Chapter Summaries

Mysteries Qin Sheng entrusted Qin Sheng with revenge, the care of his sister Sophia, and the goal of becoming the Hermit before becoming the twenty-third star and amplifying Qin Sheng’s power. Qin Sheng revived in the Mysteries World, killed his attacker, learned his identity and circumstances, and began considering how to use his unusual strengths beyond the Mystery Pryer Pathway.

• Mysteries Qin Sheng asked Qin Sheng to avenge his murder, protect his sister Sophia, and help him reach Sequence 0 as the Hermit.
• Mysteries Qin Sheng became the twenty-third star, raising Infinite Land’s amplification to twenty-three times.
• Qin Sheng revived in the Mysteries World with his wounds healed and defeated the burly man who had killed him.
• Qin Sheng learned that his identity was Noah, that Sophia studied at Hoy University alongside Klein, and that his attacker belonged to Vice Admiral Dusk’s crew.
• Qin Sheng examined his condition and considered whether he should follow a path other than the Mystery Pryer Pathway.

Qin Sheng chose to pursue the Mystery Pryer pathway, planned his sister Sophia’s move to Backlund, and followed Klein’s first steps into the Land of Gray Fog. After Qin Sheng used a strange mirror to enter the Gray Fog himself, he found himself among the people Klein had accidentally summoned.

• Qin Sheng decided to advance along the Mystery Pryer pathway and considered the Reader and Apprentice pathways as possible future options.
• Qin Sheng visited Sophia in Tingen and told her he planned to arrange her transfer to Backlund University for her safety.
• Qin Sheng recognized Klein after brushing past him, then visited Klein’s home with Sophia and quietly achieved his purpose before leaving.
• Klein performed a ritual and arrived in the Land of Gray Fog, where he accidentally activated three red stars.
• A crimson light from the mirror swallowed Qin Sheng and brought him to the Gray Fog, where he met Klein and the two other summoned figures.

Qin Sheng negotiated with Audrey at the Tarot Club, offering her a Sequence 9 formula in exchange for helping his sister enroll at Backlund University. Audrey chose the Audience Pathway, and the gathering ended with Klein naming himself The Fool.

• Klein summoned the Tarot Club members to Sefirah Castle, where Qin Sheng sat opposite him and explained how Audrey could become a Beyonder.
• Qin Sheng offered Audrey a Potion formula in exchange for helping his sister transfer from Hoy University to Backlund University.
• Qin Sheng described the Warrior, Prisoner, Sleepless, and Audience Pathways, and Audrey chose Audience.
• Audrey promised to settle the enrollment matter within seven days, and Qin Sheng gave her the Audience formula.
• Audrey asked Klein how to address him, and Klein called himself The Fool.

At the Tarot Club’s first gathering, Qin Sheng traded the Audience Potion formula and arranged deals with Alger to find the Mysterious Queen and collect Vice Admiral Dusk’s bounty. After explaining his plans to advance quickly, Qin Sheng left for sea to hunt Vice Admiral Dusk’s pirates.

• Qin Sheng gave Audrey the Audience Potion formula and explained its costs and risks while Klein secretly memorized it.
• Audrey proposed regular meetings, and Klein established the Tarot Club, setting a weekly time and the codenames Justice, The Hanged Man, and Emperor.
• Alger agreed to seek the Mysterious Queen’s whereabouts and collect Vice Admiral Dusk’s bounty in exchange for Ghost Shark blood and other payment.
• After returning to his body, Qin Sheng considered the Acting Method and decided he would seek a Sequence 5 Potion rather than advance one Sequence at a time.
• Qin Sheng visited Klein with Sophia, then returned to Enmat Harbor and set out to hunt Vice Admiral Dusk after capturing one of his pirates as a guide.

Qin Sheng attacked Vice Admiral Dusk’s ship, the Twilight, and killed the pirate admiral and most of his crew with overwhelming ease. He collected the crew’s Beyonder Characteristics and headed toward Enmat Harbor, while Audrey’s newly brewed Audience Potion was eaten by a dog.

• Qin Sheng reasoned that Vice Admiral Dusk was likely backed by the God of War Church, then sailed toward the Twilight with a captive steering the boat.
• Vice Admiral Dusk ordered his crew to fire on Qin Sheng, but Qin Sheng stunned him, boarded the Twilight, and challenged him to prove his strength.
• Vice Admiral Dusk unleashed Storm of Light and a sealed artifact’s wind blades, but Qin Sheng emerged unharmed and killed him and most of his crew with a breath.
• Qin Sheng extracted and stored the crew’s Beyonder Characteristics, including the Ghost Shark blood Alger needed, and took the Twilight toward Enmat Harbor.
• Qin Sheng planned to contact The Hanged Man’s informant and claim the pirates’ bounties, while deciding that taking Vice Admiral Dusk’s head to the God of War Church might invite trouble.
• Audrey gathered the ingredients for the Audience Potion and brewed it, but a dog ate the Potion.

Audrey lost the Potion she had prepared, while Alger helped Qin Sheng claim credit for killing Vice Admiral Dusk and locate Admiral of Stars. Qin Sheng met Cattleya aboard the Future and used a private clue tied to Roselle to summon the Mysterious Queen, who immediately went to see him.

• Audrey's golden retriever Susie licked up the Potion ingredients, leaving Audrey worried about what the Potion might do to her dog.
• Alger collected Vice Admiral Dusk, his crew, and proof of their identities, then resolved to handle the bounty for Qin Sheng discreetly.
• Newspapers reported Vice Admiral Dusk's death without explaining how it happened, while Klein and Audrey reacted to the news.
• Alger sent Qin Sheng a clue locating Admiral of Stars, and Qin Sheng sailed to the Future and introduced himself to Cattleya as Noah.
• Qin Sheng offered to help Cattleya contact the Mysterious Queen and persuaded her to summon the Queen's messenger with the words “Beibei” and Roselle.
• The Mysterious Queen received the message, recognized its significance, and vanished to go see Qin Sheng.

Qin Sheng met Bernadette, revealed his connection to Roselle’s homeland, and offered to trade knowledge and a path to advancement for Mystery Pryer characteristics. He told Bernadette that Roselle was still alive, but refused to reveal where he was, leaving her with more questions about her father and Qin Sheng.

• Admiral of Stars asked Qin Sheng what he wanted from the Mysterious Queen, and he requested higher-Sequence Mystery Pryer formulas or characteristics.
• Bernadette appeared aboard the ship, and Qin Sheng greeted her as Huang Beibei, prompting her to question how he knew her father’s language and nickname.
• Qin Sheng demonstrated overwhelming power against Bernadette, then offered her an opportunity to advance to Angel in exchange for Mystery Pryer characteristics.
• Qin Sheng warned Bernadette about a coming True Creator descent in Tingen City and advised her not to make prophecies about it.
• Bernadette questioned Qin Sheng about Roselle, and he told her that Roselle was still alive but that reaching him would mean suicide.

Qin Sheng explained Roselle’s death, corruption, and possible resurrection to Bernadette, then received the Astrologer materials she had promised him. He drank the Potion and advanced successfully, leaving Bernadette and the Admiral of Stars stunned as he asked when she could provide the next Beyonder Characteristics.

• Qin Sheng told Bernadette that Roselle had become the Black Emperor to escape contamination, but his resurrection risked destroying the world, and he described the conditions required for Roselle to return.
• Bernadette asked how Roselle’s Black Emperor resurrection could be threatened, and Qin Sheng explained that a new Black Emperor could permanently end Roselle’s chance while the resurrection ritual depended on nine mausoleums and the remaining order he had established.
• Bernadette agreed to seek clues to powerful Beyonder Characteristics and gave Qin Sheng the Pendant of Astrology and its supplementary materials in exchange for the Black Emperor ritual information.
• Qin Sheng drank the Astrologer Potion, endured its effects by repeatedly spreading and regathering his consciousness, and successfully advanced from Mystery Pryer to Astrologer.
• Qin Sheng tested his new star-based abilities, reformed after Bernadette shattered his starlight body, and asked when he could receive the Mysticologist and Prophet Characteristics.

Qin Sheng swallowed Beyonder Characteristics from the Reader and Apprentice Pathways, survived the resulting conflict, and asked Bernadette to help him find more Characteristics and prepare for his advancement. After Bernadette agreed to take him to Backlund, he revealed that his teasing had also been a way to help her preserve her humanity.

• Bernadette offered Qin Sheng a villa in Queens and agreed to arrange a butler and transportation for his little sister.
• Qin Sheng requested Reader and Apprentice Pathway Characteristics, then swallowed a Sequence 6 Polymath Characteristic and a Sequence 8 Prestidigitator Characteristic and suppressed his loss of control.
• Bernadette confirmed Qin Sheng was stable, while he asked her to look for more Pathway Characteristics and discussed suitable, safer options for his little sister.
• Qin Sheng left with Bernadette aboard Twilight and asked why she had let Admiral of Stars pursue her own destiny; Bernadette said her destiny did not lie with her.
• Bernadette recommended the Apprentice Pathway for an ordinary person, and Qin Sheng said he would return to Tingen City to prepare his Mysticologist advancement ritual.
• Before Bernadette left, Qin Sheng joked about helping her with her clothes and asked her to take him to Backlund; he explained that he had been trying to help her preserve her humanity.

Qin Sheng settled into Bernadette’s villa in Backlund, then visited Klein in Tingen and kept him from starting the Tarot Club on time. Klein eventually reached the gray fog and prepared the meeting, while Qin Sheng left amused by the work The Fool had to do alone.

• Qin Sheng brought Bernadette to her Queens villa, arranged for her staff to prepare it, and persuaded her to hand over her bank account so he could manage her savings.
• Qin Sheng noticed Audrey near the neighboring house, and Earl Hall confirmed that his family would invite the new neighbors to a banquet.
• Qin Sheng returned to Tingen and visited Klein at 2 Daffodil Street, where Klein told him he had joined a security company and would not interview at universities.
• Klein repeatedly went to the washroom to try to make Qin Sheng leave before the Tarot Club, but Qin Sheng only recommended a doctor and departed shortly before the meeting.
• Klein entered the gray fog and created the Tarot Club’s meeting hall, while Qin Sheng walked away laughing about how much preparation Mr. Fool had to do.

At the reconvened Tarot Club meeting, Qin Sheng discussed Vice Admiral Dusk’s death, his arrival in Backlund, and Audrey’s progress as an Audience. As Audrey asked about advancing her Pathway, The Fool revealed the principles of potion digestion and acting, ending with Klein noticing Qin Sheng’s delighted reaction.

• Audrey congratulated Qin Sheng for killing Vice Admiral Dusk, and Qin Sheng explained that he had acted to settle a personal grudge; Alger noted that some of the surviving pirates had been forced into piracy.
• Qin Sheng arranged to collect the bounty and Ghost Shark blood from Alger in Backlund, while Audrey confirmed that the university would meet him at the station the next day.
• Qin Sheng recognized that Audrey had become an Audience and told her the names of the Spectator Pathway’s next Sequences; Alger identified the Psychological Alchemists' Association, and Qin Sheng warned her not to approach it rashly.
• Audrey asked when she could advance, and Alger advised her to spend two to three years mastering her Potion before seeking the next Sequence.
• The Fool corrected Alger by explaining that potions were digested through acting, and Klein noticed that Qin Sheng’s aura showed delight at his explanation.

At the Tarot Club, Klein explained the Acting Method and asked the members to collect Roselle's diary pages. Qin Sheng supplied three fabricated pages, which taught Klein about the Assassin pathway and left him worried about the costs of future exchanges.

• Klein explained the Acting Method to Alger, who realized he had been acting unconsciously, and asked the club to find Roselle's secret diaries.
• Qin Sheng offered three diary pages and accepted Klein's offer of an additional request in exchange for the Acting Method knowledge.
• Klein read Qin Sheng's fabricated entries, which claimed Roselle regretted his Pathway choice, praised the Assassin pathway, and disparaged Seers.
• Klein accepted the pages and Qin Sheng promised to supply more, while Klein worried that equivalent exchange would leave him unable to repay the Emperor.

At the Tarot Club, Qin Sheng explained the Acting Method and answered Audrey and Alger’s questions about potions, while Klein listened and reflected on his own circumstances. The gathering then turned to politics as Audrey described Loen’s proposed reforms, drawing Klein’s interest.

• Klein agreed to reward Audrey and Alger with knowledge or other benefits in exchange for more pages of Roselle’s Diary.
• Qin Sheng explained the Acting Method, advising Audrey and Alger to follow a potion’s deeper symbolism without losing their sense of self.
• Qin Sheng told Audrey that acting as an Audience required remaining detached, and Alger explained that an animal might become a Transcendent creature if it survived drinking a potion.
• Qin Sheng explained why the Churches did not widely teach the Acting Method, and said Beyonders who discovered it could continue acting if they agreed not to spread it.
• Klein raised the Antigonus Family Notebook during free conversation, and Audrey shared news that Loen’s leaders were considering changes to the kingdom’s inefficient system of government.

Klein ended a Tarot Club meeting after proposing a civil service examination system, then learned that Qin Sheng was the Emperor and would soon leave for Backlund with Sophia. Before departing, Qin Sheng traded Life Crystals with Pallez Zoroast for a drop of Archangel blood and set out for Backlund.

• Klein proposed a civil service examination system for Loen before his spirituality ran out and the Tarot Club meeting ended.
• Qin Sheng told Klein and Benson that Sophia was transferring to Backlund University, and Klein realized that Qin Sheng was Mr. Emperor.
• Klein and Qin Sheng each privately understood that the other had discovered his Tarot Club identity, while keeping their own secret identities concealed.
• Qin Sheng confronted Leonard and Pallez Zoroast, offered Life Crystals, and exchanged them for a drop of Pallez Zoroast's blood without harming Leonard.
• Qin Sheng left for Backlund with plans to help Sophia settle in and advance through the Sequences.

After absorbing the purified Origin of Mysteries Qin Sheng, Qin Sheng strengthened his Chaos potential and considered how the power of the Lord of Mysteries world could benefit him. He prepared to travel with Caiyun Fairy to the Ancient Star of Ziwei, leaving with Jiang Taixu’s support and promising Xiao Nannan they would bring back Golden Crow meat.

• Qin Sheng spent three days absorbing Mysteries Qin Sheng’s Origin, which he believed the Infinite Land had purified of the Original Creator’s will.
• Qin Sheng decided to set out for the Ancient Star of Ziwei and traveled to the Jiang Family, where he told Jiang Taixu he was ready to go with Caiyun Fairy.
• Qin Sheng asked Jiang Taixu how to use the Glabella Dao Bone, and Jiang Taixu advised refining it together with the Dark Abyss Divine Tower.
• Jiang Taixu promised to refine the weapon and equipped Caiyun Fairy’s party with a Saint Weapon, Divine Source, and two Forbidden Artifacts for their journey.
• Qin Sheng chose the Dark Abyss Divine Tower for the refinement, then visited Xiao Nannan and Little Tingting before telling Xiao Nannan they would bring her Golden Crow meat from Ziwei.

Jiang Taixu gave Caiyun Fairy eighteen drops of Divine Blood and played the Divine Prelude, then sent her, Qin Sheng, and Xiao Nannan through a Domain Gate toward Ziwei. Their departure shook Beidou as people uncovered the dangers of the wider Starry Sky and spread rumors that Eastern Immortal had died.

• Jiang Taixu dissolved his foundation and gave Caiyun Fairy eighteen drops of Divine Blood, cleansing her and improving her prospects for surviving future tribulations.
• Jiang Taixu played the Divine Prelude, giving Qin Sheng, Caiyun Fairy, and Little Tingting insights into the Dao while Xiao Nannan enjoyed the music without entering their state of comprehension.
• Jiang Taixu activated the Jiang Family's Starry Sky Domain Gate, and Qin Sheng, Caiyun Fairy, and Xiao Nannan departed for another Life Ancient Star as Caiyun Fairy promised to return.
• Little Tingting supported the weakened Jiang Taixu away from the altar, while news of Qin Sheng's departure spread across Beidou and sparked fears about powerful forces beyond the stars.
• Beidou's cultivators uncovered ancient records about the Starry Sky Ancient Road and began spreading rumors that Eastern Immortal had died beyond Beidou.
• Ye Fan learned that Qin Sheng had gone to Ziwei, then pursued clues to the Nine Secret: Bing of Qin Gate with Black Emperor while wondering where Duan De had gone.

Qin Sheng, Caiyun Fairy, and Xiao Nannan reached Ziwei Ancient Star after their Star Road fractured, then discovered they had landed in Lu Continent instead of near the Ziwei Jiang Family. In Yue City, Qin Sheng learned that Yin Tiande had not yet obtained the Laozi Inheritance, leaving him eager to reach it first.

• Qin Sheng, Caiyun Fairy, and Xiao Nannan crossed the starry sky toward Ziwei Ancient Star and watched the Star Road break near their destination.
• The three fell through a Void Storm and landed on a mountain in Ziwei, where powerful local orthodoxies detected their arrival and grew alarmed.
• Qin Sheng used an Ancient Teleportation Array to travel six million li east, and the group reached Yue City in Lu Continent.
• In Yue City, Qin Sheng and Caiyun Fairy learned about the Yue Family's brutal fighting tournament, the Golden Crow Assembly, and the Sun God Sect's decline.
• Qin Sheng heard that Yin Tiande had proposed to Yi Qingwu but had not yet entered the Eight Scenic Palace or obtained the Laozi Inheritance.

Qin Sheng headed for Laozi’s Eight Scenic Palace inheritance with Caiyun Fairy and Xiao Nannan, but a Yue Clan elder tried to seize Xiao Nannan’s treasures and was killed. When the Yue Clan’s forces gathered to retaliate, Qin Sheng demanded that they either kowtow or die.

• Qin Sheng realized Yin Tiande had probably not yet claimed Laozi’s inheritance and decided to go to the Eight Scenic Palace with Caiyun Fairy and Xiao Nannan.
• Qin Sheng’s group arrived at the Yue Clan’s Ancient Teleportation Array and prepared to leave for the Eight Scenic Palace.
• A Yue Clan Supreme Elder accused Xiao Nannan of stealing a treasure and attacked her, so Qin Sheng killed him with a shout that shattered his Primordial Spirit.
• A Yue Clan Great Ability accused Qin Sheng of stealing Immortal Metal and attacked him, but Qin Sheng erased the man’s Immortal Platform with a few words.
• Yue Qianshen and the Yue Clan’s other experts surrounded Qin Sheng’s group, and Qin Sheng showed them the Supreme Elder’s attack before demanding they kowtow or die.

Qin Sheng destroyed the Yue Clan after its members attacked him over Xiao Nannan’s Immortal Metal ornaments, then took her to Xuandu Cave to seek the Eight Scenic Palace. On the full moon night, he began reciting Laozi’s scripture before the hidden Taiqing Sacred Realm, hoping to open it.

• Yue Qianshen and the Yue Clan’s Great Abilities attacked Qin Sheng with the Thousand Light Myriad Transformation Sword, but Qin Sheng killed them with a single strike and searched the surviving member’s memories before killing him.
• Qin Sheng handed Yue City to the Ancient Huang Sect and had its Sect Master Huang activate the teleportation array, then reassured Xiao Nannan that she had done nothing wrong by wearing the Immortal Metal ornaments.
• Qin Sheng, Xiao Nannan, and Caiyun Fairy reached Xuandu Cave, where Xiao Nannan saw that the Eight Scenic Palace lay inside a hidden world called the Taiqing Sacred Realm.
• Qin Sheng encountered Yin Tiande’s avatar outside Xuandu Cave and destroyed it after Yin Tiande demanded that he leave.
• On the full moon night, the Taiqing Sacred Realm appeared through the mist, and Qin Sheng recited Laozi’s scripture in an attempt to open the Eight Scenic Palace.

Qin Sheng gained the Eight Scenic Palace’s recognition and entered the Taiqing Sacred Realm with Xiao Nannan and Caiyun Fairy, where they discovered Laozi’s inheritance. He learned the Dao De Scripture’s secret arts and alchemy knowledge, including One Qi Transforms into Three Pure Ones, and uncovered a sealed clone of the Bull God King.

• Qin Sheng recited the Dao De Scripture, and the Eight Scenic Palace recognized him, opening a purple-qi road into the Taiqing Sacred Realm for him, Xiao Nannan, and Caiyun Fairy.
• The group entered the palace, where Qin Sheng found Laozi’s message, the Dao De Scripture, an alchemy scripture, and a sealed black clay jar.
• Qin Sheng and Caiyun Fairy read the Dao De Scripture and experienced Laozi’s journey through Hangu Pass, then Qin Sheng focused on learning One Qi Transforms into Three Pure Ones.
• Xiao Nannan tried to imitate the secret art and became dizzy, so Qin Sheng checked her and told her not to practice it.
• Qin Sheng examined the alchemy scripture and learned that the black clay jar held a Great Accomplished King clone of the Bull God King that could be released for one shichen.