Chapter Summaries

A Yun showed Lin Shen that she had mastered his movement technique and used Valkyrie's Protection to pass its experience and insights directly to him. After Lin Shen considered possible skills for A Yun to learn next, Tian Xun returned, and Lin Shen's heart skipped when he saw him step out of his aircraft.

• A Yun visited Lin Shen and said she had nearly mastered the movement technique he had taught her.
• Lin Shen tested A Yun against the Black Crystal Stone Man and saw that she could evade even its full-speed attacks.
• A Yun activated Valkyrie's Protection and passed her movement technique experience to Lin Shen, who learned the technique at once.
• Lin Shen considered having A Yun learn techniques from Wei Wufu, teach the Defier of Fate, or secretly learn Ximen Swordsman's Borrowing Strength and Redirecting Force.
• Lin Shen told A Yun to raise her level, then saw Tian Xun return and felt his heart skip as Tian Xun stepped out of the aircraft.

Tian Xun told Lin Shen that winning the Blazing Sea Battle was his remaining chance to qualify for the Ascension Pool, and he agreed to join despite the danger. He prepared to leave for Sky Peak Star with Tian Xun, Tian Xin, and Wei Wufu, hoping to team up with Ouyang Yudu.

• Tian Xun explained that the Celestial Academy had not approved Lin Shen's entry to the Ascension Pool, but a chance had emerged through a contest over Blazing Fire Star.
• Tian Xun said each side would send three Ascension Creatures into the Blazing Sea to seek the Crimson Flame Starburst Dragon's life foundation, and that success would grant them Ascension Pool qualifications.
• Lin Shen learned that Ouyang Yudu would represent the human Lineage and decided to join the operation, hoping they could work together.
• Tian Xun warned Lin Shen about the dangers of the Blazing Sea and told him to prioritize staying alive.
• Wei Wufu asked to accompany Lin Shen, and Tian Xun agreed to bring him and Tian Xin to Sky Peak Star.

Lin Shen arrived on Blazing Fire Star with Tian Xun and learned that Fuleila, a legendary Di Man Race Ascender, would join the operation. After a Celestial withdrew his people, Tian Xun warned Lin Shen that taking part could be fatal, and Fuleila’s past feats deepened his alarm.

• Lin Shen, Tian Xun, and their companions reached Blazing Fire Star and met Ouyang Yudu, who avoided acknowledging Lin Shen and Wei Wufu.
• A Celestial told Tian Xun that Fuleila had been selected for the operation, prompting Tian Xun to question whether her participation was fair.
• The Iron Blood Race inspector withdrew his people, and Chi Shang advised Tian Xun to wait for a decision from those above.
• Tian Xun urged Lin Shen to abandon the operation, but Lin Shen asked about Fuleila’s strength.
• Tian Xun recounted how Fuleila had evaded Nirvana Realm pursuers and destroyed a planet to kill two of them, leaving Lin Shen more fearful of the operation.

Lin Shen and his companions explored Blazing Fire Star and learned how its explosive environment affected combat. They encountered Fuleila and a Di Man Race group, and Lin Shen noticed someone at the back who caught his attention.

• Lin Shen, Tian Xin, and Wei Wufu settled on Blazing Fire Star while awaiting orders from the Celestial Academy.
• Lin Shen asked Duo Qi about the planet’s explosive hazards, and Duo Qi explained how to avoid dangerous collisions.
• Duo Qi showed them Blazing Lake and explained that its Blazing Liquid was consumed by Gene Mutation Creatures.
• The group encountered Fuleila and Viscount Kaiga with the Di Man Race, and Lin Shen saw Fuleila as a humanoid mosaic.
• While Viscount Kaiga questioned Duo Qi about Lin Shen and his companions, Lin Shen focused on a figure at the back of the Di Man Race group.

Lin Shen met Zheng Zong, a human military advisor in the Di Man Race who strongly resembled his Third Brother, Lin Zongzheng, but could not confirm his identity. After returning to camp, Lin Shen was still wondering who Zheng Zong was when Ouyang Yudu arrived at his door.

• Lin Shen noticed that Zheng Zong, the only mount rider among the Di Man Race party, looked like Lin Zongzheng, though his appearance and bearing left Lin Shen uncertain.
• Fuleila questioned Zheng Zong about his resemblance to Lin Shen, and Zheng Zong introduced himself before inviting Lin Shen to seek his help at the Di Man Race camp.
• Lin Shen gave Fuleila the name A Tian, and Duo Qi explained that Zheng Zong was Greed King Sa Mu's trusted military advisor and the leader of the Di Man Race Envoy Group.
• After hunting Gene Mutation Creatures at Blazing Lake, Lin Shen asked Wei Wufu whether Zheng Zong was his Third Brother, but Wei Wufu said he did not know.
• Ouyang Yudu arrived at Lin Shen's door holding an umbrella.

Lin Zongzheng revealed the truth about Lin Yin’s disappearance and warned Lin Shen that powerful races might be responsible. Though Lin Shen planned to withdraw from the Celestial Race battle, Lin Zongzheng insisted he must compete and win.

• Ouyang Yudu warned Lin Shen and Wei Wufu that Fuleila would almost certainly join the battle, so they agreed to withdraw if she did.
• Lin Shen told Tian Xun what Ouyang Yudu had said, and she promised to help them withdraw if necessary.
• Zheng Zong visited Lin Shen and revealed that he was Lin Shen’s Third Brother, Lin Zongzheng, and explained how Gourd Mountain and the Blackbird Eggs had helped the family travel and grow stronger.
• Lin Zongzheng said Lin Yin had likely inherited the Ancient World King’s legacy and been killed after drawing the attention of powerful races, possibly including the Di Man Race and the Supreme Race.
• Lin Shen said he intended to withdraw from the battle, but Lin Zongzheng told him he could not withdraw and had to win.

Lin Zongzheng explained that Lin Shen had to defeat Fuleila to advance his own plan and gave him several tools to improve his chances. He left Lin Shen with a final emergency measure, warning that using it would mean the operation had failed.

• Lin Zongzheng revealed that his real mission was to make Fuleila lose so he could gain Sam's trust, and that Lin Shen had to win.
• Lin Zongzheng warned Lin Shen to enter the Sea of Flames within fifty-two hours and persuade Tian Xun to join the Celestial Race's representatives.
• Lin Zongzheng gave Lin Shen a modified Nirvana Level Pet Gun, a Bloodthirsty Demon Sword Pet Capsule, and a Blessing of the Life Goddess spirit foundation.
• Lin Zongzheng handed Lin Shen a jade box that would ensure his safety in an emergency but would also mark the operation as a failure.

Lin Shen volunteered to fight Fuleila’s group in the Flame Sea after the Celestial Academy ordered the battle to proceed, and he pushed for an immediate replacement rather than waiting three days. He, Wei Wufu, and Ouyang Yudu were assigned to the operation, and Tian Xun agreed to let Lin Shen go while supplying him with equipment.

• Lin Zongzheng left Lin Shen a mysterious box and told him to open it only if his life was at stake.
• After the Celestial Academy ordered the battle to continue, Lin Shen volunteered to fight so Tian Xun would not have to defy the deans.
• Lin Shen asked An 16 to choose an Ascendant from those present instead of waiting three days, and Wei Wufu volunteered to join him.
• An 16 assigned Lin Shen, Wei Wufu, and Ouyang Yudu to represent the Celestial Race in the operation scheduled for the next day.
• Back at their residence, Tian Xin berated Lin Shen, while Tian Xun offered him Tian Xin’s Archangel Sword, several Spirit Bases, and a Pet Capsule.

Lin Shen, Ouyang Yudu, and Wei Wufu crossed the Flame Sea to seek the Crimson Flame Starburst Dragon’s life base before Fuleila found them. Ouyang Yudu revealed the Jade Bone Demon Umbrella’s ability to drain life force and spirits, but he remained only at two transformations because he refused to use it on others.

• Ouyang Yudu explained that the Ouyang Family’s weakened position left him responsible for protecting its mining district, and said they needed to find the Crimson Flame Starburst Dragon before Fuleila.
• Ouyang Yudu used the Ouyang Family’s knowledge of Blazing Fire Star to lead Lin Shen and Wei Wufu toward an area where the dragon often appeared, hoping to lure it with bait.
• Lin Shen asked about Ouyang Yudu’s umbrella, and Ouyang Yudu revealed that closing the Jade Bone Demon Umbrella drained life force from those nearby.
• Ouyang Yudu explained that the closed Jade Bone Demon Umbrella could drain spirits from life bases through contact, but he kept it open to avoid absorbing others’ life force.
• Lin Shen learned that Ouyang Yudu was only at two transformations because he restrained himself from using the umbrella’s power, and Wei Wufu praised him for it.

Lin Shen, Ouyang Yudu, and Wei Wufu discovered a Coral Turtle that matched records of a creature said to have left Blazing Fire Star for the starry sky over a century earlier. They found a weapon hilt embedded in its shell and carefully pulled it free, while the turtle remained motionless.

• Ouyang Yudu explained that the Coral Turtle was a famous tenth-turn Ascension Creature that had once fought the Crimson Flame Starburst Dragon and later soared into the starry sky.
• Lin Shen wondered whether the Coral Turtle had returned to Blazing Fire Star to die, but Ouyang Yudu said the creature matched the one in the records and doubted it could have come back after a failed Nirvana.
• Wei Wufu spotted a purplish-red weapon hilt embedded in the Coral Turtle's shell, and the three descended to investigate while guarding against explosions and a possible attack.
• Lin Shen summoned his remaining Black Armor Centipede to pull out the hilt, and flames and crackling bursts erupted as the weapon came free.

Lin Shen, Wei Wufu, and Ouyang Yudu investigated the Coral Turtle after retrieving a purplish-red Hard Whip and uncovered the skeleton of a Nirvana Realm Expert. Lin Shen found a glowing bead in its skull, which Wei Wufu and Ouyang Yudu identified as Ashes of Reincarnation.

• Lin Shen learned from Wei Wufu and Ouyang Yudu that the weapon pulled from the Coral Turtle was a human-forged Hard Whip.
• Lin Shen spotted a skeleton beneath the shattered coral-like plants and found it remarkably intact.
• Ouyang Yudu identified the remains as a Nirvana Realm Expert's skeleton and explained how Nirvana Embers could form inside a skull.
• Lin Shen searched the skull and dug out a black pellet with purplish-red fluorescence inside.
• Lin Shen washed the pellet clean, revealing a honeycomb-structured purplish-red bead, and Wei Wufu and Ouyang Yudu exclaimed that it was Ashes of Reincarnation.

Lin Shen learned that his bead was Ashes of Reincarnation, a rare treasure containing the power of a Great Nirvana Realm Expert, and asked Ouyang Yudu about its value and uses. Ouyang Yudu explained Nirvana Attributes and the risks of undergoing Nirvana repeatedly, leaving Lin Shen to consider the dangers of power that could erode one’s humanity.

• Lin Shen asked Ouyang Yudu whether his bead was Nirvana Embers, and Ouyang Yudu explained how Ashes of Reincarnation differed and could enable Nirvana.
• Ouyang Yudu told Lin Shen that Ashes of Reincarnation was extremely valuable but could limit its user’s ultimate power to the level of the expert who left it behind.
• Lin Shen asked whether the treasure could be traded for access to a top-tier Gene Mutation Land, and Ouyang Yudu said its value would depend on its origin and Nirvana Power attribute.
• Ouyang Yudu explained that Nirvana Attributes imbued a person’s power and body with particular qualities, and repeated Nirvana could transform the body and mind in dangerous ways.
• Lin Shen questioned whether heavily transformed Nirvana Realm Experts were still human, and Ouyang Yudu described the struggle to balance strength with retaining one’s body and humanity.

Lin Shen and Ouyang Yudu explored the chains binding the Coral Turtle and discovered they led to an ancient city deep beneath the Blazing Sea. They approached the city, where the chains were tied to statues of ancient beasts at its eight corners.

• Lin Shen declined the Purple Red Whip and asked Ouyang Yudu to search the Coral Turtle underwater for a spirit foundation.
• Ouyang Yudu found the turtle's interior hollowed out and reported that chains ran from its body deep into the sea.
• Lin Shen and Ouyang Yudu descended along the chains and found an ancient city on an underwater cliff beside a deep Sea Trench.
• Ouyang Yudu sent the Archangel Sword around the city to check for danger before they swam closer.
• They saw that the chains led to the city's eight corners and were tied around the necks of ancient beast statues.

Lin Shen and Ouyang Yudu explored a strange ancient city beneath Blazing Fire Star’s sea and discovered a Nirvana Creature circling it. They hid inside a building where the Blazing Liquid could not enter, and Lin Shen noticed writing on a pillar as the city shook under the creature’s attacks.

• Lin Shen and Ouyang Yudu spotted a silver statue with a red vertical eye atop the ancient city’s central tower, then found the city apparently empty.
• Lin Shen sent a Mutated Sea Monster God General into the city, where it revealed that the buildings and walls were made from connected silver metal.
• Lin Shen and Ouyang Yudu both sensed something watching them, then saw a gigantic blue-flaming butterfly-like Nirvana Creature rise from the trench and rushed into the city for shelter.
• Lin Shen and Ouyang Yudu entered a small building and discovered that its interior was dry, with the Blazing Liquid blocked outside.
• The Blue Light Butterfly circled the city and repeatedly struck it and its chains, but the ancient city remained intact; Lin Shen then noticed words engraved on a pillar.

Lin Shen and Ouyang Yudu explored the ancient city and found a portrait and a finger technique attributed to Zhong Buhen. Lin Shen recognized the technique as the complete version of Devil Heart Finger and memorized it.

• Lin Shen and Ouyang Yudu explored the second floor of the ancient city and found a humanlike beauty painted on a sheet of paper fused to a desk.
• Ouyang Yudu identified the seal on the painting as Zhong Buhen's, linking it to the writing on the pillars.
• Ouyang Yudu pointed out a wall inscription titled "Condemned by Thousands" and attributed it to Zhong Buhen.
• Lin Shen read the inscription and realized the finger technique included the complete formula and annotations behind Devil Heart Finger.
• Lin Shen memorized the technique and wondered whether the ancient city had been built by the Great Devil King Night Crow had mentioned.

Lin Shen and Ouyang Yudu watched the Thinker Statue capture and devour the Blue Light Butterfly, then tried to leave the ancient city. The statue stopped them without attacking, leaving them trapped inside with no clear idea whether it was alive or what it wanted.

• The Blue Light Butterfly tried to push the ancient city into a sea trench, and Lin Shen and Ouyang Yudu planned to flee if the city began to fall.
• The Thinker Statue fired crimson lightning from its vertical eye, bound the Blue Light Butterfly and its life base, and dragged them toward the tower.
• The Thinker shrank the Blue Light Butterfly, swallowed it with its life base, and glanced toward the building where Lin Shen and Ouyang Yudu were hiding.
• Lin Shen and Ouyang Yudu left the building to escape, but the Thinker sent a crimson lightning net toward them, forcing them to return to shelter.
• Ouyang Yudu concluded the statue did not want them to leave but had no intention of killing them, while Lin Shen wondered if it wanted company.

Lin Shen and Ouyang Yudu asked the Thinker how to leave the Undersea Ancient City, and it challenged them to prove whether it was alive or dead. As the Thinker compared human emotions, bodies, reproduction, and mistakes to machine mechanisms and software errors, neither man found a convincing answer.

• Lin Shen and Ouyang Yudu asked the Thinker how they could leave the ancient city alive.
• The Thinker said they could leave if they answered whether it was alive or dead.
• Ouyang Yudu argued that the Thinker’s emotions proved it was alive, but the Thinker questioned whether emotions were merely programmed responses.
• Lin Shen and Ouyang Yudu considered whether touch, memories, reproduction, or mistakes could distinguish living beings from intelligent machines.
• The Thinker suggested that human life might be a flawed program, with illness and death resulting from errors, leaving both men dumbstruck.

Lin Shen and Ouyang Yudu escaped the collapsing ancient city after Thinker sent them away and gave Lin Shen coordinates to World King Prison City. They reunited with Wei Wufu, survived the Sea Trench’s violent currents, and then spotted Fuleila approaching.

• Lin Shen tried to persuade Thinker to upgrade his supposed machine body, but Thinker said he could not help and told him to find an answer to his question and return to World King Prison City.
• Thinker sent Lin Shen and Ouyang Yudu out of the ancient city and entered the city’s coordinates into Lin Shen’s World King Teleporter.
• Lin Shen found Wei Wufu clinging to a chain as the ancient city slid into the Sea Trench, and Ouyang Yudu rescued him.
• The falling city and Coral Turtle corpse created powerful currents that nearly swept Lin Shen, Ouyang Yudu, and Wei Wufu into the trench before they escaped to the surface.
• Ouyang Yudu asked whether Thinker had truly influenced Lin Shen, and Lin Shen admitted that some of his claims had been sincere.
• Lin Shen, Ouyang Yudu, and Wei Wufu saw three figures flying toward them and recognized Fuleila.

Lin Shen tried to buy time by negotiating with Fuleila, then arranged for Wei Wufu to stall a Di Man Race warrior. Wei Wufu unexpectedly destroyed Ge Erji’s life base with one punch, and Tide stepped in to face him.

• Fuleila found Lin Shen, Ouyang Yudu, and Wei Wufu near the Flame Sea, and Lin Shen proposed that they cooperate to search for something more valuable than the Crimson Flame Starburst Dragon.
• Fuleila allowed Ge Erji to fight the humans, and Lin Shen quietly asked Wei Wufu to stall him for as long as possible.
• Ge Erji summoned his eighth-transformation metallic bear life base and attacked Wei Wufu, who met its strike with a punch after activating his innate skills.
• Wei Wufu’s punch blew apart the giant bear’s head and life base, severely injuring Ge Erji and leaving Wei Wufu surprised by the result.
• Tide called the Celestial Race’s methods shameless, ordered Ge Erji to withdraw, and flew out to confront Wei Wufu.

After Wei Wufu crippled Ge Erji, Ouyang Yudu stepped in to buy Lin Shen time but defeated Tide when the Nine Turns Hell Glutton was absorbed by his Jade Bone Demon Umbrella. Tide's life foundation shattered, and Ouyang's umbrella advanced to the peak of Five Revolutions, leaving Fuleila as the remaining threat.

• Wei Wufu apologized to Lin Shen for crippling Ge Erji, and Ouyang Yudu took his place to stall Tide.
• Tide sent his Nine Turns Hell Glutton to envelop and crush Ouyang Yudu's Jade Bone Demon Umbrella.
• The closed umbrella absorbed the Hell Glutton's spirit, drained its power, and shattered it into fragments.
• Tide spat blood and told Fuleila that the humans had set him up, still expecting her to defeat them.
• Ouyang Yudu reclaimed his umbrella, which had advanced to the peak of Five Revolutions.