Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary

Key plot points and events

• The group continues moving through Nine-Headed Dragon Jade’s territory under growing tension. Aiou, however, remains carefree: he eats noodles and a banana, interacts with his livestream audience, and eventually falls asleep on his Somersault Cloud.
• The others initially find Aiou’s behavior inappropriate for such a dangerous situation, but Li Donglai reflects that Aiou’s carefree attitude represents a legitimate way of living. This prompts Bai Mu to confront his own inability to move past the humiliation caused by Xiao Tiantian.
• Nine-Headed Dragon Jade reassesses the group after its first interception fails. Aiou’s strength has exceeded expectations, turning what should have been a routine suppression into a public crisis because of his livestream.
• Zhang Tom, a subordinate of the Seventh Great Dragon Head, organizes a much stronger ambush in a suspicious plaza. Bai Mu and the others recognize the location as an obvious trap and attempt to avoid it, frustrating the hidden attackers.
• Zhang Tom nevertheless launches a direct assault. He uses Guan Yu’s Azure Dragon Crescent Blade and the technique Azure Dragon Moon-Cleaving, quickly severing one of Bai Mu’s arms and badly wounding him.
• Li Donglai attempts to defend Bai Mu with his sword and pistol, while Granny Liu intervenes when Zhang Tom’s Azure Dragon threatens Li. Her elephant projection is overwhelmed.
• Aiou remains asleep, but his autonomous Sea-Calming Divine Chopsticks protect Granny Liu by blocking the Azure Dragon.
• With Bai Mu severely injured, the team surrounds him to buy time for recovery. They resort to an old, economical defensive technique: releasing huge quantities of rocks from storage to block Zhang Tom’s attacks.

Character developments

• Aiou: Becomes even more defined as carefree, unpredictable, and detached from conventional seriousness. He has lost much of his anger toward Xiao Tiantian and now treats the conflict almost like entertainment, though his weapons remain alert enough to protect allies while he sleeps.
• Bai Mu: Remains emotionally trapped by the humiliation Xiao Tiantian caused him. Although Li Donglai encourages him to let go, Bai Mu insists that only Xiao Tiantian’s death can restore his honor, particularly in his own eyes and before his wife.
• Li Donglai: Shows empathy and philosophical maturity. He defends Aiou’s right to live freely and recognizes that criticizing Aiou for being relaxed would amount to forcing personal values onto him. In battle, he takes responsibility for protecting Bai Mu.
• Granny Liu: Continues acting decisively and protectively, abandoning her own opponent to save Li Donglai. Despite her courage, she is clearly outmatched by Zhang Tom.
• Zhang Tom: Emerges as a powerful and aggressive enemy commander. He is frustrated by the group’s refusal to follow predictable behavior and attacks directly once his ambush is discovered.
• Sea-Calming Divine Chopsticks: Demonstrate independent will by protecting Granny Liu despite Aiou being unconscious.

Significant themes

• Freedom versus imposed expectations: Aiou’s relaxed attitude contrasts with the others’ seriousness, leading to the idea that people should not force their ambitions, regrets, or definitions of success onto others.
• The burden of resentment: Bai Mu’s inability to forgive Xiao Tiantian shows how humiliation and wounded pride can imprison a person emotionally.
• Complacency and perspective: Nine-Headed Dragon Jade’s assumptions about the group prove dangerous. Its leaders view them as insignificant “ants,” but Aiou’s unexpected strength overturns their calculations.
• The absurdity of established routines: The organization’s familiar environment and ambush tactics appear bizarre to outsiders. The plaza seems normal to Zhang Tom but obviously suspicious to Bai Mu’s group, emphasizing how perspective shapes judgment.
• Resourcefulness of ordinary people: The chapter ends by highlighting a simple, inexpensive defensive method—using stored rocks—showing that practical ingenuity can remain valuable even in a world of powerful experts.

Character interactions

• Granny Liu and Bai Mu humorously compare Aiou to a monkey because of his erratic behavior.
• Li Donglai’s defense of Aiou indirectly comforts Bai Mu, who recognizes the deeper meaning behind his words.
• Zhang Tom clashes primarily with Bai Mu and Li Donglai, while Granny Liu intervenes to protect Li.
• Aiou appears disengaged, but his autonomous chopsticks unexpectedly save Granny Liu, reinforcing the contrast between his apparent laziness and his hidden power.

Chapter Summary: “Cockless Talk”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Zhang Tom and several ministers attack Li Donglai, Bai Mu, Granny Liu, and the others.
• The defenders use large quantities of Vajra Treasure Rock to construct a temporary bunker. Although the rock withstands Zhang Tom’s sword, it is vulnerable to concentrated attacks, especially the Explosive Fist technique.
• Bai Mu recovers inside the bunker and prepares to fight Zhang Tom, while Li Donglai readies himself to confront the other attackers.
• Zhang Tom attempts to kill the sleeping Aiou. However, Aiou’s Sea-Calming Divine Chopsticks automatically protect him. The chopsticks block Zhang Tom’s Azure Dragon Crescent Blade, causing the treasured weapon to crack.
• The chopsticks then grow larger and relentlessly pursue Zhang Tom, eventually crushing his head. They also kill the subordinates who try to rescue him.
• Aiou wakes after the battle, complains about the smell, and appears unaware of the carnage around him. Because the enemy believes he secretly controlled the chopsticks, they become even more wary of him.
• With Zhang Tom dead and Aiou awake, the ministers order a retreat. The defenders emerge from the bunker only to discover that their enemies have fled.
• The chapter then shifts to the Nine-Headed Dragon Jade’s underground laboratory. Rather than sheltering Xiao Tiantian, the organization has captured and mutilated him for research.
• Researchers investigate Xiao Tiantian’s unusual body and his altered form of the Green Wolf Bridal Robe Divine Art. They discover that his body contains specialized structures for producing and storing essence, while his soul allows him to revive through his descendants.
• The researchers conclude that Infinite City’s versions of techniques from the wider cosmos have been drastically altered. Xiao Tiantian’s case inspires one researcher to pursue a dangerous idea: modifying bodies to fit powerful techniques rather than designing techniques to fit existing bodies.

Character Developments

• Bai Mu recovers from his injuries and becomes determined to fight Zhang Tom, driven by anger at those serving a tyrant.
• Li Donglai demonstrates leadership and tactical awareness, coordinating the defense and preparing for a breakout.
• Zhang Tom shifts from an overwhelming attacker to a helpless victim after his weapon breaks and Aiou’s chopsticks pursue him. His death reveals the limits of relying on superior strength and equipment.
• Aiou remains largely oblivious and childlike, sleeping through the battle and reacting casually to the bloody aftermath. His seemingly unconscious defense makes him appear far more dangerous than he realizes.
• Xiao Tiantian is revealed to be a modified, experimental cultivator whose body and soul have been reshaped to support an abnormal cultivation method.
• The Nine-Headed Dragon Jade researchers move beyond simple analysis and develop a new ambition: deliberately engineering bodies capable of using otherwise impossible techniques.

Significant Themes

• Overconfidence and unpredictability: Zhang Tom’s overwhelming advantage collapses because he underestimates Aiou and the defensive power of the Sea-Calming Divine Chopsticks.
• The importance of specialization: Every weapon, profession, and technique has strengths and weaknesses. Vajra Treasure Rock resists ordinary attacks but can be destroyed through focused force.
• Misunderstanding and perception: The enemies assume Aiou consciously controlled the chopsticks, demonstrating how appearances can make an individual seem more calculating and terrifying than he actually is.
• The ethics of experimentation: Xiao Tiantian is treated as a laboratory specimen, raising the issue of scientific advancement pursued through cruelty and the destruction of individual autonomy.
• Body and technique modification: The researchers question whether people should adapt themselves to techniques or transform their bodies to accommodate them, foreshadowing potentially monstrous new forms of cultivation.

Character Interactions

• Li Donglai and Bai Mu cooperate defensively, with Bai Mu volunteering to confront Zhang Tom while Li Donglai handles the remaining enemies.
• Zhang Tom directly attacks the sleeping Aiou, but the Sea-Calming Divine Chopsticks intervene independently, turning the encounter against him.
• Zhang Tom’s subordinates attempt to save him but are killed by the chopsticks, causing the ministers to abandon the assault.
• The defenders later recognize the significance of Aiou’s massacre, while the retreating forces interpret it as evidence of his hidden power.
• In the laboratory, the researchers examine and debate Xiao Tiantian’s physiology and cultivation method, using his body as the basis for a broader theory of artificially engineered cultivation.

Summary of “Falga’s Modification”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Falga announces that he is leaving the laboratory and abandoning his lifelong service to Nine-Headed Dragon Jade. He has discovered his own path: creating an invincible body capable of cultivating an equally invincible art, allowing him to surpass both players and cultivators.
• Using Xiao Tiantian as his first test subject, Falga performs a horrifying operation. With his mad-doctor abilities, he rearranges Xiao Tiantian’s meridians and alters the nature of his true qi, preventing him from dying during the experiment.
• Falga escapes before Nine-Headed Dragon Jade can respond, leaving the researchers to observe the results of his experiment.
• Xiao Tiantian’s body becomes unstable and monstrous. When attacked by the laboratory’s guards, he develops extra arms, survives decapitation, and produces countless tumor-like growths and duplicate heads from his own cells.
• His altered cultivation method allows him to regenerate directly from his cells, expanding the regenerative principle of his Green Wolf Bridal Robe Divine Art. His vitality and combat power increase enormously, though his body becomes grotesque and inhuman.
• Xiao Tiantian overwhelms the security captain by causing any part of the captain’s body he touches to mutate. The captain is nearly defeated before the Great Dragon Head arrives.
• The Great Dragon Head asks whether Xiao Tiantian is still useful. A researcher reluctantly indicates that he is no longer needed, while the Great Dragon Head dismisses the need to discuss Falga’s escape.

Character Developments

• Falga: Changes from a seemingly restrained researcher into a determined rogue visionary. His apparent shift in personality is revealed to be confidence gained from discovering a viable path toward transcending ordinary existence. He demonstrates both brilliance and ruthless disregard for others by using Xiao Tiantian as an experimental subject.
• Xiao Tiantian: Is transformed from a powerful but limited player into a grotesque, nearly indestructible biological monster. His regenerative ability becomes vastly stronger, but he loses much of his normal human form and appears driven by instinct and uncontrolled bodily changes.
• The Researchers: Move from confusion and alarm to fascinated observation. Although they fear Falga’s betrayal, they are more interested in understanding the breakthrough he achieved and the practical meaning of his “enlightenment.”
• Security Captain: Initially confident in his superior strength and coordinated tactics, he is gradually overwhelmed by Xiao Tiantian’s mutation and regeneration.
• Great Dragon Head: Reinforces his authority through the guards’ immediate submission. He treats Xiao Tiantian and Falga primarily as useful or disposable experimental assets.

Significant Themes

• Theory versus true understanding: The chapter distinguishes between merely imagining an idea and possessing the practical insight needed to execute it. Falga’s enlightenment includes concrete answers to the physical and technical problems of reshaping meridians and cultivation.
• Transcendence through experimentation: Falga seeks to surpass players and cultivators by combining an ultimate body with an ultimate cultivation art, using radical biological modification as the route to transcendence.
• The cost of advancement: Xiao Tiantian becomes dramatically stronger, but the process strips away his humanity and turns him into a disturbing monster.
• Freedom versus institutional control: Falga breaks away from Nine-Headed Dragon Jade despite his confidentiality contract, suggesting that personal ambition and newfound power can overcome systems designed to enforce lifelong obedience.
• Life, death, and regeneration: Xiao Tiantian’s transformation challenges ordinary limits, including mortality and possibly the conservation of energy. His body becomes a self-reproducing source of life rather than a stable human organism.

Character Interactions

• Falga calmly thanks Xiao Tiantian while treating him as a specimen, revealing the emotional distance between them.
• The researchers react to Falga’s departure with fear but remain fascinated by the knowledge behind his experiment.
• Xiao Tiantian attacks the guards almost instinctively after awakening, while the security captain attempts to subdue him through coordinated tactics and lethal strikes.
• The captain’s combat ability is repeatedly countered by Xiao Tiantian’s abnormal regeneration and mutation.
• The researchers urge one another to preserve Xiao Tiantian because they still want to study him, but the Great Dragon Head’s arrival shifts the situation toward deciding whether the experiment has any remaining value.

Chapter Summary: “Pollution”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The Great Dragon Head confirms that Xiao Tiantian’s mutation is out of control and orders his immediate execution. He incinerates Xiao Tiantian, reducing him to powder, then commands the researchers to abandon the laboratory.
• Xiao Tiantian’s cells survive by infecting the security captain and researchers. Their bodies sprout limbs and faces as his flesh spreads through them. The Great Dragon Head responds by unleashing overwhelming heat, melting the entire laboratory into ash and magma.
• Despite the destruction, Xiao Tiantian’s cells survive underground. Through Falga’s modifications and alien true qi, they reproduce and evolve rapidly in the magma.
• Xiao Tiantian resurrects in a grotesque new form covered in feathers, tails, and countless eyes. He attacks the Great Dragon Head but is instantly annihilated by red spheres of light, leaving no cells behind.
• The Great Dragon Head recognizes that Xiao Tiantian’s reproductive and contaminating abilities could become a catastrophe if allowed to continue, even though Xiao Tiantian’s immediate body has been destroyed.
• Elsewhere, Bai Mu’s tracking needle changes direction, suggesting that Xiao Tiantian was either moved or resurrected elsewhere. Li Donglai and the others, exhausted from the pursuit, decide to return.
• Bai Mu chooses to continue the search. Granny Liu supports him, while Aiou remains with them. The enforcement team initially prepares to arrest them for the destruction caused during their pursuit.
• Before the arrests can occur, the enforcers receive a distress signal from Zone 6699. A hospital has been infected by Xiao Tiantian’s cells: arms, eyes, and other mutations erupt from patients and staff, dragging corpses away. Blood mist spreads the contamination, causing the entire hospital to collapse into chaos.

Character Developments

• The Great Dragon Head is shown to be immensely powerful, ruthless, and highly cautious. Although he can destroy Xiao Tiantian physically, he understands that Xiao Tiantian’s ability to reproduce and contaminate makes him a continuing threat.
• Xiao Tiantian becomes less recognizably human as Falga’s modifications take effect. His body and mind are warped into a rapidly evolving biological weapon capable of spreading through cells, corpses, and living hosts.
• Bai Mu demonstrates increasing determination and personal stubbornness. He acknowledges that he cannot force his companions to continue but chooses to pursue Xiao Tiantian alone rather than abandon the mission.
• Li Donglai and his companions reach their physical and emotional limits, choosing to withdraw after recognizing the immense danger and difficulty of opposing Nine-Headed Dragon Jade.
• Granny Liu reinforces her practical but resolute nature, encouraging Bai Mu to stop hesitating and pursue the matter decisively.
• Aiou remains comparatively relaxed and detached, eating dried fruit while still agreeing to accompany Bai Mu and Granny Liu.
• The enforcement team shifts from preparing to arrest Bai Mu’s group to responding to the larger emergency caused by Xiao Tiantian’s contamination.

Significant Themes

• Life’s persistence and uncontrolled evolution: Even total physical destruction cannot fully eliminate Xiao Tiantian, whose cells adapt and reproduce in hostile conditions.
• Pollution and contamination: Xiao Tiantian’s danger lies less in direct combat than in his ability to infect bodies, spread invisibly, and transform entire populations.
• The limits of power: The Great Dragon Head can easily defeat Xiao Tiantian in battle, yet recognizes that raw strength may not be enough to stop an enemy capable of endless resurrection and reproduction.
• Loss of humanity: Xiao Tiantian’s altered body and mind illustrate the consequences of treating life and cultivation as material for reckless experimentation.
• Persistence versus exhaustion: Bai Mu’s determination contrasts with Li Donglai’s fatigue, raising questions about when perseverance becomes stubbornness.
• Law versus justice: The enforcers must balance punishing Bai Mu’s destructive actions with responding to the far greater threat posed by Nine-Headed Dragon Jade and Xiao Tiantian.

Character Interactions

• The Great Dragon Head coldly orders Xiao Tiantian’s execution and later destroys the laboratory when the infection spreads, demonstrating his contempt for failure and his dominance over the researchers.
• Xiao Tiantian and the Great Dragon Head briefly confront one another; Xiao Tiantian attacks like a predator, but the Great Dragon Head effortlessly eradicates him.
• Bai Mu and Li Donglai disagree over whether the pursuit should continue. Li Donglai wants to withdraw, while Bai Mu accepts that he must proceed without forcing the others to follow.
• Granny Liu encourages Bai Mu to act decisively, and Aiou asks whether they should continue, ultimately remaining with the group.
• The enforcement team’s plans to arrest Bai Mu’s group are interrupted by the hospital disaster, redirecting their attention toward the spreading mutation.

Chapter Summary: “Amplification Ring”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The Enforcement Team arrives at the ruins of Divine Hand Hospital and discovers Xiao Tiantian transformed into a grotesque mass of enormous limbs, with his giant face at the center.
• Players debate the disaster’s cause on the Forum, with some blaming Nine-Headed Dragon Jade for experimenting on Xiao Tiantian and others arguing that Xiao Tiantian may have triggered the catastrophe himself.
• Players enter the disaster zone hoping to collect cell samples, but they are rapidly infected by Xiao Tiantian’s vital essence. Protective suits prove useless.
• One squad experiences horrific mutations. Rather than endure further transformation, the members kill themselves, demonstrating the extreme danger of the contamination.
• The Enforcement Team determines that:
  • Xiao Tiantian controls the hospital and can invade bodies silently.
  • His limbs move slowly, making them avoidable.
  • He appears unconscious, acting only through instinct.
• The authorities establish a barrier around the hospital to contain the disaster and prevent further growth.
• Aiou, Granny Liu, and Bai Mu enter the restricted area before the lockdown is complete. Their powerful energy shields protect them from the airborne vital essence.
• The trio approaches the hospital, realizing that Xiao Tiantian has become aware of them.
• Aiou gives Granny Liu and Bai Mu Supreme Charging Rings, which temporarily amplify their strength. Granny Liu’s power increases to more than ten times its original level, while Bai Mu’s red aura grows dramatically.
• Confident in their enhanced strength, the group prepares to confront and kill Xiao Tiantian permanently.

Character Developments

• Xiao Tiantian is revealed to have become a largely mindless biological disaster. His body has merged with the hospital ruins, producing countless limbs and infectious vital essence. Although he seems unable to move freely or think consciously, he remains extremely dangerous.
• The Enforcement Team responds cautiously and methodically. The captain prioritizes gathering information and containing the threat rather than rushing into battle, even allowing players to test the danger at first.
• The players display both greed and professionalism. Many enter the ruins seeking valuable biological samples, but when confronted with unavoidable mutation, the squad members choose decisive suicide over grotesque transformation.
• Granny Liu becomes deeply enraged by the destruction of the hospital and the implied suffering of its patients, especially the mothers and children affected by Xiao Tiantian’s crimes. Her determination to kill him intensifies.
• Aiou demonstrates practical leadership by providing the charging rings and protecting his companions from contamination.
• Bai Mu remains calm and assumes that Nine-Headed Dragon Jade is responsible, while his confidence rises after receiving the ring’s amplification.

Significant Themes

• Body horror and loss of humanity: Xiao Tiantian’s transformation and the players’ mutations portray the body becoming an uncontrollable, monstrous object.
• Containment versus curiosity: The authorities seek to isolate the threat, while players risk their lives for profit and information.
• The limits of protection: Technology such as protective suits is useless against Xiao Tiantian’s invasive vital essence; only overwhelming personal energy offers defense.
• Moral outrage and revenge: Granny Liu’s anger reflects the chapter’s condemnation of Xiao Tiantian’s crimes and the suffering caused at the hospital.
• Power and preparation: The Supreme Charging Rings shift the balance of power and give the protagonists confidence before the coming confrontation.
• Uncertainty over responsibility: The Forum arguments leave open whether the disaster is Xiao Tiantian’s own contingency plan or the result of Nine-Headed Dragon Jade’s experiments.

Character Interactions

• The Enforcement Team captain rejects rash action and coordinates with other squad leaders, while a female enforcer questions his willingness to let players serve as test subjects.
• Forum users argue over Xiao Tiantian’s identity, Nine-Headed Dragon Jade’s responsibility, and whether Xiao Tiantian is still alive or merely an animated corpse.
• The infected squad members warn one another as their bodies mutate, ultimately choosing suicide together.
• Granny Liu, Aiou, and Bai Mu cooperate closely while advancing through the contaminated zone. Granny Liu expresses concern over the disaster, Bai Mu offers a blunt theory about its cause, and Aiou equips both companions with the rings.
• After receiving the amplification, Granny Liu and Bai Mu regain confidence and prepare to face Xiao Tiantian with renewed certainty that they can defeat him.

Chapter Summary: “Aiou Thinking of Some Stream-Dragging Hack”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Aiou reflects that people’s confidence often comes from ignorance. Granny Liu and Bai Mu believed the protective rings he gave them were extremely powerful, but Aiou knows they are only average treasures by higher standards.
• Upon entering Divine Hand Hospital, Granny Liu and Bai Mu are attacked by Xiao Tiantian’s invisible and highly corrosive Variant True Qi. Their energy shields and Blood Shields are rapidly destroyed, forcing them to retreat.
• Aiou explains that he underestimated Xiao Tiantian’s transformed strength. The hospital is saturated with Variant True Qi, which attacks even Aiou’s defenses, though his shield survives because it is reinforced by the seemingly inexhaustible Three Thousand Motherly Loves.
• The group realizes they cannot directly defeat Xiao Tiantian with their current resources. Aiou claims he has no more magical treasures, though this is likely not entirely true.
• Granny Liu and Bai Mu consider seeking help from the Enforcement Team, the strongest authority in Infinite City, but decide to temporarily retreat instead. They head toward Hand-Holding Lake, a comparatively safe area outside the hospital’s reach.
• Xiao Tiantian’s essence pursues them. Granny Liu begins falling behind and prepares to kill herself so she can revive elsewhere using a Resurrection Coin.
• Aiou rescues her with the Sea-Calming Divine Chopsticks, stretching them toward her and pulling her safely into the lake area.
• Bai Mu asks whether Aiou can defeat Xiao Tiantian. Aiou admits that he probably can, prompting Bai Mu to urge him to end the battle.
• Aiou considers intervening but refuses because doing so would make the story too short and leave no opportunity for “stream-dragging” filler. He humorously claims that events across the myriad realms are preserved in spacetime and later adapted into stories, meaning the current battle must be stretched out to entertain fictional creators and audiences.

Character Developments

• Aiou: His overwhelming strength becomes increasingly apparent. While Granny Liu and Bai Mu struggle merely to survive, Aiou remains calm and largely unharmed. He also displays a deliberately lazy, irreverent attitude, prioritizing amusement and narrative pacing over efficiency.
• Granny Liu: Her confidence in her own strength is shattered by Xiao Tiantian’s attack. She becomes cautious and accepts that retreat or self-destruction may be necessary, but she reacts quickly when Aiou offers assistance.
• Bai Mu: He gains a clearer understanding of the enormous gap between himself and Aiou. Previously uncertain of Aiou’s true level, Bai Mu now recognizes him as an existence far beyond ordinary powerhouses. He also becomes increasingly frustrated by Aiou’s refusal to act.
• Xiao Tiantian: Though he does not appear directly, his transformation is shown through the immense amount and terrifying corrosiveness of his Variant True Qi. His current power is vastly greater than before, making the hospital itself a deadly domain.

Significant Themes

• Relative power and ignorance: Strength is shown to be hierarchical and dependent on perspective. Those considered powerful in one environment may be insignificant in another.
• The danger of overconfidence: Granny Liu and Bai Mu assume Aiou’s rings will make the battle easy, but Xiao Tiantian’s unexpected power quickly disproves their expectations.
• Hidden strength: Aiou’s calm behavior conceals a massive difference in ability, reinforcing the difficulty of judging characters based on appearances or visible effort.
• Survival versus pride: The group must abandon their original plan and focus on escape, while considering drastic measures such as suicide and resurrection.
• Meta-humor and narrative pacing: Aiou breaks the fourth wall by treating the prolonged conflict as deliberate story padding, mocking authors who unnecessarily extend plots.

Character Interactions

• Granny Liu and Bai Mu seek Aiou’s explanation after their failed attack, further acknowledging him as their strongest ally.
• Granny Liu asks whether Aiou has additional treasures, but he claims to have none.
• Bai Mu proposes retreating to Hand-Holding Lake, and Granny Liu consults Aiou because of his superior strength.
• During the escape, Granny Liu nearly sacrifices herself, but Aiou saves her with the Sea-Calming Divine Chopsticks.
• Bai Mu privately presses Aiou to defeat Xiao Tiantian. Aiou’s refusal leaves Bai Mu baffled and exasperated.
• Aiou explains his bizarre reasoning about story length and “stream-dragging” authors, ending the chapter with a comedic declaration that their entire ordeal is being artificially prolonged by a mediocre writer.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• The Enforcement Team seals off Divine Hand Hospital from Infinite City with multiple barriers while Aiou, Bai Mu, and Granny Liu flee Xiao Tiantian’s mutated Variant True Qi.
• Xiao Tiantian relentlessly pursues them because he needs additional nourishment to grow and multiply. His energy has already consumed the hospital’s doctors and patients, leaving only the director, Hua Shengnong, still fighting inside.
• Hua Shengnong, a powerful Golden Needle Miracle Physician, battles Xiao Tiantian from within the hospital, preventing the creature from acting even more recklessly.
• Bai Mu and Granny Liu’s attacks prove largely ineffective. The Variant True Qi repeatedly reforms after being scattered and continues chasing them.
• When the two are close to death, Aiou finally intervenes. Using the power of the Three Thousand Motherly Loves, he erases Xiao Tiantian’s body, all of his hidden puppets, and the Variant True Qi in an instant.
• The destruction of Xiao Tiantian causes Divine Hand Hospital to collapse. Hua Shengnong survives beneath the ruins, bewildered by how abruptly the battle ends.
• After Aiou leaves, the barriers open and the Enforcers arrest Bai Mu and Granny Liu.
• Falga watches recordings of the battle from a Dark Room. He regrets losing the chance to gather more data but begins planning further experiments involving cultivation arts and modified bodies.
• Falga explains that his earlier success with Xiao Tiantian came from deciphering the Green Wolf Bridal Robe Divine Art and using that knowledge to mutate Xiao Tiantian’s true qi.
• He intends to create an ultimate cultivation art, body, and form of true qi, allowing him to surpass his limits and rival the strongest beings.
• Falga abandons his Dark Room, leaving behind a notebook. When members of Nine-Headed Dragon Jade find it, their captain realizes it is dangerous. Three subordinates ambush and seal him, planning to study or cultivate the powerful art themselves.
• Aiou becomes bored after the incident and summons Mi Hayou, asking him to find something entertaining.
• Mi Hayou reminds Aiou of the irregularly appearing Myriad-No-Taboo Auction House, reviving Aiou’s interest in the Black Market auction.

Character Developments

• Aiou remains overwhelmingly powerful and casually treats the crisis as a minor inconvenience. His intervention demonstrates that his power can erase Xiao Tiantian and every potential means of revival effortlessly.
• Bai Mu and Granny Liu are shown to be capable fighters but helpless against Xiao Tiantian’s relentless regenerative Variant True Qi. Their arrest after being rescued adds an ironic twist to their survival.
• Xiao Tiantian is revealed to be driven more by instinct than reason. Even after Falga damaged his mind, he retains the instinct to seek nourishment and eliminate perceived threats.
• Hua Shengnong is established as both a master physician and formidable combatant. Though he survives the collapse, he is left unable to understand how Xiao Tiantian was defeated.
• Falga becomes more ambitious and methodical. He views Xiao Tiantian as a successful experiment and seeks to develop an ultimate combination of cultivation technique and physical body.
• Nine-Headed Dragon Jade’s subordinates reveal their opportunism and ambition by betraying their captain after witnessing the potential of Falga’s research.
• Mi Hayou continues to behave shamelessly and humorously around Aiou but proves useful as an informant who remembers the auction house.

Significant Themes

• Overwhelming power and trivialized conflict: The terrifying battle is rendered meaningless when Aiou erases the enemy with a casual wish, emphasizing the vast difference between his power and that of other characters.
• Science, cultivation, and experimentation: Falga treats cultivation arts and living bodies as systems to dissect, modify, and perfect.
• Ambition and pragmatism: Falga admits he lacks exceptional talent and therefore relies on patient research and steady advancement rather than innate genius.
• Betrayal and self-interest: The Nine-Headed Dragon Jade members abandon their captain once they believe Falga’s cultivation art may offer them greater power.
• Comedy and narrative self-awareness: Aiou repeatedly comments on pacing, forgotten plot points, and “padding word count,” blending the fictional world with humorous awareness of storytelling conventions.
• The insignificance of ordinary defenses: The Enforcement Team’s barriers, Xiao Tiantian’s regenerative abilities, and the hospital’s resistance all become irrelevant against Aiou’s near-infinite power.

Character Interactions

• Aiou, Bai Mu, and Granny Liu: Bai Mu and Granny Liu desperately call for Aiou’s help while being chased. Aiou reluctantly agrees, ending the battle immediately.
• Xiao Tiantian and Hua Shengnong: Hua Shengnong fights Xiao Tiantian within Divine Hand Hospital, acting as the main obstacle preventing the creature from attacking more freely.
• Falga and Xiao Tiantian: Though absent physically, Falga’s earlier experimentation has transformed Xiao Tiantian into a mutated test subject. Falga continues observing him and analyzing the results.
• Nine-Headed Dragon Jade members and their captain: The squad members betray and seal their captain after deciding that the notebook’s cultivation knowledge is more valuable than their loyalty.
• Aiou and Mi Hayou: Aiou summons Mi Hayou for entertainment. Mi Hayou’s exaggerated devotion annoys Aiou, but he successfully reminds Aiou of the upcoming auction.
• Aiou and the narrative itself: Aiou jokes about forgotten plot threads and excessive exposition, reinforcing the chapter’s deliberately comedic, self-referential tone.

Summary of “The Clichéd Auction House Plot”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Aiou and Mi Hayou travel from Infinite City to the Black Market and enter the Myriad-No-Taboo Auction House using a private-room access card. Aiou’s unusual entry status makes him effectively an illegal immigrant within the Black Market.
• The auction house operates without waiting for guests and is filled mostly with brokers bidding on behalf of wealthy employers.
• Aiou witnesses the auction house’s brutal transaction system. Auctioneers are condemned criminals bound by blood pacts; when an item is sold, the auctioneer kills himself, and the transaction becomes irreversible.
• A “Barbarian Battle Fiend,” appearing to be an injured and helpless woman, is put up for auction. Mi Hayou explains that such beings are Kerlun Barbarian warriors with terrifying strength and distorted minds.
• Aiou accidentally bids one billion for the Battle Fiend—far exceeding her estimated value—causing the auctioneer to self-destruct and locking in the sale.
• Mi Hayou panics because he believes Aiou cannot pay. Unpaid bids result in the offender being captured and turned into an auctioneer, a fate involving repeated deaths until the debt is settled.
• Aiou ultimately pays through Infinite City’s online system, revealing that he was never truly unable to afford the purchase. The Battle Fiend is teleported into their room in a cage.
• Aiou opens the cage despite Mi Hayou’s warnings. The seemingly passive woman suddenly transforms and lunges out, leaving both men shocked by what they see.

Character Developments

• Aiou remains casual, unpredictable, and indifferent to money. He treats the dangerous auction house almost like entertainment and deliberately—or accidentally—causes a massive overbid. His unusual immortality and financial resources further emphasize how detached he is from ordinary consequences.
• Mi Hayou acts as Aiou’s knowledgeable but anxious subordinate. He explains the auction house’s rules and the Battle Fiend’s nature, but becomes increasingly terrified that Aiou’s reckless bidding will doom them. His fear also highlights the severity of the auction house’s punishments.
• The Barbarian Battle Fiend is initially presented as weak, injured, and nearly lifeless, but her sudden attack reveals that her appearance is deceptive and that she possesses immense danger or power.

Significant Themes

• Lawlessness governed by strict rules: The auction house ignores conventional morality but enforces its transactions through absolute, violent contracts.
• Exploitation and dehumanization: Condemned criminals are treated as disposable tools, while powerful beings such as the Battle Fiend are sold as commodities.
• The danger of appearances: The Battle Fiend’s docile appearance conceals her true nature, reinforcing the chapter’s emphasis on hidden power and deception.
• Recklessness and unequal consequences: Aiou can behave carelessly because of his wealth and unusual ability to survive, while Mi Hayou must fear the practical consequences of every decision.
• Dark humor and absurdity: Brutal deaths, enormous bids, and the threat of being turned into an auctioneer are presented with comedic timing, especially through Aiou’s detached reactions.

Character Interactions

• Mi Hayou repeatedly explains the auction house’s customs and the Battle Fiend’s identity, functioning as Aiou’s guide.
• Aiou dismisses Mi Hayou’s concerns, jokes about the auctioneer system, and teases him about being unable to pay.
• Mi Hayou’s panic contrasts with Aiou’s curiosity and calm, creating much of the chapter’s humor.
• After the Battle Fiend arrives, Aiou ignores Mi Hayou’s warnings and opens the cage. Her immediate attack unites their reactions: both men recognize that the auctioned woman is far more dangerous—and possibly more significant—than she first appeared.

Chapter Summary: “Even Yu Gong Had Started Driving an Excavator”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Aiou and Mi Hayou examine Barbarian Battle Fiend after she is immobilized. They discover that, despite her humanoid appearance, she is a different species with unusual brood pouches capable of nurturing children, enhancing their potential, and possibly granting them barbarian-warrior talents.
• Mi Hayou shows interest in exploiting Barbarian Battle Fiend’s reproductive abilities, disgusting Aiou. Aiou kicks him away and decides to prevent him from having opportunities to commit evil.
• During the auction, Aiou ignores several ordinary treasures, especially items related merely to power enhancement or catastrophic destruction.
• The auction presents Fool’s Pocket, a magical treasure associated with Yu Gong from a variant of The Fool Moves the Mountains. The pocket grants a treasure capable of achieving a persistent goal after ten years of effort.
• Yu Gong’s first reward was an Infinite-Power Excavator, which he used to move a mountain. He later used it to overthrow a tyrant, become emperor, and obtain an immortality pill through persistent alchemy. He secretly concealed the pocket’s existence and eventually became a player in Infinite City.
• Aiou verifies Mi Hayou’s explanation through the Player Forum but considers Fool’s Pocket inferior to his own treasures. Another bidder purchases it for five hundred million.
• Intrigued by Yu Gong rather than the treasure, Aiou decides that he and Mi Hayou should meet him someday.
• The auction then offers a petrified native goddess from Douluo Continent, known as the Contra Goddess. Mi Hayou explains that some wealthy and perverse players enjoy collecting or conquering powerful women.
• Aiou unexpectedly bids one billion. His enormous bid shocks and angers the other bidders, abruptly suppressing the auction’s competitive atmosphere.

Character Developments

• Aiou remains powerful, self-assured, and difficult to tempt. He treats most auction treasures casually, demonstrating that his own possessions far surpass ordinary magical artifacts. He also shows a practical awareness of morality: he is disgusted by Mi Hayou’s predatory thoughts and intentionally prevents him from gaining power or opportunities.
• Aiou’s interest in Yu Gong reveals curiosity beneath his indifference. While he dismisses Fool’s Pocket as weak, Yu Gong’s bizarre history fascinates him.
• Mi Hayou continues to act as Aiou’s shameless, opportunistic subordinate. He is fascinated by both Barbarian Battle Fiend and Fool’s Pocket, fantasizing about becoming powerful enough to challenge Aiou. However, he quickly recognizes Aiou’s overwhelming superiority and returns to a submissive attitude.
• Mi Hayou’s willingness to flatter, apologize, and abandon his pride highlights his survival instinct and moral emptiness.
• Yu Gong is developed as an ingenious and eccentric figure rather than a foolish old man. He uses Fool’s Pocket cleverly, conceals its secret, manipulates others into believing he is an alchemist, and rises from mountain-moving laborer to emperor and player.
• The Contra Goddess is introduced as a valuable but controversial auction item, reduced by the auction system and certain players to an object of conquest.

Significant Themes

• Power and exploitation: Barbarian Battle Fiend’s biological abilities could be exploited to create stronger descendants, while the petrified goddess is treated as a commodity by wealthy players.
• Moral corruption and survival: Mi Hayou’s shamelessness and predatory instincts contrast with Aiou’s contempt for such behavior, though Aiou himself participates in the morally ambiguous auction system.
• Persistence versus efficiency: Fool’s Pocket rewards ten years of perseverance, but Aiou regards this as inefficient compared with his own overwhelming power. The chapter contrasts Yu Gong’s patient determination with Aiou’s ability to obtain results instantly through wealth and strength.
• Appearances versus reality: Yu Gong appears foolish but is actually cunning; Barbarian Battle Fiend appears human but belongs to another species; and auction treasures may be far more significant—or far less impressive—than their reputations suggest.
• Wealth and status: The auction demonstrates how enormous fortunes distort value. Items that seem absurdly overpriced can become objects of intense competition simply because powerful people desire them.

Character Interactions

• Aiou examines Barbarian Battle Fiend with Aiou’s clinical detachment, while Mi Hayou responds with crude interest. Aiou rebukes and physically punishes him.
• Mi Hayou explains Yu Gong and Fool’s Pocket to Aiou, who initially doubts the story but confirms it independently.
• Their discussion of the pocket exposes their different ambitions: Mi Hayou dreams of using it to rise against Aiou, while Aiou sees it as an inferior object.
• When the Contra Goddess appears, Mi Hayou tries to align himself with Aiou’s interests, only to be reminded that he is not worthy of sharing them.
• Aiou’s one-billion bid demonstrates his dominance over the auction and leaves both Mi Hayou and the other bidders stunned.

Chapter Summary: “Taboo Matters”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The auctioneer dies by swallowing an ultra-miniature nuclear weapon, vaporizing himself after announcing that Room 202 has successfully purchased the Contra Goddess. His damaged soul disappears immediately afterward.
• Aiou realizes that the auctioneer’s unusual death is connected to the transaction and pays for the goddess. He receives both her petrified statue and a potion capable of reversing the petrification.
• Aiou restores the goddess, but she immediately attacks him with the technique “Mighty Heavenly Dragon.” Aiou counters, and their clash injures both of them. Because Aiou’s body is exceptionally durable, the goddess suffers more from the recoil of her own attack.
• The goddess demands to know who Aiou is, where she is, and what happened to her captors. Aiou introduces himself, but she refuses to provide her own name or cooperate.
• Aiou explains that she is in an auction house on the Black Market, outside Infinite City, rather than in her own world. He warns her that escaping would be difficult and that returning home would require money and access to the proper route through Infinite City.
• He reveals that her supposed “world invasion” is actually a conflict between different countries or continents within the same larger world. Using a model, he explains how invasion passages form through the movement of the Spear of the World.
• An Elven World Tree is put up for auction. Aiou and Mi Hayou discuss how World Trees and Life Trees are normally protected by Infinite City’s laws, though this particular tree appears to have been obtained indirectly and sold through a legal loophole.
• Aiou bids one billion, silencing the auction once again.

Character Developments

• Aiou remains calm, irreverent, and confident throughout the chaos. He treats the goddess’s hostility casually, demonstrates considerable physical strength, and shows a practical understanding of Infinite City’s rules and routes.
• The Contra Goddess awakens frightened, furious, and deeply suspicious. Her immediate aggression reflects her confusion and desperation: she has been removed from an ongoing war in which her people and believers depend on her. Although she refuses to trust Aiou, his explanation forces her to question her understanding of the conflict.
• Mi Hayou continues to provide comic commentary and clarification, particularly about Aiou’s self-introduction and the legal status of the World Tree.
• The auctioneer is presented as expendable and pitiable, dying horribly after completing his final duty.

Significant Themes

• Displacement and helplessness: The goddess is torn from her world and stripped of control while her people remain in danger.
• Perspective and misunderstanding: What the goddess believes is an interworld invasion is revealed to be an internal conflict viewed from a limited perspective.
• Power and bodily resilience: The clash between Aiou and the goddess emphasizes their immense strength, especially Aiou’s unusual durability.
• Moral ambiguity and taboo: The World Tree auction explores the difference between directly violating laws and exploiting loopholes. Even when technically legal, the sale is connected to suffering and possible mass death.
• Commerce amid catastrophe: The auction house treats divine beings, weapons, and life-sustaining trees as commodities, creating a contrast between ordinary trade and enormous ethical consequences.

Character Interactions

• Aiou and the goddess begin with immediate hostility: she attacks him, while he responds with restraint, teasing, and warnings rather than trying to dominate her.
• Their conversation gradually shifts from confrontation to reluctant information-sharing. Aiou explains the larger structure of her world, while the goddess remains distrustful but begins to recognize that he may be telling the truth.
• Aiou and Mi Hayou exchange humorous remarks, with Mi Hayou acting as an informal commentator and source of background information.
• The goddess’s reaction to the World Tree auction contrasts with Aiou’s detached familiarity, highlighting the gap between her personal crisis and his broader experience with Infinite City’s morally questionable marketplace.

Chapter Summary: Red Dragon

Key Plot Points and Events

• Aiou wins the auction for the Elven World Tree after driving the price up to ten billion. Rather than keeping it, he returns it to its original world, where it can save countless lives and restore the dying world.
• Mi Hayou criticizes the enormous expense, but Aiou argues that performing such a good deed may generate immense merit. He has also discovered that Three Thousand Motherly Loves becomes significantly stronger when used for righteous actions.
• Aiou and Yun Mengjie watch the auction together. He mocks her name and claims she is worth only one billion, less than the World Tree.
• The auction presents a young Red Dragon, described as a pure-blooded female from the highest dimension of a Great Thousand World. Though currently not overwhelmingly strong, she possesses enormous future potential and may eventually surpass challenge level 5000.
• Aiou explains the hierarchy of worlds and dimensions to Yun Mengjie. Her homeland, Soul Kingdom, is only a Mid-Thousand World, while higher-dimensional beings can possess vastly more complete and frightening powers.
• Yun Mengjie asks about Soul Kingdom. Aiou reveals that it has been destroyed: its territory was divided among three invading countries, half the population died, and many survivors either surrendered or were enslaved. Her remaining faithful believers are suffering.
• Desperate to return and save them, Yun Mengjie agrees to Aiou’s humiliating demand that she perform a somersault after eating a banana. Aiou then continues teasing her by suggesting she become his “bandit queen monkey wife,” pretending to be Sun Wukong.
• Aiou eventually promises to send Yun Mengjie back after the auction concludes, so she reluctantly remains with him.
• The Red Dragon’s auction becomes fiercely competitive. Her pure bloodline, high-dimensional origins, intelligence, and potential transformation into human form make her extraordinarily valuable. The chapter ends while the bidding is still underway.

Character Developments

• Aiou is shown to be impulsive but genuinely compassionate. He casually spends ten billion to save an entire world and discovers that his powers reward benevolent behavior. At the same time, he remains shameless, playful, and manipulative, taking pleasure in teasing Yun Mengjie.
• Yun Mengjie becomes increasingly desperate and emotionally vulnerable because of Soul Kingdom’s destruction. Her concern for her faithful believers drives her to endure humiliation and cooperate with Aiou despite her anger and distrust.
• Mi Hayou continues to act as the practical voice of reason, objecting to Aiou’s extravagant spending. He also becomes confused by Aiou’s absurd Monkey King joke.
• The Red Dragon is introduced as an important potential character: young, intelligent, pure-blooded, and apparently destined for tremendous power.

Significant Themes

• Benevolence and merit: The chapter suggests that good deeds have tangible supernatural rewards, especially through Three Thousand Motherly Loves.
• Power and world hierarchy: Different worlds and dimensions possess radically different levels of power, emphasizing that current strength does not necessarily reflect future potential.
• Responsibility toward followers: Yun Mengjie’s attachment to her believers shows the burdens of leadership and divine protection.
• Humor amid suffering: Aiou’s constant jokes contrast sharply with Yun Mengjie’s grief, creating both comic tension and emotional friction.
• Value beyond immediate strength: The Elven World Tree and Red Dragon are valuable not merely for their current power, but for their ability to save worlds or produce immense future potential.

Character Interactions

• Aiou and Mi Hayou clash over the World Tree’s price, with Mi Hayou emphasizing practical value and Aiou emphasizing moral merit.
• Aiou repeatedly mocks Yun Mengjie, especially her name and divine status, while Yun Mengjie responds with restrained fury because she needs his help.
• Yun Mengjie questions Aiou about dimensional power and Soul Kingdom, revealing her ignorance of the wider cosmology and her deep concern for her people.
• Their relationship becomes a mixture of coercion, comedy, and reluctant dependence: Aiou enjoys provoking her, while Yun Mengjie tolerates him in hopes of returning home.
• The auction’s presentation of the Red Dragon shifts the chapter toward a larger conflict involving dragon bloodlines, high-dimensional beings, and the immense power hidden within the auction’s final treasures.

Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Red Dragon is finally sold for twenty-five billion, after Aiou withdraws from the bidding. The other bidders, previously hesitant to compete with him, drive the price upward once he stops participating.
• The seller is disappointed, believing Aiou’s involvement could have pushed the price to fifty billion.
• The next auction item is Odd Duck Duck, an ordinary white duck possessing thirty thousand blessings, including immunity to waste through its “Perfect Digestion” blessing. It had survived inside a black hole and may once have belonged to a powerful being.
• No one shows interest in the duck until Aiou bids three billion and purchases it. The auctioneer completes the transaction by injecting himself with a bizarre substance, causing his body to mutate and explode.
• Before the next item can be introduced, the Black Market is suddenly surrounded by the Enforcement Team. Panic spreads as the auction house and its customers realize the entire market is under attack.
• Aiou explains that selling intelligent beings is illegal in Infinite City. The Enforcement Team intends to destroy the Black Market, and Yun Mengjie may be returned to her original world with her memories erased.
• Aiou, Yun Mengjie, Mi Hayou, and Odd Duck Duck attempt to escape with the help of two supposed auction-house attendants.
• The attendants lead them to a hidden safe house and underground passage, but Aiou detects that they are impostors because their scents do not match the clothes they are wearing.
• Aiou realizes that the impostors are using the Enforcement Team’s attack as cover to kidnap wealthy auction customers. The woman abandons her disguise and orders the attack, while the man strikes at Aiou and reaches for Mi Hayou.

Character Developments

• Aiou continues to behave unpredictably and spend extravagantly, purchasing Odd Duck Duck despite its apparent lack of value. His confidence and sharp senses are emphasized when he quickly identifies the escape guides as impostors.
• Yun Mengjie learns that her presence at the auction was illegal and that the Enforcement Team may erase her memories. She becomes emotionally unsettled because, despite the unpleasant experiences, she values what she has learned.
• Mi Hayou remains loyal to Aiou but becomes suspicious of the Enforcement Team’s sudden attack. She follows Aiou’s lead during the escape.
• Odd Duck Duck becomes Aiou’s new pet and provides comic relief through its extreme ordinariness and unusual blessings.
• The two fake attendants are revealed as bold criminals exploiting the Black Market’s chaos to abduct wealthy customers.

Significant Themes

• Value and perception: The huge difference between Aiou’s bids and the final prices shows how value depends on risk, potential profit, and personal judgment rather than an object’s obvious qualities.
• Legality and morality: The auction exposes the contradiction between the Black Market’s normalized transactions and Infinite City’s laws against trading intelligent life.
• Freedom and memory: Yun Mengjie’s fear of having her memories erased highlights the importance of personal experience and self-determination, even when those experiences are traumatic.
• Deception and observation: Aiou’s ability to notice subtle clues, such as scent inconsistencies, allows him to see through an elaborate disguise.
• Chaos as opportunity: The Enforcement Team’s raid creates danger but also gives criminals the chance to exploit confusion and target the wealthy.

Character Interactions

• Aiou and Yun Mengjie discuss the legality of the auction and what will happen to her after the Black Market is destroyed.
• Aiou affectionately shows Yun Mengjie his new pet, Odd Duck Duck, producing an awkward reaction between Yun Mengjie and the unusually bodiless duck.
• Mi Hayou questions Aiou about the raid, while he responds casually and remains focused on escaping.
• The fake attendants initially act respectfully toward Aiou’s group, but Aiou’s accusation forces them to reveal their true intentions, leading directly into the chapter’s cliffhanger confrontation.

Chapter Summary: Phantom Thief Joan of Arc

Key Plot Points and Events

• Aiou discovers that the Strong Dragon Phantom Thieves are targeting people in the Black Market. The group robs criminals and gray-market organizations rather than lawful forces, but they are still wanted by the Enforcement Team.
• Two phantom thieves—a male and female waiter—attempt to capture Mi Hayou. Aiou intervenes, injuring the male thief by colliding with him and forcing the pair to retreat.
• The thieves escape through a concealed passage, leaving Aiou impressed by their planning and eager to find them. He sends Yun Mengjie back to Douluo Continent so she can rescue her followers, then sets off with Odd Duck Duck and Mi Hayou to pursue the thieves.
• The Black Market descends into chaos as the phantom thieves rob multiple customers and the Enforcement Team closes in. Players, sellers, bodyguards, and masked thieves begin fighting and looting indiscriminately.
• Aiou becomes caught in the melee. He accidentally contributes to one player’s death when an attacker’s axe knocks him into another man, who is then stabbed through the heart.
• A masked player identifies Aiou as the wealthy “prodigal son from Room 202” and reveals that Odd Duck Duck is worth three billion. The announcement causes nearly everyone nearby to attack Aiou and attempt to seize the duck.
• Although Aiou tries to protect Odd Duck Duck, Phantom Thief Joan of Arc uses smoke and a decoy cloth doll to steal it. She escapes across the rooftops while Aiou is blasted onto a nearby building.
• The thieves and players then turn their attention to Aiou himself, believing he is also extremely valuable. Aiou taunts them to give chase and flees, while the pursuing players cause further destruction by collapsing rooftops and provoking new fights.
• Mi Hayou, injured and exhausted, follows Aiou as the chapter ends.

Character Developments

• Aiou: Displays his overwhelming physical resilience, curiosity, impulsiveness, and lack of concern for conventional morality. He is fascinated by the phantom thieves and treats the unfolding violence almost like entertainment. Despite his attachment to Odd Duck Duck, he is careless enough to allow it to be stolen.
• Yun Mengjie: Remains focused on returning to Douluo Continent to save her followers. Aiou recognizes that she has served her immediate purpose and sends her away without sentimentality.
• Mi Hayou: Proves vulnerable in the chaotic battle and is repeatedly placed in danger. His loyalty to Aiou remains strong despite being battered and abandoned during the escape.
• Odd Duck Duck: Shows intelligence and awareness of danger by avoiding attackers, but is ultimately captured through Joan of Arc’s clever trick.
• Phantom Thief Joan of Arc and the Strong Dragon Phantom Thieves: Their intelligence, coordination, escape techniques, and use of deception are emphasized. Joan of Arc is established as a highly capable thief who can outmaneuver Aiou.

Significant Themes

• Crime versus morality: The phantom thieves rob criminals, but their selective targets do not make them genuinely good. Their leader carefully avoids crossing Hawkins’s limits, showing that survival and strategic restraint matter more than morality.
• Chaos and opportunism: Once the Black Market erupts into conflict, nearly everyone exploits the disorder for personal gain. Players attack strangers, steal goods, and follow rumors of wealth without understanding the larger situation.
• Strength versus cunning: Aiou relies on durability and brute force, while the phantom thieves depend on planning, deception, traps, and escape techniques. Joan of Arc’s theft of Odd Duck Duck demonstrates that intelligence can overcome raw power.
• Value and greed: The duck’s enormous price instantly transforms it into the center of the conflict, causing players to risk their lives for profit.
• Entertainment amid danger: Aiou treats deadly battles, criminal organizations, and pursuit as amusing adventures, highlighting his detached and unpredictable personality.

Character Interactions

• Aiou clashes physically with the male phantom thief while trying to protect Mi Hayou.
• Aiou dismisses Yun Mengjie after helping her return home, showing their relationship is practical rather than emotional.
• Mi Hayou questions Aiou’s lack of interest in Yun Mengjie and continues following him despite his injuries.
• Aiou attempts to command the fighting crowd but is ignored once the value of Odd Duck Duck is revealed.
• Joan of Arc directly outwits Aiou, replacing the duck with a decoy and escaping while taunting him with a faint smile.
• Aiou responds to the crowd’s pursuit by provoking them into chasing him, turning their greed and recklessness against them.

Chapter Summary: “On the Many Ways to Prepare Duck”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The Enforcement Team locates and surrounds the Black Market using information leaked by the Strong Dragon Phantom Thieves and unintentionally by Aiou. Aiou had been monitored since the Xiao Tiantian incident, though he does not realize his movements contributed to the leak.
• The Enforcement Team establishes a powerful barrier to prevent anyone in the Black Market from escaping. Some players attempt to break through, but they are quickly defeated.
• Black Skull, a leader within the Black Market, learns that the Strong Dragon Phantom Thieves were responsible for the leak. He orders the Black Market’s organized fighters to suppress the chaos and create an opportunity for escape.
• Meanwhile, Aiou is chased across the rooftops by a large group of players. He treats the pursuit as entertainment, throwing strange objects and medicines that trap, transform, or incapacitate his pursuers.
• At the barrier’s edge, Aiou releases pink gas from a bottle, transforming the surrounding players into golden-yellow ducklings. He then jokingly announces that he intends to eat them.
• Black-clad fighters arrive and begin arresting the players. Aiou disguises himself as one of them, but they recognize him as an outsider and attack him. He responds by turning them into ducks as well.
• Aiou releases an even larger quantity of transforming mist, affecting the entire barrier and turning the Black Market’s inhabitants—including Black Skull—into ducks. He grabs one duck and escapes before the situation worsens.
• In a park outside Infinite City, Aiou casually eats ice cream while keeping one of the transformed ducks as a “pet.” The duck is revealed to be Mi Hayou, who is horrified that Aiou refuses to restore him.
• Aiou later hears players laughing about Blade, the intimidating Shadow Wizard, being transformed into a duck during an arena match. He looks up the incident on the Player Forum, amused by the contrast between Blade’s fearsome reputation and his current form.
• The Enforcement Team successfully destroys the Black Market but is left with the unusual problem of imprisoning or handling a large group of transformed players. Ai Miye jokingly suggests sending them to a farm, while Victor imagines the many kinds of duck dishes they could become.

Character Developments

• Aiou: Demonstrates his immense power, unpredictability, and playful cruelty. He treats a dangerous manhunt and a major law-enforcement operation as a game, remaining cheerful even when surrounded. His actions reveal that he is powerful but irresponsible and unsuited to leadership.
• Black Skull: Shows practical leadership by recognizing that the Black Market cannot defeat the Enforcement Team outright. He attempts to coordinate an organized retreat, but his plans are ruined when Aiou’s mist transforms everyone, including him.
• Mi Hayou: His helplessness as a duck emphasizes his dependence on Aiou. He already knows Aiou is unstable and unsuitable as a leader, yet feels forced to follow him because of Aiou’s overwhelming strength. His transformation leaves him pessimistic and frightened about his fate.
• Blade: Though he does not directly participate in the main events, his transformation into a duck creates comic contrast with his normally severe, intimidating reputation.
• The Enforcement Team: They achieve their objective of dismantling the Black Market but are unable to handle the bizarre consequences of Aiou’s intervention.

Significant Themes

• Unintended consequences: The Xiao Tiantian incident leads to Aiou being monitored, which indirectly helps the Enforcement Team find the Black Market. Past events continue influencing the present.
• Power without responsibility: Aiou possesses extraordinary abilities but uses them impulsively and for amusement, showing why strength alone does not make someone a good leader.
• Chaos overwhelming strategy: Black Skull’s careful plans and the Enforcement Team’s organized operation are both disrupted by Aiou’s unpredictable actions.
• Appearance versus reality: Fearsome players such as Black Skull and Blade are reduced to helpless ducklings, undermining their intimidating reputations.
• The absurdity of danger: A serious raid and criminal crackdown become a farcical situation involving transformed players, comic pursuit, and speculation about duck recipes.

Important Character Interactions

• Black Skull consults his subordinate about the leak and orders the Black Market’s fighters to cooperate.
• Aiou toys with the players pursuing him, using strange items and transformation medicines to reverse the power dynamic.
• Aiou clashes with the black-clad enforcement-style fighters, who attack him despite his disguise.
• Aiou torments Mi Hayou by feeding him mealworms while refusing to restore his human form.
• Aiou and the online player community react with amusement to Blade’s humiliating transformation.
• Ai Miye and Victor discuss how to deal with the captured duck-players, ending on a darkly comic image of them becoming various duck dishes.

The Yellow Emperor finished training Zhang Shixiong and took him and Xiao Shimei to a dead world to fight Siegfried. As Zhang Shixiong struggled against the mythic hero, the Yellow Emperor explained the world’s collapse and Siegfried’s immense, time-merged power.

• The Yellow Emperor ended Zhang Shixiong’s training and said he would take him to face an opponent, warning that Xiao Shimei would inherit the power if Zhang Shixiong died.
• The Yellow Emperor brought Zhang Shixiong and Xiao Shimei to a world-ending realm where blood rain fell and an armored undead attacked them.
• The Yellow Emperor explained that the world and its inhabitants had lost their souls, leaving their powers to run out of control as dimensions and time distorted.
• The Yellow Emperor identified Zhang Shixiong’s opponent as Siegfried, whose selves across time had merged and multiplied his strength, though he remained human.
• Siegfried pressed his attack while Zhang Shixiong dodged, and the Yellow Emperor said Zhang Shixiong could still fight back with his full power.

Chapter Summary: “Living Death God”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Zhang Shixiong battles Siegfried, who overwhelms him with speed, strength, and razor-sharp Sword Qi. Unable to keep dodging, Zhang makes a desperate sacrifice: he shifts aside at the last moment, allowing Siegfried’s sword to cut away part of his scalp and skull.
• Using the opening created by this sacrifice, Zhang twists and counters with his saber, cutting Siegfried in half. Despite being severed, Siegfried does not die because he is already a Living Dead.
• The Yellow Emperor heals Zhang’s horrific injury and dismisses the fight as merely a warm-up. He then transports Zhang and Xiao Shimei to the ruins of the Norse Mythology World.
• Zhang is ordered to fight Tyr, the God of War. Frightened by Tyr’s enormous size, terrifying appearance, and supernatural black energy, Zhang reluctantly accepts after the Yellow Emperor jokingly suggests even stronger opponents such as Odin, Thor, and Ymir.
• Tyr immediately attacks. Zhang meets him head-on, but Tyr’s raw strength easily overwhelms him. Zhang changes tactics, using mobility and long-range saber qi instead of direct clashes.
• Tyr’s combat instincts remain extremely sharp despite being a dead god. He blocks Zhang’s attack with perfect shield technique, demonstrating that his battle experience has become instinctive.
• The fight reaches a stalemate, with Zhang keeping his distance and Tyr unable—or apparently unwilling—to project his black energy independently. The Yellow Emperor suddenly warns that Zhang is in serious trouble, leaving the chapter on a cliffhanger.

Character Developments

• Zhang Shixiong: Demonstrates courage, decisiveness, and willingness to endure devastating injury in order to create an opening. His victory over Siegfried boosts his confidence, but the battle with Tyr exposes the limits of his raw strength and experience. He adapts intelligently by abandoning direct combat and relying on maneuvering and saber qi.
• Tyr: Revealed as vastly more dangerous than Siegfried. Unlike Siegfried’s purely physical power, Tyr possesses transcendent energy, enormous strength, and deeply ingrained battlefield instincts. His precise shield defense shows that he remains a formidable warrior even as a corpse.
• Yellow Emperor: Continues treating Zhang’s life-threatening battles as training exercises. He acts as both mentor and spectator, healing Zhang when necessary while deliberately placing him against increasingly powerful enemies.
• Xiao Shimei: Shows concern for Zhang and provides him with useful information about Tyr. Her nervousness contrasts with the Yellow Emperor’s casual attitude, while her playful exchanges with him add comic relief.

Significant Themes

• Growth through extreme trials: Zhang’s battles are designed to force rapid improvement, with each opponent testing a different weakness.
• Life, death, and the undead: Siegfried and Tyr challenge the normal meaning of death; as Living Dead, they can continue fighting despite injuries that would kill ordinary humans.
• Adaptation versus brute force: Zhang succeeds against Siegfried through a desperate tactical sacrifice, but cannot overpower Tyr directly and must rely on movement and ranged attacks.
• Experience and instinct: Tyr’s retained combat memory gives him an advantage beyond physical strength, showing that mastery can survive even after death.
• Humor amid danger: The Yellow Emperor’s flippant attitude and Xiao Shimei’s awkward attempt to ask whether he is hungry lighten an otherwise extremely grim and violent sequence.

Character Interactions

• Zhang and Siegfried engage in a rapid, lethal duel that ends when Zhang trades part of his skull for a decisive counterattack.
• The Yellow Emperor heals Zhang but immediately pushes him into a more dangerous battle, while Xiao Shimei worries about his survival.
• The Yellow Emperor teases Zhang by offering even more terrifying opponents, prompting Zhang to bravely—or fearfully—choose Tyr.
• Xiao Shimei and the Yellow Emperor exchange comic remarks while observing Zhang’s fight, though the Yellow Emperor becomes frustrated when she does not ask the questions he expects.
• The chapter ends with the Yellow Emperor recognizing a hidden danger in the apparent stalemate, while Xiao Shimei remains unaware of what threatens Zhang.

Chapter Summary

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Zhang Shixiong battles Tyr, the God of War, for over fifteen minutes. Although he unleashes thousands of saber attacks and initially holds his own, Tyr successfully blocks everything and gradually adapts to his fighting style.
• Zhang attempts a surprise attack aimed at Tyr’s legs, but Tyr releases black mist that neutralizes the saber energy. Tyr then accelerates suddenly, strikes Zhang with his shield, and severely injures him.
• Zhang realizes that Tyr is continuously growing stronger after being awakened by the Yellow Emperor. The longer the fight lasts, the more overwhelming Tyr becomes.
• Tyr repeatedly crushes or kills Zhang, including smashing him into ruins and eventually reducing him to a pile of flesh.
• Each time Zhang dies, the Yellow Emperor reverses time, restoring Zhang, Tyr, and the battlefield to their initial states. The training battle is therefore repeated over and over.
• On one reset, the Yellow Emperor provides information about Tyr’s identity and straightforward defensive and offensive style. On later resets, he deliberately withholds information and orders Zhang to fight without assistance.
• Zhang begins experiencing déjà vu, unconsciously repeating words and actions from previous cycles. Xiao Shimei also notices that the battle seems strangely familiar.
• The chapter ends with the training continuing through repeated deaths and time reversals, suggesting Zhang may need to endure the battle thousands of times before he can overcome Tyr.

2. Character Developments

• Zhang Shixiong: Initially relies on skill, strategy, and healing abilities, but discovers that Tyr’s combat instincts and growing power far surpass his own. He begins to recognize that ordinary tactics are insufficient and that he must undergo extreme, repeated battles to improve. His vague memories of previous cycles hint that he is gradually learning subconsciously.
• Tyr: Demonstrates exceptional combat instinct, perfect defensive timing, overwhelming strength, and the ability to grow stronger during battle. Even after death, the power of his divine authority continues operating automatically.
• The Yellow Emperor: Acts as a harsh and detached teacher. He controls the battlefield and repeatedly resets time, deliberately adjusting how much information Zhang receives. His training methods are ruthless, including humiliating punishments for disobedience, but they are intended to force Zhang to undergo profound transformation.
• Xiao Shimei: Serves as an observer and commentator. She is initially shocked by Zhang’s sudden defeat but gradually realizes that the battle is repeating and that Zhang is in serious danger.
• Zhang’s relationship with the Yellow Emperor: Zhang obeys largely because he fears the Yellow Emperor’s punishments. Despite his complaints, he continues accepting the training and repeatedly enters battles he knows may end in death.

3. Significant Themes

• Growth through repeated failure: True improvement requires Zhang to experience defeat, death, and repetition until his instincts and abilities evolve.
• The limits of strategy against superior combat mastery: Clever tactics are ineffective when Tyr can instantly read, counter, and adapt to every attack.
• Time and memory: Although time is reversed, fragments of experience remain as instincts, déjà vu, and unexplained familiarity, implying that learning may survive even when events are erased.
• Harsh mentorship: The Yellow Emperor’s brutal methods reflect the idea that extraordinary strength demands extreme training and suffering.
• Life amid death: The only path to defeating Tyr is to fight under overwhelming pressure and discover a way to survive situations that should be fatal.
• Transformation: The Yellow Emperor suggests that surviving the process could allow Zhang to “shed his old shell and be reborn,” though reaching that point may require countless attempts.

4. Character Interactions

• Zhang and Tyr clash repeatedly, with Tyr’s shield and divine combat instincts consistently overpowering Zhang’s saber techniques.
• Zhang questions the Yellow Emperor about whether his ultimate move can defeat Tyr, but the Yellow Emperor explains that success depends on timing, courage, and Zhang’s willingness to seek survival in deadly circumstances.
• The Yellow Emperor taunts and pressures Zhang into fighting, kicking him into battle whenever he hesitates.
• Xiao Shimei repeatedly questions the Yellow Emperor about Zhang’s worsening situation and eventually recognizes that the battle is trapped in a repeating cycle.
• The Yellow Emperor remains largely indifferent to Zhang’s repeated deaths, treating the entire ordeal as necessary training rather than a crisis.

Mateo received a Lucky Coin from the Cowboy King, but Mani called it fake, leaving him determined to investigate. He and Benny planned to sneak out to ask the Fountain of Knowledge about the Cowboy King, while Lily tried to stop them.

• Benny told Mateo that the Cowboy King had returned to the orphanage, and Mateo hurried to the director's office to meet him.
• The Cowboy King gave Mateo a coin, which Mani dismissed as a fake; Mateo remained troubled by her accusation.
• Mateo and Benny decided to sneak out at night and travel to District 8848 to ask the Fountain of Knowledge about the Cowboy King.
• Lily overheard their plan but did not tell the director, and Mateo and Benny overslept instead of sneaking out that night.
• When Mateo and Benny discussed staying awake to try again, Lily timidly warned them not to sneak out, then fell to the ground in fright.

Mateo left the orphanage alone at night to find the fountain of knowledge in District 8848, but Phantom Thief Joan found him in a park and carried him away while fleeing Aiou. Mateo threw a Sneeze Powder Ball at Aiou, making him fall from a rooftop and giving Joan a chance to escape.

• Mateo tried to wake Benny, then slipped out of the orphanage alone and set off toward District 8848.
• Mateo entered a dark park, panicked at the strange noises, and was stopped before he ran into a tree.
• Joan of Arc questioned Mateo, and he told her about his plan to visit the fountain of knowledge with Benny.
• Aiou chased Joan while demanding that she return Odd Duck Duck, so Joan grabbed Mateo and fled with him.
• Mateo threw his Sneeze Powder Ball at Aiou, causing him to sneeze uncontrollably and fall from a roof.

Chapter Summary: Armored Emperor

Key Plot Points and Events

• Joan of Arc realizes that Aiou has been affected by a Sneeze Powder Ball, an ordinary children’s prank toy that should be useless against adults, especially someone as powerful as Aiou.
• Suspecting the effect may be part of Aiou’s plan, Joan escapes with Mateo and agrees to take him to District 8848 so he can investigate the Fountain of Knowledge.
• While traveling, Joan researches the fountain and learns that it is a normal fountain built around an open book, with water flowing through holes in the form of written words.
• Aiou catches up with them, still wearing a duck costume and now using a gas mask. Joan grabs Mateo and flees.
• Joan lures Aiou onto a rooftop protected by Roof Defenders. The devices temporarily freeze Aiou, but he breaks free almost immediately and resumes the chase.
• Joan concludes that Aiou is nearly impossible to injure or defeat, but that children’s prank items may be an unusual weakness she can exploit. Since Mateo has no more Sneeze Powder Balls, she heads to a park, believing she can find similar toys there.
• Joan leaves Mateo alone in the park while she searches for a way to escape Aiou. Mateo then encounters a filthy, mutilated beggar who turns out to be Jin Shiri, the once-famous Armored Emperor.
• Shocked by the fallen state of his former idol, Mateo encourages Jin Shiri not to give up and offers him a lucky coin given to him by Cowboy King.
• Jin Shiri reacts strangely to the mention of Cowboy King. He rises and extends wing-like limbs from his back, trapping Mateo as the chapter ends.

Character Developments

• Joan of Arc: Becomes more cautious and analytical regarding Aiou. She recognizes that direct combat is futile and begins searching for unconventional weaknesses. Despite her impatience with children, she honors her promise to Mateo and continues helping him.
• Aiou: Remains nearly invulnerable and relentlessly persistent. His strange vulnerability to Sneeze Powder Balls raises questions about his nature and suggests that ordinary or childish objects may bypass his defenses.
• Mateo: Shows fear and vulnerability after provoking Aiou, but also demonstrates loyalty, compassion, and courage. He remembers Jin Shiri as a childhood hero and sincerely tries to inspire him.
• Jin Shiri / Armored Emperor: Is revealed to have fallen dramatically from his former heroic status. He appears physically ruined, withdrawn, and bitter, but his reaction to Cowboy King suggests unresolved emotions or hostility.

Significant Themes

• The limits of strength: Aiou’s overwhelming power is undermined by an absurd, unexpected weakness, showing that brute force is not always the answer.
• Heroism and disillusionment: Mateo confronts the painful contrast between the heroic Armored Emperor of his memories and the broken beggar he finds in the present.
• Compassion versus judgment: Mateo follows the advice not to judge someone without knowing their suffering and offers Jin Shiri encouragement despite his condition.
• Persistence and survival: Joan survives by avoiding unwinnable battles, while Mateo tries to preserve hope in someone who appears to have abandoned it.

Character Interactions

• Joan and Mateo develop a reluctant but cooperative relationship, with Joan acting as an irritated yet dependable escort.
• Joan repeatedly evades Aiou rather than fighting him, recognizing that combat would only exhaust or kill her.
• Mateo’s meeting with Jin Shiri shifts from fear and shock to sympathy. His gift of Cowboy King’s lucky coin, however, triggers Jin Shiri’s threatening transformation and leaves Mateo trapped.