Chapter Summaries

Chen Wang and the other Overlords accompanied Xie Daoling and Gu Qingshan to the World Professional Affairs Department, where Gu Qingshan would seek qualification to enter the Contention Zone. Xie Daoling learned that candidates were selected through a fair strength-based test and felt confident in her disciple.

• Chen Wang told the other Overlords how helping Gu Qingshan’s younger brother had earned him money.
• Xie Daoling arrived to apply for cultivators to enter the Contention Zone and released Gu Qingshan and his companions.
• Chen Wang, Bear Lord, Yun Ji, and Darkfire offered to accompany Gu Qingshan and shared how Barry had once failed his qualification test by neglecting to wear boxing gloves.
• Hundred Flowers Fairy asked whether Overlords received extra Contention Zone spots, and the Overlords explained that qualification depended on strength and profession-specific competition.
• Xie Daoling was reassured by the explanation, and the group entered the World Professional Affairs Department.

Xie Daoling submitted the Cultivation Alliance’s newcomer screening application to Lady Black Sea, who began evaluating candidates from 19,560 Cultivation Worlds. Gu Qing Shan, Ning Yuechan, and Leng Tianxing were transported into the screening after equipping their armor and weapons.

• Chen Wang and the others accompanied Xie Daoling to the Professional Affairs Department, where she applied to screen Cultivation-type newcomers for the Contention Zone.
• Lady Black Sea accepted the application and asked each Cultivation World to provide three candidates, then confirmed that all 58,680 candidates were ready.
• Lady Black Sea’s blue light enveloped Gu Qing Shan, Ning Yuechan, and Leng Tianxing as they prepared their armor and weapons.
• Gu Qing Shan donned the Shenwei General Armor and summoned Tide's Sound and the Six Realms God Mountain Sword.
• Lady Black Sea began the screening and transported Gu Qing Shan, Ning Yuechan, and Leng Tianxing away.

Gu Qingshan passed the newcomer selection after Black Sea Lady examined him and gave him an identity to disguise himself with. He ranked first among the three qualifiers and learned that he had been identified as a Reincarnated Person, though he did not know what that meant.

• Black Sea Lady examined the three remaining cultivators, passed Leng Tianxing and Ning Yuechan, and focused on Gu Qingshan before removing his mask and telling him she would give him an identity to protect him.
• Gu Qingshan was swept away by a torrent as Black Sea returned to darkness, while Black Sea Lady's selection ended.
• Gu Qingshan, Ning Yuechan, and Leng Tianxing appeared before Chen Wang and the others with tokens marking their ranks as first, second, and fifth.
• The staff member announced that Gu Shangyun, Ning Yuechan, and Gu Qingshan qualified for the Contention Zone, identifying Gu Qingshan as a Reincarnated Person.
• Gu Qingshan asked what a Reincarnated Person was.

Chen Wang explained that Gu Qingshan was likely a Reincarnated Person from the Gods' World, though Gu Qingshan privately doubted the claim and planned to question Mountain Girl. After receiving Newcomer Cards, Gu Qingshan and Ning Yuechan departed for the Sentinel Outpost in the Contention Zone.

• The staff member sealed the Professional Affairs Department and had everyone swear an oath to keep Reincarnated Persons' identities secret.
• Chen Wang explained the origins of Reincarnated Persons, and Xie Daoling said Gu Qingshan was likely tied to the Divine Martial World.
• Gu Qingshan questioned the explanation internally, remembered a mysterious woman's voice, and resolved to ask Mountain Girl about his past when he was alone.
• The staff member made Gu Qingshan's file secret and issued Newcomer Cards to Gu Qingshan and Ning Yuechan, instructing them to report to the Sentinel Outpost within an hour.
• The Overlords warned Ning Yuechan about Card Masters, while Xie Daoling and Chen Wang urged Gu Qingshan to stay alive and use the Void Silk Xiao Miao had given him if needed.
• Gu Qingshan and Ning Yuechan spoke their names to their cards and vanished from the Professional Affairs Department.

Xie Daoling was hidden from hostile factions by a mystic cloth doll that temporarily turned her into a child, while Yun Ji warned that danger was approaching. The Nine Hundred Million Worlds Federation declared war after the Theology Academy’s world layer broke away and headed toward the High Tower Guardian Association’s headquarters, leaving the Overlords facing a threat they might only survive by escaping.

• Yun Ji gave Xie Daoling a mystic cloth doll that concealed her location during her breakthrough, but temporarily returned her body to childhood.
• Yun Ji warned that the Overlords might die, and an all-hands alert announced that the High Tower Guardian team exploring the Theology Academy had been wiped out.
• Black Sea Lady announced that the Theology Academy’s world layer was rushing toward the High Tower Guardian Association’s headquarters and ordered everyone to prepare for battle.
• Chen Wang asked Yun Ji whether they still had hope of surviving, and two voices answered that the only way to live was to get away from fate.

Xie Daoling used divination to decide to remain in Hundred Flowers Hall and cultivate, while Gu Qingshan brought Ning Yuechan through the Sentinel Outpost to find help with her language problem. They reached a bookstore where Gu Qingshan recognized an old acquaintance.

• Xie Daoling divined that it was inauspicious to set out and decided to stay and cultivate with the cloth doll tucked in her arms.
• Qin Xiaolou and Xiu Xiu entered the hall, and Qin Xiaolou failed to recognize Xie Daoling until she began punishing him.
• Gu Qingshan told Ning Yuechan that the machine gun had died and promised to find a way to help her learn the languages spoken at the Sentinel Outpost.
• Gu Qingshan explained the many races in the crowded outpost, then stopped Ning Yuechan from attacking a black-furred creature that had propositioned him.
• Ning Yuechan told Gu Qingshan that Leng Tianxing and Li Xiaoyu were partners and recalled how Leng Tianxing had left a beast-clearing mission to cook for her.
• Gu Qingshan and Ning Yuechan reached the bookstores, where Gu Qingshan greeted the old man who had once taken him to Abluxi.

Gu Qingshan and Ning Yuechan entered the Contention Zone, where newcomers had to hunt Black Demon Sheep to attract the Order. Sent to an isolated mountain wall with no monsters to fight, Gu Qingshan opened his War God Operating Interface and found the Spark God of War title.

• Gu Qingshan got a Blue Book modified so Ning Yuechan could learn the languages of the Nine Hundred Million Layer World without buying a new one.
• At Sentinel Outpost, Gu Qingshan tried to put a newcomer-location card on his tab, but the staff member refused after hearing he belonged to the Righteous Iron Fist Club.
• Gu Qingshan and Ning Yuechan were sent to the Novice World without green cards, while other newcomers were assigned easier locations first.
• The newcomers arrived at battle positions and fought Black Demon Sheep to attract the Order, but Gu Qingshan and Ning Yuechan appeared on a mountain wall the monsters ignored.
• After a newcomer hit the Order's isolation barrier trying to reach the plains, Gu Qingshan opened the God of War Title option and found Spark God of War.

Gu Qingshan used Conquest to turn the Black Demon Sheep against their leader, sending them to seize a mountain tower. Ning Yuechan then charged into the flock and killed its new king, vanishing after earning the favor of the Order of Life.

• Gu Qingshan activated Conquest, causing Curly Hair and several Black Demon Sheep to kill their king.
• Curly Hair became the new king, rallied the flock with a plan to claim a mountain stronghold, and led them toward it.
• Ning Yuechan charged into the flock and cut her way toward its center while Gu Qingshan watched.
• Ning Yuechan killed the new Sheep King, and the enraged flock surrounded her.
• Ning Yuechan vanished from the encirclement, and a newcomer realized she had earned the favor of the Order of Life.

Gu Qingshan questioned Mountain Girl about Black Sea Lady’s mysterious intervention and concluded that he needed to grow stronger to uncover the truth. As the Black Demon Sheep climbed toward the city wall, he began his journey in the Contention Zone by taking aim at the flock.

• Gu Qingshan watched the Black Demon Sheep attack the newcomers while other fighters took risks to kill them or earn the Order of Life’s recognition.
• Gu Qingshan set up defensive and soundproofing formations, then summoned Mountain Girl and asked what she had learned about Black Sea Lady.
• Mountain Girl said Black Sea Lady had cast no spell, seemed to occupy a different spacetime, and had urged Gu Qingshan to grow stronger.
• Gu Qingshan decided that strength would let him protect himself and seek answers as the flock advanced up the mountain.
• Gu Qingshan summoned the Night Rain Bow and quiver, then sent the Tide Sound Sword and Six Realms God Mountain Sword toward the Black Demon Sheep.

Anna subdued the Withered Envoy and agreed to meet the Death Holy Church’s allies, believing she only had to exchange greetings. Black Dog had deceived her, and she was frozen and taken with the group as they traveled toward another world layer.

• Black Dog found Anna in the Withered World, where she made the Withered Envoy pledge loyalty to the Death Holy Church.
• Black Dog persuaded Anna to meet several allied factions’ leaders by promising her a drink afterward.
• Anna arrived at the secret reception room and discovered the gathered experts were preparing to travel through the Contention Zone.
• A man froze everyone in the room with his Art of Frost, and an illusionary woman’s spell summoned a transparent monster that swallowed them and burrowed into the void.
• Black Crow questioned Black Dog’s deception, and Black Dog fled the temple to avoid Anna’s anger.

Anna joined six followers of other gods to activate the Seven Gods Book, expecting to undertake a trial and obtain a prophecy. Instead, the Stone Book warned of unprecedented destruction beyond the Contention Zone and ordered them to face the gods’ trials to awaken the final prophecy.

• A transparent fish reached the center of the Contention Zone, shone with seven lights, and vanished into a cavern that appeared in the void.
• Anna confronted a woman in an emerald-green cloak and a frost-covered man after they mocked her for not knowing the mission.
• The golden-haired man explained that the Seven Gods Book could reveal a prophecy, and Anna reluctantly agreed to proceed.
• The seven followers presented their holy artifacts and powers, causing a stone book to rise from the floor.
• When the seven placed their palms on the Stone Book, it warned of an ill omen and destruction beyond the Contention Zone, then called them to awaken the final prophecy.

The seven divine followers began the gods’ final trial after the Stone Book sent them into the Abyss Realm to face the gods’ creations. When the Fate Divine Hall girl was gravely wounded, Anna unleashed her power and entered the cave, leaving the others to reconsider how they would cooperate.

• The seven followers debated abandoning the trial, but chose to seek the final prophecy for the rewards and recognition it might bring.
• The Stone Book announced a test of strength and opened a cave leading to the Abyss Realm, where the challengers were to defeat the gods’ creations.
• The blond man persuaded the Fate Divine Hall girl to scout the cave, and Anna protested that the others were leaving her to face danger alone.
• A scream and a powerful aura came from the cave, and the others proposed giving up after realizing the creature was stronger than them.
• The Stone Book said the girl was near death, so Anna unleashed her full power and rushed into the cave.
• The remaining five agreed to stay together and build a working relationship in case of danger or betrayal.

Anna discovered that Su Ke’er had been secretly guiding the Fate Divine Hall’s prophecies and had passed the final trial by risking herself to save the girl. Anna and Su Ke’er activated the Book of Prophecy, and as the Great Hall of Seven Gods collapsed, the Seven Gods’ final decree began.

• Anna found Su Ke’er safe beside a giant Gray Mist Giant Bear and learned that the girl held the real Book of Prophecy.
• Su Ke’er revealed that the Fate Divine Hall had secretly presided over the gods’ prophecies and explained why she had hidden the truth.
• At Su Ke’er’s command, the bear killed and devoured the five people outside to replenish the weakened power left by the Seven Gods.
• Su Ke’er told Anna that she had passed the trial because she alone had shown compassion and courage by coming to save her.
• Anna and Su Ke’er placed their hands on the Book of Prophecy, which dissolved into mist as the Great Hall of Seven Gods collapsed and divine power filled the void.

After the Light-Shape Being failed to summon the Seven Gods, it declared them dead and announced the final age, shattering the Orders of the Gods and Life to open the Path to Godhood. Gu Qingshan witnessed the same proclamation when the Order of Life collapsed during his journey, just as his first Life Tribulation began.

• Anna and Su Ke'er watched the Light-Shape Being summon the Seven Gods, but no gods answered.
• The Light-Shape Being gave Su Ke'er the Book of Fate and Anna the Book of Death, then revealed that the Seven Gods were dead.
• The Light-Shape Being appeared across the Contention Zone and declared the final age, the end of the Orders of the Gods and Life, and the opening of a battle prepared by the Seven Gods.
• Gu Qingshan fought Black Demon Sheep in the Novice World, then agreed to load the Order of Life and travel to its initial evolution ground.
• The Order of Life collapsed during Gu Qingshan's journey through the Void Turbulence, and the Light-Shape Being announced the Path to Godhood as Gu Qingshan's first Life Tribulation began.

The Light-Shape Being announced that all living beings could become believers, kindle Divinity Trees, and pursue godhood by choosing a divine hall within three minutes. Zhang Yinghao chose the Arcane Divine Hall after the Light-Shape Being identified it as a suitable path for him.

• The Light-Shape Being absorbed the Orders of the Gods and Life, then sent seven beams of power to kindle the Divinity Trees in the seven divine halls.
• The Light-Shape Being offered believers a path to demigodhood and godhood, one question answered, and warned them not to share their answers.
• Su Ke'er and Anna asked whether they could use their question privileges as existing believers, and the Light-Shape Being confirmed they could.
• A newcomer chose the Fate Divine Hall and learned that reaching its hall required a pilgrimage; his companion chose the God of Life.
• Zhang Yinghao considered which god suited him, and the Light-Shape Being advised that the Death and Arcane Divine Halls fit his assassination-type Card Master path.
• Zhang Yinghao rejected the Death Divine Hall because he had seen too much death and chose the Arcane Divine Hall.

Zhang Yinghao chose the Arcane Divine Hall and learned that reaching it would require crossing two hundred million world layers, as living beings throughout the Contention Zone began their pilgrimage to the Seven Divine Halls. Gu Qingshan joined the Life Divine Hall to get an answer about surviving the Void Turbulence, then immediately chose to leave, dismissing the dead Seven Gods.

• Zhang Yinghao became a follower of the God of Arcane Arts and learned that the God War Abyss lay two hundred million world layers away, leaving him stunned as the beasts set out for their own Divine Halls.
• Queen Lola declined to join the Knowledge Divine Hall and gave Iliya a Source Stone Gem for their travel preparations, then produced an even larger gem for the high priests.
• Gu Qingshan joined the Life Divine Hall and asked the Light-Shape Being whether followers could safely cross the Void Turbulence.
• The Light-Shape Being warned Gu Qingshan that travel without concealment tools was dangerous and that some Void Monsters rivaled or surpassed demigods.
• Gu Qingshan decided to leave the church despite the penalties, saying the Seven Gods could not spurn him because they were dead.

Gu Qingshan escaped the Void Turbulence by hiding in the form of a Fire Melting Ant, while beings and monsters began traveling toward the temples as the Great Pilgrimage Era started. He secretly entered a wrecked Technology Side spacecraft and remained concealed as an unknown group claimed and removed the ship.

• Gu Qingshan avoided the gods’ unanswered secrets, transformed into a Fire Melting Ant, and hid on a pebble to escape the Void Turbulence.
• Monsters and travelers set out for the temples, beginning the Great Pilgrimage Era and sparking battles across the void.
• Gu Qingshan moved from the pebble to a scrap of cloth, then transformed into a skylark to enter a wrecked Technology Side spacecraft.
• Gu Qingshan crawled into the ship’s machinery and transformed into an ant egg to remain hidden.
• A group inspected the wreck, reported that it had no survivors, and arranged to take it away.
• The wrecked spacecraft vanished from the Void Turbulence while Gu Qingshan remained concealed inside.

Gu Qingshan hid inside a wrecked ship as its scavenger crew searched it, but a murder aboard the wreck ended with Wang Cheng summoning a devil for revenge. The summoning succeeded, and a figure appeared through the smoke.

• Gu Qingshan stayed concealed in an ant egg inside the shipwreck, planning to follow the crew and learn about the Contention Zone.
• Wang Cheng used his Summoning Art to reach into a locked box while searching the wreck with his lover and another man.
• The other man stabbed Wang Cheng, and Wang Cheng discovered that his lover had joined the killer and that the First Mate and Second Mate had helped cover up the murder.
• Wang Cheng invoked a powerful Summoning Art and offered his knowledge, skills, money, and soul in exchange for revenge.
• The killer severed Wang Cheng's limbs, but Wang Cheng's summoning succeeded, and a figure appeared through the smoke after he died.

Gu Qingshan answered Wang Cheng’s summoning, killed the two people who had attacked him, and inherited Wang Cheng’s knowledge, Soul Power, and Devil Summoning Art. As someone approached the wreckage, Gu Qingshan used Wang Cheng’s hair to create a second Wang Cheng.

• Gu Qingshan told Mountain Girl to watch his sword technique, then used Severance with Secret Sword: Life Chasing to immobilize and kill the man and woman who attacked him.
• Gu Qingshan explained how combining Life Chasing with Severance could make enemies within ten zhang vulnerable to his sword.
• Gu Qingshan examined Wang Cheng’s corpse and received his Living Soul Rune as the reward for answering the summoning.
• Gu Qingshan absorbed Wang Cheng’s knowledge and 3,000 Soul Power, and learned the Devil Summoning Art.
• When someone approached the wreckage, Gu Qingshan took a hair from Wang Cheng and used the All Beings Synchronization Mystery to create another Wang Cheng.

Gu Qingshan disguised Mountain Girl as Wang Cheng and himself as a summoned devil to conceal his identity while confronting the ship’s crew. After the Captain investigated Wang Cheng’s account, the Second Mate’s attempt to kill him remained unresolved, and Wang Cheng asked the Captain to make the Second Mate tell the truth.

• Gu Qingshan had Mountain Girl transform into Wang Cheng and donned black armor and a golden mask, planning to pose as Wang Cheng’s summoned devil.
• Wang Cheng and the masked Gu Qingshan left the wreckage, and the Second Mate ordered the crew to attack Wang Cheng.
• Gu Qingshan incapacitated the attackers and struck the stone-transformed Second Mate, but the Captain arrived and stopped the fight.
• Wang Cheng told the Captain that Bai Yu and Zhang Yi had plotted to kill him, and the Captain’s Death Knell did not ring when he tested the account.
• Wang Cheng pointed out that the Second Mate had just tried to kill him and asked the Captain to make him tell the truth.