Chapter Summaries

Xie Yu spoke with Duan Hong of the Deep Space Observatory Department, who explained that the Star Network had already applied technologies from Monster World while secretly transforming Earth and testing future technologies. Duan Hong warned Xie Yu to stop practicing the Body Tempering method until its safety had been evaluated.

• Xie Yu received a call from Duan Hong, who said the Deep Space Observatory Department had reviewed his report and had long studied technologies found in Monster World.
• Duan Hong explained that the Star Network had quietly used technologies from Monster World's library to purify the ocean and restore marine life.
• Duan Hong showed Xie Yu evidence of rising Spiritual Energy and alien Dust-Cleansing Seaweed, and said the Star Network was likely carrying out an Earth Transformation Plan.
• Duan Hong said Monster World served as a testing ground for cross-dimensional technologies and that its fictional civilizations might be models for simulations.
• Duan Hong advised Xie Yu to stop cultivating the Body Tempering method until it had undergone a safety review, and Xie Yu agreed.

Qi Sheng reviewed new Life Souls and planned the future Apotheosis System before noticing Xia Sheng exploring the Ember Wasteland. Xia Sheng survived another suspiciously convenient danger and continued onward, unaware that a shadowy figure had begun following him.

• Qi Sheng reviewed the Beacon and Three Palaces Life Souls and outlined how players would use a Primary Life Soul and Star Ring System to advance toward the Demigod Realm.
• After Guide sent feedback, Qi Sheng turned his attention to the Ember Wasteland, where Xia Sheng explored and chatted with his old friends from the Exploration Faction.
• Xia Sheng discovered the Land of Unceasing Life, but a sudden sinkhole swallowed a beast that was about to attack him.
• Xia Sheng recalled several recent coincidences that had saved him despite not having the Strong Fortune Life Soul, then continued exploring without understanding them.
• A blurry figure appeared where Xia Sheng had stood and followed him into the shadows.

Xia Sheng explored Monster World while Soulfire secretly protected him, hoping to learn about the race behind him and use its rule-bearing powers to revive the Soulfire Race. After Xia Sheng deliberately tested the unseen guardian by courting danger, he jumped into Groundsplit Gorge, forcing Soulfire to reveal itself.

• Xia Sheng shared Spirit Food with his brothers through team trading mode while Soulfire watched his camp and planned to investigate his race.
• Soulfire followed Xia Sheng as he explored recklessly and secretly saved him from dangers, including a Wraith awakened at a Sacrificial Altar.
• After surviving several suspiciously fortunate accidents, Xia Sheng deliberately provoked hazards to test whether someone was protecting him, exhausting Soulfire's Soul Power.
• At Groundsplit Gorge, Soulfire decided not to intervene when Xia Sheng assumed a jumping posture, but Xia Sheng leaped into the abyss without hesitation.
• Soulfire revealed itself and shouted at Xia Sheng as he fell into the gorge.

Xia Sheng forced the mysterious soul flame protecting him to reveal itself, but its attempts to interrogate and possess him failed against his unusual body and defenses. The soul flame began building a Pseudo Spiritual Sea to control him indirectly, and Xia Sheng decided to let it operate his body as a free combat helper.

• Xia Sheng jumped toward an abyss to draw out the hidden protector, and the soul flame rescued him before angrily beating him.
• The soul flame tortured Xia Sheng and demanded information about his people, but his purification power rendered its methods ineffective and he refused to cooperate.
• The soul flame attempted possession, discovered Xia Sheng's Spinal Star River of fused rules, and failed to break through its barrier.
• The soul flame created a Pseudo Spiritual Sea and planned to connect it to the Spinal Star River to control Xia Sheng indirectly.
• Xia Sheng consulted Guide and his brothers, then decided to let the soul flame control his body and fight for him while he collected the gains.

Soulfire possessed Xia Sheng’s body and discovered that hunting made it grow stronger, then mastered five of its rule powers while leveling it for Xia Sheng and his friends. When the original rule stars vanished, a new system of power emerged in the spinal galaxy, leaving Soulfire hopeful about its future.

• Soulfire took control of Xia Sheng’s body, learned to summon the Golden Axe, and killed a Rock-Armored Fang Beast, discovering that its death strengthened the body.
• Soulfire hunted for three days, learned to use Swiftness, Gang Peak, Void-Piercing, and Spirit-Shaking alongside the Golden Axe, and slaughtered a herd of Split-Hoof Beasts.
• Xia Sheng and his friends watched Soulfire’s hunting earn Sacrificial Power, celebrated the gains, and shared a red packet after Soulfire defeated Crystal-Horned Rhinos.
• Soulfire suddenly weakened as the eight rule stars in Xia Sheng’s spinal galaxy disappeared, leaving it terrified that its new power had been lost.
• New stars formed in the galaxy and established a different power system, filling Soulfire with stronger Mental Power and renewed hope.

Soulfire used Xia Sheng’s body to hunt monsters and became convinced that it could adapt to its wishes. Xia Sheng and his companions exploited that belief to supply recovery potions, and the chapter ended with them realizing the power-leveling scheme could be replicated.

• Soulfire livestreamed its rapid monster hunts, drawing attention from players who noticed flaws in its fighting and recovery habits.
• Soulfire failed to access Xia Sheng’s hidden storage space, while Xia Sheng and his companions withheld potions to avoid arousing suspicion.
• Guide advised Xia Sheng to provide potions when Soulfire wished to recover, and Xia Sheng paid 100,000 sacrificial power to monitor Soulfire’s thoughts.
• When Soulfire wished it could recover faster, Xia Sheng produced a recovery potion, convincing Soulfire that its body could create things in response to its desires.
• Soulfire hunted continuously with the potions, earning Xia Sheng sacrificial power and growing stronger while believing its Soul Clan’s future had brightened.
• Xia Sheng and Miao Didi Three realized Soulfire’s power-leveling arrangement could become a reusable model, and Xia Sheng’s followers wanted power-levelers of their own.

Xia Sheng and his brothers devised a plan to use Soulfire and the Soul Clan as automated power-levelers, then let Soulfire possess seven Players and awaken seven of its clanspeople in their bodies. The chapter ended with the secret handover complete and the Players planning a safer, mutually beneficial system for Soul Clan members to borrow their bodies.

• After realizing Soulfire needed more vessels for its sleeping clanspeople, Xia Sheng and his brothers planned to lure it into possessing seven Players.
• Soulfire tracked a Player to a hidden valley, discovered six more pure-bodied Players there, and decided to seize all seven as vessels.
• Soulfire divided its consciousness among the seven Players, summoned seven core clanspeople from the Soul Bead, and guided them into the Players' bodies.
• The seven Soul Clan members awakened in their new bodies as the Players watched through livestreams and celebrated the completed handover.
• Xia Sheng and his brothers developed the kindling plan, using Oath Space and Thorns Puppet to help Soul Clan members survive if their borrowed Player Bodies were destroyed.
• Xia Sheng and his brothers envisioned an open partnership in which Players would lend their bodies for power-leveling while Soul Clan members gained safe vessels and room to rebuild.

Xia Sheng revealed to Soulfire that he had always controlled the Player Bodies and proposed a partnership in which the Soul Clan would power-level players’ accounts. After the Soul Pact Plugin launched and drew a flood of participants, Xia Sheng urged Soulfire to revive more Clanspeople to meet demand.

• Soulfire and seven Clanspeople hunted in the Land of Unrest while Soulfire resolved to keep the Soul Clan hidden and build its strength cautiously.
• Xia Sheng told Soulfire that possession had never worked, explained how he had supported the Soul Clan, and proposed a partnership to hunt, gather, and fight using Players’ bodies.
• Soulfire accepted the partnership, and five days later Nervous System announced Hunhuo Power-Leveling on the Player Forum, offering players three account-rental models.
• The power-leveling post surged in popularity, so Xia Sheng asked Explorer for help creating a Plugin to manage registrations, earnings, and reputation.
• Explorer connected Xia Sheng with a research-minded player, and they tested Soul Pact with transparent revenue splits, session records, and credit ratings for Players and Soul Clan members.
• Soul Pact launched and power-leveling became a vacation mode for Players, prompting Xia Sheng to ask Soulfire to revive more Clanspeople.

Qi Sheng launched the Player Faction’s first guild tournament, Summit of the Stars, using single-elimination battles to test guild tactics and reward the winners. The announcement mobilized major guilds across Monster World as they prepared to compete for the crown.

• Qi Sheng approved the Soul Pact power-leveling system after Guide predicted its benefits would outweigh its drawbacks, then finalized plans for a single-elimination guild championship.
• Qi Sheng announced Summit of the Stars, with guild teams competing in randomized BO1 battles at the Star Arena for honors, titles, and sacrificial power rewards.
• The tournament announcement appeared as a massive arena rose from the ground in Emperor Tomb Village, prompting players to debate which guilds would win.
• Divine King rallied the United Warband, whose leaders traded boasts before the group disbanded and Di Nian Bully withdrew his defenses.
• Qingguang, Thunder Emperor, Cangqiong, and Giant Rock each rallied their guilds to prepare for the tournament, while the event stirred players and guilds across the Player Faction.

The Summit of the Stars tournament drove a real-world media frenzy, soaring Trading House prices, and widespread guild mergers as more than 1.2 million warbands registered. Registration closed, random matchmaking began, and the competitors were teleported into independent battlefields for the first round.

• Real-world news outlets reported the tournament's cross-race excitement, while economists explained how the spending surge and cash purchases drove up Sacrificial Power and Trading House prices.
• Guilds merged to strengthen their rosters, and forum analysts ranked Divine Hall as the sole T0 favorite, with Drunken Feast Group and other Village Entrance Battlefield guilds among the T1 contenders.
• The Gillfish Race and Abyssal Fish Race rallied behind the Tidal Legion, whose leader Kuanglang Sha registered amid celebrations across Fishing Harbor City.
• The number of registered warbands passed 1.2 million, and the Challenger Prompt announced that registration had ended and random matchmaking was beginning.
• The Star Arena sent more than a million warbands to independent battlefields, while other players gained access to the Spectator Function and the first-round BO1 matches began.

The Summit of Stars Championship began with top guilds and emerging warbands demonstrating their battlefield tactics. Gang Sword defeated Dance of Shadows through Gang Po’s command, while other guilds advanced in matches across the arenas.

• Divine Hall defeated its first-round opponent in under three minutes, and War Symphony and Wings of the Sky Dome also crushed their opponents with coordinated formations.
• Commander Ye Ming concealed the Mist Legion in Duskshadow form in the Dark Night Forest, while Giant Rock led the Colossus Guild to turn its defensive formation into a decisive charge.
• Sage led the Myriad Arts Guild in a spell formation as battles erupted across the championship’s many battlefields.
• Gang Po analyzed Shatter Canyon and directed the Gang Sword Warband’s three battalions to break Dance of Shadows’ formation and counter its assassin ambush.
• Gang Po used Oath Space to evade the assassins’ attack, then ordered a barrage that wiped them out before Gang Sword overran the enemy and won in 14 minutes and 38 seconds.
• Frost Wolf, Fairy Garden, Starbreaker, and several media-featured warbands won their opening matches as the championship continued.

A highlight reel celebrated the first round of Summit of the Stars before the second round began. Throat of Defying Fate’s Dragon Sparrow Warband defeated the much larger Dragonblood Knight Order with overwhelming control of space, gravity, and elemental magic.

• A research enthusiast’s highlight reel showcased powerful guilds and standout moments, prompting spectators and contestants to debate and study their opponents’ tactics.
• After the hour-long rest, the second-round brackets were announced, and Throat of Defying Fate’s Dragon Sparrow Warband matched against Blood Dragon’s Dragonblood Knight Order.
• Blood Dragon rallied his five thousand members to charge the Dragon Sparrow Warband, determined to fight for the Dragonblood Knight Order’s dignity.
• Throat of Defying Fate told his five hundred members to handle the charge, and they reshaped the battlefield with spatial and gravity spells while bombarding the knights.
• The Dragon Sparrow Warband overwhelmed the Dragonblood Knight Order and won, leaving spectators astonished by the team’s strength.

Ye Ming’s Mist Legion overwhelmed the larger Shattered Stone Guild with coordinated assassinations and corrosive mist, then advanced through several tournament rounds. The chapter ends as the Mist Guild is matched against the First Sparrow Guild for the fifth round.

• Kai Shan Lie Shi rallied the Shattered Stone Guild to defend against Ye Ming’s Mist Legion, but the assassins used clones and sudden attacks to break through its formation.
• Ye Xie spread Dissolve Mist across the battlefield while the Mist Legion exploited the confusion to kill Shattered Stone’s fighters and supports.
• Ye Ming struck targets with brief, precise attacks, and the Mist Legion defeated the Shattered Stone Guild by a crushing margin.
• The tournament eliminated most of its warbands over the next rounds, leaving 79,821 to begin the fifth round.
• The fifth-round draw paired the Mist Guild against the First Sparrow Guild, prompting debate over Ye Ming’s assassins and Throat of Defying Fate’s spatial techniques.

Ye Ming’s Mist Legion fought Fate Throat’s Dragon Sparrow Legion on Storm Island, but Dragon Sparrow’s superior coordination and reserves won the fifth-round match. The next day, attention turned to the round 13 clash between the Kindergarten Grinders Guild and Wings of the Firmament Guild as both entered the arena.

• Ye Ming recognized Fate Throat as his former rival and ordered the Mist Legion to attack, while Fate Throat prepared the Dragon Sparrow Legion’s elemental defenses.
• The two warbands traded probing attacks, and the Dragon Sparrow Legion used spatial magic and elemental control to repel the Mist Legion’s assassins and poisonous mist.
• Ye Ming marked the battlefield and used rapid teleportation to kill six Dragon Sparrow members, but the Dragon Sparrow Legion regrouped and countered the Mist Legion’s assault.
• Ye Ming launched a final strike at Fate Throat, who trapped him with Fate · Return to the Void; Dragon Sparrow then eliminated the remaining Mist members and won the match.
• The round 13 matchup between the Kindergarten Grinders Guild and Wings of the Firmament Guild became a major talking point, and both guilds entered the arena.

Principal’s Darkspawn Legion and the Hardcore Grinders Group led the Kindergarten Hardcore Grinders Warband to a costly comeback victory over Wings of the Sky Dome. Two days later, the tournament announced its championship showdown between Divine Hall and Drunken Feast, leaving the players waiting to see which guild would claim the title.

• Principal summoned more than ten thousand Darkspawn Warriors, while Li Zheng and the nine other Hardcore Grinders formed a demon god dharma form to fight Wings of the Sky Dome.
• The Hardcore Grinders’ dharma form endured the Judgment Dharma Form’s attacks, awakened its War God Seal, and broke through with power accumulated from the assault.
• Wings of the Sky Dome activated its ten-thousand-person formation and defeated the Hardcore Grinders, eliminating all ten members.
• Principal used a reserve of Darkspawn Warriors to shatter the weakened Holy Light Dharma Form, winning the match for the Kindergarten Grinders Guild as the arena collapsed.
• Two days later, a server-wide announcement revealed that Divine Hall and Drunken Feast would face each other in the championship showdown in two hours.

Divine King’s Divine Hall Warband and Woshnidie’s Drunken Feast Warband faced off in the Summit of the Stars finals, turning their shared history into a fierce contest of tactics and strength. As Woshnidie deployed Battle Formations, Divine King shifted his forces into a defensive Fortress Formation, leaving the outcome undecided.

• The finalists entered the Star Battlefield, where a staircase displayed the Player Faction’s history before the two warbands took their places beneath the starry throne.
• Divine King and Woshnidie’s damage-soaking groups charged, then stopped when Divine King’s command made the Drunken Feast fighters obey out of habit, amusing the spectators.
• The warbands clashed in coordinated attacks as Divine King and Woshnidie rapidly countered each other’s commands and tactics.
• Divine King increased the pace of his orders until Woshnidie began falling behind, so she split her forces into fifteen Battle Formations to reduce her command burden.
• Divine King ordered the Divine Hall Warband into Fortress Formation, choosing to defend against the Battle Formations rather than spend energy matching them.

Divine Hall defeated Drunken Feast in the Summit of the Stars final after both guilds unveiled their ultimate Battle Formation Dharma Forms. Divine Hall claimed the championship and the [Lord of the Stars] title, and the tournament reward distribution began.

• Woshnidie directed Drunken Feast’s fifteen Battle Formation Dharma Forms in a series of coordinated attacks, while Divine King led Divine Hall’s defenses and counterattacks.
• Woshnidie combined the fifteen Dharma Forms into the enormous Chaos Divine Lord, and Divine King chose to meet it head-on instead of using tactics that would quickly dismantle it.
• Divine King led Divine Hall in forming Annihilation, which clashed with the Chaos Divine Lord until Drunken Feast’s depleted energy reserves caused its formation to crumble.
• Annihilation pierced and destroyed the Chaos Divine Lord, and the championship announcement named Divine Hall the winning guild.
• Divine Hall members celebrated beneath the Star Throne as the [Lord of the Stars] title appeared above their game IDs, then Divine King organized a group photograph.
• The tournament reward distribution began for all participating players.

Qi Sheng created the War Library from the Summit of the Stars tournament data, giving players a way to replay matches and train against fixed team mirror images. In the Phantom Spirit Wasteland, Hard as Steel's squad discovered an underground palace, where touching a corpse's greatsword pulled him into a spatial rift and left his teammates unable to reach him.

• Qi Sheng used the tournament data to add the War Library to the Testing Tower, and players debated its replay feature and fee on the Forum.
• Hard as Steel's 32-player squad discussed forming a warband while exploring the Dreamweaver Tribe's ruins in the Phantom Spirit Wasteland.
• The squad found an underground palace and discovered an armored corpse clutching an energy-radiating greatsword.
• Hard as Steel reached for the greatsword, and a spatial rift seized him and vanished, leaving his teammates unable to contact him.

Tu Hu woke in a mysterious space, where Cang Xuan trained him to understand sword momentum and choose the path of protection. After revealing that he had left a shadow to pass on his Dao, Cang Xuan disappeared, leaving Tu Hu to continue as his successor.

• Tu Hu woke on a lush hillside and learned from his party that they were still trying to rescue him, but he chose to investigate the place first.
• Cang Xuan offered to teach Tu Hu swordsmanship and made him repeat basic blocks and strikes before facing a level 127 Dreamweaver Beast phantom.
• After Tu Hu angrily rejected the training, Cang Xuan showed him how sword momentum could wield rule-level power, and Tu Hu understood what the lessons were meant to teach.
• Cang Xuan presented Tu Hu with three paths—slaughter, destruction, and protection—and Tu Hu chose the pale golden Sword of Protection.
• Tu Hu trained for an unknown time, focusing on protecting his comrades and hopes, while Cang Xuan periodically guided him.
• Tu Hu asked why Cang Xuan had remained behind as a skeleton, and Cang Xuan explained that he had accepted his civilization's end and left a shadow to pass on his Dao before disappearing.

Tu Hu spent Sacrificial Power to learn Cang Xuan's past, tracing his life from the declining martial arts city of Wu City to his discovery of a sword power driven by intent. After Cang Xuan annihilated Light-Erosion Race warriors, the Dreamweaver leaders sent him to the Broken Blade Assault Corps to fight at the front.

• Tu Hu paid 30,000 Sacrificial Power to learn Cang Xuan's past, and Guide Bro showed him the Dreamweaver World.
• Cang Xuan refused his grandfather's offer to join the Psionic Academy and committed himself to preserving the Cang sword Dao.
• After the Dreamweaver Tribe migrated to the Land of Dreams, Cang Xuan remained in Wu City until compulsory relocation brought him to Hope City.
• Cang Xuan cultivated his sword in the Land of Dreams, developing a pale golden power that arose from his intent and emotions.
• Cang Xuan joined the 73rd Independent Tactical Response Detachment and erased a group of Light-Erosion Race warriors with his sword.
• Dreamweaver researchers could not explain Cang Xuan's power, but recommended that he transfer to the Broken Blade Assault Corps for frontline combat.