Recaps

Jiang Xiaoling and Painted Skin Mister realized White Cloud City had been prepared for an attack, while Painted Skin feared the mysterious man who had entered the city and refused to help rescue Jiang Xiaoling’s family. Outside the city, Chen Qing’s forces found their assault blocked by an East Sea Barrier, and Chen Qing stepped forward to deal with it.

• Painted Skin Mister explained that the Southern Barbarians’ curfew suggested their commander had predicted an attack, and he argued that Jiangnan was likely targeting White Cloud City because of Jiang Xiaoling.
• Painted Skin Mister revealed that a mysterious man had entered the city and that Youyun Jellyfish were helping him hide; he then refused to risk rescuing Jiang Xiaoling’s mother and elder sisters.
• A sudden blast shook White Cloud City, and a colorful East Sea Barrier filled the sky above it.
• Tian Heng’s spell-powered cannons failed to breach White Cloud City’s defenses, while Ao Zhen recognized the formation and warned that a prolonged fight would strain their forces as the Underworld battle continued.
• Chen Qing sighed and offered to handle the East Sea Barrier, surprising Tian Heng and Ao Zhen.

Chen Qing unleashed the West Sea Dragon Palace’s Divine Wind Grand Formation and shattered the East Sea barrier protecting White Cloud City. He then empowered the West Sea Army to storm the city, while the King of Qin wondered how Chen Qing had wielded the formation.

• Chen Qing advanced toward White Cloud City as Ao Zhen and Tian Heng watched to see whether he could break the East Sea barrier.
• Chen Qing activated the Divine Wind Grand Formation, summoning a torrent of wind that cracked the ground and the barrier.
• Chen Qing concentrated the wind on his fingertip and popped the barrier, astonishing Ao Zhen, Tian Heng, Mr. Origami, and the King of Qin.
• The King of Qin speculated that Chen Qing might have possessed someone with the West Sea Dragon King’s bloodline, but could not explain the power he had witnessed.
• Chen Qing ordered the army to storm the city, and the West Sea soldiers surged forward with azure light in their eyes.
• The West Sea Army swept through the Southern Barbarian soldiers by the gates as Ao Zhen recognized the forceful advance from the Dragon Palace’s past campaigns.

Jiangnan’s army attacked White Cloud City, where Southern Barbarian soldiers trusted their Ghost Mother’s protection and newly enhanced strength. Chen Qing shattered the city’s barrier, and the Jiangnan troops advanced through the defenders’ arrows as Tian Heng realized they were following Chen Qing instead of his commands.

• Southern Barbarian soldiers on White Cloud City’s wall boasted about their new strength and prepared to defend against Jiangnan’s army.
• Jiangnan’s weapon blasted the battlements, but the city’s barrier protected the defenders until Chen Qing shattered it with one finger.
• The Southern Barbarian general ordered his soldiers to fire poisoned arrows, but the Jiangnan troops continued advancing in formation without slowing.
• The defenders recognized they had little chance of victory, and their general begged his lord to intervene.
• Tian Heng watched Chen Qing lead the soldiers onto the battlements and realized his trained elites obeyed Chen Qing over him.

Chen Qing used the power of faith to stir the West Sea Army into a frenzy, leaving Tian Heng fearful of losing control of his soldiers. As Chen Qing’s heavily armored forces overwhelmed the Southern Barbarian defenders, the King of Qin and Mr. Origami watched and considered how to seize his strength.

• Tian Heng realized Chen Qing had influenced the West Sea soldiers and worried that Chen Qing could control him as well.
• Chen Qing sensed Tian Heng’s fear and reflected that Divine Path Lords could influence followers through their faith and emotions.
• Chen Qing’s armored West Sea Army broke through the city defenses and slaughtered the Southern Barbarian soldiers on the walls.
• Mr. Origami and the King of Qin were shocked by the army’s strength, while the King of Qin said they would know more once they seized it.
• The King of Qin looked toward a group of transparent objects hidden behind them.

Chen Qing and Ao Zhen reached White Cloud City and followed Painted Skin Mister’s scent, while Painted Skin Mister realized Chen Qing was tracking him. He admitted he feared the person behind Chen Qing, leaving the identity of that person unresolved.

• Chen Qing and Ao Zhen crossed White Cloud City, and Chen Qing questioned what trap his opponent could have prepared.
• Chen Qing found the filthy alley Ziyue had described and reasoned that the summons targeting his companions had somehow excluded him.
• Chen Qing recognized Painted Skin Mister’s scent and followed it, while Ao Zhen watched him use the Dragon Breath Spell.
• Painted Skin Mister warned Jiang Xiaoling that they were being tracked and explained that he had more than a thousand informants in the city.
• Painted Skin Mister complained that Chen Qing had followed their trail and told Jiang Xiaoling that he feared the one behind Chen Qing.

Chen Qing tracked Jiang Xiaoling after Painted Skin Mister abandoned him, then questioned the boy about the Correctors and the Divine Path Style. Jiang Xiaoling asked Chen Qing for his real-world name and was shocked when he answered, “Pu Yunchuan.”

• Painted Skin Mister escaped inside a transparent jellyfish, leaving Jiang Xiaoling to flee on his own.
• Chen Qing followed Jiang Xiaoling’s scent to a residence, where the boy stood beneath the flayed bodies of his father and servants.
• Jiang Xiaoling called Chen Qing a Corrector and asked why Painted Skin Mister feared him.
• Chen Qing explained that his group had suffered conflicts and memory loss, while Jiang Xiaoling questioned how Chen Qing knew about the Divine Path Style.
• Jiang Xiaoling asked Chen Qing to recall his real-world name, and Chen Qing answered “Pu Yunchuan,” leaving the boy stunned.

Chen Qing was seized by an East Sea Youyun Jellyfish and dragged into a hidden underground network beneath White Cloud City, while the King of Qin abducted Jiang Xiaoling. The King of Qin revealed that he was Number One and that Pu Yunchuan shared his reincarnated body, carrying the only item that could contact the higher-ups.

• An East Sea Youyun Jellyfish emerged from underground, paralyzed Chen Qing, and dragged him into a vast subterranean construction beneath White Cloud City.
• Ao Zhen pursued Chen Qing through the underground passages after recognizing the creature as a Youyun Jellyfish.
• The King of Qin identified Jiang Xiaoling as Corrector Forty-One and took him away using the East Sea’s Water Release Technique.
• The King of Qin explained that he had built underground cities as a safeguard while sealing the divine statues and that underground waterways let him bring East Sea water to White Cloud City.
• The King of Qin revealed that he was Number One, that two souls had reincarnated into one body, and that the contact item was on Pu Yunchuan.

In a barren world maintained by robots, Excavator No. 175904 received an unexpected invitation to Data City and was summoned to meet Officer Wu Xiaoli. There, he learned that the red mark above his head meant the Federation had selected him as cannon fodder for an attempt to conquer the Demon World.

• Excavator No. 175904 received an invitation to Data City, and Old Zhang warned him that the summons might bring trouble.
• Excavator No. 175904 arrived in Data City and resisted a woman’s invitation to visit the red-light district so he could report as ordered.
• Excavator No. 175904 saw Zhang Keyun flying on a sword and learned from a blond man that high-level adventurers could live for thousands of years.
• The AI directed Excavator No. 175904 to his designated location, and a red light appeared above his head.
• The blond man said the Federation was marking people as cannon fodder to conquer the Demon World, Pu Yunchuan’s hardest world.

Major General Wu Xiaoli reported that the five existing virtual worlds could no longer support the growing digital population, while a summoned excavator learned how the Federation had built its digital society and restricted ordinary workers’ leisure. The chapter ended with a soldier calling the excavator a descendant of the designers, leaving him confused about his origins.

• Major General Wu Xiaoli told the five regions’ leaders that their worlds were overcrowded and new data zones were urgently needed.
• The chapter recounted how the apocalypse drove humanity online, and how virtual entertainment worlds were created to prevent unrest among digital workers and appease technical elites.
• The system explained the history of digital civilization to Excavator No. 175904, who realized ordinary laborers were deliberately kept overworked and restricted from Data City.
• A burly man in military uniform praised the excavator’s stable genes and called him one of the designers’ descendants.
• Excavator No. 175904 questioned how he could have descendants when he believed new generations were synthesized from genes.

Wu Xiaoli presented the Demon World as a vast game world whose reincarnation system could ease overcrowding, extend digital lifespans, and satisfy the powerful. A Central China legislator questioned its safety, and Wu Xiaoli admitted it was currently safe, though the project’s ability to let people leave the game world remained a concern.

• Wu Xiaoli explained that the Demon World could hold tens of billions of people and that its reincarnation system helped prevent digital Alzheimer’s disease.
• The chapter described how limited game-world capacity and high costs for residency and reproduction had caused resentment among professionals, while powerful residents sought worlds with higher ceilings and longer lives.
• Wu Xiaoli argued that conquering the Demon World could provide room for ten billion players and let them experience repeated lives while retaining their core personalities.
• A legislator from Central China asked whether the Demon World was safe, and Wu Xiaoli replied that it was safe at present.
• The chapter revealed that conservative opponents feared the Demon World because people inside it could come out.

A soldier explained why the Demon World was considered dangerously powerful yet too valuable for the Federation to abandon, while the young miner wondered what any of it had to do with him. At an assembly, Wu Xiaoli revealed that Central China had sent the game’s developers into it twenty years earlier, leaving the representatives stunned.

• A uniformed soldier told the young miner that game characters and their powers could manifest in Data City, and warned that demons from the Demon World could become strong enough to destroy the world.
• The soldier explained that the Federation kept funding the Demon World because its reincarnation system might make eternal life possible.
• Wu Xiaoli explained to the assembly that powerful original players resisted newcomers, while later arrivals often defected, making the Demon World difficult to control.
• A Northern Europe Region representative questioned how Central China had obtained the genes of the game’s deceased designers.
• Wu Xiaoli revealed that Central China had sent the first batch of developers into the game twenty years earlier.

Wu Xiaoli negotiated the Federation’s involvement in the Demon World project and told Jiang Xiaoling that he would train before entering the game. She revealed that his ancestor was the game’s chief designer, Jiang Cheng.

• Council members condemned Central China for secretly researching the project, but they agreed that other regions could earn extra entry slots through significant contributions.
• Wu Xiaoli explained that Central China would select three descendants of the developers and required other regions to supply energy to send their own people into the game.
• The regions accepted Central China’s energy terms after hours of negotiations, while Wu Xiaoli left to meet Jiang Xiaoling.
• Wu Xiaoli told Jiang Xiaoling he would undergo a year of military and mission training because powerful data entities threatened to break through the game interface.
• Jiang Xiaoling asked who his ancestor was, and Wu Xiaoli identified him as Jiang Cheng, one of the game’s two chief designers.

As the King of Qin escaped White Cloud City with Jiang Xiaoling, he revealed that a traitor in Data City had sabotaged the Correctors’ mission twenty years earlier. Wu Xiaoli realized someone may have secretly sent extra people into the game, and feared the Demon World might already have infiltrated Data City.

• The King of Qin carried Jiang Xiaoling out of White Cloud City and warned him that Chen Qing could not be stopped by the shutdown code.
• Jiang Xiaoling learned that Data City had implanted disintegration codes in its Correctors and that he was expected to investigate the missing group from twenty years earlier.
• The King of Qin said he had erased the first batch’s memories after a traitor derailed their nearly completed mission.
• The King of Qin told Jiang Xiaoling and Wu Xiaoli that more than the planned seventy-six Correctors had entered the game, suggesting someone in Data City had added infiltrators.
• Wu Xiaoli reconsidered the King of Qin’s account and feared that the Demon World had already infiltrated Data City.

Chen Qing realized the King of Qin had used the Youyun Jellyfish to draw him away from Jiang Xiaoling, but Ao Zhen rescued him before he could be taken farther. Chen Qing deduced that the King of Qin had fled through the lake toward the East Sea and pursued him, while Jiang Xiaoling remained uneasy about going with the King of Qin.

• Chen Qing recognized that the Youyun Jellyfish were meant to drag him away while the King of Qin took Jiang Xiaoling.
• Ao Zhen killed the jellyfish holding Chen Qing and rescued him after clearing the others from the area.
• Chen Qing reasoned that the lake beneath White Cloud City connected to the East Sea and realized the King of Qin might have chosen the water route.
• Chen Qing jumped into the lake, and Ao Zhen followed after asking whether he suspected the King of Qin had gone by water.
• The King of Qin explained to Jiang Xiaoling that the jellyfish had been a diversion and that they were heading for the East Sea, while Jiang Xiaoling felt uneasy about his safety.

The King of Qin and Jiang Xiaoling discussed Pu Yunchuan’s unexpected arrival, his possible connection to powerful elites, and whether they could cooperate with him. In Data City, Wu Xiaoli heard that releasing Pu Yunchuan might allow them to alter his disintegration program, but the chapter ended with an aged voice asking whether that was technically feasible.

• The King of Qin learned that Pu Yunchuan had broken the lake’s formations and warned Jiang Xiaoling that he was nearly as powerful as a Dragon King.
• The King of Qin suspected that powerful elites had concealed Pu Yunchuan’s data upload and brought him into the game, possibly with his memories cut down.
• Jiang Xiaoling asked why the King of Qin opposed Pu Yunchuan, and the King of Qin worried that a hidden disintegration program could control him.
• Wu Xiaoli asked a technical officer how they could remove Pu Yunchuan’s disintegration program, and he offered investigating the powerful figure behind it or letting Pu Yunchuan out as the two options.
• Wu Xiaoli and the other officers balked at releasing Pu Yunchuan until an aged voice asked whether it was technically feasible.

Elder Zhang approved an attempt to recruit Chen Qing and connect him to Data City so his Disintegration Program could be removed. The King of Qin rejected the plan and went to wait in the East Sea, while the authorities continued to regard him as under control.

• A technician told Elder Zhang and Wu Xiaoli that opening a reverse passage was feasible but carried serious risks, and Elder Zhang argued that Chen Qing could help them defeat the ancient beings.
• Jiang Xiaoling told the King of Qin that his orders were to approach Chen Qing, assess the danger, and potentially bring him to Data City to remove his Disintegration Program.
• The King of Qin condemned the plan, refused to accompany Jiang Xiaoling, and chose to wait in the East Sea in case trouble arose.
• The King of Qin said he had forgotten his own name, then vanished as a powerful figure resembling Number One approached.
• Wu Xiaoli reported that Number One opposed the plan but remained on standby, and Elder Zhang ordered that he stay on the normal list while they continued observing him.

Chen Qing met Jiang Xiaoling at the East Sea after failing to catch the King of Qin, while the King of Qin revealed his plans to Mr. Origami. Chen Qing returned to find Jiangnan’s campaign in Southeast Commandery succeeding, but he had learned a troubling truth.

• Chen Qing found Jiang Xiaoling waiting at the entrance to the East Sea and agreed to take him out so he could explain what happened.
• The King of Qin met Mr. Origami and said they had temporarily avoided their ticking time bomb, then planned to wait until they identified the government’s hidden monitor.
• The King of Qin and Mr. Origami discussed whether Heavenly Secrets or Five Poisons was the government’s spy and why the King of Qin believed Chen Qing would join his plan.
• Tian Heng’s forces captured five commanderies in two days, bringing all of Southeast Commandery close to falling under Jiangnan’s control.
• Chen Qing returned from the East Sea unable to celebrate the military victories because he had learned a truth.

After learning that his world and its inhabitants might be artificial, Chen Qing shut himself away and questioned whether his life and feelings were real. Ao Zhen’s faith in him helped him move forward, and he returned to Jiang Xiaoling demanding the full story of the Corrector Plan.

• Chen Qing spent two days and nights isolated, questioning his identity and the reality of the people around him.
• Ao Zhen reassured Chen Qing that she still believed in him, and he regained his resolve to continue.
• Jiang Xiaoling reported that Tian’s legion had captured four southeastern cities in two days while Chen Qing was absent.
• Elder Zhang ordered Wu Xiaoli to win Chen Qing’s cooperation and keep information about him from the four great families.
• Chen Qing met Jiang Xiaoling and demanded to know everything about the Corrector Plan.

After learning that he had died long ago and that the Federation wanted his help reclaiming the Demon World, Chen Qing questioned its motives and negotiated for guarantees. The Federation revealed its Disintegration Program, leaving Chen Qing concerned that whoever sent him into the world might still be able to destroy him.

• Jiang Xiaoling explained the history of the data world, and Chen Qing learned that he had died and been absent from its history for many years.
• Jiang Xiaoling explained that Chen Qing was an anomaly: the Federation had no genetic records for him, and the Corrector Plan had sent in multiple batches over time.
• Chen Qing asked what the Federation wanted, and Jiang Xiaoling offered energy and technical support in exchange for helping the Federation establish a foothold in the Demon World.
• Chen Qing challenged the Federation to guarantee his interests before he helped it fight the ancient players and unlock the Primordial Version.
• After Chen Qing asked what contingency kept new Correctors under control, Jiang Xiaoling disclosed the Disintegration Program.
• Chen Qing pointed out that the Federation had no Disintegration Program for him, but warned that the person who sent him in might still have one and asked the Federation to remove it.

Chen Qing weighed whether to return to the real world and focused on verifying the alleged disintegration program before the Federation could control him. Meanwhile, Elder Zhang and Wu Xiaoli planned to recruit him by demanding access to Jiangnan Academy, though Jiang Xiaoling questioned whether Chen Qing would agree.

• Chen Qing reconsidered the Federation's offer to send him back, realizing that his old world might be gone while his life and responsibilities remained in this one.
• Chen Qing suspected that someone had secretly placed him in the Corrector Plan and resolved to investigate the disintegration program in his body.
• Wu Xiaoli and the technical expert discussed controlling Chen Qing with a disintegration program, while Elder Zhang ordered experiments to prepare a transmission channel that could send him back if needed.
• Elder Zhang proposed asking Chen Qing for resources and sending Federation personnel to Jiangnan Academy instead of placing troops under the Principal God's control.
• Wu Xiaoli recognized that Federation engineers could study the Dragon Palace legacy at Jiangnan Academy, but Jiang Xiaoling doubted Chen Qing would let outsiders enter his power base.

Jiang Xiaoling brought his traumatized mother and sister toward Jiangnan, where he hoped to rebuild their lives under Chen Qing’s protection. Meanwhile, southeast landowners fled by selling their fields to the King of Qin, whose growing power made their future return uncertain.

• Chen Qing sent Jiang Xiaoling back to Jiangnan with two Yaksha generals while he went to the front to oversee the campaign.
• Jiang Xiaoling comforted his mother and fed his older sister aboard a riverboat, promising that Jiangnan would offer them safety and a fresh start.
• Jiang Xiaoling explained that wealthy households were allowed to flee because Chen Qing wanted them to exchange their land for safety in Jiangnan.
• A wealthy landowner questioned why his family had sold all their fields, but his father argued that the King of Qin’s offer was generous and warned against expecting to reclaim their old status later.

Jiang Xiaoling met Old Tian at Jiangnan Academy and agreed to consider a match between his sister and the Tian Household’s grandson. As the Tian family hurried away, Mr. Heavenly Secrets appeared, and Jiang Xiaoling recognized him as Number Three.

• Tian Yannian found his father at Jiangnan Academy, where Old Tian searched for a promising business opportunity and spotted Jiang Xiaoling.
• Jiang Xiaoling told Old Tian he had received advance admission to the academy, prompting Tian Yannian to ask about his betrothal prospects.
• Old Tian proposed that his twelve-year-old grandson marry Jiang Xiaoling’s sister, and Jiang Xiaoling accepted the idea pending further discussion.
• Jiang Xiaoling reflected that the Tian Household could accept his sister’s circumstances and help her move on from her painful past.
• Mr. Heavenly Secrets approached Jiang Xiaoling, who recognized him as Number Three.

Jiang Xiaoling learned that Heavenly Secrets was Number Three, who had cut contact with the Federation twenty years earlier. Heavenly Secrets warned that if the Federation sent many Correctors into this world, humans and demons would go to war.

• Jiang Xiaoling stopped himself from reporting Number Three after Heavenly Secrets urged him to think before acting.
• Jiang Xiaoling asked why Number Three had cut contact, and Heavenly Secrets said the King of Qin's defeat had taught him that humans and demons could not coexist.
• Heavenly Secrets explained that people in this world would reject Correctors as demons if they learned their identities, despite the bonds they formed with them.
• Heavenly Secrets urged Jiang Xiaoling not to let the Federation send its people into this world, warning that it would lead to war and mass slaughter.

Heavenly Secrets tried to persuade Jiang Xiaoling to reconsider the Federation’s plan, while the King of Qin believed Chen Qing’s homeland could not survive the coming invasion. Back home, Jiang Xiaoling saw how much his family had settled into Jiangnan and began to hope that Chen Qing’s conquest might let him reunite with his dead father.

• The King of Qin told Mr. Origami that Heavenly Secrets could not stop the Federation’s invasion and was following Chen Qing out of naive hope for a human homeland.
• Heavenly Secrets urged Jiang Xiaoling to consider what would happen if Chen Qing were controlled, then disappeared and left Jiang Xiaoling conflicted.
• Jiang Xiaoling returned to his family in Jiangnan and saw that his mother and sister had grown happier in their new home.
• Jiang Xiaoling told his mother that Old Master Tian Hesong wanted his direct-line grandson to marry his sister, and his mother agreed to discuss the match if the Tian Household accepted her past.
• Jiang Xiaoling wondered whether Chen Qing’s conquest of Southeast Commandery could bring the Underworld there and give his family a chance to reunite with his father.

Jiangnan’s leaders debated the strategic importance of Tiannan Pass as their forces suffered heavy losses trying to capture it. Tian Heng and Chen Qing remained determined to take the pass, despite the Southern Barbarians’ strong defenses and the presence of an expert.

• Shen Shiyi praised two yaksha generals after they slaughtered tens of thousands of evil ghosts, while Murong Bingyun reflected on their strength and loyalty to Shen Shiyi.
• The judge warned Shen Shiyi that Jiangnan’s forces had been stalled at Tiannan Pass for four days and could not sustain the losses much longer.
• Wei Gongcheng explained that taking Tiannan Pass was essential to protect Jiangnan’s southeastern rear and that abandoning the campaign would waste its sacrifices.
• Tian Heng and Chen Qing examined the heavily defended pass and concluded that an expert was helping the Southern Barbarians resist their attacks.
• Chen Qing and Tian Heng resolved that Tiannan Pass had to be taken, despite the mounting losses and risk to Jiangnan’s morale.