Chapter Summaries

Ang, Dana, and Linya drove off a Lizardman Great Warrior but could not kill him, then disguised themselves as lizardmen and continued toward Litchfield Plains. They discovered that several lizardman settlements had been abandoned recently, suggesting a large movement toward the plains.

• Ang and Dana fought the Lizardman Great Warrior while Linya supported them with arrows, and Linya’s shot let Dana and Ang injure the warrior badly enough that he fled.
• Ang stopped Dana from pursuing, warning that a desperate beast could be especially dangerous, then healed Dana and helped Linya recover from depleted Qi force.
• Ang hid Linya and Dana in a cave and searched through the night for the fleeing warrior, but found no trace of him.
• After reuniting the next morning, Ang, Dana, and Linya disguised themselves as lizardmen and resumed their journey on the Camelback Beast.
• The group passed abandoned lizardman settlements, and Ang concluded that their inhabitants had left less than three days earlier, likely heading toward Litchfield Plains.

Ang, Dana, and Linya reached Tunaxi Forest, hoping to find traces of the World Tree and other elves. After camping outside and entering the forest, they met a Lizardman tribe and learned that its people worshipped a different god who lived deep in the forest.

• Ang explained that rumors of World Tree remains in Tunaxi Forest might help Linya find clues about other elves, and he discussed the Empire's strategy and his own plans with Dana and Linya.
• The three camped outside the forest, shared a meal, and took turns keeping watch through the night.
• Ang gave Linya the bow Swift Wind, which she gratefully accepted.
• The next morning, Ang, Dana, and Linya entered Tunaxi Forest and traveled to a Lizardman tribe, whose chief welcomed them because they were disguised as Lizardmen.
• Ang learned that nearly a hundred Lizardman tribes lived in the forest, that they often fought among themselves, and that they worshipped a god who lived in the forest's center.

Ang and his companions traveled through Tunaxi Forest, where he witnessed the lizardmen’s constant tribal conflicts and reached the World Tree at the forest’s center. After learning that the god was believed to live near its crown, they began climbing the tree to see how far they could go.

• Lava’s tribe fought Gesa’s black-skinned lizardmen over territory, and Ang saw Lava accept the casualties as part of the tribe’s survival.
• Ang left Lava’s tribe with Dana and Linya and continued through several lizardman settlements toward the heart of Tunaxi Forest.
• The travelers reached the World Tree and met the powerful lizardman mages who lived among its branches.
• Ang learned that the god had not appeared for nearly ten years and that the mages believed he lived at the tree’s highest point, beyond their reach.
• Ang, Dana, and Linya stayed in a treehouse and began climbing the World Tree the next morning, as its magical energy grew denser around them.

Ang, Dana, and Linya climbed the giant tree in Tunaxi Forest and discovered its magical field distorted their senses and their perception of time. After Linya vanished on a massive branch, Ang became trapped in a looping stretch of space, returned to Dana after what had been a day and night, and set off again to find her.

• Ang discovered that the sky and surroundings remained unchanged as the trio climbed, then used a detection spell to confirm they were hundreds of meters above the ground.
• Ang helped Dana and Linya sense the dense elemental forces around them and explained that the giant tree’s field might help them advance.
• The trio reached a vast branch, discussed whether the tree was the World Tree, and found that its bark could not be damaged or removed.
• Linya vanished while Ang and Dana tried to collect tree materials, and Ang went searching for her along the branch.
• Ang became trapped in a space where the scenery and path seemed unchanged, and his attempt to fly back on his Magic Broom failed.
• Ang eventually returned to Dana, learned that a day and night had passed, left supplies with him, and set off again to find Linya.

Ang crossed the mist-shrouded branches of the World Tree, found Linya barely alive, and brought her back to rest. He discovered that spatial distortion kept him from reaching Dana, but managed to collect a World Tree leaf with Space Magic as he waited for Linya to recover.

• Ang left ore markers as he searched the endless mist and found the remains of lizardmen whose left middle fingers had been elementalized.
• Ang reached the end of the branch and found Linya collapsed; he gave her a Stamina Potion and food until she fell asleep safely.
• Ang saw Dana beside the World Tree trunk, but spatial distortion returned whenever he tried to approach.
• Ang failed to detach a World Tree leaf with tools and ordinary magic, then cut it free with a Spatial Blade.
• Ang discovered the detached leaf became fragile, stored it in a Demon Sealing Box, and waited beside Linya.

Ang and Linya recovered on the World Tree branch, compared their experiences with its distorted spaces, and continued exploring together. Ang opened a Spatial Blade rift to cross the stretched space, and they emerged back on the branch after a dizzying trip through Spatial Turbulence.

• While Linya slept, Ang harvested nearly a thousand World Tree leaves with Spatial Blade and then rested beside her.
• After waking, Linya ate, examined a leaf Ang had collected, and described being trapped in an isolated space while Ang searched for her through distorted space for what felt like half a month.
• Ang and Linya agreed to continue exploring and returned toward the main trunk, with Ang holding Linya's wrist to keep them together.
• Inside the stretched space, Linya's arrows hovered to either side but one shot forward reappeared farther along the branch, confirming the space's strange distances.
• Ang opened a Spatial Blade rift, and he and Linya plunged through it into Spatial Turbulence before emerging back in the branch's extended space, badly dizzy.

Ang and Linya escaped the stretched space on a World Tree branch and returned to Dana, where they rested and discussed the strange spaces and the possibility that intelligent races, including elves, lived within them. They decided to keep exploring the branches and prepare to climb again.

• Ang and Linya used Space Rift repeatedly to cross the stretched space, enduring severe dizziness before finding Ang’s ore marker and reaching the main trunk.
• Dana joyfully reunited with Ang and Linya after waiting more than a month, and Ang gave him food and set up camp.
• Ang explained to Dana that the branch’s space had been stretched and said he suspected the World Tree’s thick branches contained special spaces.
• Ang and Linya discussed the possibility that lizardmen had starved in the space and that elves might still be hiding in the World Tree’s branches.
• Ang, Linya, and Dana washed, rested, and organized their equipment before preparing to continue climbing.

Ang explored a withered branch on the World Tree and discovered it concealed a desolate, lifeless space. After clearing and burning its dead leaves, he found that the space’s boundaries behaved strangely, leaving the exploration unresolved.

• Ang noticed a leafless, withered branch and decided to investigate it while Linya and Dana waited on a nearby branch.
• Ang stepped into the branch’s hidden space, briefly returned to reassure Linya and Dana, then went back inside to explore.
• Ang found the space covered in dead leaves, cleared them with wind magic, and burned them to uncover hard black ground.
• Ang collected energy-rich ash in the Demon Sealing Box while Linya and Dana sheltered from the intense heat rising from below.
• Ang found that the space seemed to loop, and every time he threw a piece of ore, it landed only a few steps away.

Ang discovered that the space beneath the World Tree's dead branch was sealed within a tiny boundary and suspected the branch could be detached. After healing Linya and discovering how to make a potion from World Tree leaves and their ashes, he tested it himself and gave the remaining doses to Linya and Dana.

• Ang failed to cut through the invisible boundary with a Spatial Blade and returned to Linya and Dana, unable to move beyond a few steps inside the space.
• Ang noticed the dead branch trembled under his weight and suggested its connection to the World Tree might have loosened enough for them to remove it.
• Ang healed Linya's burned hand, then used World Tree leaf paste to flavor their flatbread; Linya and Dana fainted after eating it.
• Ang determined that the leaves' life energy had overwhelmed Linya and Dana, revived them with ashes from burned leaves, and explained his findings.
• Ang combined World Tree leaves, ashes, and magical herbs into a potion that restored his magic and strengthened his life force.
• Linya and Dana accepted the remaining portions of Ang's potion and drank them.

After the World Tree leaf potion put Dana and Linya into a day-long sleep, they awoke with improved strength, healed injuries, and signs of awakening bloodline powers. Ang named the potion Gift of the World, then spent weeks cutting down a dead World Tree branch and stored the now-compressed wood in his Spatial Bag.

• Dana and Linya fell asleep after drinking Ang's potion, and Ang monitored their stable condition for a day.
• Dana awoke with increased qi force and physical strength, while Linya found that her old injuries had healed and her elven features had become more pronounced.
• Ang explained that the potion could awaken hidden bloodline potential, named it Gift of the World, and told them to wait before drinking another dose.
• Dana displayed a blurry Minotaur ancestral phantom as Ang began cutting a dead World Tree branch with his Spatial Blade.
• After half a month of cutting, Ang severed the branch, and he, Dana, and Linya hauled it up as it shrank from over five meters in diameter to two.
• Ang found the compressed branch easy to cut in half, placed both pieces in his Spatial Bag, and finished the task.

Ang, Dana, and Linya climbed the World Tree, harvested a promising dead branch for a bow, and camped on a vast branch. After waking, they found a Green Aphid and collected its honey dew, which was said to enhance magical element affinity.

• Ang and Linya discussed making a bow from a World Tree branch, and Ang promised to craft one for her.
• The three harvested a long, naturally curved dead branch that shrank after being cut from the World Tree.
• Ang, Dana, and Linya reached a huge branch, chose to continue toward the World Tree's top, and camped there for the night.
• The next morning, Dana spotted a Green Aphid outside Ang's protective shield, and Ang identified it using his Magic Book.
• Ang fed the Green Aphid eight World Tree leaves, and it produced a glowing glob of honey dew that Ang caught in a magic bottle.

Ang discovered that Green Aphid honey dew could improve elemental affinity but clouded the mind, so he purified it and then followed a Green Aphid to its colony with Linya. They witnessed Lion Aphids attack and devastate the colony, leaving the surviving Green Aphids to repair their nest.

• Ang found that Green Aphid honey dew amplified greed and obsession, then used Starlight Grass and night-blooming cereus to remove the side effect and made three drinks for himself, Linya, and Dana.
• Ang released the Green Aphid and followed it with Linya, while Dana stayed behind to guard the camp.
• Ang and Linya followed the aphid through a spatial anomaly into a forest and found its Insect Nest, where winged Green Aphids surrounded Ang after he made a noise.
• Lion Aphids attacked the nest, and Ang flew clear on his Magic Broom before pulling Linya aboard.
• The Lion Aphids killed one winged Green Aphid, tore open the nest, and devoured many defenseless Green Aphids before leaving with their dead companion.
• Ang and Linya watched the surviving winged Green Aphids begin repairing the nest.

Ang and Linya collected World Tree Honey Dew by trading World Tree leaves with the Green Aphids, then fought off Black Armored Ants and returned to camp with valuable materials. After sharing a meal with Dana, they decided to rest and continue exploring upward the next day.

• Ang entered the Green Aphids' nest, found the Queen Insect and traded six hundred World Tree leaves for sixty liters of World Tree Honey Dew.
• Ang and Linya were surrounded by Black Armored Ants, but they defeated the flying ant and the ground swarm, collecting magic cores and useful materials.
• Ang and Linya returned to camp, where Dana eagerly heard about their adventure and Ang roasted Black Armored Ant legs for him.
• Ang prepared World Tree leaf paste on flatbread for Linya, and the three shared a meal by the campfire.
• Ang decided the group would rest for the night and continue exploring upward the next day.

Ang, Linya, and Dana fought off a swarm of Black Armored Ants and Black Armored Flying Ants that attacked their camp, then fled up the World Tree as the creatures pursued them. After masking their scent and reaching a broad branch, they stopped to rest, uncertain whether they had found safety.

• Black Armored Ants surrounded the camp and sprayed acid at Ang's magic shield, waking Ang, Linya, and Dana.
• Linya shot the attacking ants while Ang replenished the shield and used Wind Blades and Earth Spike to kill many of them.
• Three Black Armored Flying Ants battered the shield, but Ang's tornadoes disrupted their flight and Linya shot one down, forcing the others and the ground swarm to retreat.
• Linya suspected the ants had been driven to attack, and Ang realized they had tracked the scent left behind after the trio killed ants earlier.
• Ang packed the tent and dismantled the magic array, then led Linya and Dana up the World Tree as the ants pursued them along the trunk.
• Ang left scent-bearing items to confuse the pursuers and gave Linya and Dana scent-masking potions; the three later stopped on a broad branch to rest.

Ang, Dana, and Linya climbed higher up the World Tree, where Ang killed a forest python that tried to ambush them and harvested more than seventy leaves. When a group of forest pythons surrounded them, Ang attacked, and the remaining snakes charged the trio.

• Dana wondered whether the World Tree had an end, and Ang guessed that they would eventually reach its top by climbing the trunk.
• The exhausted trio rested on a branch, where Ang killed a forest python that had spent eight hours weakening his magical shield before attacking him.
• Linya spotted World Tree leaves at the end of the branch, and Ang harvested more than seventy while Dana and Linya kept watch.
• Ang cleared emerald mist from their path with blue fire, revealing seven or eight forest pythons coiled around the trunk.
• Ang struck one python with North Wind Steel Spears, and the other forest pythons charged toward the trio.

Ang, Dana, and Linya fought the Python Leader, a powerful Level 3 Magical Beast, after defeating its smaller forest pythons. With the Python Leader freeing itself from their traps using Poison Fog, Ang charged into the poison alone to attack it.

• Ang, Dana, and Linya fought back the forest pythons until the Python Leader descended from the World Tree's trunk.
• Linya's arrows could not pierce the Python Leader's defensive membrane, so Ang used the flames on his North Wind Steel Sword to break through and wound it.
• The Python Leader's poisonous attacks injured Dana and forced Ang to disperse the Poison Fog and give Dana an Antidote Potion.
• Dana struck the Python Leader and Linya pinned its open mouth with Magic Arrows, allowing Ang to bombard its throat with fireballs.
• The Python Leader detonated a poisonous orb inside its mouth, then broke free of Ang's Earth Spikes and icicles by filling the area with Poison Fog.
• Ang warned Dana and Linya to stay back, raised a magical shield, and charged alone into the Poison Fog toward the Python Leader.

Ang fought the Poison Fog-wreathed Python Leader, overcoming its desperate resistance with help from Linya’s arrows before killing it. Afterward, Dana harvested the creature’s valuable materials, and Ang sealed its skin in a Demon Sealing Box.

• Ang leaped into the Poison Fog and stabbed the trapped Python Leader with North Wind Steel Swords, then ignited flames inside its wounds.
• The Python Leader broke free and began shaking out the swords, so Ang attacked it with a Dragon Thorn Spear and inflicted many deep wounds.
• Juvenile pythons swarmed Ang and fed restorative herbs to their leader, but Linya’s arrows struck the Python Leader and suppressed its recovery.
• Ang broke through the juvenile pythons and severed the Python Leader’s head with a powerful Qi-force blade.
• Ang reunited with Linya and Dana, and Dana extracted the magic core and eyes and skinned the Python Leader.
• Ang stored the valuable python skin in a Demon Sealing Box.

Ang processed the Python Leader's corpse, then studied mysterious Rune Arrows that Linya discovered were not hers. He identified their unfamiliar layered runes as possibly ancient elven work, but could not reproduce them and concluded they needed to find the elves or other intelligent races on the World Tree.

• Ang and Dana salvaged the Python Leader's organs, toxic gastric fluid, and valuable meat before continuing up the World Tree with Linya.
• The three rested on a narrow branch behind Ang's magic barrier, ate Python Leader meat, and took turns keeping watch.
• Linya noticed that the arrows Ang had returned to her were unfamiliar Rune Arrows and questioned him after he woke.
• Ang analyzed the arrows' three layers, identifying Sharpness, Magic Suppression, and Fracture runes that he had never seen before.
• Ang and Linya considered whether the runes came from elves or ancient elven knowledge, and Ang failed to recreate their layered inscription.
• Ang concluded that he would need to find the elves or other intelligent races on the World Tree to learn how the runes were made.

Ang, Dana, and Linya discovered a hidden flower-filled space inside the World Tree where Purple-winged Bees lived and produced honey. They collected four bottles without provoking an attack, but decided to wait until they left the World Tree before tasting it.

• Ang, Dana, and Linya climbed through a peaceful section of the World Tree and wondered whether the elves had been watching them.
• Ang marked a Purple-winged Bee, and the three followed it into a hidden, flower-filled space containing magical herbs and a huge hive.
• The group discovered pools of honey near the hive, and Dana suggested they had been set up for others to collect from.
• Ang used his soul force field to protect Dana as Dana gathered honey, while the Purple-winged Bees circled without attacking.
• Ang and Dana filled four magical bottles with honey and retreated, and Ang warned Linya and Dana not to taste it until they left the World Tree.

Ang, Dana, and Linya returned from the Purple-winged Bee hive and tasted its honey, discovering that it strengthened soul power and improved their ancestral projections. After resting, they saw their enhanced presences and Ang revealed his unusual six-armed manifestation of coexisting Qi force and magic power.

• Ang led Dana and Linya away from the hive, then prepared a concealed tent before opening the honey so nearby bees would not be attracted.
• The three ate Purple-winged Bee Honey with warmed wheat cakes and discovered its sweetness invigorated the mind and strengthened soul power.
• Dana and Linya fell asleep from the honey’s effects, while Ang studied the remaining honey and found that mixing it with herbs weakened its benefits.
• After seven or eight hours, Ang made iced honey drinks, and Dana and Linya woke to find their ancestral projections clearer and more solid.
• Ang revealed his six-armed presence, and Linya observed that it combined Qi force and magic power.