Chapter Summaries

Han Su reunited with a newly awakened Miss Ai, who explained how she reached this Life Path and warned him about the World-Destroying Machine. She proposed exploiting the nobles’ rules to secure the Mechanical Fragments and other goals, beginning with Han Su becoming a Knight Errant, but he revealed that he had already received an invitation.

• Han Su spoke with Miss Ai, who confirmed she had reunited with her parents and explained that her mature self from another Life Path was her future self.
• Miss Ai described entering a mysterious space after Han Su left the previous Life Path, where future versions of Han Su and his companions guided her to Life Line No. 01.
• Miss Ai identified the World-Destroying Machine’s core, or her heart, as the source of the tangled pasts, futures, and distorted logic, but said its records had been erased.
• Miss Ai warned Han Su not to discuss the Mechanical Heart with the World-Destroying Machine or accept its proposal to return the heart.
• Miss Ai said she could grow by taking control of reality incubators and proposed using the nobles’ contracts to obtain resources and knowledge.
• Miss Ai told Han Su that becoming a Knight Errant was the essential first step, and Han Su replied that he had already received an invitation.

Han Su accepted the Knight Errants’ invitation and arranged for Miss Ai, Anwei, and the team to manage Qinggang while he prepared to travel to Linyuan City. Before he left, Mr. Xu asked him to protect Xu Ji and, if necessary, extract the Emperor’s Blood from him, even though doing so would kill him.

• Han Su decided to attend the Knight Errant assessment at the Scorpion Tail Nail Temple, while Miss Ai transferred part of her will into his communicator and agreed to help the team.
• Han Su assigned Anwei and Miss Ai to expand their control of cities, told Anwei to keep Qinggang ready to destroy if necessary, and gave Wei Lan and the others their next tasks, including ordering Lu Xiaoba to find and kill the Grotesque Doctor.
• Han Su applied to leave Qinggang for Linyuan City and asked Zhang Chiguo to continue investigating the Ancient Castle Kidnapping Case; Zhang agreed to keep pursuing the truth.
• After the Disaster Management Bureau approved Han Su’s application, Mr. Xu asked him to take Xu Ji to Linyuan City because the Xu family required Xu Ji to attend an ancient ritual.
• Mr. Xu warned Han Su that Xu Ji’s Emperor’s Blood might be exposed and asked him to extract it if he could not protect Xu Ji, revealing that Xu Ji would die if the blood factor were removed.

Han Su agreed to escort Xu Ji to Linyuan City so Xu Ji could claim his family title, despite the dangers surrounding the journey. After a bounty on Xu Ji climbed to one thousand ancient gold coins, Han Su prepared to face the attackers aboard their train.

• Mr. Xu told Han Su that Xu Ji had to return to the family for an ancestral blessing and a chance to inherit a title, and Han Su agreed to help in exchange for information about the nobles and the journey's dangers.
• Xu Ji arrived at Han Su's apartment excited about traveling to Linyuan City for what he thought was a blind date, and he revealed that he had been marking Han Su present at school.
• Miss Ai arranged their train trip and warned Han Su that Xu Ji felt familiar to Li Manman, though she could not clearly perceive why.
• Han Su and Xu Ji boarded the intercity express, where Miss Ai detected a bounty on Xu Ji that rapidly reached one thousand ancient gold coins.
• Miss Ai detected an incoming attack on the train, and Han Su stood up with his briefcase and told Xu Ji he was going out to kill a few people.

Han Su defended Xu Ji’s train from attacks by Lake Village Frogmen and then faced a coordinated assault by Mountain Beasts and Independent Investigators from Black Cliff City and Mountain Gate City. He summoned twenty-two Bronze Armor Statues to surround the investigators and ordered the harvest to begin.

• Han Su climbed onto the express roof and used Cipher Incantation No. 03 to repel Lord Lake Demon’s tentacles before Lake Village Frogmen attacked with harpoons.
• Han Su used Cipher Incantation No. 02 to catch and bind the Frogmen’s harpoons, dragging the attackers into the tracks and a tunnel as the train passed.
• Miss Ai warned Han Su that the next attack was twenty kilometers away, and he rode on toward a dense spiritual field in the mountains.
• Mountain Beasts distorted the tracks and tried to stop the express, so Han Su used the Emperor’s authority to restore the tracks and drive the train through the ridge.
• Xiao Xie, Meng Zou, and Shen Biao confronted Han Su with troops and weapons, but he vanished into the night and summoned twenty-two Bronze Armor Statues around them.
• Han Su realized the Copper Text Church’s authority could integrate with the Emperor system and ordered the statues to begin the harvest.

Han Su used the Living Copper Puppets to destroy the attackers and replenish his depleted power, while the Ghost Truck revealed a dramatic transformation. Observers identified the Copper Script Sequence as his apparent trump card and discussed involving the Morgan Family, as a woman planned to use Han Su to help assassins test him.

• Han Su sent twenty-two Living Copper Puppets to spread Copper Rust and slaughter the forces trapped inside the Independent Investigators’ domain.
• The Ghost Truck appeared in a greatly enlarged form, crushed one Independent Investigator, and was recalled by Han Su before it could reveal its full power.
• Han Su’s puppets tore apart the Investigator controlling the domain, and Han Su killed the fleeing Investigator with Copper Blood pellets.
• Han Su used Zero Sequence Cipher Spell Number 05 to draw in the battlefield’s Mysterious Power and restore his Golden Cell Fourth Division.
• Two distant observers concluded that Han Su’s visible strength came from the Copper Script Sequence and discussed asking the Morgan Family to reclaim its authority.
• The woman with the Frogmen’s harpoon said they could use Han Su’s return to help assassins test his abilities.

Han Su fought off increasingly powerful attacks on the train and learned that his enemies were pushing him toward the edge of the Abyss to make him dependent on the World Guardian Organization. As the Red Palm Tree Knight Order’s leader arrived and Han Su faced a dangerous breakthrough, Miss Ai hinted that he might have a way to advance without surrendering control.

• Han Su killed the last Mountain Dweller and ended the suffering of the dying Independent Investigator, then Miss Ai assured him her report would protect him from punishment.
• Han Su returned to the moving train, where Xu Ji asked about the monsters and Han Su chose not to explain the world’s hidden nature to him.
• Han Su defeated waves of attackers, including the White Lizard Squad, the Ghostfolk Cult, Unit 329, and the Weirdo Alliance’s Queen of Hearts, while his Golden Cells reached their Fourth Division limit.
• Miss Ai warned Han Su that the attacks were designed to push him toward the Abyss and make him reliant on the World Guardian Organization’s training and injections.
• Han Su considered whether to risk a Fifth Division as the Red Palm Tree Knight Order’s leader approached, and Miss Ai hinted at a possible source of brain-and-spinal-cord enhancement injections, prompting Han Su to exclaim, “No way.”

Xu Ji was attacked aboard the train while Han Su fought enemies outside, and Miss Ai tried to teach him a Spell so he could save himself. As the Hell Cultivator assassin lunged at him, Xu Ji spoke different words and unleashed a mysterious power.

• Xu Ji watched the battle outside the train as a female attendant entered the business-class carriage and shot at him.
• A puppet doll and mechanical dog sprang from Xu Ji’s luggage compartment and restrained the attendant, who mutated into a Hell Cultivator assassin.
• Miss Ai revealed that she was protecting Xu Ji and warned that the assassin would soon break free, while distracting Han Su could put his life at risk.
• Miss Ai released the assassin and urged Xu Ji to learn a Spell under extreme danger, but he could not repeat the incantation.
• As the assassin lunged, Xu Ji cried, “All hail the throne!” and an invisible ripple enveloped her before surging into the night.

Han Su learned from Miss Ai that Shamir’s immense Mental Power came from Knight Errant training, while Xu Ji carried the substance used to make cerebrospinal enhancement injections. As Shamir unleashed a battlefield of ironized corpses, Han Su used the Giant’s Eye to melt them and conceal the battlefield, then opened the Emperor’s Book to confront him.

• Han Su struggled to defend against Shamir’s escalating mental assaults while Miss Ai explained how Knight Errant training could greatly increase Mental Power and its activity.
• Miss Ai identified Xu Ji as a source of the mysterious substance used to make cerebrospinal enhancement injections, which could help Han Su resist the Emperor’s will.
• Observers near the high-rise judged Han Su weak and ordered Shamir to finish his mission, while Shamir grew angry at their scrutiny.
• Shamir unleashed Three Billion Ganges, Rust Person Karma Dance, filling the battlefield with ironized human corpses.
• Han Su activated the Giant’s Eye, melting the iron formations and preventing outside observers from seeing the battlefield.
• Han Su opened the Emperor’s Book and faced Shamir, remarking that the battlefield was enough for now.

Han Su’s battle unleashed the Pallor power and revealed that Xu Ji was a contender to inherit the Golden Knight’s Dukedom. As Xu Ji’s relatives welcomed him to Linyuan City, the Knight Errants recruited Han Su and offered him access to advanced training if he helped protect the Grand Duke during the investiture ceremony.

• The observers lost their sight to the Pallor power, and the woman realized that Xu Ji’s bloodline had caused the disturbance and made him a thirteenth contender for the Dukedom.
• Xu Nanshen led the Golden Knight family’s descendants to welcome Xu Ji to Linyuan City, while Xu Ji hid and refused to trust them.
• Miss Ai explained to Han Su that Xu Ji might have the best chance of wielding the Golden Knight’s relic because his father had arranged for the Ancestral Substance to be extracted ten years earlier.
• Voodoo and Shen Qinghui arrived on behalf of the Knight Errant Order and told Han Su that his first task was to protect the Grand Duke during the investiture ceremony.
• Miss Ai urged Han Su to accept the assignment because it could give them access to the Scorpion Tail Nail Temple and the method for reaching Abyss Tier 2.

Han Su learned the history of the Twelve Great Dukes, the Sacred Relics, and Xu Ji’s unusual claim to the Golden title as he joined the Knights Errant mission to protect the investiture ceremony. Shen Qinghui revealed that the Knights planned to use Han Su’s identity to draw out the Grotesque Doctor.

• Han Su accepted the Knights Errant’s invitation, and Shen Qinghui explained that they would guard Linyuan City against anyone trying to disrupt the investiture ceremony.
• Shen Qinghui gave Han Su classified mission files, and Han Su consulted Miss Ai about the Twelve Great Dukes and their Sacred Relics.
• Miss Ai explained that the Sacred Relics held the powers of the Twelve Gods and that Xu Ji’s unusual Ancestral Substance could threaten the nobles’ legitimacy under the World Contract.
• Han Su learned that thirteen candidates, including Xu Ji and Xu Qiao, were competing for the Golden title, and that Xu Ji could claim the Sacred Relic by defeating the other candidates.
• Voodoo questioned Shen Qinghui about recruiting Han Su, and Shen Qinghui said they intended to use him to force the Grotesque Doctor to appear.

Han Su discovered that his Emperor Sequence contract could command the Nightmare Horses and considered entering the Abyss for third-stage training while guarding his assigned sector. Meanwhile, Xu Qiao learned that a rival clansman could threaten his claim to the Golden Knight inheritance, and his family planned to use a vampire relic to merge their powers before the ceremony.

• Shen Qinghui assigned Han Su the north-northwest sector and gave him clearance to cross the city perimeter and an incantation to summon a Nightmare Horse, but withheld the Flintlock Gun.
• Miss Ai explained that third-stage training required entering the Abyss, that Han Su would need the Abyssal Equation to protect his sense of self, and that his Emperor contract could control Nightmare Horses.
• Han Su used the Fishing Horn and declared, "I am god. I issue my decree!"; the summoned Nightmare Horse fled, and countless others gathered in the opened rift as his subjects.
• Xu Qiao resented that a cast-off clan member had appeared with a bloodline comparable to his own, while the elder warned that killing him could jeopardize the inheritance ritual.
• The elder proposed borrowing a vampire sacred relic to absorb the rival's Ancestral Substance and secure the relic's recognition, but Xu Qiao realized negotiations had to finish before the ceremony in three days.

Xu Ji agreed to help Han Su and recited Miss Ai’s Spell again when his hostile clansmen confronted him in the manor. The Spell overwhelmed the sacred relic candidates, and Xu Ji declared that he had come to reclaim what was his.

• Miss Ai told Xu Ji that his identity made him a ruler with powerful forces awaiting him, and said his choices affected Han Su.
• Xu Chao and the other Xu and An candidates confronted Xu Ji and questioned his background, unusual experiences, and connection to Xu Qiao.
• Miss Ai’s countdown prompted Xu Ji to recite “Twelve Divine Pillars, all are thrones!” as the candidates tried to take his phone.
• The Spell filled the room with crushing pressure and illusions, forcing Xu Chao and the other candidates to their knees.
• Xu Ji mocked the kneeling candidates, declared himself one of a kind, and said he had come to take back what was his.

Han Su descended into the abyss on a Nightmare Horse and discovered that he could enter deeper tiers without feeling the Emperor’s consciousness contaminate him. Li Manman concluded that this might let him increase his mental capacity without limit, while Knight Errant members watched from afar and followed orders to give him room to grow.

• Han Su mounted the unusually tall Nightmare Horse and plunged with it into the abyss, startling the other horses and disturbing the night over Linyuan City.
• Han Su sensed that the abyss held vast amounts of inactive Mental Power, while its Abyssal Creatures had 100% Mental Activity, and he theorized that complete Mental Activity separated minds from bodies.
• Li Manman confirmed that Han Su had reached the third tier and found that, unlike expected, he felt no influence from the Emperor’s consciousness.
• Han Su chose to continue descending, and Li Manman arranged a thirty-second unrestricted descent before Xu Ji would recite the “All Are Thrones” Spell to bring them back.
• Han Su descended through the fourth and fifth tiers, and Li Manman said his apparent immunity to contamination might let him raise his mental capacity without limit.
• Voodoo questioned the decision to let Han Su train, while Shen Qinghui explained that Captain of Three Hundred Floors and higher authorities wanted him to grow and become Out of Control to unsettle the Grotesque Doctor.

Han Su used Mechanical Fragments to extend his dive into the abyss and returned with a deeper understanding of its power. Meanwhile, Xu Ji gained the candidates’ allegiance and helped Miss Ai secure a path toward the Golden Knight family’s secrets, as she prepared Han Su to meet the Eternal Night Church.

• Han Su extended his dive with the Black Suitcase’s Mechanical Fragments, while Li Manman encouraged him to use his newfound power to surprise those who had guided him down this path.
• Xu Ji used Miss Ai’s prepared speech and a Scarlet contract to persuade the candidates to transfer their authority to him in exchange for protection and a share of the Linyuan City Marquises’ power.
• Miss Ai gathered faction information and contacted influential figures, whose responses led candidates including Xu Chao to sign the contract.
• Miss Ai instructed Xu Ji to enter Xu Langting’s study and stay there, opening a path toward the Golden Knight family’s database and Linyuan City’s defense system.
• After Han Su returned from his dive, Miss Ai revealed that the Eternal Night Church’s priest had arrived near the city and called on Han Su to organize his army in the Emperor’s name.

Miss Ai explained the origins of the mysterious organizations and the stakes behind the Divine Descent Plan, while Han Su prepared to confront the Eternal Night Church as the Emperor. The chapter ended with the Church preparing for an attack, Han Su arriving at its door, and Xu Ji distracting the Golden Knight elder at Jinshui Manor.

• Miss Ai told Han Su that the Gods’ lingering Mental Activity had created mysterious organizations and explained the Eternal Night Church’s connection to Jörmungandr and the Golden Knight family’s ritual.
• Miss Ai revealed that the Divine Descent Plan had drawn the world’s powers into a high-stakes struggle, and Han Su asked her to investigate while protecting Xu Ji.
• Han Su donned the cloak and white mask from the Ancient Castle, summoned the Nightmare Horse, and rode out of Linyuan City toward the Eternal Night Church.
• Shen Qinghui and Voodoo watched Han Su’s movements as Shen Qinghui discussed Captain of Three Hundred Floors’s arrival with a Blood Clan relic and plans to lure out Grotesque Doctor.
• The Eternal Night Church prepared to storm Linyuan City, then heard someone knocking at its temple and learned that the visitor claimed to be the Emperor.
• Xu Ji confronted the Golden Knight elder at Jinshui Manor, pretended to complain about a failed marriage match, and kept him occupied in the study.

Han Su entered the Eternal Night Church’s dreamlike temple and demanded an alliance, offering valuable information and help in return. When the church members attacked to test his strength, he unleashed the fifth step of the Abyss Stage.

• Han Su rode his Nightmare Horse into the Dark State temple through the sleepwalkers’ mental connection and met the Grand Elder.
• Han Su said he wanted the Eternal Night Church to join his forces, stop attacking Linyuan City, and share its research on the Dark State and the Tides.
• Han Su offered the Dark State altar’s location and its inheritor’s identity, a role in claiming the Sacred Relic, and help mastering the Calamities.
• The Eternal Night Church members attacked Han Su, while the Grand Elder watched to gauge his strength.
• Han Su invoked the fifth step of the Abyss Stage against the attackers.

Han Su demonstrated his ability to draw vast Mental Power from the abyss and offered the Eternal Night Church information about its Dark State altar in exchange for cooperation. After leaving the temple, he attacked Linyuan City with a swarm of Shadow Creatures to disrupt Shen Qinghui and Voodoo's plans, while the Eternal Night Church prepared to verify his information and join the coming war.

• Han Su overwhelmed the Eternal Night Church's attackers with more than ten thousand units of Mental Power, earning the temple's great elder's respect.
• Han Su showed the great elder a vision of the Dark State altar in Baolai City and said he knew the locations of all twelve altars.
• Han Su left the temple and decided to take the initiative against Shen Qinghui and Voodoo before their ritual began.
• Han Su used Zero Sequence Cipher Incantation, Number 11, to summon a vast swarm of Shadow Creatures and send them toward Linyuan City.
• The Eternal Night Church's great elder ordered followers to confirm the altar's location and gather allies, concluding that the Tidal Wave was truly coming.

Han Su watched Shen Qinghui use the Pallor Factory authority to destroy the Abyssal Creatures attacking Linyuan City while Miss Ai revealed the Knight families’ recurring bloodline sacrifices and a way to exploit the Knight Errant Order’s emergency rules. The chapter ended with Miss Ai explaining that Han Su could temporarily access all of Pallor Factory’s authority through a universal password.

• Shen Qinghui sent Voodoo to capture Han Su and left the city to fight the Abyssal Creatures, while Voodoo reinforced Linyuan City’s defenses and headed for Han Su.
• Shen Qinghui unleashed Pallor Factory and summoned grotesque masses of flesh that overwhelmed the Abyssal Creatures, and Han Su recognized the authority from Ms. Shen’s power.
• Miss Ai told Han Su that Shen Qinghui belonged to the Shen Family, a branch of the Giant Whale Knight’s bloodline, and explained the family’s connection to Pallor authority.
• Miss Ai revealed that the Knight families had sacrificed members of their bloodlines every two hundred years, and Han Su realized their ritual resembled his own pursuit of the Emperor’s power.
• Miss Ai proposed that Han Su exploit an emergency rule to take over the Knight Errant Order if he turned the crisis around after his superiors failed or died.
• Miss Ai said she controlled 100% of Pallor Factory on Life Line No. 04 and that Han Su could use its universal access password before the others noticed.

Han Su ambushed Shen Qinghui, overcame her with the Pallor Factory’s Second Armory, and captured her while intercepting the Knight Errants’ communications. He rode toward Linyuan City as puppet dolls stormed inside, while Voodoo prepared to use Ms. Shen to pressure her son into cooperating.

• Shen Qinghui turned to leave the battlefield, but Han Su appeared behind her and attacked before she could fire her Flintlock Gun.
• Han Su’s Nightmare Horse knocked Shen Qinghui’s mount aside, and both of them summoned weapons through the Pallor Factory.
• Han Su unleashed the Second Armory’s puppet dolls, whose strength stunned Shen Qinghui, then invaded her mind and stopped her from summoning more flesh.
• Han Su intercepted Voodoo’s encrypted message, captured Shen Qinghui, and rode toward Linyuan City while the puppet dolls followed him into the city.
• Voodoo opened a shop door and brought out Ms. Shen, telling her that she had to convince her son to cooperate with the operation.

Ms. Shen was brought to Linyuan City in custody while Voodoo searched for Han Su, but Han Su used Shen Qinghui’s Flintlock Gun to kill Voodoo from a rooftop. Han Su then approached Ms. Shen, who recognized him, and asked how she had been captured.

• Ms. Shen asked Voodoo to remove her handcuffs and let her prepare before meeting her son, but Voodoo refused and warned that she and her family could be imprisoned.
• Voodoo noticed mysterious disturbances in Linyuan City and used a Cipher Incantation to locate Han Su, discovering him on a rooftop with Shen Qinghui captured nearby.
• Han Su used Shen Qinghui’s mental model to load her Flintlock Gun with twelve thousand units of Mental Power and shot Voodoo from a thousand meters away.
• Han Su rode the Nightmare Horse back to Ms. Shen, examined Voodoo’s corpse, and asked Ms. Shen how she had been caught.