Chapter Summaries

On the twelfth and final Starcore Level Arena trial, Ye Qiyan discovered that the God of Lava’s First Apostle had sent an army of stone men to attack him. He began the battle with his demons and machines, then waited to see whether the Apostle himself would appear.

• On the tenth and eleventh days, both of Ye Qiyan’s opponents forfeited their trials, and he spared them.
• Ye Qiyan arrived at the site of his first train stop for the twelfth trial, where the Guide revealed that the desert had become the trial grounds and stone men were advancing from every direction.
• The trial message explained that the God of Lava’s First Apostle had used Train Coins to send the stone army as revenge for his slain offspring.
• Ye Qiyan summoned his demons, Villain, Eve, and Calamity Card: Intelligent Machine Crisis, while the Guide wished him victory and departed.
• Ye Qiyan shot the first stone man, unleashing his forces as the Red Tears rain weakened the attackers and the Mecha-Dragon launched its Hunt Missiles.
• Ye Qiyan opened the Book of the Unreal and the Real and waited for the God of Lava’s First Apostle to appear.

Ye Qiyan used the Book of the Unreal and the Real to banish Bozanka, the God of Lava's First Apostle, to the Bewildering Snow Mountain. When Bozanka returned, Red Tears cut him in half with a single sword strike.

• Bozanka learned that his stone army was being routed by Ye Qiyan's demons and machines, then advanced to confront him.
• Ye Qiyan sent the headless Goblin Apostle thought-form to fight Bozanka, who recognized its power and charged toward Ye Qiyan.
• Ye Qiyan used Snow Mountain Banishment to trap Bozanka for ten minutes, causing the stone army to collapse in terror.
• Bozanka reappeared in agony, and Ye Qiyan directed his attention to Red Tears hovering above him.
• Red Tears struck Bozanka with the Tear-Carving Sword and cleaved his body in half.

Ye Qiyan and Eve destroyed Bozanka with an enhanced Eternal Cutter and a Verdict-powered shot, but the dead Apostle revealed that the God of Lava had arrived. The trial remained unfinished as the god confronted Ye Qiyan.

• Bozanka absorbed nearby stone men and grew into a giant, claiming its god was watching and would possess it if it died.
• Ye Qiyan activated Overlimit Mode and Transcendence Star on Eve, who used the enhanced Eternal Cutter to slice Bozanka apart.
• Lisette and Red Tears stopped Bozanka's severed hand from crushing Ye Qiyan, who used Sky-Seizing Wings to reach Bozanka and shoot its exposed core with Gunfire Judgment's new Verdict power.
• Bozanka collapsed, but the trial did not end, and the Raven Demon confirmed that it was dead by eating part of its body.
• The corpse laughed and revealed that the God of Lava had arrived to face Ye Qiyan.

Ye Qiyan used the Anchor and his Blasphemy Card to banish the God of Lava, whose arrival in the Wasteland led the Train System to erase it. After receiving a new mechanical core, Ye Qiyan completed the Star Core Level Twelve Trials.

• The God of Lava took control of Bozanka’s body, and Ye Qiyan made it answer whether it could die.
• Ye Qiyan invoked the Anchor’s Banishment and sent the God of Lava to the Wasteland.
• The Train System judged the God of Lava for claiming to be a god and erased it.
• The Train System delivered a Lava Shield Core to Ye Qiyan, who considered fitting it to Mech Soldier Villain.
• The Arena system congratulated Ye Qiyan for completing the Star Core Level Twelve Trials.

Ye Qiyan broke the Starcore Level Arena’s highest record and received rewards from Eris. He considered how to spend his winnings and examined the arena tickets and rare gem as he prepared for what came next.

• The leaderboard named Ye Qiyan first with a maximum score, while Shaya ranked seventeenth and the other competitors’ names were hidden.
• Eris sent Ye Qiyan a reward box containing five hundred Train Coins, arena tickets, and Mingming’s Gem.
• Ye Qiyan calculated his available funds and decided he would prioritize buying a New Anchor, potentially selling unwanted items to make up the difference.
• He learned that the Moon Core Arena was on a Level 10 platform he could not yet reach and that the Starcore Arena tickets could be traded to eligible travelers.
• Ye Qiyan read that Mingming’s Gem could help create an animated Netherworld Flower Sea sky for a carriage interior.

After returning from the Arena, Ye Qiyan reunited with his companions, reviewed their messages, and strengthened Villain with the Lava Shield Core. He left the Fengyue Flowers for a later visit and ended the chapter with Villain equipped with a new lava-and-machine tower shield.

• Ye Qiyan left the Arena after promising the Guide he would visit Moon Heart, the Corona Level Arena.
• In the Sky Garden, Zhuxing Tu teased Shaya about waiting for Ye Qiyan, and Shaya noticed his avatar signaling that he had returned.
• Ye Qiyan checked the Wasteland chatroom and learned that six days had passed while he was in the Arena.
• Ye Qiyan read messages from Monrojina, Shaya, and Russell, then decided to postpone visiting the Sky Garden for the Fengyue Flowers.
• Ye Qiyan let Eve keep the Eternal Cutter and summoned Villain to install the Lava Shield Core.
• Villain’s Decay Core resonated with the Lava Shield Core, forming a burning mechanical tower shield on its right arm.

Ye Qiyan bought a New Anchor, then discovered that the Dream Eater had changed under a Bright Moon Blessing. The next day, he received two powerful rings from Monrojina and tested one before considering how to increase his maximum Stamina for another Talent Ascension.

• Ye Qiyan equipped the Lava Shield, sold items on the Black Market Trading Platform, and spent 777 Train Coins to buy a New Anchor with two additional Anchor Points.
• That night, Lisette caught the Dream Eater as it changed, and Ye Qiyan found a silvery-white mark on it the next morning.
• Ye Qiyan learned that the Dream Eater was receiving a Bright Moon Blessing and noticed that heavy fog had settled outside.
• Ye Qiyan messaged Monrojina, who sent him the level-eight Flower of Evil and level-nine Mechanism Command rings.
• Ye Qiyan used Mechanism Command to assemble a mechanical rifle from Mechanical Parts, then decided he needed a maximum Stamina of 200 to ascend his Talent again.

Ye Qiyan tested the Flower of Evil ring on Eve and received an arena ticket from Shaya. Shaya entered an unknown platform after realizing she had stagnated, while Ye Qiyan encouraged Russell to keep rising at RUN Company.

• Ye Qiyan used Ascension on the Flower of Evil ring and hung it around Eve’s neck, adding black flames to her attacks.
• Eve fired into the fog with her heavy machine gun, and Ye Qiyan wondered whether the fog was special weather.
• Ye Qiyan messaged Shaya, who sent him an Eris's Starcore Level Arena ticket and warned him to stay safe.
• Shaya reflected that she had avoided unknown platforms since leaving her seal, then entered one to resume moving forward.
• Ye Qiyan wished Shaya well and messaged Russell to encourage him to climb higher at RUN Company.

Ye Qiyan arrived at Oporon City, a polluted, fog-shrouded Level 8 quest stop, and met Nate, who begged him to save his sister from Dust Fog Disease. The chapter ended before Ye Qiyan decided whether to help.

• Ye Qiyan chose Fog Kingdom · Oporon City as his twenty-eighth stop and sent WALL-E out to search for treasure.
• Ye Qiyan stepped into the toxic waste fog, which the Astral Sacred Crest blocked, then searched the abandoned train platform for the quest.
• Eve spotted a figure in the fog, and Nate cautiously approached Ye Qiyan's train.
• Nate begged Ye Qiyan to save his sister, who was suffering from Dust Fog Disease and had nearly run out of hope for medicine.

Ye Qiyan learned about Oporon City and the Fog Kingdom’s poisonous waste fog as he agreed to examine Nate’s sick sister, Naxi. While Lisette stayed behind to deal with attackers surrounding the building, Ye Qiyan gave Nate a tomato to feed Naxi.

• Ye Qiyan agreed to let Nate guide him around Oporon City in exchange for considering treatment for Nate’s sister.
• Nate took Ye Qiyan to his home and explained how the Steam Craze, factories, and warfare had left the Fog Kingdom blanketed in poisonous waste fog.
• Ye Qiyan went upstairs to see Naxi while Lisette remained behind and faced a group of humans with Steam Modifications and steam-powered Mechanical Creatures.
• Ye Qiyan appraised Naxi and saw that she had Dust Fog Disease and was hungry, dying, and in pain.
• Ye Qiyan gave Nate a tomato and told him to feed it to Naxi.

Ye Qiyan learned about the Steam King and explored the city’s steam machinery before encountering a tide of Renegade Machines near the central factory. He summoned Villain to push back the machines and asked Nate to explain what they were.

• Ye Qiyan used Bewitchment on Nate and learned that the Steam King had shared steam-drive production methods and prosthetics after the Steam Civil War.
• Nate guided Ye Qiyan through the city, where he saw giant steam machinery, prosthetic modifications, and factories filling the fog with smoke.
• Guards stopped Ye Qiyan and Nate outside the central factory, saying the Steam King had barred entry for the day.
• Renegade Machines emerged from the fog and began devouring people and buildings, prompting Nate to urge Ye Qiyan to flee.
• Ye Qiyan summoned Villain, who advanced with two shields to push back the oncoming machines, then asked Nate to explain them.

Ye Qiyan and Villain stormed the Steam King's Central Factory and discovered the Steam King was a gigantic mechanical soldier. As the Steam King escalated its attacks, Villain continued to block them, while Ye Qiyan urged it to hold out.

• After the mechanical tide vanished, Ye Qiyan realized it had been drawn into the Steam King's Central Factory and decided to confront the king.
• Ye Qiyan ordered Villain to break through the factory gates and Steam Shield, pushing past its mechanical defenders despite Nate's protests.
• Using Pride's God's-Eye View, Ye Qiyan spotted a gigantic armored mechanical soldier at the Anchor Point and identified it as the Steam King.
• The Steam King emerged, called Ye Qiyan and Villain heretics, and struck at them with its Reverse Winch Maul.
• Villain blocked the Steam King's first blow, and the reflected heat and decay damaged the king.
• The Steam King activated its Second Form as its power and the city's temperature rose, while Ye Qiyan ordered Villain to keep blocking.

Ye Qiyan ordered the damaged Villain into Rampage Mode, where it fought the Steam King until it was destroyed. He then sent Eve to attack the Steam King, interrupting its final transformation by stealing the humanlike head atop it.

• The Villain awakened its own will while fighting the Steam King, and Ye Qiyan ordered it to enter Rampage Mode.
• The Villain leaped onto the Steam King and attacked, but the Steam King smashed it apart and forced it to shut down.
• Ye Qiyan summoned Eve and ordered it to use Overlimit Mode stacked with Transcendence Star to cut apart the Steam King.
• The Steam King began merging with the city to complete its final stage, but Eve cut off the head atop it and carried it away.
• Ye Qiyan appraised the stolen head and learned it was an unnumbered Steam Demigod skull that could be recycled into a special machine item.

Ye Qiyan recycled the Steam King's demigod skull into a steam modification core and used it to revive and strengthen the badly damaged Villain. The Steam King, furious at losing the skull, abandoned its ruined cannons and prepared to fight in melee.

• The Villain pleaded for the demigod skull, and Ye Qiyan placed it on the Processing Table to recycle it.
• The Steam King attacked Ye Qiyan to reclaim the skull, but Ye Qiyan used the Storm Eye Stone and Astral Sacred Crest to withstand its steam cannons.
• The Processing Table transformed the skull into a Steam Mechanization Modification Core.
• Ye Qiyan fitted the core to the Villain, triggering its enhanced Rampage Mode as steam and blood-red light surged through its damaged body.
• The enraged Steam King discarded its ruined cannons and switched to melee mode for a deathmatch.

Ye Qiyan defeated the Steam King and learned how the Steam Demigod’s death had transformed the world. After the Steam King insulted him, Ye Qiyan decided to kill it and fired Ebony.

• Villain tore apart the Steam King’s unarmored body, then collapsed from severe damage, and Ye Qiyan returned it to the Armed Space.
• Ye Qiyan reached the Steam King’s core and used Bewitchment to make its human-operated mecha answer his questions.
• The Steam King revealed that the Steam Demigod had brought steam technology to the world, built twelve giant soldiers, and died fighting a Train Conductor.
• Ye Qiyan concluded that the Steam Demigod’s death had caused the world to decline, then refused to spare the Steam King after it called him vermin.
• Ye Qiyan activated Gunfire Judgment and fired Ebony at the Steam King.

Ye Qiyan discovered that the Quest Platform's objective was to clear the dense fog from Oporon City, after finding Nate and his sister alive in the heat. He prepared to use the Storm Eye Stone to bring wind and rain, leaving the quest's completion still ahead.

• Ye Qiyan collected machinery, metal, and parts from the factory, then used Gluttony to recreate the Steam King as a durable combat decoy.
• Ye Qiyan entered Oporon City and found its dense fog still scorching hot, with corpses and wreckage scattered through the streets.
• Ye Qiyan reached Nate's house and found Nate unconscious and his sister barely able to call for help.
• Ye Qiyan revived Nate, and Nate explained that he had hoped Ye Qiyan could save his sister, cure pneumoconiosis, and clear the city's fog.
• Ye Qiyan realized that clearing Oporon City's fog was the quest and told Nate to rest, saying heavy rain would soon come.

Ye Qiyan dispelled Oporon City’s fog with the Storm Eye Stone, allowing its survivors to see the sky again, then left the station with WALL-E and the collected resources. A profitable sale of steam prosthetics gave him the 444 Train Coins needed to buy the coordinates of a Demon Card.

• Ye Qiyan expanded the Storm Eye Stone’s barrier across Oporon City, driving away the fog and completing the hidden quest to reveal the sky.
• After waiting for WALL-E to return with a Level 8 Treasure Chest, Ye Qiyan gathered his companions and resources and departed Oporon City.
• Nate watched the train leave and thanked Ye Qiyan, who returned to the Wasteland with Lisette.
• Ye Qiyan sold the city’s steam prosthetics for 448 Train Coins and bought the coordinates of a Demon Card for 444 coins.

Ye Qiyan bought a Demon’s Invitation to a Level 5 Demon's Trial Castle and upgraded his Pure Purification Stone to Level 7. He left the stone beside the Nether Flower and ended the night considering what to do next.

• Ye Qiyan spent 444 Train Coins on a Demon’s Invitation and learned that entering the Level 5 Platform would cost him five Train Coins.
• Ye Qiyan went to the Planting Carriage and found that the Pure Purification Stone had gained an ability that made evil entities fear themselves.
• Ye Qiyan ascended the Pure Purification Stone, giving it the ability to seal evil entities by consuming mental energy.
• Ye Qiyan left the stone beside the Nether Flower, noticed the Whiteforest Fruit tree was producing fruit faster, and saw that the Dark Netherfruit had grown more poisonous.
• Ye Qiyan decided to wait until the next day to ascend the Level 8 Treasure Chest and went to rest at 23:06.

During an extreme rainstorm, Ye Qiyan ascended a Level 8 Treasure Chest and equipped Hunt with an upgraded repair ability. He also tested a new mine armament and tried awakening Hunt’s intelligence, leaving Hunt with its recovery squad and a gentle nuzzle for Ye Qiyan.

• Ye Qiyan used Ascension on the Level 8 Treasure Chest, which yielded Train Coins, a Friendly Mine, a Repair Wrench, and a Nano Ordinary Data Chain.
• Ye Qiyan deployed the Friendly Mine armament and used it to blast approaching monsters while keeping the train unharmed.
• Ye Qiyan ascended the Repair Wrench into the Damage Management Repair Squad and equipped it on Hunt.
• Ye Qiyan used the Intelligent Machine Crisis card to awaken Hunt’s intelligence, but saw no obvious change.
• Hunt nuzzled Ye Qiyan’s palm after he promised it a future Emotional Smart Chip.

Ye Qiyan obtained and equipped the Sky Comet Drive, which let him fly, then arrived early at the Demon’s Trial Castle. He began exploring the rain-soaked manor with the Pure Purification Stone and spotted a demon inside a building as Red Tears and Raven appeared behind him.

• Ye Qiyan used the Level 8 exchange voucher and obtained the Sky Comet Jet Device, a Train Conductor-exclusive armament that enabled flight.
• Ye Qiyan equipped the Sky Comet Drive, tested it by flying above the train, and returned with his stamina draining during flight.
• Ye Qiyan chose the Demon's Castle Center entrance and arrived at the Demon’s Trial Castle ahead of the other Train Conductors.
• Ye Qiyan sent WALL-E to search the manor and used the Pure Purification Stone to purify black humanoid statues that attacked him.
• Ye Qiyan saw a demon slumped on the building’s third floor, and Red Tears and Raven appeared behind him.