Chapter Summaries

The Stephen Family’s Old Ancestor Komodo rejected schemes to retaliate against Gustin’s fief and ordered the family to negotiate compensation while waiting to see what others did. In Gustin’s fief, the hired workers celebrated their victory as Nutrient Solution charged the captives exorbitant fees, while factions across Qingyuan Star examined the battle array’s power.

• Komodo questioned the Stephen Family’s A-rank commander and dismissed proposals to leak the Five Elements Battle Array’s strength or enlist Rebel Organizations.
• Komodo told the family elders to negotiate compensation slowly, avoid further losses, and wait to see whether another faction acted first.
• Gustin’s fief workers celebrated their victory, while the captured soldiers were confined and charged steep daily fees for security and room and board.
• Nutrient Solution imposed costly prices and strict limits on supplies for the captives, provoking the Water Attribute Supreme’s complaints.
• Factions on Qingyuan Star analyzed the battle and recognized the Five Elements Battle Array’s unexpected strength.

The Stephen Family paid compensation to the Gustin Family’s tenants, while Odwar visited and built ties with them. Six months later, Nutrient Solution received new Calculation Units and told Qu Jianlei he was ready to attempt a breakthrough to Supreme.

• Nutrient Solution detained the Stephen Family’s negotiator, discouraging other forces from making a move against the tenants.
• Several families apologized to the Gustin Family’s tenants, and the Stephen Family agreed to pay compensation in installments.
• The Stephen Family delivered the thirty-billion down payment and additional money for the prisoners’ living expenses.
• Odwar visited the tenants with four juniors, introduced the Gustin Family’s connections, and left after one night.
• Half a year later, Nutrient Solution told Qu Jianlei that he wanted to attempt a breakthrough to Supreme.

Qu Jianlei let Nutrient Solution try cultivating with a different array after the person behind him approved a change in methods, while the new Computer Groups were installed and brought online. Nutrient Solution remained in seclusion for a month, and Bentley began to worry because he was preparing to challenge the Supreme realm himself.

• Nutrient Solution asked Qu Jianlei to use a different cultivation array, and Qu Jianlei gave him an improved Fire Attribute technique to study before agreeing to help.
• Old Lady Jia teased Qu Jianlei about caring unusually much for Nutrient Solution, leaving him flustered until Qinghu assured him he was overthinking their partnership.
• Four Cargo Starships delivered two Computer Groups, which robots installed; Qu Jianlei spent several days debugging and testing both machines.
• Nutrient Solution returned after reading the technique and said the person behind him had approved the change, so Qu Jianlei set up an array for his cultivation.
• Nutrient Solution began cultivating in the villa, while Qu Jianlei arranged for Lao Ben, Hua Xiezhi, and Zi Jiuxian to guard him and used the computers for further calculations.
• After Nutrient Solution spent a month mostly in the villa, Bentley grew concerned about his progress because Bentley was soon to challenge the Supreme realm himself.

Nutrient Solution advanced to Above Supreme and asked Qu Jianlei to help with a magical artifact and Divine Script, then sought to join his team. Qu Jianlei said he would discuss the request with the others, and the chapter ended as a Laser Cannon fired into the sky.

• Nutrient Solution advanced to Above Supreme, and Qu Jianlei and the other four Above Supremes sensed the breakthrough.
• Nutrient Solution explained that his mark helped him stabilize his aura and offered to ask his benefactor about it.
• Nutrient Solution asked Qu Jianlei to examine the Soul Suppressing Bell and translate Divine Script, but Qu Jianlei deferred both requests.
• Nutrient Solution guessed Qu Jianlei was researching other battle formations and asked to join his team.
• Qu Jianlei said he needed to discuss the matter with everyone and asked whether Nutrient Solution would prioritize the team's interests.
• A Laser Cannon in the territory fired through the clouds and vanished from sight.

Qu Jianlei’s team discussed the military’s surveillance and Bentley’s planned breakthrough before a Qingyuan Military Region fleet attacked inside Marquis Cicero’s fief. The chapter ended with Qu Jianlei ordering an investigation as Nutrient Solution wondered whether the military was hunting rebels.

• Big Head Butterfly reported that the Guard Team had shot down an unidentified low-orbit satellite, which it identified as a military probe drawn by the Battle Formation.
• Qu Jianlei postponed Nutrient Solution’s request to join the team so she and the other members could build more trust through shared experiences.
• After seeing Nutrient Solution advance, Bentley decided to attempt Above Supreme and asked to visit You You and his other old acquaintances before his breakthrough.
• Qu Jianlei sent Qinghu with Bentley to visit the three bases after Paranoid declined to go.
• A Qingyuan Military Region fleet appeared near the Gustin Fief and attacked within Marquis Cicero’s fief before a Regiment-level Battleship arrived.
• Qu Jianlei ordered Big Head Butterfly to investigate cautiously, while Nutrient Solution wondered whether the fleet was hunting rebels.

Qu Jianlei learned that Supreme Si Xi had used military backing to seize the Cicero Family’s fief, but refused to involve himself when an ally asked him to help. Si Xi then began looking for new targets for his campaign on Qingyuan Star, while the deputy Commander urged him to wait and see how others reacted.

• The steward reported that Si Xi had forcibly rented the Cicero Family’s fief using a disputed gambling contract, with the military supporting him.
• Qu Jianlei refused to meet an earl seeking help for the Cicero Family, though Xiao Hu quietly investigated the family’s strength.
• Qu Jianlei and his companions learned that both families had acted improperly, then stopped paying attention to the feud.
• Si Xi celebrated his success with the deputy Commander and asked what other problems he could investigate.
• The deputy Commander advised Si Xi to wait for the consequences of the Cicero affair, and Si Xi agreed while asking what reactions to expect.

Si Xi investigated the Battle Formation that had destroyed three Stephen Family warships and decided the military police should take the initiative to claim the discovery. After learning that the Gustin Family had leased its territory to the Dodder Lord Family, he was left with no clear identity for the force he might confront.

• Si Xi rejected an attempt to use the military police against a viscount and reviewed the Stephen Family’s request to replace three destroyed warships.
• Si Xi obtained a military officer’s account and footage of a Battle Formation striking down a company-level warship.
• Si Xi dismissed the officer’s warnings and said he would act under the military police’s authority to investigate the Battle Formation.
• Si Xi began discreetly investigating the Gustin Family before making a move.
• Odwar told people that the Gustin Family had leased its territory to the Dodder Lord Family, which had subleased it to an unknown party, and insisted the Gustin Family had only been a spectator.

Supreme Si Xi tried to learn who had subleased the Gustin Family's fief, then sent officials and military personnel to summon its tenants. Nutrient Solution and Hua Xiezhi faced the delegation, and Nutrient Solution rejected Si Xi's unexplained demand to meet.

• Si Xi learned that the Dodder Family could not identify who had subleased the Gustin Family's fief, then waited before sending his assistant to request an audience with the tenants.
• Hua Xiezhi refused the assistant's request and informed Qu Jianlei, who asked Xiao Hu to investigate Si Xi and watch for trouble.
• Military and government officials arrived at the fief and threatened consequences if the tenants would not meet them.
• Hua Xiezhi and Nutrient Solution went to the entrance, where the delegation revealed that Si Xi had summoned them to the military police department or the Cicero fief.
• Nutrient Solution demanded to know why Si Xi wanted to meet them, then sneered that they did not have to obey an unexplained order.

Nutrient Solution and Qu Jianlei tried to understand Si Xi’s approach after the military police delivered an unexplained notice, while Si Xi used the encounter to assess their strength and quietly advanced his own plans. Five days later, Si Xi’s crackdown on black markets and nobles made him the star of Qingyuan Star, leaving Qu Jianlei wondering whether he would target them next.

• Nutrient Solution recorded the military’s unexplained notice and told Qu Jianlei he would investigate Si Xi’s intentions.
• Qu Jianlei learned from Xiao Hu that the Stephen Family was behaving themselves, while Si Xi regarded the Gustin Family’s response as a useful test and planned to act when an opportunity arose.
• Si Xi told a veteran Supreme who pleaded on the Gustin Family’s behalf that military discipline required caution, while privately refusing to abandon his plans.
• Big Head Butterfly reported Si Xi’s conversation to Qu Jianlei, who believed the military’s investigation had likely begun with someone’s complaint and stopped worrying about it.
• Five days later, Si Xi’s Military Police Department and the Special Operations Team shut down a black market, then uncovered further offenses and prompted the government to seek the revocation of a viscount’s fief.
• Si Xi’s reputation rose as fined nobles admitted fault and paid, and Qu Jianlei wondered whether Si Xi would eventually turn his attention back to them.

Qinghu and Bentley survived a Near-Earth Jump error and returned to the Gustin Fief, where Nutrient Solution suggested a Space Ripple had caused the mishap. Qu Jianlei led an expedition into deep space to investigate, but after three days of searching, the team found no anomaly and considered widening its search.

• Qinghu rescued injured Bentley from the lake, hid from investigators, and contacted Qu Jianlei, who arranged their return to the Gustin Fief before dawn.
• Nutrient Solution proposed that a nearby Space Ripple had disrupted the teleportation, and Qu Jianlei made investigating the possibility the team's priority.
• Qu Jianlei searched for information and prepared to investigate in person, leaving Qinghu, Bentley, Tian Yin, and Claire behind to guard the fief and recover.
• Qu Jianlei and the others took a Business Starship into deep space, outfitted it with probes, and rendezvoused with the Unlucky Starship to power their search.
• After three days without finding an anomaly, Qu Jianlei noticed numerous detectors in the area, and Nutrient Solution suggested extending the search because Space Ripples could shift over great distances.

Qu Jianlei’s team found a drifting Space Ripple near Qingyuan Star, then discovered a hidden Mimetic Dock and fled when four hostile warships emerged. As the pursuers escalated their attack, Big Head Butterfly suggested the enemy ships might be unmanned.

• After searching for days, Qu Jianlei’s team detected a Space Ripple nearly forty million kilometers from Qingyuan Star and headed toward a nearby meteor to investigate.
• The meteor split open to reveal a Mimetic Dock and four warships, so Qu Jianlei ordered the team to retreat at top speed.
• The warships identified themselves as a confidential Imperial Military task force, but Qu Jianlei cut their transmission and continued fleeing.
• The pursuers opened fire with overwhelming force, and seven or eight Small Attack Ships joined the chase, forcing Qu Jianlei’s fleet to dodge and use Decoy Bullets.
• Old Lady Jia questioned whether the enemy’s coordination was too perfect, and Big Head Butterfly proposed checking if the ships were unmanned.

Qu Jianlei and Xiao Hu counterattacked the pursuing unmanned Attack Ships, destroying or crippling half of them. Suspecting the enemy was herding them toward reinforcements, Qu Jianlei ordered an attack on the Space Wave Point, provoking the pursuers, who had been watching it for a possible opportunity.

• Xiao Hu led the fleeing starships in a coordinated counterattack that destroyed one Attack Ship and disabled another.
• Xiao Hu struck again, leaving one more Attack Ship disabled and another badly damaged, while the pursuers sent out three additional ships and called for reinforcements.
• Qu Jianlei and Hua Xiezhi realized the remaining Attack Ships were steering them in a specific direction, and Xiao Hu warned that an ambush might be concealed ahead.
• Qu Jianlei ordered Unlucky Starship to fire two Yellow Lights at the Space Wave Point despite Xiao Hu's warning about the danger.
• The pursuers reacted furiously when they saw the attack on the Space Wave Point, which they had been observing for a chance to seize its benefits.

Qu Jianlei's group escaped the battle at the Wave Point, confirmed that Space Ripples had caused the Teleportation Array failure, and returned toward Qingyuan Star. Near the planet, military and anti-smuggling ships demanded a comprehensive inspection, then revealed two hidden warships and prepared to attack.

• Qu Jianlei's group destroyed five Small Ships and damaged two enemy warships at the Wave Point before withdrawing after Xiao Hu detected energy fluctuations nearby.
• Nutrient Solution said the Space Barrier was unlikely to break through soon, and Qu Jianlei offered to calculate a timeline if he could obtain enough data.
• The group tested the Teleportation Array in deep space for more than twenty days and confirmed it was reliable outside the Space Ripple's influence.
• Near Qingyuan Star, three military and anti-smuggling ships ordered the group to stop, and Qu Jianlei suspected the inspection might be connected to Si Xi.
• Nutrient Solution challenged the demand for a comprehensive inspection, but the opposing commander ordered warning fire and prepared a full-scale attack.
• Two Company-Class Warships emerged from stealth, surprising Nutrient Solution.

Qu Jianlei’s Business Starship was ambushed by Si Xi’s forces after agreeing to an inspection, and the five pursuing warships opened fire with lethal intent. As the ship fled, Xiao Hu infiltrated the enemy systems and helped it evade their attacks, while Qu Jianlei prepared to retaliate once they were far enough from Qingyuan Star.

• Old Lady Jia recognized the two Company-Class Warships as Wraith-Class Warships, and Qu Jianlei warned the group not to lower their protective shield.
• After the Business Starship stopped for inspection, a Company-Class Warship struck it, and the enemy revealed that Si Xi had ordered the attack.
• Qu Jianlei ordered the Business Starship to flee, but five warships pursued and fired on it, rapidly draining its protective shield.
• Qu Jianlei asked whether Nutrient Solution could handle the aftermath of killing the attackers, and Nutrient Solution agreed to shoulder the consequences.
• Qu Jianlei ordered the Business Starship to fire Tracer Bullets as a warning while Xiao Hu covertly infiltrated the enemy warships and transmitted their attack plans.
• Using Xiao Hu’s intelligence, the Business Starship made erratic evasive maneuvers, avoided most incoming attacks, and began recovering its shield strength.

Si Xi’s fleet pursued Qu Jianlei’s Business Starship until reinforcements arrived and Xiao Hu disabled the enemy ships with a Digital Attack. The newcomers destroyed the stranded fleet and its survivors, while Si Xi tried to bargain by warning that the military would retaliate.

• Si Xi ordered the pursuit to continue despite the fleet’s dwindling Energy Blocks, and eight unidentified starships approached from behind.
• A woman aboard the arriving fleet ordered a full attack after dismissing Si Xi’s warnings, while Qu Jianlei’s Business Starship turned to fight.
• Xiao Hu invaded the enemy ships’ systems, shutting down power and fire control across all nine starships.
• The eight arriving starships destroyed the disabled ships and attacked the Escape Pods, mechs, and survivors, including the Anti-Smuggling Warship.
• Si Xi warned that the military had a record of the mission and offered compensation if the attackers stopped.

Qu Jianlei’s group destroyed Si Xi’s fleet after Si Xi tried to bargain, then returned to Qingyuan Star and learned that Nutrient Solution had arranged the aftermath. Si Xi remained missing as the government and military moved on to appoint a replacement, while Qu Jianlei hoped their peace would last.

• Nutrient Solution persuaded Qu Jianlei to demand that Si Xi’s crew abandon their ships, intending to seize the vessels and learn more from Si Xi.
• Qu Jianlei and the other Supremes confronted Si Xi, then destroyed the remaining Stealth Warship and the gathered fleet after two crew members refused to leave.
• Qu Jianlei and Nutrient Solution teleported to the ground, and Qu Jianlei told Qinghu, Tian Yin, and Claire to prepare to evacuate before Nutrient Solution later said the matter was settled.
• Military investigators visited the Gustin Family, but the butler refused to provide information about the Business Starship without legal documents.
• The government and military sought to appoint another Military Police official while Si Xi remained missing, and Qu Jianlei credited Nutrient Solution’s influence for the calm aftermath.

Bentley prepared to advance to Above Supreme, so Qu Jianlei took him and the others to the New Base in the Blade Star Region to avoid drawing attention if tribulation lightning appeared. After they left Qingyuan Star, military personnel pressured the Gustin Family’s steward to reveal where their tenants had gone and connected them to Supreme Si Xi’s disappearance.

• Bentley told Qu Jianlei he was ready to attempt a breakthrough to Above Supreme, and Qu Jianlei warned that the advancement might trigger tribulation lightning.
• Qu Jianlei decided to take Bentley to the New Base in the Blade Star Region, while Qinghu and Tian Yin agreed to remain on Qingyuan Star and watch the nearby Wave Point.
• Qu Jianlei and the others packed their equipment and left aboard a Business Starship three days later, leaving Qinghu and Tian Yin in the fief.
• About half a month later, military personnel visited the Gustin Family’s fief and demanded the tenants’ destination, threatening the steward over Supreme Si Xi’s disappearance.

Qu Jianlei’s group settled into their New Base, but an escape boat from the exploration ship they had previously driven away landed nearby and began broadcasting for military rescue. Their signals risked exposing the hidden base and attracting an actual military warship.

• On Qingyuan Star, Qinghu ordered Tian Yin to ignore military personnel who demanded access to their guests, and the soldiers left after a woman warned them against forcing entry.
• Qu Jianlei and his group arrived at the New Base aboard the captured 6503 Warship and spent five months settling in.
• Qu Jianlei calculated a Teleportation Array spanning more than 150 million kilometers just as the Big Head Butterfly detected an escape boat broadcasting a weak distress signal.
• The escape boat landed more than three thousand kilometers from the New Base, and its survivors began sending a strong Imperial Military rescue broadcast.
• Nutrient Solution recognized the survivors as the crew of Tongda Exploration Starship 0318, which Qu Jianlei had previously forced to leave the planet.
• Nutrient Solution warned that their repeated broadcasts could attract a military warship.

Qu Jianlei’s group watched Bentley prepare for his breakthrough while keeping a nearby outsider camp under surveillance. After moving Bentley to a safer cultivation site, they waited as signs of his Supreme breakthrough gradually appeared, with Qinghu estimating he would be ready to challenge the realm within days.

• Qu Jianlei confirmed that the nearby seven-person group included a Water-Attribute Supreme, then kept his own group hidden while monitoring their limited exploration.
• Bentley approached his breakthrough, and Nutrient Solution went to bring Qinghu and Tian Yin back to watch over him.
• Nutrient Solution reported that the military had driven two noble families away from the Space Wave Point and that the Cicero Family had stirred up suspicions about Supreme Si Xi’s disappearance.
• Bentley ended his seclusion, announced he would enter Death Seclusion in three days, and moved to a new cultivation site away from the New Base.
• Qu Jianlei sensed changes in the air and hurried to the cultivation site, where Qinghu estimated Bentley would be ready to challenge the Supreme realm in five to fifteen days.

Qu Jianlei prepared to conceal Bentley’s breakthrough from the other group while explaining the Nascent Soul path and its higher realms to his companions. After several days of preparations, Bentley began advancing toward Above Supreme, and Qu Jianlei monitored both the breakthrough and the surrounding area.

• Qu Jianlei explained that interfering with Bentley’s breakthrough could make it harder and expose those helping him to backlash from heaven and earth.
• Old Lady Jia connected the warning about interference to her past failed attempt to reach the Nascent Soul Realm, prompting Qu Jianlei to explain that the Nascent Soul Realm was Above Supreme and that the Out-of-Body Realm came after it.
• Qu Jianlei set up sensors and Electromagnetic Generators over three days to detect and mask the energy from Bentley’s breakthrough.
• Bentley began gathering strength to advance, and ten days later faint aura fluctuations and unusual energy reactions emerged from his seclusion.
• Nutrient Solution and Paranoid discussed the spiritual energy and cultivation arrays, while Old Lady Jia told them to stop talking and focus on Bentley.
• Qu Jianlei monitored the area while observing Bentley’s advancement to improve his data model and refine his understanding of cultivation.