Recaps

Velin and Kyle tracked down a reclusive young researcher near Milihua Town and watched him flee to a hidden refuge. After waking, the researcher found his belongings untouched and calculated that twelve hours had passed.

• Velin questioned a child in Milihua Town, who pointed him toward a strange young man living on a nearby hill.
• Velin and Kyle found the young man processing prey, and he fled into the forest when he saw them.
• Kyle secretly marked the young man and projected his movements as he entered an underground refuge and fell asleep.
• The young researcher considered his body’s rejection of magical power and suspected that a seal was blocking it.
• Orga declined to search for Velin and Kyle, ordered rewards for the spies who had watched them, and wondered why the Black-haired Youth had come to town.
• The young man woke, checked that nothing in his refuge had been disturbed, and calculated that twelve hours had passed.

The skinny young man escaped through a hidden tunnel and returned to the cave where Fiona lay unconscious. After Kyle discovered that Fiona’s missing soul fragment was merging with the young man, Velin decided to ask Mina to create a dream in which they could live together as mother and son.

• The skinny young man soaked ten arrows in a potent liquid, waited three hours, and escaped through a concealed tunnel while Velin and Kyle watched.
• After following him to a cave, Velin and Kyle saw Fiona lying in a wooden boat and recognized her from an earlier pardon issued by Velin.
• Kyle discovered that a fragment of Fiona’s soul was attached to the young man’s chest and merging with him.
• Velin proposed that Mina create an illusion in which Fiona and the young man shared an ordinary lifetime as mother and son.
• Kyle put the young man to sleep and carried him and Fiona out of the cave, while Velin opened a passage to the Cesia Demiplane.
• Philo woke Mina, and Velin asked the Dream Fairy for help.

Velin asked Dream Fairy Mina to weave a century-long mother-and-son dream for Fiona and a young man, though the dream activated unexpectedly. The pair awoke in Xinyue Space City with memories of their imagined life, where Fiona took in the child as Tan Jiu and raised him.

• Velin offered Dream Fairy Mina fifty Sweet Wind Fruits to weave a dream connecting Fiona and the young man’s souls.
• Dream Fairy Mina used Philo’s power to create a hundred-year mother-and-son dream, but its light ball activated before she completed her spell.
• At the Patrol Security Office, the director overruled Tan Feng and arranged for Fiona to care for the smuggler’s child.
• The infant received memories of growing up with Fiona and surviving in a magical slum, then fell asleep as Fiona named him Tan Jiu.
• Fiona eventually adopted Tan Jiu, and years later she came home to find him working on calculations after school.

Tan Jiu left his mother, Fiona, to travel to Handan City and take up his position as a Level Five researcher at Dongyue Research Institute. After meeting his assigned protector, Yuan Haoqiong, he arrived in Handan City, where he and Fiona gradually saw each other less often.

• Tan Jiu shared a warm dinner with Fiona while privately reflecting on his attachment to her.
• Eleven years later, Fiona and Tan Feng said goodbye to Tan Jiu as he boarded the Penghu Space Liner for Handan City.
• Aboard the liner, Tan Jiu met Yuan Haoqiong, the former soldier assigned to protect him, and learned about his military background.
• After half a month, Tan Jiu and Yuan Haoqiong arrived in Handan City and traveled toward Dongyue Research Institute.
• As time passed, Fiona and Tan Jiu saw each other less and less often.

Fiona died after Tan Jiu chose to finish his breakthrough experiment before visiting her, and Tan Jiu later died as the Yuan Yue Republic honored his achievements. In Cecilia's Demiplane, Velin, Dream Fairy Mina, and Kyle watched the thin young man begin to stir after spending over two months in the dream.

• Fiona watched news of Tan Jiu's Warp Ring breakthrough and told Tan Yun stories about Tan Jiu.
• Tan Jiu learned that Fiona was critically ill but continued his experiment, completing it before going to her bedside three days later.
• Fiona died after speaking with Tan Jiu, and he wept as he remembered his childhood with her.
• Forty years later, Tan Jiu died, and the Yuan Yue Republic named its thousandth space city Tan Jiu City in his honor.
• In Cecilia's Demiplane, Velin, Dream Fairy Mina, and Kyle noticed the thin young man's fingers twitch after the pair had spent more than two months in the dream.

Fiona and the thin young man woke with memories of lives in which they had become mother and son, and they reunited as Tan Jiu. Velin separated Tan Jiu from Fiona for a private conversation, where the young man revealed that his names were Lucas and Tan Jiu.

• Velin learned from Minna that the dream's course had been beyond her control, then Fiona and the thin young man woke with memories of unfamiliar lives.
• Fiona recognized the young man as Tan Jiu and embraced him, while Velin and the others wondered whether their dream had truly been real.
• Velin introduced himself to Fiona and explained that he had found her unconscious and brought the young man to safety.
• Velin asked to speak with the young man alone, and Fiona agreed after he reassured her.
• Velin took the young man into the Messier Demiplane, where he asked for his real name, and the young man answered that he was Lucas or Tan Jiu.

Velin persuaded Lucas to serve him by offering him a chance to pursue Transcendence and stay with his mother, Fiona. After Lucas went to speak with her, Velin traveled with Kyle to Milihua Town to meet Priestess Orga of the Church of Harvest.

• Velin told Lucas that he knew of his farming ability and offered him work, explaining that he would keep Lucas from leaving if he refused.
• Lucas agreed to serve Velin for a hundred years, and Velin promised that Lucas could ask Kyle about the care of his mother.
• Velin, Kyle, and Lucas returned to Cecilia's Demiplane, where Lucas saw Fiona and began persuading her to come with him.
• Velin and Kyle left Lucas and Fiona alone, then went through the Demiplane passage to the forest outside Milihua Town.
• Velin and Kyle visited the Church of Harvest, where Priestess Orga noticed them and led them to a side hall.
• Orga introduced herself as a priestess of the Church of Harvest, and Velin gave his name and affiliation with the Expeditionary Army of the Ilia Kingdom.

Velin met Priestess Olga in Milihua Town, where he drew useful information from her while concealing how much he had inferred. After attending the Harvest Ceremony, he learned that something lay beneath the town but chose to leave without interfering, and he returned to the Kingdom of Skalovi with Kyle.

• Olga identified Velin as the Fifteenth Army Commander, and Velin sidestepped her questions while drawing information from her.
• Olga invited Velin to Milihua Town's Harvest Ceremony, where more than ten thousand townspeople gathered to give thanks for the restored crops.
• Velin recognized that the Church of Harvest's ritual could only work at the first ceremony in a new area of faith.
• Olga accidentally hinted that something lay beneath Milihua Town before changing the subject, and Velin decided not to investigate or provoke conflict between the churches.
• Velin told Olga he was returning to the Kingdom of Skalovi, then vanished from the pavilion with Kyle and reassured Olga that he would not cause conflict.

Velin and Kyle confronted an ancient colossal beast that was advancing toward Hundred Leaf City, and Velin ordered Kyle to capture it alive. Kyle subdued the beast and sent it to the Messier Demiplane, then Velin restored the damaged land before they departed.

• Velin and Kyle spotted the colossal beast heading toward a town, and Velin told Kyle to capture it alive.
• Kyle sent the nearby soldiers away from the beast, donned Angel's Armor, and attacked its regenerating front leg.
• The beast spawned thousands of monsters, but Kyle and Putlock's Spear's secondary spears defeated them while Kyle unleashed his killing move.
• Kyle used two Soul Intent grade clones to contain the wounded beast and captured it with Light Chains.
• Kyle placed the beast in the Messier Demiplane, and Velin restored the corroded land before leaving with him.

Velin and Kyle discovered that the giant beast’s body could not be controlled because its soul was an aggregate of evil, so they decided to erase its soul. The holy flame awakened and formed an egg, and Velin gave Kyle the beast’s body to nourish it; three days later, the egg fell asleep after digesting the beast’s flesh and soul.

• Velin asked Kyle about the giant beast’s origin and whether it could be used, and Kyle explained that its body and soul were fused from countless ancient masses.
• Kyle judged that the giant beast was nearly impossible to control, so Velin ordered him to erase its soul and preserve its body for possible future modification.
• Kyle’s holy flame devoured the giant beast’s evil soul, developed a trace of consciousness, and condensed into a crimson egg.
• Kyle poured his power into the weakening egg, and Velin told him to use the giant beast’s flesh and blood to sustain it.
• Kyle assigned two avatars to refine the beast’s remains while he and Velin went to drink, and three days later the egg fell asleep after digesting the beast’s flesh and soul.

Velin monitored the Church of Life’s proselytization campaign and prevented nobles in the territories he had conquered from plundering their populations unchecked. As the expeditionary campaign ended and his return to the Ilia Kingdom approached, he gathered those selected for the Halo Plan to consider the future of the Fifteenth Army’s Auxiliary Armies.

• The Church of Life, the Church of Harvest, and the Church of Courage signed the Nangexia Continent Regulations and divided the continent’s territories among themselves.
• Velin limited plundering in four territories under his control while allowing nobles to mine resources and capture mine slaves.
• Kyle told Velin that nobles feared his growing prestige and that his restraint had protected them from consequences for their greed.
• Velin learned that the Spirit of the Holy Flame needed about ten more months to hatch and estimated that the army would return to the Ilia Kingdom in one to three years.
• In mid-August of 9762, Velin assembled 1,533 generals, officers, and soldiers selected for the Halo Plan to discuss the Auxiliary Army’s future placement.

Velin held a banquet for the young warriors chosen for the Halo Plan, many of whom knew he would soon leave Nangexia Continent. As the gathering ended, he accepted that they needed to pursue their own lives, while their final destination remained undecided.

• Velin encouraged the assembled warriors to relax, drink, and share food at the banquet.
• Velin joked with Kyle about Kyle watering down his wine, then mingled with the guests and listened to their stories.
• Velin spoke with a homesick young warrior who described his family, land, and plans to marry when he returned home.
• Velin told Kyle he wished he could bring the talented warriors to Qixing Territory, but Kyle reminded him that they had their own stories to live.
• The banquet ended at eleven that night, and the guests departed while the selectees' eventual destination remained undecided.

Velin arranged the futures of several Auxiliary Armies with neighboring rulers, then learned the Ilia Kingdom Expeditionary Army would withdraw from the Nangexia Continent in 9763. A newly discovered puppet army in the Tira Great Forest made him eager to remain, and he hosted a banquet for the Holy Crusaders before calling Muller to stay behind.

• Velin assigned the Yalan, Haina, Thousand Forts, and Maleg Armies to neighboring kingdoms and compensated the nobles and Halo Plan candidates involved.
• Velin planned to transfer the Blackrock and Badako Armies to the Grand Duke of Silvis, while Ilif Tonnes would take the Tonnes Army back to the Nois Duchy.
• Kyle brought Velin the withdrawal order, which scheduled the Fifteenth Army to leave the Nangexia Continent in August 9763.
• A voice revealed that an Ancient Magical Civilization Puppet Army lay buried in the Tira Great Forest, and Velin became excited about exploring it.
• Velin arranged a banquet for the Holy Crusaders three days later and instructed Kyle to keep Muller behind afterward.
• Velin welcomed the Holy Crusaders' officers at the Manor banquet.

Velin held a farewell gathering with the Holy Crusaders before meeting Muller in the study. He gave Muller two books and a glowing wooden box as parting gifts, but the chapter ended before revealing what was inside the box.

• Velin shared drinks and farewells with the Holy Crusaders, praising Ron's Thirty-Third Free Camp while acknowledging its shortcomings as an army.
• After the gathering, Miller helped the drunken Velin rest, then told him that Kyle had taken Muller to the study.
• Velin cleared his head with Kyle's tea and reminisced with Muller about their first meeting and Muller's years under his command.
• Velin presented Muller with the Gold combat technique Earth Howl, its cultivation method with Kyle's notes, and a wooden box.
• Velin opened the box, and its faint glow left Muller stunned.

Velin gave Muller a thousand-year-old Rainbow Flower as a parting gift before the Holy Crusaders departed after ten years of service. Velin and Kyle then searched the northwestern Tira Great Forest for ancient ruins and found a Dungeon City that might be their target.

• Velin gave Muller the Rainbow Flower and two books, embraced him, and said he hoped Muller would remember him a thousand years later.
• Velin told Kyle to prepare for a months-long journey to the northwestern region of the Tira Great Forest.
• Three days later, Velin and the Fifteenth Army's generals saw off more than ten thousand Holy Crusader soldiers at Port of Denakmo.
• Velin and Kyle spent several months traveling through the forest while searching for the ruins of the Magic Puppet legion.
• In early May of 9763, the Mountain-Moving Eagle spotted a Dungeon City exposed by a rock collapse, and Velin and Kyle found their consciousness blocked by it.
• Velin ordered the eagle to descend so they could investigate the Dungeon City and clear out the adventurers if it proved to be the ruins they sought.

Velin and Kyle arrived near Dungeon City, where they encountered Lorisa Kleiss, a mage from the North Ixi Kingdom who recognized Velin and invited him to meet her husband, Alvia. Velin accepted and prepared to visit Bastion City.

• The Mountain-Moving Eagle fled the humans’ panic, but Kyle ordered her to be quiet and lowered her wings for Velin and him.
• Kyle proposed bringing the eagle’s family to the Demiplane, and Velin agreed after recalling the unused Shadow Wolves.
• Lorisa Kleiss identified Velin and explained his rank and influence to her Guardian Knight, Gervis.
• Kyle sent magical avatars to investigate Dungeon City while Velin noticed Lorisa’s group approaching.
• Lorisa introduced herself as a believer of the Goddess of Life from the North Ixi Kingdom and invited Velin to meet her husband in Bastion City.
• Velin accepted Lorisa’s invitation, and she departed with Gervis.

Kyle and Velin entered the ancient Dungeon City and searched its ruins for the Magic Puppet legion. After Kyle deciphered an inscription and activated the Stone Turtle Statue, a powerful force pulled them away.

• Kyle opened the Magic Shield, and he and Velin entered the Dungeon City while adventurers watched from the cliff.
• Velin found that the city's bones, weapons, and buildings had crumbled with age, then collected several statues in the Druid's Book.
• Velin and Kyle descended into a cavern, passed a cemetery, and reached a Stone Turtle Statue beside two steles.
• Kyle deciphered ancient writings, discovered how to activate the statue, and formed a magical turtle from the inscribed words.
• Kyle spoke the phrase “A radiance for ten thousand years, glory for a thousand autumns,” and grabbed Velin as the statue pulled them away.

Velin and Kyle escaped the Grassland illusion and found three hundred Magic Puppets with their cores missing, which Velin took along with other remnants. After leaving the Dungeon City, they traveled to Bastion City and went to Campter Manor to meet Alvia, Count Sir Coldwind.

• Velin and Kyle flew across the endless Grassland until Velin recalled the phrase "Calamity of Ten Thousand Ages," breaking the space and revealing three hundred Magic Puppets.
• Velin discovered that the Magic Puppets' core components had been removed, then stored the puppets and dismantled other parts of the site to take with him.
• Velin and Kyle left through the Stone Turtle Statue, which crumbled after transporting them, and adventurers rushed into the Dungeon City once its protective barrier fell.
• Velin and Kyle searched the Dungeon City, found nothing else of value, and flew to Bastion City.
• Velin read a travel guide to learn about Bastion City, then went with Kyle to Campter Manor and announced himself to the staff.
• An officer invited Velin and Kyle into the manor's front courtyard while a messenger went to inform Count Sir Coldwind.

Count Alvia Kleiss welcomed Velin Ex and Kyle to Campter Manor, where Alvia and Velin bonded over conversation and drinks. The evening ended with both men unconscious from drinking, and Kyle and Lolisa helped them to their rooms.

• Alvia paused his sword training to greet Lolisa, who helped him dress before he went to receive Velin.
• Alvia welcomed Velin and Kyle, and the guests exchanged introductions and settled in for tea.
• Alvia and Velin talked at length about governing and other matters while Lolisa and Kyle listened and occasionally joined in.
• Alvia and Velin drank together until both collapsed unconscious at the dining table.
• Kyle confirmed that Velin was genuinely drunk and had a maid lead him to a guest room, while Lolisa helped Alvia to their bedroom.

Velin exchanged cultivation methods with the Titon Kingdom before nine Crowns began shattering the Metagea Plane’s bloodline factor, a change that hurt powerful professionals but opened the Transcendent path to ordinary people. Kyle protected Fiona through the upheaval, while Lucas and Seraphina experienced breakthroughs, and the chapter ended with Seraphina receiving half a month off.

• Velin said farewell to Alvia after exchanging gifts and left Bastion City with Kyle for the Kingdom of Skalovi.
• In early June of 9763, Velin traded combat and breathing methods with Mere Zachary and Elsa for the Titon royal family’s 1,383 seal-related cultivation methods.
• When nine Crowns appeared and began shattering the bloodline factor, Kyle urged Velin to release Lucas and Fiona from the Demiplane.
• Velin brought Lucas and Fiona to the Manor, where Kyle steadied Lucas and protected Fiona as the bloodline factor merged into her soul.
• Seraphina arrived excited about her breakthrough, and Velin and Kyle teased her before Kyle granted her half a month off.

Velin prepared Lucas for mage training, informed Rivacamon that the Transcendent path had opened to everyone, and accepted treasures from the king. After a half-month voyage, Velin and the returning army reached the Duchy of Silvis, where troops welcomed them at the harbor.

• Velin sent Lucas and Fiona into his Demiplane, then went with Kyle to tell Rivacamon to recruit talented people from the lower planes.
• Rivacamon ordered Vaot to recruit commoners and send the First Prince to study at the Church of Life, then collapsed and revealed that he had only seven or eight months to live.
• At the beginning of July 9763, 111,000 soldiers boarded ships at the Port of Denakmo to return to the Ilia Kingdom.
• After a half-month voyage, Velin arrived at the Port of Belys, where the Duchy of Silvis's troops prepared to receive the army.
• The army disembarked in orderly ranks as the Silvis officers enforced the Grand Duke's orders.

Velin arrived in the Duchy of Silvis and traveled to its Royal Capital to meet his grandfather-in-law, Grand Duke Salair Silvis. Salair welcomed him warmly and led him into the Royal Palace Main Hall.

• Bogart delivered Grand Duke Salair's message inviting Velin to visit him in the Royal Capital, and Velin left his army under Hebrew's command.
• Velin traveled through the lively capital with Kyle and considered visiting the Life Church, but Kyle reminded him that his faith was lukewarm.
• At the palace gate, Kyle called Velin an unfilial descendant, so Velin instructed the gate officer to announce him by name and keep Kyle's remark secret.
• Bufeild Silvis came to greet Velin and escorted him toward the Royal Palace Main Hall.
• Salair Silvis welcomed Velin, who apologized for not visiting since marrying Xuemiyya, and Salair led him inside.

Velin negotiated with Salair over the price of handing over the Blackrock Army and the Badako Army, and the two agreed to settle their dispute with a fight. At the Hundred Beasts Arena, Salair admitted defeat after Velin’s Life Knight and Death Knight overwhelmed him.

• Velin refused Salair’s offer of one hundred million gold coins for the nearly one hundred thousand troops, and Salair challenged him to a fight to decide who would concede.
• Salair sent Bufeild to prepare the Hundred Beasts Arena, then asked Velin to walk with him and discuss his grandchildren and Bufeild.
• The young members of the family left to study military books and improve their strength, wary of Salair’s special training.
• Three days later, Salair charged Velin with twin swords, but Velin summoned the Life Knight and the Death Knight to face him.
• The two knights adapted to Salair’s attacks and eventually suppressed him, so Salair admitted defeat and Velin stopped the fight.

After the ten-year expedition ended, Velin returned to Ilia Kingdom and tried to avoid Xuemiyya after saying something awkward. Meanwhile, Angus and Ilisis discussed advancing the family’s standing and planned to ask Velin to support Angus’s promotion to Marquis.

• Salair handed command of the Blackrock Army and the Badako Army to Bufeild and told his grandchildren to train in the army.
• On August 15, 9763, Velin and the Fifteenth Army began their return through the Space Bridge, and seven days later the expedition ended on Ilia Kingdom soil.
• Velin learned that the kingdom would inspect Qixing Territory before arranging his investiture as a Count, then fled from Xuemiyya into the Demiplane after an awkward exchange.
• Xuemiyya and Elisa waited in the commander’s tent for Velin, while Angus reflected on his growing strength.
• Angus asked Ilisis when the family should seek promotion to Marquis, and Ilisis argued that Angus should be promoted alongside Velin’s investiture.
• Angus told Ilisis to speak privately with Velin and secure his support for the family’s plans.

Velin returned to camp after ten years away and reunited with his family and Xuemiyya. Xuemiyya described how Qixing Territory had expanded and developed during his absence, while Velin planned to collect money from his grandfather before taking her to meet a friend.

• Velin returned to the military camp and learned that Kyle had taken Seraphina to the royal capital.
• Velin joined his family in the tent, where they praised his achievements during the Expeditionary War and asked about the wealth he had gained.
• After the others left, Xuemiyya told Velin that Qixing Territory had repelled a monster attack and expanded by thirty thousand square kilometers.
• Xuemiyya explained that she had exchanged three baron territories for new land and compensation, then established Luensha County.
• Xuemiyya withheld the territory's current county and population figures, calling them a surprise from Belder.
• Velin told Xuemiyya he would collect money owed by his grandfather and then take her to meet a friend.