Recaps

Cheng Shi reunited with Gao Ya and Gou Feng, now transformed into Desire Puppet servants, then navigated the advances of Hu Xuan and Afros before proposing a deal. The chapter left him beginning to ask Afros to take the peak players hanging from the dome as actors in his improvised script.

• Cheng Shi recognized Gao Ya and Gou Feng as Desire Puppet servants and returned to the table with Hu Xuan.
• Hu Xuan and Afros teased each other about their desire for Cheng Shi, leaving him deeply uncomfortable.
• Afros gave Cheng Shi the Umbilical Cord Shackles so he could visit him, and Cheng Shi accepted them.
• Cheng Shi explained that players were the mainstream people of the Void Era and called their faith-centered world a game.
• Cheng Shi proposed a deal in which Afros would take the peak players hanging from the dome as actors in his script.

Cheng Shi recruited Afros to play Golis in a battle-royale script, with Hu Xuan helping him escape and deciding which sinners to rescue. After setting the plan in motion, Cheng Shi explained that he intended to use the incident to gain favor with other players while delaying Zhen Yi so he could retrieve his belongings.

• Cheng Shi offered Afros a role in a battle-royale script and promised that incoming sinners would serve as Afros's eyes on the new era.
• Afros accepted, and Hu Xuan reacted with suspicion when Afros changed into a female form and teased her about daylight and moonlit night.
• Cheng Shi, Afros, and Hu Xuan finalized the script: Afros would become Golis and hunt the escaping sinners, while Hu Xuan would help the wounded Cheng Shi evade him.
• Cheng Shi set rules for whom to rescue, excluding anyone surnamed Zhen and Big Cat's opponents, and then went with Hu Xuan to Dolgo D's church assembly hall as Afros transformed into Golis.
• Hu Xuan warned Cheng Shi about the consequences of trapping people, and Cheng Shi said he expected the players to escape and hoped the incident would earn their goodwill while delaying Zhen Yi.
• Cheng Shi told Hu Xuan that the whistle he had given her was now with Zhen Yi or Zhen Xin, revealing that he had used it to lure a group of peak players into his trap.

Hu Xuan gave Cheng Shi a Silent Infant Bell so he could summon her, then told him about the fisherman who had manipulated a trial involving her and the Grand Marshal. The story left Cheng Shi stunned by the revelation that Hu Xuan had given birth to six children during that trial.

• Cheng Shi asked Hu Xuan for a way to contact her, and she gave him a Silent Infant Bell that made no sound but released the Infant Bell Flower's scent.
• Hu Xuan agreed to help Cheng Shi with his plan to join Hu Wei's friend, and she asked whether he wanted to hear about the Grand Marshal's missing friend.
• Hu Xuan described how a calculating fisherman turned her and others against an Elemental Judge during a trial, then tried to kill the Judge's child.
• Hu Xuan revealed that she had given birth to six children in the trial, leaving Cheng Shi to realize that the group had included six people.

Cheng Shi and Hu Xuan prepared a staged rescue to win over the imprisoned players while concealing Hu Xuan’s connection to the Eternal Day. Cheng Shi freed Hu Wei, who woke in confusion and attacked Hu Xuan, leaving her badly burned when Cheng Shi intervened.

• Cheng Shi warned Hu Xuan never to trust anyone, including him, and she explained that Hu Wei’s patron posed no threat to her.
• Hu Xuan returned her power to the Eternal Day, while Cheng Shi disguised himself as wounded and prepared to stage a rescue.
• Cheng Shi rushed to the nearest dead infant and pretended to tear open its cage as Golis released Hu Wei.
• Hu Wei woke from Chaos and attacked Hu Xuan, ignoring Cheng Shi’s warning that they were allies.
• Cheng Shi shoved Hu Wei back, but Hu Wei redirected his blow only slightly, and his greatsword struck beside Hu Xuan’s arm, leaving it charred and bloody.

Cheng Shi and Hu Xuan raced through Golis’s nest to rescue the trapped players while Hu Wei gradually accepted them as allies. They reached the second cage, where Cheng Shi freed Mo Li as Golis’s phantom tentacles closed in.

• Hu Wei recognized Hu Xuan, but remained wary of Cheng Shi after their earlier clash as the pair ran toward another dead infant.
• Cheng Shi explained that Zhen Yi had dragged them into Golis’s nest and that Hu Xuan had been injured while helping them escape.
• Hu Xuan revealed that Golis was an envoy and that her aura of Birth had only temporarily repelled it; Hu Wei chose to protect her and sped up with both companions.
• At the second cage, Hu Wei’s sword could not damage the shell, so Cheng Shi tore it open and Hu Wei pulled out the trapped Mo Li, covering his mouth as he began to speak.

Cheng Shi and the others fled Golis’s nest, where Mo Li’s power helped them reach the next dead infant and release Long Jing. As Golis’s shadow drew nearer and their escape options dwindled, Hu Wei chose to go back for Yu Mu while Cheng Shi followed with his own plan in mind.

• Mo Li recognized Golis as the Sinful Progenitor Mother, and Hu Wei carried him as they ran from her pursuit.
• Mo Li used his support abilities to speed up the group and bring a dead infant’s cage toward them, allowing Cheng Shi to release Long Jing.
• Cheng Shi explained that the shattered Nightfall Spring Whistle had helped him escape and free Hu Xuan, leading Hu Wei and Mo Li to believe the remaining captives could not be rescued.
• Mo Li urged Hu Wei to retreat, warning that Golis would hunt them for using Procreation Power, but Hu Wei charged ahead to rescue Yu Mu.
• Cheng Shi followed Hu Wei, intending to act out another branch of his plan, while believing Yu Mu’s fate was already decided.

Golis attacked the group as they tried to escape, forcing Mo Li to empower Hu Wei and urge him to break through the void toward Giggle and Mock. With the tentacles rising for another attack, Long Jing chose a direction and told Hu Wei to strike beneath his feet.

• Long Jing cursed after Mo Li explained the situation, then followed the group toward the penultimate dead infant.
• Golis unleashed her resentment, freeing Yu Mu’s cage from Mo Li’s control and attacking the group with enormous tentacle shadows.
• Mo Li used a golden page and the Hymn of Order to bring out everyone’s potential, then ordered Hu Wei to break the void and escape through Giggle and Mock.
• Hu Wei’s strike drew the tentacles into a fiery vortex, but invisible pressure crushed several people and left the group trapped in the void.
• Mo Li looked to Long Jing, the follower of Deception, to find Giggle and Mock, and Long Jing eventually told Hu Wei to strike beneath his feet.

Long Jing and Hu Wei failed to find the Giggle and Mock beneath Long Jing, while Golis’s attacks pushed the team to the brink. Cheng Shi redirected them to strike where he had stood, and the Giggle and Mock appeared there, giving the group a possible escape.

• Long Jing had Hu Wei shatter the void beneath him, but they found only another layer of void.
• Golis’s tentacle phantoms wounded Hu Wei as Hu Xuan and Mo Li helped the group endure the assault.
• Mo Li noticed Cheng Shi was barely healing the team, while Cheng Shi secretly contacted Afros to revise their plan.
• Cheng Shi told Mo Li that the Giggle and Mock should appear beneath the clown’s former position and urged Hu Wei to strike there.
• Hu Wei’s empowered blow shattered the void, revealing the Giggle and Mock beneath Cheng Shi’s former spot.

Cheng Shi and the others escaped Golis’s pursuit through Giggle and Mock, where they took on strange forms in the God of Merriment’s territory. They reached a safe gathering place, where Hu Wei revealed that Zhen Yi had tricked him again.

• Cheng Shi entered Giggle and Mock as a web, while Mo Li became an unbalanced spell hammer, Hu Wei remained a flatbread, Long Jing became three juggling balls, and Hu Xuan became a tiny sun that was drawn to Cheng Shi.
• Cheng Shi and Hu Xuan exchanged distorted words, while Mo Li recognized Cheng Shi as a potential rival to Blind Man as Destiny’s chosen one.
• Hu Wei led the group deeper through Giggle and Mock after confirming that Golis’s resentment had not followed them.
• Hu Wei shattered a round mirror with his apricot-tree greatsword, sending everyone through it into a wilderness beside a bonfire.
• A burly man mistook Hu Wei’s arrival for an attempt to surround him, and Hu Wei said Zhen Yi had tricked him again before assuring the group they were safe.

Hu Wei brought Cheng Shi and Hu Xuan to meet Da Yi at a gathering place connected to War, then explained that he had gathered the group to pursue what Decay lost in a God War. The discussion ended with Hu Wei accusing Long Jing of betraying his trust, while Long Jing blamed Zhen Yi and glanced apologetically at Cheng Shi.

• Da Yi mistook Cheng Shi for Zhen Yi's lover before Hu Wei introduced Cheng Shi and Hu Xuan to him.
• Da Yi mourned Sun's death and introduced himself as Da Yi, the Yi in Jia, Yi, Bing, Ding.
• Cheng Shi deduced that Da Yi was an Assassin, and Long Jing revealed that the gathering was associated with War.
• Hu Wei said he suspected Decay had suffered severe damage in a God War and had brought the group together to obtain what Decay lost.
• Hu Wei accused Long Jing of betraying his trust, and Long Jing blamed Zhen Yi before giving Cheng Shi an apologetic look.

Long Jing repaid Cheng Shi for saving his life by transferring a contract involving the Tongue of Lies and Zhen Yi’s Void Memory Pocket. Mo Li confirmed the contract was legally binding, and Cheng Shi accepted it as an agreement for cooperation with Long Jing.

• Long Jing said he owed Cheng Shi for saving his life and presented a contract bearing his signature.
• Long Jing explained that the contract transferred the Tongue of Lies lending agreement to Cheng Shi, including Zhen Yi’s promise to lend him her Void Memory Pocket for one month.
• Hu Wei objected that Long Jing was offering only paper while the Tongue of Lies remained with Zhen Yi.
• Mo Li identified the document as a binding legal contract blessed by the Iron Rule of Order and warned that claiming the Memory Pocket could further damage Cheng Shi’s relationship with Zhen Yi.
• Cheng Shi accepted the contract, recognizing Long Jing’s offer as a covert agreement to cooperate.

After receiving gifts from Hu Wei, Hu Xuan, and Mo Li for saving them, Cheng Shi was invited into Hu Wei’s dangerous trial to recover relics left behind during the God War. Though he pretended to resist, Cheng Shi was secretly pleased to join and learn what the relics were.

• Cheng Shi admitted that he had saved everyone for practical reasons, and Hu Wei thanked him for saving one life each.
• Hu Wei gave Hu Xuan a sack of Genesis Grass Seeds and shared his thoughts about Birth to help her explore her path.
• Mo Li gave Cheng Shi and Hu Xuan two S-rank Stage Play Balls, warning that their powers would not distinguish friend from foe.
• Hu Wei invited the group to a blasphemous trial to recover things dropped by Prosperity during the God War, warning that it could anger the Second God of Sinking.
• Cheng Shi pretended to want to leave for his cooking food, but Hu Wei insisted that his compensation was in the trial and that the group needed a Priest.

Hu Wei revealed that the trial’s target was the corpse of Eupusca, a subordinate god, and led the group in prayer to enter a trial about Pelaya’s rebellion during the Civilization Era. As the group prepared, Cheng Shi and Long Jing secretly began a game that would prevent them from lying to each other.

• Hu Wei announced that Eupusca, once Dizer and an emissary of Decay, had died and that his corpse was the target of the night’s trial.
• Cheng Shi realized the identity Hu Wei described conflicted with what he knew about Truth and Eupusca, and wondered whether the gods had changed again.
• Hu Wei concealed his greater objective, gathered the others to pray for the trial, and said they would witness Pelaya rebel during the Civilization Era.
• Long Jing sat beside Cheng Shi and raised the contract, then created a curtain that blocked sound while leaving their actions visible to the others.
• Cheng Shi identified himself as the genuine Cheng Shi and secretly activated the Tongue of Lies, beginning a game in which neither he nor Long Jing could lie.

Cheng Shi used the Tongue of Lies to make Long Jing believe he was Zhen Yi, then revealed that he knew Long Jing’s secret past. The chapter ended with Long Jing shaken and wondering whether Cheng Shi was actually a player like him.

• Long Jing suspected Cheng Shi was Zhen Yi after seeing him conceal the Tongue of Lies and accept a contract involving Zhen Yi.
• Long Jing offered to cooperate with Cheng Shi if he explained what happened in the trial and returned ownership of the Tongue of Lies.
• Cheng Shi decided to stop pretending to be Zhen Yi and began a new deception to conceal his identity.
• Cheng Shi asked Long Jing why he became an acrobat after witnessing his parents die in an accident.
• Long Jing was terrified that Cheng Shi knew his hidden past and wondered whether Cheng Shi was a player like him.

Cheng Shi devised a new identity as the Lord of Grace’s envoy, Foolish Play, and persuaded Lips of Foolish Play to cooperate. He learned that they would become the true envoy only by merging, leaving him horrified at the role he had invented for himself.

• After rescuing Long Jing, Cheng Shi decided that continuing to impersonate Zhen Yi had become stale and sought a new identity.
• Cheng Shi conceived of pretending to be the Lord of Grace’s envoy and repeatedly asked Lips of Foolish Play to help him.
• Cheng Shi named the imagined envoy Foolish Play, and Lips of Foolish Play agreed to perform while reserving control over its lines and entrance.
• When Cheng Shi tried to back out, Lips of Foolish Play said they could each act independently without interfering with the other.
• Cheng Shi asked whether Lips of Foolish Play was already the envoy, and it explained that it and Cheng Shi would become the true envoy only by merging.

Cheng Shi used Lips of Foolish Play to expose Long Jing's past and unsettle him during their covert confrontation. Long Jing resisted the pressure and challenged Cheng Shi's claim to be a demigod, but Cheng Shi's question about the lost Mask of Deception left him wondering whether Cheng Shi was truly an apostle.

• Cheng Shi revealed that Long Jing was the child of acrobats Long Yu and Jing Bai, whose deaths he had witnessed, and that he had become a world-class acrobat.
• Long Jing appeared terrified, but Cheng Shi suspected he was testing him and pressed the Death Amusement Ring against his wrist to block a possible attack.
• Long Jing broke free and demanded Cheng Shi identify himself before agreeing to cooperate.
• Lips of Foolish Play called himself a demigod and implied that Long Jing was trying to attract Deception's attention for protection.
• Cheng Shi asked Long Jing whether he had found the Mask of Deception he had lost, leaving Long Jing stunned and unsure whether Cheng Shi was an apostle.

Cheng Shi used Mouth Brother’s claim that he was Lips of Foolish Play to convince Long Jing that he had encountered Deception’s emissary. Long Jing eagerly offered to serve him, while Cheng Shi took over the silent Mouth Brother’s role.

• Mouth Brother claimed to be Lips of Foolish Play, a demigod under Nothingness and an emissary of Deception who had come for the tongue Long Jing had taken.
• Long Jing connected Cheng Shi’s knowledge of Tongue of Lies to the emissary and concluded that he was Lord of Grace’s emissary.
• After believing the revelation, Long Jing dropped his fear and tried to ingratiate himself by offering to guide and assist Lips of Foolish Play.
• Mouth Brother fell silent, so Cheng Shi pretended to be the emissary and asked whether Long Jing thought he needed an assistant.
• Long Jing insisted he wanted to serve the cause of Deception, leaving Cheng Shi struck by how much Long Jing was mimicking him.

Cheng Shi used his Foolish Play emissary disguise to persuade Long Jing to help search the Grand Marshal’s game for his scattered bodily fragments. After leaving Long Jing with a false consensus and many new suspicions, Cheng Shi turned his thoughts back to Mouth Brother and the mysteries of Nothingness.

• Cheng Shi told Long Jing that clues to his scattered bodily fragments might be found in the Grand Marshal’s game and urged him to work toward becoming a Chosen One.
• Long Jing eagerly accepted Cheng Shi’s story and praised Lord Foolish Play, believing the encounter had brought him closer to the gods.
• Cheng Shi used the conversation to test whether Lips of Foolish Play or the Tongue of Lies would react to his claims about Mouth Brother’s other fragments, but neither showed a response.
• Long Jing asked whether Cheng Shi’s Fate Weaver identity could be used to contact him, and Cheng Shi explained that his trial identities were temporary and that he could not be contacted that way.
• Cheng Shi sent Long Jing away after warning him not to ask more, and Long Jing resolved to search for the emissary’s fragments.

Cheng Shi pieced together Mo Li’s veiled warning and suspected the Grand Marshal, Hu Wei, posed a danger in the trial. Hu Xuan shared what she knew about Pelaya, revealing that the former Tower of Reason scholar had joined Chaos and led the Bellicose Knights against Tusnat.

• Hu Xuan told Cheng Shi that Mo Li had warned her to pay extra attention to the risks in Hu Wei’s trial.
• Cheng Shi interpreted Mo Li’s warning as a hint to guard against Hu Wei, noting that the Grand Marshal’s prayer seemed inappropriate for a true believer of War.
• Cheng Shi caught Mo Li secretly watching them and concluded that Mo Li had indeed warned Hu Xuan about the Grand Marshal.
• Cheng Shi asked Hu Xuan about Pelaya, and she explained that Pelaya had been a high-ranking member of the Tower of Reason’s Scholarly Council before joining Chaos.
• Hu Xuan said Pelaya had led the Bellicose Knights in attacking Tusnat and explained that her knowledge came from the Mage channel.

Cheng Shi deduced that Hu Wei planned to target the Gift of Scars, the soul of Prosperity's second son, and suspected that Yu Mu would be used as a human sacrifice in the dangerous trial. Hu Xuan understood Mo Li's warning, and Hu Wei gathered everyone to begin making their wishes at the trial.

• Cheng Shi told Hu Xuan that Prosperity had fallen but that life itself remained unaffected.
• Cheng Shi realized that Hu Wei's trial was likely aimed at obtaining the Gift of Scars, whose soul had been left vulnerable after Prosperity fell and Truth killed the Desolate Walker.
• Cheng Shi and Hu Xuan suspected that Hu Wei intended to use Yu Mu, a Decay hunter, to fill the trial's dangerous human cost.
• Hu Wei returned to the group, planted a clock in the ground, and gathered everyone to make their wishes at midnight.

Hu Wei had everyone pray before their tokens of faith before the trial began, and Cheng Shi worried that his unusual Dice of Destiny might draw the God of Merriment’s attention. The group entered a Decay trial, leaving Cheng Shi convinced he was the only one in trouble.

• Hu Wei asked everyone to present their tokens of faith and pray as witnesses before the hour arrived.
• Long Jing mistakenly displayed a Dice of Destiny before replacing it with a Mask, while Cheng Shi kept his own dice in view.
• Cheng Shi prayed with the group and received a prompt announcing the five-day trial objective: all beings would decay upon receiving the Edict without knowing why the cosmos decayed.
• The trial matched all six participants, and Cheng Shi saw that everyone else seemed faintly pleased as darkness overtook his vision.

Cheng Shi woke in a brutal snowstorm on the northern part of the Isle of Hope and met an eccentric teammate who claimed to be an old friend. He recognized Da Yi among the other players in the square, while another familiar face remained unidentified.

• Cheng Shi woke in the snowstorm and found himself in a square with two unfamiliar teammates nearby.
• One teammate broke a gnomon off a rooftop and used it as a walking stick before introducing himself to Cheng Shi.
• The teammate mentioned his famous Fate Weaver friend and his relationship with Zhen Yi, then realized Cheng Shi was the friend he meant.
• Cheng Shi looked across the square and recognized Da Yi among three distant teammates.

Cheng Shi found himself in a trial with Da Yi and Poison, whose old enemy, the Screaming Count, attacked her as soon as the group gathered. Poison was injured and fell near Cheng Shi, while the Count charged in to finish her.

• Cheng Shi recognized Da Yi and identified the short-haired woman as Poison, the chosen one of Filth and Decay.
• The Screaming Count confronted Poison and declared that he would kill her.
• The Count, Poison, and another fighter clashed, and Poison was wounded.
• Poison fell toward Cheng Shi, but he ducked away, leaving her to hit the snow.
• The Screaming Count charged toward Poison, and Cheng Shi recognized him as a warrior of Filth and Decay.

Cheng Shi and Da Yi watched Gongyang Jiao and the Silent Hunter overwhelm Poison during their faction’s renewed civil war. Poison offered to reveal the location of the Gift of Scars, prompting Da Yi to defend her while Cheng Shi prepared to heal her in exchange for the information.

• Cheng Shi joined Da Yi and learned that Gongyang Jiao was a powerful Screaming Count who turned himself into a symbol of fear.
• Cheng Shi realized the overlooked sixth player was the Silent Hunter, who appeared to be helping Gongyang Jiao fight Poison.
• Da Yi explained that Poison had lured away prey Gongyang Jiao had watched for a long time, and that Gongyang Jiao might have personal feelings for her.
• Gongyang Jiao sent the bloodied Poison crashing near Cheng Shi and Da Yi, and Poison begged Cheng Shi to save her.
• Poison offered to reveal where the Gift of Scars was, so Da Yi blocked Gongyang Jiao while Cheng Shi offered healing in exchange for the information.

Da Yi negotiated with Gongyang Jiao to delay Poison’s execution for three days, but his careless remark enraged Gongyang Jiao and triggered a fight. As Da Yi charged Gongyang Jiao and the Chameleon attacked Cheng Shi, Cheng Shi chose not to reveal his strength and prepared to take the hit.

• Gongyang Jiao confronted Da Yi, Poison, and Cheng Shi, demanding that Da Yi stop protecting Poison.
• Da Yi arranged for Gongyang Jiao to return in three days, and Poison agreed to the delay.
• Da Yi accidentally asked the silent Chameleon whether Poison had swept away his lover, and Poison’s laugh provoked Gongyang Jiao into attacking.
• Da Yi charged Gongyang Jiao head-on while the Chameleon bypassed him and attacked Cheng Shi with a short arrow.
• Cheng Shi realized he could not dodge the arrow and lowered his hand from his ring, choosing to conserve his strength.