Recaps

Qin Shi used Mental Resonance to witness He Lanchán’s conversations with his teacher, the historical deputy marshal branded as Dongxia’s Number One Traitor, then broke through the first layer of the Void Meditation Method. The chapter ended with Lin Yunqing failing to secure him an A-class contract and looking for another investor after spending her sponsorship budget.

• Qin Shi witnessed He Lanchán’s memories and learned that his teacher was the deputy marshal accused of treason, who had left a dangerous object at the end of the Ancient Sky Road.
• Qin Shi formed a Void Altar and refined the Snake Mother, using the resulting Pure Light to expand his Inner Scenery and strengthen his Mental Power.
• Qin Shi practiced Object Control and considered the Void Meditation Method’s seven layers, while wondering about the injustice suffered by the Fourth Legion.
• Lin Yunqing tried to persuade a Star Sea Giant Enterprise representative to give Qin Shi an A-class contract, but the representative offered only a B-class contract.
• Lin Yunqing rejected the B-class contract, predicted Qin Shi would soon enter Eastern Xia’s First Sequence, and hung up after using her 150 million sponsorship budget.

Lin Yunqing and Chen Yun competed to reward Qin Shi for helping them, and he mentioned that Nanhuang Dojo’s Fourth Senior Brother could find him sponsors. Qin Shi met Nie Zongwen, whose contacts and peculiar night-shift business left him wondering what had earned him the nickname “Sea State Night King.”

• Lin Yunqing worried about finding an investor, and Qin Shi examined her condition while giving her a massage.
• Chen Yun arrived and argued with Lin Yunqing over who had contributed more to Qin Shi’s training resources and deserved a massage.
• Qin Shi said Teacher Ren had promised that Nanhuang Dojo’s Fourth Senior Brother could help him find money and identified him as Nie Zongwen.
• Nie Zongwen returned to the dojo, avoided Yu Weiwei’s cooking, and said he had come to meet his new junior brother.
• Nie Zongwen welcomed Qin Shi, offered to use his business connections to find him resources, and showed him a contact list filled with detailed personal notes.
• Qin Shi saw Nie Zongwen’s Pegasus Club card and learned that the Sea State Night King’s work involved late-night shifts.

Qin Shi received support from Nie Zongwen and learned more about Nanhuang Dojo’s Universe Furnace Secret Codex and the risks of the Old Martial Arts path. Grandpa Zhang explained that reaching the Martial God required the universe’s recognition, then urged Qin Shi to represent Nanhuang Dojo in the Stellar Cup and enter the Ancient Sky Road.

• Nie Zongwen used his connections to arrange potential funding and resources for Qin Shi, then shared how he had forged the kidney secret treasure, the Blackwater Pool.
• Ren You learned that Qin Shi’s Body Refining Furnace covered more than eighty percent of his body and that he had renewed his blood four times, then brought him to meet Grandpa Zhang.
• Grandpa Zhang warned Qin Shi that failing to continue breaking limits could consume his Life Force and explained the seven limits and the goal of unifying the mortal body inside and out.
• Grandpa Zhang told Qin Shi that Martial Artists sought the universe’s recognition through the Ancient Sky Road, which opened during the supernatural tide.
• Grandpa Zhang asked Qin Shi to represent Nanhuang Dojo in the Stellar Cup Youth Division and promised him everything belonging to the dojo in return.

Master Zhang accepted Qin Shi as a student of Nanhuang Dojo after securing Hong Sheng’s permission, then revealed the Universe Furnace Secret Codex and tested Qin Shi’s understanding and ambition. Qin Shi chose to cultivate the lung hidden treasure first and began breathing in its medicinal smoke.

• Master Zhang told Qin Shi that Hong Sheng had agreed to loan him to Nanhuang Dojo, and Qin Shi respectfully called him Master Zhang.
• Master Zhang asked Qin Shi what he sought on the Martial Path, and Qin Shi said he would climb every peak and carve a path wherever none existed.
• Master Zhang showed Qin Shi the Universe Furnace Secret Codex’s vision and explained that he had never perfected its five hidden treasures.
• Qin Shi grasped the codex’s principles and chose to cultivate the lung hidden treasure, the Great Emperor Weapon, first.
• Ren You brought Qin Shi three bowls of powder, and Qin Shi heated them into smoke and inhaled it until a white cocoon formed around his lungs.

Qin Shi tempered his lungs with Devil Vine smoke and turned its hallucinations into a mental sparring ground, where Old Zhang entered to teach him the Universe Furnace Secret Codex. After Old Zhang beat him around, Qin Shi summoned He Lanchán to fight back, leaving Old Zhang pleading for help.

• Qin Shi endured the Devil Vine hallucinations while tempering his lungs, and the Monument Panel awarded him a Qi Consumption badge.
• Yu Weiwei and the white-haired old man watched Qin Shi cultivate as they discussed the dangers facing Psionicists and Nanhuang Dojo’s other disciples.
• Qin Shi used his Mental Strength to shape the hallucinations into an illusion and projected the white-haired old man into it as a sparring partner.
• Old Zhang entered Qin Shi’s illusion and demonstrated how to make the five organs resonate, then beat Qin Shi around the battlefield.
• Qin Shi summoned his Dao-Nature Incarnation, Super Little He, and watched as He Lanchán attacked Old Zhang while he sat aside eating imagined sunflower seeds.
• Old Zhang called for Yu Weiwei to save him, but she left to cook rather than interrupt the sparring.

Qin Shi learned that he had been entered directly into Hengzhou’s Top 100 Competition and grew determined to win its valuable champion’s rewards. Meanwhile, Luo Wenbin and Xu Dong discussed a list of dangerous competitors and planned to expose the mysterious Old Martial Arts Bro, who might also be Qin Shi.

• Yu Weiwei returned to the training room and found that the white-haired old man had nearly collapsed after enduring the illusion, then passed out when she offered him food.
• Qin Shi emerged from training with a deeper understanding of the Universe Furnace Secret Codex and assessed his progress on the Psionic and Martial paths.
• Yu Weiwei told Qin Shi that Master had entered him directly into the Top 100 Competition and explained the champion’s rewards, including Sacred Heart Potions and military training.
• Qin Shi opened Yu Weiwei’s encrypted competitor file, titled “This Scoundrel Must Die List,” and wondered why his name appeared on it.
• Luo Wenbin told Xu Dong how he had compiled the list, praised Qin Shi’s record, and admitted he had included the mysterious Old Martial Arts Bro among the top contenders.
• Xu Dong and Luo Wenbin discussed how the Old Martial Arts Bro would have to register under his real identity and might threaten Qiguang Hengda’s Martial Arts Department.

Ying Lin recruited Central City's Education Department director and his aide to undermine Nanhuang Dojo's successor in the Hengzhou Top 100 Competition. He committed his fortune to funding contestants and left plans underway to spread the challenge across all thirty-two Administrative Regions.

• Ying Lin used illegal virtual experiences and illicit drugs to escape the boredom of being confined to the little red mansion.
• Ying Lin called Uncle Mo and argued that they shared an interest in stopping Nanhuang Dojo's successor, but Uncle Mo warned that provoking Zhang Qiang could bring disaster.
• Ying Lin asked Uncle Mo for information on the Top 100 Competition contestants and proposed signing Zhou Yuanchen, but Uncle Mo refused to hand the young talent over.
• Ying Lin told Luo Bing to withdraw his five hundred Void Coins and buy cultivation resources to reward anyone who defeated Nanhuang Dojo's successor within the competition rules.
• Luo Bing agreed to arrange the resources, and Ying Lin ordered him to publicize the offer across all thirty-two Administrative Regions.

Luo Bing began converting Ying Lin’s Void Coins and seeking out Zhou Yuanchen, while Qin Shi strengthened his body and tested his combat abilities after half a month of cultivation. After unlocking Electronic Engineering, Qin Shi opened Entropy Sea Bank and discovered it had valued his future potential at an astronomical sum.

• Luo Bing accepted Ying Lin’s orders to exchange five hundred Void Coins, contact Zhou Yuanchen, and evaluate candidates for the Ying family’s support.
• Qin Shi completed half a month of cultivation, raising his Life Force to seventy-five points and his Mental Strength above eighty.
• Qin Shi used Combat Rewind to defeat simulated opponents and found he could sustain his full-power BOSS Phase Two for about six minutes.
• Qin Shi chose Electronic Engineering from the Divine Mecha reward and gained access to the cracked Entropy Sea Bank software.
• Qin Shi used Qin Yixiong’s identity to open an account, then learned Entropy Sea Bank had assessed his potential over the next fifty years as an enormous personal asset.

Qin Shi explored Entropy Sea Bank, learned that it valued his potential highly, and considered using the Netherworld to earn Void Coins. Meanwhile, the bank restricted Ying Lin’s access to rare resources after assessing his rising risk of death, leaving Luo Bing to settle for lower-grade supplies.

• Qin Shi examined Entropy Sea Bank’s services and discovered that his account held about a million Entropy Value Coins, worth roughly 1,700 Void Coins, while the bank ranked him as a Heroic Figure.
• Risk-control specialist SH18825444 reviewed Qin Shi’s account and sent it upstairs after the Karma Chain estimated a three-percent chance that he would become a Martial God.
• The risk-control specialist rejected Ying Lin’s request for Star Remnant Alloy and Void Crystal Marrow after the Karma Chain raised his assessed death probability.
• Luo Bing learned that the rare materials were unavailable and ordered lower-grade Mineral Essence and Energy Liquid instead.
• Qin Shi balked at the price of Star Remnant Alloy and considered mining resources through the Netherworld, while Super Little He reminded him that He Lanchán had been Entropy Sea Bank’s Ninth Energy Level Supreme VIP, the ‘Netherworld Mine Boss.’

Qin Shi began mining the Netherworld with the Void Meditation Method while preparing for the Top 100 Competition and seeking saber instruction. After Tan Cong taught him three saber stances, Qin Shi quickly combined them in practice, leaving Tan Cong and Wei Zheguang astonished.

• Qin Shi bought star remains and Void Marrow Crystals, then used the Void Meditation Method to mine safely, producing one Void Coin every three days through his Dao-Nature Incarnation.
• Lin Yunqing briefed Qin Shi on the Top 100 Competition contenders, including Zhou Yuanchen, Zheng Xu, Ji Yuqi, Pei Han, Xia Hong, and Xia Ying.
• Qin Shi went to the Inspection Department and asked Tan Cong to teach him saber combat, showing him his Pillar Deity-blessed Electric Shock Saber.
• Tan Cong explained weapon-combat principles and taught Qin Shi Tornado Stance, Prairie Fire Stance, and Light Devouring Stance.
• Qin Shi rapidly mastered the three stances and combined them in smooth practice, astonishing Tan Cong and confusing Wei Zheguang.

Qin Shi sparred with Tan Cong and rapidly improved his saber skills while learning that the Top 100 Competition might take the form of a dangerous Wilderness Trial. At Central City Stadium, Zhou Yuanchen withstood a full-power punch from a Professional-Level fighter and prepared to claim the competition’s championship.

• Qin Shi used Tan Cong’s instruction to counter his saber techniques, and the two fought to a draw before Tan Cong praised Qin Shi’s talent.
• Tan Cong warned Qin Shi that the revived Wilderness Trial could involve contaminated areas and sabotage, recalling how rival dojos had once used it to attack lone contestants.
• Qin Shi thanked Tan Cong and considered asking him to teach him finishing moves so he could unlock the Eternal Calamity Stance.
• Zhou Yuanchen postponed a call from the Ying family and told Teacher Song he wanted to test himself against a full-power Professional-Level strike.
• Zhou Yuanchen met Teacher Song’s punch head-on, withstanding it and concluding that he could defeat a Professional-Level fighter despite not yet reaching that level.

Ying Lin raised his offer for Zhou Yuanchen after learning he could defeat Professional Level opponents, while Qin Shi trained with Old Liang and prepared for the Top 100 Competition. Zhou Yuanchen arrived at the dangerous competition site confident that his spending and strength made him far superior to the other contestants.

• Luo Bing showed Ying Lin footage of Zhou Yuanchen fighting Song Haifeng, and Ying Lin agreed to consider raising the offer to 1.8 billion.
• Qin Shi practiced with his Perfect Grade Electric Shock Saber, and Old Liang explained Professional Level strength, regeneration, and the dangers of corrupted Martial Artists.
• Old Liang urged Qin Shi to excel in the Top 100 Competition and make Old Factory Street proud, and Qin Shi promised to restore his master's reputation.
• Song Haifeng warned Zhou Yuanchen that the competition would take place in the perilous Wailing Great Rift Valley, where contestants could use their wristbands to summon rescue.
• Zhou Yuanchen arrived at the competition site convinced that no other contestant could match his strength or the 1.7 billion he had invested in it.

Qin Shi entered the Top 100 Competition, where the Ying family’s bounty made him a target for many contestants, and prepared to compete alone in the Great Rift Valley. At the command base, officials revealed that the trial had been designed to permit fifty deaths as a test of whether harsher conditions could produce stronger recruits before Hengzhou’s lockdown ended.

• Zhou Yuanchen arrived at the competition, and contestants discussed his strength and the Ying family’s bounty on Qin Shi.
• Qin Shi collected his gear, rejected Wang Xuan’s team-up offer, and spoke with Pei Han, who said Teacher Lin had asked him to look after Qin Shi.
• Contestants boarded transport planes according to their assigned zones, and Qin Shi departed for the outer zone expecting that rivals might attack him on landing.
• At the command base, Representative Li told Chen Ruofu and Fang Putang that fifty deaths had been authorized for the trial.
• Representative Zhou explained that officials had approved the brutal trial to develop stronger recruits ahead of the Fourth Legion’s arrival and Hengzhou’s impending reopening.

Tai'an officials learned that the Top 100 Competition had been made more dangerous as the Fourth Legion arrived in Hengzhou, while Qin Shi entered the Great Rift Valley and discovered a group was tracking him. After resting in a cave, Qin Shi set out into the night to hunt the pursuers and take their supplies.

• Representative Li and Representative Zhou explained the competition's death quota, rescue teams, and the Fourth Legion's continued frontier assignment to Chen Ruofu and Fang Putang.
• The officials watched the trial begin, and Representative Zhou noted that Zhou Yuanchen's score was rising quickly as contestants' markers gathered around Qin Shi.
• Qin Shi landed in the outer area, planned a route toward the middle area, and started moving toward an Esoteric Cultist stronghold to collect materials.
• Zheng Jun used Thousand Mile Soul Lock to track Qin Shi and led five other contestants toward his route, ordering them to travel through the night and wait ahead of him.
• Qin Shi killed a modified war hound, found shelter in a cave, and sensed the Qi Lock technique following him.
• After night fell and the temperature dropped, Qin Shi took his saber and headed toward the tracking group to hunt for food and supplies.

Qin Shi tracked down Zheng Jun’s team in the Great Rift Valley and killed Wen Han before confronting Lin Kang. After overpowering Lin Kang in a saber fight, Qin Shi approached Zheng Jun, whose fate was left uncertain as he attacked her.

• Zheng Jun warned the team about the War Mastiffs and argued against Wen Han’s plan to attack Qin Shi at night.
• Zheng Jun sensed Qin Shi outside the cave, and Wen Han’s severed head rolled inside.
• Lin Kang charged out to confront Qin Shi, but Qin Shi evaded his attacks and revealed himself.
• Lin Kang fought Qin Shi with his Dead Iron knife, but Qin Shi broke both his arms and defeated him.
• Qin Shi approached the terrified Zheng Jun, and a breeze curled around her neck as blood sprayed into the night.

Qin Shi discovered that dozens of contestants were coordinating to eliminate him, so he began hunting them before they could corner him. While he approached another squad, an Esoteric Cultist attacked it with War Mastiffs, and archer Wu Tao prepared to fight using his Sky Imperial Arrow Style.

• Qin Shi killed the hostile contestants in Zheng Jun’s squad, collected their supplies, and found a communicator tracking twenty-six more signals moving toward the middle area.
• Chen Ruofu and Fang Putang watched Qin Shi’s marker eliminate six contestants, and Chen realized Qin Shi was setting out to attack more of his pursuers.
• Qin Shi used the communicator to find another squad, but stopped to observe when he saw an archer strike down several War Mastiffs.
• An Esoteric Cultist in black armor appeared with a pack of War Mastiffs and threw Old Zou’s severed head toward the squad’s cave.
• Wu Tao rallied his squad, vowed to use his Azure Thunder bow, and shot down War Mastiffs with the Sky Imperial Arrow Style.

Wu Tao fought a Life Cult Esoteric Cultist and his evolving Flesh Giant, but the cultist’s spells eventually brought him down. Qin Shi arrived, resisted the Disintegration Spell, and closed in on the Esoteric Cultist with his saber.

• Wu Tao held off the war mastiffs until the Esoteric Cultist melted their bodies into an evolving Flesh Giant that withstood his arrows.
• Wu Tao drew the Flesh Giant and the Esoteric Cultist away from the cave, but Blood Bats slowed his escape and the cultist struck him with a Disintegration Spell.
• The Esoteric Cultist discovered that the Flesh Giant had been killed and sensed Qin Shi approaching, mistaking the halos around his mind for signs that he was a Crowned One.
• The Esoteric Cultist cast Disintegration Spell on Qin Shi, but Qin Shi blocked it with his inner landscape and advanced with his saber.
• Qin Shi charged through the Blood Bats and appeared directly before the Esoteric Cultist, his blade flashing.

Qin Shi defeated the Esoteric Cultist by using the Four Pillars to break the god’s restraint, then claimed the Black Lotus Armor and Wu Tao’s supplies. After draining the cultist’s Mental Strength in the Netherworld, Qin Shi’s mind underwent Spiritual Transformation into telekinesis, reaching the threshold of the Sacred Embryo.

• Qin Shi’s saber strikes failed to penetrate the Esoteric Cultist’s Black Lotus Armor, and the cultist used a summoned god’s half-sun to immobilize him.
• Qin Shi invoked the emblems of the Four Pillars, shattered the half-sun, and beat the Esoteric Cultist to death with his saber.
• Qin Shi took the Black Lotus Armor and Wu Tao’s supplies, activated Wu Tao’s rescue beacon, and left him to die.
• Qin Shi returned to the shelter, collected Red Crystals from the warhounds, and examined the Black Lotus Armor’s defensive properties and empty core slots.
• Qin Shi drained the Esoteric Cultist’s Mental Strength in the Netherworld and obtained a skill book before his own Mental Strength condensed into telekinesis.
• Super Little He explained that Qin Shi had reached the threshold of the Sacred Embryo and could use telekinesis to open spell slots and improve his mining efficiency.

Qin Shi completed a major Spiritual Transformation, tested his new telekinetic power, and used the Void Meditation Method’s Dimensional Slash, which nearly exhausted him. At the command base, Chen Ruofu defended Qin from accusations of bloodlust by revealing that all Four Pillars of Eastern Xia had approved him and bestowed their marks.

• Qin Shi found that his transformed Mental Strength reached nearly a hundred meters and could smash apart stone, then considered how he might form a Sacred Embryo.
• Qin Shi used Dimensional Slash to cut through the cavern, but the spell nearly drained his Mental Strength after a single use.
• Chen Ruofu and Fang Putang discussed Qin Shi’s deadly progress in the Top 100 Competition as Representative Zhou accused him of being bloodthirsty and at risk of developing a Mind Obstacle.
• Chen Ruofu revealed that Qin Shi had received the Four Pillars of Eastern Xia’s approval and symbolic marks, leaving Representative Zhou to apologize for his accusations.

After learning that Qin Shi had been chosen by all Four Gods, Representative Zhou warned the Education Department that Qin Shi resembled the dangerous He Lanchán. Qin Shi cleared the outer zone and entered the middle zone, where he prepared to attack an evolving Rust Beast chief, only for a burly man to strike first.

• Chen Ruofu revealed that Qin Shi had been jointly chosen by the Four Gods, and Representative Zhou reported Qin Shi’s potential to become a Crowned One to the Education Department.
• Qin Shi woke after his Spiritual Transformation, hunted War Hounds with Dimensional Slash, and forced two teams to surrender their supplies.
• Qin Shi thoroughly looted the Esoteric Cultists’ lair and entered the middle zone, where he spotted a horde of Rust Beasts.
• Qin Shi watched the Rust Beast leader evolve toward chief level and decided to attack it from range with Wu Tao’s Azure Thunder Composite Bow.
• As Qin Shi prepared to shoot the evolving Rust Beast, a burly man leaped down with a Great Hammer and attacked it.

Qin Shi watched a hulking man and a three-person team fight over the evolving Rust Beast boss, then intervened when the boss killed the ambushers and seized its iron heart with telekinesis. The hulking man was stunned to learn Qin Shi followed both the Martial and Psionic Paths, then revealed he was only sixteen despite his weathered appearance.

• Qin Shi observed the hulking man repeatedly hammer the Rust Beast boss's energy barrier while cultivating on the cliff and tracking other contenders waiting nearby.
• The hulking man cracked the barrier with a powerful blow, but a three-person team ambushed him and joined forces to break it open.
• The Rust Beast boss abandoned its nearly complete evolution and killed the young woman, severed another attacker's arm, and forced the survivors into a desperate fight.
• The hulking man killed the two surviving ambushers, then faced the Rust Beast boss as it prepared another heat attack.
• Qin Shi cleared the surrounding beasts with arrows, tore the boss's iron heart out with telekinetic force, and crushed the creature.
• The hulking man marveled that Qin Shi followed both the Martial and Psionic Paths, then said he was only sixteen despite looking older.

Qin Shi escaped the burning contamination zone with Yan Ren, learned about Yan Ren’s unusual childhood tempering method, and prepared to head toward the core region. In the core region, Zhou Yuanchen began climbing the Bronze Demonic Mountain and discovered Ji Yuqi had reached it first.

• Qin Shi defeated the leader-class Rust Beast, examined its Furnace Heart, and carried Yan Ren out of the intensely radioactive zone.
• Qin Shi gave Yan Ren nutritional paste, learned that Yan Ren was the son of mining magnate Yan Zhong, and heard about the primitive tempering method that had strengthened him since childhood.
• Qin Shi and Yan Ren discussed the core-region contestants and the coming climb through the Great Rift Valley as the fires below them died down.
• Zhou Yuanchen, strained by the core region’s dangers and burdened by debt, decided to spend his remaining credit carefully and charged toward the Bronze Demonic Mountain.
• Zhou Yuanchen reached the mountain’s carved steps and saw that Ji Yuqi had arrived ahead of him and already started climbing.

Qin Shi and Yan Ren hunted Rust Beasts in the Great Rift Valley, where Qin Shi killed a three-headed Steel Eater Jackal with Dimensional Slashes. When the first-round rankings were announced, Qin Shi placed second with 19,000 points, leaving his supporters confident that he had overcome the Ying family's attempts to suppress him.

• Qin Shi and Yan Ren cleared hordes of Rust Beasts, then Qin Shi killed a three-headed Steel Eater Jackal worth thousands of points with a barrage of Dimensional Slashes.
• Yan Ren smashed the dying jackal's remaining maw, while Qin Shi struggled to find its energy core in the wreckage and watched the countdown to the rankings.
• At the command base, Chen Ruofu defended Qin Shi's actions and argued with Fang Putang about the dangers and necessity of making enemies.
• United Pharmaceuticals' Active Consciousness Body Changqing tallied the first-round results, with Zhou Yuanchen taking first place.
• Kang Yun'er learned that Qin Shi had placed second with 19,000 points and began preparing a story about his rise from Old Factory Street.
• Chen Ruofu and Fang Putang celebrated Qin Shi's result and speculated that Zhou Yuanchen might be the only competitor able to stop him.

Qin Shi and Yan Ren crossed the Phantom Color Fungus belt and reached the foot of Bronze Demonic Mountain, where Zhou Yuanchen and the other leading competitors struggled against its demonic power. Meanwhile, Ying Lin tried to arrange Qin Shi’s death during the trial, but the chapter ended with Ji Yuqi noticing his fingers turning rust-green as the mountain began to taint him.

• Representative Zhou worried that Qin Shi was catching up to Zhou Yuanchen, while Fang Putang kept him occupied with conversation.
• Ying Lin learned that Qin Shi had broken through the Great Rift Valley’s outer zone, then urged Zhou Shu to contact Zhou Yuanchen and offered him rewards for causing Qin Shi’s death.
• Qin Shi reviewed the rankings with Yan Ren, replenished his energy, and led him through the hallucinogenic Phantom Color Fungus belt.
• Yan Ren succumbed to the fungus’s effects and tearfully confessed his past misdeeds as he and Qin Shi reached the core zone and spotted Bronze Demonic Mountain.
• Zhou Yuanchen, Ji Yuqi, and Pei Han climbed Bronze Demonic Mountain, where Zhou Yuanchen paused to conserve his strength against its demonic power.
• Ji Yuqi saw rust-green discoloration on his fingertips and realized the mountain’s power was beginning to affect him.

Qin Shi climbed the Copper Mountain, resisting the Elephant Demon's influence as it tried to assimilate his body and breathing. After rescuing Pei Han by knocking him back down the mountain, Qin Shi absorbed the softened Furnace Heart and saw his Embryo grow.

• Qin Shi approached the Copper Mountain, recognized the danger posed by its pulse, and began climbing its stairs to resist assimilation.
• Old Zhang told Xu Sheng that the mountain was the Elephant Demon's Anchor and that the trial risked assimilating contestants, while the Association sought the Blood Crystal within it.
• Qin Shi caught up with Pei Han on the mountain, recognized that he was nearly depleted, and knocked him down to save him from further assimilation.
• Qin Shi reached the two-hundred-and-eightieth stair, resisted the mountain's heartbeat, and found that its pulse had softened the Furnace Heart he carried.
• Qin Shi swallowed the softened Furnace Heart, activated the Iron People achievement, and watched his Embryo grow and begin to take shape.