Chapter Summaries

Yao Sen exposed his Mystical Ability while escaping a truck, leading the New Year's Watchers to pursue him, but he escaped with a teleportation item badly injured. Ren Daguo returned to the Tree Rings Hotel with Peach Cake and a figurine, while a voice in the Blood Pool lamented its death.

• Yao Sen freed his foot from a storm drain and used his Mystical Ability to dodge a truck, alerting the New Year's Watchers and forcing Ren Daguo to leave with them.
• Yao Sen fled through the streets as the New Year's Watchers pursued him, and he narrowly avoided an attack from the young woman's Precision Puppet.
• Yao Sen activated his Time Music Box, then vanished using a teleportation item after the puppet's exploding wooden knife badly injured him.
• The young woman reported that the Bell Society was still targeting Ren Ye's father, while New Year's Watchers escorted Ren Daguo back to the Tree Rings Hotel.
• Ren Daguo gave Ren Qingning Peach Cake, then privately examined a figurine of a white-robed swordsman before going to bed.
• A voice in Prince Huai's Sacrificial Chamber cried out in pain and pleaded that it could not be dead because its beloved consort was waiting for dual cultivation.

Ren Ye jumped into the Sacrificial Pool after deducing that his sacrifice was the only way to clear the Third Trial, and the Star Gate recognized him as a leader who could shoulder responsibility. Reborn in the Land of Fortune with a transformed body, he reunited the Nation-Guarding Sword with its spirit, then heard a voice insult him when he tried to pull the sword free.

• Ren Ye traced the trials’ parallels with Li Mu’s deeds and concluded that he had to enter the Sacrificial Pool to clear the trial.
• The Star Gate announced that Ren Ye had cleared the Third Trial and would inherit half the Great Qian Dynasty’s fortune as it rebuilt his body.
• Ren Ye woke up in the Land of Fortune and watched the Nation-Guarding Sword absorb the spirit’s mass of light.
• The Star Gate announced that Ren Ye had found the Nation-Guarding Sword’s lost spirit and completed a main quest.
• Ren Ye tried and failed to pull the Nation-Guarding Sword from the floor, and an unseen voice called him a moron.

Ren Ye awakened the Human Emperor Sword and learned that it could abandon him if he failed to earn its final recognition. From his mirrorlike space, he watched his teammates struggle with his apparent death as the Star Gate prepared to let them set his next task.

• Ren Ye found the Sword Spirit, and the Nation-Guarding Sword flew into his consciousness space as the Human Emperor Sword.
• The Star Gate revealed the sword’s history, abilities, need for Star Source and Destiny, and condition that Ren Ye clear Qingliang Town and obtain the mysterious inheritance.
• Ren Ye recalled Mr. He’s altered letter and concluded that finding the Sword Spirit would help open the secret chamber in Tranquil Heart Hall.
• Ren Ye saw Tang Feng, Li Yan, and Liu Ji Shan in the Sixth Layer, where Li Yan mourned his sacrifice and doubted they could reach the final stage while Liu Ji Shan urged them onward.
• The Star Gate told Ren Ye that his teammates would set his next task and that he would watch them decide how to clear it.

Ren Ye watched Liu Ji Shan rally Tang Feng and Li Yan to continue toward the seventh level, while Xing Tao revived elsewhere and discovered a sword manual. Beneath Qingliang Mountain, Xu Qingzhao began pursuing the Yin and Yang Qi.

• Tang Feng and Liu Ji Shan read murals revealing Princess Anping's plan to build the tomb and wait for a visitor from beyond the heavens who would carry the Human Emperor Seal.
• Tang Feng concluded that the tomb's legacy was tied to the visitor from beyond the heavens, but he and Li Yan grew discouraged because they believed Prince Huai's death had closed the path to the final trial.
• Liu Ji Shan berated Tang Feng and Li Yan for giving up, drawing on his own hardships and No. 5's sacrifice to persuade them to keep going.
• Tang Feng and Li Yan agreed to continue, and the three entered the seventh level as You Hour arrived.
• Xing Tao revived through Star Source, learned his teammates would assign his next trial, and discovered the Heavenly Fiend Sword Formation manual.
• Xu Qingzhao floated within an ancient formation beneath Qingliang Mountain, surrounded by Yin and Yang Qi.

Li Yan, Tang Feng, and Liu Ji Shan began the fourth trial, which required them to capture and deposit exactly 108 ghosts and 3,600 evil entities within twelve hours. In the Soul Chamber, ghosts attacked Li Yan and Liu Ji Shan while ignoring Tang Feng, and Ren Ye noticed the strange discrepancy from Mirror Space.

• The Star Gate explained the trial's requirements, deadline, and punishment for failing, and Li Yan, Tang Feng, and Liu Ji Shan collected Tomb Sweeper nameplates and headed to the Soul Chamber.
• The three found that one of the four nameplates on the cart could not be lifted, while Ren Ye suspected the extra nameplate was a hint but could no longer hear their conversation.
• In the Soul Chamber, Li Yan warned Liu Ji Shan that a child ghost was sitting on his neck, and the torches went out before blue flames revealed the chamber crowded with ghosts.
• Ghosts rushed Liu Ji Shan and pinned Li Yan, while Tang Feng remained untouched as they passed her by.
• Ren Ye watched from Mirror Space and wondered why the ghosts were ignoring Tang Feng.

Tang Feng, Li Yan, and Liu Ji Shan discovered how to capture ghosts and poison creatures and began filling the Path of Rebirth as the trial’s deadline loomed. Watching them from the Mirror Space, Ren Ye realized the trial’s challenge resembled Li Mu facing an army of fifty thousand alone.

• Tang Feng used the Soul-Reaping Rope to drive ghosts away from Li Yan and Liu Ji Shan, then helped them escape the Soul Chamber.
• Tang Feng discovered that stillness made the ghosts unable to see him, and he used the rope to capture a ghost and send it into the Path of Rebirth.
• Li Yan and Liu Ji Shan learned that the magical suona could put nearby poisonous creatures to sleep, and they entered the Poison Chamber to begin capturing them.
• Ren Ye watched Tang Feng, Li Yan, and Liu Ji Shan work and connected the creatures entering the Path of Rebirth to the army Li Mu had faced at Shangyu County.

Liu Ji Shan and Li Yan hauled Poisonous Creatures into the Path of Rebirth while Tang Feng discovered that the Soul Chamber was one ghost short. As Liu Ji Shan risked his soul to lure a ghost across the trench, Ren Ye watched the two factions compete for the final spirits.

• Liu Ji Shan played the Suona as Li Yan removed sleeping Poisonous Creatures from him and tossed them into the Path of Rebirth, eventually counting 160 in a load.
• Ren Ye watched the stages in the Mirror Space and suspected that the Star Gate had a purpose for showing him the action.
• Tang Feng and Scholar each caught ghosts in opposite halves of the Soul Chamber and realized that one ghost was missing from the required total of 108.
• Tang Feng fetched Liu Ji Shan and Li Yan to help lure a ghost across the trench, then returned to catch another spirit.
• Liu Ji Shan and Li Yan drew the remaining ghosts toward the trench, and Liu Ji Shan endured its soul-burning blue flames as one ghost rushed into the Prince Huai Party's area.

The Court Faction captured the last ghost and cleared the stage, reviving Xing Tao, while the Prince Huai Party was left one soul short. Li Yan realized he might be the missing 216th soul and killed himself with the Suona so Tang Feng could extract him.

• Liu Ji Shan lured a ghost toward the blue flames, discovering that ghosts could not cross between faction areas, while Li Yan pulled him to safety.
• Tang Feng and Scholar each reached 107 souls before Tang Feng nearly strangled Li Yan to attract the hidden child ghost, but Guo Caier returned poisoned with a snake and drew the ghost to the Court Faction.
• Scholar bound the child ghost and deposited it, clearing the Court Faction's stage; the Star Gate resurrected Xing Tao, who entered the Path of Rebirth to try to save Guo Caier.
• Li Yan deduced that the four wooden plaques and 216-soul requirement meant he was the missing soul, then told Tang Feng to extract him and turn over the plaque.
• Li Yan drove his neck onto the Suona's sharp tube and died as Liu Ji Shan and Tang Feng watched.

After Li Yan sacrificed himself to complete the Prince Huai Faction’s trial, Ren Ye returned and realized he was badly behind the Court Faction in the final race. He used Blue Flame to drive back the ghosts and Evil Spirits as he charged down the Path of Rebirth, and a burst of white light announced that one path had been cleared.

• Li Yan’s soul entered the Path of Rebirth, triggering the Star Gate to resurrect him and return him to Ren Ye’s companions.
• Ren Ye learned that the Court Faction’s revived player, Xing Tao, had entered the final challenge several minutes earlier.
• Ren Ye watched the neighboring faction taunt his teammates, then figured out he could use Blue Flame from the Soul Chamber against the creatures in the Path of Rebirth.
• Ren Ye and his companions dismantled the Peddler’s Cart, and Ren Ye carried burning pieces of wood to the path while Liu Ji Shan brought the longest support plank.
• Ren Ye set the plank alight and charged into the Path of Rebirth, forcing the ghosts and Evil Spirits to retreat as he raced toward the end.
• A brilliant white light erupted from one of the Paths of Rebirth, leaving both factions waiting to learn who had cleared the stage.

The Prince Huai Faction won the fourth trial after Ren Ye survived the Path of Rebirth, while the Court Faction lost. On the Eighth Layer, Ren Ye, Liu Ji Shan, and Tang Feng found a ruined chamber full of ancient corpses and a modern notebook, suggesting the dead tomb robbers had been players.

• The Prince Huai Faction received notice that it had won the trials, and Prince Huai unlocked the tomb’s hidden ninth layer and a mysterious inheritance.
• Scholar explained that the Court Faction lost because its revived player focused on threats instead of strategy, while Xing Tao continued crawling along the Path of Rebirth despite his injuries.
• Liu Ji Shan and Tang Feng found Ren Ye wounded at the Eighth Layer entrance and used Source-Restoring Pills to heal him before hearing about his journey.
• Ren Ye, Liu Ji Shan, and Tang Feng entered a collapsed burial chamber, found more than a hundred corpses, and discovered a modern notebook that suggested the tomb robbers had been players.
• On the seventh layer, the Star Gate announced the Court Faction’s defeat and confirmed that Martial Artist had completed the Path of Rebirth.

After the fourth trial, Xing Tao reunited with Guo Caier while Scholar and Coachman chose to return to the Capital. In the tomb, Ren Ye and the others uncovered a record of 216 players being wiped out on an earlier mission and headed toward the ninth level, where a figure greeted Ren Ye as the Heavenly Pardon-Blessed One.

• The Court Faction players received a choice about remaining undercover or returning to the Capital, along with a Source-Restoring Pill for clearing the fourth trial.
• Xing Tao healed Guo Caier and reunited with her; Scholar and Coachman decided to return to the Capital and report to the court.
• Ren Ye, Tang Feng, and Liu Ji Shan read a notebook describing a mission in which 216 players tried to retrieve the Human Emperor Seal and Destiny from Princess Anping's Tomb.
• Ren Ye and Tang Feng reasoned that the earlier players had died because the ninth level awaited a Heavenly Pardon-Blessed One, and Liu Ji Shan realized Li Yan had likely been one of the tomb raiders.
• Ren Ye and his companions started up the passage to the ninth level, where a figure emerged from the mist and called Ren Ye the Heavenly Pardon-Blessed One.

Ren Ye and his companions were denied entry to the tomb’s ninth layer because they lacked half a pot of destiny, so they returned to Prince Huai’s Residence to search its secret chamber for the missing destiny. There, a ghost in a yellow Dragon Robe demanded that Ren Ye return its life and dynastic destiny.

• Ren Ye, Tang Feng, and Liu Ji Shan left the Princess Tomb after the figure on the ninth layer told them to find half a pot of destiny.
• Ren Ye and Tang Feng suspected the figure was connected to the Outsider, and Ren Ye believed Xu Qingzhao had survived the trials and found her own Opportunity.
• Ren Ye ordered Lian'er to check whether Li Yan and the Princess Consort had returned, and sent Er Leng to investigate who had disappeared from the Prince's Mansion and nearby offices.
• Ren Ye took Tang Feng and Liu Ji Shan to the secret chamber and opened its talisman-covered iron door with the Human Emperor Sword.
• A ghost rushed out, knocked Tang Feng into the wall, and demanded that Ren Ye return its life and dynastic destiny while wearing a yellow Dragon Robe.

Ren Ye obtained the destiny hidden in the Secret Chamber and learned from Prince Huai-Zhu Kai’s final letter that he had killed Emperor Wu to save his son from a body-seizing plot. The Star Gate warned Ren Ye that opening the Princess Tomb would provoke the court and ordered him to reclaim power in Qingliang Prefecture and rebel.

• Emperor Wu’s ghost demanded that Ren Ye and his companions kneel, but the Human Emperor Sword drove him into the tunnel and destroyed his remnant soul.
• The Human Emperor Sword opened the stone coffin, releasing destiny that Ren Ye absorbed while a letter from Prince Huai-Zhu Kai appeared.
• Ren Ye read Prince Huai’s letter, which revealed that Emperor Wu had planned to seize Ren Ye’s body and that Prince Huai had killed him to protect his son.
• Prince Huai’s letter explained that he had hidden Emperor Wu’s destiny to help Ren Ye survive and choose his own path.
• The Star Gate announced that Ren Ye had gained the complete heavenly-pardon fate configuration and could open the Princess Tomb’s final layer.
• The Star Gate warned that Emperor Jing was monitoring Ren Ye and urged him to reclaim Qingliang Prefecture’s authority and rebel; Liu Ji Shan anticipated a major bloodshed.

Ren Ye and his allies planned to seize Qingliang Prefecture’s military and administrative power, with Li Yan revealing a hidden force of three hundred soldiers. Ren Ye prepared to meet Feng Xing alone while Feng Xing dismissed the threat and waited for the court’s secret order and forces to assemble.

• Ren Ye discovered that he could wield the Human Emperor Sword after absorbing enough Destiny, then gathered his allies to plan how to seize power.
• Er Leng reported that several key figures had disappeared, and Ren Ye and Tang Feng concluded that they were likely Players and chose to target Qingliang Prefecture’s government office.
• Li Yan appeared and revealed that his Prince-Protection Royal Edict could summon three hundred veteran soldiers and their descendants hidden in Qingliang Prefecture.
• Ren Ye planned to use the three hundred soldiers to move against the Spy Battalion and Qingzhou Guard’s subordinates, while he went alone to meet Prefect Feng Xing.
• At the government office, Feng Xing rejected advice to speak with Prince Huai and said he would wait for the court’s secret order and assembled forces.

Ren Ye entered Qingliang Prefecture with only a small escort and confronted Feng Xing at the Prefectural Yamen, where Feng Xing made clear his loyalty to the emperor and prepared to imprison him. Meanwhile, Er Leng attacked the Spy Battalion after learning its commander had died, leaving Ding Hui and the others at his mercy.

• Ren Ye chose Er Leng's Heaven-Dominating Sword Technique and sent him to join Li Yan and the others in retaking Qingliang Prefecture.
• Ren Ye arrived at the Prefectural Yamen with two eunuchs and four sedan bearers, while Feng Xing ordered Zhang Wu to prepare an ambush and summon Taoists and soldiers.
• Feng Xing refused to bow to Ren Ye, declared his intention to serve the emperor, and recounted how court officials gained power by appeasing His Majesty.
• Ding Hui learned that Spy Battalion Commander Wu Asi had died in the Tomb Chamber's Second Trial.
• Er Leng appeared in an ink-stained courtyard, threatened Ding Hui and the other Spy Battalion men, and Liu Ji Shan called from outside.

Li Yan and the Prince-Protection Party seized the Spy Battalion and forced its officers to choose between serving Prince Huai and dying. After executing the senior commanders, Li Yan promoted lower-ranking officers and took their families hostage, leaving the rebellion poised to continue.

• Li Yan, Er Leng, Liu Ji Shan, and armed members of the Prince-Protection Party entered the Spy Battalion’s Front Courtyard, where Zhang Gui and other veterans rallied behind Prince Huai.
• Er Leng killed an adjutant who tried to summon help, then forced Deputy Commander Ding Hui to kneel and reveal that Wu Asi had died and Zhao Shen had gone to the Capital.
• Li Yan ordered Ding Hui to summon two Qingzhou Guard Qianhu, and Zhang Gui and Lin Zifu secured the Spy Battalion’s three courtyards.
• When the two Qianhu arrived, Li Yan’s forces trapped them and more than forty Spy Battalion leaders in the Central Hall, where the officers pledged to fight for Prince Huai.
• Er Leng killed the Qianhu and, on Li Yan’s orders, executed everyone down through the Zongqi rank.
• Li Yan promoted the surviving Zongqi to Qianhu and Xiaoqi to Hundred-Household Commanders, then ordered them to hand their families over as hostages.

Li Yan and Tang Feng prepared to seize Qingliang Prefecture while Ren Ye was confronted by Feng Xing, Zhang Wu, and three Taoists in the Prefectural Yamen. Ren Ye defeated his attackers with the Human Emperor Sword as Li Yan led Prince Huai's forces toward the city.

• Li Yan planned the rebellion and assigned Lian'er to guard the captive officers' families, while Tang Feng and Liu Ji Shan rallied the soldiers.
• Liu Ji Shan persuaded reluctant company commanders to follow Prince Huai by promising them Feng Xing's wealth if they captured the city.
• Feng Xing revealed that he was waiting for the Celestial Surveillance Bureau Taoists, who arrived with Vicious Souls, as Zhang Wu came to confront Ren Ye.
• Ren Ye used the Human Emperor Sword and a copied Heaven-Dominating Sword Technique move to cut down the Taoists and overwhelm Zhang Wu and his soldiers.
• Li Yan and Liu Ji Shan led roughly fifteen hundred soldiers, flying Prince Huai's banners, toward Qingliang Prefecture.

Ren Ye defeated Feng Xing’s forces and took control of Qingliang Prefecture with the help of Prince Huai’s army. After the system rewarded him with the ability to recruit five hundred Supernatural Ability Users, Ren Ye realized the reward could connect to the Star Gate and the mysterious legacy.

• Ren Ye killed the ambushers in the yamen, defeated Zhang Wu, and captured Feng Xing after cutting off his leg and hand.
• Tang Poet used the Spring Breeze Wish-Fulfilling Painting to daze the city’s defenders while Liu Ji Shan smashed open the gates with the Former Dynasty Jade Seal.
• Prince Huai’s thousand riders entered Qingliang Prefecture, and many of the city’s defenders switched sides as the army advanced on the yamen.
• Ren Ye ordered his followers to take control of the prefecture’s offices and divide the officials’ wealth without harassing the people.
• The system confirmed that Ren Ye had completed the takeover and could recruit five hundred Supernatural Ability Users, prompting him to connect the reward to the Star Gate.

After the Players left Qingliang Prefecture, Prince Huai’s recruitment notice opened the Star Gate to outsiders. Xu Peng accepted a match to the same gate and arrived there, where he met a Player from the Order Faction.

• Ren Ye and his companions discussed the difficulty of the next stage, agreed to seek allies, and prepared to leave the Star Gate.
• After the Players departed, a mustached official posted Prince Huai’s order recruiting five hundred Supernatural Ability Users, opening Qingliang Prefecture to outsiders.
• Xu Peng reconciled with his father at home, then received a notification matching him with the Qingliang Prefecture Star Gate.
• Xu Peng entered the Star Gate and recognized Ren Ye’s Qingliang Prefecture from its recruitment notice.
• A burly young man asked Xu Peng for the code and said he belonged to the Order Faction.

Xu Peng accepted the dangerous Qingliang Prefecture mission to support Ren Ye, while another Player withdrew rather than risk the SSS-rank confrontation. With the final battle set to begin in five days and only 500 nontransferable entry slots available, Xu Peng joined Ren Ye and Tang Feng as the New Year's Watchers prepared to coordinate.

• Xu Peng and a burly young Player arrived in Qingliang Prefecture and learned that Prince Huai had seized the city after rebelling against Emperor Jing.
• A Star Gate mission required Players to join Prince Huai, defend Qingliang Prefecture, and help him obtain the legacy in Princess Anping's Tomb; the burly young Player declined, but Xu Peng accepted.
• Xu Peng returned to the Real World and told his parents he had to leave for an urgent business trip.
• Xu Peng called Huang Wei, learned the final battle would begin in five days, and was instructed to meet Ren Ye and travel to the Capital.
• Xu Peng met Ren Ye and Tang Feng at the office, while the crimson-robed man ordered Star Gate Officials from every region to gather in Vermilion Bird City over the limited entry slots.