Chapter Summaries

Su Chen acquired the Glutton Profession and tested how its stored nutrients rapidly restored his strength. After spending Yuanqing Day drinking with Bai Fengxi, Bu Siqi, and Teng Liang, he learned that Wei Yinshuo had returned to Yingfeng gravely wounded.

• Su Chen acquired Gluttony, confirmed that it could store nutrients from concentrated solution, and found that releasing them restored his exhausted body almost instantly, though only for three full recoveries.
• Su Chen celebrated Yuanqing Day with Bai Fengxi and Bu Siqi, but Bai Fengxi passed out after one sip of Golden Quicksand.
• Su Chen and Bu Siqi visited Teng Liang in the Adjudication Office prison, where Teng Liang revealed that Bu Siqi had brought Su Chen along because he was jealous of his company with Bai Fengxi.
• Su Chen returned home, and Zero offered to show him a recording of Bai Fengxi waking up; Su Chen refused and resumed training toward Inverse Originist.
• Bu Siqi told Su Chen that Wei Yinshuo had been found badly wounded outside Yingfeng City and taken to the Medical Office, and said Wei Yinshuo did not yet know Chu Xuan was dead.

Wei Yinshuo returned to the Tribunal gravely wounded and learned that Chu Xuan had died, while secretly conspiring with a voice linked to Black Pagoda. More than half a month later, Su Chen reached 50% Profession development, awakened Saint's Hand, and used it to strengthen his Indestructible Gang-Thunder Armor.

• Wei Yinshuo woke in the Medical Office and told Chong Jingtian that Black Pagoda had sacrificed two cities while storing the evil substance gathered from their victims.
• Chong Jingtian told Wei Yinshuo that Chu Xuan had been killed by Meng Qi, and Jiang Shumo added that Teng Liang had killed Meng Qi.
• Xue Fei urged Wei Yinshuo to investigate Teng Liang and blamed Su Chen's fight with Chu Xuan, but Wei Yinshuo ordered him out.
• After the others left, Wei Yinshuo secretly spoke with a voice dwelling inside him and discussed fooling the Tribunal, Chu Xuan's death, and a promised long life.
• Jiang Shumo set out to trace Wei Yinshuo's route, while the Tribunal's concern over his return and Chu Xuan's death continued for more than half a month.
• Su Chen reached 50% Arcane Grandmaster development, awakened Saint's Hand, and used the drained mental power to make his Indestructible Gang-Thunder Armor much stronger.

Su Chen became an Inverse Originist and discovered that combining its conversion ability with Glutton and his other Professions greatly extended his stamina and time hiding in the spatial interlayer. While investigating a powerful presence inside the Tribunal, he reached the Medical Office and suspected it was connected to the badly injured Wei Yinshuo.

• Su Chen met the requirements for Inverse Originist, endured a painful transformation, and gained the ability to convert stamina into mental energy and vice versa.
• Su Chen tested his new ability with Glutton and Saint's Hand, then found that both his physical and mental talents now registered as Ink Jade.
• Su Chen reviewed his Profession progress and worried that he lacked enough Strange God's Power to advance to a fourth-tier Profession.
• Su Chen learned that the Tribunal and Security Department planned to publicly execute the captured Black Pagoda Priest, and he wondered whether the event would lure out the cult's believers.
• Su Chen transformed into his Black Pagoda Priest state and sensed a powerful, unfamiliar presence inside the Tribunal, then headed toward it.
• Su Chen reached the Medical Office, saw Xue Fei enter, and suspected that the presence might be connected to the critically injured Wei Yinshuo.

Su Chen visited the gravely wounded Wei Yinshuo and used a mental seed to obtain his medical records, discovering that Wei Yinshuo was concealing something about the Strange God's Power inside him. As Su Chen weighed how to respond, Xiao Ying and He Kang visited Wei Yinshuo, and the sky turned blood-red with writhing lightning.

• Su Chen persuaded Bu Siqi and Teng Liang to visit Wei Yinshuo, then planted a mental seed in a nurse to review Wei Yinshuo's medical records.
• Su Chen learned from the records that Wei Yinshuo's mental form had been shattered and repaired, and suspected the Strange God's Power was being concealed for a purpose.
• Su Chen considered killing Wei Yinshuo but judged the risks too great, so he contacted Sang Vast Sea about staying at the Translation Office and began planning ways to hide.
• Xiao Ying and He Kang visited Wei Yinshuo, and Xiao Ying brought up Chu Xuan's death, but Wei Yinshuo rejected using Chu Xuan to advance anyone's agenda.
• After leaving the Medical Office, He Kang noticed the sky turning blood-red as scarlet lightning writhed overhead.

As the Tribunal’s strongest adjudicators rushed to contain a Corruption Rift, Su Chen exploited their absence to ambush and kill Xiao Ying. He then moved toward the Medical Office disguised as a Black Pagoda Priest, while Wei Yinshuo learned another priest had appeared outside.

• A Corruption Rift opened above the execution grounds, and Chong Jingtian and You Shan led reinforcements there while Su Chen noticed the Tribunal was less guarded.
• Xiao Ying urged Wei Yinshuo to help kill Su Chen, and Wei Yinshuo agreed after Xiao Ying argued that doing so would protect his family’s power.
• Su Chen concealed himself and ambushed Xiao Ying with a lightning-charged saber, killing him before anyone noticed.
• Su Chen entered the spatial interlayer, replenished his strength, and changed into his Black Pagoda Priest state before approaching the Medical Office.
• The voice communicating with Wei Yinshuo sensed another priest outside, and Wei Yinshuo prepared to meet him.

Su Chen infiltrated the Tribunal’s Medical Office and discovered a High Priest of the Black Pagoda hidden inside the gravely injured Wei Yinshuo. After learning that the High Priest had come to take Su Chen away and that Yuandu sought the Stone Tablet, Su Chen attacked Wei Yinshuo and used Divine Blood to control the High Priest’s power.

• Wei Yinshuo sent Xue Fei and the others away, leaving Jiang Baorui to fetch fresh lava beast heart from the cafeteria.
• Su Chen entered the Medical Office in disguise and met the Black Pagoda High Priest concealed inside Wei Yinshuo.
• The High Priest revealed that his divine decree was to take Su Chen away, and that Yuandu’s attempt to gain the Crimson Flame Thunder Venerable’s recognition through the Stone Tablet could cause trouble.
• Su Chen touched Wei Yinshuo and sensed the layers of corrosive energy, Black Pagoda divine power, and the High Priest’s consciousness within him.
• Su Chen attacked Wei Yinshuo with his saber, then used Divine Blood to make the High Priest’s black mist circle him instead of attacking.
• Wei Yinshuo realized the High Priest’s faith had been shattered as dense black mist flowed from his body into Su Chen.

Su Chen killed Wei Yinshuo by extracting his Black Pagoda power, then survived the resulting explosion and concealed his involvement. While the Tribunal investigated Wei Yinshuo’s apparent death, it discovered that Meng Qi’s corpse had vanished from the Research Office and might still be somewhere inside the sealed headquarters.

• Su Chen extracted Wei Yinshuo’s advanced Black Pagoda power, and Wei Yinshuo exploded, destroying the top floors of the Medical Office.
• Su Chen escaped the blast, split the advanced power into three portions, and returned to his residence before Lei Tieyan summoned him to the ruined Medical Office.
• Lei Tieyan questioned Jiang Baorui and learned that Wei Yinshuo had sent Xue Fei and the other guards away before he died.
• An attack struck the Research Office, and Su Chen suspected the Tribunal’s operation had been used as a diversion.
• Chong Jingtian returned from the execution site and learned that the Medical Office had exploded and Wei Yinshuo was presumed dead.
• Lei Tieyan reported that Meng Qi’s corpse had disappeared, and Chong Jingtian suggested it might have been a vessel and could still be inside the sealed Tribunal.

Chong Jingtian tasked Su Chen with finding the shape-shifting Meng Qi and granted him access to information on the Faceless Ghost. As investigators pursued Wei Yinshuo’s death and the stolen corpse, Su Chen reached the Research Office to inspect the scene, where someone approached him.

• Lei Tieyan and Chong Jingtian concluded that the corpse thief had used considerable divine power, and Su Chen suggested the disguise must have flaws because Meng Qi had not impersonated Chu Xuan.
• Chong Jingtian assigned Su Chen to search for Meng Qi, approved his request to study Faceless Ghost records, and arranged to release Teng Liang.
• Investigators learned that Xiao Ying had disappeared after entering an area where a surveillance camera had been damaged, while Xue Fei confirmed that Wei Yinshuo had sent his attendants away.
• You Shan suggested Wei Yinshuo might have met the corpse thief, but Lei Tieyan reported that Xue Fei believed Xiao Ying had visited to seek Wei Yinshuo’s support for Wei Yufan.
• Chong Jingtian ordered Lei Tieyan and You Shan to monitor the Tribunal as Su Chen inspected the Research Office, where the temporary supervisor said the corpse’s readings had been normal.
• An unseen speaker asked Su Chen whether something had happened.

Su Chen studied the Faceless Ghost and discovered he could take on the form of its priest, allowing him to sense believers and search for Meng Qi. When Meng Qi came to Su Chen’s residence disguised as an adjudicator, Teng Liang burst in and crushed him, though Su Chen’s discovery of a nearby presence raised questions about the visitor.

• Su Chen learned that Strange God believers could fulfill their Profession requirements unknowingly and that the Faceless Ghost Believer requirement was to impersonate someone and live their life for three days.
• Su Chen’s panel showed that the Faceless Ghost had been absorbed and granted him the Faceless Ghost Priest disguise, which let him sense nearby believers.
• After returning to his residence and using the disguise, Su Chen sensed an unusually strong presence close by and messaged Teng Liang.
• Meng Qi arrived disguised as adjudicator Luo Bin, claimed he had clues about the Research Office incident, and followed Su Chen inside.
• As Meng Qi approached Su Chen, Teng Liang burst through the door and crushed Meng Qi beneath his giant hand.

Su Chen and Teng Liang killed a disguised Meng Qi, while Chong Jingtian connected the Strange Gods’ growing activity to an approaching Holy Feast. After the Tribunal secured the scene, Su Chen retreated to Teng Liang’s residence and tried to enter his Black Pagoda Priest state, only to find it empty.

• Teng Liang crushed the disguised Meng Qi before he could explain himself, and he and Su Chen burned the corpse as Tribunal personnel gathered.
• Chong Jingtian told Lei Tieyan and You Shan that blood sacrifices across several regions might be preparations for a Holy Feast that would let the Strange Gods claim the planet.
• Chong Jingtian suspected Meng Qi was an incarnation of a Strange God, then rushed to Su Chen’s residence and learned that Teng Liang had already killed him.
• Chong Jingtian ordered a sample of the remains sent to a laboratory, destroyed the rest, and praised Su Chen while worrying that Faceless creatures could replace familiar people undetected.
• Teng Liang took Su Chen to his residence for safety, where Su Chen reflected on the Tribunal’s investigation and the Stone Tablet before attempting to enter his Black Pagoda Priest state and finding it empty.

After the Tribunal’s lockdown ended, Su Chen asked Sang Vast Sea for advice on choosing fourth-rank Professions and was introduced to Pu Zhenghong, who explained the Stone Tablet and the requirements for taking on a Morning Star Rank Profession. Su Chen learned that recognition depended on the Profession’s spirit and that his ink jadeite talent was not enough to meet the threshold, leaving his hopes uncertain.

• The Tribunal rooted out its last two Strange God believers, lifted the lockdown, and let its inquisitors return.
• Ming Lin visited Su Chen and asked about Wei Yinshuo’s death and Meng Qi’s attack, but Su Chen said he had arrived after the Medical Office was destroyed.
• Su Chen met Sang Vast Sea at the Translation Office and asked for advice on fourth-rank Professions; Sang recommended [Law Envoy] and [Calamity Walker].
• Su Chen asked about the Stone Tablet, so Sang Vast Sea brought him to meet Pu Zhenghong, who explained that it recorded requirements for a Morning Star Rank Profession.
• Pu Zhenghong told Su Chen that Morning Star Rank Professions had spirits and that recognition was necessary to take one on, while only a Chosen One was guaranteed success.
• Pu Zhenghong judged that Su Chen’s ink jadeite talent did not meet the recognition threshold, then discussed Divine Language as Su Chen struggled to follow the explanation.

Su Chen joined Teng Liang and Bu Siqi in raiding a Faceless Ghost believer hideout, where he discovered and absorbed the hidden consciousness of a Faceless Ghost God's Son. Far away, the God's Son learned that part of his consciousness had been destroyed and turned his attention toward corrupting the planet's Morning Star Rank Profession.

• Su Chen visited a suspected believer hideout in Yingfeng East City with Teng Liang and Bu Siqi, and Teng Liang's team broke into its underground chamber.
• The raid captured five Faceless Ghost believers, and Su Chen searched the collected objects for the strange presence he had sensed.
• Su Chen touched a grayish-white crystal and absorbed its divine power and the Faceless Ghost God's Son's fragmented consciousness, gaining Faceless Ghost power and a disguise ability.
• Su Chen left the raid and wondered whether the crystal's occupant had been the entity that possessed Meng Qi.
• Far from Yingfeng, the Faceless Ghost God's Son learned that part of his consciousness had been destroyed and said he wanted to corrupt the planet's Morning Star Rank Profession.

Su Chen acquired and corrupted the Law Envoy and Calamity Walker Professions, then continued training as the Tribunal’s investigation into Wei Yinshuo’s death stalled. At Wei Yinshuo’s memorial, Su Chen encountered the delegation from Yuandu and learned that the Church’s Son, Hong Xuan, was a Crimson fourth-tier professional.

• Su Chen found that the Great Venerable knocked the defiant Law Envoy unconscious, fulfilling its requirements, and Black Pagoda Power evolved it into Wordspirit Lawlord.
• Su Chen used Black Pagoda and Faceless Ghost powers to corrupt the Calamity Walker and erase its requirement to cause a disaster, leaving only a day of surviving in a thunderstorm.
• The Tribunal and Security Department announced that nearly all Strange God believers in Yingfeng had been eliminated, while Wei Yinshuo’s killer remained unknown and the Wei Family sold off its assets.
• Near the end of February, Su Chen mastered Mystic Ice Soul-Cleansing Meditation, gained Ice Soul, and continued progressing his Professions and training methods.
• Su Chen attended Wei Yinshuo’s memorial with Cheng Lang and spoke with him about the likely role of Strange God believers in the death.
• The Yuandu delegation arrived at the memorial, where Su Chen learned that the Church’s Son, Hong Xuan, was a Crimson fourth-tier professional.

Su Chen learned that Yuandu planned to have Hong Xuan chosen by the Morning Star Profession Crimson Flame Thunder Venerable as a way to secure the Royal Court’s aid against the coming Holy Feast, while Chong Jingtian refused to accept the plan. At the Translation Office, Su Chen discovered Yuandu had arrived to wager over another Holy Word Stone and went to watch.

• Wu Chenpei told Chong Jingtian that Yuandu intended to have Hong Xuan gain the acknowledgment of Crimson Flame Thunder Venerable and become the Royal Court’s reason to protect their planet.
• Chong Jingtian refused to trust Yuandu or the Royal Court, arguing that they should stop the Holy Feast instead of relying on Hong Xuan’s selection.
• Su Chen learned from Wang Jie and Fang Xinghan that Yuandu had brought a Holy Word Stone to challenge the Translation Office, with Spirit Master as the likely stake.
• Fang Xinghan warned Su Chen to stay away because the wager involved confidential matters, but Su Chen went to the conference hall to watch.
• Su Chen arrived as Sang Vast Sea, Qin Qiyuan, and the other Translation Office staff faced the red-robed Yuandu group and their leader, who had placed a Holy Word Stone on the table.

Su Chen exposed Yuandu’s Holy Word Stone as a fake with no Profession, forcing Tang Chen to surrender Spirit Master. Su Chen received the Profession’s acquisition requirements, while Pu Zhenghong suspected Yuandu had used a Strange God’s Divine Language to create the stone.

• Tang Chen challenged the Translation Office to wager Spirit Master against a Holy Word Stone, but Pu Zhenghong called Su Chen to examine it.
• Su Chen found no Profession on the stone and declared that it contained nothing to decipher, confirming Pu Zhenghong’s suspicions.
• Tang Chen tried to leave, and Pu Zhenghong demanded Spirit Master; Tang Chen surrendered it and left with Yuandu’s people.
• Pu Zhenghong told Su Chen and Sang Vast Sea that Yuandu might have used a Strange God’s Divine Language to inscribe the stone.
• Su Chen accepted the Spirit Master materials and learned that he needed a mental-type Red Gold talent and three portions of essence of spirituality from the Nether Domain to acquire it.

Su Chen learned that acquiring Spirit Master required him to find essence of spirituality in the dangerous Nether Domain, while Yuandu’s failed deception threatened to complicate its pursuit of Saint. Back in Yingfeng, Su Chen planned how to obtain a clear Eye of the Thunder God and agreed to acquire assets offered by the Wei Family.

• Su Chen learned that Spirit Master required one portion of essence of spirituality from the Nether Domain and that Force User was the final Profession needed for sublimation.
• Pu Zhenghong and Sang Vast Sea explained the Nether Domain’s dangers and suspected Yuandu had used help from the Cult of the Strange Gods to find essence of spirituality.
• Tang Chen told Wu Chenpei that the Translation Office had exposed their fake Holy Word Stone, while Chong Jingtian had refused Yuandu’s terms; they planned to have Hong Xuan challenge the arena and pursue Saint more brazenly.
• Gu Bing reported that Yingfeng had no sufficiently clear Eye of the Thunder God, so Su Chen considered asking a fifth-tier Profession holder to hunt a One-Eyed Thunder Beast in Windthunder Valley.
• Gu Bing told Su Chen that the Wei Family wanted to sell him assets cheaply, and Su Chen agreed to acquire them and let Gu Bing manage them.

Su Chen entered the Nether Domain to search for Essence of Spirituality, testing how his abilities and Faceless Ghost Priest disguise affected the creatures there. After days of searching without success, he learned from Ming Lin that Hong Xuan had begun challenging Yingfeng’s Inner Court Seeds in the arena.

• Xia Hanshi and Yuan Poshan found another settlement whose residents had been sacrificed and suspected the Strange Gods were preparing a Holy Feast.
• Gong Yun inscribed a Breath-Concealing Rune on Su Chen to reduce the danger of entering the Nether Domain.
• Su Chen entered the Nether Domain, discovered his mental abilities still worked, and found that creatures feared his Faceless Ghost Priest form.
• Su Chen used his spiritual presence to attract powerful Nether Domain Creatures, but learned little from them about Essence of Spirituality and continued searching for several days without success.
• Ming Lin told Su Chen that Hong Xuan had started issuing challenge-arena matches and that Feng Ze would face him that day.

Su Chen learned that a fifth-tier sealing specialist might help him obtain the Eye of the Thunder God, then watched Ming Lin challenge Hong Xuan. Ming Lin surrendered after Hong Xuan effortlessly blocked his attacks, leaving Su Chen as the Tribunal’s remaining hope against Yuandu’s challenge.

• Teng Liang told Su Chen he had found a fifth-tier confinement and sealing specialist who wanted to meet and would likely demand a favor in return; Su Chen agreed to meet him.
• Su Chen disguised himself and went to the Challenge Hall, where Hong Xuan had defeated several Yingfeng challengers and a large crowd had gathered to watch Ming Lin fight.
• Ming Lin attacked Hong Xuan with his opposing elemental Professions and unusual eyes, but Hong Xuan remained unharmed behind an energy barrier.
• Ming Lin surrendered and left the arena, prompting dismay among the Tribunal members and celebration among the Yuandu spectators.
• An Ming called for Su Chen to face Hong Xuan, while Chong Jingtian and Jiang Shumo worried that Hong Xuan’s victories were meant to prove Yuandu’s superiority and secure access to the Stone Tablet.

Chong Jingtian and Wu Chenpei negotiated a wager over Hong Xuan’s challenge matches, with the Tribunal agreeing that Hong Xuan must keep winning for ten days to secure the Saint from the Translation Office. Chong Jingtian then sent Su Chen to fight Hong Xuan, and Su Chen arrived at the packed plaza as the crowd’s last hope.

• Chong Jingtian, Jiang Shumo, and You Shan weighed Yuandu’s proposal and the danger of either refusing it or accepting Yuandu’s future dominance.
• Wu Chenpei wagered that if Hong Xuan kept winning for ten days, the Tribunal would obtain the Saint from the Translation Office; Chong Jingtian accepted, while Wu Chenpei privately revealed his long-standing grudge against him.
• Chong Jingtian found Su Chen and ordered him to face Hong Xuan, promising Chief Judge Jiang would retrieve a purified Eye of the Thunder God if Su Chen could draw with him.
• Su Chen set out for the arena with Ming Lin, who briefed him on Hong Xuan’s methods.
• The crowd spotted Su Chen at the plaza and surged back inside, while Wu Chenpei and Tang Chen learned that he had arrived.

Su Chen entered the Challenge Hall to face Hong Xuan, the Yuandu Church’s undefeated contender, as the Tribunal’s last remaining Core Seed. Their fight began with Hong Xuan’s flames and lightning, but Su Chen dodged and countered with ease, leaving the battle unresolved.

• Wu Chenpei and Tang Chen discussed Su Chen’s abilities and doubted that he could defeat Hong Xuan.
• The Tribunal’s adjudicators returned to the Challenge Hall after learning Su Chen would fight, while the remaining Core Seeds watched with mixed hopes.
• Su Chen assessed Hong Xuan’s likely strengths and advantages before entering the arena, where Hong Xuan acknowledged how far Su Chen had developed his Professions.
• Hong Xuan prepared for a mental attack that never came, then attacked first with scarlet flames and lightning.
• Su Chen evaded Hong Xuan’s barrage and broke through the flames, while the watching Bu Siqi was astonished by Su Chen’s strength.