Chapter Summaries

Shen Xing’s four legions and Fried Chicken slaughtered the hell army, sending his leaderboard points soaring. By the end of the third day, he had climbed from 134th to 42nd place, astonishing players across the world.

• Shen Xing combined his troops’ abilities and the Drum of Invigoration to strengthen his allies and drive the hell creatures back.
• Shen Xing sent Fried Chicken to attack the flying monsters, earning points as the battle continued.
• Elder Wang and Jiang Rong watched Shen Xing’s rank rise and assumed the Ring of the Shadow Demon Dragon was behind his gains.
• Players across the world discussed Shen Xing’s rapid climb, while his momentum continued throughout the day.
• At midnight, Shen Xing finished the third day ranked 42nd, having risen more than seventy places.

After a grueling day of fighting in the lava cavern, Shen Xing led his exhausted troops back to the territory with valuable loot and twenty casualties. They returned safely, where Nimue's horrifying soup tested the warriors' courage, and Shen Xing sent everyone to rest.

• Shen Xing checked the rankings, noted that he had reached the top fifty, and ordered his exhausted troops to return after their day-long battle against hell creatures.
• The troops traveled through the rain and fog, reached the territory, and met Nimue, who offered them her black, tentacle-filled meat soup.
• Gorehowl, Da Hou, Hellscream, and Xiao Hei drank Nimue's soup after insisting they wanted to try it, while Shen Xing watched them struggle through it.
• Shen Xing told Nimue to prepare a normal meat-and-wheat dinner, then sent the warriors away to rest and dismissed Fried Chicken.

After returning from the lava cavern, Shen Xing used the loot to build hot springs, upgrade his defenses, recruit skeleton archers, and prepare to expand the territory. He ended the chapter by laying out buildings for a planned second ring of walls.

• Shen Xing sorted the lava cavern loot and learned the volcanic hot spring and level 3 flame arrow tower blueprints.
• Shen Xing began building four hot springs outside the north wall and started upgrading all eight level 2 arrow towers into flame arrow towers.
• Shen Xing spent resources to recruit sixty skeleton archers, activating their White Bone Arrow Formation legion skill.
• Shen Xing built thirty-two arrow towers and eight lighthouses near the Bonfire as preparation for a second ring of walls with a five-hundred-meter diameter.

After a grueling day, Shen Xing rested and then returned to Mist Reincarnation, where his new territory defenses were complete. He collected finished armor and prepared to keep climbing the leaderboard while Leina delivered the previous day's spoils.

• Shen Xing logged out exhausted, replied to messages from his friends and Xia Wanyin, then fell asleep as officials and overseas powers began investigating him.
• Shen Xing woke at eight, returned to the game, and saw that the hot spring, lighthouse, and arrow towers had been completed.
• Shen Xing checked the leaderboard and found himself in 57th place, down from 43rd, but decided to continue progressing at his own pace.
• Shen Xing told Logan to pause the light armor work and build a Hellfire Cannon Turret, then collected 107 sets of finished Ascetic's Light Armor.
• Leina reported that six monster waves had attacked the territory and gave Shen Xing their spoils, which included Soul Stones, Vinar Silver Coins, and fragmented souls.

Shen Xing built houses outside the territory to give Leina and the laborers relief from the orcs’ snoring, then led his troops into the lava cavern for another battle against hell creatures. As the fourth day of the leaderboard ended, his rank climbed to fifteenth, drawing the attention of powerful figures and prompting Jiangcheng’s officials to consider securing him more supplies.

• Leina asked Shen Xing to build a house outside the territory because the orcs’ snoring kept her awake, and he built separate housing areas for combatants and laborers.
• Shen Xing assembled his troops, noted their level gains after the previous day’s battles, and distributed Ascetic’s Light Armor to the orcs.
• Shen Xing led several hundred troops through the fog and rain to the lava cavern, where they fought the growing number of hell creatures around the Hell Portal.
• Jiang Rong and Elder Wang discussed Shen Xing’s rapid progress and decided against sending him Lion No. 1 Mixture, while considering obtaining Swallow No. 3 Supplement for him.
• At the end of the fourth leaderboard day, Shen Xing had risen to fifteenth place, with only Wu Wen ranked above him in the Heavenly Star Nation.

After Shen Xing’s rapid rise in the rankings drew the attention of powerful rivals, he rested and received two experimental potions from the Anomaly Handling Bureau. After testing one on an orc, he drank the strength-enhancing potion himself.

• Lachlan Downton ordered a subordinate to investigate Shen Xing and arrange to eliminate him, then forced her to address him as Pride.
• Miss Lust wondered what Shen Xing would taste like and asked Count Roman whether she could take first place in the rankings.
• Shen Xing ignored the messages and missed calls flooding his phone, switched on do-not-disturb mode, and went to sleep.
• The next morning, a courier delivered Shen Xing a package from the Anomaly Handling Bureau containing two potions and a letter from Wang Kun.
• Shen Xing tested the Giant Bear No. 1 Enhancer on a newly summoned orc, confirmed it increased the orc’s strength without causing harm, and drank the potion himself.

Shen Xing drank two potent potions that greatly improved his strength, constitution, and spirit, then focused on advancing his territory and rankings. After Logan completed a Demon Flame Turret, Shen Xing brought it to the wall to test it against monsters approaching the territory.

• Shen Xing drank the Giant Bear Enhancement Potion and the Swallow No. 3 Mixture, raising his strength, constitution, and spirit above one hundred.
• Shen Xing tested his enhanced body and used mental power to briefly lift a glass, then set his sights on reaching the leaderboard's top five.
• Shen Xing surveyed the expanded defenses around the Bonfire and worried that his Soul Stone reserves had fallen below three thousand.
• Logan told Shen Xing he had finished a Demon Flame Turret, and Shen Xing had several orcs carry it to the wall for a test.
• Shen Xing and the orcs moved the turret toward the western district after lighthouses spotted approaching monsters, including Evil Eye.

Shen Xing tested his new cannon against an approaching Evil Eye, eventually killing it after several missed shots, and ordered Logan to build more cannons and practice shells. He then set out to grind in the Black Sky Wing Mountain Range, evolved Fried Chicken, and saw that his leaderboard rank had fallen to 21st.

• Shen Xing fired the cannon at the Evil Eye, missed repeatedly, and finally destroyed it with his seventh shot.
• Fried Chicken retrieved the Evil Eye's loot, including a Greater Soul Stone, six Broken Boss One Star Souls, and 252 Vinar Silver Coins.
• Shen Xing judged the cannon powerful but inaccurate, then ordered Logan to build more cannons and make practice shells for troop training.
• Shen Xing traveled toward the Black Sky Wing Mountain Range and used Life-Sacrifice Evolution to raise Fried Chicken to Boss One Star ★★★, unlocking Whirling Storm.
• Shen Xing checked the leaderboard and found that his rank had dropped from 15th to 21st overnight.

Shen Xing continued expanding his territory while climbing into the leaderboard’s top five, alarming Jiangcheng’s officials and drawing the attention of a foreign group. As Shen Xing advanced toward second place, the Daoton Family prepared to use a second plan against him.

• Shen Xing finished fifth place on the leaderboard’s fifth day with 9,042 points, then spent resources building a ring of city wall foundations around his territory.
• On the sixth day, Shen Xing upgraded Da Hou to Boss One Star and climbed back into the top ten, then reached the top five with 11,000 points.
• Jiang Rong and Elder Wang worried that Shen Xing’s rise could provoke foreign attacks, recalling how a master-level expert had targeted a promising Jin Family youth ten years earlier.
• Jiangcheng’s director returned after an S-rank abnormal incident at sea and pledged to personally guard the city against anyone who threatened Shen Xing.
• Overseas, a woman told Pride that Shen Xing had reached third place and then second; Pride dismissed the threat and ordered her to slaughter an infected village as their second plan.

Shen Xing took first place in the worldwide rankings on the sixth day, drawing intense attention as he surveyed his territory and reviewed its battle losses and resource shortages. After logging off, he found the Jiangcheng discussion group buzzing about him, where a member revealed that Shen Xing was among them.

• Shen Xing overtook Lachlan Downton to claim first place, sparking heated debate across international forums.
• Shen Xing surveyed his expanded territory, watched his troops recover in the volcanic hot springs, and tallied the day's losses and growing troop numbers.
• Shen Xing worried that food and Soul Stones were running short, but expected the final day's rankings to bring a large reward.
• Shen Xing logged off, checked that his Demon Bone Blade material was still unmatched, and consigned a Demon Severed Hand for pickup.
• Members of the Jiangcheng Heavenly Pride Discussion Group discussed Shen Xing's first-place ranking, and At the End of the Immortal Path, I Am the Peak revealed that Shen Xing was in the group.

Shen Xing learned that Xu Jiayi and Qin Lang had found monster-farming areas near their territories, while Xia Wanyin discovered a vast underground ruin and invited him to explore it after the leaderboard event. That night, an intruder tried to snipe Shen Xing at his villa, but Zhou Zheng intercepted and killed him, then warned the Anomaly Handling Bureau that more attackers might be nearby.

• Shen Xing discussed the final leaderboard push with Qin Lang and learned that Xu Jiayi had risen to rank 113 by hunting walking corpses in a mass grave.
• Qin Lang described farming corrupted tree spirits near his territory and explained that fire drove them away.
• Xia Wanyin told Shen Xing she had reached the top 300 and found a huge underground ruin; they agreed to explore it together after the event.
• A black-clad attacker assembled a sniper rifle on the hill behind Shen Xing's villa and aimed at its surveillance camera.
• Zhou Zheng confiscated the attacker's weapons and equipment, then used his ability to kill him.
• Zhou Zheng told the Anomaly Handling Bureau the attacker was from Wind Eagle Country and ordered heightened vigilance in the surrounding area.

As lords recklessly raced for leaderboard positions, hidden monsters killed many of them, forcing survivors to reconsider the Land of Mist as a deadly trial. The next morning, Shen Xing awoke to torrential rain, received a warning from Qin Lang, and remained confident he could take first place.

• A buzz-cut lord and his army were killed when a group of Abominations self-destructed around them.
• A tall woman leading two hundred troops opened a building in an abandoned town, and a flood of bloody water swallowed her army.
• As deaths mounted and leaderboard names vanished, many lords stopped taking reckless risks and prioritized survival.
• Shen Xing woke to heavy rain and checked reports showing storms and flooding across much of the world.
• An Anomaly Handling Bureau deliveryman brought Shen Xing a package, and Qin Lang warned him that top-ranked players had died while pursuing points.
• Shen Xing replied with an OK sticker and said he expected to take first place on the final day.

Shen Xing used Life-Sacrifice Evolution on the gravely injured Black Arrow, hoping to save him. Black Arrow appeared to fall apart, but reassembled as an ice-powered undead with a hidden class and new abilities.

• Shen Xing learned from Xiao Hei that a powerful, icy walking corpse had exploded beside Black Arrow, leaving him near death.
• Shen Xing found Black Arrow frozen and barely alive in the hot spring and decided to try Life-Sacrifice Evolution despite its warning of a high chance of failure.
• Black Arrow agreed to the evolution, but his bones shattered and scattered across the floor.
• Xiao Hei realized Black Arrow was not dead as his bones gathered and reassembled amid a sudden freeze.
• Black Arrow transformed into an Icebone Executioner, reaching Boss One Star and gaining ice-based abilities and the Frost Yin Qi talent.

Shen Xing watched Black Arrow evolve into an Ice Bone Executioner, then led his troops back to the lava cavern to fight hell creatures and raise his leaderboard points. As his score closed in on Lachlan’s, Lachlan revealed that his family had secretly sent a Master Rank troop to kill Shen Xing.

• Shen Xing examined Black Arrow’s new ice skills and Frost Yin Qi talent, then learned she could speak in short phrases.
• Shen Xing assembled his forces and led nearly three hundred troops through the rain to the underground lava cavern.
• Shen Xing’s orcs and skeleton archers attacked the hell creatures, rapidly increasing his leaderboard points.
• A woman warned Lachlan that Shen Xing had passed Dolores and was closing the gap with him.
• Lachlan said his family’s secretly raised Master Rank troop would eliminate Shen Xing and that they would deny responsibility.

Lachlan and the other major factions received provocative aerial photographs that made them call off an operation, while Shen Xing retook first place and continued advancing through the Hell Portal cavern. By around ten o’clock, Shen Xing was nearly a thousand points ahead of Lachlan as the portal’s energy began to build.

• Lachlan learned that the operation had been called off after the Heavenly Star Nation sent a photograph of his island, and he saw that the photographer had raised a middle finger at the camera.
• The major faction leaders received similar photographs of their secret locations with a message challenging them, and they fell silent.
• Shen Xing retook first place with 15,500 points, then sensed powerful auras pass overhead and suspected that people were targeting him.
• Shen Xing led his troops through the cavern as Black Arrow froze monsters with Frost Yin Qi and the orc army shattered them.
• Shen Xing noticed that the Hell Portal beneath the magma pool might be advancing to Three Eyes, but continued clearing monsters and gaining points.
• By around ten o’clock, Shen Xing had reached 18,000 points and stood nearly a thousand points ahead of Lachlan.

Shen Xing let a Tier Three demon emerge from the Hell Portal, then summoned the Shadow Demon Dragon with a broken ring. The dragon crushed the demon and shattered the portal, leaving Shen Xing stunned by its power.

• Shen Xing noticed the Hell Portal evolving into a Three Eyes Portal as a demon began forcing its way through.
• Shen Xing held Hellscream and Xiao Hei back while the demon emerged and threatened the cavern’s troops.
• Shen Xing taunted the demon and activated the broken ring, summoning the Shadow Demon Dragon.
• The Shadow Demon Dragon dragged the demon through the portal and crushed it, causing the portal to shatter.
• Shen Xing marveled at the dragon’s strength, then saw the dragon looking back at him.

Shen Xing checked the points earned from the Shadow Demon Dragon’s kill and surged past twenty thousand, securing a massive lead over Lachlan. As pioneers worldwide reacted to the rankings, Lachlan realized he could no longer catch up before the event ended.

• The Shadow Demon Dragon vanished after killing the War Demon General, and Shen Xing discovered the kill had earned him 3,000 points.
• Director Zhang and Elder Wang discussed Shen Xing’s chances of taking first place while Lachlan fought undead to close the gap.
• Jiang Rong noticed Shen Xing’s score had jumped, and the officials saw that he had taken a commanding lead.
• Pioneers worldwide debated how Shen Xing had gained over three thousand points at once, while the chapter explained that Elder Wang’s damaged ring had let him summon the dragon soul.
• Shen Xing saw that his score had passed twenty thousand and concluded Lachlan had little chance of overtaking him before midnight.

Shen Xing secured first place in the Points Leaderboard after defeating a Tier Three demon, destroying the Hell Portal, and continuing to hunt monsters until the event ended. He collected his ranking rewards and led his troops back toward his territory, where an orange-red glow burned in the mist.

• Shen Xing sent Hellscream to collect the loot from the lava cavern, including two orange items, two gold items, an Elite Three Stars troop nest, and Greater Soul Stones.
• Shen Xing led his troops through the mist to hunt more monsters and build his lead over Lachlan before the leaderboard closed.
• The system announced the final standings and revealed that the Rain God Avatar Challenge would begin in 24 hours for the top 100 Pioneers.
• Shen Xing received the first-place rewards, including a Brilliant Leader Rank Soul, three Troop Nest Enhancement Stones, three gold gems of his choice, and a Proof of Hero.
• Shen Xing ordered his troops to return to the city and approached his territory with Fried Chicken, spotting an orange-red glow in the mist.

Shen Xing returned to his territory and examined his leaderboard rewards and the spoils from killing a demon. After placing an Elite Three Stars Infernal troop nest, he watched a flaming meteorite emerge from the mist and race toward him.

• Shen Xing returned to his territory, where Leina practiced swordsmanship and skeletons patrolled the walls.
• Shen Xing used Enhancement Stones to upgrade the Orc Nest, Lesser Demon Nest, and Skeleton Archer Den.
• Shen Xing inspected a Brilliant Leader Rank Soul, fifty Kingdom Gold Coins, and the Proof of Hero, but postponed choosing which troop to make a hero.
• Shen Xing placed the Elite Three Stars Infernal troop nest in the western outer city.
• A green-flaming meteorite burst through the mist and hurtled toward Shen Xing.

Shen Xing summoned ten Elite Infernals and examined a Hell Chariot blueprint that could speed up his troops’ exploration. He sought Logan at the smithy to find out whether the blacksmith could build it, but Logan’s Intermediate Forging Mastery fell short of the blueprint’s requirements.

• Shen Xing narrowly dodged a meteor and used resources to summon ten level-five Elite Infernals.
• He inspected the Infernals’ combat skills and learned they could enter a dormant stone form and consume Soul Stones to restore their energy.
• Shen Xing examined the Hell Chariot blueprint and realized its speed and capacity could help his troops explore farther afield.
• He went to the smithy and asked Logan, the cyclops blacksmith with Intermediate Forging Mastery, whether he could build the chariot.