Chapter Summaries

Fu Qian, Elina, and Cross searched a circular structure and fought a gargoyle inside, where Cross gained Sin Fire and Elina healed his wounds. They found a living woman Elina identified as the Goddess of Sin, leaving them stunned by her apparent survival.

• Fu Qian and Elina discussed Patrick's danger and agreed to stay cautious.
• Elina led Fu Qian and Cross to explore a circular building with a collapsed entrance.
• Cross entered a winding passage and narrowly avoided a golden spear thrown by a gargoyle.
• Cross charged the gargoyle and killed it with one blow, injuring himself before Elina healed him.
• Fu Qian, Elina, and Cross found a woman alive in an upper room, and Elina recognized her as the Goddess of Sin.

Fu Qian, Elina, and Cross discovered that the living Goddess of Sin was a monster and fought it after Cross tried to purify his Sin Fire. Elina claimed the kill and gained a more intense Sin Fire, while Fu Qian concealed how he had escaped the creature’s grasp.

• Elina confirmed that the figure was the Goddess of Sin and explained how the purification gesture worked.
• Cross performed the gesture, fell under the living goddess’s influence, and reached for her hand.
• Fu Qian seized the goddess’s hand instead, and it transformed into webbing that withered his arm.
• Elina and Cross attacked the monster as it tried to envelop Fu Qian, and Fu Qian’s severed-looking arm proved to be a decoy.
• Elina trapped the monster with her White Ring while Cross struck it with his hammer, killing it and intensifying her Sin Fire.
• Elina questioned how Fu Qian had recognized the danger, and he asked whether the Sin Seeker would come after them.

Fu Qian, Elina, and Cross discovered a hidden passage beneath the fake Goddess's remains and encountered a powerful black-clad swordsman named Yun. Yun recognized Fu Qian's strength but declared that he had come to face a trial of death.

• Elina explained that the Sin Seeker would appear only after someone found the Goddess's statue and purified the sin, and said Patrick's Sin Fire was probably still stronger than hers.
• Fu Qian pulled the fake Goddess's remains from the floor, revealing a faint glimmer beneath the rubble, and Cross broke open a hole into another space.
• Elina identified the opening as a spatial overlap in the Shattered Land and led the group down, with Cross entering first and Fu Qian last.
• A black-clad swordsman ambushed Fu Qian, but Fu Qian dodged the blade; the swordsman introduced himself as Yun.
• Cross stepped in front of Elina, while Yun focused on Fu Qian, called him strong, and said he had come to face a trial of death.

Fu Qian and Elina faced Yun, a deranged swordsman empowered by Sin Fire, when the Sin Seeker arrived and attacked him. Yun met its charge with a flaming sword strike.

• Yun explained that he sought demigodhood through death and treated everyone around him as a delusion to be cut down.
• Elina told Fu Qian that Yun was a Peak Fourth Order sword cultivator who had slaughtered an exploration team and warned that Sin Fire transferred to whoever killed its bearer.
• Fu Qian suggested he would beat Yun half to death so Elina could finish him, but then noticed the approaching Sin Seeker.
• The Sin Seeker emerged from the corridor, and Elina realized it had come after Yun because someone had found the goddess statue.
• Yun turned to face the Sin Seeker, which lunged at him with its greatsword; Yun drew his blade and met the attack with an X-shaped burst of dark red flame.

Elina, Fu Qian, and Cross searched for the Goddess of Sin Statue while Yun fought the Sin Seeker, whose power grew with extinguished Sin Fire. They discovered Patrick slaughtering people amid the ruins, leaving Elina’s plan threatened by another rapidly growing killer.

• Yun fought the Sin Seeker, and Elina led Fu Qian and Cross away while the two were still battling.
• Elina explained that the Sin Seeker’s strength depended on how much Sin Fire the Goddess of Sin extinguished and that he returned after death.
• Elina, Fu Qian, and Cross emerged near the white building and stone pillars, then hurried to find the Goddess of Sin Statue before Yun and Patrick grew more dangerous.
• A distant scream led them to a tilted building where Patrick pulled his fist from a corpse and faced them, covered in dark red Sin Fire.

Fu Qian, Elina, and Cross encountered Patrick, but he fled instead of fighting, leading Fu Qian to suspect Patrick was searching for the goddess statue. The three followed his trail to a mirror-smooth pool, where an unseen attacker shot Elina with an arrow.

• Patrick attacked Elina, but she used a burst of white light to create an opening and fled with Cross.
• Fu Qian stayed behind and challenged Patrick, who abruptly ran off rather than fighting him.
• Fu Qian reasoned that Patrick was likely seeking the goddess statue so he could prevent Sin Seekers from reaching it, and Elina agreed to follow him.
• Fu Qian, Elina, and Cross tracked Patrick's trail of bloodshed to a still pool of water.
• Fu Qian caught an arrow as it flew toward him, while Elina cried out after being struck by another.

Fu Qian helped Elina survive an ambush by assassins who were targeting her powerful Sin Fire. After Elina killed the attackers, Fu Qian deduced that they were gathering Sin Fire to strengthen a Sin Seeker, leaving Elina and Cross to consider the threat.

• Fu Qian deflected arrows aimed at Elina, who froze after one pierced her arm, while Cross charged toward the attackers.
• Fu Qian caught an assassin emerging from the water and brought him to Elina, who killed him with a black mist.
• Elina pulled the arrow from her arm and used darkness emerging from the ground to kill three more attackers.
• Elina said the assassins were after Sin Fire, and Fu Qian agreed that they were collecting it to strengthen a Sin Seeker.
• Fu Qian reasoned that the attackers worked together because they intended to cleanse their shared Sin Fire at a statue, and noted that none of the four carried any Sin Fire.

Fu Qian, Elina, and Cross headed toward a cliffside building they suspected housed a purification statue, while Elina explained the dark power behind her transformation. They met Lynn, who proposed working together against the Butcher, and Elina demanded that he take them to the statue.

• Elina agreed with Fu Qian that the cliffside building was likely a base near a statue, and the group went to investigate.
• Elina told Fu Qian and Cross that her father had changed her innate dark ability, but the unstable transformation caused her to kill him.
• Fu Qian refused to label Elina good or evil, telling her she had to choose a side and accept the consequences.
• Lynn approached the group, apologized for the earlier conflict, and introduced himself as the organizer of a prisoner group searching for statues and gathering Sin Fire.
• Lynn said the Butcher was accumulating sin rapidly and that his group had lured him away, but Elina revealed they knew the Sin Seeker had pursued someone unexpected.
• Elina ordered Lynn to stop talking and take them to the statue.

Lynn brought Elina, Cross, and Fu Qian to the survivors’ building, where the group argued over whether to continue their plan to purify Sin Fire or take it by force. As they waited for Natalia to return, Fu Qian asked what had happened to anyone else who had been redeemed besides the Butcher.

• Lynn led Elina, Cross, and Fu Qian into the building, where the remaining survivors eyed them with suspicion.
• The man in black questioned Lynn’s decision to bring them and considered killing Elina to take her Sin Fire.
• Lynn rejected hunting people for Sin Fire and argued with the man in black, who insisted they wait for Natalia.
• Elina tried to leave with Cross, but people blocked their way, so Lynn proposed waiting ten minutes for Natalia before the group handed over its Sin Fire and disbanded.
• While everyone watched Elina and waited, Fu Qian asked whether anyone besides the Butcher had been redeemed and what had happened to them.

Fu Qian questioned Elina about the fate of those who had been redeemed, then followed Natalia and the others to the Goddess of Sin’s statue. As Elina prepared to be purified, Fu Qian interrupted and proposed a game.

• Fu Qian asked Elina what had happened to the other people who had won redemption, and she said all but Patrick had died, mostly in accidents.
• Elina described Patrick as a bloodthirsty killer who refused the Goddess of Sin’s purification and enjoyed enduring the Sin Fire.
• Natalia returned after luring the Butcher away and warned that he was gathering Sin Fire and searching for the statue.
• Natalia led the group to the hidden platform, where Fu Qian saw the Goddess of Sin’s statue and received a mission to eliminate all sinners and stop the goddess from awakening.
• As Elina raised her hands to be purified, Fu Qian stepped in front of the statue and told the others he wanted to play a game.

Fu Qian interrupted Elina’s attempt to purify the Sin Fire, warned the prisoners against seeking redemption, and challenged them to attack him. After he effortlessly broke the black-clad man’s leg, Lynn killed the man, leaving the prisoners facing Fu Qian’s threat and the danger of Butcher.

• Fu Qian urged the prisoners to stop relying on the Goddess of Sin’s purification and offered them the choice of attacking him or abandoning their hope.
• Elina warned Fu Qian that the goddess’s statue could not be destroyed, and he replied that he would prevent them from communicating with the goddess.
• The black-clad man charged Fu Qian, who broke his leg with an unseen attack.
• The black-clad man demanded that the others kill Fu Qian, but they shrank away from him.
• Lynn killed the injured man by cutting off his head.

Fu Qian watched the fragile alliance collapse after Lynn killed the man in black, then tracked Lynn down to ask about his resistance to Sin Fire. Lynn’s reaction suggested the fire no longer caused him pain, leading Fu Qian to suspect that purification by the Goddess of Sin had changed his body through their special contact.

• Lynn decapitated the man in black and left as the alliance members turned against one another.
• Cross protected Elina from a female prisoner, while Natalia and the others withdrew from the statue.
• Elina questioned Fu Qian, who told her that the choice mattered more than the answer and then left.
• Fu Qian sensed a scream and found Lynn searching the belongings of a corpse floating in the water.
• Fu Qian asked Lynn whether Sin Fire hurt, and Lynn’s brief discomfort suggested that it no longer did.

Fu Qian questioned Lynn about his alliance’s purification practices and explained why the Sin Seeker had pursued Yun instead of the Butcher. After Lynn’s ambush failed, Fu Qian said someone else was more interested in him.

• Fu Qian questioned Lynn about how many prisoners his group had freed and learned they had purified their Sin Fire, though Lynn had only purified his own once.
• Lynn explained that he had only just discovered purification no longer caused him pain and said the alliance kept that information quiet.
• Lynn asked why the Sin Seeker had ignored the Butcher, and Fu Qian revealed that Yun had committed more sins.
• Lynn asked where Fu Qian had encountered Yun, then attacked Fu Qian with concealed invisible nets.
• Fu Qian dodged Lynn’s attacks without striking back and said someone else was more interested in Lynn.

Lynn watched Fu Qian deliberately draw Patrick back to them, then became Patrick’s target because Sin Fire clung to him. The Sin Seeker arrived but was swiftly destroyed by Patrick, leaving Lynn without a chance to escape.

• Patrick returned to the underground space after Fu Qian’s shout, and Fu Qian admitted he had wanted Patrick to find them.
• Fu Qian questioned Patrick about his pain, and Patrick praised the pleasure he felt from the Sin Fire.
• Patrick noticed the Sin Fire on Lynn and chose him as his next prey while Fu Qian watched.
• The Sin Seeker arrived and attacked Patrick, but Patrick pierced it with a hook-chain and knocked off its head.
• Lynn failed to find an opening to escape before the Sin Seeker’s headless body stopped in the water.

Fu Qian watched Patrick kill Lynn, then asked Patrick whether he had seen a statue of the Goddess of Sin or prayed for purification. As Patrick prepared to attack Fu Qian, a figure carrying a silver-white greatsword approached.

• Patrick shattered the Sin Seeker, whose empty body and distant head burned away without a trace.
• Lynn begged Fu Qian to help him fight Patrick, but Fu Qian refused to join him.
• Lynn sprang a trap on Patrick and tried to flee, but Patrick caught him, crushed his head, and stomped him to death.
• Fu Qian asked Patrick about the Goddess of Sin and purification, then said he had stayed to enjoy the show.
• A figure wielding a silver-white greatsword approached, and Patrick turned toward the sound of metal striking metal.

Fu Qian watched the Sin Seeker kill Patrick and grow stronger, then discovered that it had targeted him instead of following the Sin Ledger. He escaped its attacks and ran toward the Goddess of Sin Statue.

• The Sin Seeker returned with enhanced speed and frost, severed Patrick’s arm, and overwhelmed him in battle.
• Patrick detonated his flesh and Sin Fire to blast the Sin Seeker away, then tried to flee, but a tendril caught his foot.
• The Sin Seeker caught Patrick and killed him, absorbing his Sin Fire and repairing its armor.
• The Sin Seeker turned on Fu Qian, who dodged its attacks and confirmed that it was fixated on him.
• Fu Qian fired three Air Bullets to force the Sin Seeker to defend, then ran toward the Goddess of Sin Statue.

Fu Qian returned to the statue and found Yun cleansed of Sin Fire after receiving salvation from the Goddess of Sin. Yun claimed that abandoning his obsessions had brought him close to transcendence, but Fu Qian suspected the change came from the Goddess taking back her sin while leaving Yun with the power.

• Fu Qian found Elina tending to the gravely wounded Cross beside the statue.
• Fu Qian saw Yun standing before the Goddess of Sin, his Sin Fire gone, and ignored Elina's suggestion to attack him.
• Yun praised Fu Qian and said he had found the true answer by letting go of his obsessions.
• Yun suddenly struck at Elina, who barely dodged after her shadowy shield was cut apart.
• Yun explained that he had transcended himself, while Fu Qian suspected the Goddess had taken back her sin but left Yun with the power.

Fu Qian defeated Yun after realizing that purification made sinners part of the Goddess of Sin, while Elina watched in despair. The Sin Seeker arrived on the platform, apparently drawn by the remaining Sin Fire, leaving Elina and Cross in danger.

• Fu Qian concluded that Yun’s purification ritual had joined him to the Goddess of Sin and made her bear his sin.
• Yun attacked Fu Qian, but Fu Qian used his Biochemical Demon Arm to overwhelm him and hold him by the neck.
• Elina recovered from the attack and watched Fu Qian subdue Yun, convinced she could not defeat him.
• The Sin Seeker leaped onto the platform, and Elina realized it might have come for her and Cross because they still carried Sin Fire.

Fu Qian discovered that Sin Seeker was a conscious, transformed person connected to the Goddess of Sin and confronted it for answers. Sin Seeker admitted Fu Qian could call it either “Sir” or the “First Sinner,” and Fu Qian asked why it had captured the people instead of killing them.

• Fu Qian used the dying Yun as a shield to bring him close to Sin Seeker, and Yun began to realize that Sin Seeker was the true transcendent form before Sin Seeker killed him.
• Fu Qian concluded that Sin Seeker had attacked Yun to stop him from revealing more, then dodged Sin Seeker’s strikes and threatened to keep running until the goddess left.
• Sin Seeker stopped attacking and spoke to Fu Qian, who asked what he should call it.
• Elina wondered whether Sin Seeker was William, and Fu Qian suggested calling it the “First Sinner.”
• Sin Seeker accepted either name, and Fu Qian asked why it had captured the people instead of killing them.

Fu Qian questioned William about Sin Fire, his summoned forms, and the deaths of the game’s winners. William explained how he had gained power and killed the Butcher, then revealed that he had been using their conversation to digest the goddess’s gift as thorny growths spread over his armor.

• Fu Qian deduced that William’s summoned form could not last long, and William explained how an exploration team’s arrival first revealed the call of Sin Fire to him.
• William said accepting the call gave him an instinct-driven, immortal form that grew much stronger with each kill, and he described using the salvation plan to gather Sin Fire.
• Fu Qian inferred that William had killed the other purified final winners to keep them from discovering the Sin Fire secret, and William admitted it.
• Fu Qian reasoned that William had entered the game in person to kill the Butcher, despite losing his endless immortality, and William confirmed his deductions.
• William revealed that he had spent their conversation digesting the goddess’s gift as dark red thorn whips spread across his armor and sword.