Chapter Summaries

Richard arrived at Great Scholar Su La Di's residence and found its servants dead, Hai Di unconscious, and Su La Di captured by a dangerous man in blue. A flashback revealed the intruder was Ji Bo Lun, the East Coast overseer of the Supreme Order Divine Assembly, and the chapter left Richard facing him.

• Richard went to Su La Di's residence at night and discovered the servants had been killed by an attack that left no visible wounds.
• Richard entered Su La Di's study and found Hai Di unconscious and Su La Di held at knifepoint by a man in blue.
• The man in blue killed Su La Di, displayed his head, and told Richard he could not leave.
• Richard suspected the attacker belonged to the mysterious organization connected to Mu Keni and assessed the threat.
• Earlier, Su La Di heard persistent knocking, sent Hai Di to the kitchen with the cats, and opened the gate to meet the visitor.
• The visitor identified himself as Ji Bo Lun, overseer of the Supreme Order Divine Assembly's East Coast region.

Ji Bo Lun told Su La Di that his Council had been destroyed and came to kill him. Hai Di entered with tea during their confrontation, and Ji Bo Lun stopped her as she tried to leave.

• Su La Di let Ji Bo Lun into his study and asked who he was, and Ji Bo Lun said he had come to kill him.
• Ji Bo Lun revealed that he and his companions had been posing as the Black Spirit Wizard Society and had attacked Su La Di's Council.
• Ji Bo Lun told Su La Di that Ya Duo De, Bo Tu La, Ken, and the other Council members had been killed, leaving Su La Di as the last survivor.
• Su La Di prepared to fight Ji Bo Lun, who insisted that nothing he could do would change the outcome.
• Hai Di entered carrying two cups of tea, noticed the tense atmosphere, and started to leave after Su La Di subtly urged her to go.
• Ji Bo Lun asked Hai Di to give him a cup of tea as she passed him.

Ji Bo Lun defeated Hai Di and Su La Di’s ambush, then explained that his Wither spell had shattered the fragile balance sustaining Su La Di’s body. Su La Di was left near death as Ji Bo Lun revealed why the Council members were vulnerable to the ancient spell.

• Hai Di attacked Ji Bo Lun by throwing the tea tray at him and calling him a bad person.
• The black cat lunged at Ji Bo Lun while Su La Di prepared a powerful spell against him.
• Ji Bo Lun flicked his fingers, knocked Hai Di unconscious, drove off the cat, and extinguished Su La Di’s spell while leaving him aged and gravely weakened.
• Ji Bo Lun caught the tray, tasted the tea, and told Su La Di he had cast the Zero-Ring Low-Tier spell Wither.
• Ji Bo Lun explained that the Council’s advancement methods had left its members’ bodies fragile and dependent on a delicate balance that Wither could break.

Ji Bo Lun killed Su La Di and threatened Richard and Hai Di, but Richard proposed a bizarre Schrödinger’s Cat punishment that left Ji Bo Lun speechless. The confrontation ended in silence, with Ji Bo Lun’s response unresolved.

• Ji Bo Lun explained to Su La Di that the Council’s destruction had been inevitable and prepared to take Su La Di’s head.
• Richard entered the study, and Su La Di tried to warn him to take Hai Di away before Ji Bo Lun cut off Su La Di’s head.
• Ji Bo Lun told Richard that neither he nor Hai Di could leave and offered to fulfill a reasonable request.
• Richard described Schrödinger’s Cat and asked Ji Bo Lun to let him remain in a device where he might die at any moment.
• Ji Bo Lun fell silent after Richard suggested an energy stone with a 4.45-billion-year half-life.

Richard concealed his power while preparing a spell barrage to attack Ji Bo Lun, who had decided to kill him. After blasting Ji Bo Lun and destroying half the house, Richard fled into the darkness, with Ji Bo Lun pursuing him.

• Ji Bo Lun rejected Richard's pleas and formed an ice spike to kill him.
• Richard continued retreating while secretly gathering Wandering Energy Elements under the concealment of the Shadow Cloak.
• Richard shattered the ice spike and unleashed a spell barrage that tore through Ji Bo Lun's Spell Shield and destroyed half the house.
• Ji Bo Lun survived by activating a precious spell item, but the blast scorched his clothes and left him shaken.
• Richard escaped at high speed using Lord of the Winds, and Ji Bo Lun charged after him into the darkness.

After Su La Di’s residence was destroyed, Richard learned that Hai Di could seek refuge on Wood Island and sent her there. He planned to leave White Stone City himself, but first needed to finish preparing his laboratory and research.

• Ji Bo Lun realized Richard had lured him away from Su La Di’s residence, then chose to focus on the White Stone Tower and his organization’s plan rather than pursue Richard.
• Richard brought Hai Di back to his laboratory, pieced together fragments of her memories, and learned she could seek refuge on Wood Island.
• Richard arranged for Hai Di to travel by carriage and ship to Wood Island, and she promised to write him letters.
• Richard decided to leave White Stone City before its expected upheaval, but postponed departure until he had advanced his research and completed preparations.
• Richard entered the Spell Laboratory and went into the Box World.

After days of escalating wizard battles in White Stone City, Richard completed an experimental explosive analogue that he called Spell Salt. He left his laboratory for the Spell Testing Ground to test how it could amplify his spells.

• White Stone City descended into chaos as wizard battles, ambushes, and explosions drove commoners to shelter or flee.
• Richard finished synthesizing crystals resembling Pentazolate Anion Salt and named his analogue Spell Salt.
• Richard planned to combine Spell Salt with his spells to raise the lower limit of his combat strength against Wizards.
• Richard carefully stored the Spell Salt in his Space Iron Ring and went to the Spell Testing Ground to begin testing.

Richard tested Spell Salt by combining it with spell barrages, discovering that its blast could damage targets behind a thick iron wall even without penetrating it. He returned to the laboratory to record his findings and found that the explosions had shattered glass containers, while Pandora looked delighted.

• Richard destroyed a series of metal targets with Spell Salt and One-Ring Explosion barrages.
• Richard blasted a thick iron wall and found that the explosion damaged targets behind it by breaking away fragments from the wall’s rear surface.
• Richard identified the effect as similar to Armor-Piercing Shells and continued testing Spell Salt while using an Air Shield for protection.
• Richard returned to the Main Laboratory and found broken glass scattered across the floor.
• Richard saw Pandora standing in the corner with a delighted expression.

Richard considered how to strengthen his weak defenses and decided to test whether flour-based Non-Newtonian Fluid could form a powerful Spell Shield. The chapter ended with him preparing to experiment with the material.

• Pandora gathered the broken glass shards after Richard told her she could keep them.
• Richard recorded the results of his spell test and considered making a fountain pen.
• Richard reviewed his fragile defenses and decided he needed a shield to complement his offensive magic.
• Richard took a bag of finely sifted flour from the laboratory cabinet.
• Richard explained how Non-Newtonian Fluids hardened under sudden force and planned to use one to create a Spell Shield.

Richard developed a shield from Non-Newtonian Fluids and combined it with spells, then tested its defenses against punches, an ice cone, fire spells, and his Spell Salt Armor-Piercing Round configuration. The attack shattered the shield, prompting Richard to consider whether reactive armor could let a shield withstand attacks beyond its limits.

• Richard tested a flour-and-water shield that hardened when struck and began experimenting with other Non-Newtonian Fluids.
• Richard spent many days testing materials and developed a viscous shield mixture containing sand, carbon powder, Earth Bear blood, and Black-Headed Raven bone powder, reinforced with a spell.
• Richard punched the shield, which dispersed the force and hardened without damage.
• Richard tested the shield against an ice cone and Evocation Fire Spells, which it blocked with only slight exterior damage.
• Richard fired his Spell Salt Armor-Piercing Round configuration at the shield and shattered most of it.
• Richard considered improving the shield with reactive armor so it could withstand attacks beyond its defensive limit.

Richard tested an explosive reactive shield made from Non-Newtonian Fluid, named his new attack and defense methods Salt Explosion Art and Reaction Shield, then began designing combat clothing to carry the fluid. He briefly considered making a suit for Pandora but abandoned the idea after seeing her crush a metal balance with her fingers.

• Richard tested a Non-Newtonian Fluid shield against Spell Salt and found that timed One-Ring Explosion blasts largely protected it from damage.
• Richard named his attack method Salt Explosion Art and his defensive method Reaction Shield.
• Richard decided to design clothing that could store Non-Newtonian Fluid for quick protection and began sketching a Wizard Robe-like combat suit.
• Richard considered making a Combat Suit for Pandora, but she accidentally crushed part of a balance scale while cleaning it.
• Richard told Pandora to keep cleaning, then silently decided to ask Alex for two replacement balance scales.

Richard finished preparing equipment for his eventual departure from White Stone City while Pandora used her shaping ability to make a glass statue of Gregory. Her fear that Richard would leave without her led him to reassure her, then ask how she had gained such powerful control over heat and fluids.

• Richard completed a disguised combat suit and stored weaponized fungal spores after cultivating a near-perfect strain.
• Pandora melted and reshaped collected glass shards into a statue of Gregory.
• Richard noticed Pandora's solemn mood and asked whether she missed Gregory.
• Pandora admitted she feared Richard was preparing to leave and asked whether he would take her with him.
• Richard promised to bring Pandora along, then asked when she had gained the ability to produce temperatures above six hundred degrees Celsius and shape fluids.

Richard realized Pandora could melt and reshape materials with an ability he compared to a 3D printer, then received tools and iron ingots from Alex. As fighting made White Stone City increasingly dangerous, Richard told Alex that he would soon leave the city.

• Richard discovered Pandora could soften and reshape glass, and she explained that she had possessed the ability since birth.
• Alex delivered Richard's ordered tools, components, and iron ingots, then offered to hire blacksmiths to make what Richard needed.
• Alex told Richard that Wizards were fighting across White Stone City, the population had fallen sharply, and Amanda wanted him to flee with her.
• Richard gave Alex a High-grade Crystal Coin as payment for additional purchases and a reward for his work.
• Richard told Alex that he would leave White Stone City before long.

Richard trained Pandora to shape iron into seamless steel pipes and used her ability to build industrial equipment in the Box World, which he named Eden Garden. As he considered leaving White Stone City, he received a letter from Hai Di describing Wood Island to help him decide where to go.

• Richard had Pandora shape an iron ingot into a seamless steel pipe, correcting its flaws until it was nearly perfect.
• Richard decided to develop Pandora’s shaping ability to produce industrial equipment and support future research.
• Over several days, Pandora helped create steel devices for the Box World, and Richard named the growing laboratory Eden Garden.
• Richard wondered where to go after leaving White Stone City.
• Richard opened Hai Di’s letter and learned it was the twenty-first letter she had written to him.
• Hai Di explained that she had gathered information about Wood Island so Richard could decide whether to travel there.

Richard read Hai Di’s letter describing her growing unease in Aunt Mary’s castle, while Hai Di continued to face strange food, unexplained nighttime sounds, and restrictions on leaving. The chapter left Hai Di frightened and suspicious of Eugene as night fell.

• Richard read Hai Di’s letter about the eerie castle, its sparse inhabitants, and the nightly sounds that left her unable to move.
• Eugene brought Hai Di dinner, and she found the water tasted strange while he said the only other drinks available were alcoholic.
• Hai Di asked to see Aunt Mary and leave the castle, but Eugene said Mary was busy and advised Hai Di to stay inside for her own safety.
• Mi Qi hid whenever Eugene appeared, making Hai Di wonder whether the cat feared him.
• Hai Di looked out at the late-night darkness and felt a sudden, unexplained fear.

Richard connected the place names Wood Island and Moore to Stockholm, the location written on the parchment from the Seventeen-Layer Rubik's Cube, and decided to travel to Moore after leaving White Stone City. An explosion interrupted him as a black shadow fled past his residence with spellcasters in pursuit, leaving him concerned about the worsening fighting in the city.

• Richard reread Hai Di's letter and learned that Wood Island was now called Moore.
• Richard compared Moore's legend to the origins of Stockholm and recognized that Stockholm meant Wood Island.
• Richard decided to finish his affairs in White Stone City and then travel to Moore.
• An explosion shook the Main Laboratory courtyard, and Richard rushed outside to investigate.
• Richard saw a black shadow flee down the street as several figures pursued it with spells, and he worried that fighting had spread across White Stone City.

Richard left his body to spy on the pursuit of a fleeing enemy, while Haimen told a gathering of Wizard organizations that the attackers might be remnants of the Black Spirit Empire. After Gabu reported that the target was still in White Stone City, Haimen went to investigate, unsure whether the pursuit was bait.

• Richard meditated in the underground Spell Laboratory, separated his consciousness from his body, and flew toward the ongoing battle.
• A White Stone Tower Wizard sent Gabu back to summon reinforcements while he and two companions continued chasing the slippery fugitive.
• Haimen told representatives from East Sea Island's Wizard organizations that the enemy forces might be remnants of the Black Spirit Empire and urged them to cooperate against the threat.
• Gabu arrived at the Council meeting and reported that the fugitive probably remained in White Stone City, though the pursuit might be a trap.
• Haimen left the meeting to investigate the fugitive, and several Wizards followed him.

A short Wizard lured Balun and two other White Stone Tower Wizards into a trap and killed them with a power that crushed their hearts. Haimen vowed revenge and continued the interrupted meeting by organizing a search of White Stone City.

• Balun and two White Stone Tower Wizards cornered the short Wizard, who revealed that he had led them around the city to provoke the White Stone Tower and scout its defenses.
• The short Wizard commanded the three Wizards to kneel, and they collapsed in pain.
• The short Wizard crushed his own heart, causing the three Wizards' hearts to burst; he absorbed their blood to form a new heart and escaped.
• Haimen and the main force arrived, found Balun and the others dead, and declared that the enemy would pay for their actions.
• Haimen ordered Gabu to take the bodies back for burial and began dividing the remaining Wizards into four groups to search White Stone City's districts.

Wa Xi Li returned to Ji Bo Lun’s underground headquarters with news that White Stone Tower had gathered its forces, and Ji Bo Lun set an attack for three days later. Ji Bo Lun then reacted to something invisible behind Wa Xi Li, but concealed what he had noticed and said the plans would be revised.

• Wa Xi Li entered the underground headquarters and reported to Ji Bo Lun that White Stone Tower and other Wizard organizations had gathered their members.
• Ji Bo Lun announced that the group would sabotage White Stone Tower’s defenses and attack White Stone City in three days, killing the Wizards there.
• Ji Bo Lun abruptly fixed his attention on Wa Xi Li and approached him, making Wa Xi Li fear he was about to be killed.
• Ji Bo Lun shoved Wa Xi Li aside and stared at an invisible patch of air behind him as his destructive energy surged.
• Ji Bo Lun withdrew his aura, claimed he had briefly lost his composure over a minor matter, and said he would revise the plans.

Richard prepared to leave White Stone City for Moore to avoid the mysterious organization and an impending battle, while Ji Bo Lun advanced the extermination attack by a day. As Richard waited for the carriage, a tremendous roar sounded outside and he rushed into the street.

• Richard told Pandora they would leave for the north in two days and warned her to leave the oscillator alone.
• Ji Bo Lun moved the extermination attack forward, ordering Wa Xi Li to lead the initial operation in two days.
• Richard packed the institute’s movable equipment into Eden Garden and prepared to travel by carriage and ship to Moore.
• Pandora went out to check on the missing carriage, and a tremendous roar sounded after she had been gone for ten minutes.
• Richard tensed and rushed out of the courtyard toward the roar.