Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary: “Being Human Is Your Original Sin”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Mo Huo, a powerful Dimension-level member of the Spirit Clan, approaches the human race’s Immortal Pass with the intention of destroying it.
• He takes pleasure in humiliating and terrifying weaker races, viewing humanity as insignificant “ants.” He declares that being human is humanity’s “original sin.”
• Mo Huo attacks Immortal Pass with a gigantic black finger, expecting to destroy it effortlessly.
• The pass’s defensive array activates, revealing that it was constructed with the power of a Half-step Transcendence cultivator.
• The array forms a colossal golden sword that pursues and annihilates Mo Huo, despite his attempt to flee billions of light-years.
• The guards and commanding officer, Liu Ming, investigate the unexpected activation of the defensive array.
• A Time Great Dao cultivator, Zhang Yuan, rewinds the scene’s temporal traces, allowing them to witness Mo Huo’s arrival and identify him as a member of the Spirit Clan.
• Liu Ming and Zhang Yuan report the incident to the highest council of humanity.
• Speaker Zhou Zongyuan asks Li Yue, the Eternal God Lord, whether the Spirit Clan was responsible for humanity’s repeated destruction throughout history.
• Li Yue admits that he does not know for certain, though he suspects the Peak Clans may have been responsible.
• Zhou Zongyuan concludes that ancient humanity must have offended the Spirit Clan, since the current Human Alliance had never been powerful enough to provoke it.

Character Developments

• Mo Huo: Initially arrogant and sadistic, he believes humanity is helpless. His confidence collapses when Immortal Pass reveals Half-step Transcendence power, and he is destroyed while attempting to escape.
• Liu Ming: Revealed as a highly accomplished former academy student and current Top-tier Dimension-level commander. He responds methodically to the attack and recognizes the need to investigate its origins.
• Zhang Yuan: Demonstrates the ability to reconstruct past events through the Time Great Dao, providing crucial evidence about the attacker and the Spirit Clan.
• Speaker Zhou Zongyuan: Shows strong leadership and suspicion, connecting Mo Huo’s words to humanity’s forgotten history and expressing controlled hostility toward the Spirit Clan.
• Li Yue: Remains calm and authoritative while acknowledging the uncertainty surrounding humanity’s past destructions. His earlier preparations have clearly given humanity formidable protection.

Significant Themes

• Arrogance versus hidden strength: Mo Huo assumes humanity is weak, but Immortal Pass’s concealed defensive power reverses the power dynamic.
• The danger of ignorance: Humanity does not understand why the Spirit Clan has targeted it, suggesting that forgotten history may be central to its survival.
• Humanity’s repeated destruction and rebirth: The chapter reinforces the mystery of humanity having been wiped out and rebuilt more than a thousand times.
• “Being human” as a perceived crime: The Spirit Clan’s belief that humanity’s existence itself is an offense introduces a theme of inherited guilt and persecution.
• Preparation and protection: The pass’s powerful array shows that humanity is no longer defenseless, even if its enemies continue to underestimate it.

Character Interactions

• Mo Huo taunts the human guard and attempts to provoke despair, but the guard remains composed because of Immortal Pass’s defenses.
• Liu Ming questions the guard about the attack and organizes an investigation.
• Liu Ming asks Zhang Yuan to use his Time Great Dao to reveal what happened.
• Liu Ming and Zhang Yuan recognize the seriousness of the Spirit Clan’s involvement and jointly report it to the council.
• Speaker Zhou Zongyuan directly questions Li Yue about the Spirit Clan’s possible role in humanity’s ancient destruction.
• Zhou Zongyuan argues that the Spirit Clan’s hostility must stem from a conflict with humanity’s former peak civilization.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• In the Human Race’s great hall, twenty-six pinnacle Half-step Transcendence experts gather with intense determination to defend their civilization. Both veterans of the Human Race’s ancient struggles and elites of the current era are willing to die rather than allow the race to be destroyed.
• Li Yue explains that the Spirit Clan likely possesses more than 120 Half-step Transcendence experts, along with Quasi-Transcenders, making it far stronger than the Human Race.
• The Human Race theorizes that the Spirit Clan has repeatedly weakened and destroyed them throughout more than a thousand cycles because it fears their potential and possibly fears provoking an ancient Human Race Dao Fusion expert of the Third Transcendence Realm.
• Since the Spirit Clan has lost a Dimension-level expert, the Human Race expects an investigation. The council debates whether the Spirit Clan might send Half-step Transcenders.
• Ye Chen proposes capturing the Domain Lord of the Fallen Dao Starfield. If the Domain Lord serves the Spirit Clan, he could be forced to send misleading information and delay the Spirit Clan’s response.
• The council approves the plan. Ye Chen accepts the mission despite the journey costing roughly a thousand years within Human Race territory.
• Li Yue, confident that the Human Race’s twenty-six experts can now manage themselves, leaves the council’s vicinity.
• He discovers an ink-black palace secretly observing the Human Race. Its occupant, Yuan Mountain, claims to be a clanless Origin Lifeform merely passing by and acting out of curiosity.
• Li Yue recognizes Yuan Mountain’s interest in the Human Race but does not immediately attack him. Instead, he invites him into Human Race territory, secretly activating Thousandfold Combat Power and gaining overwhelming strength—seventeen times the Quasi-Transcendence level.

Character Developments

• Li Yue: Demonstrates complete confidence in the Human Race’s leadership and his own overwhelming strength. He shifts from overseeing the Human Race directly to testing and confronting outside observers.
• The twenty-six Human Race experts: Their loyalty and resolve are emphasized. They represent both the old generation that endured repeated destruction and the new generation that has risen during the Human Race’s recent prosperity.
• Ye Chen: Emerges as a decisive leader of the new era. He proposes an aggressive strategy to seize the Fallen Dao Domain Lord and personally accepts the dangerous mission.
• Speaker Zhou Zongyuan: Acts as the council’s central decision-maker, weighing the Spirit Clan threat before authorizing Ye Chen’s plan.
• Yuan Mountain: Introduced as a mysterious, powerful, clanless Origin Lifeform. Though he claims neutrality, his secret observation of the Human Race suggests possible hidden motives. He is also visibly alarmed by Li Yue’s presence.

Significant Themes

• Unyielding racial unity: The Human Race’s leaders are united by a willingness to sacrifice everything for their civilization.
• The importance of time: The Human Race cannot yet match the Spirit Clan militarily, so its strategy is to delay conflict while Li Yue helps it grow stronger.
• Survival through strategy: Rather than confronting the Spirit Clan immediately, the Human Race seeks to manipulate information and exploit distance to gain time.
• Power and hidden identity: Li Yue appears to be at the Pinnacle Stage, but his true strength is vastly greater, allowing him to intimidate even Quasi-Transcenders.
• Cycles of destruction and resurgence: The Human Race’s history of repeated rises and collapses reveals both its vulnerability and extraordinary resilience.

Character Interactions

• Li Yue questions the council about its intentions and informs them of the Spirit Clan’s strength.
• The council members debate the likelihood of a Spirit Clan retaliation and collectively support Ye Chen’s proposal.
• Zhou Zongyuan formally assigns Ye Chen the mission to capture the Fallen Dao Domain Lord.
• Li Yue confronts Yuan Mountain after discovering him spying on Human Race territory.
• Yuan Mountain attempts to present himself as harmless and unaffiliated, while Li Yue responds with polite but unmistakable control by inviting him inside under circumstances where Li Yue possesses overwhelming superiority.

Chapter Summary: “Secrets and Current State of Cloudbound World”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Yue invites Yuan Mountain, an ancient Origin Lifeform, into Human Race territory. Yuan Mountain initially hesitates because the surviving Peak Clans harbor deep hatred toward the Human Race due to an ancient catastrophe.
• Impressed and intimidated by Li Yue’s overwhelming strength, Yuan Mountain accepts. Li Yue instantly transports Yuan Mountain—and his black palace—into Human territory, demonstrating power far beyond the Quasi-Transcendence level.
• The two sit together for tea while Li Yue questions Yuan Mountain about the history and current political situation of Cloudbound World.
• Yuan Mountain reveals that approximately 160 billion eras ago, Cloudbound World suffered a devastating catastrophe. All Transcenders perished, nine-tenths of the former Peak Clans were destroyed, and countless beings died.
• The catastrophe was allegedly caused by an extremely powerful human expert, though Yuan Mountain does not know the reason behind it.
• In the aftermath, the surviving Peak Clans persecuted the Human Race. The Spirit Clan placed humanity under surveillance and allowed repeated genocides every hundred thousand years, always leaving enough survivors for the race to rebuild.
• Despite this oppression, the Human Race has now produced numerous Half-step Transcendences, which astonishes Yuan Mountain and suggests that Li Yue has dramatically changed its fortunes.
• Li Yue asks about the current distribution of power. Yuan Mountain states that Cloudbound World has four Peak Clans and eighteen known Quasi-Transcenders:
  • Spirit Clan: 3
  • Origin Clan: 3
  • God Clan: 2
  • Blood Clan: 2
  • Independent Quasi-Transcendent Origin Lifeforms: 6
  • Survivors from destroyed clans: 2
• Yuan Mountain warns that additional Quasi-Transcenders may be hidden in dangerous ruins or inheritances left behind by Old Era Transcenders.
• Li Yue concludes that the Human Race would need roughly ten Quasi-Transcenders—not merely three—to survive opposition from the other major clans and become a true Peak Clan.
• He then considers using the Prototype Dao Pool to cultivate powerful experts and asks Yuan Mountain whether he wishes to advance and become a Transcender.

Character Developments

• Yuan Mountain is established as cautious, knowledgeable, and politically independent. Although he fears the Human Race’s historical enemies, he has no clan or disciples to protect and therefore feels free to associate with Li Yue. His awe toward Li Yue grows after witnessing his effortless teleportation and terrifying aura.
• Li Yue displays complete confidence and dominance. He openly questions Yuan Mountain without concern that his outsider identity has been discovered. He is focused on rebuilding the Human Race and calculating the strength necessary for it to survive in Cloudbound World.
• Li Yue also reveals a manipulative or strategic side, planning to persuade—or “enlighten”—Yuan Mountain into pursuing Transcendence.

Significant Themes

• Historical trauma and persecution: The Human Race has endured endless cycles of surveillance, massacre, and forced rebuilding.
• The consequences of ancient power struggles: A catastrophe from the distant past reshaped Cloudbound World, destroyed the Transcenders, and permanently altered relations between the major clans.
• Power and political balance: Li Yue recognizes that the Human Race cannot rise safely with only a few powerful figures; it must possess enough strength to deter a coalition of enemies.
• Rebuilding and revenge: The Human Race’s unexpected resurgence represents a reversal of its long-standing oppression.
• Manipulation versus enlightenment: Li Yue frames his attempt to recruit Yuan Mountain as guidance, but privately acknowledges that he is trying to “fool” or persuade him for strategic purposes.

Character Interactions

• Yuan Mountain treats Li Yue with increasing respect and caution, addressing him as a fellow Daoist while carefully revealing all the information he knows.
• Li Yue maintains a relaxed, hospitable manner by serving tea, but his questions are direct and politically motivated.
• Their conversation shifts from historical rumors to the current military structure of Cloudbound World, with Yuan Mountain acting as an informant and Li Yue as the strategist.
• The chapter ends with Li Yue attempting to draw Yuan Mountain into the Human Race’s larger plan by offering him the possibility of becoming a Transcender.

Chapter Summary: The Impassioned Quasi-Transcender Joins the Human Race

Key Plot Points and Events

• Yuan Mountain expresses his lifelong desire to become a Transcender, lamenting that Cloudbound World forbids the birth of Transcenders and prevents its native lifeforms from leaving.
• Li Yue hints that his extensive efforts to help the Human Race may be connected to a path toward Transcendence. Yuan Mountain quickly infers that aiding humanity could grant access to a legacy or opportunity left behind by the terrifying human who once killed all of Cloudbound World’s Transcenders.
• Although Li Yue never confirms Yuan Mountain’s speculation, his ambiguous gestures encourage Yuan Mountain to believe it is true.
• Li Yue instructs Yuan Mountain to join the Human Race, report to Speaker Zhou Zongyuan, and defend humanity by restraining enemy Quasi-Transcenders.
• Yuan Mountain eagerly agrees, promising to repay Li Yue if he eventually attains Transcendence.
• Li Yue reflects that Yuan Mountain’s allegiance will greatly strengthen the Human Race. He also values Yuan Mountain’s immense experience and knowledge, then resumes cultivating Hai Wudao’s difficult life-foundation secret art.
• Upon Yuan Mountain’s arrival near Imperial Capital Star, the Human Race detects a Quasi-Transcendence-grade lifeform and goes on high alert.
• Yuan Mountain announces that he has no hostile intentions and wishes to join the Human Race, leaving its leaders stunned.

Character Developments

• Yuan Mountain: His frustration and resignation over the impossibility of Transcendence transform into fervent hope. Convinced that Li Yue knows of a route beyond Cloudbound World’s restrictions, he becomes passionately willing to serve humanity in exchange for the possibility of advancement.
• Li Yue: He demonstrates his ability to manipulate circumstances through carefully worded hints rather than direct deception. His true goal is to strengthen the Human Race, while he also considers the possibility that humanity’s restoration to peak-clan status may eventually lift the Transcendence ban.
• Zhou Zongyuan and the Human Race’s leaders: They remain cautious and alarmed when Yuan Mountain arrives, but are shocked by his unexpected offer to become one of them.

Significant Themes

• Hope against seemingly absolute limitations: Yuan Mountain’s belief in a possible path to Transcendence rekindles ambition in a world where advancement appears forbidden.
• Manipulation and indirect communication: Li Yue guides Yuan Mountain without explicitly revealing the truth, allowing Yuan Mountain’s own assumptions to drive his decision.
• Power through unity: The Human Race’s rise depends not only on cultivation and resources but also on recruiting powerful outsiders and consolidating allies.
• Legacy and destiny: The past actions and lingering will of the mysterious supreme human continue to shape Cloudbound World’s rules and humanity’s future.
• Merit and divine favor: Li Yue speculates that restoring humanity to peak-clan status could cause Cloudbound World’s Origin Will—possibly influenced by the ancient human expert—to favor those who aided the Human Race.

Character Interactions

• Li Yue and Yuan Mountain: Li Yue subtly suggests that helping humanity may lead to Transcendence. Yuan Mountain interprets the implications enthusiastically, pledges obedience, and accepts Li Yue’s command to join humanity.
• Yuan Mountain and Zhou Zongyuan: Their direct meeting has not yet taken place, but Yuan Mountain travels to find the Speaker and formally enter the Human Race.
• Yuan Mountain and the Human leadership: His arrival initially triggers alarm because of his overwhelming strength. His declaration of peaceful intent and desire to join humanity leaves the leaders astonished.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• The Human Race formally welcomes Yuan Mountain, a Quasi-Transcender sent by Eternal God Lord. Yuan Mountain pledges absolute loyalty and changes his name to Li Yuanshan after joining the clan.
• His arrival greatly strengthens the Human Race, potentially making it the strongest clan beneath the four Peak Clans.
• In the Spirit Clan, an intelligence report reveals that a Spirit Clan Dimension-level expert was killed by a Blood Clan lifeform near the Human Race’s territory.
• Suspecting that the Blood Clan may be trying to seize control of the Human Race for its valuable bloodline, Mo Song orders the Sun-Slaying Squad to exterminate the Human Race. The squad is a twelve-member special unit composed of powerful Dimension-level experts.
• Li Yuanshan secretly enslaves a squad of Blood Clan Dimension-level lifeforms and uses them to create conflict with the Spirit Clan, allowing the Human Race to delay and manipulate the Spirit Clan’s attacks.
• After 309 years, the Spirit Clan’s Sun-Slaying Squad is completely destroyed. Mo Song responds by dispatching four more special Battle Squads, still unable to send Half-step Transcenders because of the agreement among the four Peak Clans.
• Meanwhile, the passage of time inside the Human Race’s territory is vastly accelerated. While only 309 years pass externally, 309,000 years pass internally.
• During this period, Li Yue successfully cultivates Hai Wudao to its fifth level. After activating his Ten-thousand-fold Combat Power, his strength rises to the equivalent of 210 Quasi-Transcenders.

Character Developments

• Li Yuanshan/Yuan Mountain demonstrates humility, political awareness, and loyalty. He recognizes the Human Race’s potential and willingly places himself under its command.
• Mo Song is revealed as a cautious but aggressive Spirit Clan authority. He values maintaining control over the Human Race and views Blood Clan interference as a strategic threat.
• Li Yue continues his rapid cultivation progress and strategic manipulation of the Peak Clans. His growing strength brings him closer to genuine Transcendence-level power.

Significant Themes

• Alliance and political maneuvering: Yuan Mountain’s recruitment significantly changes the Human Race’s position in the cosmic power structure.
• Hidden conflict and proxy warfare: Rather than openly confronting the Spirit Clan or Blood Clan, the Human Race uses enslaved Blood Clan fighters and staged battles to exhaust and mislead its enemies.
• Power accumulation through time: The accelerated flow of time within Human Race territory allows Li Yue and others to cultivate for hundreds of thousands of years while their enemies experience only a few centuries.
• The approach of Transcendence: Li Yue’s progress highlights the chapter’s central sense of escalation. Reaching the strength of 300 Quasi-Transcenders would grant him true Transcendence-grade power and allow him to advance his most powerful techniques further.

Character Interactions

• Zhou Zongyuan and the Human Race’s leaders formally welcome Yuan Mountain, initially surprised by his unusually cooperative attitude but soon reassured by Eternal God Lord’s endorsement.
• Mo Song and his subordinate discuss the death of the Spirit Clan expert and the possible Blood Clan plot, leading Mo Song to authorize the Sun-Slaying Squad’s deployment.
• Li Yuanshan and the Blood Clan are connected through his secret enslavement of a Blood Clan squad, which he uses to provoke and prolong conflict with the Spirit Clan.
• Li Yue and the Spirit Clan are engaged in an indirect strategic contest: the Spirit Clan believes it is attacking the Human Race, while Li Yue uses the conflict to buy cultivation time and strengthen himself.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• After four hundred thousand years of accelerated time, the Human Race produces its first Quasi-Transcender: Chairman Zhou Zongyuan. His rapid advancement is attributed to the Human Race’s bloodline and the will and fortune of the race.
• Li Yue reflects on the mysterious Dao Fusion expert who once slaughtered every Transcender in Cloudbound World. He theorizes that the expert may have been pursuing the Fourth Transcendence Realm by merging with the Dao of a Super Heaven, possibly explaining the massacre.
• Li Yue continues cultivating Hai Wudao and approaches completion of its sixth layer, which would raise his life essence to six times its original level.
• After another thousand years, the Time Branch’s energy is exhausted. Time acceleration ends after approximately 1.01 million years, removing the barrier that had hidden the Human Race from the outside world.
• The Human Territory, which has expanded more than ten thousand times, merges with Cloudbound World. Its expansion creates a massive storm, absorbs vast quantities of Life Stardust, overwhelms neighboring clans, and claims nearly one percent of the Fallen Dao Starfield.
• Spirit Clan observers discover that the Human Race now possesses multiple Dimension-level and Half-step Transcendence-grade experts. They are shocked because their intelligence had previously described the Human Race as extremely weak.
• The Human Race’s High Council prepares for the inevitable invasion. Chairman Zhou Zongyuan orders every expert to report to preassigned defenses, while the Human Race relies on years of rehearsals and contingency planning.
• The Spirit Clan’s intelligence director, Mo Song, is horrified that the Human Race rose under constant surveillance. The Spirit Clan’s leadership responds by ordering the formation of a Super Legion, composed of Dimension-level soldiers and Half-step Transcendent generals, to attack within half an hour.

Character Developments

• Chairman Zhou Zongyuan rises to Quasi-Transcendence and becomes the foremost publicly established powerhouse of the Human Race, embodying its rapid development and growing authority.
• Li Yue gains deeper insight into the possible motives of the ancient Dao Fusion expert while continuing his own cultivation. His increasing strength and understanding position him as the Human Race’s hidden foundation.
• Li Yuanshan, already a Quasi-Transcender, eagerly anticipates the coming war. He believes victory could create an opportunity for further Transcendence and trusts in Li Yue’s protection.
• Mo Song is exposed as having failed in his intelligence duties. His shock reflects the Spirit Clan’s sudden loss of control and understanding of the Human Race’s growth.
• The broader Human Race evolves from a vulnerable, repeatedly exterminated population into a disciplined power with numerous high-level experts and the confidence to confront the major clans.

Significant Themes

• Rapid evolution and hidden potential: The Human Race’s extraordinary progress reveals the terrifying power of its bloodline and inherited destiny.
• Preparation versus complacency: The Human Race spends its accelerated era preparing for war, while the Spirit Clan’s surveillance creates false confidence and fails to prevent its rise.
• The cost of transcendence: Li Yue’s speculation about the Dao Fusion expert suggests that ultimate advancement may require catastrophic sacrifices or the destruction of entire worlds.
• Exposure and inevitability: Once time acceleration ends, the Human Race can no longer remain hidden; its emergence immediately triggers a larger conflict.
• Collective destiny: The Human Race’s strength is not limited to individual geniuses. Its will, fortune, cultivation resources, and coordinated preparation allow the entire race to advance.

Character Interactions

• Li Yue and the Human Race: Li Yue continues cultivating while observing and indirectly supporting the Human Race’s development.
• Zhou Zongyuan and the High Council: Zhou gives concise, authoritative orders, emphasizing that the coming battle will determine whether the Human Race rises or is destroyed.
• Human Race experts: The newly empowered experts respond to Zhou’s command with confidence and move to their assigned defensive positions.
• Li Yuanshan and the Human Race’s future: His anticipation of Transcendence reflects the hopes of the race’s Quasi-Transcenders and their belief that victory can unlock a higher stage.
• Spirit Clan intelligence and leadership: Mo Song reports the crisis, after which the Spirit Clan’s leadership immediately mobilizes a Super Legion, turning the Human Race’s emergence into an imminent war.

Chapter Summary: “Return to the Three Thousand Dimensions, Authority in Hand”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Three years after the previous events, the four Peak Clans—the Spirit, Blood, Origin, and God Clans—launch a full-scale assault on Human Territory.
• They arrive at the Immortal Pass with an enormous force: five Quasi-Transcenders, hundreds of Half-step Transcendence-grade experts, and over ten thousand Dimension-level beings.
• The Peak Clans intend to destroy the Human Race before it can rise further, blaming the Spirit Clan for allowing humanity to develop so rapidly.
• The battle begins immediately and devastates the Fallen Dao Starfield and surrounding starfields. Countless stars and living beings are destroyed by the clashes.
• Li Yue, now known as the Eternal God Lord, intervenes personally. With a single colossal hand, he erases the attacks of both sides and overwhelms the invading army.
• He orders the four Peak Clans to cease hostilities against the Human Race for one hundred thousand years, threatening to exterminate any clan that disobeys. He then removes all the invaders from the battlefield.
• Li Yue meets the Cloudbound World’s Origin Will, who confirms that the Human Race now possesses two Quasi-Transcendence-grade combatants and can be recognized as a Peak Clan.
• The Origin Will reveals that it knows of the True Explanation of Cloud Opening and Insight. After learning that Li Yue’s version is flawed in its final layer, it gives him a complete and corrected jade-book version.
• Li Yue is expelled from the Cloudbound World and returns to the Three Thousand Dimensions. Upon his arrival, the Origin Great Daos gather around him, and a hidden portion of Origin Authority within his body is revealed.

Character Developments

• Li Yue: Demonstrates an overwhelming increase in power, effortlessly suppressing the combined forces of the four Peak Clans. He acts as the Human Race’s absolute protector and secures a temporary period of peace. He also receives the complete version of a supreme secret art and discovers that he possesses Origin Authority, greatly expanding his future potential.
• The Human Race: Has grown dramatically over the past thousand years, producing another Quasi-Transcender and becoming powerful enough to qualify as a Peak Clan. However, it remains vulnerable enough that Li Yue believes it still needs more time to develop.
• Human leaders, including Marshal Chang Ji and Speaker Zhou Zongyuan: Their long preparations and defensive efforts are validated, though they are left awestruck by Li Yue’s overwhelming intervention.
• Cloudbound World’s Origin Will: Remains emotionless and detached but acknowledges the Human Race’s advancement and provides Li Yue with the perfected cultivation technique.

Significant Themes

• Power and protection: The Human Race’s survival depends not only on its own growth but also on Li Yue’s vastly superior strength.
• The devastation of war: The battle shows how conflicts between supreme beings destroy entire starfields and innocent civilizations, emphasizing the enormous cost of inter-clan warfare.
• Preparation and endurance: Zhou Zongyuan’s hundred-thousand-year preparations allow humanity to withstand the attack, demonstrating the value of long-term planning.
• Recognition and legitimacy: Humanity’s rise to Peak Clan status marks its transition from a threatened race to a recognized major power.
• Hidden potential and destiny: Li Yue’s discovery of Origin Authority suggests that his connection to the Three Thousand Dimensions is deeper than he realized and foreshadows greater developments.

Character Interactions

• The four Peak Clans openly insult and blame the Spirit Clan for failing to suppress the Human Race.
• Human leaders remain tense as the invasion begins but become grateful and reverent when Li Yue intervenes.
• Li Yue issues a direct ultimatum to the invading clans, establishing himself as an untouchable authority.
• Li Yue questions the Cloudbound World’s Origin Will about whether humanity’s development satisfies its longstanding objective; the Origin Will confirms that it does.
• The Origin Will and Li Yue discuss the True Explanation of Cloud Opening and Insight, leading to Li Yue receiving its complete, flawless version.

Chapter Summary: “Jurisdiction”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Yue reflects on his newly acquired, though extremely limited, authority over the Three Thousand Dimensions. He wonders whether this authority might allow Gray Valley, Qinggu, and Qian Bao to leave their respective sanctuaries. If so, the three recovered Transcenders could become powerful allies.
• He examines the Cloud Seal of the Cloudbound World, which grants him nine uses of the Cloudbound Sword. Each strike contains the power of the entire Cloudbound World, suggesting that the world itself may have been transformed into a weapon by a powerful Dao Merger expert.
• Li Yue receives the complete version of the True Explanation of Cloud Opening and Insight, bypassing the hidden safeguard placed in it by Ancient Emperor Lord Zhi. He suspects the technique originated from the Cloudbound World and believes the world conceals an enormous secret and a future “great fortune.”
• After returning to the Dimension of Myriad Daos, Li Yue discovers that more than a thousand years have passed, and that the Great Zhen Imperial Court has divided into three rival states: the First, Second, and Third Imperial Courts.
• The three courts wage constant civil war but continue to respect the Temple Keeper Hall. They avoid harming ordinary believers, and dead believers are reincarnated within the three kingdoms. This policy has caused faith among the common people to grow stronger.
• Li Yue questions whether deliberately using war and suffering to intensify faith is compatible with the role of a righteous Heaven and Earth Orthodox God, or whether it resembles the methods of an Evil God.
• He ultimately concludes that hardship, crisis, and external threats are necessary to forge strong cultivators. The internal conflict among the three Imperial Courts is insufficient, so he decides to create a genuine outside enemy.
• Li Yue opens six permanent black gates along the borders of the three kingdoms. These gates connect to the Profound Mirror Land and allow its Origin Demon Lifeforms—creatures formed from negative energy—to pour into Great Zhen.
• The arrival of the gates alarms powerful beings across all three Imperial Courts, including Heavenly Venerables, Dominators, Dao Ancestors, Dao-Treading experts, Taboo beings, and Qin Wange.
• Qin Wange realizes that Li Yue must have created the external threat. Believing that the invasion will restore the cultivation atmosphere and strengthen Great Zhen, she requests an audience with him.
• Li Yue summons her through a magnificent nine-colored Great Dao that stretches from the heavens to Four Seas Holy City.

Character Developments

• Li Yue: He grows increasingly powerful and strategic, combining divine authority, world-level treasures, and political manipulation. His thinking shifts from merely protecting Great Zhen to actively engineering hardship in order to produce stronger cultivators and a more resilient civilization. He also wrestles with the moral consequences of using war to strengthen faith and society.
• Qin Wange: She is shown as perceptive and politically responsible. Although she helped support the division of Great Zhen into three courts, she recognizes that civil war alone cannot produce sufficient pressure. She welcomes the appearance of external enemies and immediately seeks confirmation from Li Yue.
• Gray Valley, Qinggu, and Qian Bao: Though they do not appear directly, their possible emergence from their sanctuaries becomes important. Their recovery to Transcendence-grade makes them potential allies who could greatly increase Li Yue’s influence.
• The people of Great Zhen: Their faith becomes stronger because war is carefully regulated: believers are protected, and the dead are reincarnated. Their devotion demonstrates how crisis and perceived divine protection can reinforce religious loyalty.

Significant Themes

• The necessity of crisis: The chapter argues that comfort and peace alone produce weakness, while danger, suffering, and death can drive individuals and civilizations toward self-improvement.
• Righteousness versus manipulation: Li Yue questions whether deliberately creating war to increase faith and cultivate stronger beings makes him a righteous god or an Evil God. The chapter leaves the moral issue unresolved.
• External enemies and internal conflict: Civil war can stimulate growth, but a civilization may require an outside threat to unite its people and push them beyond their limits.
• Power and responsibility: Li Yue’s growing authority gives him the ability to reshape entire worlds and societies. His decisions therefore carry enormous ethical and political consequences.
• Worlds as weapons: The Cloudbound Seal and Cloudbound Sword introduce the idea that an entire world can be transformed into a weapon, hinting at deeper secrets concerning the Cloudbound World and its origins.
• Faith born from suffering: The chapter presents faith not merely as a product of prosperity, but as something strengthened by danger, protection, and dependence on divine power.

Character Interactions

• Li Yue considers consulting Gray Valley, Qinggu, and Qian Bao about whether his authority can free them from their respective realms.
• He indirectly interacts with the people of the three Imperial Courts by reshaping their political and military environment.
• His actions directly affect Qin Wange, who recognizes his role in creating the invasion and formally requests an audience.
• The chapter ends with Li Yue responding to Qin Wange’s request by summoning her through the nine-colored Great Dao, setting up a likely discussion about the newly created external threat.

Chapter Summary: New Temple Keeper, Three-versus-Three War Ends

Key Plot Points and Events

• Qin Wange appears before Li Yue in the Eternity Heavenly Palace and requests permission to resign as Temple Keeper. She has found a successor, Chu Qingyue, and wishes to follow Li Yue into battle like the former Temple Keepers Li Youming and Jiu Shaoge.
• Li Yue approves her decision and confirms that the Grand Sacrifice in two months will be Qin Wange’s final ceremony. He recognizes Chu Qingyue as devout, intelligent, bold, and careful.
• After a thousand years, Great Zhen has generated 323 billion units of World Divine Power, an increase of eighty percent compared with the previous period. This greatly surpasses the Eternal Divine Court’s contribution of 276 billion units.
• Li Yue’s total divine power reaches 862 billion units, enough to meet the requirement for advancing to the Mid Dao-Wielding Divine Rank. His remaining obstacles are obtaining the Hell Aura of the One and Only Hell and opening the Divine Path Heavenly Realm.
• Having gathered all 120 drops of Cloudborne Divine Brew, Li Yue uses his authority over the Three Thousand Dimensions to break through to the sixth layer of Hai Wudao. His life essence increases sixfold, and his combat strength approaches Transcendence-grade.
• A supreme phantom announces that the latest Three-versus-Three War has ended. The victors are the Three Thousand Dao Heavens, Three Thousand Dimensions, and Three Thousand Hunyuan Realms. Their passages are now open to Taboo Grade beings and above.
• In three thousand years, the final Three-versus-Three War will take place, and its victor will be allowed to meet the mysterious being above the clouds.
• Li Yue’s strongest allies gather in the Eternity Heavenly Palace after hearing the announcement. These include Gray Valley, Dragon Maiden Ao Ying, Li Youming, Li Xiuwu, Li Deyang, Jiu Shaoge, and Liu Mei.
• Two enormous spatial rifts open, connecting to other categories of heavens and earth. From one appears a remarkable young man in white, who asks Li Yue to fulfill the transaction they previously agreed upon.

Character Developments

• Qin Wange reaches the end of her long service as Temple Keeper. Having maintained Great Zhen’s faith through its era of prosperity, she now seeks a more active role as a warrior serving Li Yue directly.
• Chu Qingyue is introduced as Qin Wange’s chosen successor. Her combination of devotion, boldness, careful judgment, and creativity suggests she will guide the Temple Keeper Hall into a new era.
• Li Yue grows vastly stronger. His divine power is sufficient for his next Divine Rank advancement, while his breakthrough in Hai Wudao brings him close to genuine Transcendence-grade strength.
• Li Youming and Jiu Shaoge continue to serve as examples for Qin Wange: both formerly held the Temple Keeper position before becoming direct combatants under Li Yue.
• Gray Valley and Dragon Maiden Ao Ying remain among Li Yue’s most powerful allies, with Gray Valley being a true Transcender and Ao Ying possessing the Time Dragon’s inheritance.

Significant Themes

• Succession and continuity: Qin Wange’s retirement and Chu Qingyue’s appointment show the Temple Keeper Hall passing from one generation to the next while preserving Great Zhen’s faith.
• Faith as power: Great Zhen’s increasingly devout population produces enormous quantities of divine power, demonstrating the direct connection between belief, political stability, and Li Yue’s strength.
• Preparation for a greater conflict: Although the current Three-versus-Three War has ended, the announcement of a final war in three thousand years creates a looming, larger threat.
• Growth through accumulated foundations: Li Yue’s advancement comes from long-term cultivation, authority, divine power, allies, and resources gathered across multiple worlds.
• Unity and hierarchy: Great Zhen’s major figures gather around Li Yue, reinforcing his role as their God Lord and the central leader of the coming struggle.
• Mystery and transcendence: The unknown phantom’s announcement and the white-clothed man’s appearance hint at powers and realms far beyond the current world structure.

Character Interactions

• Qin Wange speaks to Li Yue with extreme reverence, formally requesting permission to resign and naming Chu Qingyue as her successor. Li Yue responds with approval and recognizes both women’s merits.
• Li Yue reflects favorably on the accomplishments of all three Temple Keepers, especially their contributions to Great Zhen’s religious and political strength.
• After the supreme announcement, Li Yue’s elite followers immediately assemble before him. He informs them that the final war will occur in three thousand years, establishing a shared goal and impending challenge.
• The white-clothed young man addresses Li Yue as a fellow Daoist and confidently invites him to complete a previously negotiated transaction, signaling an important new development at the chapter’s conclusion.

Key plot points and events

• Li Yue meets Bai Hao, the leader of the Three Thousand Dao Heavens, through a spatial rift. They exchange supreme arts: Li Yue gives Bai Hao the True Explanation of Cloud Opening and Insight, while Bai Hao gives Li Yue the Origin Law of Ending Conflict.
• Li Yue recognizes that the Origin Law is exceptionally powerful—it can transform one’s fundamental essence twenty-nine times, compared with nine transformations for Hai Wudao—but suspects it may contain a hidden flaw.
• Before departing, Bai Hao warns Li Yue that the Three Thousand Hunyuan Realms also have a Transcender, who may be a threat three thousand years later.
• A Sinful Heaven Transcender holding the gateway open tries to bargain with Li Yue for help escaping. Li Yue dismisses him bluntly and leaves.
• Li Yue returns to the conquered Three Thousand Gods and Devils Realms. The Nine Abysses King reports that the region is stable under Divine Martial Legion rule, with ten Half-step Transcenders and one hundred Dimension-level beings stationed there.
• Li Yue asks to be taken to the stone stele left by Ancient Emperor Lord Zhi, hoping to study the realm’s supreme physique-related secret art. On the way, he considers the realm’s potential as a training ground for gods and devils.
• The chapter ends as Li Yue reaches a vast river where an enormous Black Tortoise bears two ancient stone steles.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Yue is pragmatic and forward-looking: despite suspecting the secret art is flawed, he secures it first, trusting that he can investigate later. He also evaluates conquered territory for its strategic value.
• Bai Hao behaves like a cordial but wary rival. Their trade is mutually beneficial, though his warning makes clear that future conflict remains likely.
• The Sinful Heaven Transcender is arrogant and furious when Li Yue refuses to help, but powerless to act against him.
• The Nine Abysses King shows deference to Li Yue and provides a report on the realm’s occupation and stability.

Significant themes

• Power and risk: Great strength can come with hidden flaws, so powerful arts demand scrutiny.
• Rivalry and preparation: Even friendly exchanges occur against the prospect of future conflict.
• Conquest and cultivation: The Gods and Devils Realms may serve not only as occupied territory but as a resource for developing future forces.
• Strength as a governing ideal: Li Yue sees the realm’s devotion to strength as both a cultural trait and an opportunity for training.

Plot points and events

• Li Yue enters a vast river and reads an ancient tablet containing the Fourth Transcendence Realm secret art Gods and Devils Immeasurable Body. The Black Tortoise guarding it is astonished that Li Yue can meet the tablet’s physical requirements despite not being an Innate God or Devil.
• Li Yue learns that the art builds the body through immense physical force, unlike the Eternal Body of Dry Origin, which strengthens the body directly. He thinks his existing art remains the better foundation, though the two might complement each other. The second tablet repeats an inscription he already knows.
• The Black Tortoise explains that it is the twelfth-generation descendant of one left by Emperor Lord Zhi. Its clan reproduces through a secret art but suffers a curse that limits its lifespan and binds each generation to guard the tablets.
• Back in the Three Thousand Dimensions, Qin Wange leads his final Grand Sacrifice as Temple Keeper. He announces his retirement, names Chu Qingyue as his successor, and calls the assembled worshippers to offer their devotion to Li Yue.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Yue demonstrates how far his cultivation and knowledge have advanced: he now possesses seven supreme Fourth Transcendence Realm arts and evaluates the new one against his established cultivation.
• The Black Tortoise is curious about Li Yue’s strength but resigned to its clan’s inherited duty and captivity. Li Yue questions it about its origins, then leaves without pursuing the potentially dangerous history of the curse.
• Qin Wange steps down after a long period of service, presenting the transition as an act permitted by his lord. He publicly entrusts the Temple Keeper role to Chu Qingyue.

Significant themes

• Different paths to strength: The chapter contrasts strengthening the body through physical force with strengthening the body itself.
• Duty and inherited fate: The Black Tortoise clan’s generations remain bound to an ancient command, while Qin Wange’s service ends through an orderly succession.
• Faith and devotion: The enormous Grand Sacrifice shows the scale of Li Yue’s influence across the Three Kingdoms.

Key plot points and events

• After 1,191 years, Qin Wange completes a grand sacrifice for Li Yue, offering a Dimension-level Radiant Source Pearl. Li Yue’s divine rule amplifies it 23,820,000-fold, far beyond the previous record.
• Li Yue appears over Four Seas Holy City, honors Qin Wange’s service by appointing him Emperor General, and raises his power to the pinnacle of the Three Thousand Dimensions at quasi-transcendence grade.
• The offering transforms into a Transcendence-grade Light Life Pearl Prototype. It enters Li Yue’s sea of consciousness and takes a more central, apparently higher-ranking position than the Prototype Dao Pool and the Prototype of the Myriad Dao Ancient Lamp.
• Beyond the Three Thousand Dimensions, the Source Dao Sea pours power into the realm for the fourth time. The new treasure’s power equals that of twenty-eight third-transcendence beings, astonishing the watching Transcenders and prompting fears of what might happen next.

Character developments

• Qin Wange is rewarded for his devoted service and vows to remain Li Yue’s weapon against his enemies.
• Chu Qingyue, the new Temple Keeper, envies Qin Wange’s honor and resolves to strengthen Great Zhen’s faith and find worthy offerings.
• The watching Transcenders, especially the woman in black, grow increasingly alarmed and curious about the repeated appearance of such powerful treasures.

Significant themes

• Faith rewarded: Service and sacrifice bring extraordinary recognition and power.
• Escalating power and mystery: Each new offering surpasses the last, suggesting an unprecedented transformation within the Three Thousand Dimensions.
• Ambition and devotion: Qin Wange pledges loyalty, while Chu Qingyue turns envy into determination.

Character interactions

• Li Yue publicly recognizes Qin Wange, while Qin Wange responds with gratitude and renewed loyalty.
• Chu Qingyue witnesses the exchange and privately challenges herself to earn similar distinction.
• The Transcenders observe and speculate together, their amazement shifting toward fear as the Source Dao Sea’s outpouring continues.

Chapter Summary

• The Light Life Pearl Prototype awakens powerful abilities. Li Yue discovers Infinite Light, a barrier that burns or severely injures evil beings, and Infinite Life, which rapidly heals approved allies—even repairing some damage to their Great Dao. Both powers can improve the prototype as it purifies stronger enemies and heals more powerful, badly wounded beings. More abilities will emerge as it develops toward becoming a true, beyond-transcendence treasure.
• Li Yue recognizes the strategic value of the new treasure. Infinite Life could restore his injured Transcenders and let them fight without fearing harm, even while using dangerous techniques. The Light Immeasurable Barrier also gives him confidence to explore the perilous One and Only Hell, a Pinnacle Heaven filled with transcendence-grade evil beings, and gather the Hell Aura he needs to advance.
• Gray Valley and Qinggu are completely healed. Li Yue uses Infinite Life to erase the final, difficult-to-treat portion of their injuries in just a few breaths. Their strength surges back beyond that of ordinary Transcenders, and they gratefully bow to him. Gray Valley says his avatar now barely has transcendence-grade strength. Li Yue hopes eventually to free both their true bodies from the Gray Valley Ark, which could remove the threat posed by the leader of the Three Thousand Dao Heavens.
• Li Yue heads to Dry Source Divine Mountain, intending to heal Qian Bao and another wounded Transcender. There, he unexpectedly encounters Qiancheng, son of the mountain’s previous wielder and a formidable second-transcendence-realm expert.

Character and Thematic Notes

• Li Yue grows more confident and ambitious as the treasure changes what his forces can survive and what dangers he can face.
• Gray Valley and Qinggu move from long-standing debilitation to restored strength, deepening their gratitude and loyalty to Li Yue.
• Major themes: healing as a source of power, the value of protecting allies, the transformation of battlefield strategy, and the balance between escalating ambition and formidable danger.

Key plot points and events

• Li Yue visits the Dry Source Divine Mountain and meets Qiancheng, a Second Transcendence Realm expert whose body is covered in ancient, severe Dao wounds.
• Qiancheng respectfully accepts Li Yue as master, following the judgment of his fellow disciple Qian Bao, the mountain’s former acting master.
• Li Yue uses the Infinite Life Barrier’s Life Origin power to heal both disciples completely—even Qiancheng’s wounds, which had resisted recovery for countless ages.
• Grateful and restored to their peak strength, Qian Bao and Qiancheng pledge their thanks. Li Yue says he will eventually find a way for them to leave the mountain, then departs.
• Li Yue arrives in the One and Only Hell, a High Heaven proving ground containing ninety million cities ruled by copies of dead peerless prodigies. Its regions are divided by the strength of their city lords.
• To collect ten wisps of Hell Aura, Li Yue must kill ten city lords. Even the Outer Region’s relatively lower-ranked lords are formidable and can fight above their rank. Li Yue notes that powerful factions send disciples there to test themselves, though many become prey instead.

Character developments and interactions

• Qiancheng is revealed as a battle-hardened, single-minded martial cultivator. Despite being far stronger than Qian Bao, he trusts Qian Bao’s decision to choose Li Yue and treats Li Yue with deep respect.
• Qian Bao shows both loyalty to his fellow disciple and awe at Li Yue’s power after witnessing the miraculous healing.
• Li Yue demonstrates extraordinary mastery over Life Origin, strengthening the disciples’ loyalty and confirming his intention to help them escape the mountain.

Significant themes

• Power and loyalty: Qiancheng’s deference reflects his trust in Qian Bao, while Li Yue’s actions earn both disciples’ gratitude.
• Healing and renewal: Li Yue restores warriors long thought beyond recovery, giving them a new future.
• Endless conflict and exploitation: The One and Only Hell traps recreated prodigies in perpetual warfare, and outsiders who enter its cities risk becoming part of that cycle.
• The danger of proving oneself: The Hell offers a test against legendary fighters, but ambition can turn its challengers into victims.

Key plot points and events

• Outside White Bone City, Zhong Shan cautions the woman in green, Qing’er, not to underestimate the city lord: the city lords of the One and Only Hell are peerless prodigies whose strength far exceeds what their cultivation suggests.
• Qing’er challenges the Intermediate Creation-grade lord. After an intense battle that whips up enormous sandstorms, she narrowly defeats him.
• Li Yue arrives and observes the fight. He reflects on the immense number of powerful city lords in the One and Only Hell, and wonders how the realm came to exist and what role it serves in High Heaven.
• Zhong Shan introduces himself to Li Yue. Recognizing that both are pursuing Dimension-Proven Transcendence, Zhong Shan is impressed by Li Yue’s concealed depth and regards him as a possible future Third Transcendence Realm overlord.
• Later, Li Yue kills a Half-step Dimension-level city lord with his Light Immeasurable Barrier. To his surprise, a wisp of gray vapor remains instead of the usual Hell Aura. He suspects his technique may have truly destroyed the city lord—and fears the One and Only Hell may retaliate.

Character developments and interactions

• Qing’er proves formidable, but her hard-won victory makes her appreciate how dangerous even an ordinary city lord can be. Zhong Shan praises her achievement and takes her on to continue training.
• Zhong Shan acts as both protector and mentor to Qing’er. He is discerning and humble: he recognizes Li Yue’s extraordinary potential and chooses respect and friendship rather than rivalry.
• Li Yue gains a clearer sense of the One and Only Hell’s scale and danger. His encounter with the gray vapor raises a new, unsettling question about the effects of his power.
• Zhong Shan and Li Yue exchange courteous greetings and assessments. Zhong Shan’s praise of Li Yue surprises Qing’er, who learns that High Heaven holds prodigies beyond even the renowned Dao Maiden of her sect.

Significant themes

• Hidden strength and humility: Cultivation rank does not reliably indicate true power, and even exceptional fighters must avoid underestimating others.
• The scale of High Heaven: The vast population of peerless prodigies in the One and Only Hell makes the realm seem almost unimaginable.
• Ambition and perseverance: The path of Dimension-Proven Transcendence demands great talent, diligence, and effort.
• Uncertainty and danger: Li Yue’s possible permanent destruction of a city lord suggests that the rules of the One and Only Hell—and the consequences of breaking them—remain unknown.

Plot points and events

• Li Yue tests whether city lords in the One and Only Hell are ordinary. At Abyssstone City, its arrogant young lord demands that Li Yue bow; Li Yue kills him with the Light Immeasurable Barrier.
• The city lord leaves behind Hell Aura and a thread of gray energy, just like the others Li Yue has killed. Li Yue concludes that every city lord he encounters seems unusual, but still does not understand the gray energy.
• The story shifts to Luming City, where a lavish wedding is underway for its lord’s 865th concubine. Zhong Shan explains that the lord is a powerful Second Transcendence Realm figure with extensive connections and authority in the One and Only Hell.
• The Luming Bell rings, signaling trouble in the region under the city’s watch. The lord briefly releases a terrifying aura, then orders a squad from his Twelfth Legion to investigate Region 692 and kill the offender if found.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Yue remains curious and methodical, repeatedly testing his assumptions about city lords. His ease in killing Abyssstone City’s lord contrasts with the danger he may now have attracted.
• Zhong Shan demonstrates his knowledge of the One and Only Hell, warning the woman in green not to speak carelessly about the powerful Luming City lord.
• The woman in green reacts with lively curiosity to the wedding and astonishment at the lord’s background; Zhong Shan treats her affectionately.
• The lord of Luming City shifts instantly from celebrating to commanding, revealing both immense power and military authority. His forces obey him without emotion.

Significant themes

• Power and hierarchy: Even among the dead, rank and influence shape who commands respect and how disputes are handled.
• The persistence of identity after death: More talented individuals retain more of their memories and intelligence upon revival in Hell.
• Curiosity with consequences: Li Yue’s experiments have triggered an official response from a powerful military force.
• The unknown: The gray energy left by slain city lords remains an unresolved mystery.

Plot points

• Li Yue has killed more than two hundred city lords in the One and Only Hell using the Light Immeasurable Barrier. Each leaves behind a wisp of gray aura, which he suspects is what lets the lords revive; killing them with the barrier appears to prevent revival.
• After collecting 220 wisps, he remains in the outer region, unsure how to reach the inner region. He regrets not asking Zhong Shan for a map and decides to keep hunting.
• A force of one hundred soldiers from the One and Only Hell’s Twelfth Legion surrounds him. Their captain demands to know why he annihilated a city lord.
• Li Yue realizes the Hell’s origin will is not attacking him directly, but sends its own legions. He responds by activating the Light Immeasurable Barrier, instantly destroying the entire force.
• The soldiers yield 120 strands of Hell Aura and 120 wisps of gray aura. Li Yue observes that the half-step Transcendence soldiers carry three of each.
• When the gray aura combines into a thicker strand, the Super Heaven reacts with a desire to devour it. Li Yue feeds it the strand, triggering a major transformation and waking Extirpation Wan’er.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Yue becomes increasingly convinced that the gray aura is valuable and possibly the essence of the One and Only Hell. He is cautious about provoking the realm, but relieved that its origin will has not intervened directly. Once challenged, he acts decisively and grows excited when the Super Heaven responds to the aura.
• The legion captain confronts Li Yue over the city lord’s destruction, apparently recognizing the gray aura’s importance and hoping to claim it. He is killed before completing his accusation.
• Extirpation Wan’er, inside the Super Heaven, is jolted awake by its transformation and reacts with astonishment.

Significant themes

• Power and risk: Li Yue weighs the danger of disrupting a powerful realm against the potential reward of gathering its mysterious aura.
• Hidden value and growth: The gray aura may be central to the Hell’s inhabitants—and may also provide the Super Heaven with a way to evolve.
• Escalating conflict: Li Yue’s actions attract the attention of the Hell’s organized military forces, turning solitary exploration into open confrontation.

Key plot points

• Li Yue’s Super Heaven expands from 400 to 800 li. A black city appears, along with a heartbeat-pulsing cocoon fed by the Heaven’s laws and the shadow of an ink-black spear.
• Extirpation Wan’er recognizes the city and spear’s aura as belonging to the One and Only Hell, a terrifying Heaven that may once have been a Super Heaven. The discovery deepens her questions about Li Yue and his domain.
• Li Yue suspects the cocoon and spear are developing through the black aura he gathers. Confident that the Light Immeasurable Barrier makes him invincible against evil beings within the One and Only Hell, he sets out to collect more aura.
• In Luming City, bells announce that One and Only Hell soldiers have been killed. The city’s prodigies assume the perpetrator is doomed, since the Hell’s forces punish such defiance without exception.
• The city lord dispatches He Chong, a Transcendence-grade commander, and the remaining 900 soldiers of the Tenth Battalion to kill Li Yue.
• He Chong’s force surrounds Li Yue. Li Yue recognizes the commander’s strength and anticipates that a still more powerful force could be sent if this one fails.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Yue remains confident and calculating, treating the Hell’s response as a threat to assess while pursuing the aura needed to develop his Super Heaven.
• Extirpation Wan’er shifts from confusion to awe as she recognizes the One and Only Hell’s unmistakable presence.
• The Luming City lord shows absolute loyalty to the One and Only Hell, seeing it as his home after being reborn there. He orders the culprit’s death.
• He Chong accepts the mission without hesitation and orders his troops to seize Li Yue.
• The Heaven’s prodigies react to the killings with scorn and certainty that the offender will not survive.

Significant themes

• Power and transformation: Li Yue’s Heaven grows and develops mysterious structures as it absorbs aura and Dao laws.
• Institutional loyalty and vengeance: The One and Only Hell enforces its authority ruthlessly, and its soldiers and commanders regard attacks on it as unforgivable.
• Mystery and foreshadowing: The cocoon, black spear, and Li Yue’s connection to the Hell suggest a larger purpose not yet revealed.
• Escalating danger: Each retaliation appears stronger, raising the stakes despite Li Yue’s confidence in his protective barrier.

Plot points and events

• A legion of the One and Only Hell—ninety Half-step Transcenders and 810 Dimension-level soldiers—combines its power into a giant attack on Li Yue. Though their formation produces Transcendence-grade force, Li Yue judges that he could not defeat them through combat power alone.
• Li Yue activates the Light Immeasurable Barrier, which traps and annihilates the soldiers and their commander, He Chong. The barrier suppresses the Hell beings and strips away their power, leaving behind Hell Aura and gray energy.
• Li Yue gathers the energy and feeds it to the Super Heaven. It undergoes two Metamorphoses, growing from 800 to 1,600 li across. Two new black cities appear, joining the original city; black cocoons form within them, and the phantom of a black spear becomes more solid.
• Eager to collect more gray energy, Li Yue sets out to hunt city lords before the next wave arrives. He also searches for a route into the inner region, hoping to purify Half-step Transcendence city lords and free them from the One and Only Hell.
• In Luming City, three bell tolls announce that someone has killed more than a thousand Hell legion soldiers. The city’s prodigies fear the consequences, while its lord summons the Twelfth Legion—9,000 soldiers—and declares war on those who defy the Hell.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Yue remains calm and confident under overwhelming pressure. He reveals the Light Immeasurable Barrier’s extraordinary ability to suppress and purify Hell beings, and treats the gray energy he collects as fuel for the Super Heaven. His ambition is joined by a stated desire to free the city lords trapped in the Hell.
• He Chong goes from commanding confidence to horror as his forces and his own essence are erased. He recognizes Li Yue’s power as the theft of the Hell’s source and condemns it as sacrilege, but cannot escape.
• The Luming City lord responds to the massacre by mobilizing the Twelfth Legion and personally preparing to pursue the transgressor. The city’s prodigies, by contrast, react with fear and worry about retaliation.

Significant themes

• Power and escalation: A coordinated legion can wield Transcendence-grade strength, yet Li Yue’s specialized barrier overwhelms it.
• Sacrilege and defiance: Taking the Hell’s source makes Li Yue an enemy of the entire One and Only Hell and sets up a major retaliation.
• Power as transformation: Gray energy fuels the Super Heaven’s growth, linking Li Yue’s victories to the emergence of mysterious cities, cocoons, and a weapon.
• Conquest versus liberation: Li Yue hunts Hell-affiliated beings for their energy while also claiming he wants to free them from the Hell’s influence.

Key plot points and events

• City Lord Yandao initially enjoys hearing that his old rival, City Lord Luming, has marched out to face a mysterious challenger. But when the Yandao Bell rings, he realizes the threat may have entered the territory he controls.
• Rather than send a small squad that would likely be wiped out, Yandao mobilizes the entire Thirteenth Legion, hoping to kill the challenger and claim merit before Luming can.
• Li Yue continues moving unpredictably through the outer region, killing City Lords and collecting gray aura. In three months, he has slain 1,462 City Lords and accumulated 1,694 strands of gray aura.
• Unable to locate Li Yue, Luming joins forces with Yandao. Their legions and the City Lords under their authority begin searching for him in coordinated squads.
• Li Yue encounters a squad of one hundred City Lords and eliminates them instantly with the Light Immeasurable Barrier, gaining three hundred strands of gray aura. He decides to hunt for more such groups.

Character developments and interactions

• Yandao shifts from gloating over Luming’s troubles to alarm and self-interest when the danger reaches his own region. He and Luming remain bitter rivals, but cooperate when their positions are threatened.
• Luming grows increasingly frustrated by Li Yue’s evasive movements and fears losing his authority if he cannot resolve the crisis.
• Li Yue adapts his tactics, changing direction after each kill to evade pursuit. He prioritizes killing City Lords while he still can, then recognizes that organized search squads provide especially valuable targets.
• Yandao and Luming’s long-standing hostility—rooted in a rivalry that ended in their mutual deaths—continues to shape their motives, even as necessity brings them together.

Significant themes

• Rivalry and self-interest: Yandao and Luming cooperate not out of trust, but to protect their status and avoid punishment.
• Adaptation and pursuit: Li Yue’s unpredictable routes frustrate the authorities’ attempts to track him.
• Hidden consequences: The City Lords believe slain rulers will revive after a century, unaware that Li Yue’s victims are permanently dead.
• Escalating conflict: Li Yue’s growing tally prompts increasingly organized and dangerous efforts to capture him.