Chapter Summaries

Shen Xing ordered Onyxia to slaughter the lords who had attacked him, using her Dragon Wing: Sky Shroud domain to crush them in darkness. He spared Wu Hun and the other Heavenly Star Nation lords after Qin Lang identified them as allies, while the battered Lachlan begged for his life.

• Shen Xing commanded Onyxia to kill everyone in the two-kilometer dark domain, where she crushed dozens of lords and troops.
• Shen Xing revealed that he and Lachlan had agreed to eliminate the others so the Daoton Family could enter the top ten, prompting the trapped lords to curse Lachlan.
• Lachlan realized that his plan had failed and that his death would eliminate him before the fourth level, leaving the Daoton Family without a place there.
• Shen Xing learned from Qin Lang that Wu Hun, Wu Wen, and several other Heavenly Star Nation lords had been caught in the domain while preparing to attack the Golden Eagle Kingdom lords.
• Onyxia withdrew the shadows, revealing the surviving allies and the mangled Lachlan, who begged Shen Xing to spare him in exchange for money.

Shen Xing’s group defeated the lords who had tried to ambush them, claimed the top four leaderboard spots, and entered the next layer of the Lotus Pond Secret Realm. After the defeated lords condemned Shen Xing on the forum, Lachlan raged at his seaside base until Master Cross arrived.

• Shen Xing had Xiao Hei restrain Lachlan, and Leina burned him until Shen Xing ordered her to finish him off.
• Shen Xing’s party killed three Water Elemental Bosses, took the top four leaderboard positions, and entered the next layer.
• Lords who had been eliminated attacked Shen Xing in forum posts, while commenters mocked their failed ambush and Lachlan’s defeat.
• At a seaside base in the Petrel Nation, Lachlan destroyed the furniture in fury over Shen Xing’s actions.
• Master Cross arrived, and Lachlan’s anger gave way to hope.

Lachlan's father reprimanded him for his failure in the Lotus Pond Secret Realm and prepared him to face Shen Xing in the Spiral Labyrinth. On the fourth floor, Shen Xing learned how Yu Feifei had reached it and arranged for her to join his group.

• Lachlan's father kicked him, criticized his poor judgment and failure, then gave him a Lord's Heart and ordered him to train at the Tower of Phantoms before confronting Shen Xing.
• Jiang Rong mourned her failure to reach the fourth floor, while Zhang Yu and Deputy Director Liu discussed the Rain and Dew Essence they had secured and Zhou Zheng suggested buying more from Shen Xing's group.
• Shen Xing arrived on the secret realm's fourth floor and noticed that Yu Feifei had also reached it.
• Yu Feifei told Shen Xing that her Jungle Envoy skill let her summon up to fifty beasts, which had helped her defeat the Water Elemental Bosses on the earlier floors.
• Shen Xing agreed to let Yu Feifei join his team, then led Leina, Hellscream, and the others across the lotus leaves to meet up with her.

Shen Xing reunited with his group and welcomed Yu Feifei, then led everyone into battle against a powerful Water Elemental army on the fourth floor. The fight began with the group’s tanks holding the front line while Qin Lang boosted his allies, leaving him weakened by the effort.

• Qin Lang, Xia Wanyin, and Xu Jiayi discussed the many powerful lords on the fourth floor before Shen Xing said another friend was joining them.
• Yu Feifei arrived riding a white tiger, and Shen Xing explained that she was his neighbor and had teamed up with him.
• Xu Jiayi and Yu Feifei traded barbs over their clothes and their connection to Shen Xing before Shen Xing told everyone to focus on hunting Water Spirits.
• The group encountered more than a hundred Boss One Star Water Elementals and a three-star Demonized Water Elemental, so Shen Xing ordered Xiao Xiao and Knight Fordring to tank while the others attacked.
• Yu Feifei summoned her Tier Three Leader Rank bear, Steelback, to join the front line as Qin Lang used his Sacrifice Knight skills to raise everyone’s attack and armor.
• Xia Wanyin praised Qin Lang’s buffs, and Shen Xing warned him against overusing skills that drained his strength.

Shen Xing’s group stacked their buffs to sweep through the fourth floor of the Lotus Pond Secret Realm and climb the rankings. They all qualified for the fifth floor and accepted the invitation to advance.

• Xu Jiayi activated her Sin Punishment Domain, and Yu Feifei used Wind of the Wild to boost the team’s combat power.
• Shen Xing’s group rapidly defeated the fourth-floor Water Elementals, taking turns finishing off the bosses for points.
• Shen Xing persuaded Yu Feifei to keep the points from her kill, and the five continued farming together while other lords struggled with the tougher monsters.
• After half an hour, all five members of Shen Xing’s group had entered the top ten; Shen Xing rejected Dolores Jones’s request to join them, while Asada Hitomi avoided the group.
• An hour later, all five received the option to enter the fifth floor and confirmed that they would advance.

Shen Xing and his teammates reached the fifth floor of the Lotus Pond Secret Realm, where the challenge changed to defending a stone bridge against Water Elemental armies. They regrouped and began fighting attacks from both ends of the bridge, with the battle still underway.

• Zhang Yu and Deputy Director Liu reported that they had failed to reach the top ten, while Zhou Zheng revealed that he had reached the fifth floor of the expert bracket.
• Shen Xing discovered that the fifth floor used stone bridges as strongholds and required lords to defend against increasingly powerful Water Elemental armies.
• Shen Xing gathered Qin Lang, Xu Jiayi, Yu Feifei, and Xia Wanyin at Xia Wanyin's bridge and assessed their forces before the challenge began.
• Water Elementials surged onto the bridge from both ends, and Shen Xing assigned his teammates to defend the front and rear while the others attacked.
• Shen Xing's group began battling the relentless Water Elementials as Leader Rank monsters joined the assault.

Shen Xing and his group endured the fifth floor of the Lotus Pond until Overlord Rank Raging Water Dragons appeared, then chose to stay and fight. Onyxia and Leina defeated their opponents, while Hellscream trapped the third dragon in his Mirror Image Killing Formation.

• Shen Xing's group survived the escalating Water Elemental assault as other players were eliminated or withdrew.
• Seven Overlord Rank Raging Water Dragons emerged, and the remaining lords jumped from their bridges, leaving Shen Xing's group alone.
• Shen Xing refused to withdraw and ordered Onyxia, Leina, and Hellscream to face the three dragons.
• Onyxia burned her water dragon into mist, and Leina destroyed hers with a relentless barrage of fire.
• Hellscream's six clones immobilized the last water dragon with Mirror Image Killing Formation.

Shen Xing and his allies fought to survive the Lotus Pond Secret Realm’s fifth floor, then used Leina’s Cataclysm against a wave of eight Overlord Rank water dragons. At the challenge’s end, the leaderboard revealed that Shen Xing had reached a hidden sixth floor.

• Leina and the others defeated three Overlord Rank water dragons, but no rewards appeared, so Shen Xing chose to keep fighting.
• The Water Elemental army grew stronger, and repeated attacks killed or overwhelmed most of the group’s troops.
• With two minutes left, eight Overlord Rank water dragons emerged; Shen Xing ordered Qin Lang to use Sacrifice Pact on Leina and sent everyone else into the air on Onyxia.
• Leina unleashed Cataclysm, setting the lake ablaze and engulfing the Water Elementals and water dragons in dark red flames.
• At 5:00 a.m., Jiang Rong spotted the leaderboard and the group discovered that Shen Xing had reached floor six, the hidden stage, while Qin Lang had survived all 60 minutes on floor five.

Shen Xing unlocked the Lotus Pond Secret Realm’s hidden sixth floor and discovered that lords from other planes had entered it as well. As a bright light emerged from the central lotus pedestal, he prepared to learn more about the gathering.

• Shen Xing met the hidden-stage conditions by surviving the fifth floor and killing more than twenty Overlord Rank creatures, while his teammates were teleported out.
• Shen Xing chose to enter the sixth floor and arrived alone at a beautiful Lotus Pond, where a notification instructed him to cross an arched bridge.
• A light barrier blocked Shen Xing from entering the central platform, and the system announced that seventeen lords from 106 planes had unlocked the hidden stage.
• Shen Xing realized the other figures behind the barriers were lords from other planes, confirming his suspicion that worlds beyond the Land of Mist and Blue Star existed.
• A dazzling burst of white light erupted from the lotus pedestal in the center of the platform.

Shen Xing watched powerful lords challenge the chains in the Lotus Pond Secret Realm to win rewards, learning that taking on too many could be fatal. Bai Xueji began a daring attempt to break ten chains, leaving the result uncertain.

• The Lotus Pond platform opened its abyss, and lords from different worlds gathered to break chains for rewards.
• The Butcher Woman Lord broke three chains and claimed a skill book and lotus seeds, while another lord broke four and took lotus root, a seed, and dew.
• A cloaked lord attempted eight chains, was drained of his strength, and was pulled into the abyss as the others let him die.
• The golden-armored lord broke seven chains and won an epic-quality greatsword made of flowing water.
• Bai Xueji wrapped ten chains around her arm and began pulling, trembling under the strain as the gathered lords watched.

Shen Xing discovered that the Flower of Mist absorbed the chains’ backlash, allowing him to gather far more chains than anyone had dared to attempt. After transforming and rising from his wheelchair, he began hauling the chains from the abyss as the Lotus Pond Secret Realm shook.

• Bai Xueji broke ten chains, collected the treasures that emerged, and left the abyss platform without revealing what she had obtained.
• Shen Xing grabbed a chain and felt it drain his luck, charm, and constitution until the Flower of Mist absorbed its chilling force.
• Shen Xing realized he could hold the chains without suffering backlash, then gathered all seventy available chains around his body.
• The lords assumed Shen Xing would die, but he dragged the chains until the secret realm shook and the abyss began to stir.
• Shen Xing reminded several lords of their promises, transformed from a frail youth into a tall man, stood up, and pulled the chains upward as waves surged through the lake.

Shen Xing broke the chains in the Lotus Pond Secret Realm, completed its hidden stage, and returned to his territory with powerful treasures and settlement rewards. Leina explained that Shen Xing’s help had eased the strain of her forbidden flame and asked him to spend more time exchanging with her.

• Shen Xing activated Shadow Potential and snapped all the chains holding the abyssal figure, triggering the hidden stage’s closure and teleportation.
• Shen Xing collected the Ancient Building · Lotus Pond, an Unknown Lotus Lamp, Thousand-Year Lotus Seeds, and White Jade Lotus Seeds before being teleported out.
• Lords worldwide received their event rewards and flooded forums with questions about Shen Xing’s hidden-stage experience; Zhang Yu told Jiang Rong he would ask Shen Xing about it the next day.
• Shen Xing returned to his territory, reassured Leina and the generals, and received Rain and Dew Essence, a Random Epic Gem, and a Brilliant Boss Soul.
• Leina told Shen Xing that his recent help had eased the harm caused by Cataclysm and asked him to exchange with her more often; Shen Xing awkwardly agreed.

After leaving the Lotus Pond Secret Realm, Shen Xing added Xia Wanyin and Yu Feifei to the group chat and divided the spoils among the team according to their contributions. The group agreed to sell their Rain and Dew Essence, and Shen Xing returned to the Land of Mist to count the resources he had gained.

• Shen Xing added Xia Wanyin and Yu Feifei to the discussion group, where they traded stickers before he listed the team's secret-realm spoils.
• Shen Xing proposed dividing the rewards by contributions, assigning himself 40%, Xia Wanyin 30%, Qin Lang 15%, Xu Jiayi 10%, and Yu Feifei 5%; everyone agreed.
• The group agreed to meet at Shen Xing's house the next day for a victory feast, with Xu Jiayi and Yu Feifei planning to compete over cooking.
• Qin Lang told the group that Zhou Zheng wanted to buy their Rain and Dew Essence, which could extend lifespan and restore youth, and everyone except Xia Wanyin agreed to sell their shares.
• After the group signed off, Shen Xing returned to the Land of Mist, greeted Leina, and began counting his resources from the night's battles.

After tallying his rewards, Shen Xing used Growth Water Droplets to strengthen the Golden Ancient Tree and cover his outer wall with Blood Demon Vines. He then began inspecting his settlement rewards and discovered the powerful effects of Rain and Dew Essence.

• Shen Xing ordered workers to plant the Ancient Tree Seeds, then used three Growth Water Droplets on the Golden Ancient Tree, raising Golden Child to Lv4 and boosting territory members’ attributes and aptitude.
• The Golden Ancient Tree grew to a hundred meters tall, awed the territory’s people and West, and drew Leina’s attention to a mysterious life with a pure yang flame aura within its crown.
• Shen Xing used three Growth Water Droplets on the Blood Demon Vine Seed, covering the 1,500-meter outer wall with thorny vines and activating its special traits.
• Shen Xing inspected a Rain and Dew Essence reward and learned it could raise a troop’s star rating or permanently improve a living being’s constitution and lifespan.

Shen Xing opened an Epic Strength Gem and used it to strengthen his orcs before giving Leina a Thousand-Year Lotus Seed. The seed transformed Leina, raising her aptitude, awakening a talent, and granting her two Tier Three spells.

• Shen Xing opened the Random Epic Gem and obtained an Epic Strength Gem that increased matching troops’ strength and critical hit rate.
• Shen Xing replaced the purple gem in the Orc Barracks with the Epic gem, causing the territory’s orcs to feel their strength surge.
• Shen Xing examined the Thousand-Year Lotus Seed and gave one to Leina.
• Leina consumed the seed, gained 10 aptitude, comprehended Flame Barrier and Spell Counter, and awakened the exclusive talent Blazing Soul.
• Shen Xing inspected Leina’s newly gained spells.

Shen Xing examined the rewards from the Lotus Pond, discovering Leina’s new fire spells and talent as well as the limit of her aptitude. He inspected the lotus seeds and damaged lotus lamp, then revealed the legendary Lotus Pond building, whose effects remained to be explored.

• Leina thanked Shen Xing for the Thousand-Year Lotus Seed and described her new fire affinity and a bottleneck in her comprehension.
• Shen Xing checked Leina Yenait’s status, learned her aptitude of 87 was nearing its limit of 90, and resolved to investigate breaking that limit later.
• Shen Xing read that White Jade Lotus Seeds could produce valuable materials and might eventually become Thousand-Year or Ten-Thousand-Year Lotus Seeds, though their growth required millennia and invited calamities.
• Shen Xing examined the Unknown Lotus Lamp and learned it could illuminate a large area, aid allies, suppress enemies, and briefly block all damage.
• Shen Xing revealed the legendary Lotus Pond, which could become a territory building with an independent space of about 50,000 square meters and the law of time.

Shen Xing and Leina entered the Lotus Pond’s inner world and discovered its extraordinary buildings and abilities. Shen Xing learned how the Lotus Pond could support cultivation, troop recruitment, and resource gathering, though summoning Water Elementals required costly materials.

• Shen Xing and Leina crossed the Lotus Pond’s threshold and found a vast lake, nine White Jade Lotus Platforms, a Rain God Square, and a Rain God Statue.
• Shen Xing inspected the buildings’ interfaces and discovered their meditation, troop-recruitment, territory-buff, and prayer-based reward effects.
• Shen Xing tested the Lotus Pond’s Water Elemental recruitment and found that even one Elite required costly materials, so he postponed building an army.
• Shen Xing recognized that the White Jade Lotus Platforms could accelerate his spiritual and magical cultivation, especially when combined with the Lotus Pond’s time acceleration.
• Shen Xing noted that the Rain God Square could help up to a thousand troops absorb Soul Stones faster, while regular prayers at the Rain God Statue could earn valuable resources.

Shen Xing explored the Lotus Pond, recruited Nimue to plant White Jade Lotus Seeds, and learned ways to cross the Blackwater River. After Nimue absorbed a Dazzling Boss Soul and advanced, Shen Xing carried Leina to the pond’s lotus platforms to test them.

• Nimue visited the Lotus Pond, asked to bathe there, and Shen Xing agreed.
• Shen Xing asked Nimue to plant the White Jade Lotus Seeds in a ring around the pond’s center and gave her a Dazzling Boss Soul to absorb first.
• Nimue told Shen Xing that black-robed boatmen ferried travelers across the Blackwater River for gold, while the Blackwater Scepter’s master could cross freely.
• Nimue absorbed the soul and advanced to Boss One Star, gaining Water Spirit Body and Water Summoning Technique; she then began planting the seeds.
• Shen Xing carried Leina across the pond with his dragon wings, and they settled on neighboring lotus platforms to test them.

Shen Xing discovered that the Lotus Pond’s platforms greatly accelerated cultivation and shared their benefits and Thousand-Year Lotus Seeds with his commanders, raising their aptitude. After returning to the real world, he welcomed Yu Feifei, who arrived early to prepare a seafood feast.

• Shen Xing and Leina tested the lotus platforms and found that they replenished spiritual power and improved cultivation.
• Shen Xing summoned the commanders, who meditated on the platforms and marveled at their effects.
• Shen Xing gave Thousand-Year Lotus Seeds to the commanders, increasing their aptitude and rejuvenating their appearance.
• Shen Xing told the commanders to keep cultivating so they could absorb the seeds’ medicinal power.
• Shen Xing left the Land of Mist when the doorbell rang and found Yu Feifei at his gate with seafood and hairy crabs.
• Yu Feifei went to the kitchen to prepare the feast while Shen Xing stayed out of her way.

Shen Xing hosted Qin Lang, Xu Jiayi, and Yu Feifei for a meal, and the gathering grew when Director Zhang Yu and three Anomaly Handling Bureau colleagues arrived. Zhang Yu began asking Shen Xing about the hidden stage, while assuring him he was free to refuse.

• Yu Feifei welcomed Qin Lang and Xu Jiayi, then traded jealous barbs with Xu Jiayi while they prepared dinner with Shen Xing and Qin Lang.
• The group ate together, and Shen Xing invited Xia Wanyin to visit Jiangcheng and promised to pick her up with Fried Chicken.
• Zhang Yu, Zhou Zheng, Elder Wang, and Jiang Rong arrived from the Anomaly Handling Bureau and joined the meal.
• After dinner, Zhang Yu said the higher-ups wanted to know what Shen Xing encountered in the hidden stage and how he entered it, but stressed that Shen Xing could choose whether to answer.