Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary: “The Cycle Begins”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Bai Ye kills Azure Dragon with Annihilation Sight, but the attack severely drains his Mental Power and damages his soul. His weakened left eye reflects the cost of using the Calamity Eye.
• He confronts Doctor A, who assumes Bai Ye is connected to the ancient Ark Council, believing only they could control or seal the Calamity Eye.
• Doctor A reveals that the Ark Council originally sealed the Calamity Eye and may have been responsible for developing the Forbidden Domain—and possibly triggering the Great Cataclysm. Bai Ye begins questioning whether the Council survived and where it might be.
• Doctor A’s apparent sanity collapses under the influence of the Heart Abyss. Yi Jingran explains that Doctor A had been maintaining a fragile form of sanity, which shattered under pressure.
• Yi Jingran attempts to read Doctor A’s memories, but a hidden soul-based self-destruct mechanism activates, killing Doctor A and destroying the information.
• After reuniting with An Xiaotong and the others, Bai Ye theorizes that the inhabitants of Shelter 189 may have captured or interacted with the self-sealed Chief Judge.
• The group decides to search Black Mountain and Shelter 189, where their shared past appears to be centered.
• They emerge in a landscape resembling North Mang, with the ruined Steel Brotherhood nearby. Their powers are initially suppressed by the Heart Abyss, but the group regains confidence and vows to fight their way out.
• They encounter Silver Snake and battle him. When Bai Ye tears off his mask, he instinctively says, “It’s you again,” realizing that events feel strangely familiar.

Character Developments

• Bai Ye demonstrates overwhelming power by killing Azure Dragon, but the physical and spiritual consequences of using Annihilation Sight emphasize that his abilities come at a dangerous cost.
• He becomes increasingly suspicious of the Ark Council and begins connecting it to the Calamity Eye, the Forbidden Domain, the Great Cataclysm, and the secrets of the Civilized Era.
• Bai Ye remains domineering toward Doctor A, but he also shows growing curiosity about the larger historical mystery surrounding the Heart Abyss.
• Doctor A shifts from arrogant confidence to fear, desperation, and complete madness. His devotion to the Ark Council reveals its immense reputation, while his death prevents the group from learning more.
• Yi Jingran proves useful as a soul investigator, but discovers that even his knowledge has been artificially erased or restricted.
• An Xiaotong helps identify the possibility that the Chief Judge is connected to Shelter 189 and continues to act as Bai Ye’s close partner and intellectual counterpart.
• The entire group regains its resolve despite being weakened by the Heart Abyss.

Significant Themes

• The cost of power: Bai Ye’s victory is not effortless; Annihilation Sight damages his own soul, reinforcing the danger of relying on overwhelming abilities.
• Lost history and erased knowledge: The Ark Council’s existence and achievements have been deliberately obscured, suggesting a vast conspiracy or reality-altering suppression of the past.
• Madness and unstable sanity: Doctor A’s breakdown shows how prolonged exposure to the Heart Abyss corrupts the mind, even when a person appears rational.
• Secrets within the soul: Doctor A’s implanted self-destruct mechanism suggests that the Civilized Era possessed advanced methods for protecting information—and concealing the truth.
• Cycles and déjà vu: Familiar dialogue, repeated situations, and Bai Ye’s instinctive recognition of Silver Snake imply that the characters may be reliving events or caught in a repeating cycle.
• The blurred boundary between past and present: The return to North Mang and Shelter 189 makes the group question whether they have truly moved forward or have been brought back to an earlier point in their history.

Important Character Interactions

• Bai Ye repeatedly humiliates and intimidates Doctor A, forcing him to stop speculating and answer questions.
• Doctor A attempts to gain Bai Ye’s protection by claiming shared ties to the Ark Council, but Bai Ye rejects him violently.
• Yi Jingran explains Doctor A’s mental condition and attempts to extract his memories, only to trigger the soul’s destruction.
• An Xiaotong and Bai Ye discuss whether Shelter 189’s survivors may know the Chief Judge’s whereabouts, leading the group toward Black Mountain.
• The group reunites, shares a moment of determination, and symbolically joins hands before confronting the Heart Abyss.
• Bai Ye’s encounter with Silver Snake ends on an unsettling note when his words reveal an unconscious memory of having experienced the confrontation before.

Bai Ye discovered that the Heart Abyss might be resetting itself, leaving behind Cockroach Protein Bars and warnings from earlier visits. With the Chief Judge possibly behind the reset, Bai Ye weighed destroying the Heart Abyss against risking the mission to change his time anchor.

• Bai Ye found that physical food could not enter the Heart Abyss, but eight identical Cockroach Protein Bars remained in the grass, suggesting repeated resets.
• An Xiaotong noticed Silver Snake’s blood trail led toward Apocalypse, while Li Xiao and An Xiaotong found warnings on bone fragments: “Beware of Painter” and “this isn't your first time in the Heart Abyss.”
• Bai Ye suspected he had entered the Heart Abyss eight times, and Yi Jingran explained that the Chief Judge might use Abyss Eye and Word Becomes Law to create a pseudo-time loop.
• Bai Ye considered using the Calamity Eye to destroy the Heart Abyss, but feared killing the Chief Judge and losing his chance to return to ten years ago, so he asked Yi Jingran for advice.

Bai Ye realized he was trapped in a recurring reset in the Heart Abyss and reasoned that he needed to preserve his memories by activating Time Stop when the loop began. While trying to mark his progress toward Apocalypse, he found a black hair already tied to a crooked tree, suggesting an earlier self had left a sign.

• Yi Jingran explained that the reset likely erased memories and other explicit information, while objects and writing from before the loop could remain.
• Bai Ye told An Xiaotong and the others about the loop, and Ghost Clown and Li Xiao reacted without recognizing the repeated cycles.
• Bai Ye calculated that each loop lasted about three hours and decided to follow his original plan while leaving markers for his next self.
• Bai Ye led the group toward Apocalypse and stopped at a hillside to tie one of his hairs to a crooked tree as a marker.
• Bai Ye noticed a black strand of hair already fluttering from the tree.

Chapter Summary: “Right Now!”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Bai Ye realizes he discovered the Cycle during the seventh iteration, not the eighth, after finding one of his own hairs tied to a tree. His earlier self had used the same method of leaving hairs behind to track repeated events.
• He follows a gunshot and finds Wu De, disguised as a beggar, being tortured by a man in a white protective suit. Recognizing Wu De as the “Apocalypse Chairman,” Bai Ye instinctively rescues him and marks the event with another hair.
• Bai Ye and his group infiltrate Dawn Outer City, where he finds more evidence of his previous movements. When the city surrounds them, Wu De leads an army of beggars to support Bai Ye, demonstrating that he makes the same self-sacrificing choice in every Cycle.
• With Wu De’s help, the group escapes and proceeds toward the Apocalypse Building. Bai Ye begins leaving hairs more frequently, eventually placing one every minute.
• In a laboratory, they meet Doctor A, who appears to be connected to Soul Technology and possibly responsible for the Cycle. Bai Ye notices five hairs beneath the experiment table, proving that he and his companions had remained there for at least five minutes.
• Unable to tolerate Doctor A’s arrogant behavior, Bai Ye attacks and repeatedly slaps him. However, the Cycle does not activate, even after Doctor A dies. Bai Ye learns that the next destination is Black Mountain, Shelter 189.
• Just as Bai Ye is about to leave the laboratory, he notices there are no hairs marking an exit route. He realizes he has never actually left the laboratory—meaning the Cycle begins at that exact moment.
• Bai Ye activates Time Stop and senses the familiar spatial-temporal fluctuation associated with the Cycle, confirming his deduction.

Character Developments

• Bai Ye becomes increasingly analytical and methodical, using his own hairs to reconstruct events and determine when previous Cycles began.
• Despite understanding the Cycle, he remains impulsive and emotionally driven. His instinctive rescue of Wu De and uncontrolled assault on Doctor A show that his personality remains consistent across iterations.
• Wu De is established as exceptionally loyal and self-sacrificing. Even without memories of previous Cycles, he repeatedly chooses to support Bai Ye, suggesting that some convictions remain unchanged through reincarnation or looping.
• Doctor A is presented as arrogant and mysterious. Although Bai Ye suspects he may have caused the Cycle, Doctor A does not activate it when attacked, leaving his true role unclear.

Significant Themes

• The persistence of character: Repeated timelines may erase memories, but certain people continue making the same fundamental choices.
• Cause and effect across Cycles: Bai Ye’s earlier actions guide his present self, while his current actions are intended to help his future iterations.
• Self-discovery and deduction: Bai Ye reconstructs the Cycle not through direct memories but by examining physical traces left by previous versions of himself.
• Free will versus inevitability: The repeated actions of Bai Ye and Wu De raise the question of whether their choices are predetermined or reflect their true natures.
• Frustration within repetition: Bai Ye’s growing impatience, especially with Doctor A, contrasts with his need to preserve the sequence of events long enough to understand the Cycle.

Character Interactions

• Bai Ye rescues Wu De from torture and later works with him to escape Dawn Outer City.
• Wu De rallies the beggars to defend Bai Ye, reinforcing their bond and Wu De’s unwavering loyalty.
• Bai Ye confronts Doctor A in the laboratory, first observing him, then violently interrupting his performance when Doctor A’s arrogance becomes unbearable.
• Bai Ye’s interaction with Doctor A fails to trigger the Cycle, forcing him to reconsider when the loop actually begins.

Chapter Summary: Shelter 189’s Golden Hourglass

Key Plot Points and Events

• Bai Ye detects abnormal temporal fluctuations originating from Black Mountain and realizes the Cycle was triggered by Doctor A’s death.
• He concludes that Doctor A carried a device connected to Shelter 189, whose inhabitants activated the Cycle after detecting his death.
• Bai Ye releases Time Stop, allowing him to retain his memories across the reset and return to the group after nine Cycles.
• He proves the repeated Cycles to the others by revealing details from previous loops, including the eight Cockroach Protein Bars hidden in the bushes.
• Bai Ye explains that they have already experienced Heart Abyss nine times and warns the group about the Civilized Era’s technology, which can trap powerful enemies in an inescapable Cycle.
• He determines that their priority must be infiltrating Shelter 189 and destroying the device responsible for the Cycle.
• Although the group worries about Wu De and Huo Zheng, Bai Ye refuses to divert their mission to save them. He believes Painter may be manipulating events through Fate Lines and could react if the established sequence changes.
• Bai Ye leads everyone directly toward Black Mountain rather than going to Apocalypse or Dawn City.
• Using Time Stop and God’s Sky Gate, Bai Ye bypasses Shelter 189’s defenses and transports the group inside without triggering detection.
• They arrive in a transformed, futuristic Shelter 189 filled with floating alloy structures, antigravity technology, and holographic scenery.
• The chapter ends as Bai Ye notices a gigantic Golden Hourglass suspended beneath the artificial sky, presumably connected to the Cycle.

Character Developments

• Bai Ye becomes more decisive and strategic. He prioritizes eliminating the source of the Cycle over attempting another rescue of Wu De and Huo Zheng, accepting that some sacrifices may be unavoidable.
• His mastery of time has grown considerably. He can preserve memories through Cycles, stop time, open spatial gateways, and transport the entire group undetected.
• Bai Ye increasingly resembles Future Bai in both appearance and temperament. His ruthless choices cause Li You to comment on their growing similarity, though Bai Ye believes his actions are motivated by necessity rather than cruelty.
• Li Xiao reveals strong admiration for Wu De and struggles emotionally with Bai Ye’s refusal to save him. His repeated questioning and enthusiasm over the discarded food also provide comic relief.
• Li You remains quiet but perceptive, recognizing Bai Ye’s transformation and moral resemblance to Future Bai.
• An Xiaotong continues to show intimate concern for Bai Ye, noticing subtle changes in his appearance and recalling their shared history on Black Mountain.
• The group as a whole is shaken by the Civilized Era’s technological power but ultimately chooses to trust Bai Ye’s judgment.

Significant Themes

• The danger of advanced technology: The Civilized Era’s capabilities transcend conventional strength, allowing enemies to imprison powerful beings through temporal manipulation rather than direct combat.
• Choice versus fate: Bai Ye suspects Painter is influencing the group’s path through Fate Lines, forcing him to choose between personal rescue efforts and protecting the larger mission.
• Sacrifice and leadership: Bai Ye must make morally painful decisions, abandoning immediate attempts to save Wu De and Huo Zheng in hopes of preventing endless Cycles.
• Transformation over time: The characters’ return to Black Mountain highlights how far they have evolved from frightened survivors into the era’s strongest figures.
• Memory and repetition: Bai Ye’s retained memories give him an advantage over the others and allow him to break the pattern of the Cycle.
• The legacy of the past: Shelter 189 and the Civilized Era remain powerful threats despite belonging to a previous age, emphasizing that old civilizations and enemies still shape the present.

Important Character Interactions

• Bai Ye confronts Li Xiao over repeatedly asking the same question and scolds Clown for eating the Mental Power-based protein bars.
• He explains the truth of the Cycles to the entire group, changing their understanding of the situation.
• An Xiaotong questions Bai Ye’s decision to ignore Apocalypse and worries about Wu De and Huo Zheng.
• Li Xiao argues that Wu De should be rescued, but Bai Ye firmly rejects the suggestion.
• Li You compares Bai Ye to Future Bai, prompting Bai Ye to reflect on his own changing nature.
• At Black Mountain, the group reminisces about their humble beginnings and how dramatically they have changed.
• Bai Ye demonstrates his growing power by carrying An Xiaotong through the spatial rift and leading everyone into Shelter 189.
• The final interaction is between the group and the mysterious Golden Hourglass, whose appearance signals the next stage of their investigation.

Chapter Summary: The Painter’s Stance in the Unsolved Mystery

Key Plot Points and Events

• In the North Mang wilderness, the Painter senses an unexpected disturbance in the Fate Lines. He realizes that Wu De, whose death was not supposed to occur yet, has been killed, while Silver Snake—who should have died—remains alive.
• Suspecting that Bai Ye may have escaped or disrupted the Cycle, the Painter follows Fate’s guidance and finds Silver Snake.
• Silver Snake attacks him in a crazed, soul-hungry state. The Painter uses silver light to suppress her madness and interrogates her about Bai Ye.
• Silver Snake recognizes the Painter as one of the Ten Kings and provocatively expresses excitement at the chance to “play” with him. Enraged, the Painter kills her instantly.
• From Silver Snake’s remains, he discovers a porcelain fragment bearing the messages: “Beware of the Painter” and “Remember, this is not your first time in the Heart Abyss.”
• The messages reveal that someone—apparently Bai Ye or an entity connected to him—is aware of the Painter’s deeper circumstances and is attempting to undermine his plans. The Painter becomes furious but decides to personally guide Bai Ye, intending to make Bai Ye choose between trusting him and trusting the warning.
• Meanwhile, Bai Ye and his companions stand inside Shelter 189, a massive futuristic city. Bai Ye is angered by the sight of a gigantic Golden Hourglass, which resembles the one in his Mind Space, though he has never seen the enormous version before.
• Bai Ye concludes that the hourglass is a symbolic projection rather than a God-Taboo Object, suggesting that the people of Shelter 189 knew about or had encountered God 002: Time.
• The group realizes they do not know where to go. Yi Jingran explains that she cannot manifest because the shelter contains the Abyss Eye, which could react to her essence as part of the Delusion Eye. Bai Ye’s Nine Eyes should likewise remain concealed.
• Yi Jingran confirms that the shelter has no apparent restrictions against Transcendence, likely because its inhabitants never expected anyone to infiltrate from inside and considered Transcendence comparatively ordinary.
• Bai Ye orders Li Xiao to use his abilities to help the group sneak through the shelter and find a passerby to question about their surroundings.

Character Developments

• The Painter: His calm, refined demeanor gives way to suspicion, anger, and cold determination. Wu De’s unexpected death and Silver Snake’s survival convince him that the Cycle and Fate have been disrupted. The warning on the porcelain fragment also exposes that he may have been manipulated or trapped in the Heart Abyss before, deepening his sense of threat and urgency.
• Silver Snake: Although briefly regaining some sanity under the Painter’s power, she remains violent, impulsive, and obsessed with souls. Her provocative reaction to the Painter seals her fate, and her remains become the medium through which the mysterious warning is delivered.
• Bai Ye: He remains decisive and practical, but his frustration grows as he realizes that the group lacks a clear destination and that even Yi Jingran and Nine Eyes must remain inactive. He also begins to recognize the advanced knowledge and capabilities of Shelter 189’s former civilization.
• Yi Jingran: She provides crucial strategic information but is forced into a passive role because revealing herself could provoke the Abyss Eye. Her analysis helps Bai Ye understand the shelter’s defenses and technological level.
• Li Xiao and the companions: They depend on Bai Ye for direction but expose the immediate problem: the group has infiltrated the shelter without knowing how to navigate it.

Significant Themes

• Fate versus interference: Wu De’s premature death and Silver Snake’s survival demonstrate that Fate is no longer unfolding as expected, raising questions about who or what is altering the Cycle.
• Memory, repetition, and hidden history: The message about the Heart Abyss suggests that events may have happened before, or that the characters’ memories and experiences are unreliable.
• Trust and manipulation: The Painter intends to make Bai Ye choose between trusting him and trusting the warning, turning their conflict into a psychological battle rather than a simple physical confrontation.
• Ancient civilizations and technological superiority: Shelter 189 represents the advanced knowledge of the Civilized Era, implying that its people understood Transcendence and God 002: Time far earlier than the current survivors.
• Power constrained by circumstance: Though Bai Ye possesses immense abilities, the Abyss Eye forces him to conceal key powers, showing that strength alone cannot solve every problem.
• Identity and symbolic objects: The giant Golden Hourglass links Shelter 189 to Time and suggests that the shelter’s history is connected to the larger mysteries surrounding the Cycle and God-Taboo Objects.

Important Character Interactions

• Painter and Silver Snake: The Painter suppresses Silver Snake’s madness and questions her about Bai Ye, but her mocking invitation to “play” provokes him into killing her.
• Painter and the hidden adversary: The porcelain message creates a direct intellectual confrontation between the Painter and whoever left the warning. The Painter responds by deciding to manipulate Bai Ye personally.
• Bai Ye and Li Xiao: Bai Ye commands Li Xiao to help the group infiltrate the shelter and locate someone who can provide information.
• Bai Ye and Yi Jingran: Yi Jingran warns Bai Ye about the Abyss Eye and advises him to limit the use of Nine Eyes, forcing him to adjust his plans.
• Bai Ye and his companions: Their exchange reveals the group’s confusion after entering Shelter 189 and highlights Bai Ye’s responsibility as their leader.

Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Xiao transports the group into a floating city using Shadow Leap, entering through the city’s massive shadow.
• The group discusses why the Civilized Era built cities in the sky. An Xiaotong suggests the elevated cities were meant to avoid the dangerous Heart Abyss aura rising from the ground.
• They encounter a beautiful woman with silver robes and stars in her eyes. Yi Jingran explains that Civilized Era citizens could genetically customize their appearances, though such modifications were expensive and primarily available to the wealthy.
• Bai Ye identifies the woman as someone connected to their mission and orders Li Xiao to capture her.
• Li Xiao successfully pulls the woman into the Shadow Dimension, but she shows no fear and ignores his questioning before mysteriously disappearing.
• Bai Ye realizes that she is trapped in an individual Cycle, repeatedly walking through the alley and vanishing at the same point.
• The woman eventually appears outside the Shadow Dimension and seems able to perceive the group despite the shadows concealing them.
• After being pulled inside again, she recognizes Bai Ye as “Lord Black King” and excitedly claims to have waited ten years for his return.
• Bai Ye denies knowing her, but she insists that he has forgotten their shared past, ending the chapter on a revelation and mystery.

Character Developments

• Li Xiao demonstrates confidence in his shadow abilities but becomes frustrated when the woman escapes his control. His inability to understand the Cycle briefly undermines his usual arrogance.
• Bai Ye acts as the group’s strategist. He quickly identifies the woman’s importance, notices the pattern in her disappearance, and correctly predicts that she will return.
• An Xiaotong remains observant and protective, especially when the woman touches Bai Ye and claims a personal connection to him. Her reaction suggests jealousy, suspicion, or both.
• Yi Jingran provides historical and technological knowledge about Civilized Era genetic customization and social inequality.
• Ghost Clown supplies comic relief through his blunt observations and his disbelief at the woman’s strange behavior.
• The star-eyed woman is initially passive and seemingly emotionless, but later becomes excited and familiar with Bai Ye, suggesting she possesses memories or knowledge from the distant past.

Significant Themes

• Class inequality and manufactured superiority: Physical beauty and genetic customization function as luxury markers separating the upper and lower classes.
• The unreliability of appearances: The woman’s flawless appearance initially makes her seem artificial or privileged, but her strange behavior reveals that appearances conceal deeper mysteries.
• Cycles and imprisonment: The woman’s repeated movement through the alley suggests a supernatural or technological form of time-loop confinement, raising questions about who created it and why.
• Memory and identity: The woman recognizes Bai Ye as the Black King, while he has no memory of her. Their conflicting recollections introduce the possibility of lost memories, reincarnation, or altered history.
• The past returning: The chapter’s title and ending emphasize that unresolved events from the Black King’s former life are beginning to resurface.

Character Interactions

• Bai Ye and An Xiaotong exchange teasing remarks about the woman’s beauty, with Bai Ye quickly backing down when he notices An Xiaotong’s displeasure.
• Li Xiao threatens and interrogates the woman, but she disregards him entirely, creating a humorous contrast between his intimidation and her indifference.
• The group works collectively to interpret the woman’s disappearance, with Bai Ye and An Xiaotong identifying the Cycle’s nature.
• The woman’s sudden familiarity with Bai Ye changes the group dynamic. She grabs his hand, calls him “Lord Black King,” and claims an intimate shared history, provoking An Xiaotong’s immediate suspicion and leaving Bai Ye confused.

Chapter Summary: “Painter, You Actually Dared to Come Back?!”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Painter, one of North Mang’s Ten Kings, reveals himself after disguising himself as a starry-eyed woman through Fate Substitution.
• He expects Bai Ye and the others to be angry because he previously joined Ten Hands, but Bai Ye’s hostility comes from the opposite reason: Painter’s defection had actually benefited them, while his return is deeply unwelcome.
• Bai Ye rejects Painter’s explanations and tells him to leave, treating him like a source of bad luck. The group abandons him, while nearby people mock him for being cursed and supposedly changing his gender.
• Painter repeatedly changes bodies and attempts to regain Bai Ye’s trust by emphasizing their past as comrades and claiming that he secretly helped Bai Ye against Ten Hands.
• Bai Ye remains completely uninterested until Painter, disguised as a male passerby, claims to know the location of the Chief Judge. Bai Ye immediately accepts him and pretends they are warmly reuniting as old friends.
• While traveling through Shelter 189, Bai Ye and the others witness a man trapped in a horrifying two-second loop: he repeatedly detonates a bomb, dies, and is restored to the moment before the explosion.
• A purple-eyed girl explains that much of Shelter 189 has fallen into “Cycles,” with victims endlessly repeating portions of their lives. Some suffer loops every few seconds, while the luckier ones repeat only every several days.

Character Developments

• Bai Ye: Displays intense resentment and impatience toward Painter, revealing that he values Painter only for useful information. His sudden affection after learning about the Chief Judge shows his pragmatic and opportunistic nature.
• Painter: Is portrayed as scheming, desperate, and emotionally volatile. He planned to exploit his former friendship with Bai Ye, but his strategy fails because Bai Ye’s feelings are completely different from what he expected. His repeated disguises demonstrate both his abilities and his determination to regain access to the group.
• An Xiaotong and the others: Follow Bai Ye’s lead in rejecting Painter and appear to share the belief that Painter brings trouble.
• The purple-eyed girl: Claims to be another familiar figure in disguise and says she has come to help Bai Ye, but he refuses to listen. Her explanation introduces the larger crisis affecting Shelter 189.
• The trapped man: Represents the victims of the Cycles, retaining awareness of his suffering while being forced to repeat the same actions against his will.

Significant Themes

• Betrayal and mistrust: Painter’s past association with Ten Hands has destroyed the group’s willingness to trust him, even though he insists he remained loyal.
• Usefulness over loyalty: Bai Ye ignores emotional appeals but immediately welcomes Painter when he offers valuable information about the Chief Judge.
• Manipulation and identity: Disguises, body substitution, and hidden motives dominate the interactions, making appearances unreliable.
• Cosmic horror and loss of agency: The Cycles reduce people’s lives to endlessly repeated fragments, suggesting a world where free will and reality itself can be controlled.
• Dark comedy: Painter’s tragic attempts at reconciliation are undercut by Bai Ye’s contempt, the group’s insults, and Painter’s exaggerated frustration.

Character Interactions

• Painter attempts a heartfelt reunion with Bai Ye, but Bai Ye angrily rejects him and tries to escape.
• Painter argues that he secretly aided Bai Ye and reminds him of their wartime bond, while Bai Ye dismisses every emotional appeal.
• The surrounding characters mock Painter, reinforcing his reputation as a cursed and unwanted figure.
• The purple-eyed girl also tries to explain her supposed loyalty, but Bai Ye refuses to engage with her.
• Once Painter mentions the Chief Judge, Bai Ye instantly changes his attitude, embraces him as a “reunited old friend,” and reveals that practical information matters more to him than past grievances.

Chapter Summary: “God Hates Apologies After the Fact!”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Bai Ye encounters Painter and immediately asks about the Chief Judge’s whereabouts. Painter directs him toward the research institute in the east.
• When Bai Ye tries to leave, Painter stops him and claims he risked his life to help. He says he wants to return ten years into the past, supposedly to revive his “good brother,” Gu Huangquan.
• Bai Ye remains skeptical, pointing out Painter’s history of betrayal and his previous claim that Zhou Zhenjiang was his best brother.
• Bai Ye sees through Painter’s story, correctly identifying that Painter primarily wants to return to the past to escape Fate’s control. Painter admits this while maintaining that reviving Gu Huangquan is also a genuine motive.
• Painter explains that he once sacrificed himself to Fate while fighting the Chief Judge. Although the Chief Judge was repelled, Painter lost much of his freedom and can act independently only within the Heart Abyss, where Fate’s influence is weakened.
• Painter reveals that the Chief Judge regrets creating the current catastrophe. He is being consumed by the Abyss Eye and has sealed himself within the Heart Abyss to prevent his remaining humanity from disappearing and transforming him into an Abyssal God.
• If the Chief Judge becomes a true Abyssal God, the Abyss will consume the entire world in an event described as “All Beings Return to the Abyss.”
• Painter suspects the Chief Judge deliberately sealed himself away while waiting for Bai Ye’s return ten years later, believing Bai Ye could reverse the disaster.
• The greater threat comes from the people of Shelter 189, remnants of the Old Era who abandoned their bodies and moved their souls into the Heart Abyss to pursue immortality. They have been experimenting on the Abyss Eye, the Chief Judge, and other souls trapped within the Heart Abyss.
• Painter condemns these Civilized Era elites for viewing Cataclysm Era humans as inferior, primitive beings.
• Bai Ye asks about the Cycle, suspecting it may be connected to his 002. Painter clarifies that the Cycle was created through Doctor Yan Mingyuan’s research, not by Shelter 189’s elites.

Character Developments

• Bai Ye remains distrustful, sarcastic, and unforgiving. He easily recognizes Painter’s manipulation and refuses to accept the Chief Judge’s late remorse, believing apologies cannot compensate for the deaths and devastation he caused.
• Painter demonstrates his talent for deception and acting, shifting between victimhood, sincerity, and embarrassment to manipulate Bai Ye. Beneath his false excuses, he genuinely wants freedom from Fate and may also care about reviving Gu Huangquan.
• The Chief Judge is revealed to possess some remaining humanity and regret, but his remorse comes only after causing catastrophic damage. His attempt to seal himself away shows a desire to prevent even greater destruction, though he may also be relying on Bai Ye to solve the consequences of his actions.
• An Xiaotong shows emotional growth. Although she still feels hatred and pain over the Chief Judge’s actions, she quickly regains her resolve instead of being overwhelmed by those emotions.
• Li Xiao remains bitter and angry because of the deaths of Tall Fatty and others.
• Doctor Yan Mingyuan is introduced as the researcher responsible for the Cycle. Painter’s contempt for him reflects jealousy and resentment toward Doctor’s intelligence and specialized abilities.

Significant Themes

• Late repentance cannot undo harm: Bai Ye’s reaction emphasizes the chapter’s central idea that regret after massive loss does not erase responsibility.
• Manipulation and mistrust: Painter presents multiple competing motives, while Bai Ye constantly tests and exposes his dishonesty.
• Freedom versus control: Painter’s story highlights the cost of sacrificing oneself to Fate and his desire to regain autonomy.
• The abuse of knowledge and civilization: Shelter 189’s elites pursue immortality and control through experimentation, treating other humans as lesser beings.
• Humanity amid corruption: The Chief Judge’s remaining humanity contrasts with the Abyss’s threat to transform him into a godlike entity devoid of human feeling.
• Burden of the past: Several characters seek to return to or alter ten years earlier, suggesting that the past remains the key to preventing the world’s destruction.

Important Character Interactions

• Bai Ye and Painter: Their conversation is dominated by suspicion, sarcasm, and psychological maneuvering. Painter attempts to gain Bai Ye’s trust, but Bai Ye repeatedly mocks and exposes him.
• Bai Ye and the Chief Judge: Though the Chief Judge is absent, Bai Ye’s reaction to his regret reveals deep anger and resentment. Bai Ye refuses to accept responsibility for cleaning up the Chief Judge’s mistakes.
• Painter and Gu Huangquan: Painter claims that Gu was his true best brother and that reviving him is one reason he wants to alter the past, though Bai Ye doubts the sincerity of this explanation.
• Painter and Doctor: Painter openly dislikes Doctor, partly because Doctor’s intelligence makes him feel inferior. He dismisses Doctor’s talent as mere luck.
• The group and the Chief Judge: Li Xiao and An Xiaotong respond emotionally to the Chief Judge’s regret, but in different ways—Li Xiao with anger and An Xiaotong with conflicted pain that ultimately becomes determination.

Summary of “The Painter’s Lie”

Key plot points and events

• The Painter explains Doctor’s alliance with the Civilized Era elites of Shelter 189. Doctor was initially an outsider, but after the Chief Judge seized control of the Abyss Eye and fell into the Heart Abyss, the shelter faced devastating corruption. Doctor saved them by presenting advanced theories and using their technology to create the Cycle.
• The Cycle repeatedly resets people’s physical and mental states to slow or reverse the Heart Abyss’s corruption. However, it consumes energy and cannot fully restore everyone. It also erases memories and negative emotions, gradually driving many people insane.
• The “two-second” man was not truly able to die because complete corruption made him part of the Heart Abyss. The Cycle repeatedly reset him to prevent him from becoming Fallen, though he ultimately chose suicide when the burden became unbearable.
• Bai Ye realizes the situation is far worse than expected: Doctor is actually an enemy, while the Painter—whom Bai Ye had considered an enemy—is apparently acting as an ally.
• The group discusses the hypocrisy and inequality of the supposedly civilized era. Li Xiao observes that it remains fundamentally similar to the Cataclysm Era, with severe class divisions and suffering.
• The Painter urges Bai Ye and the others to act quickly before Shelter 189’s ruling figures discover them. He appears eager to return to ten years earlier and reunite with his “good brother.”
• An Xiaotong confronts the Painter about the mysterious instructions and events from earlier, accusing him of using his Fated Hit ability. The Painter pretends to be nervous and harmless while privately pleased that she has openly voiced her suspicions.

Character developments

• Bai Ye: His confidence collapses as he learns that Doctor is aligned against him and that the Painter is supposedly on his side. He remains skeptical but listens carefully to the Painter’s explanation.
• The Painter: Presents himself as an informative, loyal ally, but his internal thoughts reveal that he is manipulating the group. His exaggerated friendliness—especially calling An Xiaotong “sister-in-law”—adds to his shameless and deceptive persona.
• Doctor: Is revealed to be a brilliant but controversial figure who combines transcendent power with science. Despite being viewed as a heretic by the Painter, he has become indispensable to Shelter 189.
• An Xiaotong: Shows strong suspicion and readiness to attack the Painter if his explanation is unsatisfactory. Her vigilance contrasts with the others’ willingness to hear him out.
• Li Xiao: Demonstrates compassion for ordinary people and criticizes the social inequality of both eras, while also providing comic relief through his misunderstanding of the Painter’s remark about aging.
• Ghost Clown: Lightens the grim discussion with a crude joke about the terrible taste of Cockroach Protein Bars.

Significant themes

• Appearance versus reality: The Painter claims to be an ally, but his private thoughts confirm that he is deliberately manipulating perceptions.
• The limits of technological salvation: The Cycle can delay or manage corruption, but it does so imperfectly and at great psychological cost.
• Civilization and inequality: The Civilized Era is shown to be no more morally equal than the Cataclysm Era; advanced technology has not eliminated class divisions or suffering.
• Identity and corruption: The Cycle’s repeated removal of memories and emotions raises questions about whether a person remains themselves after being continually “reset.”
• Power versus the individual: The chapter emphasizes that abilities such as the World Function are only as effective as the person wielding them. Doctor’s mastery, rather than the ability itself, makes him exceptional.

Character interactions

• Bai Ye and the Painter discuss Doctor’s alliance, with Bai Ye reacting increasingly grimly as the Painter reveals the truth.
• The Painter explains the Cycle to Bai Ye and Li Xiao, while Li Xiao challenges the logic behind its limited two-second resets.
• Li Xiao and Ghost Clown engage in comic banter about starvation and the taste of Cockroach Protein Bars.
• An Xiaotong directly challenges the Painter, accusing him of causing earlier events with Fated Hit. The Painter responds with feigned panic and overly familiar humor, attempting to disarm her suspicions while concealing his true intentions.

Chapter Summary

• Painter claims he has secretly helped the group by writing the directions and warnings that led them toward Li You and the Heart Abyss. An Xiaotong remains suspicious, pointing out that the guidance also led them to Apocalypse and trapped them in the Cycle.
• Painter explains that Doctor altered his original guidance. He had intended to lead them to Shelter 189, but Doctor interfered with his Fated Hit. The group finds this plausible because Doctor previously demonstrated the ability to override rules with Word Becomes Law and has spent roughly a century studying within the Heart Abyss.
• Bai Ye realizes that Doctor may have deliberately entered Abyss Eye to investigate the Heart Abyss, gaining immense knowledge and avoiding the limitations of abilities such as Huangquan Guide. He regrets reviving Doctor ten years earlier, recognizing that his past actions created the current threat.
• An Xiaotong challenges Painter over the contradictory warnings: the messages said to beware of oneself and Painter, while also revealing that this was not the group’s first visit to the Heart Abyss. Painter claims he wrote the warnings during the sixth Cycle, after discovering that Doctor had manipulated his guidance. Because direct statements could alter Fate Lines, he used indirect wording and warned them about “Painter” as a way of warning them about Doctor’s tampering.
• Painter further explains that he can appear in the enemy’s base because it lies close to Abyss Eye, where Fate Lines are chaotic and advanced technology is weakened. He insists that the dangerous location is therefore also the safest place for him to act.
• Bai Ye then asks about the warning concerning Li You. Painter is momentarily startled, apparently unaware that Bai Ye knew of the message, but cleverly uses the question to inspect Li You. He attempts to move Li You’s hair with wind to search for the writing, but Bai Ye blocks him.
• Painter explains “beware of Li You” as a warning that Doctor may have secretly experimented on or tampered with Li You because of Li You’s contact with Abyssal Authority. His explanation is convincing enough that An Xiaotong lowers her sword and the group’s suspicions ease.
• Despite Painter’s successful defense, Bai Ye tells him to leave. Painter protests that this contradicts Bai Ye’s claim that he trusts him. Bai Ye calmly replies that trust and wanting Painter gone are not mutually exclusive, ending the chapter on a comedic exchange.

Character Developments and Interactions

• Painter presents himself as an aggrieved ally, but his internal thoughts reveal that he is manipulating the situation and enjoying the ambiguity of Fate. He remains clever, evasive, and self-serving while maintaining a harmless, emotional exterior.
• An Xiaotong acts as the group’s primary skeptic, directly confronting Painter and testing his explanation for inconsistencies. Her vigilance gradually softens when his account becomes plausible.
• Bai Ye remains distrustful and sharp-minded. He recognizes Doctor’s long-term threat, questions Painter about Li You, and prevents Painter from inspecting Li You too closely. His dry dismissal of Painter highlights their antagonistic but familiar relationship.
• Doctor becomes an increasingly important off-screen threat. His ability to alter Fate, manipulate guidance, and study the Heart Abyss for a century suggests that he has surpassed the group’s understanding.
• Li Xiao and Ghost Clown quietly support An Xiaotong by moving into position to surround Painter, reinforcing the group’s readiness to attack.

Major Themes

• Trust and suspicion: Painter may be telling the truth, but his deceptive personality makes even accurate explanations difficult to accept.
• Fate and free will: Written words can influence Fate Lines, forcing characters to communicate through ambiguous warnings and indirect meanings.
• The dangers of knowledge and experimentation: Doctor’s century of study and possible tampering with Li You show how knowledge of the Heart Abyss can become a weapon.
• Manipulation through language: The chapter emphasizes that words carry knowledge and can alter reality, making communication both powerful and dangerous.
• Comedic mistrust amid serious danger: Even after Painter apparently proves his innocence, Bai Ye still wants him gone, showing that practical distrust and personal familiarity can coexist.

Chapter Summary: I Swear in the Name of the Black King

Key Plot Points and Events

• Painter desperately tries to convince Bai Ye not to abandon him, theatrically claiming he may need to “rip out his heart” to prove his sincerity. Bai Ye responds by physically shoving him away.
• Painter is rescued and helped up by a black-and-gold-coated figure, then offers valuable intelligence in exchange for remaining with the group.
• Bai Ye swears in the Black King’s name that he will not abandon Painter as long as the information is truthful and useful.
• Painter explains the Heart Abyss’s two types of Cycles:
  • Grand Cycles reset the entire Heart Abyss, broadly lowering its pollution and allowing life to continue.
  • Minor Cycles target and reset only the polluted parts of an individual’s soul.
• The group realizes that they and the shelter’s inhabitants have undergone eight Cycles, meaning the shelter residents’ memories were also repeatedly reset.
• Painter reveals that Doctor A served as the Heart Abyss’s external observer. His death caused the Cycle to activate, since the shelter had safeguards that triggered a Cycle whenever Doctor A’s consciousness disappeared.
• Doctor was able to preserve research information for himself across Grand Cycles, despite the memory resets.
• Painter explains that the Chief Judge infected Doctor when Doctor first entered the Heart Abyss ten years earlier. Doctor has therefore spent most of his time weakened, sleeping, or resisting the Abyss’s erosion rather than conducting research.
• Bai Ye recognizes this as encouraging news, since Doctor’s effective research time has been drastically limited.
• The chapter ends with Bai Ye asking why a Grand Cycle lasts only three hours.

Character Developments

• Bai Ye continues to act distrustful and domineering toward Painter, but pragmatically keeps him around once Painter proves useful. His oath is both a manipulation and a genuine acknowledgment of Painter’s value.
• Painter reveals himself as a cowardly but highly informed survivor. He uses flattery—especially toward An Xiaotong—to secure his place in the group, though his resentment remains beneath the surface.
• An Xiaotong is portrayed as sharper and more assertive than she was ten years earlier. She openly challenges Painter and immediately identifies the important implications of memory resets.
• Doctor is revealed to be less overwhelmingly capable than previously assumed. His research was severely hindered by infection, hibernation, repeated memory loss, and the hostile environment.
• The Chief Judge emerges as a calculating and cautious figure who recognized Doctor as a threat and neutralized him before sealing himself away.

Significant Themes

• Trust and manipulation: Bai Ye’s oath appears reassuring but is also a calculated way to extract information from Painter.
• Memory and identity: The Cycles repeatedly erase memories, raising questions about whether people can truly preserve knowledge, continuity, or selfhood.
• Survival through compromise: The Grand Cycle is destructive and crude, but necessary to prevent total extinction; survival comes at the cost of memory and stability.
• Knowledge versus control: Doctor’s attempts to preserve research contrast with the Chief Judge’s efforts to restrain and infect him.
• Cowardice as a survival skill: Painter’s ability to hide and avoid direct conflict has allowed him to survive despite being widely disliked.

Character Interactions

• Bai Ye humiliates and dismisses Painter, while Painter responds with exaggerated desperation and flattery.
• Painter deliberately praises An Xiaotong as “intelligent” to gain her support, but she coldly rejects his ingratiating behavior.
• Bai Ye and An Xiaotong work together to interrogate Painter’s information and uncover the implications of the Cycles.
• Painter presents the Chief Judge’s suppression of Doctor as evidence that Doctor can be defeated, giving Bai Ye and the group a rare reason for optimism.

The Painter’s Curse Begins — Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• The Painter explains that the Grand Cycle does not allow Bai Ye to travel arbitrarily through time. Because Bai Ye was absent three hours earlier, he can only reappear at a fixed point when the cycle repeats, in accordance with the Spacetime Laws.
• After extracting all useful information from the Painter, Bai Ye pretends to abandon him despite previously promising not to. He then returns when the Painter angrily curses him.
• The Painter begs for another chance and claims that he genuinely wants to help Bai Ye. Taking advantage of the performance, Bai Ye steals the Painter’s black Skull Card, [Fated Hit], using his Transcendence ability.
• With the card obtained, Bai Ye immediately uses God’s Descent to leave. The Painter’s avatar collapses because losing the card prevents him from sustaining his Transcendence.
• The Painter secretly rages against Bai Ye but is too frightened to curse him loudly. Meanwhile, Bai Ye’s group is discovered outside the central research institute.
• Alarm systems activate, and silver-white armored troops emerge from the institute. Bai Ye realizes that the Painter’s curse of bringing disaster to his teammates has taken effect: their long-undetected infiltration is exposed immediately after meeting him.
• Bai Ye identifies the institute as the restored version of the central research institute from Black Mountain, the place where he was once pursued by the Tyrant and White Ze and where he obtained Big Eyeball.
• With no opportunity for negotiation, Bai Ye orders the group to fight. The institute’s forces attack with advanced, tracking white-lightning ammunition.
• Bai Ye uses God’s Descent to teleport into the enemy formation, causing the tracking bullets to strike their own soldiers. An Xiaotong, Li Xiao, and the others exploit their unrestricted Transcendence abilities to overwhelm the armored troops.
• From a nearby skyscraper, the Painter watches while painting and admits that he deliberately caused the situation, believing he can harm the Civilized Era’s forces even if he cannot defeat Bai Ye.
• Just as Bai Ye’s side appears to be winning, the destroyed mech fragments assemble into a massive silver train. A heavily armored man emerges atop it, triggering Li Xiao’s traumatic recognition: the figure is Tyrant Yang Jie.

Character Developments

• Bai Ye remains manipulative, irreverent, and opportunistic. He exploits the Painter’s desperation to steal [Fated Hit], showing that he values practical gains over keeping promises.
• The Painter proves both treacherous and cowardly. He genuinely resents Bai Ye, yet immediately hides his anger and begs for mercy when Bai Ye returns. After losing his ability, he redirects his frustration toward the Civilized Era and takes satisfaction in causing Bai Ye’s group trouble.
• An Xiaotong demonstrates powerful combat ability, cutting through the armored soldiers with a sweeping golden sword attack.
• Li Xiao and the others fight aggressively once Bai Ye gives the order. Li Xiao’s reaction to Yang Jie’s appearance reveals that he carries memories or trauma from their earlier confrontation.
• Yang Jie/Tyrant is reintroduced as a major threat, appearing in a dramatic and intimidating form after the battle seems nearly decided.

Significant Themes

• Betrayal and manipulation: Bai Ye and the Painter constantly deceive and exploit one another, creating a relationship built on mistrust rather than loyalty.
• The consequences of curses and powers: The Painter’s disaster-bringing curse affects even divine beings, turning a successful infiltration into an immediate battle.
• Power versus technology: Although the institute possesses highly advanced weapons, Transcendence abilities allow Bai Ye’s group to dominate the battlefield.
• Recurring time and history: The Grand Cycle and the restored research institute emphasize repetition, with past locations and enemies returning in altered forms.
• Humor amid danger: Bai Ye’s shameless wordplay and the Painter’s exaggerated groveling contrast with the escalating threat, maintaining a comic tone even during violence.
• The return of past enemies: Yang Jie’s arrival suggests that old conflicts are resurfacing and that the battle may be connected to Bai Ye and Li Xiao’s earlier experiences on Black Mountain.

Character Interactions

• Bai Ye interrogates and then deceives the Painter, pretending to release him before returning to exploit his false plea for help.
• The Painter performs remorse and loyalty for Bai Ye while secretly hating him, creating a sharply antagonistic but comic exchange.
• Bai Ye leads An Xiaotong, Li Xiao, and the others into battle after their exposure, and they respond immediately to his command.
• The Painter observes the battle from afar, effectively working against Bai Ye while claiming to want to help him.
• Li Xiao’s recognition of Tyrant Yang Jie shifts the group’s situation from a routine assault to a confrontation with a powerful figure from their past.

Chapter Summary: “Li Xiao: Farewell to His Cowardly Past Self”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The battle takes place at Shelter 189 on Black Mountain, bringing together the major figures connected to the legendary battle ten years earlier: Li Xiao, Bai Ye, An Xiaotong, and Tyrant Yang Jie.
• Li Xiao asks Bai Ye to let him face the Tyrant alone, declaring that he is ready to say goodbye to his “cowardly past self.” Their confrontation represents his long-delayed attempt to overcome the trauma and humiliation of their first battle.
• Li Xiao summons a massive shadow dragon and confronts the Tyrant, recalling their unfinished battle at Black Mountain.
• The Tyrant, now apparently unable—or unwilling—to recognize Li Xiao, dismisses him as insignificant. Angered, Li Xiao attacks, and the two immediately unfold their domains:
  • Li Xiao uses “Heaven of All Worlds’ Reflections and All Beings.”
  • The Tyrant uses “Myriad Smelting Goldflow.”
• Li Xiao activates the true understanding of his domain, “Divine Reflection of the World,” initially overpowering the Tyrant.
• The Tyrant responds with his own true understanding, “Heavenly Forging.” His domain draws metal from the earth and nearby structures, transforming his body and armor into a radiant golden form while manifesting an enormous heavenly furnace.
• The clash between the two powerful domains shakes the entire Shelter and attracts the attention of the others fighting nearby.
• An Xiaotong realizes that the Tyrant’s failure to recognize Li Xiao is abnormal. She concludes that he has likely become a puppet controlled by the Shelter or the Doctor.
• This raises the horrifying possibility that the other Ten Kings may also have been captured and turned into puppets.
• Four more powerful figures emerge from the research facility: Farmer, the Peerless General, Collector, and Gu Huangquan, the Mortician. Their eyes glow crimson, and they attack Bai Ye and the others, confirming that they too may be under outside control.

Character Developments

• Li Xiao demonstrates tremendous growth since Black Mountain. Once arrogant and shaken by his defeat, he has become a confident and formidable fighter who can now wield a fully developed domain and its true understanding.
• His battle with the Tyrant is deeply personal: he is not merely seeking victory, but attempting to overcome the fear and weakness represented by his younger self.
• Tyrant Yang Jie is revealed to have grown dramatically during his ten years in the Heart Abyss. He has mastered his domain’s true understanding and remains an exceptionally talented and dangerous figure.
• However, his lack of recognition toward Li Xiao suggests that his identity or consciousness has been suppressed, making him a weapon rather than an independent person.
• Bai Ye acts as a quiet supporter of Li Xiao, understanding the psychological importance of the confrontation and trusting him to handle it.
• An Xiaotong shows sharp insight by quickly identifying the Tyrant’s unnatural behavior and recognizing the larger threat posed by the Shelter or Doctor.
• Ghost Clown realizes the potential scale of the disaster: if the Tyrant has been converted into a puppet, the same may have happened to other legendary figures.
• Gu Huangquan, once connected to the Tyrant’s revival, now appears among the hostile, controlled figures attacking Bai Ye’s group.

Significant Themes

• Confronting the past: Li Xiao’s duel symbolizes his attempt to defeat not only the Tyrant but also the fear and inferiority he has carried since childhood.
• Growth and transformation: Both Li Xiao and the Tyrant have changed greatly over ten years, showing that past battles are not fixed in meaning and that former weaknesses can become sources of strength.
• Loss of identity and free will: The Tyrant’s inability to recognize Li Xiao and the crimson glow in the newcomers’ eyes suggest that powerful individuals have been stripped of their autonomy.
• The transition between eras: Tyrant Yang Jie is described as both the final guardian of the Old Era and the forerunner of the Age of Gods, making his apparent enslavement especially symbolic of the old world being repurposed by new forces.
• Hidden escalation of the conflict: What begins as a personal rematch expands into a larger revelation about the Doctor, the Shelter, and the possible capture of multiple legendary beings.

Character Interactions

• Li Xiao and Bai Ye: Bai Ye grants Li Xiao the chance to face the Tyrant, recognizing the emotional importance of the duel.
• Li Xiao and the Tyrant: Their exchange contrasts Li Xiao’s vivid memories and personal resentment with the Tyrant’s cold indifference and apparent loss of memory.
• An Xiaotong and Ghost Clown: Xiaotong explains the Tyrant’s unnatural behavior, while Ghost Clown connects it to the frightening possibility that other Ten Kings have also become puppets.
• Bai Ye and the controlled figures: Bai Ye’s group is immediately targeted by Farmer, the Peerless General, Collector, and Gu Huangquan, turning the confrontation into a broader battle against corrupted former allies and acquaintances.

Chapter Summary: “The Arrogance and Hypocrisy of Civilized People”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Inside Shelter 189’s research institute, the Civilized Era’s leaders observe Bai Ye and his companions battling five of the Ten Kings outside.
• The institute’s officials dismiss the attackers as “barbarians” from the Cataclysm Era, believing their superior technology and the Heart Abyss’s restrictions make them harmless.
• The director authorizes the release of restrictions on the institute’s test subjects, allowing them to undergo Abyssification, and sends Ziyuan to handle the battle while ordering her to keep the intruders alive as potential test subjects.
• The leadership’s true concern is the unstable Abyss Eye vessel, which can only be contained through Doctor Yan Mingyuan’s Cycle Device. However, Yan is asleep again, leaving the researchers increasingly panicked.
• Wang Quan argues that Yan should be killed and his Transcendence ability extracted, claiming Yan is untrustworthy and inferior to Civilized Era scientists. He also blames Cataclysm Era figures, especially Fang Xubai, for the Abyss Eye crisis.
• The director defends Yan, reminding Wang Quan that Yan saved Shelter 189 and helped him with research in the past. He declares Yan a scientific genius who could have joined the Ark Council had he been born in the Civilized Era.
• The director has Wang Quan removed for worsening Heart Abyss Contamination after Wang Quan openly challenges the director’s own hypocrisy.
• Ziyuan suddenly returns in terror, announcing that the Abyssified test subjects have been defeated.
• The decisive revelation is that one of the supposed “barbarians” used Time Reversal, reverting the Abyssified subjects to their previous state. The institute’s leaders are shocked because control over time is considered a forbidden field even in the Civilized Era.
• The director immediately orders the battle to be displayed again, realizing the threat is far greater than expected.

Character Developments

• The Director: Initially calm, dismissive, and confident in Civilized Era superiority. His composure weakens as the Abyss Eye crisis and the unexpected defeat of the test subjects expose how vulnerable the institute is.
• Wang Quan: Revealed as arrogant, prejudiced, and politically aggressive. His contempt for Yan and Cataclysm Era people masks his own dependence on Yan’s expertise. His worsening contamination also suggests that his judgment and stability may be deteriorating.
• Yan Mingyuan: Although absent and asleep, he becomes central to the chapter. He is portrayed as both indispensable to the institute’s survival and resented by those who cannot accept that a Cataclysm Era scientist surpasses them.
• Ziyuan: Introduced as a composed and capable enforcer, but after confronting the intruders, she returns visibly frightened. Her reaction emphasizes the unprecedented nature of the enemies’ abilities.
• The attacking group: Initially underestimated as primitive outsiders, they demonstrate power capable of overturning the institute’s most advanced preparations.

Significant Themes

• Arrogance of “civilized” societies: The institute’s leaders equate technological advancement with absolute superiority and dismiss individual strength from a supposedly inferior age.
• Hypocrisy: The director criticizes Wang Quan’s arrogance while having also dismissed the attackers himself. Wang Quan exposes this contradiction, though his accusation does not make him less prejudiced.
• Prejudice against outsiders: Yan and the attackers are judged by their origins rather than their abilities, despite repeatedly proving their value and strength.
• Fear beneath authority: The officials’ controlled, emotionless demeanor collapses when the Abyss Eye and Time Reversal reveal threats beyond their understanding.
• Science, power, and exploitation: The institute treats people as test subjects, considers extracting Yan’s ability, and prioritizes research over individual lives.
• The danger of underestimating opponents: The institute’s confidence is shattered when the attackers display mastery of a forbidden domain that even the Civilized Era has not fully conquered.

Important Character Interactions

• The director and the other officials collectively belittle the attackers, establishing the institute’s shared arrogance.
• The director clashes with Wang Quan over Yan Mingyuan’s value and trustworthiness.
• Wang Quan’s claim that Yan merely benefited from the institute’s knowledge is contradicted by his prior reliance on Yan’s expertise.
• Wang Quan confronts the director’s hypocrisy, provoking the director to have him removed under the pretext of treatment.
• Ziyuan’s return dramatically changes the mood of the room: her report forces the officials to abandon their dismissive attitude and recognize the attackers as a serious existential threat.

Summary of “God-Taboo Object 009”

Key Plot Points and Events

• A holographic projection reveals Bai Ye standing on a devastated battlefield with Tyrant, the Black-Feather Cloak wielder, the bandaged mummy, and the crimson-coated figure behind him. The former test subjects now appear to be Bai Ye’s allies.
• The laboratory staff are shocked that their carefully raised subjects have rebelled and joined the invading side.
• A massive Golden Dial appears above the battlefield. Its imagery resembles the Ark Council’s Golden Hourglass, suggesting a connection to time-related powers or research.
• Wang Quan returns to the laboratory and explains that the Golden Dial is likely a manifestation of a time-based domain. He claims his father, an Ark Council member, had revealed that time could manifest through objects such as clocks, hourglasses, or sundials.
• The director speculates that Bai Ye may have encountered a God-Taboo Object connected to 002, possibly the laboratory’s own 009, the Sundial of Time. However, he dismisses the possibility that Bai Ye directly encountered 002.
• The laboratory activates its phase-separation isolation shields, preventing Bai Ye and his group from entering.
• The director orders the guards to activate their individual Cycles. The dead mech soldiers are restored through Time Reversal, with their shattered bodies reassembling and returning to combat.
• The laboratory’s leaders debate whether to negotiate with the invaders. Some suggest that the invaders may have come for a reason other than hostility.
• Wang Quan rejects negotiation, arguing that the invaders are barbarians seeking to seize the shelter rather than merely obtain Soul Meat. His comments expose the laboratory’s prejudice toward people from the Cataclysm Era.

Character Developments

• Bai Ye is presented as a powerful and mysterious leader capable of commanding former test subjects and possibly wielding a time-related domain.
• Tyrant and the other test subjects undergo a major shift in status, transforming from laboratory experiments into Bai Ye’s loyal companions and battlefield allies.
• The director becomes increasingly alarmed by Bai Ye’s abilities. He also experiences an unsettling sense of familiarity when looking at Bai Ye, though confused memories prevent him from identifying the reason.
• Wang Quan reinforces his confidence and elitism. He uses his connection to the Ark Council to establish authority, while also manipulating the discussion and belittling those who suggest compromise.
• The laboratory officials reveal their fear and uncertainty. Their belief in their superiority is shaken when the supposedly inferior test subjects prove capable of rebellion and coordinated resistance.

Significant Themes

• Time and cyclical existence: The Golden Dial, Time Reversal, individual Cycles, and references to 002 and 009 emphasize the story’s focus on time manipulation and recurring existence.
• Rebellion against exploitation: The test subjects’ defection represents resistance against a system that treats living beings as disposable experimental material.
• Prejudice and dehumanization: The laboratory views Cataclysm Era survivors as “barbarians” and test subjects rather than people, preventing meaningful communication.
• Memory and identity: The director’s unexplained familiarity with Bai Ye reflects the damage caused by the Heart Abyss and repeated Cycles, raising questions about forgotten identities and past connections.
• Fear of losing control: The laboratory’s defensive measures and refusal to negotiate show its desperation to preserve authority and its sheltered way of life.

Character Interactions

• The director consults Wang Quan about the Golden Dial because of Wang Quan’s connection to the Ark Council.
• Wang Quan gives deliberately vague information about his father before explaining the possible relationship between the dial and time domains.
• The director and the other officials discuss whether Bai Ye has encountered 002 or a related God-Taboo Object.
• The officials debate negotiation, but Wang Quan mocks the idea and argues that the invaders intend to conquer the shelter.
• Wang Quan’s dismissive response provokes another official, exposing tension within the laboratory as the crisis intensifies.

Chapter Summary: “Reopening the Divine Domain!”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Inside the Civilized Era’s shelter, Director Ziyuan and the others panic over the enemies’ use of Time Reversal. Wang Quan mocks their fear and leaves to confront the attackers, confident that he can neutralize their domains.
• Outside the research institute, Li Xiao and the Tyrant clash with their respective domains. Li Xiao activates Shadow Eye, transforming the world so that shadows become its dominant substance and weakening the Tyrant’s gilded domain.
• The Tyrant unexpectedly reveals a partial imitation of Abyss Eye, along with Demon Black Armor. Although inferior to the true God’s Nine Eyes, the power—combined with the Heart Abyss’s support—allows him to resist Li Xiao and gradually gain the advantage.
• The Mortician and the other Abyss Eye Ten Kings also use injected Abyss Eye power. Their bodies repeatedly recover from attacks, making them effectively immortal and turning the battle into a potential war of attrition.
• Bai Ye realizes that his side will eventually lose if the battle continues, since the Heart Abyss constantly replenishes the Ten Kings while draining their opponents. However, he refuses to let Li Xiao or An Xiaotong exhaust themselves before they reach the Chief Judge.
• Bai Ye reactivates his Divine Domain, now restored to its complete form after his Stage Two Time-Dimension Modification. Three enormous golden dials manifest:
  • Future Time locks the future.
  • Past Time seals the earth and history.
  • Present Time empowers Bai Ye and forms his divine robes.
• The completed domain, “Heaven Judges the Future! Earth Locks the Past! God Decides the Present!”, completely suppresses the domains of Li Xiao, the Tyrant, and the other Ten Kings.
• Bai Ye’s time power reverses the Tyrant’s Demon Black Armor and Abyss Eye enhancement, restoring the Ten Kings to their original states. Recognizing his overwhelming power, they all bow and greet him as Lord Black King.

Character Developments

• Wang Quan is shown to be confident, confrontational, and highly capable. He ridicules the shelter’s panic and intends to defeat the enemy by preventing him from using his domain.
• Li Xiao displays extreme pride in Shadow Eye and sees it as proof of his superiority. His confidence is shaken when the Tyrant reveals a similar, though artificial, form of Abyss Eye power.
• The Tyrant is established as far more formidable than expected. Despite possessing only an imitation of Abyss Eye, he draws endless strength from the Heart Abyss and withstands Li Xiao’s attacks.
• Bai Ye demonstrates strategic restraint and leadership. Rather than allowing his allies to risk serious injury, he personally escalates the battle by unveiling the complete Divine Domain.
• The Ten Kings shift from relentless attackers to humbled subordinates after Bai Ye strips away their enhanced powers.

Significant Themes

• True power versus imitation: Li Xiao possesses the genuine Shadow Eye, while the Tyrant uses an artificially implanted imitation of Abyss Eye. However, battlefield conditions and external support allow the imitation to remain competitive.
• Technology challenging divine power: The Civilized Era has used technology to reproduce abilities comparable to divine artifacts, turning the Chief Judge into a source of power for the Ten Kings.
• Attrition versus decisive force: Bai Ye recognizes that his enemies have nearly limitless reserves in the Heart Abyss, making prolonged combat dangerous. The chapter emphasizes the need for a single overwhelming intervention.
• Time and absolute control: Bai Ye’s complete Divine Domain represents mastery over past, present, and future, allowing him not merely to overpower his enemies but to reverse their empowered states.
• Authority and submission: The Ten Kings’ final salute marks Bai Ye’s rise from combatant to overwhelming sovereign within the Heart Abyss.

Character Interactions

• Wang Quan clashes verbally with the director and Ziyuan, dismissing their fear of Time Reversal before leaving to fight independently.
• Li Xiao arrogantly challenges the Tyrant with Shadow Eye, but the Tyrant’s Abyss-enhanced transformation prevents Li Xiao from securing victory.
• Bai Ye observes the larger battle and deliberately prevents Li Xiao and An Xiaotong from sacrificing themselves through overuse of their powers.
• When Bai Ye’s Divine Domain overwhelms everyone, the formerly hostile Ten Kings acknowledge his dominance and collectively greet him as Lord Black King.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Bai Ye uses localized Time Reversal within his Divine Domain to free Tyrant Yang Jie, Farmer, and the other Ten Kings from the Heart Abyss’s control.
• Once liberated, the group loses the Heart Abyss enhancement and becomes significantly weaker. Bai Ye also dismisses his Divine Domain and reabsorbs its energy as Mental Power.
• Yi Jingran transfers the memories of recent events to the recovered Ten Kings, revealing that they were infected by the Heart Abyss and exploited as experimental subjects by inhabitants of the Civilized Era.
• Outraged by their humiliation, Tyrant and the others voluntarily join Bai Ye’s side.
• The laboratory’s mech soldiers revive through another Cycle and launch a barrage of Soul Firearms. Tyrant effortlessly freezes and reverses the bullets, destroying the entire group of mechs with their own weapons.
• When the soldiers revive again, Tyrant recognizes that repeatedly killing them is pointless and instead tears a skyscraper from the ground, hurling it at the laboratory.
• A dark-blue defensive barrier annihilates the skyscraper before it can reach the laboratory.
• Li Xiao, eager to prove himself, transforms into a gigantic Shadow Giant and attacks the laboratory with his Shadow Emperor Fist.
• A red-haired man named Wang Quan appears at the entrance. Using the ring on his hand, he generates an energy fluctuation that causes Li Xiao’s shadow attack—and eventually his entire transformation—to disintegrate.
• Wang Quan mocks Li Xiao by asking, “Oh? Barbarians can speak human language?”

Character Developments

• Bai Ye remains calm and authoritative, choosing not to explain events personally and relying on Yi Jingran’s information transfer.
• Tyrant Yang Jie becomes a committed ally of Bai Ye after recovering from the Heart Abyss. He demonstrates extraordinary battlefield control and reveals that his metal manipulation extends to Soul Metal.
• Farmer and the other Ten Kings regain their autonomy but suffer a major loss of power. Their anger at being manipulated motivates them to join Bai Ye.
• Li Xiao is jealous of Tyrant’s sudden alliance and impressive performance. His pride drives him to attack the laboratory, but Wang Quan easily defeats him, humiliating him and exposing the gap between their powers.
• Yi Jingran provides crucial technical clarification about Soul Technology and explains why Tyrant can control Soul Bullets.
• Wang Quan is introduced as a powerful and arrogant representative of the Civilized Era, capable of dismantling Li Xiao’s shadow abilities with a single ring-based technique.

Significant Themes

• Freedom and humiliation: The Ten Kings’ rage stems from having their minds and bodies controlled and used as experiments.
• Power and hierarchy: Tyrant’s dominance over the mechs contrasts sharply with Li Xiao’s defeat, emphasizing the vast differences between seemingly powerful individuals.
• Technology versus supernatural ability: Soul Technology imitates physical laws, allowing Tyrant’s conceptual metal control to affect Soul Bullets.
• The futility of repetition: The recurring Cycles make ordinary combat ineffective, forcing the characters to target the laboratory and the system behind the resurrecting soldiers.
• Cultural arrogance and prejudice: Wang Quan’s insult reveals the Civilized Era’s contempt for Bai Ye’s group, whom he dismisses as “barbarians.”

Character Interactions

• Bai Ye quietly leads the recovered Ten Kings, while Yi Jingran acts as the group’s informational intermediary.
• Ghost Clown questions Tyrant’s ability to control Soul Bullets, prompting Yi Jingran’s explanation of Soul Technology.
• Li Xiao reacts enviously to Tyrant’s rise as an ally and attempts to outshine him.
• Tyrant responds to the recurring mech soldiers with escalating force, while Li Xiao insists on taking over the attack.
• Wang Quan directly confronts Li Xiao, effortlessly neutralizing his strongest technique and ending the chapter with a mocking challenge to the group’s status and intelligence.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Xiao mocks Wang Quan’s claim to “civilization,” repeatedly turning Wang Quan’s insults back on him. He argues that sealing Transcendence proves Wang Quan fears facing him directly.
• Wang Quan, already mentally unstable from the Heart Abyss, loses control and summons more than a hundred identical versions of himself.
• Yi Jingran identifies them as Soul Cloning bodies: Wang Quan has taken over more than a hundred souls, erased their original personalities, and implanted his own. Each clone is also an artificially created Transcendent.
• Wang Quan’s forces attack Li Xiao, Bai Ye’s group, and the other Transcendents inside the research institute. Their abilities are suppressed by the institute’s Transcendence-restriction technology, while the clones remain fully capable.
• The group is placed at a major disadvantage. A clone traps Farmer under one-hundredfold gravity and attacks him with a dark-blue fireball, but Peerless General intervenes with his spear and saves him.
• Li Xiao is singled out and attacked by curses while being pursued by numerous Wang Quan clones.
• Observers inside the institute praise Wang Quan’s technology, but the director reveals that Wang Quan plagiarized Doctor Yan’s research.
• Believing the battle is already decided, the institute’s officials begin discussing how to divide up the defeated group as experimental subjects. The director proposes taking them inside for Doctor Yan’s future research, though the others suspect he intends to claim them for himself.

Character Developments

• Li Xiao: Remains calm and provocative despite the danger, using psychological warfare to expose Wang Quan’s insecurity. His taunts successfully push Wang Quan into an emotional breakdown, though Li Xiao becomes heavily pressured once his Transcendence is sealed.
• Wang Quan: His arrogance and contempt for “barbarians” collapse into rage. His preexisting mental instability worsens, revealing fear and dependence on technological advantages. His willingness to enslave souls and create personality-controlled clones also exposes his cruelty.
• Bai Ye: Recognizes Li Xiao’s talent for provoking enemies and silently anticipates Wang Quan’s loss of control.
• Yi Jingran: Provides crucial information by identifying the clones and explaining the soul manipulation behind them.
• Farmer: Demonstrates vulnerability without Transcendence but survives through quick support from Peerless General.
• Peerless General: Acts decisively to protect Farmer, proving that the group can still cooperate effectively despite their powers being restricted.
• The Institute Director: Appears politically calculating and openly resentful of Wang Quan. He attempts to position himself to control the captured “experimental subjects.”
• Wang Quan’s clones: Function as extensions of Wang Quan’s personality rather than independent individuals, emphasizing the loss of identity caused by the Civilized Era’s technology.

Significant Themes

• Civilization versus barbarism: Li Xiao exposes the hypocrisy of a society that calls itself civilized while enslaving souls, erasing identities, and conducting human experimentation.
• Psychological strength and fear: Wang Quan’s aggression is shown to be a mask for fear. Li Xiao’s verbal attacks reveal that loud threats often reflect insecurity.
• Power and dependence: The battle demonstrates how quickly powerful Transcendents become vulnerable when their abilities are suppressed, while Wang Quan’s technological advantage allows him to dominate.
• Identity and dehumanization: The Soul Cloning process destroys individuality and turns people into disposable puppets, raising questions about whether technological advancement is truly progress.
• Political opportunism: Even while the battle continues, the institute’s leaders are already planning how to exploit the defeated group, showing that scientific institutions can be driven by greed and power.

Character Interactions

• Li Xiao and Wang Quan engage in a battle of insults, with Li Xiao calmly reflecting Wang Quan’s own words back at him until Wang Quan erupts.
• Bai Ye observes Li Xiao’s deliberate provocation and recognizes it as one of his most dangerous talents.
• Yi Jingran informs Bai Ye of the clones’ shared soul frequencies and artificial Transcendence.
• Farmer is rescued by Peerless General after being trapped by a clone’s gravity manipulation.
• The institute’s director and other officials discuss the group as research material, revealing their detached and exploitative attitude toward the battle’s victims.

Chapter Summary: “Gods Use Technology Too”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The research institute’s personnel begin arguing over how Doctor Yan’s test subjects should be divided among different specialists, assuming the battle is already won.
• Ziyuan suddenly notices that Wang Quan has been defeated. The group is shocked because Wang Quan had appeared overwhelmingly dominant only moments earlier.
• The director orders a replay of the battle to discover how Bai Ye turned the situation around so quickly.
• Bai Ye enters the battlefield after deciding that Tyrant and the others can no longer handle the enemy alone. He approaches Wang Quan while An Xiaotong and Li You protect him.
• Wang Quan believes Bai Ye is attempting a clumsy sneak attack and boasts that he has already seen through the plan.
• Wang Quan’s power depends on a silver ring containing or activating the Transcendence Restrictor. While he is distracted, Bai Ye uses his temporal abilities to take the ring without Wang Quan noticing.
• Once Bai Ye possesses the ring, he disables the Transcendent abilities of Wang Quan and his clones. Tyrant and the others regain their powers and begin destroying the clones.
• Bai Ye defeats Wang Quan with a single punch, then explains that the Transcendence Restrictor merely cuts off the soul’s transmission of Transcendent energy into the physical world.
• Wang Quan is horrified that Bai Ye, whom he considers a “barbarian,” understands and can use his technology better than he can.
• Bai Ye grabs Wang Quan by the hair and demands to know how he wants to die, leaving Wang Quan completely overpowered.

Character Developments

• Bai Ye demonstrates superior composure, intelligence, and tactical ability. Rather than directly overpowering Wang Quan, he identifies the weakness in the silver ring and turns Wang Quan’s own invention against him.
• Wang Quan shifts from arrogant confidence to disbelief and fear. His assumption that Bai Ye is unintelligent and technologically incapable is completely disproven.
• Ziyuan serves as the first person to recognize Wang Quan’s defeat, highlighting how abruptly the battle changes.
• An Xiaotong and Li You prove themselves as Bai Ye’s powerful protectors, shielding him while he advances and helping neutralize surrounding threats.
• The institute members are revealed to be highly intelligent in scientific fields but socially and strategically inept, partly because repeated Cycles and Heart Abyss Contamination have damaged their memories, personalities, and emotions.

Significant Themes

• Technology versus Transcendence: The chapter reverses the expected hierarchy. Wang Quan believes technology can suppress all Transcendents, but Bai Ye uses that same technology to defeat him.
• Arrogance and underestimation: Wang Quan loses because he assumes Bai Ye is primitive and predictable. His overconfidence prevents him from recognizing the theft of his ring.
• Intelligence is specialized: The institute’s researchers retain extraordinary scientific knowledge but lack common sense, emotional stability, and battlefield judgment.
• Adaptability and tactical thinking: Bai Ye wins not through brute force, but by understanding the mechanism behind his opponent’s advantage and exploiting it at the decisive moment.
• The inversion of power: The supposed “godlike” Transcendents become helpless once their abilities are restricted, while a seemingly ordinary physical attack is enough to defeat Wang Quan.

Character Interactions

• The institute staff argue over claiming Doctor Yan’s test subjects before the battle has ended, revealing their opportunism and detachment.
• Ziyuan interrupts the argument with the news of Wang Quan’s defeat, forcing everyone to confront the rapidly changing battlefield.
• Wang Quan taunts Bai Ye, claiming to have anticipated his strategy and insisting that the Transcendence Restrictor makes all Transcendents powerless.
• Bai Ye silently steals Wang Quan’s ring, then calmly uses Wang Quan’s own words against him: he defeats him with both the technology and the Transcendence Wang Quan was proud of.
• After Wang Quan collapses, Bai Ye confronts him directly and threatens to decide his fate, cementing the complete reversal of their positions.