Chapter Summaries

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.

After absorbing the Furnace Heart, Qin Shi gained the Iron People achievement and continued climbing Copper Mountain. Ji Yuqi was corrupted and defeated by Zhou Yuanchen, while Qin Shi caught up to Zhou Yuanchen near the three-hundredth step.

• Qin Shi absorbed the Furnace Heart, strengthened his body, and gained the Iron People achievement, which let his mind command or read thoughts.
• Ji Yuqi succumbed to Copper Mountain's corruption, took on the identity of Gro'mosh, and climbed to the three-hundredth step.
• Zhou Yuanchen rested while practicing the Ten Directions Freezing Demon Path, then confronted the corrupted Ji Yuqi.
• Zhou Yuanchen countered Ji Yuqi's attacks with the Demon Freezing Roar, bound him with Ice Silkworm Bind, and kicked him down the steps.
• Qin Shi recognized the tumbling Ji Yuqi at the three-hundredth step and offered to take him down to recover.
• Qin Shi continued climbing and caught up to Zhou Yuanchen, who noticed the heir to the Nanhuang Dojo approaching.

Qin Shi and Zhou Yuanchen joined forces to draw out Gro'mosh’s lingering will and retrieve the Blood Flower inside Copper Mountain. After Zhou Yuanchen helped Qin Shi claim it, he turned on Zheng Xu, who had come to kill Qin Shi for the Ying clan.

• Qin Shi and Zhou Yuanchen agreed to avoid fighting while climbing Copper Mountain, and Qin Shi sensed that the mountain’s demonic influence threatened those with powerful bodies.
• Zheng Xu arrived below the mountain, ignored Pei Han’s warning about Qin Shi, and climbed toward the summit with Ying clan combat enhancers.
• Qin Shi discovered the Blood Flower within Copper Mountain and persuaded Zhou Yuanchen to draw Gro'mosh’s lingering will away while he retrieved it.
• Zhou Yuanchen endured Gro'mosh’s assault as Qin Shi pulled the Blood Flower into his Inner Scenery, then Gro'mosh’s lingering will faded.
• Zheng Xu admitted that the Ying clan had offered a reward for killing Qin Shi, so Zhou Yuanchen attacked him to repay Qin Shi’s favor.

Pei Han salvaged Zheng Xu’s supplies after Qin Shi and Zhou Yuanchen eliminated him, while Qin Shi learned a breathing method from Copper Mountain and watched Zhou Yuanchen break through to Professional Level. The chapter ended with Qin Shi recognizing Entropy Sea Bank’s emblem in Zhou Yuanchen’s aura and realizing he was a bank loan client.

• Pei Han found Zheng Xu frozen on Copper Mountain, took his supplies, and called the rescue team before continuing his climb.
• Zhou Yuanchen explained the Blood Flower’s power to Qin Shi, who considered saving part of it for Old Liang’s Dao Injury.
• Xu Sheng and Old Zhang discussed Qin Shi and Zhou Yuanchen’s alliance and the likelihood that their duel would decide the competition.
• Zhou Yuanchen and Qin Shi reached Copper Mountain’s summit, where Zhou Yuanchen used half the Blood Flower to begin breaking through to Professional Level.
• Qin Shi studied Copper Mountain’s pulse, comprehended Gro'mosh’s Demon Mountain Breathing Method, and refined away the parts he did not need.
• Zhou Yuanchen emerged from his cocoon of light after reaching the hundred-point threshold, and Qin Shi spotted Entropy Sea Bank’s emblem in his aura.

Qin Shi faced Zhou Yuanchen after Zhou broke through to the Specialized Domain, while learning that Zhou’s strength and recovery came from massive Entropy Sea Bank loans. When an offer of 2.8 billion pushed Zhou toward killing Qin Shi, Qin Shi used his own bank standing to freeze Zhou’s account.

• Qin Shi recognized Zhou Yuanchen’s Entropy Sea Bank emblem and realized Zhou had borrowed against his potential to strengthen himself.
• Zhou Yuanchen reached 100 Life Force, entered the Specialized Domain, and challenged Qin Shi to concede.
• Old Zhang and Xu Sheng decided to let the contest proceed, while Chen Ruofu and Fang Putang feared the Ying family might have ordered Zhou to kill Qin Shi.
• A hidden message offered Zhou Yuanchen 2.8 billion if he killed Qin Shi, and Zhou urged Qin to run before he lost control of his murderous intent.
• Qin Shi raised his hand and silently ordered the Entropy Sea Bank to freeze Zhou Yuanchen’s account.

Qin Shi froze Zhou Yuanchen’s Entropy Sea Bank account, then defeated him in the Top 100 Competition and won first place in Hengzhou. After the fight, Qin Shi sensed that he was close to opening his Fourth Great Limit, while officials celebrated his victory.

• Qin Shi used his assets and credit standing to freeze Zhou Yuanchen’s Entropy Sea Bank account, stripping away the benefits of his loans.
• Zhou Yuanchen overcame his despair, awakened his fighting spirit, and attacked Qin Shi with the Ten Directions Freezing Demon Path.
• Qin Shi used Hundred Forms Cultivating Momentum and the Universe Furnace to overpower Zhou Yuanchen, then beat him until he could no longer fight and summoned the rescue team.
• Qin Shi sensed his restraints loosening and suspected that his Fourth Great Limit was the Skin Gate.
• Chen Ruofu and Fang Putang learned that Qin Shi had won Hengzhou’s Top 100 Competition and discussed publicizing him as a rising star.