Chapter Summaries

Ziyue took command of the guards and led them to aid the reckless war priest, while Zhang Xiaoyun grew increasingly suspicious of how the captain of the guard had supposedly entrusted her with the troops. The priest’s strange fury and insistence on continuing the battle deepened the unease, and a returning deputy commander challenged Zhang Xiaoyun’s account.

• Ziyue ordered the guards to help the war priest, arguing that the captain of the guard could manage without them and that their forces needed to deter the other parties.
• Zhang Xiaoyun objected that they could not leave the site unguarded, but Ziyue insisted there were too few people to defend it unless the Four Saints Army was recalled.
• The war priest refused to withdraw despite mounting casualties, then demanded command of Ziyue’s guards and claimed Quefeng was close to collapsing.
• Ziyue rebuked the priest and urged him to retreat, but he flared up again and asserted that military affairs belonged solely to him.
• A deputy commander returned to find most of the guards gone, and Zhang Xiaoyun said the captain had given Ziyue command; the deputy commander asked who had told him that.

Zhang Xiaoyun, Zhang Zhiyun, and Ying Sheng investigated how false memories had made them trust Ziyue and misread events. Ying Sheng blamed the Thousand-Faced Fox and concluded that the demon was among the guards with them.

• Zhang Xiaoyun accused Zhang Zhiyun of sending him a fake voice transmission, then realized his own memory of their conversation might have been fabricated.
• Zhang Xiaoyun claimed Ziyue had impersonated the captain, but Ying Sheng rejected voice transmission as the cause and proposed illusion arts.
• Ying Sheng identified the Thousand-Faced Fox as the likely culprit, saying she could have planted memories in Ling Sheng and others.
• Zhang Zhiyun and Zhang Xiaoyun questioned whether the fox had enough power to alter Transcendents' memories, and Ying Sheng speculated that her ability was limited and conditional.
• Ying Sheng concluded the fox had to remain nearby to manipulate them and declared that she was among the guards stationed there.

The West Sea Army arrived at the battlefield but watched without attacking, while the Ancient Demon guard captain grew suspicious when Ying Sheng failed to return with reinforcements. At the Azure Dragon Palace, Ying Sheng killed the remaining guards while searching for the Thousand-Faced Fox, then turned his suspicion toward Zhang Xiaoyun and Zhang Zhiyun.

• Kagura halted her attack when Chen Baifeng led the West Sea Army onto the battlefield, and the soldiers surrounded the fighting forces without intervening.
• The Ancient Demon guard captain ordered Ying Sheng to gather five hundred guards, then wondered why his deputy had not returned.
• Tian Yu questioned Chen Baifeng about merely watching, and Chen Baifeng insisted they could not abandon Lord Tian Heng.
• Ying Sheng reached the Azure Dragon Palace and, fearing the Thousand-Faced Fox had infiltrated it, struck down the ten remaining guards.
• Ying Sheng found no sign of the suspected intruder among the guards and turned to stare at Zhang Xiaoyun and Zhang Zhiyun.

Zhang Xiaoyun realized that someone had been manipulating the Ancient Demons’ emotions, but the mysterious celestial manifestation killed Ying Sheng before he could act. Zhang Xiaoyun confronted the attacker and concluded that he had an accomplice.

• Zhang Xiaoyun recognized that the war priest and Ying Sheng were acting unusually and suspected their emotions were being manipulated.
• Ying Sheng stopped himself from attacking Zhang Xiaoyun, but a mysterious celestial manifestation stabbed him through the heart with a black short sword and destroyed his Ancient Demon Worm.
• The mysterious attacker froze Ying Sheng’s body, and Zhang Xiaoyun recognized the figure who had ambushed Tian Heng.
• Zhang Xiaoyun accused the celestial manifestation of manipulating people’s emotions to provoke the war priest and Ying Sheng and conceal his approach.
• The celestial manifestation praised Zhang Xiaoyun’s insight, and Zhang Xiaoyun insisted that the attacker had someone working with him.

Zhang Xiaoyun realized the enemy had manipulated the battle by exploiting the emotions and personalities of the Ancient Demons, then identified the celestial figure’s master. The prince’s death triggered panic among the Ancient Demons and threatened to rout the Four Saints Army.

• Zhang Xiaoyun deduced that the enemy could intensify emotions and had used intelligence about the War Priest and Lord Ying Sheng to shape the battle.
• Zhang Xiaoyun recognized that the celestial figure was working for someone, but the figure refused to explain and killed him.
• Zhang Zhiyun watched Zhang Xiaoyun die, reflected on his own insignificance, and closed his eyes as the celestial figure approached.
• The death of Zhang Xiaoyun caused panic among everyone with Ancient Demon blood and disrupted the Four Saints Army’s qi and blood.
• The War Priest realized that the prince’s death had struck at the worst moment and foresaw the Four Saints Army beginning to rout.

After the prince’s death threw the Four Saints Army into disarray, Ziyue took command and ordered the Ancient Demons to launch one final charge. She promised to deal with the assassin blocking their advance herself.

• The priest prepared to retreat after the prince’s death, but Ziyue warned that retreat would shatter the army’s morale and get them wiped out.
• Ziyue told the priest to press the attack, and when he raised the stakes and tried to shift blame onto her past plan, she accepted responsibility and demanded the command token.
• Using the token, Ziyue ordered soldiers across all sixteen routes not to retreat and to prepare for one final charge.
• When a commander said they could not break the enemy line while the assassin remained, Ziyue promised to deal with him personally.

Ziyue took command of the Four Saints Army and went alone to confront Quefeng, restoring the soldiers’ resolve. Quefeng unleashed his sealed King Level power after realizing an unknown opponent had approached him, leaving Ziyue’s fate uncertain.

• Ziyue’s promise to handle the crisis revived the Four Saints Army’s morale, and its generals vowed to break the formation quickly.
• The priest offered to accompany Ziyue, but she refused and told him she might fall while he stayed to hold the army together.
• Ziyue left the military command token with the priest and recalled that she had once said a king should step forward even without certainty of success.
• Quefeng noticed the Four Saints Army’s sudden surge and restored his stamina by gradually releasing the seal on his power.
• Ziyue appeared within three zhang of Quefeng and challenged the story that he had been wounded by the commanding generals.
• Quefeng released his full King Level power, and the priest realized Ziyue could be killed by the famed assassin.

Ziyue repeatedly reappeared after Quefeng struck her, leaving him unable to understand how she survived his attacks. Meanwhile, the captain of the guard and Kagura discussed their past conflict and watched Ziyue's battle, which ended with Quefeng demanding to know what she had done.

• Kagura accused the captain of the guard of betraying the Reincarnators by joining the Ancient Demons, and the captain said he had died many times at Kagura's hands.
• Kagura questioned why the captain had allowed his daughter Ziyue to fuse with a Reincarnator, and they noticed Ziyue force Quefeng to remove his seal.
• The emperor and empress sensed Quefeng unleash his full power, and the empress reflected on Ziyue's reputation and her connection to Liu Yu.
• Quefeng stabbed Ziyue, watched her body dissolve into black dust, and realized she had not truly died when she appeared behind him again.
• Quefeng attacked Ziyue at terrifying speed, but each body he struck vanished into ash and she kept reappearing closer to him.
• Quefeng asked Ziyue what she had done, and she refused to explain because they were enemies.

Ziyue provoked Quefeng into breaking his King Level seal, then used an unknown technique to thwart his attack on the Four Saints Army’s commander. Quefeng was left facing Ziyue as the imperial army’s formation collapsed.

• Quefeng realized Ziyue had tricked him into using his trump card and tried to keep calm as she taunted him.
• Quefeng vanished and launched a sneak attack on the Four Saints Army commander, but the commander survived without understanding what had stopped the strike.
• The commander assumed Lord Ziyue had protected him, rallied his troops, and ordered them to charge.
• The imperial army’s formation began collapsing as Quefeng stared at his dagger and Ziyue asked whether he was going to attack.

Quefeng repeatedly tried to assassinate a commander, only to be sent back to the same moment by Ziyue’s time-controlling technique. He identified several limits to her power and realized that he retained his memories after each reversal while Ziyue did not.

• Quefeng found himself back at the start after striking, and Ziyue told him it was already the second round.
• The emperor recalled that the group had returned to the starting point during three crises while sealing the golem, and he and the empress suspected the power had belonged to Ziyue.
• Quefeng attacked a commander again, returned to the same moment, and concluded that Ziyue controlled time.
• Quefeng reasoned that Ziyue could not pause time, her reversal restored his energy, and the effect was limited to him and Ziyue.
• Quefeng realized he kept his memories across reversals while Ziyue did not.

Quefeng searched for a flaw in Ziyue’s reincarnation technique, while she urged him to surrender and escape his bond to the woman controlling him. The Xiao Household’s emperor arrived and asked Ziyue whether her past opposition to the King of Qin’s compromise with demons had been an act.

• Quefeng realized that reincarnating could free him from the incomplete technique binding him to the woman.
• Ziyue offered to guarantee Quefeng’s life if he surrendered, and explained that reincarnation would remove his existing bond.
• Quefeng questioned whether Ziyue was an Ancient Demon or a Reincarnator and said his choice depended on her answer.
• The Xiao Household’s emperor arrived and asked Ziyue whether she had opposed the King of Qin’s policy only to serve him.
• Ziyue remained silent, then challenged the emperor on what purpose his question served.

The emperor deduced the limits of Ziyue’s time-reversal ability and crippled her so she could not use it to escape. As Ziyue suffered in his flames, the high priest moved to rescue her, threatening to disrupt the army’s attack and give the Four Saints Army a chance to win.

• Ziyue challenged the emperor over his distrust of Reincarnators, and he hesitated as he considered Chen Qing’s rule and the human cost of fighting the ancients.
• The emperor inferred that Ziyue’s reincarnation depended on predictions with strict conditions, then struck her and shattered both her hands instead of killing her.
• Quefeng realized that the emperor had avoided the condition Ziyue predicted, preventing her from reincarnating and exposing the limits of her ability.
• The emperor used the Golden Crow Flame to burn Ziyue while keeping her alive, and the sight enraged the commanders of the sixteen forces.
• The high priest ordered the army to keep breaking the formation and went to rescue Ziyue, while Ziyue feared that his death would leave the army vulnerable to the Four Saints Army.

The emperor burned Ziyue with Golden Crow Flame, but a mysterious golem rescued her before the Four Saints Army could retreat. The emperor recognized the golem as one the King of Qin had secretly kept, then attacked it head-on.

• The deputy urged the High Priest to honor Ziyue’s wish to bring the children home, and the High Priest hesitated before ordering a retreat.
• Ziyue endured the Golden Crow Flame without crying out and recalled the cruel experiments she had suffered in the Warlock Dynasty’s laboratory.
• A mysterious figure transformed the flames into a landscape painting and pulled Ziyue to safety.
• The emperor identified the newcomer as the golem the King of Qin had secretly kept, and the golem asked why the emperor was nervous when he had kept a golem of his own.
• The emperor charged the golem with a powerful punch, and the golem raised one hand to block it while holding Ziyue.

The demon statue withstood the Emperor’s Golden Crow punch and revealed that its name was Bai Hua, one of the four great demon statues associated with the game’s unknown fourth version. As the Emperor became trapped in Bai Hua’s ink-like power, he saw Chen Qing before him.

• Bai Hua caught the Emperor’s Golden Crow punch head-on, turning its flames into an image within illusory ink.
• Quefeng, the priest, and Kagura recognized the Emperor’s overwhelming power, while Kagura and the captain of the guards discussed how the world’s imbalance might be prompting its consciousness to fight back.
• Bai Hua told the Emperor that the King of Qin had given him that name, causing Kagura and the captain to recall the four demon statues named in the fourth-version preview.
• Kagura and the captain wondered whether Bai Hua had been the King of Qin’s hidden backup plan and grew wary of what his appearance might mean.
• The Emperor’s attacks failed to overcome Bai Hua’s power, and the Emperor became like a figure trapped in a painting.
• The Emperor looked at the person before him and recognized Chen Qing.

Chen Qing explained to the emperor that the golem had captured him and brought him into a painted space where abundant spiritual energy had healed his injuries. He showed the emperor a scroll displaying the outside world, but the emperor realized the space was affecting him and tried to escape.

• The emperor confronted Chen Qing in the painted space and suspected he might be controlling the golem.
• Chen Qing said the golem had captured him after he sealed his power, and that the space had nearly healed his injuries in half an hour.
• Chen Qing explained that he had trusted the spiritual energy because it helped him recover without causing harm.
• Chen Qing unfurled a painted scroll that showed the outside world, insisting he had been captured and could not leave.
• The emperor thought of his injured elder imperial sister and sensed that something was wrong as he tried to escape.

Chen Qing trapped the emperor in a world that manipulated emotions, but the emperor recognized the demon golem’s influence and questioned Chen Qing about it. Outside, a hidden woman expertly changed the imperial army’s formations, allowing it to withdraw in order as the battle continued.

• The emperor told Chen Qing he suspected something nearby was manipulating emotions and recalled that his attack on Ziyue had been irrational.
• Quefeng watched the imperial army near collapse and hesitated over whether he had chosen the wrong side, until the command token lit up.
• The woman commanding the imperial army ordered a risky formation change, and the troops executed it smoothly while retreating.
• Kagura and the Four Saints Army’s soldiers watched the imperial formation change with astonishment, while Chen Qing praised the woman’s talent to the emperor.
• The emperor identified the demon golem’s ability to magnify negative emotions and asked Chen Qing if he had known about it.

The emperor confronted the King of Qin, who had been impersonating Chen Qing, and learned that Bai Hua had become his hidden trump card after Chen Qing and the Federation conspired against him. The King of Qin asked what the emperor intended to do, leaving their next move—and the demon statue behind the emperor’s power—unrevealed.

• The emperor revealed that he had recognized the King of Qin beneath Chen Qing’s face and recalled the help the King of Qin had once given him.
• The King of Qin described how Chen Qing and the Federation’s leaders had lured him into a trap, and the emperor acknowledged Chen Qing’s skill.
• The emperor asked whether the King of Qin’s final trump card was the demon statue he had concealed.
• The King of Qin explained that Bai Hua had tempted him into a contract, giving him a fallback against the ancient players if his original plan failed.
• The King of Qin stood and asked what the emperor intended to do, while wondering which demon statue had given the emperor his power.

Chen Qing woke in hiding after advancing to King Level and told Shen Qi what he had witnessed through Ziyue, including Old Celestial Master Zhang’s death and the King of Qin’s trump card. He then remembered Ziyue’s warning that the King of Qin might have a backup, and realized Bai Hua knew how a data life-form could make one.

• Shen Qi woke Chen Qing in a chaotic space fragment where they had been hiding from the experts outside.
• Chen Qing explained that his spirit had been with Ziyue while his body and mind lay dormant, and that he had seen most of what happened outside.
• Chen Qing told Shen Qi that Old Celestial Master Zhang had died and that the celestial phenomenon had been the King of Qin’s trump card, not Chen Qing’s doing.
• Chen Qing recalled Ziyue suggesting that the King of Qin might have a backup, despite Chen Qing’s certainty that he was dead.
• Chen Qing remembered that Bai Hua was the original prototype of a data life-form and might know how the King of Qin could have made a backup.

Ziyue survived the battle and realized the King of Qin might have kept Bai Hua as a hidden backup, while questioning whether Chen Qing was really Pu Yunchuan. Chen Qing recalled Bai Hua’s dangerous ability and decided to intervene before everyone died.

• Ziyue woke surrounded by the Four Saints Army and learned the high priest had killed fewer than twenty thousand of the imperial court’s retreating Ghost Army.
• Ziyue suspected the King of Qin had concealed Bai Hua and wondered whether Chen Qing was Pu Yunchuan, the demon’s original designer.
• Chen Qing recalled Wang Ye’s intelligence that Pu Yunchuan had helped create the data world and might still be alive.
• Chen Qing remembered Bai Hua’s ability and refused Shen Qi’s suggestion to wait before intervening.

The King of Qin persuaded the emperor to cooperate against the Four Great Guilds and Kagura, while proposing a plan to capture the Ancient Demon Clan’s captain of the guards. The emperor agreed to the first condition but remained wary of the King of Qin and his mysterious golem.

• The King of Qin and the emperor argued over their past conflict before agreeing that the Four Great Guilds and Kagura posed a greater current threat.
• The emperor agreed that Kagura must not take any of the Four Saints’ heirs.
• The King of Qin explained that he wanted Ziyue to gain command of the Four Saints Army and proposed killing the captain of the guards first.
• The King of Qin asked the emperor to persuade Quefeng to kill the isolated captain, promising to restore Quefeng and free the emperor if the plan succeeded.
• Outside the painting, Ziyue sensed danger and saw the golem watching her.