Chapter Summaries

Pan Ling exposed a staged poisoning attempt at the church, then helped defend the Cat Cult when disguised church forces launched an attack. The defenders were pushed into a standoff until Tang Shuang and Lin Yue arrived and overwhelmed the two Silver Knights.

• Pan Ling recognized that a man pretending to be poisoned was part of a scheme, and he admitted someone had ordered him to stage the incident.
• Disguised priests and knights revealed themselves and attacked the church, while Pan Feng fought and Pan Ling and Xia Ke'an summoned the nearby combat teams.
• The Cat Cult's defenders evacuated civilians as Pan Feng struggled to hold off two Silver Knights.
• Tang Shuang attacked Silver Brother with explosive bullets and batons, while Lin Yue engaged the other Silver Knight and wounded him.
• Pan Ling recognized the arriving fighters as Tang Shuang and Lin Yue.

Xu Shi and his allies advanced on the Church after Tang Shuang and Lin Yue defeated the Silver Knights attacking the others. After the battle, Tang Shuang and Lin Yue met the Feng and Ling sisters and asked them to call them “Mistress Tang” and “Mistress Lin.”

• Su Lin explained that Tang Shuang had reached S-class and Lin Yue had developed the derived ability Refraction, and she said they could handle the Church’s forces.
• Xu Shi reassured Xie Qingyan that Night Sin City could be left to its capable defenders and led the group toward the main cathedral to retaliate against the Church.
• Xu Shi’s forces broadcast that the Sacred Fire Cat Cult would eradicate the Church, while residents stayed indoors or cheered from their homes.
• Xu Shi learned that Tang Shuang and Lin Yue had slain the two Silver Knights and wiped out the attacking enemies.
• Tang Shuang checked on Xia Ke’an, Pan Ling, and Pan Feng, then told the Feng and Ling sisters to call her Mistress Tang.
• Lin Yue approached the sisters and asked them to call her Mistress Lin too.

Xu Shi and his allies advanced on the Grand Cathedral after presenting their campaign as a mission blessed by the Cat Cult’s Saintess. He confronted the Holy Church’s leaders and revealed that he knew the veiled Saintess was the Overseer of the Heavenly Principle.

• Lin Yue reunited with Xu Shi and embarrassed him by recalling his earlier request about what she should wear, while Pan Feng accidentally insulted Gu Yi by calling her a winter melon.
• Xu Shi gave everyone time to recover, then led the assembled forces toward the Grand Cathedral after Ke'an transformed into her adult Saintess form and declared the Holy Church must be destroyed.
• Xu Shi found the Grand Cathedral’s remaining defenders, including the veiled Saintess, the old Pope, and the surviving Templar knights; Luo Yu and Qin Yiyan challenged his motives.
• Xu Shi said his real target had always been the entire Holy Church and dismissed the Saintess’s warning that he could not destroy it in one stroke.
• Xu Shi asked who the Saintess meant by “we” and identified her as the Overseer of the Heavenly Principle.

Xu Shi exposed the Saintess as an Observer serving the Heavenly Principle, turning the Church against her and revealing that the Pope was her puppet. As the Church rallied to fight, the Saintess took control of Qin Yiyan, leaving her poised to fight for her.

• Xu Shi explained that he had suspected the Saintess since the campaign against the Sea God and exposed her as an Observer connected to the Heavenly Principle.
• Xu Shi and the others revealed the Saintess's secrets to the Church, while Qin Yiyan struggled to accept that the Saintess she had loved as family might have deceived her.
• Xu Shi pointed out that the silent Pope was a puppet, prompting Lu Baiyan to realize that the Saintess had taken control of the Church.
• The Saintess urged the Church to ignore Xu Shi and fight for the Church, and Luo Yu led the others in answering her call.
• When Qin Yiyan wavered, the Saintess used her power to take control of her and ordered her to fight for the Saintess.

The Saintess revealed her ability to control people she had apparently prepared through baptism, turning Qin Yiyan and the Church members into puppets. Xu Shi’s group fought back, with Xie Qingyan targeting the Saintess while Tang Shuang faced Qin Yiyan, and the battle intensified.

• The Saintess used Human Body Control to strip Qin Yiyan of her awareness, and Xie Qingyan deduced that the Church’s baptisms might have prepared people for control.
• Xie Qingyan asked Xu Shi to capture the Saintess alive for study, but Xu Shi left the task to her, prompting her to enter her combat form.
• The Saintess turned the Church members into puppets and ordered them to kill Xu Shi’s group.
• Su Lin and Lin Yue attacked the Saintess, Xie Qingyan fought the other enemies, and Xu Shi stayed behind to protect the noncombatants, including Pan Feng.
• Tang Shuang fought the puppet Qin Yiyan, who attacked without restraint, and broke her threshold to meet the red-haired knight captain’s full strength.

Xu Shi’s allies defeated the Saintess’s Silver Knights and puppets, but the old Pope awakened with overwhelming SS-rank pressure. Xu Shi used Su Lin’s teleportation to reach the Saintess and activate Liminal Space against her.

• Tang Shuang defeated Qin Yiyan by destroying her clones and striking her unconscious.
• Ye Shanshan defeated Lu Baiyan and Han Jingchuan, while Shen Qin killed Luo Yu’s companion and defeated Luo Yu before collapsing from her injuries.
• Xu Shi had Shen Qin brought to him and arranged for her to receive more inhibitor, while the Saintess continued fighting Su Lin and Lin Yue.
• The Saintess awakened the old Pope, whose SS-rank presence threatened the group.
• Su Lin took Xu Shi’s hand and teleported him behind the Saintess, where he touched her shoulder and activated Liminal Space.

Xu Shi pulled the Saintess into Liminal Space, overpowered her, and interrogated her about Heavenly Principle’s scripts and judgment rules. As she revealed that an Inspector should intervene when a region’s plot deviated, she suddenly began the Level Two Judgment Process.

• Su Lin teleported Xu Shi and the Saintess into Liminal Space, separating them from the chaotic battle in the cathedral.
• Xu Shi used his mental power to force the Saintess to kneel and answer questions about Heavenly Principle.
• The Saintess explained that Heavenly Principle created test regions with predetermined plots and used Inspectors before initiating a Level Two Judgment Process.
• Xu Shi revealed that he had captured the Inspector in his region and killed that region’s protagonist, shocking the Saintess.
• The Saintess broke free briefly to ask whether Xu Shi was his region’s protagonist, but Xu Shi regained control and ordered her to continue answering.
• The Saintess went limp and mechanically announced that the Level Two Judgment Process was commencing.

Xu Shi learned that the Heavenly Principle had abandoned Region 0754, severing its Observer link and destroying the collected data, but the Saintess vanished before he could learn more. After the battle, Xu Shi decided to keep investigating the Heavenly Principle and help the Hualan Empire, then received an urgent warning that Cheng Gujian had raised an army in rebellion.

• The Saintess announced that Region 0754 had passed the Heavenly Principle’s Abandonment Judgment, ending observation and erasing the Observer’s will and collected data.
• Xu Shi questioned the Saintess about the Heavenly Principle, but she self-destructed before revealing who founded it or how long it had existed.
• Xu Shi returned to the church, where he learned that the puppeteered Church members had died and that Lu Baiyan, Han Jingchuan, and Qin Yiyan had survived.
• Xu Shi ordered the Saintess and the old Pope kept for observation, then told his allies they would continue investigating the Heavenly Principle and would not abandon the Hualan Empire.
• Xia Wuyou sent Xu Shi an urgent message that Cheng Gujian had raised an army in rebellion.

After the Church’s defeat, Xu Shi revealed that he had anticipated Cheng Gujian’s rebellion and had prepared a response before heading to the Imperial Palace. As Cheng Gujian’s forces seized the palace, Dongfang Xiao refused to flee and stood up to him.

• Xu Shi recognized that Cheng Gujian had exploited the fight against the Church to raise an army, and he told Pan Ling he had already made arrangements.
• Pan Ling inferred Xu Shi’s plans without using Mind Reading, and Xu Shi rewarded her by allowing her to read his thoughts.
• Cheng Gujian’s troops surrounded the Imperial Palace and moved against the capital’s nobles while Xu Shi’s side prepared to head there.
• Dongfang Xiao rejected her female official’s advice to escape and ordered the palace forces to resist Cheng Gujian’s rebellion.
• After his troops overwhelmed the palace defenders, Cheng Gujian demanded that Dongfang Xiao abdicate, and she cursed him instead.

Dongfang Xiao defied Cheng Gujian as he threatened her, but Xia Wuyou intervened and fought him to protect her. Xia Wuyou admitted she could not defeat Cheng Gujian alone, then welcomed the arrival of Old Mr. Wen.

• Dongfang Xiao cursed Cheng Gujian and raised her sword to her neck rather than let him decide her death.
• Xia Wuyou stopped Dongfang Xiao and explained that Xu Shi had sent her to protect the Empress.
• Cheng Gujian challenged Xia Wuyou, and she attacked him with her Gravity Domain and equipment.
• Xia Wuyou held her own against Cheng Gujian but recognized that his strength would eventually overwhelm her.
• Xia Wuyou retreated to guard Dongfang Xiao and pointed out that Old Mr. Wen had arrived.

Wen Shengkui arrived at the palace and defeated Cheng Gujian, who had been trying to overthrow the Hualan Empire. As Dongfang Xiao prepared to kill the wounded duke, Xu Shi arrived and urged her to hear him out first, revealing that Cheng Gujian had wanted Xu Shi to finish his game of chess.

• Wen Shengkui appeared in the palace, and Xia Wuyou introduced him to Dongfang Xiao as Xu Shi's grandfather.
• Wen Shengkui told Xia Wuyou to protect Dongfang Xiao and faced Cheng Gujian in battle.
• Wen Shengkui used his Word is Law ability to overcome Cheng Gujian's destruction power and leave him badly wounded.
• Cheng Gujian tried to attack Dongfang Xiao with a broken blade, and she raised her sword to deliver the final blow.
• Xu Shi arrived with the others and stopped Dongfang Xiao, saying she should hear him out before killing Cheng Gujian.

Xu Shi revealed that Cheng Gujian had staged his rebellion to secure Dongfang Xiao’s rule, while planning to die after eliminating the Church and removing threats to her throne. The chapter ended with Dongfang Xiao unable to kill Cheng Gujian and Wen Shengkui offering to spare his life.

• Xu Shi stopped Dongfang Xiao and explained that Cheng Gujian had raised his rebellion to give her a legitimate chance to defeat him.
• Cheng Gujian admitted through his reaction that Xu Shi had correctly inferred his plan to destroy the Church, remove his own supporters, and die to strengthen Dongfang Xiao’s rule.
• Dongfang Xiao struggled to accept that Cheng Gujian had been loyal to her, while Xu Shi said he would make Cheng Gujian’s death meaningless and taunted him for failing.
• Dongfang Xiao asked Xu Shi to spare Cheng Gujian, but Xu Shi refused and Cheng Gujian urged her to kill him.
• Wen Shengkui intervened and offered to make the decision to spare Cheng Gujian.

After the rebellion was defeated, Xu Shi and Wen Shengkui settled Cheng Gujian’s fate and restored Dongfang Xiao to power. Xu Shi left with his companions to face the work ahead, ending the chapter by teasing Xia Ke’an about calling him Dad.

• Wen Shengkui insisted that Gu Yi stay with him, and Xu Shi realized she had influenced the old man’s rough, game-loving ways.
• Dongfang Xiao chose to spare Cheng Gujian but said she did not want to see him again, so Wen Shengkui planned to take him to Night Sin City.
• Wen Shengkui left Cheng Gujian in Xu Shi’s care, and Xu Shi welcomed Dongfang Xiao back to power before departing with his companions.
• Xia Ke’an asked whether Xu Shi had intended to kill Cheng Gujian, and Xu Shi admitted his feelings about the defeated minister were complicated.
• Xu Shi and Xia Ke’an discussed the unconscious Saintess, the surviving church members, and the work required to rebuild the Hualan Empire.
• Xu Shi invited Xia Ke’an to sleep with him and corrected her from calling him Brother Xu Shi to calling him Daddy Xu Shi.

Xu Shi and Tang Shuang toured the Hualan Empire’s main city before meeting Dongfang Xiao to discuss formal cooperation between Night Sin City and the empire. The chapter ended with Dongfang Xiao accepting Tang Shuang as an ally and addressing her as Sister Tang.

• Jiang Chengcheng, Gu Yi, and Xie Qingyan teased Xu Shi about Xia Ke'an spending the night in his bed, then cornered Xia Ke'an when she woke up.
• Tang Shuang pulled Xu Shi away for a walk through the main city and discussed his relationship with Xia Ke'an and her own feelings for him.
• Xu Shi and Tang Shuang reached the Imperial Palace, where Dongfang Xiao explained that she had stayed up purging Cheng Gujian’s remaining followers.
• Xu Shi declined to review Dongfang Xiao’s list of officials and left the cleanup to her.
• Tang Shuang presented Dongfang Xiao with a detailed proposal for continued cooperation between their two lands.
• Dongfang Xiao learned that Tang Shuang was Night Sin City’s Director and began calling her Sister Tang.

Dongfang Xiao and Night Sin City finalized an exchange of industrial support, Silver Pine Island, and liquid Rust Fog resources, while Xu Shi explained the Heavenly Principle’s plot to Pan Ling. The group returned to their residence, where Pan Feng’s grief over Luo Yu was interrupted by Gu Yi teasing her as “Winter Melon.”

• Dongfang Xiao reflected on her past choices and negotiated with Tang Shuang, while Night Sin City and the Hualan Empire agreed to develop factories and infrastructure, designate Silver Pine Island an autonomous region, and exchange liquid Rust Fog resources and talent.
• Xu Shi told Dongfang Xiao that the Heavenly Principle’s plot might have made her support Luo Yu and become involved with other women, and she accepted her present circumstances under their contract.
• Tang Shuang confirmed that she retained approval authority over Xu Shi’s decisions, then asked to see his secret with Dongfang Xiao; the group left the palace with Xu Shi’s new title of Regent Prince.
• Xu Shi explained the Heavenly Principle to Pan Ling, who said she would face her tasks calmly and continue his work if he could not finish it.
• Pan Feng grieved over Luo Yu, but Gu Yi called her Winter Melon and demanded that she admit she was Winter Melon.

Xu Shi reunited with his household and visited Wen Shengkui to discuss a new transplant treatment made possible by liquid Rust Fog ore. Wen Shengkui pretended not to care, but Gu Yi saw that he was pleased Xu Shi had kept his health in mind.

• Su Lin stopped Gu Yi from bullying Pan Feng and comforted Pan Feng before sending her to care for the recovering Xia Wuyou.
• Tang Shuang pointed out that Su Lin had taken on a maternal role in Xu Shi's household, and Pan Feng told Pan Ling that Su Lin was the mistress with the most authority.
• Xu Shi restrained the jealous Gu Yi, reassured her that Pan Feng and Pan Ling were his disciples, and invited her to visit Wen Shengkui with him.
• Su Lin and Tang Shuang agreed to speak openly about Tang Shuang's relationship with Xu Shi.
• Xu Shi told Wen Shengkui that liquid Rust Fog ore had enabled the development of improved transplant medicine and urged him to undergo surgery for a self-healing ability.
• Wen Shengkui dismissed the treatment as unnecessary, while Gu Yi recognized that he was secretly happy Xu Shi cared about his health.

Xu Shi discussed Cheng Gujian, Pan Ling, and the fight against the Heavenly Principle with Wen Shengkui, then returned to the palace after hearing the Saintess had awakened. The Saintess saw him and excitedly called him “Daddy.”

• Wen Shengkui said Cheng Gujian needed time to recover and explained that he wanted to recruit him as support for Xu Shi.
• Xu Shi told Wen Shengkui that his disciple Pan Ling had the same Mind Reading ability as his mother, and Wen Shengkui eagerly agreed to meet her.
• Xu Shi and Wen Shengkui discussed the Heavenly Principle, Wen Shengkui’s preparations for surgery, and Xu Shi’s plans to clear the Rust Fog with Lu Baiyan’s help.
• Xu Shi helped Dongfang Xiao govern the Hualan Empire and silenced court officials who objected to his involvement.
• Xu Shi hurried back after learning the Saintess had awakened, then watched her look at him with confusion and call him “Daddy.”

After the Saintess’s memories were erased, she regressed to a childlike state and became attached to Xu Shi, who named her Xu Ying. As Xu Shi and Xie Qingyan discussed how to care for her and use her abilities, Gu Yi was taken hostage by a red-haired attacker.

• Xu Shi discovered that the Saintess had lost her memories and her intelligence had regressed, though she could still control the old Pope as a puppet.
• Xie Qingyan confirmed that the Saintess’s condition was temporary and explained that she could copy the Saintess’s abilities but could not control the old Pope with them.
• Xu Shi and Xie Qingyan decided to call the Saintess Xu Ying and bickered while Gu Yi watched.
• Gu Yi considered whether she wanted a child with Xu Shi and wondered if she could practice being a mother by getting Xu Ying to call her Mom.
• A red-haired attacker grabbed Gu Yi from behind and pressed something to her neck, so she called for Xu Shi to save her.

Xu Shi subdued Qin Yiyan after she took Gu Yi hostage, then explained the Hualan Empire’s changes and offered to let her leave. When Qin Yiyan refused to leave Xu Ying behind, Xu Shi used their earlier agreement to make her accept becoming his maid so she could stay by the Saintess’s side.

• Qin Yiyan escaped her restraints and held Gu Yi hostage, prompting Xu Shi to grab Xu Ying and turn the confrontation into a hostage standoff.
• Xu Shi’s Red Ant ankle restraints electrocuted Qin Yiyan, allowing Gu Yi to escape and the others to tie Qin Yiyan up again.
• Xu Shi told Qin Yiyan about the Church’s destruction and Xu Ying’s memory loss, but Qin Yiyan accused him of causing the changes.
• Xu Shi offered to let Qin Yiyan leave, but Xu Ying refused to go with her, so Qin Yiyan chose to stay and care for the Saintess.
• Xu Shi reminded Qin Yiyan of his earlier condition, and she agreed to become his maid; Xie Qingyan and Gu Yi recognized that he had arranged the outcome.

Xu Shi assigned Qin Yiyan the role of maid and caretaker for Xu Ying after she chose to stay, while teasing her with suggestive remarks. He then went with Xie Qingyan to continue their interrupted intimacy, and Gu Yi insisted on joining them.

• Gu Yi took Qin Yiyan to change clothes, while Xu Shi and Xie Qingyan shared a brief kiss in front of Xu Ying.
• Gu Yi returned with Qin Yiyan wearing a maid uniform, and Xu Shi teased her about her outfit and challenged her choice to stay.
• Xu Shi confirmed Qin Yiyan could stay and assigned her cleaning, laundry, cooking, and care of Xu Ying as her duties.
• Qin Yiyan reluctantly accepted the role and took Xu Ying downstairs after Xu Shi reassured the child that he would spend time with her later.
• Xie Qingyan invited Xu Shi to their room, and Gu Yi demanded to come along after helping choose Qin Yiyan's outfit.