Chapter Summaries

Chen Shouyi returned home from his mission, reassured his parents, and warned Chen Xingyue about the deadly risks of becoming a martial artist. After struggling to cut his own hair, he shaved his head and then shaved Shell Girl’s too, leaving her distraught.

• Chen Shouyi reunited with his parents, revealed that he had become a Master-level Martial Artist, and asked them to keep it from Chen Xingyue.
• Chen Shouyi told Chen Xingyue that many martial artists had died fighting barbarians and urged her not to treat the path as glamorous.
• Chen Shouyi’s parents welcomed him home for dinner while Chen Xingyue quietly reflected on his warning.
• Chen Shouyi tried to trim his tough hair with his sword, made a mess of it, and shaved his head bald.
• Shell Girl mistook Chen Shouyi’s bald appearance for that of a bad giant, then let him shave her hair too and cried when she saw her bald reflection.

Chen Shouyi spent the next several days absorbing the divine blood, completing a spirit-clearing assignment, and looking after Shell Girl before using nine energy points to optimize Entering Tranquility to Refine the Self. The meditation became more profound, but its method did not change, leaving him disappointed and wishing he had saved the energy for the Thirty-Six Forms of Hardening.

• Chen Shouyi fed Shell Girl honey while she sulked over her shaved head, then faced laughter from Chen Xingyue and his parents after they saw his own bald head.
• Chen Shouyi spent several days reading at the library and absorbed the remaining divine blood, raising his attributes, while also easily eliminating spirits at a city crematorium.
• Shell Girl played with the building blocks Chen Shouyi had bought for her as soft fuzz grew on her head.
• Chen Shouyi used nine energy points to optimize Entering Tranquility to Refine the Self, but found that it only made his meditation more profound and left the method unchanged.

Chen Shouyi tested his improved meditation and heard rumors that Anzhong Province had fallen before meeting Liu Jie, who had lost her left arm on a mission and now taught martial arts. After she left, he discovered his bicycle had been stolen and went home for money to buy another.

• Chen Shouyi meditated, but sensed no obvious improvement in refining his brain, then fell asleep.
• Chen Shouyi heard people discussing rumors that Anzhong Province had fallen as he cycled past a newsstand.
• Chen Shouyi met Liu Jie and learned that a barbarian had severed her left arm before she killed him; she now worked as a martial arts teacher.
• Liu Jie left for class after Chen Shouyi told her that her arm might someday grow back.
• Chen Shouyi found his bicycle stolen, returned home for cash, and hurried toward the urban district to buy another.

Chen Shouyi returned to the winter-struck other world, killed a hibernating Giant Beast, and encountered young martial artists on an exploration mission. When he sensed his barbarian believers facing an enemy, his intervention caused the island's Divine Statue to glow, and he realized his Faith Power had vanished from the Book of Knowledge.

• Two barbarians left their winter cellar and spotted a dugout canoe full of shadowy figures approaching the island, so one shouted an alarm.
• Chen Shouyi found a Giant Beast occupying the Firefly Cave, killed it with an arrow, and butchered it for meat.
• Five young martial artists emerged from the woods, recognized Chen Shouyi as a Martial Master and Chief Advisor, and explained they were completing an exploration mission before leaving.
• Chen Shouyi sensed his barbarian believers praying for help against invading enemies and briefly saw himself among them as the Divine Statue began to glow and restored their strength.
• Chen Shouyi entered the space within the Book of Knowledge and found that the Faith Power he had accumulated had disappeared, leaving him worried about the barbarians' survival.

Chen Shouyi watched two barbarian tribes merge peacefully, causing his believers and Faith Power to grow rapidly. After he left the Book of Knowledge and began making breakfast, an injured martial artist rushed to him to beg for help for her companions.

• A migrating tribe fleeing a powerful Nature Spirit landed on the island, but the Divine Statue made its people hesitate before they negotiated with the resident tribe.
• The two tribes merged and chose the stronger newcomer as their chieftain, while the original tribe's priest remained in her position.
• Chen Shouyi saw the sacrifice replenish his Faith Power and watched his believers increase from over two hundred to more than four hundred.
• Chen Shouyi left the Book of Knowledge, and Shell Girl claimed she had killed a tiny bug that threatened him.
• As Chen Shouyi prepared breakfast, an injured female martial artist arrived and begged him to save her companions.

Chen Shouyi learned that four human warriors had been captured by a huge barbarian tribe protected by the River God. After scouting the tribe and questioning a guard, he returned to the Fluorite Cave and planned to attempt a rescue that night.

• A female warrior told Chen Shouyi that her team had found a huge barbarian tribe and that her companions were missing after the group was discovered.
• Chen Shouyi armed himself, took the female warrior to the tribe, and found signs that the other warriors had been killed or captured.
• Chen Shouyi approached the tribe alone, killed two guards, and captured a third for questioning.
• The barbarian revealed that the tribe served the River God and that Chen Shouyi's companions had been captured.
• Chen Shouyi told the female warrior he would attempt a rescue that night, then ordered her to return because she would hinder him.

Chen Shouyi infiltrated a Barbarian settlement at night, using his control over the air and Shell Girl’s sharp eyes to avoid detection. He entered the settlement and searched for the scent of humans.

• Chen Shouyi waited through the freezing night near the Fluorite Cave, then set out with Shell Girl to attack the Barbarian tribe.
• Chen Shouyi muffled his footsteps with his control over the atmosphere and reached the tribe’s perimeter.
• Chen Shouyi and Shell Girl found and disabled the tribe’s rope-triggered warning devices.
• Chen Shouyi sensed the tribe’s Faith Domain and discovered a spear-filled ditch behind its boulder wall.
• Chen Shouyi leaped over the wall and ditch, then silently searched the settlement for the scent of humans.

Chen Shouyi found the Barbarian tribe’s temple and was pursued by its guardian, the Dark King Lols. After killing Lols and discovering the captured martial artists were dead, Chen Shouyi fought through the Barbarians and fled across the rooftops.

• Chen Shouyi identified a towering stone building as the River God’s temple and sensed the presence of a true god inside.
• The Dark King Lols followed Chen Shouyi from the temple and confronted him near a building where he had detected human scents.
• Chen Shouyi killed Lols with a kick and a sword strike, then killed a Barbarian who emerged nearby.
• Chen Shouyi found two injured martial artists; one had died, and the other died after telling him the others were dead and asking about Song Yanhong.
• Chen Shouyi killed the Barbarians who rushed him, then escaped across the rooftops to avoid risking the River God’s intervention.

Chen Shouyi killed the barbarian priests and chieftain, then fled as a terrifying presence overwhelmed the world. A silver-white Giant Beast tried to confront it but was destroyed, and Chen Shouyi reached the spatial passage as the storm subsided, wondering whether the River God had mistaken the beast for the culprit.

• Chen Shouyi avoided a Divine Technique and shot the old barbarian priest, then killed the burly barbarian beside him.
• Chen Shouyi used his War Bow to kill the other five barbarian priests and the tribe's chieftain, scattering the remaining barbarians.
• Chen Shouyi escaped over the perimeter wall and ran through the forest as the snowfall, thunder, and crushing pressure intensified.
• A silver-white Giant Beast with a serpent's body and two wings flew into the sky, easing the pressure on Chen Shouyi.
• A thunderous strike cut the Giant Beast in two, and its body dissolved into dust as the storm and pressure faded.
• Chen Shouyi reached the spatial passage and wondered if the River God had mistaken the Giant Beast for the real culprit.

After surviving the River God’s divine descent, Chen Shouyi escaped the Otherworld with Shell Girl and returned to Hedong City. He reported the deaths of Song Yanhong’s companions, then went home to tend to Shell Girl and rest.

• Chen Shouyi reflected on his recklessness and the danger of provoking the River God, while Shell Girl clung to him in terror after wetting her skirt.
• Chen Shouyi retrieved his backpack from the fluorite cave and left the Otherworld with Shell Girl hidden in his briefcase.
• Song Yanhong asked Chen Shouyi about her companions, and he told her they had all fallen in the line of duty.
• Chen Shouyi informed a soldier that he needed to see the battalion commander; hours later, he left the locked-down camp as self-propelled guns arrived.
• Chen Shouyi salted the pork he had brought home, washed Shell Girl’s skirt, and read about thought and the soul before falling asleep.

Chen Shouyi searched for a safe Space Channel where he could train and chose a low-risk wasteland near the safe zone. He entered its sandstorm-swept landscape and found shelter among rocky hills, though he considered looking for a better spot the next day.

• Chen Shouyi asked Bai Xiaoling for information on Space Channels and chose a nearby low-risk channel in a wasteland for training.
• Chen Xingyue told Chen Shouyi that her advanced class would soon attend a half-month training camp at the Space Channel near the old campus, and he offered to accompany her.
• Chen Shouyi saw residents near the lower city's Space Channel being evacuated and worried that Hedong might face a disaster like Pingzhou.
• Chen Shouyi entered the selected Space Channel and found himself in a fierce sandstorm among dead trees and the enormous bones of a buried creature.
• Chen Shouyi walked to a range of rocky hills, cleared sand from a sheltered hollow, and decided to make do there for the day.

Chen Shouyi entered a sealed cavern filled with Four-armed Giant corpses and studied murals that appeared to record the Otherworld’s origin and the tribe’s history. The final images suggested that a god destroyed the Four-armed Giants in retaliation for their killing a divine avatar.

• Chen Shouyi broke through the stone door, waited for the dust to clear, and entered the cavern with Little Dot and Shell Girl.
• Chen Shouyi found more than a thousand Four-armed Giant mummies and examined murals depicting a colossal being whose corpse gave rise to strange life-forms, including a towering tree he identified as the World Tree.
• Chen Shouyi saw murals of an apocalyptic war that broke the World Tree, followed by scenes of the Four-armed Giants fighting Giant Beasts across generations.
• Chen Shouyi noticed murals showing Four-armed Giants eating barbarians, a barbarian shrouded in light fighting their champion, and the champion killing the barbarian.
• Chen Shouyi concluded that a god had punished the Four-armed Giants for killing its avatar and may have created the surrounding desert while wiping out the tribe.

Chen Shouyi entered a sealed cavern filled with mummified Four-armed Giants and studied murals recounting the origins of the Otherworld and the tribe’s history. The final murals suggested a god had destroyed the Four-armed Giants in divine punishment, leaving Chen Shouyi unsettled by the gods’ immense power.

• Chen Shouyi broke through the stone door, waited for the dust to settle, and entered the cavern with Shell Girl.
• Chen Shouyi found thousands of dead Four-armed Giants and murals depicting a colossal being, the emergence of strange life, and the World Tree’s destruction in an ancient war.
• Chen Shouyi examined murals recording the Four-armed Giants’ long history of battles and noticed that they showed no signs of worship.
• Chen Shouyi saw murals of Four-armed Giants capturing Little People, a glowing barbarian fighting them, and the giants celebrating after killing him.
• Chen Shouyi inferred that a god had avenged the slain barbarian by destroying the Four-armed Giant tribe and possibly creating the surrounding desert.

Chen Shouyi explored the Four-armed Giants’ cavern and discovered the tribe’s immense store of weapons and corpses, including its chieftain’s dangerous heirloom spear. After leaving the cavern, he encountered desert creatures and roasted a horned lizard.

• Chen Shouyi examined the Four-armed Giants’ crude weapons and found a huge pile of dried barbarians that had been stored as food.
• Chen Shouyi identified a towering corpse as a Four-armed Giants’ chieftain and found its pale silver spear, which struck him with a powerful mental shock when he touched it.
• Chen Shouyi recovered, decided not to try handling the spear again, and left the cavern after exploring for several more minutes.
• Chen Shouyi saw giant shelled creatures and a horned lizard emerge after the sandstorm ended.
• Chen Shouyi skinned and cleaned the lizard, then impaled it on a stick and roasted it over a fire.

Chen Shouyi was called to investigate a mountain village where villagers had gone mad and a supernatural fog trapped soldiers and martial artists. He reached the village with a rescue team and learned that Song Yingjie was among those trapped.

• Chen Shouyi reviewed his improving attributes while Shell Girl admired a red crystal orb, then received an urgent mission call.
• Bai Xiaoling told Chen Shouyi that a villager had murdered his family and himself after reporting a demon, and that fog now trapped people inside the village.
• Chen Shouyi flew to the town government office, where Jin Feiyan explained that she had escaped from the village.
• Chen Shouyi joined Jin Feiyan and others in a truck bound for the village and learned that Song Yingjie was among the trapped martial artists.

Chen Shouyi entered a fog-shrouded village where soldiers had vanished, searching for survivors while encountering a seemingly deranged old woman. He continued deeper into the village after spotting a figure in the fog.

• Chen Shouyi arrived with Jin Feiyan at the sealed-off village and learned that soldiers sent inside had not returned, though people might still be alive.
• Chen Shouyi armed himself and entered the thick fog alone, finding that it interfered with his perception and compass readings.
• Chen Shouyi searched a dark house and found an elderly woman gnawing on a decomposing human arm, but he left her alive after realizing she was still breathing.
• Chen Shouyi called for Song Yingjie and other survivors as he searched the silent village, then spotted a figure ahead and chased after it.

Chen Shouyi searched the fog-shrouded village and rescued several people from the mysterious power distorting their minds. After finding Song Jieying and preparing to lead everyone out, he discovered armed soldiers surrounding the house.

• Chen Shouyi found soldiers and martial artists wandering in confusion, knocking them unconscious or slapping them awake to break the mysterious power’s hold.
• Chen Shouyi met Qian Wei and Zhao Jiankai, who said villagers were acting strangely and that several people had become trapped in the village.
• Chen Shouyi, Qian Wei, and Zhao Jiankai searched the village for the missing martial artists, repeatedly waking one another when the mysterious power affected them.
• Chen Shouyi found Song Jieying hiding in a house and slapped her until she recovered, then said he would get everyone out.
• Chen Shouyi sensed something was wrong and rushed to the doorway, where he saw armed soldiers surrounding the house.

Chen Shouyi led the martial artists through a fog-bound village after controlled soldiers attacked them. As the group neared the edge of the fog, Song Jieying turned on him, and Chen Shouyi spotted a tall shadow watching them.

• Twelve controlled soldiers surrounded Chen Shouyi and the others, but Chen Shouyi deflected their bullets and knocked them unconscious.
• Chen Shouyi redirected a rocket with his will, then led the group through the soldiers and numb villagers to escape the encirclement.
• Qian Wei and Zhao Jiankai heard a grating sound and began acting strangely as the fog weakened Chen Shouyi's perception.
• Song Jieying attacked Chen Shouyi from behind, but he disarmed her and carried her as she struggled.
• As the group neared the edge of the fog, Chen Shouyi noticed a tall shadow silently watching them.

Chen Shouyi escorted Song Yingjie out of the mental fog, then returned to hunt the entity controlling the village. The creature was revealed as a weakened Soul Eater whose power depended on the people it had assimilated, and Chen Shouyi’s rescues were steadily draining its strength.

• Chen Shouyi carried the controlled Song Yingjie out of the fog, and she regained her senses once they reached safety.
• Chen Shouyi told the battalion commander and political instructor that most of the people were alive and that he would try to kill the mysterious monster.
• After resting, Chen Shouyi reentered the fog and searched for the hidden entity, but could not find it.
• When a bullet grazed his ear, Chen Shouyi recalled the old woman and wondered why the monster had kept her alive.
• Chen Shouyi ran toward the village outskirts carrying two soldiers, while a three-meter-tall Soul Eater grew irritated inside the fog.
• The Soul Eater’s history and powers were revealed, including how Chen Shouyi’s rescues were stealing the strength it had built through its mental network.

Chen Shouyi fought the dream-controlling monster Diluoluo, rescuing the people it had controlled and finally killing it with a rapid barrage of arrows. He returned by helicopter, worried that Sun Jin and Dong Siyang might not recover, then went home.

• Chen Shouyi carried twenty soldiers out of the fog and noticed that it shrank as the controlled people were removed.
• Diluoluo confronted Chen Shouyi with mental attacks, but he resisted and beheaded its apparent body with his sword.
• Chen Shouyi pursued Diluoluo through the village and shot it repeatedly, destroying its body and ending the threat.
• Soldiers reached the village, and Chen Shouyi told the battalion commander he was fine despite his pain and exhaustion.
• On the helicopter ride back, Chen Shouyi worried that Sun Jin and Dong Siyang might remain unconscious or suffer lasting harm.
• The helicopter landed in the villa district, and Chen Shouyi said goodbye to the others and headed home.