Chapter Summaries

Qin Siyang negotiated with the Begonia Salamander for half of his corpses and dark red crystals in exchange for its help escaping the Sandworm. After learning the salamander would be expelled for breaking assessment rules, he escaped in the Drill Pod while it stayed behind to restrain the Sandworm.

• Qin Siyang agreed to give the Begonia Salamander half of his corpses and dark red crystals when they met again in return for it saving his life.
• The Begonia Salamander called Qin Siyang the future [Miracle Worker] who would turn things around for the Eighth Domain and warned him to stay alive.
• The Begonia Salamander explained that it would be expelled because its assessment and judgment had violated the rules.
• The Begonia Salamander told Qin Siyang to leave when the begonia opened, then demanded that he return its egg.
• Qin Siyang returned the egg and fled in the Drill Pod as the Begonia Salamander transformed into a flower bud and wrapped itself around the pursuing Sandworm.

Qin Siyang escaped the Sandworm after the Begonia Salamander restrained it, but the Sandworm soon resumed its pursuit. The Succession Envoy arrived and heard the Begonia Salamander explain his rule-breaking trial and losses, leaving their exchange unresolved.

• Qin Siyang fled underground in the Drill Pod after the Sandworm chased him, and the Begonia Salamander stopped the attack long enough for him to escape.
• The Succession Envoy arrived, and the Sandworm demanded compensation for the Begonia Salamander interfering with its trial.
• The Begonia Salamander gave the Sandworm two blood crystals and warned it against demanding more, after which the Sandworm set off after Qin Siyang.
• The Succession Envoy questioned why the Begonia Salamander had broken the rules, and the salamander explained that he had hoped to recover blood crystals and avoid further losses.
• The Begonia Salamander said he had come to Earth to conduct trials because he needed to deliver resources to the Succession Domain.

The Begonia Salamander left the Wasteland after confronting Crows, while the members of [Order Maintenance] gathered for what Qian Wendao called their final meeting. They agreed to keep resisting Zone 1 after the organization disbanded, but worried about Ander and Qin Siyang’s disappearance.

• Crows asked whether the Begonia Salamander wanted to take his grandfather’s place and said he was still far from ready; the Begonia Salamander admitted Crows might be right.
• The Begonia Salamander said he would leave the trial, warned Crows not to die, and departed the Wasteland inside a begonia bud.
• Qian Wendao told Xie Nanyun, Han Shuo, Olof, Chu Zhongxiong, and Zhao Longteng that [Order Maintenance] would hold its final meeting because a united front against Zone 1 had formed.
• Han Shuo questioned Qian Wendao about whether 000 had died long ago, but Qian Wendao refused to discuss the truth and said 000 would not harm them.
• Xie Nanyun asked whether the group could kill Ander, and Olof and Qian Wendao admitted they were weaker than the task required; Qian Wendao nevertheless insisted they would survive the year.
• Olof mentioned that a gecko-like God Illusion had vanished, and Chu Zhongxiong worried that the missing Qin Siyang might have encountered Royt.

An Youlu urged Ander to send Royt after Qin Siyang, warning that the Safe Zone’s growing ranks of sequence ability users and hidden plans threatened Zone 1. Ander refused to act, trusting his strength and planning to wait for the year-end transition, while An Youlu warned that neither of them might survive until then.

• An Youlu demanded that Ander persuade Royt to kill Qin Siyang, but Ander said Royt had cut ties with him and Zone 1 was beyond saving.
• An Youlu warned that hundreds of thousands of new sequence ability users could overwhelm Ander, but Ander believed Qin Siyang and the others would not sacrifice people to kill him.
• Ander dismissed the danger of the other Safe Zones and the [Apocalypse Fragment], saying he would rebuild Zone 1 if its order collapsed.
• Ander told An Youlu that he alone mattered to him and promised answers after the year-end transition.
• An Youlu sneered that he would not live to see the transition and feared Ander would not either.

After Ander refused to help Zone 1’s former leaders, An Youlu held them a farewell banquet and died by suicide. The chapter ended with his note telling them they had been abandoned and that he had gone ahead.

• Ander told An Youlu that he lacked the conviction and patience to change anything, while Black Cat advised him to stop trying.
• An Youlu returned to the ruined camp and saw Zone 1’s former influential figures living amid shortages and squalor.
• An Youlu announced a banquet and let the others believe Ander would save them, though he knew Ander would not intervene.
• An Youlu toasted with his colleagues as they drank and celebrated their imagined return to power.
• After the others passed out, An Youlu took a pill with his drink and left a note explaining that he had held a farewell banquet before taking his own life.

After An Youlu’s suicide left Zone 1’s remaining officials trapped and fearful, Fan Baoluo joined a Safe Zone meeting about unrest caused by the universal sequence policy. Qin Siyang proposed using newly awakened Sequence Ability Users to strengthen law enforcement and funding their salaries by raising taxes on the Mining Industry and the Merchants' Association.

• An Youlu’s death left the officials in Zone 1 with no way out, forcing them to wait for Ander or the other districts to determine their fate.
• Fan Baoluo reflected on his mixed feelings about An Youlu’s suicide, then accepted Olof’s invitation to attend a Safe Zone meeting.
• Olof reported that unregistered sequence awakenings had sparked crime and protests, while established Sequence Ability Users’ resistance had caused strikes across industries.
• Qin Siyang proposed treating failure to register as a legal violation, and Sun Linshou recommended enforcing the Red-Line Laws against offenders.
• Qin Siyang suggested placing newly awakened Sequence Ability Users in the Police Department and Department of Justice, then proposed raising taxes on the Mining Industry and the Merchants' Association to pay their salaries.

Qin Siyang defended a proposed tax increase to fund the United Government’s budget, while officials discussed public protests and tensions between new and veteran Sequence Ability Users. Fan Baoluo argued that the government should keep the conflict within legal bounds and let a new balance emerge, prompting Qin Siyang to praise him and question why he remained in Zone 1.

• Qin Siyang proposed raising taxes on mining companies and merchants, arguing that their rapidly growing profits would remain substantial and that the measure would fund the United Government.
• Chu Zhongxiong agreed to draft a tiered tax plan, while Sun Linshou and Olof concluded that protests over the new decree came from dissatisfaction with benefits rather than injustice.
• Qian Wendao raised the conflict between new and veteran Sequence Ability Users, and Fan Baoluo argued that the government should prevent serious harm but otherwise let the groups compete until a balance emerged.
• Qin Siyang praised Fan Baoluo’s insight and asked Qian Wendao why someone so capable was left in Zone 1.

Qin Siyang told Qian Wendao that he had collected over fifty kilograms of Crimson Crystal and revealed that he may have eliminated the Waterlogged Begonia, another large god. Their conversation ended with Qian Wendao warning him about Royt, whose identity remained unknown.

• Qin Siyang told Qian Wendao that he had collected over fifty kilograms of Crimson Crystal and had already given tens of kilograms to Old Li, Professor Lu, and the Zhao Family.
• Qian Wendao declined to take any Crimson Crystal and told Qin Siyang that the rare material would retain its value.
• Qin Siyang explained that the Waterlogged Begonia was a large god and that he might have passed its [Succession Trial] and eliminated it.
• Qian Wendao realized the gecko-shaped God Illusion that had disappeared from the Path of the Believer was the Waterlogged Begonia's true form.
• Qian Wendao warned Qin Siyang that Royt might try to kill him, but neither of them knew Royt's cover identity.

Qin Siyang returned to the Qin Character Special Army, inspected the camp, and encouraged its soldiers to take their training seriously. He learned that Edward and the others had not broken through because they could not obtain the offerings they needed, and he said he had some materials for them.

• Qin Siyang approached the camp’s main gate, passed the guards’ lie detector, and was welcomed after the defensive barriers were opened.
• Qin Siyang urged the soldiers to take their difficult training seriously, while the squad leader reprimanded a guard for complaining in front of him.
• Qin Siyang saw that the soldiers saluted him and credited Edward and the others with keeping the army’s discipline and morale strong.
• Edward, the Three Brothers of the Wang Family, She Haqiang, and Rong Xin welcomed Qin Siyang at headquarters.
• Qin Siyang asked whether they had advanced along the Path of Self-Verification, and Wang Defa explained that they could not obtain the required primary offering.
• Qin Siyang recalled how difficult it had been to kill the medium gods needed for offerings and told them he had some materials.

Qin Siyang supplied the army with primary offerings and advised its leaders before heading out with Li Tianming to hunt the Skywalking Lion-Eagle. Li Tianming told him about Nanrong’s new Student Council, whose elected presidium was absent and whose daily affairs were left to Fu Wanli’s Acting Presidium.

• Qin Siyang gave the army leaders enough disc carapaces for primary offerings, removed his aura from them, and urged them to learn better training and command methods from the Chu Character Legion and the Qi Legion.
• Qin Siyang drove to Area No. 7 with Li Tianming, and they set out to challenge the Skywalking Lion-Eagle again.
• Li Tianming offered Qin Siyang thirty doses of [Primordial Starshine], but Qin Siyang said his increased strength meant the medicine would help little.
• Li Tianming told Qin Siyang that he was Nanrong’s Student Council chairman, Duan Chongfang was vice chairman, and Ban Dingyuan was secretary-general despite none of them running or attending.
• Li Tianming explained that Fu Wanli had become acting chairman to run the Student Council’s daily affairs, and Qin Siyang worried that Professor Harrison would ruin the Nanrong Principal Zhao had built.

Qin Siyang struggled with a plateau in his strength and went underground to relax with Quan Taibin, who revealed a remarkable new ore that could grow and improve equipment. The discovery gave Qin Siyang a promising new lead as he faced the challenges ahead.

• Qin Siyang continued his steady cultivation and monthly trips with Li Tianming, but worried that his strength had stalled and that he could not pass the sandworm's or Skywalking Lion-Eagle's Succession Trial.
• Qin Siyang went underground to share hot pot with Quan Taibin, who said he had reached origin sequence level two but preferred to remain in hiding.
• Quan Taibin told Qin Siyang that he had been studying the new ores and found one that contained abundant energy and could grow when cultivated in a sequence potion.
• Quan Taibin explained that coating Tier Four Armor with the ore increased its heat resistance, and that the ore also improved fragments of a Tier Five Artifact.
• Qin Siyang sprang to his feet in excitement at the discovery that the ore could enhance equipment.

Qin Siyang learned that Quan Taibin had developed biological ore that could enhance artifacts, then fed it to his Tier Six Long Spear. The spear absorbed the material and seemed to finish feeding, though its resulting changes remained unknown.

• Quan Taibin explained that biological ore had increased the hardness of a Tier Five Artifact fragment by more than four percent.
• Qin Siyang interrupted Quan Taibin’s meal and dragged him to the laboratory to see the enhancement process.
• Quan Taibin demonstrated how the biological ore burrowed into the Tier Five fragment and improved its attributes.
• Qin Siyang brought the biological ore and his Tier Six Long Spear into a Spatial Artifact and tried the material on the spear.
• The spear drew the biological ore inside, vibrated as Qin Siyang sensed it feeding, then stopped and gave a satisfied hum.

Qin Siyang discovered that feeding biological ore to his Tier Six Long Spear greatly increased its power, and he obtained Quan Taibin’s remaining supply. The chapter ended with Qin Siyang promising to provide equipment and resources so Quan Taibin could produce more.

• Qin Siyang sensed that the spear had changed after absorbing biological ore and estimated that its thrusts had become at least ten percent stronger.
• Qin Siyang fed the spear all the remaining biological ore he had, and its full-strength thrusts grew to more than twice their previous power.
• Qin Siyang praised Quan Taibin’s research and asked how to strengthen artifacts with biological ore.
• Quan Taibin explained that producing absorbable biological ore required many steps and gave Qin Siyang his remaining supply.
• Qin Siyang offered to provide laboratory equipment and resources to help Quan Taibin increase production, and Quan Taibin agreed to prepare a list.

Qin Siyang supplied Quan Taibin with materials so he could produce biological ore, which the Tier Six Long Spear consumed to grow stronger. Olof gave Qin Siyang a Tier Five Crimson Armor made from his materials, and Qin Siyang offered him five kilograms of Crimson Crystal to improve it further.

• Qin Siyang fed biological ore to the Tier Six Long Spear, which grew roughly three times more powerful after consuming two clumps.
• Qin Siyang gathered and delivered the materials on Quan Taibin's list until Quan Taibin could produce biological ore continuously.
• Qin Siyang discovered that fighting a god made the spear hungry again, allowing it to consume more biological ore and increase its airflow range.
• Olof gave Qin Siyang a self-repairing Tier Five Crimson Armor made from Crimson Crystal and Vine Heart.
• Qin Siyang gave Olof about five kilograms of Crimson Crystal, and Olof took the armor back to work on its shortcomings.

Qin Siyang and [Yu Gu] turned the Underground City into Sigma District’s commercial center, while criminals helped protect the business that sustained them. Gu Yunpeng took office in Sigma District with support from Qin Siyang and their allies, and the chapter ended with Qian Wendao telling Qin Siyang he had reached origin sequence level five.

• Qin Siyang and [Yu Gu] used their shops and influence to dominate the Underground City’s commerce and enrich Sigma District.
• Liu Ghosthand and the bald butcher punished fraudsters and robbers, as other criminals helped keep the district’s streets safe for business.
• Liu Yingfeng transferred to the Police Department, leaving Sigma District’s leadership posts vacant.
• Gu Yunpeng insisted on serving as district chief, and Gu Weirong reluctantly accepted his decision.
• The United Merchants' Association, the United Church, Chu Baxing, and Qin Siyang backed Gu Yunpeng’s administration and security.
• Qian Wendao called Qin Siyang to his office and announced that he had broken through to origin sequence level five.

Qian Wendao explained that reaching origin sequence level five required obtaining eighty percent of the maximum [primordial starshine] available from one’s ritual offering, and Qin Siyang criticized the resulting disadvantage for those with higher-value offerings. Qian Wendao argued that the sequence ability system was fair, leaving Qin to consider how it had allowed obscure people to rise to power.

• Qian Wendao told Qin Siyang that he had reached origin sequence level five after collecting 157 [primordial starshine], eighty percent of the value of his disc carapace offering.
• Qian Wendao explained that the breakthrough threshold depended on each person’s offering, and that his strength had increased more than fivefold without granting him new skills.
• Qin Siyang argued that the threshold unfairly made people with higher-value offerings take much longer to reach level five, leaving them vulnerable while others advanced further.
• Qin Siyang doubted that even he could defeat Qian Wendao, but Qian Wendao insisted Qin’s elusive movements made him stronger than the Sandworm trial suggested.
• Qian Wendao reasoned that the sequence ability system must reward effort and said it was fair, pointing to Safe Zone leaders who had risen from obscurity unlike historical elites.

Qin Siyang and Qian Wendao discussed the Safe Zone’s future and whether they could kill Ander before merging into the [Evolutionary Origin Domain]. Qian Wendao explained that Ander was too powerful to challenge safely and revealed that Chao Ding had been dead for ten years.

• Qian Wendao recalled how Gu Weiyang had argued that true fairness meant treating everyone as human beings, rather than letting strength alone decide order.
• Qin Siyang told Qian Wendao that he needed about fifty more [Primordial Starshine] to break through, which might take another three months because of medicine-production limits.
• Qin Siyang proposed killing Ander to delay the Safe Zone’s merger into the [Evolutionary Origin Domain] until more residents reached sequence level five.
• Qian Wendao warned Qin Siyang that Ander could kill opponents stronger than himself and ranked him far above the Safe Zone’s other fighters.
• Qin Siyang asked whether Chao Ding could help defeat Ander, and Qian Wendao revealed that Chao Ding had been dead for ten years.

Qian Wendao told Qin Siyang that Chao Ding had died years ago and explained how his ability had restrained Ander and shaped the Safe Zone’s early political order. Qin Siyang left to focus on growing stronger, while Qian Wendao looked at an old photograph of himself, Gu Weiyang, and Chao Ding.

• Qian Wendao revealed that a Ghost-Faced Heron had swallowed Chao Ding after the World-Destroying Church broke through the Safe Zone’s blast-resistant glass.
• Qian Wendao explained how Ander had switched sides in the dispute over Zhang Yang’s feudal system and how Chao Ding’s ability had helped keep Ander from seizing power.
• Qian Wendao admitted that he and Gu Weiyang had killed everyone who knew Chao Ding was dead so Ander would continue to fear him.
• Qin Siyang told Qian Wendao that Chao Ding had not been careless, and Qian Wendao urged Qin Siyang to reach origin sequence level five and contact Zuo You for medicine.
• After Qin Siyang left, Qian Wendao took out a photograph of himself, Gu Weiyang, and Chao Ding.

Zuo You reflected on how Qin Siyang’s leadership had given doctors security and freedom, then accepted a request to supply medicine capable of reviving the recently dead. He gave Qin Siyang fifty doses of [Revival Needle] in exchange for two Tier Four Artifacts, explaining that only Qin’s protection made the medicine worth trading openly.

• Zuo You studied a Tier Four Artifact blueprint and thought about how the Joint Medical Association had allowed him to stop hiding his medical abilities.
• Qin Siyang visited Zuo You and offered two offensive Tier Four Artifacts for medicine that could bring the dead back to life.
• Zuo You initially offered to give Qin Siyang the medicine for free, but Qin insisted that they follow the association’s exchange rules.
• Zuo You retrieved fifty doses of [Revival Needle], which could revive someone who had been dead for no more than three minutes.
• Zuo You accepted the two artifacts and explained that without Qin Siyang’s protection, others would steal the medicine rather than pay for it.

Qin Siyang continued preparing for the domain merger by stockpiling [Primordial Starshine], testing Olof’s reforged self-repairing Armor, and strengthening his Tier Six Long Spear. With his preparations nearly complete, he decided it was time to speak with Qian Wendao.

• Zuo You gave Qin Siyang a Storage Box as protection money and a token of respect, and Qin Siyang accepted it.
• Qin Siyang gathered [Primordial Starshine] while fighting the Skywalking Lion-Eagle, stopping his deliberate deaths for now and planning to prepare all one hundred and ninety-nine motes before breaking through.
• Olof gave Qin Siyang a reforged crimson Armor, which repaired itself within seconds after Qin Siyang’s punch damaged it, and explained that it needed recharging with Crimson Crystals.
• Qin Siyang continued collecting biological ore from Quan Taibin and feeding it to his Tier Six Long Spear, raising its strength to twenty times its original power.
• Qin Siyang judged that his preparations for merging into the [Evolutionary Origin Domain] were nearly complete and decided to speak with Qian Wendao.