Chapter Summaries

Lu Xiao and Dart forced Li Xiuqi and the others to abandon the plane, while Doctor met Gambler and Angel in the C02 Containment Facility. Doctor revealed that the Pope was atoning for the Pioneers’ sins and asked Gambler to help him pursue this unprecedented path.

• Dart lifted Li Xiuqi with a tentacle and stomped through the plane’s floor, forcing the others to jump through the hole.
• Ding Dan brought Gambler and Angel to meet Doctor’s Main Consciousness Entity in the C02 Containment Facility beneath Chang'an City.
• Doctor asked Angel to give him Daimon’s soul, promising to find Daimon a suitable body, and Angel agreed.
• Doctor told Gambler that the Pope had embarked on an unprecedented path and asked him to help.
• Doctor explained that the Pope was atoning for the Pioneers’ sins in hopes of attaining godhood, and suggested that Gambler’s Lies and Ding Dan’s Correction could help him finish before time ran out.

The Doctor recruited the Gambler and Ding Dan for plans involving Great Brahma and the Outsiders in the Dark Prison, while deciding not to interfere with the Pope’s redemption. He revealed that the strategy against Cthulhu was an unfinished plan originally laid by Mr. Shadow, and that his own calculations had refined it.

• The Gambler and Ding Dan opposed using their authorities to hasten the Pope’s redemption, and the Doctor agreed not to interfere with the Pope’s choice.
• The Doctor asked the Gambler to use his authority to create a reason for He Shang and Great Brahma to return to human society, and the Gambler agreed.
• The Doctor told Ding Dan that the Saints had contacted the Outsiders in the Dark Prison and that Cthulhu had joined their circle.
• The Doctor reasoned that Niclade had partly succeeded in awakening Cthulhu, who was now likely a god hiding among the Outsiders to pursue goals beyond his current strength.
• The Doctor proposed that Ding Dan lead the Demon Clan into the Dark Prison while the Gambler used his authority to make the Outsiders accept the clan.
• The Doctor explained that Mr. Shadow had laid the original plan, Mr. Bai Suoyi had joined the Saints, and he had taken over and improved the unfinished strategy.

Doctor asked Ding Dan to infiltrate the Outsiders and investigate why Cthulhu remained in the Dark Prison, using gladiatorial combat to reach the circle’s core. Ding Dan left to prepare, and just as Gambler was about to leave, another Doctor arrived carrying a small box.

• Doctor explained that the Saints infiltrated the Outsiders to feed them misleading information and that he wanted to uncover Cthulhu’s purpose in the Dark Prison.
• Doctor asked Ding Dan to approach Cthulhu, arguing that Ding Dan’s Demon Clan identity would disguise his human connections.
• Doctor told Ding Dan to enter the Outsiders’ circle through gladiatorial combat and said genetically modified soldiers would follow his orders.
• Ding Dan agreed to prepare for the mission before the star-ignition plan began in a month, while Gambler was to meet him after dealing with the Great Brahma.
• Gambler prepared to leave, but Doctor called him back, and another Doctor approached carrying a small box.

Doctor gave Gambler a portable signal base station, then considered how to prepare Daimon for joining humanity without risking his loyalty to the Demon Clan. Meanwhile, Lu Xiao and his companions found a volcanic hot spring and began bathing, while Antie was asked to keep the water safe for Li Xiuqi and Zhang Chu’s descendant sect elders.

• Doctor explained that the portable signal base station let Gambler contact him within a one-kilometer area, and Gambler left with Angel.
• Doctor examined Daimon’s glowing soul orb and considered printing him a physical body, but decided Daimon’s loyalty to the Demon Clan had to be removed before humanity could trust him.
• Lu Xiao and his group landed in a volcanic field, where Antie explained the mineral benefits of its hot springs and led them to one.
• Amilia was already drinking the scalding spring water, and Nico, Lu Xiao, the Daoist Lord, Warden, and Dart entered the pool.
• Antie offered to control the water temperature for Li Xiuqi, then Zhang Chu’s descendant sect elders also asked him to keep them from being boiled.

Moli'an arrived at the hot spring and confronted the Warden for leaving without her, while the others reacted to her presence as a Great Old One. Nico quickly befriended her, and Li Xiuqi realized the Taoist Masters wanted to approach Moli'an because they considered her the Dao they sought.

• Moli'an appeared beside the Warden and complained that he had gone out without inviting her.
• Lu Xiao recognized Moli'an as a Great Old One, while Amilia eagerly drank the hot spring water after learning it was her bathwater.
• Nico swam over, praised Moli'an's skin, and quickly began cuddling up to her.
• Antie stopped the Taoist Masters from approaching Moli'an after noticing their lecherous intentions.
• A burly Taoist Master claimed they wanted to hear the Dao, and Li Xiuqi suggested Moli'an was the Dao they meant.

Moli'an offered to take the Warden to the Mother Goddess Star, but after weighing humanity’s needs against the risks, he decided to stay. The Mother Goddess Elves were preparing to leave the Milky Way with the real Liu Ni and a human technical team, and Lu Xiao ended by teasing the Warden about Moli'an’s interest in him.

• Moli'an asked the Warden whether he had considered her suggestion and said her people would leave in two days.
• The Warden explained that Moli'an wanted him to accompany the Mother Goddess Elves, and Lu Xiao said he would respect the Warden’s choice.
• The Warden decided to remain because his knowledge of humanity could be used against it if he joined the elves.
• The Warden told Lu Xiao that Moli'an might know the Director was impersonating the Goddess but had chosen not to expose him.
• The Warden outlined plans for the real Liu Ni and a human technical assistance team led by the Director to leave with the Mother Goddess Elves.
• Lu Xiao asked whether Moli'an had taken a liking to the Warden, then joked that he should ask her to leave him a child.

Lu Xiao joked with the Warden about using a child to persuade Moli'an, then explored the hot spring with Dart and found a mineral-encrusted bone. The group returned to Chang'an City, where the Warden sent the bone for testing and the Doctor hosted a banquet.

• Lu Xiao proposed leaving a child with Moli'an as leverage, then admitted he had been joking when the Warden grew uncomfortable.
• Antie helped those on shore enter the water, and Nico brought Futiya over to chat with Moli'an.
• Lu Xiao and Dart dove to the hot spring's bottom, where Lu Xiao found a mineral-encrusted bone.
• The group flew back to Chang'an City, and the Warden arranged for the bone to be tested at the Professional Institution.
• The Doctor hosted a banquet at the Hotel, where Moli'an drank from hoses connected to two Water Tanks.

The Doctor told Lu Xiao that the finger bone he found in the hot spring belonged to a god-level life-form and contained residual divinity. After hearing how Lu Xiao discovered it, the Doctor asked him to return with equipment, suspecting that buried powerful life-forms had caused widespread mutations in the Present World’s oceans.

• The Doctor explained that tests identified the bone as a god-level life-form’s finger bone with residual divinity.
• Lu Xiao recounted finding the bone at the bottom of the hot spring, where the underwater temperature was unusually high.
• The Doctor speculated that powerful life-forms buried in the oceans had caused ocean creatures to mutate by feeding on their corpses.
• The Doctor asked Lu Xiao to revisit the site with equipment, but said to wait until he had prepared it.

Lu Xiao accompanied the Doctor to inspect the new body prepared for Daimon and learned about Yao Ling’s upgrades and Number Two’s firepower. They arrived at the factory producing the Doctor’s doubles, where Daimon’s body was being made.

• The Doctor showed Lu Xiao Daimon’s soul and invited him to see the body he had prepared.
• The Doctor introduced Number Two, his fully mechanized bodyguard, and revealed that Yao Ling was his Number One.
• The Doctor explained that Number Two had greater conventional firepower, while Yao Ling could keep upgrading herself using scientific knowledge stored in her Biochip.
• Lu Xiao asked for a Biochip, but declined after the Doctor explained its limits and the cost of building a mechanical body.
• Lu Xiao and the Doctor reached the factory making Daimon’s body and passed through rows of Doctors who all stared at Lu Xiao.

Doctor used the Chosen One of 'Death' to weave Daimon's soul into a prepared body, but the revived Daimon had no consciousness. Doctor began creating one for him and brought out a 'Cortical Disk'.

• Lu Xiao learned that Daimon's consciousness had collapsed before it could be backed up, leaving Doctor with only his soul and a prepared body.
• Doctor introduced the Chosen One of 'Death', who knitted Daimon's soul into a glowing green hat and placed it on the body's head.
• The body opened its eyes, but Daimon remained without consciousness, and the Chosen One of 'Death' departed as black feathers.
• Doctor began creating a consciousness for Daimon, and another Doctor entered carrying a 'Cortical Disk' made of tissue resembling human skin.

Doctor transferred a new consciousness into Daimon and asked Lu Xiao to guide him, then Daimon woke up as a blank slate. On the Mother God Elves’ departure day, Moli'an promised to return with a dowry if the Warden won their wager, and Postman Augusis revealed she was the eldest daughter of the Andreiro Family.

• Doctor explained that Daimon’s new consciousness had no memories or thoughts and asked Lu Xiao to teach him.
• Lu Xiao accepted responsibility for guiding Daimon, who woke up on the operating table and looked at Lu Xiao and Doctor in confusion.
• Two days later, the Mother God Elves and the Technical Assistance Team gathered in Chang'an City's Planned District for the elves’ departure.
• Moli'an asked the Warden to accompany her, but he reminded her of their wager about whether humanity would light the Star.
• Moli'an agreed to return and witness the Warden’s failure, promising to bring a valuable dowry if he won, then gave her full name as Moli'an Andreiro.
• Postman Augusis told the Warden that Moli'an was the eldest daughter of the Andreiro Family.

Augusis explained the Andreiro Family’s origins, power, and tradition of recruiting talented males as live-in sons-in-law, leading the Warden to suspect Moli'an wanted him for the family’s internal power struggles. He dismissed the idea because he was only a Star-level Life, unaware that Moli'an had offered him a place on the Mother Goddess Elves’ Think Tank.

• The Warden asked Augusis whether the Andreiro Family was a major family among the Mother Goddess Elves.
• Augusis explained that the Andreiro Family ranked second, and that its head, Andreiro, had been a Fallen Elf Star God who married into the Mother Goddess Elves and ascended to World God.
• Augusis said the Andreiro Family controlled a third of the Mother Goddess Elves’ resources and foreign trade, and recruited exceptional males as live-in sons-in-law.
• Augusis suggested that Moli'an had taken an interest in the Warden and wanted him to marry into her family.
• The Warden connected Moli'an’s change in attitude to their business negotiations and imagined she wanted his strategic talent for the family’s internal struggles.
• The Warden decided the plan was unlikely because his Star-level Life would leave him vulnerable to more powerful rivals.

Yi Hao told Lu Xiao he planned to become famous enough to choose the Mother Goddess Elves’ Empress as his wife, while the Director prepared to lead a team into the depths of the stars. As the Director left without a farewell from Bai Suoyi, Bai Suoyi reflected on the words that had shaped his own name.

• Yi Hao told Lu Xiao that he had rejected Weidiya’s offer of Mother God Elf wives because he hoped to become famous enough to marry the Imperial Princess, then the Empress.
• Lu Xiao mocked Yi Hao’s ambition, and Yi Hao angrily challenged him before Lu Xiao reminded him of his Human Heart authority.
• The Director prepared to leave for the depths of the stars with Little Black, whose deification ritual remained incomplete.
• The Director lamented that Bai Suoyi had blocked his calls and had not come to say goodbye.
• Lucilla urged Bai Suoyi to offer the Director parting words, but Bai Suoyi said his son needed to shoulder his responsibilities.
• Bai Suoyi recalled his father’s words about putting the nation’s urgent needs before personal interests.

Bai Suoyi and Lucilla departed as the Mother Goddess Elves prepared to leave, signaling that humanity would soon face threats from species seeking its wealth and from major powers probing its backers. As the elves and humanity’s technical team were beamed aboard a warship, Liu Ni chose to remain and take responsibility for her civilization.

• Bai Suoyi suppressed his feelings about his father and left with Lucilla.
• The Mother Goddess Elves’ departure signaled that humanity would lose their protection and face attacks and probes from other species.
• Humanity’s leaders pursued the rushed attempt to ignite a star so they could register their species and gain a temporary buffer of safety.
• A shuttle-shaped Goddess Elves warship appeared above the square and beamed up the departing elves and humanity’s technical assistance team.
• Liu Ni reflected on her father, the soldiers, and Lu Xiao, then decided to shoulder her share of responsibility for humanity.

Lu Xiao, Dart, and the Doctor drained a hot spring and found the bones of what the Doctor believed were three Gods-level beings. The Doctor concluded that a civilization had existed underground long before the Creator adapted its world for humans, and that an unknown framework had kept the underground world from collapsing under gravity.

• Lu Xiao received the Doctor’s message to prepare, then met him with Dart and flew to the hot spring with the Doctor’s pump.
• The group pumped the hot spring dry and uncovered a deep pit filled with mineral-coated bones.
• The Doctor identified three different sets of characteristics among the bones and concluded that three Gods-level beings had died there.
• The Doctor suggested that an extinct underground civilization had already created a framework for a world before the Creator made it suitable for humans.
• The Doctor compared the Present World with the Dark Prison and the newer underground world, then proposed that invisible supports held the Present World together.

The Doctor and Lu Xiao concluded that the ancient remains might belong to a prior civilization whose immortal remains caused the ocean’s mutated creatures, and they considered whether a Great Old One could dwell on the seabed. After returning to Chang'an City, they found the Planned District nearly empty, and the Doctor warned Lu Xiao that a busy month lay ahead.

• The Doctor proposed that a destroyed civilization had left immortal remains that later mutated new life, including creatures in the ocean.
• Lu Xiao and the Doctor speculated that a Great Old One might live on the seabed, but Lu Xiao decided to explore the depths only after advancing.
• The Doctor, Lu Xiao, and Dart returned to Chang'an City after their half-day trip.
• Lu Xiao noticed that visitors had dwindled in the Planned District, and the Doctor told him to rest before a demanding month.

Ding Dan used Yao Ling and Gambler’s cover story to gain the Pigman Chief’s help in entering Dark Prison’s Gladiatorial Arena. As War Elephant, also called the Berserker, prepared to fight, Ding Dan ordered Yao Ling to challenge him.

• Ding Dan persuaded the dim-witted Pigman Chief to take him and Yao Ling to watch the gladiatorial fights.
• When the Pigman Chief reached for Yao Ling, she blasted his trotter down to bone and warned him that Ding Dan’s control over her did not extend to him.
• Gambler told Ding Dan that he had used Lies to establish his cover story among the Pigman Tribe.
• Ding Dan and the Pigman Chief watched the arena fill, and the chief explained that War Elephant had won ten matches by tearing apart his opponents.
• Ding Dan ordered Yao Ling to fight War Elephant, and she promised to end his winning streak despite doubting she could beat him without thermal weapons.

Ding Dan watched the arena bouts while learning about the Chaos Faction and its Blood Crystal economy. He expected the pigman chief’s gladiator to win, but the pigman was instead beaten badly, making Ding Dan suspect he had thrown the match.

• Ding Dan learned that a regular planned to have the battle pet War Elephant killed and considered why Chaos Faction beings had stayed in the Dark Prison.
• He learned that Yao Ling was valued at around fifty thousand Blood Crystals and that Blood Crystals served as the Chaos Faction’s unstable currency.
• Ding Dan watched the first bout end and learned that Bai Suoyi had supplied him with ten thousand Blood Crystals to cultivate connections.
• The pigman chief bet one hundred Blood Crystals on his gladiator, who fought an upright tiger in the second bout.
• Ding Dan predicted that the much larger pigman would win, but the tiger battered him until Ding Dan suspected the pigman was throwing the match.

The Pigman Chief celebrated a rigged arena victory and proposed that Ding Dan rig Yao Ling’s match against War Elephant, but Ding Dan refused. Yao Ling explained that despite giving War Elephant a thirty-seventy chance, she could defeat him with the advanced weapons Doctor had installed.

• The Pigman Chief’s Battle Pet lost after throwing the match, earning the Pigman Chief over nine thousand blood crystals from a hundred-crystal bet.
• The Pigman Chief suggested that Ding Dan have Yao Ling lose to War Elephant so they could profit from the odds, but Ding Dan refused because his race needed a victory.
• The Pigman Chief asked Ding Dan how Yao Ling would fare against War Elephant, and Yao Ling said the odds were thirty for her and seventy for him.
• Yao Ling clarified that she meant she would need three moves before War Elephant’s seventh-day funeral rites, and the chapter revealed that Doctor had equipped her with an internal ammunition space containing a nuclear warhead.

Ding Dan arranged for Yao Ling to face War Elephant in the seventh match while Sly and Fan Xing watched from the stands, unaware of Ding Dan’s arrival. The crowd gathered to cheer War Elephant’s bid for an eleventh consecutive victory as he entered the arena.

• Ding Dan planned for Yao Ling to fight War Elephant, intending to help the Saints’ planted mole survive the match.
• Sly and Fan Xing discussed who might have been sent from home, and Sly guessed it was his former instructor, Ding Dan.
• Sly and Fan Xing placed bets while they waited for the seventh match, which would pit deity-level fighters against each other.
• The spectators rose and cheered for Berserker and War Elephant as the gladiators entered the arena.
• Sly remarked that War Elephant looked bulkier than before as the crowd celebrated his chance to win eleven matches in a row.