Chapter Summaries

Chen Changsheng explained the strength of the world’s leading cultivators to Bai Ze and warned that geniuses from the Chang Sheng Epoch and Pill Epoch would compete for the title of Number One Under Heaven. He left Bai Ze realizing that even a place in the top eight would be difficult to secure.

• Chen Changsheng said Chen Xiao had mastered the Path of the Physical Body and had lost to him in the Cosmic Black Hole only because he lacked killing intent.
• Chen Changsheng named Lu Mingyu and Hua Feng as the leading contenders, while identifying Chen Xiao, Jun Lin, Bai Zhi, and Qian Zhu as powerful challengers.
• Chen Changsheng warned that Liu Yidao, Guan Ping, Cui Tian Rui, Cui Hao Yu, and unknown geniuses from the Pill Epoch could also contend.
• Chen Changsheng revealed that Cui Hongyuan had been an exceptionally young Eighth Grade Immortal King and was now likely above the fifth level of the Quasi-Emperor Realm.
• Bai Ze calculated that Chen Changsheng and he might only compete for fourth or fifth place, and Chen Changsheng said even reaching the top eight was uncertain.

Chen Changsheng warned Bai Ze that the Greenwood Epoch and rising geniuses such as Mo Bai could threaten their plans, while Mo Bai broke the seal on the Cosmic Black Hole and the Virtual World announced it would open the site to all cultivators. In the cave, Chen Xiao considered taking the remaining Immortal Medicine for the Phoenix Empress, but Nine-Headed Xiang Liu said only the final victor could claim it, and Cui Tian Rui arrived to compete.

• Chen Changsheng reminded Bai Ze that Jiang Shan, Grand Preceptor Pang, Mo Bai, and other gifted figures could become formidable opponents.
• Chen Changsheng reassured Bai Ze that they could retreat if they could not win, since the Virtual World's plan would continue into future lives.
• Mo Bai used a Light Arrow to shatter the restrictions sealing the Cosmic Black Hole, then escaped as the Virtual World announced the site would open to cultivators in one month.
• The Virtual World announced that the Sage Emperor would explain how to forge an ultimate physical body in the Cosmic Black Hole and promised to distribute more secondary permissions.
• Chen Xiao asked Nine-Headed Xiang Liu if he could take the remaining Immortal Medicine for the Phoenix Empress, but Xiang Liu said it was reserved for the final victor.
• Cui Tian Rui arrived in the cave and said he wanted to contend for Number One Under Heaven by sparring with Chen Xiao.

Chen Xiao and Cui Tian Rui resolved to rebuild their courage through battles before challenging Lu Mingyu, while news of the Virtual World reshaped the Cultivation World. The chapter ended with Long Aotian defeating a clansman effortlessly but remaining troubled by the figure he remembered from the battlefield ruins.

• Cui Tian Rui told Chen Xiao that Lu Mingyu’s strength had prevented anyone from claiming the title of Number One Under Heaven, and they agreed to fight other heroes before challenging him.
• Chen Xiao and Cui Tian Rui entered a spatial rift to meet the arriving Phoenix Empress, while Nine-Headed Xiang Liu complained that Chen Changsheng had left him guarding the Immortal Medicine.
• The Great Shang Dynasty and the Lu Family announced that they would support Meng De’s cultivation for the next thousand years because he held the Virtual World.
• Ruan Su Xian reassured Zhang Ling after the Virtual World matter and urged him to return to the academy and continue his studies.
• Long Aotian defeated a clansman who challenged his right to possess the Virtual World, but he remained unhappy as he recalled a figure amid the battlefield ruins.

Meng De accepted the role of leading the Five Tigers Group and asked Yin Jie for territory, manpower, and the failed Five Spirits mission geniuses to support him. At the Ten Thousand Races Academy, Li Changsheng and the others discussed how their failures had put their Virtual World positions at risk, especially Feng Ran’s amid rivalries between the Demon Race and Divine Beast lineages.

• Yin Jie told Meng De that the Five Tigers Group had been formed by powerful figures and urged him to use his new authority boldly.
• Meng De asked for a life-bearing Small World and requested Long Aotian, Li Changsheng, and the other Five Spirits mission failures instead of Mo Bai.
• Meng De explained that the group could attract public attention by investing in geniuses who had failed and then rose to prominence, and Yin Jie agreed to find them.
• Li Changsheng met Long Aotian, Feng Zhi, Feng Ran, and Lin Yao outside the Virtual World shop as they faced pressure to surrender their Virtual World positions.
• Feng Zhi explained that Feng Ran’s Virtual World was especially vulnerable because Divine Beast clans connected to the Demon Race could challenge his claim.

Li Changsheng explained that tensions in both the Chang Sheng Epoch and the Pill Epoch could lead to war, and described how the Pill Epoch’s family hierarchy and powerful Ancestral Tomb blocked peaceful reform. The discussion ended with him explaining why the Pill Epoch revered the Imperial Tutor: it lacked anyone capable of uniting people and leading them forward.

• Li Changsheng said Sword Come had joined several families in fighting over Virtual World slots, and Zhang Ling accepted that he had lost his share.
• Zhang Ling warned that the Virtual World’s arrival could trigger conflict, and Li Changsheng noted that peace had lasted unusually long in the Chang Sheng Epoch.
• Li Changsheng described rising tensions in the Pill Epoch, including the Wang Family’s recovery, the Cui Family’s internal strife, and branch-line disciples’ access to the Ten Thousand Races Academy.
• Li Changsheng explained that the Ancestral Tomb controlled the Pill Epoch’s resources and had crushed a past uprising by replacing the rebellious main branches with a new one.
• Li Changsheng told Zhang Ling and the others that even a united rebellion would face the Ancestral Tomb’s full power, and said the Pill Epoch lacked a leader like the Imperial Tutor.

Li Changsheng and his companions discussed the looming war and mourned their failure in the Cosmic Black Hole, while Chen Changsheng arrived and assured them he valued their efforts. The chapter left Long Aotian overwhelmed and tearful after hearing that Chen Changsheng saw them as suns brimming with vitality.

• Li Changsheng argued that war in the Chang Sheng Epoch was inevitable and that the Virtual World would be its fuse.
• Li Changsheng defended his plan to use cunning in the Cosmic Black Hole, and Zhang Ling admitted he had mistaken the deadly contest for a trial.
• Chen Changsheng interrupted the gathering, brewed tea, and asked why the group expected him to revoke their Virtual World qualifications.
• Chen Changsheng told Long Aotian and the others that he considered their performance very good, and Long Aotian broke down in tears.

Chen Changsheng encouraged Long Aotian, Feng Zhi, and Li Changsheng to regain their resolve and take responsibility for the future, then privately comforted Zhang Ling about his past mistakes. The group left the conversation with renewed purpose, though Zhang Ling was left speechless by Chen Changsheng’s example.

• Chen Changsheng reassured Long Aotian that his efforts deserved recognition, and Long Aotian regained his confidence after accepting that he could start over.
• Chen Changsheng reminded Feng Zhi that she had saved everyone and urged her to believe in herself and reclaim the fist art Ask the Heavens.
• Chen Changsheng challenged Li Changsheng to stop calling himself a coward and become the Imperial Tutor of the Pill Epoch, and Li Changsheng accepted the burden despite the risk of death.
• Chen Changsheng told Zhang Ling that making mistakes was normal and revealed that he had once wiped out an entire epoch, leaving Zhang Ling unable to argue.

Chen Changsheng visited the academy’s chosen geniuses and encouraged them to keep moving forward, then met Mo Bai at the Kirin Ancestral Land. He explained that he had come out of concern for the young cultivators’ Dao hearts, leaving Mo Bai touched by his unexpected warmth.

• Chen Changsheng’s words lifted Zhang Ling’s spirits, and Long Aotian, Feng Zhi, and Zhang Ling left determined to continue forward.
• Li Changsheng reflected on Chen Changsheng’s influence, drank his tea, and accepted the risk of dying for someone who understood him.
• The academy’s powerful figures tried to meet Chen Changsheng, but a note telling them not to meet him blocked their way.
• Chen Changsheng entered the Kirin Ancestral Land, offered Mo Bai Spiritual Fruits, and said he had come simply to talk.
• Chen Changsheng explained that he wanted to protect the young cultivators from despair and damaged Dao hearts after their life-and-death mission, and Mo Bai felt warmth he had never known.

Mo Bai convinced Primordial Qilin to let him travel with Chen Changsheng, who refused to take him as a disciple despite the Kirin Clan’s offer of support. In the Great Shang Dynasty, Meng De invited a gathering of powerful figures to join Five Tigers Group, prompting Li Changsheng to enthusiastically recommend himself.

• Mo Bai asked to travel with Chen Changsheng, but Primordial Qilin tried to stop him because he distrusted Chen Changsheng’s influence.
• Mo Bai challenged the Divine Beast lineage’s judgment and persuaded Primordial Qilin to let him go with Chen Changsheng.
• Primordial Qilin offered the Kirin Clan’s full support if Chen Changsheng took Mo Bai as his disciple, but Chen Changsheng refused and left with Mo Bai.
• Meng De revealed that Five Tigers Group had five founders, including the Immortal Emperor, the current Jade Emperor, the former Yin Emperor, and the lord of the Greenwood Epoch.
• Li Changsheng reversed his criticism of the group’s name and handed Meng De a self-recommendation, offering his talents and connections for one jin of Divine Source per year.

Meng De persuaded Li Changsheng and the others to reconsider how power worked in the Virtual World, arguing that control of basic resources mattered more in a lasting era of peace than simply climbing the Cultivation World's hierarchy. Li Changsheng recognized that the Sky Abyss World offered a model for gaining a foothold, leaving the group to ponder Meng De's strategy.

• Meng De calmed Feng Zhi and Li Changsheng, then explained that he lacked the capital to secure Li Changsheng's help through payment alone.
• Long Aotian said the group wanted resources and the power to control a territory rather than Divine Source, and Meng De invited them to discuss the world's direction.
• Meng De presented a hierarchy diagram and argued that controlling essential resources could shape an imperial dynasty.
• Li Changsheng countered that force could destroy any resource-based system, but Meng De clarified that he was addressing the present era and its opportunities.
• Feng Zhi inverted the diagram and concluded that whoever controlled most basic resources could dominate a peaceful era.
• Meng De compared the Virtual World to a larger Sky Abyss World and said its history showed how to establish a foothold; Li Changsheng praised the arrangement.

Meng De revealed that the Virtual World had rewarded him with a connector that let others develop territory while giving him a share, then asked the gathered cultivators to promote the Five Tigers Group. The group objected that becoming its public endorsers would cost them and their sects face.

• Li Changsheng called Meng De the true first winner of the Five Spirits mission and said the mission had been designed to promote the Virtual World.
• Meng De showed everyone a Virtual World Large Connector, explaining that he had earned it by completing half of the Virtual World's side quests and would receive one-thousandth of the territory others developed through it.
• Li Changsheng realized the side quests had been designed to select a steady spokesperson and praised the Imperial Tutor's plan.
• Meng De asked the gathered cultivators to help promote the Five Tigers Group, arguing their endorsements could persuade cultivators to buy its pills and techniques.
• Long Aotian recognized that the group would use their growth as proof of its products, while Feng Zhi objected that this would disgrace them and their sects.
• Meng De told them they could keep their face or gain resources, but not both.

Feng Zhi, Li Changsheng, and Long Aotian agreed to join Meng De’s Five Tigers Group under a contract backed by the Virtual World and its Enforcement Team. They set aside livestreaming to focus on rescuing Lin Yao and Feng Ran and winning over the seeded contenders.

• Li Changsheng urged Feng Zhi to imitate the Imperial Tutor’s success by forging a new path through the Virtual World and Sky Abyss City.
• Feng Zhi agreed to join the Five Tigers Group if Meng De delegated authority and promised them seventy percent of the profits generated through them.
• Meng De used the Virtual World to draft a contract, with the Enforcement Team responsible for enforcing its terms and collecting from debtors.
• Meng De explained that the contract was guaranteed by a share of the Five Tigers Group’s profits and four billion Divine Source, which could fund the Enforcement Team.
• Li Changsheng proposed postponing the livestream and rescuing Lin Yao and Feng Ran to secure the seeded contenders.

Li Changsheng and Meng De divided the search for Feng Ran between the Demon Race Alliance and the Buddhist Kingdom, while Chen Changsheng took Mo Bai to meet Liu Yidao so he could learn to loosen his strict adherence to propriety. The chapter ended with Chen Changsheng leaving Mo Bai with Liu Yidao to learn from him.

• Li Changsheng sent Long Aotian and Feng Zhi to retrieve Feng Ran from the Demon Race Alliance while he and Zhang headed for the Buddhist Kingdom.
• Chen Changsheng changed course with Mo Bai after learning others had already gone to both destinations, then urged Mo Bai to relax his rigid sense of propriety.
• Chen Changsheng chose Liu Yidao, the Nether River Ancestor's disciple, to teach Mo Bai about handling the world.
• Chen Changsheng and Mo Bai teleported to Liu Yidao, who was confronting someone in a cave, and Chen Changsheng asked him to teach Mo Bai for a while.

Chen Changsheng assigned Mo Bai to Liu Yidao, who began training him to curse at a cave entrance. Meanwhile, Feng Ran refused to surrender the Virtual World to the Demon Race Alliance and fought its champion, leaving the dispute unresolved.

• Chen Changsheng persuaded Liu Yidao to take Mo Bai as his student and stressed that Liu Yidao must keep him safe.
• Liu Yidao told Mo Bai to curse at a cave entrance, then demonstrated with an exceptionally filthy tirade when Mo Bai's attempt fell short.
• Feng Ran told the Demon Race Alliance that the Virtual World was his personal property and refused to hand it over.
• A burly giant hurled a mountain at Feng Ran, who uprooted another mountain and fought him amid the rocks.

Feng Ran fought Demon Race experts who tried to seize the Virtual World, exposing their weakness and questioning whether they could lead the race. When the Demon Emperor ordered the remaining Immortal Kings to subdue him, Feng Ran unleashed his fury and fought back.

• Feng Ran defeated Moving Mountains Immortal Venerable and then shattered Bedrock Immortal Venerable's body, leaving only a fleeing black stone.
• Feng Ran told Bedrock Immortal Venerable that the Demon Race's leaders were too weak to guide their people to greatness.
• The Demon Emperor demanded the Virtual World, and Feng Ran challenged the Demon Race to take it while asking that weaker cultivators stay out of the fight.
• Half of the Demon Race Immortal Kings left rather than attack Feng Ran, but the Demon Emperor ordered those who remained to fight him without killing him.
• Feng Ran fought the Immortal Kings with a branch spear and forced two of them back.

Feng Ran surrendered the Virtual World to protect the Wood Demon Tribe, but Long Aotian and Feng Zhi forced the Demon Race army to retreat before he had to hand it over. Feng Ran accepted the Five Tigers Group's contract, while Liu Yidao and Mo Bai brought two men out of hiding to meet Chen Changsheng.

• A Demon Race powerhouse suppressed Feng Ran and threatened the Wood Demon Tribe, leading Feng Ran to withdraw his divine power and demand that the Demon Emperor spare his people in exchange for the Virtual World.
• Long Aotian and Feng Zhi killed a Demon Race powerhouse, and the Demon Emperor retreated after the True Dragon and Ancestor Phoenix intervened.
• Feng Ran thanked Long Aotian and Feng Zhi, then accepted the Five Tigers Group's contract.
• Liu Yidao spent two hours cursing at a cave entrance and ordered Mo Bai to repeat his insults.
• Two men emerged from the cave, and Liu Yidao gave them a note saying Chen Changsheng was waiting for them.

Liu Yidao told Mo Bai that the history books had obscured how thoroughly the Forbidden Ground prodigies had dominated during the Dark Turmoil and explained why he had survived by switching sides. As he drank with Mo Bai, Liu Yidao warned him that survival mattered more than propriety, revealing that Mo Bai’s teacher had sent him to deliver this lesson.

• After Long Ji and Bie Chen left, Mo Bai asked Liu Yidao who they were, and Liu Yidao identified them as Forbidden Ground prodigies from the Dark Turmoil.
• Liu Yidao rejected the history books’ account that the Sage Emperor and other righteous prodigies had overpowered their Forbidden Ground rivals, saying the righteous side had been beaten and only avoided massacre because of the Imperial Tutor.
• Liu Yidao explained that he had switched sides to support the righteous prodigies because he believed the Imperial Tutor would win, and that the Heavens Forbidden Ground’s defeat had left its prodigies abandoned.
• Liu Yidao said that the Forbidden Ground prodigies had been no less talented or strategic than Chen Xiao and the others, but had become outcasts while their former opponents rose to glory.
• While drinking with Mo Bai, Liu Yidao said that survival was the only truth that mattered and warned Mo Bai that those who clung to propriety were dead.
• Liu Yidao revealed that Mo Bai’s teacher had sent him to teach Mo Bai this lesson.

Mo Bai pieced together that history had concealed a righteous prodigy who followed the rules and met a tragic end, but Liu Yidao urged him not to investigate or enter the game yet. Liu Yidao left Mo Bai with the task of leading the new era and completing the final puzzle piece needed for the golden age of the Chang Sheng Epoch.

• Mo Bai reasoned that the old prodigies had restrained their fighting to preserve balance while the Imperial Tutor and the Forbidden Grounds’ game played out.
• Mo Bai argued that the righteous prodigies’ historical records concealed an additional ally, since seven righteous prodigies could not have survived seven Forbidden Ground prodigies with an overwhelming advantage.
• Liu Yidao told Mo Bai to leave the buried history alone and focus on leading the new era, warning that learning the truth would force him into the game.
• Liu Yidao explained that his generation had entered the game to survive, but Mo Bai’s generation could fulfill Sir’s purpose by completing the final puzzle piece and ushering in the golden age of the Chang Sheng Epoch.

Mo Bai reflected on the eras and received a jade pendant from Liu Yidao, who took him to seek guidance from Nether River Ancestor. Meanwhile, Chen Changsheng recruited Long Ji and Bie Chen to fight their old rivals and other factions in the New Era, leaving them surprised by the reversal of their former roles.

• Mo Bai told Liu Yidao that the Wisdom Era had ended and the Peace Era had begun, and Liu Yidao agreed that the changed world left old prodigies struggling.
• Liu Yidao gave Mo Bai a jade pendant that could detect underhanded attacks and took him toward Bai Ze Garrison to meet Nether River Ancestor.
• Chen Changsheng confronted Long Ji and Bie Chen, then told them he had brought them out of seclusion to claim a share of the New Era rather than serve as vanguards or be destroyed.
• Chen Changsheng named Chen Xiao, Jun Lin, the Divine Beast lineage, the Pill Epoch, and possibly the Forbidden Grounds as opponents, and asked Long Ji and Bie Chen whether they could defeat their old rivals again.

Chen Changsheng urged Long Ji and Bie Chen to compete for the Bitter Sea Great Emperor title, promising his support and outlining the formidable opponents they would face. Meanwhile, Phoenix Empress declared Chen Xiao, Cui Tian Rui, and the Nine-Headed Xiang Liu the winners of their battle after overpowering them.

• Chen Changsheng encouraged Long Ji and Bie Chen to pursue the Bitter Sea Great Emperor Realm and promised not to abandon them if they did not oppose him.
• Chen Changsheng said Desolate Heaven Emperor Wu Li might return to compete during the Chang Sheng Epoch, and explained that he planned to support Long Ji and Bie Chen while Wu Li needed no help.
• Chen Changsheng listed the opponents Long Ji and Bie Chen would have to defeat before challenging Phoenix Empress, and predicted Chen Xiao and Cui Tian Rui would soon return from her in disgrace.
• In the Cosmic Black Hole, Hua Feng acknowledged Chen Xiao, Cui Tian Rui, and the fallen Nine-Headed Xiang Liu as the winners of their battle.