Chapter Summaries

Tiandao brought Vivian to the Steam Branch despite Yu Chen's warning about tensions with the Gear Church, then questioned her about the stolen Holy Relic. He showed her evidence that Saintess Euphemia and Bishop Cleve had been involved in a child-trafficking scheme and that the Church had chosen Vivian as a scapegoat.

• Yu Chen warned Tiandao that bringing Vivian to the Association could strain its relationship with the Gear Church, but Tiandao rebuked him and took Vivian to Fifth Squad headquarters.
• Tiandao restrained Vivian with Star Locks and asked why the Church accused her of stealing its Holy Relic and why Chen Kong's group believed she was innocent.
• Tiandao told Vivian that the Grey Rat Gang could not have stolen the relic from the Church's core district and that someone had framed her.
• Danika brought Tiandao File No. 23, which listed fifty-seven children adopted by Saintess Euphemia, all of whom were marked missing.
• Tiandao accused Euphemia and Bishop Cleve of running an underground trade and said they planned to use Vivian as a scapegoat while they concealed evidence from investigators.

Tiandao shattered Vivian’s faith by revealing that Saintess Euphemia, Bishop Cleve, and Old Jack were tied to schemes controlling the Lower City, while Yu Chen warned her not to trust Tiandao. The chapter ended with the Dimensional Audience suspecting Yu Chen was a missing orphan as Tiandao put away a file containing a photograph from Gear Church Orphanage No. 3.

• Tiandao told Vivian that Euphemia was likely helping Bishop Cleve keep his position and destroy evidence about the missing Holy Relic.
• Tiandao revealed that Old Jack was the Church’s informant and used to control the gangs in Rust Iron Hell, leaving Vivian devastated.
• Tiandao assigned Yu Chen to watch Vivian, then took Little Danika away for lunch.
• Yu Chen turned off the surveillance cameras and warned Vivian not to trust Tiandao or most people in the Steam Branch and Gear Church, while promising to clear her name.
• Tiandao put away a file containing a photograph of a child at Gear Church Orphanage No. 3, prompting the Dimensional Audience to speculate that Yu Chen was one of the missing orphans.

After the Gear Church demanded that the Fifth Squad hand over Vivian, Tiandao arrived as Per and Yu Chen prepared to fight. Tiandao confronted Per with an ink-based Star Energy Technique, leaving the standoff on the verge of escalation.

• A Fifth Squad member told Tiandao that the Gear Church had come to claim Vivian and that Yu Chen was refusing to release her.
• Per demanded that Yu Chen surrender Vivian, while Yu Chen insisted that the Church follow Association rules and obtain approval from the Branch President or Tiandao.
• Per and Yu Chen prepared to fight as their forces raised their weapons, threatening to draw the Steam Branch into the conflict.
• Tiandao entered the grounds and warned Per that the Church had overreached.
• Tiandao gathered ink at his fingertip and unleashed the Star Energy Technique—Ink Coffin.

Tiandao contained Per and negotiated over the Church’s evidence that Vivian stole the Mechanical Bible: Gear. He gave Yu Chen one month to prove Vivian’s innocence before the Twelve Brass Council decided her fate.

• Tiandao trapped Per in an Ink Coffin, then released him after the Brass Knights lowered their weapons.
• Per showed Tiandao surveillance footage of a helmeted figure in Vivian’s mech stealing Danika and the Mechanical Bible: Gear with the Grey Rat Gang.
• Yu Chen pointed out that the footage did not show the thief’s face, but Per argued that the mech and Seconds Hand Rapier identified Vivian.
• Tiandao and Per agreed that the Twelve Brass Council would determine Vivian’s fate in one month, while the Fifth Squad kept custody of her.
• Tiandao told Yu Chen to find evidence of Vivian’s innocence within a month and warned that the Gear Church seemed prepared.

Tiandao developed the framework for Perfect Technique: Purgatory Rashomon and identified the Mechanical Quantum Hub Gear as the blank Book he needed to complete it. He planned to use the Twelve Brass Conference and turmoil in the Steam Capital to seize Quantum Hub authority, then left his training room disguised as Shui Mo.

• Tiandao used Hyper-computation, Vector Control, and the Stellar Eclipse Heavenly Eye to create a more complete Ink Coffin, but decided it still needed Danika's Precept ability and a suitable Book.
• Tiandao concluded that the Wordless Bible held by the Gear Church was not the Book he needed and identified the Mechanical Quantum Hub Gear hidden in the Steam Capital as the true Bible.
• Tiandao took out a Quantum Cube that could store Quantum Data and determined that obtaining complete Quantum Hub authority depended on the Twelve Brass Conference a month later.
• Tiandao left the training room disguised as Shui Mo and planned to exploit conflict between the upper and lower city to seize the Steam Capital's Quantum Hub authority.

Yu Qianxia confronted a Steam Capital entrepreneur over rumors that damaged Qianxia Group, then headed with Chen Kong and Liu Ma toward Rust Iron Hell. After her convoy left, the entrepreneur revealed he had been acting and reported that Yu Qianxia had guessed something about a larger scheme.

• Yu Qianxia beat a Steam Capital entrepreneur and demanded compensation for the damage to Qianxia Group’s reputation, threatening him with a precise Star Energy punch that demolished half the villa.
• Chen Kong watched Yu Qianxia’s display of strength and questioned whether being a Starborn or having an extra Star Core truly made someone exceptional.
• Yu Qianxia told Chen Kong and Liu Ma to leave with her, and the Qianxia Group convoy headed toward Steam Capital’s Lower City, Rust Iron Hell.
• After the convoy departed, the entrepreneur calmly called a mysterious person and said Yu Qianxia seemed to have guessed something and did not want to get involved.
• The mysterious person called Yu Qianxia Martial Arts Heavenly Capital’s ‘White Tiger’ and said she would leave in less than half a month.

Yu Qianxia brought Liu Ma and Chen Kong to Qianxia Group’s construction site in Steam Capital, then began a half-month training challenge in an underground facility. She left them to practice breaking Black Obsidian Rock without damaging an egg, setting them up to compete over who would finish first.

• Yu Qianxia explained that she had come to Steam Capital to expand Qianxia Group’s construction business, not just to visit Liu Ma.
• Chen Kong and Liu Ma saw Qianxia Group’s unmodified workers displaying strength far beyond ordinary people as they toured the construction site.
• Yu Qianxia shattered Black Obsidian Rock with a punch while keeping an egg in her hand unharmed, demonstrating her control over her body and star energy.
• Yu Qianxia challenged Liu Ma and Chen Kong to spend half a month training without Star Sources or Star Cores, then break Black Obsidian Rock without cracking an egg.
• Yu Qianxia assigned Liu Ma a larger boulder than Chen Kong and left to discuss real estate projects, while the two began competing to finish the task first.

Half a month into training, Yu Qianxia praised Liu Ma and Chen Kong’s rapid progress while comparing them unfavorably to the long-missing Tiandao Siming. She then set the two young men a final test with enormous slabs of Black Obsidian Rock, leaving them alarmed when she said they could use Star Source after weeks of practicing without it.

• Qianhe reported that Liu Ma had reached B+ Class Precision and Chen Kong was nearing B Class.
• Yu Qianxia and Qianhe discussed Tiandao Siming’s extraordinary martial arts talent and his unknown fate.
• Yu Qianxia asked Chen Kong and Liu Ma whether they were ready for her test, and they agreed with confidence.
• Yu Qianxia had Qianhe bring out two five-meter slabs of Black Obsidian Rock for the test.
• Yu Qianxia told Chen Kong and Liu Ma they could use Star Source, but they worried they could not keep their eggs intact while using it.

Liu Ma and Chen Kong passed Yu Qianxia’s test by breaking Black Obsidian Rock without damaging the egg they held. Yu Qianxia promised to teach them Yu Clan martial skills and began demonstrating Gun-Fu for Chen Kong.

• Liu Ma carefully combined his Golden Demon Bull and Netherworld Warhorse powers, shattered the Black Obsidian Rock, and kept the egg intact.
• Liu Ma thanked Yu Qianxia for his training and learned that he was nearing a breakthrough.
• Chen Kong copied Liu Ma’s Star Core, Star Source, and punching technique with The Visionary, then also shattered the rock while protecting his egg.
• Yu Qianxia praised both boys and promised to teach each a suitable Yu Clan Martial Skill.
• Yu Qianxia explained Gun-Fu to Chen Kong and vanished as she began her demonstration.

Yu Qianxia demonstrated Yu Clan Gun-Fu to Chen Kong and explained how martial artists should rely on trained instincts in combat. She praised Tiandao Siming’s extraordinary talent, and Chen Kong agreed as the two bonded over their admiration for him.

• Yu Qianxia showed Chen Kong the offensive and defensive basics of Yu Clan Gun-Fu, then demonstrated its more imaginative techniques using bandage-wrapped pistols.
• Chen Kong admitted he could not follow many of the movements, so Qianhe gave him a recording of Yu Qianxia’s demonstration.
• Yu Qianxia explained that martial artists should practice fixed moves before learning to rely on instinct rather than conscious thought.
• Yu Qianxia cited Tiandao Siming as an example of incredible martial talent and praised his daring use of a Star Energy Technique.
• Chen Kong agreed with Yu Qianxia’s praise of Tiandao, while viewers on Station 13 joked about the pair’s shared fandom.

Tiandao confronted three Hidden Star Society Executives in a hidden villa, punished Leighton for disparaging humans, and demanded an update on his assignment. The chapter ended with the Executives silent under Tiandao’s pressure, as Leighton began to answer.

• Scorpio questioned Hydra about whether a Calamity had discovered his identity, and Hydra said his disguise had held.
• Hydra and Scorpio discussed the Demonic Blade’s investigation and their plan to leave once their scheme was complete.
• Euphemia accused Leighton of losing himself among humans, and Leighton threatened her with his scorpion tail.
• Tiandao arrived and used black star energy to choke Leighton, then released him and warned him not to repeat his words.
• Tiandao sat with Little Danika and asked the Executives how they had handled the matter he assigned them.

Tiandao ordered Leighton to spread a rumor that Chen Kong held the Steam Church’s missing Holy Relic, putting Chen on the Church’s radar while keeping the larger plan on track. He also explained why Yu Chen was investigating Euphemia and chose to let him continue, then ended the meeting by teasing Little Danika with soda.

• Tiandao told Leighton to spread the rumor about Chen Kong and threatened to kill him if he interfered with the plan.
• Tiandao warned Euphemia that Yu Chen was investigating her and might know about her identity and Tiandao’s connection to the Hidden Star Society.
• Tiandao revealed that Yu Chen was the Church orphan Euphemia had failed to kill twelve years earlier, and that he had later protected Vivian from being taken as tribute.
• Euphemia offered to eliminate Yu Chen, but Tiandao refused because his investigation would distract him and help Tiandao’s plans involving the Association and the Twelve Brass Conference.
• Tiandao shook Little Danika’s soda before opening it, soaking her, and laughed as she angrily tried to get even.

Tiandao recruited Leighton to help him control Steam Capital and build the organization Doctor had asked him to create. Leighton accepted after Tiandao threatened to expose his past and kill him, giving 'Glimmer' its first members beyond Tiandao.

• Tiandao stopped Leighton after Andromeda and Hydra left, then revealed that he had found photographs of Leighton's daughter dating Yu Chen.
• Tiandao reassured Leighton that his daughter had not knowingly leaked information and explained that he valued Leighton's honest nature and personal weakness.
• Tiandao offered Leighton a role managing Steam Capital after Tiandao purged the city's 'rust' and said he intended to rule through Leighton.
• Tiandao threatened to expose Leighton's past and kill him if he refused, and Leighton agreed to obey his orders.
• Tiandao considered Leighton's recruitment the basic framework for the 'Glimmer' Doctor had asked him to create.

Tiandao advised Leighton to replace his servants and subtly encouraged him to let Yu Chen act against Euphemia, while Leighton agreed to protect his family and leave Euphemia’s fate to Yu Chen. Tiandao then anticipated Chen Kong and Liu Ma’s arrival in the Upper City, which would ignite the conflict between Steam Capital’s Upper and Lower Cities as the Calamity of the Masses approached.

• Tiandao warned Leighton that his servants might threaten his wife and daughter, and suggested he replace them after returning home.
• Tiandao told Leighton not to stop his daughter from pursuing Yu Chen and hinted that he could secretly help Yu Chen; Leighton understood that Euphemia would eventually die at Yu Chen’s hands.
• After Leighton left, Tiandao considered Yu Qianxia’s formidable strength and reflected on his plan to become a true Perfect.
• Tiandao expected Chen Kong and Liu Ma to encounter Yu Qianxia and soon break into the Upper City to rescue Vivian.
• Tiandao anticipated that Chen Kong and Liu Ma’s actions would inflame the divide between the Upper and Lower Cities as Steam Capital approached spring.

Episode 5 of "Stellaris: Glimmer" followed Vivian in prison as she recalled her father's death and her resolve to uphold the Clockwork Knight name. With Yu Chen unable to clear her, Vivian left for her trial determined to prove her innocence through her actions.

• Little Danika brought Vivian orange-flavored nutrient paste and told her Yu Chen had found a lead that might prove her innocent.
• Vivian remembered her father William's funeral, when a Referee returned the pink toy watch that became the vessel for his Star Source.
• Vivian recalled refusing to leave for the Seven Great Floating Cities and vowing to carry on her father's path as the Clockwork Knight.
• Vivian resolved to face the trial and use her actions to reform the people who had condemned her.
• Tiandao came to escort Vivian from her cell, and Vivian thanked Yu Chen as she passed him.

Tiandao escorted Vivian to the Brass Council, but Chen Kong and Liu Ma attacked the convoy and freed her. Tiandao fought Liu Ma and nearly pursued the escapees before Yu Chen deliberately disrupted him with a shot.

• Tiandao escorted Vivian across the Bridge of Gears and Brass, where Steam Guards stopped the convoy to inspect it.
• Chen Kong and Liu Ma attacked the Fifth Squad, shattered Vivian’s power-sealing shackles, and fled with her.
• Tiandao struck at Chen Kong, but Liu Ma intercepted his sword energy and challenged him.
• Liu Ma tried to suppress Tiandao with perfect Star Energy, but Tiandao’s S-rank attribute repelled it, and Tiandao cut through Liu Ma’s armor.
• Tiandao prepared to capture Chen Kong and Vivian, but Yu Chen fired a bullet at him and claimed he had missed by accident.

Yu Chen betrayed the Fifth Squad to help Vivian escape and fought Captain Tiandao at the Bridge of Gears and Brass. His Silver Falcon bullets failed to pierce Tiandao’s defense, but he used Azure Owl to draw the scattered bullets into a storm that engulfed the captain.

• Yu Chen admitted that he had deliberately missed his shot and chose to help Vivian because her father had once saved his life.
• Tiandao sent the Fifth Squad after Chen Kong and Vivian, then kept Little Danika from following them and faced Yu Chen alone.
• Yu Chen challenged Tiandao over the Steam Church’s crimes, but Tiandao insisted he only acted within his duty.
• Yu Chen fired Silver Falcon, whose curving bullet struck Tiandao’s ink-black Star Energy defense and was knocked away.
• Tiandao advanced while deflecting Silver Falcon’s bullets, but Yu Chen’s Azure Owl shell drove him backward and drew the scattered bullets into a storm around him.

A flashback showed Tiandao teaching Caroline that Star Energy manipulation was the foundation of a Star Envoy’s strength. In the present, Tiandao used overwhelming Star Energy to trap Yu Chen and prepared to strike him with Shattered Star.

• On a hillside at Ember Base, Caroline asked Tiandao why he had surpassed the others despite training together.
• Tiandao explained that after adapting to his Star Core early, he had trained his Star Energy and shown Caroline how compression let an Envoy contain more power.
• Tiandao told Caroline that Star Energy was a Star Envoy’s true foundation, and the flashback overlapped with Shui Mo’s figure in the present.
• At the Bridge of Gears and Brass, Tiandao blocked Yu Chen’s attacks with a defensive barrier and criticized his reliance on his Star Source.
• Tiandao engulfed Yu Chen in a tide of Star Energy, immobilized him, and walked up to him.
• Tiandao raised Shattered Star over the trapped Yu Chen, relying on basic Star Energy rather than elaborate techniques.

Liu Ma broke through Tiandao’s Star Energy restraints and saved Yu Chen, revealing his newly awakened combined form. His taunt prompted Tiandao to announce that he would fight more seriously, leaving Liu Ma facing a much more dangerous opponent.

• Liu Ma blocked Tiandao’s strike against Yu Chen and took Shattered Star into his arms.
• Liu Ma unleashed the power of his awakened Netherworld Warhorse and Golden Demon Bull combination, breaking Tiandao’s Star Energy field and freeing Yu Chen.
• Yu Chen escaped Tiandao’s oppressive range while Liu Ma mocked Shui Mo and praised the fearsome monster he had once encountered.
• Tiandao let some of his gathered Star Energy subside after Liu Ma’s praise, then raised Shattered Star and declared he would take the fight seriously.
• Tiandao’s ink-black Star Energy deepened, and Liu Ma’s confidence faltered as Tiandao gave him no chance to back down.

Tiandao defeated Liu Ma and Yu Chen, then revealed that Chen Xing could track Chen Kong and Vivian despite the Mark of the Void. Chen Kong and Vivian reached Bolt Hub Station, where Chen Xing confronted them and blocked their escape to the Lower City.

• Tiandao redirected Liu Ma’s punch toward Yu Chen, leaving Yu Chen injured and Liu Ma unconscious.
• Yu Chen said he had completed his mission because Kong’s Star Core ability would protect Vivian, but Tiandao explained that Chen Xing could track Chen Kong and Vivian.
• Tiandao knocked Yu Chen unconscious and waited calmly after the fight.
• Chen Kong and Vivian fled toward Bolt Hub Station, using Presence Erasure to evade the pedestrians and vehicles around them.
• Chen Xing appeared at the station entrance, saw through Chen Kong’s Presence Erasure, and confronted him as he tried to escape with Vivian.