Chapter Summaries

Cheng Shi entered a Time trial in a run-down inn and immediately fought the armored teammate behind him to avoid a possible trap. He recognized the fallen Qin Xin as the man Zhen Yi had warned him about, then heard someone approaching and backed away from the severely wounded warrior.

• Cheng Shi woke with a nosebleed, saw that the hour was about to change, and struck at the person behind him to preempt a Time Battlefield trap.
• Cheng Shi and the armored stranger exchanged blows until the hour passed, then recognized that they were cautious teammates rather than enemies.
• Cheng Shi asked the warrior's name, and Qin Xin introduced himself before collapsing from his injuries.
• Cheng Shi recalled Zhen Yi warning him to avoid Qin Xin, then found that Qin Xin was badly wounded from a battle that had continued when the Special Trial began.
• Cheng Shi heard hurried footsteps outside the inn room and backed away from Qin Xin to avoid appearing responsible for his condition.

Cheng Shi reunited with An Mingyu, Qin Xin, and three other players in the trial after Qin Xin collapsed. When everyone teased him about his feet, Cheng Shi wrapped them in a cloth marked “PAY TO VIEW,” leaving the group stunned.

• An Mingyu rushed in, treated Qin Xin, and recognized Cheng Shi while wondering whether he had attacked Qin Xin.
• A serious-looking man entered, and two more players pushed through the crowd, bringing all six players in the trial together.
• Qin Xin woke and, along with An Mingyu, focused on Cheng Shi’s feet, prompting him to demand an explanation.
• An Mingyu challenged Cheng Shi to stop her laughing, so he wrapped his legs and feet in a cloth marked “PAY TO VIEW.”
• An Mingyu admitted defeat and called Cheng Shi an oddity.

Cheng Shi cleared up the misunderstanding over Qin Xin’s prophecy and met the other players gathered for the trial. After Wang Mou introduced himself as a Mage and Erudite Scholar of Truth, Cheng Shi realized that someone had already lied.

• Qin Xin explained that the Blind Man’s prophecy of him dying beneath someone’s feet had been triggered when Cheng Shi examined him while he was unconscious.
• Cheng Shi mocked the prophecy, introduced himself as the Fate Weaver, and avoided revealing his Path to Godhood score.
• Li Wufang introduced himself as an Investigator, and Cheng Shi scrutinized him because his name and manner reminded him of a clown he had recruited.
• Wu Cun introduced herself as an Ember Annihilator, prompting concern that her destructive abilities could hinder the trial’s investigation.
• Wang Mou introduced himself as a Mage and Erudite Scholar who believed in Truth, and Cheng Shi recognized his statement as the trial’s first lie.
• Cheng Shi noticed Qin Xin briefly smiling and wondered whether he had also detected Wang Mou’s lie.

Cheng Shi assessed the conflicting identities of the trial’s participants and considered how to turn potential enemies into allies. After the group debated whether to split up, Wu Cun and Li Wufang agreed to investigate together, leaving the others behind.

• Qin Xin introduced himself as a Mirror Walker of Memory, making Cheng Shi wary of the group’s many competing allegiances.
• Cheng Shi considered Blind Man An Mingyu a promising ally because Big Cat had given her a phone.
• Li Wufang proposed that the group split up to investigate, but Wang Mou argued that they should first determine the most efficient approach.
• Wang Mou accused Wu Cun of being a threat to efficiency because of her destructive impulses, and she challenged him over his distrust.
• Li Wufang tried to calm them and suggested pairing up; Wu Cun chose him as her partner and walked out with him.

Li Wufang organized the group’s investigation and the Blind Man prophesied that only five people would remain at the trial’s end, prompting the others to suspect Wu Cun might be eliminated. Qin Xin paired up with Wang Mou to investigate, while Cheng Shi remained with the Blind Man until An Mingyu suddenly collapsed.

• Cheng Shi refused to join Li Wufang’s plans, and Li Wufang arranged for everyone to meet at noon and exchange clues.
• The Blind Man rolled the Dice of Destiny and prophesied that five people would sit around a table on the trial’s final day.
• Li Wufang left to find Wu Cun, while Wang Mou warned that the missing sixth person might not be her.
• Qin Xin chose to travel with Wang Mou, leaving Cheng Shi and the Blind Man together.
• An Mingyu suddenly collapsed in front of Cheng Shi, just as Qin Xin had earlier.

Cheng Shi left An Mingyu behind after she pretended to faint, then discovered that the trial town lay beside the Abyssal Volcano. When An Mingyu caught up and used the Dice of Destiny to recommend the left path, Cheng Shi chose to go right.

• Cheng Shi recognized that An Mingyu was pretending to faint, but left the inn without hearing her explanation.
• Cheng Shi emerged into a town near the Abyssal Volcano and realized the trial was taking place underground.
• Cheng Shi examined the volcano and considered investigating the unfamiliar town for information.
• An Mingyu caught up with Cheng Shi, apologized for testing him, and asked whether he always disliked helping others.
• An Mingyu consulted the Dice of Destiny, which indicated that the left path was better, but Cheng Shi chose to go right.

Cheng Shi learned that An Mingyu was a Fire Keeper and one of its two Fire Seekers, and that the Fire Keepers had killed someone who knew his identity. The chapter ended with An Mingyu revealing that the person killed just before the trial was Old Man, the Chosen of Time.

• Cheng Shi asked An Mingyu about the trial, and she identified the Door of Falling and suggested investigating the magma crystal mine.
• An Mingyu told Cheng Shi she had seen Destiny through memories exchanged with Li Jingming, then asked to share memories with him.
• An Mingyu revealed that she knew Cheng Shi had helped the Fire Keepers and identified Fang Shiqing as one of the people he had helped.
• Cheng Shi threatened An Mingyu with his scalpel, but she revealed she was a Fire Keeper and one of its two Fire Seekers.
• An Mingyu explained that Cheng Shi's identity and connection to the Fire Keepers had been exposed, so the organization had killed someone who refused to forget the information.
• An Mingyu named the person they had killed as Old Man, the Chosen of Time.

Cheng Shi met the Blind Man, An Mingyu, who tried to recruit him into the Fire Keepers while explaining her connection to Destiny. She revealed that she had prophesied Destiny at the start of the Faith Game and lost her sight after glimpsing the god’s hidden presence.

• Cheng Shi suspected the Blind Man was using his connection to the Fire Keepers to draw him into protecting their organization.
• Cheng Shi led An Mingyu to a deserted alley and demanded that she explain what she knew before he shared anything.
• An Mingyu decided Cheng Shi was trustworthy and well suited to the Fire Keepers, and she hoped to recruit him.
• Cheng Shi asked when and how An Mingyu had seen Destiny.
• An Mingyu said she had become a Prophet on the first afternoon of the Faith Game, rolled a one with the Dice of Destiny, and was drawn into a void where she sensed Destiny beneath the darkness.
• An Mingyu said she had been forced back to the Starting Point of Life Path blind, and Cheng Shi reacted with shock.

Cheng Shi questioned the Blind Man about her vision and her suspicions about his past actions. She explained that she had helped Fang Shiqing and the City Defenders out of mischief, framing it as devotion to their Lord of Grace.

• The Blind Man described how Nothingness’s gift let her perceive Cheng Shi as a spiderweb and Hu Wei as shifting mist.
• Cheng Shi asked how she had killed Old Man, but the Blind Man insisted that he answer her questions in return.
• The Blind Man asked why Cheng Shi had helped Fang Shiqing and the other two City Defenders.
• Cheng Shi admitted he had pushed them toward the truth and erased his traces to create mysteries of Destiny as an offering to their Lord of Grace.
• The Blind Man compared Cheng Shi’s shameless reasoning to Zhen Yi’s.

Cheng Shi learned from the Blind Man what happened at the Fool's Society gathering, including Cheng Shushi joining the Fire Keepers and Old Man being doomed to die after the trial. The Blind Man invited Cheng Shi to join and offered him proof of membership, but he chose to visit the lava crystal mine instead.

• The Blind Man recounted how the Fire Keepers used the Fool's Society gathering as a trap and captured Old Man and Cheng Shushi after the dream ended.
• Cheng Shushi joined the Fire Keepers, while Old Man refused to forget and was killed by the Blind Man, Qin Xin, and Cheng Shushi; the Special Trial delayed his certain death.
• The Blind Man urged Cheng Shi to join the Fire Keepers and offered him a Proof of Fire Keeping insignia so they could recognize him after using Remembrance Mourning.
• Cheng Shi asked about Qin Xin's position and the meaning of the Blind Man's trust, then said he had decided to visit the lava crystal mine outside town.

Cheng Shi weighed the risks of the Fire Keepers and their possible connection to Zhen Yi, then chose to investigate a local prison for clues about the trial. The Blind Man’s divination showed that his unexpected choice closely followed Destiny’s guidance, leaving her increasingly curious about him.

• Cheng Shi decided to remain wary of the Fire Keepers because he did not know whether the Blind Man had learned about them through Zhen Xin and Zhen Yi.
• Cheng Shi and the Blind Man returned toward the town center, where he explained that he wanted to seek information at the local prison rather than go to the mines.
• The Blind Man explained that the town had no formal administrators and was jointly managed by broker factions.
• The Blind Man rolled her sixteen-sided die and got fifteen, indicating that Cheng Shi’s choice had an extremely high probability of following Destiny’s guidance.

Cheng Shi and the Blind Man searched a makeshift prison for information about the town and the factions operating there. They learned that the Proxy Hand was active during the Civilization Era, but the prisoner they questioned offered little useful information.

• Cheng Shi and the Blind Man entered a ruined earthen prison where several men lay drunk.
• At the Blind Man’s suggestion, Cheng Shi stabbed one of the men awake, and she healed him with a potion.
• Cheng Shi claimed he was a Fire Giver and a freelance writer, then threatened the prisoner into sharing news about the town.
• The prisoner revealed that Alard had locked him up because he could not pay Alard’s older sister after sleeping with her.
• The Blind Man explained that Alard belonged to the Proxy Hand, an organization that gathered underground resources for surface factions during the Civilization Era.

Cheng Shi and Blind Man questioned prisoners in the Proxy Hand’s prison and heard about Yadelik’s strange behavior toward a shanty worker. Suspecting Yadelik might be connected to their trial, Cheng Shi killed him to investigate his memories himself.

• Cheng Shi asked the prisoners why they were locked up and learned that most had gone to the shanty without paying or were guards.
• A burly man told Cheng Shi that Yadelik had declared love for a shanty worker while drunk, then whipped her when she wanted to leave and build a home with him.
• Cheng Shi and Blind Man recognized that Yadelik’s unusual behavior might relate to the trial and decided to verify their suspicion.
• Blind Man suggested taking Yadelik to Qin Xin, but Cheng Shi refused and slit Yadelik’s throat with his scalpel.

Cheng Shi used a Finger Bone Brooch to question Yadelik’s corpse and learned that the dead man claimed Aromani was his wife, contradicting the shantytown’s account. He and the Blind Man followed a Destiny-based trail toward Aromani, while Cheng Shi discovered that An Mingyu sincerely rejected integrating another faith.

• Cheng Shi revived Yadelik’s corpse with the Finger Bone Brooch and asked about his relationship with the woman he had beaten.
• Yadelik’s corpse identified Aromani as his wife, but a big man insisted that Yadelik had never married and was notorious for stealing from women.
• The Blind Man used her Drawing silk from the cocoon talent to trace people connected to Yadelik’s destiny and tracked Aromani beyond the town.
• Cheng Shi carried Yadelik’s corpse as he and the Blind Man followed the spider silk, while the big man drank himself back to sleep.
• The Blind Man said she was a devout believer of Destiny with no desire to integrate another faith, and Cheng Shi realized she was completely sincere.

Cheng Shi and Blind Man traveled toward the mine while discussing destiny and the strange results Blind Man got when divining about him. Blind Man explained that Zhen Xin could control Zhen Yi’s memories, but challenged Cheng Shi for asking why she had not erased them all.

• Blind Man guided Cheng Shi through the town toward the mine, while he inspected the surroundings and teased Yadelik with flowers.
• Blind Man described destiny as scripts people chose to perform and said she could see indistinct glimpses of the acts people were about to perform.
• Blind Man revealed that divinations about Cheng Shi were normal, but attempts to investigate him personally always produced a one on her die.
• Cheng Shi asked whether Zhen Xin and Zhen Yi would learn his story, and Blind Man said Zhen Xin could control Zhen Yi’s memories.
• Cheng Shi asked why Zhen Xin did not take back all of Zhen Yi’s memories, and Blind Man pointed out that he was being greedy about other people’s stories.

Cheng Shi revealed to An Mingyu that Origin had written the cosmos’s scripts, and she died after apparently attempting to divine Origin. He left Qin Xin uncertain about what had happened but suggested An Mingyu might still return.

• Cheng Shi told An Mingyu that Origin, not Destiny, had written the scripts and allowed Destiny to observe them.
• An Mingyu suddenly collapsed and died, and Qin Xin caught her before she hit the ground.
• Cheng Shi found the ashes of An Mingyu’s shattered Dice of Destiny and realized she had attempted a prophecy about Origin.
• Cheng Shi explained that he had hoped to cooperate with the Fire Keepers but had not expected An Mingyu to divine Origin.
• Qin Xin asked what had happened, and Cheng Shi declined to explain, saying An Mingyu might still be revived.

Cheng Shi questioned whether he could trust Qin Xin, who reassured him that the Fire Keepers would not make him a burden and revealed his deep faith in protecting beauty and friendship. Cheng Shi realized Qin Xin was likely the Fire Keepers’ founder, then removed his mask and used Healing Art on the Blind Man.

• Cheng Shi questioned whether Qin Xin could be trusted, and Qin Xin promised the Fire Keepers would stand by him without forcing him to join.
• Qin Xin showed Cheng Shi his Master of Deception Card and handed it to him while claiming falsely that he was not a Fire Keeper.
• Qin Xin explained that he believed Cheng Shi had helped the Fire Keepers out of kindness and promised that Memory would erase his knowledge of Cheng Shi after the trial.
• Cheng Shi inferred that Qin Xin was the founder of the Fire Keepers, though he wondered how a believer of Memory could establish an organization opposing it.
• Cheng Shi removed the Warrior’s Mask, took off the Lush Antler Crown, and cast Healing Art on the Blind Man.

Cheng Shi failed to revive the Blind Man with Healing Art, then used the Death Amusement Ring to turn the corpse into a Shrieking Servant. The servant left for The Great One’s Bone Throne with Cheng Shi’s plea for help, while Qin Xin was left stunned and confused.

• Healing Art failed to revive the Blind Man, and Cheng Shi accepted Qin Xin’s explanation that Prosperity’s fall had disrupted resurrection.
• The Lips of Foolish Play claimed the Blind Man had not died completely and suggested sending her to The Great One.
• Cheng Shi concluded that The Great One might be able to reverse the Blind Man’s death and fired the Death Amusement Ring at the corpse.
• The lightning consumed the Blind Man’s flesh, leaving a skeleton that rose as a Shrieking Servant and went through a portal to The Great One’s Bone Throne.
• Cheng Shi denied fusing with Death and secretly told the Shrieking Servant to ask for help, while Qin Xin watched in disbelief.

Cheng Shi regrouped with Qin Xin and Wang Mou after the Blind Man’s death, and the three compared clues about people with disordered memories. An explosion erased part of town, forcing them to rush toward Wu Cun and leaving the trial’s survival stakes suddenly more urgent.

• Qin Xin explained that Wang Mou had gone to the mine while he searched town, and said he trusted Cheng Shi despite the Blind Man’s death.
• Qin Xin told Cheng Shi that the Blind Man had wanted him to join the Fire Keepers, but that the memorial remembrance would make them forget the trial afterward.
• Cheng Shi and Qin Xin met Wang Mou, who had found Aromani in the mine’s infirmary and brought her back for questioning.
• A huge explosion erased part of the town, and the three recognized it as the work of Wu Cun, the Ember Annihilator.
• Cheng Shi, Qin Xin, and Wang Mou rushed toward the blast site to stop Wu Cun before she destroyed the trial’s clues, while Cheng Shi recalled the Blind Man’s prophecy that only five people would remain at the table.

Li Wufang let Wu Cun investigate alone, trusting her ability to control her destructive urges, but she suddenly unleashed Annihilation on a wide stretch of town and provoked him. Li Wufang attacked her with arrows and imposed laws on the area as the battle began.

• Wu Cun told Li Wufang she could control herself and insisted that they split up to investigate faster.
• Li Wufang let Wu Cun take the right fork while he prepared to search the other direction.
• At 11:00, Wu Cun unleashed Annihilation, erasing a vast section of streets, buildings, trees, and rocks.
• Li Wufang fired several Arrows of Punishment into the dust and raced across nearby rooftops.
• Li Wufang proclaimed laws forbidding teleportation, high leaps, rapid movement, and life exchange in the area.