Chapter Summaries

Xu Xiao arrived in the world of Limitless to find NZT-48 and used mental control to work his way into New York’s power structure. He secured a chance to attend a ball with the mayor and influential business figures, setting up his next moves.

• Xu Xiao arrived in New York and decided to use his Telekinesis and mental control to seize influence rather than search for NZT-48 himself.
• Xu Xiao controlled Officer Bosi and had him take him to the police chief, whom he then controlled and ordered to identify powerful American families.
• The police chief listed major families but could not provide details about their hidden leaders, so Xu Xiao asked him to arrange a meeting with the mayor.
• Xu Xiao had the police chief take him to the New York City police commissioner and controlled the commissioner within two hours.
• The commissioner secured Xu Xiao an invitation to a ball that evening, where the mayor, senior officials, and business figures would be present.

Xu Xiao used mental control to turn Mayor Adams and the guests at a private Long Island gathering into his followers. He ordered them to help him seize power in America, find Eddie Morra, and obtain Aiven Pharmaceuticals and NZT-48.

• Commissioner Smith escorted Xu Xiao into the gathering and began introducing him to its political and business figures.
• Xu Xiao mentally controlled Mayor Adams, who bowed and kissed his shoe, then killed a guest who shouted at him.
• Xu Xiao sealed the banquet hall and used Telekinesis to make every guest kneel in worship.
• Xu Xiao ordered the guests to help him take control of America's ruling class within a week, find Eddie Morra, acquire Aiven Pharmaceuticals, and bring him NZT-48.
• Xu Xiao reflected that power determined who ruled and who suffered.

Eddie Morra was taken from his apartment by a wealthy man and bodyguards, while the police helped escort them to Xu Xiao. He arrived at Xu Xiao’s estate and watched him perform a display of supernatural power before Xu Xiao approached.

• Eddie woke from mental fatigue and prepared to take his manuscript to a publisher.
• A middle-aged man and three bodyguards broke into Eddie’s apartment and said an important person wanted to see him.
• Eddie went with them, and Chief Modi’s police officers cleared the way instead of rescuing him.
• The group drove Eddie to Xu Xiao’s estate, where he watched Xu Xiao train and display supernatural abilities.

Xu Xiao bought Eddie Morra’s loyalty with lavish gifts and tasked him with improving NZT-48. After reviewing the drug’s limits and failed research efforts, Xu Xiao planned to use Eddie and scientists across America to develop it before his remaining 150 days were over.

• Xu Xiao met Eddie Morra and reassured him that he had brought him there with something good.
• Eddie opened suitcases filled with cash, luxury goods, and property deeds, then pledged himself to Xu Xiao.
• Xu Xiao gave Eddie NZT-48 and asked him to keep taking it while working to improve the drug, and Eddie agreed.
• Xu Xiao reviewed NZT-48’s effects and Aiven Pharmaceuticals’ failed attempts to eliminate its severe side effects.
• Xu Xiao planned to enlist scientists across America and use any means necessary to develop a better version of NZT-48.

After taking NZT-48, Xu Xiao injected Dr. Thor’s enhancement serum and observed it unlock more of his DNA’s potential, transforming his body and strengthening his Innate Qi. He discovered that the process had also revealed a new way to use mental power, and began assessing his expanded abilities.

• Xu Xiao used NZT-48 to heighten his brain activity and concluded that its effects would let him closely observe his body’s changes.
• Xu Xiao injected Dr. Thor’s enhancement serum to unlock his DNA’s potential.
• The serum transformed Xu Xiao’s cells and body, while his crystal cores supplied Spiritual Energy and the resulting changes further strengthened his Innate Qi.
• Xu Xiao found that his physical strength had risen to the level of lifting five to seven tons and estimated that more than sixty percent of his DNA sequence was unlocked.
• Xu Xiao created a flame directly with mental power, realizing that abilities could affect the real world without relying on Telekinesis, though doing so consumed more energy.

Xu Xiao resolved to combine the strengths of many worlds and methods, while prioritizing safe growth before entering dangerous realms. A month later, the USBM laboratory had gathered scientists to improve NZT-48, and Xu Xiao relied on his control over America and Eddie’s status as a protagonist as research continued.

• Xu Xiao decided to strengthen his mental power and body while avoiding dangerous worlds until he was stronger.
• Xu Xiao concluded that he would draw on many systems of cultivation and science to forge a path of his own and transcend worlds.
• The United America Biotech Matrix was established with government and consortium backing, recruiting talented scientists with generous benefits and access to NZT-48.
• Scientists who took NZT-48 worked to improve it or eliminate its severe side effects, while Xu Xiao expected their combined efforts to produce a breakthrough.
• Xu Xiao maintained control over America’s leaders and financial masters and looked to Eddie, a world protagonist, for the favor of fate.

Eddie Morra's team developed an improved NZT-48, and Xu Xiao reviewed the promising test data before visiting a human test subject. Xu Xiao judged the drug successful after the subject calmly challenged the legality of the experiment, then touched the subject's forehead.

• Eddie led his team in synthesizing and testing a newly refined version of NZT-48.
• Xu Xiao learned that Eddie's drug had stable effects, few observed side effects, and was expected to last more than thirty hours.
• Eddie excitedly told Xu Xiao about the drug, and Xu Xiao examined the development report and pharmacological data.
• Xu Xiao visited a restrained Black test subject, who calmly protested that the experiment violated his rights.
• Xu Xiao told Eddie he believed the drug was successful, then placed a finger between the test subject's eyebrows.

Xu Xiao arrived in Taipei to obtain CPH4 and its synthesis formula, using his mental power to locate Lucy and the gang’s delivery. He took the briefcase from Richard and led Lucy into a hotel, leaving her under his influence.

• Xu Xiao scanned Taipei with his Divine Sense while explaining that he had come to collect CPH4 and learn how the gang synthesized it.
• Xu Xiao located Lucy and Richard arguing over a sealed briefcase outside a hotel.
• Xu Xiao descended from the sky, took the briefcase from Richard, and killed him with his mental power.
• Xu Xiao calmed Lucy, influenced her to follow him, and took her into the Regent Taipei hotel to gather information.

Xu Xiao interrogated Mr. Jang about CPH4, collected blood and spinal fluid samples from Lucy, and used his influence in Taipei to locate the drug cook and obtain the formula. He left the drug cook and Lucy under the control of Taipei's higher-ups so he could find them again.

• Xu Xiao forced Mr. Jang to reveal that a drug cook in Taipei had accidentally synthesized CPH4, then made Jang and his gangsters jump out of the hotel window.
• Xu Xiao asked Lucy for blood and spinal fluid samples, and she agreed after he reassured her.
• Xu Xiao took Lucy to the police station and used his control over Taipei's higher-ups to launch a search for the drug cook.
• Taipei's higher-ups found the drug cook in an abandoned factory, and Xu Xiao obtained the CPH4 formula and proportions through threats and inducements.
• Xu Xiao arranged for Taipei's higher-ups to keep watch over the drug cook and Lucy before leaving.

Xu Xiao tested how time passed between the main world and his anchor worlds and learned that time paused in other anchor worlds while he was away, complicating his plans to manage them. Realizing his lifespan and strength were still limited, he weighed possible worlds to visit for longevity and narrowed his options to Anaconda and Twin Dragons of the Great Tang.

• Xu Xiao returned to his manor in San Francisco and noticed that only seventeen minutes had passed there during his travels through other worlds.
• Xu Xiao tested the passage of time and determined that time paused in other anchor worlds while he was in one, while time in the main world slowed to roughly one-third speed.
• Xu Xiao assessed his aging and estimated that his lifespan would reach around two hundred years, making longevity his most urgent goal.
• Xu Xiao considered several worlds and rejected most because their dangers, uncertain supernatural forces, or limited benefits outweighed the rewards.
• Xu Xiao settled on Anaconda and Twin Dragons of the Great Tang as his likely destinations, but recognized that his insufficient strength still constrained his choices.

Xu Xiao arrived in the Borneo Rainforest, where he found abundant Spiritual Energy, the Blood Orchids, and the giant pythons they had helped create. He secured the flowers and prepared to test an enhancement serum on three surviving snakes, while Doctor Strange remained a threat in another world.

• Xu Xiao sensed the rainforest’s Spiritual Energy and followed signs of human activity to the town where scientists were seeking a guide to the Blood Orchids.
• Xu Xiao used mental control to make the scientists reveal the orchids’ estimated location and then killed them, while making the townspeople sabotage future seekers.
• Xu Xiao found the Blood Orchids guarded by dozens of giant pythons and altered the snakes’ instincts so they fought one another.
• Xu Xiao examined and collected Blood Orchids, noting that their substance resembled an ingredient in the Spider-Man enhancement serum and might unlock a creature’s DNA Gene Lock.
• Xu Xiao kept the three surviving snakes as test subjects and guards, then brought out the emerald-green serum to test their potential.

Xu Xiao encountered Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling on their way to Yangzhou and offered to teach them martial arts. He threatened them with his power and promised fame and a cure for Xu Ziling's blindness, leaving the brothers to decide whether to accept his conditions.

• Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling discussed seeking Shi Long as a master and finding a way to cure Xu Ziling's blindness.
• Xu Xiao suddenly appeared on the road and recognized the two youths as the protagonists.
• Kou Zhong asked Xu Xiao to teach them martial arts, while Xu Ziling warned that the offer might be a trick.
• Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling knelt to become Xu Xiao's disciples, but hesitated when he demanded control over their lives and actions.
• Xu Xiao promised they could become unrivaled and cure Xu Ziling's blindness, then blasted a crater into the ground to pressure them for an answer.

Xu Xiao made Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling his disciples and taught them Carefree Wind Riding, then took them to Yangzhou at supersonic speed. After helping them recover from the flight, he led them toward a guesthouse to attend to business.

• Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling kowtowed to Xu Xiao, who accepted them as disciples and imprinted Carefree Wind Riding’s introductory method in their minds.
• Xu Xiao named himself the Heavenly Venerable Savior, making the Twin Dragons suspect they had joined an evil cult.
• Xu Xiao carried Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling through the air toward Yangzhou, flying so fast that they became terrified.
• After arriving in Yangzhou, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling vomited, and Xu Xiao used Spiritual Power to help them recover.
• Xu Xiao told the Twin Dragons to follow him to a nearby guesthouse because it was time to get down to business.

Xu Xiao entered the Li Clan's residence with Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling and confronted Li Xiuning, revealing that he intended to make the Li Family obey him. Li Xiuning heard his demand, leaving their meeting on the brink of conflict.

• Xu Xiao reflected that the Sui dynasty's aristocratic clans were waiting for Yang Guang's True Dragon Qi to fade before rebelling.
• Xu Xiao brought Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling into the Li Clan's residence, where they found Li Xiuning playing the zither.
• Xu Xiao's mental interference hid their arrival until he spoke to Li Xiuning and summoned tables and chairs with Qi.
• Li Xiuning suspected Xu Xiao was a powerful Grandmaster and questioned him about his identity and purpose.
• Xu Xiao told Li Xiuning that he wanted the Li Family to follow his orders and end the chaos under heaven.

Xu Xiao tried to force Li Xiuning and the Li Family of Guanzhong to submit, then demonstrated his power by destroying their Black Armor Black Cavalry. Li Xiuning remained defiant as Xu Xiao took her back to the Li Clan residence and said he would speak with her father, Li Yuan, later.

• Li Xiuning rejected Xu Xiao's demand that the Li Family of Guanzhong obey him.
• Xu Xiao used his power to draw Li Xiuning toward him, held her, and threatened to wipe out her family.
• Xu Xiao carried Li Xiuning into the air and tore apart much of the Li Clan residence as Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling watched.
• Xu Xiao discovered the Black Armor Black Cavalry's location and destroyed their estate with flying wood, killing all five hundred riders.
• Li Xiuning called Xu Xiao a madman and refused to submit, so he took her back to the Li Clan residence and said he would visit Li Yuan later.

Yuwen Huaji learned that Shi Long might possess the Secret of Longevity and headed for his dojo, while Xu Xiao arrived there with Li Xiuning and the Twin Dragons. Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong privately considered turning against Xu Xiao, who overheard them and remained unconcerned about their loyalty.

• Yuwen Huaji learned that Shi Long was suspected of cultivating the Secret of Longevity and ordered his cavalry to go to Shi Long's Dojo.
• Xu Xiao arrived at Shi Long's Dojo with Li Xiuning, Xu Ziling, and Kou Zhong.
• Xu Ziling told Kou Zhong that he wanted to stop following Xu Xiao because of how he had treated the Li Family and Li Xiuning.
• Kou Zhong urged Xu Ziling to stay with Xu Xiao until they had learned more martial arts, fearing the consequences of leaving.
• Xu Xiao overheard the brothers and decided their loyalty did not matter, since he planned to use their protagonist's luck and eventually give them Carefree Wind Riding.

Xu Xiao examined Shi Long's Secret of Longevity, killed him when he refused to cooperate, and used Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling to reveal the writing hidden on the golden silk armor. The chapter left Xu Xiao memorizing the secret as its characters and patterns appeared in the air.

• Xu Xiao pinned Shi Long to the ground, took the golden silk armor, and demanded that he reveal the Secret of Longevity.
• After Shi Long resisted and his Longevity True Qi dissolved the Life and Death Talisman, Xu Xiao examined the energy in his body and discovered the secret's Innate Qi and yin-yang attributes.
• Xu Xiao killed Shi Long, then told the silent Li Xiuning that her family could retain power if she obeyed him.
• Xu Xiao summoned Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling and had them hold the golden silk armor while he infused Spiritual Power through their bodies.
• The armor projected characters and patterns into the air, and Xu Xiao swallowed a transparent pill to memorize them.

Xu Xiao shared the Secret of Longevity with the Twin Dragons and warned them against defying him. At Shi Long's Dojo, he subdued Fu Junzhuo after she attacked him and restrained her when approaching soldiers drew near.

• Xu Xiao memorized the Secret of Longevity, then explained it to the Twin Dragons and urged them to combine it with Carefree Wind Riding.
• Xu Xiao warned the Twin Dragons that he would keep them under control, and they professed their loyalty.
• Xu Xiao sensed a guest and went to the mountain gate, where he encountered Fu Junzhuo arriving to seek Shi Long's help opening Duke Yang's Treasury.
• Fu Junzhuo drew her sword and attacked Xu Xiao, who used Telekinesis to pin her and disarm her.
• Xu Xiao groped Fu Junzhuo, released her, then stopped her renewed attack by tapping her acupoints and told her to behave as soldiers approached.

Xu Xiao captured Yuwen Huaji and killed his cavalry before demanding that the Yuwen Family serve him. Yuwen Huaji agreed to guide Xu Xiao to Chang'an, and Xu Xiao carried the group into the sky to depart.

• Yuwen Huaji arrived at Shi Long's Dojo and questioned Xu Xiao about Li Xiuning and the others.
• Xu Xiao pulled Yuwen Huaji from his horse and forced him to kneel, then killed the mounted cavalry with a gesture.
• Yuwen Huaji apologized, but Xu Xiao demanded that the Yuwen Family become his dog and threatened to destroy the clan if he refused.
• Xu Xiao said he was going to Chang'an and ordered Yuwen Huaji to guide him there.
• Xu Xiao lifted the group into the air and told Yuwen Huaji to point the way.

After Xu Xiao subdued Yuwen Shang, the Yuwen Family welcomed him in Chang'an and agreed to help him build an army using the wealth of Duke Yang's Treasury. Xu Xiao also ordered them to locate Cihang Jingzhai and asked about True Dragon Qi, learning that Yang Guang had inherited it from Yang Jian.

• Yuwen Shang and the Yuwen clansmen held a feast for Xu Xiao after accepting his authority.
• Xu Xiao ordered the Yuwen Family to gather troops and retrieve Duke Yang's Treasury so they could recruit soldiers and prepare to conquer the realm.
• Xu Xiao asked about Cihang Jingzhai, and Yuwen Shang promised to investigate; Xu Xiao gave him two days and warned him not to alert the sect.
• Xu Xiao asked Yuwen Shang about True Dragon Qi, and Yuwen Shang explained that Northern Zhou had never produced it while the realm remained divided.
• Yuwen Shang said Yang Jian gained True Dragon Qi after unifying the realm and passed it to Yang Guang.