Chapter Summaries

Li Jingming and Cheng Shi traded memories and tested each other’s motives, leading Cheng Shi to reveal that he had fused Deception and Destiny. Li Jingming recognized Cheng Shi as the Void’s chosen one after Zhen Xin, and their memory exchange turned toward the secret behind Cheng Shi’s identity.

• Li Jingming gave Cheng Shi a wooden bird as postage, and Cheng Shi offered to pass a question to the God of Merriment.
• Li Jingming asked what had happened to Order at the Grand Inquisition, and Cheng Shi said his Lord of Grace, Destiny, had told him.
• Li Jingming explained that he traded memories for memories and other goods, and Cheng Shi realized he was acting as a memory broker.
• Li Jingming asked Cheng Shi what relationship he had with the God of Merriment, and Cheng Shi revealed that he believed in both Destiny and Deception and had fused the two.
• Cheng Shi showed Li Jingming a die and a Mask, saying Li Jingming was the first player to learn his secret.
• Li Jingming recognized Cheng Shi as the Void’s chosen one after Zhen Xin and understood that his greed concealed a devotion to amusement.

Cheng Shi used his claim of having fused Deception and Destiny to anchor a cover story in the Dragon King's memories, and learned that Li Jingming had fused Deception and Memory. The revelation left Cheng Shi considering how opposing faiths could coexist, and he invited the Dragon King to question him in return.

• Li Jingming believed Cheng Shi's claim because Destiny had summoned him, and Cheng Shi reflected that he was using the Dragon King's memories to make his cover story believable.
• Li Jingming revealed that he had fused Deception and Memory rather than merely receiving an Oathbreak Curse from Memory.
• Cheng Shi wondered whether this fusion explained how opposing faiths could coexist and what role the Covenant and the Age of Nothingness had played.
• Li Jingming explained that his fusion took a long time, that he had only recently gained Deception's power, and that the God of Merriment had offered little explanation.
• Cheng Shi suspected that the God of Merriment had tricked Li Jingming and invited the Dragon King to ask him questions.

Cheng Shi and Li Jingming exchanged memories and information, discussing Prosperity’s fall and Li Jingming’s devotion to recording the past. Cheng Shi then asked about Lucia and Yug, and Li Jingming began describing Lucia’s origins.

• Li Jingming asked Cheng Shi what had happened during the trial and why Prosperity had fallen, and Cheng Shi said Prosperity had tried to assimilate Decay before the gods intervened and Prosperity destroyed itself.
• Cheng Shi questioned Li Jingming’s devotion to memory, and Li Jingming explained that he wanted to preserve something for the world by remembering people’s lives.
• Li Jingming recounted how his master had raised him at Yunye Temple, where he read the records of the temple’s predecessors and developed his habit of remembering.
• Cheng Shi asked Li Jingming about Lucia and Yug, and Li Jingming said Lucia had been an orphan from the Grand Inquisition who later joined the Life Church.
• Li Jingming added that, before becoming Her, Lucia had been a midwife from Tusnat.

Cheng Shi questioned Li Jingming about divine emissaries and exchanged information about the repeated Civilization Eras. Their discussion left them wondering whether Destiny shaped the similarities between eras and whether those cycles were tied to the Paths of Fate.

• Li Jingming explained that Lucia was a male obstetrician revered as the Sacred Sound of Procreation, then discussed how personal desires shaped faith and judgments of good and evil.
• Li Jingming described how the Corpse Vulture King became an emissary of Decay before fleeing Herobas and the World Destroyers, and Cheng Shi worried about Big Cat facing him.
• Cheng Shi told Li Jingming that the Civilization Era had unfolded four times, prompting Li Jingming to connect repeated histories with a possible influence of Destiny.
• Cheng Shi and Li Jingming wondered how similar histories could exist before Nothingness descended, then Li Jingming asked whether the four eras corresponded to the Paths of Fate.
• Li Jingming offered to share his memory of Zhen Yi if Cheng Shi explained the eras, insisting that he had never been and would never be an enemy of Deception.

Cheng Shi and Li Jingming exchanged their beliefs and knowledge about the past eras and the mysterious First. The chapter ended with Cheng Shi claiming that Fool's Deception, an emissary of Deception and lesser god of Nothingness, had taught him about Them.

• Li Jingming told Cheng Shi that he preserved memories in hopes of helping someone resist the gods and leave a lasting legacy.
• Li Jingming explained that Yunye Temple’s incense had once died out and that he was not a direct heir of its ancestral teachers.
• Li Jingming admitted that he impersonated others to collect memories and used Deception as camouflage and deterrence.
• Cheng Shi shared what he knew about the eras and said their endings and beginnings were connected to the First.
• Li Jingming recognized the name of the First and asked Cheng Shi how he knew so much about Them.
• Cheng Shi said he would explain in exchange for a condition, then revealed that Fool's Deception had told him about Them.

Li Jingming listened as Cheng Shi described his encounters with Lord Foolish Play and concluded that the figure was not an envoy but a construct created from the shattered Mask. Cheng Shi was left stunned by Li Jingming’s convincing explanation and wondered if Mouth Brother’s true identity was the Mask itself.

• Li Jingming questioned whether Cheng Shi’s account of Lord Foolish Play was a lie, then considered why Nothingness might have an envoy when Existence did not.
• Cheng Shi recounted how Lord Foolish Play had stolen his identity, revealed His existence, and seemed to seek fragments of His Mask.
• Cheng Shi explained that he wanted to find the Mask fragments and draw closer to Lord Foolish Play, though curiosity about the envoy also motivated him.
• Li Jingming believed Cheng Shi and argued that Lord Foolish Play was the shattered Mask, a construct of the God of Merriment rather than an envoy.
• Cheng Shi was shocked by Li Jingming’s explanation and wondered whether Mouth Brother was really the Mask.

Cheng Shi learned that a supernatural object in the abandoned city of Sandlais might be the Ear of Secret Prying, a fragment of the mask he suspected Mouth Brother and Tongue Brother came from. He then asked Li Jingming about his history with Zhen Yi, who had once impersonated her sister while recruiting him to the History School.

• Cheng Shi pressed Lips of Foolish Play for confirmation that the mask was its true body, while Li Jingming recalled a possible mask fragment in Sandlais.
• Li Jingming identified the object as the Ear of Secret Prying, and Mouth Brother spoke aloud of Sandlais as a distant memory.
• Cheng Shi told Li Jingming he had heard of Sandlais during a trial, and Li Jingming suggested that Destiny might have steered him away from it.
• Cheng Shi asked Li Jingming what Zhen Yi had done to him, then admitted he wanted the gossip in exchange for hearing about the era.
• Li Jingming recounted meeting Zhen Yi, who was impersonating her sister Zhen Xin and posing as the History School's leader, before she began exchanging memories with him.

Cheng Shi pressed Li Jingming to reveal what he had gained from his contest with Zhen Yi, learning that her deliberate distortions had helped Li Jingming uncover hidden historical truths. Cheng Shi then invited Li Jingming to join the Jesters, introducing them as liars who used absurdist art to tell stories of Nothingness.

• Li Jingming explained that his memory exchange with the Dragon King had left him with a vivid impression of Zhen Yi, which he valued as much as a remarkable memory.
• Cheng Shi challenged Li Jingming for recording him beyond their agreed exchange and demanded further details about Zhen Yi.
• Li Jingming admitted that Zhen Yi had deliberately distorted historical details, enabling him to reconstruct key events and discover secrets held by the History School.
• Cheng Shi invited Li Jingming to join the Jesters and identified himself as one of the group.

Cheng Shi persuaded Li Jingming to join the Jesters by describing their aim to gather stories from the Void Era and survive it, then asked him to pay with pages from Time's Notebook. Cheng Shi was abruptly pulled away, and Li Jingming was soon ejected from the void as well.

• Cheng Shi told Li Jingming that the Jesters gathered stories from the Void Era and hoped to become protagonists so they could survive it.
• Li Jingming agreed to join, partly because he wanted to hear stories from Cheng Shi, and asked how much the membership fee was.
• Cheng Shi requested a couple of pages from Time's Notebook and said the Jesters needed a memory expert to help gather historical material.
• Li Jingming asked for the Jesters' emblem, identity cipher, password, meeting place, and attendance rules, but Cheng Shi had prepared none of them.
• Cheng Shi gave the motto as “All for Nothingness” and said meetings were irregular, then the void suddenly pulled him away.
• After a few seconds, the void flung Li Jingming back into reality.

Deception and Destiny argued over the Nothingness Pact, a believer who had become Chaos’s follower, and whether approaching the Origin was a mistake. After Destiny left, Deception restored Nothingness and summoned Cheng Shi, who found himself trapped in an awkward test of truth and lies.

• Destiny declared the Nothingness Pact void, but Deception argued that the oathbreaker had broken Deception’s oath and that Chaos had already acknowledged him as a follower.
• Deception urged Destiny to join Chaos and explore the future, while Destiny warned that Chaos might not help Deception and insisted the believer would become Destiny’s inevitable outcome.
• Destiny departed, saying his believer would eventually follow the path of Faith Fusion, and Deception mocked him for being unable to part with his favorite.
• Deception restored the void and summoned Cheng Shi, while another believer was cast out of Nothingness.
• Cheng Shi began praising the Lord before seeing him, and Deception froze him and challenged him to say whether his praise was truth or a lie.

Cheng Shi questioned Deception about his Faith Fusion with Destiny and Chaos, then reasoned that Deception had helped Chaos trap Order. Deception showed interest in his theory but left the question unanswered.

• Cheng Shi explained his idea of “truth and lies” to Deception, who was pleased with his answer.
• Deception teased Cheng Shi about Destiny before letting him ask questions.
• Cheng Shi asked why he could fuse with Chaos after fusing with Destiny, and Deception denied arranging it.
• Deception said Chaos had concealed its essence and that it had disliked Chaos for a long time.
• Cheng Shi concluded that Deception had helped Chaos trap Order to advance Faith Fusion and asked whether Deception had defeated Order.

Cheng Shi learned that Deception had gained Chaos’s divine authority through his Faith Fusion, then asked Deception how he should proceed. Deception sent him back to the trial with a warning to walk his own path, where Cheng Shi faced the others and offered to help restore Order.

• Deception revealed that he had used Chaos’s impersonation of Order to reclaim the authority of the vacant divine throne, but denied Cheng Shi’s accusations.
• Cheng Shi asked Deception for direction and suggested arranging a third Faith Fusion, but Deception warned him that acting with an obvious purpose would expose his connection to Deception.
• Deception explained that Cheng Shi had to walk Destiny’s road under the identity of Deception, then sent him back to the trial.
• Cheng Shi returned to the Dragon King and Hong Lin, told them to compare their memories before spreading conclusions, and said Order’s trouble was not serious.
• Chenosli and Laquis woke and challenged Cheng Shi’s claim about Order, so Cheng Shi said they were there to help restore Order.

Cheng Shi freed Chenosli and two other prisoners, then learned that Li Jingming’s repeated use of Past Life Replay had rewritten history. The trial ended with Cheng Shi becoming the hero who rescued Chenosli, confirming that the time loop had led to a predetermined past.

• Cheng Shi used Order's Horn to break Chenosli's restraints, and the adjudicator woke and wept beside Laquis, who fainted when Chenosli picked him up.
• Cheng Shi freed the other two sinners and offered to tell Li Jingming what had happened to Order in exchange for something.
• Cheng Shi asked Li Jingming whether he had altered their memories, and Li Jingming explained that he had used Past Life Replay to search for Cheng Shi and Hong Lin.
• As the trial ended, Past Life Replay shattered and the altered present became the new history, recording Cheng Shi as the hero who rescued Chenosli.
• Cheng Shi realized that Li Jingming's search had caused the destined loop that made history unfold as it always had.

Cheng Shi completed the trial and realized that Kato Court’s flourishing Order rested on hidden Chaos. After the players vanished, Laquis died by suicide, Lidyaala urged Chenosli to leave and resolved to preserve her vision of Order, while an unknown ruler confronted Wrath of Abomination in the Void.

• Cheng Shi received an S rating and rewards, including two A-rank contracts and the SS-rank Thorn Weeping Ceremony, as the trial ended.
• Laquis woke, stabbed herself in the neck, and died in Chenosli’s arms.
• Lidyaala told Chenosli to leave Kato Court and begin anew, then vowed to keep her ideal of Order alive in others.
• An unknown figure confronted the imprisoned Wrath of Abomination, accused it of impersonating Blazing Sun, and sentenced it for blasphemy.
• Meteor Fire Rain appeared across the trials, alarming players despite causing no harm.

After completing the prosperity trial, Cheng Shi discovered that Thorn Weeping Ceremony could temporarily expand mental strength reserves, while two contracts gave him new reconnaissance options. The chapter ended with Li Jingming calling to ask what had happened to Order in Chenosli’s dream.

• Cheng Shi returned from the trial exhausted and examined the Thorn Weeping Ceremony whip Big Cat had given him.
• Cheng Shi tested the whip and learned that its painful lashes temporarily increased his available mental strength, potentially doubling his reserves with preparation.
• Cheng Shi received Nature's Homecoming Contract and Tree Spirit Ritual Contract, which could help him scout through plants and trees.
• Cheng Shi decided to keep the time-telling wooden bird as an initiation gift for Big Cat and considered collecting the Dragon King’s initiation fee.
• Li Jingming called Cheng Shi and asked what had happened to Order in Chenosli’s dream.

Cheng Shi told Li Jingming a carefully altered account of how Deception gained Chaos’s authority and explained Order’s gift, then repeated the account to Big Cat. After learning Mo Li had abandoned his oath, Cheng Shi checked the Ladder of Audience for his second faith and found Order and Chaos closely ranked.

• Cheng Shi explained to Li Jingming that Order had returned to normal after relinquishing Chaos’s authority, then claimed the God of Merriment had taken that authority and given him an item.
• Li Jingming refused Cheng Shi’s demand for compensation, said no one knew Cheng Shi had freed Chenosli, and agreed to join the Clown and attend its gathering.
• After Li Jingming ended the call, Big Cat contacted Cheng Shi, who shared the same account while keeping her away from the higher-level conflict.
• Cheng Shi heard from Big Cat that Mo Li had abandoned his oath and wondered what had driven him to join War.
• Cheng Shi checked the Ladder of Audience for Order and Chaos and saw that Nothing Known led with 214, just ahead of No Law, No Action with 208.

On the eve of the next Special Trial, Cheng Shi reviewed player chats for clues about Faith Fusion and the gods’ factions, but found little useful information. After noticing reports of players whose spaces could not be merged and who later vanished, he decided to visit Zhang Jizu to ask about the disappearances and seek his help.

• Cheng Shi called Hu Xuan, but when she did not answer, he decided to contact her another time.
• Cheng Shi reviewed channel chats and considered which gods belonged to the Fear, neutral, and faction-that-drew-closer groups.
• Cheng Shi noticed a Singer chat message about a missing neighbor whose space could not be merged, then read similar reports from other players.
• Cheng Shi wondered whether the missing players were trapped in reality and decided to ask someone who might know.
• Cheng Shi used the death work badge Zhang Jizu had sent him to open a bone door and visit Zhang Jizu’s graveyard.

Cheng Shi was teleported as a tiny skull to a barren edge of Zhang Jizu’s graveyard, where Zhang’s elaborate defenses treated him as an enemy before Zhang finally brought him inside. The graveyard turned out to be a vast memorial for the dead, including gravestones bearing the names of gods, and Cheng Shi asked whether Zhang had made one for God of Merriment.

• Cheng Shi cautiously touched the bone door with a bamboo pole but was sucked through and transformed into a tiny skull at the graveyard’s barren edge.
• Unable to climb the slope past an invisible barrier, Cheng Shi called Zhang Jizu with a loudspeaker, and Zhang appeared above him.
• Zhang explained that his formation array teleported intruders to the un cleared land and kept them there until its recoil effect ended; he admitted Cheng Shi was its first test subject.
• After the formation’s effect expired, Zhang picked up Cheng Shi and carried him over the slope into the graveyard.
• Cheng Shi saw the many ornate graves and learned that fewer than half held bodies while the rest memorialized Zhang’s dead teammates.
• Cheng Shi spotted a gravestone marked “Order,” accused Zhang of secretly erecting graves for gods, and asked whether there was one for God of Merriment.

Cheng Shi asked Zhang Jizu to help him investigate Fool's Game, the emissary of Deception, and travel to Sandlais. Zhang Jizu agreed to consider the request, then explained that he guarded the cemetery simply because he wanted to stay alive and see more of the world.

• Zhang Jizu showed Cheng Shi a stele labeled "Deception" and explained how a half-truth could still be a lie.
• Cheng Shi told Zhang Jizu about Fool's Game and how the emissary had inspired his second personality, then shared Li Jingming's information and asked Zhang Jizu to accompany him to Sandlais.
• Zhang Jizu focused on Li Jingming joining the Jesters and warned Cheng Shi to guard against the Dragon King, a believer of Deception.
• Cheng Shi questioned Zhang Jizu about his purpose in life, and Zhang Jizu said he wanted to stay alive so he could see more of the world.

Cheng Shi and Zhang Jizu discussed rumors about Faith Fusion and the importance of learning more about the Covenant and the gods. After Cheng Shi returned to his rest area, the Special Trial centered on Time began, and he entered it with five teammates.

• Cheng Shi told Zhang Jizu he planned to wait until he had recovered before going to Sandlais, then explained his belief that a third faith was involved in Faith Fusion.
• Zhang Jizu shared an unverified Soul Salvation Society rumor that Silence might be difficult to fuse with other faiths, but Cheng Shi said he had seen a believer of Silence fuse successfully.
• Cheng Shi urged Zhang Jizu to seek reliable information about Faith Fusion and explained that he had founded the Clowns partly to please the Fool through the Fool's Play.
• After Cheng Shi left, Zhang Jizu chose to leave Order's tomb inscription unfinished in case it proved useful later.
• At dawn, Cheng Shi received the Special Trial notification, learned its objective involved Time and had a seven-day limit, and entered after matching with five teammates.