Recaps

Lu Bai captured Miss Hu Jiu and questioned her about Reincarnated Demons, learning that her second brother handled the captives. Meanwhile, Chang Shengtian noticed something was wrong in Qinggang Forest and rushed toward the county seat.

• Lu Bai used the serpent phantom to pierce and restrain Miss Hu Jiu, forcing her to answer his questions.
• Miss Hu Jiu admitted that her second brother handled the Reincarnated Demons, after Lu Bai learned that about a hundred Deathmatch fighters had been captured.
• Chang Shengtian stopped fighting Lord Hu the Sixth when he sensed that Lord Bai the Fourteenth had not reacted, then flew toward the county seat.
• Lu Bai asked Miss Hu Jiu whether he could trade her for the captured Reincarnated Demons.

Monsters attacked all four gates of the county seat while Lu Bai learned that a Deathmatch Arena node had appeared and began questioning Miss Hu Jiu. Chang Shengtian arrived as Lu Bai killed Fan Ding, leaving the group facing an angry immortal.

• Former Guardian Immortals attacked civilians at all four gates, and Incense Master Shi fought to save people.
• The white-haired boy sent a young woman with a patterned sandalwood box to investigate trouble involving Huang Yuan and Miss Hu Jiu.
• Opening the box caused a Deathmatch Arena node to appear, offering double points to the participant who obtained it.
• Lu Bai checked the node's location, injured Miss Hu Jiu, and demanded information about the immortals near the county seat.
• Chang Shengtian approached as Lu Bai killed Fan Ding, then landed and confronted Lord Bai the Fourteenth.

Lu Bai questioned Lord Hu Liu about the captured Reincarnated Demons, then had Chang Shengtian and Lord Bai the Fourteenth attack him. As Chang Shengtian seized the badly wounded fox, smoke and an eerie clapper rhythm rose from the city gate.

• Miss Hu Jiu recognized Lord Hu Liu as her Sixth Brother when he arrived with Chang Shengtian.
• Lu Bai told Chang Shengtian that immortals from the Four Great Sects were behind the plot against the Incense Sect system and asked Lord Hu Liu about the captured Reincarnated Demons.
• Lord Hu Liu said he knew little about the captives and that Second Brother handled them, so Lu Bai proposed attacking him first.
• Chang Shengtian attacked Lord Hu Liu, and Lord Bai the Fourteenth joined in with a milky-white spike.
• Chang Shengtian overwhelmed Lord Hu Liu, struck him down, and coiled his tail around him as Lu Bai questioned the severity of the attack.
• Lord Bai the Fourteenth noticed smoke rising by the city gate as an eerie clapper sounded.

Third Aunt Hu arrived with the Four Immortal Lotuses, which suppressed the immortals and revealed her control over Hu Sect disciples. Lu Bai fought back, but as Third Aunt Hu transformed and unleashed her power, the battle remained unresolved.

• Lord Bai the Fourteenth recognized the Four Immortal Lotuses and discovered that his incense ash curled, while Third Aunt Hu arrived with the incense.
• Lu Bai learned that Third Aunt Hu held the incense node, but she knocked him away and took control of Xiao Xueyin and Brother Wang.
• Lu Bai evaded Third Aunt Hu's ambush with Flash Time and killed Xiao Xueyin and Brother Wang as they charged him.
• Lu Bai's Great Serpent Phantom seized Miss Hu Jiu and killed her before Third Aunt Hu could intervene.
• Third Aunt Hu transformed into a purple-haired fox and attacked Lu Bai with gale-force winds that weakened his Mana.

Lu Bai defeated Third Aunt Hu, took the Four Immortal Lotuses, and captured her while Lord Bai the Fourteenth went to restore order in the county town. After waking Third Aunt Hu through repeated slaps, Lu Bai questioned her about her second brother and the Reincarnated Demons.

• Lu Bai used [Ink Dye] and [Flash Time] to stab Third Aunt Hu, then struck her with the Great Serpent Phantom and seized the Four Immortal Lotuses.
• Lord Bai the Fourteenth and Chang Shengtian watched Lu Bai defeat Third Aunt Hu, and Lord Bai turned her back into human form after Lu Bai extinguished the lotuses.
• Lu Bai handed the unconscious Third Aunt Hu to Lord Bai the Fourteenth, who flew over the county town in hedgehog form and attacked the red-eyed evil spirits with his spikes.
• Lu Bai slapped Third Aunt Hu awake and asked where her second brother was and whether the Reincarnated Demons were with him.
• Third Aunt Hu said her second brother was at Yanghu Zi Mountain, denied knowing about the Reincarnated Demons, and eventually said she knew.

Lu Bai climbed Yanghu Zi Mountain with Chang Shengtian and Third Aunt Hu to confront Second Young Master Hu, who had taken control of the Deathmatch Arena fighters. After discovering Hu had weakened the Incense Sect with the mountain’s altered fortune, Lu Bai killed Third Aunt Hu and several fighters, leaving one alive as a messenger.

• Second Young Master Hu watched more than a hundred controlled Deathmatch Arena fighters carry out his orders on Yanghu Zi Mountain.
• Lu Bai carried Third Aunt Hu toward the mountain while Chang Shengtian followed, and Lu Bai said he hoped Hu would gather as many Reincarnated Demons as possible.
• Chang Shengtian tasted the soil halfway up the mountain and realized Second Young Master Hu had tampered with it to weaken the Incense Sect and prevent the Four Immortal Lotuses from being lit.
• Deathmatch Arena fighters emerged from the bushes and blocked Lu Bai’s group, while Chang Shengtian warned that they might be Reincarnated Demons.
• Lu Bai offered to trade Third Aunt Hu for the Reincarnated Demons, then summoned the Great Serpent Phantom to crush her and killed several fighters with six white spikes, sparing one to carry a message to Second Young Master Hu.

Lu Bai and Chang Shengtian reached the summit of Yanghu Zi Mountain, where Lu Bai defeated Second Young Master Hu with [Flash Time] and took him prisoner. Lu Bai planned to use him as a hostage to secure the Reincarnated Demons, but Second Young Master Hu refused to cooperate.

• Lu Bai killed the last death fighter, earning seven points, and continued up the mountain with Chang Shengtian.
• The white-haired boy realized Lu Bai had come to act as an executioner, not to rescue anyone.
• Lu Bai and Chang Shengtian reached the summit, where Second Young Master Hu was preparing incense at the altar.
• Second Young Master Hu unleashed a sea of yin energy, but Lu Bai used [Flash Time] to strike him from behind and knock him down.
• Chang Shengtian subdued Second Young Master Hu, and Lu Bai explained that he intended to use him as a hostage to trade for the Reincarnated Demons.
• Second Young Master Hu refused to help, declaring that he would rather die than let Lu Bai save them.

Lu Bai forced Second Young Master Hu to summon the Reincarnated Demons it controlled, then killed them all for points. He learned that the Four Great Sects had been tracking the Reincarnated Demons through Guardian Immortals and ordered Second Young Master Hu to find more.

• Second Young Master Hu revealed that it controlled 147 living Reincarnated Demons, and Lu Bai made it gather them.
• Lu Bai ordered the gathered deathmatchers to cut down trees, then killed them when they did not comply, earning 147 points.
• Lu Bai questioned Second Young Master Hu, which explained that Guardian Immortals reported strange changes in people to the Four Great Sects.
• Lu Bai asked Second Young Master Hu to locate more Reincarnated Demons, and it agreed to help.

Lu Bai used Hu Sect connections and Chang Shengtian’s Mana snakes to search Yanghu Zi Mountain for Deathmatch fighters, killing the first group he encountered. Elsewhere, Fei Xiao forced a young man to agree to follow him.

• Second Young Master Hu completed the incense ritual and promised to have the Hu Sect search for Reincarnated Demons.
• Lu Bai asked Chang Shengtian to sense for newcomers while he waited at the Node on Yanghu Zi Mountain.
• Chang Shengtian detected fighters entering the mountain, and Lu Bai killed three who came to seize the Node.
• Chang Shengtian confirmed more fighters had entered, so he and Lu Bai set out to find them.
• Fei Xiao beat a young man into agreeing to follow him, then complained that he had not called him Brother Fei.

Lu Bai killed Fei Xiao after Fei Xiao tried to become his subordinate, triggering the second-round Ability Pool. He chose the mysterious black ability [Load Save], whose effect remained unknown as he tried to activate it.

• Fei Xiao begged Lu Bai to take him as a subordinate, but Lu Bai killed him and earned a point.
• The Deathmatch System announced that the elimination rate had reached 60% and opened the second-round Ability Pool.
• Lu Bai found three black abilities—[Browse], [Load Save], and [Protocol]—with garbled descriptions.
• Lu Bai selected [Load Save], and the System listed his new ability as an unidentified question mark.
• Lu Bai called out “Load Save” and then shouted it, trying to discover whether the ability worked.

Lu Bai discovered that [Load Save] let him copy another deathmatcher’s abilities and erase them from their owner. After defeating the boy who carried the 'Node,' Lu Bai remained Rank 1 with 204 points.

• Lu Bai failed to activate [Load Save] by speaking its name and wondered whether he needed to die or make a save first.
• A high-school-aged deathmatcher emerged from the bushes, identified Lu Bai as the holder of the 'Node,' and approached him.
• Lu Bai detected the boy’s [Steel Body] and [Shatter Stone], loaded both abilities, and filled two of his three save slots.
• The boy attacked Lu Bai with a hatchet, but [Steel Body] protected Lu Bai from the blow.
• Lu Bai grabbed the boy by the throat and tossed him down, revealing that the boy’s abilities had vanished in what he called a corrupted save.
• Lu Bai killed the boy with a spike and gained one point, keeping his rank at 1/198.

Several deathmatch participants used rainbow abilities around Yanghu Zi Mountain, while Lu Bai confronted two conspirators who tried to capture him with a sword and a dangerous Old Gods ability. The attempt failed to affect Lu Bai, who approached Headscarf Guy as the man remained trapped staring into his mirror.

• A fortune-teller in Lord Bai the Fourteenth's county revealed the power of Stepping on the Big Dipper, blasting a crack through the street after a schoolteacher and local hoodlums confronted him.
• Ding Kai selected Needle Woman Spirit Control as his female opponent chose Ascension and attacked him with overwhelming strength.
• Second Young Master Hu watched lightning gather over Yanghu Zi Mountain and glimpsed a figure amid the storm.
• Lu Bai interrupted Headscarf Guy and Scarf Guy as they plotted, prompting them to recognize him as the Node and spring their trap.
• Scarf Guy used 100% Disarm to make Lu Bai catch his sword, while Headscarf Guy activated Must Gaze by staring into a bronze mirror.
• Must Gaze failed to produce its expected effects on Lu Bai, and he approached Headscarf Guy, saying he no longer wanted the ability.

Lu Bai defeated a competitor and rushed to help Chang Shengtian, who had been attacked by a team of Reincarnated Demons. After arriving, Lu Bai faced their leader, He Wenbiao, and copied his Death Note ability.

• Lu Bai knocked the headscarf-wearing competitor out without reading his Must Gaze ability, gaining two points and keeping his rank at first.
• Chang Shengtian's serpent phantom alerted Lu Bai that he was in trouble.
• He Wenbiao's team attacked Chang Shengtian, and the crew-cut fighter struck the serpent with his Kirin Arm while the shifty-eyed fighter restricted its movement with Red Green Light.
• Lu Bai arrived, told Chang Shengtian to get up, and learned that the group's leader was He Wenbiao.
• Lu Bai gave He Wenbiao his name and copied He Wenbiao's Death Note ability.

Lu Bai used a copied Death Note ability to eliminate Deathmatch Showdown participants across the area, earning points and keeping his rank in first place. He returned to Yanghu Zi Mountain to wait with Second Young Master Hu for the Node’s Double Points Reward, while Chang Shengtian watched the trails.

• Lu Bai took He Wenbiao’s notebook and used the name “Li Si” to erase him, then removed the shifty-eyed participant’s abilities and copied the female participant’s Full Map Vision.
• Lu Bai wrote “Li Si” repeatedly, eliminating the remaining participants nearby and raising his points to 246 and his rank to 1/147.
• Lu Bai explained to Chang Shengtian that killing his own kind could make him stronger, then used Full Map Vision and the notebook to eliminate more targets around the area.
• Lu Bai decided to stay on Yanghu Zi Mountain to protect the Node and avoid endangering bystanders.
• Lu Bai returned to Second Young Master Hu and told Chang Shengtian to watch the mountain trails for anyone approaching.

Xu Ling met Yan Tiangong, who proposed they team up, while Lu Bai continued guarding the Node on Yanghu Zi Mountain. When thousands of Skeleton Soldiers marched into the mountain as a probe, Lu Bai identified their summoner as Sister Tao, whose group discussed whether to attack the county seat.

• Yan Tiangong recognized Xu Ling as a deathmatch participant and suggested that the two of them cooperate.
• Lu Bai gained another point as Chang Shengtian reported that no more intruders were approaching the mountain.
• Lu Bai questioned Second Young Master Hu about the Guardian Immortals' search for reincarnated demons and warned him to produce results.
• Chang Shengtian detected a large force approaching Yanghu Zi Mountain, and Lu Bai used [Full Map Vision] to see thousands of Skeleton Soldiers entering the mountain.
• Sister Tao watched the Skeleton Soldiers from a shack in a mass grave while her companions debated sending them to attack the county seat.

Lu Bai and Chang Shengtian struggled to hold off the Skeleton army as duelists attacked Yanghu Zi Mountain. The chapter ended with nearly a hundred flaming meteorites descending toward the mountain, forcing the duelists to flee.

• Lu Bai asked Chang Shengtian to attack the Skeleton Soldiers, and Chang Shengtian transformed into a black-scaled serpent and smashed through them.
• Lu Bai freed Second Young Master Hu, who transformed into a white fox and leapt into the air.
• A Great Swordsman's Flying Slash struck Second Young Master Hu and blasted apart the mountaintop, leaving his fate unclear.
• Lu Bai noticed nearly a hundred kilometer-wide meteorites falling toward Yanghu Zi Mountain and ordered Chang Shengtian to take him to the mountain's foot.
• Duelists around the mountain fled as the meteorites filled the sky with crimson flames.

As a hundred enormous meteorites bore down on the area around Yanghu Zi Mountain, Lu Bai searched for abilities that could help him stop the disaster. He combined Scrap Recycling with Three Harmonies Great God and reached toward a meteorite, hoping to claim it as scrap.

• Lu Bai rode Chang Shengtian down the mountain while scanning deathmatchers’ abilities for a way to counter the meteor shower.
• Lu Bai discovered Scrap Recycling and recalled that Three Harmonies Great God made its holder’s personal property count as useless junk.
• Lu Bai replaced Death Note and Your Name Is Li Si with Scrap Recycling and Three Harmonies Great God, while keeping Full Map Vision.
• Lu Bai ordered Chang Shengtian to carry him beside a falling meteorite, then sent a Great Serpent Phantom to touch it.
• After the phantom touched the meteorite, Lu Bai used Scrap Recycling.

Lu Bai and Chang Shengtian removed the hundred meteorites threatening Yanghu Zi Mountain, then hunted the deathmatchers fleeing the disaster. At the village entrance, Xu Ling confronted Yan Tiangong over his role in multiplying the meteorites, while Yan Tiangong tried to preserve their alliance.

• Lu Bai used Scrap Recycling to erase a kilometer-wide meteorite, then had Chang Shengtian carry him from meteorite to meteorite.
• Deathmatchers noticed Chang Shengtian and Lu Bai removing the meteorites, and the sky eventually cleared.
• Chang Shengtian swooped low over the deathmatchers, whose abilities had stopped working, while Lu Bai killed them with mana spikes and directed Chang Shengtian toward the western slope.
• At the village entrance, Xu Ling accused Yan Tiangong of hiding his ability to multiply the meteorites, and Yan Tiangong admitted he had boosted Xu Ling's power.
• Xu Ling raised his bloodstained hatchet, but Yan Tiangong urged him to cooperate and asked when he could summon another meteorite.

After the battle at Yanghu Zi Mountain, Lu Bai reviewed the newly unlocked Deathmatch objectives and continued searching for surviving contestants. As he approached Lijiapo, he weighed ending the arena by completing an objective and learned that Grandmother Wang San’s designated heir lacked support.

• Chang Shengtian carried Lu Bai back to the ground, where Lu Bai checked his points, saw that the arena objectives had unlocked, and received three Gold abilities.
• Lu Bai asked Chang Shengtian to check whether Second Young Master Hu was alive, and Second Young Master Hu emerged from underground and reported several suspicious locations.
• Lu Bai used [Full Map Vision] to inspect the locations, then rode with Chang Shengtian and Second Young Master Hu to search them; at the mass grave, they found three contestants’ corpses.
• The Node acquisition countdown ended, giving Lu Bai double points and raising his total to 646, still ranked first among 31 contestants.
• Lu Bai considered completing one of the arena objectives instead of trying to find every hidden contestant, then asked Second Young Master Hu about Grandmother Wang San’s heir and learned that few people approved of them.

Lu Bai killed Xu Ling and Yan Tiangong, then went with Second Young Master Hu to Grandmother Wang San’s Temple to establish Wang Shu as a successor. The four Great Immortals accepted his plan, though one questioned why Lu Bai was choosing a successor so soon.

• Lu Bai, Chang Shengtian, and Second Young Master Hu arrived at the village and confronted Xu Ling and Yan Tiangong.
• Lu Bai identified Yan Tiangong’s Momo Fruit Power and killed both men with mana spikes before either could use their abilities.
• After Second Young Master Hu said the village was their last stop, Lu Bai asked him about the Four Great Sects, the four Great Immortals, and Grandmother Wang San’s successor.
• At Grandmother Wang San’s Temple, Lu Bai arranged for Wang Shu to receive incense and the Four Immortal Lotuses, with Lord Bai the Fourteenth, Chang Shengtian, and Second Young Master Hu as patrons.
• The Great White Immortal and Great Growth Immortal agreed with Lu Bai’s proposal, while Great Immortal Lord asked why Lu Bai was choosing a successor so soon.

Lu Bai arranged for Wang Shu to succeed Grandmother Wang San as temple god, then vanished when the Deathmatch Showdown ended. He returned to the outside world ranked first, with rewards and the option to permanently retain one ability.

• Lu Bai persuaded the immortals to accept Wang Shu as the next temple god and led her to prepare for the Open Top ceremony.
• Lu Bai encouraged Wang Shu and entrusted her with the Four Immortal Lotuses, while Chang Shengtian, Lord Bai the Fourteenth, and Second Young Master Hu pledged their support.
• Wang Shu completed the Open Top ceremony, and the system marked the Incense Sect mission complete as hidden deathmatch participants froze.
• Wang Shu officially took over as temple god, but Lu Bai disappeared when the Deathmatch Showdown ended.
• Lu Bai received first place with 654 points, earned several rewards, and qualified to retain one ability permanently.

Lu Bai revealed that he had taken first place in three consecutive Deathmatch Showdowns, shocking the faculty and students at Shelter No. 9. While he waited for the principal, he reviewed his rewards and saw a prompt to load Pu Xueli’s data file, then heard Pu Xueli ask why Deathmatch Participants held such high social status.

• Lu Bai told the faculty member that he had ranked first in the third Deathmatch Showdown, and the Multi-purpose Venue erupted in disbelief.
• Liang Fuzhong notified the principal, and a faculty member escorted Lu Bai to a conference room to wait for the principal.
• Lu Bai reviewed his new titles, combined two titles to upgrade Slay Heaven Destroy Earth, and chose Load Save as his ability.
• Lu Bai noticed the prompt to change his username, then saw a prompt asking whether to load Pu Xueli’s data file when Pu Xueli entered.
• Pu Xueli congratulated Lu Bai and asked why Deathmatch Participants were given such high social status.

Pu Xueli told Lu Bai that the fourth-round Deathmatch Showdown would pit humans against Replicants serving as prey for an unknown civilization. Lu Bai then changed his username to Clever Mephisto, which placed him on the Talent Ranking, and hoped the other newly ranked participants would reveal themselves.

• Pu Xueli warned Lu Bai that the fourth-round Deathmatch Showdown was real and that some participants would be Replicants controlled by extraterrestrial citizens.
• Pu Xueli explained that humanity had agreed to provide captive prey for the aliens’ hunting entertainment in exchange for humanity’s collective survival.
• Pu Xueli advised Lu Bai not to trust any participants in future Deathmatch Showdowns and admitted the danger was kept secret to ensure enough people volunteered.
• Lu Bai learned that changing his username would unlock the Deathmatch System’s communication feature and leaderboard.
• Lu Bai chose Clever Mephisto as his username and was notified that he had made the Talent Ranking.

Lu Bai checked the four social rankings and discovered that Clever Mephisto held three abilities in the top twenty, including the first-ranked ability, as well as a highly placed title. Across the user chat channels, deathmatchers reacted with astonishment and asked who Clever Mephisto was.

• Lu Bai returned home with Lu Ziyi and Lu Qingyan, then opened the system's social interface.
• Lu Bai checked the cumulative rounds and talent rankings and saw that he had not placed on the former but had made the latter lists.
• Lu Bai examined the title ranking and saw that his four-star Slay Heaven Destroy Earth ranked 6,482nd.
• Lu Bai discovered that his abilities ? , Flash Time, and Ink Dye held the first, fourth, and sixteenth positions in the ability ranking.
• Deathmatchers flooded the user chat channels with messages asking who Clever Mephisto was.

After Lu Bai appeared on several Deathmatch leaderboards, participants speculated about his identity, talent, and mysterious ability. Pu Xueli warned him that being identified could put him in danger, while factions began contacting him.

• Deathmatch participants noticed that Clever Mephisto ranked on the Ability, Talent, and Title Leaderboards, and forum discussions about the newcomer surged.
• Lu Bai read a thread claiming to know his identity, posted a question, and left when the replies veered off course.
• Participants debated the question-mark ability and Lu Bai's talent score of 103.8, while top Deathmatch participants privately tried to learn who he was.
• Pu Xueli called Lu Bai, confirmed he was Clever Mephisto, and warned him to keep his identity hidden until they spoke on campus the next day.
• Lu Bai considered how people might connect his leaderboard results to his three consecutive first-place finishes and saw emails from factions seeking to recruit or approach him.