Estate near dawn and prepared with Yang Man and Yun Xiaoxi to attend the Shami City Lord’s Pathbreaking Battle.
• On the carriage ride, Zhang Qing asked Yang Man about Specters that could repair Human Skin and learned that the ability was linked to the Abyssal Sequence.
• Yun Xiaoxi explained that Abyssal authority was innate and preserved through bloodlines, then revealed that Specter history was older than the history of Sequence Users.

Zhang Qing met Hu Feiyun at the ceremony grounds and learned that the Fate Stone Hu Feiyun offered was a slot for becoming a Sequence User, tied to Hu Ben and the Sixth Floor. After accepting it, Zhang Qing asked what he would get if he won their promised fight, and Hu Feiyun set out escalating rewards for how long Zhang Qing could last.

• Zhang Qing arrived at the ceremony grounds with Yang Man and Yun Xiaoxi, who explained how to identify the Orthodox Sequence and Imperial City carriages.
• Hu Feiyun stepped out of a Tiger Might carriage, recognized Zhang Qing, and challenged him to fight after Shami's Pathbreaking Battle.
• Yang Man explained that Hu Feiyun offered a Fate Stone, which could designate its holder for a chance to become a Sequence User in the Moon-Shattering Realm.
• Hu Ben revealed the Fate Stone had originally been meant for him, while Yang Man said the Sixth Floor had arranged it as payment for Zhang Qing's copy of Martial Path Extreme.
• Zhang Qing accepted Hu Feiyun's Fate Stone, then asked what he would receive if he won the fight.
• Hu Feiyun promised a visit to Tiger Imperial City if Zhang Qing lasted ten seconds, a slot from its Hall of Offerings if he lasted twenty, and left the thirty-second reward unstated.

Zhang Qing watched the Shami City Lord face Grankes of Ninth City in a Pathbreaking Battle and learned how authority grew from domains and rules. As the clash continued, he studied the City Lord’s power and contemplated how to use what he had learned.

• Yang Man warned the group that the Shami City Lord had arrived, while Hu Ben explained that the Sixth Floor tracked promising Sequence candidates.
• The Shami City Lord waited in the Sky Dome as Grankes emerged from a futuristic Mecha and introduced himself as Ninth City’s Pathbreaker.
• The Shami City Lord and Grankes collided at tremendous speed, exchanging blows that shattered armor and scattered the clouds.
• The Shami City Lord used the Slaughter Sequence Waypoint Skill Sharp Weapon, and Fan Adkin explained that altering the environment reflected the evolution of a Sequence toward authority.
• Zhang Qing realized that authority involved creating a domain and establishing rules within it as the two fighters’ spiritual storms merged.
• The Shami City Lord continued fighting to secure victory and deter troublemakers, unaware of the devouring green gleam Zhang Qing concealed in his eyes.

The Shami City Lord defeated Grankes, and Zhang Qing prepared to spar with Hu Feiyun under the watch of the Imperial City delegations. Hu Feiyun’s Emperor Engine weakened the crowd’s fighting spirit, but Zhang Qing resisted most of its influence before their clash left the battle’s outcome clear to Yun Xiaoxi.

• The Shami City Lord froze Grankes, shattered the mecha, and saluted the Imperial City carriages before leaving.
• Hu Wu emerged from the carriage and greeted Fan Adkin, who stepped aside to watch Zhang Qing and Hu Feiyun spar.
• Su Yue and Hou Qing discussed Zhang Qing’s potential and whether he could be recruited by Rat Emperor City or Monkey Emperor City.
• Zhang Qing deployed Hunter and Crimson Stance, while Hu Feiyun deployed his golden full armor and activated Emperor Engine.
• Hu Feiyun charged, Zhang Qing resisted most of Emperor Engine’s influence, and the two clashed with the Phoenix Blood Saber as Yun Xiaoxi judged that Zhang Qing had already lost.

Zhang Qing and Hu Feiyun fought a spar that escalated as Zhang Qing broke through to Qi and repeatedly used Predation, while Hu Feiyun revealed his Tiger Roar Beacon Skill. The chapter left both fighters ready to unleash more power as four Sequence Fours prepared to intervene if needed.

• Zhang Qing sensed Hu Feiyun's combat power rising and broke through to Qi in the middle of their fight.
• Zhang Qing gained the upper hand, but Hu Feiyun's combat power continued to stack as their shields vanished.
• Zhang Qing repeatedly activated Predation, damaging Hu Feiyun despite the latter cutting apart its jaws.
• Hu Feiyun used Tiger Roar to stun Zhang Qing and nullify his fourth Predation, then struck him hard enough to shatter his armor.
• Zhang Qing got back up and challenged Hu Feiyun to stop holding back as the four Sequence Fours moved closer to guard against an accident.
• Zhang Qing unleashed a crimson Mental Storm and resumed his Hunter stance while Hu Feiyun's roar shook the field.

Zhang Qing endured Hu Feiyun’s Beacon Skills and used martial arts to seize the initiative, but Hu Feiyun’s escalating attacks threatened to overwhelm him. As Hu Feiyun launched another Tiger Pounce, Zhang Qing focused his strength into a saber strike and activated Predation, leaving the outcome unresolved.

• Hu Feiyun used a movement skill and Tiger Roar, but Zhang Qing endured the crowd control and countered with a beastly maw and Sky-Opening Slash.
• Zhang Qing chained attacks to keep Hu Feiyun on the defensive, then used Ten Steps, One Kill to wound him and break his defense.
• Hu Feiyun risked a direct clash with Tiger Pounce, damaging both fighters and regaining the initiative as his attack power continued to rise.
• Hu Feiyun launched another displacement attack, and Zhang Qing recognized it as a pounce and focused his essence, energy, and spirit into a saber strike.
• Zhang Qing’s strike reached a dazzling sublimation, and he activated Predation at the same time.

Zhang Qing defeated Hu Feiyun with the newly fused Predation—Throat Seal, but a Tiger Clan Sequence Four intervened before the strike could land. After claiming Hu Feiyun’s token, Zhang Qing learned the Sixth Floor might want to recruit him, while Fan Adkin saw him as a chance to advance martial arts and began planning another investment.

• Zhang Qing fused Martial Path Extreme with his Beacon Skill to create Predation—Throat Seal, but a peak Sequence Four from the Tiger Clan blocked the attack.
• Hu Feiyun admitted defeat and gave Zhang Qing the Tiger Imperial City prince’s token before leaving.
• Yang Man explained that Zhang Qing’s Martial Path Extreme might lead him to join the Sixth Floor, but Zhang Qing said he had not decided to join it.
• Yang Man revealed that Hu Feiyun’s token granted status in Tiger Imperial City and contained a roughly ten-cubic-meter storage space.
• Fan Adkin told Ares that Zhang Qing reminded him of a legendary martial artist and considered whether Zhang Qing could help martial arts evolve further.

Hu Feiyun, She Qi, Hou Qing, and Su Yue considered recruiting Zhang Qing after learning that he combined Martial Path Extreme with a Sequence User. Meanwhile, Zhang Qing kept working on Great Xia’s megacity construction project and gained the power of the great momentum as he became part of its unstoppable growth.

• Hu Feiyun and his guardian discussed recruiting Zhang Qing for Tiger Imperial City, and Hu Feiyun revealed he had already sent word to his father.
• She Qi, Hou Qing, and Su Yue each weighed whether and how to bring Zhang Qing over from the Sixth Floor.
• Zhang Qing shared a smoke and conversation with Old Li before returning to work driving the dump truck through the night.
• Xiao Qian monitored Zhang Qing’s work and Great Xia’s megacity construction, then had online critics silenced by contacting the network department.
• Zhang Qing drew close to the Origin Point of the great momentum and successfully obtained its power.

Zhang Qing tried to combine Martial Path Extreme with his Waypoint Skills but could not reliably reproduce Ultimate Radiance, so he began studying in the Scripture Pavilion. Meanwhile, Mo Li's letters set off a chain of misunderstandings and defections that culminated in the Zuo Family handing First Guard City to the rebels, putting An City's food supply in their hands.

• Zhang Qing attempted to use Martial Path Extreme with his Waypoint Skills, failed to unleash Ultimate Radiance, and went to the Scripture Pavilion to study.
• Yuan Hong interpreted Mo Li's letter as a City Lord-backed plan to purge disloyal families and sent a confidant to Guan Yutian to offer the Yuan Family's support.
• Yin Hongyu decided to secretly push the plan along after receiving Mo Li's letter.
• Zuo Can concluded that the City Lord was backing the rebels and resolved to offer First Guard City to the Royal Army.
• Rumors and calls for rebellion spread through An City, and five days later the Zuo Family surrendered First Guard City to the rebels, cutting off An City's food lifeline.