Recaps

Su Mu used World-Cleansing Radiance to remove the Green Lion King's partial-integration restriction, letting him unleash his SS-rank power and swallow the wisp of evil soul. The Green Lion King reverted to A rank afterward, while Su Mu noticed a trace of sinister energy remained on him.

• Su Mu activated World-Cleansing Radiance on the Green Lion King, clearing the negative status caused by partial integration.
• The Green Lion King regained his full attributes, reached SS rank, and overwhelmed the evil soul with his demonic aura.
• The Green Lion King pinned the evil soul and swallowed it, silencing its final protest.
• The Green Lion King returned to A rank after his power faded, and Su Mu saw that he had gained residual sinister energy.
• Ye Qingxue realized Su Mu had kept the Green Lion King's strength hidden, and Su Mu thanked her for coming to help.
• Su Mu noted that the White Bone Spirit, Benbo'erba, and Babo'erben's cards had shattered, but the core card remained intact.

Su Mu survived the evil soul’s attack while the other examinees struggled against its evil mist puppets, and the puppets suddenly vanished. The proctors watched helplessly from outside the sealed mystic realm before seeing Ye Qingxue risk herself to protect Su Mu, just as a light appeared.

• Lin Qingyin and Zhao Wuji struggled to defend their core cards as evil mist puppets overwhelmed the examinees, killing some of them.
• The evil mist puppets dissipated, and the examinees saw that Su Mu was still alive with his dungeon projection intact.
• The proctors, unable to enter the mystic realm because the Cult Evil Token sealed it, watched the evil soul attack Su Mu and destroy his creature cards.
• Ye Qingxue strengthened the wounded Snow Queen and stood in front of Su Mu as the evil soul prepared another strike.
• A light appeared, and the evil mist puppets vanished.

Su Mu used World-Cleansing Radiance to remove the Green Lion King's semi-embedded status, allowing the A-rank card to reach SS-rank strength and swallow the evil soul. After the rescue workers arrived, Su Mu assessed his damaged cards, thanked Ye Qingxue for protecting him, and saw that Wang Hao had died in the attack.

• Su Mu's World-Cleansing Radiance removed the Green Lion King's semi-embedded status, and the Green Lion King grew to SS-rank strength and swallowed the evil soul.
• Elder Xiu arrived after the battle, reviewed the monitoring footage, and ordered the records sealed at the highest level.
• Su Mu found that Benbo'erba and Babo'erben's cards had shattered, the White Bone Spirit was reforming, and Little Drill Wind was badly injured.
• Su Mu thanked Ye Qingxue for charging in to protect him, and she said she had acted to save herself.
• Association rescue workers began clearing the scene, where Su Mu noticed Wang Hao's corpse and shattered core card.

After surviving the Nest Church’s attack in the secret realm, Su Mu ranked first in the fourth-stage leaderboard and was chosen to cross the Dragon Gate. He entered the gate before hundreds of thousands of cheering examinees, while Ye Qingxue watched him with a gentle, well-wishing look.

• The surviving examinees left the secret realm, and the crowd learned that the Nest Church had attacked and dozens of examinees were missing.
• Su Mu saw that the fourth-stage rankings were pending, with him in first place and Ye Qingxue in sixth.
• A path rose from the ground beneath Su Mu and carried him toward the Dragon Gate as the voice congratulated him.
• Hundreds of thousands of examinees watched Su Mu approach the Dragon Gate and applauded as he glanced back at Ye Qingxue.
• Su Mu stepped into the Dragon Gate, and golden light swallowed him.

Elder Xiu gathered the proctors in the examination secret realm and explained why he suspected a Nest Church infiltrator had leaked Su Mu’s information and helped the attack. He announced he would use Heart Questioning to find the traitor, but one proctor suddenly revealed himself by taking a woman hostage.

• Elder Xiu told the proctors that the Nest Church attack had killed thirty-seven people and seriously injured nineteen.
• Elder Xiu reasoned that the Evil Race had targeted Su Mu in advance and used a Cult Evil Token because it knew Elder Xiu would be present.
• Elder Xiu explained that Su Mu’s information could have been leaked before he arrived, then announced he would perform Heart Questioning on everyone.
• A middle-aged proctor in a dark gray uniform attacked a female proctor, held a pitch-black dagger to her throat, and exposed himself as a Nest Church follower.

Elder Xiu activated the Heart-Questioning Tower after exposing two Nest Cult infiltrators among the examiners. He ordered the remaining examiners to be tested and went to watch Su Mu enter the Dragon Gate.

• A Nest Cult examiner took a female proctor hostage, but Elder Xiu trapped him inside the Heart-Questioning Tower and freed her.
• Elder Xiu revealed that everyone present would undergo the questioning of the heart to ensure no other infiltrators remained.
• The female proctor attacked the captive Nest Cultist and tried to kill herself, exposing herself as a second infiltrator.
• Elder Xiu restrained both infiltrators and ordered two dungeon masters to interrogate them and investigate the other examiners.
• Elder Xiu left to look toward the place where Su Mu had entered the Dragon Gate.

After Su Mu passed through the Dragon Gate, Yuan, the secret realm’s creator, restored his destroyed cards and offered him a choice of one powerful treasure. Su Mu browsed the first tier of rewards, and Yuan revealed that two more tiers remained.

• Su Mu stepped through the Dragon Gate and arrived in a sealed, milky-white space, where Yuan introduced itself as the consciousness of the secret realm’s creator.
• Yuan restored Little Drill Wind, Benbo'erba, Babo'erben, and White Bone Spirit in Su Mu’s Dungeon Space.
• Yuan explained that only those who passed the Dragon Gate could enter the hidden place and choose one treasure to help them grow.
• Su Mu examined a vast selection of S-rank-or-higher cards, equipment, and soul skills, considering which would be most useful and rare outside the secret realm.
• When Su Mu hesitated, Yuan told him that the displayed treasures were only the first of three tiers.

Su Mu passed up the first floor’s treasures and entered the second and third floors, where he found items of immense power. The chapter ended with him facing a mysterious gate named Dragon Gate.

• Yuan explained that Su Mu could only take a higher-floor treasure if it recognized his theme, and Su Mu chose to enter the second and third floors.
• Su Mu entered the second floor and Appraisal revealed several SSS-rank treasures, including the All Arts Return to Their Origin Source Bead.
• Su Mu left the Source Bead behind and pushed open the door to the third floor.
• Su Mu found only three objects on the third floor: a green eye, a black gear, and a bronze gate bearing the name Dragon Gate.

Su Mu found the Dragon Gate and realized it could serve as an anchor for bringing true gods into his Journey to the West dungeon. He chose it despite the tiny odds of success and prepared to embed it, ending with his resolve to succeed.

• Su Mu appraised the Dragon Gate and saw that it was an exceptionally luxurious gate that perhaps did not belong in the mortal realm.
• Su Mu recognized that the Dragon Gate could connect his dungeon to the Heavenly Court and help him create true gods.
• Su Mu chose the Dragon Gate, and Yuan warned him that only one of 292 previous third-level picks had succeeded.
• Su Mu discovered his Soul Power had been restored to full, and Yuan explained that the secret realm would supply the power needed to embed the card.
• Su Mu learned he could modify the card to better fit his dungeon and resolved to succeed in earning its recognition.

Su Mu embedded an ancient gate in his dungeon and named it the South Heaven Gate, awakening its heavenly power. The gate’s pressure forced several demons to kneel, while the Green Lion King stood unaffected and appeared nostalgic.

• Su Mu embedded the dark cyan gate card in his dungeon, where a silent archway appeared above Flower-Fruit Mountain.
• Su Mu named the gate the South Heaven Gate, spending one hundred points of Soul Power.
• Golden runes and the gate’s name appeared as clouds, celestial music, and a powerful heavenly pressure filled the dungeon.
• Little Drill Wind and Benbo'erba and Babo'erben knelt before the gate, while White Bone Spirit struggled to resist its pressure.
• The Green Lion King stood unaffected and looked nostalgic as Su Mu watched for a backlash that never came.

Su Mu completed and enhanced the South Heaven Gate, which strengthened his dungeon and its demons. Yuan sent him out of the third floor, leaving Su Mu in a plaza with instructions to keep what happened inside secret.

• Su Mu used Soul Power to enlarge and decorate the South Heaven Gate, raising it from Yellow Rank to Profound Rank and increasing its HP and deity attack bonus.
• Su Mu discovered that White Bone Spirit, Little Drill Wind, Benbo'erba, and Babo'erben had stronger attributes, while Green Lion King had risen from A-rank to S-rank.
• Su Mu realized the South Heaven Gate's status as an anchor had strengthened his Journey to the West-themed dungeon and its demons.
• Yuan praised Su Mu for obtaining a treasure from the third floor and reminded him not to reveal what happened inside.
• Yuan sent Su Mu out of the Dungeon Space, and Su Mu found himself standing in a plaza.

After the examination, Elder Xiu met Su Mu in the empty plaza and offered him a reward for saving examinees in the ancient battlefield. Su Mu chose an S-rank Black-Crowned Golden Eagle card to create the Golden-Winged Great Peng King, then returned home as Elder Xiu promised to advocate for his admission to Tsinghua and Peking Universities.

• Su Mu found Elder Xiu waiting in the empty examination plaza after the secret realm ended.
• Elder Xiu thanked Su Mu for saving examinees during the ancient battlefield assessment and offered him a card from the restricted database.
• Su Mu chose the S-rank Black-Crowned Golden Eagle card as material for creating the Golden-Winged Great Peng King.
• Su Mu told Elder Xiu he planned to attend Tsinghua and Peking Universities, and Elder Xiu promised to seek the highest contract terms for him.
• Elder Xiu vanished, and Su Mu stepped through a gate of light toward home.

Elder Xiu realized he had forgotten to tell Su Mu about the million military merit points he had arranged for him, but decided to let Su Mu discover the reward himself. At Rongcheng No. 1 High School, students began returning from the college entrance exam secret realm as teachers checked their results, and Ye Qingxue emerged.

• Elder Xiu remembered that he had arranged a million military merit points for Su Mu, but had forgotten to tell him before he left.
• Elder Xiu decided to let Su Mu discover the reward when he first logged into the military system.
• Parents waited outside Rongcheng No. 1 High School as students began leaving the college entrance exam secret realm.
• Zhao Jianguo and the teachers checked the returning students' results, and the highest-ranked S-rank student so far, Liu Yang, placed twenty-one hundredth overall.
• A teacher announced that Ye Qingxue had emerged.

Ye Qingxue returned from the college entrance exam ranked sixth in the province, while news emerged that the Nest Cult’s attack had killed Wang Hao. Su Mu remained missing because he had entered the Dragon Gate, and Ye Qingxue stayed behind to wait for him.

• Ye Qingxue told Zhao Jianguo she had placed sixth in the province, prompting the school to celebrate and prepare publicity.
• Students reported that the Nest Cult had attacked the fourth-stage assessment, and Zhao Jianguo confirmed the attack and received the casualty list.
• Zhao Jianguo and the teachers learned that Wang Hao was the only Rongcheng No. 1 High School student listed as dead.
• When Su Mu failed to emerge, Ye Qingxue told the dean that he had entered the Dragon Gate after the fourth stage ended.
• Zhao Jianguo told the staff to keep news of Su Mu and Wang Hao private until the results and casualties were confirmed.
• Ye Qingxue declined to leave and waited by the exit passage for Su Mu.

Su Mu returned from the Dragon Gate and confirmed that he had taken first place in the province. As he headed home, Ye Qingxue urged him to choose a university carefully and said she would attend the same one so they could continue competing.

• Su Mu emerged from the assessment and told Zhao Jianguo and the teachers that he had placed first in the province and entered the Dragon Gate.
• Zhao Jianguo congratulated Su Mu, advised him to compare university offers, and arranged for the school to visit his home the next morning.
• Su Mu agreed to the visit, then saw Ye Qingxue waiting nearby and hurried to catch up with her.
• Ye Qingxue advised Su Mu not to rush his university choice and said she wanted to attend the same school to continue their competition.

After worrying that Su Mu had been caught in the Nest attack, Auntie was relieved to see him leave the school with Ye Qingxue. Su Mu told Auntie he had placed first in the province, and they headed home together.

• Auntie waited anxiously outside the school after hearing that people had died during the exam, then saw Su Mu come out with Ye Qingxue.
• Ye Qingxue said her parents were busy and left in a driver’s black car.
• Auntie asked Su Mu about the Nest attack, and he reassured her that it had not been too dangerous.
• Su Mu told Auntie he had placed first in the province among nearly a million candidates.
• Auntie teared up with pride and set off with Su Mu to make him something delicious at home.

After Su Mu’s achievement, Zhao Jianguo and the school administrators discussed how to inform Wang Hao’s family of his death. They watched Wang Hao’s battle recording and discovered he had cheered for Su Mu to be killed, leaving them unsure how to handle the official statement that the dead examinees were heroes.

• Zhao Jianguo told the teachers to wait for the Dungeon Master Association’s guidance before publicizing Su Mu’s achievement.
• The association sent a unified statement describing the examinees killed in the Nest Cult’s attack as warriors, and promised compensation and condolence visits for their families.
• A young teacher suggested reviewing Wang Hao’s fourth-stage battle recording to find evidence of his bravery.
• The teachers watched Wang Hao cheer for the Evil Mist Puppets to kill Su Mu, then saw Wang Hao die when the puppets attacked his dungeon.
• The teachers recoiled at Wang Hao’s behavior and worried that releasing the recording would damage the school’s reputation.

Rongcheng No. 1 High School sealed the recording of Wang Hao’s conduct and decided to tell his parents only that he died in the Nest Cult attack. At home, Su Mu’s aunt celebrated his provincial first-place finish, while Su Mu prepared to take care of the dungeon.

• Teachers dismissed Wang Hao as a hero after learning he had wanted Su Mu dead and had gloated during the cult attack.
• Zhao Jianguo ordered the school’s recording sealed, directed staff to tell Wang Hao’s parents the truth about his death, and planned to visit Su Mu’s home.
• Su Mu’s aunt celebrated his provincial first-place finish by calling relatives and proudly repeating the news.
• Su Mu told his aunt that his cousin was busy preparing for a secret-realm trip and said he would take care of the dungeon after dinner.
• Su Mu finished eating, helped clear the table, and returned to his room.

Su Mu used his Soul Power to fully embed the Green Lion King, whose completed form unleashed a powerful demonic aura across Lion Camel Ridge. The Green Lion King showed clear intelligence and ordered Little Drill Wind to keep patrolling as Su Mu inspected his panel.

• Su Mu decided to finish embedding the Green Lion King rather than place the Black-Crowned Golden Eagle, and spent 137 Soul Power to advance the embedding to three-fifths.
• After sleeping, Su Mu meditated to recover 210 Soul Power and used it to complete the Green Lion King's embedding.
• The Green Lion King grew to over ten meters tall, gained blue-black mane and green demonic flames, and released an overwhelming aura across Lion Camel Ridge.
• Benbo'erba and Babo'erben surfaced in alarm, the White Bone Spirit resisted the pressure, and Little Drill Wind drew his blade before recognizing the Green Lion King.
• Little Drill Wind called the Green Lion King his king, and the Green Lion King told him to continue patrolling while he digested the wandering ghost he had eaten.
• Su Mu realized that Little Drill Wind could speak and that the Green Lion King was self-aware, then looked at the Green Lion King's panel.

After the Green Lion King’s powerful stats left Su Mu wishing he had more Soul Power, universities flocked to recruit him for placing first in the province and awakening a unique Journey to the West theme. Elder Shen Ruolan arrived in person and represented Tsinghua and Peking Universities, leaving their offer about to be revealed.

• Su Mu examined the Green Lion King’s stats and considered how more Soul Power could strengthen his cards and let him embed the Golden Eagle King.
• Admissions representatives from leading universities crowded into Su Mu’s home and offered him special development programs, mentors, and resources.
• Su Mu’s aunt learned from a representative that his Journey to the West theme was a unique category that no one else in Great Xia had awakened.
• Elder Shen Ruolan, a Third Transcendence dungeon master, arrived and announced that she represented Tsinghua and Peking Universities and would give Su Mu a definite answer.

Su Mu accepted Tsinghua and Peking Universities’ extraordinary SSS-grade training offer after hearing their terms. He then persuaded his aunt to move from their high-rise resettlement housing to a small villa apartment, which he rented that afternoon.

• Shen Ruolan offered Su Mu three annual trips to the Great Xia Tower, a yearly card selection, and discounts on dungeon costs and university-store purchases.
• Su Mu chose Tsinghua and Peking Universities, and Shen Ruolan told him someone would meet him when he arrived.
• After the admissions officers left, Zhao Jianguo promised that the school would arrange Su Mu’s prize money and publicity.
• Su Mu told his aunt he wanted to move her to a safer home, and persuaded her by explaining that worrying about her would distract him in the wild.
• Su Mu rented a two-story villa apartment in the east of the city for his aunt.

Su Mu moved his aunt into a furnished villa and told Li Ming and Ye Qingxue that he had chosen Tsinghua and Peking Universities after placing first in the province. At midnight, he woke and replenished his Soul Power as he prepared to deal with his new card.

• Su Mu moved his aunt’s belongings into her new villa after she refused to move to the city where Tsinghua and Peking Universities were located.
• Li Ming called Su Mu, worried that his exam had gone badly, and learned that Su Mu had placed first in the province and planned to attend Tsinghua and Peking Universities.
• Li Ming said his military academy training involved a strange time difference, and Su Mu suspected he was in a special secret realm.
• Su Mu told Ye Qingxue he had chosen Tsinghua and Peking Universities, and she said she would apply there too and had received an A-rank agreement.
• At midnight, Su Mu woke and meditated to restore his Soul Power to two hundred and ten points.

Su Mu adjusted the Green Lion King's appearance and strengthened his attributes, then summoned the Black-Crowned Golden Eagle and embedded him as the Golden-Winged Great Peng King. The Peng King remained partially embedded at one-fifth of his base attributes, and Su Mu said he would fully descend in a few days before going back to sleep.

• Su Mu changed the Green Lion King's mane and scales to resemble the Azure Lion, raising the Green Lion King's attributes and combat index by about twenty percent.
• Su Mu used his remaining Soul Power to summon the Black-Crowned Golden Eagle, who landed on an eastern peak of Lion Camel Ridge.
• Little Drill Wind and the Green Lion King reacted warily to the eagle, but Su Mu ordered the Green Lion King to stand down.
• Su Mu named the eagle the Golden-Winged Great Peng King, triggering his partial embedding and transforming his appearance.
• Su Mu checked the Golden-Winged Great Peng King's S-rank panel and found his attributes were limited to one-fifth of their base values.
• Su Mu told the Green Lion King that the Golden-Winged Great Peng King would fully descend in a few days, then went back to sleep.

Su Mu left Rongcheng for Tsinghua and Peking Universities after spending his final days at home with his aunt and strengthening the Golden-Winged Great Peng King. He arrived in Capital, where his university life was about to begin.

• Su Mu raised the Golden-Winged Great Peng King's embedding from one-fifth to three-fifths while preparing to leave for university.
• Su Mu told his aunt that Ye Qingxue would travel to school later because she had business at an overseas club's nest.
• Su Mu said goodbye to his aunt, who gave him a thermos, and took a taxi to Rongcheng's teleportation array plaza.
• A service worker recognized Su Mu's admission to Tsinghua and Peking Universities and escorted him to the teleportation array.
• Su Mu paid for a ticket, traveled with a group of thirty people, and arrived at the much larger teleportation plaza in Capital.

Su Mu arrived at Tsinghua and Peking Universities Academy to complete enrollment, gain access to university resources, and obtain the White Elephant King’s base card. A volunteer guided him through campus and explained the soul skill training ground, where students trained and competed for points, before bringing him to the registration building.

• Su Mu took a cab from the teleportation plaza to Tsinghua and Peking Universities Academy, hoping to enroll and reach the dungeon containing the White Elephant King’s base card.
• A new student welcome volunteer met Su Mu at the gate and led him through campus, pointing out the cafeteria and teaching building.
• The volunteer explained that the soul skill training ground hosted combat and skill training, and that students could earn points there through matches and wagers.
• The volunteer brought Su Mu to the administrative building to register.