Chapter Summaries

Key plot points and events

• After rescuing the scientist from the supermarket, the team learns his “Devouring Vaccine” could restore sanity and prevent people from turning into frenzied consumers. Marcelo exchanges contact details with him before the military takes him away.
• The rescue earns the team Merit and the trust of the alternate universe Iron Gate. Their mission changes: they must go to a hidden military warehouse for a three-hour rest and stage rewards.
• The warehouse contains weapons and four personalized reward boxes. Marcelo receives a charm-enhancing pendant, Joaquin a durable Dragonhide Robe, Sara a cloak that lets her pass through up to three meters of solid material, and Xu Yuan a seemingly ordinary drink.
• Xu Yuan’s drink is a unique spirit water tailored to his exact cultivation needs. It secretly raises his cultivation to the peak of the late Tribulation Realm without revealing his abilities.
• During the rest period, Matt arrives with news that two powerful Free Agents, Carrollus the Flame Arrow and Charlotte the Wind Woman, want to join the team for the next mission. Xu Yuan agrees on the condition that they bring no Helpers; when they arrive with their own, he makes the Helpers disappear and insists the two newcomers either follow the team’s orders or leave. They stay.
• The rest period ends, and a new mission appears on Joaquin’s nameplate.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yuan continues to conceal his extraordinary abilities, while demonstrating authority and sound judgment. The Iron Gate universe appears to recognize his needs and protects his secrets through its tailored reward.
• Marcelo remains the team’s sociable representative, builds rapport with the rescued scientist, and quickly embraces the rewards and downtime.
• Joaquin acts as captain, consults his teammates about the recruits, and accepts Xu Yuan’s terms.
• Sara is cautious about the generous rewards and worried about what the next mission may bring.
• Carrollus and Charlotte arrive as formidable allies, but Carrollus initially tries to assert control. Xu Yuan’s response establishes that they must join on the team’s terms.

Significant themes

• Interdependence: Iron Gate cannot fight for itself and relies on its inhabitants to protect it.
• Trust and secrecy: The universe rewards Xu Yuan while shielding his identity and strength.
• Leadership and boundaries: The team’s cooperation depends on shared authority and clear rules, not simply on adding more power.
• Hope amid catastrophe: The scientist’s vaccine represents the possibility of reversing the world’s transformation and bringing back hope.

Chapter Summary

• Xu Yuan receives a secret Celestial Court mission: “Exterminate Demons and Uphold the Way.” He must stop the Demon World’s corruption from spreading and prevent the monsters from taking the Origin Cube. Success will strengthen his Merit Fruit; failure will destroy it permanently. His teammates do not know about the mission.
• The group accepts the danger of infiltrating the monsters’ gathering. After receiving a vaccine that disguises them as monsters, all six travel into the cube. Xu Yuan uses Heaven-Stealing to make more than thirty spatial jumps, delivering them to a chamber filled with monsters.
• They learn that the monsters are being tested in stages. In the first selection, nine hundred of a thousand gathered monsters disappear, leaving a hundred to climb the spiral staircase within fifteen seconds. Xu Yuan teleports the team straight onto the stairs, avoiding the crush.
• On the next level, they discover that an hour of survival is required, with a battle royale beginning every five minutes. The team claims a corner and prepares to endure twelve rounds.
• During the first round, Charlotte’s Wind Wall and Carrollus’s magma keep most attackers at bay. Joaquin tackles a monster that breaks through, and Sara kills it with her dagger. In the second round, Charlotte boosts Carrollus’s flaming arrows with wind, while her gusts scatter other attackers. Carrollus’s destructive attacks quickly finish them.

Character Developments and Interactions

• Xu Yuan quietly accepts the high-stakes divine mission but keeps it secret. His teleportation proves essential to the team, though he deliberately rests rather than carrying every task himself.
• Joaquin takes a practical leadership role, warning the group of the danger and steering them through the trials.
• Marcelo uses humor and conversation to gather information from the monsters, including the rules of both selections.
• Carrollus and Charlotte work especially well together: Charlotte enhances Carrollus’s archery with wind, and their combined attacks help protect the group.
• Joaquin and Sara handle the close-quarters threat, restraining and killing the monster that breaches their defenses.
• The team shows growing trust in Xu Yuan’s ability, while the two S-class Returners recognize that his teleportation is too valuable to waste on unnecessary exertion.

Significant Themes

• Cooperation and complementary abilities: The group survives by combining teleportation, defense, mobility, and attack rather than relying on one person alone.
• Survival under engineered brutality: The monster gathering is structured as a series of deadly tests that force participants to compete and eliminate one another.
• Concealed danger and divided knowledge: Xu Yuan bears a secret mission whose consequences are immense, even as the team focuses on the immediate trials.
• Restraint and strategy: Xu Yuan’s decision to conserve his strength reflects the importance of managing resources over time, especially when repeated battles lie ahead.

Key events

• The group passes an hour on the previous floor with little effort: S-rank Returners Carrollus and Charlotte keep the monsters at bay, while Charlotte relaxes and listens to music.
• On the next floor, the ground splits into isolated peaks above a deep abyss, separating the group. Xu Yuan senses a powerful monster below and observes it through his Cycle Field as it finishes eating other creatures.
• A spider-like monster with a human upper body climbs toward the group, targeting Charlotte. She attacks it with tornadoes, but it breaks free and begins chanting. Xu Yuan shoots it with a Barrett, then uses Heaven-Stealing to teleport a second bullet into its head, killing it.
• The floor reforms, revealing stairs to the mission site. A taunting voice from above confirms they are approaching the Monster Alliance’s gathering. Their mission is to prevent the monsters from taking the Origin Cube, and they are warned not to act rashly against the gathering’s powerful attendees.
• Marcelo goes ahead to negotiate with the voice. He returns saying the monster has agreed to let the group attend as its underlings, provided each of them supplies it with a hearty meal of flesh and blood after the gathering.
• Xu Yuan studies Marcelo’s life and discovers the core of his Bard ability: Void Card Creation, which lets him shape a deal or alliance that a target will accept.

Character developments and interactions

• Charlotte shifts from casual confidence to alert combat readiness, then responds aggressively when the monster targets her.
• Carrollus proves supportive, praising Xu Yuan’s shooting, though he is surprised to learn the bullets can be teleported.
• Xu Yuan remains observant and pragmatic, using his unusual powers both to kill the monster and to learn the nature of Marcelo’s ability.
• Marcelo shows the Bard’s knack for negotiation: instead of fighting the unseen monster, he secures the group’s passage through a bargain. The group is surprised by the price, while Xu Yuan admires the no-cost, no-fight outcome.

Significant themes

• Caution in the face of overwhelming power: the group is warned that the gathering’s monsters may vastly outclass them.
• Adaptability over force: Marcelo’s negotiation succeeds where a direct confrontation could be dangerous.
• Hidden powers and practical resourcefulness: Xu Yuan’s teleporting bullets and Marcelo’s deal-making reveal unconventional ways to survive.
• Uneasy alliances: the group gains access to the gathering, but only by accepting a disturbing obligation.

• Plot: The group enters a level plunged into complete darkness. An unseen voice offers to lead them to a “grand gathering” but demands a payment of flesh and blood afterward. Marcelo confirms that they agreed to the terms, and the voice goes silent.
• Character developments: Marcelo appears willing to honor the group’s unsettling bargain; no further traits or changes are revealed.
• Interactions: The unseen guide addresses the group as “pitiful ants,” and Marcelo answers on their behalf.
• Themes: The scene introduces danger, dependence on an unknown guide, and the grim cost of making a bargain.

Key plot points and events

• Xu Yuan funds the group’s bid for the Cube Fragment. When a rival monster challenges him and raises the price, Xu Yuan offers $100 million—and kills it instantly with Heaven-Stealing.
• He uses the dead monster’s corpse and wealth to cover the purchase, then removes its brain as a pointed response to the four Radiant Flame lords, who had allowed the confrontation in hopes of profiting from the loser.
• The lords accept the deal and send Xu Yuan to collect the Fragment alone. His companions remain at the auction.
• The guide leads him into a corridor built to prevent flight and teleportation, then disappears. Xu Yuan’s system confirms that the imprisonment law cannot restrain an Immortal Species.
• Monsters emerge from the mirrored walls. Xu Yuan kills them by stealing their heads and stacks the heads into makeshift stairs toward a door in the ceiling. The stairs fall short, and he vanishes.

Character developments

• Xu Yuan displays calm confidence, financial resources, and lethal control of his power. He is also openly angered by the lords’ manipulative behavior and deliberately denies them an easy profit.
• He hesitates to use another combat ability, Honor Among Thieves, because he wonders whether hidden Ancient Gods are watching and wants to preserve the impression that his powers are limited.
• Joaquin and the others trust Xu Yuan to retrieve the Fragment alone, reassured by his strength and ability to escape.

Significant themes

• Power and autonomy: Xu Yuan’s status as an Immortal Species lets him defy a law designed to imprison him.
• Intimidation and control: His warnings and spectacular violence make clear that provocation carries consequences.
• Deception and mistrust: The lords’ apparent neutrality masks their desire to benefit from conflict; Xu Yuan responds by making his displeasure unmistakable.
• Caution around hidden observers: Xu Yuan weighs the advantage of using his abilities against the risk of revealing too much.

Character interactions

• Xu Yuan reassures his allies and takes responsibility for the bid.
• He challenges the rival monster’s provocation, kills it, and addresses the lords directly over the payment and the missing brain.
• After his guide disappears, Xu Yuan warns the unseen forces behind the trap before fighting the monsters in the walls.

Key plot points

• Xu Yuan enters a vast chamber partly submerged in the Ice Wall, where the Cube acknowledges his ability to breach the Crystal Wall.
• An Ancient God emerges. Half its body is Ancient God flesh; the other half is a Flesh Demon Beast’s. It explains that it cut away and destroyed the part of itself troubled by the Mission Truth, then replaced it with monster flesh that can devour and evolve.
• The Ancient God intends to kill Xu Yuan because he carries the Universe’s power and can use the Heavenly God Method. Xu Yuan offers the possibility of reconciliation and shared ascension, but learns the Ancient God destroyed the part of itself that wanted that outcome. The being now seeks the destruction of everything.
• Before the Ancient God can attack, Xu Yuan uses “Incense” and spends three Merit to return to the Three Realms.
• At Lu Feiming’s pet shop, Xu Yuan describes the encounter. Lu Feiming uses time travel to interrogate Teddy, beating him whenever he gives evasive or unhelpful answers.
• Teddy warns that the Ancient God is an invader from outside the Iron Gate world and that more Ancient Gods may be hidden in the Ice Wall. He first urges surrender, then reveals a possible escape: Xu Yuan can enter the Ice Wall because the Primordial Chaos Umbrella makes him a Divinity of Earth’s upper realm. The Ice Wall, fused with the Cube, is an immense space where he can move freely and evade his pursuers.

Character developments

• Xu Yuan recognizes the Ancient God’s true nature and chooses retreat over confronting an enemy whose motives and plans remain unclear. He continues to look for ways to prevent conflict, even offering the Ancient God a path to cooperation.
• The Ancient God is revealed as a deeply corrupted being: it deliberately destroyed the part of itself capable of working with the Universe, embracing total destruction instead.
• Lu Feiming shows practical ingenuity and a brutal willingness to exploit time travel to get useful answers quickly.
• Teddy shifts from mocking Xu Yuan and resisting cooperation to offering a viable escape plan under pressure.

Significant themes

• Identity and self-division: The Ancient God’s “cure” is really the destruction of its moral, cooperative self.
• Cooperation versus annihilation: Xu Yuan’s hope for shared ascension clashes with the Ancient God’s commitment to destroying everything.
• Power, secrecy, and survival: Xu Yuan must assess what his enemy knows and avoid a potentially overwhelming ambush.
• Truth and corruption: The Ancient God’s relationship to the Mission Truth suggests that power and purpose can become distorted rather than redemptive.

Character interactions

• Xu Yuan and the Ancient God debate the possibility of redemption before their exchange reveals the Ancient God’s uncompromising hostility.
• Xu Yuan turns to Lu Feiming for advice, while Lu Feiming uses Teddy as an unwilling source of intelligence.
• Teddy warns Xu Yuan that he may be surrounded by Ancient Gods, then identifies the Ice Wall as his best refuge; Lu Feiming threatens to cook him if the plan fails.

Plot points and events

• Xu Yuan suspects Teddy, the battered dog who claims to know a route through the Ice Layer, is an Ancient God’s planted infiltrator. He believes the Ancient Gods want to lure him into an ambush and seize his umbrella, their natural bane.
• Using the Crown’s Fate ability, Xu Yuan sees that entering the Ice Wall or fleeing would reduce him to nothingness; fighting the Ancient Gods has an uncertain outcome. He shares his conclusion with Lu Feiming, then leaves to deal with the threat.
• Lu Feiming sends Liang Kun—the Fusion of the Old Gods—away with Teddy, then follows Xu Yuan. Liang Kun relaxes, thinking he has escaped his intimidating employer, until he senses a catastrophic disturbance in the Void.
• Lu Feiming returns with blood on his hands: Teddy was an Ancient God, and Lu Feiming has killed him. The Origin of Truth responds, empowering Lu Feiming and bringing him closer to recovering his Mission. His aura is so strong that the Mortal Realm trembles.
• In the Tide of Truth, Lu Feiming’s former Mission realizes that Lu Feiming is fulfilling its purpose and fears it will cease to exist once he regains it. An Ancient God of the Three Realms asks the Mission to help destroy Law-commanding Cultivators in the Primordial Era, but the Mission secretly resolves to kill the Ancient God instead.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yuan demonstrates caution and strategic thinking, using Fate to uncover a trap the Ancient Gods assumed he could not detect. His conversation with Lu Feiming establishes their trust and shared understanding of the danger.
• Lu Feiming acts decisively against Teddy and grows substantially stronger through the kill. His casual request that Liang Kun cultivate the smoke leaves reassures Liang Kun that he is not about to be killed.
• Liang Kun shifts from smug relief at being left in charge to terrified uncertainty when he senses the battle’s aftermath. He convinces himself that Lu Feiming will spare him because he has served faithfully—and is relieved when Lu Feiming gives him a practical task.
• The former Mission changes from an instrument of Lu Feiming’s purpose into a self-preserving entity, now afraid of being erased and plotting against the Ancient Gods. The Three Realms’ Ancient God treats it as a potential ally while privately coveting its power.

Significant themes

• Knowledge and deception: The Ancient Gods’ plan depends on what they believe Xu Yuan cannot do; his hidden ability to read Fate turns their information gap against them.
• Power gained through conflict: Lu Feiming’s victory over an Ancient God strengthens him and advances his larger mission.
• Shifting loyalties and survival: Liang Kun seeks safety through obedience, while the former Mission’s purpose gives way to self-preservation.
• Irony and contrast: Lu Feiming’s casual talk of beaches, snacks, and smoke sits beside immense violence and cosmic stakes.

Key plot points

• Xu Yuan briefly returns to the Mist Sea and meets his Master, Fu Xiuyi, along with Lu Chaowu, Jiang Xueyao, and Lu Yiyi. With only minutes before he is sent back, Fu Xiuyi uses her Law, Parasitism, to lend him one use each of their Laws: Ox-Dismembering, Helper, and Preaching.
• Back in the Cosmic Cube, Xu Yuan uses Ox-Dismembering to understand the Ice Wall, then collects the entire room—including the Ancient God and hidden attackers—inside the Primordial Chaos Umbrella. He drains their power with Heavenly Dipper Thunderbolts, but realizes he lacks the Spiritual Power to keep them suppressed or kill them. After using the thunderbolts twice, he has only one use left that day.
• Xu Yuan returns to the auction and confronts the Radiant Flame monsters for withholding the promised item. His threat forces them to hand over the First Cube, the device the Iron Gate Universe can use to control the cube space. He turns it over to the Universe, which immediately warns the group to flee.
• The group escapes through a series of rooms as a powerful creature devours each room behind them. Unable to outrun it by shifting rooms alone, Xu Yuan uses his final Heavenly Dipper Thunderbolt to weaken the Ancient Gods in the umbrella, then throws it into the creature’s path. The Universe creates a staircase, allowing the group to escape the cube.
• Outside, the group learns that the Iron Gate Universe has prepared gifts for them—but says a vital task still remains.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yuan shows caution as well as force: he recognizes he cannot defeat the Ancient Gods with his limited Spiritual Power, prioritizes the First Cube, and improvises a dangerous escape plan. He also takes charge of the group during the chase.
• Fu Xiuyi supports her disciple by lending him access to three powerful Laws, despite the shortage of resources. Their brief reunion underscores their trust and concern for one another.
• Lu Chaowu presses Xu Yuan for information about the other world, then jokes about the romantic tensions involving Jiang Xueyao and Lu Yiyi. The others’ concern is clear, though time prevents a longer exchange.
• Joaquin, Marcelo, and the rest of the group follow Xu Yuan’s instructions under pressure. Marcelo warns him of the approaching threat, while the group’s trust enables the coordinated escape.

Significant themes

• Limits and sacrifice: Xu Yuan’s tools are powerful, but each has strict costs and constraints; survival depends on recognizing those limits.
• Trust and cooperation: Xu Yuan relies on allies, the Iron Gate Universe’s warnings, and the group’s willingness to follow his lead.
• Adaptability under pressure: When fighting the Ancient Gods proves impossible, Xu Yuan shifts priorities, secures the First Cube, and turns a desperate chase into an escape.
• The danger of incomplete knowledge: The cube’s shifting rooms and hidden threats make navigation perilous, even after the group gains control of the First Cube.

Plot points and events

• After the team restores control of the Cube, the Iron Gate Universe announces that it will spend six hours clearing the Cube. When it rises, powerful surviving evil entities will emerge, and humanity must destroy them. Participants will receive rewards, with extra stakes for the team that triggered the mission.
• The group returns to the Fortress to alert the Returners’ Alliance. Joaquin and Carrollus go to deliver the warning, while Xu Yuan withdraws to cultivate before the coming war.
• Xu Yuan’s Spiritual Power suddenly surges, signaling an imminent breakthrough. He teleports to W City, where Li Bai explains that Earth’s Heavenly Tribulation is exceptionally dangerous: its elaborate hierarchy of thunder deities means Xu Yuan could face repeated lightning trials.
• Li Bai realizes Xu Yuan has accumulated significant merit through saving the Iron Gate Universe and preserving an alternate Three Realms. Xu Yuan also recalls saving a hedgehog as a child. Li Bai invokes these merits to appeal for leniency, then sends Xu Yuan to undergo the tribulation.
• Storm clouds gather as Xu Yuan’s test begins.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yuan remains focused on preparation, but his sudden breakthrough forces him to confront the risks of cultivating on Earth. His past actions reveal that he has unknowingly earned merit through both major deeds and a small act of kindness.
• Li Bai acts as an adviser, warning Xu Yuan about Earth’s unusually severe tribulations and using his knowledge of celestial bureaucracy to seek protection. His final instruction is practical—and jokingly self-interested, since he expects Xu Yuan to survive and buy him a meal.
• Joaquin and Carrollus take responsibility for alerting the Alliance, while Marcelo, Sara, and Charlotte part ways with Xu Yuan as the team prepares for the larger conflict.

Significant themes

• Collective responsibility and reward: The Universe turns humanity’s victory over the emerging evil entities into a shared mission, rewarding those who fight.
• Preparation amid escalating danger: The team has only six hours before the Cube rises, while Xu Yuan faces a separate, immediate test.
• Merit and compassion: Both world-saving deeds and a seemingly minor act of kindness may influence divine judgment.
• Earth’s cosmic hierarchy: Earth is revealed to have an exceptionally powerful spiritual system, making its tribulations far more perilous than Xu Yuan expected.

Plot points and events

• Xu Yuan faces an unusually brutal Earth Thunder Tribulation. He blocks the first strikes with the Youhuang Sword, while Li Bai uses a Command Token and a ritual to try to reduce the lightning’s force.
• A vast barrage of multicolored Thunderballs overwhelms Xu Yuan’s Flying Sword Art. He counters with Night Rain Sealed Cage, turning the storm’s rain upward to destroy the barrage.
• A sunlike red bolt appears as the final threat. Xu Yuan’s Starry River Devours Worlds reaches across space and time to strike the Thunder Department’s ancient palace, weakening the lightning only slightly.
• Using his Second Crown’s Fate Threads, Xu Yuan discovers an ill-omened tomb and hurls its bloodstained Bronze coffin into the sky. The lightning targets and destroys the evil inside, earning Xu Yuan a good deed. Li Bai records it and secures a further reduction in the tribulation’s power.
• With the bolt weakened, Xu Yuan combines his abilities into Rain Calamity Without End, concentrating ninety-nine intervals of force into one instant. He survives the strike, though he is badly hurt.
• Xu Yuan breaks through into the Void Meditation Realm, gaining a tremendous increase in Spiritual Power. A silver light carries him and Li Bai away toward the Divine Realm, where cultivators who survive Earth’s tribulation receive official positions.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yuan progresses from relying on swordsmanship and defensive techniques to using his Laws, Crowns, and quick judgment creatively. Despite uncertainty about survival, he stays composed and ultimately overcomes the trial.
• Li Bai acts as Xu Yuan’s advocate and support, using heavenly authority to reduce the tribulation’s power and record Xu Yuan’s deed. Exhausted and frustrated by the harsh trial, he nevertheless remains committed to helping.
• Xu Yuan and Li Bai share a practical, trusting partnership: Li Bai handles the celestial bureaucracy where he can, while Xu Yuan must withstand the lightning himself. After the breakthrough, Li Bai explains that Xu Yuan’s new realm is unusually powerful by Earth’s standards and agrees to accompany him.

Significant themes

• Ingenuity under pressure: Xu Yuan survives by combining abilities, exploiting the lightning’s instinct to destroy evil, and adapting when direct attacks fail.
• Merit and cosmic bureaucracy: Good deeds can influence heavenly judgments, but even official intervention only partially eases Xu Yuan’s ordeal.
• Endurance and transformation: The tribulation tests Xu Yuan to his limits, and surviving it marks both a physical breakthrough and the start of a new stage of his journey.

Key events

• Li Bai brings Xu Yuan to the Investiture Platform in the Divine Realm, where a celestial disc represents the system that once assigned duties to 365 gods. Though no gods remain, the system still grants blessings.
• Xu Yuan receives a randomly chosen ability from the Six Ding and Six Jia. He gives it to the Primordial Chaos Umbrella, which awakens its third Divine Might: Disaster Aversion, a passive power that helps him escape one disaster per day. Four abilities will grant the umbrella a Divine Seat, which would unlock higher-level Mystic Arts.
• After Xu Yuan leaves, Li Bai destroys the disc and invokes the Supreme Lord Lao to restore the Divine Realm’s silence. He briefly glimpses a vast palace in the distant heavens, then waits until the disturbance has passed.
• Back in W City, Xu Yuan prepares food and tea for Li Bai to thank him for helping him survive Heavenly Tribulation. Li Bai returns exhausted and hungry. He explains that he cannot simply accept regular transfers: he must genuinely need Xu Yuan’s help for the arrangement not to affect his magical power.
• During their meal, Xu Yuan learns that Li Bai was once recognized by He Zhizhang. Li Bai refuses to explain where the Divine Realm’s gods have gone, saying he will tell Xu Yuan when he reaches the peak of Spirit Quiescence.
• Xu Yuan receives a message from the Alliance offering to fake his death and keep him there to cultivate. Li Bai responds with contempt.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yuan chooses to strengthen his treasured umbrella rather than take the blessing himself, showing both his confidence in the artifact and his growing investment in its development. He also expresses gratitude to Li Bai and respects his wish not to be questioned while eating.
• Li Bai acts as Xu Yuan’s guide but reveals guarded concern about the Divine Realm, destroying evidence of their visit and concealing the mystery of its absent gods. His exhaustion and dependence on Xu Yuan for meals add a comic, humanizing contrast to his formidable power.
• Their relationship becomes more familiar: Xu Yuan calls Li Bai “Boss” and offers regular support, while Li Bai explains the unusual conditions under which he can accept help. The chapter ends with Li Bai’s sharp reaction to the Alliance’s proposal.

Significant themes

• Merit, blessing, and divine order: the Heavenly Dao’s mechanisms continue to function even without gods to operate them.
• Growth through cultivation: Xu Yuan’s new ability and the prospect of a Divine Seat point toward greater power, while future progress still demands surviving further tribulations.
• Mystery and restraint: Li Bai’s actions and refusal to discuss the missing gods suggest a larger danger or secret surrounding the Divine Realm.
• Help, gratitude, and dependence: Xu Yuan’s meal is a small repayment for Li Bai’s help, but their exchange also shows that assistance has consequences for Li Bai’s power.
• Freedom versus control: the Alliance’s offer to remove Xu Yuan from ordinary life presents cultivation as both an opportunity and a possible means of confinement.

Key plot points and events

• Xu Yuan rejects an apparent Alliance effort to cut his ties to Earth, warning its agents to stay out of his affairs. Li Bai agrees that keeping those ties matters to Xu Yuan’s future godhood.
• Back at his gaming club, Xu Yuan is approached by Freya, a recruiter for the powerful United Science and Technology Committee. She explains that the Committee oversees secrets from beyond the Ice Wall, claims authority above the Returners’ Alliance, and offers Xu Yuan equipment, assignments, and advancement. She gives him a lethal gene-collapsing pistol as a welcome gift.
• Zhou Ping of the Seven Blades then recruits him, offering status, shared intelligence, and generous lifestyle benefits. He says Charlotte recommended Xu Yuan, though she used only a fraction of her power when they teamed up.
• Andrei of the Mystic Arts Association makes a third pitch, listing benefits such as daily training with S-class experts, mission guidance, and equipment discounts. He claims the other groups have poor reputations because they are weak.
• Arthur warns Xu Yuan that organizations may have hidden agendas or ties to Ancient Gods. He advises staying unaffiliated to preserve freedom and conceal Xu Yuan’s background, and cautions him against joining the coming battle in the “Iron Gate” Universe.
• Xu Yuan declines to commit to any group for now, returning Freya’s gun and Zhou Ping’s phone. He discards the Association’s paper card. Despite Arthur’s warning, he intends to attend the battle because he needs the Cube for a mission and the reward that will strengthen his Primordial Chaos Umbrella.
• At the end, Xu Yuan appears aboard Andrei’s helicopter and asks whether the Association really has S- and SS-rank fighters he can spar with, suggesting he may be interested in exploring its offer.

Character developments

• Xu Yuan asserts his independence, protects his connection to Earth, and remains wary of recruitment offers. He balances caution with ambition, willing to face danger for the mission and its rewards.
• Li Bai reinforces the importance of Xu Yuan’s mortal roots, then cheerfully enjoys the remaining feast.
• Arthur acts as a candid, protective adviser, warning Xu Yuan without demanding allegiance.
• Freya, Zhou Ping, and Andrei each present their organizations as attractive options, revealing competing recruitment strategies and priorities.

Significant themes

• Autonomy versus institutional control: Xu Yuan resists others deciding how he should live or whom he should serve.
• Hidden motives and trust: Each organization offers benefits, but their true intentions remain uncertain.
• Roots and identity: Earthly connections are presented as essential to Xu Yuan’s future cultivation and godhood.
• Risk and ambition: Xu Yuan accepts that pursuing power and mission rewards may require entering a catastrophic conflict.

Character interactions

• Xu Yuan and Li Bai discuss the attempt to sever Xu Yuan’s ties to Earth; Li Bai validates his decision to refuse.
• Sun Quan introduces Xu Yuan to the Committee’s recruiters, who use a game-testing opportunity to approach him.
• Freya, Zhou Ping, and Andrei each pitch their organizations, while Xu Yuan questions their benefits and obligations without committing.
• Arthur privately warns Xu Yuan about the factions and the Iron Gate battle; Xu Yuan appreciates the advice but chooses to proceed.
• Xu Yuan’s final exchange with Andrei hints at a possible next step: testing the Association’s claimed combat strength.

Plot points and events

• As war approaches, an enormous Antarctic iron gate begins cracking open. A bloodied woman and other people flee from the passage beneath the ice, hinting that something dangerous is escaping.
• The Returners prepare to enter the Iron Gate Universe. The Mystic Arts Association’s members discuss Xu Yuan, judging him powerful and dangerous and hoping to recruit him willingly after the battle.
• Xu Yuan’s squad arrives in a secret chamber, where Joaquin reads their assignment: fight the monsters the Universe sends into the arena. As the team that helped initiate the war, each member may request a reward.
• The others claim specific treasures. Xu Yuan instead persuades the Universe to lend him an uncontaminated Cube before the battle, arguing that it will help him survive and secure victory.
• A competition task recognizes that Xu Yuan has obtained the Cube, the Sword in the Stone, and the Crown, granting him a Heavenly God Demon-Suppressing Merit Fruit. He uses it to advance his Primordial Chaos Umbrella toward a fourth Divine Might—and, ultimately, a formal Divine Seat. The Universe warns that the Cube could shatter.
• The squad easily kills its first monster while Xu Yuan stays in the chamber, claiming his teleportation ability makes him unsuited to close combat. He sets out drinks and towels for the others, treating the fight like a sporting event.
• The umbrella then reports that its once-daily Calamity Avoidance has activated. Xu Yuan realizes an unseen disaster has already been avoided and looks around to discover what it was.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yuan shows his characteristic opportunism and confidence: he negotiates an exception to the reward rules, gains a powerful Cube, and receives a major upgrade. He remains relaxed amid the battle, though the Cube’s fragility raises the stakes.
• The Mystic Arts Association recognizes Xu Yuan’s danger from a brief encounter. Andrei banters with him, while the group agrees to treat him well and pursue his membership after the war.
• Joaquin, Marcelo, Sara, Carrollus, and Charlotte select personal rewards and work together to defeat the first monster. Marcelo’s attempt to imitate Xu Yuan’s appeal fails because the reward ceremony has ended.
• The squad is bemused by Xu Yuan’s sideline behavior; Carrollus accepts his explanation that his abilities are better suited to other roles.

Significant themes

• Cleverness and negotiation: Xu Yuan turns a reward meant for after the war into immediate help by framing the loan as mutually beneficial.
• Power and risk: His Divine Artifact is close to a major breakthrough, but the Cube could shatter, making victory essential.
• Unease beneath apparent calm: The gate’s escapees and the unexplained activation of Calamity Avoidance suggest that larger dangers are already in motion.

Plot points and events

• A demon-like monster emerges in the Arena, but black hands rise from beneath the floor and tear it apart. Xu Yuan, warned by the Primordial Chaos Umbrella, has already teleported himself and the others out of danger.
• Sara alone escapes being transformed into a wooden puppet by the Arena’s strange power. She reveals herself as an Ancient God with multiple bodies, attacks Xu Yuan, and explains that she had hidden her strength while posing as a member of Joaquin’s team.
• Sara’s regenerative abilities make ordinary attacks ineffective. Xu Yuan tries bullets and grenades, then kills newly released monsters to accumulate Merit while searching for a way to defeat her.
• Sara locks down the Arena’s space, preventing Xu Yuan from using Heaven-Stealing to evade her. He considers interrupting the Umbrella’s awakening for help, but decides to protect the treasure’s progress and prepares to fight with the sword Song of Boiling Blood.
• When a fresh wave of monsters appears, Xu Yuan uses a concealed sword technique. Sara fails to recognize that he has struck her; the Youhuang Sword cuts her in two, and the wounds cannot heal because her body has forgotten it was attacked.
• Xu Yuan kills the remaining monsters, raising his Merit to 4.1. As Sara prepares to use the Life-and-Death Corruption Light again, the Primordial Chaos Umbrella completes its awakening and announces Xu Yuan’s appointment as Heavenly General.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yuan shifts from relying on teleportation and firearms to calmly planning around Sara’s abilities. He protects the Umbrella while it awakens, uses monsters to build Merit, and ultimately proves that his swordsmanship can harm an Ancient God.
• Sara is exposed as a patient, powerful infiltrator rather than a frightened ally. She boasts of her many bodies and near-invulnerability, but becomes unsettled when Xu Yuan’s sword strike defeats her regeneration.
• Carrollus, Charlotte, Joaquin, and Marcelo are turned into wooden puppets, leaving Sara as the only apparent survivor of the group’s transformation.
• Xu Yuan and Sara exchange taunts and deductions: she tries to force him into a direct fight, while he probes the limits of her powers and recognizes that she is preparing a major attack.

Significant themes

• Hidden identities and deception: Sara’s infiltration and Xu Yuan’s unrecognized sword strike both turn on what others fail to perceive.
• Power and adaptation: Xu Yuan cannot rely on his usual escape technique, so he changes tactics; Sara, in turn, counters his repeated teleportation.
• The cost and timing of power: Xu Yuan refuses to interrupt the Umbrella’s critical awakening, accepting danger rather than damaging the treasure.
• Memory and reality: The sword technique’s defining effect is that Sara’s body forgets it was struck, preventing it from healing.
• Escalating destiny: The Umbrella’s completion transforms the immediate battle into a major advancement for Xu Yuan, granting him the title of Heavenly General.

Key plot points and events

• Sara stops holding back and attacks Xu Yuan with her Ancient God art, a corruption light that disables defense and lets black hands tear flesh from its victims.
• Xu Yuan uses the newly advanced Primordial Chaos Umbrella to capture Sara, then spends all his Merit to transport them both to the Three Realms, escaping her attack.
• At Lu Feiming’s pet shop, Xu Yuan releases Sara. Lu Feiming immediately overpowers and destroys her avatar. He explains that Sara has other avatars, which may pursue Xu Yuan.
• Killing Sara earns Lu Feiming favor and a higher-order power from the Origin of Truth. Xu Yuan also receives a surge of power as the Primordial Chaos Umbrella reaches completion.
• A message declares Xu Yuan a Heavenly General and offers him a choice between two paths associated with the Heavenly Dipper and Earthly Fiend numbers. He senses a yin-yang balance between them but lacks the knowledge to choose wisely.
• Lu Feiming tells Xu Yuan that Sara’s victims can recover because she did not have time to consume their souls. Their transformation should reverse now that her avatar is dead, but they must be protected until then.
• Xu Yuan returns to the Iron Gate arena. His transformed teammates are beginning to regain their human forms, but the battle continues and another monster is approaching. He decides he cannot leave them unguarded.
• Using a one-time Law, Xu Yuan summons Li Bai to ask for guidance. Li Bai arrives and is surprised that the umbrella has already filled all four Divine Might slots.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yuan moves from survival to a stronger, more deliberate use of the Primordial Chaos Umbrella. He gains a major advancement but recognizes that choosing his next path requires advice. His concern for his teammates keeps him from leaving the arena.
• Lu Feiming demonstrates precise control of his immense strength, destroying Sara without harming the shop. His power grows after fulfilling his mission to kill an Ancient God.
• Sara is revealed to be only one of several avatars, making her destruction a victory but not the end of the threat.
• Li Bai is summoned unexpectedly while relaxing; despite his annoyance at the interruption, he is available to advise Xu Yuan.
• Liang Kun watches Lu Feiming and Xu Yuan’s power-ups in awe, providing a brief comic reaction.

Significant themes

• Power and responsibility: Xu Yuan’s new status and abilities come with consequential choices, while his teammates’ vulnerability limits how he can use them.
• Interdependence: Xu Yuan relies on Lu Feiming to handle Sara, and then calls on Li Bai for guidance.
• Consequences and recovery: Sara’s magic leaves lasting danger, but her avatar’s death begins to restore her victims.
• Balance and choice: The yin-yang imagery frames Xu Yuan’s new advancement as a choice between complementary but mutually exclusive paths.

• Key events: Li Bai and Xu Yuan stand smoking beside the corpse of a monster more than ten meters long. They discuss Divine Offices and the different ways power can be wielded.
• Character developments: Li Bai explains that the path of Yang—associated with Heaven and authority over celestial and natural forces—is not suited to Xu Yuan. Xu Yuan is puzzled and asks why; the reason is not yet revealed.
• Interactions: Li Bai takes the role of knowledgeable adviser, while Xu Yuan questions his judgment.
• Themes: The passage introduces competing or individualized paths to power, suggesting that a person’s nature may determine which path fits them. It also contrasts the grand scale of divine power with the characters’ informal conversation after a monster’s death.

Key plot points and events

• Xu Yuan is nearly compelled by the Antarctic Ice Wall to become its ruler. Its welcoming palace and immortal maidens reveal themselves as a ruin and Skeletons when he refuses. Marcelo’s Bard skill interrupts the spell, and Xu Yuan escapes using Overlord Body and Peerless.
• Xu Yuan and several Doll-transformed companions return to a Shelter beneath the Returner Fortress. He learns the Ice Wall is drawing Monsters from a leaking Alternate Universe, threatening to usher in another age of disaster on Earth.
• A message appears on Xu Yuan’s Soldier Nameplate, warning him to avoid the Ice Layer until the Monsters are cleared and claiming its sender escaped inside his Cube. Xu Yuan suspects the Iron Gate Universe has sought refuge there as it tries to survive the Ancient Gods’ corruption.
• With the Fortress under attack, Andrei, leader of the Mystic Arts Association, uses Frozen Century to immobilize Monsters so Returners can send them into the Ice Wall. Xu Yuan teleports to protect him.
• A gigantic, human-faced serpent appears. Xu Yuan banishes it into the Ice Wall, helping turn the battle. The serpent vows to kill and devour him.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yuan resists the Ice Wall’s seductive summons, stays wary of suspicious messages, and uses his immense power openly to protect the Fortress. He also begins considering how the Cube might bridge Earth and the Three Realms.
• Marcelo’s timely call saves Xu Yuan from the Ice Wall’s spell; he explains that his Bard ability is designed to break evil magic.
• Joaquin and the others explain Earth’s past disasters and enlist Xu Yuan to protect Andrei while the latter chants. The recovering Returners support the plan and urge Xu Yuan to act.
• Andrei welcomes Xu Yuan’s help, allowing him to focus fully on his spell. Other fighters witness Xu Yuan’s feat and grow more respectful—and wary—of his strength.
• Xu Yuan’s companions reflect on Sara’s revelation that she was an Ancient God’s incarnation and on how close they came to destruction.

Significant themes

• Resisting deceptive power: The Ice Wall’s alluring offer conceals coercion and horror; Xu Yuan survives by recalling Li Bai’s warning and refusing the role.
• Civilizational catastrophe and survival: Earth’s history is framed as a cycle of disasters, while the Iron Gate Universe may be abandoning its own world to endure corruption.
• Trust amid uncertainty: The Cube’s message and the Ice Wall’s nature remain mysterious, forcing Xu Yuan to act cautiously.
• Cooperation and strength: The Fortress’s defense depends on Xu Yuan protecting Andrei, Andrei’s magic, and the Returners’ coordinated efforts.

Key plot points and events

• After Xu Yuan and his allies turn the battle around, the remaining monsters are wiped out. The Iron Gate Alternate Universe declares victory and distributes rewards.
• Andrei’s ordinary-looking Scepter is transformed into the Dharma Lord Frost Scepter. Xu Yuan receives merit, a Minor Merit Fruit, and the unique Universe Key, the only way to reopen the fractured Iron Gate Universe.
• Several injured Ancient Gods demand that Xu Yuan hand over the key. One seals the surrounding space, preventing Xu Yuan from teleporting, but human Returners—including Andrei, Charlotte, Joaquin, Carrollus, and Marcelo—rally to protect him.
• Arthur arrives to mediate, followed by Olifia, the keeper of the Divine Artifact who enforces the contract governing outsiders on Earth. Olifia proposes triple compensation as a peaceful settlement. Xu Yuan demands three identical keys in exchange, exposing the offer as impossible and refusing to surrender his reward.
• The Ancient God tries to seize the key anyway. Olifia invokes the ancient book and threatens to have his true name struck out, forcing him to back down.
• Though the crowd thinks the dispute is over, Xu Yuan reveals that he intends to kill the Ancient God, reasoning that the man may target him or his companions later. He confronts him directly and asks, “Are you ready?”

Character developments

• Xu Yuan emerges from the battle more powerful and rewarded, but also proves uncompromising: he protects the key, challenges the Alliance’s priorities, and chooses to confront a dangerous Ancient God rather than trust a temporary truce.
• Andrei receives a powerful new artifact and stands firmly beside Xu Yuan, helping rally the human Returners.
• The human Returners show solidarity, recognizing that allowing Xu Yuan to be robbed would endanger them all.
• Olifia presents herself as a practical mediator who wants to preserve Alliance stability, but Xu Yuan questions whether her loyalty to the Alliance outweighs her concern for humanity.
• The Ancient God is exposed as entitled and willing to use force, retreating only when Olifia can threaten his standing on Earth.

Significant themes

• Solidarity and self-protection: The Returners defend Xu Yuan because unchecked coercion against one human would threaten all of them.
• Power, fairness, and institutional loyalty: The conflict tests whether Alliance rules protect people equally or favor powerful Ancient Gods.
• Trust versus lasting safety: Xu Yuan refuses to treat a coerced retreat as a guarantee that his companions will remain safe.
• Victory’s aftermath: Even after humanity wins the battle, political conflict and personal danger continue.

Character interactions

• Xu Yuan and Andrei share a brief exchange about Andrei’s endurance and newly transformed Scepter before Andrei joins the defense.
• The Returners confront the Ancient Gods collectively, with Andrei and Carrollus arguing that the attempted seizure violates the spirit of Alliance rules.
• Arthur attempts to mediate, while Olifia initially seeks a compromise; Xu Yuan challenges her assumptions and her claim that Alliance interests should come first.
• After the Ancient God retreats, Xu Yuan turns the confrontation back into a direct threat, signaling that the dispute is not truly over.

Plot points and events

• Li Bai returns to W City, hears that the Antarctic Ice Wall has opened again, and decides to go there himself. Since Xu Yuan refused the Heavenly General post, Li Bai believes he can now help without taking that position.
• Xu Yuan, worried that Earth’s dangers could kill his allies permanently, resolves to deter the Ancient Gods by showing them that their enemies can be punished. Before he can fight the Burly Man, Li Bai intervenes and pins him with a Command Token.
• Li Bai and Xu Yuan take the Burly Man to the Yellow Springs. In the Hall of Yama, Li Bai condemns him for “blasphemy,” and Xu Yuan casts him into the Cauldron of Boiling Oil. The punishment consumes much of Xu Yuan’s Spiritual Power, but his strength is replenishing; the Burly Man’s soul is ultimately sent to be reborn as a piglet.
• Olifia warns the remaining Ancient Gods to leave and later orders the Alliance to stop its internal conflict. Xu Yuan and Li Bai return to the Antarctic Rampart, where the others regard them warily.
• Xu Yuan receives a message granting him the Iron Gate Universe’s trust and permission to use the Cube. He realizes this may let him return to the Three Realms without Incense and begins considering where to build a spatial passage between Earth and the Three Realms.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yuan moves from frustration and anxiety to decisive action, willing to reveal more of his strength to protect those close to him. His ability to wield the Yellow Springs’ punishment has grown, and the Cube’s new authorization gives him a possible route back to the Three Realms.
• Li Bai takes an active role in protecting Xu Yuan and confronting the Ancient Gods. He explains that Earth alone can effectively punish them and agrees to stay with Xu Yuan while trouble continues.
• Olifia acts as a mediator and enforcer, warning the Ancient Gods that attacking the Chinese side has grave consequences and demanding cooperation within the Alliance.
• Xu Yuan and Li Bai work in tandem: Li Bai captures and judges the Burly Man, while Xu Yuan carries out the sentence. The remaining Ancient Gods are left intimidated by their combined power.

Significant themes

• Protection and responsibility: Xu Yuan’s choices are driven by the danger Earth poses to his allies and his determination to keep them safe.
• Justice, vengeance, and deterrence: The punishment in the Hall of Yama is both retribution and a warning to the Ancient Gods.
• Growing power and its limits: Xu Yuan’s Spiritual Power has increased, but severe punishments still exact a cost; even Li Bai cannot casually punish every Ancient God.
• New possibilities and strategic alliances: The Cube’s authorization, Li Bai’s support, and Xu Yuan’s connection to the Three Realms may reshape the balance of power.

Key plot points

• After Xu Yuan’s confrontation with an Ancient God, the Returners’ Alliance largely accepts the outcome once Li Bai’s support becomes clear. The Alliance celebrates the gains from the Iron Gate Universe, but loses access to it after it closes; the Black Coffin Universe has also become dangerously chaotic.
• At a meeting, the Alliance’s leader condemns Li Taibai for damaging relations with the Ancient Gods. Olifia argues that his actions may have prevented the Ancient Gods from gaining the Iron Gate Universe’s immense power and potentially ascending.
• On Earth, Xu Yuan returns to a small room created by his Earth-Mist Migration Blessing, where Xi and Ming He are waiting. He suspects it may be Earth’s closest point to the Three Realms Universe.
• Xu Yuan uses the Cube—the Iron Gate Universe’s power and will—together with his Preaching Law to make rooms spread through space and search for another universe. The system finds a Crystal Wall between universes, though it cannot confirm that the universe beyond is the Three Realms.
• Xu Yuan rushes to the site as the Cube begins breaking through the thick Crystal Wall. He waits for it to finish.

Character developments and interactions

• Olifia shifts from apparent criticism of Li Taibai to defending his decision, emphasizing the danger of allowing the Ancient Gods to become stronger.
• Li Bai remains strikingly indifferent during the Alliance meeting, quietly eating a banana while others debate the consequences.
• Xu Yuan shows initiative and strategic foresight: rather than simply focusing on immediate gains, he tries to reopen a route to the Three Realms and secure access to a powerful divine technique.
• Xi is delighted to see Xu Yuan and frustrated by her confinement; Ming He is more resigned, valuing her survival and intact awareness. Both are astonished when Xu Yuan reveals the Cube and activates it.
• Xu Yuan treats the Cube’s voice as a partner in the search, while reassuring Xi and Ming He before leaving them behind.

Significant themes

• Power and precaution: Xu Yuan’s attack may have damaged diplomacy, but Olifia suggests that preventing the Ancient Gods from gaining overwhelming power justified the risk.
• Exploration and uncertainty: The Cube’s expanding network offers a possible route between universes, but the destination and outcome remain unknown.
• Strategic dependence: Xu Yuan’s future plans—and his ability to avoid strengthening another divine art—may depend on whether the Cube can reach the Three Realms.