Chapter Summaries

Chen Qing faced Kagura after surviving Zhu Jiuyin’s pressure and revealed a dangerous forbidden technique that forced her to retreat. Kagura marked him as an enemy and withdrew, leaving Chen Qing and the emperor to consider the threat ahead.

• Kagura noticed Chen Qing seemed unaffected by Zhu Jiuyin’s pressure and challenged him to attack.
• Kagura struck Chen Qing with her Asura Seal, but Chen Qing blocked it with Heavenly Origin and destroyed her hand.
• Kagura recognized the danger of Chen Qing’s forbidden technique, questioned his control of it, and retreated after warning that she would settle the score.
• Zhu Jiuyin withdrew into the clouds, while most of the soldiers remained incapacitated by its pressure.
• The emperor asked Chen Qing whether he was still considering attacking him.

Chen Qing and the emperor agreed to work together after the emperor admitted he lacked confidence in saving humanity alone and wanted to entrust its future to Chen Qing. The emperor planned to evacuate civilians to Chen Qing’s territory before leading an expedition against the Reincarnators in the Northern Lands.

• The emperor asked Chen Qing whether he could attack, and Chen Qing admitted he could not use his power at will.
• The emperor proposed working with Chen Qing, who considered the alliance valuable because his forces faced threats on several fronts.
• Chen Qing explained that his title as King of Qin limited where he could confer titles on Spirits while the emperor lived.
• The emperor admitted that reviving humanity was harder than he had expected and said Chen Qing might be better suited to win the people’s hearts.
• The emperor said he would send civilians from the Northern Lands and the capital’s surrounding cities to Chen Qing’s territory, then lead an expedition against the Reincarnators.

After the Celestial Master Mansion fell and Cloud Capital returned to imperial rule, the city’s prominent families anxiously awaited news from the Celestial Master Trial. Elder Murong revealed that the emperor had killed the old Celestial Master and that Master Ziyue had become the ancient gods’ new priest.

• Cloud Capital’s people heard that the old Celestial Master had ascended, Master Ziyue would inherit the Celestial Master Mansion, and Cloud Capital would again become the imperial capital.
• The imperial announcement offered residents a choice to move to Jiangnan or stay and receive rewards.
• The Zhou Household learned that Chen Ying had killed Zhou Yuntao, and its elders hurried to the Ziyi Household for answers.
• Zhou Tianlie and other family representatives met with Elder Murong, who recounted the emperor’s victory and the old Celestial Master’s death.
• Elder Murong told the gathered families that Master Ziyue had become the ancient gods’ new priest.

The Five Color Families learned that Cloud Capital was under the Great Jin emperor’s control and had to choose between accepting noble titles and joining his war effort or moving to Jiangnan without special privileges. Elder Murong chose to stay in Cloud Capital, while the other elders remained undecided.

• Elder Murong explained that the emperor had allied with Chen Qing and offered the Five Color Families a choice between staying in Cloud Capital or moving to Jiangnan.
• The elders learned that those who stayed would receive hereditary noble titles and coexist with the evil Spirits, while Jiangnan offered no posts or special terms.
• Elder Murong said Master Ziyue’s earlier promise no longer stood and warned that Chen Qing and the emperor were far stronger than the families.
• Elder Murong urged the families to recognize their weakened position, noting that Zhou Yuntao had died at the hands of Chen Qing’s disciple without any explanation being offered.
• Elder Murong chose to stay in Cloud Capital and support the emperor’s plans to move the capital and prepare for war in the north.
• The other elders weighed the danger of joining the war against the safety of moving to Jiangnan and remained hesitant.

Chen Qing explained why he planned to recruit Cloud Capital’s people while refusing to welcome the Five Color Families, whose ties to the Ancient Demon elders made them a risk to Jiangnan. Ziyue then questioned whether Chen Qing was truly Pu Yunchuan and suggested that unseen forces might be behind his identity, leaving them with no clues about his origins.

• Ziyue questioned Chen Qing’s casual treatment of Cloud Capital’s noble families, and Chen Qing said he wanted to attract residents without giving the families special status.
• Chen Qing explained that he distrusted the Five Color Families because of their ties to the Ancient Demon Clan and said he would refuse them unless they offered something worthwhile.
• Ziyue told Chen Qing that he did not seem like Pu Yunchuan and suggested he might only carry Pu Yunchuan’s memories.
• Ziyue admitted that she did not know how her past and present identities had combined, and Chen Qing said he also had no clue about his own origins.
• Chen Qing and Ziyue suspected that the King of Qin, the captain of the guard, and Ziyue’s nominal father knew more, while Chen Qing wondered how Wang Ye’s investigation in Data City was going.

Wang Ye and Heavenly Secrets discussed their fruitless investigation into the Federation’s hidden plans and the mysterious forces behind them. Heavenly Secrets revealed that his divination had warned him the secret they were pursuing posed a danger beyond anything they had faced before.

• Wang Ye left the hotel under surveillance and joined Heavenly Secrets, who had been spending his free time playing mahjong.
• Wang Ye told Heavenly Secrets that his authority over the otherworld slots had failed to uncover the Federation’s old classified files.
• Heavenly Secrets recalled being recruited from the special forces to lead a team of people resurrected through data technology, while Wang Ye noted that his military records had vanished.
• Wang Ye relayed Chen Qing’s account that the King of Qin came from another world and had gained memories by chance, prompting Heavenly Secrets to suspect another hidden force might be involved.
• Heavenly Secrets explained that he had been playing mahjong because he had already divined that their investigation threatened their lives and that the secret was extremely dangerous.

Chen Qing received Wang Ye’s warning that Heavenly Secrets had changed and that he should beware of Westerners, leaving him to wonder whether Wang Ye and Heavenly Secrets had uncovered a dangerous secret in Data City. Chen Qing began suspecting that Western forces might be tied to Pu Yunchuan’s preserved genes and the designers’ arrival in this world, but he could not explain how they had managed it.

• Chen Qing received Wang Ye’s brief warning that Heavenly Secrets had changed and that he should beware of Westerners.
• Chen Qing and Ziyue considered whether Wang Ye or Heavenly Secrets had been endangered, while Ziyue reasoned that Wang Ye’s ability to use Flying Star meant he was probably not in immediate mortal danger.
• Chen Qing questioned whether the Western Federation could threaten Wang Ye and Heavenly Secrets, given its apparent weakness.
• Chen Qing suspected that Western interests might have uncovered his identity while investigating Pu Yunchuan’s past and the origins of the data-life designers.
• Chen Qing recalled that overseas capital had supported Pu Yunchuan’s research and wondered whether Westerners had secretly preserved his genes, but he could not explain how they had brought the designers to this world.

Ziyue negotiated with Cloud Capital’s prominent families over their old promise of symbiosis, but explained that the elders who made it had left with the aristocratic faction and that only commoners remained. The families weighed her offer against the Xiao Household’s terms, while Chen Qing rushed back to Jiangnan to investigate Wang Ye’s urgent intelligence about the white players from the West.

• On the fifth day, Ziyue began negotiations with Cloud Capital’s prominent families while Chen Qing was away in Jiangnan.
• Zhou Tianlie asked Ziyue to honor the Ancient Demon Clan’s promise to grant the families symbiosis with its descendants.
• Ziyue explained that the elders who made the promise had gone to the East Sea with the aristocratic faction, leaving her unable to guarantee the promised results.
• The elders hesitated when they learned that only commoner Ancient Demons remained, and compared the uncertain offer with the Xiao Household’s promise of elite Ghost Clan members and hereditary duke titles.
• A Murong Family elder watched Ziyue with an inscrutable expression as she tried to send the families away.
• Chen Qing used spatial sorcery to return to Jiangnan and investigate whether dangerous white players from the West had slipped in.

Chen Qing investigated the Western Reincarnators after learning that some had registered as soldiers, and suspected they had deliberately used their more foolish compatriots to conceal a hidden agenda. He traveled to Jade Island and discovered that its Underworld had been sealed.

• Chen Qing returned to Liuzhou and asked Wei Gongcheng for the secret records of the Reincarnators.
• Wei Gongcheng told Chen Qing that some Western Reincarnators had registered as soldiers, prompting Chen Qing to suspect their exile to Jade Island had been a deliberate cover.
• Chen Qing ordered a ship and set out for Jade Island to investigate.
• Chen Qing arrived on Jade Island and found that its Underworld had been sealed.

Chen Qing investigated the outer island after sensing something was wrong with its Underworld, but the garrison had seen no clear signs of trouble. A soldier reported that critically ill people had stopped dying, and Chen Qing hurried to see them.

• Chen Qing and Wei Gongcheng traveled inland to investigate the island’s Underworld and found the local people living normally.
• Chen Qing met the West Sea Army garrison and questioned the soldiers about unusual events on the island.
• The soldiers said the Underworld seemed to be functioning, though its two wandering gods had to travel far between scattered tribes.
• A soldier revealed that several critically ill patients had remained alive for weeks despite being expected to die.
• Chen Qing suspected the patients’ condition was connected to the Underworld’s problem and ordered the soldier to take him to them.

After returning to Jiangnan, Ziyue learned that the third elder who had abused her had allied with the South Sea Dragon King, and she prepared to lead a rescue mission. In South Sea City, the captured Ao Zhen faced the South Sea Dragon King and suspected that he, like Chen Qing, was a Reincarnator.

• Shen San told Ziyue and Chen Baifeng that Chen Qing had left for West Sea Island and had ordered a rescue mission for Ao Zhen and the South Sea noble families.
• The war priest revealed that the third elder had entered into symbiosis with the West Sea Dragon King, and Ziyue reacted with murderous fury upon learning who he was.
• Ziyue agreed to lead half the West Sea Army and the remaining Four Saints Army to negotiate with the West Sea Dragon King and bring back the captives.
• In South Sea City, the South Sea forces defeated the noble families' defenses and captured Ao Zhen after she nearly escaped their encirclement.
• The South Sea Dragon King addressed Ao Zhen as his niece, and she recognized the skill of his sword technique and suspected that he was a Reincarnator.

Ao Zhen discovered that the South Sea Dragon King was a powerful Reincarnator pursuing Chen Qing because he believed the moment to claim him had arrived. Meanwhile, Chen Qing found that the Horde’s Underworld had been severed and searched for five Reincarnators there, sensing that one had caused a grave threat.

• Ao Zhen realized the South Sea Dragon King had no true descendants and suspected his apparent royal youths were a deception.
• The South Sea Dragon King revealed that he had captured Ao Zhen to reach Chen Qing, saying the fruit was ripe and needed to be picked.
• Chen Qing reached the Horde and found people whose bodies were dead but whose spirits remained trapped inside them because the Underworld had been cut off.
• Wei Gongcheng confirmed that the Horde’s entire Underworld had been severed, preventing him and Chen Qing from entering it.
• After an infant cried, Chen Qing and Wei Gongcheng checked the reincarnation register and learned that five Reincarnators had been born in the Horde.
• Chen Qing urged Wei Gongcheng to find the five, fearing one had already caused a crisis.

Chen Qing investigated the disappearance of newborns across the island and learned that all seventeen children in one tribe had vanished after its shaman was cursed and driven mad. He found that every trace of the children’s scent had been erased, leaving him with no immediate clue to their whereabouts.

• Chen Qing and Wei Gongcheng searched nine tribes for newborns while Chen Qing worried that Ziyue should have reached Jiangnan by then.
• The tribe’s chief revealed that the shaman had lost his mind after seeing something terrifying and that the tribe’s seventeen newborns had disappeared.
• A tribesman explained that the shaman had seen the Day Wandering God bring men from another country, whose souls were later born into the tribe’s children.
• Chen Qing confirmed that the children had been arranged to be born on the island and suspected their disappearance was connected to the people he was seeking.
• Chen Qing inspected all seventeen homes and found that every trace of the children’s scent had been completely erased.

Chen Qing discovered that outsiders had sealed the Underworld and taken the Western reincarnators to hide their movements, leading him to suspect they were targeting his divine path style nation. He concluded that Ziyue and the others were in danger, while the conspirators’ exact identities and motives remained unknown.

• Chen Qing failed to track the missing reincarnators and suspected outsiders had taken them while sealing the Underworld.
• Chen Qing told Wei Gongcheng that the group behind the incident was more dangerous than the Ancient Demons of Cloud Capital.
• Chen Qing and Wei Gongcheng reasoned that the outsiders had sealed the Underworld to conceal the children’s movements from its records.
• Chen Qing concluded that the outsiders had deliberately lured him away from the others and intended to take the divine path style.
• Chen Qing realized that Ziyue and the others were in danger.

Chen Qing investigated the dead witch doctor’s missing Spirit and weighed entering the sealed Underworld against leaving Liuzhou vulnerable. As he began to suspect the Shen Family might be plotting to seize power, the King of Qin discussed the trap with Liu Yu in the East Sea.

• Chen Qing healed Kasaer’s burns and found that a crucial part of the witch doctor’s Spirit had been taken, but the sealed Underworld hid where it had gone.
• Chen Qing rejected Wei Gongcheng’s offer to enter the Underworld and weighed the risks of taking its post himself against leaving Liuzhou without its master.
• Chen Qing asked whether the Shen Family had remained in Liuzhou while Wei Gongcheng was away, then explained why their control of six Underworlds made them suspicious.
• Wei Gongcheng said the Shen Family had stayed in Liuzhou to discuss the South Sea City incident and await Chen Qing’s return, leaving Chen Qing uncertain what to do.
• Liu Yu reported that Jiangnan’s main force had mobilized toward the South Sea, and the King of Qin asked what Chen Qing would choose.

Ziyue organized Jiangnan’s forces for a campaign to the South Sea to rescue Ao Zhen, while leaving Xu Hu in charge of the northern defenses. After securing the army’s logistics, she asked Shen Laosan which of his brothers was most likely to cause trouble.

• Xu Hu questioned Ziyue’s decision to withdraw half the northern army, but she explained that the South Sea posed the greater danger and that his presence was needed to steady the north.
• Xu Hu recommended Yuchi Feihu for the South Sea campaign, and Ziyue agreed to take him along and ordered him to bring soldiers skilled in changing battle formations.
• Ziyue mustered the troops and considered the shortage of experienced commanders, since Tian Heng remained unconscious and several West Sea Army deputies had been executed for treason.
• Ziyue prepared the expedition to rescue Ao Zhen, explaining that she distrusted the South Sea elders and wanted to use military force to ensure they released him.
• After Shen Laosan assured Ziyue that the army’s supplies were ready, she asked which of his brothers was most likely to cause trouble.

Ziyue and Shen Laoqi suspected that the South Sea’s actions pointed to a traitor within Jiangnan, possibly one of Shen Laoqi’s brothers. They planned to leave for Liuzhou the next morning, though Shen Laoqi remained uneasy about Jiangnan’s security.

• Ziyue explained that the South Sea could have reinforced Cloud Capital earlier but seemed to wait for Chen Qing to leave, suggesting a plan against Jiangnan.
• Shen Laoqi concluded the South Sea would need help from within and suspected a powerful Shen Family member could help it seize control of Jiangnan’s Underworld.
• Shen Laoqi identified Second Brother in Nanyang City and Third Brother in Nanming Prefecture as possible successors to Wei Gongcheng, but judged Second Brother less likely to betray them because he seemed content in his current role.
• Ziyue refused to seal or move against Shen Laoqi and his brothers without evidence, and ordered Shen Laoqi to prepare to leave at the hour of the dragon.
• Ziyue planned to leave her elite guards with Xu Hu, while Shen Laoqi worried that the enemy could exploit the same apparent security.

Chen Qing charged into the Underworld to uncover the enemy’s plans, while the King of Qin warned that powerful forces from the ancient past had returned. Chen Qing then awoke as a terminally ill, obese man, with his life as a powerful lord apparently revealed as a dream.

• Chen Qing decided to enter the Underworld with Wei Gongcheng rather than wait helplessly or send him back alone.
• The King of Qin recognized Chen Qing’s divine light and said Chen Qing had grown overconfident, while hinting at dangerous forces from the ancient past.
• The King of Qin told Liu Yu and the captain of the guards to build their strength and face the coming era calmly.
• Ziyue saw Chen Qing’s divine light and considered whether to support him, but remembered his order to rescue Ao Zhen and defend Jiangnan instead.
• Chen Qing woke in the body of a terminally ill, obese man and found no sign of the demons, ghosts, or gods he had known.

Chen Qing woke in a private hospital, believing he had returned to the final days of his former life as Pu Yunchuan. He learned that doctors wanted his consent for an experiment and that his half-brother had arrived, then froze when he finally saw the newcomer.

• Chen Qing regained consciousness and recalled dying of cancer, while questioning whether his life in another world had been a dream.
• He overheard doctors discussing an experiment that required his consent and learned that his data was unusually valuable.
• Chen Qing discovered that his estranged mother had been contacted and that his half-brother was coming to the hospital.
• The doctors told the arriving young man that his brother was in danger and urged him to decide whether to approve the experiment.
• Chen Qing strained to see his half-brother and was dumbfounded by the newcomer's face.

Ziyue dreamed of a forgotten past-life memory in which she met Chen Qing at a data life laboratory, leaving her stunned by his familiar face. In the present, Chen Qing recognized the person approaching him and realized that his younger half brother shared his name and face.

• Ziyue woke after Shen Qi knocked and told him that her Spirit Energy had become unstable.
• Ziyue recalled resigning from her data specialist job and receiving an invitation to join a data life research project.
• In her dream, Ziyue accepted the invitation, traveled to America, and met the person who had invited her.
• Ziyue recognized the inviter as Chen Qing, who looked and sounded exactly like someone from her present life.
• In a hospital, Chen Qing recognized the approaching person as his younger half brother, also named Chen Qing.