Chapter Summaries

Key plot points and events

• While watching Tapir fight a Demon Spawn, Martin is nearly struck by a flying scale. The near miss makes him acutely aware of the gap between his abilities and those of powerful players.
• Tapir lets Martin keep the scale as an apology. Martin instead gathers several more for Tapir, then pulls another scale from a nearby cliff.
• Removing it triggers a chain of cracks and a landslide, exposing a cave hidden inside the mountain.
• The cave’s existence is especially puzzling: Martin’s training had not revealed any hollow, and players had explored the area for decades without finding it.
• Tapir abandons his cautious plan to wear down the Demon Spawn and kills it with his powerful World-Ending Meteor attack, though he regrets destroying valuable materials.
• Martin and Tapir exchange names, share news of the discovery in the battle channel, and enter the cave together. Tapir brings Martin despite considering him a burden, because his instincts warn that leaving him behind could be dangerous.

Character developments

• Martin recognizes how limited his reflexes are beside a veteran fighter’s, but shows initiative and curiosity. His combat-training experience helps him notice that the newly revealed cave is unnatural.
• Tapir is revealed as a formidable, pragmatic fighter who values both survival and the materials gathered from monsters. Despite his gruff manner, he follows his intuition and agrees to bring Martin along.

Significant themes

• Limits and growth: Infinite City’s supernatural possibilities challenge the ordinary boundaries of human ability.
• The uncanny beneath the familiar: A seemingly solid, well-known landscape conceals a cave that no one has noticed.
• Chance and unintended consequences: Martin’s attempt to retrieve valuable materials accidentally uncovers a mystery.
• Practicality and value: Scales, monster remains, weapons, and combat choices are all weighed in terms of usefulness and cost.

Character interactions

• Tapir gives Martin the first scale as an apology; Martin responds by gathering the rest for him.
• After the collapse, Tapir teases Martin as a possible “walking disaster,” while Martin explains that he was only collecting scales.
• The two discuss the cave’s strange discovery, share the news with other players, switch to short swords for the confined passage, and proceed together.

Key plot points and events

• Martin and Tapir explore a cave that seems unnaturally devoid of life. Suspecting serious danger, Tapir calls two teammates, Yi Jie and Kalian, to join them.
• Martin insists on continuing, partly because he has plenty of Resurrection Coins and sees danger as a possible route to opportunity.
• Kalian observes that the cave’s geology is abnormal, as though a force once held back the surrounding pressure and then disappeared.
• Near the cave’s center, Yi Jie sends Eyeworms ahead to scout. They reveal a writhing black mass embedded in the rock.
• Kalian uses her Eye of Origin Tracing to inspect it, but the creature’s overwhelming malice injures her mind. She rules out an Abyss demon or a minion of the Nameless Mist and sends a report to Boss Qiao Si.
• Yi Jie loses contact with the Eyeworms. A grotesque, shifting monster emerges from the darkness and charges Tapir. Tapir blocks its blow but is driven to his knees, revealing the creature’s tremendous strength.

Character developments

• Martin remains bold and curious, accepting the risks of exploring the cave. His new Seal Swordmaster class makes him notable to experienced players.
• Tapir is cautious and protective, calling in backup and taking the lead when danger appears.
• Yi Jie shows a practical, supportive side: he offers Martin medical help, scouts with his Eyeworms, and quickly checks Kalian after she is injured.
• Kalian demonstrates powerful perception through her Eye of Origin Tracing, but the vision exposes her vulnerability to the creature’s malice.

Character interactions

• Tapir, Yi Jie, and Kalian have a teasing, complicated history: Yi Jie and Kalian were married for over a thousand years before divorcing, and Tapir also divorced Kalian. Their banter suggests lingering familiarity and unresolved tension.
• Kalian playfully flirts with Martin, while Yi Jie and Tapir bicker about their past relationships.
• Martin’s thoughts turn to Momo when Kalian describes how time can erode love, prompting him to worry about the future of their relationship.

Significant themes

• Caution and risk: The explorers balance the promise of discovery against the danger of an unexplained place.
• The limits of perception: Kalian’s powerful vision reveals the creature’s malice but harms her in the process.
• Change over time: The discussion of long marriages and fading love leads Martin to reflect on whether his own relationship might change.
• The unknown and the grotesque: The empty cave, its impossible geology, and the monster’s unnatural form create a sense of escalating cosmic horror.

Plot points and events

• A newly encountered, three-meter-tall monster overpowers Tapir, forcing him to his knees. Yi Jie and Kalian attack while Martin watches, but the creature dodges their strikes with sudden bursts of speed.
• Yi Jie’s insects wound the monster. It grows a mouth at the injury, eats the insect, then begins devouring the rest of the swarm. The group realizes the sealed cave may be the creature’s first encounter with food—and that its behavior is changing as it discovers an appetite.
• Fearing they will be eaten, Tapir switches to his Meteor Hammer, and Yi Jie combines with his centipede and unleashes powerful attacks. The monster is knocked away, but their blows reduce its enormous health bar by only two points.
• Transformed by its first taste of food, the creature now regards the group as potential meals. It suddenly attacks Yi Jie, bites his fist, and resists his Five-Poison Fist. Tapir rushes in to help, but the monster grabs both men by the throat and lifts them effortlessly.

Character developments and interactions

• Martin notices the monster’s unusual pattern: it moves slowly most of the time but accelerates dramatically to evade or attack. His observation helps the others recognize a key trait, though they lack enough information to understand it.
• Yi Jie acts quickly to protect the group, uses his insects to restore Kalian’s shield, and then commits to a powerful attack. His poison technique fails against the monster.
• Kalian supports the fight with controlled magic and survives a near-miss thanks to Yi Jie’s Life Mosquitoes, which replenish her Blood Shield.
• Tapir initially tries to hold his ground, then accepts the danger and uses the weapon that lets him fight at full strength. His attempt to rescue Yi Jie leaves him captured too.
• Yi Jie and Tapir’s brief teamwork shows their willingness to risk themselves, but their strength is badly outmatched.

Significant themes

• Instinct becoming appetite: The monster’s first experience of eating transforms its vague, innate malice into a simple desire to consume.
• The limits of strength: Even capable fighters and their strongest attacks prove nearly ineffective against an opponent with overwhelming durability.
• Observation under pressure: Martin’s attention to the monster’s bursts of speed offers a possible clue, while the group’s lack of reliable foresight leaves them struggling to interpret the threat.
• Predator and prey: The monster does not seem to consider whether its victims can fight back; it approaches them as food, making the group’s danger feel immediate and primal.

Chapter Summary: “The Trio Who Died in Vain”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Martin realizes that the Evil Beast is overwhelmingly powerful, though it lacks genuine combat technique or experience. Its immense attributes allow it to defeat even veteran players such as Tapir and Yi Jie effortlessly.
• Kalian orders Martin to flee rather than attempt a hopeless rescue. Tapir and Yi Jie hold the Evil Beast back, eventually using self-destruction and explosives in a desperate effort to slow it down.
• The explosion throws Martin and Kalian apart. Kalian sacrifices herself, telling Martin to escape while she stays behind to delay the monster.
• Kalian’s illusion magic proves useless, and her fireball causes almost no damage. The Evil Beast emerges unharmed and forces her into self-destruction.
• Martin runs, but the Evil Beast soon catches up. Although he prepares to die fighting, Hawkins unexpectedly emerges from Martin’s Mind World in the form of a butterfly.
• The Evil Beast attacks Hawkins, but Hawkins easily evades it using his Foresight and Hindsight abilities. He identifies the creature as an Evil Beast: a monster formed from concentrated evil intent.
• Hawkins attacks with the Violence Scepter, removing roughly one-third of the Evil Beast’s health with each strike. He concludes that although the creature is innately evil, it may still be capable of learning and being disciplined.
• The chapter ends with the Evil Beast becoming increasingly angry and releasing a powerful roar, demonstrating that it has developed new abilities by consuming insects.

Character Developments

• Martin learns to prioritize survival and retreat over reckless heroism. Though frightened and inexperienced, he accepts that returning to save Kalian would be pointless and prepares to face death with dignity.
• Kalian demonstrates practical leadership and self-sacrifice. She protects Martin by forcing him to flee and remains behind despite knowing she cannot defeat the Evil Beast.
• Tapir and Yi Jie are portrayed as courageous veterans who knowingly sacrifice themselves to buy time for the others, though their efforts ultimately fail.
• Hawkins reveals a vast difference in power and combat ability. Despite having lower attributes than the other players, his foresight, experience, and precise movements allow him to dominate the Evil Beast.
• The Evil Beast is shown to possess enormous strength but almost no combat intelligence. It fights through instinct and direct attacks, while gradually gaining new traits—such as speech and sound production—by consuming other creatures.

Significant Themes

• Survival over false heroism: The chapter rejects dramatic, unnecessary sacrifice and emphasizes retreat as the rational way to minimize losses.
• Power versus skill: The Evil Beast’s overwhelming attributes contrast with Hawkins’s superior awareness, prediction, and technique.
• Sacrifice and its limits: Tapir, Yi Jie, and Kalian die buying time, but their sacrifices appear ineffective until Hawkins arrives, reinforcing the chapter’s title.
• Nature versus nurture: Hawkins suggests that even a creature born from evil might learn to become “good” through discipline.
• Growth through consumption: The Evil Beast evolves by devouring other beings, gaining new abilities and becoming increasingly dangerous.

Character Interactions

• Kalian acts as Martin’s mentor and protector, urging him to flee and ultimately sacrificing herself for his survival.
• Martin observes and records the battle, warning Hawkins about the Evil Beast while relying on him for protection.
• Hawkins teases Martin about the contents of his Mind World, creating a brief humorous contrast to the surrounding danger.
• Hawkins treats the Evil Beast almost like a badly behaved child, criticizing its predictable attacks while acknowledging its persistence and potential for improvement.
• The Evil Beast’s instinctive preference for eating butterflies leads it to target Hawkins, unintentionally bringing it into conflict with an opponent far beyond its current ability.

Plot points and events

• Hawkins easily overpowers the Evil Beast in the cave. Its sudden roar kills Martin, and Hawkins apologizes before subduing the creature with a chain and taking it away.
• The Looting Emperor enters the cave after waiting to make sure the danger has passed. He has spent a long time pursuing the Myriad Evils Return-Flow Scripture, even enduring imprisonment in the Compression Layer rather than abandoning his search.
• At the cave’s deepest point, he finds a Flesh Arhat and senses the Scripture’s power in a Black Sarira concealed within it. A black liquid awakens as an Evil Beast and attacks him.
• The Looting Emperor defeats the creature with the Black Sun True Art, retrieves the Sarira, and joyfully claims the Scripture.
• Hawkins watches this unfold remotely. Knowing what the Sarira and the Looting Emperor’s choice will mean, he nevertheless lets him take it out of respect for the Spirit King and the hopes the Looting Emperor carries.
• Tapir, Yi Jie, Kalian, and Martin respawn in the grand square, realizing they all died for nothing.

Character developments and interactions

• Hawkins is overwhelmingly powerful but chooses restraint: he treats the first fight casually, spares the Evil Beast, and avoids interfering with the Looting Emperor’s pursuit. His respect for the Spirit King complicates his hostility toward the Emperor.
• The Looting Emperor is revealed as single-minded and patient, having shaped himself into a survival-focused villain to return to the Sea of Heroes and find the Scripture. His triumph at obtaining it shows how deeply he has invested in that goal.
• The Evil Beast is subdued by Hawkins, then later killed by the Looting Emperor. Hawkins plans to enter its Mind World and reform it rather than kill it himself.
• Martin and the other players are casualties of the beast’s roar and the broader clash; their respawn underscores how costly the encounter was for them despite its apparent ease for Hawkins.

Significant themes

• Power and perspective: The same threat that overwhelms ordinary players is little more than a warm-up for Hawkins, while the Looting Emperor handles it with force.
• Conflicting loyalties and moral ambiguity: Hawkins recognizes that a person he regards as an enemy may be loved by others. He does not assume his own actions are always right, and chooses not to crush the Spirit King’s hopes.
• The cost of ambition: The Looting Emperor’s long pursuit finally succeeds, but the chapter hints that possessing the Scripture may bring consequences.
• Heroes and villains are relative: Hawkins reflects that one person’s hated foe may be another’s family or hero.

Key plot points and events

• After dying to the Evil Beast, Kalian, Martin, Tapir, and Yi Jie meet at a café in Infinite City. Kalian explains that she stayed behind so Martin could escape; Martin admits he does not know exactly how he died.
• The group decides not to return to the cave, since the Evil Beast seemed too powerful. Martin reveals that his master arrived and likely killed it, but initially refuses to identify him.
• Tapir realizes Martin’s master is Hawkins, the City Lord. Hawkins appears at the café, where only the four friends can see him, and welcomes them. He explains privately through his actions that he wants to make amends for Martin’s death and give him prestige among his friends.
• The story shifts to Dima, the young lord of Redneck Fief. He resents the players for controlling the Sea of Heroes’ coastline and resources, though he disguises his deeper frustration at being weaker than them.
• The Looting Emperor visits Dima in the night and offers him power in exchange for wealth beyond the sea. Dima is wary and questions the offer, but the Emperor grants him power through the Black Sarira. The next morning, Dima sees feathers and scales appearing on his hand and is horrified by his transformed reflection.

Character developments and interactions

• Martin is modest and cautious about his connection to Hawkins, respecting his master and worrying that asking for an autograph might offend him.
• Hawkins shows consideration for Martin, using his presence to reassure and impress Martin’s friends after Martin died through his carelessness.
• Tapir, Kalian, and Yi Jie react with awe to learning Hawkins is Martin’s master. Tapir is stunned, while Kalian becomes openly starstruck.
• Dima is politically capable and suspicious, but his resentment and ambition make him vulnerable. The Looting Emperor recognizes this and uses an apparently generous offer to draw him into a larger conflict.

Significant themes

• Power and ambition: Dima’s resentment stems less from seafood shortages than from the players’ dominance; the Emperor expects new power to intensify his ambition.
• Connections as strength: Hawkins’s status gives Martin social standing and may help him build alliances.
• Distrust and manipulation: Dima questions the Emperor’s motives, yet the Emperor bypasses persuasion by granting him power directly.
• Self-deception: Dima rationalizes his hostility with a practical grievance rather than acknowledging his desire for authority.

Summary of “A Gift of Evil”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Dima discovers that he can transform into a terrifying three-meter-tall monster. Although frightened by the change and uncertain whether he is still truly himself, he is also intoxicated by the immense strength it provides.
• Dima realizes that the mysterious being who granted him this power can probably take it away. Rather than immediately seeking help, he decides to conceal his transformation, exploit the power to gain greater strength, and search for a way to control or remove it.
• The Looting Emperor observes Dima’s growing ambition with satisfaction, viewing him as another “evil seed” being cultivated for his own purposes. He believes that those who think they control events are still trapped by desire.
• The Looting Emperor returns to the Black Demon Fish’s fortress while continuing to pretend that he is cooperating with it. He also reflects on a lone wolf whose intense hatred of its former pack makes it unusually similar to an intelligent creature, prompting him to grant it supernatural power.
• The injured, aging wolf transforms after seeing its monstrous reflection in a river. It becomes a huge black wolf with extraordinary strength and begins hunting humans and animals.
• After eating the hunter Plante, the wolf inherits fragments of his memories and gradually develops humanlike intelligence. It learns concepts such as time, day, night, language, and human society, eventually naming itself Hadi, meaning “black claws.”
• Hadi avoids humans because Plante’s memories have instilled in it a deep belief in humanity’s power and God’s overwhelming authority.
• When Plante’s son, Barren, encounters Hadi, the wolf flees without attacking. Barren’s companions dismiss his story because Hadi leaves no footprints or fur, though Barren later glimpses what may be Hadi’s enormous tail on the mountaintop.

Character Developments

• Dima: Changes from a confused and fearful victim into a calculating, ambitious individual. He remains wary of the power controlling him but begins considering how to turn the gift into his own weapon.
• The Looting Emperor: Reveals himself as a manipulator who deliberately plants evil and cultivates hatred in others. He views both Dima and Hadi as experiments or pieces in a larger game.
• Hadi: Evolves from an old, crippled wolf into an exceptionally powerful and intelligent monster. Its instincts remain animalistic, particularly its hunger and survival drive, but Plante’s memories give it self-awareness, reasoning, and a developing identity.
• Barren: Serves as the first human witness to Hadi’s existence. His fear is genuine, but the adults’ disbelief leaves him isolated and uncertain.

Significant Themes

• Power and ambition: Supernatural strength gives Dima confidence and awakens his desire for greater control, suggesting that power can create the very ambition that later enslaves its possessor.
• Manipulation and free will: The Looting Emperor grants power while treating its recipients as disposable tools, raising questions about whether Dima and Hadi are making independent choices.
• The corruption or cultivation of evil: Evil is portrayed as something that can be planted, nourished, and shaped through hatred, desire, and violence.
• Identity and transformation: Dima questions whether he is still human, while Hadi develops a new identity that combines animal instincts with human intelligence.
• Survival versus morality: Hadi’s violence begins as an expression of hunger and survival rather than deliberate cruelty, blurring the distinction between natural behavior and evil.
• Human ignorance: Barren sees the truth, but the adults reject it because it conflicts with their expectations, allowing Hadi to remain hidden.

Character Interactions

• Dima and the maidservants: Dima abruptly dismisses them after transforming, showing his fear of being discovered and his increasing emotional distance.
• Dima and the Looting Emperor: They do not meet directly, but the Emperor manipulates Dima from afar and takes pleasure in Dima’s belief that he can eventually control the gifted power.
• The Looting Emperor and the lone wolf/Hadi: The Emperor recognizes the wolf’s unusual hatred and deliberately empowers it to observe how far its hostility and intelligence will develop.
• Hadi and Plante: Hadi kills and consumes Plante, then absorbs his memories. This encounter is the turning point that transforms the wolf from a powerful beast into a self-aware being.
• Hadi and Barren’s search party: Hadi avoids confrontation, while Barren becomes terrified after seeing it. The adults dismiss his account, creating a contrast between Hadi’s hidden reality and human disbelief.

Chapter Summary

Key plot points and events

• The chapter explains the Myriad Evils Return-Flow Scripture: its original purpose was for a monk to bear the evils of all beings while guiding them toward goodness. The Looting Emperor inherited a corrupted version, which instead affirmed his belief that all people—including himself—were evil.
• As hatred and violence spread through the Sea of Heroes, the Looting Emperor’s control of the Black Sarira deepened. His long-developed Buddha Emperor’s Radiant Fist, previously transformed into the Black Sun True Art, undergoes another evolution into Dark Annihilation.
• Dark Annihilation is a malleable, corrupting force that can infect people and objects, alter bodies, and override the wills of powerful beings.
• The Looting Emperor uses this power to break through the Black Demon Fortress’s invisible restraints. He then turns the fortress’s Demon Spawn into mutated creatures, splitting control of the structure from the Black Demon Fish.
• When the Black Demon Fish attacks, the Looting Emperor envelops it in the Black Kasaya and infects it with Dark Annihilation. He transforms the former partner into a monstrous mount.
• Cautious about the unknown strength of Hawkins, the Looting Emperor holds back from attacking the city wall. Instead, he looks toward the Compression Layer and realizes he can use the newly corrupted creatures to address his shortage of troops.
• Players on the front observe the disruption and speculate through their channel. Diviners warn that the Looting Emperor has won and that a traitor may pose a danger.
• At Zhouliu’s cafeteria, the Rainy Day Team—new arrivals to the high-level battlefield—debates whether to stay or withdraw. Their captain, Maupassant, decides they will assess the situation first. The chapter ends as an unfamiliar man enters and notices the team.

Character developments

• The Looting Emperor gains a major new power and becomes more confident and domineering. His belief that all beings are evil now has direct force behind it, allowing him to corrupt and command others. He also shows strategic restraint by avoiding an immediate clash with Hawkins.
• The Black Demon Fish is revealed to be a pragmatic partner rather than a loyal ally. It loses control of its fortress and is subdued and transformed into the Looting Emperor’s mount.
• Maupassant appears cautious but determined: he does not want his team to retreat without first judging the danger for themselves.

Significant themes

• Virtue twisted into evil: The scripture’s original compassion—bearing others’ sins to help them improve—is corrupted into a doctrine that accepts and spreads evil.
• Power through conviction and suffering: The Looting Emperor’s humiliating imprisonment and desperate survival reshape his martial art and strengthen his path.
• Betrayal and conditional alliances: The Looting Emperor and Black Demon Fish cooperate only while their interests align; neither considers the relationship one of loyalty.
• Corruption and control: Dark Annihilation does not merely destroy—it transforms living beings and strips them of agency.
• Player perspective and uncertainty: Players turn a potentially catastrophic event into joking “version update” speculation, even as diviners warn them to prepare.

Character interactions

• The Looting Emperor openly rejects the Black Demon Fish’s assumption that he owes it loyalty, then defeats and claims it.
• The Black Demon Fish responds with anger and attempts to contain or attack him, but its Demon Spawn and its own body are overwhelmed by Dark Annihilation.
• Players debate what happened and whether a traitor exists, mixing humor with genuine concern.
• Shaliena asks Maupassant whether the team should remain; he chooses to wait and assess the situation rather than retreat immediately.

Chapter Summary: “Rainy Day Team”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Maupassant, Shaliena, and Mo Boshi of the Rainy Day Team are approached by a broker with a job from Yemu Village.
• Villagers have disappeared for three days, and one youth reported seeing a huge black wolf. The village offers its entire combined savings—five Gold Coins—as payment.
• Although suspicious that the wolf may be connected to the newly updated game content and the Looting Emperor, the team accepts because they are already nearby.
• In Yemu Village, Chief Kate confirms that the wolf appeared only recently and that there were no prior monster sightings.
• The team decides not to investigate together. Mo Boshi, who possesses the escape-oriented Ice Slide ability, is sent alone while Maupassant and Shaliena remain behind to conserve resurrection coins.
• Mo Boshi travels toward the mountains and detects blood. His enhanced senses reveal that a man killed another person and dragged the corpse uphill.
• Meanwhile, the black wolf, Hadi, notices Mo Boshi’s approach and realizes he may be investigating the killings. Rather than confront him directly, Hadi decides to lure him toward another dangerous individual living in a village beyond the mountain.
• Hadi reflects on the nature of gods, humans, and his own intelligence, which has grown after eating two humans.
• Mo Boshi reconstructs the crime through scent: the dead man’s wife had an affair with the murderer, who killed the husband and attempted to frame the mountain animals. However, the murderer was himself killed and eaten by Hadi, a scentless monster.

Character Developments

• Maupassant demonstrates cautious leadership. Although he suspects the case may be linked to a larger threat, he still accepts the mission and prioritizes survival by sending Mo Boshi ahead alone.
• Shaliena remains practical and focused on rewards, but she agrees to the job despite its poor payment. She also quickly supports using Mo Boshi as the scout.
• Mo Boshi is treated somewhat dismissively by the couple, yet he proves highly capable. His Ice Slide ability gives him mobility and an escape option, while his enhanced senses allow him to uncover the murder’s details.
• Hadi, the black wolf, is revealed to possess advanced intelligence and strong self-preservation instincts. It avoids unnecessary risks, evaluates human strength, and plans to use another dangerous being as a scapegoat.
• Chief Kate is courteous and cooperative, providing information and lodging for the team.

Significant Themes

• Survival and risk management: The players weigh the mission’s low reward against the danger of death and the cost of resurrection coins.
• Intelligence versus strength: Hadi survives not only through physical power but through careful reasoning, deception, and avoidance of stronger enemies.
• The morality of killing: Hadi follows the jungle’s law of survival, yet it judges prey selectively and punishes those who commit violence, creating an ambiguous moral position.
• Human ignorance and the unknown: Hadi’s questions about gods, human abilities, and the world show its growing awareness but also emphasize how little it understands.
• Truth hidden in evidence: Mo Boshi’s superhuman senses allow him to reconstruct the crime from scents, demonstrating how players’ abilities can reveal hidden realities.
• The contrast between appearance and reality: The villagers blame an apparent black wolf, while the actual sequence involves human betrayal, murder, and a supernatural predator.

Character Interactions

• Maupassant and Shaliena’s romantic relationship is evident in their decision-making and affectionate behavior, while Mo Boshi feels like an overlooked third wheel.
• Maupassant defers to Shaliena on whether to accept the job, showing trust and the influence of their personal relationship within the team.
• The couple agree to send Mo Boshi into danger because his abilities make him more likely to escape, revealing both practical teamwork and their casual disregard for his feelings.
• Hadi observes Mo Boshi as a potential threat but avoids direct confrontation, choosing instead to manipulate him toward another powerful human.
• Mo Boshi’s investigation connects the missing villagers’ case to a murder involving adultery, revenge, and an attempted frame-up, setting up a likely confrontation between him, Hadi, and the other dangerous figure.

Key plot points and events

• Mo Boshi tracks signs of a huge creature on the mountain, suspecting it may be connected to the Looting Emperor. He notices the trail seems deliberately laid and follows it after alerting Maupassant and Shaliena.
• The trail leads to a nearby village, where he finds the inhabitants slaughtered. He catches a ragged man torturing a surviving woman; the man transforms into a powerful monster.
• The creature claims a “Lord God” gave him strength to take revenge. He cites petty grievances against villagers who had cared for him, revealing his cruelty and lack of gratitude.
• Mo Boshi attacks with ice magic, but the monster’s defenses shrug off his strongest blows. He focuses on wearing down its Blood Shield and evading it, then asks for help.
• Maupassant teleports Mo Boshi to safety and takes over the fight. He taunts the monster, whom he calls “Fish-Head Monster,” and uses teleportation to dodge its charges.

Character developments

• Mo Boshi is cautious and observant, willing to risk himself to gather intelligence. Though outmatched, he keeps his composure, reports the threat, and fights strategically until help arrives.
• The monster, who calls himself Donald, is revealed as a former disabled man who was cared for by the villagers. He interprets ordinary kindness as insufficient and uses trivial disappointments to justify mass murder.
• Maupassant enters confidently and uses humor to provoke the monster while relying on evasive tactics.

Significant themes

• Ingratitude and entitlement: The monster resents people who helped him because they did not give him everything he wanted.
• Power and moral corruption: The monster treats newfound strength as permission to punish others and calls vengeance justice.
• Compassion amid danger: Mo Boshi’s restraint and concern for the victims contrast sharply with the monster’s brutality.
• Teamwork and limits: Mo Boshi recognizes that he cannot defeat the creature alone and calls on his allies.

Character interactions

• Mo Boshi reports his discoveries to Maupassant and Shaliena, then later requests rescue when his attacks prove ineffective.
• He confronts the monster over its treatment of the villagers, but the creature dismisses him and attacks.
• Maupassant saves Mo Boshi and deliberately mocks the monster’s appearance, prompting it to charge repeatedly while Maupassant evades.

Chapter Summary: “Rain God Slash”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Maupassant confronts the Fish-Head Monster, which angrily accuses him of breaking his promise not to dodge.
• He explains his complicated feelings toward rain: it reminds him of sadness, but now it also signals that he is about to kill someone.
• Maupassant uses Rain Curtain to fill the area with blinding rain, followed by Rain Torrent, whose needle-like droplets pierce the monster’s defenses.
• Although the Fish-Head Monster suffers severe pain, its enormous health shield prevents the attack from killing it. Maupassant realizes defeating it will consume valuable potions and energy.
• Seeing the destruction the monster has caused to the village, Maupassant decides that killing it is necessary despite the cost.
• With Shaliena’s help, the rain intensifies into a violent storm. Maupassant freezes the falling rain and unleashes Rain God Slash, striking the monster repeatedly and smashing it into the village.
• The Fish-Head Monster survives the initial barrage and becomes even faster and more aggressive. Maupassant repeatedly uses Water Escape Art to evade its attacks, but his energy falls dangerously low.
• He consumes a rare Full-Energy Potion, giving him unlimited energy for ten minutes, despite the potion’s enormous value.
• Maupassant then unleashes a much more powerful series of Rain God Slashes. The attack splits the earth, forms enormous blades from the storm clouds, and drives the Fish-Head Monster into an abyss.
• After confirming that the monster’s health has reached zero, Maupassant observes the ruined village and feels remorse over the collateral damage.

Character Developments

• Maupassant demonstrates both overwhelming combat ability and a strong moral resolve. Although reluctant to waste precious resources, he chooses to kill the monster because allowing it to live would endanger more people.
• His battle reveals the limits of his abilities: even with powerful rain techniques, he must rely on expensive recovery items and a treasured Full-Energy Potion.
• The Fish-Head Monster changes from arrogant confidence to desperation and rage. Its belief in its divine power collapses as it is tortured, wounded, and ultimately killed.
• Shaliena supports Maupassant by manipulating the weather, though she recognizes the battle is economically costly and initially questions whether the effort is worthwhile.
• Hadi, watching from the forest, becomes deeply afraid of human strength. It decides to leave its territory and search for the gods worshipped by humans, hoping they can answer its questions.

Significant Themes

• Duty versus personal cost: Maupassant sacrifices rare resources and risks exhaustion because protecting others is more important than profit.
• The destructive power of nature: Rain is both Maupassant’s weapon and a force that devastates the surrounding village.
• Moral ambiguity and collateral damage: Maupassant kills the monster to save lives, yet his victory leaves the village in ruins, causing him to reflect regretfully.
• Fear and the unknown: Hadi’s understanding of humanity changes after witnessing Maupassant’s power, leading it to seek answers through religion and the idea of gods.
• Power and arrogance: The Fish-Head Monster’s confidence in its supposed divine protection proves meaningless against Maupassant’s superior strength and strategy.

Character Interactions

• Maupassant and the Fish-Head Monster exchange hostile taunts before and during the fight. The monster demands that he stop dodging, later begs for mercy, and finally attempts to kill him directly.
• Maupassant communicates with Shaliena through the team channel, ordering her to intensify the storm. She reluctantly agrees despite the resource cost.
• Maupassant’s repeated evasions frustrate the Fish-Head Monster, while its increasing speed forces him to spend nearly all his energy on Water Escape Art.
• Hadi observes the battle from hiding rather than engaging, and Maupassant’s victory fundamentally alters Hadi’s view of humans and the supernatural.

Plot points and events

• The Player Camp is losing patience as the Looting Emperor’s Dark Veil blocks the way forward. Players need combat for income and resources, and some are already considering leaving.
• Evil Beasts have infiltrated the Sea of Heroes, massacring settlements. Patrols and deployments have not been enough to contain them.
• At Zhouliu Cafeteria, Qiao Si and the others review what they know. Professor Wilhelm reports that one dissected Evil Beast was once a human, but its genetic structure had been destroyed and held together by a dark energy that makes its cells behave like viruses. Its brain and soul have also been radically altered, though the details remain unclear.
• With the camp under pressure and no clear way through the Dark Veil, Zhouliu proposes using an exceptionally potent Dark Cuisine dish to force the Looting Emperor to act. The dish previously poisoned the Marili Sea and killed everything there.
• Qiao Si approves the risky plan. Half an hour after Zhouliu begins cooking, the cafeteria fills with a smell so powerful that masks and energy shields cannot stop it. People collapse as soon as they stand, and the scene ends before the dish’s effects are fully revealed.

Character developments and interactions

• Qiao Si takes charge, weighing the danger of Zhouliu’s plan against the camp’s lack of alternatives. She stays resolute despite the others’ doubts.
• Zhouliu shifts from seemingly casual cafeteria owner to an unconventional strategist, revealing a history of dangerous culinary experiments. Zhouliu agrees to help, though the plan clearly carries risks.
• Mark questions whether the plan could poison the Sea of Heroes as well, while Victor objects to seeking the captain’s help out of pride. Both ultimately have little alternative to offer.
• Wilhelm provides a cautious scientific account of the Evil Beasts, emphasizing how little is known about their altered minds and souls.
• The players’ opening chatter shows rising frustration, financial pressure, and rivalry, contrasting their informal, self-interested concerns with the looming crisis.

Significant themes

• Necessity versus risk: The camp’s leaders resort to a potentially catastrophic measure because ordinary defenses have failed.
• Uncertainty and limited knowledge: Even scientific examination reveals only fragments about the Evil Beasts, while the Looting Emperor’s aims remain mysterious.
• The human cost of prolonged conflict: Players are not conventional soldiers; they have livelihoods and families, making delay itself a threat.
• Humor amid danger: Bickering and jokes about players’ reputations and Zhouliu’s cooking soften—but do not diminish—the urgency of the crisis.

Key plot points and events

• Zhouliu throws his failed salted-fish dish into the Looting Emperor’s Dark Veil. Its overwhelming odor acts like a poison, killing or incapacitating Evil Beasts and even affecting the Emperor through his skin.
• The Looting Emperor dispels the Dark Veil and attacks the players, leaving them an opening to prepare for battle. Zhouliu insists the dish was a failure, though the others are astonished it worked.
• Qiao Si urges the players to seize the chance before the Emperor can restore the veil.
• At Maqiao Village, Li Dongzhen orders players to gather at camp and guard the rear while he heads toward the fighting.
• Li finds Maupassant’s Rainy Day Team struggling against a powerful humanoid Evil Beast. Maupassant is nearly out of energy and is rescued by Li’s water technique.
• Li takes over, binding the beast with Water Tortoiseshell Bind. The chapter ends as the creature’s tail leaves it with a possible way to escape.

Character developments and interactions

• Zhouliu remains humble about his cooking, viewing the fish as an unfinished experiment despite its unexpected battlefield success.
• Qiao Si acts decisively, recognizing that the fallen Dark Veil creates a rare opportunity.
• Li Dongzhen emerges as a committed defender of Infinite City. He sees its players as family and comrades, and prioritizes protecting the community over pursuing his own advancement.
• Maupassant and his team are capable but outmatched by the new Evil Beast; their earlier success relied on costly resources, and Maupassant’s depleted energy leaves him vulnerable.
• Li rescues Maupassant, then dismisses the team from the immediate fight so they can recover and gain experience. He attacks without entertaining the beast’s question.

Significant themes

• Unlikely solutions and improvisation: A failed dish succeeds where conventional attacks could not.
• Community and responsibility: Players coordinate across the battlefield, while Li’s attachment to Infinite City motivates his defense of it.
• The cost of progress: Maupassant’s rapid advancement comes with heavy resource use and real danger.
• Power and uncertainty: Even strong abilities have limits; Li’s binding technique restrains the beast, but its unusual anatomy may defeat it.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Dongzhen battles Evil Beast near the rear of the camp. Evil Beast’s unusually balanced rationality makes him difficult to restrain with either of Li’s control abilities.
• Although Evil Beast attacks with tremendous speed and hundreds of strikes, Li Dongzhen successfully predicts and counters him. After repeatedly hitting him, Li paralyzes Evil Beast, causing his body to explode.
• Li offers Maupassant a choice: join the main battle against the Looting Emperor or return to defend the rear of the base. Maupassant wisely chooses the defensive mission because his team is not strong enough for the front line.
• The start of the main assault is announced by a violent tremor. The Looting Emperor, empowered by the Myriad Evils Return-Flow Scripture and angered by Zhouliu’s “dark cuisine,” launches an all-out attack on the city.
• A massive army of Evil Beasts floods the coastline. Some fire black beams from their mouths, while others launch fireballs capable of turning the ground into magma and destroying player camps.
• Mark leads a squad against the largest whale-bear-like Evil Beasts. Because the Rainy Day Team has already drawn away the available clouds, Mark’s team must create rainclouds using the Water-Gathering Art.
• Mark attacks one giant Evil Beast with the Sky-Piercer Halberd and lightning. Though he initially gains the advantage, the creature’s body resists the halberd and produces black sludge that begins spreading toward him. The beast then crashes into the ground while dragging Mark along, creating a huge crater.
• Elsewhere, Martin travels with Tapir and Yi Jie. A stray attack kills him despite Yi Jie’s attempt to shield him with a centipede.
• Hawkins arrives and dismisses the failure as partly Martin’s own recklessness. He compares Martin’s personality to Mark’s and suggests that dying repeatedly may help him mature. Hawkins then turns his attention toward the Looting Emperor.

Character Developments

• Li Dongzhen: Demonstrates his tactical skill and combat adaptability. Though his control-oriented class is poorly suited to Evil Beast’s intermediate level of rationality, he defeats the opponent through observation, evasion, and repeated counterattacks.
• Maupassant: Shows prudence and self-awareness by choosing to defend the rear rather than recklessly challenge the Looting Emperor. Li approves of his rational decision.
• The Looting Emperor: Fully abandons his former restraint after acquiring the Myriad Evils Return-Flow Scripture. His anger turns into a decisive declaration of war, revealing his pride and overwhelming authority.
• Mark: Displays immense offensive power but also impulsiveness and occasional poor judgment. He can dominate most enemies, yet his aggressive fighting style repeatedly places him in embarrassing or dangerous situations.
• Martin: Is shown to be inexperienced and rash, sharing some of Mark’s personality traits. His sudden death emphasizes the dangers of entering a battlefield beyond his current ability.
• Hawkins: Acts as a calm and pragmatic leader. Rather than blaming Tapir’s group for Martin’s death, he recognizes Martin’s immaturity and treats repeated deaths as a possible means of forcing him to grow.
• Tapir and Yi Jie: Attempt to protect Martin and follow battlefield discipline, but the scale and unpredictability of the assault overwhelm them.

Significant Themes

• Class compatibility and limitations: Li Dongzhen’s abilities are strongest against targets at the extremes of rationality, while Evil Beast falls into an awkward middle ground. The chapter highlights how even powerful skills can be undermined by an opponent’s unusual nature.
• Speed versus technique: Evil Beast’s speed compensates for his lack of experience, but Li proves that speed is only decisive when it surpasses an opponent’s ability to react.
• Rationality versus pride: Maupassant’s cautious choice contrasts with the Looting Emperor’s emotionally driven declaration of war. The chapter presents rational restraint as valuable, even in a world dominated by overwhelming power.
• The chaos of large-scale warfare: The battlefield is unpredictable, with attacks killing allies, destroying camps, and creating hazards even for powerful fighters.
• Growth through failure and death: Hawkins suggests that characters like Martin may need repeated setbacks—or deaths—to overcome immaturity and develop real battlefield judgment.
• Power versus control: Mark possesses tremendous destructive ability but lacks the battlefield control and preparation available to specialized support players, showing that raw strength alone does not guarantee smooth victories.

Character Interactions

• Li Dongzhen and Maupassant discuss the strategic choice between attacking the front line and defending the base. Their exchange establishes mutual respect for rational decision-making.
• The Looting Emperor’s anger at Zhouliu’s cooking becomes the immediate personal trigger for the wider war.
• Mark commands a squad and relies on them to create rainclouds and prepare the battlefield, while openly acknowledging the superiority of specialized weather-control players.
• Mark’s reckless battle is observed by Martin, Tapir, and the others, reinforcing the contrast between Mark’s power and his tendency toward embarrassing mistakes.
• Tapir instructs Martin to obey orders, but Martin is killed almost immediately by a stray attack, underlining his lack of battlefield awareness.
• Hawkins comforts Tapir after Martin’s death and reframes the loss as part of Martin’s necessary growth before turning to confront the Looting Emperor.

Chapter Summary: Pei Jin vs. the Looting Emperor

Key Plot Points and Events

• The Looting Emperor observes the battlefield from atop the Evil Beast transformed from the Black Demon Fish. He notices that Hawkins’s gaze contains no hatred, unlike the malice shown by the other players.
• Hawkins openly greets the Looting Emperor and allows his allies to withdraw while confronting him alone. He insists that the players are free individuals rather than his subordinates and declares that he will not personally oppose the Emperor.
• Hawkins uses an unexplained teleportation-like technique to appear behind the Looting Emperor before disappearing, provoking the Emperor’s anger.
• Unable to attack Hawkins, the Looting Emperor targets Qiao Si, the players’ commander. Pei Jin intervenes, challenging him to battle.
• Pei Jin first uses the Bone Demon Blade, which withstands the Looting Emperor’s Buddha Emperor’s Radiant Fist. He then unveils a new cross-shaped blade and clashes with the Emperor’s Black Kasaya, transformed into a black longsword.
• The Looting Emperor dismisses Pei Jin’s initial attack as weak. Pei Jin responds by activating his Level 100 Blade Incantation, “I Am the God Blade,” gaining divine attributes and a fivefold increase to all basic attributes for ten minutes.
• Empowered, Pei Jin unleashes a condensed blade aura that cracks and tears through the Black Kasaya. The Looting Emperor barely avoids being cut and admits that the attack deserves a perfect score, though Pei Jin claims it was only eighty points because he was still holding back.
• Pei Jin attacks again with an even faster, near-light-speed slash. The strike cuts through the Emperor’s defensive kasaya, severs his right hand, and pierces through the gigantic Black Stupa created from countless Evil Beasts.
• The Black Stupa crashes into the battlefield, devastating the land. The continent splits apart, spatial barriers twist, rivers flood the new fissures, mountains are flattened, and nearby cities and villages are buried by debris.

Character Developments

• Hawkins is shown to be calm, enigmatic, and ideologically opposed to the Looting Emperor without directly fighting him. His belief in individual freedom contrasts sharply with the Emperor’s authoritarian worldview. His mysterious movement technique also demonstrates that he remains difficult to predict.
• The Looting Emperor becomes increasingly irritated and threatened. His confidence is shaken when Hawkins escapes his understanding and Pei Jin damages the Black Kasaya, one of his major defenses. Despite his arrogance, he recognizes and praises Pei Jin’s strength.
• Pei Jin reveals a major increase in power and a new divine transformation. His mastery of multiple blades, especially the Bone Demon Blade and the cross-shaped blade, shows his versatility and preparation. His restrained attitude also suggests that his true strength exceeds what he has displayed.

Significant Themes

• Freedom versus control: Hawkins argues that the players act by their own will, while the Looting Emperor assumes that followers must be controlled by a leader.
• Arrogance and power: The Emperor’s dismissive attitude toward Hawkins and Pei Jin is challenged when both exceed his expectations.
• Transformation and escalation: Pei Jin’s divine blade state and the Emperor’s regeneration demonstrate how the battle continually rises to a higher level.
• The destructive cost of conflict: Their duel damages not only the combatants but the entire continent, emphasizing the catastrophic consequences of battles between powerful figures.

Character Interactions

• Hawkins and the Looting Emperor exchange philosophical provocations, with Hawkins criticizing the Emperor for sacrificing compassion in pursuit of power.
• The Emperor attempts to intimidate Hawkins, but Hawkins evades him and leaves him frustrated.
• Pei Jin and the Looting Emperor engage in a direct contest of martial skill and weapon mastery. Their exchange shifts from mockery to grudging respect as Pei Jin’s attacks grow powerful enough to breach the Emperor’s defenses.
• The wider battlefield becomes collateral damage as the Emperor and Pei Jin unleash increasingly devastating techniques.

Chapter summary

Key plot points and events

• Pei Jin’s attribute-free energy becomes divine energy when he activates the Blade Incantation of I Am the God Blade. Its purity prevents attacks from losing power, while its exclusivity makes each strike especially potent.
• Just as the Looting Emperor appears to have defeated him, Pei Jin breaks out of the Black Stupa using Divine Light Slash, wielding I Am the God Blade alongside the red Slaying-God Blade in his custom Twin-Blade Style.
• Pei Jin asks whether the Looting Emperor wants to continue. The Emperor calls the fight in Pei Jin’s favor and withdraws his Evil Beasts, transforming the Black Stupa into a dragon-like form that dissolves into a vast black sea.
• Pei Jin returns to the city wall and drops his active states. His energy is nearly depleted, and he admits to himself that continuing would have forced him to use a valuable Full-Energy Potion. He wonders whether the Emperor recognized his bluff.
• The Looting Emperor does not consider himself defeated. However, Pei Jin’s apparent remaining trump card—and the power of his weapons—convinces him that further fighting is not worthwhile.
• Deciding that he needs a weapon of his own, the Emperor enters the Compression Layer through a rift. There he retrieves Superheavy Black Gold, an extraordinarily heavy, tough, energy-conductive material, intending to forge a true Black Stupa. He also collects energy-storing beads.
• While searching for more metal, he encounters a strange, eyeless creature shaped like a long arm, with a mouth in its palm. He easily corrupts it into an Evil Beast—but then the surrounding rock wall begins shaking under the blows of something immensely large.

Character developments

• Pei Jin demonstrates that his strength depends greatly on his divine energy and two exceptional blades. Though he wins the exchange, he is practical about its cost and does not want to spend scarce resources on a prolonged fight.
• The Looting Emperor becomes newly conscious of how much weapons matter. Rather than pursue a costly rematch, he adapts by seeking the materials to forge a weapon that can match Pei Jin’s.
• The Emperor’s confidence remains intact: he yields strategically, not because he believes himself beaten.

Significant themes

• Power and its limitations: Pei Jin’s overwhelming attack power comes with a severe energy cost.
• Weapons as force multipliers: The battle teaches the Emperor that even immense personal power can be challenged by superior weapons.
• Strategic restraint: Both sides avoid escalating a fight whose risks may outweigh its rewards.
• Adaptation to a hostile world: The Compression Layer’s extreme pressure, scarce open space, unusual resources, and alien creatures demand caution and new strategies.

Character interactions

• Pei Jin and the Looting Emperor exchange a brief, tense challenge before agreeing—on the Emperor’s terms—to end the battle.
• The Emperor recognizes the threat posed by Pei Jin’s blades and responds not with immediate pursuit, but by planning to forge his own weapon.
• The Emperor tests the arm-creature with black liquid, corrupts it, and orders it closer, just before the appearance of a much greater threat interrupts him.

Plot points and events

• In the Compression Layer, the Looting Emperor is attacked by a mass of white arms erupting from a rock wall. He escapes rather than fight, recognizing that the arms are likely an unconscious, plantlike creature.
• He tests the creature with black liquid, turning it into an Evil Beast and gaining control of it. Over a day, the mass of arms reshapes into a giant lizard, which he rides as it searches the wall for Superheavy Black Gold—a material he hopes to forge into a pagoda, though he has no clear plan for making it.
• On the Sea of Heroes, Pei Jin receives payment from Qiao Si and realizes he can finally afford to forge his fifth divine blade. He begins gathering the required rare materials from old comrades and acquaintances.
• The weapon is the Purgatory Demon Blade, a huge serrated black knife decorated with images of demons and designed for sweeping attacks. Pei Jin hopes to use it against the demonically empowered Looting Emperor.
• Meanwhile, Hawkins finishes cleansing an Evil Beast’s Mind World. The creature has become a novice monk named Liao E. When Hawkins uses Foresight to inspect him, he is surprised by what he learns; the chapter ends before revealing the information.

Character developments

• Looting Emperor shows caution and adaptability: he avoids a dangerous fight, then turns the creature to his advantage. He remains intent on creating a weapon to defeat Pei Jin, despite having no definite forging method.
• Pei Jin is revealed as disciplined and frugal, having saved for tens of millions of years to afford rare divine blades. His determination to forge another weapon reflects his readiness to confront the Looting Emperor.
• Hawkins completes his work on the Evil Beast’s mind, while his playful impatience emerges in his teasing and repeated head-patting of Liao E.
• Liao E appears gentle and grateful, speaking in Buddhist language and claiming Hawkins freed him from evil karma.

Significant themes

• Preparation for conflict: Both Pei Jin and the Looting Emperor are independently gathering materials to forge weapons meant to kill the other.
• Power and resourcefulness: Survival depends not only on strength but on adapting, controlling threats, and securing rare resources.
• Transformation and uncertain identity: The arm creature becomes a lizard, while the cleansed Evil Beast becomes a monk, raising questions about what these beings are and how they change.
• Extreme sacrifice for ambition: Pei Jin’s long frugality shows the cost of pursuing exceptional power.

Character interactions

• The Looting Emperor first evades the arm creature, then subdues it with black liquid and directs it as his mount.
• Pei Jin coordinates with Qiao Si and several longtime companions—including Old Zhou—to obtain the materials for his blade. Old Zhou provides pureblood black goat demon blood.
• Hawkins treats Liao E roughly but affectionately, dismissing his elaborate speech and asking what he is; Liao E responds with gratitude and humility.

Summary of “Shifting Threads of Fate”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Hawkins realizes that Liao E is not truly the young Evil-Weaving Monk, but a fragment of the deceased monk’s memories and existence. Liao E appears alive but lacks genuine vitality or the ability to develop independently.
• Hoping that Liao E can become a real individual, Hawkins sends him to Infinite City’s orphanage, where he may discover his own “heart” and potentially begin a second life.
• Reflecting on Evil-Weaving Monk’s life, Hawkins recognizes him as a genuine saint who silently took on the world’s evil karma and ultimately sacrificed himself to protect countless living beings.
• Hawkins contrasts Evil-Weaving Monk’s selfless Buddhism with the Looting Emperor’s distorted interpretation of the monk’s teachings. The Looting Emperor had altered the Myriad Evils Return-Flow Scripture because he possessed only the Black Kasaya and lacked an understanding of Buddhist doctrine.
• After returning to the City Lord’s Manor, Hawkins senses that fate has changed unexpectedly. He initially suspects interference by a True-Self Perfect One but concludes that this is not the cause. He decides to make additional preparations and seek contact with such an existence.
• In the Compression Layer, the Looting Emperor searches for Superheavy Black Gold while riding a Lizard Evil Beast. He encounters an immense creature whose size and presence are so overwhelming that approaching it risks assimilation.
• After the enormous creature passes, the Looting Emperor gathers Superheavy Black Gold from the debris left in its wake.
• A powerful Trumpet Flower Beast attacks and swallows the Lizard Evil Beast. The Looting Emperor narrowly escapes and engages in a prolonged chase, repeatedly dodging its pursuing tongue while counterattacking with Dark Annihilation.
• Unable to defeat or escape the creature, he deliberately leads it toward the gigantic monster. The Trumpet Flower Beast instinctively stops, frightened by the larger creature, allowing the Looting Emperor to escape.
• The Looting Emperor has collected several hundred pieces of Superheavy Black Gold, though this remains insufficient to forge the Black Stupa. He realizes he needs another mount for protection.
• The chapter ends with a massive explosion or collapse shaking the Compression Layer, hinting at a major new event.

Character Developments and Interactions

• Hawkins and Liao E: Hawkins treats Liao E gently despite knowing that his apparent humanity is an illusion. Liao E responds like an innocent child, misunderstanding Hawkins’s pat and objecting that hitting people is wrong. Their interaction highlights both Liao E’s convincing personality and his tragic lack of true life.
• Hawkins and Evil-Weaving Monk: Through Liao E, Hawkins gains a deeper appreciation of Evil-Weaving Monk’s character and sacrifice. He sees the monk as a true saint rather than a hypocrite or corrupt religious figure.
• Hawkins and Fate: Hawkins’s confidence in his foresight is shaken when he detects an unforeseen variable. This prompts him to become more cautious and seek assistance or contact with a True-Self Perfect One.
• Looting Emperor and the Evil Beasts: The Looting Emperor successfully controls several creatures, including the Lizard Evil Beast, and uses them as tools and mounts. However, the Lizard Evil Beast’s death demonstrates the dangers of relying on them.
• Looting Emperor and the Trumpet Flower Beast: Their encounter becomes a battle of survival rather than direct confrontation. The Looting Emperor cannot harm the beast, so he relies on strategy and environmental manipulation to escape.

Significant Themes

• Identity and the nature of life: Liao E raises the question of whether memories or fragments of a person can constitute a true individual. Though he behaves like a human, he lacks independent growth and vitality.
• True virtue versus hypocrisy: Evil-Weaving Monk represents genuine self-sacrifice, while the chapter contrasts him with religious figures who merely appear virtuous or manipulate others for personal ends.
• Misinterpretation of ideals: The Looting Emperor’s corruption of Evil-Weaving Monk’s scripture shows how teachings can be distorted when separated from their original intent and moral foundation.
• Fate and uncertainty: Hawkins’s foresight is not absolute. Even an apparently predetermined future can shift when an unexpected force or variable intervenes.
• Survival through strategy: The Looting Emperor survives not through superior strength, but through caution, maneuvering, and exploiting the instincts and limitations of stronger creatures.
• Scale and power: The Compression Layer’s enormous creatures embody a brutal hierarchy in which size generally corresponds to strength, forcing smaller beings to rely on intelligence rather than force.

Key plot points and events

• In the Compression Layer, the Looting Emperor discovers that the enormous Evil Beast has been killed with a single blow. He spots Sa and her two daughters arriving on a Unicorn Whale and realizes Sa must be responsible.
• Sa dismisses the Emperor as a “little villain.” Offended, he attacks with a transformed scythe while fleeing, but Sa catches it effortlessly and pursues him.
• When the Emperor attacks again with the Black Kasaya, Sa immobilizes him and spares his life, offering him a cryptic hint because he has served as a guide. Once she leaves, he laughs, apparently reacting to his unexpected survival.
• In Infinite City, Hawkins senses that something unusual is happening: his Foresight cannot perceive Sa and her daughters. Sa introduces herself as Shaya and Su’er’s mother and asks to tour the city.
• Hawkins refuses, so Sa claims Shaya is his daughter. Shaya and Hawkins are both stunned. Sa gives an intentionally ambiguous explanation about time and the past and future, leaving unclear whether Shaya truly is Hawkins’s daughter.
• Hawkins relents and lets the three visit, provided they cause no trouble. Sa then asks to use his kitchen to cook.
• Shaya studies Hawkins’s face for similarities and says her mother rarely jokes. She explains that she and Su’er have traveled through different worlds with Sa in search of ingredients for Sa’s cookbook, which she describes as fulfilling her “ten-thousand-and-first wish.”

Character developments and interactions

• Sa is composed, warm, and teasing, but displays overwhelming power. She protects her daughters, casually handles the Looting Emperor, and keeps Hawkins and Shaya uncertain about their family history.
• The Looting Emperor shifts from alarm to indignation when Sa belittles him, then attacks despite knowing he is outmatched. Sa’s mercy leaves him alive and bewildered.
• Hawkins finds himself unable to predict Sa and is wary of becoming entangled with her. Though he challenges her at first, he eventually accommodates her visit.
• Shaya is startled by the possibility that Hawkins is her father, then actively searches for resemblance and takes Sa’s claim seriously. Su’er is likewise confused about her parentage and asks who her own father is.
• Sa’s lighthearted but unsettling exchanges with her daughters contrast with her effortless dominance over the Emperor; her interactions with Hawkins revolve around her enigmatic claim about Shaya.

Significant themes

• Power and perspective: Sa’s casual judgment of the Emperor undermines his self-image, while her strength makes even Hawkins cautious.
• Uncertainty about identity and time: Sa’s remarks suggest that parentage and family relationships may be complicated by time, but she offers no clear answer.
• Fate, prediction, and the unknowable: Hawkins’s Foresight fails around Sa, marking her as outside his usual ability to understand or anticipate events.
• Family and travel: Sa’s daughters share a close life of exploration, centered on their mother’s ongoing quest to complete her cookbook.

Chapter Summary: “Three Thousand Worlds, One Saha!”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Shaya asks Hawkins for a blood sample to test whether they are related. Using an advanced kinship-verification gun, she discovers they are not parent and child, disproving Sa’s earlier claim.
• Sa reveals that her claim was a deliberate lie and sends Shaya to wait in the living room, hinting that another surprise may await her.
• Shaya attempts to test Lele, but the dog recognizes the device and flees. He later returns to protect the old granny from being tested, even urinating on her clothes to force her away from Shaya.
• Shaya tests the old granny and discovers that they are relatives, though she cannot determine how. Since the device generally detects kinship within two generations, she realizes that the granny’s connection implies that one of her close male relatives may be Shaya’s father or another direct ancestor.
• After Sa spends half an hour in the kitchen, she emerges with Shaya and Su’er and presents Hawkins with a dish called “Three Thousand Worlds, One Saha.”
• Sa explains that the dish is made from three thousand minor worlds and the thoughts of countless living beings. Eating it allows the consumer to experience the birth and destruction of innumerable worlds instantly.
• Hawkins survives the dish—unlike a previous person who died immediately after eating it—and finds it extraordinarily delicious. He also realizes that the dish dramatically improves his attributes and advances his cultivation.

Character Developments

• Hawkins remains skeptical of Sa’s claims about their shared past and refuses to identify himself with the person Sa remembers. He emphasizes that different memories and perspectives create different identities. Nevertheless, he accepts Sa’s hospitality and gains a major breakthrough from her food.
• Shaya shifts from curiosity about Hawkins’s supposed kinship to concern after discovering her connection to the old granny. Her uncertainty suggests that her origins and family history may be more complicated than she expected.
• Sa continues to manipulate situations playfully while maintaining confidence that Hawkins is connected to her across different points in time or existence. Her cooking demonstrates both her immense power and her unusual affection toward Hawkins.
• Lele proves cowardly but loyal. Though terrified of Shaya’s gun, he returns to protect the old granny and cleverly creates a distraction, only to fear punishment afterward.
• Su’er remains innocent and blunt, reacting with surprise that Hawkins survives the dangerous dish.

Significant Themes

• Identity and continuity: Hawkins and Sa disagree over whether a person’s past, future, or alternate existence should be considered the same individual.
• Family and hidden origins: Shaya’s failed test with Hawkins but successful test with the old granny introduces a mystery surrounding her ancestry.
• Power expressed through ordinary activities: Sa’s cooking is not merely domestic; it involves worlds, consciousness, and cultivation-level power.
• Trust and uncontrollable fate: Hawkins dislikes situations beyond his control, yet accepts Sa’s gift and benefits enormously from it, showing the tension between suspicion and opportunity.
• Loyalty and comic relief: Lele’s antics provide humor while also demonstrating genuine devotion to the old granny.

Character Interactions

• Hawkins and Shaya interact through the blood test, with Hawkins amused by her investigation and Shaya disappointed by the result.
• Sa teases Shaya about the test and later engages Hawkins in a philosophical discussion about identity and shared existence.
• Shaya’s attempted test of the old granny causes confusion, as the granny mistakenly assumes Shaya is connected to Martin.
• Lele intervenes to protect the granny from Shaya, turning the potentially serious family discovery into a comic scene.
• Sa offers Hawkins her dangerous dish, and his sincere praise confirms mutual respect despite his continued reservations about her claims.