Chapter Summaries

Wu Heng’s frigate attacked the fortress with a magically enhanced naval gun, destroying it before the Association members could fight the puppets. In the ruins, the level 18 corpse rose in a new form, reached level 19, and spotted Xiaoxiao and Beni.

• Xiaoxiao and the other wraiths explored a fortress guarded by puppets and found a corpse whose Level Light Pillars appeared every few minutes.
• Wu Heng warned the expedition that nearly a hundred level 12 puppets and a possibly living level 18 enemy awaited them inside.
• Lady Li received the Association’s offer to host the Serpent Emblem Conglomerate’s auction, while Lilith welcomed Elinor as the new Flag Bearer of the Emerald Sea.
• As the frigate approached the fortress, Wu Heng enhanced its naval gun with Summon Arrow Rain, and Philippa fired a shot that blasted the fortress apart.
• The explosion knocked the corpse from its chair, but it stood up, shed its outer body, reached level 19, and opened an eye in its brow to stare at Xiaoxiao and Beni.

Wu Heng and the Association defeated a resurrected Three-Eyed Man who had nearly killed the Dwarf Elder, then searched the ruins. In the innermost room, Wu Heng discovered that six linked metal plates written in Oracle Bone Script contained a skill book called Marsh Control Technique.

• Xiaoxiao spotted the Three-Eyed Man, who charged the escort ship and badly wounded the Dwarf Elder before trapping Association Members in Water Prisons.
• Wu Heng joined the fight, and Granda possessed the Three-Eyed Man while Wu Heng struck him with lightning and stored his spear.
• When the Three-Eyed Man began to recover, Skeleton Hopper severed his head, and the ghosts devoured his escaping soul.
• Wu Heng claimed the corpse, then entered the ruins with the ghosts while the Association prepared to excavate the site.
• Granda found six linked metal plates in the inner room, and Wu Heng identified their Oracle Bone Script and received a prompt for the Marsh Control Technique skill book.

Wu Heng discovered an ancient skill recorded on iron plates, then raised the Three-Eyed Man as a level 19 Spirit Skeleton Warrior and examined the Bronze Spear. The expedition continued cataloguing the fortress while Wu Heng learned the spear could shatter weapons and formations, amplify water spells, and hinder earth magic.

• Wu Heng found six iron plates that recorded an Ancient Adventurer’s skill and asked the Archaeological Team to alert him if they found other writing.
• The Elf Elder organized the team to search for traps and hidden rooms and to collect and catalogue artifacts.
• Wu Heng returned to the frigate and used Bone Manipulation Technique on the Three-Eyed Man, raising him as a level 19 Spirit Skeleton Warrior with Unyielding Stance and Mind’s Eye.
• Xiaoxiao wondered whether the Three-Eyed Man was Agarwood’s uncle and tried to explain the story of the Heavenly Court to Granda and Beni.
• Wu Heng inspected the Mountain-Breaking Bronze Spear and learned it could break weapons and formations and amplify water spells, but slowed energy recovery and movement when he cast earth-element spells.

Wu Heng recovered an ancient spear, named it Bubble, and prepared to leave the ruins for Kudeha City after the Archaeological Team found records about the lost dynasty. Meanwhile, Flag Bearer Elinor proposed allowing local Associations to issue ship inspection permits, and Shiraque warned that the policy could bring piracy back to the Emerald Sea.

• Wu Heng examined the spear’s abilities, decided to use it himself, and agreed with Xiaoxiao to name it Bubble.
• Shanala told Wu Heng that an Elf Race elder had arrived on the island as the new Flag Bearer.
• The Archaeological Team delivered inscribed stone slabs, and Wu Heng learned the dynasty had assembled a naval force on the island and that its General used the Ghostly Longevity Extension Method.
• Wu Heng arranged for the ship to carry the Dwarf Elder and his people to Kudeha City before he returned, and Philippa agreed to go with them.
• Elinor proposed permitting local Associations to issue ship inspection permits, but Shiraque warned him that the policy could enable widespread plunder and said Wu Heng would expect an explanation.

Wu Heng returned to Treasure Island with Philippa and reunited with his household before Shanala showed him the Hero Statue installed in Central Church. The chapter ended as he entered the church and saw the towering statue for the first time.

• Wu Heng saw the Dwarf Elder and the Archaeological Team depart Kudeha City, then returned to Treasure Island with Philippa aboard the Ghost Train.
• Wu Heng reunited with Minnie, Annette, Robbie, Shanala, and the other household members at the Island Master's Manor.
• Philippa told the group that the expedition had found a dried corpse that revived, defeated the Association members, and was killed by Wu Heng and the skeletons; Xiaoxiao later recounted the discovery to Lilith.
• Shanala told Wu Heng that the Hero Statue had been set up in Central Church and took him there after lunch.
• Wu Heng entered Central Church with Shanala and saw the tall stone Hero Statue standing beneath the dome.

Wu Heng approved the church’s Hero Statue and appointed two Wood Elf priests to serve there for a year. After Shiraque warned him about a new Flag Bearer’s proposal to give private vessels search permits, Wu Heng agreed to raise the issue with Leader Lilith, then began studying Ancient Skills and found that the Marsh Control Technique offered broad control over water.

• Wu Heng praised the Hero Statue, and Shanala introduced him to Evelyn, a level 11 Bard, and Seraphia, a level 10 Ranger, who agreed to serve in the church for a year.
• On the carriage ride back, Shanala explained that she had chosen young Wood Elf priests partly to soften the public’s distrust of Wu Heng’s Necromancer profession.
• Shiraque told Wu Heng that a new Elf Race Flag Bearer had proposed allowing private vessels to obtain permits to search suspicious ships at sea, and Wu Heng said he would discuss the danger with Leader Lilith.
• Wu Heng joined Xiaoxiao, Granda, and Beni in the study, where they joked about a dead man resembling someone from their past.
• Wu Heng read the Marsh Control Technique Skill Book and realized that it taught a broad method of controlling water rather than a single fixed spell.

Wu Heng learned the Marsh Control Technique from the ancient iron plates and discovered it let him shape water into powerful attacks and other forms. The next morning, he prepared to visit Leader Lilith with Xiaoxiao, whose butler spotted them arriving.

• Wu Heng unlocked the Marsh Control Technique after reading the iron plates and demonstrated its water attacks to the Three Wraiths.
• Wu Heng tested the technique at the beach, shaping seawater into a vortex, tornadoes, a wall, and a prison before patrol skeletons arrived.
• Wu Heng and the Three Wraiths returned to the Island Master's Manor, where Philippa declined to visit Lilith with him and Andeviel reported that the Electric Lights shop count would be ready.
• After breakfast, Wu Heng called Lilith and arranged to bring Xiaoxiao to her courtyard, where Lilith's butler greeted them.

Wu Heng discussed the archaeological expedition and Treasure Island’s new maritime inspection permits with Lilith, then approved a new electricity rate for the island. In the Zombie World, he learned that gold bricks had arrived and asked Li Yahong to collect ancient artifacts bearing inscriptions.

• Wu Heng told Lilith about the expedition’s dangers and showed her the Bronze Spear, which she warned him to test carefully.
• Wu Heng and Lilith discussed Elinor’s plan to let private vessels receive maritime inspection permits, and Wu Heng agreed to let him try it.
• Wu Heng repeated Lilith’s reasoning to Shiraque, who worried the permits might enable new pirates, then Wu Heng went to factories and inspected supplies.
• Andeviel reported that shop owners had agreed to electric lights, and Wu Heng approved a rate of sixty-five Copper Coins per kilowatt-hour starting the next day.
• Wu Heng traveled to the Zombie World and learned from Li Yahong that Qi Hancai had delivered gold bricks and that the skeletons were nearly ready to build a Database.
• Wu Heng asked Li Yahong to prepare a Service Area and collect ancient artifacts, especially stone inscriptions, but she asked why he wanted them.

Wu Heng arranged to borrow inscribed cultural relics, prepare a Database, and establish a church, while the Serpent Emblem Conglomerate agreed to hold its annual auction on Treasure Island. The chapter ended as Saban announced the opening of Wu Heng's Divine Revelation Sect, shocking the tavern crowd.

• Wu Heng asked Li Yahong to borrow actual cultural relics with writing and to send the data-entry skeletons and servers to him.
• Wu Heng considered how to build his faith and church, then returned to Treasure Island with Xiaoxiao and the Three Wraiths.
• Lady Li persuaded the Serpent Emblem Conglomerate to hold its annual auction on Treasure Island for a thirty-percent share of the profits, and Rostand asked her to smooth things over with Wu Heng.
• Granda gave Wu Heng the Divine Revelation Holy Codex, and he approved it as the doctrine for his sect.
• Saban announced in the Golden Sail Tavern that Treasure Island's Divine Revelation Sect would soon open and worship Leader Wu Heng, prompting an uproar.

Wu Heng prepared to open the Spirit Enlightenment Sect on Treasure Island, but rumors sparked a protest outside its church. As he investigated the sudden backlash, he learned that wealthy merchants’ families had petitioned the Association, while a hooded agitator stirred the crowd at the church.

• At the church meeting, Wu Heng gave Evelyn the Missionary Codex and supplied Seraphia with a Spatial Ring and other items, while Shanala assigned them their duties for the opening.
• Shanala told Wu Heng that the Wood Elves had selected sites for twenty churches and were developing a joint potion project with Treasure Island; Wu Heng later trained with Bubble and unlocked Beginner Polearm Mastery.
• Shi Yali told Wu Heng that residents had petitioned against the sect and gathered outside the church, prompting him to go to the Association with his wraiths.
• In Holt City, Zachary received reports that a tomb robber named Beicongsi had sold artifacts and sought items to nourish wraiths, then ordered the investigation to continue.
• A hooded man urged the protesters outside the church to oppose the sect, while Evelyn and Seraphia kept the doors closed and awaited instructions.
• Shiraque told Wu Heng that wealthy merchants’ family members had petitioned the Association, and Wu Heng said to inform them the sect was registered before a wraith returned and shared what it had seen.

Wu Heng and the Elf Sisters uncovered and arrested the people behind a protest against the Spirit Revelation Sect, then prepared to open the church. The next morning, the gates opened and Evelyn announced the Order of Life and Death to a crowd of onlookers.

• Wu Heng used a ghost to identify Hayes, a Level 9 Bard, as the dwarf inciting residents to protest the church.
• Shiraque diverted the protesters to a meeting room while the Association arrested Hayes, who confessed that Nicholas, captain of the Spirit Rhinoceros Fleet, had asked him to organize the protest.
• Wu Heng and Shiraque questioned Nicholas, who admitted arranging the protest because he opposed a Necromancer's sect, and Shiraque ordered his fleet's ships seized pending the investigation.
• Shiraque and Shi Yali agreed to prepare for the church's opening, and Wu Heng joked about giving them titles in the sect.
• The next morning, the church gates opened, and Evelyn announced that Wu Heng had established the Order of Life and Death.

Wu Heng moved a Database and its equipment to Treasure Island, while checking on his new church and the Zombie World base. The next morning, he learned that Array Masters had arrived and read a letter from Mortimer about a puppet and an account for the newspaper.

• Wu Heng found that the church had attracted crowds but his faith remained at 21, so he asked Shiraque to monitor it and went to the Zombie World.
• Wu Heng met Li Yahong and Zhao Yanqiu, then learned that the base had received gold, was reviewing cultural relic records, and had gathered skeletons to study the Database.
• Wu Heng transported the skeletons and Database equipment to Treasure Island, where the skeletons began assembling it.
• The next morning, Minnie told Wu Heng that several Array Masters had arrived from headquarters and gave him Mortimer's letter about a puppet and his personal account for the newspaper.

Wu Heng arranged for Array Masters from headquarters to build a Training Ground on Treasure Island and learned that the church had lost its audience. Meanwhile, an Empress Dowager discovered that Wu Heng had cleared the fortress she sought and vowed to make him pay.

• Wu Heng gave Andeviel the Puppet Master's letter to prepare for publication and went to meet the Array Masters sent by headquarters.
• The Array Masters quoted thirty-five Gold Coins per square meter, and Wu Heng accepted the cost and chose a training area at the Island Master's Manor as the site.
• In Kudeha City, the Empress Dowager learned that Wu Heng had cleared the fortress and marked newspaper reports about Treasure Island and the Church as clues against him.
• The Array Masters began preparing materials for the Training Ground, and the maids thanked Wu Heng for building it for them.
• At dinner, Shanala reported that almost no one was attending the church, and Philippa said the island's residents preferred listening to bards.

Wu Heng struggled to draw Treasure Island residents to his new church, then attracted a crowd by offering eggs to anyone who attended. The church’s first sermon drew a full house, and shop owners agreed to help bring people in for free electricity; Wu Heng ended the chapter visiting Lilith.

• Wu Heng asked Philippa and the others how to persuade residents to attend church, but they offered no practical solution.
• Wu Heng wrote down ideas for attracting people, then arranged for the church to give five eggs to each attendee.
• Residents flocked to the church for eggs, and Evelyn read the Spirit Enlightenment Holy Codex to the gathered crowd.
• Wu Heng and Granda discussed holding morning and evening egg giveaways while monitoring whether attendance increased faith.
• Andeviel told Lighthouse Street shop owners they could earn three days of free electricity for bringing people who listened to three sermons.
• Wu Heng visited Lilith, who remarked that giving away eggs was just the sort of method he would devise.

Wu Heng proposed that the Whisperers and Grand Text Society create a searchable database, and Lilith agreed to discuss sharing public information and formulas. That night, Treasure Island’s shops and streets lit up as Lady Li saw the island glowing in the distance.

• Wu Heng asked Lilith about the vampires’ Hero Hall, and she warned him against speaking carelessly about the Church and its god.
• Wu Heng asked whether the Whisperers collected recipes and other knowledge, and Lilith explained that such material was passed to the Grand Text Society.
• Wu Heng proposed a searchable database for public information and formulas, and Lilith agreed to consult Hadara'i and the Grand Text Society.
• Wu Heng returned to the Island Master's Manor, and the island’s shops and streetlights illuminated the streets that night.
• Lady Li heard that Treasure Island had come into view, went to the deck, and saw the small island glowing beneath the night sky.

Wu Heng expanded the Spirit Enlightenment Sect’s church and newspaper presence as its popularity grew, while Seydou reacted furiously to the news that the sect had been established. The chapter left Wu Heng’s religious challenge to the Church in the open, with Seydou enraged by how quickly it had happened.

• Wu Heng unlocked Proficient Polearm Mastery while training with Bubble, then discussed the shops’ electricity and the church’s growth over breakfast.
• Wu Heng learned that church attendance had risen again, planned to add seats and equipment, and arranged for Shanala to order more eggs.
• Lilith heard that the church was drawing larger crowds with its egg giveaway and told her butler to stop monitoring it.
• Readers at Association Headquarters discussed Wu Heng’s new sect and Mortimer’s newspaper profile, and Mortimer drew interest by saying people could contact Wu Heng to appear in the paper.
• Seydou read the report announcing the Spirit Enlightenment Sect and cursed Wu Heng for establishing it so quickly.

Lady Li arrived on Treasure Island to finalize the Serpent Emblem Conglomerate’s year-end auction, and Wu Heng agreed to host it for a thirty-percent venue fee. She also asked to include Treasure Island’s potions in the auction, leaving Wu Heng to consult his people before answering.

• Minnie told Wu Heng that Lady Li had arrived from Lopes City, and he returned to the Island Master's Manor after finishing his church plans.
• Lady Li told Wu Heng that the conglomerates had chosen Treasure Island for their auction and raised the island’s share of the proceeds to thirty percent.
• Lady Li asked to include Treasure Island’s potions in the auction, and Wu Heng said he would discuss it with his people and respond the next day.
• Wu Heng asked Andeviel to show Lady Li the venue and record the conglomerate’s requests, while Lady Li arranged to stay on the island.
• Lady Li returned to the Serpent Emblem Conglomerate, where Rostand asked whether she had spoken in his favor to Wu Heng.

Lady Li negotiated an auction with Wu Heng and toured Treasure Island while Shanala agreed to supply Enhancement Potions. The next morning, Lady Li met Shanala and Andeviel at Gem Flower Opera House to inspect the venue and prepare for the auction.

• Lady Li told Rostand that Wu Heng had approved the auction and that she would wait for his decision about selling Enhancement Potions before contacting the regional conglomerates.
• Wu Heng and Shanala agreed to provide the auction with two Enhancement Potions, and Shanala arranged to handle the venue and business discussions with Lady Li.
• Beni told Wu Heng that Lady Li had visited a tavern, a church, and shops around the island, taking five eggs from the church.
• Lady Li arrived at Gem Flower Opera House the next morning and learned that Shanala was the Wood Elf Sixth Seat Elder.
• Shanala welcomed Lady Li and Andeviel, then had the staff open the main hall so Lady Li could inspect the auction venue.

Wu Heng agreed to attend the Dawn Alliance conference at South Korea Base, where major shelters planned to discuss cooperation, zombie-clearing, and sharing technology. He arrived the afternoon before the meeting and reviewed a list of official shelters, which included his Xinfu City Base.

• Lady Li inspected Treasure Island's new opera house, accepted two potion bottles from Andeviel, and returned to announce the auction plans.
• Wu Heng traveled to the Zombie World with the Three Wraiths after Beni confirmed the church was still full.
• Li Yahong told Wu Heng that the Dawn Alliance would hold a conference at Qi Hancai's base to discuss zombie-clearing, restoring order, and sharing core technologies.
• Wu Heng decided to attend the conference, and Li Yahong arranged a convoy to take him to the airport.
• Wu Heng arrived at South Korea Base, where Qi Hancai greeted him and gave him a list of official shelters that included Xinfu City Base.

Wu Heng and Qi Hancai discussed proposals for the Dawn Alliance, including technology sharing and capturing Zombie Kings, before the alliance meeting began. The bases signed a peace and cooperation agreement, and Wu Heng presented King Yama's Palace's proposals for technical support and clearing dangerous Zombies.

• Qi Hancai told Wu Heng that the Dawn Alliance meeting would be broadcast live and discussed ways to make the bases support technology sharing and Zombie King capture.
• Wu Heng toured the base with Qi Hancai and met its key members.
• Qi Hancai worried that crop production would reduce the base's food trade, and Wu Heng agreed they should seek other goods to exchange.
• Town Hall announced that the Serpent Emblem Conglomerate would hold its year-end auction on Treasure Island, and Elinor questioned Shiraque about the event.
• Qi Hancai opened the Dawn Alliance meeting, and representatives signed a peace, mutual assistance, and trade agreement.
• Wu Heng proposed that bases share technical knowledge and training and that capable major bases lead efforts to clear priority Zombies.