Chapter Summaries

Lin Qi announced that disciples could exchange for the first volumes of Crushing Stone Fist and Leopard Shadow Steps, and players quickly arranged to learn them without losing a day of progress. After extracting training from three players, Lin Qi’s Soul Shocking Breathing Technique advanced rapidly, leaving him wondering whether he had reached Quasi-Apprentice.

• Lin Qi announced that disciples with 20 Martial Hall Points could exchange for the two martial arts, and players read the notice board’s prices and techniques.
• Luo Wu Shang offered One Leaf Floating Cloud and the others 80 points each in exchange for priority use of 200 square meters of their developed energy land, and they accepted.
• Luo Wu Shang exchanged multiple manuals for the group, while Fang Zhen used his points to obtain two copies of Leopard Shadow Steps.
• Lin Qi extracted training from Luo Wu Shang and two other players, raising his Soul Shocking Breathing Technique proficiency from 3% to 10%.
• Lin Qi practiced for over two hours until his cells reached their limit, then wondered whether he had reached Quasi-Apprentice.

Lin Qi saw that mastering the first layer of the Soul Shocking Breathing Technique had sharply increased his strength and speed, and he considered repairing the martial arts hall to expand his player pool. Meanwhile, players practiced Leopard Shadow Steps while digging, and Zhang Qingwei skipped an important guild meeting to keep training, despite being assigned to test Su Wuming.

• Lin Qi checked his status and saw that his strength had risen to 109.8 kilograms and his speed to 10.6 meters per second after reaching 10% beginner mastery of the Soul Shocking Breathing Technique.
• Lin Qi considered moving up the martial arts hall repairs, since the mission would add forty player slots and give him more chances to absorb training proficiency.
• One Leaf Floating Cloud's teammates complained about the difficult Leopard Shadow Steps while they took turns hauling dirt from the underground tunnels.
• Twilight of the Gods watched Zhang Qingwei rapidly carry sacks of dirt and learned from Luo Wu Shang that Zhang Qingwei's impaired brain had apparently been fixed by High Martial Descent.
• Luo Wu Shang reminded Zhang Qingwei that she had been assigned to test Su Wuming at Heavenly Might's meeting, but Zhang Qingwei insisted that digging and practicing was more fun than work.

Heavenly Might prepared an employment test for Su Wuming, but Zhang Qingwei unexpectedly sent him into the punishing assessment for High Martial Descent. After dozens of failed attempts, Su Wuming left believing Heavenly Might had used the test to reject him.

• Chu Qingtian grew impatient as Zhang Qingwei kept him and the elders waiting for Su Wuming's employment test.
• Zhang Qingwei arrived, and Chu Qingtian led her and Su Wuming to the guild's testing floor.
• Zhang Qingwei chose High Martial Descent's assessment, hoping to recruit Su Wuming for the new game.
• Su Wuming repeatedly entered the assessment, woke within seconds, and paid to revive, but lasted no longer than eleven seconds.
• Su Wuming quit and left, convinced Heavenly Might had used the impossible test to turn him away.

Zhang Qingwei’s High Martial Descent assessment left Su Wuming shaken, and Heavenly Might began organizing a team to enter the game. Meanwhile, Lin Qi expanded the martial arts hall’s operations and unlocked transport and timber tasks at Grizzly Mine, which excited the players.

• Su Wuming hurried away after taking Zhang Qingwei’s High Martial Descent assessment, and Chu Qingtian sent elders to stop him.
• Chu Qingtian assigned Zhang Qingwei and Luo Wu Shang to form a department for High Martial Descent, starting with ten thousand members because entry slots were scarce.
• Lin Qi calculated the martial arts hall’s growing income and noted his rising strength and newly extracted skills, Crushing Stone Fist and Leopard Shadow Steps.
• Lin Qi posted ore transport and timber collection tasks at Grizzly Mine, restricted to players with sufficient strength and speed.
• Fang Zhen spotted the new tasks and announced that Grizzly Mine had opened as a new map.

Fang Zhen and the others traveled with Lin Qi to Grizzly Mine, where they began hauling ore and chopping trees. Fang Zhen decided the forest was the ideal place to practice Crushing Stone Fist and set out to test his theory.

• Twilight of the Gods, Zhang Qingwei, and Fang Zhen prepared to take the new map mission, while Zhang Qingwei raised her Soul Shocking Breathing Technique to 8% and respawned after injuring herself.
• Fang Zhen, Luo Wu Shang, Twilight of the Gods, and Zhang Qingwei rode Lin Qi's Electric Tricycle from City of Light Chasing to Grizzly Mine and marveled at the armed drone guarding the mine.
• Lin Qi assigned Luo Wu Shang and Zhang Qingwei to haul ore and sent Fang Zhen and Twilight of the Gods to chop trees.
• Fang Zhen told Twilight of the Gods that the forest's wooden stakes made it the ideal place to practice Crushing Stone Fist, then approached a large tree to begin.

Lin Qi and the players hauled ore and lumber from Grizzly Mine, discovering that the work greatly improved their martial-skill proficiency. On the journey home, they found part of a Crocodile Fang Rhinoceros corpse and loaded it onto the Big Three-Wheeler, but an unseen attacker shot at them as they prepared to leave.

• Lin Qi drove the ore and lumber back from Grizzly Mine while Fang Zhen and Twilight of the Gods eagerly looked forward to returning to chop trees.
• Lin Qi saw that Fang Zhen and Twilight of the Gods had rapidly improved their Crushing Stone Fist proficiency, and he decided they would visit the mine every day.
• Fang Zhen spotted a bloodied figure near a ruined house, and Luo Wu Shang detected the scent of blood as the group drove through the dark wilderness.
• Fang Zhen identified the figure as the remains of a Crocodile Fang Rhinoceros, and Lin Qi ordered everyone to load the valuable corpse onto the Big Three-Wheeler.
• An arrow flew from the darkness, grazed Twilight of the Gods, and pierced the vehicle, prompting him to demand to know who had shot at him.

Lin Qi’s group encountered the White Feather Gang, whose members attacked them over the Crocodile Fang Rhinoceros. As Luo Wu Shang and Zhang Qingwei charged toward the gang, Luo Wu Shang deflected four arrows with a Black Steel Arrow, leaving the featherfolk stunned.

• Luo Wu Shang and Zhang Qingwei noticed an arrow had pierced the Big Three-Wheeler, while Fang Zhen spotted six winged attackers hiding in a ruined building.
• The White Feather Gang demanded the Crocodile Fang Rhinoceros, and Lin Qi recognized them as a powerful wilderness gang.
• After the gang shot the vehicle’s battery, Lin Qi ordered his group to fight and let them take bows, arrows, and shovels as weapons.
• Lin Qi and Fang Zhen prepared to provide ranged cover, but Luo Wu Shang and Zhang Qingwei charged directly toward the attackers.
• The featherfolk leader ordered four archers to shoot Zhang Qingwei, but Luo Wu Shang stepped in front of her and knocked all four arrows aside.

Luo Wu Shang, Zhang Qingwei, and Fang Zhen helped Lin Qi’s group defeat the White Feather Gang squad and seize its valuable supplies. After rewarding the players, Lin Qi led everyone back toward the City of Light Chasing.

• Twilight of the Gods and Lin Qi watched Luo Wu Shang block a volley of arrows as Fang Zhen explained her Sword Saint skill.
• The White Feather Gang used Electromagnetic Grenades against Luo Wu Shang and Zhang Qingwei, but Fang Zhen shot one grenade with an arrow and triggered an explosion that exposed the gang.
• The White Feather Gang leader sent Hao Tuo to fight Luo Wu Shang while four others surrounded Zhang Qingwei.
• Luo Wu Shang killed the leader with her Point Star technique, while Zhang Qingwei overpowered the four attackers with her compound bow.
• Lin Qi’s group looted the six fallen gang members, received 200 Martial Hall Points each, and set off for the City of Light Chasing.

After Fang Zhen and the others returned from a battle with the White Feather Gang, Lin Qi planned new ways to strengthen and organize the players. A version update then opened weapon exchanges, vehicle rentals, a communication system, and a mission to repair Obsidian Martial Arts Hall.

• Fang Zhen told Outlander Gunslinger and the others that the group had fought the White Feather Gang and earned points through a story mission.
• Lin Qi decided to expand the players’ combat options, let them rent vehicles, improve communication, and recruit more people by repairing the martial hall.
• Fang Zhen and the others logged in that evening and discovered Version Update 1.01.
• The update opened exchanges for weapons and a smartwatch, introduced electric tricycle rentals, and launched the main mission to repair Obsidian Martial Arts Hall.

Players discussed the newly unlocked weapon exchange and vehicle rentals, then joined forces to plan how to earn enough points for equipment and transport. Their plan focused on raiding a treasure-filled underground rift, while outside the martial arts hall Lin Qi learned that the White Feather Gang had posted a bounty for the killers of the deputy leader’s sons.

• Players examined the new exchange options, including weapons, vehicle rentals, and Smart Watches, and discussed pooling their points.
• Fang Zhen proposed dividing shared earnings according to each player’s strength, and the three squads joined as one team.
• Luo Wu Shang and Zhang Qingwei offered to rely on a compound bow and Steel Arrows while the group worked toward renting a vehicle.
• Twilight of the Gods revealed a Great Rift containing dozens of five-hundred-point treasure chests guarded by Unicorn Gold-Eating Rats, and Zhang Qingwei proposed luring the monsters away while the others collected the chests.
• A commotion outside the martial arts hall woke Lin Qi, and Qin Mu told him that the White Feather Gang’s deputy leader was offering three hundred thousand bits for information about his sons’ killers.

Lin Qi went to the Phosphor Fire Trading Market to sell Crocodile Fang Rhinoceros meat and buy supplies, after deciding the White Feather Gang's reward notices made selling his goods openly too risky. He left with cash and his purchases, unaware that Xia Ling's guard planned to investigate him.

• Qin Mu explained that the White Feather Gang's 300,000-bit reward targeted the force behind the robbery, and mistook Lin Qi's group for a new gang.
• Lin Qi realized the Blood Essence Rice and Crocodile Fang Rhinoceros meat would attract suspicion if sold openly, so he decided to visit a black market in disguise.
• At the Phosphor Fire Trading Market, Lin Qi offered Xia Ling 167.3 kilograms of Crocodile Fang Rhinoceros meat and asked to buy Big Three-Wheeler batteries and repair tools.
• Xia Ling agreed to pay 109,000 bits for the meat and sell Lin Qi the batteries and tools; Lin Qi chose cash to avoid being traced.
• After Lin Qi left with his goods, a Half-Scale Race guard asked Xia Ling whether he should investigate Lin Qi's background.

Lin Qi completed a Crocodile Fang Rhinoceros meat sale to the Phosphor Fire Gang and returned to the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall with ninety thousand Bits. He found that the players had brought back 2,214 treasure chests from the Unicorn Gold-Eating Rats, leaving the rats buried in their collapsed den.

• Xia Ling told her guard to let Lin Qi continue trading with the Phosphor Fire Gang, then killed the guard to keep the meat supply for herself.
• Lin Qi returned to the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall after confirming he had not been followed, pleased with the ninety thousand Bits from the sale.
• Lin Qi planned to use the money to buy building materials and hire drifters to repair the martial arts hall's exterior.
• Twilight of the Gods showed Lin Qi the 2,214 treasure chests the players had taken from the Unicorn Gold-Eating Rats' den.
• Twilight of the Gods explained that the players had collapsed the rats' den and buried the creatures inside, and Lin Qi praised their efforts.

Lin Qi received the rewards from Twilight of the Gods’s underground dungeon and organized repairs and defenses for Obsidian Martial Arts Hall. The last treasure chests yielded an old Mechanical Doll and a trove of 2214 college entrance exam questions, leaving Lin Qi stunned by their contents.

• Lin Qi accepted forty-three treasure chests from Twilight of the Gods and awarded him 21,500 points for discovering the dungeon.
• Twilight of the Gods advised Fang Zhen to search deeper underground for more dungeons, and Fang Zhen promised to share rewards if he found one.
• Lin Qi assigned revived players to repair Obsidian Martial Arts Hall, ordered construction materials, and hired one hundred vagrants to work on its exterior.
• Players dug a maze of tunnels beneath the hall, raising their Leopard Shadow Steps proficiency and creating underground hiding places among Blood Essence Rice.
• Lin Qi opened the remaining chests and found a Mechanical Doll used to test martial skills, then discovered a copy of the 2214 college entrance exam and a chest of detailed solutions.

Fang Zhen and the other players bought the Star Explosion Meditation Technique from Lin Qi, believing its low price was a rare bargain. They discovered that cultivating it repeatedly killed them, though Fang Zhen managed to improve his control over his body before collapsing, and the others continued practicing.

• Fang Zhen learned that the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall was offering the Martial Artist-level Star Explosion Meditation Technique for only 1,000 points and hurried to exchange for it.
• Lin Qi sold copies of the technique to ten players, earning 10,000 points and noting that the hall's repair progress had reached 4.7%.
• The players began cultivating the meditation technique and repeatedly died as they struggled to visualize it.
• Twilight of the Gods said he had died more than fifty times, while One Leaf Floating Cloud kept collapsing during practice.
• Fang Zhen announced that he had succeeded and gained much greater control over his body, then spat blood and collapsed as his corpse vanished.
• The other players continued visualizing the Stellar Explosion.

Fang Zhen logged off from High Martial Descent and joined Storm Shadow Club’s simulation match against Blue Enchantress, while his unusually precise control over his body left him unsettled. The chapter ends as both teams enter Mecha Continent, with Chen Ya focused on facing Li Ranxing.

• Fang Zhen’s livestream viewers discussed the brutal High Martial Descent assessment and anticipated Saint-ranked players attempting it after Su Wuming failed to last beyond eleven seconds.
• Li Ranxing addressed Storm Shadow’s players and warned that their simulation match against Blue Enchantress could determine the national tournament roster.
• Li Ranxing noticed Fang Zhen trembling, and Fang Zhen realized his body had become strangely responsive and easy to control since he logged off from High Martial Descent.
• Chen Ya arrived with Blue Enchantress, challenged Li Ranxing, and hurried both teams into the match.
• Chen Ya assigned her four teammates to defeat Storm Shadow’s other players and reserved Li Ranxing for herself; Fang Zhen entered Mecha Continent with the rest of the participants.

Luo Wu Shang and Zhang Qingwei improved their martial arts techniques at Obsidian Martial Arts Hall, while Lin Qi punished them for damaging its walls and considered new rules for the growing group of players. In a Mecha Continent team match, Fang Zhen revealed Triple Micro-Control to defeat Meng Gang, who then noticed Chen Ya locked in battle with another red mecha.

• Luo Wu Shang reached 3% mastery of the Star Explosion Meditation Technique, while Zhang Qingwei reached 2% mastery of the Surging Wave Blade.
• Lin Qi deducted two hundred points from Luo Wu Shang and Zhang Qingwei each and ordered them to repair ten walls after they damaged the martial arts hall.
• Lin Qi concluded that the three players who had mastered the Star Explosion Meditation Technique made Obsidian Martial Arts Hall strong enough to handle transport work in the wilderness.
• Li Ranxing ordered his teammates to draw Blue Enchantress away while he targeted Chen Ya in the ruined-city simulation match.
• Meng Gang charged Fang Zhen, but Fang Zhen used Triple Micro-Control to knock aside Meng Gang's lance and eliminate him with a shot to the head.
• Meng Gang saw Chen Ya fighting a red mecha and wondered who was controlling it.

Fang Zhen used a ranged mech to defeat Blue Enchantress players Wang Yi Dao and Meng Gang, then used Leopard Shadow Steps: Revised to escape Wang Yi Dao’s charge and eliminate him. He joined the fight between Chen Ya and Li Ranxing with a long-range attack, leaving Chen Ya’s mech destroyed.

• Fang Zhen headshot Meng Gang from a kilometer away, then injured Wang Yi Dao with Triple Micro-Control as Wang Yi Dao fled toward the city center.
• Wang Yi Dao learned that Fang Zhen was not Li Ranxing, who was fighting Chen Ya, and teamed up with Zilan to attack Fang Zhen.
• Fang Zhen shot down Zilan while dodging her ranged support, then used Leopard Shadow Steps: Revised to outrun Wang Yi Dao’s shield-bearing mech.
• Wang Yi Dao discarded his shield and closed in, but Fang Zhen fired three shots at close range and killed him.
• Fang Zhen fired at the battle between Chen Ya and Li Ranxing; Chen Ya deflected two bullets with Eight Leaves One Sword Slash, but a third struck her mech’s neck and destroyed it.

Fang Zhen’s hidden Triple Micro-Control shots helped Storm Shadow defeat Blue Enchantress and eliminate Chen Ya. The club members were stunned when Fang Zhen emerged from the last unopened Game Pod, revealing that he had been the mysterious expert.

• Storm Shadow celebrated after the final whistle as Blue Enchantress conceded, while Li Ranxing wondered how Chen Ya had been defeated by three unexplained shots.
• Chen Ya left her Game Pod and demanded to know which Blue Enchantress member had fired the shots that ruined her plan to defeat Li Ranxing.
• Wang Yi Dao and Zilan told Chen Ya they had fought a long-range mech user who mastered Triple Micro-Control and defeated them both.
• Chen Ya and Storm Shadow’s coaches questioned Li Ranxing about the unknown expert, but he said he did not know who had fired the shots.
• Chen Ya approached Storm Shadow’s last unopened Game Pod, and Fang Zhen stepped out, astonishing the club members.

After Fang Zhen’s performance earns him an S-rank contract at Storm Shadow, he tells the club that High Martial Descent helped improve his skills through tasks such as digging holes and chopping trees. Back at the martial arts hall, Fang Zhen and Twilight of the Gods dig enthusiastically while Lin Qi struggles to get the players to repair the hall, then notices that the Mechanical Doll has finished charging.

• Chen Ya praises Fang Zhen’s spear skills, challenges Li Ranxing to settle their exchange at the national tournament, and leaves Storm Shadow with Blue Enchantress.
• Chen Ya declines to recruit Fang Zhen because she considers him too old, while criticizing Wang Yi Dao for his poor performance.
• Storm Shadow’s coaches offer Fang Zhen a three-year S-rank contract, and he accepts after confirming he can train independently.
• Fang Zhen tells the Storm Shadow members that playing High Martial Descent improved his skills, though his tasks there mostly involve digging holes, chopping trees, and repairing houses.
• At the martial arts hall, Fang Zhen and Twilight of the Gods dig for future farmland while Lin Qi notes the players’ rising skill proficiency and worries that repairs are being neglected.
• Lin Qi sees that the Mechanical Doll has finished charging and is asked whether to power it on.

Lin Qi introduced new Martial Hall rules, Contribution, and Instructor Number One, a Mechanical Doll that evaluated players’ martial skills. The players suspected the feature foreshadowed a combat storyline, and Luo Wu Shang volunteered to test it first.

• Lin Qi announced rules against fighting or damaging the Martial Hall and introduced Contribution and skill evaluations through Instructor Number One.
• The players learned that repairs could earn Contribution and discussed whether the new feature signaled a coming combat storyline against the White Feather Gang.
• Twilight of the Gods, Luo Wu Shang, Fang Zhen, and Zhang Qingwei speculated that the game was testing their combat strength to prepare future opponents.
• Lin Qi finished adjusting Instructor Number One and asked for a volunteer to try it.
• Luo Wu Shang stepped forward to go first.