Chapter Summaries

Ren Ye and his companions learned how the Qingliang Prefecture Star Gate recruited Players as New Year's Watchers Headquarters mobilized to control mission acceptance. Wang Pei organized New Year's Watchers in the Star Gate to persuade other Players to leave the available spots, while Mr. He canceled the operation targeting Ren Ye's father.

• Xu Peng explained that the Qingliang Prefecture mission was open to first-order Order Faction Players who received a matching notification, and that accepting it locked them into the mission.
• An Earth-rank New Year's Watcher arrived at Vermilion Bird City and received orders from the Gatekeeper to coordinate first-order New Year's Watchers in taking control of Qingliang Prefecture mission acceptance.
• Wang Pei received the Qingliang Prefecture matching notification, entered the Star Gate, and gathered other New Year's Watchers using his Wordless Stele.
• Wang Pei assigned the gathered New Year's Watchers to maintain order and asked waiting Players to leave the mission spots for New Year's Watchers.
• Mr. He told Yao Sen to cancel the operation to kidnap Ren Ye's father, while Li Yan took another stolen body and went to a Fraud Merchants' Association contact location.

Emperor Jing ordered a secret campaign to retake Qingliang Prefecture, while Ren Ye and his companions learned that Chaos Faction Players had three thousand recruitment slots against the New Year's Watchers’ five hundred. Li Yan also arranged an immediate flight to the Capital, where Shadow and the Number Ten Pawnshop awaited.

• Emperor Jing ordered Zuo Xuan to lead fifty thousand troops and three thousand first-order Supernatural Ability Users against Qingliang Prefecture, with the four hidden pawns leading the Players and Prince Huai’s nephew Zi Gui to be captured alive.
• Ren Ye, Tang Feng, and Xu Peng boarded a plane to the Capital and learned from Player chat groups that the Great Qian Dynasty mission offered three thousand Chaos Faction slots, while Qingliang Prefecture had five hundred SSS-rated slots.
• Huang Wei confirmed that Chaos Faction recruitment was underway and reported that numerous organizations, including the Bell Society, the Roadside Dogs, and the Plunderers' Alliance, were mobilizing.
• Ren Ye, Xu Peng, and Tang Feng worried about the severe imbalance in recruitment numbers as their plane prepared for takeoff.
• Li Yan learned that Shadow was in the Capital and arranged a private jet and a soul-holding artifact so he could travel there immediately.

Ren Ye reported his Star Gate experience to Yan Duoduo, who revealed headquarters’ plan to equip recruited Players for the Qingliang Prefecture mission. As they headed to the Fraud Merchants' Association, the chapter shifted to Changling Prefecture, where a confused one-armed man tried to enlist as a porter for the campaign against Prince Huai.

• Ren Ye told Yan Duoduo that recruited Players would likely retain their own mystical items and abilities inside the Star Gate, while the original Players would remain bound to their assigned roles.
• Yan Duoduo explained that headquarters was starting an arms race and planned to buy suitable equipment from the Fraud Merchants' Association.
• Yan Duoduo said the mysterious woman who had helped Ren Ye led the Association’s Shanghai operations, and Ren Ye chose to accompany him to its Number Ten Pawnshop instead of returning to the hotel.
• In Changling Prefecture, officials recruited porters to carry supplies for the court’s campaign against Prince Huai in Qingliang Prefecture.
• A gaunt, one-armed man insisted he was strong enough to work, and a soldier challenged him to lift a large rock before allowing him to sign up.

Yan Duoduo, Ren Ye, and Tang Feng met Mr. Pig to seek intelligence and mystical items for the Qingliang Prefecture Star Gate contest, but his refusal and conduct made them suspect the Fraud Merchants' Association favored the Chaos Faction. After they left, Li Yan revived in a borrowed corpse and met with Mr. Pig.

• Yan Duoduo brought Ren Ye and Tang Feng to Mr. Pig’s courtyard to discuss the Star Gate contest.
• Mr. Pig refused to sell critical intelligence about hostile forces, but revealed that Ren Ye was Prince Huai and had been targeted in a planned attack on his flight.
• Yan Duoduo asked Mr. Pig to procure defensive mystical items, but Mr. Pig said he had no suitable samples and needed time to allocate resources.
• On the way back, Yan Duoduo, Tang Feng, and Ren Ye suspected the Fraud Merchants’ Association was helping the Chaos Faction to preserve the balance of power.
• After the trio left, Li Yan revived in a corpse prepared by the Fraud Merchants’ Association, and Mr. Pig welcomed him at dinner.

Li Yan used his Old Association standing and knowledge of the Qingliang Prefecture Star Gate to urge Mr. Pig to support Ren Ye and the Prince Huai Faction instead of the Chaos Faction. After warning Mr. Pig that Ren Ye’s legacy could be extraordinary and that backing his enemies might invite retaliation, Li Yan left the choice to him; Ren Ye returned to the Tree Rings Hotel, unaware his father already knew what he was doing.

• Li Yan showed Mr. Pig his rare God of Wealth Token, and Mr. Pig treated him as a distinguished senior while they shared hot pot.
• A waiter told Mr. Pig that the Bell Society had met his price for Mystical Ability items, and Mr. Pig ordered the goods sent toward the Xiang River in six escorted teams.
• Li Yan revealed that Ren Ye was his teammate in the Qingliang Prefecture Star Gate and argued that the Fraud Merchants' Association should invest in Ren Ye rather than supply the Chaos Faction.
• Li Yan warned Mr. Pig that Ren Ye might obtain a unique legacy and could retaliate against those who backed his enemies, then urged him to consider the long-term value of their friendship.
• Ren Ye returned to the Tree Rings Hotel and reassured Ren Qingning and Ren Daguo, while Ren Qingning said she planned to run a marathon near Beijing Suburban University Town the next morning.

Mr. Pig met Shadow, who asked him for intelligence on the Bell Society so she could settle a grudge, and he agreed to help. He then used their master's spittoon-like artifact to seal her Mystical Abilities and confine her, revealing that their master and an unknown writer wanted her kept out of the contest.

• Mr. Pig learned that Shadow had arrived in the Capital and ordered his people to delay the Bell Society deal and stand down from their escort mission.
• Shadow told Mr. Pig that the Bell Society had attacked her and asked for information about its Court Faction Players and members taking part in the Great Qian Dynasty's mission.
• Mr. Pig agreed to give Shadow the Bell Society files after she pleaded with him, and the two entered his hidden room.
• Mr. Pig activated the spittoon-like artifact, which absorbed Shadow's shadow and sealed her Mystical Abilities.
• Shadow attacked Mr. Pig after he explained that their master had ordered him to confine her, at the request of an unknown writer, until the contest ended.

Ren Ye and Yan Duoduo negotiated with Mr. Pig for Mystical Ability items to prepare the New Year's Watchers for the Qingliang Prefecture Star Gate, while Ren Ye noticed his father’s age and reassured him. After inspecting a powerful crossbow, the chapter ended with Li Biao visiting his parents’ graves and lamenting that he had not seen them before they died.

• Yan Duoduo woke Ren Ye and hurried him to meet Mr. Pig, and Ren Ye noticed his father’s white hair before leaving and embraced him.
• Mr. Pig welcomed Ren Ye and Yan Duoduo to the Number Ten Pawnshop and offered Mystical Ability items at a limited markup, with protective information at cost.
• Mr. Pig asked Ren Ye to do three future tasks for the Fraud Merchants' Association if Ren Ye gained Qingliang Prefecture’s inheritance and advanced to a Third Tier Player, and Yan Duoduo secured approval.
• Mr. Pig revealed that Li Yan and other influential figures had helped change his attitude, and Ren Ye eagerly accepted Mr. Pig as a sworn-brother prospect.
• Mr. Pig presented a Zhuge Demon-Slaying Crossbow, which Ren Ye identified as a powerful weapon, and Ren Ye began inspecting the goods.
• Li Biao visited his parents’ grave, poured Maotai over it, and mourned that he had not been able to see them before they died.

Ren Ye and Yan Duoduo arranged weapons for the SSS-rank mission while Yang Nan organized the New Year's Watchers at the Qingliang Prefecture Star Gate. After securing 489 qualified slots, Yang Nan and Wang Pei accepted the mission, and Editor Xu left the Star Gate for the Real World to contact someone in the Capital.

• Ren Ye learned from Yan Duoduo that Yang Nan would help command the final battle and that the New Year's Watchers' six ministries reflected their commitment to heritage.
• Yang Nan arrived at the Qingliang Prefecture Star Gate, learned that Qian Li and sixty-one Independent Players were demanding Star Source to surrender their slots, and refused to pay them.
• Yang Nan warned Qian Li's group they would receive no New Year's Watchers support if they accepted the mission, then ordered underqualified New Year's Watchers to abandon their slots.
• Yang Nan directed the remaining qualified New Year's Watchers to accept the mission and prepare to gather at headquarters; most of Qian Li's group left, and Qian Li eventually gave up his slot too.
• By late night, the New Year's Watchers had secured 489 slots, with Yang Nan and Wang Pei accepting the mission last before returning to visit their families.
• Editor Xu left Qingliang Prefecture Star Gate for Shanghai, then called someone in the Capital and said he would come meet them.

Ren Ye arrived at Vermilion Bird City and wrote a report for the New Year's Watchers while its leaders considered his potential inheritance. Meanwhile, Ren Daguo met Editor Xu, who confronted him about their long friendship and learned that Ren Daguo was a Scholar who had worked for many Gate Eyes.

• Yan Duoduo brought Ren Ye to Vermilion Bird City and ordered him to write an honest account of the second act for the Gatekeeper.
• Fan Ming concluded that Ren Ye's inheritance might be tied to a Human Emperor and declared that Ren Ye had to join him.
• Ren Ye spent the next day writing his report without leaving his room.
• Ren Daguo met Editor Xu in a Capital café, where Editor Xu accused him of having used their friendship.
• Ren Daguo admitted that he had initially wanted to free Ren Ye from prison, but said he had never meant to make Editor Xu violate the Star Gates' rules.
• Ren Daguo revealed that many Gate Eyes had hired him and that his inheritance class was Scholar; Editor Xu then said he hoped Qingliang Prefecture would find a master so he could leave his Star Gate.

New Year's Watchers leaders gathered to review Ren Ye's report and determine his aptitude and mentor. The crimson-robed Gatekeeper bypassed the usual assessment and named Ren Ye his disciple, leaving Fan Ming to realize his rival was Lin Xiang.

• Yan Duoduo told Ren Ye that New Year's Watchers had secured 489 max-level first-tier Players for the Qingliang Prefecture mission, then delivered Ren Ye's report to the Moon-Gazing Pavilion.
• Fan Ming tried to claim Ren Ye as his protégé while Yan Duoduo and the leaders discussed Ren Ye's likely aptitude and the Human Emperor legacy.
• The crimson-robed man read Ren Ye's report, asked Yan Duoduo about Ren Ye's character, and wrote "Disciple" on the final page.
• Ren Ye sensed the crimson-robed man watching him from the loft and looked up, feeling exposed by his gaze.
• Yan Duoduo announced that Ren Ye had no aptitude assessment and was instead named the Gatekeeper Lin Xiang's disciple, shocking Fan Ming.

Ren Ye joined the New Year's Watchers in a solemn oath ceremony, where he learned that the Rebirth Forest preserved the consciousness of fallen comrades. As Ren Ye prepared to enter the Qingliang Prefecture Star Gate, a stranger brought a huge haul of New Year's Watcher Wordless Steles to the Black Cage Fort Convenience Store.

• Fan Ming presided over Ren Ye's oath ceremony, gave him a yellow uniform and Wordless Stele, and explained how fallen Watchers were remembered in the Rebirth Forest.
• Ren Ye swore the New Year's Watchers' oath before the main Wordless Stele, and lights in the Rebirth Forest flickered to welcome him.
• Lin Xiang told Zhao Baicheng that Ren Ye had to face his own opportunity and tribulation, while Zhao Baicheng offered to attack Black Cage Fortress.
• A straw-hatted man arrived at the Black Cage Fort Convenience Store and dumped a large number of New Year's Watcher Wordless Steles on the counter to settle the bill.

Wang Tudou returned to Black Cage Fortress with the spoils from his year of fighting, while Chaos Faction leaders prepared their players for the Great Qian Dynasty Star Gate mission. In Vermilion Bird City, Ren Ye learned that Mr. Pig’s shipment and the 489 assembled players were ready, signaling another Star Gate entry.

• Wang Tudou arrived at Black Cage Fortress carrying two sacks and greeted He the Actor, Yao Sen, Mr. Lu, and Little Dwarf, who treated him with unusual respect despite his silver bell.
• Mr. He explained that Wang Tudou had the Bell Society’s worst talent and Star Gate inheritance, but had still earned the exceptional position of Rent Collector.
• The Landlord told Guo Caier, Xing Tao, Scholar, and Coachman that the Chaos Faction had gathered three thousand players and supplied Mystical Ability items for the Qingliang Prefecture Star Gate contest.
• The Landlord asked Guo Caier to stay behind after the others prepared to leave.
• A New Year's Watcher from the Ministry of Rites told Ren Ye that Mr. Pig’s shipment had arrived and 489 people had assembled, and Ren Ye realized he would soon enter a Star Gate again.

The Landlord revealed that Wang Hong had secured Guo Caier’s chance to enter Qingliang Prefecture and left her a drawer room, prompting Guo Caier to swear she would win. As the New Year’s Watchers and three thousand Chaos Faction Players entered the Star Gate, Old Xu prepared to witness the final battle in Qingliang Prefecture.

• The Landlord told Guo Caier that her mother, Wang Hong, had earned her and Xing Tao their entry tokens and had placed a drawer room under Guo Caier’s name; Guo Caier wept and vowed to win.
• Young Players on Cloud Summit mocked the recruits below, then threw down Star Source and Mystical Ability items; Wang Tudou gave away his accumulated Star Source and called the Human Emperor inheritance a stepping stone.
• Ren Ye and 488 other New Year’s Watchers entered the Qingliang Prefecture Star Gate after Zhao Baicheng asked them to bring the Human Emperor back to Huaxia, and the three thousand Chaos Faction Players entered as well.
• Mr. Pig told Shadow that both sides had entered, while Ren Daguo prepared to write a story after confirming the New Year’s Watchers had left.
• Old Xu watched Zuo Xuan’s fifty thousand soldiers from Qingliang Mountain and declared that Prince Huai had returned and the final battle had begun.

Ren Ye learned that Emperor Jing had sent fifty thousand soldiers and three thousand supernatural ability users to seize the Human Emperor Seal, forcing him to prepare Qingliang Prefecture’s defense while receiving an inheritance in Princess Anping’s Tomb. He gathered his allies to inspect Dangshan Pass, while Zuo Xuan prepared to attack after You Hour and threatened to massacre the city.

• The Star Gate announced that Ren Ye had to receive the Outsider’s legacy within six double-hours while defending Qingliang Prefecture from Emperor Jing’s army.
• Ren Ye realized the battle would hinge on holding Dangshan Pass long enough to obtain the legacy and protect the city’s people.
• Ren Ye woke Lian'er and Er Leng, learned it was Chen Hour, and ordered Er Leng to summon Yang Nan and Xu Peng.
• Ren Ye met Yang Nan, Xu Peng, Li Yan, Liu Ji Shan, Tang Feng, and the other New Year's Watchers, then ordered them and the local commanders to inspect Dangshan Pass.
• Zuo Xuan learned the mist would clear after You Hour and ordered his forces to prepare to attack, promising pardon to those who surrendered and a massacre if Qingliang Prefecture resisted.

At Dangshan Pass, Ren Ye appointed Yang Nan commander-in-chief and concentrated Qingliang Prefecture’s preparations on delaying the court’s fifty thousand troops in the gorge. Zuo Xuan planned the court’s advance while keeping the three thousand Supernatural Ability Users in reserve, and Yang Nan proposed a four-thousand-man suicide squad as Xu Qingzhao remained asleep beneath Qingliang Mountain.

• Ren Ye discovered that he had ordered Dangshan Pass demolished, then agreed with Yang Nan that the gorge was the key place to resist the court’s army.
• Ren Ye appointed Yang Nan commander-in-chief, and Yang Nan ordered troop and equipment counts, defensive preparations, and the use of New Year’s Watchers to speed the work.
• Zuo Xuan rejected Wei Yan’s proposal to lead the attack with Supernatural Ability Users and ordered them to disguise themselves as soldiers and remain in reserve.
• Yang Nan warned that the gorge defenses alone might not stop the army and proposed a suicide squad of roughly four thousand men to slow its advance.
• Beneath Qingliang Mountain, Xu Qingzhao remained asleep as Yin and Yang Qi reshaped her Dao body and nourished her original body.

As Qingliang Prefecture prepared for the imperial army’s attack, Er Leng and the Prince-Protection Party veterans led a suicide force toward Dangshan while Ren Ye entered the tomb’s ninth level. There, an awakened woman identified herself as someone surnamed Yin, and an azure beam erupted from Qingliang Mountain.

• Er Leng, Zhang Gui, Lin Zifu, and other veterans volunteered to lead four thousand soldiers and fifty Supernatural Ability Users to cut off the imperial army’s route, and Ren Ye entrusted the mission to them.
• Yang Nan arranged defenses around the canyon road after learning that Qingliang Prefecture had more than eight thousand four hundred troops available.
• Er Leng recalled how Prince Huai had saved him and his horse, Little Orange, and Lian'er gave him a Daoist Talisman before he departed with the assembled veterans.
• Zhang Gui led four thousand men out of the city toward Dangshan, promising his wife he would return the next morning.
• Ren Ye entered the tomb through the eighth level and crossed the barrier to the ninth level as You Hour arrived.
• A female voice asked whether Ren Ye had come and said she thought her surname was Yin; an azure beam then shot up from Qingliang Mountain.

Ren Ye opened Princess Anping’s coffin and received Yin Susu’s inheritance, beginning a dangerous process that required him to sense all of Qingliang Prefecture. Outside Canyon Pass, Zuo Xuan’s army began its planned advance toward Dangshan.

• Ren Ye reached Princess Anping’s burial chamber, opened her coffin, and found the Human Emperor Seal resting on her preserved body.
• Yin Susu emerged from the seal, entered Ren Ye’s brow, and the Star Gate announced that he had obtained the Ninety-Nine Human Emperor inheritance, warning that interruption would kill them both.
• Ren Ye’s perception expanded across Princess Tomb as the Human Emperor Sword and Seal helped regulate Destiny and offered their reserves to the hungry Yin Susu.
• At Canyon Pass, Yang Nan and Liu Ji Shan watched the court army assemble and prepared to follow their plan.
• Zuo Xuan ordered the vanguard to march toward Dangshan, with ten thousand infantry entering Canyon Pass first, and his forces called on Qingliang Prefecture to surrender.

Yang Nan’s forces ambushed the vanguard at Dangshan Pass after Wu Pingnan sent infantry and cavalry through the gorge and Taoists to search the cliffs. With the Celestial Surveillance Bureau Taoists caught off guard and the vanguard under attack from both sides, the Battle of Dangshan began.

• Wu Pingnan ordered his infantry into the gorge road while keeping the cavalry back, then sent Taoists to inspect the cliffs.
• Yang Nan’s hidden group waited as the Taoists searched the cliffs with talismans, and Liu Ji Shan was burned and kicked to keep him quiet.
• Wu Pingnan sent two thousand cavalry through the gorge, followed by another two thousand, while Yang Nan ordered his team to target the Taoists.
• Thirty New Year’s Watchers fired Heavenly Pearl Arrows from Zhuge Demon-Slaying Crossbows, killing nearly a hundred Taoists and scattering the rest.
• Yang Nan activated Ten Thousand Armies, Obey Orders, sending commands to four thousand cavalry hidden on both sides of the gorge.
• Er Leng, Tao Wenyuan, Zhang Gui, and Lin Zifu led cavalry charges toward the Wu command banner as Wu Pingnan ordered his troops to form up and fight.

Wu Pingnan’s cavalry clashed with Er Leng, Zhang Gui, and the Prince Huai loyalists, then retreated toward Zuo Xuan’s central army as Er Leng pursued Wu Pingnan. At Canyon Pass, Yang Nan’s ambush continued while he held the New Year’s Watchers in reserve to see whether the imperial army would send reinforcements.

• Wu Pingnan led six thousand cavalry against four thousand enemy riders, but Zhang Gui and his son cut through the enemy ranks and toppled their banners.
• Er Leng, whose name was Hong Jiadi, charged through the enemy cavalry and challenged Wu Pingnan to fight.
• Zuo Xuan ordered Wu Pingnan’s cavalry to withdraw toward the central army, leaving the troops at Canyon Pass without immediate support.
• Zhang Gui’s forces pursued the retreating cavalry, and Er Leng killed Wu Pingnan’s assistant commander before attacking Wu Pingnan.
• Yang Nan watched the attack on the troops in Canyon Pass and ordered the New Year’s Watchers to hold back while he waited to see if reinforcements arrived.

Zuo Xuan sent four thousand cavalry and reinforcements toward Canyon Pass while keeping the main army back until he knew the defenders’ strength. At the pass, Er Leng broke Wu Pingnan’s golden defenses, killed him, and triggered a rout among the imperial troops.

• Zuo Xuan ordered four thousand cavalry to circle the battle and support the trapped troops from outside Canyon Pass, while the Divine Engine Battalion and a thousand Celestial Surveillance Bureau Taoists reinforced Wu Pingnan’s remaining cavalry.
• Yang Nan held back the New Year's Watchers with Mystical Abilities until the imperial reinforcements committed themselves, while Liu Ji Shan praised Er Leng’s fighting.
• Er Leng and Wu Pingnan fought across the grasslands as Zhang Gui and Tao Wenyuan protected Er Leng from enemy riders.
• Er Leng repeatedly struck one spot on Wu Pingnan’s neck until a golden ring cracked, then shattered it and killed Wu Pingnan despite being wounded in the shoulder.
• Lin Zifu cut down Wu Pingnan’s command banner, and the imperial troops broke into a rout.