Chapter Summaries

Chu Baxing asked Qin Siyang for Vine Heart to help his father upgrade the troops’ equipment and offered to train Qin Siyang’s forces in exchange. Qin Siyang negotiated weekly instruction, and Chu Baxing accepted, with the first session set for the next day.

• Chu Baxing visited Qin Siyang and asked for Vine Heart for his father, Commander Chu, to upgrade the troops’ equipment.
• Qin Siyang asked why he should give up the Vine Heart, and Chu Baxing offered to teach his troops battlefield coordination and tactics for hunting gods.
• Chu Baxing proposed five kilograms of Vine Heart in exchange for monthly training, citing his experience commanding a Sequence Regiment against a Thunder Snow Wolf.
• Qin Siyang countered that Chu Baxing must instruct the troops once a week, and Chu Baxing agreed.
• Qin Siyang handed Chu Baxing five kilograms of Vine Heart and scheduled the first training session for the next day.

Qin Siyang addressed eight thousand reserve soldiers, praised those who had awakened Sequence Abilities, and urged the force to prepare for combat. He put Chu Baxing in charge of their first live operation and watched the troops march toward Safe Zone No. 8989's exit.

• Qin Siyang reviewed the soldiers and congratulated the first group to awaken Sequence Abilities, spurring competition among the eight thousand reservists.
• Qin Siyang warned the troops that the Apocalypse allowed no time for slow preparation and urged them to prove their potential in combat.
• Qin Siyang appointed Chu Baxing overall commander for the first live combat operation and ordered all troops to obey him.
• Chu Baxing led the eight-thousand-strong force toward the Safe Zone No. 8989 Exit, while Huo Dangkou, Wang Defa, Rong Xin, and others followed in command vehicles.
• Qin Siyang watched the force advance and reflected that his eight thousand fellow townsmen would not share Xiang Yu's fate.

Qin Siyang openly left the Safe Zone with the Qin Character Special Brigade and watched Chu Baxing lead the troops in live-combat training against Rock-Armored Lizards. As the brigade’s coordinated attack brought down its first target, Qin Siyang approved of Chu Baxing’s command and the value of the five kilograms of Vine Heart.

• Eight thousand soldiers of the Qin Character Special Brigade reached the Safe Zone exit, where United Government personnel cleared a passage for them.
• Qin Siyang emerged after the brigade had departed, and onlookers recognized and praised him as he headed outside without needing to sneak out.
• Chu Baxing organized the brigade for live-combat training after fourteen roaming Rock-Armored Lizards were spotted.
• Chu Baxing assigned the regiments and coordinated their attack as the Rock-Armored Lizards charged the shield formation.
• The troops focused their attacks on a Rock-Armored Lizard’s joints and brought it down, impressing Qin Siyang.

Chu Baxing’s training battles boosted the troops’ morale, but Qin Siyang discovered and contained a hidden toxic-mist artifact that could have killed all eight thousand soldiers. He asked Zhao Longfei to investigate a suspected traitor, then turned to strengthening himself with the god remains he had collected.

• Under Chu Baxing’s command, the recruits won several battles against small gods without casualties, gaining confidence and fighting spirit.
• Qin Siyang sensed an abnormal fluctuation, found a countdown artifact in the rubble, and moved it into his Spatial Artifact before it released a vast cloud of corrosive smoke.
• Qin Siyang concluded that someone had targeted his troops and decided to keep the incident quiet while asking Zhao Longfei to monitor the suspected invisible soldier.
• Chu Baxing led the troops back to the Safe Zone, and Qin Siyang later told Zhao Longfei about the attack and requested an investigation.
• Qin Siyang sorted the medium-god remains he had collected, eager to try new foods and improve his strength.

Qin Siyang discovered that eating medium gods he had never hunted before extended his path to godhood, allowing him to capture and swallow a second primordial starshine. It greatly strengthened several of his skills without raising his origin sequence level, and he resolved to capture more starshines to break through.

• Qin Siyang carved up and ate a Steel-Armored Fox, discovering that unfamiliar medium gods made him stronger and extended his path to godhood.
• As he devoured more god remains, Qin Siyang saw a second primordial starshine appear beyond the end of his path, then ate more until the path reached it.
• Qin Siyang seized and swallowed the second primordial starshine, but he did not receive an origin sequence level breakthrough.
• Qin Siyang checked his information panel and found that [Origin Violence], [Feast Kingdom], [Taste of Deification], and [Profane Feast] had improved, while [Efficient Blood Drink] and [Dueling Glory] had not changed.
• Qin Siyang counted 191 white light points remaining and decided to catch more primordial starshines to achieve a breakthrough.

Qin Siyang devoured god remains to strengthen himself and prepared to leave for the Sigma District, then learned at dinner that Wen Shu might soon depart to arrange her grandmother's funeral. He was stunned to hear that Grandmother Xu had reached the natural end of her life and that sequence ability medicine could not safely extend an ordinary person's life.

• Qin Siyang ate god remains for a day and night, extending his path to godhood beyond a thousand meters without finding another mote of Primordial Starshine.
• Qin Siyang reasoned that Primordial Starshine appeared only after a near-death trial, then continued devouring god remains until his path stretched over two thousand meters.
• Qin Siyang cleaned himself and his room before meeting Wen Shu for dinner, and told her he might leave the next day for the Sigma District and be gone until next month.
• Wen Shu told Qin Siyang that her grandmother had little time left and that she might leave soon to arrange the funeral.
• Qin Siyang offered to ask Dean Chen Fenghe to save Grandmother Xu, but Wen Shu explained that her grandmother was not ill and that sequence ability medicine could harm ordinary people.

After thanking Qin Siyang on Xu Lanzhi’s behalf, Wen Shu decided she would follow him to Sigma District after her grandmother’s death, convinced he would need help there. Qin Siyang prepared for the trip by devouring gods, then left Southern Glory with Hu Chan and Yu Ziying, still unsure what awaited them or what the [Apocalypse Fragment] was.

• Wen Shu thanked Qin Siyang for making Xu Lanzhi’s stay happy, and he sensed there was more behind her words.
• Wen Shu watched over Xu Lanzhi and decided to go to Sigma District after seeing her grandmother off because Qin Siyang would not be able to handle the trouble there alone.
• Qin Siyang spent a day and night devouring medium god remains, extending his Path to Godhood to just over three thousand meters before hitting diminishing returns.
• Qin Siyang recognized that his strength had increased substantially and left Southern Glory for Sigma District with Hu Chan and Yu Ziying.
• Hu Chan asked Qin Siyang about the [Apocalypse Fragment], but neither Hu Chan nor Yu Ziying knew what it was or had seen one.

In a shack in the Sigma District, Guo Jiuxiao and Jiang Hao discussed their alliance against Qin Siyang and the others, then revealed that each possessed an [Apocalypse Fragment]. Jiang Hao reasoned that Guo Jiuxiao had acquired his fragment later in life, and began explaining how some Tiger Cards had risen through fragments rather than ability.

• Jiang Hao questioned Guo Jiuxiao about their secret meeting and reaffirmed that he, Guo Jiuxiao, and Minister Xiao were allies.
• Guo Jiuxiao listed the people he wanted killed and argued that he and Jiang Hao needed to cooperate fully to defeat their enemies.
• Guo Jiuxiao revealed that he had an [Apocalypse Fragment] and asked whether Jiang Hao had one too.
• Jiang Hao admitted that he also had an [Apocalypse Fragment].
• Jiang Hao concluded that Guo Jiuxiao had not possessed his fragment from the start, reasoning that otherwise he would have defeated Li Tianming long ago.
• Jiang Hao praised Guo Jiuxiao and Li Tianming as genuine geniuses, then began saying that some Tiger Cards had reached the top by relying on [Apocalypse Fragments].

Jiang Hao and Guo Jiuxiao agreed to kill Qin Siyang before leaving Sigma District for the next Safe Zone, though Jiang Hao argued they should wait until the new region’s chaos subsided. Jiang Hao revealed that members of the World-Destroying Church planned to migrate there next year, offering them a chance to travel with the group.

• Jiang Hao told Guo Jiuxiao that people with [Apocalypse Fragments] kept their possession secret and asked why Guo had brought up the fragments.
• Guo Jiuxiao proposed using the [Apocalypse Fragment] to leave Sigma District after killing Qin Siyang, and Jiang Hao agreed that their goals aligned.
• Jiang Hao advised waiting until the next Safe Zone’s chaos ended, arguing that its leaders would then need their knowledge and abilities to rebuild.
• Guo Jiuxiao said he wanted a freer life rather than power, and Jiang Hao agreed they both sought a peaceful domain away from factional struggles.
• Jiang Hao revealed that members of the World-Destroying Church would travel to the next Safe Zone next year and explained that the Church had once tried to rule Sigma District but had been defeated by local newcomers.

Jiang Hao and Guo Jiuxiao discussed the World-Destroying Church, the Next Safe Zone, and the factions’ hidden strengths. Jiang Hao warned Guo that bringing his elderly mother could make her a weakness, but Guo refused to leave her behind.

• Jiang Hao explained how Gu Weiyang and Ander had defeated the World-Destroying Church’s outsiders after they underestimated their enemies.
• Jiang Hao revealed that he had secretly aided the World-Destroying Church for ten years as a precaution, which later helped him escape his predicament.
• Guo Jiuxiao said he would take his mother to the Next Safe Zone, while Old Hu had chosen to stay near his family’s graves.
• Jiang Hao and Guo Jiuxiao discussed the World-Destroying Church’s rumored nonbeliever path, its Divine Gift methods, and the Reincarnation Church’s resilience.
• Jiang Hao warned that Guo’s mother could be exploited as a weakness and suggested leaving her in Professor Hu Yunsheng’s care.
• Guo Jiuxiao refused to abandon his mother, and Jiang Hao ended the conversation after accepting his decision.

Qin Siyang arrived in Sigma District to find the [Apocalypse Fragment] hidden in the Yu Family mine and met Shan En, the guide Zhao Longfei had arranged for him. As Shan En began showing him around, he suggested Sigma District might have been built by different people than the Safe Zone.

• Hu Chan dropped Qin Siyang off at a World Salvation Church site, and Qin Siyang set out to find the [Apocalypse Fragment] in the Yu Family mine with Yu Yongyou's help.
• Qin Siyang traveled in disguise to Johnny's Place, where Shan En identified himself as the guide Zhao Longfei had sent.
• Shan En paid Old Johnny twenty silver coins for their seats, and Qin Siyang learned that the tavern's owner carried considerable influence in Sigma District.
• Qin Siyang asked why Sigma District stood beyond the Origin God Mountain Range, and Shan En guessed that its builders had been different from those of the Safe Zone.

Qin Siyang learned how the Sigma District came to be and why its upper area housed dangerous, influential people. He persuaded Shan En to take him to the Underground City before they went to the Yu Family Mine.

• Shan En explained that the Sigma District was outside United Government control and had become a refuge for people from the European Nation who lacked power in the Safe Zone.
• Shan En described the Sigma District as enormous and said its upper area was home to wanted criminals, cultists, and other dangerous figures.
• Shan En told Qin Siyang that the entrance to the Underground City was in a room in the upper area.
• Qin Siyang asked Shan En to take him to the Underground City before visiting the Yu Family Mine, and Shan En agreed to do so in exchange for six grams of Crimson Crystal.

Shan En agreed to guide Qin Siyang into the Underground City after warning him about its dangers, though he tried to charge six grams of Crimson Crystal upfront. Shan En led Qin to a hidden entrance in a mountain courtyard, where a craftsman demanded a deposit before allowing them inside.

• Qin Siyang questioned Shan En's fee, and Shan En offered to kill two of Hua Chengliang's grandsons as part of the bargain.
• Shan En warned Qin that the Underground City was dangerous and its residents could attack from the shadows.
• Qin Siyang challenged Shan En's demand for advance payment, so Shan En agreed to guide him first and collect payment later.
• Shan En led Qin to a fenced courtyard halfway up the mountain, where a craftsman let them through a tier-three defensive barrier.
• The craftsman demanded one hundred silver coins or an equivalent amount of god material as a deposit before Qin could enter the Underground City.

Qin Siyang and Shan En paid their way into the Underground City and explored its crowded, heavily concealed marketplace. Shan En explained who controlled its businesses and warned that the World-Destroying Church seemed to be preparing for a final showdown with the United Government.

• Qin Siyang paid the gatekeeper’s hundred-silver-coin deposit with Lightfeather Lizard remains, then followed Shan En through a hidden entrance into the Underground City.
• Qin Siyang saw the enormous cavern and its bustling market, where most people concealed their identities.
• Shan En explained that ordinary newcomers sold from street stalls, while permanent shops were reserved for wanted criminals listed on the Warren Merchants' Association's Snake Cards.
• Qin Siyang asked about rare goods and private trade fairs, and Shan En said the Underground City’s ordinary traders could not offer items like the Vine Heart.
• Shan En said the churches could not openly hold a major trade fair without provoking the United Government, but the World-Destroying Church appeared ready for a final showdown.

Qin Siyang learned that the World-Destroying Church’s mission pedestal could grant rewards and that its [Divine Gifts] could rapidly strengthen believers. Shan En guessed that people had to join the Church or reach the top of its Snake Cards to obtain one, leaving Qin Siyang to question whether [Yu Gu] and Chang Tianxiong had secretly belonged to the Church.

• Shan En told Qin Siyang that neither major Heretical Cult held public trading gatherings in the Sigma District and admitted he was a low-ranking Snake Cards wanted criminal.
• Shan En brought Qin Siyang to the World-Destroying Church’s Two-Tier Stone Pedestal and explained how people submitted missions and claimed rewards there.
• Shan En said people watched the pedestal to learn about [Divine Gifts], which could help believers advance quickly along the Path of the Believer.
• Qin Siyang recalled three encounters with [Divine Gifts] and wondered whether the World-Destroying God, the God of Bestowal, and the God of Reincarnation were connected to the Gods being hunted.
• Shan En guessed that people could obtain a [Divine Gift] by reaching the top of the Snake Cards or joining the World-Destroying Church, prompting Qin Siyang to suspect [Yu Gu] and Chang Tianxiong had belonged to it.

Qin Siyang reconsidered Chang Tianxiong’s ties to the World-Destroying Church and questioned Shan En about the Underground City and the church’s upcoming [Apocalypse Fragment] gathering. He left the city with a new idea for testing the church’s plans.

• Qin Siyang concluded that Chang Tianxiong had likely been a high-ranking World-Destroying Church follower, making the [Yu Gu] identity dangerous to use.
• Qin Siyang asked Shan En whether the Underground City had secret trading gatherings or a Reincarnation Church base, and Shan En dismissed both possibilities.
• Qin Siyang asked where the World-Destroying Church would hold its end-of-year gathering, and Shan En said it would likely choose an open area outside the Safe Zone.
• Qin Siyang and Shan En left the Underground City after Qin Siyang decided there was little else worth seeing.
• Qin Siyang considered how to profit from the high prices in the Underground City and realized he could use bait to test the World-Destroying Church’s intentions.

Qin Siyang persuaded Shan En to partner with him in opening Underground City shops under the names of Snake Cards Wanted Criminals who had vanished. Shan En agreed, and their conversation ended with him wondering whether Sifang knew he was still alive.

• Qin Siyang proposed renting Underground City shops under false identities, and Shan En said the plan might work if the real people did not appear.
• Qin Siyang suggested impersonating several Snake Cards Wanted Criminals and offered Shan En a partnership, with Qin supplying materials and receiving a share of the profits.
• Shan En agreed to the venture, and Qin Siyang proposed choosing Wanted Criminals who had not been heard from for more than six months.
• Shan En told Qin Siyang how he had become friends with the Zhao brothers and why he and their younger sister had never married.
• Qin Siyang brought up Zhao’s past relationship with Professor Zhang Kuang, and Shan En said the pair had later broken up.
• Shan En said he had not seen Sifang since faking his death and moving to the Sigma District, and guessed that Sifang did not know he was alive.

Qin Siyang reached the Yu Family Mine and learned from Shan En that Sigma District’s hidden signal towers made phone calls easy to monitor. As mine security stopped him at the entrance, Qin Siyang suspected they were positioned for an attack rather than ordinary defense.

• Qin Siyang and Shan En arrived near the Yu Family Mine, where Shan En explained that its sole entrance served as a chokepoint for the vast underground operation.
• Shan En told Qin Siyang to contact him through Old Johnny at Johnny’s Tavern and warned him not to use his phone in Sigma District because factions secretly monitored calls through hidden signal towers.
• After Shan En left, Qin Siyang put away his phone and walked toward the mine entrance.
• A squad of guards in black uniforms blocked Qin Siyang, and he noticed they stood beyond the protection of the mine’s defensive tools, suggesting they were ready to retreat or attack.

Qin Siyang discovered that the Security Team members guarding the mine were impostors and fought them while deliberately risking a potentially fatal wound. As he neared death, [Primordial Starshine] appeared on his path to godhood.

• Qin Siyang noticed the Security Team members’ spotless boots and realized they had not come from the mine, then activated [Feast Kingdom] and triple [Origin Violence].
• Qin Siyang ambushed and killed the scar-faced leader and several attackers, but three coordinated enemies restrained him long enough for a lightning bolt to pierce his chest.
• Qin Siyang continued fighting despite his severe wound and killed the remaining attackers, leaving one unconscious to question.
• Qin Siyang pressed a hand to his bleeding chest and reached for the pharmaceuticals Chen Fenghe had given him, but waited for [Primordial Starshine] as his consciousness faded.
• A warm current washed over Qin Siyang, and silver light appeared on his path to godhood.

Qin Siyang swallowed Primordial Starshine and medicine to recover after an ambush outside Yu's Mining, then learned the attack had been triggered by an intercepted text. Yu Yongyou called Wang Xugong's work good, giving him hope of protection from Wang Xuzuo.

• Qin Siyang used Primordial Starshine to strengthen himself, then drank Dean Chen's medicine to heal his chest wound and restore his vitality.
• Yu Yongyou, Yu Bianhou, and Wang Xugong emerged from Yu's Mining and found Qin Siyang surrounded by corpses; Qin asked them to investigate the surviving attacker.
• Yu Yongyou and Wang Xugong helped Qin into the mine, where Qin explained that someone had intercepted Yu Yongyou's text and used it to arrange the ambush.
• Qin Siyang told Yu Yongyou that phones were monitored in Sigma District, and Yu Yongyou blamed his ignorance for nearly getting Qin killed.
• Qin Siyang asked Yu Yongyou to assess Wang Xugong, and Yu Yongyou said he had done good work.