Recaps

Xilai, an Ascension One hiding on Linden Planet, defended himself from an attack by an Alliance warship before confronting General Li, another powerful figure who called Ascension Ones Cocoon Breakers. General Li began an assessment, and Xilai unleashed One Sword for All Things, but General Li stopped the attack’s projectiles in midair.

• Xilai used sword light to destroy three Automatic Weapons Platforms after an Electromagnetism Gun and a barrage of bullets attacked him.
• Xilai planned to escape in a craft hidden in a mining pit and evade the approaching warship, but continued onward cautiously.
• General Li appeared before Xilai, identified himself as someone the world called General Li, and said he hoped Xilai would pass his assessment.
• Xilai recognized General Li as an Ascension One and attacked with One Sword for All Things, turning ore, machinery, wind, and shell casings into projectiles.
• General Li raised his hand and stopped Xilai’s projectiles in midair.

General Li defeated Xilai on Linden Planet by drawing on a nuclear reactor’s immense power, then subdued him and ordered him taken away. Xilai was frozen in a metal box and carried aboard the warship, leaving his fate unknown.

• Xilai questioned General Li after the warship’s weapons failed to defeat him, then challenged him with a surge of immortal qi.
• Xilai attacked with an immortal-qi sword, but General Li absorbed power from a nuclear reactor and caught his fist, severing Xilai’s remaining arm.
• General Li revealed that he had recognized Xilai as the Western Sea Sword God and explained that he had been found because he went online.
• General Li drained and suppressed Xilai’s immortal qi, explaining that he intended to keep Xilai alive because his talent and combat strength were too valuable to waste.
• Soldiers placed Xilai in a black metal box filled with a freezing liquid and carried him aboard the warship, which departed Linden Planet.

General Li oversaw Xilai’s painful reboot and ordered him fitted with mechanical combat arms, then discussed the novel Great Dao Toward Heaven and instructed his aide not to kill Jing Jiu. Meanwhile, a mining ship returned to Forward Base Three, where its fat captain’s saber silenced the crew’s teasing.

• General Li ordered the laboratory staff to triple the power used to reboot Xilai, and Xilai awoke screaming in pain.
• General Li ordered Xilai fitted with the newest mechanical combat arms out of respect for his swordsmanship.
• General Li read Great Dao Toward Heaven, asked where their young friend was, and ordered Chisong to meet the saber wielder after picking him up.
• General Li told his aide not to kill Jing Jiu.
• A mining ship returned to Forward Base Three, and the fat captain silenced his crew by taking a large saber from the control console and trimming his nails.

Cao Yuan protected a mining crew and devoted himself to studying the Dark Matter Sea before a monster infestation struck Forward Base Three. He helped kill the monsters, but his assessor’s Blood Mist also killed the people in the Living Area, leaving Cao Yuan facing the aftermath.

• Cao Yuan persuaded the miners to abandon their plans to become space pirates, then became captain of their dilapidated Mining Ship and protected its crew on their runs to Forward Base Three.
• Cao Yuan repaired the ship, lived alone in the forest, and studied the Dark Matter Sea while suspecting its monsters were familiar.
• Cao Yuan rushed out when an infestation attacked Forward Base Three and killed a monster threatening the base.
• Cao Yuan met his assessor, a middle-aged man who used hundreds of Red Beads to spread Blood Mist and destroy the remaining monsters.
• Cao Yuan found the Living Area’s residents dead in the Blood Mist and smiled faintly as his assessor asked what was wrong.

Cao Yuan refused to accept the middle-aged man’s assessment, which justified sacrificing civilians to stop the Dark Matter Sea, and raced to protect people from a nuclear strike. Though he could not save everyone, he survived the blasts and cleaved a warship in two as he pursued the man.

• Cao Yuan rejected the middle-aged man’s claim that mass sacrifice was necessary and identified him as Redpine True Person, whose Blood Demon Sect lineage had been destroyed.
• The middle-aged man gave Cao Yuan a choice between killing him, saving civilians, or joining him, while ten nuclear bombs descended on the living areas.
• Cao Yuan cut a street underground to shelter its people, then endured the nuclear blast and emerged gravely wounded.
• After hearing survivors cry from underground, Cao Yuan leaped toward the warships and drove the Iron Blade through one, splitting it in two.

General Chisong crushed Cao Yuan’s Iron Blade but failed to find him, then departed for the Yinhai Nebula. Aboard the Blazing Sun Warship, Jing Jiu encountered a Biochemical Human officer and thought about Xilai before the ship entered Curvature-Rate Voids.

• General Chisong shattered Cao Yuan’s Iron Blade between two fingers, but Cao Yuan disappeared before the Military could capture him.
• General Chisong’s search across Forward Base Two and the surrounding star system found no trace of Cao Yuan, so he waited three hours and then departed for the Yinhai Nebula.
• General Chisong discovered that Cao Yuan’s Blade Intent had left tiny cuts on his fingers and that the water in his glass had been cut by the lingering Blade Intent.
• On a hot, star-facing planet, magma briefly formed a shape resembling a weathered stone Buddha.
• Aboard the Blazing Sun Warship, Jing Jiu identified a young officer as a Biochemical Human and thought about Xilai and possible mechanical replacements for his severed arm.
• Jing Jiu heard an alarm as the Blazing Sun Warship prepared to pass through Curvature-Rate Voids, and a metallic film covered the window.

Jing Jiu carved talismans into the warship’s nuclear bombs, then discovered reports suggesting that Xilai and Cao Yuan had appeared in separate crises. He realized he might be next and felt a rare anticipation as the Blazing Sun Warship crossed the stars.

• Jing Jiu entered the Blazing Sun Warship’s guarded storeroom and used Sword Light to inscribe talismans on its nuclear bombs.
• Ran Handong confronted Jing Jiu, but he subdued her and carried her from the storeroom after finishing his work.
• The Blazing Sun Warship emerged into the Sea-Seal Nebula, and Jing Jiu found reports indicating that Xilai had used One Sword for All Things on Linden Planet.
• Jing Jiu read that Cao Yuan had helped stop a Dark Matter Sea incursion at Forward Base Two, at the cost of a warship and thousands of lives.
• Jing Jiu wondered who would be next, remembered that True Person Tan would remain hidden, and watched the stars with a flicker of anticipation.

Jing Jiu’s journey aboard the Blazing Sun was interrupted when two unidentified warships locked onto them near a channel entrance. He seized control of the ship and launched modified nuclear bombs, while the enemy announced that the encounter was an assessment and Jing Jiu agreed it would be the last one.

• Zhong Lizi asked Jing Jiu why he had chosen her, and his expression showed her how important she was to him.
• Ran Handong warned Jing Jiu that two unidentified warships had appeared ahead, refused communications, and locked onto the Blazing Sun.
• Jing Jiu took control of the Blazing Sun’s computer, restored its speed, and launched thousands of modified nuclear bombs toward the enemy.
• An unfamiliar voice told the Blazing Sun’s crew that the confrontation was an assessment and that it was the last time.
• Jing Jiu told the voice to hurry up and agreed that this was the last time.

As nuclear missiles from the Blazing Sun Warship approached an advanced Alliance warship, Jing Jiu left the ship and flew through space. He ignited the missiles one by one with his sword light, turning them into lamps along his path.

• The officers aboard the opposing warship detected the unusually fast missiles but remained unconcerned, and the general refused to fire early.
• Jing Jiu told Zhong Lizi he was going out, then appeared outside the Blazing Sun Warship in the vacuum of space.
• Jing Jiu calculated a passage through the missile formation and flew toward the distant warships as a streak of sword light.
• Jing Jiu struck the slowest nuclear bomb, causing it to explode harmlessly in space.
• Jing Jiu's sword light ignited more missiles in succession, filling the dark universe with bright points of light.

Jing Jiu used successive nuclear explosions to absorb Immortal Qi and accelerate toward the unnumbered warship, while the Blood Demon Sect founder recognized his approach too late. Jing Jiu’s Sword Light pierced the ship and the middle-aged man, leaving the encounter’s outcome unclear.

• Zhong Lizi, Ran Handong, and the others watched Jing Jiu’s Sword Light thread through the nuclear explosions.
• The Blood Demon Sect founder spotted Jing Jiu and decided to end the assessment, but the warship’s monitoring system detected that Jing Jiu had accelerated beyond control.
• Jing Jiu used Talisman Runes to make nuclear bombs line his route and explode in sequence, absorbing their Immortal Qi to increase his speed.
• Jing Jiu’s Sword Light passed through the warship’s window, the blood-jade chair, and the middle-aged man before fading into the floor.

Jing Jiu destroyed a black warship and killed Redpine True Person with a carefully prepared One Sword for All Things, amplified by nuclear weapons and Redpine’s earlier saber wound. As the warship burned, a remote caller challenged Jing Jiu about his motives, and he revealed that his accusation had been meant for the caller.

• Jing Jiu’s sword light pierced the black warship, and he explained that his strike was his own Oneness of All Things, combining cultivation with this world’s technology.
• Redpine True Person admitted that he had gone to pick up Cao Yuan and claimed his earlier attempt on Jing Jiu had only been an assessment.
• Jing Jiu told Redpine to die, and the sword intent cut apart Redpine’s body, souls, and demonic techniques until nothing remained.
• The soldiers attacked Jing Jiu with Combat Armor, missiles, and lasers, but he redirected the missiles and cut through the warship’s forces and equipment.
• Jing Jiu picked up Redpine’s glasses and considered how Cao Yuan’s saber wound had made his killing blow possible.
• A remote caller accused Jing Jiu of sowing discord, and Jing Jiu replied that his words had been meant for the caller.

Jing Jiu destroyed one black warship and drove another away after confronting the person who had ordered Redpine True Person to fetch Cao Yuan. He returned to the Blazing Sun Warship, where he fell asleep as Zhong Lizi watched the nuclear explosions burn like butterflies in space.

• Jing Jiu drew out a remote contact and learned that the other person believed Redpine True Person should not have been killed, while inviting Jing Jiu to meet on the Capital Planet.
• Jing Jiu flew back to the Blazing Sun as one black warship disintegrated and the other escaped into a curvature-rate void.
• The Blazing Sun crew resumed their duties, while the captain demanded answers and the Bishop said the Sacrificial Hall and Military Command would investigate.
• Zhong Lizi helped Jing Jiu change clothes, and Ran Handong asked whether he was the New God before leaving at Zhong Lizi's request.
• Jing Jiu fell asleep in his chair as Zhong Lizi watched the nuclear explosions on her birthday.

True Person Tan had quietly established himself as Professor Gou at Northwest University while researching miniaturized nuclear reactors. When Zhong Lizi arrived on the Capital Planet with a conspicuous young man, Tan recognized the youth as True Person Jingyang and wondered what he intended to do.

• True Person Tan had spent over a hundred days on Tianpu Star, taking the name Gou Buchu and entering Northwest University as an unremarkable professor.
• Professor Gou watched news and read webnovels, and he worried about Jing Jiu’s novel portraying Yunmeng Mountain as villains.
• News reports described a quake on Linden and Dark Matter Sea contamination at Forward Base Three, prompting True Person Tan to calculate and decide he could not intervene yet.
• True Person Tan learned that Zhong Lizi had arrived on the Capital Planet aboard the Blazing Sun Warship.
• Zhong Lizi emerged from the warship with a youth in a blue hoodie, who revealed the face of True Person Jingyang, leaving True Person Tan wondering what he planned.

Zhong Lizi, Jing Jiu, and their companions arrived on the Capital Planet amid intense media attention and heavy military security. As they settled at Priest Academy, soldiers from the Internal Affairs Office arrived to investigate the attack on the Blazing Sun, and Zhong Lizi asked Jing Jiu if they should run together.

• News outlets focused their cameras on Jing Jiu as he arrived with Zhong Lizi, Jiang Yuxia, and Flower Creek.
• Jing Jiu and the others traveled to Priest Academy in the Sacrificial Hall's limousine under a heavy military escort.
• Bishop Taiyang told them that the attack on the Blazing Sun remained secret and that its crew would be isolated for investigation.
• An officer and armed soldiers arrived at Priest Academy, claiming the Internal Affairs Office was investigating the attack on the Blazing Sun.
• Zhong Lizi stepped in front of Jing Jiu and quietly asked if they should run together.

Jing Jiu was taken to meet Ran Donglou after General Ran stopped the Military Command’s Internal Affairs Office from investigating him. Ran Donglou confirmed he knew Jing Jiu’s origins and asked for his help, but Jing Jiu told him the Galaxy Alliance had always been ruled by the mysterious force he feared.

• Zhong Lizi worried about the Internal Affairs Office’s arrival, but Jing Jiu told her to leave the matter to someone else.
• General Ran confronted the Internal Affairs Office soldiers, and they withdrew without investigating Jing Jiu.
• General Ran escorted Jing Jiu through the Capital Planet’s underground defenses and explained that he could protect him only temporarily.
• Ran Handong took over as Jing Jiu’s escort and led him to her father, Ran Donglou.
• Ran Donglou confirmed that he had guessed where Jing Jiu came from and asked how the government could help him.
• Ran Donglou described a mysterious force influencing the Galaxy Alliance, and Jing Jiu replied that it had ruled their world all along.

Jing Jiu learned that Ran Donglou belonged to the Priest Faction and was backing him as a possible new god, while the Star Gate Priestess would decide whether to summon him. After waiting three days at the Priest Academy, Jing Jiu left with Ran Handong for a walk in the Capital Special Administrative Region.

• Ran Donglou told Jing Jiu that General Li and other Cocoon Breakers were Ascension Ones, and explained that the Priest Faction hoped Jing Jiu might be the new god foretold before God left.
• Ran Donglou offered Jing Jiu access privileges and said Ran Handong would become his loyal attendant if the Priestess accepted him; Jing Jiu agreed to wait for her summons.
• Jing Jiu returned to the Priest Academy, where Ran Handong began serving as his secretary and Zhong Lizi told him that the Star Gate Priestess believed he was the new god.
• Jing Jiu reassured Zhong Lizi that she should treat him as before, then spent three days waiting while news of the warship investigation reached him through Ran Handong.
• On a rainy, misty morning, Jing Jiu decided to go for a walk and left the Priest Academy with Ran Handong on a Hover Train.

Jing Jiu and Ran Handong toured Capital City before heading to the Military Command Building so Jing Jiu could meet General Li. They reached the top level, where Lieutenant Colonel Chen recognized Jing Jiu and led him onward.

• Ran Handong showed Jing Jiu Capital City's sights and pointed out the Military Command Building.
• Ran Handong gathered information suggesting General Li had a seventy-two percent chance of being in the building, but Jing Jiu estimated the probability at forty-three percent.
• Jing Jiu told Ran Handong that he had come to the Capital Planet to see General Li, and she agreed to take him there.
• Ran Handong and Jing Jiu entered the Military Command Building and rode the elevator to its top level.
• Lieutenant Colonel Chen greeted Jing Jiu by name and invited him to follow her.

Shen Yunmai reviewed the attack on Chisong and ordered the arrested suspects killed, while Jing Jiu visited General Li’s office and recognized familiar books and symbols. The chapter left Jing Jiu watching Shen Yunmai mistreat Ran Handong and preparing to intervene.

• Shen Yunmai watched footage of Chisong being killed, dismissed the investigation, and ordered the arrested people killed.
• Shen Yunmai met Ran Handong, pinched her face, and threatened to rape her after her father died.
• Jing Jiu followed Lieutenant Colonel Chen to General Li’s office and quickly examined its bookshelves.
• Jing Jiu recognized the arrangement of the books as resembling Shiyue Peak and found Great Dao Toward Heaven beside an infinity-shaped ornament.
• Jing Jiu asked Lieutenant Colonel Chen not to investigate him, then saw Shen Yunmai pinching Ran Handong’s face through the window.

Jing Jiu confronted Shen Yunmai in the Military Command building after Shen refused to release the soldiers aboard the warship. Their first exchange of blows sent Shen crashing through several walls, and Jing Jiu immediately attacked again.

• Jing Jiu appeared before Shen Yunmai and asked whether he had the authority to release the soldiers.
• Shen Yunmai said the soldiers would not be released and threatened Zhong Lizi, Jiang Yuxia, and the girl from the Flower Household if Jing Jiu lost.
• Jing Jiu struck Shen Yunmai between the eyebrows, while Shen Yunmai managed to touch Jing Jiu's shoulder.
• The impact sent Shen Yunmai through several walls and opened a straight passage through the Military Command building.
• Shen Yunmai recovered with a bead of golden blood between his eyebrows, and Jing Jiu appeared before him and attacked again.

Jing Jiu and Shen Yunmai fought an escalating sword duel through the Military Command building, using Green Mountain techniques and the Alliance’s weapons against each other. Their battle ended amid the ruins with Jing Jiu restraining Shen Yunmai, whose arms were revealed to be extensively modified.

• Jing Jiu’s focused sword strike injured Shen Yunmai, but Shen blocked his next attack with the Heaven-Bearing Sword Formation.
• Shen Yunmai used a low-temperature ray gun and laser cannons while Jing Jiu countered with the Seven Plum Sword Technique and other Green Mountain sword techniques.
• Jing Jiu locked Shen Yunmai’s left hand with Qingrong Peak’s Endless Sword Technique, and the two clashed at close range.
• Their sword light tore through the Military Command building, destroying a Dark Matter Sea monster that escaped from the Laboratory.
• The battle collapsed the building’s western structure, and Jing Jiu was shown holding Shen Yunmai’s raised hands as blood ran along the metal lines of his exposed arms.

Jing Jiu left the damaged Military Command Building after Shen Yunmai agreed to a sixty-day truce, then used Redpine True Person’s data-terminal glasses to monitor the forces pursuing them. As Ran Handong explained Shen Yunmai’s background and restlessness, Jing Jiu recognized him as a gifted Green Mountain descendant but concluded that he lacked confidence.

• Shen Yunmai promised to release everyone and leave Jing Jiu alone for sixty days, and Jing Jiu departed with Ran Handong.
• After Jing Jiu left, Shen Yunmai kept his hands raised because his mangled arms hurt, though he said the pain felt wonderful.
• Jing Jiu used his glasses to access the military network, saw the surrounding forces and returning warships, and continued walking with Ran Handong.
• Ran Handong described Shen Yunmai’s military and scientific achievements, his interest in cultivation and the novel Jing Jiu wrote, and his dislike of life.
• Jing Jiu admired Shen Yunmai’s combined cultivation and technological abilities, then said Shen Yunmai had no goal and lacked confidence because even the Dark Matter Sea was part of the universe.

After Jing Jiu and Ran Handong returned to the Small Tower, news spread that he had nearly killed Shen Yunmai during the attack on the Military Command Building. Ran Handong told the Sacrificial Hall and her brother that Jing Jiu demanded a meeting with the person behind Shen Yunmai, and Jing Jiu said three days was too long to wait.

• Jing Jiu returned to the Small Tower, rested, and watched the news report that the Military Command Building had suffered a terrorist attack with no deaths.
• Ran Handong smoked as she recalled Jing Jiu nearly killing Shen Yunmai and feared the consequences for the Galaxy Alliance.
• General Ran and Sacrificial Hall bishops confronted Ran Handong and questioned why Jing Jiu had gone to the Capital Special District.
• Ran Handong said Shen Yunmai had nearly died and gave the person behind him three days to agree to meet Jing Jiu.
• Jing Jiu told Ran Handong that three days was too long, and she offered to brew him fresh tea.

Jing Jiu traveled to the Capital Planet’s northern plateau to meet That One, whose recognition the Star Gate Priestess believed would confirm him as the prophesied new god. Inside the ancient civilization ruins beneath a vast gravitational field, he encountered That One, who explained why she had chosen to live there.

• Jing Jiu watched Zhong Lizi, Jiang Yuxia, and Flower Creek discuss his extraordinary actions and Jiang Yuxia’s feelings for him.
• The Galaxy Alliance responded to the attack on the Military Command Building with crackdowns and military deployments as officials made preparations amid hidden dangers.
• Three days after the Cloud Gathering crossed the Yinhai Nebula, Jing Jiu accepted an invitation from the Sacrificial Hall and left for That One’s residence with Ran Handong.
• Jing Jiu and Ran Handong flew through the huge gravitational field surrounding the northern plateau, where Alliance officials and generals waited for news of That One’s decision.
• Jing Jiu crossed the lake and entered an empty ancient city, where a girl emerged from a black car and said she lived there because it was the world she had first experienced and missed most.

Jing Jiu met Fei through an artificial body in a restored city and questioned her about the origins of standard time and his world. Their exchange ended with Fei asking whether he was trying to convince her that they were alike.

• Jing Jiu followed the girl through the mist to a courtyard and hot spring, where she revealed her name was Fei.
• Jing Jiu asked where standard time and the standard month came from, and Fei said they followed the rules of the Ancient Civilization's home planet and its companion.
• Jing Jiu asked where his world was, but Fei said even gods could only discover worlds, not create them, and refused to give him a precise answer.
• Jing Jiu put his feet in the hot spring and told Fei that, unlike the other Ascension Ones, he could not feel its warmth.
• Fei asked whether Jing Jiu was trying to convince her that they were the same.

Jing Jiu spoke with the mysterious girl about cultivation, existence, and why she should trust him, then left without reaching an agreement. Ran Donglou and the other leaders decided to study the game and watch how the opposing forces reacted as the Cloud Gathering approached.

• Jing Jiu told the girl that cultivation helped him exist and that he did not believe existence was meaningless or time would end.
• The girl recalled Shen Yunmai's despair and demanded that Jing Jiu bring her someone's head to prove his trustworthiness.
• Jing Jiu refused to seek the girl's recognition, saying her civilization needed him to preserve its independence from the ascension ones.
• The girl invited Jing Jiu to return for another drink, and he left the hot spring courtyard with Ran Handong.
• Ran Donglou told the assembled leaders to proceed with their plans and collect data from the widely distributed game.
• The clan head warned that only fifty days remained under Shen Yunmai's promise, and the Cloud Gathering would soon arrive on the Capital Planet.