Chapter Summaries

Key plot points and events

• The Immortal Realm’s Nine Heavenly Kings launch a campaign against Lin Bai’s Righteous Alliance by granting players equal rights in the Immortal Realm and posting lucrative quests to kill Alliance members, sabotage its projects, and assassinate Lin Bai’s allies. The rewards are especially tempting because even low-level players can quickly gain strength there.
• Players recognize the strategy as a way to exploit their numbers and undermine the Righteous Alliance from within. The Alliance’s leaders fear that low-ranking cultivators—and eventually ordinary people and public works—will be easy targets.
• At an emergency meeting, some sect leaders propose invading the Real World and killing players. Cheng Xunyun and several monarchs argue that this would provoke a war between worlds and endanger billions of innocents.
• Lin Bai rejects both inaction and indiscriminate retaliation. He orders low-ranking cultivators and their families moved to the Gods and Devils Continent, where they will be beyond the players’ immediate reach and can study its magic without facing tribulation lightning.
• To protect civilians and infrastructure left behind, Lin Bai has Justice Weekly warn players against attacking them. He then demonstrates that he can pull people out of their supposedly secure Game Pods, making clear that he can threaten players without slaughtering them.
• The chapter ends with players discussing how the Spirit Realm Rift may eventually connect the Immortal Realm and the Gods and Devils Continent, suggesting that Lin Bai’s relocation plan may not keep the conflict contained forever.

Character developments and interactions

• Lin Bai remains controlled under pressure. He recognizes that the Heavenly Kings are targeting his inability to protect an entire world, but chooses evacuation and deterrence over a mass attack on players.
• Cheng Xunyun speaks against invading the Real World, emphasizing that players are living people and that retaliation could trigger catastrophic conflict. He appeals to the alliance’s shared interests and the monarchs’ concern for their populations.
• The sect leaders reveal their fear and frustration. Some resent having taught players cultivation techniques; the Devil Master favors striking first, while others acknowledge that their forces cannot guard every vulnerable disciple.
• Xu Longyun condemns the Heavenly Kings’ actions, while the Number-One Paparazzo helps explain player behavior and supports Lin Bai’s plan, recording the Game Pod demonstration for publication.
• The monarchs, initially focused on protecting their countries’ projects and livelihoods, oppose a strike on the Real World because it could expose their people to devastating retaliation.

Significant themes

• Retaliation versus restraint: Lin Bai seeks to deter players without triggering a war between worlds.
• The cost of power and ambition: The players’ new privileges and rewards turn them into a weapon against the Righteous Alliance, while Lin Bai’s expanding influence leaves him stretched thin.
• Construction versus destruction: The Alliance’s efforts to build cooperation and infrastructure are vulnerable to rewards that incentivize sabotage.
• Interconnected worlds: The chapter questions whether conflict can be contained when the Real World, Immortal Realm, and Gods and Devils Continent may ultimately be linked.

Key plot points and events

• After Lin Bai exposes the vulnerability of players’ Game Pods and threatens humane punishment for attacks on civilians or public infrastructure, players panic. Many protest against the Game Company, though some still argue that working with the Nine Heavenly Kings is their best chance of survival.
• The Heavenly Kings discuss using players against Lin Bai. Dream orders Lightning, Water, and Fire to go to the Gods and Devils Continent, while the others remain behind to guard the Immortal Realm.
• More than a million cultivators relocate to the Gods and Devils Continent, accompanied by players. The native population mistakes their arrival for an invasion and prepares for war, though the cultivators camp in the wilderness rather than attack.
• Lin Bai and Xu Longyun oversee the relocation and review intelligence. At least three Heavenly Kings—Water, Fire, and Metal—are likely on the continent; the deities’ plans remain unclear.
• Lin Bai reveals that he deliberately made the cultivators’ camp potential bait to draw out his enemies. He argues that a direct assault on players in the Real World would make him feared and hated, while allowing the conflict to drag on could give millions of players time to become dangerous.
• In the Gods and Devils Continent, the Moon Goddess and God of Holy Light ask the War God to unite the deities against the newcomers. The War God agrees and sets out to find the other deities.

Character developments and interactions

• Lin Bai shows himself to be a calculating commander willing to risk lives for strategic advantage. He insists that he genuinely wants to save the worlds, but believes that public trust and the larger outcome matter more than appearing merciful.
• Xu Longyun questions the danger of using the cultivators as bait. She is troubled by Lin Bai’s reasoning, understands some of his strategic logic, but remains uncertain about its moral cost.
• The Heavenly Kings treat players as expendable tools, doubting their courage while planning to increase rewards and mobilize them against Lin Bai. Dream takes direct command of the operation.
• The War God, despite past grievances with the other deities, accepts the need for cooperation when faced with the apparent invasion. The Moon Goddess and God of Holy Light press for unity.

Significant themes

• Mercy versus leadership: The chapter’s title reflects Lin Bai’s belief that a commander cannot always prioritize compassion over strategy.
• Power, trust, and fear: Lin Bai argues that even people saved by force may fear and oppose their rescuer, while carefully managed public perception can preserve influence.
• Players as a destabilizing force: Their numbers and ability to return after death make them a threat beyond ordinary armies, while their real-world vulnerability limits their willingness to fight.
• Misunderstanding and escalation: The cultivators’ arrival is peaceful in intent but appears to be an invasion to the native inhabitants, setting the stage for conflict.

Key plot points and events

• After confirming that the Water, Fire, and Gold Heavenly Kings are absent from the Immortal Realm, Lin Bai cuts the Magpie Bridge linking it to the Gods and Devils Continent, trapping the Heavenly Kings and isolating the continent.
• Xu Longyun’s intelligence network tracks the continent’s forces as knight orders, elves, Druids, undead, and demonic beasts mobilize. Immortal cultivators prepare for war, but Xu Longyun also has them practice holding hands so Magpie Bridges can evacuate them quickly.
• Lin Bai strengthens his forces by creating a darkness-powered divine incarnation. With the God of Darkness’s divine core, it no longer fears sunlight and is even more powerful than the original god.
• Xu Longyun warns that the continent’s deities may have united. Lin Bai explains that their factions are divided: the Earth Goddess and Lord of the Abyss can move forces across the world, but they are rivals, and each side may be waiting for another to strike first.
• Rather than attack directly, Lin Bai sends the cultivators to the Real World and cuts their bridge behind them. He disguises himself as the Lightning Heavenly King and has Xu Longyun leave disguised as him, asking her to build public support while he stays behind to act more freely.
• The public assumes Lin Bai has fled, while the Heavenly Kings debate his true whereabouts. Dream suspects the departure is a deception and leads the others toward the Darkness Temple to investigate the divine cores Lin Bai has left behind.

Character developments and interactions

• Lin Bai shows his preference for misdirection over open battle. He keeps the deities’ rivalries in mind, protects the forces he has built, and uses disguises to conceal both his own and Xu Longyun’s movements.
• Xu Longyun proves herself a capable strategist, gathering intelligence and anticipating the threat of a coordinated attack. Though surprised by Lin Bai’s plan, she follows his instructions.
• The God of Darkness is now Lin Bai’s disciple and Xu Longyun’s junior fellow disciple. His fearful reaction suggests Lin Bai’s “persuasion” was coercive.
• The Heavenly Kings reveal contrasting instincts: Lightning is angry and impulsive, Fire is skeptical and outspoken, Water considers possibilities, and Dream remains cautious and suspicious of appearances.

Significant themes

• Illusion and reality: Lin Bai’s apparent retreat may be a deliberate feint; disguises and public reports make it difficult to know where he or his forces really are.
• Factional division: Even powerful enemies are not united. Rivalries and competing interests may be more important than their shared opposition to Lin Bai.
• War and preparation: Both sides mobilize, gather intelligence, and seek advantages before committing to battle.
• Power and loyalty: Lin Bai’s followers are willing to fight for him, but he treats them as valuable assets and tries to keep them from being sacrificed unnecessarily.

Key plot points and events

• After Lin Bai disappears, the gods debate what to do about the Heavenly Kings. War God Rhodes argues they are the true threat and proposes defeating them, then using Lin Bai’s Magpie Bridge to counterattack in the Immortal Realm. The gods agree to search for the Heavenly Kings while showing Lin Bai goodwill.
• Lin Bai and the God of Darkness arrive at Ghost City, where they find the Undead Monarch Pluto’s vast army. Lin Bai shields them with the God of Darkness’s darkness space, then disguises himself as the Lightning Heavenly King and claims the God of Darkness is his puppet.
• To provoke Pluto, Lin Bai destroys hundreds of thousands of undead soldiers and announces a showdown in the Mist Forest before vanishing. Pluto does not head there immediately; he secretly slips into the abyss.
• Players record and spread a misleading account of the encounter, convincing much of the forum that the Lightning Heavenly King—not Lin Bai—controls the God of Darkness. The resulting confusion damages Lin Bai’s credibility and shifts attention toward the impending battle.
• The gods learn of the supposed puppet and decide to go to the Mist Forest together, fearing the Heavenly Kings will grow stronger by turning deities into puppets. They also conclude they need Lin Bai’s help to fight back against the players.
• The Heavenly Kings hear about the challenge. Although they recognize Lin Bai’s trap, Dream Heavenly King decides they must go to the Mist Forest because Lin Bai is there and may be difficult to find again.

Character developments and interactions

• War God Rhodes emerges as a shrewd strategist: despite his hostility toward Lin Bai, he sees him as a potentially useful ally against the players. His practical thinking wins the other gods’ agreement.
• Lin Bai demonstrates his skill at deception and provocation, using disguise, selective violence, and public misinformation to manipulate both the gods and the Heavenly Kings.
• The God of Darkness accompanies Lin Bai and helps provide protection, while Lin Bai’s staged claim that he has become a puppet makes him the center of the deception.
• Pluto is revealed as powerful and ambitious, with a history of nearly conquering the continent. He responds angrily to Lin Bai’s attack but acts cautiously, heading into the abyss instead of directly accepting the challenge.
• The gods move from debating whether Lin Bai or the Heavenly Kings are the greater danger to recognizing that they may need to cooperate with Lin Bai.
• Dream Heavenly King understands that Lin Bai has engineered the confrontation, but chooses to follow the bait because it offers a chance to confront him. Lightning Heavenly King is particularly angered by Lin Bai’s impersonation and manipulation.

Significant themes

• Information warfare and unreliable narratives: Players’ posts reshape events into a story that serves their interests, leaving characters and readers uncertain about what is true.
• Manipulation and strategic traps: Lin Bai’s open provocation is effective precisely because his opponents understand it yet feel compelled to respond.
• Shifting alliances: The gods begin to see Lin Bai as a necessary partner, despite mistrusting him, as the player threat becomes more urgent.
• Power and control: Turning gods into puppets threatens not only their strength but also their authority and the faith that sustains it.

Key events

• Lin Bai appears in the Darkness Temple disguised as the Lightning Heavenly King, bringing the real God of Darkness. He traps Ye Song and Nanrong in Lightning Cages and presents himself as an enemy who intends to make the gods into puppets.
• He orders the player [Dark Heart] to livestream his ultimatum: the gods must unite at the Mist Forest or be defeated one by one. Lin Bai’s real aim is to draw his scattered enemies into one battle, where he can face them together rather than risk confronting each faction separately.
• Lin Bai reveals a dark divine core and claims his side can extract and mass-produce divine cores, offering one to any dark creature that proves loyal and helps defeat other gods. The promise shocks the followers and unsettles Ye Song, who realizes his own core may no longer be special. At Lin Bai’s prompting, Ye Song publicly pretends to defect to the Lightning Heavenly King.
• Justice Weekly spreads Lin Bai’s claims across the continent, heightening fear that divine cores—and godhood—could become available to everyone. The reports prompt the gods to recognize the threat and gather for battle in the Mist Forest.
• The War God’s alliance decides to unite and confront Lin Bai, though its members also distrust his motives. The Lord of the Abyss and the Undead Sovereign likewise conclude they must fight.
• The Mountain God, misled by the reports, attacks the Metal Heavenly King, believing he plans to steal divine cores. The Metal Heavenly King escapes and heads for the Mist Forest.
• The Fire and Water Heavenly Kings realize Lin Bai has outmaneuvered them. The Dream Heavenly King welcomes the prospect of a serious fight.

Character developments and interactions

• Lin Bai demonstrates his skill at deception and strategic manipulation: he impersonates an enemy, stages a fake defection, exploits the livestream and press, and uses the promise of godhood to recruit the darkness creatures.
• Ye Song and Nanrong remain loyal to Lin Bai and play along with his scheme, despite their confusion and Ye Song’s dismay at the potential devaluation of his divine core.
• [Dark Heart] quickly shifts from opposing the false god to serving the stronger Lightning Heavenly King, seeing both opportunity and personal purpose in the promised divine core.
• The God of Darkness admits he has chosen to follow Lin Bai, but his former followers struggle to accept their god as someone else’s servant. He urges them to submit, while they insist they fight only for him.
• The gods move from uncertainty to urgency as they recognize that Lin Bai’s claims threaten not only their power but the faith and loyalty sustaining it. Their alliance remains uneasy.
• The Mountain God’s suspicion clashes with the Metal Heavenly King’s protestations of good faith, exposing how effectively Lin Bai’s message has poisoned trust.
• The Heavenly Kings reassess Lin Bai as a formidable, independent enemy rather than a pawn of the Game Company.

Significant themes

• Information as a weapon: Lin Bai uses staged events and media coverage to shape public belief and force rivals into action.
• Faith, power, and legitimacy: If divine cores can be widely distributed, traditional gods risk losing their followers and authority.
• Deception and mistrust: Lin Bai’s strategy turns factions against one another before the battle even begins.
• Ambition and opportunity: Players and creatures alike are drawn by the prospect of power, while Lin Bai tries to combine his many goals into one conflict.

Key plot points and events

• Lin Bai leaves a split soul of the God of Darkness, equipped with a darkness divine core, in the Mist Forest as an anchor. He and his disciples return to the Real World, while his other divine incarnations stand by for the coming battle.
• Players on the forum debate whether the Heavenly Kings’ conspicuous actions are part of Lin Bai’s scheme. They note that the gods are inexperienced with players and may be manipulated, but disagree about whether Lin Bai’s real advantage is elaborate planning or simply moving too fast for others to react.
• Lin Bai and his companions read the discussion. He denies having engineered everything in detail, saying he merely nudged events along and jokingly attributes his success to being a “child of fortune.” Xu Longyun and Jiang Qingqin readily agree; Tu Yan privately sees Lin Bai as a source of chaos rather than good fortune.
• The gods contact Lin Bai through a player and propose an alliance against the Immortal Realm’s Heavenly Kings. Lin Bai refuses to trust them, reasoning that another side’s strength is less useful than his own—and that they may betray him.
• Players ask to be transported to the battlefield to watch, but Lin Bai declines, judging them too weak to survive or learn much there. He studies the gods’ appearances while considering his marriage-alliance task.
• At the Mist Forest, Lin Bai’s disguised incarnation impersonates the Lightning Heavenly King, while the real God of Darkness stands nearby. The darkness forces are ready, though their support cannot increase the God of Darkness’s power because his limit is fixed by a Card.
• The Dream Heavenly King’s group arrives, and the Lightning Heavenly King angrily accuses Lin Bai of impersonating him. Before the confrontation can develop, an enormous abyssal army and an undead legion appear. The Lord of the Abyss and the Undead Monarch lead them; the Lord of the Abyss’s aura resembles the pure evil of the heavenly demon heart.

Character developments and interactions

• Lin Bai remains confident and opportunistic, treating uncertainty as manageable: if one attempt fails, he can try again. He is wary of both the gods and the Heavenly Kings, and quietly prepares for his own objectives.
• Xu Longyun and Jiang Qingqin admire and affirm Lin Bai, interpreting his improbable success as evidence of good fortune.
• Tu Yan remains skeptical and privately views Lin Bai as a troublemaker who brings conflict wherever he goes.
• Tuo Hai struggles to understand Lin Bai’s broader strategy but carries out his instructions and relays the gods’ offer and the players’ request.
• The Lightning Heavenly King is furious at being impersonated and distrustful of Lin Bai, while the other Heavenly Kings arrive under uncertain circumstances.
• The gods, led by the Earth Goddess, attempt to recruit Lin Bai as a partner against their shared opponents.

Significant themes

• Information and misdirection: Players, gods, and Heavenly Kings all act on incomplete or manipulated information.
• Speed versus preparation: Forum users identify Lin Bai’s rapid pace as both his chief advantage and a possible weakness, since it can leave his gains poorly secured.
• Trust and self-interest: The gods propose cooperation, but Lin Bai refuses to rely on them, highlighting how fragile alliances are when interests may diverge.
• Power and perspective: Ordinary players can only watch a battle far beyond their abilities, yet see it as a chance to learn and perhaps someday participate.
• Fate versus agency: Lin Bai jokingly credits fortune, while his actions suggest he is willing to exploit events and keep trying until circumstances favor him.

Key plot points and events

• The Lord of the Abyss appears, prompting players to speculate about his overwhelming strength, immortality, and the strange nature of life inside the game.
• Lin Bai reassures his disciples that living meaningfully in the present matters more than pursuing immortality, and promises to help them rise above their circumstances.
• The Dream Heavenly King activates his green Wish-Granting Scepter. Its light freezes everyone on the battlefield and draws them into a dream that perfectly imitates reality.
• Lin Bai realizes the battlefield is a dream through his Divine Incarnation, while his real body watches the scene. His attempt to steal the scepter fails because the dream’s defenses immobilize the stolen heads and arms he sends in.
• In the dream, the Dream Heavenly King claims Lin Bai was impersonating the Lightning Heavenly King and trying to turn the factions against one another. He proposes that they kill Lin Bai first, then settle their own conflict.
• Lin Bai’s incarnation plays along with the accusation, but the Dream Heavenly King reveals that the dream prevents teleportation, blocking Lin Bai’s Magpie Bridge escape.
• The Fire Heavenly King attacks with heavenly flames. Lin Bai counters with the Banana Leaf Fan—which works inside the dream despite not appearing in the real-world livestream—and experiments with the dream’s rules.
• Lin Bai uses the Truth-Telling Spell on the Dream Heavenly King, forcing him to reveal that the battlefield is a dream. Lin Bai warns the Lord of the Abyss that he may be trapped there permanently.
• The Dream Heavenly King recognizes that Lin Bai could identify the dream because he is only an incarnation.

Character developments and interactions

• Lin Bai remains playful and opportunistic, but becomes cautious and analytical when confronting the scepter’s power. He tests the dream’s limits and tries to turn the Lord of the Abyss against the Heavenly Kings.
• The Dream Heavenly King proves exceptionally powerful and manipulative, trapping even the Lord of the Abyss without his awareness. His confidence falters when Lin Bai exposes the dream.
• The Fire and Water Heavenly Kings help identify Lin Bai and support the plan to eliminate him; the Fire Heavenly King then attacks directly.
• The Lord of the Abyss initially believes he is in reality and agrees to target Lin Bai, but faces the possibility that he has been deceived and may need Lin Bai’s help.
• Xu Longyun and Lin Bai’s disciples are unsettled by the players’ discussion of long life and their own fragile existence. Lin Bai comforts them with a promise to improve their future.

Significant themes

• Reality versus illusion: The dream is indistinguishable from reality, making perception and knowledge crucial.
• Immortality and meaning: The players debate whether endless life would be desirable; Lin Bai argues that a meaningful present matters more.
• Deception and shifting alliances: The Dream Heavenly King manipulates the factions, while Lin Bai counters by exposing the truth and seeking new allies.
• Power and adaptability: Lin Bai’s system abilities let him challenge an overwhelming magic treasure by experimenting rather than relying on conventional strength.

Key plot points and events

• Lin Bai reveals that the Dream Heavenly King has trapped the battlefield in a convincing dream. The Lord of the Abyss, alarmed and angered, launches an attack; he and the Undead Monarch’s forces join the Heavenly Kings in a sprawling battle.
• Lin Bai helps by attacking the Dream Heavenly King with his Red String while the God of Darkness holds off the Lightning Heavenly King. The Dream Heavenly King counters with a dream within the dream, briefly catching Lin Bai, but Lin Bai wakes quickly and uses Shadowing Step to trap the Lightning Heavenly King in darkness space.
• With the Dream Heavenly King occupied, the other fighters exchange powerful spells and summoned forces. Lin Bai and the God of Darkness repeatedly drain the Lightning Heavenly King’s abilities; the extracted skills transfer to Lin Bai in the real world, where he continues defeating and silencing the captive foe.
• Players watching the battle are drawn into the dream too. They cannot log out, and those killed there—including Dark Heart—find their accounts deleted. The incident shocks the player community, which recognizes the Dream Heavenly King as an extraordinary threat and begins calling for his defeat.
• Lin Bai decides to test whether living players sent into the dream can affect the Dream Heavenly King’s real body. He summons volunteers, promises to compensate them for losses, and prepares to send them to the battlefield through a divine-soul clone.

Character developments and interactions

• Lin Bai remains resourceful and opportunistic: he uses the dream’s effects to gain skills, warns his allies about the Dream Heavenly King, and then takes a calculated risk by recruiting players for an experiment.
• The Dream Heavenly King appears calm and tactically confident. He evades Lin Bai’s Red String, briefly traps him in a nested dream, and orders his allies to clear lesser enemies before confronting the main threat.
• The Lord of the Abyss loses his composure after discovering he was fooled, then turns aggressively against the Dream Heavenly King.
• The Lightning Heavenly King is reduced to a helpless captive, terrified as Lin Bai repeatedly extracts his abilities.
• Lin Bai’s fans eagerly volunteer despite the danger, expressing loyalty and treating account loss as an acceptable cost. Xu Longyun and Jiang Qingqin, by contrast, worry about the danger and are relieved Lin Bai himself entered only as a clone.

Significant themes

• Dreams as lethal battlegrounds: The dream is convincing enough to deceive powerful enemies and can impose consequences on players beyond ordinary in-game death.
• Power and vulnerability: Even formidable fighters can be caught off guard, while numbers, teamwork, and specialized abilities can shift a battle.
• Loyalty and sacrifice: The fans’ willingness to risk their accounts contrasts with the concern of Lin Bai’s companions.
• The game’s stakes blur: Account deletion makes the battle feel consequential to players, intensifying the conflict between game mechanics and real loss.

Key plot points and events

• Lin Bai sends his divine incarnation and a group of players through the Magpie Bridge to confront the Dream Heavenly King. They are immediately drawn into his dream domain, freezing their livestreams. Lin Bai believes enough living intruders could overwhelm the king inside the dream, but the domain’s limits and weaknesses remain unknown.
• Lin Bai asks a prominent player to livestream a message to the Earth Goddess and her allies. He proposes attacking the Immortal Realm while five Heavenly Kings are occupied on the Gods and Devils Continent, then dealing with the remaining threats.
• Preparing for negotiations in Freedom City, Lin Bai uses a spare darkness divine core and Disguise Glasses to create a convincing clone. The Earth Goddess arrives with a powerful coalition of deities and allied peoples.
• The deities confront Lin Bai, accusing him of deception, stealing divine cores, and provoking the war. The Earth Goddess recognizes that he is a clone, while the God of Holy Light detects the darkness aura.
• Lin Bai insists he came to avert a wider calamity. Using Deification, he argues that the God of Darkness’s transformation into a puppet was not a deliberate act of domination: he claims the God was near death and that stabilizing his divine core ultimately made him independent of worshippers. His explanation softens some of the gods’ hostility, though the Goddess of Wisdom remains skeptical.

Character developments and interactions

• Lin Bai remains calculating and opportunistic: even while facing the Dream Heavenly King, he plans a second front and eyes the Wish-Granting Scepter and other sacred artifacts. At the same time, he presents himself as a negotiator and uses his ability to make his account persuasive.
• Xu Longyun worries about Lin Bai’s safety and the burden he carries. She gives him her Disguise Glasses, trusting his caution despite his willingness to take risks.
• Tuo Hai and the disciples feel inadequate beside the assembled divine army, but Lin Bai reassures them that their alliance is young and that he intends to absorb former enemies into it.
• The Earth Goddess is composed and perceptive; she sees through Lin Bai’s disguise but listens rather than immediately attacking. The other deities, especially the War God, God of Holy Light, and Goddess of Wisdom, voice anger and suspicion. Lin Bai’s claims reduce tensions temporarily, not fully resolving the conflict.

Significant themes

• Power and vulnerability: The Dream Heavenly King’s domain appears overwhelming, but Lin Bai suspects numbers may turn its strength against him.
• Deception, trust, and public scrutiny: Players broadcast events widely, exposing schemes and making it harder for Lin Bai to operate unseen.
• Pragmatic alliance-building: Lin Bai treats former enemies as future allies and sees the conflict as an opportunity to consolidate power.
• Moral ambiguity: Lin Bai frames his treatment of the God of Darkness as rescue and stabilization, while the deities remain uncertain whether his actions were benevolent or exploitative.

Key plot points and events

• Lin Bai faces the gods after the clash between the Lightning Heavenly King and the God of Darkness. He argues that faith both empowers gods and leaves them vulnerable, then presents transcending beyond faith as a possible alternative.
• When the gods worry that transcending means losing freedom, Lin Bai claims the God of Darkness became a puppet only because he had been overwhelmed in battle. He also frames sealing him as an unwanted karmic burden, portraying himself as a reluctant benefactor rather than a threat.
• The Goddess of Wisdom challenges Lin Bai over his role in bringing players into the gods’ world. He uses the “boiling a frog in warm water” analogy to warn that players and outside forces could gradually undermine the gods’ power—and that the gods’ isolation leaves them blind to larger dangers.
• Lin Bai says he deliberately exposed those dangers to make the gods confront reality while they are still strong. His argument profoundly shifts their view of him, though some remain wary.
• Viewers in the Real World debate whether Lin Bai is truthful or manipulative. General Chen and Cheng Xunyun extend the frog analogy to their own world, disagreeing over whether gradual exposure to danger allows time to adapt or merely makes escape harder.
• Lin Bai says he would cooperate with the Abyss’s evil gods if necessary to prevent the world’s destruction. He explains that higher-dimensional beings cannot intervene directly without risking the destruction of their world, likening it to a painting.
• The Earth Goddess asks whether Lin Bai will leave after resolving the crisis. He admits he may transcend, but that his path has shifted toward the Way of Love. Reassured by his attachment to Xu Longyun and Jiang Qingqin, she agrees to work with him and investigate his claims.

Character developments and interactions

• Lin Bai demonstrates his talent for persuasion, mixing plausible warnings, moral language, and strategic framing to turn hostile gods into potential allies. His claim that good and evil are equal reflects his broader focus on saving worlds rather than judging their inhabitants.
• The Goddess of Wisdom begins as his sharpest skeptic but is shaken by his warning that her wisdom is limited by a narrow worldview.
• The Earth Goddess moves from suspicion to cautious cooperation, motivated by renewed curiosity about existence beyond her world and a sense of responsibility toward it.
• The Moon Goddess questions whether Lin Bai can justify partnering with evil forces; he answers that preventing total destruction matters more than choosing sides.
• Xu Longyun and Jiang Qingqin react emotionally to Lin Bai’s uncertainty about transcendence. His reassurance that love and mortal life matter more to him strengthens their bond.
• Players and real-world observers split into supporters and critics, illustrating how Lin Bai’s rhetoric can persuade even those who know he may be manipulating them.

Significant themes

• Faith as both power and vulnerability: The gods’ dependence on followers gives them strength but also exposes them to gradual social change.
• Perspective and adaptation: The “boiling frog” metaphor warns that isolated societies may fail to notice danger until it is too late, while gradual change may also provide time to prepare.
• Persuasion and truth: Lin Bai’s claims may be sincere, calculated, or both; his skill makes it difficult for observers to separate honesty from manipulation.
• Responsibility and consequence: Lin Bai invokes karma and the duty to protect worlds, while the Earth Goddess accepts responsibility for her own.
• Love versus transcendence: Lin Bai’s attachment to his loved ones complicates the pursuit of a higher state and suggests that worldly bonds may be more meaningful to him.

Chapter summary

Plot and events

• The Great Language System suddenly completes its long-delayed task and grants Lin Bai Lotus-Tongued Eloquence, a skill that gives descriptions a chance to become reality. He also receives Illusion Domain, but dismisses its small range and restrictive conditions as nearly useless.
• Lin Bai joins the gods preparing to enter the Immortal Realm and fight its remaining four Heavenly Kings. The Earth Goddess, Boris, refuses to let his true body accompany the expedition, sending only his dark incarnation with the War God, Sun God, God of Holy Light, Fire God, and Wind God. She keeps Lin Bai behind, wary that he might seize control of the expedition or cut off its return route.
• Boris asks whether the Magpie Bridge can connect the gods to the Real World’s internet so they can watch the battle. Lin Bai claims it cannot, then invites her to visit the Real World instead. She declines, saying her world still needs protection.
• Boris hosts a lavish banquet in a magically created palace. Lin Bai suspects it is a trap: the gods are entertaining him while monitoring the expedition, ready to attack if anything goes wrong.
• At the banquet, Boris asks about Lin Bai’s Way of Laws. When the Love Goddess, Areya, asks whether mastering it could let her create a Magpie Bridge, Lin Bai senses danger and avoids answering directly.
• Instead, he demonstrates Phoenix Seeks the Phoenix by compelling the God of Stars to approach Areya and perform for her. The law protects the performer from harm, as shown when the Forest Goddess’s arrow disintegrates against him. Lin Bai explains the broader powers of his Way of Love and teaches that it must be experienced rather than pursued through calculation.
• Seeing a chance to fulfill another system task, Lin Bai encourages Areya to experience love herself and suggests the God of Stars as a suitable partner.

Character developments and interactions

• Lin Bai becomes more willing to exploit his new reality-altering skill, dismissing the need to restrain his speech. He remains cautious and manipulative, hiding his intentions while trying to gain leverage and complete his Matchmaker System task.
• Boris proves perceptive and guarded. She keeps Lin Bai from joining the expedition, rejects his invitation to the Real World, and uses hospitality and questions to keep him under observation.
• The gods accompanying the expedition cooperate with Lin Bai but avoid touching him, showing that his persuasive abilities have not earned their trust.
• Areya moves from curiosity about Lin Bai’s laws to serious interest in experiencing love and potentially mastering them. Lin Bai’s demonstration impresses her, while the other male gods react with hostility and alarm.
• The God of Stars is unwillingly placed at the center of Lin Bai’s demonstration and becomes Areya’s proposed potential partner.

Significant themes

• Language as power: Lin Bai’s new skill blurs the boundary between speech and reality, making his habitual exaggerations potentially consequential.
• Trust and political maneuvering: Both Lin Bai and Boris conceal their aims, while the expedition and banquet become exercises in managing suspicion.
• Love as lived experience: Lin Bai presents love not merely as divine power but as something understood through relationships and commitment.
• Power and restraint: The demonstration shows how laws can compel even gods, yet Lin Bai’s abilities also make others wary of him and deepen the danger surrounding him.

Key events

• The expeditionary force is stalled in the Immortal Realm: teleportation arrays have been shut down, and hostile City Guards are hunting players. Meanwhile, the Dream Heavenly King’s front remains locked in combat with the Lord of the Abyss.
• With viewers focused on his livestream, Lin Bai turns a banquet at the Earth Goddess’s temple into a campaign for his way of laws. He argues that the deities’ true enemy is the higher-dimensional Game Company, and that they should seek to transcend their world rather than cling to local power and old grudges.
• Lin Bai promotes several laws, especially the way of love, as a way to grow stronger and potentially free deities from reliance on faith. He explains that marriage may spur sudden enlightenment, then proposes holding a wedding immediately so the gods can test the idea.
• The Goddess of Love, Areya, agrees to marry the Star God, Traius. The Earth Goddess, Boris, consents after weighing the potential benefits of the Magpie Bridge and a new source of power.

Character developments and interactions

• Lin Bai uses sincerity, persuasion, and his ability to frame events to steer the gathering. Though the deities originally seem to be holding him in their temple to obtain the Magpie Bridge’s secrets, he gradually turns the situation to his advantage. He also publicly claims he may return to cultivating the Heavenly Dao.
• Areya moves from uncertainty to a firm decision, recognizing that she needs greater resolve. She chooses Traius herself, despite Lin Bai offering her other suitors.
• Traius is initially suspicious of Lin Bai’s closeness to Areya, but becomes visibly moved when she chooses him and vows to protect her.
• Boris remains wary of Lin Bai’s influence, yet cannot find a clear flaw in his proposal. Her caution gives way to consent when she sees the possible gains.
• The other deities become interested in cultivating laws, while the livestream audience debates whether Lin Bai is being honest or manipulating them.

Significant themes

• Persuasion and manipulation: Lin Bai’s eloquent, seemingly generous vision reshapes the gathering and makes his agenda appear beneficial to everyone.
• Transcendence over parochial concerns: He urges the gods to look beyond their territories and rivalries toward the higher-dimensional world.
• Resolve and love: Areya’s choice is presented as an act of courage, and Lin Bai suggests that commitment and marriage may accelerate understanding of the way of love.
• Faith versus independent power: The laws offer the possibility of growth beyond dependence on divine cores or believers.

Plot points and events

• Lin Bai’s wedding to the Star God completes a mission and grants him Wedding Domain: at a wedding he officiates, no one can do anything except get married. A follow-up mission requires him to use it to marry ten powerful pairs.
• After realizing the Domain must be activated at a wedding, Lin Bai tests it by conjuring a ceremony for Ye Song and Ye Lan in the Righteous Alliance camp. The whole camp becomes a wedding venue, and everyone’s skills and powers are suppressed—including Lin Bai’s.
• Lin Bai turns his attention to the battle inside the Dream Heavenly King’s dream. The Lightning Heavenly King is killed, but the Metal Heavenly King arrives and attacks the Lord of the Abyss. His Holy Sword can break the Red String briefly, but it immediately repairs itself.
• Lin Bai activates Wedding Domain in the dream, transforming the battle into a wedding for the Dream and Metal Heavenly Kings. Most abilities vanish, though the Red String continues acting on its earlier command and binds the Dream Heavenly King.
• The Dream Heavenly King ends the dream. The dream’s damage and deaths are recreated in reality, but Lin Bai’s memories of the dream begin to fade. The Heavenly Kings escape in separate directions.

Character developments and interactions

• Lin Bai recognizes Wedding Domain as a powerful control ability, despite its constraints, and starts considering its tactical uses. His growing confidence feeds his ambition to conquer powerful beings.
• The Dream Heavenly King remains strategic and elusive, coordinating his allies and ultimately escaping by ending the dream.
• The Metal Heavenly King’s arrival briefly rallies the Heavenly Kings, while his sword demonstrates that even the Red String can be interrupted—but not destroyed.
• The Lord of the Abyss and Undead Monarch cooperate against the Heavenly Kings, though the Undead Monarch complains about the battle’s cost.
• Xu Longyun is still uneasy addressing Lin Bai’s War God Body as her husband, despite knowing Lin Bai’s split soul is inside it.

Significant themes

• Equality and control: Wedding Domain temporarily strips everyone of their abilities, making all participants equal while placing Lin Bai in the role of officiant.
• Power and ambition: Each new ability strengthens Lin Bai’s confidence and desire to rule, while also making him a threat to every powerful faction.
• Limits and loopholes: Lin Bai’s skills have restrictions and delayed effects; opponents also exploit specialized abilities, as the Dream Heavenly King uses his dream to escape.
• Love amid conflict: Romance is turned into a supernatural weapon, contrasting wedding rituals with the chapter’s violence and political struggle.

Key plot points and events

• After leaving the Dream Heavenly King’s dream, Lin Bai and his enemies lose all memory of what happened inside it. They awaken to find the Mist Forest shattered, the skeleton army dead, and the Dream Heavenly King and his allies gone.
• With the remaining forces turning against him, Lin Bai uses Shadowing Step to return to the real-world wedding, leaving behind a divine incarnation disguised as the Lightning Heavenly King. The incarnation immediately uses the Wedding Domain to force the Lord of the Abyss and the Undead Monarch into a marriage.
• Players arrive at the wrecked forest and witness the bizarre battlefield wedding, adding to the confusion over the missing battle and vanished Dream Heavenly King.
• Lin Bai reviews footage from his invisible camera and reconstructs what happened. He realizes the Dream Heavenly King’s ability is especially dangerous: events and deaths inside the dream carry over into reality, while everyone else forgets them. The Dream Heavenly King can retain knowledge of opponents’ abilities and restart the dream when convenient.
• The footage also shows that the Red String may still be binding the Dream Heavenly King inside the dream, despite his escape. Lin Bai considers exploiting this to hunt down the fleeing Heavenly Kings one by one, but the Wedding Domain prevents him from using Shadowing Step.
• At the real-world wedding, Lin Bai weighs whether to use his Wedding Domain on the assembled gods. He decides it would be too risky: the gods could recover their powers afterward, and targeting them all at once would leave him vulnerable.
• The Earth Goddess, Boris, questions Lin Bai about his apparent “enlightenment.” He claims his Way of Love has advanced and tells her that the Lord of the Abyss and the Undead Monarch are now married. He tries to draw her away to see the spectacle, but his revelation alarms her and attracts other deities.
• Lin Bai defends the forced wedding as a possible path to enlightenment, carefully avoiding firm promises. The Goddess of Wisdom challenges the idea, but the Love Goddess, Areya, suddenly announces that she has truly comprehended the Law of Love through the many wedding rituals.

Character developments and interactions

• Lin Bai remains opportunistic and adaptable, turning a chaotic situation into a chance to use his Wedding Domain. The camera lets him recover his lost memories and assess the Dream Heavenly King’s threat. He is also more cautious with his words, aware that his Lotus-Tongued Eloquence can make statements come true.
• The Lord of the Abyss and the Undead Monarch are left bewildered by their missing memories and dead forces, then forcibly married by Lin Bai’s incarnation. They curse him throughout the ceremony.
• The Dream Heavenly King emerges as a formidable, potentially repeatable threat: he keeps his memories, while his opponents forget each encounter.
• Xu Longyun welcomes Lin Bai back and reassures him when she hears the Dream Heavenly King escaped; she later helps him interpret the dream’s implications.
• Boris moves from curiosity to alarm as she realizes Lin Bai can suppress powerful beings through his laws.
• The Goddess of Wisdom remains suspicious and openly disputes Lin Bai’s explanation.
• Areya experiences a genuine breakthrough, attributing it to the wedding procedures that suddenly filled her mind.

Significant themes

• Memory and knowledge as power: The Dream Heavenly King’s ability to erase others’ memories gives him a decisive strategic advantage.
• Absurdity amid devastation: A forced wedding unfolds on a battlefield strewn with corpses, blending comedy with tragedy.
• Love, coercion, and cultivation: Lin Bai treats marriage as both a supernatural weapon and a route to enlightenment, raising questions about whether forced union can produce genuine insight.
• Careful speech and unintended consequences: Lin Bai’s Lotus-Tongued Eloquence makes even casual claims dangerous, prompting him to qualify his words.

Key plot points and events

• Areya, the Goddess of Love, comprehends the law of love during her wedding, though she thinks she has only learned three hundred wedding procedures. Lin Bai explains that the procedures are a foundation for a powerful divine ability and that “300” secretly means “I miss you.”
• Lin Bai appoints Areya as his student and seeks to bind her more closely to him, both to guide her growth and to secure a powerful ally for the coming war against the Game Company.
• The God of Stars, Traius, asks why he gained no insight from the same wedding. Lin Bai says comprehension depends on the individual, not repetition, and suggests other paths he might pursue.
• The gods ask Lin Bai to teach them how to cultivate laws. He promotes his Wedding ability as a way to help them experience the law of love, claiming that suppressing divine powers makes all beings equal and encourages new comprehension.
• A player, Son of Wind, challenges Lin Bai’s account, pointing out that the wedding suppresses divine power and leaves its participants helpless. Lin Bai reframes this as a necessary condition for comprehension and dismisses the objection.
• Lin Bai persuades the gods to participate in separate weddings. The Forest Goddess, Moon Goddess, Mountain God, and eventually even the skeptical Goddess of Wisdom agree. The War Goddess declines the law of love, while the Earth Goddess, Boris, plans to observe and pursue other laws.
• Lin Bai arranges for avatars to officiate all the weddings at once, leaving the gods’ chances of comprehending the law to luck.

Character developments

• Areya becomes Lin Bai’s eager admirer and student, trusting him enough to follow him and offering to help fight the Dream Heavenly King.
• Lin Bai presents himself as a generous mentor while privately manipulating the gods into using his Wedding ability. He is wary that Areya might gain unexpected powers and sees her as a potential asset.
• Traius is puzzled by his failure to comprehend a law, but remains open to Lin Bai’s advice and appears tempted to repeat the experience.
• The Goddess of Wisdom, Yatis, repeatedly questions Lin Bai, but his rebukes unsettle her; she eventually agrees to participate while insisting she is not his enemy.
• The other gods become increasingly hopeful and trusting, despite the risks of Lin Bai’s ability. Boris remains cautious and relieved to observe rather than marry.

Significant themes

• Comprehension and personal growth: Lin Bai insists that laws cannot be mastered through repetition alone; insight depends on individual understanding and mindset.
• Manipulation disguised as mentorship: Lin Bai’s sincere-sounding guidance masks his strategic effort to recruit allies and steer the gods toward his own goals.
• Faith, power, and ambition: The gods want to transcend the limitations of faith by attaining the final step of cultivation, making them susceptible to Lin Bai’s offer.
• Trust and uncertainty: The gods declare their trust in Lin Bai, while he privately admits he does not trust himself.
• Equality through vulnerability: Lin Bai argues that suppressing divine power makes participants equal and open to new experiences, though this also leaves them at his mercy.

Character interactions

• Lin Bai comforts and teaches Areya, and she responds with admiration and an offer of loyalty.
• Traius challenges Lin Bai about his lack of insight; Lin Bai answers by emphasizing individual comprehension and suggesting alternative paths.
• Yatis repeatedly tests Lin Bai’s claims, while he publicly shames her skepticism; the Moon Goddess steps in to defend her and redirect the conversation.
• Son of Wind exposes the coercive effects of Wedding, but Lin Bai counters him before the gods can be persuaded away.
• The gods collectively negotiate safeguards by asking Boris and trusted figures to observe, then accept Lin Bai’s plan for simultaneous weddings.

Plot and key events

• Online spectators debate whether Lin Bai’s offer to help the deities understand laws is sincere. Lin Bai reveals privately that marriage does not grant enlightenment: he is using the weddings to keep the deities contained and subdue them individually.
• He arranges mass weddings outside Freedom City, with fragile divine incarnations officiating. The Earth Goddess observes and gradually believes Lin Bai is genuinely helping. Even the War Goddess apologizes for destroying one of his incarnations; Lin Bai graciously accepts.
• Once the deities are gathered, Lin Bai springs his trap. He strips the Earth Goddess and War Goddess of their divine power and forces them into a wedding, while capturing Star God Traius and covering the city and wedding venues with his Darkness Domain.
• The trapped deities realize the ceremonies were bait. Lin Bai uses Absolute Suppression and other abilities to capture Traius and attack the Love Goddess, Areya, while the guests and players watch. His bloody assault is broadcast against the incongruously cheerful wedding music.
• In the Immortal Realm, the Heavenly Kings learn that Lin Bai may be able to turn gods into puppets. The Lightning Heavenly King also reports that Lin Bai erased all his skills in the Dream Heavenly King’s dreamscape. The Kings urgently call for an alliance to stop Lin Bai.
• Areya confronts Lin Bai over his betrayal. He says preserving the gods’ power in puppet bodies is faster than letting them develop naturally, and argues that deities who have long benefited from the world must now sacrifice for it. He offers Areya a choice: submit willingly and preserve her public image, or be subdued like Traius and retain her dignity.

Character developments and interactions

• Lin Bai shifts from appearing accommodating to openly ruthless. His calm courtesy and apparent generosity are deliberate manipulation; he now actively uses his abilities to pursue domination. He insists that his method is necessary to save a collapsing world.
• The Earth Goddess and War Goddess lower their guard and trust Lin Bai before becoming his captives. The War Goddess’s apology and hope for future comradeship make the reversal especially stark.
• Areya, the Love Goddess, moves from hopeful belief in cooperation to sorrow and disillusionment. She recognizes that Lin Bai likely deceived even the God of Darkness.
• Traius is captured and rendered muddleheaded, demonstrating the danger Lin Bai poses to the other deities.
• The Heavenly Kings abandon their preparations for a limited confrontation and begin seeking a broader alliance, fearing Lin Bai’s puppet-making power and rapid growth.
• Players and viewers swing from speculating about Lin Bai’s motives to mocking the deceived gods; some who had hurried to marry lose faith in the idea altogether.

Significant themes

• Trust as a weapon: Lin Bai exploits the deities’ assumptions about his motives and the appearance of sincere cooperation.
• Power and consent: His claim that the gods must sacrifice for the world clashes with his coercive methods, raising questions about whether a noble goal can justify domination.
• Image and dignity: Lin Bai carefully manages how he appears, even offering Areya a choice framed around preserving her image or dignity.
• Rapid escalation and spectacle: The staged weddings, live broadcasts, and public violence turn political betrayal into a global spectacle—and show how quickly apparent harmony can collapse into conflict.

Plot points and events

• At a wedding where many deities are gathered, Lin Bai confronts the Love Goddess, Areya. Spectators argue about his growing power and fear that he intends to subdue every deity and rule multiple worlds.
• Areya tries to sway Lin Bai with an enchantment disguised as a plea for peace. He begins to doubt himself, but Xu Longyun’s touch snaps him out of it.
• Lin Bai counters with the Star God’s power, forcing Areya to experience a terrifying vision of being stripped of her dignity and made a mindless puppet. She surrenders and asks him to preserve her memories. Lin Bai seals her anyway, then restores her sentience with a Spirit-Opening Pill.
• Lin Bai warns the gathered gods that willing surrender may preserve their minds, while resistance could leave them mindless like Traius. Areya accepts her new position and says she will follow him.
• Lin Bai tells the gods that his mission is to “invest” them into a new Heavenly Court, presenting his cards as fragments of an ancient Investiture of the Gods. He claims Spirit-Opening Pills are scarce and that only the thirty-six chief gods will retain their thoughts.
• The Anti-Lin Bai Alliance urges the gods to reject his claims and fight. Lin Bai calmly lets them argue, using the threat of limited pills and different treatment for male and female gods to deepen division and weaken their resolve.

Character developments

• Lin Bai demonstrates strong mental power and an ability to manipulate opponents as effectively as he can overpower them. He turns Areya’s own emotional tactics against her and uses calculated threats and incentives to fracture the gods’ unity.
• Areya moves from confident persuader to frightened captive, then accepts submission in hopes of retaining her identity. Her surrender further unsettles the other gods.
• Xu Longyun briefly but crucially restores Lin Bai’s clarity when Areya’s enchantment begins affecting him.
• The assembled gods become increasingly uncertain, weighing resistance against the possibility of keeping their minds and divine strength.
• Yatis, the Goddess of Wisdom, remains openly defiant and condemns Lin Bai, while Boris, the Earth Goddess, challenges his story but faces growing pressure.

Significant themes

• Power through psychology: Lin Bai’s advantage comes not only from strength but from controlling fear, hope, and mistrust.
• Freedom versus survival: The gods must choose between resisting as free beings and submitting for a chance to retain their memories.
• The cost of order: Lin Bai presents his campaign as imposing order on reckless deities, but his methods make that justification morally suspect.
• Manipulation and propaganda: Both Lin Bai and his opponents try to shape the gods’ choices through stories, warnings, and appeals to dignity.
• Division as a weapon: Lin Bai exploits differences between male and female gods and uncertainty over who will be spared to undermine collective resistance.

Character interactions

• Areya appeals to Lin Bai’s kindness and concern for the world, but he recognizes and defeats her enchantment.
• Xu Longyun interrupts Lin Bai’s moment of doubt, helping him regain control.
• Lin Bai contrasts Areya’s restored awareness with Traius’s mindlessness to pressure the other deities into surrender.
• Yatis challenges Lin Bai, while Boris questions his claim that he is carrying out a divine investiture.
• Players from the Anti-Lin Bai Alliance try to rally the gods, but Lin Bai’s composed response leaves their unity and confidence increasingly fragile.

Key plot points and events

• Lin Bai turns the gods’ forced weddings into a trap: he threatens them, repeatedly strips away their abilities, and harvests Divine Cores. The spectacle convinces the gods that resisting could mean losing their freedom anyway.
• He offers voluntary surrender as a supposedly peaceful alternative, promising the gods sentience and good treatment if they join the Righteousness Sect—though he warns that failed sealing will bring permanent subjugation.
• The Mountain God, Ovid, is the first to surrender, triggering a wave of defections. The God of Truth, Sky-Pillar God, God of Craft, and several goddesses follow.
• Lin Bai refuses to accept the Goddess of Wisdom, Yatis, and threatens to replace her with someone he considers truly wise. This intimidates wavering goddesses and prompts further surrender.
• The War Goddess, Lachesis, and Earth Goddess, Boris, remain opposed, but the gods’ alliance rapidly disintegrates. Lin Bai boasts that the assembled deities will make him powerful enough to face even the Heavenly Kings.
• The Anti-Lin Bai Alliance’s players debate whether to hide their Game Pods permanently to avoid his reach. Their arguments expose deep divisions: some favor fighting at any cost, while others refuse to abandon their real lives.
• At the Dream Heavenly King’s request, player Bow Warrior Rod urges him to lead a final coalition. The Heavenly King chooses caution: he orders the remaining hostile deities to gather in the Mist Forest, suspecting Freedom City may be a trap and hoping to confront Lin Bai after his forces are exhausted.

Character developments

• Lin Bai demonstrates that intimidation, calculated displays of power, and selective promises can defeat opponents without a direct battle. He is increasingly confident in his growing control.
• Ovid abandons resistance to preserve his sentience and freedom, setting off the mass surrender.
• Kapol, the Spring Goddess, initially apologizes for defecting, then justifies her choice as a practical response to the world’s crisis.
• Yatis, the Goddess of Wisdom, realizes too late that she has misjudged Lin Bai and cannot alter the outcome.
• Lachesis clings to pride and the hope that Boris’s strength will protect them, while the Dream Heavenly King remains wary after experiencing Lin Bai’s power firsthand.

Significant themes

• Coercion disguised as choice: Lin Bai presents surrender as voluntary and peaceful, but his threats and demonstrations leave the gods with little genuine freedom.
• Fear and self-preservation: The gods defect not because they trust Lin Bai, but because they dread losing their minds, powers, or autonomy.
• Power through division: Lin Bai’s strategy breaks the gods’ alliance by encouraging individual calculations and exploiting their mistrust.
• Conflicting loyalties and risk: Players debate whether to sacrifice their real-world lives for a collective struggle, revealing disagreement over what resistance is worth.
• Strategy versus action: The Dream Heavenly King avoids an immediate confrontation, preferring to preserve forces and wait for a better opportunity.

Character interactions

• Lin Bai alternates threats with assurances to pressure Ovid and other gods into surrendering, while publicly shaming Yatis to discourage further resistance.
• The defecting gods clash with Lachesis and other holdouts, who accuse them of cowardice or treachery; the defectors respond that each deity must choose for themselves.
• Players in the Anti-Lin Bai Alliance argue over whether to retreat, hide their Game Pods, or continue fighting.
• Bow Warrior Rod presses the Dream Heavenly King to intervene, but the Heavenly King directs the remaining opposition toward a cautious regrouping in the Mist Forest.

Plot points and events

• Lin Bai creates numerous Divine Incarnations, equipping them with Divine Cores. He demonstrates their strength by having more than ten Star God incarnations unleash Starry Net at once, terrifying the gods and shaking the War Goddess’s confidence.
• Several divine weddings end. River God Boro, Spring Goddess Kapol, and later four more deities accept sealing, receive Spirit-Opening Pills, and regain their sentience. Lin Bai falsely claims to have plenty of pills to reassure the remaining gods, though he has only a few left.
• Lin Bai detects the Heavenly Kings heading toward Mist Forest to interfere with his plan to subdue the Lord of the Abyss. He sends newly surrendered gods into Cards and dispatches darkness-powered incarnations to intercept the pursuers by forcing them into weddings.
• The Water, Fire, and Metal Heavenly Kings are caught in turn. The Metal Heavenly King nearly destroys his opponent with a powerful attack, but the surviving incarnation still manages to begin the wedding.
• The Dream Heavenly King’s dream ability produces an unexpected “bug”: when he pulls Lin Bai’s incarnation into a dream, the dream resumes the previous wedding. The Lord of the Abyss, Undead Monarch, several Heavenly Kings, and wedding attendants all appear in the dream dressed for the ceremony. In reality, their bodies remain trapped in their weddings, mindless and unable to resist.
• Lin Bai realizes the dream may leave the Lord of the Abyss and Undead Monarch vulnerable as their wedding nears completion. The Dream Heavenly King, however, hopes to dispel the dream, join forces with the Lord, and eventually defeat Lin Bai. Lin Bai argues that every new dream will simply continue the wedding, but the chapter ends with the Dream Heavenly King rejecting his offer of cooperation and asserting that his team can still win.

Character developments

• Lin Bai grows more confident as his expanding force of Divine Incarnations lets him overwhelm opponents and control the battlefield. He also shows calculated social manipulation, using fear and reassurance to secure the gods’ cooperation.
• The surrendered gods move from anxious observers to compliant allies. Boro, Langston, and Bulo agree to serve as bait, though they have little real choice.
• The War Goddess recognizes that Lin Bai’s army of divine copies could undermine her military-based faith.
• The Dream Heavenly King is shaken when his dream behaves unpredictably, but quickly regains his resolve and seeks an alliance with the Lord of the Abyss.
• The Lord of the Abyss and Undead Monarch remain furious and humiliated, though their missing memories make the dream feel increasingly unreal to them.

Significant themes

• Power through systems and scale: Lin Bai turns Divine Cores, faith, and multiple incarnations into a force that can overwhelm even powerful gods.
• Manipulation and control: He alternates intimidation with reassurance, while weddings and Cards become tools for capturing, suppressing, and redirecting enemies.
• The danger of unintended consequences: The Dream Heavenly King’s ability triggers an unexpected overlap that may help Lin Bai more than either side intended.
• Identity and helplessness: The gods and Heavenly Kings lose agency as they are reduced to participants in weddings, dreams, or Lin Bai’s plans.

Character interactions

• Lin Bai reassures the gods about Spirit-Opening Pills, winning relief despite his deception.
• He politely asks surrendered male gods to enter Cards and help trap enemies, framing coercion as an opportunity to prove themselves.
• His incarnations taunt the captured Heavenly Kings while officiating their forced weddings.
• Inside the dream, Lin Bai tries to persuade the Dream Heavenly King to cooperate, while the Heavenly King counters by promising to rescue his allies and unite against him.

Key plot points and events

• Lin Bai battles the Dream Heavenly King, who repeatedly traps him in realistic dreams and erases his memories whenever he wakes. Lin Bai recognizes the fakes by spotting inconsistencies, then uses Provocation to force the Dream Heavenly King to return after each escape.
• The Dream Heavenly King agrees to cooperate, but Lin Bai’s Truth-Telling Spell exposes that he is only pretending in order to discover Lin Bai’s weaknesses. The Dream Heavenly King’s allies retain their dream memories even when Lin Bai does not, allowing them to plan openly in front of him.
• Lin Bai counters this memory gap by recording keywords through information shared with his main body. Meanwhile, the Dream Heavenly King and the trapped gods hope that other evil deities—including the God of Destruction—can delay Lin Bai.
• When the Lord of the Abyss and the Undead Monarch’s wedding ends, their bodies remain motionless because their consciousnesses are still caught in the dream. A dream-related bug leaves them unprotected, and Lin Bai’s main body and incarnation attack them simultaneously.
• Lin Bai also ambushes the God of Fear, God of Destruction, and other evil deities near the Mist Forest, striking first with powerful domains and lightning. Though they resist and weaken him with their own domains, Lin Bai presses on while his cooking-enhanced defense keeps him safe.
• The Dream Heavenly King realizes the Lord of the Abyss and Undead Monarch are being injured in reality and ends the dream. They return conscious but still unable to use their divine powers. Lin Bai continues dismantling their bodies, leaving the Lord of the Abyss helpless and furious.

Character developments and interactions

• Lin Bai proves adaptable and calculating: he spots false dreams, exploits the Dream Heavenly King’s compulsion to respond to Provocation, uses a truth spell, and creates written notes to compensate for lost memories. He chooses a practical, low-cost incarnation strategy rather than bringing his war-god body.
• The Dream Heavenly King shifts from confidence to desperation. Unable to escape or defeat Lin Bai directly, he tries cooperation, covert planning, and finally a gamble on reinforcements. His dream powers prove less protective than he assumed.
• The Lord of the Abyss remains defiant and insists he still has a chance, but his confidence collapses when he realizes his real body is being attacked. He blames the Dream Heavenly King for his predicament.
• The other trapped deities debate strategy and mock Lin Bai without realizing he can follow their discussions, while the Earth Goddess quietly waits for an opportunity to escape.
• Lin Bai’s interactions with the Dream Heavenly King become a contest of psychological endurance: each tries to manipulate the other, but Lin Bai’s time pressure and careful preparation gradually turn the advantage against his opponent.

Significant themes

• Reality versus illusion: Lin Bai’s ability to recognize flaws in fabricated dreams becomes as important as physical strength.
• Adaptation and information: Lin Bai compensates for memory loss by gathering clues and keeping notes, while his enemies’ careless discussions reveal their plans.
• Time as a weapon: The Dream Heavenly King needs time to study Lin Bai, but Lin Bai’s deadline prevents him from doing so.
• Overconfidence and consequences: The gods assume the dream will protect them and underestimate Lin Bai’s reach; their misplaced confidence leaves them exposed.