Chapter Summaries

Pei Ge and Wang Chongzu explained that Earth Origin Star and three other Primal Human civilizations were affiliated with Ba Wu Giant City under the Great Martial Royal Court, and that Ba Wu’s exchange slots would prepare them for the Old Soil’s coming expansion. Lin Xuan considered whether to go, knowing the opportunity could help him advance but might force him to navigate dangerous factions without Earth Origin Star’s protection.

• Pei Ge explained that Earth Origin Star, San Die Star, Star Cluster Realm, and Martial Worship Continent had formed a loose alliance and received exchange slots from Ba Wu Giant City.
• Wang Chongzu revealed that the four civilizations were affiliated with Ba Wu Giant City, which belonged to the Great Martial Royal Court, and Pei Ge clarified that their status there was limited.
• Pei Ge explained that Ba Wu Giant City was preparing to claim future realms as the Old Soil expanded, while civilizations without protection could lose their people and lands.
• Wang Chongzu said Ba Wu’s factions would divide the exchange participants, and Pei Ge warned Lin Xuan that he would have to choose a faction and face the risks himself.
• Lin Xuan weighed the opportunity against the danger, recalling that Earth Origin Star’s martial arts methods had come from Ba Wu Giant City and might be inferior.

Lin Xuan learned how Earth Origin Star’s guaranteed Ba Wu Giant City exchange slots would be contested and traveled with Pei Ge to Newland Island for the selection. There he reunited with Wang Chongtian and unexpectedly encountered Su A'lei.

• Wang Chongzu told Xie Yi that Ba Wu Giant City’s martial-focused exchange was unsuitable for him, but revealed he had arranged another opportunity elsewhere.
• Pei Ge explained that Earth Origin Star had twenty guaranteed exchange slots, divided between competitors above and below ten, while Sixth Realm martial artists would compete for separate slots.
• Lin Xuan settled in the Imperial Capital, continued training, and then joined Pei Ge’s group traveling to Newland Island for the selection.
• At the military airport, Lin Xuan saw that the young competitors were at least Fourth Realm martial artists and that many older contestants had reached the Fifth Realm.
• Lin Xuan reunited with Wang Chongtian, whose Gravity anomaly and Fourth Realm cultivation gave him formidable strength.
• Su A'lei appeared and joked with Lin Xuan about joining forces against Wang Chongtian.

Lin Xuan reunited with Su A'lei before the candidates departed for Newland Island, where they would compete for exchange slots to Ba Wu Giant City. On the plane, Pei Ge revealed that he hoped to become a disciple of a senior he had met there before.

• Lin Xuan observed that Su A'lei was an eight-year-old female half-human martial artist with many secrets, then agreed to help her humble Wang Chongtian.
• Su A'lei headbutted a Wang Family member who insulted her and Lin Xuan, while Wang Chongtian rebuked the man and Wang Chongfa apologized to Pei Ge.
• Lin Xuan sensed Wang Chongfa's killing intent and learned from Pei Ge that exchange participants could bring a Guardian of the Path into Ba Wu Giant City.
• Su A'lei was taken away by Grandpa Mu, whom Lin Xuan's Other Awareness identified as a Commander-level figure.
• The candidates boarded a special plane for Newland Island, and Pei Ge said he would use Lin Xuan's Guardian of the Path quota to accompany him to Ba Wu Giant City.
• Pei Ge told Lin Xuan that he hoped to become the disciple of a senior in Ba Wu Giant City, leaving Lin Xuan surprised.

Lin Xuan’s delegation arrived on Newland Island for an international exchange, where Zhang Wuyue confronted Dis about the Don Quixote Family’s role in an attack in Great Xia. Dis agreed to investigate under pressure from Dragon Yi’s fearsome reputation, while an unidentified voice criticized Great Xia as the Golden Eagle Federation’s delegation arrived.

• Director Burt welcomed Zhang Wuyue and the Great Xia delegation to Newland Island, where they met representatives Rostov and Dis.
• Lin Xuan spotted Roche, who seemed reluctant to speak to him, among the gathered delegations.
• Zhang Wuyue told Dis that the Don Quixote Family had refused to explain its part in a terrorist attack on Great Xia’s public transportation system and warned that Dragon Yi might act if the matter went unresolved.
• Dis promised to investigate the Don Quixote Family, while Zhang Wuyue invoked Dragon Yi’s record of standing up to powerful opponents.
• Pei Ge told Lin Xuan that Dragon Yi was nearly invincible below the High-Ranking Commander level and explained that Dis was also exploiting his family’s rivalry with the Don Quixote Family.
• An unidentified speaker mocked Great Xia’s authority to arrest people wherever it wished.

Lin Xuan observed Zhang Wuyue and Hawkins trade barbs over Great Xia’s dispute with the Cross Alliance before the delegations were seated at the stadium. The four great powers took their places of honor, and a tattooed man in a suit suddenly appeared in midair.

• Lin Xuan identified Hawkins as a mid-rank commander in the Golden Eagle Federation’s Ninth Bureau after Pei Ge explained the bureau’s role.
• Hawkins challenged Zhang Wuyue over Great Xia’s dispute with the Cross Alliance, and Rostov objected to Hawkins interfering.
• Dis intervened to ease the tension, and Zhang Wuyue and Hawkins exchanged handshakes after agreeing to present a united front against outside competitors.
• Director Burt escorted Zhang Wuyue, Hawkins, Dis, and Rostov to the four seats of honor while staff directed their delegations to the stadium sections.
• The Peacock Kingdom delegation expressed displeasure at being seated behind the four great powers, and a tattooed man in a suit appeared in midair.

Lin Xuan and the other under-ten contestants gathered on Newland Island to compete for twenty places representing Earth Origin Star, with the Old Soil Oddity Hunting Ground serving as the venue. After the competitors entered the stadium, they began passing through its gray-mist doors into the Hunting Ground.

• Lauison welcomed the representatives and explained that contestants would compete in groups for twenty places, while Dis presented the Charlotte Family's Old Soil Oddity, Hunting Ground.
• Pei Ge told Lin Xuan that Hunting Ground was Sequence 314 and advised him not to feel pressured as he prepared to compete.
• Lin Xuan sized up the under-ten contestants and identified formidable young geniuses, including Great Xia's Li Shi, the Golden Eagle Federation's Apollo, and a concealed talent from Sakura Island.
• Dis opened four gray-mist entrances to Hunting Ground and announced that drones would livestream the competition to prevent disputes.
• Lauison ordered the contestants to enter, and Lin Xuan headed for a gray-mist door as Su A'lei hurried after him.

Lin Xuan, Su A'lei, and Wang Chongtian began the selection inside the Hunting Ground, where participants had twelve hours to collect coins from Biochemical Beasts or take them from one another. Half the time passed without anyone being eliminated, but Wang Chongtian planned to target participants later.

• Lin Xuan learned that the Hunting Ground had separated participants and heard Lauison explain that the top ten coin scores would advance, with combat between participants allowed under strict rules.
• Lin Xuan set off with the Toad King to search for Biochemical Beasts, while Su A'lei decided to try her luck.
• Su A'lei killed a giant hyena-like Biochemical Beast and found an 8-point coin inside it, then burned the corpse with a mysterious flame.
• Wang Chongtian refused Liu Rufeng's offer to hunt together and revealed that he planned to target other participants in the latter half of the selection.
• Six hours passed without any participants being eliminated, though the chapter noted that the peaceful start would not last.

Lin Xuan gave up searching for Biochemical Beasts and set out as the selection’s second half began, while Karim’s good fortune put him near the top of the rankings. Karim’s encounter with Ito Akihiko ended with Ito demanding that he hand over his coins, and the spectators focused on their confrontation.

• Lin Xuan found that his coins were worth barely more than twenty points, concluded that the real challenge would be the other candidates, and ran off to search for them.
• Wang Chongfa worried about Wang Chongtian’s slow start, but Pei Ge reassured him that Wang Chongtian was strong enough to secure a place.
• Karim of the Peacock Kingdom accumulated coins worth 220 points and climbed to third place in the live rankings.
• Rajesh boasted that the Peacock Kingdom would gain more places, then watched as Ito Akihiko from Sakura Island stopped Karim.
• Ito Akihiko asked Karim to hand over his coins in the name of preserving friendship between their countries, and Karim grew furious.

Ito Akihiko defeated Karim in the Hunting Ground and took his points, provoking a furious confrontation between the Peacock Kingdom and Sakura Island representatives. As the leading competitors began targeting one another, Su A'lei eagerly awaited a chance to fight.

• Karim attacked Ito Akihiko, who effortlessly countered him and provoked him into transforming with his White Tusk Mammoth bloodline.
• Ito Akihiko stopped Karim's full-strength attack with one finger, blocked his ten-minute assault, and forced him to concede his pouch of coins.
• Ito Akihiko discovered Karim had more than two hundred points, while Karim was left with no points and Ito Akihiko rose to second place.
• Rajesh confronted Asoi over Karim's defeat, but Hawkins intervened and Rostov challenged Hawkins, ending the argument without resolving the tension.
• As strong competitors began hunting one another in the Hunting Ground, Su A'lei looked forward to encountering an opponent.

Su A'lei held a vast lead in the rankings, prompting representatives outside the Hunting Ground to discuss whether the results were fair. As the selection grew more violent and the candidates dwindled, a new mechanism revealed the top twenty candidates and their scores throughout the Hunting Ground.

• Su A'lei's score of 666 remained far ahead of the other candidates, while Newland Island's drone team continued to document him to dispel suspicions of cheating.
• Hawkins questioned whether Great Xia had a way to improve luck, and Zhang Wuyue defended the rules; Rostov supported him before Dis smoothed over the exchange.
• Hawkins asked Asoi about Ito Akihiko's sudden rise in the rankings, and Asoi said Ito had recently returned from Old Soil.
• Battles increased as the selection passed its halfway point, and candidates were eliminated by forfeiting or being removed after severe injuries.
• By the seventh hour, the number of candidates had fallen to double digits, triggering a display of the top twenty candidates and their scores across the Hunting Ground.

Li Shi and Rogers fought over the Hunting Ground rankings, but Li Shi gained the upper hand with his Turtle Domain. Ito Akihiko ambushed them both, and Li Shi escaped while Ito turned his attention to Rogers.

• Rogers challenged Li Shi, hoping to defeat him and raise his score into second place.
• Li Shi and Rogers exchanged blows, and Li Shi used his Turtle Domain to slow Rogers and overwhelm him.
• As Rogers threatened to use his trump card, Ito Akihiko ambushed both fighters and knocked them aside.
• Rogers recognized Ito Akihiko and angrily accused him of being a Golden Eagle lackey who had bitten his master.
• Li Shi retreated under cover of a barrage of concealed weapons, and Ito Akihiko chose to pursue Rogers instead.

Ito Akihiko defeated Rogers after enduring his attacks, then held him at his mercy and asked him to admit defeat. As the representatives reacted to Sakura Island defying the Golden Eagle, Asoi refused to reveal Ito’s special identity, leaving them to infer that it concealed a major secret.

• Ito Akihiko urged Rogers to hand over his coins, but Rogers injected a biological agent and attacked him.
• Ito Akihiko blocked Rogers’s punches with two fingers and withstood his relentless assault for half an hour.
• Ito Akihiko exploited Rogers’s distraction, slammed him into the ground, and pressed a hand to his forehead as Rogers refused to admit defeat.
• Zhang Wuyue and Rajesh praised Sakura Island sarcastically, while Rostov applauded and mocked the Golden Eagle.
• Asoi told Hawkins that Ito’s identity was special and that he lacked the authority to restrain him, leading Hawkins and the other representatives to suspect Ito had a powerful secret.

Ito Akihiko took all of Rogers's coins and climbed closer to first place, prompting participants and delegations to react to his attack on Golden Eagle. Lin Xuan suspected Ito Akihiko had powerful connections, then encountered him in the Hunting Ground as Ito demanded his coins.

• Ito Akihiko took Rogers's coins, leaving Rogers with zero points, and remained in second place behind Su A'lei.
• Karim, Apollo, and Wang Chongtian noticed the rankings change and reacted to Ito Akihiko's attack on a Golden Eagle participant.
• Zhang Wuyue checked on Li Feng, who explained that Li Shi had fled from Ito Akihiko because he judged the fight too uncertain and wanted to secure a top-ten place.
• Zhang Wuyue and Li Feng watched the Golden Eagle delegation erupt in confusion over Hawkins's response to Ito Akihiko.
• Lin Xuan guessed that Ito Akihiko might be connected to forces from Old Soil, then saw him approach and demand his coins.

Lin Xuan confronted Ito Akihiko, a Sakura Islander and God Servant of the Faceless Lord, after discovering Ito had attacked other competitors and threatened to steal his coins. After Lin Xuan exposed Ito’s identity and the Faceless Church’s power, Ito resolved to kill him and unleashed far more strength.

• Lin Xuan used Other Awareness to identify Ito Akihiko as a God Servant and considered why he dared attack Golden Eagle competitors.
• Ito Akihiko demanded Lin Xuan hand over his coins, but Lin Xuan attacked him and discovered his strange defensive power was formidable.
• Ito Akihiko revealed his killing intent toward Lin Xuan, who refused to withdraw and guessed that Ito worshipped the Faceless Lord.
• Lin Xuan identified Ito’s power as the Mirror Lord’s reflection and taunted him for violating the Faceless Church’s secrecy.
• Ito Akihiko surged with power and challenged Lin Xuan to borrow divine power too, and Lin Xuan agreed.

Lin Xuan summoned the Puppet Soldier and the Toad King to fight alongside him, overwhelming Ito Akihiko in the selection. As Ito accused Lin Xuan of cheating and Asoi challenged Great Xia’s use of the symbiotic beast, Zhang Wuyue exposed the weakness in Asoi’s complaint, and Hawkins shut him down.

• Lin Xuan summoned the Puppet Soldier and the Toad King, surrounding Ito Akihiko as the observers questioned how the Puppet Soldier had come into his possession.
• Zhang Wuyue explained that Great Xia had confiscated the Puppet Soldier after Don Quixote Family members endangered public safety there.
• The Puppet Soldier and Toad King battered Ito Akihiko while Lin Xuan landed repeated attacks, leaving Ito covered in wounds.
• Ito Akihiko accused Lin Xuan of cheating by fighting three against one, but Lin Xuan pointed out that he was using the strength of his symbiotic partner just as Ito borrowed divine power.
• Asoi called Lin Xuan’s use of the Toad King cheating, and Zhang Wuyue challenged Sakura Island to propose banning all methods beyond martial arts.
• Hawkins recognized that such a rule would benefit Great Xia and rebuked Asoi, who denied that he had meant to propose it.

Lin Xuan defeated Ito Akihiko by having the Toad King swallow him, taking his coins and rising to second place in the selection rankings. As Great Xia claimed the top two spots, Wang Chongtian turned his attention back to a fleeing Cross Alliance contender.

• Asoi protested Ito Akihiko’s use of a Puppet Soldier, but Zhang Wuyue and the other representatives rejected his cheating accusations.
• Lin Xuan and his allies overwhelmed Ito Akihiko, and the Toad King swallowed him before he could surrender.
• The Toad King spat out Ito Akihiko’s coins, raising Lin Xuan’s score to 688 and putting him second behind Su A'lei.
• Li Shi saw Lin Xuan’s new ranking and resolved to work harder to protect his own ninth-place standing.
• Wang Chongtian distractedly watched Lin Xuan rise in the rankings as Kru fled, then used a spell to freeze Kru in place.

Wang Chongtian defeated Kru and took his coins as Great Xia dominated the under-ten rankings. Meanwhile, Ito Akihiko revealed that he had survived through a Reincarnation Pearl and ordered Asoi to eliminate Lin Xuan before his identity as a Faceless Church member was exposed.

• Wang Chongtian immobilized Kru, forced him to surrender, and took all his coins, raising himself to eleventh place.
• Wang Chongtian climbed to sixth place while Li Shi reached seventh, leaving Great Xia with four of the ten under-ten slots.
• Asoi left the selection area and went to Sakura Island's lounge, where guards checked his password before letting him enter.
• Ito Akihiko, restored in a prepared reincarnation target by the Reincarnation Pearl, told Asoi that Lin Xuan knew his true identity.
• Asoi agreed to eliminate Lin Xuan at any cost once they reached Old Soil, fearing Ba Wu Giant City would punish Sakura Island for its ties to the Faceless Church.

Lin Xuan and Wang Chongtian met in the Hunting Ground and agreed to fight despite their secure top-ten rankings. Wang Chongtian revealed that he had brought Three Rivers Armor, then set it aside, while Lin Xuan put away his Puppet Soldier and prepared to fight without his usual equipment.

• Lin Xuan encountered Wang Chongtian, and the two challenged each other instead of passing by peacefully.
• Outside the Hunting Ground, Hawkins hoped their fight would help Golden Eagle's eleventh-ranked candidate enter the top ten, while Zhang Wuyue worried about Great Xia's slots.
• Pei Ge told Zhang Wuyue that Lin Xuan had the Treasure Transformation Toad and Puppet Soldier, but Lin Xuan handed the Puppet Soldier to the Toad King.
• Wang Chongtian removed his aqua-blue vest and shorts, and Pei Ge identified them as two pieces of the Old Earth Oddity Three Rivers Armor.
• Wang Chongtian explained that Three Rivers Armor could protect him from attacks below Commander level, then tossed it aside to avoid an unfair advantage.
• Lin Xuan sent the Toad King and Puppet Soldier to wait off to the side and prepared to fight Wang Chongtian himself.

Lin Xuan defeated Wang Chongtian after absorbing his gravity attacks and slamming him into the ground. In the stadium, Wang Chongfa accused Lin Xuan of using an underhanded trick, and Pei Ge challenged his complaint.

• Wang Chongtian removed his Three Rivers Armor and offered Lin Xuan two moves before fighting back.
• Lin Xuan charged, and Wang Chongtian's gravity ring vanished before it could restrain him.
• Wang Chongtian used his full gravitational ability to push Lin Xuan, but Lin Xuan absorbed the attack and kept advancing.
• Lin Xuan struck Wang Chongtian and smashed him face-first into the grass, leaving him dazed.
• Wang Chongfa broke his seat's armrest in anger and accused Lin Xuan of using an underhanded trick.
• Pei Ge challenged Wang Chongfa for calling Lin Xuan's victory unfair, and Wang Chongfa argued that Lin Xuan should not have treated a fellow Great Xia candidate so harshly.

Lin Xuan secured second place in the under-ten selection after defeating Wang Chongtian, then recognized that Ito Akihiko had returned in a new body among the older contestants. Pei Ge agreed the suspicious boy was likely Ito and decided to make arrangements while keeping the accusation quiet for lack of evidence.

• Lin Xuan waited beside the unconscious Wang Chongtian, defended his score with the Puppet Soldier, and left without taking Wang Chongtian's coins; Wang Chongtian revealed he had been faking unconsciousness.
• Lauison ended the under-ten selection, confirming Lin Xuan in second place and Wang Chongtian in eighth, both qualifying for the exchange in Ba Wu Giant City.
• Lin Xuan sensed murderous hostility from a Sakura Island contestant and recognized him as Ito Akihiko reincarnated in another body.
• Wang Chongfa apologized to Lin Xuan, and Wang Chongtian promised to repay his favor before challenging him again; Su A'lei mocked Wang Chongtian and congratulated Lin Xuan.
• Lin Xuan told Pei Ge that the new contestant was likely Ito Akihiko and a Faceless Church member; Pei Ge warned him not to report the claim without evidence and said he would make arrangements.