Chapter Summaries

Zhuge Qing confronted Zhang Zhiwei after the Old Heavenly Master tried to give him a sedative-laced pill to keep him out of the finals. Zhuge Qing offered to lose his match to Zhang Chulan in exchange for a favor, leaving Zhang Zhiwei to consider the deal.

• Zhang Zhiwei visited Zhuge Qing late at night and praised his battle before offering him a Mind-Nourishing Pill.
• Zhuge Qing recognized that the pill contained a sedative and refused to take it, suggesting it be given to Zhang Lingyu or Zhang Chulan instead.
• Zhuge Qing revealed that he could have the pill tested and implied that Zhang Zhiwei was willing to compromise his reputation to make Zhang Chulan the next Heavenly Master.
• Zhang Zhiwei unleashed his killing intent, but Zhuge Qing remained calm and proposed a deal: he would lose tomorrow's match if Zhang Zhiwei granted him a favor.

Zhang Chulan prepared to face Zhuge Qing in the final match, hoping to win answers about his grandfather and the Celestial Master position. Zhuge Qing forfeited, making Zhang Chulan the winner amid the crowd’s accusations of a rigged match.

• Zhang Chulan spent the night trying to find a way to defeat Zhuge Qing and failed to break through with the Old Farmer Technique.
• Zhang Chulan entered the arena as spectators anticipated Zhuge Qing’s overwhelming victory, but Zhuge Qing did not appear.
• Zhuge Bai arrived and announced that Zhuge Qing was unwell and forfeiting the match.
• The referee declared Zhang Chulan the winner without a fight, leaving Zhang Chulan wondering whether his grandmaster had intervened.
• The furious audience accused Mount Longhu and the Celestial Master's Mansion of rigging the match, while Zhang Chulan gained the right to inherit the position of next Celestial Master.

Zhang Chulan declined the Heaven Communicating Talisman Art, calling it more trouble than it was worth, and Lu Jin agreed to pass it to Zhuge Qing instead. Zhuge Qing accepted the booklet, while Lü Ci grew suspicious of Wang Ai's unexpected support for him.

• Zhang Chulan asked Zhuge Qing what had happened the previous day, but Zhuge Qing said they would talk later.
• Lü Ci and Lu Jin jokingly argued over whether Zhuge Qing should marry into their families.
• Zhang Zhiwei interrupted Lu Jin's attempt to give Zhang Chulan the Heaven Communicating Talisman Art, and Zhang Chulan refused the prize.
• Zhang Zhiwei proposed giving the technique to Zhuge Qing, and Wang Ai supported the proposal.
• Lü Ci suspected Wang Ai's motives as Lu Jin handed the Heaven Communicating Talisman Art to Zhuge Qing, who accepted it.

After the Luo Tian Dajiao, Zhuge Qing told Zhang Chulan that the tournament was part of a plan to establish order in the Outsider world, and warned him that Quanxing would not accept the change quietly. That night, Quanxing’s elite confronted Zhuge Qing for the Heaven Communicating Talisman Art, and he prepared to face them with Marquis Wu’s Aspect.

• Zhuge Qing explained to Zhang Chulan that the Luo Tian Dajiao was intended to help establish order in the Outsider world, not merely settle a contest between elders.
• Zhang Chulan worried that the new order might threaten Sister Bao'er, then decided it could also protect her and pledged to support Zhuge Qing’s organization.
• Zhuge Qing warned Zhang Chulan that Quanxing would not let the matter rest after the Luo Tian Dajiao ended.
• Yuan Tao and several Quanxing fighters, including the Four Madmen and Tu Junfang, emerged from the forest and demanded that Zhuge Qing surrender the Heaven Communicating Talisman Art.
• Zhuge Qing refused and manifested Marquis Wu’s Aspect, which began drawing runes with Qi in the air.

Zhuge Qing used the Heaven Communicating Talisman Art to battle Quanxing alongside Lu Jin, then grasped its true power as a direct command to Heavenly Dao. He summoned five colossal pillars of thunder against the Quanxing group, leaving their fate unresolved.

• Lu Jin sent Lu Linglong and the others away, then leaped down to support Zhuge Qing against Quanxing.
• Zhuge Qing drew powerful Five Thunder Talismans in midair, while Lu Jin blocked Yuan Tao's Nine Dragon Sons and agreed to cover him from the side.
• Gao Ning, Shen Chong, Dou Mei, and Tu Junfang used their abilities to defend against Zhuge Qing's thunder attacks.
• Zhuge Qing realized the Heaven Communicating Talisman Art bypassed divine ranks and directly commanded Heavenly Dao.
• Zhuge Qing raised his hand, summoning five colossal pillars of thunder from the storm clouds to strike Quanxing.

Zhuge Qing used the Heaven Communicating Talisman Art to unleash a devastating Five Thunder Talisman against the Quanxing members, who survived by pooling their strength. They ambushed him with the Three Corpses and Gao Ning’s emotion array, but Zhuge Qing’s Samadhi True Fire began burning the corpse Qi within him.

• Zhuge Qing’s Five Thunder Talisman struck the Quanxing group, and Shen Chong supplied Qi so they could withstand the attack.
• Zhuge Qing dispersed the dust and saw the Quanxing members exhausted, while Shen Chong was left barely standing.
• Yuan Tao’s diversion let Tu Junfang send corpse Qi through a tunnel and trigger the Three Corpses inside Zhuge Qing.
• Gao Ning trapped Zhuge Qing’s meridians with his Twelve Labor Emotion Array as Dou Mei watched.
• Zhuge Qing laughed, and the Three Corpses inside him ignited into Samadhi True Fire that consumed the corpse Qi as fuel.

Zhuge Qing and Lu Jin defeated the Quanxing leaders, while Zhuge Qing revealed his control over the company and launched the Law Net operation at Mount Longhu. The new formation weakened Quanxing fighters across the mountain as armored enforcers subdued them, leaving Xu San and Xu Si to realize the operation would reshape the Outsider world.

• Zhuge Qing used Samadhi True Fire to eradicate Tu Junfang's Three Corpses, while Yuan Tao urged the Quanxing members to retreat.
• Lu Jin and Zhuge Qing trapped the fleeing Quanxing leaders with a pincer attack using thunder talismans and lightning, knocking them unconscious.
• Zhuge Qing stopped Lu Jin from killing the captives, revealed that the company worked for him, and ordered the net to close.
• At the command post, Leng Feng activated the Law Net, forming a vast Qi Men Formation over Mount Longhu.
• The Law Net weakened Quanxing fighters, and Flying Shadow Armor, Vajra Armor, and other armored warriors subdued them.
• Xu San and Xu Si watched the operation and learned that Zhuge Qing planned to expand the Law Net across the country.

After Na Dou Tong’s armored unit captured hundreds of Quanxing members at Mount Longhu, Zhuge Qing learned that Zhang Lingyu had rescued Xia He and that Xia Liuqing had escaped with a foreigner. Wang Ye captured Quanxing leader Gong Qing and Lü Liang, while news of Quanxing’s destruction spread through the Outsider world and forced the Ten Elders to convene a high-level meeting.

• Leng Feng reported that the operation had detained 437 Quanxing members, but Zhang Lingyu had rescued Xia He after attacking the armor with Yin Five Thunders.
• Leng Feng reported that an unidentified foreigner had helped Xia Liuqing escape, leaving two suits of armor corroded and destroyed.
• Wang Ye brought in Gong Qing and Lü Liang after catching them attempting to attack Tian Jinzhong.
• Reports that Na Dou Tong had wiped out Quanxing were confirmed by raids on Quanxing-linked businesses and the disappearance of its members.
• Fearing Na Dou Tong’s power, the major sects and clans pressured the Ten Elders, prompting the Company to arrange a top-level conference.

Zhuge Qing introduced the new National Bureau of Anomalous Phenomena Management and Coordination to the Ten Elders and outlined its plans to supervise the Outsider world. He ended by demanding that each elder submit records of their sect’s cultivation methods and unique techniques to the Bureau.

• Zhao Fangxu convened the Ten Elders and introduced Zhuge Qing as a leader of the Bureau of Anomalous Phenomena Management and Coordination.
• Zhuge Qing demonstrated the War God exoskeleton armor, which let ordinary soldiers wield extraordinary strength.
• Zhuge Qing showed how the Law Net suppressed Outsiders who tried to circulate their Qi.
• Zhao Fangxu explained that the new Bureau would gradually take over Na Dou Tong’s duties and seek to establish a stable order for the Outsider world.
• Jie Kong asked what cooperation the Bureau expected from the sects, and Zhuge Qing demanded that the Ten Elders submit records of their inherited cultivation methods and unique techniques.

Zhuge Qing persuaded the Ten Elders to register cultivation methods with the Bureau of Anomalous Phenomena Management and Coordination, arguing that shared research would preserve inheritances and help the country face Behemoth. Zhang Zhiwei agreed first, prompting the other factions to follow, and the new system was set to reshape the Outsider world.

• Lü Ci angrily opposed Zhuge Qing's proposal to register sect inheritances, but Zhuge Qing argued that cooperation would protect lost arts and prepare for future threats.
• Mu You confirmed that Behemoth had advanced genetic engineering and Qi research enough to mass-produce Outsiders.
• Zhang Zhiwei asked how the Bureau would handle single-lineage techniques and innate abilities, and Zhuge Qing said it would respect ownership while seeking help with basic research.
• Feng Zhenghao asked about rewards, and Zhuge Qing offered contribution points exchangeable for resources and access to other cultivation arts, including a chance to study Wuhou Qimen.
• Zhang Zhiwei agreed to provide cultivation texts, after which Feng Zhenghao, Na Ruhu, Chen Jinkui, Mu You, Wang Ai, Master Jie Kong, and Guan Shihua also agreed.

After securing the Ten Elders’ agreement to bring Outsider techniques and inheritances under government control, Zhuge Qing turned his attention to Qu Tong and the Lü Family’s Double Full Hands. He recruited Lü Liang by offering to investigate his past and brought him to a laboratory where he planned to use the fourth-generation Animus to examine the inheritance encoded in DNA.

• Zhuge Qing concluded the Ten Elders’ talks and left Zhao Fangxu to coordinate the new regulations and contribution-point system.
• Zhuge Qing planned to approach Qu Tong indirectly through Lü Liang, since he did not yet understand how Double Full Hands worked.
• Zhuge Qing visited Lü Liang in the Bureau’s detention facility and offered to help uncover the truth about his past.
• As Zhuge Qing explained the Lü Family’s unusually stable inheritance of the Bright Soul Technique, Lü Liang realized his family’s bloodline might have been deliberately altered.
• Zhuge Qing led Lü Liang to a laboratory and revealed the fourth-generation Animus, which could read information stored in DNA.

Zhuge Qing left Lü Liang’s genetic research in Professor Chen’s hands and arranged for Zhang Chulan to contact Jin Feng as bait for Qu Tong. He then led armed forces to Biyou Village to arrest a suspected serial murderer, confronting Zhao Guizhen as the villagers watched.

• Professor Chen told Zhuge Qing that Lü Liang’s genetic backtracking revealed a self-stabilizing genetic information protocol that might take months to decode.
• Zhuge Qing ordered Zhang Chulan to contact and follow Jin Feng, hoping to draw Qu Tong’s attention toward Twenty-Four Valleys.
• Zhuge Qing arrived at Biyou Village with special police and armored forces and sealed off the roads.
• Ma Xianhong came out with the Twelve Supreme Root Vessels and questioned why the authorities had come.
• Zhuge Qing presented evidence of a serial murderer who had killed seven children, and Zhao Guizhen reacted with visible panic.
• Zhuge Qing singled out Zhao Guizhen and asked him to answer for the crimes.

Zhuge Qing exposed Zhao Guizhen as the murderer of seven boys, and a crimson-armored man killed him after overpowering his forbidden technique. With Biyou Village shaken and outmatched, Zhuge Qing asked Ma Xianhong to allow a thorough inspection for accomplices.

• Zhao Guizhen protested his innocence, and Ma Xianhong questioned Zhuge Qing's accusation.
• Zhuge Qing used the Heaven Communicating Talisman Art to reveal seven tortured child spirits bound to Zhao Guizhen through Seven Fiends Gather Body.
• Zhao Guizhen attacked Zhuge Qing with the spirits, but the crimson-armored man destroyed them, restrained Zhao Guizhen, and sentenced him to death.
• The crimson-armored man executed Zhao Guizhen, shocking the villagers and the Twelve Supreme Root Vessels with his power and armor.
• Zhuge Qing told Ma Xianhong that Biyou Village would be inspected for accomplices, and Ma Xianhong saw no grounds to refuse.

Zhuge Qing confronted Ma Xianhong in his workshop and revealed that Ma Xianhong’s sister had manipulated his memories to control him. Zhuge Qing severed the mental lock, restoring Ma Xianhong’s memories of his real family, and Ma Xianhong broke down in grief.

• Zhuge Qing entered Ma Xianhong’s workshop, where Ma Xianhong’s puppets surrounded the group before retreating at his command.
• Zhuge Qing revealed that Ma Xianhong’s great-grandfather was Ma Benzai, a member of the Thirty-Six Bandits, and showed him photographs of his family.
• Ma Xianhong’s sister’s conditioning took hold when he saw the photographs, and he activated the tools and puppets around the workshop.
• Zhuge Qing used Calming Talismans and Samadhi True Fire to isolate and break the mental lock implanted through Double Full Hands.
• Ma Xianhong recovered his memories of his parents and grandfather, recognized the photographs, and collapsed in tears.

Qu Tong returned to Biyou Village and found it deserted, with Ma Xianhong’s workshop and the Body Cultivation Furnace gone. At the Bureau of Anomalous Phenomena Management and Coordination, Zhuge Qing learned how the furnace worked and took possession of its core, leaving him poised to pursue Qu Tong.

• Qu Tong arrived in Biyou Village and found the village empty, with every household abandoned and no sign of a struggle.
• Qu Tong entered Ma Xianhong’s workshop and discovered that its contents and the Body Cultivation Furnace had been removed.
• Qu Tong suspected that Zhuge Qing had taken the villagers and wondered how he had broken her control over Ma Xianhong.
• Researchers at the Bureau of Anomalous Phenomena Management and Coordination analyzed the furnace, and Zhuge Qing learned that it used Hundred Refinements of the Divine Mechanism to amplify Double Full Hands.
• Zhuge Qing questioned Qu Tong’s real purpose for building the furnace, then accepted its core and resolved to decipher Double Full Hands before confronting her.

Zhuge Qing removed the parasitic life-form from Ma Xianhong’s brain, freeing him from Qu Tong’s false memories and bringing him into the Bureau. Ma Xianhong began work on mass-producing Zhuge Qing’s armor designs, and Zhuge Qing offered him an artificial soul to let the Ru Hua dolls help with the work.

• Zhuge Qing sent the Body Cultivation Furnace core to Lü Liang's research team and learned that a miniature life-form in Ma Xianhong's brain was manipulating his memories.
• Zhuge Qing used a Qi Men Formation and the Marquis Wu Deity to extract the weakened life-form, restoring Ma Xianhong's memories of Qu Tong's deception.
• Ma Xianhong agreed to join Zhuge Qing's organization in exchange for help settling the Biyou Village villagers and protecting his family.
• At the Bureau's engineering division, Ma Xianhong admired Zhuge Qing's Armor designs but warned that producing enough components by hand would take years.
• Zhuge Qing proposed that the Ru Hua dolls handle the repetitive work and showed Ma Xianhong a jade sphere containing an artificial soul.

Zhuge Qing demonstrated an artificial soul by bringing a Ru Hua puppet to life, leaving Ma Xianhong astonished at the possibility of creating intelligent puppets. With Ma Xianhong’s technology and the Body Cultivation Furnace, Zhuge Qing saw a path to mass-producing armor.

• Ma Xianhong was shocked when Zhuge Qing claimed he had created artificial souls, a breakthrough beyond the Heavenly Craft Hall’s centuries-long efforts to create people.
• Zhuge Qing explained that he combined ideas from the Sword Art Online and Bleach worlds with Primordial Qi and magical artifacts to build artificial souls.
• Zhuge Qing placed a jade sphere into a Ru Hua puppet, and qi began flowing through its meridians as it awakened.
• The Ru Hua puppet explored its body and looked at Ma Xianhong with confusion, convincing him that it had become alive.
• Zhuge Qing said the artificial soul had only basic self-awareness but could handle repetitive work, clearing the way for mass production of armor.

Zhuge Qing organized a plan to mass-produce War God Armor by training artifact refiners, improving the Body Cultivation Furnace, and building an army of soul-equipped puppets. The chapter ended with more than ten thousand puppets beginning continuous armor production in the underground workshop.

• Zhuge Qing laid out a three-stage plan to train Hundred Refinements of the Divine Mechanism refiners, improve the Body Cultivation Furnace, and produce artificial souls.
• Senior officials approved the War God Armor mass-production project and sent truckloads of rare materials to Ma Xianhong’s engineering base.
• Lü Liang awoke with a newly awakened power, and researchers decoded the Double Full Hands method from his genetic information.
• Zhuge Qing mastered the Red Hand and Blue Hand abilities, then began perfecting the Body Cultivation Furnace with Ares Technology.
• Ma Xianhong’s trained refiners produced Ru Hua puppet shells, and the improved furnace gave them artificial souls so they could make more puppets.
• After more than ten thousand puppets were assembled, Zhuge Qing assigned them to armor production, bringing the automated assembly line into operation.

Zhuge Qing presented the government with plans to mass-produce Outsiders and use War God armor and Outsider abilities to transform national defense. The leaders approved a long-term plan to make future generations Outsiders and formed a new military branch under Zhuge Qing, while secret weapons research began.

• Zhuge Qing reported that War God armor had entered mass production and explained how the Body Cultivation Furnace and Double Full Hands could grant people Outsider abilities.
• Zhuge Qing outlined defense applications including information warfare, thought-controlled aircraft, autonomous missiles, and combat dolls.
• Zhuge Qing proposed the Law Net system and War God-armored enforcers to help maintain order as Outsider abilities spread.
• Zhuge Qing argued that genetic modification could make future newborns Outsiders, avoiding the need to transform the existing population one person at a time.
• The government placed the National Outsiderization Long-Term Development Plan on its highest agenda and created an independent military branch under Zhuge Qing.
• The government ordered leading arms researchers and factories to begin a classified project developing weapons that incorporated Outsider methods.

At Na Dou Tong’s North China office, Zhang Chulan and the others tried to understand why a mission had led a mysterious group to target Feng Baobao. Zhang Chulan concluded that Zhuge Qing was testing his attitude, and he urged everyone to confront him directly.

• Xu San proposed that the mission was either a trap aimed at Feng Baobao or a plan by the higher-ups to draw out the hidden group.
• Xu Si argued that the powerful people above them had no need to use such a complicated scheme just to capture their enemies.
• Feng Baobao suggested that they could simply hand her over, prompting Xu San to refuse.
• Zhang Chulan realized that the tangled events might be an examination intended to reveal his attitude toward Feng Baobao and her secrets.
• Zhang Chulan asked Xu San, Xu Si, and Feng Baobao to lay everything on the table.