Chapter Summaries

Plot points and events

• The giant serpent reveals that he secretly manipulated the treasure formed from the Chaos Demon God’s right hand. Once merely part of the Demon God’s body, the treasure had originally sought to help resurrect its creator—but resurrection would erase its consciousness.
• Influenced by the serpent, the treasure developed a desire to survive and tried to seize control of the world. It also discovered that the serpent had linked himself to its consciousness, making his death potentially fatal to it. Though it kept him imprisoned, it could not simply kill him.
• Xu Tong has taken the serpent away, leaving Gu behind in a state of madness. The treasure arrives too late to stop Xu Tong and attempts to capture Gu, but his relentless attack leaves it no opportunity.
• Forced to intervene personally, the treasure reveals its unusual ability to transform into a giant. Gu ignores its words and attacks with the Pangu Axe, now stained with a bloody hue and greatly amplified by his frenzied state.

Character developments and interactions

• The giant serpent emerges as a calculating survivor: beneath his apparent submission, he secretly influenced the treasure and tied his own fate to its consciousness.
• The treasure is revealed to fear death and to possess independent agency. Its desperation to preserve itself drives its rebellion and its decision to confront Gu directly.
• Gu has become dangerously indiscriminate, treating everyone as an enemy and attacking without regard for their strength. His madness has sharply increased his combat power.
• The treasure’s attempt to deal with Gu turns into a direct clash: it is frustrated by his relentless assault, while Gu refuses to acknowledge or engage with it beyond attacking.

Significant themes

• Survival and fear of death: The treasure’s rebellion stems from realizing that its creator’s resurrection would end its own existence.
• Deception and dependence: The serpent’s hidden influence gives him leverage over the treasure, while their linked consciousnesses make them mutually vulnerable.
• Power and loss of control: Gu’s increased strength comes at the cost of reason, making him both formidable and unpredictable.

Plot points and events

• The treasure empowers the giant, bringing him close to the world’s power limit. He further boosts his strength by wielding a strange cane, which is revealed to be his true body.
• Gu, seemingly possessed by a berserk state, charges the giant with the Pangu Axe. The giant narrowly avoids a direct hit, but the axe nearly cleaves the cane in two.
• The damage to the giant’s true body weakens his ability to fight and may threaten the world itself if its effects continue.
• Gu’s rampage subsides, and he regains awareness with no memory of what happened. Seeing the casualties, he realizes he may have caused the destruction.
• The giant urges Gu to leave, but Gu refuses and demands the treasure, declaring that it was the reason he came to this world.

Character developments and interactions

• Gu shifts from an uncontrollable, axe-wielding attacker to a confused and then focused negotiator. Despite his concern over what he may have done, he prioritizes obtaining the treasure.
• The giant goes from dismissing Gu as a mindless madman to fearing the Pangu Axe and avoiding further contact with it. He tries to use Gu’s confusion to persuade him to leave.
• Their exchange ends in a tense standoff: the giant wants Gu gone, while Gu insists on taking the treasure.

Significant themes

• Power and vulnerability: Even a near-limitless giant can be threatened by a weapon capable of damaging his true form.
• Loss of control and accountability: Gu’s blackout leaves him unsure of his actions, while the deaths and destruction remain.
• Conflicting priorities: Gu brushes aside the consequences of his rampage to pursue the treasure that brought him there.

Plot points and events

• The giant tries to frighten Gu into leaving, but Gu recovers quickly and refuses to retreat.
• The giant draws on nearly all the world’s power to strengthen himself, and both fighters unleash their full strength.
• Their battle devastates the already weakened world. Gu’s Pangu Axe repeatedly wounds the giant, who realizes the weapon is far beyond anything native to this world.
• Despite being wounded himself, Gu presses the attack. The excerpt ends with the world nearly destroyed and the fight still underway.

Character developments

• Gu remains fearless and thrives against stronger opponents. His recent training in the Water Margin World has made him far more skilled at using his strength; with the Pangu Axe, he has become a dramatically more dangerous fighter.
• The giant shifts from confidence that he can deter Gu to fear and frustration. Even after absorbing the world’s power, he cannot overcome the Pangu Axe.

Significant themes

• Relentless resolve: Gu will fight rather than back down, regardless of the odds.
• Skill as well as strength: Gu’s new techniques make him more formidable without increasing his cultivation.
• Power’s destructive cost: Their clash threatens to destroy the world around them.

Character interactions

• The giant attempts to intimidate Gu and later challenges him after powering up; Gu answers by charging and continuing to attack.
• The giant questions what the Pangu Axe is after seeing its overwhelming effect, while Gu shows no interest in explaining or stopping.

Plot points and events

• Gu defeats the Giant, who vanishes, leaving behind a Walking Stick. The world begins to collapse, so Gu takes the Stick and escapes before the destruction.
• Xu Tong has also escaped, carrying the Giant Serpent he took earlier. He identifies the Walking Stick as the treasure Gu sought and explains that it was the world itself: once removed, it gathered the world into its true form, leaving it worn and ordinary-looking.
• The pair set off toward other treasures shown on their Map. Gu asks about the Serpent, and Xu Tong suggests it was likely the pet of the Chaos Demon God who created that world.
• Unseen by them, the Walking Stick transforms into a hand inside the Scroll and cries out in defiance. The Scroll suppresses the sound and leaves it powerless.
• Gu senses something odd in his robes, but he and Xu Tong find nothing unusual when they inspect the Scroll. Xu Tong advises caution.

Character developments and interactions

• Gu proves stubborn and determined, enduring a long, difficult fight before claiming the treasure. He trusts Xu Tong’s judgment, though his instincts also alert him to the Scroll’s hidden activity.
• Xu Tong remains calm and perceptive. He understands the Walking Stick’s nature, recognizes the Serpent’s likely origin, and cautions Gu about the Scroll.
• Their partnership is easygoing and trusting: Gu shares what he has found and asks questions, while Xu Tong interprets events and guides their next steps.

Significant themes

• The cost of victory: The treasure is obtained only as its world is destroyed, and that destruction changes the treasure itself.
• Hidden power and uncertainty: The Scroll secretly absorbs and restrains the Walking Stick, while the protagonists remain unaware.
• Instinct versus evidence: Gu trusts his senses even when the Scroll appears perfectly ordinary.

Key plot points and events

• Xu Tong tells Gu they may soon be able to leave the world if they collect all the scattered treasures.
• Xu Tong warns that gathering the treasures might revive the dead Chaos Demon God—or allow it to possess Gu. He suspects the seemingly harmless Scroll is especially significant because it represents the demon god’s torso.
• Gu is alarmed but agrees to be cautious. He still intends to keep collecting the treasures, which he hopes will help him escape and advance his cultivation.
• Xu Tong reassures him that the demon god cannot act before they leave, since it cannot escape the world without them.
• The pair travel to another world, where Gu instinctively suppresses his cultivation before entering. The treasure there is believed to correspond to the Chaos Demon God’s left hand.
• Xu Tong questions the Giant Serpent about what the world contains. When it feigns ignorance, he squeezes it until it admits it knows more than it is saying.

Character developments

• Xu Tong decides to stop hiding his suspicions from Gu. Though convinced the future is largely fixed, he wants to give Gu a fair warning.
• Gu takes the danger more seriously after Xu Tong’s warning, carefully putting away the Scroll and agreeing to be cautious. His desire to grow stronger and escape still outweighs his fear.
• The Giant Serpent is shown to be withholding information, while Xu Tong remains confident he can force the truth out of it.

Significant themes

• Fate and inevitability: Xu Tong believes past events and the future are already set, even though present actions remain part of how that future unfolds.
• Trust and disclosure: Xu Tong chooses honesty despite doubting that his warning can change the outcome.
• Power and danger: The treasures promise escape and cultivation gains, but collecting them may also awaken a powerful threat.
• Suspicion and hidden knowledge: The Scroll appears more important than its simple map function suggests, and the Giant Serpent is not being forthcoming.

Character interactions

• Xu Tong warns Gu about the Scroll and the possibility of possession; Gu listens but remains committed to collecting the treasures.
• Xu Tong reassures Gu that the demon god cannot act until they leave, restoring some of Gu’s confidence.
• Xu Tong interrogates the Giant Serpent, using physical pressure to challenge its dismissive claims.

Plot points and events

• The Giant Serpent claims that this world contains a mysterious stone, said to have crushed countless Chaos Demon Gods. He boasts that the stone is an extraordinary weapon, though its power and purpose remain uncertain.
• Gu tricks the Serpent into revealing what he knows, then mocks him for falling for the ploy. Xu Tong recognizes that Gu has helped, but remains wary of the unknown stone.
• Xu Tong urges caution: the world may have had ages to master the stone, and neither he nor Gu knows how dangerous it is. Gu promises not to act unless Xu Tong tells him to.
• They enter a world ruled by six powerful Witch Tribes. Their chiefs are called the “Father Gods,” despite Xu Tong’s skepticism about the title. The chiefs draw strength from the world, though Gu still far surpasses them.
• Concealed by power gained from the Cauldron, Xu Tong and Gu go unnoticed by the world’s treasure. They learn that the six chiefs control the tribes’ resources and share a forbidden Holy Land, Cliff Mountain.
• Only during the Deity Worship Festival may the tribes’ best talents enter Cliff Mountain. The site offers exceptional rewards, but is perilous, and only the strong and fortunate may leave alive.

Character developments and interactions

• Gu shows growing cunning, using a simple deception to get information from the Giant Serpent. He also appears more cautious than before, promising to restrain himself after the trouble caused by the Scroll.
• Xu Tong remains the more measured of the pair. He weighs the danger posed by the stone and sets a clear condition for Gu’s use of force.
• The Giant Serpent is proud and resentful, but powerless in Xu Tong’s grasp; Gu’s trick further frustrates him.
• Xu Tong and Gu work together: Gu handles the Serpent, while Xu Tong assesses the risks and gathers information about the new world.

Significant themes

• Caution in the face of unknown power: The stone’s history suggests immense danger, so past strength offers no guarantee of safety.
• Cunning and power: Gu’s deception succeeds where brute force is unnecessary, while his overwhelming strength still shapes others’ choices.
• Hierarchy and control: The six Father Gods dominate their tribes and resources, and access to opportunity is tightly regulated.
• Risk and reward: Cliff Mountain promises extraordinary gains, but survival depends on both ability and luck.

Plot points and events

• Xu Tong and Gu speculate that the ancient peak may be connected to a deceased Chaos Demon God, perhaps even the stone the Demon God once held. They recognize that the evidence is too limited to reach a firm conclusion.
• Xu Tong proposes exploring inside the mountain, but Gu warns that outsiders would likely be barred from the Witch Clan’s Holy Land.
• Xu Tong sees another way in: using his Ten Thousand Transformations Technique, he creates a Witch Clan Avatar and sends it into the crowd to investigate the peak.
• The Avatar blends unnoticed among the many arriving Witch Clan members. Xu Tong waits for it to return with information, while Gu remains focused on the mountain and does not realize what Xu Tong has done.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Tong shows resourcefulness and confidence in his increasingly powerful technique, choosing covert investigation over speculation.
• Gu is excited by the possibility that the mountain is a great treasure—perhaps comparable to his Pangu Axe—and hopes it might ultimately become his. He trusts Xu Tong, though he is unaware of the Avatar’s mission.
• The two discuss the peak’s significance, but their attention diverges: Xu Tong plans an investigation, while Gu continues imagining the treasure it might contain.

Significant themes

• Uncertainty and deduction: The characters must reason from incomplete clues and recognize the limits of what they know.
• Ingenuity and power: Xu Tong uses transformation and a proxy to bypass restrictions.
• Trust and ambition: Gu relies on Xu Tong while also anticipating the personal gain a powerful treasure could bring.

Summary

• Xu Tong’s Avatar, disguised among the Witch Clan, is stopped by an unfamiliar youth who questions his identity. Sensing that the encounter is suspicious, Xu Tong grabs the youth and demands to know his name and purpose.
• Bystanders recognize the youth as one of Chaerhan’s men. They suspect he has been sent to discourage potential contestants from entering the Holy Land competition. The youth denies knowing Chaerhan and flees, inadvertently confirming that entrants face organized interference.
• Xu Tong realizes that participating may require the backing of a faction. He asks the gathered Witch Clan members for help and learns why the competition has become unusually contentious: its winner will receive the princess of the Sun Tribe, the most powerful tribe in the world.
• Although Xu Tong has no interest in the princess, he is determined to enter. Someone recommends that he seek membership in the Glazed Tribe, which lacks promising young contestants. An old man warns that joining may be difficult, apparently anticipating trouble.

Character developments and interactions

Xu Tong moves quickly from observing the encounter to using it strategically: he turns a suspicious confrontation into a way to draw attention and gather information. The youth’s attempt to quietly block contestants backfires when Xu exposes him in front of the crowd. The Witch Clan members offer explanations and advice, while the old man’s amused warning hints that Xu’s next step will not be straightforward.

Significant themes

The chapter highlights factional politics and competition, showing how the princess’s prize has transformed an ordinary contest into a struggle shaped by sabotage and alliances. It also emphasizes Xu Tong’s resourcefulness and determination: despite the obstacles, he adapts and pursues his goal.

Plot points and events

• Xu Tong’s Avatar learns why the Glazed Tribe is recruiting outsiders: its eligible younger members are either women or have already competed in the Holy Land contest.
• The tribe hopes to recruit a strong young man to represent it, mainly to avoid embarrassment from a poor result. Its members do not expect to win.
• Guided by an old man, Xu Tong’s Avatar travels to the Glazed Tribe, one of the world’s top ten tribes.
• He explains his situation to the tribe and is quickly allowed to take its test. After meeting a senior woman, he is told he is already stronger than the tribe’s current younger generation and can pass.

Character developments

• Xu Tong’s Avatar is confident in his strength and readily accepts the opportunity. He reflects that, though newly created and weaker than Xu Tong’s true body, he has already reached his potential and is exceptionally powerful.
• The Glazed Tribe’s representatives are practical and relaxed about recruiting him, since they mainly want a respectable showing rather than victory.

Character interactions

• The old man explains the tribe’s predicament and escorts Xu Tong’s Avatar to its estate, appearing amused and eager to see what happens.
• The Avatar presents himself to an elderly woman, who accepts his straightforward explanation.
• A white-haired woman assesses his strength, praises him, and confirms that he passes the tribe’s informal test.

Significant themes

• Mutual advantage: The Avatar wants access to the contest, while the Glazed Tribe wants a representative who can protect its reputation.
• Reputation and appearances: The tribe’s main concern is saving face, not winning.
• Confidence and strength: The Avatar sees physical power as a straightforward solution to obstacles.

Plot points and events

• Xu Tong’s Avatar arrives at the staging area for the Holy Land contest. The Glazed Tribe’s representative tells him that, despite officially supporting his participation, the tribe will provide no practical help and will not intervene if he causes trouble.
• An eager young man declares that he intends to claim the Sun Tribe’s princess. Xu Tong’s Avatar declines to engage, preferring to avoid the complications surrounding the contest.
• The other contestants gossip about him. They learn he is representing the Glazed Tribe and apparently came without understanding the contest’s real significance, so they lose interest in him.
• A major new opportunity has raised the stakes: whoever obtains it may form a marriage alliance with the Sun Tribe, if its princess approves. The arrangement is driven by the Sun Tribe’s desire to secure influence, while the princess’s own wishes are disregarded.
• A mysterious figure announces that the contest is beginning and teleports everyone away. Xu Tong’s Avatar finds himself alone in a vast, dark, apparently empty space.
• Unsure whether this space is the Holy Land itself, Xu Tong’s Avatar waits cautiously. A hazy figure appears and, irritated by his stillness, tells him to walk forward.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Tong’s Avatar remains calm, wary, and uninterested in status or romance. He wants to explore the Holy Land for his own benefit and deliberately avoids becoming entangled in the Sun Tribe’s marriage politics.
• The Glazed Tribe’s representative makes clear that the tribe’s support is only nominal.
• The ambitious youth approaches Xu Tong’s Avatar to announce his intentions toward the Sun Tribe’s princess, but Xu Tong dismisses him without argument.
• The contestants judge Xu Tong through rumors and their shared interest in the Sun Tribe’s power and princess.
• The hazy figure provides the first instruction inside the mysterious space and becomes frustrated by Xu Tong’s unusual reluctance to move.

Significant themes

• Personal agency versus political ambition: The Sun Tribe treats the princess as a tool for securing an alliance, while contestants pursue the power such an alliance might bring.
• Independence and self-interest: Xu Tong refuses to be drawn into others’ rivalries and focuses on his own purpose.
• Uncertainty and caution: The dark, empty space leaves Xu Tong unsure of the Holy Land’s nature, setting up a test whose rules are not yet clear.

Plot points and events

• Xu Tong’s Avatar senses a hidden, potentially deadly danger in the training space. An unseen group discusses his sensitivity and recognizes him as an unusually capable genius.
• He enters a trial hall where intense pressure slows the other participants, but he advances with ease. The first level is designed to screen candidates according to their ability to endure the pressure.
• At the staircase to the next level, an attacker tries to knock him back. Xu Tong defeats him and continues.
• The second level is a vast platform littered with corpses. Xu Tong recognizes that participants, rather than the environment, are the main danger.
• On the route to the third level, a group of contestants blocks the staircase under orders to keep others out. Xu Tong defeats one guard and demands that the rest move, but they refuse.

Character developments

• Xu Tong remains alert to danger and confident in his abilities. He openly displays his strength rather than concealing it, focused on learning the space’s secrets.
• The other contestants’ reactions establish Xu Tong as far stronger and faster than most participants.
• The guards’ loyalty to their tribes outweighs their fear of Xu Tong, setting up a likely confrontation.

Significant themes

• Strength and merit: The pressure trial separates capable candidates from those unable to advance.
• Competition and danger: The greatest threat comes not from the trial itself, but from participants acting against one another.
• Ambition and tribal loyalty: Some contestants try to secure advantages for their own tribes by blocking rivals.
• Hidden purpose: The unseen observers’ interest in Xu Tong suggests the trial space has secrets beyond its apparent tests.

Character interactions

• Xu Tong questions the illusory guide about danger, but receives only reassurance.
• Other participants speculate that Xu Tong is unlike them and may be pursuing the Sun Tribe princess.
• Xu Tong responds to the staircase ambush by throwing the attacker aside, then confronts the guards barring the next level; they refuse to yield despite seeing his strength.

Key plot points and events

• Xu Tong’s Avatar fights through the young Witch Clan members guarding the way to the third level. He defeats them without killing anyone, hoping to avoid the attention of the space’s overseers.
• On the third level, he encounters a group of higher-status young Witch Clan members. One explains that they anticipated someone might break through their blockade.
• Their strongest fighter—a burly young man who prefers farming to combat—attacks because his tribe needs him to secure a marriage alliance with the Sun Tribe. Xu Tong easily knocks him down.
• Xu Tong asks whether Chaerhan is present. The others identify an unassuming young man, whom Xu Tong pulls over with a gust of wind and confronts about having blocked his entry into the Holy Land Struggle. Chaerhan panics and offers to explain.

Character developments

• Xu Tong’s Avatar remains controlled and pragmatic: he shows overwhelming strength but avoids killing, and seeks out the person responsible rather than continuing to fight everyone.
• The burly fighter is revealed as an unusual Witch Clan member who dislikes fighting and loves farming. He became a formidable warrior to protect his freedom to pursue that life.
• Chaerhan shifts from a background presence to the focus of Xu Tong’s grievance, but appears frightened when confronted.

Significant themes

• Strength and restraint: Xu Tong can overpower his opponents, yet deliberately limits the violence to avoid consequences.
• Duty versus personal desire: The burly fighter’s love of farming conflicts with the expectations and political needs of his tribe.
• Power and status: The group’s confidence in its defenses collapses once Xu Tong defeats its strongest member.

Character interactions

• Xu Tong’s Avatar’s victory inspires the defeated fighters to join him in pushing forward.
• The group’s members are unsettled when he defeats their strongest fighter with a single blow.
• Xu Tong ignores their question about his identity and instead demands Chaerhan’s attention, turning the encounter from a contest of strength into a direct confrontation.

Key plot points and events

• Xu Tong’s Avatar questions Chaerhan about people using his name to pressure others into withdrawing from the Holy Land contest. Chaerhan insists he knew nothing about it.
• Xu Tong suspects someone in Chaerhan’s group arranged the scheme, since they stood to benefit and could act under Chaerhan’s authority.
• Chaerhan identifies his younger brother, Charles, as the likeliest culprit. Charles denies responsibility and tries to make Chaerhan look unreasonable.
• Xu Tong does not investigate further: he knocks Chaerhan down, declares Charles responsible, and punches him as well.
• With those he considers responsible dealt with, Xu Tong turns to the remaining contestants. Asked who he is, he calls himself an outsider from a small, remote place—and adds that he now represents the Glazed Tribe.

Character developments and interactions

• Chaerhan is genuinely confused and recognizes that the culprit likely came from among his own influential peers. He quickly suspects Charles, but cannot control events.
• Charles appears nervous when accused and attempts to evade blame by appealing to his family bond with Chaerhan.
• Xu Tong’s Avatar acts decisively and forcefully, prioritizing punishment over confirming exactly who organized the scheme. By claiming the Glazed Tribe’s identity, he also tries to make himself seem less alien to the other contestants.
• The remaining contestants, previously confident about their chances, are unsettled by Xu Tong’s overwhelming strength and challenge him to explain who he is.

Significant themes

• Power and authority: A name can be used to exert influence, but Xu Tong’s strength proves more decisive than formal status.
• Suspicion and accountability: Chaerhan’s authority is abused by someone close to him, while Xu Tong imposes punishment without fully establishing guilt.
• Identity and belonging: Xu Tong’s claim to represent the Glazed Tribe is a practical effort to build a connection with the contest’s elite.

Key plot points and events

• Xu Tong’s Avatar is accepted into the Witch Clan group after demonstrating overwhelming strength. The group agrees to compete fairly, following their custom against attacking fellow tribesmen unless a blood feud exists.
• Charles and Chaerhan, whom Xu Tong’s Avatar attacked earlier, are ignored: the others consider them low-ranking and at fault.
• Kun Ling, who had been knocked down, recovers and asks how everyone came together. Yu Tai dismisses the earlier clash as a misunderstanding.
• Yu Tai and Kun Ling are identified as the group’s principal leaders. Both have private reasons for entering the competition: Kun Ling already loves someone, while Yu Tai wants to protect his sister from an unwanted marriage.
• The two had agreed that neither would marry the Sun Tribe princess, regardless of who won.
• Xu Tong’s Avatar’s strength makes him a serious threat to Yu Tai’s chances. Yu Tai conceals his concern and signals that he and Kun Ling should wait for an opportunity to attack.
• Yu Tai hints that they should use their advance knowledge of the Holy Land’s next challenge to plan their move.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Tong’s Avatar smoothly blends into the group, anticipating that its members will prioritize strength and self-interest over defending the brothers.
• Yu Tai emerges as calculating and politically cautious: he outwardly calms Kun Ling while privately considering how to eliminate a rival.
• Kun Ling is slower to grasp Yu Tai’s hints but is perceptive enough to follow them. He accepts Yu Tai’s reassurance without demanding an explanation.
• The group’s acceptance of Xu Tong’s Avatar is pragmatic rather than trusting; his power discourages confrontation.

Significant themes

• Power and privilege: The strongest are afforded latitude, while weaker participants such as Charles and Chaerhan receive little sympathy.
• Self-interest and alliances: The group’s unity is fragile, and cooperation is shaped by personal goals.
• Custom versus ambition: The Witch Clan’s rule against attacking one another restrains open conflict, but Yu Tai and Kun Ling still look for a strategic opening.
• Information as advantage: Powerful families benefit from knowledge of the Holy Land that newcomers lack.

Key plot points and events

• Xu Tong’s Avatar infers that Yu Tai and Kun Ling intend to target him. He decides to teach them a lesson rather than kill them, since killing them would likely provoke the Holy Land’s hidden overseers.
• The other young Witch Clan members avoid getting involved, wary of Xu Tong’s demonstrated strength and unwilling to risk their safety.
• At the end of the level, the surroundings turn pitch-black, and a malicious shadow enters Xu Tong’s Divine Soul. Suspecting an attempt to possess him, he breaks free of the darkness.
• Xu Tong discovers that everyone else was trapped in similar spaces. He initially suspects the event is a scheme by Yu Tai and Kun Ling, but the threat appears to affect the whole group.
• The darkness suddenly vanishes. Everyone emerges seemingly unharmed, yet Xu Tong senses that they have changed profoundly: their auras now resemble the ashes of something burned out, as if they had lived entire lifetimes in an instant.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Tong remains alert and decisive, resisting the shadow’s influence while choosing to observe rather than act against the others until he understands what happened.
• Yu Tai and Kun Ling remain potential antagonists, though their connection to the eerie event is uncertain.
• The other participants keep their distance from Xu Tong and refuse to join the pair’s plans, prioritizing self-preservation.

Significant themes

• Hidden danger and distrust: The Holy Land may conceal threats beyond ordinary trials, and Xu Tong cannot tell whether the event is intentional or the result of something going wrong.
• Power and self-preservation: Xu Tong carefully limits his response to Yu Tai and Kun Ling, while the others avoid taking sides.
• Transformation and loss: The group appears physically unharmed, but their altered auras suggest an intense, possibly life-changing experience.

Key plot points and events

• The group emerges from a mysterious space having gained a dramatic increase in strength. The others explain that this is a customary blessing of the Witch Clan’s Holy Land, one that has strengthened previous generations as well.
• Xu Tong’s Avatar appears not to have gained anything. The others suspect he was already as strong as they are now; he confirms this vaguely.
• Uneasy about the apparitions’ apparent alteration of everyone’s souls—and the group’s acceptance of it—Xu Tong keeps his distance and wonders whether the Witch Clan has been changed in some deeper way.
• The group reaches an altar, where hazy apparitions announce the next trial: single combat, intended to temper them through “blood and fire.”

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Tong’s Avatar remains suspicious and cautious. He avoids revealing much about his strength and would rather keep away from his companions, though he depends on their knowledge of the route.
• Yu Tai approaches Xu Tong cheerfully and no longer seems openly hostile, despite their earlier tension. He interprets Xu Tong’s lack of change as a sign that his ancestors left him no blessing.
• Kun Ling explains the Holy Land’s customary strengthening process and directly asks whether Xu Tong was already at their new level. Xu Tong gives only a noncommittal answer.
• The group appears pleased that Xu Tong gained nothing, but they recognize that his prior strength may have exceeded theirs.

Significant themes

• Power and its cost: The trial grants strength, but Xu Tong suspects the process may involve unnatural interference with the participants’ souls.
• Tradition and unquestioned belief: The Witch Clan treats the transformation as normal because earlier generations experienced it, while Xu Tong questions what it truly does.
• Isolation and mistrust: Xu Tong’s doubts set him apart from companions who accept the Holy Land’s customs.
• Trials as preparation: The coming single combat frames hardship and violence as necessary to become useful to the clan.

Plot points and events

• The contestants reach the final arena, where the altar draws them into a space created by a deceased Chaos Demon God’s weapon. The phantom announces that the first contest is a free-for-all.
• Yu Tai and Kun Ling immediately target Xu Tong’s avatar, assuming his earlier accomplishments mean he could be a formidable opponent.
• Xu Tong instead surrenders at once. He has achieved his goal and sees no reason to risk his life for a prize that would likely be of little use to him. The phantoms reluctantly allow him to leave the altar, and he watches from a corner.
• With Xu Tong out, Yu Tai and Kun Ling coordinate to eliminate the remaining contestants. Their supporters help clear the field, then depart, leaving the two rivals alone.
• Yu Tai acknowledges that he has already accomplished his original goal: protecting his younger sister from an unwanted marriage. Still, he intends to fight for himself.
• Yu Tai challenges Kun Ling’s reputation as the strongest of their generation. He reveals that he knows Kun Ling is passionate about fighting, despite his nonchalant manner. Kun Ling drops the act and summons countless seemingly illusory yet tangible chains.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Tong’s avatar acts pragmatically rather than seeking glory. He recognizes when the odds are poor, chooses survival, and remains detached from the Witch Clan’s contest.
• Yu Tai shifts from fighting for his sister’s sake to pursuing victory for himself. His research into Kun Ling shows he takes the rivalry seriously.
• Kun Ling initially plays down his ambition and the significance of his reputation, but Yu Tai’s remarks prompt him to reveal his true fighting nature and unusual power.
• Yu Tai and Kun Ling move from temporary cooperation against shared opponents to a direct, personal showdown. Their mutual respect is mixed with rivalry.

Significant themes

• Pragmatism versus glory: Xu Tong rejects an unnecessary fight, while Yu Tai and Kun Ling embrace competition.
• Hidden motives and concealed nature: Kun Ling’s casual demeanor masks his love of battle, and the arena’s spectacle obscures its deadly stakes.
• Changing purpose: Yu Tai’s motivation evolves once his family objective has been fulfilled.

Plot points and events

• Kun Ling’s love of combat began in childhood. After surviving a fight against a wolf pack, however, he became dangerously relentless, treating every fight as a struggle to the death.
• He nearly killed two friends, so the Earth God Tribe first restricted whom he could fight and eventually banned him from fighting altogether. His father sealed much of his power to contain his violent fighting style, though Kun Ling retained some control over the seal.
• Now that the circumstances requiring restraint have passed, Kun Ling removes the seal during his match with Yu Tai. His appearance and presence change dramatically, revealing a frightening, near-mad intensity.
• Yu Tai and the spectators are shocked by how powerful Kun Ling was even while sealed. The phantoms watching from around the arena discuss his history and speculate that years without fighting may have helped him grow stronger.

Character development

• Kun Ling is revealed as more than a mild-mannered young man: beneath his restraint is a battle-hungry fighter whose loss of control once endangered those close to him. Undoing the seal lets that ferocity surface again.
• Yu Tai is surprised by Kun Ling’s true strength, while the narration notes that Yu Tai also has hidden reserves of his own.
• The Earth God Tribe’s burly phantom speaks proudly of Kun Ling, identifying him as the chief’s son and the tribe’s future Earth God.

Character interactions

• Kun Ling’s past violence strained relations with his peers, prompting the tribe to bar him from fighting them.
• His father’s seal reflects the tribe’s attempt to manage his dangerous nature while still leaving him capable of defending himself.
• Yu Tai witnesses Kun Ling’s transformation firsthand. The surrounding phantoms exchange observations about Kun Ling, with the burly figure providing context about his past and status.

Significant themes

• Restraint versus instinct: Kun Ling has spent years suppressing a natural drive to fight, but the seal’s removal exposes it again.
• Power and danger: Strength is both an asset and a threat when it cannot be separated from self-control.
• Growth through deprivation: The phantoms suggest that Kun Ling may have become stronger by going so long without combat.

Key plot points and events

• Kun Ling and Yu Tai begin a sparring match, but once Kun Ling removes his seal, the encounter becomes a fight to the death.
• Kun Ling attacks with unsettling intensity. Though his movements seem rusty, he is fast and intimidating enough to keep Yu Tai from finding an opening.
• Yu Tai reveals his Sun Tribe heritage, transforming into a radiant, miniature-sun-like form and charging at Kun Ling.
• The transformation does not change the fight: Kun Ling remains in control. When Yu Tai’s confidence falters, Kun Ling seizes the opening and brings out a blood-smeared dagger.

Character developments

• Kun Ling is revealed as an exceptional figure: despite his tribe’s battle-driven instincts, he has gone more than ten years without fighting, becoming the first—and only—tribesman to withstand his bloodline’s craving. He remains unnervingly calm and effective in combat.
• Yu Tai begins proud and confident in his Sun Tribe power, but becomes bewildered and shaken when his full strength makes no difference against Kun Ling.

Character interactions

• Kun Ling’s predatory pressure steadily unnerves Yu Tai, who openly questions how someone who has not fought for years can be so dangerous.
• Yu Tai’s display of power draws recognition from the observers, but Kun Ling responds without visible surprise and continues to exploit his opponent’s hesitation.
• Elders and hidden experts watch from the sidelines, confident they can contain the fighters and noting that both are unusual exceptions.

Significant themes

• Instinct versus self-control: Kun Ling’s achievement lies in resisting his tribe’s battle lust.
• Power and its limits: Yu Tai’s inherited strength and dramatic transformation fail to shift the balance.
• Composure in combat: Kun Ling’s calmness lets him exploit Yu Tai’s fear and uncertainty.
• Exceptionality: Both fighters stand apart from their tribes, while the observers stress that such abilities are rare.

Key plot points and events

• A powerful, unfamiliar figure appears and stops the gathering from interfering further. The spectral onlookers kneel to him, suggesting his authority is immense. Xu Tong’s avatar realizes the Witch Clan is far stronger than expected and suspects someone there may rival Gu.
• Kun Ling reveals an unusual dagger, prompting his Second Uncle to question how he obtained it. The dagger is connected to a weapon-condensing method developed by the tribe: once formed, a personal weapon can grow into the user’s preferred shape.
• Destroying such a weapon can greatly enlarge the wielder and boost their strength, but almost certainly causes death. The spectators had stopped the fight because Kun Ling’s ability could have made the match with Yu Tai dangerously costly.
• Yu Tai accepts his defeat but becomes preoccupied with the mysterious figure, whom he believes was his long-missing grandfather—the former chief of his tribe. Those around him insist he is mistaken, but Yu Tai remains convinced.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Tong’s avatar shifts from assessing the Witch Clan to treating it as a serious threat, determined to gather information.
• Kun Ling shows a power beyond what others expected. His Second Uncle recognizes the dagger’s significance, though Kun Ling claims not to know how it appeared.
• Yu Tai takes his loss calmly, but the sight of the apparent grandfather raises urgent questions about the Holy Land.
• The mysterious figure commands immediate obedience, then disappears after intervening. His identity and reasons for being there remain unresolved.

Significant themes

• Hidden power and concealed histories: The Holy Land and Witch Clan prove far more formidable than outsiders assumed.
• Power at a cost: Kun Ling’s weapon can unleash extraordinary strength, but using its ultimate ability may mean death.
• Uncertainty and recognition: Yu Tai’s certainty conflicts with the crowd’s denial, leaving the figure’s identity—and the truth behind his presence—open.