Recaps

Ye Buyu arrived at the Awakened League venue expecting a smooth start, only to be singled out in a bizarre ceremony staged by [Withered Glory Theatre]. The chapter left her mortified as Narrator Eight introduced her to the stunned crowd as a celebrated Theatre actor and leader of young people.

• Ye Buyu parachuted safely onto the venue grounds and received her contestant number from a robot.
• The robot pulled out a fan and handkerchief, danced to festive music, and accompanied a huge live projection of Ye Buyu.
• Su Wuwei photographed the spectacle, while Mu Bingge, Slyder, Wan Lan, Kou Ying, and Lou Guanshan reacted to Ye Buyu's embarrassing welcome.
• Narrator Eight appeared at the venue and introduced Ye Buyu as a Hall of Fame Leading Actor of the Theatre and an outstanding leader of young people.

The Narrators continued exposing and praising Hold Up the Heavens members, increasing hostility toward the team during the opening ceremony’s preparations. Humiliated, Ye Buyu tried to withdraw, but Lan Huaiyu stopped her and learned she planned to poison the [Withered Glory Theatre].

• Ye Buyu destroyed her projection, and Qin Yue told the staff to keep watching the Narrators despite their disruptive behavior.
• The Narrator introduced Kou Ying and Mu Bingge, then lavishly praised Lou Guanshan while Wan Lan and Su Wuwei used the distraction to leave.
• Number Nine replaced the frustrated Number Eight and told contestants and spectators to take their seats for the opening ceremony in half an hour.
• Ye Buyu decided to quit the competition, but Lan Huaiyu caught up with her and asked why she was leaving.
• Ye Buyu told Lan Huaiyu she hated the [Withered Glory Theatre] and was going to poison them.

Ye Buyu decided to confront the [Withered Glory Theatre] after it appeared beside the competition venue, while the Principals and other contestants headed there to watch. As Narrator Nine provoked hostility toward Hold Up the Heavens, Wan Lan attacked her and challenged the Narrators, and someone else joined her.

• The [Withered Glory Theatre] appeared beside the venue, and Ye Buyu chose not to withdraw from the competition and went to confront it.
• Lan Huaiyu, Lei Ming, Zhao Zhe, and Ding Ruixue decided to follow Ye Buyu and watch what happened.
• Slyder let Wan Lan leave, and Kou Ying also went toward the theatre as contestants gathered outside.
• Narrator Nine barred uninvited people from entering and defended the [Withered Glory Theatre]'s recognition of Hold Up the Heavens.
• Wan Lan shot Narrator Nine across the cheek and accused the Narrators of provoking hostility toward Hold Up the Heavens.
• An unidentified voice agreed with Wan Lan and declared they would face the Narrators to the end.

Lou Guanshan, Wan Lan, Su Wuwei, and Mu Bingge reunited at the Awakened League and waited for Kou Ying and Ye Buyu to arrive. Ye Buyu appeared to attack [Withered Glory Theatre], leaving the Narrator laughing and singing like a happy cucumber.

• Lou Guanshan arrived at [Withered Glory Theatre], where contestants demanded an explanation from the Narrator about the theatre's presence at the Awakened League.
• Lou Guanshan reunited with Wan Lan and Su Wuwei, and Mu Bingge joined them after revealing her improved Breath Without a Trace.
• Su Wuwei shared the group's location with Kou Ying and Ye Buyu, and the friends discussed their strength, alternate identities, and Wan Lan's connection to the [Wind and Thunder King].
• Ye Buyu messaged that she would poison someone before joining them, and a blast sent green smoke billowing in front of [Withered Glory Theatre].
• The Narrator rolled out of the smoke, laughing and singing, “I'm a cucumber, a happy cucumber~.”

Ye Buyu sneaked into the [Withered Glory Theatre] and poisoned three Narrators after they targeted Hold Up the Heavens. She warned Number Eleven Narrator to tell their King to stop stirring up hostility, then escaped with Kou Ying, suspecting the targeting could put her team at a disadvantage.

• Number Nine Narrator was taken away after behaving bizarrely, and Number Eight took over the show.
• A grenade from behind exploded near Number Eight, who collapsed and sobbed that he was a mushroom.
• Ye Buyu shot at Number Ten Narrator, then poisoned him with a bullet that turned a corner and made him kneel and crawl away.
• Number Eleven Narrator questioned Ye Buyu, who refused to come out and threatened the King if he continued targeting Hold Up the Heavens.
• Ye Buyu escaped through the shadows with Kou Ying and explained that she had acted to prevent her team from becoming a target of hostility or accusations of collusion with Calamities.

Ye Buyu reunited with the Hold Up the Heavens Team and they headed to the Opening Ceremony, where they discovered that [Withered Glory Theatre] had assigned them six conspicuous golden seats at the front. The other competitors resented the special treatment, leaving Ye Buyu ready to respond with poison as her teammates urged her to stay calm.

• Ye Buyu and Kou Ying agreed that the team needed to distance itself from [Withered Glory Theatre] because several teammates had ties to Calamity.
• Ye Buyu and Kou Ying reached the meeting point under Dark Shadow and reunited with Mu Bingge, Wan Lan, Su Wuwei, and Lou Guanshan.
• Su Wuwei admitted that he had taken photos of the team, then promised to delete them under their disapproving stares.
• Wan Lan noticed Ye Buyu's reference to the [King of Withering and Flourishing] and reminded her that her Alternate Identities were not mysterious to her.
• The six entered the Venue for the Opening Ceremony and ran into Wei Changming and the Horizon Team, who warned them that competitors resented their special seats.
• Ye Buyu threatened to poison the other competitors, but Lou Guanshan and Wan Lan escorted her to the six golden chairs at the front.

The Awakened League opening ceremony began with [Withered Glory Theatre] drawing hostility toward Hold Up the Heavens and demonstrating its mysterious reach across the Present World. The chapter ended as Number Seven introduced a dance performed by Calamities.

• Hold Up the Heavens rose above the other contestants on golden seats, and Ye Buyu lamented the spectacle while Su Wuwei admired the view.
• The contestants turned their attention toward Hold Up the Heavens, and Mu Bingge suspected that the ceremony had more surprises in store.
• Number Seven appeared as host, announced the League’s three competition stages and hidden grand prize, and said [Withered Glory Theatre] had set up screens throughout the Present World.
• Qin Yue questioned staff about their inability to detect the source of the worldwide screens and concluded that [Withered Glory Theatre]’s strength needed reassessment.
• Number Seven introduced the God-Praying Dance, and several grotesque Calamities began performing in silence.

Ye Buyu and the Hold Up the Heavens Team joined the Calamity Orchestra, but their participation turned the performance into a frantic, uncontrollable musical sprint. The Calamities collapsed afterward, leaving the venue and the Present World speechless.

• Number Seven announced the Calamity Orchestra and handed instruments to Contestants, including cymbals to Ye Buyu and Lou Guanshan.
• Kou Ying recognized the piece and signaled the others to follow his lead as the music began speeding up.
• Ye Buyu and Lou Guanshan crashed their cymbals faster and faster, driving the musicians and other Contestants to struggle to keep up.
• Number Seven lost control of the performance as the accelerating music overwhelmed the Calamities and choir.
• The performance ended with the Calamities collapsing, while the audience, staff, and Present World watched in stunned silence.

Number Seven and the [Withered Glory Theatre] performed their prepared finale after the orchestra was incapacitated, using music to convey the rise and fall of civilizations. The performance ended with the words “We exist, we existed,” and the audience answered with applause.

• Number Seven announced that the Opening Ceremony might end early after the orchestra was wiped out, but a Contestant demanded that the theatre perform its remaining act.
• Number Seven agreed to present the finale, and three Narrators took the stage to conduct the instruments without musicians.
• The music settled the Contestants and drew them into a sweeping account of civilizations flourishing and collapsing, while Number Seven sang of their fading history.
• Number Seven ended the performance with “We exist, we existed,” and the audience broke into applause.
• The Narrators bowed, and Ye Buyu read their smiles as a sign of their resolve not to yield to Fate.

The Awakened League began with a one-on-one arena competition, and Ye Buyu learned that winning first place could help her uncover the truth about the Withered Glory Theatre. She defeated Cheng Wei quickly in her opening match, while Kou Ying also entered the first round.

• Ye Buyu said the group needed to win the competition to enter the Withered Glory Theatre and learn more about its King and the world.
• Number Seven ended the Opening Ceremony, explained the solo arena rules, and announced that the first ten contestants left standing would earn points.
• Ye Buyu and Kou Ying drew separate first-round opponents and bumped fists before heading to their arenas.
• Cheng Wei attacked Ye Buyu with a stunning tiger's roar, but she shot him and forced him to kneel with her ability.
• Ye Buyu used Compulsory Cost to make Cheng Wei leave the arena, winning their match.

Kou Ying defeated Li Er with a shadow feint and a dagger at his throat, while Ye Buyu and Kou Ying bet on which teammate would win their next match fastest. Lou Guanshan’s match began with Tengping’s corrosive bullets, which failed to harm him.

• Kou Ying evaded Li Er’s chanting ropes with multiple shadows and forced him to surrender with a dagger against his throat.
• Kou Ying and Ye Buyu returned to their teammates, and Wan Lan, Lou Guanshan, Su Wuwei, and Mu Bingge agreed to race to finish their matches.
• Ye Buyu bet that Wan Lan would finish first, while Kou Ying chose Su Wuwei.
• Lou Guanshan confused Tengping during their pre-match exchange, and Tengping opened the fight by firing a Modified Gatling Gun at him.
• Tengping watched in disbelief as his corrosive bullets struck Lou Guanshan’s flesh without injuring him.

Lou Guanshan, Wan Lan, Mu Bingge, and Su Wuwei quickly won their matches in the tournament. Afterward, the team decided Kou Ying would pay for their meal because Wan Lan had won their speed contest.

• Lou Guanshan defeated Tengping with a powerful Mo Dao strike, and the referee declared him the winner.
• Wan Lan won when her opponent fled her arrow attack, though she also left the referee covered in arrows.
• Mu Bingge defeated her opponent by wrapping them in her whip and flinging them out of the ring.
• Mo Yue introduced herself to Su Wuwei and invited him to join her team, then attacked with a giant hammer; Su Wuwei split it with his flaming blade, and Mo Yue surrendered.
• Su Wuwei returned to his teammates, who agreed Wan Lan had been the fastest, so Kou Ying accepted that he would pay for their meal.

Hold Up the Heavens kept winning the rapid Awakened League matches, and spectators discussed the team’s unusual abilities and brutal training. As the field narrowed, Ye Buyu wondered whether the team had been kept from facing one another through backroom manipulation.

• Ye Buyu defeated opponents with bullets that chased them around the arena and repeatedly forced them to their knees.
• Contestants eliminated by Mu Bingge, Su Wuwei, Kou Ying, Lou Guanshan, and Wan Lan reviewed the team’s strengths and weaknesses among themselves.
• Slyder told the spectators that Hold Up the Heavens had endured brutal training under him and said he wanted to see them suffer setbacks.
• Most contestants’ names dimmed on the screen, and Ye Buyu questioned why the team had not faced any of its own members after seven or eight rounds.

Ye Buyu faced Wen Ling, a contestant whose [Oblivion] ability made people forget her, and gradually recognized her as a childhood acquaintance. The fight continued after Wen Ling revealed her identity as Little Mosquito.

• Su Wuwei, Mu Bingge, Lou Guanshan, and Wan Lan discussed [Withered Glory Theatre] and urged Ye Buyu to accept the captaincy, while their teammates departed for individual matches.
• Ye Buyu entered ring one to fight Wen Ling, who claimed they had once promised to remember each other.
• The referee noticed Wen Ling's Numbered Token listed her as contestant 701, despite the competition having only 700 contestants.
• Ye Buyu's Soul Threads and attacks missed as Wen Ling used [Oblivion] to make Ye Buyu forget who she was fighting.
• Wen Ling explained that her [Oblivion] ability had swallowed everything of hers, and Ye Buyu recognized her as Little Mosquito, a childhood neighbor she had mistaken for a boy.

Ye Buyu defeated Wen Ling in the arena with her Life Breath ability and learned that Wen Ling’s power had made her parents forget she was their daughter. Wen Ling left for the elimination rounds, while the crowd promptly forgot who had fought Ye Buyu.

• Ye Buyu trapped Wen Ling with Purification Light Wheels and invisible threads, then struck her with the Whale-Head Health-Preserving Mallet and kicked her off the platform.
• Ye Buyu won the match, and Wen Ling asked whether her mallet was a healing skill; Ye Buyu explained that her ability was Life Breath and that her questions had paid Wen Ling’s Compulsory Cost.
• Ye Buyu asked Wen Ling who she was, and Wen Ling explained that her out-of-control Oblivion ability had made her parents forget they had a daughter.
• Wen Ling said she would not hold back in the elimination rounds and asked Ye Buyu whether she would remember her; Ye Buyu promised she would.
• After Wen Ling left, the spectators forgot who her opponent had been.

Ye Buyu watched her teammates finish their arena matches, while Mu Bingge used He Chuan’s instincts against him to win their close fight. The group had won all their matches except Kou Ying’s, which was still underway.

• Ye Buyu realized that people struggled to remember Wen Ling and promised that she would remember her.
• Su Wuwei defeated his sixth-tier opponent with one slash, then asked Ye Buyu about her whale-shaped hammer skill.
• Wan Lan and Lou Guanshan returned from their arenas after winning their fights.
• Wan Lan recognized Mu Bingge’s opponent, He Chuan, as a veteran sixth-tier expert and former Awakened League singles champion.
• Mu Bingge exploded her Water Mirror to make He Chuan retreat, then used his momentum to send him out of the arena and win.
• Ye Buyu healed and praised Mu Bingge, while Wan Lan reported that Kou Ying’s match was the only one still unfinished.

Kou Ying won a destructive battle of pattern formations, leaving only one corner of the arena intact. The individual competition’s scores showed tied rankings, and the host announced that the competition was not over.

• He Chuan, Liang Xiao, and Chen Xiaoli discussed Hold Up the Heavens’ strength and their chances in the team competition.
• Kou Ying and a black-robed opponent exchanged pattern formations as the arena was crushed and charred around them.
• With ten seconds remaining, Kou Ying unleashed a scarlet blast that destroyed the arena and defeated the black-robed figure.
• The referee declared Kou Ying the winner, and Kou Ying rejoined Ye Buyu and the others.
• Lou Guanshan noticed that the displayed scores were tied, and the host insisted the individual competition was not over.

The individual competition’s final round began with the top contestants matched against one another, including Ye Buyu and Mu Bingge. Mu Bingge attacked with Water Mirrors and a powerful sword technique, while Ye Buyu revealed more of her abilities and struggled to counter her teammate.

• The contestants saw that the individual competition had not ended, and the matchups appeared on the big screen.
• Wan Lan was matched against Lou Guanshan, Su Wuwei against Kou Ying, and Ye Buyu against Mu Bingge.
• Mu Bingge opened their match by filling the arena with Water Mirrors and countering Ye Buyu’s attacks with water and a steady supply of materials.
• Ye Buyu activated her regional compulsory cost, summoned red Otherworldly Flowers, and used her voice and an enormous palm to push toward Mu Bingge.
• Mu Bingge formed a transparent shield and unleashed “Cut Clouds and Sever Water,” cleaving through Ye Buyu’s summoned palm.

Ye Buyu and her Hold Up the Heavens teammates fought fiercely in the tournament, revealing new abilities while appearing to battle as mortal enemies. The matches continued as spectators noted the team’s hidden skills and the risk that they would run out of time to earn points.

• Ye Buyu absorbed Mu Bingge’s cross-shaped sword attack with her Shield Skill and reflected it, but Mu Bingge destroyed the reflected strike with her whip before they charged at each other again.
• Wan Lan relentlessly fired arrows at Lou Guanshan, who used Rock Armor to endure the barrage and launched a heavy Mo Dao strike at her.
• Kou Ying and Su Wuwei trapped each other with shadows and Flame Chain, leaving both unable to move as they clashed from a distance.
• Slyder remarked on the team’s hidden abilities, while Zhao Zhe warned Lan Huaiyu that the fighters might forget the time limit and miss out on points.
• Scholars, soldiers, and engineers watching the matches praised the teammates’ abilities and discussed Ye Buyu’s unused Virus skill and the matchup between Wan Lan and Lou Guanshan.

The arena matches ended without decisive winners after the fighters lost track of time, and Ye Buyu accidentally struck a Narrator who announced the deadline. She tried to heal him but nearly killed him, while the other matches also ended in draws; the teams left the arena still trading jabs.

• Wang Jianshe and Yang You watched Su Wuwei's team fight, while Wei Changming's teammates joked about replacing him as captain.
• The referees announced that time was up and that undecided matches would count as losses, but Ye Buyu struck the referee who entered her arena.
• Ye Buyu tried to heal the unconscious referee, but her healing harmed the Calamity and left him apparently lifeless until Number Seven said he would likely recover.
• Wan Lan and Lou Guanshan's match ended undecided, and Lou Guanshan suggested fighting Su Wuwei another time.
• Su Wuwei and Kou Ying finished their match after spending the bout pulling against ropes around each other's necks, and Ye Buyu smacked Su Wuwei for calling her savage.

Ye Buyu and the other top Contestants tied for first after the arenas could no longer support their matches. The team event was set to take place aboard Sintar 178, a warship from the previous world, leaving the audience stunned to learn that world was called Sintar.

• Ye Buyu healed Su Wuwei and the other members of Hold Up the Heavens by slapping them, while the top Contestants’ points fell by the same amount.
• Number Seven announced that all ten top Contestants tied for first, and they accepted the result without objection.
• A strange island appeared overhead, and Ye Buyu recognized it as a warship wreck while Kou Ying spotted damaged Formations still operating.
• Number Seven revealed that the team event would take place aboard Sintar 178, a still-operating warship preserved from the previous world.
• Number Seven reflected that she, like Sintar 178, was a legacy of Sintar, while people in the Present World reacted to learning the previous world’s name.

The contestants began exploring a relic of the previous world, a damaged warship called Sintar, and Ye Buyu used her unusual insight to help them identify its contents. They formed a group chat to coordinate their search as the exploration moved deeper into the ship.

• The Secretary-General summoned Qin Yue and the Four Nations' top decision-makers to prepare for any danger connected to the relic of the previous world.
• Number Seven announced the team competition, and the contestants flew to the warship while Ye Buyu led Hold Up the Heavens.
• The Horizon Team set out to explore the warship, and Wei Changming urged them to prioritize exploration while still aiming to defeat Hold Up the Heavens.
• The contestants found no immediate hostility aboard and independently examined the wreck, treating the competition as a shared exploration effort.
• Ye Buyu identified weapon remains, a launching device, a pod, pipes, and nutrient solution, and the contestants increasingly relied on her insight.
• Ye Buyu created the Difficult Problems Crusher group chat so the explorers could share questions and coordinate as they headed deeper into the warship.

Ye Buyu and the Hold Up the Heavens Team explored a ruined control room with the arriving Horizon Team and found a way into a locked room. Inside, they discovered rows of frozen bookshelves in a space largely untouched by Calamity Aura.

• Xiao Shuo joined Guan Xiaomei and the others, and Wei Changming declared that Horizon would defeat Hold Up the Heavens after the exploration.
• Ye Buyu uncovered an Electrical Box and extracted a glowing crystal, while the teams searched the control room for clues.
• Yu Qin found a metal fragment that looked like an access card, and Ye Buyu located a locked door.
• Yu Qin used the metal fragment on the door's Recognition Device, which welcomed them back to Sintar and opened the door.
• The group entered a cold room where the ice receded from several rows of bookshelves.

Ye Buyu and the others reached the warship’s central control room, where they uncovered a recording left by Xin Meng, Sintar’s previous person chosen by [Abyssal Erosion]. Xin Meng revealed that the warship held records about Sintar and warned the next chosen one not to cross the door sealing away absolute darkness unless they were strong enough to face a Level Eleven Calamity alone.

• Wan Lan, Mu Bingge, and Ye Buyu found preserved books in the warship’s archive, and Yu Qin and Meng He stayed behind to help transport them.
• Mu Bingge sensed a familiar presence and suspected it belonged to Sintar’s previous person chosen by [Abyssal Erosion].
• Lou Guanshan tore through the sealed doors, but Mu Bingge’s power activated the warship’s mechanisms and opened the way to the central control room.
• Ye Buyu fitted a blue crystal into a device, stabilizing a recording of Xin Meng, who said the archive books contained Sintar’s history and information about the Calamities.
• Xin Meng explained that [Abyssal Erosion] flowed through time and warned the next chosen one not to cross the door sealing away absolute darkness without the strength to face a Level Eleven Calamity alone.

Ye Buyu and her companions watched Sintar’s final recordings and found a Chinese-Sintar dictionary, revealing that the soldiers’ “Universal Encrypted Language” was Chinese. Little Whale prompted Ye Buyu to remember what it had shown her before, and she realized the language’s connection was to her.

• Hong Yi and Sintar’s soldiers left a recording asking future survivors to remember Sintar and wishing them victory.
• Mu Bingge retrieved Sintar’s sealed documents, and the group left the warship resolved to grow stronger than Fifth Order.
• Guan Xiaomei and Wan Lan told Meng He, Yu Qin, and the others about Sintar’s recordings and offered to take the books and records.
• A bespectacled Contestant found a Chinese-Sintar translation dictionary, prompting the group to realize the recording had been in Chinese.
• Little Whale reminded Ye Buyu of something it had shown her, and Ye Buyu reacted with disbelief: “Me?!”