Chapter Summaries

Nian exposed Lin Yu as a later-arriving participant who had been cheating at the card game, then forced him to reveal that he and the other three soul entities were not the same person. Nian left Lin Yu defeated and identified him as the real Lin Yu.

• Lin Yu and moss played another round of cards after Jue and Zao were gone, and moss signaled Lin Yu to stop cheating in Morse code.
• Nian won the round with a Blackjack, while Lin Yu held 19 points and moss busted with 22.
• Nian demanded the players' ID Numbers; moss said he had none, and Nian addressed Lin Yu by name and asked whether he and the other three soul entities were the same person.
• Unable to lie under the dreamscape's Rule, Lin Yu admitted they were not the same person and asked how Nian had figured it out.
• Nian explained that Lin Yu's deliberate teamwork and willingness to sacrifice himself exposed the cheating, then called him the real Lin Yu.

Nian deduced that Moss was Lin Yu and explained how Lin Yu had used acting, false identities, and deliberate misdirection to evade him. Lin Yu’s plan succeeded when Moss’s response convinced Nian that he had uncovered the truth, leaving Lin Yu’s deception intact.

• Nian recounted Lin Yu’s acting history and concluded that Lin Yu’s original forum ID was Director.
• Nian explained that Lin Yu had altered his appearance, created false identities, and used a summon to divert suspicion while planning to clear the dungeon.
• Moss told Nian that his analysis was wrong in one direction and one detail, while admitting that his acting could fail.
• Nian took Moss’s words as confirmation that Moss was Lin Yu and called him by name.
• Lin Yu recalled persuading Moss to cooperate and revealed that the layered deception had successfully fooled Nian.

Lin Yu watched Tai negotiate with Nian and secure a three-month contract that protected Tai while requiring him to answer questions about Order. The agreement left Lin Yu hopeful that Tai could keep deceiving Nian and help them survive the Instance.

• Lin Yu relied on his experience dealing with clever people as Tai let Nian reason toward a negotiation.
• Nian offered to stop the Marauders from hunting Tai and proposed three Dream Sanctuaries and an Abyssal Contract in exchange for information about Order.
• Tai demanded tangible benefits and guarantees, then reviewed the contract’s terms with Lin Yu.
• Nian and Tai signed the contract, binding them to three months of cooperation under threat of the Abyssal Lord’s punishment.
• Lin Yu concluded that Tai’s deal could keep Nian deceived and weaken him through the Items he had spent.

After escaping the dream, Nian and Jue met Lin Yu disguised as Rakshasa, and he used the belief surrounding his fabricated legend to make the Rakshasa’s immense body real. Lin Yu prepared to fight Nian before the arbiter arrived.

• Nian and Jue woke at the Glory Festival grounds, and Nian agreed to pay the Black Cat after they returned.
• Nian and Jue prepared to part ways, but Lin Yu appeared disguised as Rakshasa and stopped them.
• Lin Yu planned to kill Nian before he discovered the dream deception and realized the Abyssal Contract would not protect Lin Yu.
• Lin Yu sensed the power of the Rakshasa becoming real and faced Nian, who drew a golden-eye necklace.
• Hannah used Illusion Ink to outline a massive crimson figure, and Lin Yu made it real through the crowd’s belief and took control of its body.

Moro transformed into a gigantic rakshasa and threw Jue to safety, but then attacked Nian, insisting that the Glory Festival demanded a fight between the strongest. Jue landed among three barbarians and robbed them for meat and loot, while Nian faced Moro alone.

• Moro rose in his enormous rakshasa form, and Nian judged that the creature's size and strength made him a dangerous opponent.
• Jue recognized Moro and tried to persuade him to let her go, so Moro grabbed her and hurled her away from the battlefield.
• Jue slowed her fall with her Flying Swords, landed safely, and robbed three barbarians of their meat and loot.
• Nian asked Moro whether he could leave too, but Moro said he had sought Nian out because he was the strongest participant.
• Moro stomped at Nian and declared that the strong had to fight until their blood ran dry for the Glory Festival.

Lin Yu launched a relentless attack on Nian, using a giant axe and his four arms to drive him into a desperate position. Nian revealed his [Exclusive item], [Method of Comprehending Vision and Deduction], and prepared to fight back.

• Lin Yu chose to trust Moss and committed himself to killing Nian at any cost.
• Lin Yu struck at Nian with a massive axe, sending him tumbling through the trees and rubble with the impact.
• Lin Yu followed with a two-fisted attack, but Nian used the Nightmare Substance as a net to absorb and deflect much of the force.
• Lin Yu tore through Nian's makeshift defense and cornered him with his fists and axe.
• Nian revealed his [Exclusive item], [Method of Comprehending Vision and Deduction], and said Lin Yu would be its fourth victim.

Lin Yu fought Nian, whose Method of Comprehending Vision and Deduction let him use a Goat Demon skull and explosive tactics with uncanny precision. Lin Yu realized the golden eye could gather information and deduce likely outcomes, and he turned his attack toward it.

• Lin Yu attacked Nian with his great ax and fist, but Nian used an explosive and the surrounding terrain to make both attacks miss.
• Nian summoned a Goat Demon skull, and Old Zheng warned that its gas could corrode and explode.
• The skull fired a barrage of gas spheres that exploded around Lin Yu, badly injuring his neck and face.
• Lin Yu uprooted a tree and hurled it at the golden eye in the sky, identifying it as the source of Nian's dangerous predictions.
• Lin Yu deduced that the Method of Comprehending Vision and Deduction gathered information in an area and calculated possible outcomes.

Lin Yu tried to find a way to disable Nian’s powerful Exclusive item, Method of Comprehending Vision and Deduction, and realized its pendant might be hidden against Nian’s chest. He sent Hannah to steal it while he kept Nian’s item busy with relentless attacks.

• Lin Yu’s tree passed through the golden eyes, so he deduced that the item’s physical medium was likely the pendant concealed at the center of Nian’s chest.
• Lin Yu called Hannah and ordered her to approach Nian in disguise and steal the pendant while he distracted the item.
• Nian confirmed that his eye calculated the actions needed to achieve his goals and boasted about its power.
• Lin Yu declared that he would overwhelm the item with calculations, then charged through Nian’s scarlet gas and attacked repeatedly to increase its workload.

Lin Yu pushed Nian’s [Method of Comprehending Vision and Deduction] to its limits by relentlessly attacking in his Demon form. Nian revealed a fusion of Nightmare Substance and his [Exclusive item], leaving Lin Yu relieved that his tactic had worked.

• Lin Yu accelerated his attacks, forcing Nian to use increasingly complex maneuvers to dodge.
• Lin Yu concluded that Nian’s [Method of Comprehending Vision and Deduction] had limits and could not overcome an impossible situation.
• Lin Yu endured severe corrosion and injury while continuing to attack Nian with relentless force.
• Lin Yu broke through the blood mist and shattered the goat’s head before striking at Nian.
• Nian used hidden Nightmare Substance fused with his [Exclusive item] to lift himself into the air, and Lin Yu realized Nian had fallen for his tactic.

Lin Yu used the blood stored in his [Water Prayer Necklace] to launch a powerful ranged attack after Nian’s aerial mobility and Nightmare Substance overwhelmed him. The blood flood collided with Nian’s barrier above the Glory Festival, leaving their battle unresolved.

• Lin Yu recognized that Nian had combined the Nightmare Substance with [Method of Comprehending Vision and Deduction] to improve his movement and mobility.
• Lin Yu leaped at Nian with his great axe, but Nian rose out of reach and stabbed Lin Yu with Nightmare Substance tentacles.
• Nian recovered the cracked Goat Skull and began charging another scarlet energy sphere as he prepared to finish Lin Yu.
• Lin Yu condensed the blood he had stored with the [Water Prayer Necklace] and sent a flood of blood and steel-hard blood blades toward Nian.
• Nian detonated his energy sphere and formed a triangular Nightmare Substance barrier to meet the blood attack, while Jue watched from a distance and said she was glad she had run away.

Lin Yu wore down Nian's defenses with a flood of blood while secretly creating the conditions for Hannah to reach him. Hannah stole the golden eye pendant, weakening Nian, and Lin Yu's renewed attack sent him falling from the sky.

• Lin Yu and Nian's clash of blood and Nightmare Substance drew the attention of contestants, judges, and members of the Ten Great Tribes.
• Lin Yu kept attacking Nian's shield with blood, sensing that Nian was nearing his limit even as Lin Yu's Mental Power dwindled.
• Nian withdrew his Nightmare Substance and unleashed a crimson, gold-threaded mass that exploded when it touched Lin Yu's blood.
• Lin Yu used Rain Prayer to intensify the downpour and suspended the raindrops, giving Hannah a watery path to Nian.
• Hannah snatched the golden eye pendant from Nian's chest and escaped into the curtain of water as Lin Yu blocked Nian with blood.
• The pendant's golden threads receded, and Nian fell from the sky in disbelief.

Lin Yu defeated Nian, but Nian escaped into Night Valley through his Nightmare and could no longer act as a Player. After Lin Yu gained the power of a Rakshasa, Jiang Rong, the Glory Festival’s arbiter, arrived and asked him to withdraw from the competition.

• Lin Yu ignored Nian’s attempt to speak and struck him down, but Nightmare formed a black cat and escaped through a passage after Nian’s apparent death.
• Old Zheng explained that Nian had preserved his consciousness and soul, transformed part of himself into a Nightmare, and returned to Night Valley under the Abyssal Contract.
• Lin Yu accepted that Nian could no longer act as a Player and took comfort in having gained the power of a Rakshasa.
• Jiang Rong introduced himself as the Glory Festival’s arbiter and asked Lin Yu to withdraw from the competition.

Jiang Rong asked Lin Yu to withdraw from the Glory Festival, arguing that the veteran Rakshasa’s strength would undermine its purpose as a contest between young warriors. Lin Yu refused to quit and insisted on finishing the competition, so Jiang Rong proposed awarding him points for his battle and ending the festival early.

• Jiang Rong explained that the Glory Festival had become a contest for young warriors chosen by their tribes, and that renowned veterans were barred by an unwritten rule.
• Lin Yu revealed that he had no intention of reviving the Rakshasa Race or challenging the peoples who now inhabited its lands, but refused to abandon the competition.
• Jiang Rong admitted that he represented the Ten Great Tribes and had approached Lin Yu to ensure his safety, while Lin Yu insisted that no one could order him to withdraw.
• Jiang Rong offered to declare Lin Yu the festival’s strongest contestant based on his recent victory and award him extra points for an outstanding battle.
• Lin Yu refused to finish early because he had not collected enough spoils of war, and Jiang Rong said he could add a rule granting extra points for exceptional battles.

After refusing Jiang Rong’s offer to fight, Lin Yu secured the Glory Festival championship while concealing how weakened he was. He told Jiang Rong that Shuo was hiding somewhere in the venue, then accepted an invitation to watch the festival with representatives of the Ten Great Tribes.

• Lin Yu refused to fight Jiang Rong, explaining that Jiang Rong should wait until after his expected breakthrough so he would not be influenced by Lin Yu’s fighting style.
• Jiang Rong acknowledged Lin Yu’s insight and escorted him out of the venue, saying he was all but certain to win the championship.
• Jiang Rong told Lin Yu that Shuo was believed to be alive and asked what had happened to it.
• Lin Yu admitted that he had let Shuo escape and said it was hiding somewhere in the venue because he had chosen to help it.
• Jiang Rong said he would search for Shuo and invited Lin Yu to watch the rest of the festival with the Ten Great Tribes’ representatives.

Lin Yu joined the Ten Great Tribes’ representatives, learned they considered their earlier agreement settled, and watched the competition while planning to use his Rakshasa identity to gather information and target stronger Players. He began provoking the Half-Demon and Blood Rakshasa representatives, then turned his attention to a Barbarian.

• Lin Yu entered the tent and found the Ten Great Tribes’ representatives treating him as a guest after their agreement with him was already settled.
• Lin Yu watched the competition and reflected that his knowledge of Rakshasas had let him kill the stronger Player Nian, while resolving to eliminate members of the Psychology Society and Marauders if he got the chance.
• Lin Yu questioned the Half-Demon about his ancestry, angering him by asking whether one of his parents was a demon.
• Lin Yu criticized the Blood Rakshasas’ red coloring, and their representative explained that it was a custom rather than an attempt to purify their bloodline.
• Lin Yu turned to address the Barbarian representative.

After winning the Glory Festival, Lin Yu used the Black Marsh World leaders’ belief in his false identity as Moro to gain a limited ability to transform into a Rakshasa. He left the instance with a one-second trump card and prepared to check his rewards before facing another instance.

• Lin Yu spent five days turning the ten representatives’ dislike of him into a favorable impression of Moro and the ancient Rakshasa clan.
• Lin Yu won the Blood and Fire Festival game and received seven days of Survival Time.
• In the Settlement Space, Lin Yu discovered that the representatives’ belief in Moro had crossed worlds and could fuel a temporary Rakshasa transformation.
• Lin Yu found that the accumulated belief currently let him transform for only one second, but he could keep accumulating it.
• Lin Yu planned to spread the Rakshasa rumor among the Black Marsh World’s gods and wondered whether he could deceive them too.
• Lin Yu noted that another instance remained and went to check his rewards.

Lin Yu received two new evaluations and four practical combat items after the Glory Festival Instance, where his actions had contributed to the high death toll. As the Settlement Space closed, he noticed Jue had survived and planned to look him up after returning to reality.

• Lin Yu received the evaluations "Famous Far and Wide" and "Unmatched by Ten Thousand," along with two random item rewards for each.
• Lin Yu inspected the Saber-toothed Bone Twin Blades and Blood-Quenched Tough Iron Longbow, then chose to keep them.
• Lin Yu examined the Barbarian Guard Gauntlets and Spirit Blood Potion and appreciated their usefulness in combat.
• Lin Yu reflected that only eight Players had cleared the Instance and that his actions had helped increase deaths among Players and contestants.
• Lin Yu saw that Jue had survived, exchanged a brief look with him, and decided to look him up after returning to reality.

Lin Yu completed both rank advancement missions and entered his solo Personal Trial Instance, Extreme Assassination, in the City That Never Sleeps. He summoned Stiller and recognized Truth Tower, marking their return to Stiller’s hometown.

• Lin Yu received confirmation that both rank advancement missions were complete and was told to choose a Personal Trial Instance.
• He examined three passages, but the first malfunctioned and changed after a crow feather flew from it, leaving him to choose the third.
• Lin Yu entered the third passage and received the rules for Extreme Assassination, a one-player game requiring him to complete the C-77 assassination commission and claim its reward.
• Lin Yu arrived in the City That Never Sleeps, summoned Stiller, and identified the Truth Company’s Truth Tower.

Lin Yu and Stiller explored Gold Rush Street, learning how its mercenary and fixer trade served the City That Never Sleeps. Lin Yu headed for the Meteor Restaurant to find an assassination commission, while he urged Stiller to take a vacation and reconnect with President Paris.

• Stiller explained that Gold Rush Street was a lawless buffer zone between corporate territories where gangs, mercenaries, and fixers operated.
• He described how the corporations tolerated the district because it provided work for criminals and a place to hire mercenaries for covert jobs.
• Stiller told Lin Yu that the Demon Pig Bar posted assassination commissions and fixers at the Meteor Restaurant had useful information.
• Lin Yu realized Stiller had secretly taken private mercenary jobs there, and Stiller admitted he had hidden them because he did it for the thrill.
• Lin Yu set off for the Meteor Restaurant and encouraged Stiller to visit the Truth Company and President Paris while he was back.

Lin Yu entered the Demon Pig Bar to find Shark Shock and ask about a difficult job, hoping to learn more about his assassination target. Shark Shock revealed that he had three such jobs, and Lin Yu asked to hear about all of them.

• Stiller accepted Lin Yu’s offer of a vacation and left to visit his family in the inner city.
• Lin Yu explained to Hannah and Old Zheng that he had sent Stiller away to avoid drawing attention while carrying out an assassination mission.
• Lin Yu found the Demon Pig Bar and told its doorman he wanted to see Shark Shock, giving the security chief’s real name, George Kressel.
• Shark Shock asked whether Lin Yu meant C-35, A-06, or C-77, and Lin Yu requested details about all three jobs.