Chapter Summaries

Su Ze watched Old Philip and his son discuss the Divine Grace Tree while he and his companions considered how to respond to its believers. His simulation revealed that after dealing with Gadamond and the tree, he would face the dangerous Fifth Emblem, a Deity-originated image that could kill anyone below Demigod rank.

• Su Ze showed Qing Shuang and Tao Yaoyao the exchange between Old Philip and Young Philip, and Qing Shuang suspected Su Ze had influenced Young Philip with his voice.
• Su Ze stopped Tao Yaoyao from trying to crack the Mi Go coordinates before Vermilion Bird and said he expected Vermilion Bird to find Gadamond the next day.
• Su Ze told Qing Shuang to handle the first wave of the Divine Grace Tree believers’ impact while he went after Gadamond.
• Su Ze’s simulation showed that Vermilion Bird would find Gadamond, Su Ze would kill him and gain divinity, and the Divine Grace Tree would grant Old Philip Demigod power before Su Ze killed him and took his authority.
• Su Ze’s simulation revealed the Fifth Emblem, a meme-type image from a cosmic Deity that triggered a lethal death mechanism against anyone below Demigod rank.

Tao Yaoyao asked Su Ze to make a child with her, while Bai Fu prepared to take control of Kukes University on Star Ring Company's behalf. After settling Bai Fu and Chi Zhiyuan at the lunar headquarters, Su Ze traveled to Parallel Blue Star, where Vermilion Bird gave him the coordinate to an alternate-dimensional space connected to White Space.

• Tao Yaoyao asked Su Ze whether that night would work, and Su Ze teased her about wanting to make a child with him.
• Bai Fu tried on clothes in Chi Zhiyuan's room, and the two women teased each other about their family roles and past grudges.
• Bai Fu prepared to lead Star Alliance forces into Kukes University and reform it as an affiliate of Star Ring Company.
• Su Ze arrived and took Bai Fu and Chi Zhiyuan to the lunar headquarters.
• Su Ze teleported to Parallel Blue Star, where Vermilion Bird gave him the coordinate for Mi Go's alternate-dimensional space connected to White Space.

Su Ze took Vermilion Bird to the Mi Go-created space where Gadamond slept and discussed how the being might have been created. Their conversation ended when Vermilion Bird found a strange crystal-like object beneath her foot.

• Vermilion Bird joined Su Ze after deciphering the spatial coordinates and arrived with him at the link between two spaces.
• Su Ze used his Advent Talent to bring Vermilion Bird into a beautiful space resembling Parallel Blue Star, where they teased each other and discussed her reward.
• Su Ze and Vermilion Bird crossed a sea of flowers and reached a vast lake as he speculated that Gadamond had grown from tissue shed by a Deity.
• Su Ze described Gadamond as a powerful but flawed incarnation of a Supreme Deity and wondered about the path to becoming a Deity.
• Vermilion Bird stepped on a hard object and noticed a strangely shaped stone or crystal.

Su Ze discovered that the Oblique Octahedron was a token that could summon Nyarlathotep, then prepared to awaken Gadamond while Vermilion Bird stayed with him. Elsewhere, Qin Yushi coordinated simultaneous attacks that wiped out rebels at Containment Station branches across the world.

• Vermilion Bird picked up the Oblique Octahedron, and Su Ze explained that it could trigger an evil god’s descent before throwing it into a lake.
• Su Ze told Vermilion Bird he was preparing to awaken Gadamond and asked her to stay with him; she agreed.
• Young Philip joined a gathering of Divine Grace Tree followers plotting coordinated attacks on Containment Station branches.
• Special Task Force members killed Young Philip and the other rebels at the underground bar.
• Qin Yushi received reports that rebel groups at branches in Shen City, Suzhou City, and the Americas had been eliminated.
• Tang Xinnuo asked Qin Yushi when they could leave work, and Qin Yushi joked about using her linked abilities to make Tang Xinnuo go berserk.

Su Ze and the Containment Station suppressed the Divine Grace Tree’s rebellion while Su Ze fought Gadamond. After Nyarlathotep’s scheduled ambush revealed a mysterious power within Vermilion Bird, Su Ze returned with her to the Violet Family’s castle and promised to protect her.

• Qin Yushi used her enhanced linking authority to deceive and monitor the Divine Grace Tree’s chosen while staging the Containment Station’s presence as the rebellion ended.
• Su Ze fought Gadamond as Vermilion Bird watched from the battlefield, protected by Su Ze’s power.
• Nyarlathotep attacked Su Ze without warning, and a hidden power inside Vermilion Bird erupted to block the True God-level strike, leaving her unconscious.
• After the battle ended, Su Ze explained the attack to Vermilion Bird and promised to keep her safe.
• Su Ze brought Vermilion Bird back to the Violet Family’s castle and told Jiang He to take care of her because she had made a great contribution.
• Jiang He and Lillian teased Vermilion Bird about Su Ze, and Vermilion Bird warned Jiang He that Su Ze had become interested in petite girls.

After his son Young Philip was executed, Old Philip sought power from the Divine Grace Tree and became a demigod, but Su Ze killed him and took his Demigod Authority. Su Ze then watched the tree projection dissipate and concluded he needed to advance toward godhood to challenge a true Deity.

• Old Philip learned that Young Philip had been executed and, overcome by grief and resentment, ran to the Divine Grace Tree.
• Old Philip received demigod power from the tree and tested it by stomping, destroying the surrounding area and killing fourteen people.
• Su Ze confronted Old Philip and transported him into the depths of the Starry Sky to fight him.
• Qi Xiaoye shared Su Ze's vision with the others in Avalon and told them he was battling the newly created demigod.
• Su Ze killed Old Philip, absorbed his divinity, and claimed the broccoli-shaped Demigod Authority.
• Su Ze returned to the Divine Grace Tree as its projection dissipated and resolved to continue along the path to godhood.

Su Ze investigated Maxwell’s Demon, a rabbit-like abnormal creature whose molecular control could reverse changes and transform matter, and found it slaughtering survivors on Parallel Blue Star. Suspecting it carried a fragment of divinity, he brought Qi Xiaoye to confront it and began crushing it with the Guardian God Phantom.

• Su Ze reviewed a saved simulation in which Maxwell’s Demon cursed him that he would never become a god before he executed it.
• Su Ze used Father God's Listening to observe Maxwell’s Demon killing survivors and feasting on their bodies in a Safe Zone.
• Su Ze invited Qi Xiaoye to accompany him to investigate the creature, and she eagerly agreed.
• Su Ze and Qi Xiaoye arrived on Parallel Blue Star, where Qi Xiaoye recognized Maxwell’s Demon and joked that she could defeat it herself.
• Su Ze said the rabbit might conceal a surprise and summoned the Guardian God Phantom, which seized Maxwell’s Demon and began crushing it.

Su Ze crushed Maxwell's Demon after it cursed him with a warning about the Land of Exile and the divine throne. Later, Tao Yaoyao declined Vermilion Bird's invitation because she had something important to do that night, while Vermilion Bird returned to a noisy laboratory.

• Qi Xiaoye glimpsed a shadow inside Maxwell's Demon before it cursed Su Ze, warning that he would never become a Deity and would perish in the Land of Exile.
• Su Ze crushed Maxwell's Demon, then discussed with Qi Xiaoye whether the voice had come from a stronger figure hidden inside it.
• After several hours, Tao Yaoyao rejected Vermilion Bird's invitation to dinner and said she had other important things to do that night.
• Vermilion Bird returned to the experimental area and silenced the researchers who were arguing.

Vermilion Bird balanced time with her younger sister against visiting Chen Keqing and the others, then nearly died after seeing a mysterious emblem in a painting. Su Ze saved her and warned that the Fifth Emblem could erase anyone who recognized it, while suspecting it might have appeared before.

• Vermilion Bird dismissed the researchers, finished her work, and picked up her younger sister from school.
• Jiang He invited Vermilion Bird to visit Avalon, but Vermilion Bird chose to spend time with her sister first.
• Vermilion Bird’s sister urged her not to hesitate, and Vermilion Bird decided to eat with her before visiting the others.
• Vermilion Bird lifted the curtain from a framed painting and saw the strange Fifth Emblem.
• Su Ze covered the painting, explained that recognizing the Fifth Emblem triggered a deadly erasure, and destroyed the frame.
• Su Ze suspected the emblem might have appeared earlier, with its victims erased so completely that no trace remained.

Su Ze used the Old Days Simulator to investigate the Shaking Machine and learned that using it gave him a mysterious bond while accelerating the calamity. After deciding to run more simulations, he spent the night with Tao Yaoyao, then met Dr. Gales two days later to discuss Kukes University merging into Star Ring Company.

• Su Ze used the Old Days Simulator and chose to make a draw with the Shaking Machine, receiving a temporarily useless bond in exchange for an unknown loss.
• Su Ze learned that the Shaking Machine had accelerated the calamity, but he could not determine how that would affect him.
• Su Ze decided not to retain the simulation results and planned to run more simulations to investigate the Shaking Machine.
• Tao Yaoyao joined Su Ze in the bath and tried to persuade him to fulfill her wish, while he discussed Bai Fu's divinity and authority.
• Two days later, Dr. Gales met Su Ze at a Mechanical Church research institute and asked whether Kukes University would soon merge into Star Ring Company.

Su Ze discussed Kukes University’s impending absorption into Star Ring Company with Dr. Gales, who pledged to help him stop the Apocalyptic Cataclysm. At company headquarters, Bai Fu and Chi Zhiyuan continued their jealous argument after Su Ze arrived, leaving Luo Ning'er flustered by their provocative exchange.

• Su Ze told Dr. Gales that Kukes University would soon disappear as an independent power and explained that he avoided ruling everyone because rule brought responsibility.
• Dr. Gales pledged to support Su Ze after learning from him that becoming a god might let him end or freeze the Apocalyptic Cataclysm and protect human civilization.
• Bai Fu and Chi Zhiyuan argued over Kukes University’s takeover, their places in Su Ze’s household, and the household rules while Luo Ning'er watched.
• Su Ze arrived and tried to calm the women, but Chi Zhiyuan reproached him for breaking a promise to her after only fifteen days.
• Bai Fu provoked Chi Zhiyuan by boasting about pleasing Su Ze and mentioning Nan Xi’s bunny-tail suggestion, while Luo Ning'er blushed and imagined the scene.

Su Ze explained that the Fifth Church’s members were soulless puppets controlled by a Deity and considered how to counter the Fifth Emblem’s influence. Three days later, Lillian saw the Fifth Emblem in her mirror and reacted with alarm.

• Bai Fu reported that the Fifth Church had appeared in former Kukes University territory and performed a soul-sacrifice ritual.
• Su Ze brought the group to the battlefield, where the company’s combat personnel had already defeated the Fifth Church members.
• Su Ze explained that the Church’s believers were puppets controlled by a Deity, and he considered using one Deity to suppress the Fifth Emblem.
• Jiang He teased Vermilion Bird and Lillian about marrying Su Ze while they soaked their feet at the Violet Family’s castle.
• Lillian saw the image of a Fifth Emblem reflected in her mirror and cried out, “Oh no!”

Lillian narrowly escaped the Fifth Emblem when the Guardian God’s phantom interrupted its effect, and Su Ze told her he was seeking a way to protect against it. Days later, Su Ze dealt with Fifth Church believers in Wan City and brought Qi Xiaoye to inspect a Shaking Machine that was a true Deity projection.

• The Guardian God’s phantom shielded Lillian from the Fifth Emblem, and Su Ze arrived to explain that she had been unlucky to encounter it.
• Su Ze said he might protect his girlfriends from the Fifth Emblem by collecting Divine Relic fragments and assembling a Demigod Grade Divine Relic.
• Su Ze teased Lillian by inviting her to come back with him, then vanished before she could answer.
• On Day 195, Su Ze appeared in a Wan City plaza and made the black-robed Fifth Church believers disappear, leaving their sound equipment behind.
• Su Ze and Qi Xiaoye went to the suburban factory in Suzhou City to inspect a Shaking Machine that Qi Xiaoye identified as a genuine Deity projection.
• Qi Xiaoye worried about using the Shaking Machine, and Su Ze asked whether it really took a random possession every time it was used.

Su Ze realized the Shaking Machine always gave him a Follow Bond, and his simulations showed it could help him find Jiang He and Vermilion Bird after Jiang He vanished during the Mythical-stage calamity. He decided the bond was worth using, though his interference would derail Jiang He's plan to claim a Demigod Authority.

• Qi Xiaoye confirmed that the Shaking Machine's outcome was fixed, and Su Ze recalled that every simulation gave him a Follow Bond.
• Su Ze reviewed simulations in which the calamity reached the Mythical Stage and Jiang He abducted Vermilion Bird under a Deity's instructions.
• Su Ze saw that the Follow Bond let him reach Jiang He and Vermilion Bird in a hidden space, where the three overcame a Possession Crisis and explored together.
• Su Ze learned that Jiang He had entered the Deity-woven space to claim a Demigod Authority, but his involvement caused him to obtain it instead.
• Su Ze decided the Follow Bond could help him find the two women, knowing his interference would prevent Jiang He from completing her plan.

Su Ze used the Shaking Machine and obtained a mysterious bond called “Follow,” while concealing its cost from Qi Xiaoye. Later, a strange upheaval shook the Calamity Starry Sky, and Yun Meng brought news that people had learned about powerful Transcendents beyond their world.

• Su Ze recalled his simulation's encounter with the Black Thorn Empress and pulled the Shaking Machine's lever despite Qi Xiaoye's concerns.
• The Shaking Machine produced a bond labeled “Follow” with usage instructions and a cryptic note, then disappeared.
• Qin Yushi reminisced with Chen Keqing and Su Ze about the night she had offered Chen Keqing the position of principal wife.
• The ground trembled and stars appeared to fall as the Calamity Starry Sky shifted, though the disturbance caused little lasting damage to the real world.
• Qi Xiaoye tried on a security uniform in the residential complex's security room, where Yun Meng reported that news had spread of more powerful Transcendents.

Yun Meng learned that Star Ring Company would soon publicly announce its takeover of the planet, while the official announcement explained Extraordinary Apostles and their path to power. After visiting her family, Tao Yaoyao returned to the North City Containment Station and found Vermilion Bird kissing Su Ze.

• Qi Xiaoye told Yun Meng that Star Ring Company would soon announce its takeover of the planet, and Yun Meng left to share the news.
• Official announcements at Su University warned people about Extraordinary Apostles and explained how to become one.
• Zhang Ran became excited by rumors about the wider powers and then despaired when Wang Zixin said Su Ze was Star Ring Company's hidden boss.
• At Professor Yan's home, Yan Jiaojiao questioned Tao Yaoyao about her executive status and relationship with Su Ze before Tao Yaoyao left.
• Tao Yaoyao teleported to the North City Containment Station and saw Vermilion Bird kissing Su Ze while Qing Shuang remarked that it was that season again.

Tao Yaoyao calmly interrupted Vermilion Bird’s kiss with Su Ze, while Su Ze and his companions struggled to write a story worthy of the Black Storybook. Zhang Murphy finished his story after decades of work, but the book gave it a score of zero.

• Vermilion Bird kissed Su Ze as her reward, but Tao Yaoyao calmly wiped away his lipstick and sent her back to the handover work.
• Su Ze teased Qing Shuang with the prospect of an O5 Council seat, and she demanded to be included once she realized the council was real.
• Su Ze and the others continued trying to write a story that could earn the Black Storybook a score of at least ninety and help erase the Fifth Emblem.
• Su Ze and Bai Fu checked on Zhang Murphy, who had spent decades becoming a celebrated novelist and writing a story for the Black Storybook.
• Zhang Murphy finished his story, closed the Black Storybook, and saw that it had scored zero.

After Zhang Murphy died from receiving a zero for his story, Su Ze and Bai Fu discussed the Black Storybook’s possible connection to the Black Thorn Empress and the gods gathering around Su Ze. Meanwhile, Jiang He learned that the Mythical Stage calamity would require her to enter another Trial Ground—and that she had to bring one of Su Ze’s women.

• Zhang Murphy died after receiving a zero, and Su Ze took the Black Storybook and read his final work with Bai Fu.
• Bai Fu suggested Su Ze’s story might help a lady ascend to godhood, leading Su Ze to connect the Black Thorn Empress’s existence with the story he had to write.
• Bai Fu reasoned that the gods appearing in the Calamity Starry Sky had come to place bets on Su Ze, and he agreed they each had their own intentions.
• Jiang He received a divine message explaining that she had to enter another Trial Ground, reach its end, and obtain a demigod body before returning to the Calamity Starry Sky.
• Jiang He learned that she also had to take one of Su Ze’s women with her and complained about the requirement.

Jiang He learned that she had to enter a special Trial Ground with one of Su Ze’s girlfriends to regain Demigod power, and chose Vermilion Bird as her companion. Meanwhile, Chi Zhiyuan watched a collapsing Parallel Blue Star as a possible site for the first Mythical Creature advancement.

• Jiang He considered the Trial Ground’s rules and decided she needed to bring one of Su Ze’s girlfriends before the disaster phase began.
• Vermilion Bird returned with torn stockings, and Jiang He teased her about Su Ze before deciding to take her along; Vermilion Bird had only pretended to be intimate with Su Ze at his request.
• On Year of the Apocalypse, Day 202, Luo Ning'er told Chi Zhiyuan that a Parallel Blue Star had been collapsing for some time.
• Chi Zhiyuan displayed the collapsing Parallel Blue Star on a light screen and watched for the emergence of a Mythical Creature advancement path.
• Luo Ning'er noticed a halo of light resembling a door appear on the screen.

Su Ze and Qi Xiaoye traveled through an Old God-built spacetime tunnel to collect twelve Divine Relic fragments ahead of the calamity’s later stages. They returned safely as the tunnel collapsed, and Su Ze offered Qi Xiaoye first pick of the relics.

• As Parallel Blue Star was annihilated, a huge gate appeared in the Starry Sky, marking the start of the Mythical Grade calamity, and Chi Zhiyuan wondered whether Calamity Acceleration was real.
• Su Ze and Qi Xiaoye traveled through a spacetime tunnel using an Old Days game disc, while Su Ze considered how the coming calamity would reveal more Divine Relic fragments.
• Su Ze found and collected twelve fragments floating inside the tunnel, and Qi Xiaoye celebrated their haul.
• As the tunnel began collapsing, Su Ze and Qi Xiaoye escaped back to the study, where the game disc cracked in two.
• Su Ze offered Qi Xiaoye the chance to choose one of the Divine Relics first.