Chapter Summaries

Lin An watched the Blood Seed age, regenerate, and use nearby Zombies to rebuild the Blood Corpse, revealing how the monster revived. When the renewed Blood Corpse fired at the soldiers, Lin An destroyed it and pierced the infant Blood Seed’s head.

• Lin An split the Blood Corpse open but hesitated when he saw an infant Blood Seed inside it.
• The Blood Seed rapidly aged into an old man, then began regenerating as the soldiers urged Lin An to kill it.
• The Blood Corpse drained nearby Zombies to rebuild its Flesh Exoskeleton Armor and create another infant Blood Seed.
• Lin An realized the Blood Seed could copy and revive the Blood Corpse by using Zombies as material.
• The Blood Corpse fired Cluster Bombs, and Lin An cut them apart before striking through the infant Blood Seed’s head.

Lin An entered War Fortress Number 9 with his team and began investigating its strange society, while learning that Ascetics might foresee events. Inside the fortress, he saw a crowd gathered around ten Ascetics demonstrating their abilities.

• After the Blood Corpse died, the soldiers said Ascetic Number 67 had predicted the outcome, and the Ascetic flew away without addressing Lin An.
• The commander invited Lin An to Fortress Number 9 for authentication, and Lin accepted while wondering about the Ascetics and his mission to eliminate them.
• Lin An and his team entered the colossal fortress, where they saw dense defensive structures and a giant bronze statue of a thin man holding a baby and a knife.
• The commander led Lin through the Inner City toward authentication, where Lin saw ten Ascetics on a platform before a crowd.
• The first Ascetic on the platform ignited a flame on his fingers and declared that he would burn one to prove his resolve.

Lin An watched Ascetic Cultivators inflict brutal injuries on themselves and learned that their rituals could grant power while revealing little about their abilities. He questioned the guiding officer about Precognition, just as a man on the platform cut open his belly and blood struck the officer’s face.

• Lin An and Bear Dunce watched a man burn his fingers, and Lin An identified the act as an offering and studied the crowd’s extreme pain tolerance.
• The finger-burning man gained a burst of power, and the guiding officer explained that Ascetic Cultivators used such shortcuts to strengthen their faith.
• The officer said the shortcuts borrowed vitality from the future and did not grant Precognition, while another man swallowed glass and cut his tongue.
• Lin An inferred that his assigned identity was an old Ascetic Cultivator from a remote region and asked whether Ascetic Number 67 could see fragments of the future.
• A third man slit open his belly, and a drop of blood landed between the guiding officer’s brows, making him feel a chill.

Lin An nearly exposed his disguise when the officer questioned his identity, but the System dispelled the officer’s suspicion before the soldiers attacked. As the officer shared information about Ascetic Cultivators, Lin An wondered whether the Secret Realm held deeper connections to the real world and his own memories.

• The officer explained that Ascetic Cultivators could predict battle outcomes and questioned why Lin An relied on weapons.
• The officer realized Lin An might not be an Ascetic Cultivator and called soldiers to surround him.
• A flash of white light erased the officer’s suspicion, and he dismissed the soldiers’ alarm.
• The officer praised Lin An as a rare special Ascetic Cultivator and mentioned the Eight Divisions Asura and Ascetic Number 3.
• Lin An explained the Eight Divisions Asura to Bear Dunce and wondered whether the Secret Realm had formed from fragments of their memories.

Lin An learned how the Great Xia Dynasty and its Ascetic Cultivators had fought the Blood Corpses for over a thousand years, then reached the Ascetic Cultivator station. The soldiers hoped he would lead their unit, but Lin An knew his mission meant they would all die by his hand.

• Lin An questioned the officer and learned that Ascetic Cultivators drew strength from unwavering belief, served as a major force in the dynasty, and were often used as human shields against Blood Corpses.
• Lin An asked why Blood Corpses contained human babies, and the officer insisted they were monsters with identical Blood Seeds.
• The Cavalry Commander brought Lin An to the Ascetic Cultivator station and asked him to join the 7th Fortress unit as its leader.
• Lin An considered the soldiers' hopes and agreed to think about it, while privately realizing his mission required him to kill them all.

Lin An received the early number 99 for entry into the Initial Land, then killed a New Ascetic who challenged his qualification. The temple’s guardian, Ding Ji, secretly used Precognition against Lin An and saw more than a hundred battles end in black screens, with a glimpse of a Silver Giant Bear scattering its ashes.

• Lin An learned that Ascetic Cultivators entered the Initial Land by number or battle merit, and he used the Mechanical Compass to assess the temple’s guardians.
• A Skinning Ascetic accused Lin An of relying on external assistance and demanded that the Guardian reconsider his number.
• Lin An cut the Skinning Ascetic apart and repeatedly struck him as he regenerated, eventually killing him permanently after forty-two deaths.
• Lin An summoned Alloy Longswords and Blood Annihilation to pin down the Skinning Ascetic, then left the stunned temple.
• Ding Ji suppressed his unease about Lin An and later saw more than a hundred Precognition battle results end in black screens, alongside a vision of a Silver Giant Bear scattering its ashes.

Lin An received Ascetic Cultivator Number 99, and Guardian Number 29 struggled to understand why he had assigned it to him. At the Seventh Fortress, Zhang Yan explained Lin An’s new authority and offered to arrange his residence, while Lin An considered using his power to summon Ascetic Cultivators for experiments.

• Guardian Number 29 remained unsettled after assigning Lin An Number 99, while the other Ascetic Cultivators chose not to question him further.
• Zhang Yan and the soldiers congratulated Lin An after he left the temple, and Zhang Yan was astonished to see his number.
• Lin An asked what privileges came with his number and learned that he could command soldiers and dispatch Ascetic Cultivators.
• Zhang Yan introduced himself as a cavalry commander at the Seventh Fortress and offered Lin An a residence at the garrison or a place to stay nearby.
• Lin An dismissed most of his new privileges and considered summoning Ascetic Cultivators to dissect them.

On the way to the Seventh Fortress, Lin An explained how Great Xia’s rulers could use the New Ascetics to weaken the Old Ascetics and balance power. He suspected the Ascetics’ fear of death was the key to the mission and left needing one more clue to confirm his theory.

• Zhang Yan’s battered troops escorted Lin An and his companions toward the Seventh Fortress, while Zhang Tie asked why the temple Ascetics had barely reacted to their attack.
• Lin An argued that Old Era Ascetics had become afraid of death and withdrawn from worldly affairs, making them a potential threat to Great Xia’s rulers despite their strength.
• Lin An explained that the authorities tacitly promoted the more efficient New Ascetic method so its mass-produced practitioners could eventually replace the Old Ascetics.
• Lin An said Great Xia could use New Ascetics as controllable fighters against Blood Corpses, while the old and new factions balanced each other’s power.
• Lin An considered the mission to eliminate all Ascetics and suspected their weakness could let humanity breach their ranks from within; he needed one more clue to confirm his idea.

Lin An dissected an Ascetic Cultivator at Seventh Fortress while investigating the source of their power and considering how to complete the Initial War and The Ending War tasks. He discovered that the Ascetic Cultivators’ pituitary glands were abnormally enlarged and concluded that they had been modified to experience pain as pleasure.

• Lin An dissected a New Ascetic and considered weakening the Ascetic Cultivators by turning them against their established methods and beliefs.
• Lin An reasoned that preventing the first Blood Corpse might involve changing the present, since the task could not be completed by traveling back in time.
• Zhang Tie entered and reported seeing people in the city mutilating themselves while laughing.
• Lin An found that the Ascetic Cultivator’s pituitary gland was abnormally enlarged.
• Lin An told Zhang Tie that the Ascetic Cultivators were not unafraid of pain but instead did not feel it, or experienced it as pleasure.

Lin An explained that New Era Ascetics gained power by becoming addicted to the pleasure of pain, while Old Era Ascetics likely used meditation-induced DMT to sustain their practice and strengthen their faith. As he and Zhang Tie considered whether they could complete the mission, Blood Corpses began attacking the city.

• Lin An told Zhang Tie that Ascetics’ enlarged pituitary glands produced Endorphin, making New Era Ascetics enjoy self-mutilation rather than endure it through faith.
• Lin An connected the Ascetics’ power to the Secret Realm’s rules, comparing their beliefs to opening the Gene Lock in his world.
• Zhang Tie questioned how Lin An’s explanation accounted for Old Era Ascetics, who seemed to endure genuine suffering over decades.
• Lin An guessed that Old Era Ascetics used DMT, released through meditation and other altered states, to escape the hardship of their practice and strengthen their faith.
• Zhang Tie asked whether they could complete the mission, but an alert announced that Blood Corpses were attacking as scarlet technological constructs fell from the sky.

Lin An and Bear Dunce joined the fortress’s defense as bat-shaped transport ships dropped Blood Corpses onto the walls. Lin An reached the Ascetic Cultivator position and asked about the battle plan, drawing surprise from the officers and hostility from some New Ascetics.

• Lin An told Bear Dunce to head for the walls and fight without transforming, then seized Zhang Yan and asked him where the Ascetic Cultivator position was.
• Bear Dunce carried a soldier at a run as Lin An brought them to the walls, where Transport Ships dropped Blood Corpses amid the defenders’ efforts to repel them.
• Lin An observed that the ballista bolts could not damage the ships but could knock the falling Blood Corpses off course.
• A scarred military officer called Lin An to join the first interception team, and Lin An landed at the Ascetic Cultivator position.
• Lin An asked why the Blood Corpses were not using flame in the sky, and the officer reacted with surprise at his low-numbered badge as several New Ascetics looked hostile.

Lin An watched the defenders launch ascetic cultivators from catapults to attack a Blood Corpse transport plane. The Ascension Machine strike brought down the aircraft, though its falling wreckage still threatened the battlefield.

• The general explained to Lin An that ground-based Blood Corpses could attack with fire, while airborne ones could not, and said the defenders would soon intercept them.
• Ascetic Cultivator Number 176 called several cultivators to board the Ascension Machines as the Blood Corpses’ ground fire continued to kill soldiers and damage Ballistae.
• The ascetic cultivators embedded shell fragments in their bodies, armed themselves with captured Tactical Missiles, and launched themselves toward the transport plane.
• The cultivators used explosions to accelerate and change direction as they approached the aircraft, despite losing and regenerating limbs.
• The ascetic cultivators detonated their Tactical Missiles against the transport plane, setting it ablaze and sending it tumbling toward the ground.

After the Blood Corpse Faction adapted to the Ascetic Cultivators’ attacks, the commander demanded that high-ranking fighters join the assault, but Lin An refused. The New Ascetics turned on him, and several charged as the commander let the confrontation unfold.

• The Ascetic Cultivators destroyed Transport Planes and attacked Blood Corpses whose Blood Seeds were exposed in the explosions.
• The Blood Corpse Faction scattered its Transport Planes, prompting the commander to call for high-ranking Ascetic Cultivators to board the Ascension Machine with captured Fire Thunder.
• The commander and Ascetic No. 176 urged Lin An to join the assault, but Lin An refused because he could use his Destruction skill to reach the sky.
• The commander accused Lin An of refusing to fight and ordered the New Ascetics to take his place.
• Several furious New Ascetics cursed Lin An and charged at him, while the commander did not intervene.

Lin An retaliated against the New Ascetics who mocked and challenged him, using his Mental Strength and Cain's Blade to launch them into the sky with explosives. Their detonation created a massive mushroom cloud above War Fortress Number Seven.

• Zhang Yan defended Lin An against the Silver Helmet General, who mocked Lin An's refusal to fight and tried to lure Zhang Yan's soldiers away.
• Ascetic Number 1001 insulted Lin An for refusing to fight, and Bear Dunce decided to punish him once they left the city.
• Lin An drew Cain's Blade and used Mental Strength to lift and crush the New Ascetics surrounding him.
• Lin An activated Cain's Blade's Destruction skill and forced Fire Thunder and other explosives into the Ascetics he launched skyward.
• The explosives detonated in a spectacular blast over War Fortress Number Seven, forming a mushroom cloud and a raging shockwave.

Lin An used explosive-filled Ascetic Cultivators to destroy the Blood Corpse transport fleet, then searched a captured vehicle for information. His attack saved the Seventh Fortress, but left Commander Fang and the survivors questioning his motives, while Zhang Yan led his group out of the city to fight.

• Lin An triggered a chain of explosions that repeatedly killed and revived the Ascetic Cultivators he had loaded with explosives, until many exhausted their Vitality and died for good.
• Lin An destroyed Blood Corpse transport planes and threw their cargo into the explosions, leaving most of the aerial fleet destroyed before inspecting a captured plane's cockpit.
• At the Seventh Fortress, Commander Fang and the onlookers saw the flying monsters nearly wiped out and wondered why Lin An had killed so many Ascetic Cultivators.
• Zhang Yan told the Silver Helmet General and Ascetic Number 1001 that they were leaving the city and Lin An might soon join the battle, then led the group out as Bear Dunce followed.

Lin An discovered coordinates outside Great Xia and identified several unresolved mysteries about the Blood Corpses and the Secret Realm. As the battlefield turned against the human forces, he returned and rescued the Silver Helmet General’s surviving soldiers, though their commander and Ascetic Number 1001 had died.

• Lin An found coordinates on a Blood Zombie Transport Plane’s stone slab that appeared to point to the Blood Corpses’ birthplace, but he still had no answers about their origins or the world’s mysteries.
• Zhang Tie fought Blood Corpses while Zhang Yan led the cavalry to retreat and break through the Undying, as the divided human and Ascetic Cultivator forces struggled under heavy losses.
• Bear Dunce secretly threw extra Blood Corpses toward Ascetic Number 1001, leaving him surrounded while the Silver Helmet General’s unit was overrun.
• The Silver Helmet General begged Zhang Yan’s forces for help as the Undying dragged him down, but he and Ascetic Number 1001 were killed.
• Lin An descended from above, cleaved through an incoming shell, and used Blood Annihilation to clear the Zombie Tide around the cavalry, saving the surviving soldiers.

Lin An helped his legion repel the Blood Corpses with few losses, earning the soldiers’ admiration while other legions suffered devastating casualties. As the armies returned toward the city, Lin An and Zhang Tie suspected that something was wrong with the Blood Corpses.

• Lin An stood atop the Blood Corpses’ remains as his legion cheered their victory and Ascetic Cultivators regarded him with awe.
• Soldiers executed infected comrades and gave mercy killings to those too badly injured to survive.
• Zhang Yan led Lin An’s horse back toward the city, celebrating their legion’s military merits and few casualties.
• Lin An and Zhang Tie exchanged a grave glance and recognized that there was a problem with the Blood Corpses.

Lin An suspected that the Blood Corpses were programmed to withdraw and were luring humanity into cultivating Ascetic Cultivators, with their powers and origins tied to the Initial Land and the Coordinate. He planned to build an armed force and investigate both locations before returning to Dragon An within three months.

• Bear Dunce questioned why the Blood Corpses retreated, and Lin An concluded that they withdrew automatically once human losses reached a threshold.
• Lin An explained that he planned to enter the Initial Land early through Battle Merit or investigate the Royal City's Ascetic Cultivators, and he set a three-month limit on staying in the Secret Realm.
• Lin An told Zhang Tie that You Wei and Dragon An were safe for now and said they needed to uncover the sources of the Ascetic Cultivators' and Blood Corpses' powers.
• Lin An suspected that the Blood Corpses were drawing humanity into cultivating Ascetic Cultivators and might be mass-produced biological weapons based at the Coordinate.
• Lin An ordered Zhang Tie to recruit young soldiers and help them become Ascetic Cultivators, proposing that they create a god and use drugs to control the recruits.

Lin An used research on the brains of ordinary people and Ascetic Cultivators to create a powder that induced ascension, then ordered Bear Dunce to distribute it. As Zhang Yan became an Ascetic Cultivator after swallowing it, Lin An headed for the Royal City and prepared to use the new recruits in the coming fight.

• Zhang Yan brought Lin An the collected corpses and brain tissue while New Ascetics gathered outside, pleading for guidance.
• Lin An gave Zhang Yan a vial of powder and told him it could make him an Ascetic Cultivator.
• Zhang Yan swallowed the powder, experienced intense pleasure, and began ascending into an Ascetic Cultivator.
• Lin An explained to Bear Dunce that the powder contained artificial endorphin receptors, based on his research into brain tissue.
• Lin An told Bear Dunce to spread the powder and prepare the Ascetic Cultivators to fight for them as he left for the Royal City.

After finding almost no clues about the Secret Realm’s history, Lin An headed to the Initial Land to seek the source of the Ascetic Cultivators’ power. Meanwhile, Emperor Xia Xuan confronted the empire’s worsening crisis as powerful Old Era Ascetics abandoned their duties and Great Xia’s population dwindled.

• Lin An read all 173,921 books in the Library Pavilion but found no evidence of a lost technological civilization, only records suggesting the earliest Ascetic Cultivators resembled Buddhist figures.
• Lin An confirmed that his restriction had expired and set out for the Initial Land, where Ascetic Cultivators sought insight into the Power of Belief and the First Ascetic’s Transcendence.
• Minister of War reported to Xia Xuan that New Ascetics had become mainstream and were willing to serve him, while fifteen more Old Era Ascetics refused to fight.
• Xia Xuan learned that Number 21 was preparing to abandon the Seventh Fortress as Blood Corpse invasions intensified and the empire’s population continued to decline.
• Xia Xuan accused the Ascetic Cultivators of consuming Great Xia’s resources and disobeying orders, lamenting that they were pursuing Transcendence instead of protecting the empire.