Chapter Summaries

The supreme command debated whether to shut down West China after a special-grade energy attack threatened the region. Meanwhile, Heavenly Secrets persuaded Wang Ye that the vortex Chen Qing entered might lead to the truth about their world, and Wang Ye chose to follow him.

• Supreme intelligence issued a special-grade alert and demanded an immediate shutdown of power in West China.
• Wu Qian argued for shutting down the region, while the commanders raised the risks and began a vote on whether to proceed or find another solution.
• Heavenly Secrets told Wang Ye that his Flying Star ability might let him follow Chen Qing through the vortex and reach the outside world.
• Wang Ye weighed the danger of dying without reincarnation, then decided to enter the shrinking vortex with Heavenly Secrets.

Heavenly Secrets and Wang Ye returned to Data City and found the devastation left by a brutal battle, which Heavenly Secrets suspected involved the King of Qin controlling Chen Qing. As a terrifying danger approached, Heavenly Secrets opened his cave and hurried Wang Ye inside, believing the Federation was about to shut down the region.

• Heavenly Secrets and Wang Ye arrived in Data City and examined the damaged buildings and traces of Divine Wind.
• Wang Ye guessed that the King of Qin might be controlling Chen Qing, and Heavenly Secrets agreed that Chen Qing was probably not fully controlled and could still be saved.
• Heavenly Secrets wondered why the King of Qin had chosen open violence and realized Data City might cut power to the region.
• Wang Ye could not track Chen Qing again because the Flying Star Seal could only be used once every seven days.
• Heavenly Secrets sensed overwhelming danger, opened the Heavenly Secrets Cave, and brought Wang Ye inside to escape the impending shutdown.

Central China's leaders voted to shut down West China to contain a threat, triggering panic across the regions and disrupting workers outside the city. Inside an old miner's machine, Old Yu encountered Wang Ye and Heavenly Secrets, who had appeared outside the city.

• The Hou family commander announced that seven votes had passed the resolution to shut down West China, despite two generals warning of the loss of data, engineers, and Jade Dynasty World.
• Wu Qian and the Hou family representative argued that containing the threat mattered more than the region's resources, and the representative ordered the shutdown procedure to begin.
• News of West China's shutdown spread through encrypted forums and beyond Data City, causing the other four regions to suspend operations and workers outside the city to stop working.
• At a mining pit, Old Yu began explaining that he did not know why West China had been shut down, then froze when Wang Ye and Heavenly Secrets appeared inside his machine.
• Wang Ye looked around the mining area, and Heavenly Secrets noted that they had ended up outside the city and called it good luck.

Heavenly Secrets and Wang Ye learned that the West China Region had been shut down, and decided to investigate despite the danger. Central China's leaders struggled to understand and contain the crisis, while the man responsible for the upheaval watched the news with Wu Xiaoli in East China.

• Heavenly Secrets made Old Yu search the networks and confirmed that West China had been shut down.
• Heavenly Secrets warned Wang Ye that the King of Qin's actions made the situation dangerous, but Wang Ye chose to follow him until he found Chen Qing.
• Central China's senior leaders held an emergency meeting and worried that the shutdown had crippled their military strength and exposed them to foreign threats.
• Wu Xiaoli questioned the man who had killed Elder Zhang and the other high-end combatants as he hid with her among the crowds in East China.

North America’s leaders seized on the crisis in Central China to pressure the region, while panic spread among citizens and disrupted daily life. Wu Xiaoli confronted the King of Qin over the deaths of 300 million people, and he argued that the ruling families’ decision to shut down West China proved the system needed to change.

• North America’s intelligence director, John, reported that 347 spies in West China had gone silent and linked the crisis to the Demon World project.
• John urged the Federation’s other regions to demand intelligence from Central China and ordered soldiers in virtual worlds to return to Data City.
• The Federation’s joint statement accusing Central China of a dangerous leak intensified public panic, prompting residents to flee and others to stockpile energy and robots.
• Wu Xiaoli accused the King of Qin of causing the deaths of 300 million people, but he blamed the authorities for sacrificing West China to protect their power.
• The King of Qin told Wu Xiaoli that he had acted because the great families refused to negotiate and insisted that both the Demon World and their society needed to change.

The council debated the turmoil in the Northeast Region and the risk of foreign attack after Central China's losses in the Jade Dynasty World. They voted to send high-level forces to the front line and suppress internal unrest, while the South China commander ordered the command center located; his secretary noticed something strange in his behavior.

• The Northeast Region official reported mass departures, equipment seizures, and widespread conflict among unaffiliated residents.
• Military officers warned that Central China’s weakened high-level forces might invite an attack, and the council discussed preparing for war.
• The South China Region's commander called for military forces to deploy to Data City's front line and for Elder Yun to attend the Federation meeting.
• The council voted to send remaining high-level combat forces to the front and approved severe punishment to contain internal unrest.
• The commander ordered officials to locate the encrypted command center, and his secretary noticed stiffness in the commander's body and expressions.

Wang Ye and Heavenly Secrets confronted a Wu Family general at the West China shutdown zone after Wang Ye deduced that the King of Qin planned to destroy the ultimate command console. The general confirmed that Wu Xiaoli’s supposedly sealed network ID had been reactivated, and Wang Ye asked whether a family member had contacted him.

• A Wu Family general inspected reports showing no energy fluctuations in the West China shutdown zone while worrying that Wu Xiaoli’s sealed ID had been used online.
• The general received another alert that Wu Xiaoli’s ID was active, then discovered Wang Ye and Heavenly Secrets behind him and his soldiers missing.
• Wang Ye explained that he had moved the soldiers elsewhere and deduced that the King of Qin was using panic and the shutdown to weaken defenses and locate the ultimate command console.
• The general’s adjutant called to report that the soldiers had appeared in a plaza, where Wang Ye’s ability had safely transported them.
• Wang Ye told the general that he and Heavenly Secrets came from an unrecorded world and asked whether a family member had contacted him.

Wang Ye and Heavenly Secrets warned Wu Xing that Number One had impersonated Chen Qing and was using Wu Xiaoli’s identity to infiltrate the world’s leadership. Wu Xing grew alarmed when the evidence pointed toward a possible threat to the command center, and he asked the two men for their plan.

• Wang Ye explained that the King of Qin likely needed a privileged family ID to enter the upper ranks, and identified Wu Xiaoli as the likely hostage.
• Wang Ye told Wu Xing that Number One had impersonated Chen Qing and may have used Wu Xiaoli’s ID to infiltrate the authorities.
• Heavenly Secrets warned that Number One could control Wu Xiaoli through copied talents, prompting Wu Xing to inspect her browsing history.
• Wu Xing noticed that Wu Xiaoli’s searches concerned South China’s emergency meeting and Hou Nanfeng’s public appearance, then contacted his allies to check whether Hou was present.
• After learning Hou Nanfeng had stepped away before the meeting, Wu Xing asked Wang Ye and Heavenly Secrets what plan they had to stop Number One.

Wang Ye and Mr. Heavenly Secrets pursued General Hou Nanfeng after learning he might be an agent of the King of Qin. Heavenly Secrets explained that the King of Qin planned to destroy the Federation’s command center and great families before using the Illusory Moon Plan to make the public accept him as king, then asked Wang Ye whether he wanted to turn back.

• Wu Xing led Wang Ye and Mr. Heavenly Secrets to a teleportation passage and ordered it set to maximum power so they could reach the command center quickly.
• Wang Ye recognized Hou Nanfeng’s puppet-like behavior and suspected the King of Qin had used Painted Skin Mister’s methods.
• Wang Ye asked why the King of Qin had not used A Li’s Thousand-Faced Fox ability more extensively, and Mr. Heavenly Secrets explained that he had only enough of A Li’s blood essence for one more use.
• Mr. Heavenly Secrets revealed that the King of Qin had once amplified A Li’s talent with his own power to carry out the Illusory Moon Plan, and that the plan had left him weakened enough to be ambushed.
• Mr. Heavenly Secrets explained that the King of Qin intended to destroy the command center and the great families, then use the Illusory Moon Plan to erase public fear and establish himself as king.
• Wang Ye questioned whether the King of Qin’s plan might produce peace, but Mr. Heavenly Secrets said Chen Qing could find a better path and gave Wang Ye one last chance to turn back.

The King of Qin explained how he had used Chen Qing and Hou Nanfeng to seize control, while Chen Qing revealed his faith in Wang Ye. As Wang Ye followed Wu Xing toward the command center, he suspected their guide was a puppet and struck him, revealing a wooden arm.

• The King of Qin told Chen Qing that his plan had relied on Chen Qing’s dual souls distracting the Federation’s detection system and drawing Zhang Zhengyuan’s faction into a risky move.
• The King of Qin questioned why Zhang Zhengyuan had not activated Chen Qing’s disintegration program, then realized Chen Qing trusted Wang Ye to intervene.
• The King of Qin used Hou Nanfeng’s authorization to request access to the command center passage.
• Heavenly Secrets prompted Wang Ye to consider why Wu Xing looked like an ordinary person despite the stiffness of Painted Skin Mister’s puppets.
• Wang Ye confronted Wu Xing about his remote contacts and whether they could be controlled, then cut off Wu Xing’s right hand and exposed it as wood.

Wang Ye and Heavenly Secrets were framed for killing Wu Xing, leaving them unable to recruit help against the King of Qin. As the King of Qin prepared to destroy Central China's Data City before activating the Illusory Moon Plan, he offered Chen Qing a chance to survive by becoming his subordinate.

• The King of Qin's puppet Wu Xing revealed Wang Ye and Heavenly Secrets' arrival, and Wang Ye killed Wu Xing as the alarm sounded.
• Heavenly Secrets found footage of the killing spreading across the network, and he and Wang Ye fled, realizing the King of Qin had framed them.
• Wang Ye insisted Chen Qing must have prepared a plan of his own, despite Heavenly Secrets doubting they could turn the situation around.
• The King of Qin explained to Chen Qing that he planned to shut down Central China's Data City, eliminating anyone who could use the disassembly program against him before launching the Illusory Moon Plan.
• The King of Qin said he could rebuild Chen Qing's disassembly program in the West China Region, then offered to spare Chen Qing if he established a spell acknowledging the King of Qin as his master.

The King of Qin led Hou Nanfeng and Chen Qing into the command center, killed its personnel, and used the skin-painting technique to turn the ten officials into puppets. As he prepared to shut down Data City, the intelligence warned that this would be its first large-scale shutdown, making the King of Qin pause.

• The King of Qin rejected Chen Qing's refusal to cooperate and entered the command center with Hou Nanfeng.
• The King of Qin killed Wu Qian and the other command center personnel before they could raise the alarm.
• The King of Qin killed the two commoner commanders and transformed all ten officials into puppets using the skin-painting technique.
• The King of Qin used the puppets to authorize an emergency shutdown of Data City.
• The command center intelligence warned that the shutdown would be the first large-scale shutdown since the facility was established, and the King of Qin froze.

Chen Qing revealed that he had lured the King of Qin into the command center with a plan made alongside Zhang Zhengyuan and the powerful families. After explaining how they had kept the King from detecting their disguises, Chen Qing declared that the King had to die.

• The King of Qin used Evening Elephant's Flying Star to escape, but a spatial barrier forced him back into the command center.
• Three days earlier, Chen Qing refused Zhang Zhengyuan's proposed cooperation unless Zhang came to the virtual world to help establish a spell.
• Chen Qing raised another matter involving Number One before Zhang Zhengyuan agreed to make the trip.
• Chen Qing explained that the command center was a data-encrypted cage and that Zhang Zhengyuan and the commanders had been disguised with real people kept unaware of the plan.
• Chen Qing said he had suspected the King of Qin since his brother's death and declared that the King must die.

Chen Qing learned that the King of Qin had mistaken him for Pu Yunchuan, while a massive force from four regions gathered at Central China’s border to pressure the Federation and consider invading. The region’s strongest combatants agreed to test its defenses, leaving an attack looming.

• Chen Qing insisted that the King of Qin would act to overthrow the old world and learned that the King had believed he was Pu Yunchuan.
• The King of Qin explained that Pu Yunchuan’s games always offered players hope, convincing him that Chen Qing was not Pu Yunchuan.
• The armies and special-grade combatants of four regions assembled at Central China’s border and demanded that the Federation reveal intelligence about its internal crisis.
• Wo'er Beili urged the assembled leaders to stop speculating and march in if they had made up their minds.
• Sita'er welcomed the prospect of a fight, and Ouli Boge agreed to test Central China’s defenses with her hungry dragons.

As rumors of Zhang Zhengyuan’s death and the West China shutdown spread, panic and infighting gripped the Central Federation while the four regions’ leaders prepared an invasion. The North America Region issued a justification for entering West China, and the duchess sent Leige toward the Central Federation as the civil war began.

• Central Federation residents argued over the threat of invasion and Zhang Zhengyuan’s fate, while crowds fled Data City and black-market prices for outside equipment surged.
• Spies reported the Central Federation’s disorder to the four regions, strengthening their councilors’ belief that the federation was vulnerable.
• Sita’er and the duchess discussed their desire to enter the Central Federation, and the North America Region’s chief councilor ordered a statement accusing it of endangering humanity and demanding access to West China.
• The duchess revealed that she had subdued a colossal dragon, and the chief councilor urged the special-class combatants not to underestimate the Central Federation.
• The duchess ordered Leige to fly toward the Central Federation, and the first civil war since the Digital Federation’s founding began.

The Central Federation fought invading forces from the other regions with modern weapons and powers drawn from virtual realms, but a giant dragon broke through its defenses until Qingyun Sect’s lightning wounded it. The duchess summoned two more dragons while Sita’er and Wo'er Beili prepared to attack together, leaving the Central Federation facing a new, terrifying energy threat.

• The Central Federation’s commanders learned that an S-rank life-form had invaded and activated their weapons as combat robots began battling across the virtual battlefield.
• A giant dragon shrugged off modern weapons and drove the four regions’ forces forward until Buddhist monks formed a protective Buddha.
• Qingyun Sect used the Divine Sword Lightning Command Art to break the dragon Leige’s scales and leave him badly wounded.
• The duchess and Wo'er Beili discussed the Central Region’s lightning technique, and Sita’er insisted they attack together rather than hold back for fear of Zhang Zhengyuan.
• The duchess summoned two more giant dragons, mounted one, and covered herself in dragon scales.
• Wo'er Beili chanted an incantation that stirred underground lava and triggered alarms across the Central Federation.

Hou Xiaoliang volunteered to infiltrate the Western wizard team and stop Wo'er Beili's devastating lava spell, but as he waited for his opening, an unknown man in Eastern attire appeared beside him and rendered him unable to move.

• A massive lava spell melted the golden Buddha statue protecting the Central Federation's front line, and commanders identified Wo'er Beili's dark wizard team as its source.
• Hou Xiaoping considered a decapitation strike, and Hou Xiaoliang volunteered to infiltrate the enemy despite the danger posed by Sita'er and the duchess.
• Hou Xiaoliang stealthily advanced toward the wizard team and waited for the moment its fighters turned their attention to the front line.
• A calm voice spoke beside Hou Xiaoliang, and he discovered an Eastern-dressed man standing there as his body refused to move.

Chen Qing confronted Hou Xiaoliang, Sita'er, the duchess, and her dragon Zhuoge as they closed in on the Central Federation's rear. He used God Shiyi's Divine Fire Art to meet Zhuoge's flames, leaving the battle about to erupt.

• Sita'er and the duchess arrived and confronted Hou Xiaoliang and the unknown man in white, Chen Qing.
• The duchess recognized Hou Xiaoliang as the Central Federation's top young assassin and, wary of Chen Qing, ordered Zhuoge to kill him.
• Zhuoge unleashed a torrent of scorching flames, while Sita'er prevented Hou Xiaoliang from escaping.
• Chen Qing raised a hand and formed flames of his own, surprising Sita'er, the duchess, and Zhuoge.
• Chen Qing drew a bow and arrow of fire using God Shiyi's Divine Fire Art as Zhuoge's flames filled the sky.

Chen Qing killed the Western camp’s strongest special-grade combatants and forced its troops to retreat. After confirming that the gray-robed wizards were the remaining targets, he spoke with Hou Xiaoliang and considered him suitable to manage the Federation’s transmigrators.

• Chen Qing killed Zhuoge with a flaming arrow, then caught Sita’er as he fled and melted him with his bare hands.
• The Western officers lost their will to fight, and their general ordered the troops to retreat.
• Chen Qing refused the duchess’s plea for mercy and killed her and the two dragons that arrived.
• Hou Xiaoliang confirmed that the gray-robed wizards were the last special-grade combatants and admitted he had risked his life to assassinate them.
• Chen Qing approved of Hou Xiaoliang’s honest answer and considered him suitable to manage the Federation’s transmigrators.

After the Western forces’ special combat units were annihilated, Hou Xiaoping launched a counterattack while the four Federations’ leaders learned their invasion had collapsed. Kaidi returned to the Northern Region’s assembly hall, where officials prepared a humiliating proposal to halt the Central Federation’s advance, though he still could not explain the scale of the defeat.

• Hou Xiaoping received orders to pursue the retreating enemy and ordered an all-out counterattack toward the four Federations’ network domains.
• Frontline reports confirmed that Sita'er, the Duchess, Wo'er Beili, and most of the wizard team had been killed, leaving the legislators in panic.
• The Northern Region’s speaker learned that officers from every region had fled the battlefield and urged the legislators to use public opinion to stop the Central Federation’s advance.
• Kaidi returned to the Northern Region’s assembly hall as officials discussed a humiliating proposal to halt the Central Federation’s military offensive.
• Kaidi learned that the West China shutdown had been a staged network blackout but could not understand how the Central Federation had won so decisively.