Chapter Summaries

At a United Government meeting to decide Qin Siyang’s bounty for killing Manderson, Qin Siyang demanded that all resources intended for Zone 1 be given to him instead. His proposal shocked the officials and turned the bounty discussion into a direct challenge to Zone 1’s power.

• Qian Wendao convened District 2’s powerful ministers to determine Qin Siyang’s reward for killing Manderson, and Olof joked about Qin Siyang being the only person likely to kill Royt as well.
• Qin Siyang claimed he valued the Safe Zone more than material wealth, then argued that justice required him to receive a lavish reward.
• Qin Siyang proposed withholding all United Government resources allocated to Zone 1 and using them as his bounty, accusing Zone 1 of draining the Safe Zone and stirring up conflict.
• Cheng Rujin warned Qin Siyang that taking Zone 1’s resources would violate United Government law, but Qin Siyang silenced him with a cold stare.

After Qin Siyang killed Manderson, the United Government backed his demand to seize Zone 1’s resources, and Zone 1’s leaders failed to persuade him to relent. On New Year’s Eve, an official decree ended the Safe Zone’s tribute payments to Zone 1.

• Qian Wendao, Olof, Sun Linshou, and other officials supported Qin Siyang’s demands, using Zone 1’s past resource seizures to justify them.
• After the meeting, Qian Wendao rejected An Youlu’s protest that Zone 1’s resources rightfully belonged to it.
• Tan Biao and then An Youlu called Qin Siyang to negotiate, but he insulted them and hung up.
• Qin Siyang waited for Yang Xian to call, unaware that Zone 1 had lost its resolve to oppose him after Manderson’s death.
• On New Year’s Eve, the United Government issued a decree ending all resource payments from the Safe Zone to Zone 1.

Qin Siyang distributed the resources seized from Zone 1 to strengthen his army and allied organizations, while rewarding loyal supporters and sidelining those who had wavered. After settling the Safe Zone’s political undercurrents, he hosted a New Year’s Eve dinner for his friends and allies.

• Qin Siyang funded the Qin Character Special Army and invested in Joint Mining, the United Merchants' Association, the United Church, and the Joint Medical Association.
• Qin Siyang forgave fence-sitters without punishing them but reserved the best rewards and influence for those who had stood firm against Zone 1.
• Qin Siyang used the distribution of Zone 1’s resources to bind allies to him, and the Safe Zone’s wavering factions stopped contacting Zone 1.
• Qin Siyang finished his work and invited his companions and allies to a New Year’s Eve dinner at his Sigma District villa.
• Sun Linshou arrived late after spending time with his granddaughter, and Qin Siyang welcomed him as the guests gathered.
• Qin Siyang served orange juice to his companions, while Fu Wanli asked to drink alcohol and then accepted the juice after hearing the others’ reasons.

At Qin Siyang’s New Year’s Eve dinner, he warned his allies that their Safe Zone might converge with a previous [Evolutionary Sequence Domain], whose inhabitants could be powerful and hostile. The gathering ended with the group facing the possibility of a new struggle beyond their conflict with Zone 1 and Ander.

• Qin Siyang hosted his allies for an extravagant New Year’s Eve dinner using supplies diverted from Zone 1.
• Jonathan and Olof said Zone 1 and Ander were unlikely to challenge Qin Siyang soon, and the group hoped they could recover from the Safe Zone’s turmoil.
• Qin Siyang sealed the banquet room with Conversation Shielding and light-blocking barriers before sharing a top-secret warning.
• Qin Siyang said Manderson had revealed that their domain might converge with the previous [Evolutionary Sequence Domain].
• Qin Siyang warned that the previous Safe Zone’s inhabitants were powerful habitual plunderers who enslaved ordinary people, making conflict likely if the domains converged.

Qin Siyang revealed the Path of Self-Verification to the Safe Zone’s leaders and explained how they could switch to it with the Joint Medical Association’s help. He urged them to abandon the Path of the Believer and prepare to face future threats alongside him.

• Qin Siyang explained that the Path of Self-Verification used light bricks and primordial starshine to advance, and Li Tianming said it was stronger than the Path of the Believer and avoided its level suppression.
• Qin Siyang urged the assembled fighters to switch paths, and Hu Chan explained that a high-concentration Sequence Potion could reset their progress to sequence level five.
• Wang Defa asked how they could survive the near-death experience needed to find primordial starshine, and Qin Siyang promised that the Joint Medical Association would develop a lifesaving drug.
• Qin Siyang argued that the Path of the Believer was crippled and urged everyone to cut their losses, embark on the Path of Self-Verification, and keep fighting alongside him.

At Qin Siyang's New Year's Eve banquet, he urged his allies to prepare for threats beyond the Safe Zone and consider abandoning the path of the believer for the path of self-verification. Olof warned that gods had breached a previous Safe Zone, and the chapter ended with Qin Siyang bargaining with Duan Chongfang over compensation.

• Qin Siyang addressed the banquet guests, shared his plans, and won their wholehearted acceptance as their leader.
• Olof revealed that gods had breached a previous Safe Zone and supported choosing the path of self-verification to prepare for such a threat.
• Qin Siyang asked the guests to keep the new path secret until they had regained their strength, preserving their authority within their factions.
• Duan Chongfang complained that Qin Siyang had kept the origin sequence from him despite their past cooperation, and Qin Siyang offered to provide resources and Tier Four Artifacts as compensation.
• Qin Siyang agreed to give Duan Chongfang four artifacts, then called for four Pure-Brightness Bracelets, prompting Duan Chongfang to object and Hu Chan to defend them.

Qin Siyang urged the gathered leaders to pursue the Path of Self-Verification and organize trusted teams to gather offerings and primordial starshine. He shared plans for lifesaving drugs and explained that he had no fear of allies surpassing him, leaving the group to consider his faith in cooperation.

• Qin Siyang persuaded the others to consider the Path of Self-Verification, while Qi Tian declined because he had little time left and named Tian Luzhang as someone Qin could approach for help.
• Qin Siyang told everyone to form teams for gathering offerings and fighting Gods for primordial starshine, and Wei Rulai agreed to team up with Qi Tian.
• The leaders found companions for their expeditions as the New Year's Eve dinner ended.
• Qin Siyang learned from Zhao Fengjun and Chen Fenghe that researchers had developed more than a dozen lifesaving drugs, and he offered to help obtain rare ingredients through the United Merchants' Association.
• Qi Tian asked Qin Siyang why he shared the Path of Self-Verification despite the risk that others might surpass him, and Qin answered that countless people would always be stronger and he trusted those who had faced life and death alongside him.

At a New Year's Eve gathering, Qin Siyang spoke privately with Hu Chan about Yu Ziying's death and offered him comfort. Hu Chan explained how losing her had made him feel alone again, and he resolved to grow stronger so he could take revenge himself.

• Qin Siyang's candid words eased the gathering's worries, and the guests talked cheerfully about family matters and the future.
• Qin Siyang's friends left him alone with Hu Chan after noticing Hu Chan's grief over Yu Ziying's death.
• Qin Siyang apologized for his indirect role in Yu Guardian's death, and Hu Chan said he wanted to take revenge on his own enemies.
• Qin Siyang warned that Qin Yingguang and Han Huizhi might launch a coup, and Hu Chan agreed that the bigger picture came first.
• Hu Chan told Qin Siyang that Yu Ziying had ended his loneliness, but her death had made him feel like an orphan again.

As the Safe Zone’s factions settled into a self-sustaining economy and Qin Siyang’s allies advanced to Origin Sequence Level Two, Qin Siyang prepared to leave and focus on his own strength. While walking through the bustling Underground City, he noticed an unusual stall selling everyday items.

• Qin Siyang predicted that Zone 1 would stay cautious while powerful figures left the Safe Zone to switch paths, and Ander withdrew from public affairs as the black cat hid and continued growing stronger.
• The Qin Character Special Army attracted many recruits, but Qin Siyang capped its size to avoid provoking an arms race.
• Qin Siyang rejected Han Huizhi’s repeated attempts to apologize and restore their alliance.
• Joint Mining, the United Merchants' Association, the United Church, and the Joint Medical Association formed a self-sustaining network that revitalized the Safe Zone.
• A dozen or so days later, Qin Siyang’s allies had largely completed their transition to Origin Sequence Level Two, and Qin Siyang prepared to improve himself.
• The day before leaving, Qin Siyang wandered through the busy Underground City and noticed a middle-aged woman’s stall selling everyday items.

Qin Siyang visited the Underground City, where its residents revered him as the White God after he killed Manderson. He met a quick-handed vendor selling an ugly Peace Talisman, but she refused to sell it even when he offered a gold coin.

• Qin Siyang walked through the Underground City as vendors bowed to him and watched him with fear over Manderson's death.
• Qin Siyang stopped at a stall selling ordinary goods and asked the woman why she operated in such a busy location.
• The woman explained that Sequence Ability Users still needed everyday necessities, and Qin Siyang noticed a crude red pouch she called a Peace Talisman.
• The woman snatched the pouch from Qin Siyang with startling speed after he questioned its one-gold-coin price.
• Qin Siyang offered a gold coin for the Peace Talisman, but the woman changed her mind and refused to sell it.

Qin Siyang tested the mysterious stallkeeper’s strength, bought her Peace Talisman, and asked Shan En to keep an eye on her. He then prepared to leave the Safe Zone with Li Tianming and seek another breakthrough by challenging the Skywalking Lion-Eagle.

• Qin Siyang offered the woman ten gold coins for her Peace Talisman and tested her strength through brief contact, but she showed no reaction.
• Qin Siyang kept the Peace Talisman and warned Shan En that the woman was unfathomable, asking him to monitor her without confronting her.
• Qin Siyang told Shan En he was leaving the Safe Zone to seek another breakthrough, and Shan En offered to accompany him as his [Insurance Provider].
• Qin Siyang told Li Tianming that he had secured enough lifesaving medicine for the attempt, and Li Tianming agreed they should set out to face the Skywalking Lion-Eagle.

Qin Siyang and Li Tianming searched for the Skywalking Lion-Eagle so Qin Siyang could harvest Feather Blades and Primordial Starshines. After repeatedly dying and reviving, Qin Siyang refined his fiftieth Primordial Starshine and advanced to Origin Sequence Level Four.

• Qin Siyang and Li Tianming drove across the wasteland and found the Skywalking Lion-Eagle.
• Qin Siyang dodged and shattered its Feather Blades, then challenged a hundred-blade barrage and was killed.
• Li Tianming revived Qin Siyang and urged him to keep harvesting Feather Blades before the Sandworm arrived.
• Qin Siyang repeatedly died and revived, collecting Primordial Starshines from his Path of Self-Verification.
• Qin Siyang refined his fiftieth Primordial Starshine, grew much stronger, and advanced to Origin Sequence Level Four.

Qin Siyang broke through to origin sequence level four and examined the powerful upgrades to his skills. On the way back to the Safe Zone, he and Li Tianming picked up Hao Liang after he killed a god, and the three reflected on Old Lu’s death.

• Qin Siyang reached origin sequence level four, gaining upgraded skills including Bloodthirst and Origin Rampage Banquet Field.
• Qin Siyang and Li Tianming entered the Capsule Pod to return to the Safe Zone, then noticed a disturbance far away.
• Qin Siyang drove toward the disturbance and found Hao Liang fighting a giant monitor-lizard-like god.
• Hao Liang killed the god, recognized Li Tianming, and climbed into the Capsule Pod for a ride back to the Safe Zone.
• Hao Liang remarked that Old Lu had prepared everything before his death, and the three sighed that the things remained while the people were gone.

Qin Siyang reunited with Hao Liang, told him about the Path of Self-Verification and the Sandworm's Succession Trial, and received a potion that could help him evade the Sandworm. After Hao Liang left, Qin Siyang learned that Hao Liang had exposed Zone 1's crimes and was now in danger of being recognized in the Safe Zone.

• Qin Siyang caught up with Hao Liang and explained the Path of Self-Verification and the Sandworm's Succession Trial.
• Li Tianming gave Hao Liang medicine, and Hao Liang gave Qin Siyang a potion that could disguise his scent as an Iron-Helm Rat Flea for three hours.
• Hao Liang refused a ride to the Safe Zone and walked away, saying he could no longer return there or to the Sigma District.
• Qin Siyang and Li Tianming received warnings from their contacts to keep Hao Liang hidden and away from the Safe Zone.
• Zhang Kuang told Li Tianming that Hao Liang had exposed Zone 1, and Li Tianming found a pinned [Sequence Education] forum post titled [Zone 1 Personnel Crimes Notice].

Li Tianming and Qin Siyang read Hao Liang’s explosive paper exposing Zone 1’s crimes and realized the evidence had made Hao a target. As the Safe Zone erupted, they noticed that several powerful figures, including Ander, were absent from the accusations.

• Li Tianming recognized Yu Danshan as Hao Liang’s former student and reasoned that Yu had been chosen and had spent time in the Safe Zone, but no one knew where he was.
• Li Tianming and Qin Siyang read Hao Liang’s paper, which documented Zone 1 officials’ kidnappings, experiments, killings, and cover-ups with detailed records, photographs, and videos.
• Qin Siyang suspected Zone 1’s elites had concealed the crimes from Secretary-General Gu, while Li Tianming explained that Yu had left the evidence for Hao because he could not reach Gu directly.
• Li Tianming found Zone 1’s wanted notice for Hao Liang, offering a huge bounty, and concluded that Yu was probably dead and Hao had risked his life to publish the evidence.
• As the Safe Zone’s forum erupted with reactions, Qin Siyang and Li Tianming noticed that Yu Jianyun, Fan Baoluo, Yang Xian, and Ander were not implicated in the paper.
• Qin Siyang rejected the idea that Ander had moral limits, saying Ander had conspired to kill Secretary-General Gu and Qin Siyang, while Li Tianming suggested Ander’s powerful sequence ability made such crimes unnecessary.

An Youlu failed to persuade Black Cat, or Ander, to intervene as Zone 1 descended into panic over Hao Liang’s post and Qin Siyang’s resource blockade. Qi Tian announced he was going to confront Ander and appeared at Zone 1, declaring that he had come to seek death.

• An Youlu told Black Cat that Hao Liang’s post had exposed Zone 1’s secrets and urged him to act, but Black Cat refused and blamed Zone 1’s leaders for their own predicament.
• An Youlu told the gathered elites that Ander would not help because Qin Siyang had cut off the resources that benefited him, and panic spread through the crowd.
• A guard announced that someone was standing alone outside Zone 1’s gate, while Qin Siyang, Qian Wendao, Olof, and others received Qi Tian’s mass message.
• Qi Tian said he would test Ander’s strength and make his final contribution to the Safe Zone before going to find Gu Weiyang.
• Qi Tian appeared at Zone 1 and declared that he had come to seek death.

Qi Tian destroyed much of Zone 1 and confronted Ander, hoping to learn how strong Ander was before his final fight with Royt. Their clash revealed that Qi Tian had reached Sequence level ten, and Ander claimed to be the strongest person in the Safe Zone.

• Qi Tian shattered Zone 1’s defenses and leveled its villas, roads, and other buildings without crossing the district boundary.
• Qi Tian challenged Ander to stop hiding, and Ander offered to reveal Royt’s location and help kill him.
• Qi Tian entered Zone 1, and Ander sent a dark apparition to attack him.
• Ander was shocked to discover Qi Tian had reached Sequence level ten despite Qi Jiangnan’s death.
• Qi Tian explained that he wanted to measure Ander’s strength so his death could help others, and Ander declared himself the Safe Zone’s strongest person.

Qi Tian confronted Ander over his cowardice, his role in Qi Jiangnan’s death, and his fear that Chao Ding was still alive. Their battle began in earnest, leaving Qi Tian to realize that both men had reached Sequence Level Ten, though Ander had advanced farther.

• Qi Tian accused Ander of hiding in Zone 1 and revealed that Ander had arranged Qi Jiangnan’s death because the boy’s talent made him a threat.
• Qi Tian claimed that Ander feared Chao Ding, and the Lie Detector confirmed Qi Tian’s statement that Chao Ding was still alive.
• Ander argued that Chao Ding might have been dead for years and that Qian Wendao and Gu Weiyang could have fabricated his orders, but Qi Tian said Ander had been afraid of him regardless.
• Enraged by Qi Tian’s taunts, Ander spread black shadows through cracks in the air and attacked as Qi Tian formed a giant golden body and struck back with a blade of light.
• The clash sent Qi Tian and Ander over a thousand meters apart, and Qi Tian noted that Ander had no level suppression over him before Ander said he had traveled much farther along Sequence Level Ten.

Qi Tian fought Ander in Zone 1, broke through his defenses, and died in a self-detonation without revealing why he advanced so quickly along the Path of the Believer. Before the battle, Qi Tian told Gu Weiyang that his conviction came from protecting everyone, and the chapter left them preparing to confront Zhou Bi over Zone 1’s tax revenue.

• Ander overwhelmed Qi Tian with darkness and spikes, but Qi Tian broke free of his golden colossus and struck Ander with a compressed golden staff.
• Qi Tian shattered Ander’s two tier five shields, but a black spike consumed his lower body and left him near death.
• Ander asked Qi Tian how he had advanced so quickly along the Path of the Believer, and Qi Tian detonated himself rather than answer.
• In an earlier conversation, Qi Tian told Gu Weiyang that protecting everyone was his conviction, while Gu Weiyang said she upheld the fairness and justice in everyone’s hearts.
• Gu Weiyang said Zhou Bi had demanded a larger share of Zone 1’s tax revenue, and Qi Tian offered to go with her after finishing his tea.

After Qi Tian died fighting Ander in Zone 1, survivors and leaders across the Safe Zone reacted to his sacrifice. At the Qi Family base, his son Qi Boyuan dismissed its purpose and ordered the Qi Legion to withdraw and avoid both Zone 1 and Qin Siyang.

• Zone 1 survivors emerged from the ruins, while Ander restored his destroyed villa and returned inside as a black cat.
• Qian Wendao poured tea toward Zone 1, Olof mourned Qi Tian's determined departure, and Qin Siyang saluted before deciding to wait.
• Qi Boyuan condemned Qi Tian for fighting Ander instead of using his power against Qin Siyang and expanding the Qi Family's territory.
• Tian Luzhang defended Qi Tian's actions as a way to expose Zone 1's weakness and protect the Safe Zone's future.
• Qi Boyuan ordered the Qi Legion to pull back, consolidate its defenses, and keep its distance from Zone 1 and Qin Siyang.