Chapter Summaries

Ronan ordered a mission to find the escaped Dream Weaver and reduce the threat of the Gray Substance, then began examining the Deep Blue Walkers’ Formatted Space. Cha Zheng and four other armored Walkers faced Ronan under mounting pressure, but Ronan treated the confrontation as a rehearsal.

• Long Qi told Songkan that the armed guard appeared to be Cha Zheng, who had criticized Ronan’s Coreless Style demonstration.
• Ronan outlined a two-stage operation to Meng Tu: eliminate the escaped Dream Weaver, then control the Gray Substance and possibly destroy some of its sources.
• Ronan ordered Meng Tu to mobilize thirty disciplined Deep Blue Walkers and proposed rehearsing with the five already wearing armor.
• Ronan’s pressure caused the five Walkers to ignite their Format Fire and form a Formatted Space.
• Ronan projected a Virtual Work Area and studied the structure while Cha Zheng, unable to move, considered attacking him.

Ronan demonstrated a new Configuration, the Eye of Knowing Configuration, by guiding the Deep Blue Walkers through it inside the Formatted Space. Meng Tu connected to the Configuration and sensed an unstable buildup in the Underground Cave Zone moments before a scorching Jet Stream erupted from a crack.

• Ronan used his spiritual light trails to make Cha Zheng and the other four Deep Blue Walkers follow a basic Configuration inside the Formatted Space.
• Raven watched Ronan's work, and Cat's Eye recognized it as a modified Blood Intent Ring routine that Ronan named the Eye of Knowing Configuration.
• Meng Tu ordered the Deep Blue Walkers at the camp to gather, then put on his equipment and followed Ronan's Configuration trails.
• Meng Tu connected to the Eye of Knowing Configuration and sensed that an unstable buildup in the Underground Cave Zone was nearing a critical point.
• A scorching Jet Stream burst from a crack in the Underground Cave Zone, struck the edge of the Formatted Space, and shot diagonally into the sky.

Meng Tu recognized the Eye of Knowing Configuration as a powerful system for perception and information processing, and watched its effects grow as more Deep Blue Walkers joined in. Mountain Lord arrived to inspect it, while Ronan explained its relation to the Martial Emperor’s Dripping Water Sword and its Water Condensation Ring Configuration.

• Meng Tu analyzed the Eye of Knowing Configuration and wondered how its abilities would change as more participants joined.
• Meng Tu sensed Mountain Lord approaching and saw the Configuration respond to his aura, beginning to form a power-integration pattern.
• Mountain Lord’s gaze triggered the Eye of Knowing Configuration to manifest in Meng Tu’s Heart Lake and dispel the discomfort.
• Meng Tu ordered the Deep Blue Walkers to follow Ronan’s instructions and report information as the Configuration grew more complex.
• Mountain Lord asked Ronan whether the Configuration was really just drawing circles, and Ronan compared it to the Martial Emperor’s Dripping Water Sword.

Ronan explained the Eye of Knowing Configuration to Mountain Lord and prepared to combine it with the Blood Intent Ring Fortress. With thirty-two Deep Blue Walkers assembled around the underground hollow, he proposed using Mountain Lord as bait for the Gray Substance, and Mountain Lord agreed to try it.

• Ronan showed Mountain Lord how the Eye of Knowing Configuration’s parts formed individual and collaborative frameworks, including structures related to Babel Tower and Buzhou Mountain.
• Thirty-two Deep Blue Walkers gathered around the hollow, while Ronan noted that the participants inside the Formatted Space were not fully coordinated.
• Mountain Lord asked whether he could join despite lacking the Deep Blue Walker foundation, and Ronan said he could participate through other methods.
• Ronan joined the Blood Intent Ring’s foundational Configuration with the Eye of Knowing Configuration, leaving Mountain Lord unable to follow the principles behind the operation.
• Ronan suggested using Mountain Lord as bait to attract the Gray Substance, and Mountain Lord agreed to try it.

Songkan and Zeng Xiao watched from the Frontline Maintenance Point as Ronan gathered the Deep Blue Walkers and prepared their war machines. Ronan integrated their Formatted Space into a broader framework, causing the Eye of Knowing Configuration to reveal a map he named the Heavenly Human Demon Subduing Diagram.

• Songkan retreated from the expanding Formatted Space and, after nearly falling, was caught by Zeng Xiao.
• Zeng Xiao led Songkan to the Frontline Maintenance Point, where they joined other onlookers and found Long Qi livestreaming the assembly.
• Long Qi warned viewers that Ronan's plans might reach beyond the camp as dozens of war machines began warming their engines.
• Mountain Lord observed that the Deep Blue Walkers' Formatted Space had converged with the framework descending from the Abyss Zone.
• Ronan explained that he had integrated the Deep Blue Walkers into a unified mode of action, and the Eye of Knowing Configuration transformed into a map he called the Heavenly Human Demon Subduing Diagram.

Ronan used the Blood Intent Ring Fortress and Eye of Knowing Configuration to create the Heavenly Human Demon Subduing Diagram, which mapped Gray Substance around the Underground Cave Zone and beyond. He enlisted Mountain Lord to lure the scattered Gray Substance and ordered Meng Tu and the Deep Blue Walkers on a forced march toward the Great Golden Triangle.

• Mountain Lord examined the Heavenly Human Demon Subduing Diagram as Ronan explained how the Fortress integrated the Eye of Knowing Configuration.
• Mountain Lord used the diagram to observe Gray Substance across a wide area, and Ronan explained that the Underground Cave Zone was only one source of it.
• Ronan asked Mountain Lord to act as bait and draw scattered Gray Substance together for more efficient capture.
• Ronan explained that the diagram's name referred to the work expected of people at their stage, then called the Heaven-Man Landscape a required course.
• Ronan directed Meng Tu and the thirty-two Deep Blue Walkers to adapt to the integrated Configurations through a forced march toward a point near the Great Golden Triangle.

Ronan integrated thirty-two Deep Blue Walkers into the Blood Intent Ring Fortress framework, allowing them to hover together in the sinkhole’s hostile Formatted Space. He brought Mountain Lord into the field exercise, and the group set off southwest as Standard Bearer relayed their orders.

• The thirty-two Deep Blue Walkers rose into the air as their formation merged with the Blood Intent Ring Fortress framework, revealing to Mountain Lord how Ronan had strengthened their interference with Formatted Space.
• Mountain Lord moved beside Cat's Eye while Raven hovered alongside Ronan, and he wondered why she was not being rejected by the system.
• Ronan told Mountain Lord to join the field exercise, and Mountain Lord agreed and gave him his contact number.
• Standard Bearer introduced itself to Mountain Lord and explained that it would relay orders for the field exercise and cleanup operation.
• Ronan told the group to follow him, and the Deep Blue Walkers protected him and Raven as they accelerated southwest through the sinkhole.
• Standard Bearer announced that Cleanup Target No. 1 had been identified and ordered the group to absorb and attach after clearing it.

Long Qi pursued Ronan and the flying Deep Blue Walker cluster with Mountain Lord, while the livestream exposed the Inner World's powers to the Secular World. A mysterious order warned that the battle would end in fifteen seconds, just as a blinding strike tore through the southwestern sky.

• Long Qi jumped from the tower crane and joined Songkan in an off-road vehicle to chase Ronan and the Deep Blue Walker cluster.
• Mountain Lord intercepted the vehicle, moved Long Qi into the driver's seat, and told him to pursue the cluster while Cat's Eye caught the ejected Songkan.
• Mountain Lord gave Long Qi coordinates for a nearby location and identified the Central Great Golden Triangle Area as the cluster's probable destination.
• Mountain Lord connected his communicator to the vehicle's Smart Brain, and a calm voice reported that Target No. 1 was locked and the battle would end in fifteen seconds.
• A brilliant strike like a Thunder Javelin tore through the southwestern sky.

Long Qi and Mountain Lord traveled toward their stations after a Thunder Javelin eliminated Target Number One, but found the Poison Swamp Zone in turmoil. They reached a burning, toxic depression that Mountain Lord identified as a poison source, and Long Qi recognized the flames as Format Fire.

• A Thunder Javelin struck Target Number One, and the Fortress reported its elimination and began preparing environmental sterilization.
• Long Qi drove Mountain Lord toward their stations through the swamp, where they encountered Aberrant Species weakened by vicious toxins.
• Mountain Lord recognized the contamination as resembling the aftermath of the Algae Island experiment, and the two left the vehicle to continue on foot.
• They found a burning depression and Mountain Lord explained that it was a poison-source environment symbiotic with the Toothed Crocodile Legion, not an Extraordinary-level nest.
• Long Qi recognized that the flames were Format Fire with the ordered quality of the Eye of Knowing Configuration and the Blood Intent Ring Fortress.

Long Qi warned the camp about the aftermath of Ronan’s attack and was recruited by Standard Bearer to support the Blood Intent Ring Fortress’s environmental sterilization operation. He helped connect Mountain Lord to the Tuo Ying Function Configuration as the next phase of the operation began.

• Long Qi contacted Lang Zhihe and warned him that Ronan’s destruction of a poison source could send toxic Aberrant Species toward the camp.
• Tian Bang took charge of coordinating with Huai City and told Long Qi to keep the camp informed.
• Standard Bearer designated Long Qi as auxiliary personnel and connected him to the Blood Intent Ring Fortress’s Vanguards sequence.
• Mountain Lord struck the swamp with restrained fist force, clearing away murky elements and revealing the remaining forces in conflict.
• Long Qi received instructions to assist Mountain Lord, and the Tuo Ying Function Configuration identified his modified arm’s Poison Domain and Phantom traits.

At the underground cavern camp, Cat's Eye and Major General Tian Bang watched Mountain Lord's live stream and discussed the gathering of Extraordinary Species. A flash in the southern sky revealed a clash between Ronan's Deep Blue Walker cluster and Clown Rabbi, whose pursuit of the Joker Card had brought him into conflict with Ronan.

• Tian Bang left Lieutenant Colonel Lang Zhihe to handle the camp dispute while he watched the live stream on the Virtual Sand Table with Cat's Eye and Songkan.
• Cat's Eye noticed that the Sand Table displayed hidden energy pathways around Mountain Lord's arm and questioned Tian Bang about his Machine Core.
• Cat's Eye met Liu Jia at the camp perimeter, where Tian Bang explained that at least ten Extraordinary Species had gathered in the northern Great Golden Triangle.
• Liu Jia said he was heading south with a pass, and Cat's Eye recognized that he meant Mr. Luo Yuandao's loose-leaf notes.
• A flash in the southern sky signaled a clash involving Ronan's Deep Blue Walker cluster and Clown Rabbi, whom Liu Jia and Tian Bang identified from the attack.

Cha Zheng experienced the Deep Blue Walker cluster’s defensive response when Diamond Q attacked its Formatted Space, then began to understand how the cluster functioned as an airship. Ronan treated the scar as a useful reference point and continued his calls and Truth Communion lesson as the group advanced.

• Cha Zheng flew with the Deep Blue Walker cluster into the Great Golden Triangle and fired a Light Arrow Javelin that pierced a target thirty kilometers away.
• Diamond Q charged from the jungle and struck the cluster’s Formatted Space, leaving a scar along its outer edge.
• Cha Zheng reconstructed the attack and realized the Walkers’ aura connections had formed a strong defensive structure under the Blood Intent Ring Fortress.
• Ronan said he would keep the scar as a reference point and continued making calls while the cluster advanced toward its next target.
• Ronan retrieved a loose-leaf page and an old notebook from empty air, then returned to teaching a Truth Communion course over the phone.

Ronan taught the participants how to adapt to their expanded perception and explained how he had built his own Self Logic through years of practice. With the Vanguards’ support, the Eye of Knowing Configuration revealed a vast view of the Great Golden Triangle and dozens of suspicious targets.

• Ronan explained that observation began from the self and advised participants to build up experience through contemplation and practice.
• Ronan shared his Grandfather’s Sixteen-Word Formula and described how he had used it to begin constructing Self Logic.
• The Vanguards’ support reduced the strain of information analysis and helped expand the participants’ perception.
• Cha Zheng experienced a sweeping, satellite-like view of the land around him, including the great river hundreds of kilometers away.
• Ronan switched the view to defined targets, revealing Target 1, Target 2, and at least twenty more suspicious locations surrounded by Wolf Smoke.

Ronan taught the group how to observe the Wilderness through different perceptual modes, revealing the influence of Aberrant Nests and Extraordinary Species before combining the views into an overwhelming landscape. While Cha Zheng struggled to endure the flood of information, Ronan took a call and appeared to produce a card.

• Ronan revealed that Aberrant Nests formed a fractured network that shaped the Wilderness and suggested they were its true Dominators.
• Ronan isolated the Extraordinary Species in the region and explained that observers and the objects they observed influenced one another.
• Ronan combined the perceptual modes, overwhelming Cha Zheng and making the Wilderness’s layered structures appear clearer.
• Ronan paused the lesson to take a call but left the combined perceptual landscape in place as Cha Zheng struggled to speak.
• Ronan discussed making cards with the caller, then held up what appeared to be a card.

Ronan used the Heaven-Man Landscape technique to extract part of the perception map and explain how the method worked. He then eased the Deep Blue Walkers’ burden by peeling Aberrant Nests and their roots from the map, while Cha Zheng watched him reshape the extracted elements in the Real World.

• Cha Zheng and the others noticed that the area they had cleared with a Light Beam Cannon had vanished from the perception map.
• Ronan finished a call with his friend and explained that he had extracted the area using the Heaven-Man Landscape technique.
• Ronan described how Heaven-Man Landscape used Understanding Truth Observation to depict and imprint the world, with the operation guided by the Logic of the Heavenly Human Demon Subduing Diagram.
• At Meng Tu’s request, Ronan took action to ease the strain of maintaining the perception map.
• Ronan peeled the Aberrant Nests and their roots from the map, then assembled and reshaped the extracted elements in the Real World.

Long Qi struggled to help Mountain Lord complete the imprint while coordinating with Ronan and the Deep Blue Walker cluster. As Mountain Lord continued working in the swamp, a strange figure appeared ahead and mocked him.

• Long Qi coordinated with Mountain Lord and borrowed the Deep Blue Walker cluster’s observation capabilities, but repeated imprint attempts failed.
• Mountain Lord criticized Long Qi’s coordination and said Ronan was trying to imprint something other than what they had been working on.
• Long Qi requested an aircraft from the rear camp and received an offer from Combat Staff Officer Liu Jia to ride with him.
• As Mountain Lord pulled more toxic sludge from the swamp, a motionless-looking figure on a branch mocked him.

Long Qi found himself caught between Mountain Lord and Clown Rabbi as the two powerful figures traded taunts in the Poison Swamp Zone. Ronan sent a card through Formatted Space, and Long Qi caught the equipment airdrop just as Clown Rabbi asked to see it.

• Long Qi recognized Clown Rabbi and cautiously backed away while Mountain Lord continued trying to imprint the swamp environment.
• Clown Rabbi said he had come to find Mountain Lord and ordered Long Qi to show him on the livestream.
• Mountain Lord and Clown Rabbi traded barbs about their associates, including Ronan, before an approaching aircraft drew their attention.
• Standard Bearer announced that regional environment simulation results were loading and instructed support personnel to prepare the equipment's power supply.
• Ronan compressed the Poison Swamp Zone tableau into a black-backed card and sent it through Formatted Space as an equipment airdrop.
• Long Qi caught the card, and Clown Rabbi asked him to show it.

Long Qi accepted Joker’s card, triggering a Bone Exoskeleton transformation and a strange link that projected the card’s Configuration onto the operation’s Perception Map. As the swamp’s false but convincing environment reappeared and Joker vanished, Liu Jia and someone in the Blood Intent Ring Fortress identified the phenomenon as a Time-Space Bubble and said it had gone back.

• Long Qi let Joker take the card, and the Standard Bearer system reported that their equipment connection was defective and advised Overclocking Fitting State.
• Long Qi’s Power Spine and Bone Exoskeleton formed as Format Fire circulated through his body, drawing Joker’s attention to the aura link between Long Qi and the card.
• Joker struck at Long Qi with a void hand-blade, but Mountain Lord knocked Long Qi aside and saved him from the attack.
• The card’s Configuration appeared in Long Qi’s mind and imprinted a lush, convincing swamp onto the participants’ Perception Map, despite the ruined landscape around them.
• Joker’s card vanished as the miasma thickened and he disappeared; Mountain Lord approached Long Qi while Liu Jia and a Fortress participant identified a Time-Space Bubble and said it had gone back.

Long Qi realized that the restored Poison Swamp Zone was an enclosed Time-Space Bubble rather than a simple replay, with the present-day group trapped inside it. When he warned Ronan that the volatile people within might set one another off, Ronan said they were conducting a simulation and began reinforcing the temporary Simulator.

• The Deep Blue Walker cluster and the Blood Intent Ring Fortress participants recognized that the Poison Swamp Zone from before Target Number One was cleared had returned.
• Long Qi concluded that the environment was being restored within a Time-Space Bubble, since he and the others were present and interacting with it despite not having been there before.
• As the pressure from the Extraordinary Species grew, Long Qi felt like the pillar supporting the bubble and called out to Ronan in the Public Consciousness Space.
• Ronan replied that they were conducting a simulation and said he would reinforce the temporary Simulator and switch systems.
• Long Qi felt hundreds or thousands of thin cords pierce the Time-Space Bubble from above and vibrate through him.

Long Qi endured the Manipulation Threads’ vibrations as Joker attacked him, while the new Segmentation process began stripping away a hidden layer of reality. The process revealed a gray haze and evolving lightlike entities, then reported that a dual-channel structure was missing and began another imprinting operation.

• Long Qi felt the Manipulation Threads connect him to a vast web, while Joker’s attacks disrupted the web and the Time-Space Bubble’s boundary.
• The web’s vibrations overwhelmed Long Qi, and Ronan told him that the threads were replacing the Segmenter and that he had to endure the Segmentation effect.
• Joker spotted Long Qi and swung his Flame Chainsaw at him as Long Qi became unable to move.
• The Standard Bearer announced that equipment installation and configuration calibration were complete and that standardized Segmentation had begun.
• Long Qi saw a gray haze and drifting fragments transform into radiant clusters of light, with the sun and a dread-inspiring abyss seeming to fuel the process.
• The Standard Bearer reported that preliminary Segmentation was complete but the dual-channel structure was missing, then began and completed the twenty-ninth imprinting operation.