Chapter Summaries

Lu Bai restrained two anomaly-affected soldiers, then had the containment center restart its public livestream so he could gather energy for his Spirit Bomb. The stream began as he faced Sequence 61, Grand Official with a Big Face, and summoned a blue-white sun over the containment center.

• Lu Bai used [Flash Time] to place Yellow Talismans on two anomaly-affected soldiers and immobilize them.
• Lu Bai asked whether the electronic equipment still worked and told the staff to restart the livestream.
• Minister Zhang agreed to support Lu Bai and urged younger staff to evacuate while the older staff stayed behind.
• The staff prepared the livestream, and Captain Mao reported that nineteen of twenty-three reported anomalies had been confirmed.
• Lu Bai left the Temporary command center, faced Sequence 61—Grand Official with a Big Face, and asked viewers to lend him their strength.
• Lu Bai activated [Spirit Bomb], lighting the containment center with a blue-white sun.

Lu Bai destroyed the High Official's Face with a massive Spirit Bomb, then faced Freddy, who tried to put everyone to sleep. Lu Bai resisted Freddy's hypnosis and prepared to attack him.

• Lu Bai gathered energy from people watching the livestream and dropped a giant Spirit Bomb onto the High Official's Face, destroying it while leaving ordinary people unharmed.
• Minister Zhang ordered Commissioner Meng to broadcast instructions telling people to protect themselves and wait for rescue.
• Freddy appeared and invited Lu Bai to fight in a dream, then put Captain Mao, the camera operators, Minister Zhang, and the senior officials to sleep.
• Lu Bai resisted Freddy's hypnosis with Flash Time, threw a Yellow Talisman at him, and said the dangerous anomaly could not be allowed to live.

Lu Bai used the Yellow Talisman to destroy Freddy, then continued hunting anomalies on livestream as viewers celebrated his victories. Meanwhile, Ruan Boyang persuaded four of Lu Bai’s former disciples to consider killing him.

• Lu Bai stayed awake, and the Yellow Talisman descended on Freddy and disintegrated him into green smoke.
• Lu Bai picked up a camera and told the livestream audience he was heading out to find the next anomaly.
• Ruan Boyang approached four deathmatch contestants hiding in a tent and told them their abilities had likely been taken by Smiling Face.
• Ruan Boyang suggested that they try to kill Smiling Face, and the four contestants listened.
• Lu Bai used a Spirit Bomb to destroy a skull-wearing anomaly and continued toward his next target as livestream viewers celebrated.

Lu Bai survived a massive missile attack while leading a crowd of survivors through the shelter center, but the blast killed over ten thousand people. He identified the attackers' direction and prepared to confront them as they came to finish him off.

• Lu Bai gathered a large crowd of survivors as he cleared anomalies, then stopped to prepare a Spirit Bomb when another anomaly caused a commotion.
• A dark-golden missile struck near Lu Bai and exploded, killing thousands of people and filling the area with a devastating shock wave.
• The missile attackers, including Jiang Kang, a crew-cut man, and a twin-tailed girl, met Ruan Boyang and four other Deathmatch Arena contestants, then agreed to work together to kill Lu Bai.
• Lu Bai survived with superficial injuries by using [Bursting Qi] and [Alpha Strike], brushed off the dust, and smiled toward the direction of the attack.

Lu Bai confronted Ruan Boyang’s group after they attacked him and used his three four-star titles to overwhelm them. He killed the fleeing dead matchers and took Ruan Boyang’s ability, while Ruan Boyang warned that they would pursue him in the real world.

• Lu Bai reached Ruan Boyang and the others and demanded to know who had suggested attacking him.
• Lu Bai revealed his three blood-red four-star titles, terrifying the dead matchers and causing one to beg for mercy.
• Lu Bai inspected the group’s abilities, took Ruan Boyang’s Act Under Cover of Darkness, and adjusted his temporary ability bar.
• Lu Bai killed the kneeling dead matcher with a pebble, then used more pebbles to kill the others as they tried to flee.
• Ruan Boyang stayed behind and told Lu Bai that he could steal abilities and that they would come after him in the real world.

After Ruan Boyang killed himself, Lu Bai spread his darkness through the containment center, where it swallowed the newly appeared Fog. Xu Lingwen found himself trapped in the fog with a little girl who revealed that tiny creatures were everywhere, and Lu Bai approached them as the darkness transformed the anomaly.

• Ruan Boyang slit his throat, and Lu Bai punched him to claim a point before wondering about reaching the real world.
• Lu Bai used [Ink Dye] to spread darkness across the containment center as Sequence 109, the Fog, appeared in Zone C and trapped civilians.
• Xu Lingwen rescued a little girl and tried to lead her through the fog, but after more than ten minutes he found no way out and began bleeding from the nose.
• The little girl told Xu Lingwen that little creatures were everywhere, and Lu Bai's darkness swept over and turned the fog black.
• Lu Bai tested his boosted speed, heard Xu Lingwen and the girl talking, then came up behind them and suggested they talk calmly.

Lu Bai questioned a supernatural being disguised as a little girl, rejected her offer to join them, and killed both her and Xu Lingwen. He then cleared deathmatchers from Areas A and C and asked survivors for a phone.

• Lu Bai questioned the little girl, who explained that supernatural beings were raising humanity like livestock and urged him to join them.
• Lu Bai refused the little girl's offer, killed Xu Lingwen, and used a Yellow Talisman to suppress and kill her.
• Lu Bai resolved to move faster before the supernatural beings killed the remaining deathmatchers.
• After half an hour, Lu Bai had cleared the deathmatchers from Areas A and C while leaving some supernatural beings alive.
• Lu Bai dispelled the darkness around him and asked the startled survivors to lend him a phone.

Lu Bai rescued survivors and headed toward another horror sighting before a gigantic eye opened in the sky, dispelling his darkness and shifting night toward dusk. He recognized it as the eye of the Candle Dragon, whose power controlled time, but could think of no way to stop it and turned his attention back to the Deathmatchers.

• Lu Bai calmed the cheering crowd, told them he had dealt with the nearby horrors, and left after borrowing a phone when his titles frightened them.
• Lu Bai contacted the Temporary command center about the containment center and drove toward another horror sighting, taking care of Deathmatchers along the way.
• Lu Bai spotted a crack in the night sky and threw a Spirit Bomb at it, but the attack could not reach its target.
• The crack opened into a gigantic eye that brightened the sky and gradually dispelled the darkness Lu Bai had created with Ink Dye.
• Senior officials at the Temporary command center, including Minister Zhang and Captain Mao, stared at the eye and decided to contact Master Lu.
• Lu Bai recognized the eye as the eye of the Candle Dragon and its time-controlling power, then decided to take care of the Deathmatchers first.

After the containment center's District D returned to daylight, Lu Bai rescued Cai Xiang from a supernatural attack and collected a mirror shard he suspected was connected to the Deathmatch Arena's Node. He then turned his attention to Cai Xiang, who offered information about the other contestants to save himself.

• Surviving contestants in District D saw a mysterious eyeball in the sky, and Cai Xiang and his suited teammate decided to leave the crowded area.
• A pale hand grabbed Cai Xiang's leg and a chilling voice told him to keep it company; his teammate fled when he realized a supernatural being was involved.
• Lu Bai appeared, freed Cai Xiang from his predicament, and examined a shard of broken mirror radiating sinister energy.
• Lu Bai wrapped the shard in yellow paper and pocketed it, suspecting it was linked to the Mirror Demon and Cloud Mirror, and considering whether such object-like supernatural beings might be the world's Node.
• Lu Bai confronted Cai Xiang, who hurriedly offered to reveal where the other contestants were hiding.

Lu Bai traveled through the containment center with Cai Xiang as the sky anomaly drew the military's attention and caused attacks to fail. As a black hole opened and powerful anomalies spread through the area, Lu Bai sought ways to grow stronger and began eyeing Cai Xiang strangely.

• Cai Xiang told Lu Bai where the dandyish man and the other deathmatch participants had gone, and Lu Bai praised his attitude before they set off together.
• Government forces sent fighter jets to attack the giant eyeball, but the missiles lost power and exploded near the containment center.
• Minister Zhang tried to contact Lu Bai and ordered Captain Mao Siyu to search for him in Zone C.
• The giant eyeball focused on one spot in the sky, where a black hole opened and a pale, black-feathered hand reached through.
• Anomalies appeared in greater numbers across the containment center, while surviving deathmatch participants avoided Lu Bai and his points rose to 45.
• Lu Bai felt pressure from the increasingly powerful anomalies and began looking at Cai Xiang as they continued walking.

Lu Bai killed Cai Xiang, drove off the Cat-faced Old Woman, and was confronted by the Chainsaw Maniac before Captain Mao's soldiers arrived. As the Deathmatch Arena activated its final objectives and opened the third-round Ability Pool, Lu Bai selected the black-grade ability [Restore], while the Chainsaw Maniac recovered from the gunfire.

• Lu Bai killed Cai Xiang, then called out the Cat-faced Old Woman, who fled into the tents.
• The Chainsaw Maniac attacked Lu Bai, but Lu Bai dodged before Captain Mao and his soldiers shot the anomaly and reached him.
• The system announced that three-quarters of participants had been eliminated, activated the humanity-survival or humanity-extermination objectives, and opened the third-round Ability Pool.
• Lu Bai chose the black-grade ability [Restore] and told Captain Mao he might have a way to deal with the eyeball in the sky.
• The Chainsaw Maniac dug a bullet from his chest, chewed it, and declared that he was still alive.

Lu Bai used his new [Restoration] ability to recover a rainbow-tier sword technique and destroy the Chainsaw Maniac with a wooden stick. The command staff detected the immense energy surge and watched blurry footage of the attack, trying to identify Lu Bai.

• Lu Bai discovered that [Restoration] let him regain any ability he had used or read before, one at a time.
• Captain Mao and his soldiers fired on the Chainsaw Maniac as it regenerated and advanced toward them.
• Lu Bai restored a rainbow-tier sword technique and used a wooden stick to unleash a sword wave that destroyed the Chainsaw Maniac.
• Captain Mao stared at Lu Bai in shock, and Lu Bai invited him to learn the technique before heading back to the command center.
• Minister Zhang and the staff reviewed satellite footage of the energy surge, and someone guessed that Lu Bai was shown on screen.

Kayako reached the Temporary command center and drove the officials onto the roof as casualties mounted. Lu Bai arrived with Captain Mao and a squad of soldiers, but his joking call for people to jump down was taken literally by one staff member.

• A report warned Minister Zhang that a paranormal entity had reached the second floor, so he ordered the first emergency protocol and sent everyone to the roof.
• The secretary identified the intruder as Sequence 153—Kayako, whose abilities included resurrection, cloning, teleportation, and mental attacks.
• Reports said Kayako had reached the third floor and the second-floor squads had lost contact, while the crowd on the roof feared they would not escape.
• Minister Zhang received a call from Lu Bai, then saw him, Captain Mao, and a squad of soldiers outside the building.
• Lu Bai joked that he was Zhang Wuji and could catch people who jumped, but a staff member immediately leaped from the roof.

Lu Bai rescued a falling staff member, then flew to the rooftop to confront Kayako. He survived her bite and destroyed her with Heavenly Fist, but the black hole in the sky reacted violently to his power.

• Lu Bai used Psychokinesis to slow the staff member's fall and warned the rooftop crowd not to jump.
• After learning Kayako had reached the Fourth Floor, Lu Bai flew to the rooftop and calmed the officials there.
• Kayako emerged through the rooftop entrance and lunged at Lu Bai, but his Steel Body left him unharmed.
• Lu Bai struck Kayako with Heavenly Fist, which burned away her resentful aura and dismantled her body.
• The black hole in the sky reacted to Heavenly Fist by intensifying its oppressive aura and gathering thick black clouds.

Lu Bai used [Mind Control] to rewrite Captain Mao’s perception so he could amplify his strength with [Five Immortals Sealing] as a new anomaly emerged from the black hole. The anomaly destroyed two fighter jets, and Lu Bai finished preparing to confront him.

• Lu Bai fired a Heavenly Fist at the black hole, but the attack vanished before it could hit.
• Lu Bai used [Mind Control] on Captain Mao and began inventing a dramatic past to shape the power Captain Mao imagined for him.
• The black hole expanded, freezing the containment center’s anomalies as a winged man emerged and destroyed two fighter jets with a wave of his hand.
• Minister Zhang urged everyone to trust Master Lu as the winged anomaly’s arrival intensified the pressure.
• Lu Bai replaced [Mind Control] with [Five Immortals Sealing], attached its anchor to Captain Mao, and asked the anomaly what he thought Lu Bai looked like.

Lu Bai confronted the black-winged anomaly, severed its arm with the Yama Blade, and watched it unleash anomalies across the containment center. After Lu Bai revealed that his apparent outrage was an act, he destroyed two anomalies and taunted his opponent about choosing not to save the civilians.

• The black-winged anomaly teleported in front of Lu Bai and grabbed his throat, but Lu Bai cut off its arm with the Yama Blade.
• The black-winged anomaly regenerated its arm and used a damaged mirror to release waves of anomalies throughout the containment center, causing mass casualties.
• Lu Bai pretended to rage over the deaths before revealing that he had been performing for the black-winged anomaly.
• Lu Bai wielded two longswords to slice apart an octopus-shaped anomaly and an old woman anomaly, then asked the black-winged anomaly why he had not saved the civilians.

Lu Bai pursued the Black-winged Anomaly, slaughtering the anomalies in his way and preventing their leader from escaping. As people watched the livestream and celebrated his advantage, Lu Bai struck the battered wingless anomaly with his flaming, scaled arm, leaving the outcome obscured by dust.

• The Black-winged Anomaly spread its wings and fled, but Lu Bai chased it down and used Jun Yan.
• The Black-winged Anomaly shed its burning wings in an explosion, then ordered nearby anomalies to hold Lu Bai back while it tried to form a black hole.
• Lu Bai tore through the anomalies and destroyed the forming black hole before the wingless anomaly could escape.
• Two deathmatchers watched in fear, while Minister Zhang and the rooftop crowd reacted to Lu Bai’s apparent advantage.
• Staff restarted the livestream, and viewers saw Lu Bai approach the wingless anomaly.
• The wingless anomaly challenged Lu Bai, who leaped up and brought his flaming, scaled arm down on it, raising a cloud of dust.

Lu Bai defeated the Black-winged Anomaly, obtained the Deathmatch Arena Node, and asked officials to focus on reconstruction before he left to hunt deathmatchers and deal with the remaining anomalies. The chapter ended with him threatening a grotesque eyeball into relaying an ultimatum to all anomalies.

• Lu Bai emerged from the crater as people around the world celebrated his victory over the Black-winged Anomaly.
• Lu Bai fitted a shard into the Cloud Mirror, obtained the Deathmatch Arena Node, and received notice of a double-points reward scheduled for the next day.
• Minister Zhang thanked Lu Bai and offered him anything he needed, but Lu Bai asked officials to speed up reconstruction and reduce harm to the people.
• Lu Bai left to deal with the remaining anomalies while secretly searching for deathmatchers and collecting points.
• Lu Bai found a grotesque eyeball and ordered it to tell every anomaly to enter the Cloud Mirror within two days or face him.

Lu Bai captured the supernatural beings in the Cloud Mirror, completing his mission to ensure humanity’s continuation. He left the world as the Deathmatch Showdown ended, entrusting Minister Zhang with the mirror and its captives.

• Lu Bai secured the Deathmatch Arena Node and learned that the supernatural beings had gathered to face him.
• Lu Bai flew away from the containment center and used the Cloud Mirror to capture hundreds of supernatural beings.
• Lu Bai gave Minister Zhang the Cloud Mirror and announced that people no longer had to worry about the supernatural.
• Lu Bai vanished from the world, and Minister Zhang decided to issue an announcement.
• The Deathmatch System declared the showdown over, ranked Lu Bai first, and offered him the chance to permanently retain one ability.

Lu Bai returned from the Deathmatch Showdown with the Black-grade ability [Restore] and two new titles, then agreed to attend dinner at Principal Pu’s home with his younger siblings. Meanwhile, President Zheng and Ding Zhongmin prepared to launch the New Birth Festival event in Livability City.

• Lu Bai chose to keep the Black-grade ability [Restore] and stored the titles Kindness Guardian and Reclusive Poet in his inventory.
• Pu Xueli tried to persuade Lu Bai to stop entering Deathmatch Showdowns, then invited him and his younger siblings to dinner that evening, and Lu Bai accepted.
• At a secluded bar, President Zheng told the group to begin preparations, and Ding Zhongmin promised their branch would make the New Birth Festival unforgettable.
• Lu Bai walked home through Livability City’s festive streets and invited Lu Ziyi and Lu Qingyan to dinner at Principal Pu’s home.
• Lu Ziyi worried about what to wear, while Lu Qingyan peppered Lu Bai with questions until Lu Bai handed him his phone.