Chapter Summaries

• Xu Yuan meets Heavenly Palace’s boss, Lu Qingxuan, who praises his exam results and offers to recommend him to Nine Luminaries University. Xu politely declines because he hopes to attend Luofu. Asked about his ambitions, Xu says he wants to become a “happy cultivator,” rather than simply the strongest.
• Lu Qingxuan proposes a spar to learn more about Xu. Suppressing his cultivation to the Fourth Layer of Qi Refining, he demonstrates unusual Ice-and-Fire techniques. Xu counters with skillful swordplay, conceals his sword in a cloud of frost, and uses hidden Spirit Light Threads to restrain Lu. Xu’s legs are frozen as well, so they call the match a draw. Lu is impressed by Xu’s talent—and by his decision to pull back a potentially lethal technique.
• Lu promises Heavenly Palace’s support. The company will assemble an S-Rank team to promote Xu and help him build an audience, taking roughly thirty percent of his earnings under their contract. Xu accepts the arrangement and leaves with Lu aboard a Flying Boat.
• Lu brings Xu to Azure Heights, Heavenly Palace Culture Company’s spectacular headquarters: a rune-covered Spirit Stone mountain floating above the clouds. Lu explains that Xu’s Imago qualifies him to visit. He stays aboard the boat rather than joining the welcome gathering, so the employees can celebrate freely.
• Xu is welcomed by Heavenly Palace’s stars and staff, including Tang Yunyu, his senior sister and a celebrity cultivator, and the Golden Core Dao companions Li Xingzhuo and Su Yue Miao. Tang warmly introduces Xu to the group, while Su gives him a customary welcome red envelope. The team explains that many colleagues are away in the imperial capital on the Emperor’s summons.
• Tang reassures Xu about Lu Chenzhou, saying their senior brothers and sisters will make him answer for his actions. Xu is touched by their support. Tang and Xu pose for publicity photos, and she chooses one of them together as the company website’s homepage image. She also gives Xu another red envelope and treats him with striking familiarity, though she tells Su that Xu is simply her devoted fan; their sect connection remains private.
  Character developments and interactions: Xu shows courtesy and ambition tempered by self-control, earning Lu’s respect through both his combat ability and restraint. Lu shifts from evaluating Xu to openly backing him. Tang’s warmth reveals her protective affection for Xu as her junior, while Xu’s colleagues welcome him into Heavenly Palace’s circle.
  Themes: The chapter emphasizes talent and merit, the value of restraint, defining success on one’s own terms, and the support that comes from belonging to a community. It also highlights the blend of cultivation and celebrity culture through contracts, publicity, and fan relationships.

Summary

Key plot points and events

• During Xu Yuan’s Azure Heights ascension ceremony, Tang Yunyu, Su Yue Miao, and Li Xingzhuo explain that the Heavenly Dao grants a boon to cultivators who pass a trial. Xu Yuan’s trial is to complete his unfinished Imago, a poem titled “Sunset in the West, Heartbroken, Far from Home.”
• The three cultivators assume the task will take him months. Xu Yuan, however, finishes it almost immediately—in the bathroom—prompting a spectacular vision that draws the cameras’ attention.
• During the vision, the Shrine in Xu Yuan’s waist pouch speaks through the Wooden Plaque. It asks whether he wants an ordinary boon or to shoulder the past of Three Realms True Power. Xu Yuan inwardly refuses the burden, but the Shrine misreads his response as acceptance and says it will visit him in a dream.
• Xu Yuan recites his completed poem: “Withered Vines, Old Tree, Dusk Crow; Small Bridge, Flowing Stream, Houses; Ancient Road, West Wind, Lean Horse; Sunset in the West; Heartbroken, Far from Home.” The witnesses praise it, and Lu Qingxuan has it sent to the emperor.
• The ceremony ends, and the other cultivators and staff teleport away, accidentally leaving Xu Yuan alone on the Spirit Stone mountain. Lu Qingxuan returns to speak with him, explains that he can now strengthen his Imago by accumulating merit, and assures him that nobody can stop him from taking the Special Admission Test.
• After Xu Yuan departs, Lu Qingxuan reveals to his advisers that Xu Yuan’s strength impressed him: despite Lu Qingxuan using advanced ice techniques, Xu Yuan seemed to have power to spare. Lu Qingxuan decides to support him, dismissing political objections tied to the First Highness.

Character developments

• Xu Yuan demonstrates exceptional poetic and cultivation talent, completing his trial far sooner than anyone expected. He remains cautious, conceals his worries about the Shrine, and is unsure what Lu Qingxuan’s intentions or family ties might be.
• Tang Yunyu continues to look out for Xu Yuan and worries that he will underestimate how demanding the trial is.
• Lu Qingxuan shifts from welcoming Xu Yuan to openly recognizing him as a rare talent and choosing to back his advancement. He frames this as serving the empire—and potentially bringing its best talents under his influence.

Significant themes

• Talent and recognition: Xu Yuan’s achievement attracts the attention of powerful figures and may shape his future.
• Fate versus self-determination: The Shrine’s offer raises the prospect that Xu Yuan may inherit a dangerous legacy, while he insists inwardly on choosing his own path.
• Humor amid grandeur: A solemn, elaborate ceremony is punctuated by Xu Yuan completing his trial in a bathroom and the staff’s abrupt departure.
• Merit and political ambition: Lu Qingxuan supports Xu Yuan both because he values talent and because capable people could strengthen his own position.

Character interactions

• The three senior cultivators guide Xu Yuan through the ceremony and react with surprise and amusement when he completes the trial instantly.
• Xu Yuan and the Shrine have a one-sided exchange: he rejects its proposed burden, but it interprets his answer as consent.
• Lu Qingxuan encourages Xu Yuan’s education and advancement, while Xu Yuan carefully avoids revealing his concerns about the Shrine.
• Lu Qingxuan’s advisers raise political complications, but he asserts that talent should not be held back to accommodate a prince’s preferences.

Plot and events

• Xu Yuan returns by Flying Boat, visits his worried mother, then looks for Lu Yiyi and Yang Xiaobing, but neither is available.
• He meets Zhao Afei for a modest send-off: they play games at an internet café and joke about Afei’s girlfriend calling him “baby.” Afei gives Xu Yuan a Gourd stocked with pills and says he plans to train intensively so he can reach the Qi Refining Third Layer and qualify for the Special Admission Test.
• Back home, Xu Yuan packs and cultivates with the Hundred Meridians Return to Truth Scripture. Tang Yunyu’s guidance and the Final Enlightenment Ring help him approach the peak of the Fourth Layer.
• Xu Yuan falls asleep and enters a dilapidated Shrine. Its keeper, the last Divine Throne, explains that Xu Yuan must invent a new enhancement for his Imago: every previous one has failed, and the Shrine will cease to exist if he cannot devise an acceptable power.
• After learning that familiar ideas have all been tried, Xu Yuan rethinks the challenge. He proposes turning imagined effects into real theft: enemies caught by his Imago’s sunlight would lose their valuables. The Shrine accepts the concept and names the resulting peerless-grade active skill “Honor Among Thieves.”

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yuan shows patience and care toward his mother, generosity toward Afei, and growing confidence as a cultivator.
• Afei’s teasingly macho façade contrasts with his affectionate relationship and his sincere commitment to improving his cultivation. His gift and promise to test his Spiritual Root reinforce the friends’ loyalty.
• Xu Yuan approaches the Shrine’s impossible demand with humor and ingenuity. He recognizes that conventional strength may not be enough and argues for an unconventional ability suited to closing a gap against stronger opponents.
• The Shrine is desperate but cautious: it warns Xu Yuan that the decision is irreversible and insists the Three Realms should not be held responsible for his unusual creation.

Significant themes

• Creativity under pressure: Xu Yuan succeeds by reframing the problem rather than repeating familiar solutions.
• Friendship and support: Afei’s gift and training plans offer a grounded counterpoint to Xu Yuan’s supernatural challenge.
• Unconventional survival: The Shrine’s warning that ordinary methods have failed makes Xu Yuan’s rule-bending power a response to overwhelming odds.
• Humor amid high stakes: The ridiculous premise of stealing enemies’ possessions gives the chapter a comic tone even as the fate of the Shrine—and the larger competition—hangs in the balance.

Plot points and events

• Xu Yuan activates Blessing Power for protection, then spends over half a million in currency on Spirit Stones to power Zhao Afei’s Celestial Star Cycle Grand Array.
• The array accelerates Xu Yuan’s cultivation. In about half an hour, he advances to the Fifth Layer of Qi Refining, gaining a much larger reserve of Spiritual Power and sharper senses. His Hundred Meridians Return to Truth Scripture also lets him wield Metal Spirit and summon a golden-armored Skeleton.
• Blessing Power warns that Xu Yuan was targeted by an attack. He chooses Covert Plunder rather than the attention-grabbing Open Theft.
• The attack—an attempted curse arranged by Lu Chenzhou—is stopped. The resulting “historical branch” changes events: Lu Qingxuan gives Xu Yuan the treasure he had originally planned for his brother.
• Lu Qingxuan confronts Lu Chenzhou, whose cursing formation targeted Xu Yuan. He has his brother taken to their father and orders a thorough search of the premises. He then sends Xu Yuan an Eastern Sea Flood Dragon Pearl, a rare relic that dispels darkness and locates nearby treasures.
• Xu Yuan questions the Shrine about the relationship between his power and Heavenly Dao Blessing Power. It answers that they were “one to begin with,” but does not explain why that power lost.
• A remark about the gods’ disappearance triggers Xu Yuan’s memories of his previous life. He recalls a Great Cultivator revealing that if humanity becomes extinct, something from beyond the heavens will arrive and devour all Ghosts—and even the gods. The memory cuts off before naming it.

Character developments

• Xu Yuan becomes more powerful and resourceful, readily investing his new wealth in cultivation. He also begins to grasp the scale of the danger behind his current world and the possibility of a repeating cycle of destruction.
• Lu Qingxuan shows that he is willing to act decisively against his brother to protect Xu Yuan and preserve the relationship with the Crown Prince’s family.
• Lu Chenzhou is exposed as having secretly targeted Xu Yuan with a curse; his recklessness brings him under investigation and discipline.
• Zhao Afei is briefly shown enjoying a social life, suggesting a change from his usual cultivation-focused routine.

Character interactions

• Xu Yuan’s call to Afei is answered by a young woman, and he teasingly assumes his friend has become more socially active.
• Lu Qingxuan confronts Lu Chenzhou, confirms the curse was aimed at Xu Yuan, and orders his arrest and a search.
• The Shrine explains the connection between Xu Yuan’s power and Blessing Power, but remains silent on why it was defeated.
• In his recovered memory, the Great Cultivator comforts the wounded Xu Yuan and answers his question about what would happen if humanity died out.

Significant themes

• Wealth and cultivation: Material resources directly enable spiritual advancement.
• Protection, power, and unintended consequences: Xu Yuan’s blessing turns an attack into an opportunity and a valuable gift.
• Cycles of extinction: The revelation suggests that humanity, Ghosts, and gods may all be caught in a recurring catastrophe.
• Incomplete knowledge and loss: The absent gods, the Shrine’s silence, and the interrupted memory leave the greatest threat unnamed.

Key plot points

• Xu Yuan’s ability, Competition, reacts to the revelation about his previous life and his recent power upgrade. Slips of paper swarm around him, warning that he has triggered an Unknowable-level resurrection match and that a monster will kill him.
• With seconds to spare, Xu Yuan dictates a Blank Historical Branch: he writes that his death in a Ghost Calamity in the Previous Era is unavoidable and that there is no escape. Because this history changes neither the past nor the present, the branch is deemed valid—and he survives by making his death “certain.”
• The crisis earns the ability’s full recognition. It merges completely with Xu Yuan’s soul and reveals fragments of its history, though many are too dangerous for him to view.
• The visible images show that the ability came from a mysterious corpse that fell into an ancient cultivation world. Ancient people discovered that performing their greatest skill could earn a sheet of paper on which anything written became real.
• Xu Yuan learns that the ability’s power could eventually make written words reality. His test—writing about fruit that grants eternal life—produces a disturbing vision of people growing on a tree and being eaten for longevity.
• Confronted with the power’s uncanny, illogical nature, Xu Yuan wonders if it is akin to Cthulhu. He jokingly asks whether another cosmic force might exist beyond the world; the paper—and the world—fall silent.

Character developments

• Xu Yuan moves from alarm to quick, pragmatic action, using his knowledge of how the ability works to escape an apparently inescapable death.
• His success makes him the ability’s fully accepted host, and he begins to grasp its immense potential—and the danger of what he cannot yet understand.
• His curiosity remains, but the grotesque “immortality fruit” vision leaves him unsettled.

Significant themes

• Survival through paradox: Xu Yuan lives by writing a history in which his death is unavoidable.
• Power and incomprehension: The ability can reshape reality, yet its origins and logic lie beyond human understanding.
• Knowledge as danger: Discovering hidden truths brings lethal consequences, while some revelations must remain obscured.
• The uncanny beneath the familiar: A seemingly useful power manifests wishes in horrifying, alien forms.

Character interactions

• Xu Yuan speaks directly to the paper-like manifestation of his ability, first commanding it to record his solution and later testing its reality-altering potential.
• The ability behaves almost like a companion: it panics, celebrates his survival, and finally shares its history and powers with him.

Key plot points and events

• The Shrine announces that Xu Yuan’s upcoming Revival Match has been raised from Nightmare to Extinction Tier, apparently as an aftereffect of the mysterious ???-level Competition. It begins in three days, and failure would be fatal.
• Xu Yuan counters by activating his Peerless Hero series. Its third match, “Lone Walk in the Dark,” is a Nightmare-Level public match beginning the next morning. He must pass a Special Admission Test without being eliminated. Winning will weaken the Revival Match and “Funeral Hymn,” grant him an unknown reward, and provide two Blank Historical Branches.
• To investigate the strange events in Border City, Xu Yuan enters the paused Border City Battle Training Match by mistake. He resumes his Ghost Entity disguise and uses his BOSS status to raise his strength to the sixth layer of Qi Refining.
• He learns from other Ghost Entities that Ghost Vanguards must report to the South City Slaughterhouse. There, he discovers a large force of vanguards being assembled for a final battle against the Human Race.
• When commanders select capable fighters for a special task, Xu Yuan volunteers to avoid being left among the likely cannon fodder. He impresses the selector by demonstrating his unusual Excellent-Grade Combat Gear, Blind Eye, and is chosen to wait by the sedan chair.
• Xu Yuan pauses the match to restore his Spiritual Power, then returns to ordinary life to eat and recover.

Character development and interactions

• Xu Yuan shifts from frightened confusion to determined action. Though he believes the Extinction-Tier match is beyond him, he resolves to resist it and seeks information and advantages wherever he can.
• He uses bluff, confidence, and quick thinking to navigate the Ghost Vanguard gathering: intimidating lesser Ghost Entities with his BOSS aura, disguising his uncertainty about his orders, and exaggerating his accomplishments to secure selection.
• The Ghost Entities initially ignore him, then defer to him once his BOSS status takes effect. At the slaughterhouse, they follow orders in unison, while the selector dismisses weak applicants and recognizes Xu Yuan’s strange gear as exceptional.

Significant themes

• Survival through adaptability: Xu Yuan turns limited knowledge, game-like abilities, and improvisation into practical advantages.
• Escalating danger and resistance: As the threat rises to Extinction Tier, he refuses to accept inevitable defeat and creates a competing challenge.
• Power, status, and perception: The Ghosts’ respect for Xu Yuan changes with his apparent aura, while his unfamiliar gear earns recognition through its demonstrated power.
• The mystery of the larger conflict: The pinned sword, failed Competitions, Border City’s history, and the planned final battle remain unexplained, deepening the sense of an unseen struggle.

Key plot points

• An old man argues with a figure inside a sedan chair about their failed search for a powerful Flood Dragon. They agree to work together, with the old man demanding that they later help eradicate the remnants of the Ruin Gate.
• Xu Yuan learns that the All Things Unity Society helped orchestrate the city’s massacre. The Ghost Entities are reassigned from fighting to searching for the Flood Dragon.
• When the dragon is found surrounded by Ghost Entities, Xu Yuan spends a Gold Coin to leave the Nightmare competition. He rests, then re-enters at an earlier point—before the dragon has been discovered—hoping to reach him first.
• Xu Yuan finds the dragon, Jingzhe, at a bar, still disguised as a human. He tells Jingzhe that Lu Yiyi is alive and has been captured at the temporary human position in Drum Tower Street Subway Station. Jingzhe immediately leaves to find her.
• Xu Yuan stays at the bar and tries to trade information with its owner, Qianqian. At first she dismisses his claims, but her parrot identifies him as a “Prophet,” prompting her to reconsider.
• After distant fighting shakes the bar, Xu Yuan asks why Qianqian did not respond to the summons to help at the subway station. She reveals that underground factions and cultivators refuse to obey a “pervert”—the authority behind the summons.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yuan uses the competition’s reset-like mechanics strategically: he exits after learning the dragon’s location, then re-enters at an earlier moment to change events. He takes a calculated risk by approaching Jingzhe and later tries to secure information from Qianqian.
• Jingzhe is fiercely protective of Lu Yiyi. He reacts violently to Xu Yuan’s claim, but leaves once he believes her location.
• Qianqian appears guarded and pragmatic, with deep resentment toward the person issuing the summons. She is initially skeptical of Xu Yuan, then becomes receptive after her parrot vouches for his abilities.
• The parrot acts as Qianqian’s trusted judge of character, reading people’s expressions and strengths; its intervention changes the tone of Xu Yuan’s exchange with her.

Significant themes

• Changing fate through foreknowledge: Xu Yuan’s knowledge of future events lets him intervene before the original sequence unfolds.
• Trust and information: Xu Yuan must persuade others with partial truths, while Qianqian’s parrot serves as an unusual source of credibility.
• Power and resistance: The underground factions’ refusal to answer the summons reveals widespread distrust of the authorities and hints at a deeper political conflict.

Key plot points

• In a bar amid the destruction of Border City, Xu Yuan asks Qianqian how the city’s residents survived the unseen Ghost Entities. Qianqian explains that people wear specially made accessories containing Spirit Stones and protective Magic Arrays.
• The revelation helps Xu Yuan recall a memory from his previous life: Magic Arrays can defend against Ghost Entities, but arrays using earth, wood, ice, or wind are vulnerable to them. Fire- and lightning-based arrays are the most effective.
• Xu Yuan then warns Qianqian that a monster beneath the city is holding it in its mouth, while a spell seals the city off from the outside. He also cautions that the monster can sense intruders and has cursed him.
• Qianqian first considers sending someone to investigate, but changes the plan to use a Puppet. It is destroyed, but its images confirm Xu Yuan’s warning, and no people are put at risk.
• Grateful, Qianqian gives Xu Yuan a pouch of money on behalf of the underground leaders. He accepts after discovering it can be exchanged for Gold Coins, raising his total to 180.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yuan demonstrates sharp insight by identifying the question behind Border City’s survival. The answer triggers a crucial past-life memory, and he uses his knowledge to warn Qianqian. Though he presents the warning as an act of compassion, he readily accepts the reward once he learns its value.
• Qianqian proves practical and responsible: she trades valuable information for Xu Yuan’s knowledge, verifies his warning cautiously, and prioritizes her people’s safety by sending a Puppet instead of a person. Her attitude toward him softens after his warning is confirmed.
• The parrot briefly panics at the news, but Qianqian silences it.
• The exchange between Xu Yuan and Qianqian is initially transactional, but develops into mutual trust and cooperation.

Significant themes

• Knowledge as survival: Understanding how Ghost Entities interact with Magic Arrays offers a practical defense against them.
• Caution and verification: Qianqian responds to danger by investigating without unnecessarily risking lives.
• Cooperation and exchange: Their information trade benefits both sides and helps protect the city.
• Self-interest beneath noble claims: Xu Yuan frames his warning as selfless, yet happily accepts payment once it proves useful.

Key plot points and events

• Xu Yuan revisits the Nightmare-Tier Competition, repeating events without paying again until he can question Qianqian about the Ruin Gate. After reasoning that she is closely connected to the All Things Unity Society, he claims to oppose the Ruin Gate and demonstrates the Netherworld Passage Art.
• Qianqian recognizes him as the Netherworld Passage Heir and explains that the All Things Unity Society’s members are difficult to impersonate because their abilities are tied to Bloodline. She offers a Ruin Gate token for three million in Paper Currency, but Xu Yuan declines to buy it.
• The Flood Dragon escapes the city after taunting its pursuers, apparently intending to reach Lu Yiyi’s mother and summon help. Its escape is quickly challenged by a powerful figure in the sky.
• As the city suffers catastrophic destruction, Qianqian takes Xu Yuan through a hidden passage toward the Underground Market. The route collapses, revealing an immense horde of corpses and a terrifying many-legged female ghost.
• Qianqian’s Formation Disc fails against the ghost. Xu Yuan tries to claim he is secretly working for her and shows his City Patrol Envoy badge, but she attacks anyway. He ends the Competition before they are killed.
• Back in his living room, Xu Yuan reflects on how dangerous and mentally exhausting Nightmare matches are. Rather than sleep before his Special Admission Test, he starts an Extinction-Tier Training Match, where time stands still.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yuan becomes more deliberate, using replayed events to test his theories about Qianqian and the rival organizations. He remains resourceful under pressure, but recognizes that his low cultivation makes Nightmare matches genuinely lethal.
• Qianqian shifts from suspicion to amusement and helpfulness after Xu Yuan proves his lineage. She reveals information about the Society and offers him shelter during the destruction, though she is ultimately helpless against the ghost.
• The Flood Dragon shows cunning by escaping and potentially seeking aid for Yiyi, but its conspicuous taunt brings an opponent down on it.
• Xu Yuan and Qianqian form a temporary alliance: she shares information and leads him to safety, while he contributes intelligence and tries to protect them from the ghost.

Significant themes

• Knowledge and inference: Xu Yuan pieces together organizational loyalties from small clues, then tests his conclusions.
• Identity and bloodline: The Society’s abilities serve as proof of belonging, even within a loosely connected organization.
• Survival and uncertainty: Careful planning helps, but powerful forces and unpredictable events can overwhelm even prepared characters.
• The cost of power and exploration: Nightmare matches provide valuable information but demand constant vigilance; Xu Yuan’s choice to continue reflects his appetite for risk and opportunity.

Chapter Summary

Plot points

• After repeatedly entering an extinction-level Training Match, Xu Yuan spends nearly a month in Border City, avoiding danger, cultivating, and practicing swordsmanship. His Qi Refining cultivation reaches the peak of the Fifth Layer.
• The Training Match warns that prolonged exposure to the city’s death and Curses is affecting him, so Xu Yuan leaves. He returns home stronger, with increased Spiritual Power, reflexes, and strength.
• Zhang Pengcheng brings three high-school cultivators from Longxi Province—brothers Wang Jian, Wang Qiang, and Wang Youqiang—who want to spar with Xu Yuan while livestreaming.
• Xu Yuan defeats all three in a single move. He uses a flying-sword attack to draw their attention, then moves behind them with such speed that they are effectively beaten before they can react.
• The brothers gain followers from the livestream and invite Xu Yuan into a group chat. Jiang Xueyao has already encouraged people there to challenge him, believing he needs more real combat experience.
• Over barbecue, the group swaps stories about cultivators and the schools Nine Luminaries and Luofu. Xu Yuan reveals he will take Luofu’s Special Admission Test and urges the brothers to consider Luofu as well. Zhang Pengcheng says he has also registered after Xu Yuan’s earlier comments made Nine Luminaries seem less appealing.
• Xu Yuan remains angry on Yang Xiaobing’s behalf over Han Chaoshen’s treatment of her and vows to challenge him once he is strong enough.

Character development

• Xu Yuan emerges from his secluded training with improved cultivation and a much sharper grasp of combat. He can read opponents’ movements and exploit openings, and he begins using his reputation and influence to steer others toward Luofu.
• Zhang Pengcheng is impressed by Xu Yuan’s growth and chooses to register for Luofu’s test himself.
• The Wang brothers are sportsmanlike about losing and practical about the exposure their livestream earns them; their admiration for Xu Yuan quickly turns into a desire to befriend him.
• Jiang Xueyao shows concern for Xu Yuan’s development by arranging opportunities for him to face more opponents.

Themes

• Training and growth: Xu Yuan’s prolonged practice pays off in both cultivation and combat insight.
• The value of real experience: Jiang believes solitary training is not enough; sparring and competition are necessary to improve.
• Ambition and school rivalry: Xu Yuan’s interest in Luofu leads him to recruit others, while students weigh their options between major institutions.
• Friendship and good sportsmanship: The sparring match becomes an opportunity for camaraderie, rather than resentment.
• Loyalty and grudges: Xu Yuan’s determination to confront Han Chaoshen stems from his sympathy for Yang Xiaobing.

Character interactions

• Xu Yuan and Zhang Pengcheng: Zhang acts as the link to the Longxi trio, celebrates Xu Yuan’s victory, and later shares his own decision to pursue Luofu.
• Xu Yuan and the Wang brothers: A competitive introduction turns into mutual respect, an invitation to their group chat, and a friendly meal.
• Xu Yuan and Jiang Xueyao: Her challenge offer draws more opponents toward him, and he thanks her after learning her intention is to help him gain experience.
• Xu Yuan and Zhang Pengcheng’s friends: Their post-fight barbecue shifts from competition to discussion of schools, admissions, and cultivators across the country.

Key plot points

• While discussing Luofu’s Special Admission Test, Xu Yuan learns that the Wang brothers can still register because Nine Luminaries has already admitted them. The brothers hurry back to Longxi, and Xu Yuan and Zhang Pengcheng part on friendly terms.
• Back home, Xu Yuan reflects on how much a recent fight has improved him and starts another Nightmare Tier Training Match.
• In the simulation, he returns to Border City and changes his approach. After Qianqian directs him to the All Things Unity Society’s Grain Shop, he convinces its members he belongs by performing the Netherworld Passage Art.
• Xu Yuan reports that the Flood Dragon is at Black Flame Bar. The Society’s leader verifies the sighting and mobilizes a team to capture it.
• To explain his identity, Xu Yuan claims to be the illegitimate son of Xu Chengan, an organization operative. He also says he wants to infiltrate the Ruin Gate to gain strength, status, and merit. The leader is impressed by his initiative and determination.
• Before leaving to pursue the Flood Dragon, the leader gives Xu Yuan a booklet and two emblems: one authorizes him to kill a single bearer of another bloodline and absorb it; the other grants entry to the Ruin Gate.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yuan shows growing confidence, tactical thinking, and ambition. He uses the simulation to test a different route, reports valuable intelligence, and improvises a convincing identity. His willingness to target Ruin Gate members alarms the leader but also earns his respect.
• The Society’s leader initially treats Xu Yuan as a potential threat, then softens after verifying his story and recognizing his achievement. He offers Xu Yuan a chance to work under him, while warning him not to imitate gangsters.
• Qianqian helps Xu Yuan by giving him the Society’s address, repaying a debt of gratitude to the organization.
• Zhang Pengcheng remains Xu Yuan’s supportive friend, and their conversation leaves Xu Yuan looking forward to the test.

Significant themes

• Merit and fairness: Xu Yuan’s discovery of the Flood Dragon earns him tangible rewards and access to greater opportunities.
• Self-reliance and ambition: With little guidance from his father, Xu Yuan has learned to survive, improve, and pursue advancement on his own.
• Learning from unconventional sources: Xu Yuan draws on gangster stories to explain his strategy; the leader condemns the influence but recognizes the grit behind it.
• Identity and deception: Xu Yuan’s invented family connection helps him pass scrutiny, though his bloodline ability provides stronger proof of belonging.
• A dangerous new world: The bloodline booklet and emblem reveal a conflict involving nine heirs and the power to absorb their bloodlines, expanding the stakes far beyond Xu Yuan’s original goal of obtaining a Ruin Gate pass.

Plot points and events

• Xu Yuan re-enters a Nightmare Tier Training Match to test why repeated runs unfold differently. After joining the All Things Unity Society, he is introduced to Bai Yuanze, a powerful Sword Demon, who offers to assess his swordsmanship.
• Xu Yuan attacks with a combination of Metal and Dark Spirit threads, sword-flight techniques, and his Qiong Iron Sword. Bai Yuanze easily counters him, demonstrating the vast difference in their strength and revealing his bestowed power, Sword Resonance.
• During the exchange, Xu Yuan’s Honor Among Thieves power successfully steals Bai Yuanze’s car key. Bai Yuanze praises Xu Yuan’s talent, advises him to grow through hard training and life-or-death combat, and invites him to join the Sword Demons after advancing his rank by devouring a traitor’s bloodline.
• The dragon Jingzhe attacks the organization’s base, and Xu Yuan narrowly escapes by exiting the match. Before leaving, he uses his Waist Pouch to bring Bai Yuanze’s black SUV back into the real world.
• Back home, Xu Yuan asks why each Training Match differs. The Paper Strip explains that each run is a distinct “leaf” of the same underlying ability. Xu Yuan embraces the idea of repeatedly running matches to gather wealth, equipment, and strength.
• Just as he is about to start another run, Zhai Qingya calls: an artifact-refining group wants Xu Yuan as a spokesperson, offering him 800,000 after tax. He eagerly agrees to meet.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yuan grows more pragmatic: he accepts “grinding” repeated matches as a sensible way to improve, while remaining opportunistic enough to steal a key and extract the SUV. His enthusiasm for training briefly yields to a lucrative endorsement.
• Bai Yuanze is stern but supportive. He recognizes Xu Yuan’s unusual talent, gives him candid advice, and offers a path into the Sword Demons.
• The Paper Strip provides a concise explanation of why the matches vary and encourages Xu Yuan to keep trying.
• Zhai Qingya teases Xu Yuan about his viral livestream fame, then presents the endorsement deal; Xu Yuan responds with sudden warmth when he hears the payment.

Significant themes

• Repetition and variation: Familiar training runs are never identical, making repeated attempts a source of new opportunities.
• Growth through struggle: Skill and advancement require training, combat, and risk.
• Pragmatism and opportunism: Xu Yuan treats danger and rewards as calculations, pursuing both in-match gains and real-world income.
• The mix of cultivation and modern life: Spiritual powers, monsters, and organizations coexist with cars, livestream fame, advertising, and money.

Summary

Key plot points and events

• In Jiangbei City, manager Zhai Qingya tells Xu Yuan that his first public appearance will be a real mission, not an advertisement: three Qi Refining cultivators have robbed a bank in Nanshan City and killed three security guards.
• Xu Yuan is given Jade Rinse, a Spirit Treasure-grade sword whose passive ability can disrupt enemies with inner demons and hallucinations. The incident will be filmed and livestreamed.
• Rather than immediately confronting the fleeing suspects, Xu Yuan downloads Tang Yunyu’s song Love’s Reckoning, attaches his phone and an Amplification Formation Disc, and leaps from the Flying Boat.
• Zhai Qingya is initially horrified, realizing Xu Yuan cannot simply fly. But Xu Yuan uses Metal Spirit Threads to shape golden-feathered wings, then swings between skyscrapers by catching railings with more threads. His unconventional descent becomes a dramatic aerial display.
• Impressed, Zhai Qingya orders the team to launch a heavily promoted pre-livestream and direct its cameras to capture Xu Yuan. He recognizes that Xu’s unique technique could become a sensation—and that Xu may be the only person able to use the rare Sword-Flight Art.
• Xu Yuan spots the suspects’ car near an intersection as he approaches it.

Character developments

• Xu Yuan appears calm and inventive under pressure. He treats a dangerous debut with striking casualness, but his willingness to confront the criminals reflects a serious sense of responsibility. His aerial maneuver reveals both unusual skill and a flair for spectacle.
• Zhai Qingya shifts from practical manager to enthusiastic promoter. Though he worries about Xu Yuan’s safety, he quickly recognizes the public and cultural significance of the stunt and mobilizes the livestream operation.
• The chapter briefly introduces Tang Yunyu as a popular singer and capable fighter, though she does not appear directly.

Significant themes

• Heroism as public service: Zhai Qingya argues that a star’s true debut is protecting the innocent and opposing violence, not merely performing for an audience.
• Spectacle and responsibility: A real crime becomes a livestreamed event, raising the tension between public entertainment and genuine danger.
• Improvisation and innovation: Xu Yuan combines familiar techniques in an unexpected way, turning a fall into controlled flight.
• Technology and celebrity: Formation Discs, online promotion, and livestream cameras transform Xu’s actions into an immediate public event.

Character interactions

• Zhai Qingya briefs Xu Yuan, supplies his sword, and explains the mission, while Xu questions the risks and the possibility of killing the robbers.
• Xu’s requests for music and an amplification device bewilder Zhai Qingya, who initially mistakes them for signs of nervousness.
• Once Xu jumps, Zhai Qingya’s alarm turns to admiration; he directs the camera crew and livestream team while Xu remains focused on navigating toward the suspects.

Key plot points and events

• Xu Yuan intercepts a car matching the target’s license plate and attacks from above. Using an enhanced Swallow’s Return, he splits the car in two and incapacitates three criminals in a lightning-fast sequence.
• When the surviving leader tries to seize a schoolgirl as a hostage, Xu Yuan’s concealed second flying sword kills him before he can act. Xu Yuan calmly declares, “You’re under arrest,” though all three criminals are dead.
• The crowd erupts in cheers, and the livestream makes the fight a sensation. Before filming ends, Xu Yuan is handed a sponsored drink and delivers the ad line, “To stop the wicked and protect the innocent, drink Green Horse!”
• Zhai Qingya tells Xu Yuan that his sword and drink sponsorships will earn two million after tax, with more deals likely. Heavenly Palace staff report record-breaking views and thirteen potential new sponsors.
• Celebrating the success, Xu Yuan offers to buy the team late-night food and karaoke. Tang Yunyu calls to tease him for using her song during the fight and congratulate him on his debut.

Character developments

• Xu Yuan displays strikingly refined swordsmanship, tactical foresight, and composure under pressure. He also proves quick to embrace the commercial side of his performance once he learns how lucrative the sponsorship is.
• Zhai Qingya acts as Xu Yuan’s energetic producer and coach, guiding him through the ad placement and recognizing his star potential.
• Tang Yunyu is revealed as the singer whose song accompanies the fight. She banters warmly with Xu Yuan and shares in celebrating his success.

Significant themes

• Heroism as entertainment: Xu Yuan’s real, violent battle is broadcast and celebrated as a performance, with music, sponsorships, and audience metrics shaping the event.
• The commercialization of fame: A drink advertisement is inserted into the aftermath of a deadly fight, and Xu Yuan’s success is measured in sponsorship revenue and views.
• Composure and performance: Xu Yuan remains calm after killing the criminals, then smoothly shifts into his on-camera role.
• The appeal of success: His delighted reaction to the money and public acclaim turns the title’s “beautiful world” into a comic expression of sudden opportunity.

Character interactions

• Xu Yuan’s precise attacks leave the criminals no chance to regroup; the leader’s attempt to use a bystander as a shield is thwarted by Xu Yuan’s hidden flying sword.
• Zhai Qingya prompts Xu Yuan through the Green Horse advertisement and later reveals his earnings.
• Xu Yuan celebrates with the production team, while Tang Yunyu closes the chapter with affectionate teasing and congratulations.

Key plot points and events

• After their recent battle, Xu Yuan reads about the Cloud Platform’s five disaster classifications: Mortal, Regional, Worldly, and World Calamities, plus the most severe category, National Ruin.
• Zhai Qingya remarks that Xu Yuan has reached the Fifth Qi Refining Layer unusually quickly. Xu Yuan privately realizes his progress looks remarkable but still believable enough to avoid suspicion.
• Xu Yuan declines the group’s karaoke outing because he must prepare for the Special Admission Test. He learns that his livestream has topped the new-streamer rankings and passed 100,000 followers, then falls asleep on the Flying Boat.
• Sleep transports him to the ruined temple of the Shrine. The Shrine says his 100,000 followers count as divine aid, allowing him to sit on the Divine Throne and use 100,000 Divine Power.
• Spending that power strengthens his primary blessing, “Honor Among Thieves,” and creates a support ability, Wind Observation, which lets him see what enemies carry.
• The Shrine explains that Xu Yuan is the era’s sole god because he holds the last remnant of Three Realms True Power. Other cultivators may gain popularity and strengthen their blessings somewhat, but cannot become gods.

Character developments

• Xu Yuan remains cautious about appearing too powerful and practical about his time, but begins to grasp the scale of his supernatural role. He is surprised—and mildly embarrassed—that his divine abilities continue to center on theft.
• Zhai Qingya acts as a supportive mentor and organizer, praising Xu Yuan’s progress while handling arrangements and work.
• The Shrine reveals more of its rules and personality: it is Xu Yuan’s future Battle Preparation Room, is protective of his original intentions, and reacts dramatically when he seems to reject them.

Significant themes

• Faith, attention, and power: Followers’ approval becomes divine aid, linking public influence to supernatural strength.
• Justice and its consequences: Xu Yuan’s campaign against criminals inspires beliefs about safety, justice, and righteous cultivators that may shape people’s future choices.
• Power and responsibility: Xu Yuan’s role as the last god brings growing abilities and influence, though he is still learning how they work.
• Comedy and irony: His first new divine support power is useful for combat but remains tied to the mischievous, theft-based blessing he once declared.

Character interactions

• Xu Yuan and Zhai Qingya discuss the sword, Xu Yuan’s rapid cultivation, and his decision to skip karaoke; Zhai Qingya accommodates him and shares the follower milestone.
• In the temple, Xu Yuan questions the Shrine about followers, godhood, and future abilities. Their teasing, occasionally tense exchange clarifies the system while highlighting Xu Yuan’s discomfort with his thief-themed powers.

Plot points and events

• After leaving the karaoke gathering, Xu Yuan returns home, buys and activates a powerful defensive Formation Disc, then enters another Nightmare Training Match. The run yields little: the dragon attacks the All Things Unity Society again, so Xu Yuan resets.
• Jiang Xueyao calls to reveal that the Special Admission Test will include the Border City Battle and the Zhou Tian Instrument; Lu Chenzhou will referee the first round.
• At a banquet, Jiang Xueyao confirms she will take the Luofu exam rather than go to Jiuli. When Lu Chenzhou approaches, Lu Yiyi prevents him from pursuing Jiang. Their exchange exposes their bitter history: he once treated her kindly, but later took her Spirit Stones and treasures, and she now sees him as selfish and threatening.
• Lu Yiyi calls Xu Yuan, claiming she knows what is on the test and inviting him to dinner. Xu Yuan realizes the caller cannot be the real Lu Yiyi because she dislikes crowded places. He infers that someone may target him before the exam, when he is still vulnerable.
• Rather than risk going out, Xu Yuan enters the Border City Battle in Hard Mode, where time passes normally. He hides in a house and rests until after midnight, planning to remain inside until the test begins. Once recovered, he prepares to grind competitions.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yuan is increasingly cautious and strategic: he improves his home defenses, recognizes the danger of the fake caller, and chooses concealment over confronting a possible attacker.
• Jiang Xueyao asserts her independence by choosing the Luofu exam for herself and her Lineage. Lu Yiyi supports her and physically blocks Lu Chenzhou.
• Lu Yiyi’s warmth toward Jiang contrasts with her hostility toward Lu Chenzhou. Their conversation shows she remembers his former kindness but believes he later exploited her.
• Lu Chenzhou’s threatening conduct and reliance on his father deepen the impression that he is controlling and vindictive. His confrontation with Lu Yiyi nearly turns deadly.

Significant themes

• Security and vulnerability: Xu Yuan recognizes that timing matters; he is safest once the exam begins and powerful allies surround him.
• Deception and vigilance: The false Lu Yiyi call shows the danger of trusting appearances, and Xu Yuan’s close knowledge of her habits lets him detect the lie.
• Ambition and self-determination: Jiang Xueyao chooses her own path, while Xu Yuan trains to improve his odds.
• Betrayal and fractured relationships: Lu Yiyi’s account of Lu Chenzhou’s change from protective companion to exploiter shapes their present hostility.

Plot and events

• In Hard Mode, Xu Yuan finds the bar deserted, but the parrot speaks. After Xu Yuan leaves it plenty of food, it tells him the Ruin Gate members usually gather at Mercy Hall in the East District.
• Xu Yuan visits Mercy Hall, finds it empty, and learns from an elderly attendant that everyone has gone to work. Suspecting the Ruin Gate’s story is only accessible in a more difficult event, he considers entering Extinction Tier—but decides to rest first.
• Meanwhile, in the real world, an elderly woman meets Xia Yin and Six-Armed. She explains that the organization’s leaders want them eliminated after their failures, but she has secured them one last chance: kill Xu Yuan quietly before seven in the morning. She lends them twenty cultivators, motivated by her own fear of Xu Chengan’s growing power and ambition.
• Xu Yuan reaches the Drum Tower Street subway area and disguises himself as a ghost to stay safe. He witnesses ghost entities flooding into the station as a seven- or eight-legged woman orders them to devour human souls. A supernatural “rain” of Ghostfire strengthens ghosts across the city.
• Xu Yuan realizes the city’s defensive Grand Array has disappeared, while cultivators underground are fighting desperately. He connects the disaster to the subway station and recalls Lu Chenzhou’s anxious reaction to the possibility that Xu Yuan might take the “Little Boy” away. Concluding that Lu Chenzhou’s behavior suggests a guilty secret about what happened there, Xu Yuan sets off to uncover the truth.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yuan remains cautious rather than rushing into a battle beyond his strength. His observations lead him to question the accepted account of Border City’s fall and focus on the subway station as the likely source of the mystery.
• The parrot shifts from being a silent fixture in the bar to a helpful informant after Xu Yuan cares for it.
• Xia Yin and Six-Armed are desperate to redeem themselves, accepting the dangerous mission despite the threat of punishment from their organization.
• The old woman reveals a personal political motive: she opposes Xu Chengan’s rise and is willing to aid the assassination to prevent a power struggle.
• Lu Chenzhou, though absent from the events, becomes central to Xu Yuan’s suspicions because of his past anxiety and apparent guilt.

Significant themes

• Truth versus accepted history: Xu Yuan suspects that Border City’s familiar tragic account conceals what truly happened at the subway station.
• Caution and responsibility: He recognizes his limits and avoids charging into a city-threatening battle, but continues investigating.
• Power and political intrigue: The assassination plot reflects factional fear of Xu Chengan’s growing influence.
• Care and cooperation: Xu Yuan’s small act of kindness toward the parrot earns him useful information.

Summary

Xu Yuan wants to witness the decisive battle at Drum Tower Street Subway Station without being forced to fight. After realizing that Ghost Entities are being ordered into the station, he uses “Start Over” to reset events and devises a way to gain enough authority to stay outside the fighting.
He returns to the slaughterhouse, joins a Ghost Entity procession, and tells the old man in the sedan chair that the Flood Dragon is at the Black Flame Bar. The old man rushes off to capture it, while the voice in the chair rewards Xu Yuan by promoting him from City Patrol Envoy to Battle Overseer. With the new badge, Xu Yuan can remain near the station entrance and eventually follow the other overseers inside.
To witness what lies beyond the ordinary training scenario, Xu Yuan upgrades the match to Extinction Mode. He learns that the Curse Shadow on him could become a curse powerful enough to harm a Golden Core cultivator, leaving him only three minutes to observe. A long-haired old man—who Xu Yuan recognizes as the monster beneath the city—arrives carrying two Curse Marks. His badge now identifies Xu Yuan as approved for further training, and the old man leads the Ghost Entities into the subway station to see the outcome of their “great undertaking.”
Inside, Xu Yuan discovers the truth: the Ghost Entities have turned the Nine Nether Boundary-Settling Grand Array into a trap. The humans mistook it for a teleportation array and abandoned their defenses, allowing the Ghost Entities to win the Border City Battle with little effort. A river of blood, revealed as a Magic Array, holds seven surviving humans suspended in the air—including Lu Chenzhou and Lu Yiyi. The old man marks Lu Chenzhou’s forehead and declares that the Ghost Entities will return in ten years.
As Xu Yuan’s time runs out, he says, “Start over.” The massacre vanishes, and he returns to the empty subway station in Hard Mode, physically exhausted. Elsewhere, a figure investigates the bridge where Xu Yuan had been pinned by a sword, but finds neither Xu Yuan nor the weapon.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yuan remains cautious and opportunistic: rather than risk a direct fight, he manipulates events, offers useful information, and secures a promotion that lets him observe. His curiosity about the battle’s hidden truth ultimately outweighs the danger of exploring Extinction Mode.
• The old man is revealed as the powerful monster beneath the city. He trusts Xu Yuan’s report about the Flood Dragon, then later oversees the Ghost Entities’ victory and threatens the imprisoned humans with a return in ten years.
• The sedan-chair voice rewards Xu Yuan’s apparent competence by promoting him, helping him gain access to the battlefield.
• The Ghost Entities treat rank and badges as meaningful authority: the Greater Ghost who initially orders Xu Yuan into battle backs down once Xu Yuan shows his Battle Overseer badge.
• Lu Chenzhou and Lu Yiyi, along with five others, are shown as helpless captives, setting up the consequences of the Ghost victory.

Significant themes

• Deception and misinterpretation: The humans’ mistaken reading of the Ghosts’ array enables their defeat.
• Survival through strategy: Xu Yuan advances by exploiting information, timing, and institutional rules rather than strength.
• Hidden history and escalating stakes: The apparent battle is revealed as a carefully engineered Ghost victory, while Xu Yuan’s limited glimpse hints at future conflict.
• The cost of knowledge: Xu Yuan discovers the truth, but only by entering a mode where a dangerous curse threatens him.

Key plot points and events

• A masked figure, later identified as connected to the Ghost Entities, reaches Xu Yuan’s residence. He slips past the guards and the formation, finds the room empty, and covers it with a cocoon of flesh while searching for the scent of an unusual “ability.”
• Xu Yuan realizes that Lu Chenzhou is the Ghost Entities’ anchor in the Mortal Realm. The seven survivors of an earlier disaster were deliberately spared and sent through the Boundary-Breaking Teleportation Array so Lu could remain behind. In ten years, the Ghost Entities plan to use his location to find the Mortal Realm and open a passage for invasion.
• Xu Yuan also understands why Lu Chenzhou acts so defensively: he may fear that his account of the earlier escape—and his disastrous misreading of the Ghost Entities’ array—will be exposed. Xu Yuan decides to report what he has learned to Lu Yiyi the next morning.
• Wanting to investigate the city’s failing Grand Array, Xu Yuan heads to the Magic Array operations center. A many-legged woman guards the site, but accepts his upgraded badge and lets him enter after he claims the All Things Unity Society is searching for a Flood Dragon.
• Xu Yuan notices the woman seems unusually rational and non-hostile. As he approaches the operations building, the Paper Strip warns him that another version of itself has entered the Competition, concealed the entire area, and intends to reclaim the power connected to the celestial corpse—and kill Xu Yuan.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yuan moves from fear at discovering the Ghost Entities’ long-term plan to clear resolve: he recognizes the threat, plans to report it, and continues investigating despite the danger. He also uses his badge and a carefully phrased but truthful explanation to gain the guard’s trust.
• Lu Chenzhou is revealed as a pivotal, possibly unwitting—or at least compromised—link in the Ghost Entities’ plan. His aggression toward Xu Yuan is recast as fear that his past actions might be scrutinized.
• The masked intruder silently eliminates the guards and infiltrators at Xu Yuan’s home, then begins an unexplained search for an ability.
• The many-legged woman shows judgment and restraint, treating Xu Yuan as someone with powerful backing and giving him permission to enter. She adds “Contact” to his badge, but disappears before explaining it.
• The Paper Strip reveals more of its origins: it was formed from power left by a celestial corpse, whose other fragments scattered through the world. It now warns Xu Yuan that one fragment has arrived and is hostile.

Significant themes

• Deception and hidden histories: The apparent heroic escape story conceals a strategic failure and a much larger invasion plan.
• Infiltration and identity: Badges, affiliations, and claims of allegiance shape how beings judge one another; Xu Yuan exploits these assumptions to move through enemy territory.
• Knowledge as both danger and responsibility: Learning the truth frightens Xu Yuan, but also obliges him to act.
• Uncertain loyalties and escalating threats: Rational Ghost Entities, a concealed newcomer, and the Paper Strip’s divided origins blur the boundary between ally and enemy.

Plot points and events

• During a Training Match, Xu Yuan notices the building trembling and uncovers translucent, dark-red flesh beneath its floor. Ghost Entities and paper-built versions of city structures crawl within it.
• Though the Shrine and Paper Strip recognize that a hostile being has infiltrated the Competition and urge him to fight, Xu Yuan cannot perceive the threat. Assuming Hard Mode has reached its limit, he leaves to rest.
• While Xu Yuan meditates in a closed supermarket, the flesh engulfs the city and traps him inside its enormous mouth. Notifications warn that the being intends to consume him and his ability.
• Xu Yuan’s Wind Observation lets him glimpse something the being possesses. He uses Covert Plunder to steal it, creating a rewritten historical branch that explains the object’s passage into the mortal world and Xu Yuan’s arrival in it.
• He awakens impaled by a sword on a suspension bridge. The Paper Strip explains that part of the being’s corpse entered the world, and that the creature infiltrated Xu Yuan’s Competition by sacrificing an ability to exchange with his.
• Xu Yuan’s safeguard—the Revival Match—merges with the Training Match. The Shrine and Paper Strip expend their power to raise his ability enough to fulfill a request he made earlier, after which they will fall dormant.
• The Competition becomes a secret Higher-Dimensional Battle, named Border City Battle (Training Match), at Ancient God Tier difficulty. In the Divine Temple, Xu Yuan faces a colossal, six-faced Flesh Monument, which asks whether this is his final choice.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yuan remains practical and curious even in extreme danger. Exhausted, he prioritizes rest and planning, but when attacked he improvises by using his abilities to steal from an overwhelmingly powerful enemy. His confidence in controlling the Competition is shaken when he realizes it can be invaded.
• The Shrine reacts with panic to the infiltration, while the Paper Strip initially sees escape as impossible. Despite its doubts, it keeps watching Xu Yuan and later explains the attack and his Competition’s altered state.
• The Shrine and Paper Strip work together, sacrificing their power to protect Xu Yuan and help him confront the threat. Their intervention leaves them facing dormancy.
• The Flesh Monument is established as an immense, deliberate predator that has pursued Xu Yuan specifically; its final question frames the coming confrontation as a consequential choice.

Significant themes

• Limits of control: Xu Yuan’s ability usually governs the Competition, but a being from beyond its rules can penetrate and alter it.
• Chance and survival: The creature’s attack seems arbitrary, while Xu Yuan survives through a risky, opportunistic use of his abilities.
• Sacrifice and protection: The Shrine and Paper Strip spend their power to preserve Xu Yuan’s chance to act.
• Fate and choice: The rewritten history restores a cycle, while the Flesh Monument’s question suggests Xu Yuan must now decide how to face an apparently inevitable battle.