Chapter Summaries

Mortus revealed that he had designed the challenge to target Ling Chu and blocked her escape through Fate's Gate. As he toyed with Ling Chu and attacked Smiley, Ling Chu proposed that they team up.

• Ling Chu drank an Intermediate Mana Potion, and Mortus revealed that he had arranged the challenge for her and remembered their past encounter.
• Mortus sealed Fate's Gate with black chains and declared himself contestant number 183 before attacking Ling Chu and Smiley.
• Smiley's Magic Energy threads failed to stop Mortus's scythe, while Ling Chu dodged Death Shackles and narrowly escaped a direct blow.
• Ling Chu realized Mortus was deliberately prolonging the fight to make her suffer, while Smiley sustained more wounds under his relentless attacks.
• Ling Chu warned Smiley that they would both die if the fight continued and asked him to team up.

Ling Chu persuaded Smiley to consider a temporary alliance against Mortus, then asked whether he had an Item Retrieval Card so she could retrieve something from her storage that might defeat Death God. Smiley remained wary as Mortus attacked again, leaving their plan unresolved.

• Smiley angrily rejected Ling Chu’s proposal to work together, but she warned him that Mortus was also a player and only one person could survive the challenge.
• Smiley reluctantly agreed to a temporary alliance with Ling Chu, while both privately planned to settle their score once Mortus was defeated.
• Mortus attacked the two with Death Shackles and mocked them for plotting together in front of him.
• Ling Chu asked Smiley whether he had an Item Retrieval Card and said she might have something in her storage that could deal with Mortus.
• Smiley hesitated to trust Ling Chu or use his card, and Mortus launched five or six Death Shackles at them.

Ling Chu used the Light Mage class orb to give Plucking Flowers and Seeking Willows a chance to survive Mortus's Death Shackles. He accepted the inheritance and activated a barrier that slowed the death energy, but Mortus turned cold as the light began eroding her shackles.

• A Death Shackle caught Smiley by the wrist, and he gave Ling Chu an Item Retrieval Card while demanding she have a plan.
• Ling Chu retrieved the Light Mage class orb from her Ring of Bones, and Mortus recognized Audela's aura in it.
• Ling Chu dashed to Plucking Flowers and Seeking Willows while Smiley held off Mortus's scythe with his Magic Energy threads.
• Ling Chu pressed the orb into Plucking Flowers and Seeking Willows, who accepted the Light Mage inheritance despite his critical condition.
• Plucking Flowers and Seeking Willows activated Light Mage Ring, slowing the death energy and burning away the Death Shackles as Mortus's expression turned cold.

Ling Chu broke Plucking Flowers and Seeking Willows free and gave him the Light Mage inheritance so he could help fight Mortus. The group created an opening for his Light Missile, but his first two shots missed, leaving the battle unresolved.

• Ling Chu used the Light Mage Ring and the Blade of White Bones to break Mortus's Death Shackles and free Plucking Flowers and Seeking Willows.
• Ling Chu told Plucking Flowers and Seeking Willows to use Light Missile while she and Smiley distracted Mortus.
• Smiley tangled Mortus in Magic Energy threads as Ling Chu attacked him with a Storm Arrow and the Blade of White Bones.
• The injured black bear charged from the woods and knocked Mortus off balance, giving Plucking Flowers and Seeking Willows a chance to fire.
• Plucking Flowers and Seeking Willows missed Mortus with two Light Missiles, and he blamed his zero Luck and inexperience as a Light Mage.

Ling Chu realized Mortus was constrained by the challenge rules and helped her allies land a Light Missile that pierced his chest, but he healed and unleashed a deadly death domain. The spreading aura killed Plucking Flowers and Seeking Willows and Black Bear before reaching Ling Chu and Smiley.

• Mortus struck Black Bear with his scythe, and Ling Chu urged Plucking Flowers and Seeking Willows to treat him as a powerful contestant rather than an invincible god.
• Ling Chu, Smiley, and Black Bear attacked Mortus together, creating an opening for Plucking Flowers and Seeking Willows to hit him with Light Missile.
• The Light Missile pierced Mortus's chest, but he healed the wound and declared that the fight was over.
• Mortus raised his scythe and drew death aura into a domain that drained the life from the surrounding forest.
• The death aura shattered Plucking Flowers and Seeking Willows's barrier and killed him, then drained Black Bear until it collapsed dead.
• The death aura swept toward Ling Chu and Smiley.

Ling Chu and her allies were overwhelmed by Mortus’s death energy, leaving Ling Chu seemingly dead after she used the Thief's Music Box to stop time. The chapter ended with Mortus standing amid the corpses and viewers believing Ling Chu had died.

• Mortus’s death energy trapped Smiley, drained his Health Points, and killed him.
• Plucking Flowers and Seeking Willows and the black bear lay dead as the death domain closed around Ling Chu.
• Ling Chu noticed that the death energy flowed around corpses and realized it might only target living things.
• Ling Chu used an Item Retrieval Card to retrieve the Thief's Music Box and activated its Time Stop just before the death energy touched her.
• The death energy receded, leaving Mortus standing in the clearing while Ling Chu lay motionless and the viewers thought she was dead.

On Hope Island, Ling Chu’s companions feared she had died until they noticed her name remained on the rankings. In the challenge, Ling Chu survived Mortus’s deathly aura by using the Stillness Jade to feign death, but Mortus discovered Smiley was also pretending to be dead.

• On Hope Island, Star River Enters Dream noticed Ling Chu and Smiley remained on the rankings after Plucking Flowers and Seeking Willows disappeared, and National Server Little Luban confirmed Ling Chu was still alive.
• You Jiali recognized that Ling Chu was using the Stillness Jade to enter False Death.
• Ling Chu realized Mortus had made the evacuation point a trap and that survival required being the challenge’s sole survivor.
• Mortus approached Ling Chu’s body, explained that the Realm Walker restricted his divine power, and crushed her fingers under his shoe.
• Mortus began trying to pull Ling Chu’s soul from her body, but paused when he sensed Smiley pretending to be dead and swung his scythe at him.

Smiley tried to save himself by revealing that Ling Chu was still alive, but Mortus killed him and collected his soul. Mortus then tested Ling Chu’s apparent corpse, while she remained motionless under the Stillness Jade’s effect and risked being killed by his scythe.

• Smiley’s Decoy Doll took a fatal blow for him, leaving him alive with only a few Health Points.
• Smiley told Mortus that Ling Chu’s name remained on the rankings and accused her of faking her death.
• Mortus killed Smiley with death energy, pulled his soul from his corpse, and stored it in a Soul Orb.
• Mortus examined Ling Chu and found that his death energy slid off her apparently lifeless body.
• Ling Chu remained still under the Stillness Jade’s effect, knowing it could not protect her from a blade.

Ling Chu used a trick to fake her death, then stole Mortus’s scythe and revived herself. She faced the enraged Death God while discovering that the weapon required her to kill someone within thirty minutes.

• Ling Chu realized Mortus’s Soul Extraction could expose her deception or pull out her soul, so she waited for an opening.
• While Mortus checked her, Ling Chu used Pirate is More of a Bandit to steal his Death God's Scythe.
• Ling Chu stored the Stillness Jade in the Returning Prayer Pendant, restored her bodily functions, and used Omni Reset and Ghostly Steps to escape Mortus’s grasp.
• Mortus saw Ling Chu alive with his scythe and flew into a rage as she claimed the weapon for herself.
• Ling Chu inspected the scythe and learned it granted powerful abilities but would permanently punish her if she did not kill a living being within thirty minutes.

Ling Chu used Death God's Scythe to destroy Mortus's Death Shackles and wound his avatar, turning the fight in her favor. She used Curtain of the Dead to bypass his defenses and launched a surprise strike as she emerged behind his side.

• Mortus attacked Ling Chu with Death Shackles, but she cut them apart with Death God's Scythe.
• Ling Chu taunted Mortus after discovering the divine artifact could sever his chains and harm his avatar.
• Mortus teleported behind Ling Chu, but she sensed his death energy and slashed him with the scythe.
• Ling Chu pressed Mortus with Ride the Wind, cutting through more Death Shackles as she pursued him.
• Ling Chu used Curtain of the Dead to pass through the sealed area and emerge beside Mortus with a powerful scythe strike.

Ling Chu used the Death God's Scythe and a Holy Crystal to attack Mortus, exploiting the wound in his avatar to make pure light energy consume his death energy. Mortus recognized the Holy Crystal and showed fear as white cracks spread across his body.

• Ling Chu wounded Mortus with the Death God's Scythe, leaving a gash that would not heal.
• Mortus attacked Ling Chu with death energy and Death Shackles, but she broke the chains and charged him with Ride the Wind.
• Ling Chu feinted with the scythe and pressed the Holy Crystal into the weakened spot on Mortus's chest.
• Mortus realized the Holy Crystal was inside him, and sacred light began turning his body to ash as fear appeared in his eyes.

Ling Chu used a Holy Crystal to purify Mortus's avatar and stole his Death God's Cloak while fighting off his final attack. Mortus's avatar crumbled, and his mark vanished from Ling Chu's map, though he vowed to take revenge when he awakened.

• Mortus tried to remove the Holy Crystal from his chest, but its power purified his death energy and spread white cracks across his avatar.
• Mortus unleashed his remaining power and attacked Ling Chu, who used her scythe to fend off his strikes.
• Ling Chu caught Mortus's wrist and used Pirate is More of a Bandit to steal his Death God's Cloak, then escaped with Ghostly Steps as her Health Points fell to 30.
• Mortus's avatar continued to crumble as the Holy Crystal damaged the Divine Power linked to his true body, and he threatened Ling Chu with revenge.
• The Holy Crystal's light consumed Mortus, and the red dot marking Player 183 disappeared from Ling Chu's map.

Ling Chu defeated Mortus's manifestation and claimed his divine artifacts, while Mortus fell into a prolonged sleep in the Death Realm. The system offered Ling Chu the special divine office of Acting Death God.

• Mortus awoke in the Death Realm, realized Ling Chu had destroyed his manifestation and taken his scythe and cloak, then succumbed to a prolonged sleep.
• Ling Chu confirmed Mortus would not reform, caught the Holy Crystal, and received the Public Challenge victory notification.
• Ling Chu inspected the Death God's Cloak and learned its abilities, including returning to a marked position and swallowing and releasing an incoming energy attack.
• The Death God's Scythe revealed that it was a vessel of authority for the Death Office.
• The system confirmed Ling Chu's eligibility and asked whether she would accept the office of Acting Death God.

Ling Chu accepted the temporary office of Acting Death God after learning she could compete for the permanent position, and her Soul Perception advanced into the authority Soulwarden's Eye. She discovered that it let her see deceased players' and beasts' souls and left the chapter observing souls beginning to be drawn toward the Netherworld Domain.

• Ling Chu accepted the Acting Death God office after the system explained that she could accumulate authority and potentially surpass Mortus.
• The Death Office transformed Ling Chu's Soul Perception into the authority Soulwarden's Eye, which let her see and assess wandering souls.
• Ling Chu saw the souls of Chen Piaopiao, Plucking Flowers and Seeking Willows, Juliet, a black bear, and Chocolate beside their bodies.
• Ling Chu learned that player souls were protected by the Realm Walker's rules until their deaths were settled, while Soulwarden's Eye could identify them.
• Ling Chu watched gray-blue light begin drawing the bear's and Chocolate's souls away, and the system explained how souls normally entered the Netherworld Domain and what could prevent it.

Ling Chu received the Acting Death God divine office and learned about its powers, obligations, and the Death Realm. As the Public Challenge ended, she claimed its spoils and became its sole survivor, with her rewards awaiting settlement.

• Ling Chu learned that the challenge's rules had kept Chen Piaopiao and other dead players' souls in a temporary settlement state, while Mortus had already extracted Smiley's soul.
• Ling Chu received the Acting Death God divine office, whose abilities included extracting souls, forming Death Pacts, and using death judgments and projections if she gained enough divine power.
• Ling Chu learned that the Death Realm belonged to the Death God while the Netherworld Domain was governed by Hermia, and she questioned the system about divine artifacts and divine power.
• Ling Chu collected the Soulstone Pouches left by Smiley, Plucking Flowers and Seeking Willows, Chen Piaopiao, Juliet, and Mortus, gathering more than 2,100 Soulstones.
• At Zero Point, the system announced that the challenge had ended with Ling Chu as the sole survivor and began settling her rewards.

Ling Chu spent her remaining Soulstones on two Mysterious Fruits and a Legendary Material Selection Chest before the Death God's Game ended. She returned to Reef Island, reunited with her waiting crew, and began treating her severe wounds.

• Ling Chu exchanged 1000 Soulstones for two Mysterious Fruits and another 1000 for a Legendary Material Selection Chest, then converted her remaining Soulstones into Sea Shells.
• The Public Challenge ended, and Ling Chu reappeared outside the Whispering Lighthouse on Reef Island.
• The Ghost Ship's crew welcomed Ling Chu back, and Squid Ball hugged her in relief.
• Lingering Wind and Fading Moon gave Ling Chu an Intermediate Life Potion and examined her injuries while Huang Xiaowen told her You Jiali had prepared seafood porridge.
• Ling Chu shut off the livestream, and Lingering Wind and Fading Moon saw that her waist wound and arm injuries were worse than they had appeared on camera.

After defeating Smiley and Circus’s core members, Ling Chu set out to seize the three islands that had passed to Circus’s new Captain. She arrived aboard Ghost Ship to find Circus Ship raising a white flag before the battle began.

• Ling Chu told Lingering Wind and Fading Moon that the misfortune curse had ended, then ordered Huang Xiaowen and Squid Ball to find who held Smiley’s three islands.
• Squid Ball identified When It's Dark, Close Your Eyes as a Circus member who owned three islands, and Ling Chu used an Island Raid Card to target his highest-level island.
• Ling Chu ate an Intelligence Fruit and a Constitution Fruit, while A Silly Bird declined her camera trade and said she would livestream the raid.
• Titch led Ghost Ship through a teleportation vortex to the island, where the crew spotted Circus Ship and prepared to attack.
• Before Ghost Ship entered firing range, Circus Ship lowered its Joker-emblazoned sail and raised a white flag.

Ling Chu accepted the Circus Fleet’s surrender, took ownership of its three islands, and stripped its ship of supplies and valuables. She spared the crew on the condition that they sign a Death Pact with her.

• When It's Dark, Close Your Eyes surrendered the Circus Ship and offered its supplies and islands to Ling Chu.
• Ling Chu accepted ownership of Nursery Island, Nut Island, and Rubber Grove Island.
• Ling Chu ordered her Skeleton Henchmen to take the Circus Ship’s supplies and valuables, including the Sea God's Sacrificial Fire Basin.
• Ling Chu dismantled the Circus Ship’s special facilities and left its hull nearly bare.
• Ling Chu told the Circus crew she would spare them if they signed a Death Pact with her.

Ling Chu forced the Circus members to sign Death Pacts, disbanded their fleet, and sent them away after dismantling their ship. After she collapsed from exhaustion, a Soul Lamp on Crimson Moon's island went out, revealing that Fei Ye had died.

• Ling Chu formed Death Pacts with all 485 Circus members, gaining 48.5 Divine Power, then had When It's Dark, Close Your Eyes disband the Circus.
• Ling Chu dismantled the Circus Ship, sent the surrendered members away aboard a Level 4 Ship, and explained to A Silly Bird why she had spared them.
• Ling Chu ate some seafood congee and went to sleep, exhausted from the challenges and encounters of the past several days.
• A night watchman on Crimson Moon's Level Seven Island noticed that one of the seven Soul Lamps had gone out and raised the alarm.
• A Crimson Moon woman and the other core members gathered at the temple, where she confirmed that Fei Ye was dead.

Crimson Moon investigated Fei Ye’s death and sought the Holy Crystal and the killer marked by the Blood Debt Moon Mark. Back aboard the Ghost Ship, Ling Chu reviewed her enormous haul from the Circus Ship and learned that Social Phobia had sent her wild ducks and eggs in thanks.

• After Fei Ye’s Soul Lamp went out, Crimson Moon’s leader ordered an investigation into her final Public Challenge and anyone who survived it.
• Crimson Moon’s leader told her allies and information brokers to watch for players with a new black moon mark and instructed them to capture suspects without warning them.
• Ling Chu woke aboard the Ghost Ship after recovering from the previous night’s exhaustion, and You Jiali gave her an inventory of the supplies taken from the Circus Ship.
• Ling Chu saw the haul included large stores of construction materials, food, Sea Shells, two cannons, and the Shark Silk clothing Chen Piaopiao had returned.
• You Jiali told Ling Chu that Social Phobia had sent twenty wild ducks and ten baskets of eggs to thank her for rescuing her, while spicy wild duck casserole simmered nearby.