Chapter Summaries

Summary

After learning that Flame Dragon is in trouble, Ilis and Roots immediately pledge to help him. The group turns to Su Yi, who is now leading their meetings in the Lord of Mysteries’ absence. He agrees to assist and says he will intervene personally if the crisis warrants it.
Cold Blade reports that an enormous Dark Universe Storm has sealed off the Primordial Empire. The empire has been divided for millennia among three warring factions: the Returning Heart Dynasty, the Flame Dragon Dynasty, and the Southern Heaven Alliance. Their forces began mobilizing after Su Yi killed the Shadow King and shattered the Watchful Elder; a major war followed four months ago, just before the storm appeared.
Fine Iron offers an explanation in exchange for a Demigod-level Creation Nightmare Authority. Su Yi agrees. Fine Iron reveals that the Chaos Egg, a dangerous region at the empire’s center, draws on Nightmare’s dream-fulfilling power to produce celestial bodies. It became active eight months ago, and one of its vents may have been detonated during the war, releasing enough Nightmare power for someone to create the empire-spanning storm. The eruption may be connected to the Watchful Elder’s return. Alarmed by the risk of Nightmare’s corruption, Su Yi resolves to travel to the empire himself.
Before the meeting ends, a faint message arrives from Flame Dragon: “the family needs help,” addressed to “Yellow Book.” Su Yi and Ilis summon Yellow Book and Mo Long, and Su Yi reveals his suspicion that Yellow Book is Emperor Yan Zhao—also known as Wen Xuan, the vanished former ruler of the Flame Dragon Dynasty. Mo Long’s reaction confirms the guess, and Yellow Book admits his identity.
Su Yi explains the crisis in the empire. Yellow Book’s carefree manner gives way to sorrow and gravity; he concludes that it is time for him to return home.

Character developments and interactions

• Su Yi takes firmer responsibility for the group, pledging aid to Flame Dragon and deciding to confront the Nightmare threat in person. He also pieces together Yellow Book’s hidden identity.
• Ilis and Roots show loyalty to Flame Dragon, offering help and resources because of his past assistance and companionship.
• Fine Iron trades sensitive knowledge for a powerful authority, revealing both the Chaos Egg’s function and its possible role in the crisis.
• Yellow Book is exposed as the disgraced, exiled Emperor Yan Zhao. The news of the empire’s danger brings his buried sorrow and sense of duty to the surface.
• Mo Long unintentionally confirms Yellow Book’s identity through his reaction, while Cold Blade supplies the group with intelligence about the empire and its factions.

Significant themes

The chapter emphasizes loyalty and mutual aid, as the group rallies around an absent member; the cost of political conflict, shown in the empire’s centuries of division and renewed war; and hidden identities and past guilt, embodied by Yellow Book’s exile. It also raises the danger of powerful, corrupting forces, as Nightmare’s influence threatens to reshape an entire region.

Plot and events

• Yellow Book decides he must return to the Primordial Empire, now threatened by Dark Universe Storms and the Nightmare’s power. He cannot recall a safe route, but realizes captured core members of the Eternal Mysteries Cult might know one.
• Su Yi plans to find the cult’s headquarters near the Monk Great Vortex and bring back prisoners so Yellow Book can recover their memories.
• Ilis joins Su Yi. She reveals that the Primordial Empire was once a central hub of the universe and may hold the Primordial Furnace she needs.
• Ilis tells Su Yi the true origin of the Goddess of Black Cinders: the Open-Heaven Blacksmith planted purified roots of the Dreamwalker, then burned the resulting oak tree as fuel for his furnaces. Consciousness arose within it from the Genesis Fire, and the Blacksmith made her his assistant. The Goddess was older than the Five Ancient True Gods and cared for them, but later became vulnerable to the Dreamwalker’s corruption.
• Ilis intends to use the Primordial Furnace’s Genesis Fire to strengthen and purify the Goddess’s Divine Authority, continuing her legacy. Su Yi agrees to help.
• Su Yi briefs Kilman and Nine Blades. They agree that the Primordial Empire must not fall, but Su Yi chooses a small advance party rather than risking a large force before assessing the situation. The Light Empire pledges its support.
• Su Yi reaches the Great Vortex and asks Dante about the Eternal Mysteries Cult. Dante reveals that he has recently been fighting them.

Character developments and interactions

• Yellow Book admits that guilt and grief led him to erase most of his memories and exile himself. Mo Long tries to ease his self-blame, but Su Yi insists they must act quickly.
• Su Yi takes responsibility for reaching the endangered empire, balancing urgency with caution by proposing a small scouting group. He and Ilis share affectionate banter before she discloses her purpose.
• Ilis shifts from keeping her past hidden to explaining her inherited connection to the Goddess of Black Cinders. Her resolve to preserve the Goddess’s name and power gives her journey a personal, moral purpose.
• Kilman and Nine Blades support Su Yi’s decision and reaffirm the Light Empire’s loyalty, while Nine Blades raises the possibility that the journey is a trap.
• Dante becomes a potential ally in Su Yi’s search for the cult, since he is already in conflict with it.

Significant themes

• Guilt and responsibility: Yellow Book’s regret over past defeats contrasts with Su Yi’s insistence on acting rather than dwelling on blame.
• Legacy and identity: Ilis’s mission connects her to the Goddess of Black Cinders, whose origins unite the Dreamwalker’s power with the Genesis Fire.
• Unity against existential threats: The characters recognize that the Nightmare’s advance demands cooperation across empires and factions.
• Risk and duty: Su Yi knows the journey may be a trap, yet considers defending the Primordial Empire unavoidable.

Key plot points and events

• Dante and the Grave King Faction have been hunting the Eternal Mysteries Cult, whose immortal members repeatedly evade them. The cult gives excessive vitality to people seeking longer lives, transforming them into grotesque Flesh Monsters and harvesting their life essence.
• Su Yi suspects the cult’s vitality is abnormal and agrees to help capture a member.
• At the Genetics Society, cult recruiter Li Sandao persuades Ronnie and Laike to consider joining the Eternal Mysteries Cult: Ronnie wants a longer life, while Laike wants to study immortal genetics.
• Su Yi arrives before they can commit. Ronnie recognizes him as his master, and Laike recognizes his status as the Great Warmaster of the Expedition.
• Su Yi uses the Shadow King’s Darkness Authority to incapacitate Li Sandao and warns Ronnie and Laike to stay away from the cult. He permits Laike to examine Li Sandao’s cells if they prove safe.
• Under questioning, Li Sandao says the cult’s warped vitality came from a chief priest now in the Primordial Empire. He claims not to know about the recent war there. When Su Yi asks how the cultists reached the Great Vortex, Li Sandao suddenly appears to die. Su Yi decides he needs a specialist to investigate further.

Character developments and interactions

• Su Yi moves from assisting Dante’s hunt to confronting the cult directly. His control of the Shadow King’s Darkness Authority is strong enough to suppress Li Sandao’s body, soul, and thoughts, though his mastery of other aspects of the Shadow King’s power remains incomplete.
• Dante trusts Su Yi and shares sensitive intelligence despite reservations from his companions.
• Ronnie is tempted by the promise of extended life but ultimately trusts Su Yi’s warning and withdraws from the cult.
• Laike is primarily motivated by scientific curiosity; he seeks genetic samples rather than spiritual allegiance.
• Li Sandao shifts from confident recruiter to terrified prisoner, but dies—or appears to—before explaining the cult’s means of reaching the Great Vortex.

Significant themes

• Immortality versus the natural order: The Grave King Faction accepts death as inevitable, while the cult exploits people’s fear of mortality.
• The cost of promised life: The cult’s supposed gift of vitality turns people into monstrous, emptied-out bodies.
• Trust and authority: Ronnie’s faith in Su Yi prevents him from making a dangerous pact, while Dante’s trust enables cooperation across factional lines.
• Knowledge and uncertainty: The origins and purpose of the cult’s altered power remain unclear, and Li Sandao’s sudden death leaves key questions unanswered.

Key plot points and events

• Su Yi and Wen Xuan extract the Nine-Turn Reincarnation Technique from Li Sandao’s memories. It lets travelers regress into souls, cross the distance to the Primordial Empire in seven days, and be reborn there.
• Wen Xuan hides himself and a weakened, youthful projection of Su Yi inside Li Sandao’s memories. Su Yi plans to use the Gate of Unity to send more of his power across later. Mo Long is left to bring the rest of their people home once the route is open.
• Ronnie and Laike resume their meeting with Li Sandao, unaware they were interrogated. Ronnie asks Li to take him to the Chaos Egg, offering the Storm Gang and help recruiting other Desire Demon factions in return.
• Li agrees to take only Ronnie’s bionic eye, claiming he will use it to record the Chaos Egg’s surroundings. After three days of indulging in Ronnie’s hospitality, Li returns to his base and enters the flesh-based reincarnation apparatus.
• Li’s body regresses until only his soul remains and is sent toward the Primordial Empire. Su Yi and Wen Xuan stay dormant within his memories to avoid detection.
• The chapter ends in the Eternal Life Sanctuary, where a black-and-gold-robed man judges the towering skull spires insufficient.

Character developments

• Su Yi shows confidence and adaptability, devising a way to travel despite limits on Wen Xuan’s memory-carrying power.
• Wen Xuan demonstrates his expertise with memory and carefully manages the danger of hiding within Li Sandao.
• Li Sandao is ambitious and self-important, eager to use Ronnie’s offer to rise within his organization. He believes the trip will secure him leadership of the Great Vortex branch.
• Ronnie reveals a deep, almost religious longing to visit the Chaos Egg, while Laike seeks access to the Immortality Gene.

Significant themes

• Ambition and manipulation: Both sides treat the negotiations as a means to advance their own agendas.
• Identity, memory, and transformation: The travelers conceal themselves as memories, while the reincarnation technique reduces bodies to souls before restoring them.
• Power and risk: Long-distance travel depends on dangerous abilities, limited resources, and careful concealment.
• Desire and belief: Ronnie’s pilgrimage is driven by faith in his faction’s origin story, while Li frames desire as a path to self-understanding.

Character interactions

• Su Yi and Wen Xuan coordinate the infiltration, with Mo Long respectfully accepting his role in supporting the plan.
• Ronnie and Laike perform loyalty to Li Sandao while pursuing separate goals; Li exploits their offers to bolster his own standing.
• Li clashes with his team leader, dismissing the man’s authority and privately imagining future revenge.
• Su Yi reassures Ronnie that Li will accept the temptation, confirming that the apparent negotiations are part of a larger scheme.

Key plot points and events

• Li Sandao returns from a mission to Sacrificial Star, a sinister stronghold of his faction, where human remains, grotesque rituals, and offerings to the Mother of Immortality are central to its power.
• His superior, the monstrous High Sacrificial Master, probes his memories. Hidden memory constructs planted by Wen Xuan and Su Yi remain undetected amid Li’s recollections. The High Sacrificial Master approves his report and gives him three days to travel.
• Li leaves aboard a personal Immortal Ship, confident that his faction’s recent victory and technological advantage make him safe. The alliance with the Southern Heaven Alliance has allowed the cult to seize the Egg of Chaos and sacrifice the armies of the Flame Dragon and Returning Heart dynasties.
• Two hours into the ship’s jump, Wen Xuan and Su Yi awaken their hidden constructs. They learn how the Southern Heaven Alliance and the cult exploited the battle, sacrificed both armies, and helped bring about the Dark Universe Storms encircling the Primordial Empire.
• Wen Xuan contacts Resistance fighters, planning to take Li’s ship when it completes its jump.
• At the Egg of Chaos, Zhao Hailong’s Hell Wraiths—three hundred survivors of the Flame Dragon Dynasty army—struggle to survive without food, medicine, or working equipment. Their hope has dwindled to vengeance.
• As Zhao Hailong faces the unit’s desperate condition, an unfamiliar voice calls out: “Children, I’m back!”

Character developments and interactions

• Li Sandao returns to his former physical prime and remains deferential to his superiors. His confidence in his faction’s power contrasts sharply with the danger he unknowingly carries aboard his ship.
• Wen Xuan and Su Yi demonstrate caution and strategic skill through the concealed memory constructs. After learning the truth, Wen Xuan responds with anger and immediately works to aid the Resistance.
• The High Sacrificial Master confirms Li’s standing within the cult, using a disturbing memory probe before authorizing his departure.
• Zhao Hailong has changed from a cheerful commander into a withdrawn, grieving leader. His exchange with his young soldier reveals the Hell Wraiths’ extreme deprivation and declining morale.

Significant themes

• Religious horror and exploitation: The cult’s power depends on grotesque sacrifice and the treatment of human bodies as resources.
• Betrayal and political opportunism: The Southern Heaven Alliance uses the battle to gain power, sacrificing both armies for its own advantage.
• Survival and resistance: The Hell Wraiths persist despite starvation, disease, and near-total isolation.
• False security: Li believes his faction’s strength protects him, while Wen Xuan and Su Yi are already plotting to seize his ship.

Plot points and events

• Cut off by a powerful magnetic field and nearly out of supplies, Zhao Hailong hears a voice in his mind. It identifies his Zhao bloodline as descended from one of the Five Tiger Divine Generals and claims that the ancient emperor’s blessing lets it reach him through his genes.
• The voice tells Zhao to gather his people and seize an approaching ship from the Eternal Mysteries Cult. Though he suspects a trap, Zhao sees no other chance and rallies his starving, wounded soldiers.
• At the rendezvous, Zhao’s force meets another battered unit led by his fellow commander Huang Tianhan. A ship arrives, carrying a vacant-eyed Cult member. Two figures emerge from him: Wen Xuan, the long-missing founder-emperor, and Su Yi.
• Bloodline resonance convinces Zhao and Huang that Wen Xuan is truly their emperor. Their soldiers kneel, and Wen Xuan lifts them to their feet, but says they cannot wait for other survivors.
• Two enemy patrol ships approach. Wen Xuan leaves to deal with them and asks Su Yi to find a way to evacuate the troops.
• Su Yi uses the Gate of Unity to transfer his Object Summoning ability, then produces food, clean water, and medical supplies. The soldiers realize they may finally be saved.

Character developments and interactions

• Zhao Hailong moves from suspicion and despair to determined hope, trusting the mysterious voice because his troops have no alternatives. He reunites with old comrade Huang Tianhan, who shares his uncertainty about the emperor’s return.
• Wen Xuan returns as a source of relief and authority, but his pride in the soldiers is tempered by guilt over having been absent. He prioritizes their safety over ceremony and acts quickly when enemies approach.
• Su Yi is revealed as Wen Xuan’s partner and practical ally. While Wen Xuan confronts the patrol ships, Su Yi uses his powers to address the troops’ immediate needs.
• The soldiers’ awe and loyalty grow as they recognize Wen Xuan and witness Su Yi’s abilities.

Significant themes

• Hope and renewal: The emperor’s return revives the soldiers’ belief that their dynasty may rise again.
• Bloodline, memory, and identity: An ancestral blessing links Zhao to the past and makes recognition possible where ordinary communications fail.
• Loyalty and endurance: Even starving and gravely wounded, the soldiers remain united and ready to fight.
• Leadership and responsibility: Wen Xuan’s joy at finding his people is inseparable from remorse for failing them; his first concern is getting them out alive.

Key plot points and events

• Su Yi rescues a starving, wounded force led by commanders Zhao Hailong and Huang Tianhan, supplying them with summoned food, clean water, and medical care. The soldiers recover rapidly thanks to their genetically enhanced physiology.
• Wen Xuan returns after neutralizing two pursuing patrol ships by altering their crews’ memories and perceptions. Using the patrols’ credentials and his control of a ship, the group slips through the Chaos Egg’s defenses.
• They pass through a devastated battlefield, witnessing mass killings, sacrificial rites, and the remains of Flame Dragon and Returning Heart soldiers. The survivors recognize fallen comrades and see their defiance as proof that they never surrendered.
• During three days of travel, the commanders recount five thousand years of imperial history. They praise Grand Chancellor Kong Liang’s leadership, reforms, and military victories, but reveal that his health is failing despite the Divine Dragon Blood that has sustained him far beyond a normal lifespan.
• Wen Xuan reacts with deep emotion and becomes eager to reunite with Kong Liang.
• The group reaches the border of the neutral Heaven’s Gate Gorge Star Sector, controlled by the Situ Family. The sector’s geography makes it defensible and its neutrality has made it a major trade and mercenary hub.
• The only practical route home leads through the heavily inspected and tolled Qinjian Grand Corridor. The commanders accuse the Situ Family of having shut the sector’s gates during the war instead of helping their besieged forces. Su Yi agrees they are untrustworthy, but the group has no safer route.

Character developments and interactions

• Su Yi acts as a rescuer and provider, restoring the soldiers’ strength and helping them escape. He listens to the commanders’ account of the past and accepts that they must use the corridor.
• Wen Xuan uses his memory powers to conceal the group’s escape and secure their passage. The news of Kong Liang’s decline stirs guilt, longing, gratitude, and hope in him, sharpening his determination to return.
• Zhao Hailong and Huang Tianhan show gratitude for Su Yi’s aid and loyalty to their fallen comrades. Their knowledge of military history and current affairs helps guide the group’s decisions.
• The soldiers shift from exhaustion and shock to renewed strength and determination. Their grief at seeing their dead comrades strengthens their resolve to seek revenge.
• The commanders and Su Yi discuss the danger posed by the Situ Family; Wen Xuan and the commanders jointly assess the safest route.

Significant themes

• Compassion and renewal: Food, water, and medical care restore not only the soldiers’ bodies but also their hope.
• Loyalty and resistance: The fallen soldiers’ defiant faces symbolize refusal to submit, even in death.
• The cost of leadership and time: Kong Liang’s extraordinary service has kept the dynasty strong but has nearly exhausted him.
• Betrayal and political expediency: The Situ Family’s neutrality is portrayed as self-preservation at the expense of those in need.
• Homecoming and urgency: Wen Xuan’s longing to see Kong Liang adds a personal emotional stake to the group’s dangerous journey.

Plot points and events

• While Su Yi’s forces return to the Flame Dragon Dynasty, his main body meets by hologram with Cavlin von Sales Sorak, a senior Redstone Empire official and envoy.
• Su Yi knows Cavlin commands the Empire’s Ecstasy Witches and has blended the powers of Pleasure and Nightmare. He suspects her visit has a hidden purpose. Cavlin, meanwhile, gauges Su Yi’s strength and notices the two Pure Spirit Goddesses beside him, whom she finds tempting to corrupt.
• Cavlin opens negotiations by demanding an apology and compensation for a past incident in which Su Yi’s forces destroyed a Redstone warship, killing a princess-class guard and thirty-eight World Guardians.
• Su Yi accepts personal responsibility but argues that the blast was aimed at the Shadow King, that the Redstone forces were caught in it by chance, and that the fallen soldiers died defending the universe. He refuses to concede much as they trade arguments for over an hour.
• Cavlin changes tactics, citing a Nightmare invasion of the Primordial Empire. She offers Redstone intelligence and military assistance in exchange for access to the Light Empire’s Human Emperor’s Eye route, which would speed her fleet’s journey.
• Su Yi immediately agrees, surprising Cavlin and revealing that he is willing to grant the requested access—or has his own reasons for doing so.

Character developments

• Su Yi remains composed and strategically alert. He recognizes the compensation dispute as leverage and sees through Cavlin’s real objective: access to the Human Emperor’s Eye. His quick agreement catches her off guard.
• Cavlin is introduced as an influential, calculating opportunist with substantial political and military power. Though drawn to the Pure Spirit Goddesses, she remains focused on advancing Redstone’s interests and adapts when her first negotiating tactic fails.

Significant themes

• Diplomacy as strategic maneuvering: Both sides use accusations, appeals to shared danger, and offers of cooperation to pursue their own goals.
• Power and opportunism: Cavlin’s ability to navigate competing factions reflects the unstable politics of an empire in decline.
• Unity against a larger threat: The Nightmare invasion creates a possible basis for cooperation, even as both empires remain wary of one another.

Character interactions

• Su Yi and Cavlin test each other through a prolonged exchange over responsibility, casualties, and compensation.
• Cavlin shifts from confrontation to cooperation, framing her request as a contribution to universal safety.
• Their meeting ends with Su Yi’s unexpected consent, leaving Cavlin—and the reader—to wonder what motivates his decision.

Plot points and events

• Su Yi tells Kavelyn, the Redstone Empire’s envoy, that her fleet can use the Human Emperor’s Eye for free if the Redstone Empire continues supporting the Primordial Empire. He admits the direct route is not open yet, though Kavelyn suspects the Light Empire’s capabilities have been overstated.
• Kavelyn challenges Emma and Dora to compare their divine Boons. Dora answers with a deliberate insult, implying Kavelyn should use her gifts to please Su Yi. When Kavelyn’s guard objects, Emma rebukes him for speaking down to them despite his mistress treating them as equals.
• Su Yi says he and the sisters must leave to investigate a discovery in the Fierce Dragon Star Sector. He reveals that researchers have found a powerful Psychic Energy source and a hidden Abyss, possibly connected to the place where the Void Emperor fell. Eager to claim access to the site, Kavelyn offers Redstone’s help and agrees to follow. Su Yi promises to send the coordinates.
• After the call, Su Yi explains that the ruin is real—but far more dangerous than he told Kavelyn. Psychic Energy leaking from the Abyss has attracted secretive soul factions, followers of three beings born from the Void Emperor, and hordes of mutated “Living Devourers.” These monsters combine Life Devourer biology with Bone Demon armor and anti-magic abilities.
• Iron Root’s advance force has already lost a third of its Players in a clash with the Living Devourers. Great Sage Bell’s preparations for retreat prevented a total wipeout.
• Su Yi plans to take a small elite force through a sacrificially opened teleportation gate, with the main force to follow. He intends for Kavelyn’s powerful fleet to pursue him and serve as cannon fodder. Emma, Dora, White Bone Lady, and a hundred Nightmare Walkers join the mission.

Character developments and interactions

• Su Yi uses diplomacy and calculated disclosure to manipulate Kavelyn into following him, while concealing the scale of the danger. He trusts the advance team’s reports and prepares a limited force for a risky operation.
• Kavelyn remains suspicious of Su Yi’s lofty ideals and tests the Light Empire’s claims. Her ambition to investigate and control Su Yi makes her eager to pursue the supposed discovery, despite her reservations.
• Emma and Dora act as Su Yi’s outspoken allies. They needle Kavelyn and defend their status, while their provocations help prompt her to ask about Su Yi’s destination.
• Iron Root and Great Sage Bell demonstrate the dangers of the mission: Iron Root reports the losses, while Bell’s caution and escape plan save the advance force.
• The Players show strong loyalty to the Empire. The Nightmare Walkers volunteer eagerly, viewing service under Su Yi as an honor rather than a source of special rewards.

Significant themes

• Deception and strategy: Su Yi turns Kavelyn’s desire for influence and valuable discoveries into a trap.
• Power and ambition: Competing factions rush toward the Void Emperor’s remnants, drawn by the chance to acquire extraordinary Psychic Energy.
• Loyalty and belonging: The Players’ commitment reflects their pride in the Empire they helped build.
• Escalating danger: The mutated Living Devourers have overcome former weaknesses, making the struggle around the ruin far more perilous than expected.

Key plot points and events

• In the Fierce Dragon Star Sector, the Death Cult is close to wiping out the Sanctuary of the Heart. The conflict is fought through psychic and soul powers, making conventional weapons and even bodily destruction largely irrelevant.
• The Death Cult has used the severed head of Sacred Will—a deity sustained by its followers’ faith—as bait. By making the skull scream in pain, Bishop Pagg disrupts the believers’ concentration and collapses their psychic defense.
• Iron Pot, watching through one of his Dream-Eating Beasts, learns that Sacred Will is the only deity born from the Void Emperor whom the Players may be able to win over. Iron Root urges him to intervene.
• Pagg detects the creature and attacks it, but Iron Pot switches places with it and confronts the Bishop directly. He demands that the Death Cult stop fighting and release the Sanctuary members.
• When Pagg refuses, Iron Pot opens a deck of portals, each revealing powerful pets, War Beasts, or other forces. The Death Cult halts its attack, realizing the threat, and Iron Pot offers a stark choice: they can kill him, or he can kill them.

Character development

• Iron Pot emerges as a formidable, self-assured leader. A recent Divine Authority boon—the Ten Thousand Worlds Gate—has vastly increased his strength, allowing him to summon and command an army without outside support. His courteous manner contrasts with his overwhelming power.
• Iron Root acts as a strategic coordinator and keeps the group focused on its broader objective: bringing Sacred Will to their side.
• Bishop Pagg is shown as calculating and ruthless, exploiting Sacred Will’s suffering to weaken its followers. His confidence wavers when Iron Pot reveals the scale of his power.
• The Sanctuary’s believers are devoted but vulnerable: their faith gives them strength, yet the Death Cult’s torment of their deity destabilizes it.

Significant themes

• Faith as both power and weakness: Sacred Will’s strength depends on belief, but its followers’ convictions are easily shaken when their deity appears to suffer.
• Power through bonds and cooperation: Iron Pot’s strength comes from his Divine Authority, his Sprites, and the many creatures he has gathered.
• Cruelty and exploitation: The Death Cult turns a captured divine body into bait and a weapon against its own followers.
• Intervention and allegiance: The Players’ decision to rescue the Sanctuary reflects the larger struggle to influence the universe’s powerful factions and deities.

Character interactions

• Pagg taunts and threatens the Sanctuary’s believers, then uses their deity’s screams to break their defense.
• Iron Root and Iron Pot discuss the importance of saving the Sanctuary, prompting Iron Pot’s intervention.
• Pagg challenges Iron Pot’s authority and refuses his demand; Iron Pot answers with a display of force and gives the Death Cult its ultimatum.

Key plot points and events

• The battered Sanctuary of the Heart unit, led by Rohr, is pinned down by the Death Cult. Iron Pot’s arrival halts the assault, giving the survivors a chance to regroup.
• Rohr’s director identifies Iron Pot as the Light Empire’s King of Beasts and reassures the unit that he is not their enemy. Her words restore their resolve.
• Aboard the Sanctuary’s ship, director Guang Xuelian debates whether to accept the Light Empire’s offer of help. Although wary of a trap, she decides to rescue Rohr alone and sends the rest of her people back to base.
• Dr. Kassan outwardly accepts her orders but privately hopes she will die. He contacts an unnamed “Principal” and says their plan can begin now that Xuelian has left.
• Iron Pot reveals powerful creatures from his summoned doors. The Death-Void Dragon tears souls from nearby guards, while the immense, two-dimensional Subshadow Demon drains and absorbs souls within its shadow.
• Bishop Pagg recognizes the rare creatures and, despite his Soul Dominator power, struggles to escape. He finally breaks free, but only after being briefly restrained.
• As Iron Pot prepares to summon another pet, Guang Xuelian arrives and asks to handle the situation herself. Iron Pot is visibly stunned, ending the chapter on a comic, excited note.

Character developments

• Rohr and his unit move from despair toward renewed determination after learning help is coming.
• Guang Xuelian shows both caution and self-sacrifice: she takes the risk of rescuing Rohr herself while prioritizing her people’s safety.
• Dr. Kassan is revealed as a dangerous traitor, driven by possessive obsession with Xuelian and involved in a concealed scheme.
• Iron Pot demonstrates overwhelming confidence and command over rare soul-devouring beasts; Xuelian’s appearance unexpectedly leaves him flustered.
• Bishop Pagg shifts from assessing Iron Pot’s strength to anger and envy when he sees the Subshadow Demon he has spent centuries seeking.

Significant themes

• Faith and conviction: The Sanctuary’s belief is portrayed as a source of resilience, even when its members are badly wounded.
• Trust amid deception: The Light Empire’s offer may be genuine or a trap, forcing Xuelian to balance suspicion with necessity.
• Devotion versus obsession: The Sanctuary’s affection for Xuelian contrasts with Kassan’s possessive, corrupt desire.
• Power and envy: Pagg’s knowledge of the creatures makes him recognize their threat—and resent Iron Pot for possessing what he could never find.

Character interactions

• Rohr’s frightened survivors debate whether to flee, then draw strength from their director’s reassurance.
• Xuelian calmly overrules the researchers’ dispute by dividing responsibilities, earning their obedience through their deep trust in her.
• Kassan’s respectful public behavior sharply contrasts with his private hatred and scheming.
• Iron Pot taunts Pagg while his summoned creatures overwhelm the Death Cult.
• Xuelian’s sudden request to take over interrupts Iron Pot’s attack and prompts his startled, lovestruck reaction.

Plot points and events

• Guang Xuelian, leader of the Sanctuary of the Heart, arrives and uses her calming power to seize control of Bishop Pagg. Iron Pot is unaffected by her field and becomes immediately infatuated with her.
• As Guang tries to free the Sacred Will Skull from its torment, the skull’s screams erupt. The sound stuns and weakens her, allowing the Death Cult leader LS Te to emerge from Pagg’s body and attack.
• Iron Pot charges in with his pets, forcing LS Te to abandon his assault. Su Yi tells Iron Pot not to pursue, so LS Te escapes by merging with the skull and fleeing into space.
• Iron Pot carries the weakened Guang to safety. She agrees to go with him to his camp, though some Sanctuary members initially object.
• LS Te’s escape triggers a signal that draws a vast swarm of Living Devourers. Their psychic field blocks escape and suppresses the group’s connection to the Void Abyss.
• With everyone facing apparent defeat, Guang asks Iron Pot whether he has a plan. He admits he does not—but says confidently that his godfather is coming.

Character developments and interactions

• Iron Pot combines battlefield awareness with comic romantic enthusiasm: he sees Guang as his ideal partner, rescues her, and revels in the jealousy of her followers. Despite his bravado, he obeys Su Yi’s order to let LS Te escape.
• Guang Xuelian is shown as powerful and compassionate, but the Sacred Will Skull’s screams can temporarily overwhelm her abilities. She trusts Iron Pot enough to accept his offer of shelter.
• LS Te reveals the encounter was a planned trap meant to capture Guang. When unexpected enemies disrupt it, he retreats with the skull and inadvertently—or deliberately—draws the Living Devourers to the battlefield.
• Rohr and the Sanctuary members shift from suspicion of Iron Pot to dependence on his group as their situation worsens.

Significant themes

• Power and vulnerability: Even a formidable leader can be incapacitated by the right weapon or circumstance.
• Trust amid crisis: Guang accepts help from an unfamiliar faction when her own options collapse.
• Humor against danger: Iron Pot’s exaggerated crush and confidence contrast with the escalating threat.
• Uncertain rescue: The chapter ends on a cliffhanger, with the group trapped and Iron Pot relying on his godfather’s arrival rather than a plan.

Plot points and events

• Su Yi arrives through a Gate of Unity to rescue Guang Xuelian and her expedition from the Life Devourers. He praises Iron Pot for securing a valuable ally.
• As the attackers close in, Su Yi tells Iron Pot to protect the group, then destroys the surrounding insects and debris with a single strike of a powerful wolf-emblazoned banner. The display stuns the survivors and makes clear that the Light Empire no longer needs to rely on secrecy or ambush.
• Su Yi brings Guang Xuelian and her people to the Light Empire’s base near the Fallen God Abyss. The Empire controls two of the three routes into the region; Dream Terror Academy controls the third.
• At the base, Hu Laobiao and Great Sage Bell’s exploration has been hampered by Dream Terror Academy’s Dreamwalker Spirits and Nightmare traps. Fun God, Bathing Emperor, Invincible Fool, and other Nightmare Walkers arrive to help them challenge the academy’s presence.
• Su Yi meets with Guang Xuelian and explains his plan to kill the Nightmare Pioneer, Soul Dominator, and Sacred Will, then absorb all three Deities. He offers to protect the Sanctuary of the Heart and provide its people with research space and facilities—on the condition that it becomes part of the Light Empire.
• Su Yi also proposes marriage between Iron Pot and Guang Xuelian as a way to bind their factions together.

Character developments and interactions

• Su Yi displays overwhelming power and a newly confident strategy: instead of hiding his strength, he wants rival factions to fear and anticipate the Empire’s moves. He treats Iron Pot’s feelings for Guang Xuelian as a political consideration.
• Iron Pot is praised for rescuing Guang Xuelian and establishing a potential alliance. His affection for her is made explicit, and Su Yi sees it as a basis for marriage and political unity.
• Guang Xuelian shifts from desperate caution to respectful engagement after Su Yi’s intervention. She recognizes that her people cannot safely withdraw from the conflict and listens to his offer, though she is left to consider the alliance and marriage proposal.
• Hu Laobiao and Great Sage Bell remain committed to exploring the ruins, despite their differing theories and the dangers posed by Dream Terror Academy. Hu Laobiao eagerly welcomes the Nightmare Walkers’ help.
• Rohr and the other survivors lose their earlier hostility after witnessing Su Yi’s power and comply without protest.

Significant themes

• Power and deterrence: Su Yi argues that overwhelming strength has made secrecy unnecessary; visible force can now intimidate opponents.
• Alliance through mutual benefit: The Light Empire offers protection and resources in exchange for the Sanctuary of the Heart’s allegiance.
• Marriage as political strategy: Su Yi frames Iron Pot and Guang Xuelian’s potential marriage as the most direct way to unite factions, blending personal affection with statecraft.
• Faith and decline: Sacred Will is weakening as its followers disappear, leaving its remaining people vulnerable and forcing them into a struggle for survival.

Key plot points

• Su Yi focuses on strengthening the Light Empire through marriages among the Ten Pioneer Sages and leaders of allied factions. He intends to respect the Players’ wishes while using marriage to build political ties.
• Recognizing Iron Pot’s feelings for Guang Xuelian, leader of the Sanctuary of the Heart, Su Yi proposes that they marry. He argues the union would secure the Sanctuary’s protection, resources, and freedom to pursue its research—and give Iron Pot a chance with the woman he loves.
• Guang Xuelian initially hesitates. She has spent more than a century setting aside romance to serve as a source of hope for others. But she decides the Light Empire is the best way to protect her people and continue her mission, and accepts the proposal.
• Su Yi tells the anxious Iron Pot the marriage is settled. Overjoyed, Iron Pot enters the conference room and meets Guang Xuelian. They awkwardly agree to begin by getting to know one another.

Character developments

• Su Yi acts as both political leader and caring godfather, pairing Players with partners while considering the needs of their factions.
• Guang Xuelian begins to reconsider the life of emotional self-denial she has maintained as the “Gentle Sun.” Her acceptance is motivated by duty and renewed possibility, though she is also nervous about romance.
• Iron Pot shifts from fearing that his feelings are unrequited to being thrilled by the prospect of marriage. He is sincere and inexperienced, eager to approach Guang Xuelian respectfully.
• Iron Root and Iron Pillar support their friend, teasing him while warning him not to expect too much.

Significant themes

• Love and duty: Guang Xuelian’s personal longing conflicts with her responsibility to her people, while the proposed marriage may serve both.
• Political alliance and protection: Marriage helps bind the Sanctuary of the Heart to the Light Empire and secure its future.
• Hope and collective strength: Su Yi argues that one person’s influence may fade, but a whole faction can sustain its mission together.
• Family-like care: The Players see Su Yi not merely as a commander but as a father figure who wants them to be happy.

Character interactions

• Su Yi presses Guang Xuelian to consider how marriage could strengthen her people’s position, while acknowledging that the Sanctuary can join the Empire even if she refuses.
• Iron Root and Iron Pillar encourage Iron Pot, but their warnings deepen his doubts until Su Yi reveals the proposal has succeeded.
• In their first conversation after the decision, Iron Pot and Guang Xuelian share their inexperience and agree to start with a simple, mutual goal: getting to know each other.

Plot points and events

• Su Yi connects the Living Devourers’ recent mutations to the secretive Heat Death Research Institute. The Veteran Soul Scholar reports that the Institute’s genetic techniques resemble those used to create other engineered species, though its relationship with their creators, the Soulless, remains unclear.
• The Living Devourers have become more intelligent: their Mother Entity coordinates attacks, targets factions, uses disguises and suicide assaults, and develops Psychic Energy runes and biomass-based territory. Su Yi says reinforcements are coming and directs attention toward the Fallen God Abyss, where Hu Laobiao’s team is clearing out Dream Terror Academy’s remnants.
• An urgent report reveals that the Sanctuary of the Heart’s headquarters has gone silent and its core ship shows Nightmare activity. Su Yi suspects an insider. Guang Xuelian identifies Dr. Kassan, an ambitious colleague with feelings for her who had sought cooperation with Dream Terror Academy.
• Su Yi sends Iron Pot, a twenty-person Nightmare Walker squad, and two Spellbreaker squads to investigate, with a Star-Class Fleet providing distant protection and an emergency teleportation route.
• The team reaches the Sanctuary’s headquarters and finds its patrol ships inactive and its pyramid-like structures saturated with distorted energy. I Want to Learn English identifies the power as Nightmare energy, likely the work of Dream Terror Academy. Guang Xuelian realizes Kassan has betrayed them. Iron Pot asks Famicom Little Overlord to handle the next step, but the chapter ends before the plan is shown.

Character developments and interactions

• Su Yi demonstrates his strategic leadership, gathering intelligence, assessing new threats, and quickly organizing a response to the Sanctuary crisis.
• Guang Xuelian moves from alarm and uncertainty to identifying Kassan as the likely traitor, then feels regret for failing to anticipate his defection.
• Iron Pot is warmly supported by his comrades, who treat Guang Xuelian with striking courtesy despite their frightening appearance. She is unsettled by their aura but reassured by their loyalty and kindness.
• Former followers Slaughter Blade and Ten-Mile Slope Sword God have become powerful Spellbreaker commanders. The Players’ elite units eagerly volunteer to protect Iron Pot’s allies and recover the missing personnel.

Significant themes

• Escalating threats and adaptation: The Living Devourers are evolving from instinct-driven creatures into coordinated, strategic enemies.
• Loyalty versus betrayal: The Players’ solidarity contrasts with Kassan’s suspected betrayal of his faith and organization.
• Appearance versus character: The visibly mutated, intimidating Players behave with warmth and respect, challenging Guang Xuelian’s initial fear of them.
• Knowledge and uncertainty: The Heat Death Research Institute’s advanced technology is linked to multiple engineered species, but its origins and ties remain unresolved.

Key plot points and events

• Famicom Little Overlord uses his ability to merge with distant Nightmare power and enter the corrupted Sanctuary of the Heart. Iron Pot’s team follows through a network of teleportation badges.
• Inside, the players find researchers and staff transformed into wandering Nightmare-infected monsters. Famicom Little Overlord determines that the contamination was imposed from outside, not caused by the staff’s own worship.
• The players use specialized marks to shield themselves and others from Nightmare’s influence. They also demonstrate their ability to stealthily subdue infected people and cleanse them, restoring several victims.
• Survivors explain that Dr. Kasan seized control after Guang Xuelian left, admitted Nightmare Hunters into the facility, and made a deal with the head of the Dream Terror Academy. Many capable staff were taken away for an unknown mission; others were contaminated and enslaved.
• Mills, one of Guang Xuelian’s assistants, reveals Kasan’s goal: to clone Guang Xuelian using her preserved DNA and fuse the clone’s mind with Nightmare power so it would belong to him.
• Iron Pot’s squad charges toward Kasan. Their coordinated teams swiftly defeat hostile monsters, cleanse those whose contamination is still reversible, and kill those too far gone or willing participants. They clear the area in minutes and rescue the remaining victims.

Character developments

• Guang Xuelian moves from shock at the players’ mastery of Nightmare power to relying on them as a formidable rescue force. Though angered by the betrayal, she remains cautious about confronting Kasan.
• Iron Pot reveals a personal stake in the conflict, calling Guang Xuelian his wife. His anger at Kasan’s attempt to clone her quickly turns into decisive action.
• Famicom Little Overlord shows both his unusual infiltration ability and his capacity to assess the contamination.
• The rescued staff, including Mills, regain their normal appearances and recount Kasan’s betrayal, helping clarify what happened.
• The players display confidence and pride in their specialized abilities, while proving highly effective at containment and combat.

Significant themes

• Power mastered versus power corrupting: The players have learned to control Nightmare power, while Kasan and the infected are overwhelmed or corrupted by it.
• Betrayal and exploitation: Kasan sacrifices colleagues and subordinates, treating them as tools in pursuit of a personal obsession.
• Rescue and moral limits: The players cleanse those who can be saved but destroy those whose corruption is advanced or embraced.
• Loyalty and protection: Iron Pot’s personal bond with Guang Xuelian gives his response an intimate as well as tactical motive.

Character interactions

• Iron Pot explains the players’ abilities to a stunned Guang Xuelian, who repeatedly questions how they can control Nightmare power.
• Guang Xuelian comforts and questions rescued staff, whose accounts reveal Kasan’s actions and plans.
• Mills turns to Guang Xuelian for help and confirms the danger posed by Kasan.
• Guang Xuelian urges caution, but Iron Pot rejects delay; the players rally behind him and advance together.

Key plot points and events

• Guang Xuelian leads the rescued Sanctuary of the Heart members through the station with Iron Pot and the Players. The squad overwhelms every defense, using strange summons, anti-Nightmare abilities, and Iron Pot’s portals.
• The group reaches Dr. Kassan’s laboratory and finds him cultivating a new body resembling Guang Xuelian, apparently intending to possess her after her rebirth.
• Kassan is shocked to find Guang Xuelian alive and with Iron Pot. He summons Nightmare-fueled monsters, but the Players disrupt his power and turn the creatures into harmless filth.
• Guang Xuelian publicly condemns Kassan, introduces Iron Pot as her fiancé, and declares that the Light Empire will protect and help the Sanctuary.
• Kassan attacks with a soul bomb combining Nightmare and Sacred Will. Iron Pot’s Death-Void Dragon swallows it unharmed, while Necro-Worms bind Kassan’s soul.
• Iron Pot beats Kassan, saying the lashes are for what he did to Guang Xuelian’s clone, then demands to know where he sent the others.

Character developments

• Guang Xuelian moves from being rescued to openly asserting her authority and rejecting Kassan. She embraces Iron Pot and chooses a future for her people under the Light Empire’s protection.
• Iron Pot demonstrates the extraordinary breadth of his power and devotion to Guang Xuelian. Her kiss delights him, and he personally punishes Kassan.
• Dr. Kassan is exposed as possessive, arrogant, and overconfident in Nightmare’s power. His control fails, his attack is defeated, and he is captured.
• The rescued Sanctuary members see how powerful the Players are and recognize their dependence on them, though they feel uneasy about Guang Xuelian’s relationship with an outsider.

Significant themes

• Power and resistance: The Players can counter forces that others consider invincible, showing that Nightmare’s power is not absolute.
• Loyalty and protection: Iron Pot’s rescue and defense of Guang Xuelian stand against Kassan’s desire to control her.
• A new political future: Guang Xuelian links the Sanctuary’s survival to the Light Empire, suggesting protection and renewal in exchange for a changed order.
• Humiliation and revenge: Kassan’s defeat turns his grand claims into ridicule, while Iron Pot’s punishment answers his violation of Guang Xuelian’s clone.

Character interactions

• Guang Xuelian clings to Iron Pot and calls him her fiancé to provoke and reject Kassan.
• The Players mock Kassan’s delusions and expose his guards’ defeat.
• Guang Xuelian confronts Kassan directly, rejecting his possessive claims and presenting Iron Pot as her chosen partner.
• Iron Pot defeats and restrains Kassan, then interrogates him about the missing people.

Chapter 519: “It’s Just a World. I’ll Smash It to Pieces”

Key plot points and events

• Iron Pot tortures Dr. Kassan with a rune-infused whip that bypasses his Nightmare Power and inflicts severe, varied pain. Kassan finally reveals a plot involving former colleagues at the Sanctuary of the Heart.
• The conspirators plan to use the researchers as a psychic “core,” joining their minds so their collective belief can resonate with Nightmare Power and manifest part of the Dreamwalker. They also intend to awaken all humanity’s Void Abyss Talents by using the Void Emperor’s remaining Psychic Energy.
• Guang Xuelian suspects the Living Devourers are part of the scheme: their presence may lure Gifted into the Fallen God Abyss, where fighting and deaths would add more Psychic Energy to the plan.
• Recognizing the danger of summoning the Dreamwalker, Iron Pot and Guang Xuelian leave to report to Su Yi. Mills is put in temporary command while Slaughter Blade and the others deal with the remaining traitors.
• Inside the Fallen God Abyss, Funster’s masks destroy a nearly invisible Dreamwalker Spirit without triggering its traps. Funster explains that Nightmare Power’s great tolerance makes it vulnerable to other Nightmare Power.
• The expedition detects a dramatic rise in Nightmare concentration, the Abyss turning physical, and Psychic Energy being drained. Hu Laobiao contacts the outside team for information.
• Su Yi’s commanders confirm that the Abyss may form an expanding world that could rupture the Material Universe’s structure. Su Yi calmly says he will destroy it himself if necessary.

Character developments and interactions

• Dr. Kassan is reduced from an arrogant, corrupted conspirator to a broken captive who reveals the plan under torture.
• Guang Xuelian reacts with fury at Kassan’s betrayal of his former students and colleagues, then contributes the theory linking the Living Devourers to the conspiracy. She offers to help protect anyone who must enter the Abyss.
• Iron Pot shows both his effectiveness as an interrogator and his urgency once he learns the Dreamwalker is the goal.
• Funster demonstrates his unusual ability to exploit Nightmare Power’s internal tolerance, impressing Great Sage Bell.
• Great Sage Bell and Hu Laobiao discuss the weakness in Nightmare Power; Bell accepts Hu Laobiao’s argument that an apparently invincible force would have little reason to defend itself from internal breaches.
• Su Yi reinforces his reputation as the expedition’s overwhelming authority. His matter-of-fact promise to shatter a world astonishes Guang Xuelian and Baroness Tasso.

Significant themes

• Power’s hidden vulnerabilities: Nightmare Power’s immense flexibility is also a weakness, since it lacks internal safeguards against other Nightmare Power.
• The cost of forced empowerment: Making all humanity Gifted could unleash corruption and chaos, especially with the Dreamwalker stirring.
• Betrayal and sacrifice: Kassan’s scheme treats former colleagues as fuel for a godlike being’s manifestation.
• Escalating scale of danger: The threat expands from a conspiracy to a possible physical world capable of damaging the laws of the universe—and Su Yi’s response makes clear how far beyond ordinary limits the conflict has reached.

Chapter summary

Key plot points and events

• With Su Yi backing them, the commanders assess the Sanctuary of the Heart’s plan: use the Fallen God Abyss’s psychic energy to create a pocket universe suited to the Dreamwalker, allowing him to influence the Material Universe through it.
• The group rejects trying to seize the new world as too risky. They decide instead to disrupt the enemy’s plan, rescue the abducted Sanctuary members, and remove the Dream Terror Academy from the Abyss.
• Su Yi assigns the operation: Iron Pot commands the force inside, Iron Root coordinates support outside, and Iron Pillar guards the base against an attack from the neighboring Dream Terror Academy. Su Yi will break and hold open a breach in the world barrier, then enter later to extract the remaining psychic energy.
• After three hours of preparation, an elite force of 20,000 gathers. Inside the Abyss, the pocket universe continues to expand, draining psychic energy and changing the local laws: ordinary psychic energy no longer works, while the players’ nightmare power becomes dangerously active.
• Hu Laobiao and the others are surrounded by monsters. Their attacker, a heavily armed young Nightmare Hunter, carries the severed—but still living—heads of Sanctuary members, including Tass, the Idealist Debate Society’s president.
• The Hunter attacks by making wolf heads emerge from the bodies of nearby players and researchers. Bathing Emperor absorbs the demonic power from the victims, preventing the attack from killing them outright.
• The Hunter summons thousands of reinforcements and reveals his goal: trap the nightmare power inside the players’ bodies. Even if they revive after dying, they would be powerless without it.

Character developments

• Su Yi takes firm command, setting clear priorities and balancing the rescue effort against the danger of the Dreamwalker’s arrival.
• Guang Xuelian accepts that her captured students and subordinates may have to be killed if they cannot be saved, while offering to try to bring them back to their senses.
• Great Sage Bell provides the strategic analysis of the pocket universe and later identifies Tass among the captive heads.
• Hu Laobiao reassures the group that Su Yi is directing the outside battle.
• Bathing Emperor demonstrates both nerve and ability by taunting the Hunter and extracting the victims’ demonic power to counter the attack.
• The Nightmare Hunter emerges as a confident, cruel enemy, using the captives as weapons and targeting the players’ reliance on nightmare power.

Significant themes

• Pragmatism versus rescue: The commanders aim to save the captives but accept that some may be beyond help.
• Strategic restraint: The group gives up the tempting prospect of claiming the pocket universe to avoid a catastrophic delay.
• Power and vulnerability: The changing world rules undermine familiar energy sources, while the players’ unusual power becomes both a strength and a liability.
• Defiance in the face of danger: The players respond to the Hunter’s threats with mockery rather than fear, though the summoning of thousands of enemies raises the stakes.

Character interactions

• The commanders openly weigh Iron Pot’s proposal to seize the pocket universe against the safer plan of attacking and rescuing the captives.
• Su Yi specifically invites Guang Xuelian to speak, and she answers with gratitude, resolve, and a willingness to cooperate with the soldiers.
• Inside the Abyss, Hu Laobiao reassures Great Sage Bell and the others while they wait for reinforcements.
• The players’ insults provoke the Nightmare Hunter, who answers their bravado with a direct attack and a threat to turn them into part of his lantern.

Key plot points and events

• The Fun God and the Players meet the Dreamwalker’s Fanatics in battle. The Fun God draws enemy attacks with his enormous mask-filled Nightmare form, while his laughter converts the Hunters’ Nightmare power into smiling faces.
• Protected by the Fun God’s sacrifice, the Bathing Emperor and other elite Players kill roughly two hundred Nightmare Hunters using powerful, grotesque Nightmare abilities. Researchers and ordinary Players analyze the battle and amplify its signals to help reinforcements locate them.
• An Alliance force led by Iron Pot reaches the expanding world barrier in the Fallen God Abyss. Tens of millions of corrupted guards and a powerful Academy figure, Dr. Kafu, block their way. Kafu’s attack overwhelms the force, but Su Yi intervenes, transporting them into a separate space.
• Su Yi confronts Kafu with Emma and Dora, who have gained Demigod bodies and help him control the Abyss’s Psychic Energy. Kafu reveals that the invasion was also designed to lure Su Yi into a trap and claim his Divine Authority.
• Kafu appears to infect and immobilize Su Yi with Nightmare power, but Su Yi reveals that he anticipated the attack. Dark chains bind Kafu, and Su Yi gathers overwhelming energy to strike.

Character developments and interactions

• The Fun God demonstrates that he is a strategist and support fighter rather than a direct combatant, willingly acting as a shield to create an opening for his allies.
• The Bathing Emperor and elite Players show the scale and variety of their combat abilities, working together to exploit the Fun God’s distraction.
• Iron Pot remains confident in Su Yi even when the Alliance force is trapped, reassuring Guang Xuelian that Su Yi has control of the situation.
• Su Yi displays confidence and careful preparation, letting Kafu believe his trap has succeeded before countering it. His calm taunting contrasts with Kafu’s growing alarm.
• Emma and Dora have advanced into Demigod forms and now serve as Su Yi’s powerful partners in controlling Psychic Energy.
• Dr. Kafu is revealed as the Dream Terror Academy’s vice principal and a devoted, confident master of Nightmare power. His certainty falters when Su Yi’s chains hold him.

Significant themes

• Cunning over brute force: The Fun God and Su Yi win advantages through planning, misdirection, and control of the battlefield.
• Power used for different purposes: The Fun God turns Nightmare power—regarded by fanatics as a tool for domination—into absurd laughter and a tactical weapon.
• Confidence versus fanaticism: Kafu’s belief in his master’s supremacy blinds him to Su Yi’s plan, while Su Yi’s confidence rests on having understood Kafu’s limitations.
• Cooperation and adaptability: Players, researchers, and reinforcements each contribute distinct skills as the conflict expands.