Chapter Summaries

Jia Xiu received the fairies’ countermeasure spell array for the operation against the God of Pain, but he could barely understand it and asked for more time to study it. Hoping to test the array in the Little Black Room, he approached Justina, who accused him of targeting her body.

• After the welcome banquet, Jia Xiu motivated the fairies to work by announcing a daily-points Noble Duel tournament, and they arrived at the laboratory early to earn points.
• Oberon brought Jia Xiu the enormous scroll explaining how to construct the countermeasure spell array and agreed to wait while Jia Xiu studied it.
• Jia Xiu spent more than an hour reading the scroll, understood very little, and asked Oberon for a few more days.
• Jia Xiu guessed that the array intercepted faith, injected a virus-like effect, and connected to the God of Pain, with Jia Xiu serving as the carrier.
• Jia Xiu asked Justina to help him test the array, and Justina accused him of setting his sights on her body.

Jia Xiu tested a complex spell formula on Justina in the Little Black Room and discovered that he could see faith as an energy filling another dimension. His observations suggested that faith, divine spellcasting, and decomposed mana all passed through this space, leaving him determined to obtain the God of Pain’s divine authority.

• Jia Xiu and Justina began simulating the countermeasure spell formula, and its enormous magical effects washed over her.
• After the simulation, Jia Xiu saw an unfamiliar energy in the Little Black Room and recognized it as faith, which appeared around Justina but not himself.
• Jia Xiu prayed to Justina and watched the resulting faith flow into the surrounding faith space rather than directly to her.
• Jia Xiu tested Justina’s enhanced Thunder Summoning spell and saw its spellcasting pass through the faith space.
• Jia Xiu created mana strings with a simulated Quaternary Insect and watched some of them enter the faith space.
• Jia Xiu concluded that faith and decomposed mana shared a dimension and decided they needed to obtain the God of Pain’s divine authority.

Jia Xiu investigated the nature of faith, then focused on infiltrating the God of Pain’s stronghold to prepare for an attempt to cast the countermeasure spell formula. He learned that his entry would involve a high-society salon, and Oberon revealed the disguise he would use.

• Jia Xiu recorded his findings and theories about the energy world of faith, divine authority, and gods’ relationship with their believers, then decided to stop speculating until he could observe that world himself.
• Jia Xiu checked the Magic-Energy Computer project teams’ progress and found that the Fairy generator, materials research, and computer design were advancing well, while his own work on Fairy Runes and hardware was holding up the project.
• Jia Xiu met Oberon in a concealed hideout across from the God of Pain’s stronghold, where Oberon explained his codebook, the informant, and the baptism ceremony that would create a faith connection for the countermeasure spell.
• Jia Xiu learned that the cult’s lavish stronghold posed publicly as a private estate and hosted high-society salons, then realized the salon’s theme and questioned how he would infiltrate it.
• Oberon produced an invitation and a feather mask that covered only the eyes.

Jia Xiu infiltrated a manor devoted to the God of Pain by disguising himself as a golden-furred monkey, then learned how the Brotherhood planned to use his baptism to strip away the deity’s divine authority. He prepared to establish a connection with the God of Pain and maximize its strength, while discovering Oberon’s companion was also monitoring him on Titania’s behalf.

• Jia Xiu rejected Oberon’s flamboyant disguises and restraint outfit, then agreed to transform into a golden-furred monkey.
• Jia Xiu entered the manor alone in a plain black robe and was admitted after showing Oberon’s invitation.
• A pixie contact recognized Jia Xiu through the Brotherhood’s food-based code and led him toward the baptism altar.
• The pixie explained that Jia Xiu’s baptism would connect him to the God of Pain, allowing the countermeasure spell to remove some of the deity’s divine authority.
• Jia Xiu learned that the pixie was Titania’s Chosen and was also watching Oberon on Titania’s behalf.

Jia Xiu entered the God of Pain’s baptism and, after exploring the visions of pain kept in its realm, created a new form of psychological torment inspired by stories of capital. He sent it to the God of Pain, which received the final initiate’s prayer expecting little.

• Jia Xiu watched the baptism rite and was drawn into a red-and-black conscious realm filled with cages holding visions of pain.
• Jia Xiu explored the visions in several cages and found one built around despair, oppression, and powerlessness.
• Jia Xiu created his own vision of psychological torment and sealed it inside an empty cage, which shot upward toward the God of Pain.
• The bored God of Pain received the final initiate’s prayer from the day and sensed its contents.

The God of Pain entered Jia Xiu’s consciousness as an engineer tasked with coordinating an aqueduct project and discovered that endless bureaucracy, competing demands, and wasted funds created a torment she had never imagined. The project remained mired in dysfunction, and Pain recognized Jia Xiu as an exceptional candidate for spreading despair.

• The God of Pain expected the engineer’s story to involve physical danger, but found that the project’s demanding work was the source of the initial strain.
• The Forest God Church, the Druid Society, and the River God Church each opposed the aqueduct and demanded payments or concessions.
• Minor lords objected to the project crossing their lands, forcing the engineer to consider compensation that would consume the limited budget.
• The engineer discovered that the budget had already been distributed to pay everyone on standby, including the engineer.
• Officials proposed dismissing workers to demonstrate cost-cutting, then rehiring them, and the God of Pain recognized Jia Xiu as ideal material for an evil god’s chosen.

Justina and Oberon activated their countermeasure spell at the peak of the God of Pain’s attention toward Jia Xiu, interrupting his baptism and letting him acquire part of the god’s divine authority. Jia Xiu returned to the safehouse able to cast Fairy Fire, but Oberon revealed that the operation had failed in its other objective: discovering why gods head toward annihilation.

• Justina grew alarmed as Jia Xiu’s baptism continued, while Oberon waited for the God of Pain’s attention to reach its peak.
• Justina objected to the God of Pain making Jia Xiu his Chosen and proposed destroying the cult’s stronghold, but Oberon warned that harming its visitors could cause diplomatic trouble.
• Oberon activated the countermeasure spell when the God of Pain’s attention peaked, causing the consciousness space to collapse and pour red-black awareness and magical knowledge into Jia Xiu.
• Jia Xiu endured the spell’s effects, speculated that racial limits on rune magic might be permissions, and emerged from the ritual without a sudden transformation.
• Justina took Jia Xiu back to the safehouse, where he successfully cast Fairy Fire and learned from Oberon that their other objective had failed.
• Oberon began explaining why gods always ended up heading toward annihilation.

Oberon explained to Jia Xiu that the fairy gods' Countermeasure Spell had failed to achieve its goals and revealed their theory that excessive faith caused gods to become unstable and eventually vanish. Jia Xiu learned that the ancient gods may have disappeared this way and discovered that the fairies had no clear overall direction for their research.

• Oberon told Jia Xiu that the Countermeasure Spell was meant to weaken the God of Pain and test whether divine annihilation could be addressed, but the plan had failed.
• Oberon explained why the fairies had chosen Jia Xiu, citing his willingness to deal with religious sects, the Radiant Knight's protection, and his supposed appeal to the God of Pain.
• Oberon described divine annihilation as complete disappearance and said excessive faith might destabilize divine authority and power, eventually driving gods mad.
• Justina asked whether the ancient gods had gone mad, and Oberon said Titania had witnessed an ancient god collapse into powder and vanish during battle.
• Oberon said Titania had noticed instability in her divine authority decades earlier, while Justina wondered whether she would suffer the same problem.
• Jia Xiu asked about the fairies' research direction, and Oberon admitted that Titania led the effort without a clear overall plan.

Jia Xiu learned that the fairies had experimented on the God of Pain while seeking a way to prevent gods from being annihilated, and Oberon tried to uncover the Sect Master’s identity. The God of Pain, feeling humiliated, recruited the God of Deceit and Curses to help him retaliate against Jia Xiu.

• Jia Xiu realized Titania had tested her Ork Logic theory by stripping away part of the God of Pain’s divine authority, and he worried that Justina might eventually face the same danger.
• Oberon asked whether Jia Xiu’s mysterious Sect Master was an ancient god who knew how to prevent divine annihilation, but the Sect Master said he had no solution.
• Jia Xiu learned that his Sect Master knew Titania and ranked above the fairy gods, while Oberon decided to join Jia Xiu’s project group and resume the Noble Duel tournament.
• The God of Pain resolved to make Jia Xiu suffer and summoned his longtime ally, the God of Deceit and Curses, to help identify and attack him.
• The God of Deception began divining from the God of Pain’s information and sensed something familiar.

The God of Deception’s divination about the infiltrator was interrupted by an inexplicable force that slapped him and the God of Pain. Meanwhile, Justina worried about her divine power as Jia Xiu’s Magic-Energy Computer project neared its first prototype, and Jia Xiu tried a bizarre blessing ritual.

• The God of Deception divined the target’s identity, saw garbled text, and warned the God of Pain that the target could come to their plane.
• A mysterious floating hand appeared and slapped the God of Deception, then compelled the God of Pain to offer his face for a slap as well.
• Justina worried that she might lose control of her divine power, while Jia Xiu told her to focus on the present and the computer project’s progress.
• Jia Xiu explained that the research teams had overcome the known obstacles to assembling the Magic-Energy Computer prototype, with Mia leading much of the technical work.
• Jia Xiu lit three sticks and began a blessing ritual, invoking Von Neumann, Turing, and Claude Shannon to bless the logic gates.

Jia Xiu and the team completed the first full-system test of their biological Magic-Energy Computer, Unit One. It successfully calculated the correct answer, 666, leaving the team celebrating its first working computer and Jia Xiu considering how it might be remembered in the future.

• Jia Xiu surveyed the eerie, flesh-and-fungus computer and realized the team had overlooked its appearance, prompting him to discuss industrial design with Master Dain.
• Master Dain agreed to mobilize the Dwarves to study art after Jia Xiu suggested the Elves might design the computer’s appearance.
• The team finished debugging Unit One, and Jia Xiu entered and checked the program for its first formal calculation.
• Jia Xiu started Unit One as its generators, golems, Quaternary Insects, and gel conductors began operating, while researchers reported normal readings.
• Unit One completed the calculation after about five minutes and returned the correct answer, 666.

Jia Xiu reported that the Magic-Energy Computer had been completed and discussed its capabilities and room for improvement with the Caster Association president. During a demonstration at Jia Xiu’s castle, an advisor demanded an on-site comparison against the Association’s calculation team, leaving the team’s leader to agree reluctantly.

• Jia Xiu told the president that development had proceeded smoothly and explained Machine No. 1’s speed, limitations, and potential for future improvements.
• The president arranged to see the computer, and Association officials and researchers visited Jia Xiu’s castle laboratory to observe it.
• Odysseus joked about the machine room’s cult-like appearance and asked Jia Xiu whether he had encountered an evil god or discovered a new plane; Jia Xiu denied both.
• An advisor objected to using prepared questions and proposed comparing the computer’s calculations of Devil Race self-healing against the Association’s calculation team.
• The calculation team’s leader reluctantly agreed to take part in the comparison.

Jia Xiu demonstrated that Unit One could calculate Devil Race data in under two minutes, far faster than the association's computing team, whose verified result nearly matched the machine's. The association approved plans to build more computers and use Unit One for live combat calculations and tests against the Devil Race.

• Unit One completed the Devil Race calculations in under two minutes, leaving the computing team stunned by the gap in speed.
• While the team finished its manual calculations, Jia Xiu explained the Magic-Energy Computer to the observers and answered questions about magic-power strings and programmatic spellcasting.
• Master Larven asked about combining magic-power strings to cast spells through a computer, and Jia Xiu explained that string combinations remained the key obstacle.
• The computing team completed and verified its calculations, confirming that its result nearly matched Unit One's less precise manual calculations.
• The association's president assigned Jia Xiu's team to train craftsmen and upgrade the computer, while reserving Unit One for on-site calculations and live combat tests against the Devil Race.

The Continental Allied Forces prepared their first operation using Machine No. 1 to calculate Devil Race data during a mission, and Jia Xiu confirmed the computer could perform the calculations quickly enough. The experts chose the Ukmak Empire’s Wolf Pack Squad for the dangerous test, and Arnold asked Jia Xiu about their battle plan.

• The Allied Forces improved their methods for finding Devil Race settlements and completely killing Devil Race members, but calculating their data quickly remained a major obstacle.
• Jia Xiu told the experts that Machine No. 1 could calculate one Devil Race member’s data in about fifty seconds, making a planned strike against thirty herding Demons feasible despite the risk of detection.
• The experts selected the isolated herding site and discussed how to eliminate its Demons before nearby Devil Race forces could respond.
• The experts unanimously chose the Ukmak Empire’s Wolf Pack Squad for the mission because its enhanced warriors were considered the best available combat unit.
• Jia Xiu reunited with Arnold, who introduced the Wolf Pack Squad and asked what their battle plan was.

Jia Xiu and the Wolf Pack Squad finalized an aerial assault plan that used rapid calculations and prefabricated magic scrolls to attack a group of thirty-four Demons. The squad controlled its targets in minutes while Jia Xiu noted improvements for the Association’s computing system.

• Arnold and the Wolf Pack Squad calculated that they had thirty-one minutes and ten seconds to handle thirty-four Demons, and Jia Xiu agreed to manage the calculations.
• Arnold’s squad planned to teleport high above the Northern Wasteland, then accelerate into the Demons while the Association gathered data and completed prefabricated scrolls.
• The Wolf Pack Squad began the operation, glided toward separate targets, and cast sampling scrolls as the Demons noticed them approaching.
• Arnold smashed into a Demon with his machete, then used his calculator and an explosive spell to launch himself toward another target.
• The Wolf Pack Squad controlled all the Demons within three minutes, while Jia Xiu wrote notes about adding program memory to Unit Two.

After the Wolf Pack Squad’s successful computer-assisted battle, Jia Xiu gathered feedback from the soldiers and researchers to plan improvements to the computer. The Empire offered to share its scroll-making research, and Jia Xiu began considering a Magic Scroll Printer and a half-generation upgrade before the Number Two machine.

• Jia Xiu learned that the Wolf Pack Squad had completed its mission and that the Association and Empire planned to announce and reward the operation’s participants.
• Arnold led an immediate battle review, assigning extra training over small errors and describing the Empire’s grueling combat exercises.
• Jia Xiu asked the Wolf Pack Squad and computer operators for feedback, prompting suggestions for batch calculations, simultaneous processing, and filling spell scrolls with data.
• Jia Xiu realized a computer peripheral could print spells onto scrolls and set standards for future hardware interfaces and communication protocols.
• An Imperial spellcaster offered to share the Empire’s scroll research, citing the Emperor’s decree to give knowledge to those capable of heavily damaging the Devil Race.
• Arnold asked to take a computer onto the battlefield, and Jia Xiu rejected the idea for now before marking useful suggestions for a Number One upgrade.

After receiving an honorary medal from the Ukmak Empire, Jia Xiu planned the next stages of Magic-Energy Computer development and struggled to recruit enough researchers. He reviewed the compiled research paper and submitted it to the Sect Master, whose plagiarism check rated it 0% and teased him for founding a new discipline.

• Jia Xiu received a medal from Marshal Arnold, while the Wolf Pack Squad also received medals for their contributions.
• Jia Xiu planned to divide future computer research among Unit One upgrades, miniaturization, and development of Unit Two, but found his team too small.
• Jia Xiu tried to recruit researchers from Association departments and considered bringing in Elves, Orcs, and Drow Elves amid a widespread labor shortage.
• Mentor Margaret brought Jia Xiu the compiled Magic-Energy Computer paper, which listed its many contributors and included extensive supplementary materials.
• Jia Xiu submitted the paper to the Sect Master, whose duplication check returned 0% and called the work alien technology that would establish a new discipline.

Jia Xiu leveled up after the Sect Master force-fed him knowledge from lost civilizations, then struggled to sort out its languages and magical systems. Margaret told him that the God of Knowledge could bind and organize knowledge, so Jia Xiu decided to seek divine help.

• Jia Xiu reached level 12 and gained the Dual Wielder and Research Explorer abilities.
• Jia Xiu received a mass of fragmented academic knowledge from several lost civilizations, and Margaret mistakenly suspected that he was hiding his true identity.
• Jia Xiu increased his intelligence and began classifying the knowledge, but its unfamiliar languages, terminology, measurements, and spell systems made the task difficult.
• Jia Xiu asked Margaret about extracting and sharing knowledge from his memories, and she explained that the God of Knowledge could bind knowledge into a unified system.
• Jia Xiu urged Margaret to go with him to seek the God of Knowledge's help.

Jia Xiu visited the God of Knowledge’s holy land with Justina and Margaret, seeking help to organize the vast body of knowledge he had acquired. Daniel agreed the task was possible with the God of Knowledge’s divine power, then asked Jia Xiu whether he could help Daniel ascend from demigod to full god.

• Jia Xiu used Justina’s identity as the Radiant Knight to arrange an official visit to the Knowledge Pantheon’s library complex.
• Jia Xiu, Justina, and Margaret found a notice directing visitors to Daniel’s lecture in East District No. 22.
• After Daniel finished lecturing on classical art history, Jia Xiu explained that he needed help standardizing and organizing knowledge from another plane.
• Daniel said he could handle the work by borrowing the God of Knowledge’s divine power, though it would take time.
• Daniel hesitantly asked Jia Xiu whether he had a chance of becoming a complete god rather than a demigod.

Jia Xiu negotiated with Daniel, a Knowledge Pantheon demigod, for access to his Memory Palace in exchange for organizing knowledge from other planes. After Daniel drew Jia Xiu into the God of Knowledge’s shared domain and began processing the uploaded material, Jia Xiu turned to discussing how Daniel could accumulate faith and ascend.

• Jia Xiu questioned Daniel about why he wanted to become a complete god, and Daniel explained that he needed more memory capacity to keep learning.
• Daniel offered Jia Xiu access to his Memory Palace, where memories could be stored, searched, and supplemented through the God of Knowledge’s shared power.
• Jia Xiu accepted the deal after confirming that Daniel could not see memories he did not choose to upload.
• Daniel’s handshake drew Jia Xiu into the Memory Palace, where Jia Xiu uploaded the Sect Master’s knowledge and gave instructions for organizing it.
• Daniel began processing the knowledge, and Jia Xiu started discussing a method for Daniel to gather faith and ascend.