Chapter Summaries

Han Qi explained the origins and powers of the Imperial Academy’s reforged Turtle Treasures, and Li Shun submitted a policy essay on how Great Qian could suppress the deathless fiend. Han Qi rejected the essay, while Li Shun secretly planned to rewrite it without exposing his connection to Fang Han and to use the reward to investigate the Turtle Shell and the abyssal aura above Square Inch.

• Han Qi told Li Shun that the Turtle Treasure Civilization had borrowed an Outer God’s power and that the Imperial Academy’s reforged Turtle Treasures were safe to use.
• Han Qi explained that the Turtle Treasure protected its holder from scrutiny and deduction and could anchor the soul against gods and conflicting doctrines.
• Li Shun presented a policy essay proposing that Great Qian cut off the fiend’s source, seal its body, and sever its connection to the Outer God.
• Han Qi criticized Li Shun’s essay for lacking practical measures and ordered him to rewrite it.
• Li Shun revealed that he had deliberately concealed his abilities because the supposed fiend was his puppet, and he planned to write a convincing strategy without exposing his link to Fang Han.
• Li Shun decided to pursue the Turtle Treasure reward so he could study its reforging and seek a way to deal with the abyssal aura above Square Inch.

Li Shun submitted a detailed strategy for trapping the Outer-Heaven Fiend, and the Great Qian Court let Fang Han return to Qingyuan County without interference. Fang Han attacked the Fan Clan, then offered its members power from his lord, leaving Fan Xin horrified as he realized what the offer meant.

• Li Shun gave Han Qi his revised plan for capturing the Outer-Heaven Fiend, including ways to use its former host as bait and turn its absorbed vitality against it.
• After allowing Great Qian extra time to prepare, Li Shun sent the recovered Fang Han back into the world, where no one tried to stop him.
• Fang Han reached Qingyuan County and destroyed the Fan Clan estate with his blood and vital energy, forcing the clan to kneel.
• Fang Han revealed that the Fan Clan had stripped him of his Creation Realm power and that he had died and returned stronger.
• Fang Han destroyed and restored one of Fan Xin's arms, then offered the Fan Clan power from his lord.
• Fan Xin recognized the danger behind Fang Han's offer when he heard him mention his lord.

Fang Han empowered the Fan Clan, then vanished, leaving them to be arrested by the Heaven Oversight Bureau as suspected Outer God believers. Yin Si ordered their deaths and reported to his superiors that Fang Han’s actions were a defiant challenge to Great Qian.

• Fang Han gave the Fan Clan a powerful blessing and disappeared without explaining himself or taking revenge.
• Purple-robed Heaven Oversight Bureau officers arrested the Fan Clan and tortured them for information about an Outer God.
• Yin Si dismissed doubts about the Fan Clan’s innocence and ordered that none of them be allowed to leave alive.
• Yin Si reported to the bureau’s hidden superiors that Fang Han’s actions were a brazen show of defiance against Great Qian.

The Heaven Oversight Bureau debated whether Fang Han and his power counted as an Outer God, then devised a plan concerning him and Li Shun. Fang Han headed for Shao Lingxu, while Li Shun felt uneasy at the Imperial Academy.

• Yin Si reported that Fang Han had corrupted the Fan Clan and received the Lesser Arbiter’s order to proceed with the original plan.
• Ying Wuxiu argued that Fang Han’s impossible abilities could qualify him or his power as an Outer God, and the Right Lesser Arbiter accepted his reasoning.
• Ying Wuxiu reviewed evidence that Li Shun was not corrupted, but the Bureau agreed that his condition still needed thorough verification.
• Ying Wuxiu proposed a plan, which the other figures approved.
• Fang Han saw that Great Qian had seized the Fan Clan but was ignoring him, then flew toward Shao Lingxu for revenge.
• Li Shun’s eyelid kept twitching as he felt uneasy inside the Imperial Academy.

Li Shun prepared to avoid exposing Square Inch during Great Qian’s anticipated test, then won a place among the top three policy essays and was promised a chance to observe the Outer Heavenly Dao Marks. Meanwhile, Fang Han confronted Shao Lingxu in Ying Province and learned that Shao had deliberately lured him there.

• Li Shun consulted Ancient Web, who warned that he might reveal Square Inch if he used its power while under the School of Totality’s surveillance.
• The Imperial Academy named Li Shun, Gu Xinghe, and Cao Gui among the top three policy essays and awarded them a jade bottle of Hundred Schools Essentials and a Turtle Shell, with a chance to observe the Outer Heavenly Dao Marks in three days.
• Li Shun received congratulations, including a message from Wang Zheng about Shang Qingqiu, and suspected the rewards were part of Great Qian’s plan to test him.
• Fang Han tracked Shao Lingxu to Three Radiances Mountain in Kaihua County and confronted him over the loss of his Creation Realm.
• Shao Lingxu admitted that he had left clues to draw Fang Han to him and expressed surprise that Fang Han had arrived sooner than expected.

Shao Lingxu explained that he had redistributed the Creation Realms of more than ten thousand people, hoping a survivor would become a variable capable of breaking a cosmic deadlock. Fang Han challenged his belief that the strong had the right to prey on the weak, and the chapter ended with Shao Lingxu asking whether Fang Han had truly been corrupted by an Outer God.

• Shao Lingxu told Fang Han he had stripped the Creation Realms of more than ten thousand people and redirected their talents to others, including Fan Cheng.
• Fang Han questioned Shao Lingxu's right to alter people's fates, while Shao Lingxu argued that the strong could do as they wished to the weak.
• Fang Han suspected Shao Lingxu was seeking to reach the Cosmos Realm, but Shao Lingxu said that was incidental and that the time was wrong for anyone to cross that threshold.
• Shao Lingxu asked whether the strong preying on the weak was right, and Fang Han answered that it was right for beasts but not for people.
• Shao Lingxu said he had redistributed the Creation Realms to find a survivor who could break a deadlock, then solemnly asked Fang Han whether an Outer God had corrupted him.

Fang Han spared Shao Lingxu, taking only a drop of his essence blood before escaping. Li Shun learned that killing Shao Lingxu might have transformed the puppet Fang Han into him, revealing the danger of Shao Lingxu’s Yin-Yang Secret Art.

• Shao Lingxu invited Fang Han to kill him, explaining that his death could help bring forth a path beyond the limits of Creation.
• Fang Han refused to kill Shao Lingxu, took a drop of essence blood from his forehead, and escaped through the thatched hut’s roof.
• Shao Lingxu repaired the roof and examined a hazy light containing tens of thousands of dimming star clusters.
• Li Shun recalled his unease at Fang Han’s near-strike and asked Ancient Web what might have happened.
• Ancient Web explained that killing Shao Lingxu could have caused puppet Fang Han to become him through the Yin-Yang Secret Art.

Li Shun used the Hundred Schools Essentials to learn directly from sages of the Confucian and History schools, hoping to deepen his understanding of the Sage statues in Square Inch Space. As the teaching treasure ran out, he pulled its last trace into Square Inch Space and stopped it from dissolving for the moment.

• Li Shun worried that the two Sage statues in Square Inch Space could seize control of it and resolved to absorb them before they could threaten him.
• Li Shun activated his courtyard’s seclusion wards and shattered the bottle containing the Hundred Schools Essentials, summoning hundreds of sages to teach him.
• Li Shun learned that he could study only three sages from one school at a time, so he chose one Confucian sage and two History School sages.
• Li Shun endured the strain of studying the conflicting teachings and rapidly gained insights as the Hundred Schools Essentials dwindled.
• When the sages began to disappear, Li Shun drew the last trace of the Hundred Schools Essentials into Square Inch Space, temporarily halting its dissolution.

Li Shun clashed with the Sage stone statues in Square Inch to reclaim their territories and discovered that their awakened auras could replenish the depleted Hundred Schools Essentials. He left the treasure slowly recovering, with only the Confucian and History Schools represented.

• Li Shun placed the depleted Hundred Schools Essentials between the Sage statues and attacked the territories they occupied.
• Li Shun endured the Sages’ pressure by drawing on his Confucian learning and building what he called the House of the Heart.
• Li Shun pushed his control of the Threefold Self-Reflection Stone Statue’s territory to 9% and the Heavenly Man Book Stone Statue’s territory to 8%.
• Li Shun concluded that the History School Sage was gentler toward later disciples and stopped his advance to consolidate his gains.
• Li Shun saw the Hundred Schools Essentials regain vitality from the clash and estimated it would be usable again within a year.

Li Shun refined the Imperial Academy’s Turtle Treasure and discovered that its protective membrane came from the legendary Myriad Treasures Furnace. He activated the treasure’s first ability, Beyond Calculation, and encountered the Outer God whose power the Turtle Shell drew upon while remaining protected from corruption.

• Li Shun used the Hundred Schools Essentials to sustain his fight against the two Sage statues.
• Li Shun examined the Turtle Treasure and refined its protective membrane with his blood essence.
• Li Shun learned from the Ancient Web that the membrane’s power came from the Myriad Treasures Furnace, an ancient Heavenly Court treasure.
• The Ancient Web warned Li Shun that Great Qian was more complicated than it appeared and urged him to be cautious.
• Li Shun activated Beyond Calculation and perceived the Outer God connected to the Turtle Shell without losing his clarity.

Li Shun used Turtle Treasure’s protection to escape the scrutiny of the world and sought to understand how its shielding membrane worked. He suspected Great Qian’s Sky-Repair Plan aimed to restore both its Heavenly Dao and its Heaven and Earth Membrane, leaving him more cautious about the dynasty’s hidden power.

• Li Shun briefly withdrew Turtle Treasure’s protection, felt hostile scrutiny rush in, and immediately restored it.
• Li Shun wondered how to make Turtle Treasure’s protective power his own without depending on Great Qian or the Myriad Treasures Furnace.
• The Ancient Web explained that Turtle Treasure’s isolating membrane was a limited version of a Heaven and Earth Membrane.
• Li Shun connected the membrane to Great Qian’s Sky-Repair Plan and suspected the plan aimed to recreate a Primordial world.
• The Ancient Web described the membrane’s limits, and Li Shun reflected on Great Qian’s hidden resources and Emperor Gan’s power.

Li Shun learned that he could only make his own Turtle Treasure by finding a lost fragment of the Heaven and Earth Membrane, then set aside his research when he found no clues. He joined Gu Xinghe and Cao Gui to observe the Outer Heavenly Dao Marks, but the first sight of their seven-colored vortex overwhelmed him with crushing pressure and pain.

• Li Shun asked the Ancient Web how to create a Heaven and Earth Membrane, and it suggested searching the Primordial Ancient Domain for a surviving fragment.
• Li Shun studied the Imperial Academy’s Mystic Creation but could find little in common with the Turtle Shell he had found in the Martial World.
• Seven days later, Li Shun, Gu Xinghe, and Cao Gui met the Grand Sacrificer to claim their chance to observe the Outer Heavenly Dao Marks.
• The Grand Sacrificer led the three through a passage into the Imperial Academy’s vast, star-like collection of treasures.
• The Grand Sacrificer revealed a strange seven-colored vortex, and its pressure left Li Shun in severe pain.

Li Shun contemplated a chosen fragment of the Imperial Academy’s Dao-Mark Vortex while the Grand Libationer shielded him from its overwhelming influence. He realized that whatever Dao he observed became Square Inch, because he had already become one with the Square Inch Dao, and closed his eyes as his cultivation reached completion.

• The Grand Libationer shielded Li Shun, Gu, and Cao from being assimilated by the Dao-Mark Vortex and explained that they could contemplate only one fragment.
• Li Shun chose a section of the vortex, and the Grand Libationer weakened his protection over that area so Li Shun could study it safely.
• Li Shun struggled to understand the Dao Marks, then recognized that their radiance felt like Square Inch.
• Li Shun realized that whatever he observed and comprehended became Square Inch because Square Inch was his heart and he had long been one with its Dao.
• Li Shun stopped looking at the vortex and closed his eyes as insight surged through him.

After comprehending the Dao for thirty-three days, Li Shun revealed a mastery of the Spatial Dao and earned the Grand Sacrificer's praise. The Grand Sacrificer then told him he would face a secret test in three days over suspected ties to an Outer God, while Li Shun returned to Square Inch and realized his comprehension had strengthened his control of it.

• Li Shun awakened after thirty-three days of Dao comprehension, far longer than Gu Xinghe or Cao Gui had managed.
• Li Shun demonstrated that he had comprehended the Spatial Dao by teleporting a hundred zhang, and the Grand Sacrificer praised his achievement.
• After returning to the Imperial Academy, the Grand Sacrificer told Li Shun that he would face a test in three days concerning Fang Han and possible ties to an Outer God.
• Li Shun agreed to prove his innocence and kept the test secret as instructed.
• Back in his courtyard, Li Shun returned his mind to Square Inch and realized that comprehending it could give him control without seizing the two sage stone statues' domains.
• Li Shun focused on his puppets and discovered that his new understanding had given him more ways to control the Square Inch Puppets.

After contemplating the Dao for thirty-three days, Li Shun gained a deeper understanding of the Square Inch Dao and transformed Square Inch Space into a realm of divine peaks and misty mountain ranges. He resolved to keep gathering his puppets’ traits and forge a divine body of his own, while recognizing that Square Inch’s power could not be used outside it.

• Li Shun surveyed Square Inch Space and saw that its central core, first ring, puppets, and treasures had left the realm cramped and cluttered.
• Li Shun used his new understanding of the Square Inch Dao to disperse the white mist and reveal all twelve plots in the first ring.
• Li Shun reshaped the central core into Square Inch Main Peak and raised the twelve surrounding plots into divine peaks.
• Li Shun sent a force of Creation through the outer rings, forming vast but still indistinct mountain ranges from the mist.
• Li Shun acknowledged that Square Inch’s creation power was confined within it and reaffirmed his goal of forging a divine body from his puppets’ traits.

After comprehending the Square Inch Dao, Li Shun discovered new powers over his puppets and the space itself, including their cultivation and restoration. Three days later, the Grand Sacrificer arrived to take him to the Imperial Academy’s test.

• Li Shun found that his puppets could cultivate within Square Inch Space, while the space slowly repaired the Three Elders' remains and other damaged objects.
• Li Shun considered how he might revive Shentu Xin, control the Turtle Shell, and eventually make the Ancient Web his puppet, but put off those plans.
• Li Shun sensed that Square Inch could restore ruined objects to their original state, though he remained far from understanding the power fully.
• Three days later, the Grand Sacrificer noticed Li Shun’s transformed aura and said the Imperial Academy’s test was ready.
• The Grand Sacrificer placed a hand on Li Shun’s shoulder, and the scene abruptly changed as they departed for the test.

Li Shun entered Great Qian’s trial and found himself in a world where his cultivation was suppressed and he was an ordinary man. After being captured by an army preparing to besiege a city, he realized he had returned to the era of the state of Yu and was taken to the military camp under guard.

• Li Shun discovered that he was on a real world’s dirt road, with his Liqi cultivation suppressed, though Square Inch remained accessible.
• Li Shun narrowly escaped a charge by several thousand cavalry, then tried to flee the infantry army advancing behind them.
• Scouts captured Li Shun, and a young general ordered him executed as a suspected spy.
• Li Shun claimed he had awakened in the wilderness and recognized the young general’s reference to Yu Capital as evidence that he had returned to the age before Great Qian was founded.
• Li Shun feigned unconsciousness after the general ordered his men to keep him alive, and the army took him to its camp before the city.

Li Shun was captured by Great Yu’s army after the kingdoms of Ying and Dai had fallen, then entered the devastated city of Sui after its recapture. He accused the white-haired general of arranging the massacre to revive the army’s will to fight and claimed he could help Great Yu win the war.

• Li Shun overheard guards discussing Great Yu’s renewed war against the remaining kingdoms and realized the story took place after Ying and Dai had been conquered.
• Great Yu’s army captured Sui City, where Li Shun saw burned homes and the bodies of townspeople scattered through the streets.
• The young general Yun Lie brought Li Shun before his white-haired father, who ordered him sent to the capital and killed if his identity could not be confirmed.
• Li Shun accused the white-haired general of staging Sui City’s massacre and explained that the timing and condition of the bodies suggested Great Yu had committed it to strengthen the army’s resolve.
• Li Shun told the general he feared defeat and claimed he could help Great Yu win the war.

Li Shun challenged Bai Xianding’s confidence in conquering You Kingdom, warning that Great Yu would be too depleted to withstand its other rivals. He demonstrated a technique that doubled physical strength and suppressed pain, leaving Bai Xianding eager to test its claims.

• Bai Xianding introduced himself as a veteran general and used his fearsome presence to intimidate Li Shun.
• Li Shun argued that destroying You Kingdom would exhaust Great Yu and leave it vulnerable to the other four kingdoms, then questioned who could replace Bai Xianding.
• Bai Xianding threatened Li Shun, but Li Shun insisted that a general who killed talent over blunt words would doom Great Yu.
• Bai Xianding admitted that endless war was draining Great Yu and asked whether Li Shun had a solution.
• Li Shun demonstrated a blood-and-vitality technique that more than doubled his strength and explained that it also removed pain and fear at the cost of lifespan.
• Bai Xianding recognized the technique’s military value and summoned Bai Yunlie to test it.

Li Shun demonstrated the Blood-Qi Circulation Method to Bai Xianding’s elite soldiers, earning the commander’s respect and revealing that Great Yu’s world lacked Primordial Qi and the Hundred Schools. He began to suspect the world was a trial designed for him and wondered whether he could still borrow lifespan from Heaven.

• Bai Xianding ordered Bai Yunlie to assemble one hundred loyal elite soldiers, and Li Shun taught them the Blood-Qi Circulation Method.
• After seeing the soldiers’ transformation, Bai Xianding ordered secrecy, apologized to Li Shun, and learned that sustaining the method for two hours cost roughly six months of life.
• Bai Xianding asked whether Li Shun had taught the method elsewhere and questioned him about alliances, rival kingdoms, and military merit; Li Shun said the method had only been taught to Great Yu’s army and admitted his memory loss concerned his past experiences.
• Li Shun questioned Bai Xianding and discovered that neither Primordial Qi nor the Hundred Schools had ever existed in this world.
• Li Shun connected his situation to the Imperial Academy’s Ancient Past Inquiry trial and suspected he was meant to alter history, then postponed explaining his principles until the next day.
• After Bai Xianding left under guard, Li Shun wondered whether Borrowing Longevity from Heaven could work in this world and concluded that it depended on gaining Heaven’s recognition.