Chapter Summaries

Li Miao asked the Ancient Dragon Projection why Long Night Kindling had created the Long Night Domain, and the dragon offered his thoughts on finding hope and forging one’s own path through the cold. After answering, the projection let Li Miao and Landfall kill him, and Landfall discovered a large drop of loot.

• Li Miao thanked the Ancient Dragon Projection for his detailed answers and asked why Long Night Kindling had created the Long Night Domain.
• The Ancient Dragon Projection said the stars and their guidance offered hope and wisdom, and suggested Long Night wanted everyone to use their own flame to find a path through the cold.
• The Ancient Dragon Projection explained that the Long Night Domain’s trials were battles to the death, though Long Night Embers would let him reform after being killed.
• Landfall asked to deliver the killing blow, and he and Li Miao destroyed the Ancient Dragon Projection.
• Landfall claimed the kill credit and found that the projection had dropped a large amount of loot in two portions.

Landfall received a Collector’s-quality mage robe and the Spirit Combustion spellcraft Lanlot’s Dragon Starfall from the Long Night Domain’s rewards. Li Miao let him keep both, but warned him to check the spellcraft’s usage requirements.

• Landfall excitedly inspected the Ancient Dragon Night Scale Robe and begged Li Miao to give it to him.
• Li Miao agreed, and Landfall replaced his old mage robe with the new one.
• Landfall saw the Spirit Combustion spellcraft Lanlot’s Dragon Starfall among the remaining drops and ingratiated himself with Li Miao again.
• Landfall celebrated his new robe and spellcraft, boasting that he would rain meteors on powerful foes.
• Li Miao cautioned Landfall to check the spellcraft’s usage requirements before celebrating.

Li Miao and Landfall examined their rewards from the Ancient Dragon Projection, then entered the Oasis of the Long Night. There they discovered a dead warrior beside a still-burning campfire and began investigating the corpse and its belongings.

• Landfall discovered that Lanlot's Dragon Starfall required Dragon Bloodline or Dragon's Breath, and the Ancient Dragon Coagulated Blood could temporarily grant Dragon's Breath and had a small chance to alter his bloodline.
• Li Miao gave Landfall the coagulated blood, inspected the Coiled Horn Key, and stopped Landfall from consuming the blood immediately to learn Dragon Starfall.
• After searching the Ancient Dragon Projection's dwelling, Li Miao and Landfall returned to the altar, found its dragon scales shattered, and made their way to the Oasis of the Long Night.
• Landfall tested the oasis's punishment rule by attacking Li Miao with a weak burst of starlight, which was deflected back at him.
• Li Miao and Landfall approached a campfire and found a rotting warrior's corpse beside simmering vegetable soup, a chipped axe, and several items; Li Miao obtained Desperate Battle Flame Remnants.

Li Miao and Landfall discovered that a poisoned Mountain Ridge Tribe warrior had died after his antidote was stolen and no one in the oasis helped him. As they prepared to leave the campfire, Landfall accidentally disturbed it, awakening a Campfire Guardian Spirit that demanded they leave or defeat it.

• Li Miao read the Mountain Ridge Tribe warrior’s unfinished will and learned that robbers had stolen his antidote while other trial-takers refused to help him.
• Li Miao and Landfall concluded that the helmet-wearing stranger the warrior called a freak was probably Hero Aluga, who had genuinely tried to find him medicine.
• Li Miao and Landfall turned to leave, but Landfall stumbled into the cooking pot and campfire.
• The campfire transformed into a level 75 Campfire Guardian Spirit, which accused them of destroying its warmth and ordered them to leave or get past it.

Li Miao and Landfall chose to fuel the first campfire rather than attack its guardian, then traveled to a second campfire where six living NPCs had gathered. Landfall checked his abilities and realized he had swapped out Offender's Ear before entering the instance.

• Landfall wanted to attack the Campfire Guardian Spirit, but Li Miao stopped him and suspected its encounter was part of a Long Night Kindling trial.
• Li Miao asked the guardian how they could help those who came after, and it instructed them to inject fuel into the campfire.
• Li Miao and Landfall spent their stamina and mental energy fueling the fire; the guardian left without giving them a reward, and Li Miao understood its final words.
• The two headed to another campfire, where Landfall spotted six living NPCs, but Li Miao stopped him from approaching before they had observed them.
• Landfall checked his personal information and realized he had replaced Offender's Ear with Wei Jia's Soul Summoning Incantation before entering the instance.

Li Miao and Landfall eavesdropped on a camp of trial-takers and learned more about the Campfire Guardian Spirit, the Oasis Raiders, and Hero Aluga. As they debated why the camp’s NPCs seemed trapped in a time cycle, a blurry soul emerged from the woods with an explanation.

• Li Miao and Landfall used an item to disguise themselves and listened to six NPCs discussing the Campfire Guardian Spirit and the Campfire Coal it could drop.
• The NPCs talked about the Oasis Raiders, then some of them rested while others warned one another to guard their belongings.
• After returning to their hiding place, Landfall urged Li Miao to fight the Campfire Guardian Spirit, but Li Miao refused and connected the NPCs’ remarks to Hero Aluga and the stolen Mountain Ridge Tribe item.
• Li Miao explained that the camp’s NPCs were likely trapped in a time cycle, and Landfall pointed out that NPCs in the first half of the Long Night Domain had not fallen into one.
• A blurry soul emerged from the woods and said that darkness weakened the disaster’s effects on trial-takers in the first half of the Long Night Domain.

Li Miao and Landfall met Hero Aluga, who explained that he was a fairy-tale protagonist summoned to the Long Night Domain and struggled to live up to the name he had adopted. He recounted his efforts to help others, including seeking an antidote for a poisoned trial participant, and left his story at the Oasis Raider’s demand that he defeat a monster to retrieve it.

• Li Miao and Landfall met Hero Aluga and learned that he had left behind the Guiding Clam and the Stone Tablet.
• Aluga explained that he was the protagonist of a fairy tale who had been summoned to a world overrun by monsters, where he failed to save the child and villagers who had called for help.
• Aluga described how his attempts to help people often went badly, leading him to make “Hero” part of his name as a reminder to seek the strength to deserve it.
• Aluga entered the Long Night Domain, passed Ermei’s trial, and left behind the Guiding Clam and combat skill Stone Tablet to help others.
• Aluga tried to find an antidote for a poisoned Mountain Ridge Tribe trial participant, but the Oasis Raider took much of his equipment and demanded that he defeat a monster and retrieve an item.

After meeting Hero Aluga’s trapped soul, Li Miao and Landfall learned how he had died and set out to avenge him. They robbed and punished the Oasis Raiders, while Aluga reflected that the Raiders’ worst fate was being trapped in the repeating cycle.

• Hero Aluga told Li Miao and Landfall that he had defeated a trial monster but died in a sneak attack by an Oasis Raider who was later assimilated by the monster.
• Li Miao and Landfall resolved to avenge Aluga, who warned them that the assimilated Raider had become terrifying.
• The three passed a camp where the trial participants, including Manny, briefly recognized Aluga before the cycle reset them.
• Li Miao and Landfall found an Oasis Raider camp and robbed its occupants, with Landfall using a scroll to move swiftly through the crowd.
• Li Miao destroyed the stolen loot, and the group repeated their punishment until Aluga thanked them and said the Raiders were trapped in a terrifying cycle.

Li Miao and Landfall learned from Hero Aluga that the only way across the void was to focus on the distant stars and believe in the invisible path. Li Miao managed to walk across, but Landfall’s fall distracted him, and both plunged into the darkness.

• Hero Aluga told Li Miao and Landfall that they had to overcome their fear and focus on the stars to cross the void.
• Li Miao and Landfall searched for another route, but found only a stone stele and other Trial Takers who confirmed there was no alternative.
• Li Miao cleared his mind, stepped onto the invisible path, and began walking steadily toward the stars.
• Landfall followed Li Miao with his eyes closed, lost his balance, and began falling into the abyss.
• Landfall’s scream disrupted Li Miao’s focus, causing the path beneath him to soften and Li Miao to fall as well.

Li Miao and Landfall crossed the void to reach the first Trial Ground of the Long Night Domain, where Hero Aluga told them to destroy a pillar. Before they could finish, Li Miao found a damaged Hero Helmet that warned him not to trust Aluga.

• Li Miao and Landfall regained their footing after falling from the cliff, then crossed the void while resisting phantom birds and the monster Fear Under the Long Night.
• Li Miao and Landfall reached the purple star and learned from Hero Aluga and a Stone Tablet that they had to destroy the pillar and take its place.
• Li Miao and Landfall attacked the pillar, cracking it before a shockwave blasted them away.
• Li Miao noticed something gleaming in the soil and stopped Landfall from delivering the final blow.
• Li Miao picked up a damaged Hero Helmet, which warned him not to trust Hero Aluga.

Li Miao realized the being posing as Hero Aluga was an impostor who wanted to seize their bodies, and it transformed into the level 80 boss Hero's Grudge. Li Miao and Landfall fought back, but the Grudge pierced Li Miao's chest and raised him into the air as more blood-red hands emerged to attack.

• The Hero Helmet warned Li Miao not to destroy the pillar because the being posing as Hero Aluga wanted to escape and take their bodies.
• Hero Aluga revealed that he had disguised himself, drew black resentment from beneath the pillar, and transformed into Hero's Grudge.
• Li Miao and Landfall entered Tinder Form and prepared to fight the level 80 boss.
• Hero's Grudge split his spinning blade into six arcs and vanished into darkness as Landfall used Miteros Displacement and became intangible.
• Hero's Grudge appeared behind Li Miao and pierced his chest with a blood-red hand, dropping his health by more than half.
• Hero's Grudge lifted Li Miao into the air while more blood-red hands rose from the ground to attack him.

Li Miao and Landfall fought Hero's Grudge, whose strength and self-awareness made it a dangerous opponent, and defeated it through coordinated attacks. As Hero's Grudge faded away, the weakened voice in the Hero Helmet asked them to bring it beside the pillar.

• Li Miao escaped Hero's Grudge's grasp with Landfall's help and warned him about the enemy's piercing and marking abilities.
• Landfall and Li Miao refused Hero's Grudge's demand to destroy the pillar, summoned Soul Remnants, and prepared to fight.
• Li Miao and Landfall used their Saint's Fire Aspects and coordinated attacks to exploit Hero's Grudge's lack of combat experience.
• Li Miao shattered Hero's Grudge's stance with Forged Steel Molten Fire, and Landfall finished it with Miteros Torrent.
• Hero's Grudge died while lamenting its failure, and the Hero Helmet asked Li Miao and Landfall to bring it beside the pillar.

Li Miao and Landfall learned the truth about Hero Aluga, the boy who summoned him, and the tragedy that bound them together. As the old pillar collapsed and the boy’s final presence faded, he called himself Hero Aluga and named the original Aluga his hero.

• Li Miao placed the Hero Helmet by the cracked pillar, and a new pillar rose as a figure formed and explained the trial of conviction.
• The figure revealed that he was the boy who had summoned Aluga, while the Aluga from the fairy tale had died saving him and later became Hero’s Grudge.
• Hero explained that a mysterious treasure had driven Aluga to abandon his heroic conviction, gain immense power, and resurrect himself using Hero’s dead body.
• Hero said he had bound his soul to the pillar to keep Aluga from leaving and becoming what he once despised, while Aluga had brought Li Miao and Landfall there to take their bodies.
• As the old pillar crumbled and Hero faded, Landfall asked his real name, and he answered, “My name is Hero Aluga,” calling the original Aluga his hero.

After Hero Aluga and Hero's Grudge died, Li Miao and Landfall collected their drops and examined the pillar that had risen to shield the land. They sensed the pillar calling to them and went to investigate, leaving the next step uncertain.

• The fallen pillar turned to ashes, a path to the next area emerged, and Li Miao and Landfall mourned Hero Aluga's death.
• Li Miao collected the Hero Helmet, which retained Aluga's power and granted the skill Hero's Faith.
• Li Miao picked up the Grudge Greatsword and Grudge Bracers, noting that their power came with an influence that could lower his mental value.
• Li Miao and Landfall found no Tinder or combat skills among the drops, then sensed the new pillar calling to them.
• Li Miao decided that they should approach the pillar and investigate.

Li Miao and Landfall claimed Pure Flame Material from the pillar after defeating Hero Aluga, while Yuanfang’s progress across Pridhan’s nightmares stalled when Pridhan could no longer fall asleep. The chapter ended with players discussing the Long Night Domain’s bridge guards and searching for a marked item.

• Li Miao touched the pillar and received Pure Flame Material, and Landfall obtained one as well before they logged off at the Milestone Spirit Candle.
• Yuanfang continued extending the broken bridge by fighting nightmare monsters and letting Pridhan sleep, while the nightmares and monsters grew more difficult.
• Yuanfang and Pridhan spotted the outline of stairs, but Pridhan could not recall what they meant and then found himself unable to sleep.
• Yuanfang decided to return and rest, considering that the key might lie along another path.
• Players discussed ways to get past Ermei and Antifa, with several reporting Ermei’s self-awareness and others asking about the marked item he mentioned.

Players discussed the hidden Ancient Dragon Projection boss and its valuable drops, while Li Miao and Landfall learned they had been unlucky. In the Long Night Oasis, players faced different outcomes in Fallen Aluga’s trial, and some heard his furious cries from beyond the oasis before he fell silent.

• Players shared directions to the Ancient Dragon Projection and described its difficult fight and rewards.
• Black Mountain Imp, Scheming Frog, and Gray Sky showed off items and spells they had received from the boss.
• Li Miao and Landfall discovered that getting only the two guaranteed drops was unusually unlucky.
• Some players found Hero Aluga’s helmet and triggered Fallen Aluga, while others smashed the pillar and had to defeat him before a meteor destroyed the Trial Ground.
• Players who failed the timed trial could not fight Fallen Aluga again without resetting the instance.
• Curious players searched the edge of the Long Night Oasis and heard Fallen Aluga shouting that the players’ bodies were useless before he went silent.

Players explored Long Night Oasis, discovered the Campfire Guardian Spirit and debated whether it should be killed, while uncovering how NPCs outside the oasis reacted to learning the truth. The chapter left those NPCs continuing into the darkness, with players uncertain whether freeing them from the time loop had helped.

• Players investigated Long Night Oasis's NPCs, found ways to gain skills and information, and played tricks on some of them.
• Players discovered that knocking over a campfire summoned the Campfire Guardian Spirit, and many fought it for its random loot.
• Players discussed the Guardian Spirit's hidden purpose and options, including whether to leave it alone and give it fire.
• Players learned that NPCs from the first half of the Long Night Domain could not enter the oasis and were unaffected by its time loop because they were surrounded by darkness.
• After players revealed the truth to those NPCs, some went mad while others silently returned to the darkness.

Players discussed the truth behind Hero Aluga and Aluga's Soul, condemning the Oasis Raiders and debating whether Aluga was right to stop Hero's Grudge. The chapter ended with players arguing in the comments, where one self-proclaimed tough guy was mocked for his boasts.

• Players pieced together how the raiders caused Hero Aluga's tragic fate and how Aluga's Soul became the first Trial Ground's boss.
• Players mourned Aluga's failures and the destruction of the guidance and keepsakes he left behind for others.
• Players debated whether Hero Aluga should have followed Hero's Grudge after his resurrection, with many understanding why Aluga stopped his old friend.
• One player bragged about bringing a hundred thousand brothers to Dragon Mountain Road, and other players mocked him with comparisons to famous gangsters and leaders.

Landfall consumed Ancient Dragon Coagulated Blood, entered a berserk state, and gained dragon qi that let him learn Dragon Starfall. Li Miao organized his skills while Landfall learned his new spells, but their departure was delayed when Landfall asked to borrow wax oil to upgrade another skill.

• Landfall ate Ancient Dragon Coagulated Blood and lunged at Li Miao while caught in a mindless berserk state.
• Li Miao restrained Landfall until the berserk state faded, and Landfall's bloodline changed to grant him Starlight Dragon Qi.
• Li Miao learned Sinking Fire Lure and Valiant Ambition, upgraded his Unyielding Strongheart talent, and reviewed his skills.
• Landfall learned Dragon Starfall and his other new spells.
• Landfall asked Li Miao to lend him wax oil so he could upgrade Thirsting Light Lure.

Li Miao and Landfall entered the second Trial Ground, where a friendly Little Shrub Spirit led them through a peaceful forest before the Ugly Elder Avadolan appeared. Avadolan revealed a path onward and challenged them to try killing him first.

• Li Miao and Landfall followed Spirit Candle’s guidance past the Fear Under the Long Night and entered the second Trial Ground.
• A Little Shrub Spirit offered them Wala Green Fruit, which restored a small amount of stamina, then led them into the forest.
• The Ugly Elder Avadolan emerged and struck the Little Shrub Spirit into the soil, but Li Miao told Landfall not to attack.
• Avadolan opened a path through the trees and invited Li Miao and Landfall to kill him before continuing.