Chapter Summaries

Jin Yi and Sun Yi were shaken by the brutal difficulty of Lu Xiu’s new instance, [Sifu], and considered how its mechanics might influence their own instance designs. As players flooded the forums with complaints and bait posts, Sun Yi began reconsidering his proposal before learning that Jiang Qiu had arrived at the Coordination Bureau after being driven to a breaking point by the instance.

• Jin Yi left [Sifu] frustrated by its punishing enemies, parry timing, and aging mechanic, then reconsidered whether to revise the Spirit Pivot Construction Group’s instance proposal.
• A forum poster deceptively praised [Sifu] as a satisfying power fantasy, then admitted the post was bait intended to lure other players into the punishing instance.
• Players filled the forums with complaints about [Sifu]’s overwhelming difficulty and said they could see no way to clear it.
• Sun Yi revealed that he had also entered [Sifu] and been beaten, then noticed similarities between its unarmed combat design and his own proposal based on the Prison Rock framework.
• After hearing a commotion at the Coordination Bureau, Sun Yi learned that Jiang Qiu of Longsword Guild had arrived after playing Lu Xiu’s instance and becoming extremely tilted.

Yan Fushou heard Jiang Qiu and Jian Li’s assessments of Lu Xiu’s new combat instance as he dealt with the people arriving at the Coordination Bureau. Lu Xiu checked the forum and found no reports of anyone clearing it, leaving her to wonder whether players could succeed without help.

• Yan Fushou told his secretary to bring Jiang Qiu to his office after she asked to meet Lu Xiu and the director.
• Jian Li said she could not clear Lu Xiu’s instance in one run and advised Yan Fushou that its difficulty depended on exceptional personal skill.
• Jiang Qiu apologized for losing her composure and offered to serve three months on the front line in exchange for meeting Lu Xiu and asking how she cleared the instance.
• Wei Yidong entered Yan Fushou’s office complaining about the instance, followed by Shen Nian.
• Lu Xiu browsed the forum, found no posts from players who had cleared the instance, and wondered if it still could not be cleared without help.

Lu Xiu wondered why players had not cleared Sifu and considered making easier dungeons to help them work up to it. After accidentally striking herself with her copper coin while showing off its power, she opened the door to find Li Shengkai and Sun Yi, who had come to ask her about making a lower-tier dungeon based on Sifu.

• Lu Xiu questioned why players had not mastered Sifu’s parry-and-counter combat and decided to wait before resorting to her plan of creating easier dungeons.
• Lu Xiu examined the powerful copper coin reward and tried to activate it while shouting “The World,” but a doorbell startled her and the coin hit her forehead.
• Lu Xiu opened the door and met Li Shengkai, the director of the Dungeon Resource Management Division, and his subordinate Sun Yi.
• Sun Yi proposed adapting Prison Rock’s barehanded-combat framework into a lower-tier dungeon that could prepare players for Sifu.
• Li Shengkai explained that he had come to ask Lu Xiu about the proposal, though he had arrived without preparing how to make the request.

Lu Xiu explained the rigorous martial-arts design behind Sifu and showed Sun Yi how its Neutralize mechanic worked, leaving him and Li Shengkai overwhelmed by the demands of creating a high-quality instance. When Jiang Qiu questioned how Neutralize could work against several attackers, Lu Xiu said players had to anticipate their moves and manage them in sequence.

• Li Shengkai and Sun Yi asked Lu Xiu for advice on designing a lower-tier hand-to-hand combat instance, and she told them to establish a clear martial-arts framework for its enemies first.
• Jian Li, Jiang Qiu, and Shen Nian arrived, and Lu Xiu explained that Sifu's major enemies had individually designed movements that she had refined using the Visual Mental Imagery Construction Method.
• Lu Xiu demonstrated that Neutralize required striking an enemy's wrist or elbow at the precise moment an attack released its power, and said every enemy attack needed a defined timing window.
• Lu Xiu said an Architect should test the mechanic by learning it and fighting through the instance, leaving Sun Yi and Li Shengkai stunned by the workload.
• Jiang Qiu questioned how Neutralize could handle multiple attackers, and Lu Xiu explained that players had to anticipate attacks, prioritize threats, and combine counters with dodges.

Lu Xiu explained why her Sifu dungeon demanded extreme skill, then advised Sun Yi on designing a lower-tier substitute. Jiang Qiu challenged Lu Xiu to a fight, but her mispronunciation of “attainment” left the group awkwardly embarrassed.

• Jiang Qiu criticized Sifu’s difficulty, and Lu Xiu defended its high standards while advising players to judge dungeons by their ratings and entry costs.
• Lu Xiu told Sun Yi to wait for a lower-tier substitute dungeon and explained that dungeon construction depended on theme, framework, and pushing mechanics to their limits.
• Sun Yi thanked Lu Xiu for her guidance, and she suggested temporary environmental weapons and a Focus meter with a guaranteed-hit finishing move to make his dungeon more forgiving.
• Sun Yi eagerly recorded Lu Xiu’s ideas while Li Shengkai, Jiang Qiu, Jian Li, and Shen Nian marveled at her talent and wondered why she made such difficult dungeons.
• Jiang Qiu asked to challenge Lu Xiu, explaining that she wanted to test Lu Xiu’s skill with fists and kicks, but Shen Nian corrected her mispronunciation of “attainment,” embarrassing her.

Lu Xiu sparred with Jiang Qiu in the Coordination Bureau’s Training Ground, adapting to the guild leader’s rapid attacks before defeating her with Lightning. Lu Xiu then scolded Jiang Qiu for dismissing the Sifu Instance as too difficult, while Fan Lixin reentered Sifu to learn a move he had noticed.

• Jiang Qiu challenged Lu Xiu to a sparring match, and they met in the Coordination Bureau’s underground Training Ground.
• Jiang Qiu overwhelmed Lu Xiu with a rapid series of close-range attacks, but Lu Xiu gradually learned their rhythm and Neutralized them.
• Jiang Qiu pulled back and charged into a powerful punch, which Lu Xiu met head-on with her Metal Aspect before switching to Lightning and paralyzing Jiang Qiu.
• Lu Xiu caught Jiang Qiu and criticized her for abandoning her speed advantage, then argued that Sifu was meant to train players under pressure rather than be made easy.
• Jiang Qiu explained that the verification footage had made Sifu seem easier, and Lu Xiu described her own struggles while making the Instance and defended its difficulty and rewards.
• Fan Lixin studied his Sifu clear results, noticed a move he wanted to learn, and entered the Instance again.

Lu Xiu confronted top players’ double standard toward her player-created instances, and Jiang Qiu apologized for judging Sifu without attempting to clear it. After learning that even other talented players found her instances challenging, Lu Xiu discovered that Yan Fushou considered her a genius even without her unusual advantages.

• Lu Xiu challenged the players for assuming a player-created instance should be easier, while they reacted with shock to her reward of evolving one skill below S-rank.
• Jiang Qiu realized she had judged Sifu unfairly because Lu Xiu created it, apologized, and promised to return to the instance until she cleared it.
• Lu Xiu explained that players could offer feedback but should clear an instance before judging it, and Jiang Qiu asked about Lu Xiu’s technique for neutralizing attacks.
• Lu Xiu began drafting a forum explanation, then asked Yan Fushou, Shen Nian, and Jian Li how difficult her instances were for talented players.
• Yan Fushou told Lu Xiu she belonged among the very top geniuses even without her special skills or instance-creation talent, leaving her surprised by the possibility that she was a genius.

Yan Fushou urged Lu Xiu to keep making top-tier dungeons, while Jian Li and Shen Nian staged clumsy falls to avoid questions and get close to her. At Longsword Guild headquarters, Jiang Qiu returned without revealing whether her meeting at the Coordination Bureau had gone well.

• Yan Fushou told Lu Xiu not to lower her dungeon difficulty, arguing that other constructors could make easier dungeons while hers should remain top-tier.
• Lu Xiu confirmed that clearing the Sifu dungeon could evolve skills below S-rank.
• Jian Li pretended to trip so Lu Xiu would catch her, then admitted she wanted to evolve a low-level skill.
• Yan Fushou abandoned his questions about the dungeon’s details and asked why Lu Xiu had made it focused on hand-to-hand combat.
• Shen Nian staged a fall to stop Lu Xiu from revealing that the dungeon idea had been hers, while Jian Li glared at her.
• Jiang Qiu returned to Longsword Guild headquarters, where her secretary asked if the Coordination Bureau had beaten her out.

After reading a player's account of clearing Lu Xiu's Sifu dungeon and its rewards, Jiang Qiu reentered the instance to study its enemies instead of dismissing them. She learned that the dungeon taught progressively subtler martial arts, and pushed onward through the corridor with almost no health remaining.

• Jiang Qiu admitted Lu Xiu had taught her a lesson, instructed the Strategy Group to stop complaining about the dungeon, and prepared to enter it again.
• Jiang Qiu read Du Shu of Tingqiao's forum post describing the dungeon's martial arts and powerful rewards, then decided to test its lessons herself.
• In the slums, Jiang Qiu watched the tank-top thug's stance and movements, dodged his attacks, and recognized the physical cues behind his strikes.
• Jiang Qiu advanced through the slums and drug factory, noticing that enemies' attacks became more concealed and refined, while group assaults and one-on-one fights used distinct tactics.
• After realizing the dungeon gradually taught players to read and learn from enemies, Jiang Qiu pressed onward through the corridor despite having almost no health left.

Fan Lixin explained to Yan Fushou that Sifu was a valuable combat-training instance despite being unsuitable for mass deployment, while players increasingly recognized its realistic fighting techniques. At Prison Rock, Helag rejected the idea of imitating the instance and suspected Zhang Chongshan had given them false intelligence.

• Fan Lixin told Yan Fushou that Sifu's enemies used realistic, learnable combat techniques, and recommended the instance for talented fighters such as Wei Yidong.
• As top players reentered Sifu, they began studying enemy movements and discussing martial arts, Neutralize, and the instance's practical combat design.
• Queenie watched the forum's changing reaction and worried that Prison Rock had underestimated Lu Xiu's instance, though she hoped its Nine Provinces traitor had warned Lord Helag.
• At Prison Rock's Stargazing Platform, the leader asked Helag to imitate Sifu, but Helag called the idea impossible and accused Zhang Chongshan of providing false intelligence.
• The leader turned to Zhang Chongshan after Helag's accusation, and Zhang protested that the Prison Rock group was incompetent.

Zhang Chongshan regretted defecting to Prison Rock after Helag rejected the Sekiro and Outlast instance concepts he proposed, and he decided he would return to Nine Provinces when he could. Meanwhile, Nine Provinces players began sharing a detailed video analyzing and recreating enemy techniques from Lu Xiu’s Sifu dungeon.

• Zhang Chongshan explained that he had joined Prison Rock casually and regretted finding its instances unimpressive.
• Zhang Chongshan presented Sekiro’s mechanics to Helag, who denounced the instance as too difficult and unsuitable for most players.
• Zhang Chongshan described Outlast, but Helag accused him of being a Nine Provinces spy and demanded that Prison Rock’s leader kill him.
• Zhang Chongshan resolved to return to Nine Provinces through a public vote when the new version began.
• Du Shu of Tingqiao posted a video demonstrating and analyzing the moves of elite enemies and bosses from Sifu’s Slums and Nightclub.

Du Shu demonstrated how the Sifu dungeon’s enemy moves could be used as practical martial arts, and players realized the dungeon was designed to teach them. Inspired by demands for an easier stepping-stone dungeon, Jin Yi committed to improving his proposal, while Sun Yi stayed with his own plan; Lu Xiu praised Du Shu’s insight.

• Du Shu demonstrated how to deflect attacks, exploit weak points, and use short strikes, explaining that the Sifu dungeon taught players to fight without relying on stats.
• Players on the Nine Provinces forums discussed the dungeon’s martial arts lessons and called for a more accessible transitional dungeon.
• Jin Yi recognized an opportunity to build a stepping-stone dungeon and resolved to learn from Lu Xiu rather than fear comparisons with her.
• Sun Yi reconsidered Lu Xiu’s ambitious design but decided to continue developing his original transitional dungeon idea.
• Lu Xiu watched Du Shu’s video and remarked that there was a genius after all.

Lu Xiu reflected on how Sifu had prompted players to study its martial arts and considered building a low-pressure dating-sim instance to test how the System would rate it. Her plans were interrupted when Shen Nian arrived with Jian Li, dressed in a maid outfit and asking to stay the night.

• Lu Xiu watched Du Shu teach martial arts from Sifu and concluded that players needed a difficult push to take the techniques seriously.
• Lu Xiu decided to wait for Sun Yi to make an easier Sifu-like instance while she experimented with a relaxed dating-sim instance.
• Lu Xiu was about to enter the Construction Space when Shen Nian arrived at her door in a maid outfit, accompanied by Jian Li.
• Shen Nian explained that Jian Li had kept watching her after she stopped Lu Xiu from revealing her name, so she had offered to wear the outfit and stay overnight.
• Lu Xiu complimented Shen Nian and let her and Jian Li come inside.

Lu Xiu welcomed Shen Nian and Jian Li into her home, delighted in Shen Nian’s maid outfit, and shared a playful evening with them. Meanwhile, Jiang Qiu demonstrated how Sifu had improved her fighting and learned that Construction Club had released a mimic dungeon of it.

• Lu Xiu asked Shen Nian to pose and call her Master, and Shen Nian gradually went along with her requests.
• Lu Xiu and Shen Nian joked about where Shen Nian and Jian Li would sleep, then both laughed together while Jian Li watched.
• Nine Provinces players discussed Du Shu’s video and began testing Sifu’s enemy moves in reality.
• Jiang Qiu used Sifu-inspired techniques to counter Zhang Fenghua’s attack and knock him back during training.
• Jiang Qiu told Zhang Fenghua that Lu Xiu’s dungeons could help players improve, and Zhang Fenghua received news that Construction Club had made a Sifu mimic dungeon.

Jiang Qiu agreed to inspect Construction Club’s new lower-tier substitute dungeon, Simple Sifu, despite her doubts. After players confirmed that it offered useful practice for Sifu, Jin Yi remembered why he had once wanted to build dungeons and felt joy at having created something players valued.

• Jiang Qiu held back her contempt for Construction Club and told Zhang Fenghua they should inspect Simple Sifu as a possible lower-tier substitute dungeon.
• Construction Club launched Simple Sifu, drawing mockery and distrust from players because of its shameless name and Jin Yi’s poor reputation.
• Jin Yi anxiously awaited the first players’ reviews, reflecting on how he had abandoned his original ideals after repeated failures and turned to exploiting players.
• A tester criticized Simple Sifu’s rigid enemies but praised its widened Neutralize timing and practice value, calling it a qualified substitute dungeon.
• Jin Yi read players’ surprised and positive replies, remembered the first praise he had received for his original dungeon, and felt joy that his work could help players improve.

Shen Nian stayed at Lu Xiu’s residence, observed her relaxed everyday side, and cooked dinner for Lu Xiu and Jian Li. As Shen Nian began to mention the Construction Club’s discovery, a system announcement revealed that a new “Iron and Blood” version would begin in thirty days and all system dungeons would close starting immediately.

• Lu Xiu insisted that Shen Nian keep wearing her maid outfit, while Jian Li entered a dungeon and Lu Xiu returned to the construction space.
• Shen Nian tidied Lu Xiu’s home and watched Lu Xiu repeatedly leave the construction space to relax, eat ice cream, and recover from setbacks.
• Shen Nian saw a forum post about the Construction Club creating a lower-tier substitute dungeon, then set the news aside when Jian Li returned.
• Shen Nian served dinner for Lu Xiu and Jian Li and began to tell them about the Construction Club’s discovery.
• A system announcement gave a thirty-day countdown to the “Iron and Blood” expansion and stated that all system dungeons would close immediately.

After the system announced that all system dungeons would close thirty days early and revealed plans for a cross-realm arena, Lu Xiu learned the change might have been triggered by the new Simple Sifu dungeon. Yan Fushou asked her to create more top-tier dungeons, and she began considering what to build while Nine Provinces prepared for the coming shortage.

• The system announced the early closure of system dungeons, the cross-realm arena, and rewards that included Mythic-level and Root-level skills.
• Shen Nian told Lu Xiu about a Construction Club post introducing a lower-tier substitute for Sifu, and Lu Xiu suspected it had prompted the system's announcement.
• Lu Xiu explained that advance constructor information about arena rewards had inspired her to keep building high-difficulty dungeons after Titanfall.
• Jian Li explained that system dungeons could produce Mythic-grade and Root-grade skills, but fell silent when Lu Xiu asked whether anyone had obtained a Root skill.
• Lu Xiu considered making a new dragon-fighting instance after Shen Nian suggested players would need more than Sifu during the closure.
• Yan Fushou asked Lu Xiu to create one or two more top-tier dungeons, while leaving low-difficulty substitutes to other Nine Provinces constructors.

Lu Xiu abandoned her blocked pretty-girl instance and began turning the Mansion into a horror-puzzle dungeon based on The Witch’s House, planning to have players protect Viola. Meanwhile, players worried about the coming arena and the shortage of open dungeons, while Jin Yi saw an opportunity for the Construction Club.

• Lu Xiu failed to seal her pretty-girl instance after the system judged it lacking survival pressure, then set aside further experiments to build a conventional instance.
• Lu Xiu transformed the Mansion and surrounding grounds into a gloomy Black Forest setting and chose The Witch’s House as the new dungeon’s framework.
• Lu Xiu planned to cast players as a boy who accompanies and protects Viola, expanding the Mansion into a labyrinth while preserving the story’s deceptive reveal.
• Players on the forum identified Lu Xiu’s instances as the reason the system announced a leap in community-instance development and worried that the arena would begin in thirty days while system instances remained closed.
• Jin Yi read the players’ complaints about the Construction Club and concluded that the dungeon shortage created an opportunity for the club.

Lu Xiu weighed whether to add a path that could reverse The Witch's House's tragic ending, and Jian Li's answer helped her decide to build one. Lu Xiu began considering how players could save the innocent Viola, while Shen Nian was left alone with Jian Li's watchful gaze.

• Lu Xiu finished building the basic mansion for The Witch's House and returned to the living room, where Jian Li offered her a chocolate wafer.
• Jian Li used a skill from Ashen Station to dry her hair, and Lu Xiu wondered whether she could customize a skill for her new instance.
• Lu Xiu asked Jian Li whether people would endure terrible suffering for a faint chance to reverse a destined tragedy, and Jian Li said she would choose to fight for that chance.
• Jian Li's answer helped Lu Xiu decide to include a reversed ending in which players could see through the deception and save the innocent Viola.
• Shen Nian came out to get water and found Lu Xiu petting Jian Li's head; after Lu Xiu left to shower, Jian Li watched Shen Nian until she felt uneasy.
• Lu Xiu began considering how to make the new instance's tragic ending more effectively reversible.

Lu Xiu built a branching Witch’s House dungeon centered on Viola, Ellen, and a childhood friend, while the Coordination Bureau prepared to use Sifu to train fighters after system dungeons shut down. Six days later, with players anxious for new content, Lu Xiu finished her dungeon and prepared to test it herself.

• Lu Xiu created the Witch’s House characters and designed endings that let players uncover Ellen’s deception, attempt to save Viola, or seek revenge.
• Yan Fushou ordered Jian Li and Shen Nian to investigate Sifu’s training potential and test Sun Yi’s easier substitute dungeon for frontline use.
• Over six days, players revisited Lu Xiu’s old dungeons, discussed Sifu, and grew anxious as other Architects released no new works.
• Lu Xiu finished building the Witch’s House dungeon and announced that she would clear it to test whether it worked.