Chapter Summaries

As sealing technology transformed industry and threatened to obsolete parts of Lu PingAn’s Gardener path, he weighed the opportunities it offered against the burdens of rebuilding his team and developing the Sun Tree. He ended the chapter waiting for missing specialists, especially Guan Xinxian, while buying new technology and hoping Big Tree would grow.

• Earth’s technicians mastered Sealing Technique, enabling cheap products that could store creatures, seal energy and Taboo Items, and carry equipment.
• Lu PingAn worried that industrialized sealing products would replace the magical-pet spaces central to his Gardener in the Palm path, while Big Cat reassured him that his skills could support higher-level abilities.
• Lu PingAn suspected major churches were using disrupted communications to hinder returning rivals, but saw that greater demand for products such as Lamp Flower could benefit his Factory.
• Lu PingAn struggled to balance political, commercial, research, and combat responsibilities while awaiting the return of his scattered teammates.
• Lu PingAn found that Big Tree had grown but remained far from a qualitative change and had not produced seedlings, so he decided to wait for Guan Xinxian, who had developed the Fusang Tree system.

Lu PingAn learned that the Forest Goddess Faction’s powerful members were divided, distrustful, and unwilling to defend the world together, while the locals were becoming the most desperate force. The chapter ended with Lu PingAn discovering that the locals had launched a bold plan to establish a nation and negotiate with Earth.

• Lu PingAn reviewed intelligence showing how Earth’s big shots controlled territories and how local forces had grown during the past ten years.
• As the front line worsened, the Forest Goddess Faction’s members traded complaints and blame, and some prepared to abandon their territories.
• Big Cat told Lu PingAn that Shuichi could not unite the faction because its members were former rivals, while Lady Lin’s intervention might make it collapse faster.
• Lu PingAn worried that the Rebirth Merchant Group could not simply retreat and suspected the big shots might exploit a local disaster to strengthen their control.
• Lu PingAn learned that the locals had begun a plan to establish a nation, bring in immigrants from other races, and negotiate with Earth.

Lu PingAn considered the Savior Army’s proposal to found a federal New Country and build a united war effort through diplomatic ties with the Eastern Kingdom. As the big shots remained divided, Shuichi proposed a vote weighted by the number of fragments each person held.

• Lu PingAn received Xia Qin’s letter, which relayed the One-Eyed Marshal’s three demands, including founding a nation.
• Lu PingAn and Big Cat discussed how a New Country could unite forces, give the war a shared purpose, and provide a banner for unified command.
• Lu PingAn and Chris considered the proposal to establish diplomatic ties with the Eastern Kingdom and use its backing to coordinate the war effort.
• Lu PingAn recognized that the Savior Army’s plan was a high-stakes gamble that could unite the big shots or provoke them into crushing the army.
• Shuichi proposed resolving the dispute with a vote weighted by the number of fragments each person held.

Lu Lu and Xia Qin visited Lu PingAn before the vote to discuss the fragments they held and the five votes under his control. Lu PingAn learned that Xia Qin carried a fragment tied to judgment, while the vote’s approaching deadline had turned fragments into a measure of political power.

• Lu PingAn reunited with Lu Lu, who had grown from a child he once sought out into the powerful One-Eyed Marshal of the Savior Army.
• Lu Lu revealed that Xia Qin held a fifth vote and that her fragment was a weapon whose concept was an unavoidable counterattack after harm.
• Lu Lu explained that fragments gravitated toward compatible beings and that Xia Qin’s fragment represented a form of justice and judgment associated with a previous civilization.
• Lu PingAn checked his Contact Board and saw that he held five fragments but had dropped to eleventh place as others gathered more.
• Lu PingAn asked Lu Lu what she would offer for his votes.

Lu PingAn negotiated with Lu Lu and Xia Qin over the vote on whether to establish a nation, while weighing their requests for diplomacy with the Eastern Kingdom and new immigrants. The vote was expected to favor establishing a nation, and Lu PingAn left both requests undecided, though he saw a possible route to bring the Salin Race from Green Planet.

• Lu Lu and Xia Qin arrived through the newly connected Stairway to Heaven and offered to buy Lu PingAn’s vote for establishing a nation.
• Lu PingAn explained that factions were trading votes and compensation to prevent the losing side from abandoning their shared interests.
• Lu Lu asked Lu PingAn to introduce the Savior Army to the Eastern Kingdom government and lead a delegation to negotiate a long-term agreement.
• Lu PingAn recognized that the Eastern Kingdom would want his guarantee as well as an introduction, and postponed his answer until after the vote.
• Lu Lu asked Lu PingAn to help bring other races to the world, and he said the Salin Race on Green Planet might accept an invitation.

Lu PingAn met with Xia Qin and the Savior Army to negotiate his help for their world, and they offered him an ancient mirror fragment and generous commercial and political privileges. After asking for time to consult his core members, Lu PingAn proposed signing a confidentiality contract and promised a grand return gift.

• Lu PingAn welcomed Xia Qin, restored the scars on her face, and then turned the conversation to business.
• Lu PingAn said he would consider helping the Savior Army only in exchange for equivalent benefits.
• Lu Lu offered Lu PingAn an ancient mirror fragment that could address a weakness in his abilities.
• Lu Lu offered a century-long trade agreement, low taxes, support for up to three people seeking godhood, and a deputy government position for his representative.
• Lu PingAn said he needed to consult his core members, then proposed a confidentiality contract and promised the Savior Army a grand return gift.

Lu PingAn revealed that his power could turn mortals into Professionals at the cost of one year of life and began negotiating a long-term partnership with the Savior Army. He explained that expanding the process depended on the Sun Tree and asked the army to help bring Guan Xinxian and the Redemption back safely.

• Lu Lu watched a new Lucky One become a Professional and learned that 110 of 179 people had succeeded without any deaths among those who failed.
• Lu PingAn told Lu Lu that his Life-type ability and a fragment enabled the transformations, which shortened each participant’s lifespan by one year.
• Lu PingAn proposed working with the Savior Army, arguing that its disciplined members could guide newly created Professionals and limit the harm of mass transformation.
• Lu PingAn explained that the Sun Tree served as a platform for bringing other life forms into his courtyard and that wider expansion depended on it.
• Lu PingAn said Guan Xinxian held the Fusang Tree cultivation technology and had been delayed by pirates, so Lu Lu promised the Savior Army would escort the Redemption back.

Lu PingAn faced an overwhelming workload while planning to strengthen his professions and improve the Courtyard’s foundation. He decided to seek the Moon God’s help with the mirror fragment, while the chapter left him needing time and experiments to establish expertise as a Gardener.

• Captain Xia urged Lu PingAn back to work, and Lu PingAn complained that he wanted to retire for life.
• Lu PingAn reviewed his duties and concluded that the ritual’s success and his own strength were his two most important priorities.
• Big Cat warned that absorbing the ancient mirror fragment would waste it, and Lu PingAn planned to develop the Moon God Knight profession so the Courtyard could use it effectively.
• Lu PingAn considered asking Lu Lu and the others for a Death Fragment to balance his profession foundations, though he expected it to be difficult to obtain.
• Lu PingAn acknowledged that he needed to make up for his lack of expertise in magic-plant cultivation through extensive research and experiments.

Lu PingAn worked to develop a signature Sun Garden weapon while his team’s high-tier fighters grew stronger. He ended the chapter realizing that the Redemption might have more than ten Rule-level combatants stationed aboard.

• Lu PingAn experimented with Sun Holy Fire and Sun Flowers, but his artificial Lamp Flowers repeatedly self-destructed or failed to threaten Rule-level opponents.
• Lu PingAn considered making disposable sealed-scroll weapons and began building a Sun Garden suited to his abilities.
• Lu PingAn assessed his team’s ranked battles and found that most of the women outperformed him because he kept testing fragile new creations.
• Xia Qin reached Rule-level, joining the team’s six regular Rule-level fighters, while Eve remained Quasi Rule-level and avoided ranked matches.
• Lu PingAn counted the team’s fighters and wondered whether more than ten Rule-level combatants were stationed aboard the Redemption.

The resolution to found a nation passed, revealing the upper ranks’ divided positions and giving Lu PingAn and the Savior Army a basis for future cooperation. Lu PingAn began planning to acquire territory and support the war effort, while Lu Lu sought to travel to Earth and negotiate reinforcements.

• The vote passed by 121 to 87, and Lu PingAn told Lu Lu, Hua Xueyi, Xia Qin, and the others that the nation-building faction had won.
• Lu PingAn and Lu Lu discussed how the vote exposed evacuation supporters, opened chances to acquire their assets, and could pressure them to contribute resources to the front lines.
• Lu PingAn decided to seek a base and consider buying the controlling interest in Salt City, while Lu Lu requested permission to depart for Earth and negotiate agreements and reinforcements.
• Lu PingAn planned to wait for Senior Brother Guan and the others to return with goods, then considered selling advanced local water airships back home instead of bringing inferior products from Earth.

Lu PingAn and Xia Qin explored Flood Dragon City as he assessed it for a Rebirth Merchant Guild branch and tested how Lamp Flowers fared outside Salt City. Their conversation turned to the Courtyard’s role in their friends’ rapid progress and the pressure they felt keeping up with Lu PingAn, leaving Xia Qin determined not to be left behind again.

• Lu PingAn and Xia Qin walked through Flood Dragon City, whose island had been built atop the remains of a giant beast, while Lu PingAn considered its value as a mobile city and potential Guild base.
• Lu PingAn checked on the Lamp Flowers and explained that he wanted to open a flower shop as a branch of the Rebirth Merchant Guild, since Salt City was unsuitable for expansion.
• Lu PingAn complained that the other core members had declined his invitation to explore, and Xia Qin teased him about how little he usually wanted to leave the Courtyard.
• Lu PingAn and Xia Qin discussed how the Courtyard’s resources had helped their companions reach Rule-level and how their progress had put pressure on them to keep improving.
• Xia Qin told Lu PingAn to take his friends’ efforts seriously, and he agreed as she watched him and resolved not to let him leave her behind again.

Lu PingAn and Xia Qin discussed the new flower shop, his plans for a fallback beyond their homeworld, and how their attitudes had changed over time. Their talk ended in teasing horseplay, with Lu PingAn joking that Xia Qin would have to be his empress if he became emperor.

• Lu PingAn discussed the flower shop’s alley location and considered charging wealthy professionals for access to its buying professions, while Xia Qin offered to connect him with them through the Savior Army.
• Lu PingAn observed that Xia Qin had become more flexible, and she blushed before playfully kneading his face and drilling his temples with Rule-level power.
• Xia Qin asked about Lu PingAn’s plans, and he explained that he wanted a fallback in other realms in case their homeworld fell, so he and his people could continue to live well.
• Lu PingAn said his goals were to survive comfortably and protect others as his power grew, while Xia Qin challenged him to show more personal ambition.
• Xia Qin described powerful men pursuing wealth, titles, and harems, and Lu PingAn teased that she would be his empress before she struck him with her sword sheath.

Lu PingAn reflected on how Xia Qin had changed his life and on his growing, confusing feelings toward her, then enjoyed a vacation with her in Flood Dragon City. Their quiet time ended when others joined them, turning the trip into a group outing.

• Lu PingAn considered Xia Qin’s past kindness and realized he had become unusually proactive toward her, though he decided to let their relationship develop naturally.
• Lu PingAn and Xia Qin spent the day sightseeing, eating, talking, and relaxing at a hot spring in Flood Dragon City.
• Xia Qin lamented being unable to return to her old work, and Lu PingAn pointed out that her Rule-level power made ordinary police work impossible.
• Eve and others appeared, turning the two-person vacation into a group outing, while Eve clung closely to Lu PingAn and bared her teeth at Xia Qin.

Lu PingAn learned from Big Cat that his Rebirth ability had accelerated his companions’ path to Rule-level by increasing and sharing their capacity. He decided to keep the discovery secret because it could draw the gods’ attention and put him in danger.

• Lu PingAn escaped another shopping trip, then received a letter from the Savior Army saying the Redemption was returning safely.
• Big Cat rejected the idea that resources alone explained the Redemption crew’s success against multiple Rule-level entities and identified Rebirth as the key variable.
• Big Cat explained that breaking through to Rule-level required exceptional foundations, will, and capacity, and that Xia Qin and Little Cat had unusual potential.
• Big Cat concluded that Lu PingAn’s newborns and twins shared and increased their owners’ capacity, helping explain the rapid rise of Rule-level beings among his companions.
• Lu PingAn decided to keep the discovery secret because revealing Rebirth’s effect could provoke the gods to hunt him.

Lu PingAn returned from vacation and found the Redemption transformed into a colossal, city-sized warship with a Meteorite Heart fused into its deck. He reunited with Guan Xinxian, who had aged considerably, while Xiao Sang remained the ship’s living Fusang Tree.

• Lu PingAn discussed how abilities and advancement affected the body, then set aside his worries about the team’s unusually high number of Rule-level members.
• Lu PingAn told the women their vacation was over, and they returned home after their shopping trip.
• Lu PingAn and his companions approached the Redemption and saw that it had grown into a vessel far larger than before.
• Lu PingAn used Zhi Xi’s floating disc to reach the ship, where he spotted the Meteorite Heart fused into its deck.
• Xiao Sang confirmed she was still the same Fusang Tree, and Lu PingAn reunited with the visibly aged Guan Xinxian.

Lu PingAn reunited with Guan Xinxian and Xue En, then discussed the fears and changes that came with reaching Rule-level. He explained the fragments and asked the team to share their plans so they could decide how to keep moving forward together.

• Lu PingAn met Guan Xinxian, invited him to dinner, and learned that Xue En had also reached Rule-level.
• The reunited group gathered for a barbecue, where Xue En and Guan Xinxian reflected on Lu PingAn's strength and their own advancement.
• Guan Xinxian worried that becoming nonhuman would make him lose empathy for ordinary people, and Lu PingAn reassured him that Rule-level beings were shaped by their will and obsessions.
• Lu PingAn explained that beings above Rule-level became incarnations of obsession and began telling Guan Xinxian and Xue En about the fragments.
• Lu PingAn asked everyone to share their plans for the future so the team could adjust and continue together.

Lu PingAn discussed the Rebirth Merchant Group’s future with its senior members, asking about their goals and whether they wanted to stay. After learning what they wanted, he began reshaping the team and preparing to take members back to Earth.

• Lu PingAn asked Xue En to consider his future with the group, and Xue En chose to stay while requesting better cafeteria provisions and a chance to be called Lucky Kid.
• Guan Xinxian identified his fragment as Redemption and Xiao Sang’s as Ark, and Lu PingAn said he needed Guan’s technical support for his plan.
• Other senior members voiced their wishes, including becoming an official, returning home to rest, and pursuing Rule-level power.
• Lu PingAn agreed to arrange a return to Earth with those who wanted to go and promised to discuss individual goals with the others.
• Lu PingAn took notes and began restructuring the team to address its members’ needs and prevent another betrayal.

Lu PingAn and Guan Xinxian discussed adapting the Redemption into a mobile Sun Tree network to spread Fire Seeds and empower Professionals across the world. They concluded that the plan would need demigod allies, overwhelming force, and a high price to overcome the rulers’ resistance.

• Lu PingAn praised Guan Xinxian for keeping the team’s top combatants and core members together, then appointed him Executive Deputy Regiment Commander while leaving him as captain.
• Lu PingAn proposed turning the Redemption into a parent body that could produce Sun Trees and spread a network of faith and signals around the world.
• Lu PingAn confided his plan to promote National Professionalization and make the world a fallback route, and Guan Xinxian agreed that widespread access to Professional abilities could protect vulnerable races.
• Guan Xinxian warned that lords would resist Sun Trees because they might empower their citizens, whether the trees were sold or given away.
• Lu PingAn decided to seek help from demigods rather than lords, and Guan Xinxian advised him to charge them an astronomical price so they would feel secure using the trees.

Lu PingAn won approval and funding from the demigods and former True Gods for his Fire Seed Project, which could improve their chances of victory in the war. He prepared to return home and began organizing the project’s next steps, including turning Guan Xinxian’s existing Ark ships into mobile Sun Tree network nodes.

• Shuichi judged that Lu PingAn’s plan could raise the coalition’s chances of victory, and the assembled leaders voted to proceed, offering two cities as bases and eight more once the finished product was ready.
• The leaders warmed to Lu PingAn and sought trade relations, impressed by his plan and his ability to exchange lifespan for advancement into Professionals.
• Guan Xinxian and the others celebrated when Lu PingAn confirmed the plan had succeeded, while Lu PingAn advised Lu Lu to seek a suitable faction to join and reject any proposal for open international recruitment.
• Lu PingAn planned to produce a prototype fire seed and realized that Guan Xinxian’s Ark ships could become mobile Sun Tree base stations spread across the ocean.
• Lu PingAn proposed upgrading the Ark ships Guan Xinxian had already sold for free to test the Sun Tree functions, with the upgraded ships returned to them.

Lu PingAn rewarded and reorganized the Rebirth Society during its team-building gathering, recognizing its rapid growth and diverse membership. He then returned to Flood Dragon City to plan a shipyard and expand the society’s trade network before departing.

• Lu PingAn distributed money, resources, Taboo Items, and interest-free Life Points loans, boosting morale and attracting more people to the Rule Building.
• The Rebirth Society’s ranks had grown to nine visible Rule-level members, more than a hundred Law Decree-level combatants, and thousands of employees, affiliates, and trainees.
• Lu PingAn promoted Shakeda to deputy regiment commander, put him in charge of the permanent armed forces, and assigned him to rebuild the Redemption’s deck crew.
• Lu PingAn praised and promoted local Fishmen and Long-Hand Tribe members, then reflected on how the society had grown from a small school club into a major force.
• Lu PingAn returned to Flood Dragon City and planned a shipyard, additional ships, and major trade routes, using the Fire Seed Project and Path of Stealing Fire as part of his broader expansion.