Chapter Summaries

Lu Xiao saw a humanoid outline that only he could perceive, while warnings in his mind told him not to observe or address it. As the group discussed the connection between their world and the New World, their jokes eased their despair, but the mysterious figure remained unexplained.

• A voice warned Lu Xiao not to look at, describe, or observe the humanoid outline, and the figure echoed his question about whether it was Fate or Lu Xiao.
• Lu Xiao discovered that the others could not see the figure, and his body overlapped with it when he sat in its chair.
• The outline appeared on the Divine Throne, and a new warning told Lu Xiao not to call out to it.
• The Doctor, Antie, the Warden, and the Gambler discussed whether the New World lay beneath them and joked about the Gambler's exposed lie and supposed Fate Authority.
• Lu Xiao warned the group not to repeat the mysterious being's name in their minds, and the Doctor cautioned them against imagining or calling out to unknown beings.
• The Gambler declared that he would start lying, prompting the Doctor to tell him that everyone present was his Wallbreaker.

Doctor explained his research into isolating branch traits from divine blood and using them to create a sequence path to godhood. He revealed that an experimental subject who gained the Emperor trait reached King-level and began deification, but went mad and was killed; Doctor had preserved the trait and planned to continue his experiments.

• Doctor asked Antie for a blood sample from a deity to support his research.
• Doctor explained that he had shifted from gene-based god-making to isolating traits from the blood of people and gods, hoping to create branch traits.
• Doctor described the sequence path, in which he isolated the Emperor trait from a King-trait blood sample and gave it to an experimental subject.
• Doctor said the subject survived genetic reconstruction, reached King-level after being supplied with energy, and began a deification ritual before mutations drove him mad.
• Doctor said Bai Suoyi shot the subject dead and he preserved the Emperor trait, while Warden warned Doctor that his experiments could drive him mad.
• Doctor said he had backed himself up with technology from Doctor Shuns and would continue the experiments through successive versions of himself.

Lu Xiao proposed traveling into the Universe to capture deities and obtain blood for the Doctor’s trait research. He planned to leave the Solar System for a month, but the Doctor questioned whether he could travel that far or break through the Solar System’s blockade.

• The Doctor explained that he wanted blood samples from deities to separate trait attributes and develop a way to mass-produce people capable of attaining godhood.
• The Doctor planned to use the Zhou as a mobile base and turn it into a specialized tutoring class for people with branch traits.
• Lu Xiao proposed capturing deities in the Universe to supply the Doctor with blood, while the Gambler offered to defend the group in Lu Xiao’s absence.
• Lu Xiao said Calamity could guide him, and that he could pull the others into meetings to communicate while away.
• Lu Xiao announced that he intended to travel outside the Solar System for about a month, but the Doctor questioned whether the Transforming Vehicle could take him that far or get through the blockade.

Lu Xiao agreed to visit Hell with Ding Dan to find a Raven feather for Doctor, and Ding Dan sent Morati to guide him and Doctor. At Paradise Lost, Lu Xiao immediately jumped into a pool to grab a Hell Worm larva, and Morati rushed to stop him.

• Doctor suggested that Lu Xiao travel to Hell with Ding Dan instead of trying to leave the Solar System, and Lu Xiao agreed.
• Lu Xiao told Calamity and Shuns about the Divine Hall, and they asked to join future meetings there.
• After confirming that Hell held the Raven feather Doctor needed, Lu Xiao and Doctor went to find Ding Dan.
• Ding Dan assigned Morati to escort Lu Xiao and Doctor to Hell and watch them closely.
• At Paradise Lost, Lu Xiao leaped into a pool and grabbed a Hell Worm larva, which bit his head without harming him.
• Morati pulled the larva away, but Lu Xiao claimed it had bitten him first and said he would have to bite it back.

Morati brought Lu Xiao and Calamity into Hell, where they learned the mythic history behind its living Sun and the meaning of a Universe Year. They discovered Yi Hao was in a white palace at the center of the surrounding buildings.

• Morati persuaded Lu Xiao and Calamity to leave the Hell Worms alone and took them through a Teleportation Array into Hell.
• Lu Xiao noticed the setting Sun seemed alive and asked Morati to explain it.
• Morati recounted the myth that Hell formed from a fallen god’s corpse, while the surviving god’s damaged eye became the Sun to watch it decay.
• Morati explained that a Universe Year was about 1,024 Earth years, and Calamity confirmed his account.
• Lu Xiao learned that Hell Creatures rarely needed food and that Yi Hao had proposed growing vegetables there.
• Morati pointed Lu Xiao toward Yi Hao’s location, a snow-white palace surrounded by rows of earthen-yellow buildings.

Lu Xiao, Morati, and Calamity visited Yi Hao in Hell, where Yi Hao asked Morati to invite a Succubus Clan deity for him. Lu Xiao offered to capture the deity, then pulled the sheet from Yi Hao’s bed, leaving him exposed as the others watched.

• Lu Xiao admired the palace’s indoor rainbow and learned that Yi Hao had designed it.
• Morati led Lu Xiao and Calamity to Yi Hao’s residence, where they waited outside while he entertained two Hell Creatures.
• Yi Hao asked Morati to help him invite a deity from the Succubus Clan, but Morati hesitated.
• Yi Hao recognized Shadow’s face and welcomed Lu Xiao, boasting about how much he loved living in Hell.
• Lu Xiao said he planned to capture deities and offered to catch the Succubus Clan deity for Yi Hao.
• Yi Hao grew suspicious that Lu Xiao might be Ding Dan in disguise and asked him to leave; Lu Xiao yanked away the sheet and dragged Yi Hao off the bed.

Yi Hao led a Mass Ritual to gather faith for Ding Dan, and Calamity explained how faith could strengthen Lu Xiao while carrying risks. Lu Xiao decided to pursue faith after returning to his world, with Calamity offering to serve as his chief priest, while Yi Hao claimed he dreamed of becoming an architect.

• Yi Hao performed the daily Mass Ritual, marking the kneeling priests with blood as they prayed to Ding Dan’s statue.
• Calamity explained that faith strengthened a deity’s authority but also exposed them to believers’ negative emotions and risked madness.
• Lu Xiao decided to establish a faith system after returning to his world, and Calamity offered to become his chief priest so he could share in the faith and gain the World Will’s recognition.
• Yi Hao offered to design Lu Xiao’s church and said his dream was to become an outstanding architect.
• Morati reminded Lu Xiao that Yi Hao had named many different dreams, enough to require counting on his toes.

Lu Xiao, Morati, and Calamity set out to collect Raven feathers for the Prison Doctor, while Morati’s worsening premonitions warned them to turn back. They reached a dying Hell Creature beneath a circling Raven, and the creature mistook Morati for their leader and begged for mercy.

• Lu Xiao chose to search for Raven feathers, which could stabilize souls and were needed by the Prison Doctor.
• Morati’s eyelids began twitching, and he repeatedly warned Lu Xiao and Calamity that disaster was coming.
• Lu Xiao and Calamity dismissed Morati’s premonitions as superstition and flew on toward the Ravens.
• Lu Xiao spotted a Raven circling over a dying Hell Creature whose body had been drained of moisture.
• The Hell Creature mistook Morati for the group’s leader and begged him to spare him, claiming he had no moisture left to offer as tribute.

Lu Xiao, Morati, and Calamity watched a dying Hell Creature perish and followed the raven carrying his soul’s eye to a gathering place full of ravens and collected eyeballs. Calamity suggested that Earth’s missing soul-carrying ravens might be connected to the galaxy being sealed off, including its passage to rebirth.

• Morati explained that a dying Hell Creature had been drained of moisture and blood, and that the raven overhead signaled his approaching death.
• Lu Xiao, Morati, and Calamity watched as the Hell Creature died and a raven carried away one of his eyes, leaving behind a feather.
• Calamity suggested following the raven, and the three of them pursued it to a gathering place filled with ravens and a pit of eyeballs.
• Calamity explained that ravens carried souls onward to rebirth through the eyes of the dead, and that some life-forms had no souls.
• Calamity suggested that Earth’s galaxy might be sealed off along with its passage to rebirth.

Lu Xiao harvested every Raven feather in the area, leaving the birds unable to fly. Morati warned that Lu Xiao had wiped out the envoys of the being who sends souls to Rebirth, so Lu Xiao, Calamity, and Morati fled before that being could retaliate.

• Morati wondered why the passage to Rebirth had been sealed, while Lu Xiao thought about the Ravens’ disappearance from Earth.
• Lu Xiao plucked every feather from the Ravens as Calamity trapped them inside a Wind Element cage.
• Lu Xiao collected about fifty kilos of feathers, and Morati realized the Ravens could no longer guide souls or serve the being who wielded Death Authority.
• Morati warned that the powerful being who sends souls to Rebirth might punish Lu Xiao for wiping out its envoys.
• Calamity released the Ravens, and Lu Xiao, Calamity, and Morati ran away.

Lu Xiao and Calamity searched Hell for the missing Morati, then stopped to hide the canvas bag and one of Lu Xiao’s fingers. Thirsty, Lu Xiao approached a group of Wilderness Wanderers for water and received a waterskin after they mistook his telepathic request for a miracle.

• Lu Xiao realized Morati was missing, and he and Calamity flew back along their route to search for him.
• Calamity reasoned that Morati had probably not fallen and was simply running slowly, so they continued looking for him.
• Lu Xiao and Calamity buried the canvas bag and one of Lu Xiao’s fingers in a fissure, then resumed their search.
• When Lu Xiao became thirsty, Calamity explained that he could not make water appear without nearby elements.
• Lu Xiao spotted a group of Wilderness Wanderers and telepathically asked them for water, causing them to kneel and kowtow.
• One Wanderer offered Lu Xiao a waterskin, and Lu Xiao examined its elastic, living-skin-like surface.

Lu Xiao learned the Language of Hell from Calamity and questioned a Wanderer tribe about Hell’s situation. He learned that the Great Lord’s Redemption Army was crushing dissent while rival and neutral factions struggled for influence.

• Calamity explained that the Wanderers feared Lu Xiao would punish them for offering poor water, then taught him to learn their language through consciousness.
• Lu Xiao extracted a Wanderer’s memories, learned the Language of Hell, and reassured the tribe that he only wanted information.
• The Wanderer leader described how the Redemption Army, serving the Holy City and the new Great Lord, slaughtered dissenters and drove Raiders to submit or die.
• The leader explained that Raiders had begun exploiting small settlements, including the family-based Wanderer tribe, under the Redemption Army’s protection.
• Lu Xiao learned that Hell’s factions consisted of Ding Dan’s Great Lord faction, a weaker faction opposing the Prophecy, and a powerful neutral faction that secretly aided the opposition.

Lu Xiao chose a neutral Succubus deity as his next target and set out with Calamity to find Morati. As they discussed the immense beings of the Universe and the danger facing Earth, Lu Xiao insisted they would survive and win.

• Lu Xiao chose to target a neutral Succubus deity after learning she might possess complete authority, but decided finding Morati came first.
• After drinking water provided by the Wanderers, Lu Xiao and Calamity flew away and discussed Calamity’s life among believers and the being that had eaten his Home Planet.
• Calamity explained that some beings lived in the gaps between layers of space and were so powerful that encountering one could erase a person’s ability to think.
• Lu Xiao realized Calamity had never actually seen the being’s true appearance, despite the clear image he had once shown him.
• Calamity warned Lu Xiao against leaving for the Universe and urged him to focus on saving Earth, while Lu Xiao declared they would win.

Lu Xiao and Calamity found Morati transformed into a raven and watched him collect souls while an indistinct figure secretly wove black feathers. Lu Xiao descended to confront the figure and, after learning he would only be told to get lost, revealed his original appearance and demanded to be treated properly.

• Morati repeatedly carried eyeballs to a large pit while an indistinct figure wove black feathers for the ravens.
• Lu Xiao and Calamity watched the bushes for two days and confirmed the raven collecting souls was Morati, but he would not respond to them.
• Lu Xiao decided to investigate the figure and told Calamity to take the feathers to Prison Doctor in Kyoto if he did not return.
• Lu Xiao approached the indistinct figure, who ignored his first attempts to communicate and then told him to get lost.
• Lu Xiao revealed his original appearance and introduced himself as Lu Xiao, demanding that the figure talk to him properly.

Lu Xiao learned that Mr. Morati could leave only after one hundred million souls were collected, then came up with a plan to make battlefield casualties more useful. He and Calamity recruited a Wanderer guide and gave the tribe’s strongest member a finger that could grant temporary divine power.

• A crow-like being threatened Lu Xiao, then told him that collecting one hundred million souls would let Mr. Morati leave.
• Calamity returned with the sack of feathers and suggested collecting souls at a battlefield, but Lu Xiao worried that combat would destroy the bodies and dissipate their souls.
• Lu Xiao realized he might be able to establish rules for the war to preserve bodies and prevent attacks on the eyes.
• Lu Xiao and Calamity visited a Wanderer settlement and asked its leader to assign them a guide familiar with Hell.
• Before leaving with the guide, Lu Xiao gave the settlement’s strongest member one of his fingers and said it could grant temporary divine power.

Lu Xiao and Calamity traveled with their new guide, Xinxiya, to the Succubus Clan’s settlement. They entered its central building and discovered a lavish interior where a row of succubi welcomed them as honored guests.

• Lu Xiao named the wanderer Xinxiya and asked him to guide them to the Succubus Clan’s settlement.
• Calamity carried Lu Xiao and Xinxiya through the air, and Xinxiya hoped serving the two gods would improve his future.
• The three reached the succubi’s settlement, where Lu Xiao and Calamity ignored the succubi’s advances and headed for the tallest building.
• Xinxiya overcame his distraction and hurried after Lu Xiao and Calamity into the building, where they found a pink-lit lobby and a welcoming line of succubi.

Lu Xiao, Calamity, and Xinxiya entered Gentleman's Paradise, where Xinxiya warned them that no male creature had ever left. Lu Xiao and Calamity suspected the Succubi were connected to their Deity and decided to see what they wanted.

• Ruiqi welcomed Lu Xiao, Calamity, and Xinxiya to Gentleman's Paradise and led them inside.
• Calamity persuaded Lu Xiao to explore the establishment, joking that they could refuse to pay if necessary.
• Xinxiya warned Lu Xiao that male visitors spent their lives at Gentleman's Paradise and none had ever escaped.
• Lu Xiao and Calamity suspected Ruiqi had ties to the Succubus Clan's Deity and continued upstairs with her.
• Xinxiya followed behind Lu Xiao, frightened but reassured by his presence.

Lu Xiao entered the emotional desire floor at Gentleman's Paradise and chose to experience friendship in a super Dreamscape. He found himself in a modern city with no abilities, and a message from Liu Guang left him visibly moved.

• Ruiqi explained that the second floor represented emotional desire, and Lu Xiao, Calamity, and Xinxiya agreed to try it.
• A succubus led Lu Xiao to an empty room and asked whether he wanted to experience romantic love, family affection, or friendship; he chose friendship.
• The room transformed into a modern city, where the succubus explained that Lu Xiao would experience a protagonist's life and then disappeared.
• Lu Xiao discovered he had lost his abilities and pretended to be hearing-impaired after accidentally spilling a young man's takeout, prompting the man to apologize and reorder the food.
• Lu Xiao received a phone notification and saw a voice message from a contact saved as Liu Guang, making his eyes grow moist.

Lu Xiao adjusted to his identity as an office worker and attended a meeting with Swiss client Cass Shuns and his student Antie Icarus. After the meeting, Liu Guang urged him to cancel plans with Bai Suoyi and attend the company dinner, and Lu Xiao asked Liu Guang to tell Bai Suoyi for him.

• Lu Xiao learned that he was an office worker and that Bai Suoyi, the building security guard, was his close friend.
• Lu Xiao went to a project meeting where Chen Fei introduced Cass Shuns, and Liu Guang presented the company’s plan.
• Cass Shuns introduced Antie Icarus as the laboratory’s representative for the project, and Lu Xiao exchanged a look with him.
• Bai Suoyi messaged Lu Xiao about plans to buy groceries and spend the evening with Bai Ning and Zhang Chu.
• Liu Guang told Lu Xiao that the whole company was expected at dinner with the client, so Lu Xiao handed him his phone to reply to Bai Suoyi.

Lu Xiao ended the Super Dreamscape where he had lived alongside Liu Guang, then confronted Ruiqi about how the experience had drawn on his memories. Ruiqi explained that the dreamscape reflected desires generated by his own mind.

• Li Changqing left Liu Guang in charge of the project and told him to take care of Antie, while promising the team a reserve fund.
• At karaoke, Antie told the group that she had beaten someone up during an academic debate to defend her teacher, and Lu Xiao laughed at the story.
• After the gathering, Liu Guang fell asleep during a foot massage, and Lu Xiao ended the Super Dreamscape despite sixty years of story remaining because Liu Guang was still waiting for him to wake him.
• Back in reality, Lu Xiao confronted Ruiqi and asked how she had learned about his memories.
• Ruiqi explained that the Super Dreamscape brought out deep desires and that Lu Xiao's own brain had generated the scenes.