Chapter Summaries

Qin Ze reached the Forest Clan’s defensive position, met General Huan, and learned that increasingly frequent beast attacks had left the clan unable to build an Outpost City. General Huan revealed that the Sage had recently said, “War never changes,” just as a fairy reported another monster attack.

• A forest fairy carried Qin Ze to the Forest Clan’s defensive position, where he saw tree spirits and fairies working together to build and supply its defenses.
• Qin Ze exchanged information with Brother Devour, who described organized exotic-beast barriers guarded by powerful beasts and said he was scouting them underground.
• Qin Ze met General Huan in the command area and advised him to establish an Outpost City, but General Huan explained that frequent attacks left the Forest Clan no time to build one.
• General Huan told Qin Ze that the Sage had recently said, “War never changes,” and a fairy arrived to announce that the monsters had returned.

Qin Ze and General Huan watched an unusually coordinated beast tide batter the Forest Clan’s green Great Walls. The beasts withdrew before reaching the final defense, and Qin Ze concluded that their attacks were probing the position for weaknesses.

• General Huan ordered the fairies to withdraw from the front and the reserves to assemble as the beast tide approached.
• Qin Ze and General Huan saw the Tree Bearers form green Great Walls, which the beasts broke through one after another at heavy cost to the defenders.
• Qin Ze noticed the beasts attacking in coordinated teams, with feints, reserves, and healers supporting the assault.
• General Huan ordered the reserves to prepare after the second-to-last Great Wall fell, but Qin Ze predicted the beasts would retreat.
• The beast tide withdrew in echelons, leaving tens of thousands of corpses behind, and Qin Ze told General Huan that the attack had been probing their defenses.

Qin Ze learned that a high-level beast was directing the tide and decided to help the Forest Clan defend its city for the sake of its life-giving tree fruits. As the Circus discussed the possibility of a Strange God among the attackers, Light-Speed Fairy arrived with news that General Huan had heard something about Sage.

• Qin Ze told General Huan that a high-level beast was commanding the tide and said he would hunt it during the next attack while the Forest Clan focused on surviving.
• General Huan thanked Qin Ze and promised the Forest Clan would provide him with tree fruits free of charge.
• Qin Ze explained that the beasts had retreated to avoid heavy casualties while gathering strength and learning the defenders’ positions.
• Qin Ze discovered that tree spirits could survive severe wounds as long as the branch on their heads remained intact.
• Qin Ze and the Circus suspected a Strange God might be directing the beasts, and Brother Devour reported sensing one at a gap in the barrier.
• Light-Speed Fairy told Qin Ze that General Huan was looking for him with news of Sage.

Qin Ze discovered the king-level exotic beast commanding the horde and fought it while the Forest Clan struggled to defend its walls. The beast proved far stronger than a normal king-level opponent, and Qin Ze realized something was wrong with it.

• General Huan told Qin Ze that nearly five hundred thousand exotic beasts were gathering around the Sage's Mark, and Qin Ze chose to defend the Forest Clan before seeking the Sage.
• Brother Devour reported that the beasts were gathering near the outermost barrier, so Qin Ze sent him to rest at the Sea of Glaze and considered moving its people to the Illusion Race world if necessary.
• The beast tide attacked with flying beasts for the first time, and Qin Ze traced the enemy's mental connections to a king-level exotic beast directing the horde.
• Qin Ze ignited most of the flying beasts with Blazing Sun Fire, then attacked the king-level beast as the Forest Clan's defenses held behind him.
• The king-level beast resisted Qin Ze's sword, physical attacks, and mental assaults with unusual strength and recovery, leading Qin Ze to suspect that something was wrong with it.

Qin Ze fought a king-tier exotic beast whose mental power kept growing, and he switched from a mental duel to fire, lightning, and sword attacks. Just as he pinned the wounded beast down to take its Soul Orb, an overwhelming mental force pinned him in place.

• Qin Ze’s mental-power clash with the king-tier exotic beast nearly shattered his Tree of Mind, so he abandoned the duel and blasted the beast with Supernova Explosion, Blazing Sun Fire, lightning, and Plague Pollen.
• Qin Ze and Miss Sword Case wounded the beast with the Five Elements Flying Swords and a rocket headbutt, but its mental attack made his finishing sword strike go astray.
• Qin Ze spotted three-colored starlight inside the beast’s wounds and realized a Strange God had blessed it, while Brother Devour suggested its innate ability involved mental power.
• Qin Ze pinned the weakened beast to the ground with his greatsword and prepared to cut it in half, but a mental force stronger than the Spirit of Eternal Life immobilized him.

Qin Ze uncovered that the King-Level beast’s power came from deception, defeated it, and helped break the beast tide. As the beasts retreated and the defenders celebrated, Qin Ze sensed a strange smell from the direction they had fled.

• Qin Ze realized the King-Level beast had deceived him into believing its mental power could stack without limit and had tricked its allies with false promises of growing strength.
• Qin Ze identified the beast’s innate ability as Deception and overwhelmed it with his mental power.
• Qin Ze killed the King-Level beast with the Blood Killing Technique and took its black Soul Orb.
• Qin Ze used his Domains to slaughter the weakened beasts as their formations collapsed.
• The beast tide retreated, and the fairies and General Huan celebrated their victory.
• Qin Ze looked toward the retreating beasts and caught a faint, sickening smell.

After helping the Forest Clan repel the beast tide, Qin Ze claimed Soul Orbs and tree fruits as payment and used a King-Level Soul Orb to raise a clone to Level Eight. The new Heavenly King, Sophist, learned his ability and was assigned to preach the Circus’s radiance across the Abyss.

• Qin Ze collected the Forest Clan’s gratitude, ordered General Huan to gather all the Soul Orbs and two thousand tree fruits, and rested in the command post.
• Qin Ze gave the King-Level Soul Orb to his Level Seven clone, who absorbed it and advanced to Level Eight.
• Qin Ze learned that the Soul Orb granted abilities his opponents believed he possessed, and the clone chose the codename Sophist.
• After the other clones mocked Sophist’s name, Qin Ze appointed him to preach to the myriad races of the Abyss and spread the Circus’s radiance.

Qin Ze prepared Honest Man to spread Pretty God’s influence, then used a Red Shell to travel to Outpost City in the Sea of Glaze. He arrived before the city’s gathered people, who welcomed the troupe leader’s return as the Chaos Egg still hung overhead.

• Qin Ze told Honest Man to travel through the Abyss as Pretty God’s Preacher, assuring him that he had arranged everything.
• Brother Devour reached the Sea of Glaze and agreed to stay in Outpost City with Captain.
• General Huan gave Qin Ze nearly a hundred thousand Soul Orbs and five thousand tree fruits, and Qin Ze ordered the room kept clear.
• Qin Ze used a Red Shell to travel to Outpost City, where Captain introduced Brother Devour to the queen as a veteran who had slain a Strange God.
• The queen pledged the Sea of Glaze’s loyalty to the troupe leader as blood-colored spatial ripples spread over Outpost City.
• Qin Ze emerged from the ripples wearing a black-and-white mask and carrying a Sword Case.

Qin Ze returned to Outpost City and rallied its people before meeting with the Circus leaders to outline a plan for forming a Myriad Races Allied Army. He proposed defeating the Strange God within the Chaos Egg as the Circus’s first decisive victory, leaving the group poised to begin the campaign.

• Qin Ze appeared over Outpost City, healed the afflicted with his divine might, and inspired the people to swear they would never yield.
• The queen stayed in Outpost City to remain closer to Qin Ze, while Giant Overlord instructed the adjutant to report any changes in the Chaos Egg.
• Qin Ze reunited with the Captain, Giant Overlord, Brother Devour, and the others in the Captain’s suite, and thanked Giant Overlord for guarding the city.
• Qin Ze announced that he wanted to form a Myriad Races Allied Army and explained that the Circus needed to spread its name throughout the Abyss.
• Qin Ze described using influential survivors and their allies to persuade the various civilizations to join the effort.
• Qin Ze proposed defeating the Strange God in the Chaos Egg as the Circus’s opening victory and proof of its strength.

Qin Ze assigned the Sea of Glaze’s defenders and his allies their roles in preparing a Myriad Races Allied Army, while planning to use the campaign to spread his faith and buy time to grow stronger. The group prepared for the Chaos Egg to hatch, and Qin Ze planned to seek help from the Star God Sage afterward.

• Qin Ze explained that he wanted the allied army to unite the Abyss’s civilizations, delay the Strange Gods, and help him gather Power of Faith.
• Qin Ze assigned Brother Devour to assemble the army, Captain to remain in the Sea of Glaze, and Giant Overlord and Honest Man to escort Sophist on a mission to spread the faith and search for the last metal-attribute flying sword.
• Qin Ze gave Sophist and Honest Man Soul Orbs and tree fruits for their preparations, then directed Captain to prioritize Soul Orbs for Brother Devour’s growth.
• Brother Devour asked how they could defeat the Strange God in the Chaos Egg, and Qin Ze said he would try to reach the Peak of Level Nine and seek cooperation from the Star God Sage.
• Qin Ze left to check on Steel Melter and retrieve the cowhide divine artifact.

Qin Ze oversaw preparations for the Myriad Races Allied Army as recruitment for its First Army began across Outpost City. He secured Molten Steel’s support and went with Zhu Tie to retrieve two Demigod Artifacts from the great furnace.

• Qin Ze saw Brother Devour’s recruitment posters and watched the city’s martial artists rush to join the First Army for a chance to fight alongside the Troupe Leader and earn tree fruits.
• Zhu Tie reported that Molten Steel’s patriarch had sent two more great furnaces and ten Level Nine Martial Artists to support the allied army.
• Qin Ze told Zhu Tie to forge standard-issue combat armor and Martial Artifacts for the First Army, and said Heavenly King Devouring would coordinate with him.
• Qin Ze asked for the two Demigod Artifacts Zhu Tie had forged, and Zhu Tie led him to the great furnace where they were kept.

Qin Ze collected two dark-rule demigod artifacts from the Steel Melters and prepared to equip Honest Man and Giant Overlord. He then visited the queen in Outpost City, assigned her to help form the First Legion, and left her ready to follow his plans.

• Qin Ze collected a defensive breastplate and an offensive armguard from Zhu Tie, who warned that their dark attribute rule differed from the familiar version.
• Qin Ze recalled the reversed dark attribute rule and decided to give the breastplate to Honest Man and the armguard to Giant Overlord.
• Qin Ze praised Zhu Tie before leaving to visit the queen in Outpost City.
• The queen ordered the conscription of martial artists above level three and asked Gwenni to oversee the process.
• Qin Ze told the queen that the First Legion would draw mainly from the Sea of Glaze and Molten Steel, with a target of thirty thousand recruits.
• Qin Ze named Heavenly King Devouring the Circus's representative in the queen's territory, then departed.

Qin Ze visited the Illusion Race’s settlement and discovered that its director had fused the spirits of fifty members into a growing slime resembling the Spirit of Eternal Life. He ordered the project stopped and challenged the director to consider whether such a powerful being would remain obedient.

• Qin Ze found the Illusion Race settlement by the lake and gathered several spirit-body cultivators to help with his plans.
• The director of the Dream Management Department told Qin Ze he had prepared a surprise and led him to a pale-blue slime.
• The director explained that he had fused parts of fifty Illusion Race members’ spirits, creating a slime that was developing its own mind.
• The director asked Qin Ze to have the Sea of Glaze and Steel Melter provide more Spirit so the slime could grow stronger.
• Qin Ze ordered the project to end and asked whether a godlike being with its own mind would still obey the director.

Qin Ze warned the Illusion Race department head that the Spirit of Eternal Life could become uncontrollable, then left him to pursue the project under strict conditions. After the Heavenly Kings broke through and received their assignments, Qin Ze teleported away to continue handling the allied forces' affairs.

• Qin Ze warned the department head that the Spirit of Eternal Life could threaten the Illusion Race, and told him not to feed it any more spirits until he could make it obey orders.
• Qin Ze toured the Illusion Race's world, selected old fellows to bring along, and returned to Outpost City while leaving assistants behind for the department head.
• Brother Devour, Giant Overlord, Honest Man, and Captain successfully broke through, and Qin Ze inspected their new levels and abilities.
• Qin Ze gave Honest Man a breastplate and Giant Overlord an armguard, then checked on the scattered Heavenly Kings and learned that Magician was lost with a broken communication card.
• Qin Ze assigned Brother Devour to form the First Legion with Captain's help, ordered Captain to monitor the Spirit of Eternal Life project, and teleported away in the Red Shell.

Qin Ze contacted Second Sister and arranged for her and Yan Miao to join him in the Forest Clan, then searched for signs of Sage's fight with the Strange God. He found no battlefield and was about to return when Miss Sword Case spotted something at the mountain's foot.

• Qin Ze used the Blazing Sun Crest to contact Second Sister and invited her and Yan Miao to the Forest Clan to help with his plan to save the Abyss.
• Second Sister and Yan Miao set off for the Forest Clan after learning they could not return to the Blazing Sun Clan for a hundred years.
• General Huan told Qin Ze that the exotic beasts had scattered and that a flash of white light and the Sage's Mark had appeared behind the mountains.
• Qin Ze searched the mountains for signs of Sage and the Strange God but found only a small group of exotic beasts, which he wiped out.
• Miss Sword Case explained that gods could fight through quiet contests of wit, and then told Qin Ze to look at the foot of the mountain.

Qin Ze entered a hidden spatial domain where the Strange God and Sage were battling, and found that their power could twist the world and suppress his Source of God. A tiny eye warned him not to use his Source of God and spoke to him, leaving Qin Ze facing the gulf between mortals and true gods.

• Qin Ze discovered a faint line encircling the mountains and sensed that it marked a separate spatial dimension.
• With Miss Sword Case’s advice, Qin Ze used the dark attribute rule to lift the line like a sheet, revealing a colorless world drawn in lines.
• Qin Ze entered the domain and began searching for the Strange God and Sage, but a burst of light triggered a violent upheaval that suppressed his Source of God.
• A huge eye appeared in the sky and calmed the world, restoring Qin Ze’s Source of God.
• A tiny eye appeared on Qin Ze’s shoulder and warned him not to use his Source of God, then expressed surprise that he had entered.

Qin Ze spoke with the weakened Sage, who explained that he was battling a Strange God hidden in deeper dimensions and asked Qin Ze to find Him. After Sage vanished, Qin Ze set out to search the Domain but discovered that he could not fly and struggled to locate its boundary.

• Qin Ze recognized the eye in the sky as Sage and learned that a Strange God had trapped him in a dimensional Domain.
• Sage explained that he and the Strange God were hiding from each other, and that the first to find the other could destroy them.
• Qin Ze agreed to help Sage locate the Strange God by traveling deeper into the dimensions and staying alive.
• Sage warned Qin Ze not to activate the Source of God before finding the Strange God, then vanished as the Domain began to twist again.
• Qin Ze found that he could not fly and began searching on foot for the pencil line marking the world's boundary.

Qin Ze searched through successive layers of the world for the boundary line while Sage’s protection weakened and the Strange God discovered his presence. He reached the twelfth layer with the Heart of the Gods, but the distortion left him disoriented and asking where he was.

• Qin Ze used the Reversed Dark Attribute Rule to reveal and peel back successive layers, searching each one for the boundary line and the Strange God.
• Qin Ze endured mounting distortions to his spiritual sea of consciousness as he advanced, adapting with help from Sage’s eye and the Tree of Mind.
• Sage’s eye vanished after warning Qin Ze that the Strange God had discovered him, and Sage promised to attack continuously to draw the enemy’s attention.
• Brother Devour warned Qin Ze not to activate the Source of God because the Strange God had not pinpointed his location, so Qin Ze used the Heart of the Gods instead.
• Qin Ze forced his way through the ninth, tenth, eleventh, and twelfth layers as Miss Sword Case went dormant, then looked around and asked, “Where am I?”

Qin Ze woke at Haidu Academy during his graduation assessment, confused by voices urging him to climb a mountain and convinced that something was wrong. The assessment began with his team facing an F-rank exotic beast, and Huai Xu was killed by its acid attack.

• Golden Divine Markings spread across Qin Ze's chest until Lu Tongtong's voice brought him back to his senses.
• Lu Tongtong led Qin Ze to the stadium, where Huai Xu and Wen Jing were waiting for their graduation assessment.
• Qin Ze joined his team in the arena and struggled with strange voices urging him to climb a mountain.
• An F-rank exotic beast charged Qin Ze and knocked him down with a headbutt.
• Huai Xu was hit by the beast's acid and melted, while Qin Ze's vision reddened with anger.

Qin Ze nearly succumbed to the Strange God's authority, which trapped him in an illusion where a C-rank exotic beast slaughtered his teammates. Captain's mental shock restored his clarity, and Qin Ze pressed on toward the world line at the mountaintop, finally grasping it.

• Wen Jing identified the exotic beast as at least C-rank as the assessment department sealed the training grounds and left the professional team trapped inside.
• Wen Jing attacked the beast to save Qin Ze, but the beast killed him and swallowed Lu Tongtong before capturing Qin Ze.
• Qin Ze's collapsing Spiritual Sea of Consciousness made him believe he was a Level Two Martial Artist facing the beast, until Captain's mental shock shattered the illusion.
• Qin Ze thanked Captain and refused to share the Strange God's authority across the Circus, fearing it would destroy everyone.
• Captain logged off to visit the Illusion Race, while Qin Ze fought through renewed attacks on his consciousness and reached out to grasp the world line.