Recaps

Cheng Gujian injured the Sea God, but the creature entered a second phase and attacked the fleets with its regenerating tentacles. Xu Shi was knocked overboard, and Xie Qingyan shoved him back toward the ship as he fell.

• Cheng Gujian used his spear to wither and sever one of the Sea God's tentacles, drawing cheers from the royal fleet.
• Xu Shi ordered the following fleet to hold position while Xia Wuyou continued fighting the Sea God.
• The Sea God roared, turned blood-red, and began regenerating its severed tentacles with more dangerous fins.
• Xu Shi ordered the fighters and ships to retreat, but the Sea God pierced several vessels and sent Xu Shi flying overboard.
• Xia Wuyou could not reach Xu Shi in time, so Xie Qingyan shoved him toward the ship and cried, "You... can't die!"

Xie Qingyan risked her life to save Xu Shi, and he rescued her from the Sea God’s mouth using Yujing’s protective force field. The two survived inside the Sea God, confessed their feelings through a kiss, and were joined by Shen Qin as they faced the problem of escaping.

• Xie Qingyan pushed Xu Shi out of danger and fell toward the Sea God’s mouth with him.
• Xu Shi used Yujing’s backup energy to shield them from the Sea God’s teeth, and they woke inside its body.
• Xu Shi and Xie Qingyan admitted they did not want each other to die, then kissed as they reconciled.
• Shen Qin arrived inside the Sea God after rushing in to save Xu Shi and interrupted their embrace.
• Xie Qingyan used the remaining medicine to stabilize Xu Shi’s injuries, and the three considered what to do next.

Xu Shi, Xie Qingyan, and Shen Qin explored the Sea God's interior, relying on Shen Qin to protect them from attacks as they advanced. They reached a vast, beautiful chamber filled with sea life and falling fragments rich in Rust Fog energy.

• Xu Shi and Xie Qingyan set out through the Sea God's insides, with Xie Qingyan supporting her injured fiancé and Shen Qin following behind.
• Shen Qin cut down a spike that lunged at Xu Shi and Xie Qingyan, then repeatedly protected them from further attacks as the trio moved slowly onward.
• Xie Qingyan offered to use Prism's neuroactive drugs to make Shen Qin more obedient, but Xu Shi said it might no longer be necessary.
• The trio reached a vast chamber inside the Sea God, where fish, shells, seaweed, and coral formed a small ecosystem.
• Xie Qingyan marveled at the starlike fragments drifting down from above, while Xu Shi noticed that they held enormous amounts of Rust Fog energy.

Xu Shi and Xie Qingyan discovered that the Sea God’s energy sphere sustained its regeneration and decided to destroy it, but Shen Qin refused to help. Xu Shi then revealed that Shen Qin could no longer remember why she hated him, suggesting that their time inside the Sea God had changed her.

• Xu Shi concluded that the energy sphere acted like the Sea God’s heart, nourishing its body and allowing it to recover.
• Xu Shi proposed destroying the sphere, and Xie Qingyan agreed despite the risk that the concentrated energy could kill them.
• Xie Qingyan pointed out that Shen Qin would have to strike the sphere, and Xu Shi asked her to decide whether she would do it.
• Shen Qin refused, choosing to perish alongside Xu Shi rather than help him, since she believed they would otherwise die of starvation together.
• Xu Shi asked Shen Qin why she hated him, but she found that she could no longer remember the reason.

Xu Shi manipulated Shen Qin’s missing memories and weakened hostility until she accepted him as her brother, then prepared to escape the Sea God with Xie Qingyan. Outside, Xia Wuyou fought desperately while Xia Ke'an foresaw that Xu Shi would likely survive; the Sea God suddenly convulsed and cracked as something inside it attacked.

• Xu Shi questioned Shen Qin about the reason for her hatred, and she realized she could not remember whom he had supposedly killed.
• Xu Shi guided Shen Qin into accepting him as her brother, and she took his hand when he helped her stand.
• Xu Shi told Shen Qin and Xie Qingyan to recover using the Sea God’s power before they tried to escape.
• Pan Ling panicked aboard Xu Shi’s ship, so Xia Ke'an used her prophetic power and told her that Dad would likely be fine.
• Xia Wuyou continued attacking the Sea God until Cheng Gujian withdrew, and Xia Ke'an urged her to calm down and conserve her strength.
• The Sea God convulsed as if something inside it were attacking, then cracks spread across its body and strange light burst out.

After the Sea God split apart and died, the factions scrambled to collect the valuable crystals left behind. Xia Wuyou found the unconscious Xu Shi alive and brought him back to the ship, where his companions arranged medical treatment and prepared to withdraw.

• The Sea God exploded into blue crystals, and Cheng Gujian ordered his fleet to collect as many as possible.
• Qin Yiyan ordered the Holy Church to gather crystals while reflecting on its poor performance and Luo Yu’s delight at Xu Shi’s apparent death.
• Xia Wuyou searched the battlefield, caught Xu Shi, Xie Qingyan, and Shen Qin as they fell, and discovered Xu Shi was alive but unconscious.
• Xia Wuyou brought them back to the ship, where Pan Ling and Xia Ke'an reacted to Xu Shi’s condition.
• Xia Wuyou ordered the injured treated and the ship prepared to leave, while Adjutant Miss arranged to collect more crystals.

While unconscious, Xu Shi forced “Malice Entropy” and “United Will” to merge, then woke after three or four days to find Xia Ke'an, Xia Wuyou, and Jiang Chengcheng at his bedside. He explained how he had survived the Sea God and tested his newly activated ability, then discovered that “Malice Entropy” had also reached S-rank and gained a new effect called “Liminal Space.”

• Xu Shi merged “Malice Entropy” with “United Will” in his consciousness and woke after three or four days unconscious.
• Xia Ke'an, Xia Wuyou, and Jiang Chengcheng welcomed Xu Shi back, worried over his recklessness, and cared for him as he recovered.
• Xu Shi told the others that Shen Qin had shattered the Heart of the Sea God and that he had been blasted out when the sphere solidified.
• Xu Shi activated “United Will,” making everyone feel warmth and smile, and explained that the ability’s believer feedback had improved his attributes.
• Xu Shi confirmed that “Malice Entropy” had reached S-rank and learned that its new effect was called “Liminal Space.”

After recovering from the Sea God battle, Xu Shi learned that his new Liminal Space ability could trap spirits in a mental dimension and planned to deal with the factions that had abandoned him. Xie Qingyan revealed that she had copied the Sea God’s abilities, and the reunited couple made plans to marry before turning their attention to each other.

• Xu Shi learned that Liminal Space pulled a target’s spirit into a mental dimension he controlled, but he decided not to test it on Xia Wuyou yet.
• Xia Ke'an told Xu Shi that Cheng Gujian and the church had stood aside while he was in danger, and Xu Shi resolved to prepare a retaliatory gift for them.
• Jiang Chengcheng reported that the communications base stations were nearly ready and that she was repairing and upgrading Yujing.
• Xu Shi visited Xie Qingyan, who revealed she had copied the Sea God’s tentacles and could copy other people’s abilities through contact.
• Xie Qingyan explained that she had also copied a weakened version of Xu Shi’s Malice Entropy, then the two celebrated their reconciliation and planned to marry in Night Sin City.

Pan Ling and Pan Feng were teased by Xia Wuyou, Jiang Chengcheng, and Xia Ke'an while Pan Cheng decided to stand firmly with Xu Shi. Xu Shi and Xie Qingyan grew closer, and Xie Qingyan went to talk with the other women, leaving a Shura field looming over him.

• Pan Ling rushed to see Xu Shi after hearing he had awakened, but Xia Wuyou stopped her because Xie Qingyan was keeping him company.
• Xia Wuyou and Jiang Chengcheng teased Pan Ling over which of them was the best mistress, while Xia Ke'an tricked Pan Feng into losing at chess and covered her face with paper strips.
• Pan Cheng told his First Wife that he would prepare Silver Pine Island and stand with Xu Shi, while abandoning Luo Yu.
• Xie Qingyan told Xu Shi that she wanted to speak properly with the other women, then left his cabin after calling him “Husband.”
• Xu Shi sensed a Shura field forming, and the chapter noted that Xia Ke'an's character card would be ready in the next few days.

Xu Shi learned that Xia Ke'an was as powerful as Cheng Gujian and asked Pan Ling to find Hualan Empire history books. Meanwhile, Xie Qingyan reconciled with Xia Wuyou and Jiang Chengcheng, and the three women agreed on a plan to put pressure on Xu Shi.

• Xu Shi teased Pan Ling into giving him a shoulder massage, then told her and Pan Feng that Xia Ke'an was on the same level as Cheng Gujian.
• Xu Shi asked Pan Ling to check on the master-mothers and find him history books about the Hualan Empire.
• Xie Qingyan admitted to Xia Wuyou that she disliked her because she had once intended to harm Xu Shi, and asked them to stay out of each other's way.
• Xia Wuyou softened toward Xie Qingyan, called her Sister Qingyan, and Jiang Chengcheng welcomed her as well.
• Xie Qingyan proposed that the women put pressure on Xu Shi instead of constantly arguing among themselves, and Xia Wuyou and Jiang Chengcheng agreed.

Xu Shi’s partners pretended to unite against him, but he turned Xie Qingyan’s attempt to establish authority into a candlelit night with her and the others. The next morning, he remembered that the signal base station was due to begin operating and that they were supposed to contact Night Sin City.

• Xie Qingyan, Xia Wuyou, and Jiang Chengcheng ignored Xu Shi and sent him away, while Xia Ke'an and Pan Ling laughed at his predicament.
• Xu Shi took Xia Ke'an and Pan Ling to relax, while Xie Qingyan waited for him to come and make peace.
• Xu Shi agreed to take Xie Qingyan to dinner and watch the stars, then caught her in a cabin with Xia Wuyou and Jiang Chengcheng, who had switched sides.
• Xia Wuyou and Jiang Chengcheng joined Xu Shi in teasing Xie Qingyan, and the group spent the night together.
• Xu Shi promised to watch the stars with Xie Qingyan that evening, then remembered they had to activate the signal base station and contact Night Sin City.

Xu Shi activated Silver Pine Island’s new communications base station and reconnected with Su Lin, Gu Yi, Tang Shuang, and Lin Yue, while discussing the danger he had faced and plans to improve the island. After their long call, Gu Yi contacted him privately and revealed that Ascension had made her an A-rank or possibly A+-rank Ascendant.

• Xu Shi activated the communications base station on Silver Pine Island and spoke with Su Lin, Gu Yi, Tang Shuang, and Lin Yue by video call.
• Su Lin questioned Xia Wuyou about Xu Shi’s near-fatal encounter, then listened as Xu Shi explained what had happened.
• Su Lin, Gu Yi, Tang Shuang, and Lin Yue said they wanted to visit Xu Shi on Silver Pine Island.
• Xu Shi showed Pan Cheng the progress in Night Sin City and promised to help upgrade Silver Pine Island’s power grid, water supply, and roads.
• After the call ended, Gu Yi contacted Xu Shi and revealed that she had become an A-rank or possibly A+-rank Ascendant through Ascension.

Xu Shi discovered that Gu Yi’s evolved ability let her project her consciousness through the internet, then used his own Liminal Space to catch her and meet her in person. They discussed her new powers and the others’ progress, while Xu Shi considered how to plan their next overseas voyage.

• Gu Yi used Consciousness Datafication to hit Xu Shi through their video call, but he connected with her through Liminal Space and stopped her.
• Xu Shi punished Gu Yi for boasting, then praised her ability and asked how she had been using it to explore Night Sin City.
• Gu Yi explained that she could travel through the city’s networks, spot vulnerabilities, and spy on people, though Old Master Wen had nearly forced her from her machine.
• Xu Shi and Gu Yi synchronized their thoughts and appeared together in her room, where she urged him to plan a visit for their friends.
• Xu Shi said the others could come overseas once he had planned for their arrival to create the greatest value, and he and Gu Yi grew intimate through their mental projections.

Gu Yi told Su Lin that Xu Shi had given instructions for preparing Night Sin City’s overseas base on Silver Pine Island, while concealing their intimate encounter. Xu Shi coordinated plans for the island and prepared to return to the Imperial Main City, where he intended to challenge the church and royal family.

• Gu Yi told Su Lin that Xu Shi wanted them to gather weapons, combat personnel, technical specialists, engineers, and academy candidates for Silver Pine Island, and Su Lin ordered Gu Yi to sleep properly that night.
• Xu Shi discussed waterworks, electricity, and an academy with Pan Cheng, who agreed that educating the islanders would help them become self-sufficient.
• Xu Shi reassured Pan Cheng that he trusted him, then reviewed reports showing that the royal family had gained prestige while the church retained much of its support.
• Pan Cheng said he had spread the word that Xu Shi deserved credit for defeating the Sea God, and he gave Xu Shi his support as Xu Shi prepared to contend openly with the royal family and the church.
• Xu Shi decided to leave for the Imperial Main City within days, and Xie Qingyan told him that Shen Qin had awakened.

After waking with her memories altered, Shen Qin embraced Xu Shi as her beloved big brother and became openly devoted to him. The chapter ended with Xie Qingyan, Xia Ke'an, Xia Wuyou, and Jiang Chengcheng secretly watching the pair, while Xie Qingyan’s brief, strange change in her eyes went unexplained.

• Xie Qingyan examined Shen Qin, who remembered several people but struggled to recall more without pain.
• When Xu Shi entered, Shen Qin ran to him, called him big brother, and said she remembered their past without feeling resentment.
• Xu Shi realized Malice Entropy had completed its loop, and a thorn-and-star mark appeared on Shen Qin’s neck as her memories and feelings settled around him.
• Shen Qin defended Xu Shi against Xie Qingyan and showed jealousy toward the other women, while Xu Shi agreed to let her sleep in his arms.
• Xie Qingyan stumbled and briefly showed eyes resembling Xia Ke'an’s ability, but dismissed the incident as fatigue.
• Xie Qingyan and Xia Ke'an joined Xia Wuyou and Jiang Chengcheng outside the room to watch Xu Shi and Shen Qin, and the four wondered whether Shen Qin’s apparent happiness was crueler than her former hatred.

While Shen Qin clung to Xu Shi, he trained Pan Feng and gathered intelligence about the Sea God Stones. After learning the stones had little practical value as Rust Fog ore, Xu Shi realized they might still offer a profitable opportunity and prepared three plans for Jiang Chengcheng to choose from.

• Shen Qin followed Xu Shi everywhere and massaged him, while Xia Ke'an complained about his laziness.
• Xu Shi sparred with Pan Feng, using dirty tricks that made her miserable but helped her improve.
• Pan Ling reported that their group had collected about one hundred thousand Sea God Stones and that the Church and royal family had likely obtained even more, calling them Sea God Stones internally.
• Jiang Chengcheng told Xu Shi that the stones varied greatly in quality, contained little Rust Fog, and were poor for synthesis or weapon-making, though they were malleable.
• Xu Shi recognized a potential opportunity in the stones and wrote three possible plans for Jiang Chengcheng to choose from.

Xu Shi explained his plan to use the Sea God Stone to create a tulip-style economic bubble in the Hualan Empire, hoping to undermine it gradually without provoking its powerful factions. After Xia Wuyou exposed that all three paper balls held the same tulip drawing, Xu Shi left with her and Jiang Chengcheng for a jokingly described special lesson, while Shen Qin held back from joining them.

• Xu Shi explained that he would use the Sea God Stone to recreate Tulip Mania and gradually destabilize the Hualan Empire while avoiding a direct confrontation with Cheng Gujian and the Church.
• Xu Shi told Pan Ling that the Church and royal family held large Sea God Stone reserves and assigned her to draft detailed rules based on his plan.
• Xia Wuyou arrived and asked what the other two paper balls contained, then used her powers to take and open them.
• Xia Wuyou discovered that all three paper balls showed tulips, and Xu Shi jokingly threatened to give her an evening study session.
• Jiang Chengcheng volunteered to attend as an observer, and Xu Shi vanished with her and Xia Wuyou while Shen Qin decided to wait for another chance.

Xu Shi and Pan Ling manipulated the market for Sea God Stones by buying them from ordinary people and planning to promote them as valuable goods among the nobility. The scheme began spreading through the Hualan Empire as Grand Duke Gu Jian asked what was happening.

• The Trade Station advertised high prices for Sea God Stones, drawing a crowd and attracting its first seller, a militiaman who had received the stones as a reward.
• The seller revealed that the army had given Sea God Stones to militiamen, prompting people to seek out soldiers and speculate that the stones might rise in price.
• Xu Shi praised Pan Ling for arranging private trading, warehouses, and pawnshops to help expand the Sea God Stone market.
• Pan Ling proposed promoting the stones to nobles as ornaments that could increase strength and prolong life, and Xu Shi approved the plan.
• Grand Duke Gu Jian asked what was behind the people's recent trading of Sea God Stones.

Dongfang Xiao ordered the royal family to join Xu Shi and the Church in trading and processing Sea God Stones, while Cheng Gujian promised to invite Xu Shi to the palace when he recovered. After Cheng Gujian left, Dongfang Xiao revealed a sinister side, and Xu Shi learned that the royal family and Church had followed his plan, leaving him ready to change roles.

• Dongfang Xiao questioned Cheng Gujian about Xu Shi's Sea God Stone trade, and Cheng Gujian concluded that Xu Shi was making luxury goods to profit from them.
• Dongfang Xiao ordered Cheng Gujian to have the royal family buy and process Sea God Stones, and asked him to convey her thanks to Xu Shi and invite him to the palace once he recovered.
• Dongfang Xiao asked Cheng Gujian to carve her a Sea God Stone bird, then smashed it after he left and threatened a lady official to keep quiet about her behavior.
• Pan Ling told Xu Shi that the royal family and Church had launched Sea God Stone trading and crafts, just as he had predicted.
• Xu Shi concluded that both factions had misunderstood his plans and prepared to change roles.

Xu Shi ordered Pan Ling to manipulate the Sea God Stone market, then explained that he would send her to study in Night Sin City once the situation settled. As prices surged and people poured into the trade, sellers began offering contracts that let buyers obtain Sea God Stones on credit, setting up the next stage of the scheme.

• Xu Shi told Pan Ling to raise Sea God Stone buying prices, reduce the purchase units, keep stones circulating, and make other goods cheaper while favoring payments in coins.
• Xu Shi teased Pan Ling, then promised to teach her about finance and send her to Night Sin City for formal study; when she asked about his status there, he told her she would know when she grew up.
• Sea God Stone prices climbed rapidly as the royal family and the church followed Xu Shi's prices, prompting nobles and ordinary buyers to sell possessions and rush into the market.
• As buyers ran short of money, a man offered Sea God Stones through contracts requiring only a deposit upfront and full payment within a month at the current price.
• A hopeful buyer trusted the Royal Seal on the contract and ordered a large package of Sea God Stones.

Sea God Stone trading became a contract-fueled boom, and Empress Dongfang Xiao privately feared a catastrophic price plunge even as Cheng Gujian reassured her. On Silver Pine Island, Xu Shi enjoyed the island’s electrification and played at the beach with Xia Ke'an while preparing to meet the empress.

• Buyers and sellers across the empire shifted from spot trades to contracts, driving Sea God Stone prices to one hundred times their former levels per unit of weight.
• Dongfang Xiao questioned Cheng Gujian about the contracts and the market, then accepted his assurances while suspecting a severe crash could follow.
• Dongfang Xiao learned Xu Shi had replied that he would travel to the capital soon and ordered Cheng Gujian to send him to her upon arrival.
• Xu Shi saw Silver Pine Island prosper after Pan Cheng’s residents accepted electrical renovations, with further personnel support arranged from Night Sin City.
• Xu Shi played on the beach with Xia Ke'an, who teased him about the empress and his plans to meet her.

Sea God Stone prices crashed, threatening citizens, the royal family, and the Church with enormous losses, while Dongfang Xiao ordered Cheng Gujian to find a solution and planned to speak with Xu Shi. At sea, Xie Qingyan became agitated and rejected Xu Shi’s attempt to help her, her eyes turning completely black.

• Trade Stations across the Imperial Main City posted Sea God Stone prices that had plunged to forty silver coins per hundred grams, devastating citizens who held stones and buy contracts.
• At noon, prices halved again to twenty silver coins per hundred grams, prompting panicked selling and leaving many traders facing ruin and debt.
• Dongfang Xiao questioned Cheng Gujian about the losses facing the royal family, and he promised to find a way to resolve the crisis.
• Dongfang Xiao agreed that Xu Shi should be consulted, and Cheng Gujian said Xu Shi was expected to arrive the next day.
• On the ship to Silver Pine Island, Xu Shi teased with Xie Qingyan and Xia Ke'an, but Xie Qingyan grew unusually upset and knocked away Xu Shi’s hand.
• Xie Qingyan told Xu Shi not to touch her, and her eyes turned completely black.

Xie Qingyan revealed that her new Replicate Ability was mentally corroding her, possibly through a remnant of Sea God, and Xu Shi considered using his ability to counter it. When Xie Qingyan agreed to let him, Xu Shi refused, leaving his plan unresolved.

• After Xie Qingyan's eyes turned black and she lost her temper, Xu Shi asked Ye Shanshan whether she had noticed anything unusual.
• Xu Shi followed Xie Qingyan to her room and confronted her about hiding the side effect of her new ability.
• Xie Qingyan explained that strange whispers had been attacking her consciousness since she regained consciousness, and Xu Shi suspected a remnant of Sea God was responsible.
• Xu Shi considered using his ability to counter the mental corrosion, and Xie Qingyan deactivated her Ability Nullification and gave him permission.
• Xu Shi clenched his fist and told Xie Qingyan he would not use his ability on her.

Xu Shi rejected Xie Qingyan’s offer to use Malice Entropy on her, then proposed seeking Dongfang Xiao’s purification ability to counter the Sea God’s corruption. After arriving at the Imperial Main City, Xu Shi met Cheng Gujian, who challenged him over the Sea God Stone affair, and asked to meet the Empress alone.

• Xu Shi refused to use Malice Entropy on Xie Qingyan because prolonged mental influence might damage her, and suggested Dongfang Xiao’s holy light could purify the Sea God’s corruption.
• Xie Qingyan teased Xu Shi about pursuing Dongfang Xiao, and he pulled her into his arms before they joined the others.
• Xu Shi, Xie Qingyan, Pan Ling, Xia Ke'an, Shen Qin, and Ye Shanshan arrived at the Imperial Main City, where citizens regarded them with hostility over the Sea God Stone crisis.
• Xu Shi told Pan Ling that the turmoil was only the beginning and reminded her to ensure she could clean up the consequences of her plans.
• Cheng Gujian confronted Xu Shi in his carriage about causing the Sea God Stone affair, and Xu Shi defended their cooperation before requesting a private meeting with the Empress.

Xu Shi met privately with Dongfang Xiao to negotiate over the damage caused by the Sea God Stone trade, but he rejected her offer to buy back his goods and challenged her authority. He acknowledged her political predicament and said he was willing to help the Hualan Empire, provided she accepted his conditions.

• Xu Shi and Dongfang Xiao exchanged polite greetings, and she asked how he had devised the Sea God Stone trade.
• Xu Shi said the royal family had acted unjustly during the campaign against the Sea God and that his retaliation was reasonable.
• Dongfang Xiao pointed out that Xu Shi had bought property and livestock cheaply, then offered to purchase his holdings for the royal family at a fair price.
• Xu Shi refused, saying he could earn more by reselling the goods himself, and questioned why he should negotiate with Dongfang Xiao instead of Cheng Gujian.
• Dongfang Xiao asked what Xu Shi wanted, and he said she did not set the price and admitted he was willing to help her if she accepted his conditions.