Chapter Summaries

Kang De reflected on the dead enemy whose cruelty toward a beggar child had shaped his vengeance, while Lily recognized how his efforts to help Distant Harbor’s orphans were tied to that past. The next morning, Han Zezheng warned Kang De that his opponents might use a grain shortage to provoke panic, leaving Kang De to ask what they should do.

• Kang De ended the banquet with a toast that promised a greater feast after another victory, reminding the guests of his enemies’ impending ruin.
• Lily guessed that Kang De’s rage came from a dead enemy who had made a beggar child suffer, and Kang De admitted he was improving the lives of orphans to make that enemy’s kind suffer by comparison.
• Lily softly meowed at Kang De, then left in embarrassment; Horus revealed he had recorded the moment and used the footage to bargain with Kang De.
• Horus demanded that Kang De find someone to take over his overwhelming workload, and Kang De reluctantly agreed to put the search on his agenda.
• Han Zezheng reported that Distant Harbor’s grain prices were likely to rise as rumors triggered panic buying, and Kang De asked him to predict what would happen next and propose a response.

Han Zezheng explained how Distant Harbor’s powerful families could weaponize a grain shortage and why they expected Kang De to avoid confronting them. After accepting Han Zezheng’s loyalty, Kang De decided to turn their scheme into a trap, and Han said the plan required imported grain backed by force.

• Han Zezheng described how Distant Harbor’s allied nobles, merchants, and officials could disrupt grain shipments while blaming Kang De for the resulting famine.
• Han Zezheng explained that the continent’s nobles were watching Kang De and would see further violence against Distant Harbor’s powerful families as an attack on their privileges.
• Han Zezheng told Kang De that Cathay’s former strength had once secured respect for its people abroad, and pledged the Han family’s loyalty, declaring that Kang De was now their country.
• Kang De accepted Han Zezheng’s loyalty and promised him dignity and safety.
• Kang De rejected compromise with the powerful families, called them potential enemies, and ordered Han Zezheng to devise a plan to trap them through the grain shortage.
• Han Zezheng said they needed large quantities of imported grain and a sharp blade to defeat the families.

Kang De assigned Han Zezheng to stabilize Distant Harbor’s grain market while encouraging him to pursue greater ambitions, then discussed the political and economic struggle with Hong San. Hong San outlined a plan to defeat the grain hoarders, and Kang De left for Danfeng Lucerne to seek grain from Teldrassil.

• Kang De told Han Zezheng to consolidate seized businesses and use every means to stabilize grain prices and supplies in Distant Harbor.
• Kang De urged Han Zezheng not to give up on his own ambitions, explaining how ordinary people could grow into great leaders through opportunity and responsibility.
• Lily teased Kang De about transforming into a beast-eared girl, and Kang De fled after she called out his interest in her.
• Hong San told Kang De that Goth’s regional nobles were withholding allegiance, and advised him to win over useful nobles without appearing hostile to the entire class.
• Hong San proposed gathering enough grain to outlast the hoarders’ funds and force prices down, then suggested Kang De test Han Zezheng’s grasp of the plan.
• Hong San sent Kang De to Danfeng Lucerne to seek grain from Teldrassil and advised him to tell Princess Tina he had visited Valentan.

Tina defended herself against palace harassment and chose to remain at Maple Leaf Palace, while Kang De discussed the economic struggle in Distant Harbor with her. He assured her he could secure enough grain, and Tina planned to ask Goth's nobles for help while hoping they would refuse.

• Tina revealed that she had exposed and punished the palace staff responsible for sabotaging her meals.
• Tina told Kang De she would stay at Maple Leaf Palace so his presence and influence remained felt in Goth's capital.
• Tina and Kang De honored their agreement with A Xing, then discussed the nobles' economic pressure on Distant Harbor.
• Tina warned that Goth was unlikely to supply grain, while Kang De refused to seek help from the elves or the Council and said victory was assured.
• Tina understood that Kang De could obtain grain and decided to write to Danfeng Lucerne's lords, hoping none would respond.

Norman and Distant Harbor’s elites drove a grain panic to challenge Kang De, while Han Zezheng organized his allies to release their stored grain and stabilize prices. Their supplies disappeared into the buying frenzy, and Han warned Kang De that powerful backers beyond the local elites were funding the commercial war.

• Norman mocked Kang De’s handouts and ordered surrounding towns and villages to gather grain for Distant Harbor, while the elites planned to obstruct its delivery and buy up supplies.
• Han Zezheng instructed Kang De’s supporters to sell all but one month’s reserves, and he explained to Han Guangcheng that they had to trust Kang De rather than resort to force.
• Han Zezheng and Han Guangcheng began calculating emergency grain needs as the city’s panic buying intensified and the grain released onto the market quickly vanished.
• Han Zezheng hurried to Kang De and reported that the commercial war was backed by forces more substantial and complex than Distant Harbor’s local elites.

Kang De uncovered a coordinated effort to drive up grain prices across Azure Waves Province and suspected the Broken Isles were behind it. He refused aid from the empire, the Council, and the Dusk Moon Dynasty, then arranged to borrow Santos and use seized wealth as collateral for a scheme of his own.

• Han Zezheng told Kang De that grain prices had doubled in other regions after the governor requested supplies for Distant Harbor, and Kang De recognized how the resulting shortages could be blamed on him.
• Han Zezheng reported that coordinated buyers were purchasing grain throughout the province, and he and Kang De concluded the Broken Isles were likely financing the campaign to protect their trade dominance.
• Kang De rejected offers of grain, money, and public support from the empire, the Council, and the Dusk Moon Dynasty, while reminding their commanders to honor their prisoner duties.
• Kang De asked Lily to have the Dragon Emperor lend him Santos, then revealed he would use wealth seized in Distant Harbor as collateral to borrow money for his plan to profit from the crisis.

Santos and Stiegel organized Dragon Island Defense’s financing scheme to help Kang De crush the grain speculators in Azure Waves Province. As the nobles borrowed heavily and grain prices soared, elf forces blocked outside grain convoys while an unknown group prepared to enter the province with grain.

• Santos explained to Stiegel that Kang De had hired Dragon Island Defense for a five-percent commission to lend money to Goth nobles speculating in grain, then help crash prices and seize their assets.
• Santos and his team gathered intelligence and recruited wealthy local figures with loans, persuading them that the dragons were backing their grain investments against Kang De.
• Dragon Island Defense released its funds across Azure Waves Province, driving grain prices higher and drawing grain shipments from neighboring regions.
• Elf garrisons intercepted grain convoys heading for Azure Waves Province, leaving the Goth nobles unable to obtain the supplies they expected to buy.
• Unrecognized merchant-guild guards escorted wagonloads of grain toward the province’s border crossings as the speculators continued preparing to profit.

Sir Luste and the governor prepared to exploit Distant Harbor’s rising grain prices against Kang De, while Kang De assessed the growing hunger and considered how to win the people’s trust. As the tenth-day confrontation approached, Kang De suddenly left after Lily gave him an idea, and Horus refused an order in the White Mist World.

• Sir Luste planned to spread rumors blaming Kang De for the grain shortage and arranged for Aona to recruit people to pose as paupers.
• The governor ordered his allies to send servants and serfs into the streets to protest against Kang De, and set the tenth day for confronting him.
• On the eighth day, hunger spread through Distant Harbor, and Dragon Girl mocked the commoners for blaming Kang De while he refused to hold their desperation against them.
• Han Zezheng described how greed and capital had driven grain prices far beyond their reasonable value, and Kang De asked him to write up his ideas after the crisis.
• Kang De reviewed Han Zezheng’s report against Santos’s intelligence, then wondered how to make the people trust him as he prepared for the next phase.
• After Lily demanded a share in Kang De’s proposed financial venture, Kang De suddenly agreed and vanished through a spatial portal; Horus then angrily refused an order in the White Mist World.

As grain prices soared and Distant Harbor’s people starved, Governor Norman failed to persuade Han Zezheng to make Kang De compromise. Sir Luste revealed his plot to provoke a riot and ruin Goth’s economy, but Kang De opened a gate above Sound of the Tide Manor and sent an enormous torrent of wheat pouring into the city.

• On the ninth day, dwindling grain supplies and spiraling prices left most people unable to afford food as unrest grew in Distant Harbor.
• Governor Norman visited Han Zezheng and offered peace, but Han delivered Kang De’s message that the nobles were bugs, and Norman left fearing Kang De’s next move.
• Sir Luste told the Broken Isles’ envoys that he had engineered the grain shortage and planned to incite a riot that would turn Kang De against Goth’s aristocracy.
• A vast spatial gate opened above Sound of the Tide Manor, frightening nobles and citizens who feared Kang De would unleash a forbidden spell.
• Countless golden grains of wheat poured through the gate and piled into a growing mountain before the stunned crowd.

Kang De answered Distant Harbor’s food crisis by producing a vast supply of wheat, ending the shortage and enabling the Traitor Suppression Society to arrest suspected conspirators. Han Zezheng announced a tutelage government under Kang De, while Santos ordered Dragon Defense to halt lending and prepare to pursue debts.

• Kang De’s wheat supply stunned Distant Harbor, and the Traitor Suppression Society surrounded the crowds, checked their identities, and announced free grain distribution followed by stable-price sales.
• Alset the Flayer and his forces arrested Sir Luste and the Broken Isles supervisors at the Tulip District residence.
• Han Zezheng entered Justice Hall with Society members, announced Norman’s suspension, and read Kang De’s decree placing Distant Harbor under a tutelage government.
• Han Zezheng ordered oversight of bulk transactions, suspended lending and mortgaging, and demanded taxes on grain-market profits.
• Santos told Stiegel that Kang De controlled whether the source of the wheat mattered, then ordered Dragon Defense to stop lending, assist the Inquisition’s arrests, and prepare armed forces to collect debts.

Kang De’s free wheat distribution restored the commoners’ trust while leaving Distant Harbor’s grain speculators facing ruin. Count Hoyce’s wife Annie devised a way to limit their losses, but the routes for shipping grain out of the province were blocked by Kang De’s order, leaving the family trapped between debt and a desperate sacrifice.

• Kang De’s five-day free wheat distribution made the commoners praise him as merciful, ruthless, and just, while nobles emerged from Justice Hall frightened after being confined and forced to swear oaths.
• Count Hoyce raged over the collapse of the grain market and told Annie that Kang De’s move had destroyed their scheme and left their borrowed money at risk.
• Annie reminded Hoyce that she had warned him Kang De would punish the nobles, then proposed shipping their stockpiled grain beyond Azure Waves Province to recover some of their losses.
• Hoyce ordered his managers to prepare the grain for shipment, but Annie warned that Dragon Island’s loans might be part of Kang De’s plan and suggested the Hoyce Family might have to make a sacrifice.
• Hoyce rejected the idea of sacrificing Annie or their children and planned to repay the dragons by selling assets, but his stewards reported that the navies of three nations and the Survey Corps had blocked all routes out of Distant Harbor by Kang De’s order.

Kang De’s grain intervention wrecked the speculators and triggered a debt crisis in Distant Harbor, while he rewarded loyal allies and ordered harsh punishment for those who had played both sides. He appointed Han Zezheng to a future government post, and the chapter ended with former Governor Norman kneeling outside to request an audience.

• Kang De told Han Zezheng to let the dragons collect debts and acquire the wealthy speculators’ assets, then divided the spoils among loyal groups.
• Kang De ordered the confiscation of traitors’ property and the execution of their families, with loyal followers carrying out the punishment.
• Kang De offered Han Zezheng a choice between becoming Distant Harbor’s chief financial officer and leading the West Goth Company, and Han chose public office.
• Kang De teased Lily about becoming president of the West Goth Company, but she rejected his offer.
• Han Zezheng returned to report that former Governor Norman was kneeling outside Sound of the Tide Manor and seeking an audience with Kang De.

Count Hoyce waited with Annie for Governor Norman to plead with Kang De, hoping the governor’s sacrifice would spare their families. Kang De rejected Norman’s appeal for mercy and publicly condemned the nobles’ grain war, ending with a warning that he was watching them.

• Count Hoyce recalled Norman’s public humiliation and sacrifice, and hoped Kang De would forgive the nobles so Annie would not have to sacrifice anything.
• Alchemical aircraft broadcast Norman’s surrender and plea for mercy across Distant Harbor as Kang De challenged him to justify forgiving the nobles.
• Norman described the deaths, bankruptcies, and suffering caused by the grain crisis and asked Kang De to end it.
• Kang De asked how the nobles would have protected the poor if their grain war had succeeded, then accused them of disregarding the commoners who might have starved.
• Kang De declared that he would punish nobles who used people’s suffering for power, and announced, “I’m watching you.”

On the fourteenth day, Kang De welcomed Hong San and 126 recruits from Valentan to Distant Harbor, then discussed rebuilding the city and confronting the Broken Isles. Hong San proposed an old acquaintance as president of the West Goth Company, and Kang De began writing that person an invitation.

• After nobles tried to set fires and flee, Kang De's forces used surveillance, dragons, and allied troops to capture the conspirators, and Kang De ordered the Garcia family destroyed and its legacy erased.
• Kang De welcomed Hong San and 126 carefully chosen recruits from Valentan to Sound of the Tide Manor.
• Hong San and Kang De discussed governing Distant Harbor, developing West Goth, and preparing for conflict with the Broken Isles.
• Hong San suggested an old acquaintance for president of the West Goth Company, and Kang De began writing them a formal invitation.

Hong San secured the Distant Harbor nobles’ submission and took control of their properties, mostly farmland. Kang De explained that he intended to use agricultural modernization to free people from farm labor, ending with a goal of eliminating the need for anyone to farm for a living.

• Hong San offered the nobles low-interest loans and debt relief in exchange for resuming work, stabilizing prices, accepting government oversight, and pledging loyalty to Kang De.
• Hong San demanded the nobles sign a joint statement condemning the absent leaders behind the grain price war, and every noble present agreed to compromise.
• Hong San brought Kang De the nobles’ land deeds, and Lily questioned why they had acquired farms instead of businesses, ships, and other valuable properties.
• Kang De told Lily and Hong San that land and commerce mattered less to him than people, and that farmland could help draw rural workers into new cities.
• Kang De described his plan to consolidate farmland and use better seeds, irrigation, fertilizer, and machinery until agriculture no longer required human labor.
• Kang De set a goal of eliminating the agricultural population so no one would have to farm for a living.

Sarosmir delivered Leona Vidal’s sarcastic letter to Kang De, then asked to receive the Paradox Element and pledged his loyalty. Kang De tested a Paradox Element implant on a condemned former nobleman, found the method only partly viable, and returned to learn that an envoy from the Broken Isles had arrived.

• Sarosmir brought Kang De a letter from Leona Vidal, whose Zhendan reply mocked Kang De’s delayed invitation and listed the allies she planned to bring to Distant Harbor.
• Sarosmir asked Kang De for the Paradox Element, and Kang De agreed to prepare a contract after warning him of the dangers and demanding absolute loyalty.
• Kang De implanted concentrated Paradox Element into a condemned former nobleman and sent him through a spatial gate, where the man transformed and was crushed by Kang De.
• Kang De and Horus concluded that the implant method was only partly successful and discussed finding a stronger material or using a compromise approach.
• Hong San told Kang De that an envoy from the Broken Isles had arrived.

Qiaobu led a Broken Isles delegation to Distant Harbor to negotiate the release of Luste and offer terms to Kang De, while privately dismissing Kang De’s power as limited. Kang De rejected Qiaobu’s excuses and offers, then grabbed him by the neck after Qiaobu failed to deliver the promised “surprise.”

• Qiaobu reassured the Broken Isles delegation that Kang De could not defeat the world’s powers and said their mission was to rescue Luste, despite their defeat in the grain price war.
• Qiaobu and Luer privately discussed Kang De’s limits and predicted that other nations would develop ways to counter his forbidden spells.
• Kang De met Qiaobu at Sound of the Tide Manor and challenged his claim that the Broken Isles’ young masters had acted independently.
• Kang De accused the prisoners of conspiring to provoke a war, then threatened to intensify their interrogation until Qiaobu pleaded for leniency.
• Qiaobu offered financial compensation, trade access, and political positions, but Kang De rejected the terms and demanded the deaths of those responsible.
• Kang De grabbed Qiaobu by the neck and accused him of bargaining instead of delivering a real surprise.

Kang De rejected Qiaobu’s attempt to negotiate, demanded the Broken Isles submit and surrender its wealth, then used Qiaobu and the captured merchants in a public execution that doubled as a test for recruits. Qiaobu survived the massacre, left laughing amid the corpses.

• Kang De confronted Qiaobu, slapped him, and accused the Broken Isles of trying to destabilize Azure Waves Province through grain speculation.
• Kang De demanded that the Broken Isles punish those behind the economic war, surrender its businesses and intelligence, and pledge allegiance to him; Qiaobu refused.
• Kang De had Qiaobu taken away and showed him Luste’s recorded confession as crowds in Distant Harbor demanded revenge against the Broken Isles.
• Kang De brought Qiaobu to an arena filled with captured merchants and commoners, explaining to Hong San that the spectacle was meant to break the people’s fear of nobles.
• Kang De ordered the captured merchants killed with arena turrets while Qiaobu miraculously survived, and he instructed his men to assess the recruits’ reactions.

Kang De used a brutal execution to test prospective soldiers and make them confront the dangers and purpose of military service. As the recruits cleared the arena, Kang De sent a captured man and a shipping container of remains through a Phase Gate, while the Valkyrie warship vanished toward the Broken Isles.

• Horus ordered the applicants to collect the executed nobles’ remains as the second stage of military selection, and his insults and promises drove many of them to pick up shovels.
• Maximos led the former gladiators into the arena, interpreting the execution as preparation for a coming war and warning that its footsteps were near.
• Kang De told the captured Qiaobu he needed to give him a ticket for a ship, while Horus reported that candidate screening and the next training stage were underway.
• The recruits loaded the remains into a shipping container, and Kang De sent it through a Phase Gate after confirming the teleportation beacon was ready.
• At the Golden Bay docks, the envoys from the Broken Isles watched the Valkyrie warship enter a dark portal and disappear.

Mei Xizhu prepared to leave the Broken Isles for Distant Harbor and serve Cathay’s new king, Kang De, but Ajinsi Island officials tried to arrest him as a spy. Kang De arrived in a warship, issued the Broken Isles an ultimatum, and departed, leaving Mei and Ailike free to leave under the protection of his reputation.

• Mei Xizhu told his friend Ailike that he planned to sail to Distant Harbor and pledge loyalty to Kang De, despite growing hostility toward Cathayans in the Broken Isles.
• Ajinsi Island’s deputy chief mage accused Mei of spying for Kang De and ordered guards to arrest him without a warrant.
• Kang De’s warship crossed the Broken Isles’ defenses, and Kang De demanded an apology, accountability, and compensation for the grain-price scheme while giving the islands three days to submit or be destroyed.
• Kang De displayed the executed conspirators’ bodies in Pioneer Square, asked whether anyone would attack him, and vanished through a Phase Gate without the Broken Isles responding.
• Mei slapped the deputy chief mage, warned that harming him could bring Kang De’s retaliation, and walked through the guards’ blockade with Ailike.