Recaps

Cheng Shi gathered allies and pursued a route to the True Universe, where he and Hong Lin searched for [War]’s authority. Their arrival split them into encounters with impostors, a colossal silent puppet, and two mysterious Hunters, while a lost armored man vowed to keep [War]’s flame alive.

• Cheng Shi revealed [Destiny]’s plan to the Fated, helped An Mingyu and Li Wufang find purpose, and learned from Tao Yi about a mysterious audience with a figure resembling [Destiny].
• Cheng Shi brought Li Wufang to the imprisoned [Order], where Li Wufang freed [Arrogance (Order)] and watched him dissolve without granting Cheng Shi the authority he sought.
• Cheng Shi spoke with Mo Shu about [Annihilation] and Jie Shu, then realized the God of Merriment’s fabricated River of [Existence] might provide a passage to the True Universe.
• Cheng Shi found a Scrying Mirror passage through Giggle and Mock, entered the True Universe with Hong Lin, and saw Starry Eyes wish the travelers luck as two unknown figures noticed their arrival.
• Cheng Shi and Hong Lin became separated and encountered impostors claiming to be each other, then reunited while fleeing the advancing Leaky World Silent Puppet.
• Cheng Shi and Hong Lin identified the puppet as [Silence]’s corpse and hid in smoke while two Hunters approached, then Cheng Shi used [Time] to evade them and headed with Hong Lin toward the puppet’s head.
• The Hunters planned to fool Cheng Shi or Hong Lin for leverage, while a lost man in heavy armor lamented the vanished road home and vowed to preserve [War]’s flame.

Cheng Shi, Hong Lin, and Qin Xin escaped the Space-Time Storm, traveled the bridge between worlds, and discovered the graveyard of dead gods before returning home. Cheng Shi then entered a new trial and searched Giggle and Mock for signs of [Destiny], unaware that [Deception] had imprisoned [Destiny] elsewhere.

• Cheng Shi and Hong Lin helped Qin Xin inherit [War]’s Divine Authority, and Qin Xin shared its authority, Unyielding, with Cheng Shi.
• A Space-Time Storm swallowed Cheng Shi, Hong Lin, and Qin Xin, sending them through the white light where Hong Lin aided her past self, Qin Xin helped his past self, and Shadow Cheng Shi met the new Cheng Shi.
• Cheng Shi, Hong Lin, and Qin Xin crossed the Space-Time Dolphin Bridge to the Gods’ Graveyard, where Cheng Shi found remains of [Deception] and feared [Destiny] had perished in its own world.
• Cheng Shi discovered an unfinished Divine Throne built from gods’ corpses, then returned to the bridge and traveled home with Hong Lin and Qin Xin after 104 days away.
• Cheng Shi entered a special trial disguised as Squinty Old Zhang and joined Hu Wei, An Mingyu, and Zhang Jizu to investigate Giggle and Mock.
• Inside Giggle and Mock, Cheng Shi and his companions followed traces of [Destiny] and [Chaos] but searched the wrong direction before returning to Kanliwal.
• Elsewhere in Giggle and Mock, [Deception] kept [Destiny] imprisoned until the Trials ended, and [Destiny] declared that Cheng Shi belonged to the Starry Sky.

Cheng Shi and Zhen Xin investigated Lake’s disappearance and the apparent murder of Maxford, uncovering a tangled scheme built around a false accusation. Their search also revealed the truth of Drachirko’s death, while Flord confessed that Maxford had died by accident and she had used his death to lure Lake.

• Cheng Shi revealed that he knew Zhen Xin had been impersonating An Mingyu, and the two agreed to pursue the [Deception] Trial before Blackers hired them to find Lake.
• Cheng Shi and Zhen Xin investigated Dusk Play, where Lake vanished in an explosion, and Cheng Shi decided to oppose the fate ordained by [Destiny].
• Cheng Shi and Zhen Xin captured Long Jing, who admitted killing the real Su Yida and explained that Lake had left Dusk Play anxiously to meet someone.
• Zhang Jizu told Cheng Shi about Flord’s Morning Cheer troupe, and Hu Wei led them to Lake’s cenotaph after finding Maxford mourning there.
• Lake recounted how he and Maxford had encouraged each other to compete, then said Flord had blamed him for Maxford’s supposed murder after he recognized Fitt’s bootprint.
• Cheng Shi and the others found inconsistencies in Lake’s account, and Lake collapsed when Zhen Xin pointed out that he had never seen Maxford dead.
• Poison told Cheng Shi that Drachirko had claimed [Filth and Decay] did not exist in their world, then stabbed himself and took away her desire before dying.
• Zhen Xin and Hu Wei found Maxford’s corpse hidden in Flord’s props, and Flord confessed that Maxford had died accidentally after drinking with Lake and that she had used his death to lure Lake to Morning Cheer.

Cheng Shi uncovered [Deception]’s plan to take him and his Predestination to another world, then rejected the gods’ attempts to decide his fate. As the Fire Keepers learned that every known way to save him threatened the world, they faced the cost of helping him resist [Destiny].

• Zhen Xin revealed to Hu Wei that [Chaos] was [Deception], and they sought Wei Mu’s help in understanding the gods’ plans without alerting Cheng Shi.
• Cheng Shi learned that Maxford was dead and that [Deception] had manipulated him, then told Long Jing and Zhang Jizu he was Fool’s Game and asked if he could trust them.
• Cheng Shi entered the rift to Giggle and Mock, where [Deception] revealed its plan to take him as a sacrifice to help the True Universe resist [Origin].
• Cheng Shi rejected [Deception]’s forced choices and demanded the power to become the true Fool’s Game, while [Destiny] revealed that it had impersonated [Deception] after the original god died.
• The world’s [Destiny] self-destructed under [Origin]’s power, and [Order] summoned Cheng Shi and the gods to a Gods’ Covenant Assembly.
• Cheng Shi secretly gave Long Jing instructions to seek help from [Memory], [Decay], and [Hope’s Flame], but [Memory] and [Decay] offered no way to save him.
• Long Jing and Chen Shu reached the Fire-Keeping Hall, where Hope’s Flame explained that corrupting Cheng Shi’s faith or making him a True God could endanger both him and the world.
• Hope’s Flame could offer no third path, and Long Jing realized Cheng Shi might never have expected to survive as An Mingyu described his struggle against [Destiny] as an act of resistance.