Chapter Summaries

Tiandao gave Caroline a carefree afternoon with a baby dolphin as her birthday gift, hoping she would find freedom and a future of her own. The chapter framed his words as a silent farewell, as viewers understood that Tiandao intended to face the future alone.

• Caroline suspected Tiandao had frightened the dolphin on purpose, but Tiandao pretended not to understand and she let the matter drop.
• Caroline watched the baby dolphin chase jellyfish and asked Tiandao whether they could be as happy as it was when they grew up.
• Tiandao told Caroline she would someday be as free as the dolphin, while she failed to notice that he did not include himself.
• During a planning meeting, Tiandao explained to Chen Xing and Chen Kong that Caroline envied the dolphin's freedom and wanted an ordinary childhood, then named her birthday operation Freedom.
• The viewers recognized Tiandao's hopes for Caroline as a veiled farewell and understood that he planned to carry out his chosen future without relying on anyone.

Tiandao gave Caroline a carefree birthday at Jellyfish Amusement Park, where she realized he was the present she wanted most. After the group returned home, Bordian assigned Molten Mountain and the others to hold Tiandao back, claiming they had found a way to restrain him.

• Tiandao and Caroline visited Jellyfish Amusement Park, while Chen Xing secretly appeared in the photos they collected along the way.
• Tiandao gave Caroline a pink Dolphin Doll for her birthday, and she silently thanked him, calling him her best birthday present.
• The anime ended the amusement park montage with the photo album of Tiandao and Caroline’s memories, then showed Chen Kong waiting alone at home.
• Tiandao returned with Caroline and Chen Xing, gave Chen Kong octopus balls, and the villa grew lively again.
• Bordian told Molten Mountain and Claude that they and the others had to hold Tiandao back for one minute, claiming they had found a way to restrain him.

Bordian assembled a dangerous plan to capture Isabelle, relying on Dark Star Envoys and Association Star Envoys to hold Tiandao back. After learning that the powerful figure backing him intended to have all four Dark Star Envoys killed regardless of the outcome, Bordian questioned whether he was any different from them.

• Molten Mountain and Claude warned Bordian that holding Tiandao back and capturing Isabelle would be exceptionally dangerous, especially with her protectors and Coral Knight Wolf.
• Bordian said he had arranged for Association Star Envoys to help capture Isabelle and promised Molten Mountain a greater reward.
• Molten Mountain, Claude, and Lina each left to prepare for the mission, while acknowledging that they might not survive it.
• Visser agreed to join the mission, and Bordian explained that he was trying to stop Dorian from leading Skysea Group toward disaster.
• Bordian told a mysterious masked man that all necessary pieces and sacrifices were arranged, then learned the man wanted all four Dark Star Envoys killed whether the plan succeeded or failed.
• After the masked man ended the call, Bordian smashed an ashtray and wondered how he differed from the Dark Star Envoys.

Tiandao, Caroline, Chen Xing, Chen Kong, and Isabelle played an increasingly supernatural beach volleyball match until Tiandao spotted Ocean-type Star Beasts attacking the beach. He sent the others to safety and stayed behind to face the beasts.

• Molten Mountain reported that the targets had arrived and received orders to proceed according to plan.
• Tiandao and Caroline teased each other on the beach before Chen Kong invited them to play volleyball.
• Tiandao dominated Chen Kong, Chen Xing, Caroline, and Isabelle with his abilities, while Chen Xing and Caroline used their own powers to fight back.
• Tiandao’s spike struck and killed one Ocean-type Star Beast, then pierced two more as additional beasts emerged from the sea.
• Tiandao told Caroline, Chen Xing, and Chen Kong to take Isabelle away, then prepared to confront the dozen or so Ocean-type Star Beasts alone.

Tiandao effortlessly killed the Star Beasts sent to wear him down, then confronted Molten Mountain, Claude, Lina, and Visser. After surviving their attacks and destroying their iron coffin, Tiandao badly injured Molten Mountain and prepared to finish him with Black Azure.

• Isabelle and Caroline questioned why Star Beasts had appeared on Fluorescent Beach in the supposedly safe Nearshore District.
• Tiandao killed the Ocean-type Star Beasts with ease, and Claude, Molten Mountain, Lina, and Visser revealed themselves aboard the Mechanical Shrine.
• Visser triggered the Star Beast corpses to explode, but Tiandao blocked the blast with sand controlled by Vector Control.
• Molten Mountain identified Tiandao’s Star Source and its effect, and Tiandao fired Black Azure at the four, destroying the iron coffin as they escaped.
• Tiandao caught Molten Mountain in midair, kicked him into the beach, pinned him down, and fired Black Azure at his head.

Molten Mountain recalled rejecting his master's teachings before Tiandao killed him, and Claude activated Overlimit Armament to avenge his friend. Tiandao fought Claude's mech head-on, while the audience wondered how a Special Trait type could be so powerful in close combat; the anime then shifted to Tiandao training in Ember Base's Gravity Chamber.

• As a child, Molten Mountain was expelled from his dojo after his master warned him to protect and create instead of worshiping violence.
• Years later, Molten Mountain returned to the burning dojo, killed his dying master, and insisted that eliminating threats would keep him safe.
• Watching Tiandao's Black Azure destroy him, Molten Mountain realized his master had been right and died regretting his choices.
• Claude grieved Molten Mountain and activated Mechanical Shrine · Overlimit Armament, assembling his mechanical components into a five-meter mech.
• Claude charged Tiandao, but Tiandao met the mech's punch with his own and held his ground while Claude was forced back.
• The Dimensional Audience questioned Tiandao's close-combat strength, and the anime cut to his earlier training in Ember Base's Gravity Chamber.

Tiandao completed Flowing Robes of Azure, a defensive Star Energy Technique that let him redirect gravity and incoming attacks, then overwhelmed the Dark Star Envoys on Fluorescent Beach. He killed Claude and Lina and cornered the fleeing Plague Doctor Visser, leaving Visser at his mercy.

• Tiandao trained his Vector Control in Ember Base's Gravity Chamber until he could move freely under five times gravity and developed Flowing Robes of Azure.
• Tiandao used his speed and defensive abilities to dismantle Claude's mech, tearing off its arms and severely injuring Claude through the neural pain feedback.
• Tiandao anticipated Lina's shadow ambush and fired two Black Azures at once, destroying Claude's mech and piercing Lina's chest.
• Tiandao's Stellar Eclipse Heavenly Eye exposed Lina's shadow technique before she collapsed on Fluorescent Beach.
• After witnessing his teammates fall, Plague Doctor Visser fled, but Tiandao appeared beside him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

After defeating the Dark Star Quartet, Tiandao left Visser as their weakest and luckiest survivor while the story shifted to Chen Kong and his companions at the resort hotel. There, corrupt Rank 2 Association Star Envoy Referee Gorn trapped them in his arena, and the chapter ended with Tiandao expected to arrive before Chen Kong faced further trouble.

• Tiandao mocked Visser for surviving through luck despite being the weakest member of the Dark Star Quartet.
• The story rewound to the resort hotel, where Chen Xing noticed the lobby had emptied and told Chen Kong to take Isabelle away.
• Gorn appeared in a Husky Mask, dispersed Chen Xing's attack, and penalized her with a yellow card that weakened her.
• Isabelle identified Gorn as a Rank 2 Association Star Envoy, and Caroline explained the known effects of his Arena Referee Star Source.
• Gorn admitted he had taken bribes and explained that his arena rules let him dominate weaker Star Envoys.
• The Dimensional Audience expected Tiandao to reach the hotel soon and rescue Chen Kong and the others.

Gorn trapped Chen Kong, Chen Xing, Caroline, and Isabelle in a hotel lobby and began a dodgeball match under rules he hoped to exploit. Caroline uncovered that the lobby was in a suspended subspace, and she remained certain Chen Kong would find them, leaving Gorn unsettled by her devotion to him.

• Gorn explained that Chen Xing’s yellow card had reduced her attributes and introduced the red team before announcing the dodgeball match rules.
• Caroline asked whether contestants could play multiple rounds, and Gorn admitted that they could, while yellow cards persisted through the match.
• Caroline questioned whether the lobby’s time was real and concluded that they were in a subspace, reasoning that Chen Kong would otherwise already have found them.
• Caroline told Gorn that Chen Kong had made her feel alive and that, even if he deceived her, she would let him do so for the rest of her life.

Caroline uncovered Gorn’s hidden dodgeball rules and figured out that Chen Kong could aim for a draw by surviving until time ran out. Chen Kong took the first game, but after Gorn’s trap was exposed and he finally became a player, Chen Kong’s first throw fell far short.

• Gorn warned Caroline to stop talking and revealed that Chen Kong might be stranded in a space-time rift if he used his ability without real-world coordinates.
• Caroline identified Gorn’s Rift Prism as the source of the subspace and deduced that the match had a time limit and an undisclosed draw condition.
• Caroline concluded that Chen Kong should play first and focus on dodging until time ran out, since he could later erase Chen Xing’s yellow card.
• Gorn’s coin toss gave Chen Kong the opening attack, but Caroline stopped him from throwing while Gorn was still wearing his referee uniform.
• Gorn put on the blue team vest and challenged Chen Kong, whose shot put fell five meters short of him.

Gorn forced Chen Kong toward defeat in the Dodgeball match by exploiting his dual role as athlete and referee, but Tiandao arrived and overturned the situation. Rather than risk losing his five-year undefeated record, Gorn paid Tiandao to agree to a draw, then invited him to join the Association before leaving.

• Gorn bombarded the field until Chen Kong attacked him with the Black Gun, but Gorn stopped the bullet and gave Chen Kong a Yellow Card that left him unable to fight back.
• Caroline told Chen Kong to surrender, and Chen Kong conceded the match as she concluded they could no longer win.
• Tiandao entered the hotel lobby, saw through Gorn's match rules, and joined the Red Team after identifying that the technique did not forbid a new player from joining.
• Tiandao used Vector Control to smash through the arena barrier with a shot put, prompting Gorn to offer a draw to protect his five-year 100% win rate.
• Tiandao accepted Gorn's offer in exchange for one million Star Source Coins, and Gorn invited him to join the Association before departing.

Gorn arrived at a Deep Blue Branch meeting while Tiandao investigated Perfect Awakening and discovered a possible condition for Vector Control. After testing his theory overnight, Tiandao injured his hand, and Caroline took him inside to treat it.

• Gorn reflected on his ideals of fairness and his frustration that his pursuit of Perfect Awakening had stalled, then learned a General Association envoy wanted to transfer a full Special Operations Squad.
• Tiandao deduced that Perfect Awakening required a Star Source-specific condition and wondered whether Gorn’s Referee depended on maintaining an unbroken winning record.
• Tiandao spent the night testing Vector Control and concluded that its Perfect Awakening required both an extreme control distance and a minimum control unit to reach their respective thresholds.
• Tiandao focused his Black Azure into a punch that carved a large gouge in the lawn but badly bruised his right hand.
• Caroline scolded Tiandao for experimenting without telling her, then brought him to her room to examine and bandage his hand.

Tiandao explained that his new physical technique had caused the earthquake and injured his hand, while Chen Xing privately resolved to keep chasing after him for his acknowledgment. Caroline then coaxed Tiandao into promising to protect her toys from anyone who tried to take them, leaving the Dimensional Audience to mock his obliviousness.

• Chen Kong found Tiandao injured and learned that Tiandao's new move had caused both the earthquake and his hand injury.
• Chen Xing examined the crater in the yard and concluded that Tiandao had grown stronger again.
• Chen Xing admitted to herself that she wanted Tiandao to notice her, but kept that desire secret from Chen Kong.
• Caroline asked Tiandao what should happen to someone who coveted his favorite toy, and he said that person deserved a beating.
• Caroline got Tiandao to promise he would stand against anyone who tried to take her toys, and Tiandao agreed without realizing her hidden meaning.
• The Dimensional Audience joked about Tiandao falling into Caroline's verbal trap and argued over whether Chen Xing could still win his attention.

Headquarters Envoy Byron persuaded Branch President Dotre to provide a Special Operations Squad for a secret mission and insisted that Gorn join him, while keeping the mission’s target hidden. The anime ended on the arrival of an ominous storm, suggesting that a major confrontation was approaching.

• Dotre initially refused to spare a full Special Operations Squad, but Byron privately revealed mission details that changed his mind.
• Byron explained that involving Dotre or headquarters could alert their target, then asked to borrow Gorn; Dotre agreed to ask him.
• William Howard waited outside the conference hall and told Benjamin Iron Dome that he kept his broken watch because it was a gift from his daughter.
• The Dimensional Audience speculated about the mission, the characters’ roles, and the threat to Tiandao and Ember Base.
• Byron announced that Dotre was finished speaking with him and called for someone to enter as the conference hall filled with ominous stormlike imagery.

Tiandao Siming considered how to invest his growing Popularity Points in the coming finale and reflected on Doctor’s plans to sacrifice Ember Base and scatter the Starborn among the New Federation’s factions. He anticipated becoming the leader of Doctor’s future Glimmer organization and facing Chen Kong and the other Starborn as a villain in Season 2.

• Tiandao Siming noted that he had amassed 850,000 Popularity Points and decided to reinvest them in the Year-end Fireworks arc rather than repay his debt.
• Tiandao recalled that Doctor had deliberately arranged Byron’s attack to obtain the Eternal Heart and complete his Third Perfect Awakening, though the Quantum Guardian limited Doctor’s power and kept him from the New Federation’s core region.
• Tiandao understood that Doctor’s Ember plan meant sacrificing Ember Base so the New Federation’s factions would raise the 36 Starborn, followed by a second plan called Glimmer.
• Tiandao reasoned that Doctor would likely make him the leader of a new base and imagined subduing the Starborn after they grew powerful in other factions.
• Tiandao anticipated that he and the Starborn would oppose Chen Kong in Season 2, where they would become villains working with Doctor.

Tiandao was overwhelmed by female classmates confessing and offering gifts after they learned he would soon leave, while Caroline arrived and called him away with a suspiciously gentle smile. Isabelle revealed she had summoned Caroline after spotting a confession, leaving Chen Kong to worry that Tiandao faced a far worse ordeal than his own.

• Chika gave Tiandao a gift box, prompting other female classmates to crowd around him with confessions and invitations.
• Chen Kong and Isabelle discussed Tiandao's reputation at their former base, and Chen Kong admitted Tiandao had been prone to beating people into submission.
• Caroline overheard Chen Kong and appeared as Tiandao was surrounded by female classmates, then called him to the rooftop.
• Tiandao immediately followed Caroline, while Isabelle showed Chen Kong a message revealing she had alerted Caroline about the confession.

Caroline gave Tiandao an early birthday present: a matching dolphin necklace that let them find each other by sound, and the two shared a photo on the rooftop. As Tiandao treasured the unexpected memory, a red-eyed girl watched them from the shadows and quietly left with her own gift.

• Caroline nervously gave Tiandao a handmade gift box and wished him an early happy birthday.
• Tiandao found a blue dolphin necklace inside and told Caroline he liked it because it came from her.
• Caroline explained that the matching Deep Blue Sound necklaces regulated temperature and could guide their wearers toward each other with a sound only they could hear.
• Tiandao and Caroline took a photo together by the Deep Blue Pearl, and Tiandao refused to send Caroline his copy because he wanted to keep the memory for himself.
• A red-eyed girl watched Tiandao and Caroline from the rooftop shadows, looked at the gift in her hands, and left.

Tiandao and the others spent their final night in Deep Blue Metropolis before returning to Ember Base, while the Dimensional Audience braced for the story’s coming tragedy. As the characters prepared to leave, Caroline reflected on how Tiandao had changed her life and realized he had become her world.

• Tiandao and the others left Trillan Junior High for the last time as Isabelle watched them go, while Dorian secured control of Skysea Group and prepared to face the coming crisis.
• Chen Kong packed his school keepsakes and wished he could remain in Trillan, though he pushed away the thought of a world without Star Source.
• Chen Xing nearly threw away Tiandao’s sunglasses but packed them carefully, then resolved to keep moving forward despite her doubts.
• Caroline looked through photos from their time in Deep Blue Metropolis and remembered how Tiandao had taught her happiness, freedom, and how to become a good person.
• Caroline reflected that she had supported Tiandao not because she wanted to change the world with him, but because Tiandao was her world.

Tiandao, Caroline, Yun Meng, Chen Xing, and Chen Kong boarded a ship leaving Deep Blue Metropolis. As the city disappeared behind them, Tiandao urged Chen Kong to pursue what he wanted with the help of others, while keeping unspoken concerns of his own.

• Yun Meng led Tiandao and Caroline aboard the ship, while Chen Xing gave Chen Kong his ticket and boarded ahead of him.
• Chen Kong lingered to look at Deep Blue Metropolis before boarding just before the ship's departure.
• Tiandao teased Chen Kong for being reluctant to leave, then urged him to become capable of pursuing what he wanted instead of relying on others for protection.
• Tiandao told Chen Kong to work with people who shared his goals, and Chen Kong pointed out that even a group might not defeat Tiandao if they became enemies.
• The ship sailed away from Deep Blue Metropolis, and Tiandao watched the city recede while keeping his own unfinished thoughts to himself.

Isabelle chose to become a Star Envoy and would have to earn Coral Knight Wolf’s approval before receiving Absolute Zero. At Ember Base, Tiandao learned Doctor’s plan and insisted on taking Yun Meng’s dangerous assignment, leaving Doctor to believe Tiandao might accomplish the impossible.

• Dorian showed Isabelle the Star Source Absolute Zero, but said she could receive it only after passing Coral Knight Wolf’s training and approval.
• Jing Liuli welcomed Caroline, Chen Xing, and Chen Kong back, received gifts from Caroline and Chen Xing, and learned that most trainees had been sent away after failing the Final Assessment.
• Chen Kong told Jing Liuli that Tiandao had gone to speak with Doctor and asked them to bring him food.
• Tiandao explained that Doctor had kept twelve trainees at Ember Base to conceal his plan, then demanded to take the task originally meant for Yun Meng.
• Doctor refused, but Tiandao insisted he would do it despite the danger and left the workshop.
• Doctor gave Tiandao two months to reconsider, then privately expressed his belief that Tiandao might bring about a miracle.