Chapter Summaries

Richard observed Lich Old Man A Fu’s team studying the captured Truth Society steward Burning Wind, and learned that cracking the power sealing his memories and soul would take about two more weeks. A disturbance at Light Castle drew Richard away from the laboratory.

• Goring, Bob, Frank, and the two men named Philip arrived in Atlantis City to receive Richard Medals for their roles in the Truth Society’s assault.
• Richard watched Lich Old Man A Fu’s researchers extract and examine a sample from the immobilized Burning Wind.
• Lich Old Man A Fu told Richard that the team expected to crack Burning Wind’s memory and soul seal in about two weeks and might then be able to handle similar cases.
• A boom outside interrupted the discussion, and Richard learned that Light Castle had a problem requiring his attention.
• Richard vanished from the laboratory, while Lich Old Man A Fu lamented that he could have sent the Eight-Armed Skeleton to Light Castle too.

Richard arrived at Light Castle after its Sun in a Bottle experiment caused a dangerous energy fluctuation, and reviewed the data while the stewards urged him to shut the project down. The chapter ended with the cause still unknown and Richard considering whether to repeat the experiment before deciding on a shutdown.

• The Sun in a Bottle experiment at Light Castle suffered major fluctuations in its Alpha and Beta Energy Indexes, so the stewards interrupted the test and began cooling the equipment.
• Richard arrived in the Main Control Room and helped the assistants gather scattered documents before asking Lorenz what had happened.
• Lorenz told Richard that Light Castle had contacted Black Sun Castle, but neither side could explain the accident and Black Sun Castle advised a safe shutdown.
• Richard asked to inspect the accident data and proposed repeating the experiment before shutting down, since a full shutdown could cause lengthy delays.
• Richard saw that the Alpha Energy Index had dropped while the Beta Energy Index had risen, and Lorenz, Dirac, Brack, and Schrodinger urged him to shut down the project for safety.

Richard connected abnormal energy fluctuations in two experiments to the Ninth Plan and decided Light Castle should test energy levels above 2400. He ordered Atlantis City to enter Level One combat readiness and activate its defensive Energy Shield as preparations began.

• Richard compared the current experiment's data with the earlier Experiment 4080 and calculated that both matched a formula from the Ninth Plan.
• Richard and the Light Castle managers recalled that Osheimer had proposed the Ninth Plan and that he believed the accident might conform to reality.
• Schrodinger relayed Osheimer's advice to test energy levels between 800 and 1200, but Richard chose to raise them above 2400.
• Richard ordered Atlantis City to prepare for possible danger and instructed the Light Castle managers to begin the experiment preparations.
• Richard issued a decree for Atlantis City to enter Level One combat readiness and activate its defensive Energy Shield at full power.

At the medal ceremony in Atlantis City, Bob and Philip discussed the benefits of their expected awards and thanked Frank for helping them survive. Machu Philip suggested Frank could deliberately use his supposed bad-luck ability by saying the opposite of what he wanted, but Frank doubted the ability could be controlled.

• Bob and Philip guessed they would receive medals in a final batch because their contributions were less significant than those of higher-ranking recipients.
• Bob explained the benefits of medals and thanked Frank for helping them survive the aberrant creatures.
• Frank said his apparent bad-luck ability might have been coincidence, while Bob and Philip credited him with saving them.
• Machu Philip advised Frank to state the opposite of his desired outcome to control the ability, suggesting a better phrase he could have used during the battle.
• Frank dismissed Machu's advice, recalling that all his past attempts to resist or control his bad luck had ended badly.

At the City Auditorium, Ma Qiu’s increasingly ominous remarks coincided with a blackout and an invasion alarm, leaving him doubting himself and Frank fascinated by his apparent ability. Meanwhile, Richard and the stewards pushed an experiment in Light Castle’s Main Control Room past its limits, where the Alpha and Beta Energy Index curves crossed and continued in reversed positions.

• Ma Qiu told Frank he envied his supposed misfortune ability and imagined using it to prolong the medal ceremony, after which the auditorium lights went out.
• The emergency lights came on, and Ma Qiu dismissed the blackout as a coincidence before saying an aberrant-creature invasion would trigger an alert.
• A piercing First-Level Combat Readiness Alert sounded immediately, startling Ma Qiu and making Bob and Doren Philip wary of him.
• At Light Castle, Richard ordered Lorenz, Dirac, Brack, and Schrodinger to begin their experiment and monitor the energy level and Alpha and Beta Energy Indexes.
• As the stewards raised the energy level, the red Alpha curve fell and the green Beta curve rose until they nearly met.
• Richard ordered the energy level raised to 3,600, and Lorenz used the reserve energy; the curves collided, crossed, and continued in reversed positions as the room shook.

Richard and his team achieved sustained positive energy output from the Sun in a Bottle, lighting Light Castle and dispelling the darkness. In Atlantis City, Ma Qiu’s words seemed to make the same sun rise, leaving him stunned as Frank appeared relieved to pass on his burden.

• Richard’s team confirmed that the Sun in a Bottle had maintained positive energy output for a minute, marking a major milestone toward limitless energy.
• Richard ordered the Core Area’s output routed to the main grid, and Schrodinger connected it to the auxiliary equipment.
• Light Castle’s buildings blazed with light, forming a giant sun that drove back the darkness across the region.
• Molly suspended the Medal Awarding Ceremony and evacuated attendees to the square after a First-Level Combat Readiness Alert sounded.
• Ma Qiu insisted his earlier predictions were coincidences, then wished aloud for a sun to rise beyond Atlantis City.
• A brilliant sun appeared beyond the city, leaving Ma Qiu shaken while Frank looked relieved.

Richard inspected Light Castle’s furnace, which had achieved positive-energy controlled nuclear fusion after more than three years of work. He planned to refine its size and applications before carrying out preparations to confront the forces in the sky.

• Richard visited the furnace maintenance room with Lorenz, Schrodinger, and other stewards, and Siemens reported that the furnace was operating normally.
• Richard examined the furnace and reflected on how it used controlled nuclear fusion to produce more energy than it consumed.
• Richard recalled how ancient spell knowledge and extraordinary power had helped him and Light Castle overcome the obstacles to building the furnace.
• Richard planned to develop smaller and larger versions of the furnace, then put his long-prepared follow-up plans into action.
• Richard said it would not be long before the seed of their achievement bore fruit and they dealt with matters in the sky.

Light Castle used memories taken from Burning Wind to pursue contact with Heaven while the Sha Lin System expanded its cities, industries, and railways. As Ash Head Mountain remained under secret construction, Shalin took control of hostile cities and crushed attempts at sabotage, leaving the population busy with life under its rule.

• Richard received a glass tube containing Burning Wind’s extracted memories, which held methods for contacting Heaven.
• Light Castle split its personnel into two squads to study furnace miniaturization and enlargement.
• Workers began secretly transforming Ash Head Mountain while cities across the Sha Lin System expanded and new satellite cities were established.
• After the Truth Society’s forces on the Main Continent were nearly wiped out, Shalin attacked hostile cities, whose leaders were overthrown or surrendered.
• Shalin developed mines and railways to supply its cities and the ongoing construction at Ash Head Mountain.
• Shalin’s security forces and Black Riders arrested or killed people who tried to steal documents, plant explosives, or organize resistance.

Richard encountered Shalier, a Silver Priest of the Truth Society, who attacked near Ash Head Mountain and damaged the construction project before fleeing. The cities responded by repairing the site, expanding construction to three nearby mountains, and strengthening defenses, while further attacks had little effect as four massive metal structures took shape.

• Richard detected a dangerous power approaching and left Suma to watch his research materials before heading to Ash Head Mountain.
• Shalier identified himself as the Silver Priest and attacked Richard, but the explosion damaged Ash Head Mountain and Shalier fled to Heaven.
• Molly chaired a meeting that approved repairs and new projects at White Asia Mountain, Purple Azalea Bird Mountain, and Orleans Earl Mountain.
• The Truth Society launched repeated attacks, while Wizards added patrols and magic-pattern crystal cones to detect further threats.
• After several increasingly distant explosions, construction continued until four enormous round-platform-shaped metal structures began taking shape across the mountains.

Richard confronted Silver Priest Lei Qie Er, who had come to destroy the nearly completed constructs at Four Mountains Construction Site. After reflecting on his path from a curious prince to a researcher on the brink of uncovering the world’s final truth, Richard made clear that he had no regrets and would let no one stop him.

• Lei Qie Er arrived near Four Mountains Construction Site and began gathering destructive energy to attack it.
• Richard appeared behind Lei Qie Er and warned that other Silver Priests who had approached the area had been caught and dealt with.
• Lei Qie Er invoked God and demanded that Richard abandon his path, while strengthening the wind around them.
• Richard recalled his long journey of research, conflict, and discovery, and concluded that he had never regretted it and would not allow anyone to stand in his way.
• Richard exhaled and faced Lei Qie Er.

Richard used the information gained from Lei Qie Er to contact Heaven seven days later. After the four constructs reached space and opened a Space Hole, Richard entered the hidden demiplane to discover the answer.

• Richard defeated Lei Qie Er, absorbed the golden mist he left behind, and learned that he should contact Heaven in seven days.
• At the Four Mountains Construction Site, Pandora oversaw the successful startup of the four metal constructs as Richard and the assembled witnesses watched them launch.
• The four constructs reached space, where Richard received confirmation that all equipment was in position and waited for the scheduled moment.
• Richard ordered the breach initiation, and the four constructs focused their energy beams until a Space Hole opened.
• Richard passed through the Space Hole into the hidden demiplane known as Heaven.

Richard entered Heaven and found its towns deserted, then met a Golden Parrot sent by the True God to impose ten challenges before he could meet him. Richard identified unusual forces behind the first two challenges and asked to see the third.

• Richard explored Heaven and found its towns, church, and streets empty despite signs that people had recently lived there.
• Richard suspected the True God was hiding and observing him, then encountered a Golden Parrot that claimed to be the True God's messenger.
• The Golden Parrot said Richard had to pass ten challenges to earn a meeting with the True God.
• Richard tried to straighten the parrot's self-curling feather and recognized that an unusual force kept it bent.
• The parrot gave Richard an ever-dormant seed to make sprout, and Richard recognized that another force prevented it from growing.
• Richard said he had ideas for solving both challenges and asked the Golden Parrot to show him the third.

Richard recognized True God's final challenge as a Tower of Hanoi designed to waste an impossible amount of time, destroyed all the trial objects, and captured the Golden Parrot. He tricked the bird into revealing True God's location through its attempt to flee southwest, then set off in pursuit.

• Richard identified the final challenge as a Tower of Hanoi with one hundred discs, making it effectively impossible to finish.
• Richard burned the trial objects and melted the Tower of Hanoi, declaring that he had completed the challenges.
• The Golden Parrot warned Richard that a curse would erase its memories if he tried to read them, but Richard claimed he had already learned True God's location.
• Richard released the Golden Parrot, then caught it when it tried to fly southwest and realized its escape had revealed True God's direction.
• Richard stored the Golden Parrot in his Space Item and vanished as he traveled toward the southwest.

Richard reached enormous Giant Doors in Heaven after defeating two Guardian Deities. A warning that read “No Entry” made him suspect a mind game, so he decided to test the possibilities without trying the doors himself.

• Richard found a vast black stone wall with Giant Doors that he suspected might lead to the True God.
• Two Guardian Deities attacked Richard, but he shattered their light-made bodies with his powers.
• Richard noticed the Ancient Wizard Civilization characters meaning “No Entry” between the doors and considered whether the warning was a trap or a mind game.
• Richard decided to view every possible layer of the True God’s mind game at once and concluded he could test the two possibilities without acting personally.

Richard discovered that the Giant Door erased anything caught in its light, then climbed over the Black Wall and found Heaven’s assembled army waiting on the plateau. At the head of the forces stood the silver-robed Shalier, while the True God remained hidden.

• Richard threw the Golden Parrot toward the Giant Door, where white light erased it completely.
• Richard sensed that the True God’s hiding place was above the Black Wall and leaped upward.
• Richard climbed through the repulsive force at twelve thousand meters and crossed onto a vast plateau.
• Richard found an immense army of Heavenly Kingdom Soldiers, Elite Heavenly Kingdom Warriors, and angels assembled to defend Heaven.
• Richard identified the army’s commander as Shalier, the silver-robed priest with a gleaming bald head.

Richard confronted Silver Priest Shalier in Heaven and unleashed several High Spirits to halt the charging army of True God. As Richard moved to attack Shalier, Shalier ordered the angels to buy him time and began gathering power for a major attack.

• Richard taunted Shalier about being the last Silver Priest and the deaths of his companions.
• Shalier rallied Heaven's army to fight Richard, while Richard revealed that he had brought several High Spirits instead of Shalin's army.
• The High Spirits intercepted and devoured the front ranks of Heaven's army, disrupting its assault.
• Richard caught and shattered Shalier's hurled staff, then charged toward him.
• Shalier ordered the angels to buy him time and knelt to pray as sacred energy gathered within him.

Richard used Eternal Power to destroy the angels surrounding him, but Silver Priest Shalier escaped while Heaven’s forces collapsed under the High Spirits’ assault. Richard pursued Shalier to a vast palace complex, where Shalier calmly welcomed him instead of fighting.

• Richard blasted through the angels’ defenses, then fused two fireballs and used Eternal Power to turn the encircling angels to dust.
• Richard discovered that Shalier had fled and told Suma and the other High Spirits to continue fighting while he gave chase.
• The High Spirits overwhelmed Heaven’s remaining forces as Richard sped away from the battlefield.
• Richard reached a grand complex of palaces and found Shalier waiting at the entrance of a golden palace.
• Richard formed a Blood Spear, but Shalier calmly welcomed him without resisting.

Richard met the True God, an ancient man who called himself Mr. Gao Ge, and agreed to hear his answers about the world, the Ancient Wizard Civilization, and the Truth Society. As Gao Ge began to explain, he used the liquid from Richard’s cup to transform the palace dome into a moving image of another world.

• Richard waited in the golden palace until an elderly man entered and identified himself as the True God, Mr. Gao Ge.
• Gao Ge said he had given up fighting and was willing to tell Richard the truths he sought.
• Richard asked about the world, the Ancient Wizard Civilization, and the Truth Society, and Gao Ge said the three subjects were one connected story.
• Gao Ge asked Richard for his untouched drink, then struck the table with his cane and sent the liquid spiraling onto the dome.
• The mural shifted into a moving, sound-filled image that showed another world as Gao Ge began his story.

The old man showed Richard a vision of a bustling world from the Ancient Wizard Civilization, where magical cities and countless species gathered for a great exploration. Richard was impressed by the civilization’s advanced creations, and the old man revealed that its core planes were far more astonishing than the world he had seen.

• A procession of people and Floating Cities traveled through the sky toward a fantastical city filled with bizarre buildings and many kinds of humanoid creatures.
• Three whistles summoned the city’s inhabitants to a central square, where a deep well covered in magic patterns stood.
• The vision froze, and the old man told Richard that it showed a peripheral plane of the Ancient Wizard Civilization.
• Richard recalled Wack’s House, a shifting building that moved rooms to its residents, and reflected that its existence showed how advanced its creators were.
• The old man told Richard that the civilization consisted of countless planes and that its core planes were a thousand or ten thousand times more astonishing.

Mr. Gao Ge explained how the Dawn Project transformed everyone in the Ancient Wizard Civilization into a potential Level 1 Wizard and enabled its Great Exploration Era. He revealed that the deep well in the scene was enormous equipment designed for the Great Exploration Project, and began explaining how its creators planned to build and position it.

• Mr. Gao Ge told Richard that the Dawn Project transformed every living individual into an exceptional lifeform, with the potential to become a Level 1 Wizard.
• Mr. Gao Ge explained that the Ancient Wizard Civilization set the transformation level at Level 1 to use its resources efficiently and raise the civilization’s lower limit.
• Mr. Gao Ge described how the Dawn Wizards explored and integrated other planes, bringing diverse creatures into the Ancient Wizard Civilization.
• Richard connected the Great Exploration Project in the scene to its supporters and the deep well, and Mr. Gao Ge confirmed his deductions.
• Mr. Gao Ge explained that the equipment was built to pierce planar barriers and project far away, and that its initiators first planned to construct it on a Floating City.