Chapter Summaries

Qin Siyang arrived to spar with Rong Xin and registered for an armored, points-based match. His casual lie about a tier-four flashlight artifact that could pierce armor left the spectators and Rong Xin convinced he might possess a deadly hidden weapon.

• Qin Siyang learned from two upperclassmen that older students were busy with work and internships, then revealed himself to them as he joined Rong Xin.
• Rong Xin and Qin Siyang agreed to spar in armor and headed to the Combat Arena to register.
• When asked about his tier-four armor being destroyed, Qin Siyang claimed an enemy had used a tier-four artifact shaped like a flashlight.
• The spectators and Rong Xin began to suspect Qin Siyang possessed the armor-piercing artifact, and Rong Xin reminded him that the match was only a spar.
• Qin Siyang scratched his crotch, and Rong Xin wondered if the flashlight was hidden there.

Qin Siyang and Rong Xin prepared to spar in Nanrong University's Combat Arena after Rong Xin admitted he was afraid to fight to the death. They agreed to a protected match for points and entered the arena, where Rong Xin called for the fight to begin.

• Qin Siyang mistook Rong Xin's fear of his supposed Tier Four flashlight for fear of losing, and Rong Xin said he would withdraw rather than risk his life.
• Qin Siyang praised Rong Xin for honestly admitting his fear and promised they would only spar, easing the students' jeers.
• A staff member explained the Armor, point system, confidentiality rules, and surrender signal to Qin Siyang and Rong Xin.
• Qin Siyang proposed that the first fighter to thirty points would win, and Rong Xin agreed.
• Qin Siyang and Rong Xin entered the Combat Arena, and Rong Xin told Qin Siyang to begin.

Qin Siyang defeated Rong Xin in a strength-focused fight, though Rong Xin’s strongest punch briefly threatened to cripple him. Rong Xin conceded after revealing he could use that attack only three times, then Qin Siyang gave him a healing tablet that restored him almost instantly.

• Rong Xin challenged Qin Siyang to a fight and attacked with his strength-based ability.
• Qin Siyang calmly countered Rong Xin’s punches, while his Armor score rose as Rong Xin accumulated injuries.
• Rong Xin transformed his body and unleashed a powerful self-damaging punch that made Qin Siyang stagger and raised his score to three.
• Rong Xin conceded, explaining that he could throw only three such punches and could not continue if they failed to defeat Qin Siyang.
• Qin Siyang gave Rong Xin a healing tablet, which quickly restored him and left him astonished by its effects.

Rong Xin conceded his sparring match against Qin Siyang and warned Shi Tao that Qin might soon advance beyond their level. Chu Baxing then challenged Rong Xin for a chance to judge whether he or Qin was stronger, while refusing Shi Tao’s request to fight him.

• Rong Xin conceded to Qin Siyang, declared himself thoroughly convinced, and told Shi Tao he could not gauge Qin’s strength.
• Shi Tao decided to fight Qin before advancing, while Rong Xin urged him to prepare for the possibility that Qin would reach Sequence Level Six first.
• Chu Baxing introduced himself as Southern Glory’s top freshman in points and challenged Rong Xin to a Combat Arena match.
• Chu Baxing offered Rong Xin a Tier-Four God-Hunting Artifact if he won, requiring only Rong Xin’s judgment of who was stronger if he lost, and Rong Xin accepted.
• Shi Tao asked Chu Baxing to fight him too, but Chu Baxing refused because Shi Tao had not fought Qin Siyang.

Qin Siyang agreed to speak at the World Salvation Church’s Blessing Ceremony after Hu Chan asked for his help, but demanded a standing arrangement in return. Hu Chan balked when Qin Siyang said he must accompany him whenever he left the Safe Zone.

• Qin Siyang returned to the Guesthouse and found Hu Chan waiting outside his room.
• Hu Chan congratulated Qin Siyang on defeating Rong Xin and explained why heavyweight students had not attended the match.
• Hu Chan asked Qin Siyang to give a speech at the Blessing Ceremony, and Qin Siyang accepted after seeing the short script Guardian Yu had written.
• Qin Siyang demanded a flat price for the speech: Hu Chan had to accompany him whenever he left the Safe Zone.
• Hu Chan said the arrangement would be like selling himself to Qin Siyang, who mocked his current prospects.

Qin Siyang refused to give Hu Chan more titan reed inner leaf fragments, then carefully rehearsed a speech before attending the World Salvation Church's Blessing Ceremony at Nine Dragons College. After Hu Chan introduced him as the Church's Good Fortune Ambassador, Qin Siyang took the stage and began his remarks.

• Qin Siyang told Hu Chan he would not give him more titan reed inner leaf fragments on their next trip Outside the Safe Zone, and Hu Chan invited him to Nine Dragons College.
• Qin Siyang rehearsed and revised the Speech Draft while Wen Shu supervised his dinner from a distance.
• Qin Siyang and Zhao Longfei traveled to Nine Dragons College, where Zhao Longfei explained that Hu Chan had arranged the ceremony and that he had persuaded Principal Shao Xiaoju to host it.
• Hu Chan opened the ceremony at Nine Dragons College and framed the venue as a way to support the Church's members and their relatives taking the Gaokao.
• Hu Chan introduced Qin Siyang as the God of Worldly Salvation's chosen Good Fortune Ambassador, and Qin Siyang walked onstage to address the crowd.

Qin Siyang delivered an impassioned speech calling for luck and happiness to reach everyone, while Hu Chan used the Blessing Ceremony to announce a World Salvation Church branch at Nine Dragons College. Hu Chan then challenged the Three Harmonies Church’s control of the campus and its student organizations.

• Qin Siyang praised Hu Chan for inviting him to offer blessings, then wished for peace, an end to the apocalypse, and good fortune for the whole world.
• The audience applauded Qin Siyang’s speech, and Hu Chan made a blessing for followers whose relatives were taking the Gaokao.
• Hu Chan announced that the World Salvation Church would establish a branch at Nine Dragons College, shocking Qin Siyang, Zhao Longfei, Chris, and Jin Shengyu.
• Hu Chan criticized the Three Harmonies Church for appointing outsiders to run its branch and monopolizing major student organizations at Nine Dragons College.

Hu Chan used the World Salvation Church’s Blessing Ceremony at Nine Dragons College to announce a branch and challenge the Three Harmonies Church, urging students to join his cause. Chris and Jin Shengyu decided to fight the Three Harmonies Church while continuing to plot Hu Chan’s death.

• Qin Siyang and Zhao Longfei discussed how Hu Chan’s public challenge was a risky attempt to establish the World Salvation Church as a powerful faction.
• Hu Chan announced plans for a branch at Nine Dragons College and urged students to stop serving the Three Harmonies Church and join the World Salvation Church.
• After his speech, Hu Chan sat with Qin Siyang and Zhao Longfei while new members began joining the church at the initiation ceremonies.
• Chris and Jin Shengyu discussed messages from Three Harmonies Church guardians demanding an explanation for Hu Chan’s speech.
• Chris said the World Salvation Church would fight the Three Harmonies Church and keep trying to kill Hu Chan, then hinted Jin Shengyu could arrange Hu Chan’s death.

Chris and Jin Shengyu agreed to divide their efforts against Hu Chan and the Three Harmonies Church, despite distrust and arguments over the spoils. On the way back, Jin Shengyu ordered Blue Cloud Hall’s staff killed and asked his driver Dong-jun to arrange an assassin to target Hu Chan.

• Chris confronted Jin Shengyu with what he had learned about Jin Shengyu’s impotence and argued that Hu Chan should be killed before he gained more influence.
• Chris persuaded Jin Shengyu that Hu Chan’s ties to Huaguo gave him a growing advantage, and they agreed that Jin Shengyu would arrange a killing while Chris dealt with the Three Harmonies Church.
• Chris and Jin Shengyu settled on an equal split of anything taken from the Three Harmonies Church, with Jin Shengyu agreeing to kill Hu Chan or Yu Ziying.
• In his car, Jin Shengyu angrily ordered his contact to kill everyone serving at Blue Cloud Hall that night and replace them within three days.
• Jin Shengyu asked his driver Dong-jun to go to Blue Cloud Hall and seek help killing Hu Chan, but Dong-jun offered to do the job himself.

Qin Siyang returned to Nanrong University with Hu Chan and Zhao Longfei, then discussed money, the Three Harmonies Church, and his plans with Wen Shu. The chapter ended with Qin Siyang receiving the dinner Wen Shu had ordered for him.

• Qin Siyang raised Hu Chan and Yu Ziying’s rent by fifty percent, explaining that he was short on money for his planned Sequence Regiment.
• Zhao Longfei said the Zhao Merchants’ Association could not spare funds while it expanded, and Qin Siyang accepted his explanation.
• Qin Siyang met Wen Shu, who asked whether he had been hurt in his duel with Rong Xin and whether his trouble with the World Salvation Church was resolved.
• Qin Siyang told Wen Shu that his trouble with the church was settled and that its Holy Son had invited him to speak at the Blessing Ceremony.
• Wen Shu left to have dinner with her grandmother, then ordered a meal delivered to Qin Siyang, who eagerly collected it.

Qin Siyang planned an outing beyond the Safe Zone with Hu Chan and discovered that Rong Xin had publicly acknowledged his defeat in their sparring match. He took Hu Chan through the Miracle Building and promised to recommend him for research work if he cooperated.

• Qin Siyang messaged Wen Shu and learned that Gu Yunxuan had received Level Three Library access through Zhao Sifang.
• Qin Siyang decided to leave the Safe Zone at midnight with Hu Chan and spend the day resting.
• Qin Siyang found Rong Xin’s pinned forum post, which described his 24-3 defeat and asked less accomplished students to stop bothering Qin Siyang.
• Qin Siyang took Hu Chan into the Miracle Building and warned him not to meddle with its research secrets.
• Qin Siyang promised to introduce Hu Chan to the professors as a research assistant if he performed well, and Hu Chan eagerly agreed.

Qin Siyang and Hu Chan searched near the Safe Zone for Blood Moon Spiders and Abyss Hounds, but their first finds were only Vegetable-Feather Frogs. Hu Chan revealed that he loved research but could not leave his role as Holy Son without losing his life, leaving Qin Siyang considering whether he could trust and help him.

• Qin Siyang chose to search only about thirty kilometers from the Safe Zone, despite Hu Chan urging him to travel farther.
• Hu Chan used his god-finding ability to guide Qin Siyang's Drill Pod to a group of Vegetable-Feather Frogs and killed them.
• Hu Chan told Qin Siyang that he was excited about the possibility of researching with Li Tianming and that he loved research.
• Hu Chan explained that he could not give up being the Holy Son because his identity was bound to him and he would not live long if he left.
• Qin Siyang recognized that Hu Chan did not enjoy being the Holy Son, and Hu Chan agreed that he had little choice.

Qin Siyang searched with Hu Chan for valuable Small Gods, but after Hu Chan disappeared, Qin Siyang discovered him restrained by an unseen enemy. Qin Siyang escaped underground, leaving the mysterious attacker puzzled by how quickly he had fled.

• Qin Siyang and Hu Chan found only a small nest of Blood Moon Spiders and continued searching despite their poor results.
• Qin Siyang waited for Hu Chan to return, then grew worried when he was gone for more than two hours.
• Qin Siyang drove the Drill Pod toward the tunnel entrance but noticed Hu Chan sitting unnaturally still nearby.
• Qin Siyang spotted a transparent filament net sweeping toward the Drill Pod and fled underground, realizing Hu Chan had been captured.
• A disheveled man emerged from beneath the sand beside Hu Chan and wondered why Qin Siyang had run away.

The slovenly man interrogated Hu Chan after Qin Siyang escaped, trying to learn the identity of the person in the Drill Pod and lure him back for his underground-traveling item. Hu Chan refused to betray him, and the slovenly man remained convinced his target might return.

• The slovenly man realized Qin Siyang had fled and turned to question Hu Chan.
• The slovenly man removed Hu Chan's damaged faceplate, but Hu Chan stayed silent about the person in the Drill Pod.
• The slovenly man guessed that Hu Chan served a powerful person and offered to spare his life in exchange for the person's identity.
• Hu Chan rejected the offer, explaining that he would not betray someone when doing so could not save him.
• Hu Chan inferred that the slovenly man was keeping him alive as bait to recover the item that could burrow a thousand miles underground.
• The slovenly man insisted that the person might return, while Hu Chan argued that he would not knowingly come back into danger.

Qin Siyang returned in the Drill Pod and rescued Hu Chan from the disheveled man, blasting them with lightning before escaping underground with Hu Chan. The disheveled man survived by shedding his outer shell and headed back to the Safe Zone.

• Hu Chan admitted he was still hoping Qin Siyang would return when he felt the Drill Pod approaching underground.
• Qin Siyang emerged in the Drill Pod, and the disheveled man realized its driver’s seat was empty as he prepared a net of transparent threads.
• Qin Siyang appeared beside the disheveled man and struck him and Hu Chan with a torrent of lightning.
• Qin Siyang caught the falling Hu Chan, placed him in the Drill Pod, and burrowed underground to escape.
• The disheveled man survived the lightning by shedding his charred outer skin, then changed into silver Armor and set off for the Safe Zone.

Qin Siyang rescued Hu Chan from a powerful captor and brought him back to Nanrong University, where Hu Chan described the strange threads that had restrained him. Later, Qin Siyang learned that Olof had returned to District 18 and been promoted, leaving him furious.

• Qin Siyang drove Hu Chan away from his captor, and the two argued about the rescue and Qin Siyang’s decision to flee if necessary.
• Hu Chan explained that transparent threads had restrained him, penetrated his Armor, and stripped it of its protective properties.
• Qin Siyang returned Hu Chan to the Guesthouse at Nanrong University, found him clothes, and went back to his room to rest.
• Qin Siyang read a forum post announcing that Olof had been promoted to director of the District 18 Police Department after his actions against heretical cults.
• Qin Siyang grew enraged that Olof had regained his position and earned a promotion.

Qin Siyang and Chu Baxing met Fu Zhaoyue at Nanrong University's gate, where he delivered Huo Dangkou to live with Chu Baxing. After seeing Huo Dangkou’s vacant behavior, Qin Siyang concluded that he was genuinely simple-minded, while Fu Zhaoyue returned to the military district to guard Chu Xiaoang.

• Qin Siyang tried to ease Chu Baxing’s resentment as they walked to meet Huo Dangkou.
• Zhao Longfei told Qin Siyang that he would support the meeting from the shadows without appearing in person.
• Fu Zhaoyue arrived with Huo Dangkou and explained that Chu Xiaoang had sent him to escort the regiment commander.
• Chu Baxing scolded Fu Zhaoyue for leaving Chu Xiaoang’s side, then agreed to house Huo Dangkou.
• Qin Siyang watched Huo Dangkou’s vacant behavior and concluded that he was truly simple-minded.
• Chu Baxing told Fu Zhaoyue to return to the military district and protect Chu Xiaoang.

Qin Siyang rebuked Chu Baxing for undermining Fu Zhaoyue and warned him about the danger his behavior posed to Chu Xiaoang. After Chu Baxing silently followed him back to the Guesthouse, Chu Xiaoang watched footage of their conversation and wondered whether Qin Siyang had known he was being watched.

• Qin Siyang led Chu Baxing and Huo Dangkou onto a secluded path and criticized Chu Baxing for insulting Fu Zhaoyue, explaining how it could damage Chu Xiaoang’s relationship with his trusted commander.
• Qin Siyang told Chu Baxing to use his head if he wanted their mutual arrangement to continue, or leave the room so he could make other plans for Huo Dangkou.
• Chu Baxing said nothing but followed Qin Siyang back to the Guesthouse with Huo Dangkou and entered Room 1006.
• Zhao Longfei sent Chu Xiaoang surveillance footage of Qin Siyang and Chu Baxing in exchange for ten tons of gray-board material.
• Chu Xiaoang concluded that Qin Siyang’s lecture had been staged to influence Chu Baxing, show Zhao Longfei his position, and clarify his relationship with Chu Xiaoang, then wondered whether Qin Siyang had acted without knowing about the surveillance deal.

Chu Xiaoang and Zheng Mubian discussed Qin Siyang’s cleverness and his influence on Chu Baxing, while Zhao Longfei watched Qin Siyang’s footage and spoke with Li Tianming. Qin Siyang arrived at the Principal’s Office and learned Li Tianming was angry that he had become involved in the Chu and Huo families’ dangerous affairs.

• Chu Xiaoang told Zheng Mubian that Qin Siyang might have staged his actions without knowing who was watching, and said Qin could serve as Chu Baxing’s life mentor.
• Chu Xiaoang asked Zheng Mubian to visit Qin Siyang and thank him for helping treat Zheng’s illness, and Zheng agreed to visit Baxing and Huo Dangkou.
• Zhao Longfei watched the surveillance footage and concluded that Qin Siyang had meant to reassure him, then welcomed Li Tianming into his office.
• Lin Yaman summoned Qin Siyang to the Principal’s Office, where Li Tianming and Zhao Longfei argued over Qin’s involvement with the military.
• Qin Siyang entered, sat with Li Tianming, and heard Li condemn him for entering the dangerous affairs of the Chu and Huo families before Li slapped him on the head.

Qin Siyang revealed to Li Tianming that he had obtained independent Sequence Regiment authorization from Chu Xiaoang and appointed Huo Dangkou commander. Li Tianming worried Qin Siyang was taking dangerous risks, while Zhao Longfei argued that he had to strike out to succeed, leaving their disagreement unresolved.

• Li Tianming confronted Qin Siyang about bringing Huo Dangkou into his circle and warned that people would target him to disrupt the Chu Character Legion.
• Qin Siyang disclosed that Chu Xiaoang had granted him authorization for an independent Sequence Regiment and explained that Huo Dangkou would command it.
• Li Tianming learned that the authorization could not be revoked and questioned Zhao Longfei about why he had not discouraged Qin Siyang from taking the risk.
• Zhao Longfei argued that Qin Siyang could not follow a safe, gradual path given his position and the dangers around him.
• Li Tianming and Zhao Longfei argued over Qin Siyang's chances of surviving among the Safe Zone's powers, and Zhao Longfei insisted he could still succeed.