Chapter Summaries

Jiang Chi realized Cheng Shi had retained his memories in the Time Battlefield and feared that his identity and carefully built combat system would be exposed. Nangong confirmed she had escaped Decay and recorded Cheng Shi’s name again in gratitude, while Cheng Shi returned to the rooftop and found his boss waiting to collect a debt.

• Jiang Chi woke in a temple with fragmented memories, concluded Cheng Shi had retained his memories in the Time Battlefield, and feared his secret would ruin his combat system.
• A remnant soul trapped in an unknown space accumulated enough fear to revive but remained unable to escape the space’s rules.
• Nangong confirmed that Decay and the Gift of Scars were gone, then wrote Cheng Shi’s name in her gratitude ledger for a third time.
• Cheng Shi returned to the rooftop and found his boss waiting for him, making him fear She had come to collect the debt.

Memory confronted Cheng Shi over the damage to its collection and cast him into a lost stretch of history. As the sea of Memory pulled him away from reality, Cheng Shi failed to reach any of the gods he called for and feared he was doomed.

• Memory accused Cheng Shi of being brave enough to help his two Lords of Grace smear its collection.
• Cheng Shi blamed Memory's believer, Singer, for rewriting history and argued that he himself had done nothing wrong.
• Memory told Cheng Shi that the present, not the past, determined whether he was an instigator.
• Memory dismissed Cheng Shi's argument and cast him into a lost stretch of history.
• Cheng Shi called on the gods and tried to use his rings to send a distress signal, but no one responded.

Cheng Shi used the Eternal Prisoner of Time to persuade Memory to pull him out of the sea of memories, but Memory told him the ring was not Time’s answer and warned him about Nothingness’s interest in him. After Memory vanished, Cheng Shi wondered whether he was a prisoner of Nothingness, then fell asleep on the rooftop.

• Cheng Shi realized Memory had not intended to kill him and guessed the Eternal Prisoner of Time was the answer Memory had hinted at.
• Cheng Shi touched the ring and shouted that he had found the answer, causing Memory to pull him out of the sea of memories.
• Memory told Cheng Shi that the ring was not the answer and warned him that Time’s answer might not suit him, while cautioning him not to judge *Him by appearances.
• Cheng Shi asked Memory why he had been chosen, and Memory explained that Nothingness’s interests drew the attention of other powers, including Memory, Time, Death, and Them.
• After Memory vanished, Cheng Shi realized Memory might be sowing discord and wondered whether he was a prisoner of Deception, Destiny, or Nothingness before falling asleep.

Cheng Shi awoke in the Chaos Divine Steps and learned that the Lord of Grace had brought him there after his encounter with Memory. Chaos then sent him to the Steps’ entrance dressed like Katarro, where Hu Wei was approaching, leaving Cheng Shi to impersonate Ultraman and deceive him.

• Cheng Shi woke in the Chaos Divine Steps and learned from Katarro that the Lord of Grace had summoned him there after he encountered Memory.
• Cheng Shi questioned what Chaos intended and whether It had heard his encounter with Memory, while Katarro confirmed that the Lord of Grace was present.
• Chaos transformed the divine palace, lifted Cheng Shi into the yellow mist, and dropped him at the entrance to the Chaos Divine Steps.
• Cheng Shi discovered he was wearing a turbid yellow religious robe as Hu Wei approached through a passage from Giggle and Mock.
• Cheng Shi realized Chaos wanted him to impersonate Ultraman and decided to use the chance to find out whether Hu Wei was human or ghost.

Cheng Shi welcomed Hu Wei and Da Yi as Lord Ultraman, dismissed Hu Wei’s suspicions, and explained that he was experimenting with Cheng Shi’s identity on behalf of his lord. He then sent them toward the Chaos Divine Steps to pursue their wish to meet the gods.

• Hu Wei and Da Yi arrived on the platform, and Cheng Shi guessed that Hu Wei had brought Da Yi to investigate his identity.
• Cheng Shi resolved to accept the situation and pursue his goal of winning Old Jia the top spot, despite his doubts about Chaos.
• Cheng Shi confronted Hu Wei about his suspicions, and Hu Wei accepted that he was Lord Ultraman and apologized.
• Cheng Shi explained that he had borrowed Cheng Shi’s identity for experiments concerning Nothingness and said others were eager to try it too.
• Cheng Shi pointed Hu Wei and Da Yi toward the Chaos Divine Steps, and Hu Wei asked how many steps he had to climb to meet his lord.

Da Yi tried to scout the Chaos Divine Steps but was shattered into symbols after flashing to the tenth step, then reconstituted. Hu Wei entered the steps after abandoning his war greatsword, and Cheng Shi concluded that the Grand Marshal secretly belonged to chaos before watching him break into a dance.

• Da Yi went first and carefully climbed the first step, resisting its influence to curse.
• Da Yi flashed toward the tenth step and disintegrated into symbols, leaving Cheng Shi and Hu Wei stunned.
• The Chaos Yellow Mist gathered Da Yi's symbols and restored him, and he wondered aloud whether he had defected.
• Hu Wei discarded his greatsword and walked onto the Chaos Divine Steps, leading Cheng Shi to believe Hu Wei was a chaos believer.
• Hu Wei began tap-dancing on the steps while Da Yi secretly recorded him on his phone, and Cheng Shi wondered how to copy the video.

Cheng Shi told Hu Wei and Da Yi that forgotten gods were reviving and revealed a coming mission involving a lesser god of Nothingness. He identified the god as Fool's Play, whose shattered Mask had to be recovered, leaving Hu Wei and Da Yi to anticipate a search for its fragments.

• Chaos Yellow Mist brought Hu Wei down from the divine steps after he reached only the fifth step, and Cheng Shi praised his talent.
• Cheng Shi told Hu Wei and Da Yi that several forgotten gods were reviving and that he was seeking ways to draw closer to Nothingness.
• Cheng Shi explained that Deception's lost envoy would soon return and that the envoy's shattered Mask had been scattered into fragments.
• Hu Wei concluded that their mission would involve finding the Mask fragments and might require help from the History School.
• Da Yi asked for the lesser god's name, and Cheng Shi identified him as Fool's Play.

Cheng Shi was dismissed from the Chaos temple, where Chaos explained why He had pushed Ultraman away from Nothingness and revealed the truth about Nothingness’s subordinate god. After Chaos departed, Destiny confronted Katarro, who survived by claiming to serve Lord Cheng Shi.

• Hu Wei asked Cheng Shi whether more people might be sent to help, and Cheng Shi told him he would find out in time.
• Cheng Shi asked whether Chaos would summon him again, but Chaos struck him from the void and sent him away.
• Katarro learned that Deception had no envoy named Foolish Play, while Destiny’s favored envoy was named Hope’s Flame.
• Chaos told Katarro that He had deliberately influenced Ultraman to leave Nothingness and that He needed to test the same answer about faith as Truth.
• Destiny arrived at the Temple of Chaos and questioned Katarro, who claimed to be Lord Cheng Shi’s servant until Destiny left.

Cheng Shi returned to the rest area and decided to seek Death for information about Chaos, but Death summoned him to Fishbone Hall first. There, Death began explaining why Truth had chosen Dizer’s body rather than his soul, starting with the Mother of Prosperity and the authority of Birth.

• Cheng Shi considered asking other gods about Chaos and decided to visit Death, though Xie Yang’s disappearance made arranging the meeting difficult.
• A bone door opened on the rooftop and summoned Cheng Shi to Death’s hall.
• Cheng Shi greeted Death with lavish praise, and Death remarked that his devotion sounded too much like Deception.
• Death asked Cheng Shi why Truth had chosen Dizer’s body instead of his soul, and Cheng Shi admitted he did not know.
• Death explained that the Mother of Prosperity had given birth to four offspring before stealing the authority of Birth, then asked Cheng Shi why she could do so.

Cheng Shi learned that Dizer and Lele'er were offspring of the Mother of Prosperity and that her fall was weakening their souls. The Great One took the Gift of Scars from Cheng Shi and declared that Dizer must die, but Cheng Shi saw a chance to make Dizer work alongside Lele'er.

• The enormous skull explained that the Mother of Prosperity had created offspring from parts of herself and later devoured them to grow stronger.
• Cheng Shi realized that Prosperity’s fall was weakening Dizer’s soul and could also harm Truth, which had devoured Dizer.
• The Great One took the Gift of Scars from Cheng Shi’s personal space and confronted Dizer, who reverted from dagger form to a dead branch.
• The Great One called Dizer an Oathbreaker and blasphemer and sentenced him to death for Prosperity’s part in Garuda’s fate.
• Cheng Shi picked up the Ring of Bone Servant Lele'er and urged the Great One to make Dizer work alongside Lele'er.

Death fused divinity into Cheng Shi’s Ring of Bone Servant Lele'er, using Dizer’s death and the bones of Fishbone Hall to upgrade it. The transformed ring received the name Ring of the Atoning Son of Bone Servant, though Cheng Shi privately decided to call it the Death Amusement Ring.

• The Screaming Count lost hope and waited for death after witnessing Cheng Shi’s conversations with gods and others.
• Death considered Cheng Shi’s request to upgrade the ring, then merged it with the imprisoned Dizer.
• Dizer screamed as the dagger exploded, killing the former child of Prosperity in Fishbone Hall.
• Death summoned the skulls of Fishbone Hall, which poured streams of light into the ring until it transformed.
• Cheng Shi admired the changed ring and asked Death to name it, and Death called it the Ring of the Atoning Son of Bone Servant.
• Cheng Shi praised Death’s naming choice but privately settled on calling the ring the Death Amusement Ring.

Cheng Shi gained a demigod puppet ring and realized he had nearly met the requirements to become an apostle. After Death burned him to ash, the God of Merriment rescued him, and Cheng Shi learned that it had tried and failed to steal a new authority of Filth and Decay.

• Cheng Shi received the Ring of the Atoning Son of Bone Servant's Heir, a 4S demigod puppet containing fused divinity and powers fueled by fear.
• Cheng Shi recognized that his divided authorities and complete portion of divinity made him a false apostle, though he cared more about gaining strength to claim the top scholar position for Old Jia.
• Cheng Shi questioned why the ring lacked Decay effects, and Death's green flames burned him to ash before he could finish speaking.
• The God of Merriment pulled Cheng Shi's ashes out of Fishbone Hall and restored him to a tiny skull, then asked whose apostle he was.
• Death accused Deception of scheming to steal the new authority of Filth and Decay, and the God of Merriment admitted it had narrowly failed and blamed Cheng Shi for angering Death.

Cheng Shi broke the tense silence with God of Merriment by asking whether his Lord of Grace was harming him. God of Merriment identified Cheng Shi’s fear as a fear that kindness had an ulterior motive, leaving Cheng Shi waiting for an explanation.

• After Cheng Shi explained that he had only meant to dispose of the strand of Filth and Decay’s authority, Old Bones fled with Fishbone Hall.
• God of Merriment returned Cheng Shi to his original form, but the two remained silent as suspicion deepened between them.
• Cheng Shi decided he had to break the stalemate and asked God of Merriment whether it was harming him.
• God of Merriment asked why Cheng Shi was afraid, and Cheng Shi admitted he feared the unknown.
• God of Merriment said Cheng Shi was really afraid because there was no such thing as kindness without a reason, prompting Cheng Shi to await an explanation.

God of Merriment told Cheng Shi that even the gods feared the Primordial Origin, who had created everything and granted them their authorities. After Cheng Shi asked why he had been chosen, God of Merriment revealed that His choice had been Himself.

• God of Merriment warned Cheng Shi that people should fear unexplained kindness and asked whether He feared the Primordial Origin.
• God of Merriment explained that the Primordial Origin had created everything and bestowed divine names and authorities upon the gods.
• Cheng Shi’s thoughts blurred as he pondered the Primordial Origin, and God of Merriment called it punishment for blaspheming the gods.
• God of Merriment urged Cheng Shi to ask directly why he had been chosen, and Cheng Shi asked, “Why me?”
• God of Merriment laughed and answered that His choice had not been Cheng Shi, but Himself.

Cheng Shi reconsidered Deception’s fear of the Primordial Origin and realized the god had deliberately guided their conversation to answer his suspicions. After regaining his resolve to approach Deception, Cheng Shi asked what he should do, and Deception told him he could do nothing beyond fulfilling his duty as a player and liar.

• Cheng Shi deduced that the Covenant might protect the gods and their authorities from the Primordial Origin, and that Deception feared something about the end of the Void Era.
• Cheng Shi recognized that Deception had deliberately broken their conversational deadlock and explained what Cheng Shi had wanted to know.
• Cheng Shi credited Memory’s interference and Death’s gift of a complete divinity with helping him reach this understanding.
• After freeing himself from the Primordial Origin’s influence, Cheng Shi asked Deception what he should do.
• Deception mocked Cheng Shi’s lack of confidence and said that his duty was to be a player and a liar.

Cheng Shi questioned God of Merriment about the authority he had gained from Decay and learned that the gods were using him as a stake in their efforts to approach a mysterious existence. He realized their experiments with merging divinities served that larger goal, while God of Merriment admitted he did not know what he was doing.

• Cheng Shi showed God of Merriment the nail of his left little finger and began asking about the power he had received from Decay.
• God of Merriment said Decay was not truly merciful and explained that life before civilization had worshiped a mysterious existence fanatically.
• God of Merriment told Cheng Shi that Decay had granted him authority because he was a Walker of Nothingness, and that the gods were watching him as a stake in their plans.
• God of Merriment explained that Old Bones was studying the authority of Filth and Decay and using fear to bind otherwise incompatible divinities.
• Cheng Shi deduced that the gods were trying to approach the mysterious existence by experimenting with merged divinities, grafted faith, and artificial gods.
• Cheng Shi concluded that God of Merriment was the lone member of the Fear Faction and avoided saying so aloud.

Cheng Shi questioned the God of Merriment about Memory, Destiny, and the gods before being blown out of Nothingness. Afterward, Destiny confronted Deception, who admitted to misleading Cheng Shi and challenged Destiny’s plan for him.

• Cheng Shi asked the God of Merriment why Memory let its believers change history, and learned that Memory wanted existence’s will to take part in inevitable change.
• Cheng Shi asked where the gods who no longer occupied divine thrones had gone, but the God of Merriment mocked him and ended the audience.
• Before the gale swept Cheng Shi away, the God of Merriment revealed that Cheng Shi was its emissary, Lord Foolish Play.
• Destiny appeared and accused Deception of impersonating Memory and deceiving Cheng Shi.
• Deception defended its lies, saying Cheng Shi hated Destiny’s predestined future and accusing Destiny of planning to abandon him when the age collapsed.
• Destiny insisted that its plan was simply Destiny, while Deception said that it was the one who was no good.

After returning from a trial, Cheng Shi questioned Lips of Foolish Play about its relationship with God of Merriment, then received a call from Hong Lin about people probing his identity and a mummy who had protected Nangong. Cheng Shi learned the mummy was Cui Ding Tian and was relieved that he had survived.

• Cheng Shi returned to the rooftop and asked Lips of Foolish Play whether it had a problem with God of Merriment.
• Lips of Foolish Play said it did have a problem, then mocked Cheng Shi for repeatedly being deceived.
• Hong Lin called Cheng Shi and told him that many people had been probing into his identity.
• Hong Lin described Nangong's encounter in the Prayer Trial with a faithful protector who had become an Oathbreaker and embraced Decay.
• Cheng Shi recognized the mummy as Cui Ding Tian and rejoiced that he was still alive.

Cheng Shi and Hong Lin exchanged news about new faiths and the accelerating Faith Fusion before Cheng Shi proposed taking action against Yu Mu, the number two believer of Decay. He offered to capture her for Hong Lin, who asked whether he was serious.

• Hong Lin told Cheng Shi that Nangong had accepted the path of Destiny and was becoming a Fate Weaver.
• Hong Lin warned Cheng Shi that Lin Xi had embraced Annihilation and that he should be careful around him.
• Hong Lin said Faith Fusion was accelerating, shared rumors about Mo Li approaching War, and relayed Li Jingming’s information about 0221 and the experiments tied to Truth.
• Cheng Shi learned that Hong Lin had told Li Jingming that Prosperity had fallen and blamed Zhen Yi for the source of the information.
• Cheng Shi suggested targeting Yu Mu, and Hong Lin asked whether he was serious when he offered to capture her.

Cheng Shi learned more about Lin Renyu from Big Cat and planned to introduce her to Afros as a source of guidance on divine secrets. A skull servant arrived on the rooftop, and Cheng Shi recognized it as Old Zhang.

• Cheng Shi discussed using Yu Mu as a test subject and remembered that he still needed to make his Prosperity wish.
• Hong Lin told Cheng Shi that Lin Renyu was a Chaos-aligned Maestro of Lost Rhythms known for impersonating Chen Shu and causing trouble.
• Cheng Shi implied that Lin Renyu had been killed by someone powerful, and Hong Lin guessed that the killer shared Cheng Shi’s surname.
• Big Cat arranged to make her wish at three and agreed to meet Cheng Shi’s interesting new friend, Afros.
• A skull servant emerged onto the rooftop, questioned why Cheng Shi lived in an unstable place, and was recognized by Cheng Shi as Old Zhang.