Recaps

Cheng Shi learned about Zhao Xiaogua’s past and his connection to the Fire Keepers while negotiating with Sun Miao. After receiving Little Seven’s Skinning Bone Knife, Cheng Shi headed to witness Delvo’s victory and baited Sun Miao into asking about the Play of Deception.

• Sun Miao told Cheng Shi that Zhao Xiaogua had donated money to his orphanage and father, and that his father’s refusal inspired Zhao to establish an orphanage sponsorship fund.
• Cheng Shi challenged Sun Miao’s demand for compensation and realized Sun Miao had uncovered the name Fire Keepers from Little Seven’s memories.
• Cheng Shi decided to use Sun Miao as an indirect source of information about the Fire Keepers rather than become directly involved with them.
• Sun Miao revealed that Zhao Xiaogua had been a Fire Keeper and had died at Du Qiyu’s hands, then gave Cheng Shi the Skinning Bone Knife as compensation.
• Cheng Shi agreed to join Sun Miao in witnessing Delvo’s victory, then prompted Sun Miao to ask whether the Play of Deception was real.

Cheng Shi and Sun Miao discussed the Brotherhood of Extreme Desire as Delvo founded the Nation of War on the Borogao Highlands. Cheng Shi recognized that the royal court’s blood apricot came from the Fear Mother Tree, then cleared the trial with an S rating.

• Cheng Shi traded information with Sun Miao, revealing that Filth and Decay was connected to the shattering of the Mirror of Memory and Delusion.
• Sun Miao explained that Galiusha had led the Brotherhood of Extreme Desire and that Xilolin had passed the leadership to her.
• Delvo declared the founding of the Nation of War, named its new city Wolberri, and claimed the land south of the Abyssal Volcano.
• Delvo planted a blood-red branch as the center of the royal court, and Cheng Shi and Sun Miao recognized it as a branch of the Fear Mother Tree.
• Cheng Shi cleared the trial with an S rating and received the Mask of Inquiry, Path to Godhood points, and Ladder of Audience points.

The History School’s leaders debated investigating Foolish Play, a new demigod of Nothingness, and adding a candidate to their meeting. Sun Miao revealed that the candidate had killed Lin Xi, shifting the vote in his favor.

• Sun Miao announced that Foolish Play, a new demigod of Nothingness, was searching for their Mask, and Zhen Xin proposed making Nothingness the History School’s priority.
• A vice president objected to investigating Nothingness and argued that the school should focus on Existence instead.
• Sun Miao offered information about My Nightmare, Your Dream, prompting the objecting vice president to support Zhen Xin’s proposal.
• Zhen Xin asked whether Sun Miao had changed her position on adding a candidate to the meeting, and Sun Miao said she had no objection.
• Sun Miao revealed that the candidate had killed Lin Xi, and the vice president returned his signed support while noting that Existence and Nothingness might not remain enemies.

Cheng Shi faced War on the blood-red battlefield and tried to protect himself with flattery and references to the gods who supported him. War warned him to beware of Deception and questioned whether Deception’s protection would truly lead to Cheng Shi’s liberation, leaving Cheng Shi unsure why War seemed to be helping him.

• Cheng Shi awoke on the battlefield before War’s enormous eyes and nervously praised the God of War.
• War remarked on Cheng Shi’s determination to survive and challenged his attempt to invoke other gods for protection.
• War warned Cheng Shi that he was too close to Deception and should beware of Him.
• Cheng Shi said he did not consider Deception’s protection unearned, while carefully avoiding revealing his reasons.
• War questioned whether Deception’s way of treating Cheng Shi’s troubles would bring him liberation, leaving Cheng Shi suspicious of War’s motives.

Cheng Shi confronted War about its stance toward Destiny and the Source Primordial, then offered information in exchange for eternal protection. He revealed that countless Slice Universes contained countless Wars, leaving War intensely interested in the possibility of fighting itself.

• Cheng Shi learned that War was not aligned with either Destiny or the Source Primordial, and suspected that War intended to battle the Source Primordial.
• Cheng Shi proposed trading information for eternal protection, but War refused to promise protection and invited him to speak.
• Cheng Shi told War that countless Slice Universes held countless versions of War.
• War seized Cheng Shi and asked whether this was the reason the Source Primordial feared, while Cheng Shi suggested that war might never end.

Cheng Shi used his deal with War to test God of Merriment’s plans and reveal the possibility of other Wars across the Slice Universes. War agreed to fight Deception in exchange for help reaching Yuanchu, and the chapter ended with War repeatedly demanding another round after Deception displayed a mysterious power.

• Cheng Shi’s thoughts revealed that he hoped War’s chaos would help God of Merriment’s plan and show him what future awaited him.
• War knocked Cheng Shi into the Sea of Blood and demanded that Deception negotiate directly.
• Deception asked War to join His plan, and both gods recognized that their targets were Yuanchu.
• War explained that he was more interested in Yuanchu than in fighting Silence, so Deception challenged him to a battle.
• Deception promised to take War to Yuanchu’s door if War won, and War launched into battle.
• War sensed Yuanchu’s power in Deception’s attack and repeatedly demanded that Deception fight him again.

After waking from his encounter with War, Cheng Shi learned that Big Cat had also met Yog, but their accounts of Yog’s escape and the passage of time contradicted each other. Meanwhile, a group of Fire Keepers discussed a plan to target Prosperity, while one of them wondered whether another version of himself had escaped.

• Cheng Shi tried to contact Destiny, but Big Cat called and told him Yog had escaped again and Lin Xi was dead.
• Cheng Shi admitted that he had killed Lin Xi and explained how Chun had died during the trial, leaving Big Cat grieving her friend.
• Cheng Shi learned that Big Cat had encountered Yog only seven minutes earlier, even though he believed Yog had lost Decay’s protection long before.
• Big Cat suggested that Cheng Shi’s Yog might have been a counterfeit from a time projection, but Cheng Shi realized he was the only follower of Time in his trial.
• On the rooftop, a hooded figure confirmed that they had sent that Yog over, and a group of Fire Keepers discussed targeting Prosperity as part of a God Slaying Plan.
• The seated figure said another version of himself had helped a world topple Prosperity and wondered whether that version had escaped, but concluded that no one could escape while hope remained in their own world.

Folly confronted Deception and revealed that Deception’s actions had exposed the truth of the universe, then went to challenge Destiny over what was predetermined. Destiny declared that anyone who tried to destroy what was predetermined would be an enemy of Nothingness.

• Folly told Deception that Deception’s foolish act had revealed the universe’s truth, and Deception realized Folly had used Birth and the gods’ reactions to verify their deductions.
• Deception guessed that Folly had hidden their authority as part of a scheme involving Memory, then hurried away while Folly questioned whether Memory could uncover it.
• Folly found Destiny attacking Decay and asked whether Destiny believed their foolish act would have an answer.
• Destiny attacked Folly, who departed after judging the fight incomprehensible without their authority.
• Destiny declared that they had to uphold what was predetermined and would treat anyone seeking to destroy it as an enemy of Nothingness.

Folly questioned Silence about the secrets of Nothingness, and Deception later warned Silence that Filth and Decay might be in serious trouble. In the Fire Hall, Qin Xin rejected a comrade’s attempt to quit and instead created the City Breakers, leaving Fang Shiqing to affirm her trust in them.

• Folly confronted Silence in its domain and asked whether a great calamity had already arrived, but Silence remained silent.
• Deception visited Silence, teased it about Folly’s questions, and said Filth and Decay might have a serious problem.
• Fang Shiqing challenged a comrade who wanted to leave the Fire Keepers and argued that they could transfer to the City Builders.
• The comrade said they wanted to purge evil rather than merely protect goodness, and Qin Xin refused their resignation and named them a City Breaker.
• Qin Xin barred the recruitment of new City Breakers until a new Fire Seeker took the post, then Fang Shiqing told the comrade she believed in them and the City Breakers.

Cheng Shi met with Deception in the void, where the god confronted him over his blasphemy and granted him a reward. He discovered the reward was a vessel of war, and Deception reminded him that he still owed a bargaining chip and had plans to show the vessels the world.

• Cheng Shi prayed to the Mask and appeared before Deception, who listed his many alleged crimes and demanded that he laugh.
• Cheng Shi tried to defend himself and argued that his lies and disguises were offerings of devotion, persuading Deception to reward him.
• Deception gave Cheng Shi a ball of fire and explained that Hope's Flame could warm the mortals who pursued firelight.
• Cheng Shi found blood and a shadow beneath the flames and recognized the object as a vessel of war.
• Deception explained that War had provided the vessel as a bargaining chip and reminded Cheng Shi that he had promised to take the vessels to see the world.

Cheng Shi confronted God of Merriment about the containers and her intentions, learning that she claimed to be saving the world and had secretly altered Little Seven’s talent. After she sent him back to reality with the containers, Cheng Shi wondered whether the Fire Keeper and Hope’s Flame represented her hope.

• Cheng Shi blamed God of Merriment for sending him the containers and asked why she had pushed them toward him.
• God of Merriment denied intending to destroy the world, said she was saving it, and suggested Cheng Shi send the containers out to bring fresh blood into the world.
• God of Merriment revealed that Little Seven had once been a believer of Filth and Decay and that she had disguised an erased part of his talent as an Oathbreak Curse.
• God of Merriment warned Cheng Shi not to provoke Filth and Decay, then sent him and the containers back to reality.
• Cheng Shi returned to the rooftop with the War container and wondered whether the Fire Keeper was God of Merriment’s hope and what Hope’s Flame meant.

After deciding to recruit helpers, Cheng Shi visited Zhang Jizu to discuss gathering the jesters and teased him about the unfinished gravestones. He entered Zhang Jizu’s home and found a mirror by the doorway reflecting an identical version of himself.

• Cheng Shi decided that waiting for the end offered no hope and chose to seek help from the God of Merriment’s jesters.
• Cheng Shi used Zhang Jizu’s key to enter the cemetery, where Zhang Jizu showed off his revised access-control system.
• Cheng Shi mocked Zhang Jizu for leaving the Chosen’s names off the gravestones, and Zhang Jizu photographed him atop Order’s gravestone as his excuse.
• Cheng Shi teased Zhang Jizu about burying the gods and his devotion to The Great One, then followed him into his residence.
• Cheng Shi spotted a mirror by the doorway that reflected an identical version of himself.

Cheng Shi visited Zhang Jizu at the cemetery, and Zhang Jizu realized he had come with troubling news about the gods and the Jester's Gathering. Zhang Jizu revealed that the Lord of Grace had granted a bone bell to shield the gathering from divine observation after he said he was requesting it on Cheng Shi's behalf.

• Cheng Shi accused Zhang Jizu of carving a skull in his likeness to cover up blasphemy, but Zhang Jizu dismissed the accusation.
• Zhang Jizu deduced that Cheng Shi had come to discuss a serious matter involving the gods, and Cheng Shi admitted that he hoped the God of Merriment's protection would keep them safe.
• Zhang Jizu revealed The Bell Ringer's Funeral, a bone bell that could imitate the Lord of Grace's presence and block other gods' probing.
• Zhang Jizu explained that Li Jingming and Zhen Xin had helped plan for the Jester's Gathering, and the Lord of Grace granted the bell only after Zhang Jizu said it was for Cheng Shi.

Cheng Shi and Zhang Jizu discussed using the bone bell, which concealed them from the gods but could not hide them from Lord of Grace. After Cheng Shi explained how the clowns’ distrust would shape their meeting, they devised a way to arrange the gathering, leaving Zhang Jizu to wonder if he had become an accomplice.

• Zhang Jizu warned Cheng Shi that the bone bell could not conceal their words from Lord of Grace and would only deceive the gods temporarily.
• Cheng Shi took the bone bell, and Zhang Jizu covered him with it to quiet his complaints.
• Cheng Shi explained that clowns gathering in an empty venue would keep moving closer to one another to appear trustworthy.
• Cheng Shi pointed out that Zhen Xin’s presence would make a close arrangement uncomfortable, prompting Zhang Jizu to suggest adding a table.
• Cheng Shi proposed an alternative plan, and Zhang Jizu considered whether it would make him an accomplice.

Cheng Shi arranged the Jester’s Gathering while weighing how to use it to uncover God of Merriment’s plans and resist his own predetermined fate. He gave Hong Lin the Prosperity Container, and she accepted it as a gift from her friend while affirming her faith in Destiny.

• Cheng Shi explained how to attend the Jester’s Gathering to Zhang Jizu, then contacted the jesters, including Dragon King Zhen Xin and the Doctor, and warned Zhen Xin that only she could attend.
• Cheng Shi sought Long Jing’s contact information from Hong Lin and gave her the Prosperity Container, which he had found near the Sea of Desire.
• Hong Lin recognized the container as a sign of The Fated, and Cheng Shi confirmed that he was giving it to her.
• Hong Lin accepted the Prosperity Container and gave Cheng Shi Long Jing’s contact information, while Cheng Shi kept the Decay Container for his own purposes.
• After Cheng Shi left, Hong Lin reflected that she could choose to be her friend’s puppet and praised Destiny.

Long Jing received an invitation signed in Cheng Shi’s name and deduced that Dragon King Li Jingming had sent it as a test. He accepted the challenge and entered a graveyard gathering, where he prepared to test the masked host in return.

• Long Jing found a paper airplane inviting him to a gathering signed by Cheng Shi and wondered whether it was connected to the Joker.
• Long Jing discovered incense ash on the invitation and concluded that Li Jingming had sent it while impersonating Cheng Shi.
• Long Jing accepted the invitation as a challenge and planned to deceive Li Jingming in return.
• At the appointed time, Long Jing disguised himself as Li Jingming and performed the ritual to reach the gathering place.
• Long Jing entered a void filled with gravestones and approached a masked figure dressed like him, planning to greet it as Li Jingming.

Long Jing entered the Jester Gathering Place and tried to conceal his identity while sizing up the black-robed attendees. When Zhen Yi arrived and threatened to bend their masks out of shape, the three figures reacted in sharply different ways.

• A black-robed figure welcomed Long Jing as a new jester, and Long Jing pretended to be Li Jingming while probing him.
• Long Jing searched the cemetery-like gathering place for a safe seat, then chose the gravestone of time while the first figure sat on Memory.
• A silent newcomer arrived and climbed onto the gravestone of death, leading Long Jing to suspect he was Chen Shu.
• Zhen Yi skipped into the graveyard, demanded that the masked figures identify themselves, and threatened to bend their masks out of shape.
• The three figures responded at once: one invited her to try, one stayed silent, and one introduced himself as Li Jingming.

Zhen Xin exposed the disguised figures at the gathering and questioned Long Jing about Lord Hour Hand. Long Jing revealed how he had joined with time, while more attendees had yet to arrive.

• Zhen Xin used a magic card to learn that Long Jing had joined with time and discovered Lord Hour Hand, then identified the real Li Jingming on the Memory tombstone.
• Li Jingming revealed his identity and recognized Zhen Xin as Zhen Yi’s older sister.
• Zhen Xin asked where Cheng Shi was, and Zhang Jizu revealed himself from beneath his hood on the Death stele.
• Long Jing removed his disguise and, when Zhen Xin asked about Lord Hour Hand, explained that Time had created Him as the first clock hand and that he had earned His favor after resolving a misunderstanding with Lord Foolish Play.

Zhen Xin joined the Jester's Gathering and exposed the disguises of Cheng Shi and Zhang Jizu, then chose to sit on Chaos's tombstone. The gathering continued with one attendee still expected, as Cheng Shi wondered whether the Doctor would arrive.

• Zhen Xin and Li Jingming doubted Long Jing's apparently sincere revelations but memorized the information he shared about Hour Hand.
• Cheng Shi arrived in disguise, and Zhen Xin greeted him before he reacted by retreating and throwing a scalpel.
• Cheng Shi revealed himself, prompting the others to discover that Zhang Jizu had been disguised as him on the Death Tombstone.
• Zhang Jizu took his seat back and asked Cheng Shi to open the gathering, while Cheng Shi claimed a favor from the Dragon King for sharing a story.
• Zhen Xin asked where God of Merriment's tombstone was, and Cheng Shi revealed that he had hollowed it out to make the central stone lamp.
• Zhen Xin sat on Chaos's tombstone and asked the Fate Weaver whether Chaos was moving farther away from them, while Cheng Shi wondered if the Doctor would arrive.

At the Jester’s Gathering, Cheng Shi revealed that gods were created and that their creator was the true supreme god, while the group discussed whether they could hide their words from the gods. The chapter left Long Jing shaken by the possibility that the Jester could challenge divine control.

• Cheng Shi began the gathering on Destiny’s gravestone after one expected attendee failed to appear, revealing that only five people had come.
• Cheng Shi led the attendees in praising the God of Merriment and warned that their apparent devotion could count as blasphemy.
• Cheng Shi declared that gods were created by a greater being, whose true name he warned the group not to speak or consider.
• Li Jingming asked Zhang Jizu if he had succeeded, and Zhang Jizu said he had given Cheng Shi something in exchange for privileges at future gatherings.
• Zhen Xin explained that the group had been seeking a way to block the gods’ sight and hearing, then asked whether Death could still learn what they said.
• Long Jing realized that the Jester might offer a way to escape the gods’ control and wondered whether his future would resemble Cheng Shi’s.

Cheng Shi explained that the gods were mass-produced and legitimized by a supreme being, whom the Jesters would need to escape to stay alive. He asked whether anyone at the gathering wanted to become a god.

• Cheng Shi told the Jesters that they had gathered to stay alive and warned that those who continued listening would not be able to leave afterward.
• Cheng Shi revealed that gods were mass-produced by a supreme being and linked their creation to the progression of eras and civilizations.
• Cheng Shi clarified that his talk of treason was aimed at the supreme being above the sixteen true gods, not at God of Merriment or the current gods.
• Zhen Xin and Li Jingming felt a vague fear and wondered whether Cheng Shi was influencing them, while Long Jing listened to the details of the world's structure.
• Long Jing asked if Cheng Shi planned to become a god, and Cheng Shi said he did not before asking whether anyone wanted to become one.

Cheng Shi explained that the gods were produced across countless separate Slice Universes, not merely parallel worlds created by time. He revealed that a supreme existence was running a vast experiment, leaving the gathered clowns stunned by their place within it.

• Cheng Shi considered why Zhen Xin, the Dragon King, Squinty Old Zhang, and Long Jing might seek godhood, while the gathered clowns kept their thoughts to themselves.
• The Dragon King asked whether batch production meant that temporal deductions were real worlds whose gods could be brought into reality.
• Cheng Shi explained that the gods of countless worlds were produced on an assembly line, and Zhen Xin realized those worlds were separate from their temporal parallel worlds.
• Zhen Xin lamented that her preparations to investigate through time had been futile, but Cheng Shi said time remained key to crossing the barrier between space and time.
• Cheng Shi revealed that a supreme existence was conducting an experiment across countless Slice Universes, where even gods and players were only variables or parameters.
• The clowns fell silent and looked at one another in shock and fear after hearing Cheng Shi's revelation.

Cheng Shi asked the clowns to consider the predetermined nature of fate, which Long Jing connected to the success or failure of the Origin Experiment. The group concluded that either outcome could lead to tragedy, leaving Cheng Shi more afraid that no version of himself had found a way to break fate.

• Cheng Shi asked the clowns what they thought of predetermined fate and admitted that it was the source of his fear.
• Long Jing explained that Hour Hand had let him meet another version of himself, whose world had lost its time and was searching for an answer.
• Long Jing said the other Cheng Shi believed the answer was to become a successful specimen in the Slice Experiment, while failure meant being abandoned and success meant being carried away by the experiment's host.
• Zhen Xin finished Long Jing's explanation, suggesting that a successful world might face an ultimate fate more frightening than destruction.
• Long Jing nearly said the forbidden name of the Origin, but stopped himself, and the group relaxed when nothing happened.
• Cheng Shi considered the two versions of the predetermined and feared that every Cheng Shi was still searching unsuccessfully for a way to escape the tragedy.

Cheng Shi explained that God of Merriment and Destiny were driving the world toward a choice between opposing the gods and being sacrificed to them, then called the Clowns together to find a way to survive. Zhen Xin proposed pursuing subordinate godhood and studying the gods’ factions, while the group also considered using knowledge from other worlds.

• Cheng Shi warned that God of Merriment might strike at the supreme being and that Destiny was shaping the world into a perfect sample for the experiment.
• Cheng Shi said mortals faced a choice between joining Deception to defy the gods or being offered up by Destiny, then asked the Clowns to seek ways to survive.
• Zhen Xin argued that becoming subordinate gods could connect mortals to the experiment’s overseer and help them seize divine authority, jokingly welcoming everyone to the Worship God Society.
• The Dragon King and Long Jing suggested using the Hour Hand to reach other worlds, while Zhang Jizu proposed learning from those worlds instead of trying to escape into them.
• Zhen Xin concluded that the Clowns should identify which gods might cooperate with them, and the History School and others offered to investigate divine relationships and intentions.

The jesters discussed how to cooperate and Zhen Xin proposed a heart-to-heart session, revealing that she had fused with Deception and that Zhen Yi had not fused with a faith. Li Jingming then shared her recent progress with her split personality, and the Dragon King summoned a full-length mirror to demonstrate his method of witnessing it.

• The jesters agreed to seek ways to become gods, contact the outside world, and investigate this world's history for clues about the God of Merriment.
• Zhen Xin urged the group to share more about themselves and revealed that she had fused with Deception.
• Zhen Xin explained that Zhen Yi had not fused with a faith, giving her an advantage in increasing her strength.
• Li Jingming said that she had found a way to witness her other personality by looking in the mirror.
• The Dragon King summoned an elaborate full-length mirror and identified it as Your Nightmare, My Dream.