Chapter Summaries

Divine Land devastated Java Country with a massive artillery barrage, disabling its military, infrastructure, and communications before sending troops to occupy its cities. The troops established safe zones for Divine Land citizens and crushed resistance from Java Country’s security forces and targeted residents.

• Divine Land’s artillery split into targeted strikes and destroyed Java Country’s military bases, airports, warehouses, factories, and water and power facilities.
• Shells detonated above urban areas, triggering EMP attacks that cut communications and electrical equipment across Java Country.
• After the live broadcast ended, troops deployed from the aerospace carrier to seize major cities, protect Divine Land citizens, and suppress resistance.
• The troops destroyed roads leading out of the cities and gathered nearby Divine Land citizens in designated safe zones.
• Java Country’s security personnel resisted with limited weapons, but cultivator troops quickly defeated them with spells.

Divine Land rapidly conquered Java Country, captured its leaders, and defended its invasion at an emergency United Nations meeting by citing historical claims over Southeast Asia and other regions. The meeting ended with the representatives stunned and attention turning toward the country that had supposedly set this precedent.

• Divine Land's ground forces swept through Java Country's major cities, crushing resistance and leaving weapons for local people of Divine Land descent.
• Cultivators flushed Java Country's leaders out of their underground shelter and captured the prime minister, who protested that the invasion was illegal.
• The United Nations convened an emergency meeting, where Eagle Country and other Western representatives condemned Divine Land's war.
• Divine Land's representative challenged Eagle Country over its war in the Middle East and mocked the claim that it was a peacekeeping operation.
• Divine Land presented historical maps and documents to claim Southeast Asia and several other regions as its territory, leaving representatives speechless and blaming a certain country for provoking the situation.

At a United Nations meeting, countries tied their votes on whether to sanction Divine Land, while its representative left without waiting for the result. Aboard the aerospace carrier, the commander-in-chief forced Java Country’s captured prime minister to agree to issue a self-condemnation edict and ban customs that suppressed Divine Land people.

• The Divine Land representative rejected the squid’s objection, and the United Nations voted on sanctions against Divine Land.
• About a third of the countries abstained, the remaining votes ended in a tie, and the Divine Land representative left the meeting.
• The captured prime minister of Java Country was taken aboard the aerospace carrier while other senior officials remained locked up in Java.
• The commander-in-chief showed the prime minister his assets and had a building destroyed to pressure him into cooperating.
• The prime minister agreed to issue a self-condemnation edict through Java Country’s official channels and ban local customs that suppressed Divine Land people.

The Divine Land commander forced Java Country’s prime minister to face a prepared confession while showing him a public judgment of his corrupt subordinate. The subordinate was beaten to death by citizens, leaving the prime minister convinced that Java’s ruling system had collapsed and that captivity was his safest option.

• The Divine Land commander gave Java Country’s prime minister a confession listing his crimes and those of senior officials, but the prime minister refused to read it aloud.
• The commander showed the prime minister a square where Divine Land troops had gathered local residents and brought the prime minister’s fat subordinate onto a stage.
• A speaker read out the subordinate’s crimes and evidence, then the Divine Land troops invited the residents to judge him.
• After several groups hesitated, one resident attacked the bound subordinate, and the crowd joined in until the soldiers intervened after beating him to death.
• The prime minister realized Java’s governing system might have collapsed and feared that citizens would kill him if he were released.

The prime minister of Java Country offered to incorporate Java into the Divine Land in exchange for his life. After a referendum approved the agreement, the Divine Land took over Java and established its first enclave.

• The prime minister of Java Country offered to draft an agreement incorporating Java into the Divine Land so the aerospace carrier commander would spare him.
• The commander reported the proposal, and the Divine Land approved it as a way to justify taking control of Java.
• The Divine Land held a referendum in Java, and the incorporation agreement passed with 80 percent approval.
• The Divine Land sent an administrative team to Java and completed the transfer of authority from the military.
• The Divine Land changed the king's banner atop the city walls and acquired its first enclave.

After Divine Land annexed Java, nearby countries panicked as Eagle Country withdrew its troops and world powers condemned the expansion. Moon Country surrendered and joined Divine Land, which then began purging its drug trade and the officials tied to it.

• Eagle Country and European countries condemned Divine Land's annexation of Java, while nearby small countries feared they might be next.
• Eagle Country withdrew troops from its bases in the region, leaving its allies more anxious.
• Moon Country formally surrendered to Divine Land, hoping to escape its instability and the consequences of its scam and drug industries.
• Divine Land accepted Moon Country into its territory and launched a cleanup, destroying drug-related operations and purging officials connected to them.
• Moon Country's surrender accelerated changes to Earth Star's world order.

As Li Xingkong studied spatial knowledge, Divine Land's campaign accelerated global consolidation as neighboring countries joined it and other powers expanded in response. He returned to find the world transformed and planned to use a nuclear reactor to supply the energy needed to forge his first spatial bag.

• After Moon Country joined Divine Land, nearby countries including Luzon and Southern Ming applied to join, while other major powers moved to expand their own influence.
• Eagle Country began absorbing neighboring small countries, while Russia and Europe faced obstacles to expansion and pursued other political alliances.
• Li Xingkong returned from studying spatial knowledge and discovered that Earth Star's countries had rapidly merged or formed alliances.
• Li Xingkong concluded that Divine Land's campaign had triggered the global changes and decided not to interfere because its leaders had not called for his help.
• Li Xingkong prepared to forge his first spatial bag and planned to borrow a Divine Land nuclear reactor to provide the energy his Magic Power could not supply.

Li Xingkong borrowed Liaodong’s nuclear power plant to supply the energy needed to refine a space bag linked to a spatial beacon. After three days of calculating the beacon’s true coordinates, he opened the spatial tunnel, and space began to bulge around the beacon.

• Old Tang lent Li Xingkong the Divine Land’s largest nuclear power plant in Liaodong.
• Li Xingkong modified the plant’s circuits and refined an energy collection device.
• Li Xingkong made a small space bag and chose a coin as its spatial beacon.
• Li Xingkong spent three days and nights calculating the bag’s and beacon’s true spatial coordinates.
• Li Xingkong used nuclear energy and his Magic Power to open a tunnel, causing space around the beacon to swell like a blister.

Li Xingkong tested the space bag and confirmed that it could transport objects, living creatures, and energy through its spatial beacon. After seeing energy pass through, he considered using the device as his external core.

• Li Xingkong used his Divine Sense to send a table through the beacon and confirmed that it emerged intact from the space bag.
• He tested the space bag with a goose, moving it through the beacon and confirming that it remained alive and unharmed.
• Li Xingkong tested the space bag with his own hand and considered using spatial gates to move people over long distances or escape danger.
• He placed the beacon a kilometer from the nuclear power plant and directed an energy collector's beam into the space bag.
• Li Xingkong observed energy erupt from the beacon and realized the device could serve as his external core.

Li Xingkong showed Old Tang the Space Bag he had made and explained that he wanted to use it to draw power from a nuclear plant as an External Core. Since the Divine Land’s existing plants could not be spared, he asked Old Tang for help obtaining a new one.

• Li Xingkong realized that a Spatial Beacon and Space Bag could connect him to a nuclear power plant and provide an immense external source of magic power.
• He took the finished Space Bag and beacon home, then tested the bag by storing various objects as he flew toward the Earthly Capital.
• Li Xingkong met Old Tang and demonstrated the Space Bag by storing and retrieving a sofa.
• Li Xingkong told Old Tang that he wanted help building a new nuclear power plant to serve as his External Core.
• Old Tang agreed to consider the request and recognized the chance to secure Li Xingkong’s goodwill for the Divine Land.

Li Xingkong explained that the space bag functioned as a portal linked to a beacon, and Old Tang recognized its potential for military deployment and energy transmission. The chapter ended with Li Xingkong explaining that the portal’s effective spatial distance did not depend on how far apart its endpoints were in reality.

• Li Xingkong demonstrated the space bag to Old Tang, who inspected its connection to Li Xingkong's bedroom and realized it could be used for secret troop deployments.
• Old Tang recalled how cultivators had defeated ordinary forces in three military exercises, and considered using spatial teleportation to capture enemy leaders and force negotiations.
• Li Xingkong proposed connecting the space bag to a nuclear reactor so it could transmit energy and serve as a cultivator's external core.
• Old Tang agreed to arrange construction of a large nuclear power plant and asked whether the portal had a distance limit.
• Li Xingkong explained the portal's fixed spatial relationship by folding a sheet of paper so its two distant points overlapped.

Old Tang and Li Xingkong discussed building a nuclear power plant on the moon and the limits of refining space bags, then reviewed Divine Land’s plans for integrating new territories and responding to nearby countries. Old Tang said conflict in Chao Country and political upheaval in Ryukyu were expected soon, while countries in the Middle East and Africa sought to join Divine Land.

• Old Tang proposed building a nuclear power plant on the moon, and Li Xingkong agreed that it was a suitable location.
• Li Xingkong explained that refining space bags required enormous energy and could not be mass-produced, though he could make a few more for Divine Land.
• Old Tang said Divine Land would delay spreading cultivation and Spiritual Qi through its newly incorporated territories until decades of integration had passed.
• Old Tang explained that Divine Land would leave Stick Country for Chao Country to confront, and said fighting there would begin within days.
• Old Tang said Ryukyu was divided between surrender advocates and diehards, but expected its internal conflict to bring a change soon.
• Old Tang told Li Xingkong that Middle Eastern and African countries had repeatedly asked to join Divine Land.

Li Xingkong refined new spatial equipment as the world’s countries formed blocs, but India’s invasion of Nepal brought Divine Land to the brink of war. Divine Land’s vanguard cut off Indian troops looting border towns and sent cultivator infantry in to fight.

• Li Xingkong refined a small metal sphere for an External Core and a large ring-shaped teleportation device for moving troops.
• Countries across Earth Star formed blocs, while Chao Country took over Stick Country and faced internal turmoil.
• India, having failed to attract allies, sent troops into Nepal without informing Divine Land.
• Divine Land mobilized its aerospace carrier, military regions, cultivators, and new firepower to defend Nepal.
• Divine Land’s vanguard found Indian troops looting border towns, blocked their escape with heavy firepower, and sent cultivator infantry into the towns.

Divine Land destroyed India's invading army in Nepal and advanced toward India's capital, while the battle set off a wave of escalating wars across Eurasia. Divine Land's forces reached the capital after two days, with many Indian soldiers surrendering or joining them.

• Divine Land wiped out the Indian army in Nepal and continued advancing toward India's capital.
• News of the battle reignited fighting in Central Asia and triggered conflicts across Eurasia.
• Russia launched a massive bombardment of Ukraine Country, drawing the European Union into the conflict.
• Eagle Country encouraged smaller countries' battles while expecting to profit from the wider war.
• Divine Land used laser-based air defenses to counter Indian aircraft and drones.
• After two days of fighting and advances, Divine Land's troops reached India's capital, backed by more surrendered Indian soldiers than remained in resistance.

Divine Land handed control of conquered India to Ji Nanzhi, using Old Ox’s religious authority to secure the country’s rapid submission. As the world war spread, Divine Land began evacuating its citizens from overseas, disrupting the war efforts and local economies of other countries.

• Divine Land gave India to Ji Nanzhi, who became its effective ruler while Old Ox was made pope.
• Old Ox’s televised speech persuaded India’s remaining provinces to surrender, and Divine Land conquered the country in less than a week.
• Divine Land recognized that the world war could no longer be contained and waited for an opportunity to expand its gains.
• Divine Land began evacuating overseas citizens and prospective citizens from war zones.
• Other countries protested as the evacuations removed large parts of their populations and left some regions short of workers and traders.

After the Divine Land brought overseas Chinese home but delayed their access to cultivation, a missile strike on a Ukrainian nuclear power plant triggered Russia to launch nuclear weapons at Europe. Ukraine Country was devastated, and missiles continued toward other European nations.

• The Divine Land brought overseas Chinese home but required them to undergo lengthy assessments before they could cultivate.
• Many returning overseas Chinese regretted leaving their lives abroad and tried to use money and connections to obtain cultivation techniques.
• A missile launched by Ukraine Country struck a nuclear power plant after Russian troops captured the surrounding area, releasing radiation.
• Russia sounded emergency alarms and launched roughly a hundred nuclear missiles at Europe, including Ukraine Country.
• Ukraine Country failed to intercept most of the missiles, and multiple nuclear explosions devastated its cities.
• Nuclear missiles continued toward other countries across Europe.

Nuclear war escalated as European countries launched their weapons, sending missiles toward Russia, the Divine Land, and Eagle Country. The Divine Land’s Nation-Protecting Grand Formation intercepted the missiles aimed at it, but nuclear blasts devastated cities and disabled equipment elsewhere.

• Europe launched its nuclear weapons after Russia made its move, with missiles flying toward Russia, the Divine Land, and Eagle Country.
• The Divine Land activated the Nation-Protecting Grand Formation and prepared a backup air defense line.
• The formation calculated the incoming missiles’ trajectories and placed Magic Power interception blocks in their paths.
• More than ten nuclear missiles struck the blocks and detonated, blinding nearby cultivators and sending radiation and shock waves toward them.
• The formation flickered but remained intact, while missiles and midair nuclear blasts devastated other countries and damaged cities.

As Russia and Eagle Country unleashed nuclear attacks, Divine Land prepared to defend its coastal cities while avoiding a retaliatory strike that would poison territory it hoped to unify. After finishing his equipment, Li Xingkong joined the sea defenses and offered to intercept incoming missiles himself.

• Russia and Eagle Country launched nuclear strikes, while Divine Land chose not to retaliate and focused on intercepting missiles before they could devastate its coastal cities.
• Divine Land deployed multiple defensive lines over the sea, but its commanders could not guarantee that every nuclear missile would be stopped.
• Li Xingkong returned from the nuclear power plant, learned of the crisis, and flew toward the wartime headquarters aboard the aerospace carrier.
• Old Tang briefed Li Xingkong on the incoming missiles and sent him their tracked trajectories.
• Li Xingkong reached the front line and said he would clear out some of the incoming missiles to ease the pressure on Divine Land's defenses.

Li Xingkong intercepted the incoming missile barrage using his flying sword and Divine Sense. He left the aerospace carrier’s observers stunned by the scale of his power, while Old Tang confirmed that he was still at the Foundation Establishment Stage.

• Li Xingkong sent the Chasing Lightning Sword toward one group of missiles and flew in another direction to intercept the rest.
• Li Xingkong’s sword sliced through missiles without detonating them, while he destroyed the engines of others with his Divine Sense and sent them plunging into the sea.
• Old Tang and the others watched missile markers disappear from the monitoring map as Li Xingkong cleared the approaching barrage in three to five minutes.
• An observer asked Old Tang about Li Xingkong’s cultivation, and Old Tang said Li Xingkong had told him he was still at the Foundation Establishment Stage.
• The people in the conference room remained unsettled by the thought that someone at Foundation Establishment could wield such power.

After Li Xingkong intercepted the missiles, he returned to Divine Land’s aerospace carrier and demonstrated a military-grade spatial gate. The old general proposed using the gate to strike back by entering Eagle Country and capturing its president.

• Li Xingkong returned to the aerospace carrier after cutting down the incoming missiles and presented Old Tang with two linked spatial gates.
• Li Xingkong activated the gates, and the old general tested them by traveling between them before the others tried them out.
• The group discussed military uses for the spatial gates, and the old general argued that the war was not over despite the intercepted missiles.
• The old general proposed slipping into Eagle Country to capture its president and seize its nuclear button.