Chapter Summaries

Kang De extracted the corrupting energy from the dying dragon Aocheweier, restoring his senses long enough for him to reveal that Cuixien had betrayed the delegation while searching for the River of Origin. Aocheweier died after apologizing to Lily, who explained Dragonfall as Kang De left her alone with the remains.

• Kang De used the Power of the Fire Thief to extract the mysterious energy from Aocheweier and found that the infection had entered through the dragon's weak point, Carver's Demise.
• Lily concluded that a companion had attacked Aocheweier, and he regained enough awareness to accuse Lily before remembering the betrayal.
• Aocheweier told Lily that Cuixien had found a powerful energy source and sought the River of Origin to unlock dragons' potential and restore their glory.
• Aocheweier asked Lily to save him, then apologized for bullying and rejecting her before he died after she refused to forgive him.
• Kang De finished extracting the mutated matter, and Lily explained that the dragon's remains would undergo Dragonfall as Kang De left to check the equipment.

Kang De and his companions studied the corrupted dragon’s shield, then pursued Cuixisi deeper into the underground world. After Kang De briefly returned to the surface, he came back to find himself alone in the dark, unable to reach the White Mist World, and began experiencing sudden, flickering changes between realities.

• Horus explained that the mysterious energy had automatically shielded the corrupted dragon and proposed developing portable personal shields, while Kang De agreed to help design them.
• Lily refused to take the dead dragon’s remains, and Horus explained that she was protecting Kang De from being blamed for its death.
• Kang De, Lily, and Horus followed the trail left by Aocheweier through the vast underground world in pursuit of Cuixisi and the River of Origin.
• During a rest, Kang De returned to the surface to brief Stella, Hong San, Tina, and the Grand Duke, then left Parrot a pinyin note about the underground crisis and A Xing’s strange behavior.
• Kang De returned to the underground camp and found himself alone in darkness, with his companions and equipment gone and his spatial connection to the White Mist World unresponsive.
• After Kang De called for A Xing, the camp and his companions briefly reappeared, then vanished again as he was left alone in the darkness.

Kang De recovered from a time flashback and learned about three historical visions that led to disasters. With Aocheweier’s trail cold and Cuixisi still missing, he and Lily decided to investigate the ancient scene for clues, beginning with the possibility that intelligent life once lived there.

• Kang De described seeing the cavern in another space-time, and Lily identified the experience as a possible time flashback.
• Lily recounted three past flashback cases: a dwarf lord’s discovery unleashed demons, an emperor’s vision sparked political turmoil, and a guardian’s reported revelation ended with the last era.
• Lily suggested that Kang De follow the vision to find clues about the mysterious element, the River of Origin, and the depths while they searched for Cuixisi.
• Kang De recalled that the distant light might have been a fire and sensed that intelligent life had once lived there.
• Lily accepted investigating the ancient presence as their next objective.

Kang De experienced another time flashback and saw a torchlit procession led by a figure who seemed familiar to him. After Lily and Horus found a recently opened cave along the procession’s route, Kang De saw a battle inside and learned that the fighters used weapons and abilities strengthened by the mysterious element.

• Lily explained that places, obsessions, thoughts, or people might trigger time flashbacks, and Kang De wondered why he alone experienced them.
• Kang De saw a procession of varied humanoid beings carrying torches and following a flag-bearer, who turned toward him before the vision ended.
• Kang De described the procession to Lily, then suggested that his awareness and Akatum’s divine power might be interrupting his visions; Lily proposed that his resistance kept him from immersing himself in them.
• Lily, Kang De, A Xing, and Horus searched the area but found only rubble until Horus located a cave entrance that had recently been cleared by a dragon.
• Lily suspected Cuixisi had opened the cave and found it strange that he had left no traps; as the group prepared to enter, Kang De experienced another flashback and saw the procession’s people fighting native creatures with weapons and abilities strengthened by the mysterious element.

Kang De and Lily explored an ancient underground passage and discovered that its former inhabitants had mastered weapons and armor powered by the mysterious element. A fourth Time Flashback revealed that they had fought Black Beasts, but Stella’s warning that word had gotten out forced Kang De to return to the fortress.

• Kang De and Lily inferred that the ancient warriors had safely harnessed the mysterious element to make weapons, armor, and shields, and suspected their underground ruins held a method for using it.
• Kang De remained troubled by the Sound of Doomsday and the sense that unseen forces had shaped his path, but he continued deeper into the passage with Lily and A Xing.
• Lily urged Kang De to rest and questioned his devotion to Goth, prompting him to shout that he did not want to be the Fire Thief before apologizing and moving on.
• Kang De triggered a fourth Time Flashback, saw the ancient warriors fighting Black Beasts, and emerged shaken.
• Stella’s flashing warning button alerted Kang De that something was happening above, so he sent Lily and A Xing back and teleported to the fortress, where Stella told him that word had gotten out.

Kang De investigated the leak of the mysterious element and rejected Stella’s demand to detain Lily, sparking a bitter quarrel between them. After Hong San pulled Kang De away, a small silver ball reached Stella with a message from him: he was tired.

• Stella warned Kang De that the news had leaked, and he returned underground to question Lily about whether she had shared the secret with the dragons.
• Lily denied telling anyone or being monitored, so Kang De left her and A Xing together with supplies and signal transmitters.
• Kang De returned to Stella and said Lily was not responsible, but Stella demanded that he detain her and accused him of risking Goth’s security.
• When Stella scolded Hong San for interrupting, Kang De defended him, and Stella apologized before coldly insisting that the Survey Corps would follow Kang De’s orders.
• Hong San separated the angry pair and persuaded Kang De to leave; a small silver ball then rolled to Stella and played Kang De saying he was tired.

Kang De confessed to Hong San that he was exhausted by the burdens and apparent predestination surrounding his life, then abruptly traveled to Danfeng Lucerne after learning Goth was under pressure. At Maple Leaf Palace, he confronted Arcane Council envoys demanding access to Goth’s discovery and threatened them unless they revealed who had leaked the information.

• Kang De asked Hong San what he would want without responsibilities, then described his doubts, fatigue, and anger at feeling pushed along a predetermined path.
• Kang De vanished through a phase gate, and Hong San realized he had gone to Danfeng Lucerne after Stella had warned him that Goth faced pressure from several sides.
• Kang De returned to Maple Leaf Fort and learned that Tina was attending a meeting at Maple Leaf Palace.
• Arcane Council envoys demanded information about the corrosive energy near Qilin Cape and access for an investigation team, while Tina defended Goth’s sovereignty and actions.
• Kang De entered the audience hall, demanded the name of whoever had leaked the information, and threatened the envoys when they refused to provide it.
• After an envoy challenged him, Kang De asked whether he wanted to see him redefine what a clown was.

Kang De demanded that Goth choose between fighting for its future and accepting a fragile peace, and Tina sided with him against her father. The grand duke handed Tina his signet ring and withdrew, while Kang De and Tina comforted each other; Tina then took up Goth’s authority as Hilmeria came to protect her.

• The Arcane Council envoys left after delivering their protest, and Kang De clashed with the grand duke over how Goth should respond to the council and the other nations.
• Kang De urged the grand duke to suppress internal unrest and demanded that Goth either fight for a powerful future or accept peace without his support.
• Tina declared that she agreed with Kang De and opposed her father’s approach, so the grand duke placed his signet ring on the floor and told her to rule in his name.
• The grand duke and Hilmeria left the audience hall, and Tina clung to Kang De and admitted she feared he would disappear.
• Kang De and Tina kissed, and Tina privately resolved to help him in anything so long as he stayed with her.
• Tina picked up the signet ring as Hilmeria returned to protect her, while Kang De walked into the imperial embassy in Goth.

Kang De visited the imperial ambassador and sent a pointed message to the emperor while asking about the Broken Isles. As ships and powers prepared to exploit Goth’s crisis, a brilliant light appeared over the archipelago and its warning system announced an assault.

• Kang De asked the imperial ambassador to tell the emperor that his letter was coming and that he expected a reply.
• Kang De took the ambassador’s map after locating the Broken Isles, then left while the ambassador watched in fear.
• Ships and armed groups gathered across the Broken Isles, preparing to sail toward Goth and profit from its troubles.
• A Cathayan mage argued that Kang De could not protect Goth from the world’s powerful forces, while his companion defended him.
• The Broken Isles’ detection system sounded its highest alert after a brilliant light appeared on the horizon.

Kang De demonstrated the destructive reach of his forbidden spell by striking the sea far from the Broken Isles, but the resulting tsunami and storm devastated the islands. The Broken Isles Core Council concluded that the attack was not a declaration of war, while Kang De left after delivering his warning.

• The Broken Isles sounded a foreign-attack alarm as their defenses activated and residents fled to shelters.
• Kang De's meteorite spell struck the sea far from the islands, and mages across the Broken Isles watched its impact through Atmospheric Perspective arrays.
• The impact raised a vast column of water and sent a violent storm and tsunami across the Broken Isles, destroying docks, damaging ships, and terrifying their crews.
• A Cathayan mage explained to his companion that Kang De had aimed far away to avoid killing the islanders outright.
• The Broken Isles Core Council rejected a member's claim that the strike was a declaration of war, and Kang De said the attack conveyed the meaning of his ban on sending ships to sea before leaving through a Phase Gate.

Kang De used a forbidden spell to devastate the sea near the Broken Isles, deterring the fleets preparing to attack Goth and forcing the nations to reconsider their plans. As he prepared to pursue Cuixisi and the mysterious element, Lily sensed that something was wrong with him, while the chapter left his inner darkness and the danger of failure unresolved.

• Kang De's forbidden spell caused a towering surge, a storm, and a tsunami that damaged ships and ports across the Broken Isles and terrified their crews into refusing to sail for Goth.
• Kang De explained that the strike had deterred the nations from a large-scale assault, while he prepared defenses and warned that the mysterious element could make Goth the center of a conflict.
• Kang De sensed that the dormant Grewind Swarm would obey him, but dismissed the ominous warning that fate could not be changed.
• Kang De told Lily that Goth and the world faced multiple threats and insisted they hurry to find Cuixisi and control the source of the mysterious element.
• A Xing took Kang De's hand as they entered the underground passage, while Lily worried about what might happen if their plans failed.

Kang De and Lily found a second dragon corpse corrupted beyond recognition, and Kang De’s attempt to examine it triggered another Space-Time Flashback. He witnessed an ancient battle between armored warriors and powerful Void Spirits, then realized the warriors themselves were being transformed by the mysterious elements they used.

• Lily found the corrupted corpse of a second dragon in the blue crystal cavern and recoiled at its condition.
• Kang De covered part of the corpse and examined it, finding that mysterious-element corruption had spread through nearly all its flesh.
• A mutated human attacked Kang De, but the standard-bearer from his earlier vision killed it with her spear-tipped battle standard.
• Kang De entered a Space-Time Flashback and watched the standard-bearer and her armored companions fight powerful Void Spirits.
• A warrior unleashed a burst of power, later knelt before the standard-bearer, and was killed by her at his own apparent request.
• Kang De recognized that the fallen warrior’s body was becoming like the aberration he had seen and realized the warriors were also corrupted by the mysterious elements they wielded.

Kang De and Lily followed the corrupted dragon’s trail through the crystal labyrinth and found an Echo Stone revealing that the space-time flashbacks were a trap. As Lily urged Kang De to seek help rather than continue alone, A Xing spotted something ahead and a dragon roared in the depths.

• Kang De explained that the mysterious Element had corrupted the ancient warriors and the dead dragon, while Lily observed that corrupted dragon blood made the glowing plants flourish.
• Kang De and Lily followed the dragon’s trail backward and found an Echo Stone containing his final message.
• Lily deciphered the dragon’s warning that Cuixisi’s visions and the space-time flashbacks were a trap laid by the Unknowable One.
• Lily urged Kang De to stop pursuing the mysterious Element alone and seek help from the nations, warning that his greed and obsession could ensnare him.
• A Xing spotted something down a passage, the ground shook, and a dragon roared from the depths.

Lily and Kang De found Cuixisi transforming a red dragon into an aberrant creature and learned that Cuixisi planned to sacrifice seven dragons, with Lily as the seventh. They fought him, but Cuixisi escaped into a deep rift after declaring that fate would bring Lily to him.

• Lily heard a dragon’s call for help, and she and Kang De followed it deep underground to find Cuixisi attacking a red dragon.
• Kang De’s armor-piercing shot weakened Cuixisi’s shield, allowing Lily to attack, but Cuixisi completed the red dragon’s transformation and drained his power.
• Cuixisi revealed that he intended to sacrifice seven dragons and named Lily as the final sacrifice before attacking her.
• A Xing rescued Lily from Cuixisi’s charge, while Kang De’s weapons and explosives battered the aberrant dragon without stopping him.
• Cuixisi pursued Kang De through a portal, but the portal severed his tentacles; Lily and A Xing struck him as Kang De returned to the fight.
• Cuixisi drove them back and fled into a bottomless rift, leaving Lily shaken by the threat of her own transformation.

Lily revealed that Cuixisi had chosen her as his seventh dragon sacrifice, while Luzi explained that Cuixisi planned to raise a corrupting substance called the Cuixisi Element into the sky and spread it across the world. Lily chose to stay and pursue Cuixisi with Kang De, who insisted he would protect her.

• Kang De learned that Cuixisi had named Lily as his next target, and he comforted her as she clung to him.
• The corrupted Luzi explained that Cuixisi had sacrificed four dragons to gain power from an evil being and that Wei'insi was still alive.
• Luzi revealed Cuixisi's plan to raise the River of Origin and spread the corrupting Cuixisi Element around the world.
• Luzi urged Kang De and Lily to pursue Cuixisi immediately, arguing that Lily needed to remain as a distraction, but Kang De said he would send her back and go alone.
• Lily accepted that stopping Cuixisi was her mission, and Kang De vowed to protect her as she prepared to continue with him.

After Luzi chose suicide rather than die in front of Lily, Kang De agreed to pursue Cuixisi with Lily and A Xing. He outlined a plan to alert the Dragon Emperor and Phoenix King, prepare enchanted equipment, and use the White Mist World's spatial laws to kill Cuixisi, but the group still needed to work out the details.

• Luzi asked Kang De and Lily to keep his death from the dragons, then leapt into a chasm and died; Lily named his death Dragonfall.
• Lily refused to stay behind, and she and A Xing persuaded Kang De that they would pursue Cuixisi together.
• Kang De explained that Cuixisi had gained knowledge from a Space-Time Flashback and could grow stronger by sacrificing dragons, so they needed to attack before he recovered.
• Kang De decided to warn the Dragon Emperor and Phoenix King to stand by, then make enchanted armor and weapons for Lily and A Xing.
• Kang De proposed using spatial gates to draw Cuixisi into the White Mist World, whose laws could kill him, and the group agreed to develop a detailed plan.

Kang De prepared for the confrontation with Cuixisi by arranging support for Goth and having Horus build armor for Lily and A Xing. The group pursued the dragon into a dangerous underground region, where Kang De experienced another Space-Time Flashback.

• Kang De asked Stella to keep the Survey Corps safe and show the Dragon Emperor a video if he arrived, while Stella struggled with their damaged relationship and wondered why Kang De did not trust her.
• Kang De and Horus completed armor that could store mysterious Elements for Lily and A Xing to use in a desperate counterattack, and Kang De asked Horus to make him a suit as well.
• Kang De joined Lily and A Xing in the dark red underground region and gave them the new armor, explaining its hidden energy-transfer function.
• Lily and A Xing accepted the armor and its risks, and Kang De told them to use its stored energy only as a last resort.
• Kang De, Lily, and A Xing hurried through the underground to pursue Cuixisi, and Kang De experienced another Space-Time Flashback.

Kang De learned that the ancient people willingly sacrificed themselves to become powerful monsters that could fight the Void Spirits, and he and his companions used A Xing’s unexplained sense of direction to find the crystal pillars tied to those sacrifices. At the fifth pillar, they encountered the warped dragon Wei'insi, who still recognized Lily but attacked them in a frenzy.

• Kang De witnessed an ancient warrior accept a ritual sacrifice, transform into a monster, and devour a Black Beast before the other survivors left him behind.
• Kang De found the warrior’s decayed helmet and warhammer beside an exploded crystal pillar, and concluded that Cuixisi had used the same ritual to gain power from Luzi’s life essence.
• Lily identified corroded green dragon blood and shed scales near the pillar, leading Kang De to infer that Cuixisi would have to visit other pillars to sacrifice Wei'insi and Lily.
• A Xing inexplicably sensed where the next crystal pillars lay, guiding Kang De and Lily to them as Kang De witnessed more ancient sacrifices and learned that the transformed monsters had grown powerful by consuming Void Spirits.
• At the fifth pillar, Lily recognized the warped dragon as Wei'insi; he called to her while losing control and attacked Kang De and the others.

Kang De and his companions fought Wei'insi, using Phase Gates and coordinated attacks to defeat and transport the warped dragon into the White Mist World. As Lily and A Xing waited for Kang De to return, Wei'insi rose in an unfamiliar city.

• Kang De used a Time Flashback to see Wei'insi devouring Void Spirits and drawing energy through the fifth crystal pillar, then ended the vision to face the dragon.
• Kang De's group tested weapons strengthened with mysterious elements and observed that the elements could override Wei'insi's behavior, possibly revealing a way to interfere with Cuixisi.
• Wei'insi abandoned Lily and charged Kang De, but Kang De, A Xing, and Lily used a Phase Gate and a series of blasts and strikes to send him through it.
• Lily and A Xing waited for Kang De and stayed alert in case Cuixisi was nearby; Lily privately wished Kang De would return soon.
• In the White Mist World, Kang De watched Wei'insi rise on a city avenue after being transported there.

Kang De trapped the aberrant dragon Wei'insi in a city shaped by his control of space and extracted the mysterious element from its body to test how it resisted the White Mist World's erasure. Wei'insi died when the substance fell below a critical threshold, and Kang De left for the other world after his signal transmitter flashed, torn between pursuing his research and stopping Cuixisi.

• Wei'insi recognized Kang De and attacked him, but Kang De manipulated the city and its space to overwhelm and trap the dragon.
• Kang De extracted the mysterious element from Wei'insi while observing the dragon's body and mind return toward their original state.
• Wei'insi begged Kang De to save him and offered loyalty, but Kang De continued the extraction until Wei'insi died.
• Kang De concluded that a minimum quantity of the mysterious element protected its host from the White Mist World's erasure and considered further experiments.
• Kang De's signal transmitter flashed, so he reversed time, opened the Dark Portal, and returned to the other world.