Recaps

After a mysterious fighter annihilated the four Federations’ special-class combatants, Kaidi argued that they had to surrender quickly. He suspected the fighter was a temporary power beyond the Central Federation’s control and identified him as Chen Qing.

• General David returned to the assembly hall and showed Kaidi footage of a mysterious fighter catching Sita'er and vaporizing him.
• David reported that the fighter had killed every special-class combatant, including the duchess and the Western Europe Region’s legendary wizard, while leaving the officers alive.
• Kaidi mocked the legislators’ plans to resist and said the four regions should surrender before the Central Federation overwhelmed them.
• Kaidi argued that the mysterious fighter’s power was temporary and that the Central Federation could not control him.
• Kaidi connected the fighter to the Central Federation’s recently announced Demon World project, and the legislators recognized him as Chen Qing.

Kaidi argued that Chen Qing had spared the Western commanders to keep the Central Federation’s ruling families from gaining unchecked power, and urged the lawmakers to surrender before Chen Qing killed more special-class fighters. The four major federations declared surrender just as the Central Federation’s troops prepared to counterattack, shocking people across the federations.

• Kaidi explained that Chen Qing was likely beyond the Central Federation’s control and had spared senior commanders to preserve a balance of power.
• Kaidi rejected the lawmakers’ idea of contacting Chen Qing and told them to declare surrender immediately, warning that resistance would cost them more special-class fighters.
• The four major federations issued declarations of surrender before the Central Federation’s assembled troops reached the enemy front lines.
• People across the federations reacted with disbelief that the armies had surrendered after less than half a day of fighting.

After the four Western federations surrendered, the Central Federation announced compensation for citizens and free access to Data City, then revealed that Chen Qing’s virtual world would open to everyone in three days. In a meeting, officials discussed negotiating energy reparations and accounting for wartime casualties, until Chen Qing requested entry.

• Citizens of the Central and Western federations exchanged threats and accusations online after the war, while the Central Federation promised compensation and seven days of free access to Data City.
• The Central Federation announced that Chen Qing’s new virtual world would open to every citizen in three days, sparking widespread excitement.
• Hou Tianhua and other senior officials discussed the Western federations’ surrender and Zhang Zhengyuan’s decision to remain in the new world.
• Hou Tianhua said the Central Federation should prioritize energy reparations in negotiations because Chen Qing would not help it annex the Western federations.
• The officials discussed compensation for casualties, including the deaths of the Hou Family heir and commander Wu Xiaoli, before learning that Chen Qing had requested entry to the conference room.

Chen Qing negotiated with Hou Tianhua and the Central Federation over the terms for access to his territory, agreeing to ten thousand memory-preserving slots under strict conditions. He then demanded to station someone in the Federation, prompting an immediate refusal.

• Chen Qing reminded Hou Tianhua that the four great federations had surrendered and demanded that the Central Federation honor their agreement.
• Chen Qing insisted that most entrants would have their memories erased, while the councilors argued for more special slots and greater autonomy.
• A general asked for ten thousand special slots, and Chen Qing agreed after the councilors accepted responsibility for managing the entrants.
• Chen Qing warned that anyone who exposed their identity would be publicly branded an external demon and imprisoned in the Underworld, beyond reincarnation, and Hou Tianhua accepted the condition.
• Chen Qing demanded permission to station someone in the Federation for support, and the councilors shouted that they would not allow it.

Chen Qing negotiated with the Central Federation, demanding that a trusted person remain behind to investigate his past and warning the councilors against cooperating with other players. The Federation accepted his conditions and prepared to send up to a hundred million people into the new world, whose full opening sparked a public uproar.

• Chen Qing rejected the councilors' refusal to let him leave someone behind and revealed that Wang Ye had already entered the meeting hall.
• Chen Qing warned Hou Tianhua and the councilors that beings from the Demon World could bypass their passage and security systems, prompting them to reconsider cooperating with other players.
• Chen Qing explained that Wang Ye would investigate his origins and the person who had sent him to this world, and Hou Tianhua promised the Federation's help.
• Chen Qing offered to let the Federation send roughly a hundred million people into the new world, and the councilors agreed to his conditions.
• The Central Federation announced the new world's full opening and its entry requirements, setting off an uproar across the Federation.

The Central Federation announced a new virtual world and outlined an immigration plan for its first hundred million residents. Chen Qing explained that admission would depend on social contributions and would be divided among four regions, including the dangerous Northern Wasteland.

• The Central Federation announced that its new virtual world could eventually accommodate several billion people and that the first immigration group would include one hundred million residents.
• Officials said applicants would be screened according to social contribution points and contribution medals, prompting ordinary people to worry that wealthy families and engineers would dominate selection.
• The livestream introduced Chen Qing as the new world's pioneer and the Federation's primary official partner.
• Chen Qing clarified that high contribution scores alone would not guarantee entry and warned that the developing world was dangerous.
• Chen Qing showed the four controlled regions: Jiangnan, the West Sea, the southeast, and the Northern Wasteland.

Chen Qing outlined four reincarnation destinations and revealed that the dangerous Northern Wasteland would offer rapid growth, privileged resources, and retained memories. He announced that one million people could reincarnate there, leaving Wang Ye, Heavenly Secrets, and Hou Tianhua astonished.

• Chen Qing described Jiangnan as the safest, best-resourced region, with limited slots and strict selection.
• Chen Qing explained that the southeastern region offered many places and military opportunities but faced disorder and external threats, while the West Sea offered abundant land and commercial prospects despite remote, harsh conditions.
• Chen Qing introduced the Northern Wasteland as a fiercely contested region where applicants faced extreme danger and high mortality.
• Hou Tianhua asked what benefit the Northern Wasteland offered, and Chen Qing promised rapid growth, the best families and inheritances, generous resources, and retained memories for everyone who went there.
• Chen Qing announced that one million people could enter the Northern Wasteland with their memories intact, and Wang Ye and Heavenly Secrets realized he had taken Northern Wolf City.

After the authorities announced a million places in the new world, engineers and great families weighed the risks of competing for them. Chen Qing prepared to return to Northern Wolf City after Ziyue’s unexpected success there, while Wang Ye chose to remain in Data City and asked why Chen Qing trusted him so much.

• The authorities announced the registration portal, prompting West China Region engineers to debate whether to seek scarce places in Jiangnan or safer ones in the West Sea.
• Hou Tianhua told allied families that the million places could let their descendants build an independent force, whether or not Chen Qing held the northern city.
• The family elders worried that sending core descendants or collateral branches could endanger their heirs and spark future internal conflict.
• Chen Qing told Wang Ye that Ziyue had stirred up Northern Wolf City, and he planned to return to investigate and support the city.
• Wang Ye chose to stay in Data City and asked Chen Qing whether he trusted him; Chen Qing asked why Wang Ye had trusted him back in Liuzhou.

Wang Ye told Chen Qing that he had once hoped to become human and agreed to help him uncover the person behind the hidden experiments. Chen Qing warned him that the King of Qin might recover if the command center were restarted, while A Li and Ziyue waited anxiously in Northern Wolf City for Chen Qing to return and face a terrifying entity.

• Wang Ye explained that he had spared Chen Qing during their crisis because he wanted to understand Reincarnators, and said he had once wanted to become human.
• Chen Qing told Wang Ye to stay and experience the people of this world, then asked him to help find the person who had concealed their genetic records.
• Chen Qing warned Wang Ye to watch the command center because the King of Qin might recover after shutdown, and Wang Ye agreed to help.
• Wang Ye asked whether the Duke of Song could enter using Flying Star, leaving Chen Qing speechless.
• In Northern Wolf City, A Li fretted over Chen Qing's absence while Ziyue warned her not to mention the entity tracking them.

Chen Qing returned and learned that Ziyue had captured Northern Wolf City with only a handful of people, though Wei Gongcheng did not know how she had done it or why she had borrowed Ghost Child. Chen Qing arranged reincarnation for his compatriots and planned to investigate Northern Wolf City, then heard that a group of foreign-looking souls were demanding their own Underworld.

• Wei Gongcheng told Chen Qing that Ziyue had called Ghost Child away and captured Northern Wolf City without the Underworld officials’ help or any known troop losses.
• Chen Qing decided to visit Northern Wolf City to find out how Ziyue had secured it and what part Ghost Child had played.
• Chen Qing told Wei Gongcheng to prepare for roughly a hundred million reincarnations, with only ten thousand retaining their memories and another million assigned to Northern Wolf City’s Underworld.
• Wei Gongcheng reported that a group of foreign-looking souls were protesting and demanding an exclusive Underworld for their so-called colorless race.

Chen Qing ordered Tian Heng to prepare the West Sea for mass migration and growing numbers of reincarnated souls, then sent him and Wei Gongcheng to deal with foreign refugees demanding their own Underworld. The refugees on Jasper Silk Island discovered that their people were a small, marginalized minority and that local laws favored the Central Plains settlers.

• Tian Heng told Chen Qing how he had led the West Sea Army through the Southeast Commandery, clearing demons and building the army’s reputation.
• Chen Qing said he needed to go north and ordered Tian Heng to recruit more soldiers for a large migration to the West Sea and the coming reincarnations.
• Chen Qing instructed Tian Heng to warn the foreigners that they must accept reincarnation or be expelled from the Underworld as wandering ghosts, with Wei Gongcheng overseeing the West Sea’s Underworld.
• The foreigners explored Jasper Silk Island and learned that fewer than ten thousand of their people remained there, compared with more than five hundred thousand Central Plains settlers.
• The foreigners observed that Central Plains settlers and the authorities treated their people unfairly, including harsher punishments for white men who assaulted Central Plains women than for Central Plains men who assaulted white women.

Tian Heng arrived to deal with the white newcomers who had protested their treatment in the Underworld and demanded their own territory. After punishing one woman for insulting Chen Qing, he heard David Smith propose dividing the Central Plains settlers and indigenous people to rule them.

• The white newcomers complained to the ghost officer about their low status and the punishments inflicted on their people.
• Tian Heng arrived, and the ghost officer described the newcomers as troublesome but unwilling to use force.
• Tian Heng warned the group not to address Chen Qing by name, then had a woman who insulted him thrown onto Yin-Yang Road to be fed to wild ghosts.
• Tian Heng asked why the newcomers wanted their own Underworld, and David Smith proposed dividing and ruling the Central Plains settlers and indigenous people.

Tian Heng proposed separating the island natives and white settlers into their own self-governing territory, and Chen Qing approved the plan. Chen Qing then reached North Sea City, where the heavy toll of his decisions made him realize he had become the kind of person who determined the fates of many.

• David urged Tian Heng to seek separate self-government for the islanders, and Tian Heng agreed to ask Chen Qing for approval.
• Chen Qing approved the proposal and sent his reply with a bluebird, leaving Tian Heng to choose a suitable island.
• Chen Qing and Shen Qi traveled north along the frozen ice road while Chen Qing warned that the hidden people ahead could be dangerous.
• Chen Qing and Shen Qi reached North Sea City after two days and were welcomed by Xu Hu and the wounded troops.
• Chen Qing reflected that nearly fifty thousand Fighter Army members had died in North Sea City because of his decision and realized he had become someone who chose the fates of others.

Chen Qing inspected North Sea City’s costly defense against burrowing giant pythons and learned how Ziyue had brought the Northern Wolf Kingdom under their authority. The chapter left him wondering how Ziyue and Nezha had enabled the quiet capture of North Sea City.

• Xu Hu told Chen Qing that attacks by giant pythons had caused heavy losses at North Sea City, while the Fighter Army avoided moving into Northern Wolf City to protect its civilians and keep the pythons from escalating their attacks.
• Chen Qing proposed controlling Earth Mothers to detect approaching pythons, but said the opportunity to do so had not yet arisen.
• Xu Hu explained that Ziyue had predicted the Northern Wolf Kingdom’s royal family would pledge allegiance, allowing its Underworld to be established and the kingdom to become their territory.
• Chen Qing asked how North Sea City had been taken without interference from the North Sea Underworld, and Xu Hu said the lack of resistance seemed connected to Nezha.

Chen Qing learned that Ziyue had stopped communicating after the northern campaign and suspected she was trapped or in danger, so he prepared to investigate while warning Shen Qi that he might face a death that prevented reincarnation. In Northern Wolf City, Ziyue and A Li argued over whether to release the tortured Murong Yunji, who was being kept alive by Ziyue’s power.

• Xu Hu told Chen Qing that Ziyue had persuaded him to attack the north to save its remaining survivors, and that Nezha had taken the Yin-Yang Road and kept evil ghosts out of the North Sea Underworld.
• Xu Hu said Ziyue had stopped responding after the campaign and that his scouts had vanished, prompting Chen Qing to suspect she could be controlled or unable to contact them safely.
• Chen Qing told Shen Qi to stay behind because the situation could be dangerous, but Shen Qi argued that his Thousand-Eye Technique would help protect Chen Qing during the investigation.
• Chen Qing warned Shen Qi that some powers could destroy living souls, making certain deaths permanent, and cautioned him not to come if the situation matched a dangerous possibility.
• In Northern Wolf City, A Li urged Ziyue to release a festering, nearly mad captive because she could reveal their location, but Ziyue said the Underworld could not save anyone from the monster pursuing them.
• Ziyue’s captive was revealed to be Murong Yunji.

Chen Qing and Shen Qi approached Northern Wolf City and found a Dragon King-level Poison Mother circling it, leaving deadly black poison across the snow. Chen Qing concluded that a powerful vengeful spirit in the city had drawn the monster there, then walked toward it to speak.

• Shen Qi led Chen Qing to the snowy city near the North Pole, where they spotted a gigantic black Heavenly Python circling the mountain range.
• Chen Qing pulled Shen Qi away from a patch of blackened snow and identified the substance as poison.
• Chen Qing explained that the creature was a Poison Mother, a Heavenly Python that cultivated Spirit poison by refining ghosts.
• Chen Qing deduced that the Poison Mother had come despite the cost because a powerful vengeful spirit in Northern Wolf City had attracted it and something was keeping it outside.
• Chen Qing said the Poison Mother had already noticed them and walked toward it to talk.

Chen Qing confronted the ancient Heavenly Python besieging his city and learned it wanted a vengeful Spirit hidden among the people. The python agreed to share information so Chen Qing could try to draw the Spirit out, but warned that its name must not be spoken.

• Chen Qing told Shen Qi that the Poison Mother's venomous traces could take at least a hundred years to disappear under current conditions.
• The giant python appeared, and Chen Qing addressed it respectfully while it reflected on its declining health and its search for a Poison Spirit.
• Chen Qing asked why the python was besieging his city, and it admitted it wanted something inside but feared the consequences of destroying the city.
• Chen Qing guessed that the python sought a powerful vengeful Spirit to turn into poison, and offered to force it out while protecting the humans.
• The python agreed to tell Chen Qing about the Spirit, but said its name must not be spoken.

Chen Qing and Shen Qi entered Northern Wolf City and found daily life had returned to normal, though Chen Qing could not contact Ziyue and avoided drawing attention. At a royal inn, they questioned the proprietress about the city’s recovery and the claims surrounding its protection.

• Chen Qing and Shen Qi noticed that Northern Wolf City's residents seemed calm despite reports of unrest and man-eating demons.
• Chen Qing said he could not contact Ziyue because she was skilled at hiding, and he and Shen Qi chose to stay far from the palace.
• Shen Qi negotiated with the proprietress of a royal inn for a room and learned it offered costly luxuries such as warming jade.
• Chen Qing asked why business had revived, and the proprietress explained that giant pythons now protected travelers and supplied food.
• The proprietress said many groups claimed to have protected the Northern Wasteland, then began recounting the Nether Moon Cult's influence and Northern Wolf's submission to Jiangnan.

Chen Qing and Shen Qi learned how Ziyue’s arrival ended the Nether Moon Cult’s influence in Northern Wolf City, and Chen Qing bribed the proprietress for information and an introduction to Imperial Dowager Consort Beiyu. The proprietress accepted the offer and decided to try arranging the meeting despite warnings about the palace.

• Chen Qing learned that Ziyue had reversed the Nether Moon Cult’s influence and that the cult’s evil spirit attacks stopped after Northern Wolf City submitted to Jiangnan.
• Shen Qi asked why the Nether Moon Cult disappeared, and Chen Qing gave the proprietress warm jade to encourage her to explain.
• The proprietress said the city’s great families had backed the cult, then abruptly banned its black lanterns after the ruler submitted to Jiangnan.
• Chen Qing explained that the city’s people felt calmer and healthier under Jiangnan’s influence, then asked about other sects and Imperial Dowager Consort Beiyu.
• Chen Qing offered the proprietress more warm jade in exchange for an introduction, and she accepted despite the consort’s warning that the palace situation was complicated.

Imperial Dowager Consort Beiyu met Shen Qi and Chen Qing after they offered her a business opportunity, and agreed to share what she knew about Northern Yan’s sudden submission to Jiangnan. She revealed that the emperor had met each great family’s head before the announcement, then all of them shut themselves away.

• Imperial Dowager Consort Beiyu considered why the Shen Family had approached her and agreed to meet them at her family residence.
• The Beiyu Family secured permission for Dowager Consort Beiyu to leave the palace and recuperate at home.
• Shen Qi and Chen Qing told Dowager Consort Beiyu they had chosen her as a discreet source of information.
• Dowager Consort Beiyu said the heads of the great families had met with the emperor over three days before he announced submission to Jiangnan.
• Dowager Consort Beiyu added that afterward, the emperor and the great families’ heads all shut themselves away, prompting Chen Qing to ask whether all of them had done so.

Chen Qing and Shen Qi learned how Ziyue and A Li had secured Northern Yan’s submission to Jiangnan, then questioned the Dowager Consort about the emperor, the great family heads, and the vanished Nether Moon Sect. Empress Dowager Qi’s unexplained silence led Chen Qing to suspect that something had happened to her.

• Chen Qing and Shen Qi reasoned that Ziyue had used A Li to alter the memories of ministers after winning the emperor’s agreement to submit Northern Yan to Jiangnan.
• The Dowager Consort said the emperor had not appeared since the decision, and that many great family heads had gone into seclusion after returning from court.
• The Dowager Consort recalled that Empress Dowager Qi had once imposed the Nether Moon Sect’s black lanterns on the palace, but had said nothing when the emperor later ordered them removed.
• Chen Qing concluded A Li likely could not control Empress Dowager Qi, then learned she had not held her usual gatherings or been seen for more than ten days.
• Chen Qing asked whether Empress Dowager Qi was still alive and, despite the Dowager Consort’s objections, considered that something might have happened to her.

Chen Qing persuaded Dowager Consort Beiyu to secretly visit Empress Dowager Qi, while Empress Yun learned that powerful family elders had vanished after meeting with the emperor. The chapter ended as Empress Yun realized Empress Dowager Qi had also been silent for days and approached Dowager Consort Beiyu.

• Chen Qing offered Dowager Consort Beiyu a chance to study at Jiangnan Academy if she helped investigate Empress Dowager Qi.
• Dowager Consort Beiyu agreed to visit Empress Dowager Qi, trusting Chen Qing to protect her as best he could.
• Empress Yun learned that her father, Old Master Qi, and other family elders had disappeared from their sealed chambers.
• The eunuch guarding the imperial study refused to let Empress Yun see the emperor and warned her not to force her way in.
• Empress Yun spotted Dowager Consort Beiyu heading toward Empress Dowager Qi's residence and went to speak with her.

Empress Yun and Dowager Consort Beiyu found the black lantern hanging outside Empress Dowager Qi’s sleeping palace, where more than a hundred palace maids had disappeared. Qi Long blocked Empress Yun from investigating, and Dowager Consort Beiyu reached for the lantern despite his warning.

• Dowager Consort Beiyu accompanied Empress Yun to visit Empress Dowager Qi, but an elderly matron said the empress dowager was unwell and would receive no visitors.
• Empress Yun challenged the matron and entered the sleeping palace with Dowager Consort Beiyu, where they found the black lantern shrouding the hall in darkness.
• Empress Yun ordered her maid Xia He to summon troops and Grand Spellcaster Qi Long, but Qi Long appeared and claimed he had been treating Empress Dowager Qi.
• Qi Long said the lantern was harmless and that Empress Dowager Qi insisted on keeping it, while Dowager Consort Beiyu accused it of harming her.
• Dowager Consort Beiyu strode toward the lantern and reached out to grab it, prompting Qi Long to shout for her to stop.

After Qi Long vanished in front of Dowager Consort Beiyu and Empress Yun, Chen Qing suspected a terrifying presence was involved and investigated the Yun and Beiyu families. He discovered Old Master Beiyu’s sealed chamber held human remains, then concluded that Qi Long had been eaten.

• Dowager Consort Beiyu told Shen Qi and Chen Qing that Qi Long vanished when she pretended to take down the black lantern, and she had sensed something frightening nearby.
• Chen Qing asked whether Empress Yun had left the palace and took Dowager Consort Beiyu to see Old Madam Yun.
• Chen Qing learned that Beiyu Jing had supposedly returned to Jiangnan Academy, but Old Madam Yun had not witnessed her departure and said Old Master Beiyu had entered seclusion.
• Chen Qing suspected Beiyu Jing had never left and Old Master Beiyu had never entered seclusion, so Old Madam Yun called to her husband and received no answer.
• Old Madam Yun and the others broke into the seclusion chamber, where they found human remains, overturned meals, and no sign of Old Master Beiyu.
• Shen Qi identified the chamber’s runes as the Heavenly Yang Formation, and Chen Qing said Qi Long had not vanished by magic but had been eaten.

Chen Qing investigated the Beiyu Family’s skeletal secret chamber and learned how the sects had recruited Northern Wolf City’s great families. He realized the old masters who secluded themselves might be targets of a hidden threat, and left suspecting that the honest-looking giant snake outside the city had tricked him.

• Chen Qing restrained Shen Qi when he felt an overwhelming urge to use his power, then questioned the Beiyu Family’s old madam about the skeletal remains and her missing husband.
• The old madam explained that sects had recruited nearly every great family by offering cultivation methods, with spellcaster families joining Nether Moon or Radiant Sun and martial bloodline families backing another sect.
• Chen Qing noted that only three factions seemed active in Northern Wolf City and wondered whether the power behind the Dragon Mother or another of the Four Great Guilds was also involved.
• Chen Qing asked the old madam to discreetly check whether other family heads who had entered seclusion had disappeared, and promised to try to save Old Master Beiyu.
• After leaving the Beiyu Family, Chen Qing told Shen Qi that his fear of being eaten was real and admitted that the honest-looking big fellow outside the city had played him.