Chapter Summaries

After learning from the simulator that players gained extraordinary abilities through the dangerous Ancient game, Aaron returned to Forest City to investigate and draw out his enemies. He settled near a university district and began building connections in the local gaming scene, hoping to find a lead on the game.

• Aaron restarted the simulator and learned that he would discover the Ancient game, whose players died in reality if their game characters died.
• Aaron searched online for information about Ancient, found the term blocked, and concluded that he needed to investigate the gaming scene in Forest City.
• Aaron rented a room near the university district and used his identification, expecting Flower Dog and Ye Rongtian to track him down.
• Aaron bought supplies, cleaned his room, and entered the Blue Sea internet café to explore its popular games.

Aaron dominated Desperate Gun God matches at Blue Sea Internet Cafe until players reported him for cheating. Returning home late, he discovered that Mu Xinyun and Mu Xinci were his neighbors, and Mu Xinci grew suspicious of him.

• Aaron entered a ranked Desperate Gun God match, killed two inexperienced players, and provoked the chubby boy and his friend to seek revenge.
• Aaron used his extraordinary hand speed and marksmanship to win match after match and earn the Gun God glory.
• Players gathered to watch Aaron shoot opponents from extreme distances, while the blond young man defended him from accusations of cheating.
• After Aaron was reported for cheating, he left the internet cafe and returned to his apartment late at night.
• Mu Xinyun recognized Aaron as the man from the library, and Mu Xinci worried that he might be following them and considered buying pepper spray and a stun gun.

Aaron used the Demon Heart Art to make Flower Dog abandon his attempt to abduct him, but Flower Dog later killed Ye Rongtian after becoming convinced he was about to be replaced. Aaron then dominated a high-level Champion Glory match and considered taking Yi Xiaochuan as a disciple by creating a martial art for esports players.

• Flower Dog and his lackeys cornered Aaron outside the internet café, but Aaron manipulated Flower Dog into giving him three more days and leaving.
• Mu Xinci admitted she had lied about calling the Public Security Bureau, then took Mu Xinyun away and told Aaron to stay away from them.
• Ye Rongtian fired Flower Dog, who returned in a rage, attacked Ye Rongtian, and stabbed him to death.
• Aaron saw a news report about Ye Rongtian's killing, then crushed opponents in Champion Glory and impressed Tiger Brother with his performance in a Peak King match.
• Yi Xiaochuan begged Aaron to train him as a professional gamer, and Aaron considered designing a martial art to improve esports players' hand speed and protect their hands.

Aaron used the simulator’s clues to teach Yi Xiaochuan and Chong Hu a qigong method, hoping they would lead him to the Ancient game. After Chong Hu found him an invitation, Aaron learned that Ancient was a text-based game rather than the action game his skills prepared him for.

• Aaron concluded that Yi Xiaochuan and Chong Hu could help him find Ancient, then taught Yi Xiaochuan breathing exercises and hand seals while secretly giving him a trace of spirituality.
• Yi Xiaochuan practiced for hours, awakened a cool current in his hands, and dramatically improved his gaming hand speed over the following week.
• Chong Hu invited Aaron to dinner and asked him to heal his injured hands; Aaron restored them temporarily and agreed to teach him qigong in exchange for information about Ancient.
• After a month, Chong Hu gave Aaron an Ancient invitation code and warned that the game could be deadly; Aaron passed on the rest of Chong Hu’s qigong and downloaded the game.
• Chong Hu explained that Ancient was a text-based adventure game, leaving Aaron shocked that his gaming skills would be useless.

Aaron merged the Ancient death-game interface with his simulator, which let him create saves, but he drew only harmful talents and chose Fate of Great Misfortune. He began the Rotten Buddha Temple scenario with no spirituality left for another save and faced a choice between opening his door at midnight or going back to sleep.

• Aaron activated the simulator’s compatibility with Ancient and learned he could spend Yao and Tower points to create saves.
• Aaron repeatedly rerolled Ancient’s harmful starting talents, then chose Fate of Great Misfortune over Spirit Sense.
• Aaron joined a player chat group and learned that players could die in real life if their game characters died or failed to meet the game’s activity requirements.
• Aaron began Chapter One at Rotten Buddha Temple, where his character woke at midnight and had to choose whether to open the door or return to sleep.
• Aaron found he could leave the game only in a safe location and had thirty days to meet its activity and exploration requirements.

Aaron explored the Rotten Buddha Temple in the game Ancient, learning that its daytime paths were safe but offered little progress and that nighttime exploration could be deadly. After dying triggered a curse that vanished when he reloaded a save, he began another run and found three secret manuals in the Sutra Repository, leaving him to choose one to copy.

• Aaron explored the temple’s daytime locations, gained small amounts of Activity and Exploration, and found no way to leave.
• Aaron eavesdropped on monks at night, then died after attacking the guest-receiving monk and being thrown into the Great Ominous Treasure Hall.
• Aaron reloaded his save and reasoned that ghosts or monsters were active in the temple at night, then died exploring the training ground.
• Aaron used roasted birds to distract the novice and sneak into the Sutra Repository, where he found secret Fist, Palm, and Leg manuals and had to choose one.

Aaron learned Heavenly Crippled Ghostly Legs through the game, gained real-world qi when the technique reached Novice, and trained it to Adept. On the full moon, he uncovered Rotten Buddha Temple’s underground palace and defeated the guest-receiving monk, but the Bone Monk was closing in as he faced a choice between killing the monk and abandoning his escape.

• Aaron learned that practicing Heavenly Crippled Ghostly Legs in the game could eventually grant him martial arts and qi in reality, then trained until the technique reached Novice.
• Aaron tested the Great Ominous Treasure Hall and was defeated by Ghost Abbot, then continued training and failed to overcome him.
• Aaron threatened the little novice, entered the Scripture Repository, and learned that Ghost Abbot hid the sealed object in the Great Ominous Treasure Hall and left on full-moon nights.
• Aaron explored the Great Ominous Treasure Hall while Ghost Abbot was away, found the underground palace, read part of the Underworld Buddha Secret Record, and swallowed a damaged Lesser Restoration Pill.
• Aaron sneaked out through the main gate and defeated the guest-receiving monk, but hesitated over whether to kill him as the Bone Monk approached.

Aaron perfectly cleared the Rotten Buddha Temple chapter in Ancient, resisting the Buddha Head and gaining new abilities and a White Bone Relic. The temple appeared in the real world, and Aaron began a new life with a choice of weapons awaiting him.

• Aaron secretly returned to Rotten Buddha Temple, found Ghost Abbot dead and Bone Monk dying, and learned that the monks had been driven mad by the burning Buddha statue.
• Aaron chose to collapse the underground palace around himself, where he recovered memories of the Buddha Head controlling him and discovered it wanted to use his body.
• Aaron resisted the Buddha Head in reality, passed the game’s judgment, reached the Eighth Ground Immovable Bodhisattva Realm, and learned Unfixed Mind Zen.
• Aaron anonymously announced his perfect clear, prompting players across Ancient to search for the mystery player.
• Aaron received the White Bone Relic as Rotten Buddha Temple was permanently removed from player trials, while the temple appeared in the real world near Forest City.
• Aaron crawled out of the underground palace and faced a choice of weapons for his new life.

Archaeologists uncovered an ancient underground palace whose strange carvings and Great Liang inscription described Wolf's Child resisting Buddha and escaping. After Aaron realized his game achievements could create lasting traces in modern reality, he returned to the game to continue influencing history.

• Zhou Dunlin and Old Xie investigated a collapsed underground palace and found palm prints that appeared to have been pressed into granite by a young person.
• The archaeologists excavated a finger-scratched inscription, and Zhou Dunlin had Hong Gouyi translate its account of Wolf's Child, Buddha, and an escape from the palace.
• A mysterious intruder read the translation, defeated three guards while fleeing, and left the artifacts untouched.
• Aaron recognized that the White Bone Relic Necklace had reacted to the ancient site and concluded that perfect-clear game achievements could affect reality across time.
• Aaron returned to Ancient, where Flying on the Wind reached a fork in the road and faced three route choices.

Aaron advanced through Ancient, defeated and extorted another player, and sent him to find Feng Ping with an invitation code. He reached Heavenly Dragon City but lacked the entry fee, leaving him outside the gates with a choice about how to approach a young maiden.

• Aaron revived after dying to a Savage Beast Bear and decided to make a name for himself in Ancient to strengthen the imprint ritual.
• At the archaeological camp, Chen Ci arrived with an appointment order and took control of the ruins, identifying them as Rotten Buddha Temple.
• Aaron defeated Dreaming in a player battle, extorted supplies from him, and ordered him to deliver an invitation code to Feng Ping in Golden City.
• The game enforced Aaron's request as a three-day contract, prompting Dreaming to rush toward Golden City to find Feng Ping.
• Aaron reached Heavenly Dragon City, learned that entry cost ten copper coins, and chose to wander outside the gates.
• When a young maiden approached, Aaron was offered the choices of speaking to her, robbing her, or begging for alms.

Aaron entered Heavenly Dragon City, arranged to join I Am the Retired Emperor’s wolf hunt, and improved his leg technique during the battle. Meanwhile, Dreaming recruited Feng Ping into Ancient, and Aaron ended the hunt with only worthless wolf meat as his share.

• Aaron entered Heavenly Dragon City, visited a teahouse, and arranged with I Am the Retired Emperor to join a wolf hunt that evening.
• Feng Ping renewed his dedication to martial arts and met Dreaming, who gave him a phone and an invitation code for Ancient.
• Dreaming left the construction site after recruiting Feng Ping, then stumbled near home and discovered a surveillance camera had caught him.
• Aaron joined I Am the Retired Emperor and other players to fight the Wolf King at Black Mountain, evading its attacks and leveling Heavenly Crippled Ghostly Legs to Mastery.
• I Am the Retired Emperor claimed the Wolf King's head, Spare Me, Hero took its pelt and bones, and Aaron received the worthless meat.

Aaron escaped a wolf-pack attack in the game, fled his home to avoid retaliation, and rescued Mu Xinyun and Mu Xinci from a player using hypnosis. After learning Wild Wolf Fist and discovering a regional quest to defeat the Hou, he searched for clues and encountered another player in an alley.

• Aaron extorted I Am the Retired Emperor and Spare Me, Hero after defeating them, but fled when a wolf pack attacked and Spare Me, Hero died.
• I Am the Retired Emperor survived by using a life-saving item and decided to investigate Flying on the Wind’s identity.
• A masked player used Soul-Confusing Art to abduct Mu Xinyun and Mu Xinci, but Aaron intervened and defeated him before leaving the scene.
• Chen Ci questioned the sisters at the Public Security Office and recognized that the incident involved players.
• Aaron moved to an inn, returned to the game, claimed Wild Wolf Fist at Black Wolf Martial Hall, and found a government notice offering a reward for killing the Hou.
• Aaron searched Heavenly Dragon City for information about the Hou and received a dialogue invitation from another player in a dark alley.

Aaron learned about Hou from Widow Qing and joined the Folk Customs Enthusiasts Association after overpowering Chen Ci. He failed to defeat Hou in the game, then left Heavenly Dragon City to train and improve his martial arts.

• Aaron accepted Mysterious Weakling's map and learned from Widow Qing that Hou was a huge red-furred beast whose roar could shake people's souls.
• Aaron waited at an inn until Chen Ci approached him, then defeated him in a brief fight and agreed to join the Folk Customs Enthusiasts Association.
• Chen Ci warned Aaron that Hou's roar caused hallucinations and recommended a skilled team, while Aaron asked for information about the beast.
• Aaron accepted a quest to hunt Hou, resisted its roar with Unfixed Mind Zen, but died after his attacks failed to harm it.
• Aaron declined the quest and began leveling up outside Heavenly Dragon City, improving his fist and movement techniques while fighting beasts and bandits.
• After rescuing a young woman from bandits, Aaron received a choice about whether to accept her offer of marriage.

Aaron joined the Folk Customs Enthusiasts Association, then relentlessly leveled his martial arts until Heavenly Crippled Ghostly Legs reached the pinnacle. He teamed up with Mysterious Weakling to defeat the exotic beast Hou and earned the Bronze Key that could open the third chapter.

• Aaron joined the Forest City branch of the Folk Customs Enthusiasts Association and learned about its members, missions, and ways to improve his martial arts.
• Aaron repeatedly fought beasts and bandits in the game, eventually raising Heavenly Crippled Ghostly Legs to the pinnacle.
• Aaron sent Mysterious Weakling a dispatch and arranged for them to accept the official notice to hunt the Hou together.
• Aaron resisted the Hou's roar, fought it while Mysterious Weakling was incapacitated, and killed the beast.
• Aaron and Mysterious Weakling earned the region's first Hou kill; Aaron announced it anonymously and received a Bronze Key, while Mysterious Weakling obtained the Hou's head as a reward.
• Aaron read that the Bronze Key could open the third chapter and considered whether to use it.

Aaron used a Life-or-Death Pact to challenge Xu Feng in Ancient and killed her, ending her revenge plot before it could reach Forest City University. The chapter left Aaron considering whether to use the bronze key.

• Hong Gouyi used a Mist-Tracing Fog talisman to investigate a disturbance at Forest City University, while Xu Feng kidnapped Mu Xinyun and disposed of two bodies at the cross-river bridge.
• Ancient announced that Anonymous and Mysterious Weakling had achieved the first kill of the exotic beast Hou, prompting Gu Yuan and Xu Feng to seek out the victors and their rewards.
• Mysterious Weakling sent Aaron half of the rewards, including a Cloud-Piercing Arrow and a Life-or-Death Pact, and Aaron trained his martial arts to their peak.
• Chen Ci told Aaron that Xu Feng had come to Forest City to avenge her cousin and had caused trouble at the university and the bridge.
• Aaron wrote his and Xu Feng's game names on the Life-or-Death Pact, and Flying on the Wind defeated Xu Feng in the arena.
• Xu Feng died from the wounds inflicted in the game, and Aaron then faced a choice about whether to use the bronze key.

Aaron entered the third chapter of Ancient in a real body and learned that he had thirty days to reach Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple. At Heavenly Dragon City, he discovered that the game’s timeline had advanced to the tenth year of Xianzong.

• Aaron found himself in the wilderness in the body of a bald young wolf child, with his alms bowl and martial arts skills intact.
• Aaron read the mission to reach Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple within thirty days and realized his cheat had reverted to its original form, suggesting the game world was real.
• Aaron tested his strength by destroying a bluestone with a punch and sent a wild wolf fleeing.
• Aaron reached Heavenly Dragon City and offered Daoist Qinghui three copper coins in exchange for answers.
• Daoist Qinghui told Aaron that it was the tenth year of Xianzong and that rebels were rising across the land, revealing that a year had passed since the game’s introduction.

Aaron learned that Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple would hold a Bathing Buddha Festival to select a Buddha Child and set out there with Ash Gray the Daoist. During a future simulation, Aaron died after accepting a rebel spy, but gained travel memories, a small increase in cultivation, and partial information about an Ancient Six Divine Power.

• Aaron heard Ash Gray describe the turmoil surrounding the Ancient Six Divine Powers and the upcoming Bathing Buddha Festival at Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple.
• Aaron asked Ash Gray for directions to the temple and agreed to let the Daoist travel with him.
• Aaron bought a carriage, and Ash Gray drove them out of Heavenly Dragon City toward Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple.
• Aaron used the Future Simulator and experienced a journey in which war forced them to detour and Qinghui stole a chicken butt.
• Aaron accepted Red Sleeve, who later revealed herself as a Crimson Turban Army member and led a surprise attack that killed him.
• Aaron received the simulation's memories and experience, gained a little cultivation, and wondered why it had revealed information about Dreaming a Thousand Years.

Aaron traveled toward Brahma Heaven Prefecture, killed Red Sleeve when she tried to ambush him, and used simulations to learn that the Crimson Turban Army would target candidates for the Buddhist Son selection. After repeated simulated deaths, he reached a higher martial realm and tested a plan to reach Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple in disguise, but the simulation ended with him missing the selection and dying after ignoring the Ancient game’s mission.

• Aaron asked Qinghui about the land’s strongest martial artists and changed their route to avoid trouble.
• On the seventh day, Aaron recognized Red Sleeve as a threat and fought her after she tried to stop their carriage.
• Aaron used the Demon Heart Art to make Red Sleeve reveal that the Crimson Turban Army was eliminating Buddhist Son candidates, then killed her with the Great Radiance Fist.
• Aaron’s simulation showed that the Crimson Turban Army’s forces would obstruct his path to Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple, and he died after being chased by Copper Tiger and Iron Wolf.
• Aaron reached Brahma Heaven Prefecture and simulated another route, but died after defeating the Golden-Eyed Guardian and being pursued by the remaining Four Great Wanderers.
• Aaron’s cultivation broke through a bottleneck, and a new simulation showed him reaching Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple in a wig, missing the Buddhist Son selection, and dying after ignoring the Ancient game’s mission.

Aaron gained two years of cultivation and ancient divine-power information, then used another simulation to acquire the Blood Robe Art. On the road to Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple, he slaughtered the Crimson Turban Army leaders blocking monks and declared his rules for the journey.

• Aaron gained cultivation, memories, and partial information on “Dreaming a Thousand Years” from a completed simulation.
• Aaron simulated a rampage through the martial world, died fighting Du Chongshan, and gained the Blood Robe Art and partial information on “Demon Stains the World.”
• Aaron tested his enhanced strength and defenses, then continued toward Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple with the gray-blue-robed old Daoist.
• When the Crimson Turban Army blocked the road and challenged him, Aaron attacked the leaders and broke their Seven Absolute Evil Formation.
• Aaron introduced himself as Fa Huan, proclaimed that evildoers and road-blockers would die, and said those who took refuge in his Buddha would be spared.

Aaron defeated the Crimson Turban Army’s protectors and commander, Du Chongshan, then reached Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple and completed his mission. He was offered the choice to exit the game or continue to the next mission.

• Aaron killed Copper Tiger and Iron Wolf when they ambushed his carriage.
• Aaron left Qinghui behind and lured Du Chongshan and his followers into the forest.
• Aaron killed the Five Elements Wanderers and protectors with the Great Radiance Fist.
• Aaron broke Du Chongshan’s Azure Dragon in Sleeve technique and killed him.
• Aaron arrived at Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple and received notice that his mission was complete.