Chapter Summaries

Qin Siyang arranged for the Administration Department to buy the Zhao Family’s gray-board materials, allowing the proceeds to help Southern Glory through its funding crisis. The chapter ended with Zhao Longfei eagerly agreeing to follow Qin Siyang’s lead.

• Qin Siyang called Minister Tang Wangong, surprising Zhao Longfei and Lin Yaman with his connection to the Administration Department.
• Qin Siyang asked Tang Wangong to help Southern Glory financially, and Tang agreed to look for a way despite being unable to use departmental funds directly.
• Qin Siyang proposed that the Administration Department purchase the Zhao Family’s gray-board materials through a fair, transparent arrangement.
• Tang Wangong agreed to discuss the purchase with Zhao Longfei and said the payment could include money, Sequence Magic Potions, and god-hunting points.
• Zhao Longfei nodded his approval throughout the call and told Qin Siyang that he would do whatever Qin Siyang said.

Qin Siyang arranged funding for Southern Glory with Tang Wangong’s help, then prepared to travel with the professors to District 134 for a hearing. As the Capsule Pod carried them underground, Li Tianming asked whether Qin Siyang’s Path of the Believer had worked out.

• Qin Siyang advised Zhao Longfei to handle Southern Glory’s funding discreetly and remember Tang Wangong’s assistance, then left for the hearing.
• Zhao Longfei learned from his elder brother that a surprise involving Qin Siyang was coming and resolved to wait for Qin Siyang to ask about it.
• Wen Shu brought Qin Siyang porridge as a send-off, and Qin Siyang left after finishing it.
• Qin Siyang joined the professors at the Miracle Building, where they decided to head to District 134 without waiting for Chang Tianxiong.
• Li Tianming drove the Capsule Pod underground with the group and asked Qin Siyang whether the Path of the Believer had worked out.

Qin Siyang told Li Tianming that he had turned away from the path of the believer and awakened an origin sequence instead. Li Tianming concluded that Qin Siyang’s experience could overturn humanity’s understanding of sequences and left them worried about humanity’s fate in the apocalypse.

• Qin Siyang explained that he had seen a path brighter than dawn rank, but chose another route and became origin sequence level one.
• Li Tianming used the Bird-Shaped Lie Detector to confirm Qin Siyang was telling the truth, then heard his account of the trial.
• Li Tianming reasoned that the opposing primary offerings and secondary-offering points explained the trial’s wind and breakthrough, and suspected Qin Siyang had chosen the right path.
• Qin Siyang and Li Tianming discussed why others might not have found the glowing tiles, and Li Tianming speculated that some sequence users had died during breakthroughs.
• Li Tianming said Qin Siyang’s origin sequence challenged the established belief that sequence levels six and seven followed level five, and worried that humanity had been following the wrong system.

Qin Siyang learned that four of the Paper Review Committee’s seven Standing Directors had to approve his paper, then Li Tianming called Zhong Dingming to ask for help. Zhong revealed that he and Zhu Haifeng would not attend the hearing, leaving Qin Siyang’s prospects uncertain.

• Qin Siyang decided to keep his Origin Sequence secret while Li Tianming agreed to watch for information about it.
• Qin Siyang reviewed the Paper Review Committee files and learned that its seven Standing Directors could determine whether his paper was approved.
• Li Tianming explained that Qin Siyang needed to win over four Standing Directors, including Guo Jiuxiao, whom Li could not persuade directly.
• Li Tianming offered to ask Zhong Dingming for help and called him about the hearing.
• Zhong Dingming told Li Tianming that neither he nor Zhu Haifeng would attend the paper hearing.

Li Tianming told Qin Siyang that Zhong Dingming and Zhu Haifeng would skip the paper hearing, leaving Qin to persuade three of the five remaining executive directors. Zhong Dingming severed ties with an unnamed caller and returned to puzzling over something that had vanished from where it was buried.

• Zhong Dingming told Li Tianming he would miss the paper hearing, step down as executive director, and wanted to focus on his research and family.
• Li Tianming and Qin Siyang discussed how Qin could win support at the hearing, and Li suggested targeting Jerry Warren and the Warren Merchants' Association.
• Qin Siyang denied having a sweetheart in the Warren Merchants' Association, while Li Tianming teased him about it.
• Zhong Dingming told an unnamed caller that he and Zhu Haifeng would not attend the hearing and that all ties between them were over.
• Zhong Dingming wondered how something buried in a safe place had disappeared.

Qin Siyang sought support for his Thesis Hearing and secured Gu Yunpeng’s promise to win Gu Weihong’s approval by offering to advance the Crystal Coin issuance plan. He then called Chu Zhongxiong, who refused to commit until Qin’s efforts produced results.

• Qin Siyang called Gu Yunpeng and asked him to persuade Gu Weihong to approve his paper at the Thesis Hearing.
• Gu Yunpeng said the Gu Family needed Qin’s support for the Crystal Coin issuance plan, whose Crimson Crystal came from Qin.
• Gu Yunpeng promised to tell his family about Qin’s role and secure Gu Weihong’s support, and Qin thanked him.
• Li Tianming teased Qin about Gu Yunpeng’s looks, prompting Qin to call Chu Zhongxiong.
• Chu Zhongxiong said he would consider supporting Qin only after Qin’s efforts produced results, then ended the call.

Qin Siyang learned that Chu Zhongxiong was willing to support him because of shared grudges against two ministers, but Chu wanted to see results first. After Gu Yunpeng confirmed that Fourth Uncle had agreed, Qin Siyang called Sally Warren to seek help with Jerry Warren.

• Li Tianming explained that Chu Zhongxiong’s résumé showed he was exceptionally capable and likely willing to help Qin Siyang.
• Qin Siyang concluded that Chu Zhongxiong held grudges against Xiao Zhigang and Jiang Yuanrui, and Li Tianming confirmed his suspicion.
• Li Tianming said Chu Zhongxiong would wait to see results before openly opposing the two ministers, and Qin Siyang decided he needed to win over Jerry Warren.
• Gu Yunpeng texted Qin Siyang that Fourth Uncle had agreed.
• Qin Siyang read that Jerry Warren was Sally Warren’s uncle, then called Sally, who said she had been waiting for his call.

Qin Siyang learned that Jerry Warren had already agreed to support him at the Thesis Hearing, while Sally was transferring to Nanrong University and planned to live near him. He ended the chapter furious at Zhao Longfei for keeping the arrangements from him, as Li Tianming celebrated Qin Siyang’s two votes.

• Sally teased Qin Siyang over whether she or Wen Shu was smarter, then said she would transfer to Southern Glory and live on the floor below his in the Guesthouse.
• Sally told Qin Siyang that her uncle had already agreed to support him at the Thesis Hearing, which had been arranged the previous day.
• Qin Siyang hung up on Sally and angrily called Zhao Longfei to demand an explanation about her transfer and her uncle’s support.
• Zhao Longfei explained that his elder brother had negotiated with the Warren Merchants' Association and secured Jerry’s support in exchange for cooperation benefits.
• Li Tianming congratulated Qin Siyang on securing two Standing Directors and urged him to call Chu Zhongxiong.

Qin Siyang set aside his distress over Sally’s transfer and called Chu Zhongxiong to report his progress securing support for the Thesis Hearing. When Chu demanded rare materials in exchange for his vote, Qin offered to work with him against Xiao Zhigang, revealing that Xiao had hired Yamamoto Taro to kill him.

• Li Tianming comforted Qin Siyang over Sally’s transfer, and Qin eventually put his worries aside to focus on winning Chu Zhongxiong’s support.
• Qin Siyang told Chu Zhongxiong that Gu Weihong and Jerry Warren already supported him, leaving him one vote short of a majority among the attending Standing Directors.
• Chu Zhongxiong offered his support in exchange for Crimson Crystal, Vine Heart, Corrosive Black Centipede remains, and a titan reed inner leaf fragment.
• Qin Siyang proposed working with Chu against Xiao Zhigang, then said Xiao had hired Yamamoto Taro to kill him and that he had Yamamoto’s body as proof.
• Chu Zhongxiong asked why Qin had not reported the attempted murder, and Qin countered by asking why Chu had not reported his younger brother’s death.

Qin Siyang persuaded Chu Zhongxiong to cooperate against Xiao Zhigang, agreeing to hand over Yamamoto Taro's corpse after the Thesis Hearing. As Qin Siyang and Li Tianming approached their lodgings, Qin Siyang prepared for the hearing by studying the Paper Review Committee.

• Qin Siyang argued that his backing from Chu Zhongxiong, Jerry Warren, and Gu Weihong showed he could challenge powerful people in the Safe Zone, persuading Chu to reconsider him.
• Chu Zhongxiong agreed to work with Qin Siyang if he verified his feud with Xiao Zhigang by handing over Yamamoto Taro's corpse after the Thesis Hearing.
• Qin Siyang and Li Tianming joked after ending the call, then discussed meeting Zhao Longju at the lodgings Zhao Longfei had arranged.
• Qin Siyang took Memory Potion and Quick-Knowing Potion and studied information on the Paper Review Committee while Li Tianming reflected on his growth.

Li Tianming, Lu Daoxing, and Qin Siyang arrived at the Zhao Merchants' Association clubhouse, where Zhao Longju took charge of their arrangements for the Thesis Hearing. When two former colleagues arrived to visit, the group decided to meet them only after the hearing.

• Li Tianming and Lu Daoxing brought Qin Siyang through the Zhao Family's concealed space and met their host, Zhao Longju.
• Qin Siyang privately discussed Zhao Longju's abilities and character with Li Tianming.
• The group ate at the clubhouse and planned to inspect the Thesis Hearing venue.
• Zhao Longju told the group that Jiao Zhijie and Hong Liang had arrived to visit them.
• Li Tianming and the others agreed to tell Jiao Zhijie and Hong Liang to meet them after the Thesis Hearing.

While Li Tianming and the others went to inspect the hearing venue, Qin Siyang stayed behind to study the Paper Review Committee files. Outside the clubhouse, Hong Liang persuaded Jiao Zhijie to help rob Qin Siyang, and revealed he had already planted an artifact to seal off the building.

• Zhao Longju offered to take Li Tianming and the others to inspect the hearing venue, while Qin Siyang and Lu Daoxing stayed behind.
• Lu Daoxing lent Chang Tianxiang his detection artifacts before going to rest, and Qin Siyang returned to his room to study the committee files.
• Hong Liang and Jiao Zhijie watched the clubhouse and realized Qin Siyang and Lu Daoxing were still inside.
• Hong Liang proposed that he seize Qin Siyang's materials while Jiao Zhijie held off Lu Daoxing, but Jiao Zhijie worried about the danger of attacking on Zhao Family territory.
• Hong Liang revealed that he had planted an artifact at the entrance to block Zhao Longfei's surveillance and urged Jiao Zhijie to join the robbery.

Li Tianming and his companions rushed back to the Zhao Merchants' Association clubhouse after learning it had been sealed off. Lu Daoxing was trapped by Jiao Zhijie while Qin Siyang was caught by a spatial attack disguised as an ant, leaving both men in danger.

• Zhao Longfei warned Zhao Longju that a God-Hunting Artifact had isolated the clubhouse, so Li Tianming and the others hurried back to help Qin Siyang and Lu Daoxing.
• Lu Daoxing woke to find himself trapped in a tier-four Separation Room created by Jiao Zhijie, who said he would leave after killing Qin Siyang.
• Lu Daoxing rejected Jiao Zhijie's assurances and aimed a handheld cannon at the room's wall.
• Qin Siyang reviewed information about Jiao Zhijie and Hong Liang, then spotted an ant in his room and realized ants should not exist after the apocalypse.
• A blast from Lu Daoxing's room alerted Qin Siyang to danger, so he activated Feast Kingdom and tried to teleport away.
• Qin Siyang's teleportation failed as the ant pulled him toward it, and he realized the crystal chandelier might have blocked his escape.

Qin Siyang was dragged into Hong Liang’s ant-like stomach domain, where he prepared for battle and resisted Hong Liang’s first attacks. After Hong Liang realized Qin Siyang had already reached sequence level six, he decided to use his God-Hunting Artifacts, but Qin Siyang warned him it was too late.

• Qin Siyang recognized Hong Liang inside the glowing, acidic space and took out potions, medicine, and a shield to prepare for combat.
• Hong Liang fired a Crimson Bullet, but Qin Siyang blocked it with the Heaven-Splitting Halberd and swallowed his remaining medicines.
• Hong Liang charged with a flaming fist while Qin Siyang put on the new armor Lu Daoxing had made for him, then dodged Hong Liang’s attacks with physical speed.
• Hong Liang realized Qin Siyang had reached sequence level six and asked when he had advanced.
• Hong Liang said he would use his God-Hunting Artifacts, and Qin Siyang replied that it was too late.

Qin Siyang used his fight with Hong Liang to test his newly awakened Origin Sequence and killed him after breaking through his defenses. The strange ant expelled Qin Siyang back into his room just as someone burst through his door, claiming to come save him.

• Qin Siyang decided Hong Liang was a suitable opponent for testing his strength and increased his [Origin Violence] to attack.
• Qin Siyang overwhelmed Hong Liang with rapid punches and stopped him from activating his defensive artifacts.
• Qin Siyang broke through Hong Liang's defenses, grabbed his neck, and snapped it.
• The strange ant expelled Qin Siyang into his room before he could check whether Hong Liang was truly dead.
• Someone blasted open Qin Siyang's door and said they had come to save him.

Qin Siyang and Lu Daoxing confirmed each other’s identities after killing Hong Liang and Jiao Zhijie, and Lu Daoxing discovered that Qin Siyang had shattered Tier-Four Armor with brute force. Lu Daoxing burned Hong Liang’s corpse to conceal Qin Siyang’s strength, then pointed out an ant in the corner for Qin Siyang to collect.

• Qin Siyang and Lu Daoxing used the Bird-Shaped Lie Detector to verify each other’s identities and discussed whether Hong Liang might revive.
• Lu Daoxing examined Hong Liang’s shattered Tier-Four Armor and realized Qin Siyang had broken it with his gauntlet and physical strength.
• Lu Daoxing explained that Tier-Four Armor was expected to remain effective for years, but Qin Siyang’s strength had made its decline arrive early.
• Lu Daoxing proposed claiming that he had killed Hong Liang and Jiao Zhijie, then burned Hong Liang’s body to hide evidence of Qin Siyang’s power.
• Lu Daoxing told Qin Siyang that the ant in the corner was interesting and that he could put it away.

Qin Siyang and Lu Daoxing survived Jiao Zhijie and Hong Liang’s attack, and the professors returned to check on them and arrange security. Reassured by their concern, Qin Siyang decided to trust the professors as he had before and fell asleep.

• Hong Liang’s Armor and belt crumbled into dust when Lu Daoxing burned his corpse, while the ant Qin Siyang had stored remained intact.
• Li Tianming and the others returned, verified everyone’s identities with Qin Siyang’s Lie Detector, and learned that Lu Daoxing and Qin Siyang had killed Jiao Zhijie and Hong Liang.
• The group arranged watch shifts for the night, and Zhao Longju apologized for failing to protect them.
• Hao Liang gave Qin Siyang a Storage Box of potions, and the professors reassured him of their support.
• After recalling Chang Tianxiong’s betrayal and the professors’ concern, Qin Siyang resolved to trust them as before and went to sleep.

Qin Siyang prepared with Lu Daoxing for the Thesis Hearing, where people were likely to question them about Hong Liang and Jiao Zhijie’s disappearance after their attack. At the venue, Qin Siyang spotted Old Qian on the dais and reacted with shock and excitement.

• Zhao Longfei warned Qin Siyang that rumors about Hong Liang and Jiao Zhijie’s attempt to kill him had spread, and advised him to coordinate his account with Lu Daoxing.
• Qin Siyang spent the day finalizing his story with Lu Daoxing and memorizing information about the Thesis Hearing’s participants.
• Li Tianming urged everyone to avoid food and drink at the venue, while Lu Daoxing equipped the group with concealed tier-three Armor.
• Qin Siyang arrived at the Hearing venue with his companions and saw Old Qian on the dais.

Qin Siyang attended a Thesis Hearing convened to decide whether his papers should be approved, where he discovered that Qian Wendao was moderating. The hearing began with Qian Wendao asking the five Standing Directors to vote immediately, leaving everyone stunned.

• Qin Siyang recognized Qian Wendao as the moderator and exchanged a knowing look with him, believing they were still allies.
• Xiao Zhigang recalled opposing Qian Wendao’s appointment, but the Paper Review Committee had chosen him because they expected his moderating style to keep the hearing brief.
• Qin Siyang sat with Li Tianming and the others while both sides prepared to argue over his papers and the disappearances of Hong Liang and Jiao Zhijie.
• Jiang Hao opened the hearing and invited Qian Wendao to take over.
• Qian Wendao summarized the hearing’s purpose, confirmed that the five Standing Directors would decide whether Qin Siyang’s papers were approved, and immediately called for their vote.

Qian Wendao persuaded the hearing to skip the arguments and let the Paper Review Committee’s Standing Directors vote on Qin Siyang’s paper, suggesting they could discuss a fundraising deal afterward. The vote began with two rejections before Jerry Warren unexpectedly voted in favor, leaving the result undecided.

• Qian Wendao argued that the Standing Directors had already studied Qin Siyang’s paper and proposed voting without hearing arguments.
• After Qian Wendao suggested holding a fundraising meeting after the vote, Jiang Hao agreed to proceed directly to voting.
• Qian Wendao named the five Standing Directors present, and Guo Jiuxiao and Jiang Hao voted against Qin Siyang’s paper.
• Jerry Warren paused to look at Qin Siyang, then voted in favor of the paper, surprising everyone in the hall.