Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary: “Proof by Contradiction (Part 1)”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Tai Yu investigates why a Monarch-level Magnetic Light Mica self-destructed in the Sin-Poison Environment and why the resulting force specifically targeted the Boundary Gate, even piercing the Local Universe’s barrier.
• He rejects the common explanation that the Lighthouse guided the creature, believing it merely fits the outcome rather than explaining the mechanism.
• Tai Yu focuses on the Magnetic Light Mica’s poorly understood third innate ability, the Boundary Gate. While he understands Magnetization and Suturing, he remains uncertain how those abilities could develop into spacetime-piercing access to the Outer Domain.
• Seeking a technical explanation, he considers whether the Magnetic Light Mica’s self-destruction was caused by outside intervention from powerful “players” beyond the Starry Sky Remnant Game.
• Rather than attempting direct proof immediately, Tai Yu modifies the Game’s structural text to create a hypothetical scenario in which external forces manipulated the Two Star Gate Campaign. He constructs a vast “fishpond” of historical imprints from Great Monarch-level and higher powers.
• By drawing on the River of Time from the “shore,” Tai Yu plans to observe whether upstream forces naturally interact with and validate or destroy his constructed scenario. A successful correspondence would support his hypothesis; backlash would disprove it.
• He recognizes that the experiment is unstable and potentially dangerous. The supposed external intervention could involve entire Divine Kingdoms, a Dominator, a Nation-Founding God, or the Six Heavens God Calamity. He must distinguish masterminds, accomplices, neutrals, and observers.
• Tai Yu concludes that direct investigation and reverse proof must proceed together, with information gathering remaining essential. He also needs to verify whether proof by contradiction is reliable within the River of Time before risking a full experiment.
• While standing guard beside the Campfire in the Misty Jungle, Tai Yu continues refining his theories. Great Monarch Wyatt, bored with his own confinement, warns Tai Yu that unseen forces may drag him into the shadows. Tai Yu responds humorously that Wyatt should worry about his own “fuel” first.

Character Developments

• Tai Yu: Demonstrates increasingly sophisticated analytical and experimental thinking. Instead of passively collecting data, he begins constructing controlled hypotheses through modifications to the Starry Sky Remnant Game. He also becomes more aware of the dangers of manipulating history and the limits of his own understanding.
• Great Monarch Wyatt/Campfire: Reveals boredom and unease while confined to his guarding role. His warning suggests awareness of hidden dangers and perhaps concern for Tai Yu, though he expresses it through dry humor.
• The Great Existence: Remains an indirect source of knowledge, having taught Tai Yu much about Magnetic Light Mica breeding but apparently offering little or no information about the Boundary Gate.
• Possible hidden powers: The chapter expands the mystery surrounding unseen “players” who may manipulate events from beyond the Starry Sky Remnant Game.

Significant Themes

• Proof through contradiction and experimentation: Tai Yu seeks truth by constructing hypothetical scenarios and observing whether reality supports or rejects them.
• Limits of knowledge: Even with the Great Existence’s guidance, Tai Yu lacks a complete understanding of the Magnetic Light Mica’s most important ability.
• Manipulation of time and reality: The River of Time is treated as both a source of evidence and a dangerous force that can overwrite or destroy constructed possibilities.
• Hidden hands and uncertain causality: The chapter questions whether major events are natural, accidental, or orchestrated by higher powers.
• Risk versus understanding: Tai Yu must balance the urgency of solving the mystery against the possibility that his experiments could trigger catastrophic backlash.

Character Interactions

• Tai Yu’s intellectual struggle is framed against the distant observation of powerful gods and Divine Sins, emphasizing his position as both investigator and potential subject of larger schemes.
• His interaction with Wyatt is brief but revealing: Wyatt warns that hidden forces may target Tai Yu, while Tai Yu counters with a teasing remark about Wyatt’s own vulnerability. Their exchange provides comic relief while reinforcing the atmosphere of danger and surveillance.

Chapter Summary: “Refutation by Contradiction (Part 2)”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Tai Yu and Great Monarch Wyatt argue over Wyatt’s role in the ongoing “Depth-Probing Operation.” Wyatt insists that his identity and registration functions are secondary to the Campfire’s greater purpose, but Tai Yu dismisses this, saying they need a Monarch-level Campfire, not a Monarch-level Wyatt.
• Wyatt’s unusually emotional behavior makes Tai Yu suspicious. Tai Yu asks who influenced him, and Wyatt’s evasive reply suggests that someone powerful has recently communicated with him.
• Tai Yu considers two possible influences:
  • An authority figure from the

Ruin and Fall System

• Po Ran, possibly acting as a Contact Person for the Initial Awakening Society
• Tai Yu suspects Po Ran may be secretly communicating with Humanoid Campfires in the Misty Jungle through dreams during the Pressure Relief period. He considers selling information about Po Ran to the Myriad Gods Hall before the intelligence loses value.
• Tai Yu realizes that merely provoking this suspicion may already have served Po Ran’s purpose, reinforcing the idea that Po Ran can manipulate events indirectly.
• The chapter then shifts to the Spider Silk drifting through the Misty Jungle. Tai Yu revises his understanding of its origin:
  • It may be a remnant of the Six Heavens God Calamity’s interference with the Dream God Abomination and the Dream Net.
  • The Calamity attempted to bind and assimilate the Dream God Abomination to replace the Sin Holder and complete a missing part of the Abyss.
  • It corrupted a Great Monarch from the Han Guang Star System, contributing to the disaster of the Two Star Gate Campaign.
  • Netherworld Highness ultimately became the Dominator and severed the Calamity’s invading claws, leaving behind the broken Spider Silk.
• Tai Yu questions whether the Six Heavens God Calamity was truly responsible for the self-destruction of the Monarch-level Magnetic Light Mica. He reasons that the Calamity already had a clear objective and may not have needed to divide its attention by manipulating another powerful entity.
• This leads him to reconsider the involvement of the Myriad Heavens Divine Kingdoms, though he acknowledges that coordinated action would have been difficult to conceal.
• Tai Yu decides to use the situation as a test case for his developing method of “proof by contradiction.” Rather than immediately tackling the vast mystery of Magnetic Light Mica, he plans to investigate the more controllable historical events surrounding the Gatekeeper Lord and the Six Heavens God Calamity.
• He intends to use the Starry Sky Remnant Game, its historical Scene Imprint, the Shadow Tree, and the Eyes of Divine Sin to recreate and test aspects of the past. This may also help advance the project of creating a Historical Projection of the Gatekeeper Lord.

Character Developments

• Tai Yu becomes increasingly wary and analytical. He recognizes that Wyatt’s behavior may reflect hidden manipulation and begins treating every interaction as potentially engineered by Po Ran.
• Tai Yu also demonstrates growing confidence in his theoretical method of contradiction-based investigation, turning uncertain historical mysteries into controlled experiments.
• Wyatt reveals unusual emotional instability and indirect communication. His response suggests he may be under the influence of another power, possibly Po Ran or the Initial Awakening Society.
• Po Ran, though absent, emerges as a more significant and dangerous unseen player. His possible ability to communicate across Plane Six and manipulate others indirectly expands his influence.
• The Six Heavens God Calamity is reconsidered not simply as the obvious culprit behind every disaster, but as one suspect among several whose motives and capabilities must be tested.
• Netherworld Highness is further established as the figure who turned the tide during the historical crisis by becoming the Dominator and cutting off the Calamity’s influence.

Significant Themes

• Manipulation and hidden influence: Wyatt’s behavior suggests that unseen factions may be steering events through subtle communication rather than direct action.
• Information as power: Tai Yu weighs whether to sell intelligence about Po Ran before its value declines, emphasizing the temporary and competitive nature of knowledge.
• Historical uncertainty and competing explanations: The chapter questions accepted interpretations of past events, especially the role of the Six Heavens God Calamity in Magnetic Light Mica’s destruction.
• Proof through contradiction and experimentation: Tai Yu seeks to test historical theories by recreating controlled scenarios rather than relying on speculation.
• Agency versus manipulation: Characters and historical figures may appear to act independently while actually being influenced by larger powers.
• The dangerous use of remnants of the past: The Spider Silk, Shadow Tree, Eyes of Divine Sin, and Scene Imprints preserve traces of ancient conflicts that can now be used to recreate or influence reality.

Character Interactions

• Tai Yu verbally spars with Wyatt and shuts down Wyatt’s attempt to defend his broader functions, emphasizing the practical priority of the Campfire.
• Tai Yu probes Wyatt about who has influenced him, but Wyatt responds cryptically instead of naming anyone.
• Tai Yu observes the silent Humanoid Campfire and the Eyes of Divine Sin, interpreting their behavior and presence as clues to the larger situation.
• Tai Yu mentally connects information from Bifur, the Initial Awakening Society, and past historical events, using those connections to reassess the roles of Po Ran, the Six Heavens God Calamity, and the Myriad Heavens Divine Kingdoms.
• By the end, Tai Yu plans to work with the Shadow Tree and Eyes of Divine Sin—not as allies in a conventional sense, but as potentially useful instruments in his experimental reconstruction of history.

Chapter Summary: Revising the Draft Again (Part 1)

Key Plot Points and Events

• Tai Yu prepares a dangerous ritual in the Misty Jungle to test the historical relationship between the Six Heavens God Calamity and the Gatekeeper Lord.
• He carefully establishes the Six Heavens God Calamity as the acting party and the Gatekeeper Lord as the recipient, hoping to use the Starry Sky Remnant Game and the River of Time to verify historical causality.
• Before the experiment can proceed, the Experimental Embryo—an artificial body made from the flesh and blood of nearby Awakened Ones—suddenly explodes.
• The backlash reveals that the River of Time does not support the assumed premise that the Gatekeeper Lord was contaminated by the Six Heavens God Calamity.
• Tai Yu realizes that the commonly accepted history of the Two Star Gate Campaign may be fundamentally wrong. The person contaminated by the Six Heavens God Calamity may not have been the Gatekeeper Lord, despite all contemporary records identifying the Gatekeeper Lord as the one who defected.
• The Experimental Embryo’s destruction causes Tai Yu’s defensive framework in the Misty Jungle to collapse. Various powerful beings and factions begin stirring, creating a chaotic and dangerous situation.
• Rather than retreating or panicking, Tai Yu reuses the ruined experimental framework. He revises the Starry Sky Remnant Game, removes the false connection between the Gatekeeper Lord and the Six Heavens God Calamity, and gives the Gatekeeper Lord an independent motive.
• The revised historical arrangement functions smoothly without requiring the original Fulcrum. A new Historical Projection Draft of the Gatekeeper Lord emerges from the River of Time and manifests in the Misty Jungle.
• Through this projection, Tai Yu senses an invisible, trembling “web of nothingness” underlying the jungle, suggesting that the revised history has exposed a deeper hidden structure.

Character Developments

• Tai Yu demonstrates caution, technical skill, and adaptability. Although shocked by the failed premise, he quickly analyzes the contradiction and reformulates the experiment instead of losing control.
• His understanding of the Gatekeeper Lord changes dramatically. He begins to question not only the Lord’s alleged contamination but also the reliability of the entire historical record surrounding the Two Star Gate Campaign.
• The Gatekeeper Lord gains a more ambiguous and potentially independent identity. The revised draft portrays him as self-aware and motivated by his own intentions rather than merely being a victim or puppet of the Six Heavens God Calamity.
• Wyatt Great Monarch remains beside the Campfire, pretending to be dead, but observes the explosion and the resulting developments.
• The surrounding Great Monarchs and factions are revealed to be opportunistic and cautious, preferring to manipulate events indirectly rather than openly risk conflict with Tai Yu and the Myriad Gods Hall.

Significant Themes

• Unreliability of history: Even widely accepted historical facts may be constructed from false assumptions or deliberate distortions.
• Causality versus imposed narratives: The River of Time rejects a background setting that does not match genuine causality, showing that reality cannot be reshaped solely through written or conceptual arrangements.
• Revision and contradiction: Tai Yu’s experiment resembles a process of editing reality through logical elimination, where a failed premise forces a deeper revision of the narrative.
• Dangerous experimentation: Knowledge carries enormous physical and political risks; a failed test can destabilize an entire region and attract hostile forces.
• Chaos and opportunism: Once the experimental structure collapses, numerous factions instinctively exploit the disorder while avoiding direct responsibility.
• Identity and agency: The Gatekeeper Lord’s revised portrayal raises questions about whether historical figures were truly controlled, corrupted, or acting according to independent motives.

Character Interactions

• Tai Yu works near Wyatt Great Monarch at the Campfire; Wyatt silently observes the experiment while maintaining his false appearance of death.
• Tai Yu’s actions indirectly provoke the surrounding Eyes of Divine Sin, hidden observers, the Dawn System, and other Great Monarchs into reacting.
• The wider factions do not directly confront Tai Yu but use the chaos to pressure him and compete for influence in the Phantom Nightmare Divine Kingdom.
• Tai Yu’s interaction with the Gatekeeper Lord is primarily indirect and historical: by revising the Gatekeeper Lord’s role in the Starry Sky Remnant Game, he summons a new projection that may reveal the truth behind the Lord’s past.

Summary of “Revised Again (Part 2)”

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Using the interference from the “Gatekeeper Lord Historical Projection Draft, Revised Again,” Tai Yu examines the foundations of the Misty Jungle, discovering that it is built upon a tangled, unstable network resembling the former Dream Net.
• The network contains countless Awakened Ones from the Central Star Zone. Some are dead, while others remain alive and are connected to the network as nodes, relays, dream-creators, and sources of Faith Power.
• Tai Yu exploits the instability of the Misty Jungle to probe it, causing hidden observers and those linked to the Shadow Tree system to react. Several concealed figures are forced to retreat, revealing that the network is difficult to track but vulnerable to interference.
• Great Monarch Ma Ge contacts Tai Yu, though Tai Yu suspects Ma Ge may be observing—or even encouraging—the conflict on behalf of the Ruin and Fall System. Tai Yu responds evasively while continuing his investigation.
• Tai Yu begins marking useful Awakened Ones, building on the Ruin and Fall System’s earlier marking work. He selects several to help reconstruct the Experimental Embryo, giving it a stronger real-world foundation.
• His analysis confirms that the Misty Jungle is parasitic rather than fully independent. It relies on an existing social and metaphysical system, much as the old Dream Net depended on the Abyssal Spirit Net.
• The Experimental Embryo is successfully reconstructed. Although outwardly similar to its previous form, its relationships with the Misty Jungle, Shadow Tree, and surrounding forces have been subtly altered, potentially changing its future development.
• Tai Yu turns his attention back to the Gatekeeper Lord and the events of the Two Star Gate Campaign, especially the mystery of why the Gatekeeper Lord was universally misunderstood.
• He considers the possibility that the Gatekeeper Lord’s destructive actions were genuinely his own intentions, while the person truly contaminated by the Six Heavens God Calamity may have been erased from the River of Time before acting.
• The chapter ends by noting that only two Great Monarchs died during the campaign: the Gatekeeper Lord and his great-grandson, Rongchu Great Lord.

2. Character Developments

• Tai Yu becomes more capable and deliberate in manipulating the Misty Jungle. Rather than merely observing it, he actively probes its structure, marks connected entities, and appropriates suitable Awakened Ones for his own purposes.
• He demonstrates increasing strategic caution, giving Ma Ge a deliberately false reassurance while concealing the true extent of his investigation.
• Tai Yu’s reconstruction of the Experimental Embryo shows his growing understanding of how spatial, relational, and environmental factors can shape an entity’s identity and power.
• His curiosity about the Gatekeeper Lord deepens into a historical and metaphysical investigation. He begins questioning the accepted interpretation of the Two Star Gate Campaign and the role of contamination in the Gatekeeper Lord’s actions.
• Great Monarch Ma Ge is characterized as potentially opportunistic and manipulative. Tai Yu suspects he may be observing the conflict from a safe distance or quietly supporting its escalation.
• The Gatekeeper Lord remains an enigmatic figure. His motives are still unknown, but the chapter raises the possibility that he acted according to his own will rather than simply being corrupted or controlled.

3. Significant Themes

• Instability as a source of power: The Misty Jungle’s redundancy and inefficiency make it difficult to track, but they also create opportunities for Tai Yu to infiltrate and manipulate it.
• Parasitism and dependence: The Misty Jungle lacks true independence and survives by drawing on Awakened Ones, social structures, dreams, and Faith Power. This reflects broader patterns in which powerful systems are built upon and exploit older networks.
• Identity shaped by relationships: The reconstruction of the Experimental Embryo emphasizes that an entity’s surrounding connections and position within a system can fundamentally determine its nature.
• Truth versus historical interpretation: Tai Yu questions whether the accepted understanding of the Gatekeeper Lord is incomplete. The chapter suggests that historical events may contain multiple layers of causality, with contamination, deliberate choice, and temporal erasure obscuring the truth.
• Exploitation and performance: The Awakened Ones function as “actors” within the Misty Jungle’s dreamlike theater, providing scenery, social realism, dreams, and Faith Power. Their lives and deaths are treated as resources by larger forces.
• Control versus dependence: The distinction between a system that merely parasitizes a network and one that controls it becomes important, especially in comparisons between the Misty Jungle and the Myriad Heavens Divine Kingdoms.

4. Character Interactions

• Tai Yu and the Misty Jungle: Tai Yu penetrates and disrupts the jungle’s network, using the Gatekeeper Lord projection as an entry point and marking connected Awakened Ones.
• Tai Yu and the hidden observers: His probing causes concealed figures and Shadow Tree-linked individuals to panic, retreat, or lose control of their energy, exposing the network’s vulnerabilities.
• Tai Yu and Great Monarch Ma Ge: Ma Ge asks whether everything is under control after sensing the disturbance. Tai Yu lies, claiming that all is well, while privately continuing his search and suspecting Ma Ge’s involvement.
• Tai Yu and the Awakened Ones: He treats the Awakened Ones as both components of the Misty Jungle’s network and potential materials for reconstructing the Experimental Embryo, selecting only those he considers useful.
• Tai Yu and the Gatekeeper Lord: Though they do not interact directly in the chapter, Tai Yu’s altered reconstruction and investigation are centered on understanding the Gatekeeper Lord’s true motives and the hidden truth behind the Two Star Gate Campaign.

Free Agent (Part 1) — Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Tai Yu reflects on Rongchu Great Lord, remembering his poor reputation as the “Water Lord,” a Great Monarch accused of avoiding responsibility despite the resources held by the Rong Clan.
• He recalls that Rongchu was afflicted by the Dawn Blood Curse during the Two Star Gate Campaign, an attack later traced to the Initial Awakening Society. Tai Yu questions whether Rongchu was merely a victim or had ultimately become a traitor corrupted by the Abyss and the Six Heavens God Calamity.
• Tai Yu reexamines the infamous Grandparent-Grandchild Battle, especially the question of whether the Gatekeeper Lord truly killed his great-grandson and caused the deadly recurrence. He concludes that the historical record may be broadly accurate while concealing the motives, conflicts, and circumstances behind the events.
• He realizes that Historical Projection can restore lost details from the past, and that these details may interact with traces left behind by powerful figures in the universe.
• Tai Yu theorizes that the strongest Great Monarchs embedded aspects of their Root Marrow Essence into spacetime and universal laws. The Gatekeeper Lord, in particular, appears to have left traces within the Dream Net and possibly Mirror Spacetime.
• This insight suggests that the Gatekeeper Lord Historical Projection Project could use those embedded traces to achieve its goals. Tai Yu believes his current discoveries might already qualify as a successful result, though he has no intention of simply handing them over to the Myriad Gods Hall.
• After the Experimental Embryo explodes and the chaos in the Misty Jungle settles, Tai Yu requests leave from the Ruin and Fall System. He claims he needs to inspect and repair his defenses, since the Experimental Embryo had been his main protection.
• Great Monarch Ma Ge questions him about what he discovered while reconstructing the Experimental Embryo. Tai Yu gives only partial information, leading to a tense, circular discussion about “sharing” intelligence.
• His leave is eventually approved. Tai Yu tells Ma Ge that he plans to meet Colonel Shi Fan, share historical information with her, and ask her to inspect him for signs of Evil Poison.

Character Developments

• Tai Yu becomes increasingly strategic and suspicious. He recognizes the importance of hidden historical details and understands that his discoveries could influence major factions and projects.
• He also becomes more determined to preserve his independence. Though technically unaffiliated, he realizes that both the Central Star Zone’s independent Great Monarchs and the Architect Faction can be controlled by larger powers.
• Tai Yu shows greater caution in revealing information. He cooperates enough to avoid confrontation with the Ruin and Fall System but deliberately withholds the most valuable parts of his discoveries.
• Great Monarch Ma Ge is portrayed as methodical and persistent. She repeatedly presses Tai Yu for intelligence while emphasizing the Ruin and Fall System’s principle that information must be shared promptly.
• Rongchu Great Lord is reinterpreted by Tai Yu as a potentially tragic and ambiguous figure: a long-lived Great Monarch who feared death and may have become vulnerable to contamination late in his life.
• The Gatekeeper Lord gains greater mythic importance. His influence may remain embedded in the Dream Net, Mirror Spacetime, and other structures long after his historical actions have been forgotten or misunderstood.

Significant Themes

• History versus truth: Historical records preserve actions and consequences but often erase motives and hidden circumstances.
• The power of details: Specific memories and reconstructed events can serve as “grips” or leverage points for influencing the River of Time.
• Legacy and embedded influence: Great Monarchs may continue affecting the universe through traces of their essence embedded in laws, systems, and spacetime.
• Independence versus control: Tai Yu’s status as a “free agent” gives him theoretical freedom but also leaves him vulnerable to pressure from multiple factions.
• Corruption and responsibility: The chapter questions whether individuals such as Rongchu were willing traitors, manipulated victims, or people driven to compromise by fear of death.
• Information as power: Sharing knowledge is presented as both a political obligation and a tool for coercion. Tai Yu uses selective disclosure to maintain leverage.

Character Interactions

• Tai Yu and Great Monarch Ma Ge engage in a restrained verbal contest. She demands information under the guise of procedural “sharing,” while Tai Yu responds evasively and attempts to make disclosure conditional on the system restraining his enemies.
• Their exchange reveals mutual distrust: Ma Ge suspects Tai Yu knows more than he admits, while Tai Yu assumes the system will continually extract information from him if given the opportunity.
• Tai Yu’s planned meeting with Colonel Shi Fan introduces a new avenue of cooperation. He intends to exchange historical knowledge with her and rely on her sensitivity to Evil Poison to evaluate his condition.

Summary of “Freedom (Part 2)”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Tai Yu is approved for leave and transfers from Misty Jungle to Gouchen Star, avoiding the currently chaotic Gray Blue Eye Demi-Plane.
• He travels to the Morningstar Demi-Plane to meet Shi Fan, officially to investigate matters connected to the mysterious Gatekeeper Lord.
• Because the historical information is sensitive, Tai Yu avoids directly asking about Rongchu Great Lord. Instead, he questions Shi Fan about the Great Monarchs she encountered in the Han Guang Star System and their possible connections to the Gatekeeper Lord.
• Shi Fan shows Tai Yu her developing life vessel, a heavily modified human body combining flesh, machinery, Layered Silk, and techniques associated with the Abyssal Creation School.
• The vessel is deliberately independent of the three Dominator Systems and the Initial Awakening Society. It begins at relatively low strength so it can grow alongside Shi Fan’s uploaded consciousness.
• Shi Fan reveals that Liang Lu previously experimented with a similar path while acting as the Gatekeeper of the Dream Net during the Empire’s weaker period. He and Shi Fan exchanged research.
• Tai Yu asks whether Liang Lu’s activities in the Inner Universe Ruins, beyond the You-1334 Star Gate, may be connected to something valuable. Shi Fan cannot provide a definite answer, noting that Liang Lu would not reveal such information to a prisoner.
• Tai Yu suggests that Shi Fan cultivate her new vessel in Misty Jungle, using its unusual Illusory Nightmare System Power environment.
• He proposes that she operate there as a “Free Awakened One”—an independent practitioner who does not rely on established Awakened Ones or factions.
• Tai Yu explains that Awakened Ones are primarily conveniences for outsiders and hints that the Gatekeeper Lord once drew power from the Dream Net without needing them.

Character Developments

• Tai Yu demonstrates increasing strategic insight and caution. He carefully disguises his true investigation while gathering information about the Gatekeeper Lord and Liang Lu. He also presents himself as Shi Fan’s “Protector of the Way,” though his advice appears to serve broader, undisclosed purposes.
• Tai Yu’s suggestion that Shi Fan establish herself in Misty Jungle reveals his willingness to help her while also potentially using her as an independent source of information or influence there.
• Shi Fan is shown as a highly capable researcher who has pursued an unusually independent path. Her willingness to create a vessel outside the established power systems suggests both confidence and a desire for freedom.
• Shi Fan’s new body is not merely a container; it is designed to adapt and grow with her consciousness. Its clear gaze and interaction with Tai Yu emphasize that her identity remains active despite being housed in a nutrient tank.
• Shi Fan becomes more curious about Tai Yu’s past role in Misty Jungle, suspecting that his own status there may have resembled the “Free Awakened One” position he recommends for her.

Significant Themes

• Freedom and independence: Shi Fan’s vessel is designed without dependence on dominant factions or established systems, reflecting the chapter’s central concern with self-determination.
• Hidden motives and controlled disclosure: Both Tai Yu and Shi Fan withhold sensitive information. Their conversation is built around indirect questions, evasive answers, and carefully managed trust.
• Power outside institutions: The idea of a “Free Awakened One” challenges the assumption that power must come through organizations such as the Initial Awakening Society or other dominant systems.
• Transformation and identity: Shi Fan’s uploaded consciousness and artificial life vessel raise questions about whether identity resides in the body, the mind, or the relationship between them.
• Risk and experimentation: Shi Fan is attempting a dangerous, relatively untested route, while Tai Yu recognizes that such an ambitious experiment likely rests on research inherited from Liang Lu and the Gatekeeper Lord.
• Exploiting chaos: Tai Yu views Misty Jungle’s turmoil as an opportunity. Rather than avoiding a dangerous hotspot, he suggests using the conflict and unstable environment to accelerate Shi Fan’s development.

Important Character Interactions

• Tai Yu and Shi Fan: Their exchange is polite but filled with probing questions and concealed agendas. Tai Yu evaluates Shi Fan’s vessel, while Shi Fan tests his knowledge and presses him about his activities in Misty Jungle.
• Shi Fan and Liang Lu: Their past collaboration establishes a link between Shi Fan’s research, the Dream Net, and Liang Lu’s current investigation of the Inner Universe Ruins.
• Tai Yu and the Gatekeeper Lord: Although the Gatekeeper Lord never appears directly, he dominates the discussion. Tai Yu’s questions suggest a personal or memory-based connection, while his comparison between the Gatekeeper Lord and current Awakened Ones hints at the former’s exceptional mastery of the Dream Net.
• Tai Yu and the Initial Awakening Society: Tai Yu portrays the Society as predatory: it may appear to offer investment or power, but ultimately seeks control over the individual as well as their resources.

Chapter Summary: The Wolf Is Coming (Part 1)

Key Plot Points and Events

• A staged “surprise attack” is reported at Master Fan Shi Fan’s Laboratory in the Morningstar Demi-Plane. The incident supposedly damages the laboratory and causes a nearly completed experimental subject to disappear.
• The Boundary Curtain’s Regional Police Headquarters sends an elite investigation team, led by Senior Inspector Arash, to inspect the scene.
• In reality, Tai Yu orchestrated the incident as a shortcut. He secretly moved Shi Fan’s Life Vessel into the Misty Jungle, avoiding the lengthy legal and bureaucratic process required to construct a new vessel for a criminal of the Sky Abyss Remnant Tribe.
• Arash privately warns Tai Yu that repeatedly using such tricks could cause others to dismiss a future genuine crisis—the classic “the wolf is coming” problem. Tai Yu understands the danger but deliberately accepts it, believing that provoking attention is necessary to secure his position in the struggle over the Phantom Nightmare Domain.
• Tai Yu recognizes that the Ruin and Fall System has intensified the conflict surrounding the Phantom Nightmare Domain and Divine Kingdom. The domain’s complete authority is coveted by several powerful systems, including the Abyss, and Tai Yu intends to claim enough influence to become indispensable.
• Arash delivers a message connected to the Night Terrace Mu Family. Great Monarch Mu Kuo, currently expanding territory in the Misty Jungle, wishes to meet Tai Yu face-to-face within the next few days.
• Tai Yu agrees to the meeting. Although he remembers warnings that the Mu Family may regard him as a threat, he hopes the possible restoration of the Phantom Nightmare Divine Kingdom—and its many positions—may create room for cooperation.
• Meanwhile, Tai Yu maintains contact with Shi Fan’s Life Vessel in the Misty Jungle, using it as an observation point to study the region’s relationship with the Material Universe and Mental Ocean.
• Tai Yu begins considering another investigative route: using Liang Lu’s former connection to the Dream Net and Misty Jungle. Though Liang Lu is dead, Tai Yu wonders whether a Historical Projection of the former Great Monarch could reveal useful information.

Character Developments

• Tai Yu: Demonstrates increasing boldness, strategic flexibility, and impatience. He knowingly risks damaging his credibility because he believes the struggle over the Phantom Nightmare Domain demands decisive action. He also expands his influence by embedding Shi Fan’s Life Vessel in the Misty Jungle and begins developing new methods of investigation.
• Senior Inspector Arash: Acts as a cautious intermediary. He respects Tai Yu’s status as a Great Monarch while subtly warning him about the consequences of repeated deception. He also serves as the messenger between Tai Yu and the Night Terrace Mu Family.
• Shi Fan: Remains largely passive in the chapter, but her Life Vessel becomes an important tool in Tai Yu’s plans and surveillance of the Misty Jungle.
• Great Monarch Mu Kuo: Though absent in person, he is established as an influential figure who is actively expanding territory and has taken an interest in Tai Yu.
• Liang Lu: Appears through Tai Yu’s recollections. His past role as gatekeeper of the Dream Net may provide a new key to understanding the Dream Net and Misty Jungle.

Significant Themes

• The danger of deception: Tai Yu knowingly invokes the “wolf is coming” dilemma, recognizing that repeated false alarms may destroy trust when a real threat appears.
• Urgency versus procedure: Tai Yu abandons official channels because the political and supernatural struggle is moving too quickly for normal procedures.
• Power struggles and positioning: Control of the Phantom Nightmare Domain is becoming a major contest among powerful systems and the Abyss. Tai Yu seeks not merely to participate but to become impossible to bypass.
• Knowledge as power: Tai Yu’s surveillance of the Misty Jungle and interest in Liang Lu’s historical traces show his reliance on information and underlying mechanisms rather than force alone.
• Old alliances and emerging diplomacy: The coming meeting with Mu Kuo may determine whether the Mu Family treats Tai Yu as a rival or potential partner in the changing political order.

Character Interactions

• Tai Yu and Arash: Their interaction is outwardly respectful but layered with caution. Arash hints that Tai Yu’s deception has been recognized, while Tai Yu refuses to explain himself. Their conversation later shifts toward the Mu Family’s request for a meeting.
• Tai Yu and the Mu Family: Tai Yu agrees to meet Mu Kuo despite past indications of hostility, leaving open the possibility of negotiation or alliance.
• Tai Yu and Shi Fan: Their relationship is indirect but strategically important. Tai Yu uses Shi Fan’s Life Vessel as both a solution to a logistical problem and a means of observing the Misty Jungle.
• Tai Yu and Liang Lu’s legacy: Tai Yu seeks to exploit Liang Lu’s former connections to the Dream Net and Misty Jungle, potentially through a Historical Projection, showing his willingness to draw on the dead as sources of knowledge.

Chapter Summary: The Wolf Is Coming (Part 2)

Key Plot Points and Events

• Tai Yu considers creating a Historical Projection of Liang Lu, one of the Grand Dukes of Tian Yuan. Liang Lu is a suitable target because Tai Yu knows more about him than about the Gatekeeper Lord, and surviving relics, memories, and historical traces provide enough information to reconstruct him convincingly.
• A Liang Lu projection could potentially interfere with the Dream Net and Fog Maze, making it strategically valuable.
• After the Police Headquarters team leaves, Tai Yu retreats to the Morningstar Demi-Plane to sleep and seek guidance from the Great Existence.
• Instead of entering a dream shaped by the Great Existence, Tai Yu is pulled into a hostile, externally manipulated dreamscape centered on Gouchen Star.
• The dreams of hundreds of millions of people have formed a vast, unstable mist. Great Monarchs are using this environment to probe, infiltrate, distort, and exchange information, turning the dreamscape into another battlefield in the struggle over the Illusory Nightmare Domain.
• Tai Yu realizes that the conflict has expanded beyond the Misty Jungle into the Material and Transition Layers because those settings are more familiar and politically useful. Gouchen Star’s dream domain is especially vulnerable because divine authority there is incomplete.
• He concludes that the recent rumor that someone successfully attacked him—his “the wolf is coming” warning—has encouraged enemies to test whether he is actually weak.
• Tai Yu reflects on the importance of distinguishing truth from falsehood in the Illusory Nightmare Domain. Even with his ability to verify origins through the River of Time, he recognizes that misinformation remains dangerous.
• He considers the need for a Phantom Nightmare Divine Kingdom to regulate the chaos, realizing that this could provide the gods with a legitimate excuse to intervene in mortal affairs.
• Tai Yu becomes wary that, if the gods seek a reason to interfere, he may be selected as the point through which they exert influence—especially given the Nightfall King’s prior personal attention.
• He ultimately protects his inner dream from the surrounding threats and uses the Starry Sky Remnant Game as an indirect channel to synchronize information with the Great Existence across distant spacetime.

Character Development

• Tai Yu becomes more cautious and strategically aware. He recognizes that his public image, perceived vulnerabilities, and involvement in the Illusory Nightmare Domain make him a target for both direct attacks and subtle information warfare.
• He demonstrates greater mastery over dreams and virtual reality by constructing layered mental defenses and maintaining communication with the Great Existence while isolated from external interference.
• Tai Yu also develops a deeper understanding of the political logic behind divine intervention: gods cannot act openly without justification, so crises and public suffering may become tools for legitimizing their involvement.
• Liang Lu, though deceased, is developed as a potential strategic asset through the Historical Projection technique. His lingering influence and surviving connections make him more usable than the Gatekeeper Lord as a reconstructed figure.
• The various Great Monarchs and divine powers are characterized less as direct combatants and more as professional manipulators, testing weaknesses and spreading carefully mixed truths and falsehoods.

Significant Themes

• Truth versus misinformation: In the Illusory Nightmare Domain, false information can produce real consequences. Reality is shaped not only by facts but also by belief, perception, and feedback.
• Historical memory and reconstruction: The past can be weaponized through relics, memories, and surviving impressions, allowing the dead to influence the present.
• Distance between gods and mortals: The chapter explores why gods generally avoid direct interference and how institutions such as the Myriad Gods Hall and Abyssal Spirit Net maintain controlled separation.
• Political justification for intervention: Divine powers require a reason to act openly; widespread disorder or mortal suffering can provide that justification.
• Dreams as a battlefield: The dreamscape is not merely psychological but a strategic layer where powers infiltrate, investigate, and prepare for future physical conflicts.
• Perception as power: Tai Yu’s reputation and the “wolf is coming” rumor directly affect how others behave toward him, regardless of whether the rumor reflects reality.

Character Interactions

• Tai Yu’s relationship with the Great Existence remains central. He seeks guidance and information through dreams, eventually establishing an indirect connection through the Starry Sky Remnant Game.
• His earlier interaction with the Police Headquarters team leads to his withdrawal and reflection, setting up his decision to investigate the threat privately.
• The Great Monarchs interact indirectly through the shared dreamscape, probing one another and attempting to manipulate information without fully exposing themselves.
• The gods and mortal societies are linked through systems of controlled influence rather than direct contact. Tai Yu recognizes that his own position may make him the bridge or pressure point for future divine intervention.
• The Nightfall King’s personal reception of Tai Yu serves as evidence that Tai Yu has already attracted significant divine attention, increasing his concern about being used in a larger power struggle.

Summary of “A Willing Helper (Part 1)”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Tai Yu uses the Starry Sky Remnant Game as an information channel with the mysterious “Great Existence” to reconstruct a Historical Projection of Liang Lu, a former minor figure connected to the Two Star Gate Campaign.
• He gathers information about Liang Lu’s past, including his service alongside Lieutenant Meng Xin and his relationship with Master Fan Sheng Zhan, then combines it with the structure of Liang Lu’s Inner Universe Ruins left behind the “Wanderer-1334” Star Gate.
• Compared with the Gatekeeper Lord’s projection, Liang Lu’s projection is weaker and more difficult to complete because his understanding and manipulation of Material Universe laws were far inferior. Tai Yu therefore imports the developing “mold” into the Myriad Transformations Deep Blue for computational simulation and refinement.
• While synchronizing information across the three layers of the Remnant Game, Tai Yu experiences disorienting distortions from the River of Time and briefly sees a mysterious, blinding flash that may have been a revelation from the “Great Existence.”
• After pausing his work, Tai Yu returns to the surrounding dream mist and discovers that someone is still trying to pull at or disturb the dreamscape. He responds by cooperating with the intruder to form a temporary shared dream space resembling the Misty Jungle.
• The intruder reveals himself as Great Monarch Mu Kuo, who politely—but rather confidently—asks Tai Yu for help with his exploration of the Misty Jungle. Mu Kuo has a possible target but lacks the final advantage needed to confront it.
• Mu Kuo explains that he is not seeking the Shadow Great Monarch, whom he considers too important and difficult to locate. Instead, he wants Tai Yu to help identify or deal with another Great Monarch.
• The conversation shifts toward Tai Yu’s circumstances after leaving the Red Silicon Star System. Mu Kuo asks whether Tai Yu and Great Lord Luande had settled on a plan involving Honorary Retirement or traveling beyond the Star Gate.

Character Developments

• Tai Yu is shown as methodical, cautious, and highly capable. He is willing to exploit the computational power of the Myriad Transformations Deep Blue but carefully filters dangerous information, especially traces connected to Evil Poison. His curiosity is also heightened by the strange flash he witnesses.
• Tai Yu remains skeptical of Mu Kuo’s motives, questioning why Mu Kuo approached him instead of relying on established connections within the Night Terrace Mu Family.
• Great Monarch Mu Kuo is introduced as youthful, handsome, self-assured, and unusually direct. Despite his high status, he speaks casually and seems comfortable asking for assistance. His willingness to use connections and resources suggests confidence, opportunism, and social boldness.
• Mu Kuo’s behavior reminds Tai Yu of Grand Duke Zhiping, though Tai Yu recognizes that this comparison may be premature.

Significant Themes

• Reconstructing history and identity: Tai Yu’s attempt to recreate Liang Lu demonstrates how memories, remnants, and information from different spacetime layers can be combined to rebuild historical figures.
• The limits of power: Liang Lu’s projection reveals that even Great Monarchs can differ greatly in their ability to manipulate the laws of the Material Universe.
• Information as power: The chapter emphasizes the value—and danger—of gathering, transmitting, filtering, and simulating information across dreamscapes, the River of Time, and the Remnant Game.
• Trust and transactional alliances: Mu Kuo’s request highlights the political nature of Great Monarch interactions. Assistance is unlikely to be offered without compensation, and Tai Yu immediately questions both Mu Kuo’s motives and his sources of support.
• Uncertainty and hidden forces: The mysterious flash and the continued disturbance of the dream mist suggest that greater powers may be influencing events beyond Tai Yu’s understanding.

Character Interactions

• Tai Yu communicates indirectly with the “Great Existence” while reconstructing Liang Lu’s projection, though the exact source of some information remains uncertain.
• Tai Yu and Mu Kuo create a shared dreamscape resembling the Misty Jungle, demonstrating their comparable mastery of dream manipulation.
• Their initial conversation is courteous but guarded. Mu Kuo openly asks for help, while Tai Yu probes his motives and questions why he has not sought aid from the Night Terrace Mu Family or the Nightfall King.
• The chapter ends with Mu Kuo testing Tai Yu’s situation and possible future plans, setting up a negotiation over cooperation in the Misty Jungle.

Chapter Summary: The Thoughtful Ones (Part 2)

Key Plot Points and Events

• Within the Dreamscape, Great Monarch Mu Kuo urges Tai Yu to convince Great Lord Luande to return to the Boundary Curtain region within the next ten to twenty weeks. Mu Kuo argues that Luande should take advantage of the current opportunities surrounding Misty Jungle and the rumors concerning the Initial Awakening Society.
• Mu Kuo’s proposal is tied to the possible restoration of the Phantom Nightmare Divine Kingdom. If the restoration succeeds, he is willing to support Luande’s return and help him secure a position. If it fails, the resulting chaos would make such arrangements less important.
• Tai Yu remains skeptical of the restoration project. Although Great Monarch Qiao Mian is pursuing it vigorously, success is still only a hope, dependent on forces that may not respond favorably.
• Mu Kuo reveals the true purpose of the meeting: he provides Tai Yu with historical materials related to the Gatekeeper Lord, including recordings of internal meetings and transcripts of speeches gathered by the Mu Family. These materials are intended to assist Tai Yu’s research.
• Recognizing that the materials are the real payment for his cooperation, Tai Yu agrees to help Mu Kuo. He schedules the work for the day after tomorrow, when he plans to return to Misty Jungle.
• After the Dreamscape meeting ends, Tai Yu returns to his hotel in Joint Council City. Yi Ya and Xin Rui are there, sorting through gifts sent by the Mu Family.
• Among the gifts is a projector containing preserved video footage from the previous era. Tai Yu, Yi Ya, and Xin Rui watch it together.
• The footage unexpectedly shows prominent historical figures, including Spirit Core Lord, the Light Freezing Witch, Wei Che, Bing Ming, and other members of the Forty-Four Founding Great Monarchs of the Tian Yuan Empire. The Gatekeeper Lord is present but appears less prominent, possibly because his appearance changed significantly later in the Calamity Era.

Character Developments

• Tai Yu remains cautious and perceptive. He recognizes the uncertainty behind Mu Kuo’s promises and understands that both sides are exchanging favors of relatively low immediate cost. He also shows restraint by refusing to rush into the task merely to satisfy Mu Kuo.
• Mu Kuo demonstrates political calculation and diplomacy. He presents a seemingly generous offer to support Luande, but his real compensation is the valuable historical research material. His willingness to cooperate reflects the changing balance of power created by the possible restoration of the Phantom Nightmare Divine Kingdom.
• Luande does not appear directly, but his uncertain future becomes central to the discussion. He is portrayed as someone who may lose valuable opportunities if he hesitates to return.
• Yi Ya remains curious and somewhat impulsive. She appears guilty about obsessively studying the mysterious fragment and is easily distracted by the famous figures in the historical footage.
• Xin Rui is quietly observant and amused by Yi Ya’s reactions. Her presence also underscores the increasingly ordinary, domestic setting surrounding Tai Yu despite the immense political and historical matters he handles.

Significant Themes

• Political maneuvering and reciprocal favors: The meeting illustrates how powerful figures exchange assistance, information, and influence while disguising their true bargains beneath polite offers.
• Uncertainty and risk: The restoration of the Phantom Nightmare Divine Kingdom is treated as a possibility rather than a certainty, and all current plans depend on whether it succeeds.
• The cost of hesitation: Mu Kuo emphasizes that opportunities in the unstable political situation may disappear permanently if Luande delays.
• History as power: The old recordings are not merely historical curiosities. They may help Tai Yu understand the Gatekeeper Lord and influence an important modern project.
• Hidden value: The gifts, political proposal, and historical materials all contain deeper significance than initially apparent. The true value of Mu Kuo’s offering is revealed only after Tai Yu examines it.
• The continuity of power across eras: The footage links the current age to the founding figures of the Tian Yuan Empire and suggests that understanding the past may be essential to interpreting present conflicts.

Character Interactions

• Mu Kuo and Tai Yu engage in a polite but highly strategic negotiation. Mu Kuo presses Tai Yu to act quickly while Tai Yu evaluates the sincerity and practical value of his offer.
• Mu Kuo’s suggestion that Luande return is framed as cooperation, but it also reflects his own desire to strengthen his position if the Phantom Nightmare Divine Kingdom is restored.
• Tai Yu accepts the historical materials and agrees to assist, recognizing that both parties benefit from the arrangement.
• At the hotel, Yi Ya and Xin Rui discuss whether to keep the Mu Family’s gifts at the hotel or move them to the new office. Their casual conversation contrasts with the high-level political dealings Tai Yu has just concluded.
• Tai Yu invites both women to watch the historical footage, turning what he expected to be a research resource into a shared discovery. The appearance of famous Great Monarchs immediately captures Yi Ya’s attention and surprises Tai Yu as well.

Chapter Summary: As It Should Be (Part 1)

Key Plot Points and Events

• Tai Yu, Yi Ya, and Xin Rui study historical footage and electronic transcripts of an internal meeting held by the Tian Yuan Empire’s Great Monarchs.
• The meeting concerns strengthening security around the Mirror Spacetime behind the Boundary Curtain, particularly protecting the Abyssal Sky Overlord’s experiments and preventing interference from powerful families and factions.
• Tai Yu realizes that the inconspicuous middle-aged man presiding over the meeting is the Gatekeeper Lord, whose appearance differs greatly from his later, ancient and mysterious image.
• Roughly twenty Great Monarchs attend, including the founding-era figures Wei Che, Bing Ming, and Rong Jing. Most participants pledge that they and their families will obey security regulations and avoid disrupting Mirror Spacetime.
• When work assignments begin, Great Monarch Wei Che reveals a special version of the Square-Circle Instrument. It transforms into an intermediate shape, projects a detailed map of the Boundary Curtain region, and displays the overlapping relationship between the true Material Universe and Mirror Spacetime.
• Wei Che uses the instrument and projection to identify important defensive zones and forbidden areas. Tai Yu carefully memorizes the information, although he suspects many of the locations may already have been looted or taken over by the Myriad Gods Hall.
• After watching the footage twice, Tai Yu sends Yi Ya to the Morningstar Demi-Plane with the records and his own Square-Circle Instrument. She is to ask Master Fan Shi to determine how Wei Che’s version works, whether it contains a special Machine Core or Spirit Core, and whether she possesses similar footage or instruments.
• Tai Yu deliberately sends Yi Ya instead of contacting Shi Fan directly, hoping that the meeting may reveal something about Yi Ya’s former relationship with Chang Yi Zhen and Shi Fan.
• Meanwhile, Tai Yu plans to continue reviewing Mu Kuo’s materials and prepare for operations in the Misty Jungle before his next meeting with Mu Kuo.

Character Developments

• Tai Yu demonstrates caution, strategic thinking, and strong observational ability. He recognizes the historical and military value of the footage, memorizes the defensive information, and reassesses how much Great Monarch Mu Kuo’s gifts may influence their future cooperation.
• Yi Ya becomes more involved in Tai Yu’s plans. Her recognition of the Square-Circle Instrument shows her familiarity with important historical artifacts, and she accepts the task of meeting Shi Fan.
• Great Monarch Wei Che is presented as a brilliant, eccentric researcher whose lack of family or subordinates allows him to devote himself entirely to experimentation. His special Square-Circle Instrument reveals the technological and spiritual sophistication of his work.
• The Gatekeeper Lord is shown in a practical administrative role, coordinating security among the Great Monarchs rather than behaving like the mysterious ancient figure known from later history.
• Great Monarch Mu Kuo gains importance as a political and strategic player. The historical records he provides may significantly affect Tai Yu’s understanding of Mirror Spacetime and the terms of their cooperation.
• Shi Fan is positioned as an expert capable of analyzing Wei Che’s artifact, while her possible past connection with Yi Ya introduces interpersonal tension and curiosity.

Significant Themes

• The value and limitations of historical records: The footage offers rare insight into the Tian Yuan Empire’s past, but it cannot reveal everything, especially the fine details of the projection or the later fate of the locations discussed.
• Knowledge as power: Information about Mirror Spacetime’s layout, defensive zones, and forbidden regions may be more valuable than the physical artifacts themselves.
• The continuity of political problems: The interference of powerful families in Mirror Spacetime resembles the instability of the Boundary Curtain region in the present, showing that the same conflicts persist across thousands of years.
• The relationship between technology and cultivation: Wei Che’s Square-Circle Instrument combines advanced projection technology with mysterious Machine Core or Spirit Core principles, suggesting that scientific and supernatural methods overlap.
• Strategic cooperation and hidden motives: Tai Yu does not accept Mu Kuo’s gifts at face value. He carefully evaluates what they imply about future negotiations and uses indirect methods to test relationships and gather information.
• Change across time: The contrast between the Gatekeeper Lord’s middle-aged appearance in the footage and his later legendary image emphasizes how historical figures and reputations evolve.

Important Character Interactions

• The Great Monarchs formally pledge loyalty to the security requirements, revealing the Gatekeeper Lord’s authority and the political structure of the period.
• The Gatekeeper Lord relies on Wei Che to present the region’s defenses, highlighting Wei Che’s specialized expertise.
• Tai Yu, Yi Ya, and Xin Rui work together in silence while analyzing the footage, united by the importance of the information.
• Tai Yu assigns Yi Ya to contact Shi Fan partly for practical research and partly to observe how their previous relationship changes now that Tai Yu stands between them.
• Tai Yu’s indirect handling of Yi Ya and Shi Fan reflects his broader habit of using relationships and information strategically rather than acting openly.

Summary of “It Was Always Meant to Be (Part 2)”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Tai Yu secretly enters the Misty Jungle before Great Monarch Mu Kuo and before the Ruin and Fall System can track his movements.
• His private objective is to create a temporary Experimental Embryo for Liang Lu by projecting the Liang Lu Trait—accumulated through the Starry Sky Remnant Game and Myriad Transformations Deep Blue—into the Misty Jungle.
• Because Liang Lu’s vessel resembles Gatekeeper Lord’s Dual-Frequency Interference Active Node, Tai Yu carefully avoids using methods that might reveal his personal connection to Liang Lu.
• He selects a Celestial-level Awakened One from the Sky Abyss Remnant Tribe, severs the individual’s connection to its former owner, and transforms the body into a vessel for the Liang Lu Trait.
• After completing this covert experiment, Tai Yu meets Great Monarch Mu Kuo and openly uses the Boundary Curtain’s Four Linked Stars, Magnetic Light Mica, and Gatekeeper Lord’s power to help locate Mu Kuo’s suspected target in the Underlying Network.
• Tai Yu only narrows the search area rather than directly identifying or helping capture the target. He promises Mu Kuo two additional location adjustments over the following week if necessary.
• After Mu Kuo leaves, Tai Yu observes the Type Two Experimental Subject carrying the Liang Lu Trait and detects something abnormal: the severed Spider Silk in the Misty Jungle begins moving, extending, and seeking the experimental subject.
• The Spider Silk’s behavior suggests that Liang Lu’s Trait—and perhaps Liang Lu himself—is naturally connected to the Misty Jungle, the Abyss, and its Spider Silk.
• This interaction causes the Liang Lu Trait model in Myriad Transformations Deep Blue to improve, implying that the connection is not accidental but part of Liang Lu’s intended or inherent nature.
• Alarmed, Tai Yu destroys the experimental subject before the connection can deepen.
• The Eyes of Divine Sin and the Ruin and Fall System both detect the disturbance. Spider Silk spreads aggressively, prompting a confrontation with the Ruin and Fall System’s invisible fire and oppressive rules.
• The Ruin and Fall System ultimately overwhelms and burns away the Spider Silk, but Tai Yu successfully erases every trace of the Liang Lu Trait first.

Character Developments

• Tai Yu: Demonstrates increasing caution, strategic calculation, and willingness to destroy his own creation when it threatens to expose him or develop beyond his control. His actions reveal a deeper, unexplained investment in Liang Lu and a growing awareness that Liang Lu may possess an intrinsic connection to the Abyss.
• Liang Lu: Although largely absent physically, he becomes more mysterious and significant. His Trait appears capable of resonating with the Misty Jungle and Abyssal forces, suggesting that his former role as Dream Net gatekeeper left behind deeper ties than previously understood.
• Great Monarch Mu Kuo: Accepts Tai Yu’s limited assistance despite wanting more direct help. His dependence on Tai Yu’s guidance highlights the gap between his own capabilities and the dangers of pursuing a suspected traitor among powerful factions.
• Ruin and Fall System: Acts as the dominant force within the Boundary Curtain sector, eventually suppressing the Abyssal Spider Silk even inside the Misty Jungle.
• Eyes of Divine Sin: Their swift reaction indicates that they are alert to disturbances and deeply involved in the Misty Jungle’s developing changes.

Significant Themes

• Hidden connections and predetermined destiny: The strongest revelation is that Liang Lu’s Trait seems “meant” to interact with the Misty Jungle and the Abyss, suggesting an underlying destiny or natural affinity.
• Control versus unintended consequences: Tai Yu attempts to engineer and contain Liang Lu’s vessel, but the experiment immediately produces effects he did not anticipate.
• Secrecy and identity: Tai Yu must conceal his knowledge of Liang Lu and avoid revealing how much he understands about the past, forcing him to act indirectly.
• Power and factional boundaries: The chapter emphasizes the danger of interfering with the competing systems and factions occupying the Boundary Curtain sector.
• Sacrifice and expendability: The Awakened One used as Liang Lu’s vessel is treated as disposable, underscoring the ruthless nature of Tai Yu’s experimentation and the larger power struggle.

Character Interactions

• Tai Yu and Great Monarch Mu Kuo: Their cooperation is transactional. Tai Yu provides limited assistance in locating Mu Kuo’s target but refuses to participate in the capture, making clear that Mu Kuo has not earned that level of support.
• Tai Yu and Liang Lu’s Experimental Subject: Tai Yu creates and monitors the vessel, then destroys it immediately when its connection to the Spider Silk becomes dangerous.
• Liang Lu’s Trait and the Misty Jungle: Their apparent resonance is the chapter’s central interaction. The Spider Silk seeks out the Trait, while the Trait grows stronger through contact with Abyssal forces.
• Ruin and Fall System versus the Spider Silk: Their confrontation demonstrates the Ruin and Fall System’s superior authority within the Boundary Curtain sector and prevents the Abyssal reaction from escalating further.

Summary of “Suspect (Part 1)”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Tai Yu finds himself exposed in the Misty Jungle when the Boundary Curtain Four Linked Stars projection appears. Because of his importance in the area and his connection to the unusual events, he fears becoming a major suspect.
• Great Monarch Ma Ge questions Tai Yu about his presence. Tai Yu deflects suspicion while pointing out that the Abyss is reacting unusually strongly to the interaction between the Liang Lu Trait and the Spider Silk.
• The Ruin and Fall System also investigates the disturbance. A Campfire suggests that either something hidden in the Sin Dream Kingdom has emerged or that a sensitive outsider has recently arrived. Tai Yu realizes that his knowledge of the region makes him especially vulnerable to scrutiny.
• Tai Yu reflects on the difficulty of hiding the truth from the God System and the danger of long-term investigation by the Lord of Ruin and Fall. The destruction of the “Class Two test subject” and the erasure of the Liang Lu Trait may not have eliminated all traces of the Sky Abyss Remnant Tribe or its connection to the Material Universe.
• The Ruin and Fall System orders uninvolved parties to withdraw because the Abyss has become unstable. Tai Yu is escorted out, but he recognizes that his removal itself could later make him look suspicious.
• He begins reconstructing the larger mystery surrounding Liang Lu’s death. Someone connected to the Abyss entered the remote spacetime decades earlier, while another Abyss-linked individual seeking to become a False God appeared around the same period. Tai Yu wonders whether they were enemies, collaborators, or participants in a larger plan.
• Tai Yu suspects that the assassination, the struggles of the Hanguang Old Guard on the “Spider Web,” and the resulting “prey Echo” may all be connected. Directly investigating the Abyss would be too dangerous, so he decides to seek clues in the Central Star Zone.
• He identifies Li Wei, Chang Yi Zhen, God Breaker, and the Abyss as the likely components of a larger conspiracy. Chang Yi Zhen remains the only one able to operate openly in the Central Star Zone and travel to the remote spacetime.
• Chang Yi Zhen’s descendant, Yi Ya, contacts Tai Yu with new leads. Tai Yu immediately travels to the Morningstar Demi-Plane, despite the restrictions imposed by the Abyssal Spirit Net.
• He arrives at the Laboratory, where Yi Ya is present. Shi Fan has returned to her normal communication state after her “life vessel” was taken. A cluster of Starry Sky Heavy Shadows is being produced by a suspended Square-Circle Instrument, whose identity or origin is uncertain.

Character Developments

• Tai Yu becomes increasingly aware that he is not merely an observer but a potential suspect in the Liang Lu and Abyss affair. He remains calm and evasive, prioritizing the concealment of his connection to the Great Existence.
• He demonstrates strong analytical ability, linking Liang Lu’s death to broader patterns involving the Abyss, the Spider Web, the Hanguang Old Guard, and remote spacetime.
• Tai Yu shifts from reacting to the Misty Jungle crisis to actively pursuing evidence through Yi Ya and the Central Star Zone.
• Great Monarch Ma Ge acts cautiously, questioning Tai Yu but ultimately ordering uninvolved parties to withdraw rather than openly accusing him.
• Yi Ya becomes an important source of intelligence, providing Tai Yu with leads and apparently investigating Chang Yi Zhen’s connections.
• Shi Fan has lost her “life vessel” but remains present in the Laboratory in a reduced or altered state of communication.
• Chang Yi Zhen, though absent from the immediate scene, is presented as a central figure whose influence connects the remote spacetime to the Central Star Zone.

Significant Themes

• Suspicion and concealment: Tai Yu must navigate investigations while hiding his deeper affiliations. The chapter emphasizes that no secret remains perfectly concealed forever.
• Information as power: Traces, patterns, and accumulated evidence can eventually reconstruct even carefully hidden events.
• Hidden alliances and conspiracies: The relationships among Liang Lu, the Abyss, Li Wei, Chang Yi Zhen, and God Breaker suggest a larger scheme whose true structure remains unclear.
• The limits of control: Tai Yu, the Ruin and Fall System, and the Abyss all attempt to interpret and control events, but the interaction of the Liang Lu Trait and Spider Silk produces consequences none of them fully anticipated.
• Predator and prey imagery: The Spider Web and its vermin represent individuals trapped in larger cosmic systems, while the mysterious “prey Echo” suggests that struggles within those systems can generate signals or consequences beyond their participants’ control.

Character Interactions

• Tai Yu and Great Monarch Ma Ge: Ma Ge questions Tai Yu about his arrival and knowledge of the Misty Jungle. Tai Yu responds evasively but also probes Ma Ge about the Abyss’s unusual behavior.
• Tai Yu and the Ruin and Fall System: The System’s representatives indirectly challenge him, recognizing that he should know more about the region. Tai Yu fears the System’s ability to detect deception and trace hidden connections.
• Tai Yu and Yi Ya: Yi Ya sends him investigative leads, prompting him to travel directly to Morningstar and deepen their cooperation.
• Tai Yu and Shi Fan: He encounters Shi Fan in the Laboratory after her life vessel has been taken, though their interaction is only briefly described.
• Tai Yu and the wider conspiracy: His thoughts connect Li Wei, Chang Yi Zhen, God Breaker, and the Abyss, framing them as possible collaborators or members of a larger villainous alliance.

Summary of “The Suspect (Part Two)”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Tai Yu, Shi Fan, and Yi Ya examine a Square-Circle Instrument, which Shi Fan identifies as an old token used by the Han Guang Star System during the era of Dream Net Smuggling.
• Shi Fan explains that these instruments served as tools, passes, and positioning devices for spies and smugglers infiltrating the Boundary Curtain sector. Their purpose was to exploit the concentrated Illusory Nightmare Domain power there and penetrate the Abyssal Spirit Net.
• Dream Net Smuggling became increasingly difficult and unprofitable as the Boundary Curtain was brought under tighter control. This decline contributed to widespread resentment toward the Rong Clan during the Two Star Gate Campaign, especially because the Rong family profited from a system they claimed to regulate.
• Shi Fan criticizes Rongchu Great Lord, portraying him as an ineffective leader whose family accumulated vast resources but achieved little militarily and eventually declined.
• Shi Fan reveals that the instrument’s original Machine Core had been removed. She created a temporary replacement that allowed the device’s stored information to be accessed.
• She explains that such instruments function as keys to specific Boundary Curtain Leak Points, using spacetime coordinates and Dream Net rules. More advanced versions could locate or excavate Leak Points themselves.
• Tai Yu wonders whether an old-version instrument could be used to access the current Boundary Curtain. Shi Fan admits this is beyond her knowledge, prompting Tai Yu to propose an experiment and ask how the instrument is made.
• Shi Fan describes the Square-Circle Instrument’s foundational principle: “square form, round spirit; round form, square spirit,” with exterior and interior, and virtual and real, mutually corresponding. Tai Yu recognizes connections to the Primal Paradigm and the Illusory Nightmare Domain.
• Tai Yu realizes that instruments based on this framework could range from simple access keys to powerful excavation tools, star charts, or even control hubs for spacetime. He offers to make some for Yi Ya, but Yi Ya refuses, fearing attention from the Myriad Gods Hall.
• Yi Ya reveals that the instrument and its star chart are only part of their findings. The marked locations may be familiar to Tai Yu. After examining the chart, Tai Yu identifies the region as the Void Track Field.

Character Developments

• Tai Yu demonstrates strong technical insight, quickly understanding the instrument’s structure and potential applications. His curiosity shifts the conversation from historical analysis to practical experimentation.
• He also shows strategic awareness, connecting Dream Net Smuggling, Rong Clan corruption, the Two Star Gate Campaign, and the broader decline of the Han Guang Star System.
• Shi Fan is established as highly knowledgeable about historical production techniques, Creation School principles, and the functioning of Boundary Curtain devices. She is candid about both her expertise and her limitations.
• Her harsh assessment of Rongchu Great Lord reveals a skeptical, historically informed perspective on the Han Guang Star System’s leadership.
• Yi Ya acts as the more cautious and pragmatic participant. She questions Tai Yu’s sudden technical detour and worries that creating such instruments would attract the Myriad Gods Hall’s scrutiny.
• Tai Yu, Shi Fan, and Yi Ya interact with increasing familiarity, briefly resembling old acquaintances discussing the failures of their shared past before returning to the immediate mystery.

Significant Themes

• Historical decline and political corruption: The Rong Clan’s exploitation of Dream Net Smuggling reflects how control over strategic systems can become a source of private wealth and public resentment.
• Technology as power: The Square-Circle Instrument is not merely a tool but a means of navigating, penetrating, and potentially controlling the Boundary Curtain.
• Adaptation and obsolescence: Old devices and methods may no longer work in the transformed Boundary Curtain, emphasizing the need to understand changing systems rather than rely on historical knowledge.
• Order versus exploitation: The tightening of Boundary Curtain controls reduced smuggling but also created political dissatisfaction, showing the tension between security, authority, and economic interests.
• Reality and illusion: The Square-Circle Instrument’s design embodies the relationship between the real and the virtual, exterior and interior, echoing the principles of the Illusory Nightmare Domain.
• Hidden connections to the past: Tai Yu’s possible familiarity with the Void Track Field suggests that the current investigation may be linked to his own history.

Character Interactions

• Shi Fan provides Tai Yu with historical and technical explanations, while Tai Yu continually tests the implications of her knowledge.
• Tai Yu and Shi Fan share a moment of mutual historical reflection over the Han Guang Star System and the Rong Clan’s failures.
• Yi Ya interrupts Tai Yu’s technical enthusiasm, reminding him that their main purpose is to discuss their discovery rather than manufacture devices.
• The chapter ends with Yi Ya’s revelation and Tai Yu’s recognition of the Void Track Field, shifting the focus from the instrument’s history to a potentially personal mystery.

Summary of “Seeking an Explanation (Part 1)”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Tai Yu and Shi Fan investigate the connection between Dream Net Smuggling and the Void Track Field, a region linked to the Kongyuan Yu Family’s ancestral star.
• Shi Fan explains that the area was historically an important distribution and intelligence hub, as well as a site for interfering with the Abyssal Spirit Net. A possible Deep Space Leak Point may still exist there.
• The Kongyuan Yu Family once maintained ties with Lord of Zhanhe and participated in Dream Net Smuggling, motivated partly by the enormous profits and partly by the hope of obtaining Great Monarch Yu Mo’s Root Marrow Essence. Their efforts ultimately failed.
• The discussion shifts to the Battle of the River Styx and its aftermath:
  • The Illusory Demon Sea was suppressed by the Styx.
  • The Dream God Abomination was slain by Netherworld Highness.
  • The Dawn Blood Curse merged with the Styx.
  • Liang Lu forcibly devoured the Coiling Demon.
  • Five Hundred Filths was killed by several Great Monarchs.
  • The Lighthouse disappeared, possibly dying or escaping beyond the known domain.
• Although these events appeared to be a major victory, the Xuanjing Array was destroyed, Netherworld Highness became the Styx, and the balance between the Han Guang Star System and the Myriad Heavens Divine Kingdoms collapsed. The Han Guang Star System could no longer endure.
• Shi Fan reveals that many Great Monarchs were contaminated by Evil Poison and Divine Sin elements after the Xuanjing Array was damaged. Great Lord Zhan You helped remove the corruption until he ultimately assimilated with it to preserve the Array.
• After Luo Mei Great Lord’s death, Luande defected to the Myriad Heavens Divine Kingdoms, a choice Shi Fan considers understandable given the deteriorating conditions.
• Tai Yu asks how Netherworld Highness created the Styx despite being unable to maintain a stable Rule Environment. Shi Fan admits she cannot explain it and suggests that Chang Yi Zhen might know.

Character Developments

• Tai Yu continues acting as an inquisitive investigator and protector of the path. He is skeptical of romanticized historical interpretations and prefers practical realities over speculation.
• He increasingly understands the desperate circumstances surrounding past decisions, including Liang Lu’s devouring of the Coiling Demon and Luande’s eventual defection.
• Shi Fan becomes more open and candid with Tai Yu, indicating growing acceptance of him. She provides detailed historical and personal insight into the Han Guang Star System’s decline.
• Shi Fan also acknowledges that the earlier generation’s ideals of preserving a pure Heavenly Abyss order were impossible to sustain.
• Netherworld Highness is portrayed as immensely powerful and sharp-minded, but disadvantaged by her inability to stabilize a Rule Environment without external support.
• Liang Lu appears less as a reckless figure and more as someone forced into a desperate gamble because of dwindling resources and declining strength.
• Chang Yi Zhen remains mysterious, particularly because he managed to withdraw from the conflict unharmed.

Significant Themes

• Historical decline and irreversible collapse: The destruction of the Xuanjing Array and the fall of the Han Guang Star System demonstrate how even apparent victories can lead only to temporary dignity rather than true survival.
• Desperation and sacrifice: Many major figures resorted to extreme measures—devouring enemies, assimilating corruption, or defecting—in order to survive or preserve what remained.
• The limits of idealism: The dream of maintaining a pure Heavenly Abyss order gradually became impossible as resources disappeared and corruption spread.
• History versus speculation: Tai Yu challenges hypothetical claims about what might have happened if Netherworld Highness or other powerful figures had lived in different eras.
• Unanswered mysteries: The origin and nature of the Styx remain unclear, suggesting that the true history of the Battle of the River Styx is incomplete or deliberately obscured.

Character Interactions

• Tai Yu questions Shi Fan about the Kongyuan Yu Family, the Battle of the River Styx, Liang Lu, Chang Yi Zhen, and the creation of the Styx.
• Shi Fan responds with increasingly personal historical knowledge, including her own contamination by Evil Poison and Divine Sin elements.
• Yi Ya remains mostly silent but reacts emotionally when Chang Yi Zhen is mentioned, indicating unresolved feelings or tension surrounding him.
• Tai Yu and Shi Fan share moments of light humor despite discussing tragic events, particularly when Tai Yu asks her to explain how the Styx came into existence.

Summary of “Seeking an Explanation (Part 2)”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Tai Yu and Shi Fan discuss Chang Yi Zhen’s Spirit Roaming project. Shi Fan doubts that Chang Yi Zhen possesses any revolutionary insight, arguing that such knowledge would already be recorded in history if it truly existed.
• Tai Yu considers questioning Chang Yi Zhen directly, while Yi Ya quietly enjoys seeing an ancient ancestor placed in an awkward position.
• Tai Yu reviews the connection between the Dream God Abomination, Netherworld Highness, and the Spirit Roaming Method:
  • Netherworld Highness severed the “Styx” from the Dream God Abomination, granting it the property of entering and exiting existence and nonexistence.
  • This distorted the connection between the Myriad Heavens Divine Kingdoms and the Central Star Zone.
  • Although the Dream God Abomination later “perished” and the connection was restored, its influence remained powerful.
  • More than a thousand years later, Chang Yi Zhen has again become connected to both Spirit Roaming and the Dream God Abomination through his project and distant spacetime operations.
• Tai Yu wonders whether this pattern reflects fate and considers consulting the God of Fate Track—or even confronting the Abyss directly for answers.
• Great Monarch Mu Kuo contacts Tai Yu after Great Monarch Mage expels him and others from the investigation. Mu Kuo complains that their efforts have been wasted and insists that the matter cannot be abandoned.
• Tai Yu explains that Mage’s actions are understandable because the Abyss is closely associated with Plane Six, whose main responsibility is defending the Tian Yuan Star Territory against the Abyss.
• Mu Kuo proposes that Tai Yu use his ability to locate the Old People of Tianyuan in the Illusory Nightmare Domain. Tai Yu refuses to assist without an edict from the Nightfall King, making clear that he will not risk offending another Great Monarch merely for Mu Kuo’s plans.
• Tai Yu further warns that Mu Kuo’s strategy ignores the broader political situation. Even if he locates the targets, neither the opposing faction nor Plane Six may cooperate with him.
• The chapter ends with Tai Yu admiring Chang Yi Zhen for remaining hidden for a thousand years, then boldly expanding outward when circumstances allowed it.

Character Developments

• Tai Yu continues to demonstrate caution, strategic awareness, and political maturity. He is willing to cooperate with potential allies but refuses unreasonable risks or actions unsupported by proper authority.
• Shi Fan remains skeptical and analytical, questioning whether Chang Yi Zhen possesses genuinely special knowledge.
• Yi Ya shows a mischievous side by taking pleasure in Tai Yu’s discomfort.
• Great Monarch Mu Kuo is revealed to be frustrated and politically constrained. He wants to avoid External Migration and Nation Building, which would reduce him to a Second-Tier Great Monarch, but his refusal to follow the prevailing trend leaves him isolated.
• Chang Yi Zhen gains Tai Yu’s respect. His long period of concealment and his eventual decision to move outward are presented as an example of successfully “going with the flow.”
• Great Monarch Mage is portrayed as firm and protective of Plane Six’s interests, especially regarding sensitive matters involving the Abyss.

Significant Themes

• Fate and recurring connections: Tai Yu questions whether Chang Yi Zhen’s renewed involvement with Spirit Roaming and the Dream God Abomination is accidental or dictated by fate.
• Political alignment and timing: Success depends not only on power or intelligence but also on moving with the dominant political current.
• The divide between gods and Genetic Species: Tai Yu reflects on the immense structural advantage held by Eternal Species and questions what threat could have driven several Overlimit Masters to unite against the Lord of Zhanhe.
• Authority and risk: The chapter emphasizes that even powerful individuals must consider official backing, factional interests, and the consequences of acting independently.
• Historical influence: Past events involving the Dream God Abomination, the Abyssal Sky Overlord, and the Lord of Zhanhe continue to shape present-day politics.
• Resistance to change: Mu Kuo’s refusal to accept External Migration symbolizes the difficulty of resisting large-scale historical trends.

Character Interactions

• Tai Yu and Shi Fan: Engage in a skeptical discussion about Chang Yi Zhen and the Spirit Roaming project.
• Tai Yu and Yi Ya: Their interaction is indirect; Yi Ya observes and privately enjoys Tai Yu’s awkward position.
• Tai Yu and Mu Kuo: Conduct a tense but professional negotiation. Mu Kuo seeks Tai Yu’s assistance, while Tai Yu challenges his assumptions and demands legitimate authority before acting.
• Tai Yu and Mage: Mage does not appear directly, but Tai Yu defends the logic behind Mage’s decision to expel Mu Kuo.
• Tai Yu and Chang Yi Zhen: They do not interact directly, but Tai Yu’s reflections establish growing respect for Chang Yi Zhen’s strategic patience and timing.

Chapter Summary: “Courage (Part 1)”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Mu Kuo internally dismisses the Sky Abyss Remnant Tribe as inferior to his own family, though he restrains himself because Tai Yu belongs to that tribe and because the Chang Yi Family’s pedigree commands respect.
• Tai Yu and Mu Kuo discuss the Chang Yi Family, Great Monarch Chang Yi Zhen, and the differing positions and strategies of the ancient remnant groups.
• Tai Yu suggests that Great Monarch Zhen possesses unusual “courage,” hinting that the Old People of Tianyuan may not share a unified stance.
• Mu Kuo becomes increasingly unsettled as he compares the Chang Yi Family’s accomplishments with the Night Terrace Mu Family’s uncertain future.
• He reflects on the family’s dependence on Grand Duke Mu Na, whose approaching death threatens to push the family into decline unless Mu Kuo becomes an Enfeoffed Great Monarch.
• Mu Kuo concludes that remaining in the Boundary Curtain region is essential. It offers the best balance of safety, strategic flexibility, and distance from the dangers posed by the gods, the Outer Domain Species, and unstable regions.
• The chapter ends with Mu Kuo recognizing that preserving his position may require the very “courage” he claims not to want—specifically, deeper and riskier dealings with Tai Yu.

Character Developments

• Mu Kuo: Revealed as proud, pragmatic, and deeply anxious about his family’s future. His ambition to become an Enfeoffed Great Monarch is driven less by personal glory than by the need to preserve the Night Terrace Mu Family after Grand Duke Mu Na’s death. He begins to question whether caution alone will be enough.
• Tai Yu: Appears perceptive and politically subtle. Through his repeated references to “courage,” “pace,” and “direction,” he seems to probe Mu Kuo’s fears and possibly hint at divisions among the Old People of Tianyuan.
• Great Monarch Chang Yi Zhen: Though absent, he serves as an important standard of boldness and family achievement. His legacy makes Mu Kuo aware of the Night Terrace Mu Family’s relative weakness.
• Grand Duke Mu Na: Functions as the foundation of the Mu Family’s current status, but his declining lifespan creates an urgent succession crisis.

Significant Themes

• Family decline and succession: Great clans must continually replenish their strength, but Genetic Species cannot be reliably cultivated or “engineered,” making succession uncertain.
• Courage versus caution: Mu Kuo believes in patience and strategic stability, yet realizes that avoiding risk may itself endanger his family.
• Historical momentum and adaptation: Aristocratic families must adjust their strategies to changing eras, balancing periods of prosperity and decline.
• The burden of pedigree: Ancient bloodlines provide prestige and power, but they also create pressure to match past achievements.
• Distance from divine power: The chapter emphasizes that political and physical proximity to the gods determines both danger and opportunity. The Boundary Curtain region is valuable because it provides relative stability and room for maneuver.
• The limitations of Genetic Species: Even powerful inheritances cannot guarantee the emergence of future Great Monarchs, forcing families to rely on long-term adaptation rather than certainty.

Character Interactions

• Tai Yu’s conversation with Mu Kuo is outwardly respectful but contains political subtext. He praises Chang Yi Zhen’s courage and speaks of differing “positions,” seemingly testing Mu Kuo’s loyalties and anxieties.
• Mu Kuo responds cautiously, defending the legitimacy of differing strategies while privately feeling threatened by the comparison with the Chang Yi Family.
• Their exchange establishes a delicate relationship: Mu Kuo may need Tai Yu’s cooperation, but he remains wary of Tai Yu’s motives and the possible divisions within the Old People of Tianyuan.

Chapter Summary: “Courage (Part 2)”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Great Monarch Mu Kuo realizes that the Illusory Nightmare Domain and the Misty Jungle are destabilizing the Boundary Curtain region. The jungle’s mist has spread into the Main Star System, making the Dreamscape Mist increasingly dense.
• After consulting Tai Yu, Mu Kuo discusses the situation with his ancestor, Great Monarch Mu Na, a veteran Great Lord of the Star Alliance.
• Mu Na believes the forces surrounding the Misty Jungle are testing the situation, building momentum, and shaping public opinion among the highest-level Great Monarchs. Their actions are meant to pressure powerful figures and determine whether the current “overall trend” can still be reversed.
• Mu Na suggests that the Abyss or the Initial Awakening Society may be manipulating events from behind the scenes, but he considers Tai Yu the more likely culprit. Mu Kuo agrees, noting that Tai Yu’s arrival has repeatedly coincided with sudden conflicts and rapid changes.
• Mu Kuo concludes that directly opposing Tai Yu is unsafe because of the Nightfall King’s presence. Remaining uninvolved appears to be the most practical choice.
• Mu Kuo reflects on the meaning of courage. He remarks that “staying out is ordinary, while showing goodwill takes courage,” but Mu Na counters that, in the current situation, showing goodwill is closer to recklessness. Success offers gains, not some separate reward called courage.
• Mu Kuo compares himself with people such as Chang Yi Zhen, whose courage lies in maintaining a clear plan, executing it effectively, and adapting without retreating. He recognizes that his own recent behavior—resisting the prevailing trend and changing plans reactively—has been less decisive.
• Despite this, Mu Kuo believes it is prudent to maintain multiple possible strategies. Besides dealing with Tai Yu’s side, he decides to contact Great Monarch Qiao Mian, a major organizer of the movement to restore the Phantom Nightmare Divine Kingdom.
• Qiao Mian is absent from the Main Star System, having gone to the Silver Screen Star System with Tai Yu. Mu Kuo suspects their trip relates to the mysterious Gatekeeper Lord Historical Projection project, which has alarmed the Myriad Gods Hall.
• Seeing an opportunity to avoid the growing chaos, Mu Kuo follows them to the Silver Screen Star System.
• The chapter ends by emphasizing that interference around the Boundary Curtain has become increasingly open and aggressive, suggesting that the forces behind the Illusory Nightmare Domain are no longer acting with their former restraint.

Character Developments

• Great Monarch Mu Kuo: Becomes more cautious and self-aware. He recognizes that his previous decisions were largely reactive and shaped by circumstances rather than by a coherent strategy. His interaction with Tai Yu and reflection on Chang Yi Zhen lead him to reconsider what genuine courage means. Rather than confronting the crisis directly, he chooses flexibility and prepares multiple options.
• Great Monarch Mu Na: Revealed as deeply pragmatic, perceptive, and still capable of accurately assessing the political situation despite his seclusion. He discourages idealistic notions of courage and emphasizes practical gains, risks, and strategic positioning.
• Tai Yu: Though absent from most of the chapter, he remains the central force influencing events. His arrival is associated with major disruptions, and both Mu Kuo and Mu Na increasingly suspect him of being connected to the Misty Jungle’s upheaval.
• Great Monarch Qiao Mian: Her importance is reinforced through her role in organizing the Phantom Nightmare Divine Kingdom movement and through her unexplained collaboration with Tai Yu in the Silver Screen Star System.
• Chang Yi Zhen: Serves as an example of genuine strategic courage: maintaining direction, acting decisively, and adapting without surrendering one’s objectives.

Significant Themes

• Courage versus recklessness: The chapter questions whether courageous action is truly valuable when the risks are enormous. Mu Na argues that what appears to be courage may simply be recklessness unless it produces concrete gains.
• Adapting to the overall trend: Success depends on recognizing the direction of events and moving with it rather than resisting blindly. Mu Kuo realizes that the Misty Jungle conflict exposed the weakness of those acting without a clear understanding of the broader situation.
• Political probing and influence: The Great Monarchs are not yet openly fighting, but they are testing boundaries, shaping elite opinion, and measuring whether the current balance of power can be overturned.
• Pragmatism and survival: Strategic withdrawal, maintaining alternatives, and avoiding unnecessary confrontation are presented as rational forms of strength.
• Uncertainty and hidden agendas: The true cause of the Misty Jungle’s transformation remains unclear. Suspicion falls on Tai Yu, the Abyss, and the Initial Awakening Society, while Qiao Mian and Tai Yu’s project introduce further mystery.

Character Interactions

• Mu Kuo and Tai Yu: Their previous negotiations influence Mu Kuo’s assessment of the crisis. Tai Yu’s behavior has made Mu Kuo wary but also forced him to reevaluate his own approach.
• Mu Kuo and Mu Na: Their discussion reveals a strong familial understanding. Mu Na provides blunt strategic analysis, while Mu Kuo uses it to examine his own choices and limitations.
• Mu Kuo and Qiao Mian: Although they have an established relationship as fellow members of the Dawn System, Mu Kuo is unable to meet her because she has left with Tai Yu. Their intended discussion reflects the need for internal negotiation among those supporting the Phantom Nightmare Divine Kingdom’s restoration.
• Tai Yu and Qiao Mian: Their joint trip to the Silver Screen Star System suggests cooperation on the Gatekeeper Lord Historical Projection project and hints at a deeper alliance or shared plan.

Chapter Summary: Beyond Specification (Part 1)

Key Plot Points and Events

• Mu Kuo successfully uses the Boundary Curtain’s projection of the “Four Linked Stars” to locate Tai Yu’s approximate Spacetime coordinates. The stellar cluster serves as a conspicuous marker for Tai Yu and the foundation of his Boundary Curtain rules.
• Tai Yu’s presence has become increasingly unavoidable in discussions of the Illusory Nightmare Domain. His influence may soon extend beyond the Boundary Curtain region to the Star Alliance and Central Star Zone if the Phantom Nightmare Divine Kingdom is restored.
• Mu Kuo travels to the Silver Screen Star System to contact Great Monarch Qiao Mian, a leading representative of the Supreme Council’s secular authority and one of the main forces behind the current Phantom Nightmare Divine Kingdom power struggle.
• Mu Kuo reflects on the political situation. The Myriad Gods Hall remains relatively detached, while the Supreme Council, Senate, and various gods actively compete to shape the succession and power structure surrounding the Divine Kingdom.
• Upon arriving at a remote industrial mining zone, Mu Kuo discovers that four other Great Monarch-level figures are already present, including Qiao Mian and Tai Yu. Their interacting Rule Environments create a tense atmosphere.
• Mu Kuo contacts Qiao Mian in a lighthearted manner. She tells him that he must complete the necessary formalities with the Fourth Plane, suggesting possible friction involving the Great Thoroughfare System.
• Qiao Mian permits Mu Kuo to land, but as his vessel approaches, he senses something deeply abnormal: the ship appears to have collided with an interstellar creature, and the surrounding Spacetime no longer behaves like a normal structure.

Character Developments

• Mu Kuo demonstrates increasing political awareness and strategic maturity. He recognizes that Tai Yu’s boldness is more than courage—it borders on arrogance—and understands that involvement in the Divine Kingdom conflict involves weighing risks against potential returns.
• Mu Kuo also shows ambition. He wants a position of influence comparable to Tai Yu’s, but remains aware that such prominence makes one a target for concentrated attacks.
• His decision to join the power struggle is presented as a calculated investment aligned with both his personal future and his family’s interests, rather than an impulsive act.
• Tai Yu is characterized as exceptionally bold, powerful, and influential. His background as an “Old Person of Tianyuan” and “Hanguang Remnant Soul” reinforces his status as someone fundamentally unlike ordinary Great Monarchs.
• Qiao Mian appears politically confident and experienced. Her casual handling of Mu Kuo and the Great Thoroughfare System suggests that she is acting from a position of authority and has prepared for possible confrontation.
• Mu Na, Mu Kuo’s ancestor, remains largely in the background but represents the family’s cautious, profit-and-risk-oriented judgment. He allows Mu Kuo to pursue the opportunity himself.

Significant Themes

• Power, visibility, and vulnerability: Becoming a central figure like Tai Yu brings authority but also makes one the focus of attacks.
• Political calculation over ideology: Participation in the Phantom Nightmare Divine Kingdom conflict is framed primarily as an assessment of investment, rewards, and danger.
• Individual ambition versus family interests: Mu Kuo’s personal aspirations happen to align with his family’s broader strategic needs.
• The instability of cosmic boundaries: The Boundary Curtain blurs distance, identity, and even the nature of Spacetime, culminating in the revelation that Mu Kuo’s ship has entered or struck an interstellar life-form.
• Tension between major systems: The exchange concerning the Fourth Plane hints at growing friction between the Supreme Council’s secular forces and the Great Thoroughfare System.

Character Interactions

• Mu Kuo’s thoughts repeatedly compare himself with Tai Yu, deepening his understanding of Tai Yu’s unusual behavior and achievements.
• He considers Great Monarch Qiao Mian both a political ally and a stabilizing framework that makes his own involvement seem reasonable.
• Mu Kuo and Qiao Mian exchange familiar, teasing remarks, reflecting their long-standing acquaintance as members of the Supreme Council and the Dawn System.
• Qiao Mian’s insistence on formalities introduces the Great Thoroughfare System into the interaction, while her eventual invitation for Mu Kuo to land shows her willingness to protect or accommodate him.
• The chapter ends with Mu Kuo entering an unexplained and potentially dangerous environment, setting up a confrontation or revelation involving the interstellar creature and the surrounding Great Monarchs.

Chapter Summary: Beyond Specifications (Part 2)

Key Plot Points and Events

• Great Monarch Mu Kuo identifies the enormous stirred Qi Mechanism as Magnetic Light Mica, a top-tier Fantasy Species that has grown to nearly planetary-system scale in only a few weeks.
• Although it has not reached Great Monarch level, its size and possible control by an expert could give it influence approaching that level within a limited area.
• Mu Kuo arrives at an industrial mining planet where four other Great Monarchs, including Tai Yu and Great Monarch Qiao Mian, are already gathered.
• The planet and surrounding system have been transformed by Tai Yu’s project with the Great Thoroughfare System. Factories operate minimally while Clone miners spend much of their time dreaming and reciting scriptures, generating Faith Power.
• Mu Kuo senses that reality and the Dreamscape have partially merged in the Transition Layer. The Illusory Nightmare Domain’s unusually penetrative Faith Power appears to have accelerated Magnetic Light Mica’s growth to an abnormal degree.
• Mu Kuo then learns that Magnetic Light Mica has passed through the Boundary Curtain, existing simultaneously in inner and outer spacetime and interfering with the Boundary Curtain itself.
• Tai Yu explains that he deliberately intends to study this phenomenon, treating the dangerous development as an unprecedented and valuable experiment involving Faith Power, Mirror Spacetime, Magnetic Light Mica, and the Boundary Curtain.
• Mu Kuo views Tai Yu’s behavior as reckless and concludes that Tai Yu habitually pushes projects beyond accepted limits before informing his collaborators.
• The Great Thoroughfare System finally intervenes. High Priest Cen Fu and the heavily armored Great Monarch La Yan arrive to inspect the situation, test Tai Yu’s abilities, and impose safety and compliance checks.
• La Yan states that the Magnetic Light Mica has exceeded allowable limits and suggests halting further progress until the relevant dangers are assessed.
• The chapter ends with La Yan’s laughter shaking the planet, suggesting that he may be preparing to confront or restrain Tai Yu immediately.

Character Developments

• Great Monarch Mu Kuo: Becomes increasingly wary of Tai Yu. He recognizes Tai Yu’s extraordinary ability to advance projects but also sees him as dangerously bold, willing to test the limits of collaborators and institutions.
• Tai Yu: Demonstrates complete confidence and scientific curiosity despite the potentially catastrophic consequences of his experiment. He treats the Magnetic Light Mica’s breach of spacetime and the Boundary Curtain as an opportunity rather than a crisis.
• Great Monarch Qiao Mian: Remains associated with Tai Yu’s rapidly advancing projects, though he does not take an active speaking role in this section.
• Great Monarch La Yan: Is introduced as a powerful, young Great Monarch and an official representative of the Myriad Gods Hall. His imposing armor, authority, and apparent readiness to act establish him as a serious counterbalance to Tai Yu.
• High Priest Cen Fu: Maintains his mild, genial demeanor but supports La Yan’s intervention, indicating that the Great Thoroughfare System is prepared to enforce limits despite its usual preference for cooperation.

Significant Themes

• Innovation versus regulation: Tai Yu’s experiments advance faster than existing institutions can safely manage, forcing the Great Thoroughfare System to establish boundaries.
• Scientific curiosity and recklessness: The chapter questions whether extraordinary discoveries justify experimenting with forces capable of affecting spacetime and the Boundary Curtain.
• Institutional responsibility: The Myriad Gods Hall must decide how to support talented innovators while preventing their projects from becoming uncontrollable.
• Power and influence: Even without reaching Great Monarch level, Magnetic Light Mica can approach that level of impact under the right conditions, blurring the distinction between technology, species, and strategic weapon.
• Tai Yu’s repeated boundary-pushing: His pattern of acting first and reporting later suggests that his projects may conceal larger motives or risks.

Character Interactions

• Mu Kuo observes and evaluates Tai Yu’s conduct, internally criticizing his lack of caution.
• Tai Yu calmly explains the Magnetic Light Mica experiment to Mu Kuo, showing no concern about how extreme it appears.
• La Yan formally challenges Tai Yu’s approach by proposing safety and compliance testing.
• Tai Yu responds by inviting La Yan to cooperate on the project, turning a potential reprimand into another opportunity for collaboration.
• Cen Fu silently backs La Yan’s position, while Mu Kuo watches the exchange and senses that a confrontation is imminent.