Chapter Summaries

Su Mu and the other students had to project their dungeons onto the ancient battlefield and survive as long as they could. Su Mu chose a moderately populated area, while his enormous dungeon drew attention and Zhao Wuji regained confidence that he could challenge him in the endurance test.

• The secret realm revealed the ancient battlefield and ordered the students to choose where to project their dungeons before the countdown ended.
• Su Mu selected a moderately populated area and projected his dungeon, including Flower-Fruit Mountain, Lion Camel Ridge, White Tiger Ridge, and Jade Wave Pool.
• More than a thousand students projected their dungeons, transforming the battlefield into a vast landscape of varied terrain.
• The students noticed that Su Mu's dungeon stretched over a hundred kilometers and discussed its unusual size and Journey to the West theme.
• Zhao Wuji realized Su Mu's dungeon depth had helped him win the first stage and resolved that his Nine Nether Sword Master might let him compete in the endurance test.

As the examinees admired Su Mu’s vast, unusual dungeon, the proctors warned that its enormous size could become a liability in the fourth stage of the assessment. The chapter left Su Mu facing the threat of coordinated attacks from intelligent monsters across his sprawling defenses.

• Lin Qingyin studied Su Mu’s dungeon and marveled at how its contrasting landscapes and themes coexisted.
• Ye Qingxue watched the crowd gather around Su Mu’s projection before turning her attention to her own Ice and Snow World.
• Wang Hao stared at Su Mu’s dungeon, clenched his fists, and resolved to focus on his own assessment.
• Elder Xiu warned the proctors that level-thirty monsters on the ancient battlefield were intelligent, organized, and capable of killing examinees.
• The proctors pointed out that Su Mu’s dungeon would face attacks from every direction and require too many troops to defend its vast perimeter.

Examinees faced coordinated monster attacks across the ancient battlefield, and nearly a hundred were eliminated within ten minutes. Su Mu’s vast dungeon drew monsters from every direction, but they disappeared inside without any visible sign of his defenses, leaving Zhao Wuji confident that the pressure would overwhelm him.

• High-difficulty examinees found that monsters dodged skills and coordinated attacks on their core cards.
• Monsters overwhelmed examinees in supposedly safer areas by massing into huge hordes or attacking from underground.
• Several examinees were eliminated as their core cards reached critical health, and nearly a hundred were gone within ten minutes.
• Examinees noticed that monsters were pouring into Su Mu’s dungeon from every direction and vanishing inside.
• Zhao Wuji expected Su Mu’s vast territory and exposed approaches to make him buckle, then returned to defending his own dungeon with the Nine Nether Sword Master.

Su Mu continued to hold his enormous territory against waves of monsters while earning experience and Momentum Points at an extraordinary rate. As the battle went on, Benbo'erba and Babo'erben reached level ten and joined the fighting, while the other participants remained unable to explain Su Mu’s survival.

• After half an hour, Su Mu remained at the top of the leaderboard as hundreds of other participants were eliminated.
• Zhao Wuji and the other participants wondered how Su Mu was defending his territory, since the monsters entering it seemed to disappear.
• Su Mu watched Little Drill Wind and White Bone Spirit kill the incoming monsters and gained large amounts of experience and Momentum Points.
• Benbo'erba and Babo'erben reached level ten and began fighting monsters approaching from Jade Wave Pool.
• The stronger incoming monsters did not slow the battle, and Su Mu’s creatures continued farming them at an increased rate.

Proctors and examinees watched Su Mu survive the ancient battlefield’s escalating monster attacks while his kill count and powerful cards stunned them. After an hour, he was still fighting, leaving Zhao Wuji, Lin Qingyin, and Ye Qingxue wondering how long he could endure.

• The proctors marveled at Su Mu’s thirty-seven thousand kills and puzzled over his repeated use of Years Like a Blade on the Stone Left Over from Mending Heaven.
• The proctors noticed Benbo'erba and Babo'erben had reached level ten, revealing two SS-rank cards with combat indexes near two hundred thousand.
• After an hour, more than half the examinees had been eliminated, but Su Mu continued resisting the monsters attacking his dungeon.
• Zhao Wuji convinced himself Su Mu was close to being eliminated and hoped to overtake him for first place.
• Lin Qingyin judged Su Mu’s position impressive but thought the level difference would soon overwhelm his cards.
• Ye Qingxue worried that Su Mu might be eliminated, then insisted she only cared because such a result would be unfair.

As the ancient battlefield trial wore on, the remaining examinees struggled to survive while Su Mu calmly fought off far larger hordes of higher-level monsters. He kept clearing monsters to gain experience and Momentum Points, bringing his core card’s age to five hundred and fifty-six years.

• More than nine hundred examinees were eliminated, and Zhao Wuji, Lin Qingyin, Ye Qingxue, and Wang Hao saw that Su Mu was still holding steady against far greater numbers of stronger monsters.
• Zhao Wuji’s core card fell to forty percent health, Lin Qingyin’s to thirty percent, and Ye Qingxue’s Snow Queen to forty percent as their defenses faltered.
• Wang Hao survived in a low-density area with his core card at fifteen percent health, but seeing Su Mu’s performance crushed his remaining excuses for falling behind.
• Su Mu checked that Benbo'erba and Babo'erben had reached level fifteen and were helping defend the water sector, while the Stone Left Over from Mending Heaven remained durable enough to protect the core card.
• Su Mu continued fighting because the monster kills granted substantial experience and Momentum Points, and he calculated that twenty-eight catalyzed uses of Years Like a Blade had raised his core card’s age from five hundred to five hundred and fifty-six years.
• Su Mu kept the partially embedded Green Lion King out of battle to avoid risking the destruction of the expensive card, then resumed clearing monsters.

The Nest Cult attacked Sichuan’s provincial assessment site and used a Cult Evil Token to corrupt the secret realm projection. Inside the secret realm, Elder Xiu sensed a Third Transcendence Evil Race priest beyond the barrier as the invigilators prepared to protect the candidates.

• Nest Cult dungeon masters infiltrated the Sichuan projection site and attacked the guards and observers.
• A Nest Cult member threw a Cult Evil Token into the secret realm projection, spreading black mist across the screen.
• The Dungeon Master Association sent reinforcements and ordered the exits sealed while the secret realm was already compromised.
• Elder Xiu sensed a Nest Church Evil Race priest’s Third Transcendence aura beyond the secret realm’s barrier and vanished from the platform.
• Elder Zhao and the other invigilators deployed their dungeons and prepared to protect the candidates as violent impacts sounded overhead.

Elder Xiu fought an evil soul that had infiltrated the secret realm, but the Cult Evil Token kept him from stopping its escape. The evil soul broke through the barrier and targeted Su Mu as the examinees realized the Evil Cult had invaded.

• Elder Xiu used sealing chains to bind the human body controlled by the evil soul, but the soul escaped from it and slipped through the secret realm barrier.
• Elder Xiu destroyed the emptied human body and attacked the Cult Evil Token’s barrier, while the evil soul waited for its chance to flee.
• The evil soul broke through the ancient battlefield and clouds, then plunged toward Su Mu, who ranked first.
• The remaining examinees heard Elder Xiu and the evil soul clash and realized the Evil Cult and Nest Church had attacked the exam.
• Su Mu recalled that evil souls could invade Soul Spaces as a bolt of evil power struck the secret realm barrier, alarming every examinee.

A high-ranking evil soul attacked the examinees and split into level-thirty Evil Mist Puppets, forcing everyone to fight or defend themselves. Su Mu tried to shield his core card and buy time, but the evil soul instantly killed Benbo'erba and Babo'erben.

• Lin Qingyin ordered the examinees to scatter, and Ye Qingxue ran toward Su Mu as the evil soul targeted him.
• Wang Hao openly celebrated the attack on Su Mu, revealing his jealousy and killing intent.
• The evil soul split into black threads that became Evil Mist Puppets, and the examinees projected their dungeons to defend themselves.
• Su Mu projected his dungeon as a shield, but his Appraisal could not reveal the evil soul's rank or attributes.
• Benbo'erba and Babo'erben attacked the evil soul to protect Su Mu's core card, but it shattered their weapons and killed them instantly.

Su Mu’s dungeon faced a powerful evil soul that killed or incapacitated his strongest defenders, while Ye Qingxue arrived and helped restore the Snow Queen. With his usual trump cards exhausted, Su Mu realized World-Cleansing Radiance might be useful after all, but the chapter ended before he acted.

• The evil soul dissolved Benbo'erba and Babo'erben, then shattered White Bone Spirit after she delayed it for three seconds.
• Little Drill Wind endured two attacks from the evil soul before calling for aid, while the weakened Green Lion King rose from his throne.
• Ye Qingxue arrived with the Snow Queen, who briefly froze the evil soul before being struck and losing most of her health.
• Ye Qingxue used an ice-blue scroll to restore some of the Snow Queen’s health, and Su Mu reconsidered using World-Cleansing Radiance.

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.