Chapter Summaries

After Qi Tian’s death, Qi Boyuan ordered the Qi Legion to abandon its ties with Qin Siyang and appease Zone 1, while the four army commanders debated rebelling or leaving. Secretary-General Qian Wendao called Tian Luzhang and asked what he intended to do, leaving Tian’s decision unresolved.

• Qi Boyuan ordered the finance director to sell the Qi Legion’s Joint Mining shares, withdraw from Qin Siyang’s United Merchants’ Association, and suspend outside cooperation.
• Qi Boyuan ordered the Qi Legion to seal its camp, recall its forces, and replace Qi Tian’s painting with the character for “forbearance.”
• Bao Xianghui, Luan Cheng, and Gao Kaiyi urged Tian Luzhang to rebel against Qi Boyuan or leave the Qi Legion, warning that Qi Boyuan was gathering troops to strip them of command.
• Qian Wendao called Tian Luzhang and confirmed Qi Boyuan planned to leave the united front and join Zone 1.
• Bao Xianghui told Qian Wendao that he, Luan Cheng, and Gao Kaiyi wanted to rebel, and Qian asked Tian Luzhang what he intended to do.

Tian Luzhang recalled Qi Tian’s final instructions and, with Qian Wendao’s urging, chose to protect the Qi Legion from Qi Boyuan’s ambitions. He led three fellow army commanders into headquarters, where the guards surrendered and Tian declared Qi Boyuan was no longer commander.

• Qian Wendao reminded Tian Luzhang that Qi Tian had asked him to prevent the Qi Legion from being ruined by his son.
• Tian Luzhang recalled Qi Tian’s instructions to remove Qi Boyuan if he defied him, protect the legion’s soldiers, and repay Qin Siyang’s favor.
• Tian Luzhang put on his military cap and told three army commanders to help settle Qi Tian’s unfinished affairs.
• The four commanders entered headquarters, and Bao Xianghui ordered the guard regiment to disarm and surrender.
• Tian Luzhang kicked open the commander's office doors and told Qi Boyuan he was no longer commander.

Tian Luzhang removed Qi Boyuan from power and took command of the Qi Legion, keeping its name after Qi Tian’s death. Elsewhere, Qin Yingguang, Han Huizhi, Kyle, and Zoff discussed Tian’s decision and began making plans to work together.

• Tian Luzhang showed Qi Boyuan Qi Tian’s note, then had Qi Boyuan and the staff and family loyalists detained.
• Tian Luzhang asked the other three army commanders to support him as commander, and they agreed.
• Tian Luzhang ordered the troops to hold position, said he would contact Secretary-General Qian, and kept the name Qi Legion.
• The Qi Legion quickly accepted Tian Luzhang as commander, though his choice not to rename it drew discussion.
• Qin Yingguang, Han Huizhi, Kyle, and Zoff debated Tian Luzhang’s motives while playing mahjong, then agreed to switch to Texas Hold’em and toast their partnership.

After Qi Tian’s death, Tian Luzhang seized control of the Qi Legion, while Qin Siyang mourned Qi Tian and reaffirmed his resolve to continue. The [Apocalypse Fragment] revealed that its author was a [God] and warned that reaching origin sequence level five would merge domains, while a sequence level ten one believer could doom the Safe Zone to a God invasion.

• Tian Luzhang took control of the Qi Legion, and Qin Siyang and the allied factions tacitly accepted him as commander.
• Qin Siyang mourned Qi Tian, reflected on the weight of his sacrifice, and vowed to keep going.
• Qin Siyang read the newly revealed third section of the [Apocalypse Fragment], which forced his gaze to remain on its text.
• The fragment’s author identified himself as a [God] and said origin sequence level five would merge Qin Siyang’s domain into the [evolutionary origin domain].
• The fragment explained that the path of self-verification opposed the path of the believer and warned that a sequence level ten one believer could disable the Safe Zone’s protection from Gods.

After reading the third part of the [Apocalypse Fragment], Qin Siyang learned that the gods would destroy the Safe Zone when a Believer reached Sequence Level Eleven and that the domains would eventually merge. He spent two days searching for a way out, then told Qian Wendao the truth and prepared to discuss his plan.

• Qin Siyang learned that the gods would invalidate the Safe Zone when someone on the Path of the Believer reached Sequence Level Eleven, and that multiple [Evolutionary Sequence Domains] would merge into the [Evolutionary Origin Domain].
• Qin Siyang realized that the older domains could have decades of advancement on his, leaving his people badly outmatched, and resolved to find a way out.
• Qin Siyang spent two days and nights in his room considering possible solutions before arranging to meet Qian Wendao.
• Qin Siyang told Qian Wendao about the third part of the [Apocalypse Fragment], the gods' invasion mechanism, and the coming domain merger.
• Qian Wendao accepted that the fragment might be genuine and asked Qin Siyang what ideas he had for solving the crisis.

Qin Siyang proposed mobilizing the Safe Zone’s population by making sequence ability awakening universal, hoping its numbers could overcome powerful enemies after the evolutionary origin domain merge. Qian Wendao agreed it was the only viable path and decided to convene a meeting, though they would need to present the agenda indirectly.

• Qin Siyang asked Qian Wendao about Ander, Royt, and Chao Ding, and Qian Wendao said Ander was the Safe Zone’s strongest fighter while refusing to discuss Chao Ding.
• Qin Siyang considered persuading Ander to stop advancing or killing him, but Qian Wendao said Ander would never agree and could not be killed while he remained in Zone 1.
• Qin Siyang proposed relying on the Safe Zone’s large population and making sequence ability awakening public to prepare for an age of universal sequence.
• Qian Wendao warned that universal sequence would disrupt civilian order and require extensive preparation, then considered the plan in silence.
• Qian Wendao agreed there was no other way and decided to call a meeting, with Qin Siyang presenting the agenda without directly mentioning the evolutionary origin domain merge.

Qin Siyang and Qian Wendao briefed the Safe Zone’s faction leaders on the third part of the [Apocalypse Fragment] and concealed the true timing of the coming domain merger to keep Ander from acting too soon. Qin Siyang then introduced a plan by asking what might happen if people like Ander seized power in the other [evolutionary sequence domains].

• Qian Wendao gathered representatives from the United Government, Legion, Mining Industry, schools, scientific research, Merchants' Association, and Church for a private meeting.
• Qian Wendao announced that he had obtained the third part of the [Apocalypse Fragment] and said the [evolutionary sequence domain] would merge into an [evolutionary origin domain] at the end of 2013.
• Qian Wendao hid the possibility of an earlier merger so Ander would believe he had more time before the change and would be less likely to launch a desperate attack.
• Chu Zhongxiong questioned whether the Safe Zone would survive long enough for the merger, since Ander would not wait three years.
• Qian Wendao said the briefing provided background for Qin Siyang’s plan, and Qin Siyang asked the attendees to consider what would happen if people like Ander took power in other domains.

Qin Siyang proposed making Sequence Ability awakening methods public so the Safe Zone could prepare for threats from other evolutionary sequence domains by awakening its entire population. Qian Wendao began laying out a rapid plan, and the meeting provisionally accepted Zhao Longteng’s method of spreading Sequence Potion vapor throughout each district.

• Qin Siyang kept Qian Wendao’s origins in another evolutionary sequence domain secret and warned the gathering that the Safe Zone faced powerful rivals when the domains merged.
• Qin Siyang proposed publicizing Sequence Ability awakening methods and mobilizing the Safe Zone’s larger population to enter an era of universal sequence.
• Chu Zhongxiong, Olof, and Han Shuo raised concerns about organizing, training, supplies, and resistance to changing the Safe Zone’s established order.
• Qian Wendao called on the experienced leaders to work together and said they could establish the new order in a week rather than a year.
• Zhao Longteng offered to boil Sequence Potions and spread their vapor through each district to raise awakening chances, despite the dark cyan mist it produced.
• Qian Wendao provisionally accepted Zhao Longteng’s method, saying a city of mist was better than a city of slaves.

Qian Wendao organized the Safe Zone’s mobilization for war, assigning officials to oversee propaganda, food production, awakenings, logistics, manufacturing, training, education, research, and public security. The plan took shape, while the Qi and Yan legions remained outside the private meeting and the Qin and Han legions were excluded as defectors.

• Qian Wendao appointed Hu Chan to lead the War Propaganda Department, and Qin Siyang agreed to publish black sweet potato cultivation techniques and distribute seeds.
• Qian Wendao assigned Zhao Longfei to lead the Awakening Department and ordered Tang Wangong to prioritize it for Sequence Potions.
• Qian Wendao tasked officials and family heads with planning logistical support, expanding production of combat tools, organizing training, and managing Safe Zone exits.
• Wei Rulai questioned the exclusion of the Qin and Han legions, but Qin Siyang persuaded him that training would strengthen the Wei Character Legion.
• Qian Wendao appointed Han Shuo as minister of education and recruited Zhu Haifeng and Li Tianming to help train exceptional ability users.
• Qian Wendao put the Police Department under Olof, who said he would reassign personnel and denied killing innocent people.

Qian Wendao organized the Universal Sequence Special Action Group and ordered its members to prepare plans within a week. Afterward, he and Qin Siyang discussed primordial starshine, advancement to origin sequence level five, and Ander’s strength, leaving Qian determined to advance quickly and remain in District 2.

• Qian Wendao appointed himself leader and Qin Siyang deputy leader of the Universal Sequence Special Action Group, then ordered everyone to finalize their plans within a week.
• The group members left to work on the operation, while Qian Wendao asked Qin Siyang to stay in District 2.
• Qin Siyang learned that Qian Wendao had collected 137 primordial starshine and that Qian suspected reaching origin sequence level five might require 150 or all available starshine.
• Qian Wendao told Qin Siyang that Ander had overwhelming offense and defense, could recharge in Zone 1, and could recharge across the evolutionary sequence domain during the year-end transition.
• Qian Wendao agreed to prioritize advancing to origin sequence level five and remain stationed in District 2 to handle the coming changes.

Qin Siyang spent two weeks helping the United Government finalize its universal sequence plans while delegating his shops to trusted allies. With the special action group assembled and the plans settled, the Safe Zone prepared to make a major announcement the next day.

• Qin Siyang put Shi Tao in charge of his own shop and persuaded Yang Guanglie to watch the [Yu Gu] shop while he worked on Safe Zone plans.
• Qin Siyang and Qian Wendao spent two weeks reviewing proposals and forming the Universal Sequence Special Action Group with Shan En, medical experts, United Government officials, and members of the Yan Character Legion.
• Qin Siyang brought Qi Legion commander Tian Luzhang into the group, shared the path of self-verification with him, and promised to help him switch paths after the work was done.
• Qin Siyang told Zhao Longteng that the plan was settled and everything would be announced the next day.

Qian Wendao announced that the United Government had developed a way to greatly increase everyone’s chance of awakening a sequence ability. When people feared the strange azure mist was poison, Qin Siyang appeared and persuaded them to trust the program and breathe it in.

• The United Government broadcast its announcement from Gu Weiyang’s grave, with another venue set beside Qi Tian’s grave.
• Qian Wendao told the Safe Zone that a mass sequence-awakening program would soon begin and that it could help people regardless of wealth or status.
• People across the regions doubted the announcement, and many feared the azure mist rising from guarded pots was poison gas.
• Qin Siyang appeared beside Qian Wendao and vouched for the plan, calming the crowds.
• The ordinary people trusted Qin Siyang and began breathing in the azure mist.

Qin Siyang announced that Sequence Abilities would become available to ordinary people, and awakenings erupted throughout the Safe Zone. Qian Wendao warned that outside threats could bring slavery, urging everyone to prepare for war and claim their future.

• An emaciated girl awakened a Sequence Ability and conjured crimson flames, prompting staff to register her.
• People across the Safe Zone awakened a range of Sequence Abilities, and crowds celebrated Qin Siyang’s promise of universal access.
• Qin Siyang declared that the Safe Zone had entered the era of universal sequence and urged people to register their abilities.
• Qian Wendao warned that gods and people from other Safe Zones could threaten them, and that the weak might be enslaved.
• Qian Wendao called on residents to train, produce supplies, and fight for their survival as hidden dragons raised their heads.

After Qian Wendao announced that ordinary people could awaken sequence abilities, Qin Siyang and the special operations team prepared for the consequences and took a brief respite. Qin Siyang and Li Tianming then left the Safe Zone to hunt gods and encountered the Waterlogged Begonia again.

• Qian Wendao told the Safe Zone that anyone could become a sequence ability user, and ordinary people wept with relief at the end of years of hardship.
• After the announcement, Qian Wendao and Qin Siyang discussed the challenges ahead, while Zhao Longfei and Olof prepared to manage registration and public safety.
• Li Tianming invited Qin Siyang to hunt gods with medicine Feng He had made using titan reed, and Qin Siyang agreed.
• Qin Siyang and Li Tianming left the Safe Zone in the Drill Pod to search for Skywalking Lion-Eagles.
• They encountered the Blood Salamander and Waterlogged Begonia, and Qin Siyang decided to replenish his supply of Crimson Crystals.

Qin Siyang entered a Waterlogged Begonia to hunt Blood Salamanders and collect Crimson Crystals while Li Tianming went off on his own. After Qin Siyang killed a newly emerged Blood Salamander and was carried underground again, Wei Rulai arrived too late to claim the treasure.

• Qin Siyang told Li Tianming he planned to enter the Waterlogged Begonia, and Li Tianming warned him that it might be a large god.
• Qin Siyang equipped his Armor artifacts, entered the Waterlogged Begonia, and was carried underground as Li Tianming headed away to hunt gods.
• Qin Siyang survived the corrosive fluid with his Air Shield and watched a Blood Salamander emerge, grow rapidly, and lay an egg.
• Qin Siyang killed the Blood Salamander when the Waterlogged Begonia bloomed, took its large Crimson Crystal, and was carried underground again.
• Wei Rulai arrived at the empty hole and realized he had missed the Waterlogged Begonia and its Crimson Crystal.

Qin Siyang spent five days inside the Waterlogged Begonia, killing Blood Salamanders while the Sandworm watched without attacking. When he tried to escape underground, the Waterlogged Begonia pursued him, and blinding light surrounded him.

• Qin Siyang discovered that the Sandworm appeared whenever the Waterlogged Begonia bloomed but stayed nearby without attacking.
• Qin Siyang spent five days killing Blood Salamanders and collecting hundreds of jin of Crimson Crystals.
• Qin Siyang punched the Waterlogged Begonia's inner petals but could neither break through them nor stop them from returning to their original shape.
• Qin Siyang took the Blood Salamander egg and used [Feast Kingdom] to escape underground, but the Waterlogged Begonia repeatedly caught up with him.
• Qin Siyang realized the Waterlogged Begonia was pursuing him, and light suddenly flooded the darkness around him.

Qin Siyang entered the Waterlogged Begonia's Succession Trial, where his artifacts failed and thick red liquid threatened his oxygen supply. He fought off waves of Blood Salamanders and collected their crystals, but more than a hundred appeared as he struggled to find the trial's objective.

• Qin Siyang realized the red liquid disabled his God-Hunting Artifacts and seeped into his armor, leaving him with limited oxygen.
• Qin Siyang identified the surroundings as the Waterlogged Begonia's Succession Trial and blocked a powerful Blood Salamander's attack.
• Qin Siyang killed the Blood Salamander, took its dark red crystal, and then fought off more that kept appearing.
• Qin Siyang killed successive groups of Blood Salamanders but grew short of breath and wondered how to pass the trial.
• Qin Siyang saw more than a hundred Blood Salamanders appear around him.

Qin Siyang used his Long Spear to break through the Waterlogged Begonia and escape, only to be returned inside for another encounter. A true God called a begonia salamander appeared, spoke with him, and asked where he had gotten his spear.

• Qin Siyang activated [Taste of Godhood] and killed over a hundred Blood Salamanders with his Long Spear.
• He poured his remaining strength into a spear thrust that blasted through the Waterlogged Begonia, then used Teleportation to reach the tunnel and breathe fresh air.
• Another begonia petal appeared, and Qin Siyang was transported back inside the flower among the Blood Salamander corpses.
• A powerful Blood Salamander appeared and spoke Chinese, revealing that the begonia flowers were dwellings and that it was a true God.
• Qin Siyang learned the being's species was begonia salamander, and it asked where he had gotten his Long Spear.

Qin Siyang learned how the Begonia Salamander’s [Succession Trial] was meant to be completed while collecting the salamander corpses and crystals he had killed. The Begonia Salamander reluctantly accepted his actions, and Qin Siyang left with the materials.

• Qin Siyang told the Begonia Salamander that he had received his Intermediate Growth Artifact by passing the Green Vine Tribe’s [Succession Trial].
• The Begonia Salamander questioned Qin Siyang about the salamanders he had killed, then reluctantly let him collect their corpses and dark red crystals.
• The Begonia Salamander revealed that Qin Siyang could have ended the trial by smashing the egg he had stolen.
• The Begonia Salamander explained that finding a way out of the begonia while carrying the egg triggered the trial, and that the flower’s center was the intended escape route.
• Qin Siyang finished gathering the materials and thanked the Begonia Salamander, which remained visibly furious.

After passing the [Succession Trial], Qin Siyang received invisible gill slits and learned the Begonia Salamander would spare him from the Sandworm’s trial in exchange for his salamander corpses and dark red crystals. Qin Siyang refused to surrender everything, then tried to negotiate a better deal, leaving the Begonia Salamander questioning its take-it-or-leave-it approach to business.

• Qin Siyang discovered that his reward for the [Succession Trial] was invisible gill slits that let him breathe in any environment.
• The Begonia Salamander realized Qin Siyang had reached origin sequence level one and said they might meet again.
• The Begonia Salamander offered to save Qin Siyang from the Sandworm’s trial if he returned the salamander corpses and dark red crystals later.
• Qin Siyang refused to give everything back and claimed he could escape the Sandworm on his own.
• Qin Siyang stopped the Begonia Salamander from leaving and demanded a more reasonable deal.
• The Begonia Salamander wondered whether past deals could have succeeded if it had negotiated instead of walking away after rejected offers.