Chapter Summaries

After rejecting cooperation with the convoy leaders, Lin Yi focused on surviving the hotel and investigating the Eighteenth Floor. He entered its stairwell, where darkness swallowed the light and sound.

• Lin Yi told Fang Yan, Zhang Qi, and Kong Buyu that he would fend for himself after the deaths and their failure to share hidden rules.
• Lin Yi guessed that potion ingredients might be on the Eighteenth Floor and refused to seek cooperation with Zhang Qi.
• The convoy groups split up, while Lin Yi treated the hotel attendant as a neutral NPC and requested vegetarian food.
• Zhou Ke and the other remaining people on the Seventeenth Floor left to find Zhang Qi, and Lin Yi took his Machete and entered the stairwell to the Eighteenth Floor.
• Darkness engulfed Lin Yi as the light and sounds around him disappeared.

Lin Yi reached the Eighteenth Floor and discovered a powerful aberration behind its sealed door, then learned the attendant would not explain what was there. Back on the Seventeenth Floor, he rested while Zhou Ke and the others faced Zhang Qi’s plan to use hidden rule ten against him and Fang Yan.

• Lin Yi used [Deconstruction and Transference] on the Eighteenth Floor’s iron door, but a blood-red eye and a wave of terror made him seal the gap with the Thorns and retreat.
• Lin Yi concluded that the aberration behind the door was likely level six or seven and resolved not to transform into the Aberrant Man-Dragon unless necessary.
• At dinner, the attendant repeatedly warned Lin Yi that anyone who went to the Eighteenth Floor could not return, while Lin Yi stored the food supplies in his Wristwatch.
• Zhou Ke and the others returned looking grim, and Zhou Ke silently held the Curio Zhang Qi had given her to monitor Lin Yi.
• Zhou Ke recalled Zhang Qi’s orders to report Lin Yi’s actions and force him to kill someone, while Zhang Qi planned to use hidden rule ten to target Lin Yi and Fang Yan.

Lin Yi refused to open Room 1717’s door when Zhang Qi’s accomplice begged for help, recognizing the trap meant to draw in the Aberration Old Man. Zhou Ke answered the room’s telephone and was killed, while Lin Yi remained safe and learned that the Old Man attacked whoever answered the call.

• At midnight, someone knocked on Room 1717 and pleaded with Lin Yi to open the door, but Lin Yi stayed in bed.
• Lin Yi accused Zhou Ke of helping Zhang Qi lure him into a trap with the Aberration Old Man, and she neither confirmed nor denied it.
• The Aberration Old Man killed the person outside, then the telephone in Lin Yi’s room rang despite Lin Yi warning Zhou Ke not to answer.
• Zhou Ke answered the call while clutching her Curio pendant, but the Aberration Old Man emerged from a pool of blood and attacked her.
• Lin Yi explained that answering the phone made Zhou Ke the Old Man’s target, and the Old Man killed her before leaving the room.

After the Aberration Old Man killed everyone else on the Seventeenth Floor, Lin Yi learned how to avoid becoming his target and warned Fang Yan about the level-six-or-higher creature on the Eighteenth Floor. Fang Yan searched the hotel for information about surviving Aberration Creatures as Lin Yi prepared for the dangers ahead and his planned escape on the seventh day.

• Lin Yi learned that the Aberration Old Man killed whoever answered his phone, and that Zhou Ke and the other Seventeenth Floor guests had died.
• Fang Yan joined Lin Yi for breakfast, and Lin Yi described seeing a terrifying eye beyond the doorway to the Eighteenth Floor.
• Fang Yan showed Lin Yi a seven-color flower and explained that seven differently colored flowers were needed to make a potion.
• Lin Yi told Fang Yan he had left the Aberration Old Man alive because killing every creature on a floor might cause unexpected trouble.
• Fang Yan went from floor to floor asking about surviving Aberration Creatures and relayed the information to Kong Buyu, who resented Zhang Qi for killing all the creatures on their floor.

Fang Yan warned Zhang Qi that killing every aberration in the Yellow Springs Hotel could trigger an even greater threat, but the slaughter had already transformed the Aberration Old Man into a level five creature. As survivors retreated, Fang Yan revealed that the old man could not be harmed and that both answering and ignoring his phone would lead to death.

• Fang Yan and Kong Buyu found Zhang Qi’s group had killed the Fourth Floor aberration, and Fang Yan warned Zhang Qi to stop before the hotel’s rules unleashed a worse threat.
• Zhang Qi learned that his people were still hunting aberrations upstairs and hurried to the Seventeenth Floor to stop them.
• Zhang Qi’s group saw the Aberration Old Man transform into a level five creature, while the second-in-command arrived and reported that his group had cleared the floors below.
• Zhang Qi ordered everyone to retreat, and the second-in-command’s group withdrew as well.
• Lin Yi realized that killing the Aberration Old Man might have released the terrifying entity on the Eighteenth Floor.
• Fang Yan showed Lin Yi his Curio’s findings: the Aberration Old Man was immune to damage, and answering or not answering his phone would both cause death.

Lin Yi and Fang Yan decided to lure the Eighteenth Floor’s Aberration Creature into a fight with the invulnerable Aberration Old Man, hoping to escape the Yellow Springs Hotel’s deadliest threat. Zhang Qi agreed to cooperate, then prepared to collect the Convoy’s Pendants so he could summon the souls of those who died.

• Fang Yan told Lin Yi that the Aberration Old Man attacked only at night and could not be countered, leaving the elevators as the only safe place.
• Lin Yi proposed opening the Eighteenth Floor’s iron door so its Aberration Creature might fight the Aberration Old Man, and Fang Yan agreed to seek Zhang Qi’s help.
• Fang Yan and Zhang Qi agreed to wait on the Seventeenth Floor and use a chair to hold an elevator door open while they took the gamble.
• Zhang Qi ordered the Convoy’s second-in-command to collect everyone’s Pendants, which could trap their owners’ souls and let Zhang Qi summon them after death.
• Zhang Qi told the second-in-command to bring several sequence sixes to the Seventeenth Floor, warning that this might be their only chance.

Lin Yi and the others used the clash between the Eighteenth-Floor Aberration Creature and the Aberration Old Man to reach the Eighteenth Floor and search for potion ingredients. Lin Yi found one of the Seven-Color Flowers, but a scream from beyond the corridor’s glowing wooden door left their next move uncertain.

• Zhang Qi told Lin Yi that the Undead Convoy’s remaining members had been killed and demanded to know whether the Eighteenth-Floor creature could fight the Aberration Old Man.
• Lin Yi asked the waiter to open the iron door to the Eighteenth Floor, and the creature came down through black mist toward the elevator.
• The Aberration Old Man’s telephones rang, drawing the Eighteenth-Floor creature into a fight and giving Lin Yi and the others a chance to rush upstairs.
• Fang Yan directed the group to search the rooms for potion ingredients while the two Aberrations were occupied.
• Lin Yi found a blue Seven-Color Flower and stored it, then heard a piercing scream from beyond the wooden door at the end of the corridor.

A hidden Aberration Creature trapped the survivors in the rooms and seized Zhang Qi’s younger brother as he tried to escape. Zhang Qi offered his Seven-Color Flowers for help, and Lin Yi used Sacrifice to turn the creature’s pale arm to ash.

• A deathly pale arm dragged away a Fire God Convoy member, then seized an Undead Convoy member who tried to flee.
• Lin Yi continued searching rooms and found red flowers while the hidden Aberration Creature captured another Fire God Convoy member.
• Zhang Qi’s younger brother tried to escape with his Curio’s holy light, but the creature caught him near the exit.
• Zhang Qi attacked the creature and offered all his Seven-Color Flowers in exchange for help saving his brother.
• Lin Yi took the flowers, activated Sacrifice, and turned the creature’s arm to ash.

Lin Yi escaped the Yellow Springs Hotel and learned that the seven days had passed outside, while the Undead Convoy’s members had been killed. Fang Yan survived the final attack, and he and Kong Buyu prepared to share the Undead Convoy’s abandoned supplies with Lin Yi.

• Lin Yi entered a portal on the Eighteenth Floor and emerged from the weird domain, where Zhu Cheng, Shangguan Bei, and Zhang Haitao were waiting.
• Lin Yi learned that seven days had passed outside and told the Fire God Convoy’s men that its captain and vice-captain were still inside.
• Kong Buyu escaped the domain in flames and told Lin Yi that the Aberration Creatures had attacked together, killing Zhang Qi and his younger brother.
• Kong Buyu explained that Fang Yan had stayed behind to hold off an Aberration Creature while the rest of the Undead Convoy died.
• Fang Yan staggered out with severe injuries, and Kong Buyu healed him with the Universal Potion.
• Fang Yan asked Lin Yi to send people to help divide up the Undead Convoy’s abandoned supplies.

After the Undead Convoy’s supplies were divided, Lin Yi learned from Fang Yan that advancing required potions made from seven-color flowers and that later Sequences brought greater danger and competition. With all the flowers he needed, Lin Yi began preparing to advance to Sequence Four as the Hometown Convoy waited to leave the fading weird domain.

• Shangguan Bei, Zhu Cheng, and Zhang Haitao sorted the Hometown Convoy’s share of supplies, and Lin Yi chose a modified Hummer and collected extra gasoline.
• Zhu Cheng asked Lin Yi to see her cousin, but he went to speak with Fang Yan and Kong Buyu instead.
• Fang Yan told Lin Yi that crushing and drinking seven-color flowers made the potion, and warned that competition and danger increased in later Sequences because only one person on each Pathway could become a god.
• Lin Yi thanked Fang Yan, agreed to meet him for a match someday, and told Shangguan Bei and the others that they could leave when the weird domain faded.
• Shangguan Bei found a mortar and pestle, and Lin Yi crushed his seven-color flowers as Zhu Cheng, Shangguan Bei, and Zhang Haitao watched and asked about advancement.

Lin Yi explained promotion potions and the competition for each sequence’s sole divine seat, while revealing that a deity was targeting him. Zhu Cheng chose to pursue godhood to save her cousin and secured five Promotion Potions from the Fire God Convoy, accepting the debt as her own.

• Lin Yi explained that Sequence Five advancement required potions and that only one person on each sequence pathway could become Sequence Zero while the current deity lived.
• Shangguan Bei and Zhang Haitao settled for reaching Sequence Five, but Zhu Cheng resolved to become the [Druid] deity to save her cousin.
• Lin Yi told Zhu Cheng that a deity was watching him and had caused the thorn vines on his arm, forcing him to advance quickly.
• Zhu Cheng left for the Fire God Convoy and asked Kong Buyu and Fang Yan for Promotion Potions in exchange for supplies.
• Fang Yan offered five Promotion Potions in return for a Seven-Color Flower, and Zhu Cheng accepted responsibility for the debt herself.

Zhu Cheng advanced to Sequence Five, and Lin Yi drank the potion that made him a Sequence Four [Illusory Fate Jester] with the power to alter rules within a fifty-meter domain. As he sensed his humanity giving way to divinity, the Weird Domain disappeared and the convoy prepared to move.

• Kong Buyu joked about Lin Yi and Zhu Cheng, while Fang Yan resolved to advance himself and keep preparing for future dangers.
• Zhu Cheng used three Promotion Potions to advance from Sequence Eight to Sequence Five, choosing to follow Lin Yi into Weird Domains for more ingredients.
• Lin Yi drank the pitch-black potion and successfully advanced to Sequence Four of the [Criminal] Sequence Pathway, gaining the ability to alter rules within fifty meters.
• Lin Yi explained his new Sequence and ability to Shangguan Bei, then noticed he was beginning to view weaker people with contempt and feared losing his humanity as he approached godhood.
• Zhang Haitao announced that the Weird Domain had dissipated and asked whether the Hometown Convoy should prepare to depart.

After the Hometown Convoy was forced into the Chosen Principality’s territory, Shangguan Bei agreed to enter its huge gathering place to rest and trade supplies. Lin Yi remained wary that his connection to the Desire Mother Tree would cause trouble during the required inspection.

• After the weird domain dissipated, the Fire God Convoy departed, and Shangguan Bei prepared to lead the Hometown Convoy onward.
• Lin Yi reflected on reaching sequence four and on how Zhang Qi had given him potions before dying.
• At a fork, Lin Yi warned Shangguan Bei that the Chosen Principality was a powerful faction, so Shangguan Bei chose the other road.
• The convoy discovered both roads led into the Chosen Principality’s territory and saw its enormous gathering place.
• Lin Yi agreed to enter so the convoy could trade for supplies, while Shangguan Bei accepted a woman’s offer to guide them to the gate for inspection.

Lin Yi and his Convoy entered the Chosen Principality’s settlement and saw how its organized outer and inner zones supported ordinary people and Sequence Transcendents. He learned that the Principality’s king had advanced to Sequence Two three days earlier, and the chapter left Lin Yi judging the settlement the best he had seen.

• A Sequence Transcendent collapsed while Lin Yi passed through the settlement gate, and the woman overseeing the inspection apologized and arranged for his Convoy to enter.
• The woman told Lin Yi that Sequence Transcendents lived in the Inner Zone, and she sent a guide to take him and the others there.
• Lin Yi saw factories, housing projects, and a market, and compared the Chosen Principality’s settlement favorably with the Northern Settlement.
• The guide warned Lin Yi’s group that fighting was forbidden and revealed that the Principality’s king had advanced to Sequence Two three days earlier.
• Lin Yi joined the others in their assigned house and said the Chosen Principality was the best settlement he had seen.

Lin Yi, Shangguan Bei, and Zhang Haitao visited the Chosen Principality’s market to trade supplies and search for seven-color flowers, but Lin Yi found none. After the others went to complete their trades, Lin Yi followed a crowd to inspect a rare weapon Curio.

• Zhu Cheng stayed behind to guard their place while Lin Yi, Shangguan Bei, and Zhang Haitao walked to the market.
• The Silver-Haired Woman recognized Lin Yi as a Sequence Four and, after he explained he had joined the Hometown Convoy from the Survival Rules Convoy, let the group enter and reported his presence.
• Lin Yi searched the market for seven-color flowers but found none, while Shangguan Bei and Zhang Haitao traded supplies for useful goods.
• Shangguan Bei said he planned to trade for a Curio, and he and Zhang Haitao went to complete their deal.
• Lin Yi followed marketgoers to a stall where a person wearing a Patterned Mask offered a green dagger Curio for trade.

Lin Yi traded a storage Curio for the Poison-Treated dagger, intending to give it to Zhu Cheng. When a privileged man tried to take the dagger by force, Lin Yi intimidated him and warned the Market’s manager not to let it happen again.

• Lin Yi offered the masked man a storage Curio numbered 7856 in exchange for the Poison-Treated dagger numbered 9011.
• The masked man accepted the trade, shocked by the rarity and value of Lin Yi’s storage Curio.
• A fat man backed by several men tried to force Lin Yi to hand over the dagger in exchange for expired instant noodles.
• Lin Yi revealed his sequence four power, sent the men scattering, and warned that the Chosen Principality could suffer the Eternal Alchemy Church’s fate if he were harassed again.
• The silver-haired Market manager apologized and said the Chosen Principality would compensate Lin Yi, then ordered the fat man to go see the king.

Lin Yi returned to the Hometown Convoy and gave Zhu Cheng a Curio dagger before officials from the Chosen Principality arrived with an apology from the king. After they executed the bound man responsible for trouble at the Market, Lin Yi warned them that his group would leave once they had rested.

• Lin Yi gave Zhu Cheng a Curio dagger to help her survive in Weird Domains, and she accepted it despite initially trying to refuse.
• Shangguan Bei and Zhang Haitao returned with a Curio black pot, but Zhu Cheng rejected it as too ugly to carry.
• The Silver-Haired Woman and her companions arrived at the Hometown Convoy’s room with a bound fat man and asked for Lin Yi.
• The Silver-Haired Woman said the king had ordered them to apologize, and the blond man cut off the fat man’s head in front of Lin Yi and the others.
• Lin Yi asked if the king was trying to intimidate him, then told the officials that his group would leave after resting and ordered them to clean up the doorway.

Lin Yi decided to stay overnight in the Chosen Principality, while the King focused on the threat of approaching Aberration Creatures. The King revealed Curio No. 044, a bottle that could stop time at the cost of its user's lifespan, and his officials began volunteering their subordinates to use it.

• Lin Yi told Zhu Cheng, Shangguan Bei, and the others that the King had warned him to behave, but said they would rest and leave as planned.
• The King explained that he feared Lin Yi could destroy the Chosen Principality and said the settlement faced threats within and beyond its walls.
• The King learned that level six and level seven Aberration Creatures were gathering outside, led by the level eight Phantom Dream.
• The King showed his officials Curio No. 044, which could stop time for an hour but might consume the user's entire remaining lifespan.
• The Silver-Haired Woman and other officials argued over which of their subordinates should use the Curio if the Aberration Creatures attacked.

Lin Yi and Zhu Cheng were prevented from leaving the Chosen Principality Gathering Place when Aberration Creatures launched a major attack. As they and the other residents waited to learn whether the king could hold off the invasion for an hour, a wave of light stopped everything in its path.

• Lin Yi and Zhu Cheng prepared to leave the Gathering Place, but found the entrance blocked by Sequence Transcendents.
• An alarm sounded, and the Silver-Haired Woman told Lin Yi that Aberration Creatures were attacking, including one level-eight creature and at least ten level-seven creatures.
• The king went out to fight the level-eight creature while the Chosen Principality's defense force charged outside to confront the invasion.
• Lin Yi and Zhu Cheng returned to the Inner Zone, where Shangguan Bei and Zhang Haitao learned that everyone might have only an hour to survive.
• A transparent wave of light swept across the area, freezing everything it passed and silencing the alarm.

Lin Yi escaped the frozen Gathering Place and used the hour-long time stop to kill the level six and seven Aberration Creatures, evolving the Soul-Devouring Saw. When time resumed and the Silver-Haired Woman prepared her people to die, a roar from the Aberration Creatures’ ranks suggested the King had finally acted.

• Lin Yi realized a Curio had frozen time for an hour and left the Gathering Place while everyone around him remained motionless.
• Lin Yi used the Soul-Devouring Saw to kill a level seven Aberration Creature, and the weapon evolved into a flaming three-bladed saw.
• Lin Yi slaughtered the frozen level six and seven Aberration Creatures throughout the army as the Soul-Devouring Saw devoured their souls.
• The hour ended without the King appearing, and the Silver-Haired Woman prepared her subordinates to fight to the death.
• A roar came from deep within the Aberration Creatures’ ranks as powerful creatures fell, making the onlookers wonder if the King had made his move.