Chapter Summaries

Gao De oversaw the Truefrost Tribe’s rapid farmland expansion and the growth of Yggdrasil before Kaitlyn returned from her pursuit mission with captured necromancers. He freed Kaitlyn and invited her team to serve in Phoenix, leaving her to decide whether to accept.

• Gao De’s Mold Earth spell and Nature’s Touch helped the Truefrost Tribe reclaim fields and grow Northwest Barley No. 1 at an extraordinary pace.
• Gao De reviewed applications to plant Contracting Sacred Items around Yggdrasil, which had grown substantially as eleven magic tree seeds sprouted.
• Grant told Gao De that Kaitlyn had returned, and Kaitlyn reported that her team had killed four necromancers and captured the rest.
• Gao De ordered the captured necromancers fitted with Law-Breaking Ice Needles and assigned to labor at Goldensheen Farm.
• Gao De honored his promise to free Kaitlyn, then invited her and her team to stay in Phoenix and serve under him.

Gao De recruited Kaitlyn to help establish Phoenix’s Public Security Bureau and tasked her with bringing the Snowfield Guardian branches’ teachers and orphans to the city for his planned Ministry of Education. Afterward, he cultivated and began enhancing the Ice Seal Needle with Ice Force.

• Gao De explained that Phoenix would establish a Public Security Bureau to maintain order and offered Kaitlyn its Deputy Director position, with another deputy planned for Elder Lanwen.
• Kaitlyn swore loyalty to Gao De, who accepted her oath and asked her to recruit the freed hunters as officers.
• Gao De tasked Kaitlyn with bringing the people from the thirteen Snowfield Guardian branches to Phoenix, where their teachers would staff the Ministry of Education.
• Gao De explained his plan for universal basic literacy education, then left City Hall and cultivated the Evergreen Longevity Sutra at home.
• Gao De opened three bottles of Ice Force and used the blue energy to enhance the Ice Seal Needle.

Gao De strengthened his Ice Seal Blade with First Order and Second Order Ice Force, then organized Phoenix’s Public Security Bureau and planned a school for the Truefrost Tribe. He rushed to Valar Bay for Yggdrasil’s advancement and received a surge of vitality and Mental Strength when it awakened Astral Teleportation.

• Gao De absorbed three bottles of First Order Ice Force to advance his Ice Crystal Shard into a First Order Ice Seal Blade, then used two bottles of Second Order Ice Force to raise its cold damage to 32.
• Kaitlyn reported that two-thirds of the hunters agreed to stay in Phoenix, and Gao De let the others leave while establishing the Public Security Bureau and ordering Phoenix’s first school built.
• Flora told Gao De that Yggdrasil was nearing its next stage, so he traveled with her to Valar Bay and arrived before the tree’s advancement.
• Yggdrasil advanced into a First Order magical plant, giving Gao De thirty more years of lifespan and raising his Mental Strength to 186.
• Gao De recognized the gray mark on Yggdrasil’s trunk as the sign of its newly awakened ability, Astral Teleportation.

Gao De learned that Yggdrasil could use Astral Teleportation to send him to random safe locations and let him mark a place for a later return, giving him a way to connect the Northern Territory with the outside world. After Yggdrasil advanced in rank, Flora began to undergo a mysterious change as its symbiotic partner.

• Yggdrasil granted Gao De a one-use silver rune that let him return to its location and mark a destination for a future teleportation.
• Gao De realized Astral Teleportation could help him obtain spell materials and knowledge, trade Northern Territory resources, and secure supplies for Yggdrasil and Phoenix.
• Gao De celebrated the chance to connect the isolated Northern Territory with the outside world through Yggdrasil.
• Gao De noticed mysterious energy flowing through Flora and realized she was growing stronger because Yggdrasil had advanced in rank.
• Gao De watched Flora closely with the Mandala Eye, ready to help if anything went wrong.

Flora gained the ability to transform soil, which Gao De named Primal Earth Essence, while Yggdrasil began accumulating energy for another Astral Teleportation. Back in Phoenix, Gao De declared the first Northwest Barley No. 1 harvest day the Harvest Festival and revealed the golden fields to the Truefrost Clan.

• Flora demonstrated her new ability to transform ordinary soil using naturally occurring special soil as a source, and Gao De named it Primal Earth Essence.
• Gao De returned from Valar Bay to Phoenix, knowing Yggdrasil would need two months to recharge for Astral Teleportation.
• Gao De and Sunaifa gathered the Truefrost Clan outside Phoenix to celebrate the first harvest of Northwest Barley No. 1.
• Gao De addressed the crowd, promised that the Truefrost Clan would no longer suffer hunger if they worked hard, and named the annual harvest day the Harvest Festival.
• The ice barriers dissolved at Gao De's command, revealing vast golden wheat fields to the gathered clan.

Gao De’s Harvest Festival convinced the Truefrost clansmen that he could end their hunger, and Sunaifa later warned him about the risks of leaving the Northern Territory. She explained how mages’ abilities changed with each circle and revealed that Spell Permanency gave outside Fifth Circle Mages a major advantage.

• Sunaifa’s Frostborn Mages scattered Northwest Barley No. 1 among the crowd, and the Truefrost clansmen tasted the harvest for themselves.
• Sunaifa declared Gao De the king who would save the Icekin children from hunger, and the gathered clansmen knelt and pledged to follow him.
• Gao De ignited the brazier and opened the Harvest Festival celebrations, which continued throughout the morning.
• Sunaifa questioned Gao De about his planned journey, but he explained that Yggdrasil’s Astral Teleportation could return only him safely and insisted he would go with Northwind.
• Sunaifa cautioned Gao De against confronting High-Ring Mages and described the transformations gained by mages from the First through Fifth Circles.
• Sunaifa explained that Spell Permanency let mages maintain useful spells indefinitely, making it a closely guarded secret that could overturn the strength difference between Frostborn and outside mages.

After Northwest Barley No. 1 was revealed, Gao De prepared for rival tribes to target the Truefrost Tribe and relied on the Public Security Bureau to catch spies in Phoenix. Carson, a Frostwolf Clan informant, was arrested while trying to flee with barley seeds, and Sunaifa learned he was one of several agents caught that day.

• Gao De told Sunaifa that she would have to confront rival tribes seeking Northwest Barley No. 1 while he prepared for his departure.
• Carson decided to leave Phoenix with seven or eight Northwest Barley No. 1 seeds so he could report the discovery to the Frostwolf Clan ahead of schedule.
• The Public Security Bureau and city guards surrounded Carson at the city gates and arrested him before he could escape.
• Deputy Director Lanwen told Sunaifa that Carson was a Frostwolf Clan informant and that the bureau had caught seven spies in one day.
• Lanwen explained that Gao De had mobilized Truefrost clansmen to report suspicious people, leading to more than a dozen reports and several genuine arrests.

Sunaifa explained Gao De’s plan to unify the Northern Territory through fair grain sales and economic warfare while expanding Goldensheen Farm to support the Truefrost Tribe and future growth. Meanwhile, Perl’s group arrived at Phoenix, where the guards welcomed Kaitlyn as a respected deputy director.

• Sunaifa ordered the captured informants’ tribes to redeem them with Icemarrow and planned to use the Frostwolf Clan’s interest in Northwest Barley No. 1 to draw it into economic dependence.
• Sunaifa told Lan Wen Gao De’s story of Pampas and The Empire, explaining that fair trade could weaken rival tribes and achieve unification without bloodshed.
• Sunaifa reviewed Goldensheen Farm’s production figures and ordered its workforce expanded to 20,000 people so the Truefrost Tribe could grow enough food.
• Perl and the others saw grain growing on the tundra and followed Kaitlyn toward Phoenix, impressed by the city and its farming.
• Truefrost guards welcomed Kaitlyn at Phoenix’s gates as Deputy Director, reassuring Perl that the new King Gao De treated outsiders like her fairly.

Gao De interviewed the former Snowfield Guardian instructors and began organizing them into Phoenix’s new education system, appointing Damon as a teacher and seeking instructors who knew Common Tongue. After spending the afternoon planning standardized education and measurements, Gao De received a protective scabbard and cover for Northwind ahead of the Astral Teleportation.

• Kaitlyn showed Guardian Damon and the instructors their new houses and explained that Gao De had ordered them built, then led them to meet him.
• Gao De asked Damon about his literacy and Common Tongue skills, and Damon chose a teaching position over agricultural labor.
• Gao De appointed Damon a Level Two Teacher at Phoenix First Academy, where he would teach all school-age children of the Truefrost Tribe.
• Gao De interviewed the remaining instructors, including the nervous Ona, while arranging their roles in the Ministry of Education.
• Gao De worked on plans for Phoenix’s education system and standardized measurements, then received a snow-rhino-hide cover and scabbard to conceal Northwind.

After preparing for two months, Gao De activated Yggdrasil’s Astral Teleportation and traveled to an unknown world. He arrived in a primeval forest, where towering trees and damp undergrowth surrounded him.

• Yggdrasil’s domain expanded to 14 mu, and Elder Gain told Gao De that his tree-guarding team was building camps and watchposts to protect it.
• Gao De examined Yggdrasil’s growth and prepared Northwind, supplies, and spell materials for his first Astral journey.
• Gao De reviewed his progress as a mage, including 24 drops of Liquid Mana and 12 points of First Circle Origin.
• Gao De connected with Yggdrasil and activated Astral Teleportation, entering the multicolored gate as it formed.
• Gao De emerged dizzy in a primeval mountain forest surrounded by enormous ancient trees.

Gao De explored a primeval mountain forest, killed a Black-maned Boar with Ice Seal Blade+, and collected edible tree fruits and seeds for planting. As he wondered why the forest held so few creatures, Bard fled a Ground Spider and stumbled upon Gao De, who regarded the encounter with unexpected delight.

• Gao De used Find North to head south through the forest after checking the area for danger.
• Gao De killed a first-circle Black-maned Boar with Ice Seal Blade+ and took some of its meat.
• Gao De gathered large walnut-like fruits from an unfamiliar tree to bring back as seeds for cultivation.
• Gao De noticed that he had encountered unusually few beasts and Leyline Creatures in the forest.
• Bard fled an enormous Ground Spider and ran into Gao De, who showed delight rather than fear at the sight of him.

Gao De rescued Bard from a Ground Spider and learned that he had arrived in the Plantagenet Dynasty, where the Sea Sentinel and its branch, the Light Sentinel, offered influence and access to valuable magic. He escorted Bard to Holden Town, intending to learn more about the region and explore settling there.

• Gao De killed the Ground Spider attacking Bard with two Flame Arrows and harvested its venom glands.
• Bard told Gao De that he lived in Holden Town, a settlement under Dorn City, and explained the Plantagenet Dynasty's residency rules.
• Gao De revealed that he was a wandering mage from another country and learned about the Sea Sentinel and the Light Sentinel.
• Gao De decided that joining the Sea Sentinel could provide protection and access to resources, including the Spell Permanency formula.
• Gao De offered to escort Bard home, and they reached Holden Town before sunset.

Gao De and Bard reached Holden Town in the Plantagenet Dynasty, where Gao De registered as a mage and exchanged his remaining Sien currency. He entered the prosperous town with a new mage plaque and learned about the dynasty’s currency system.

• Gao De and Bard descended from Riverbank Forest and reached Holden Town, where Gao De saw the scale of the Plantagenet Dynasty’s prosperous plains and settlements.
• Bard brought Gao De to the town gate’s registration hut, where the official used a Truth Domain to register his name, rank, and origin on a Golden Broom jade plaque.
• Gao De paid one Sien Gold Coin for the plaque, and the official verified that the coin met the required standard and directed him to the town’s Gold Bank.
• Gao De entered Holden Town and exchanged his remaining Sien Gold Coins and Shamrock Silver Coins at Holden Town Gold Bank.
• Bard explained that Plantagenet currency used Plantagenet Coins, Silver Dragon Coins, and Copper Stone Coins in a decimal system.

Gao De exchanged his Sien Gold Coins, stayed with Bard, and learned that Knight Gerard Wells might guarantee his residency for a substantial fee. The next morning, Gao De sold rare materials at Grimm Magic Materials and bought supplies for eight First Circle Spell Elixirs, leaving him with a much smaller fortune.

• Gao De exchanged eighteen Sien Gold Coins for Plantagenet, Silver Dragon, and Copper Stone Coins, then accepted Bard’s invitation to stay the night.
• Bard told Gao De that Knight Gerard Wells might act as his guarantor because he needed money for his injured son’s medicine, with fees starting at 200 Plantagenet Coins.
• Gao De spent the night at Bard’s home, and Bard guided him through Holden Town the next morning to Grimm Magic Materials.
• Gao De sold his Northern Territory materials, including two pieces of Azure Froststone, for a total of 562 gold.
• Gao De bought materials for eight First Circle Spell Elixirs, spending 307 gold.

Gao De secured Knight Gerard Wells as his guarantor and completed Holden Town’s residency examination, explaining that he hoped to travel to Dorn City and take the Sea Sentinel examination. The town council would review his application and give him a result in three days.

• Gao De checked into the Swan Inn with Bard and bought Midgard Black and a calling card for his visit to Knight Gerard Wells.
• Gao De presented Gerard with a gift and 220 Plantagenet Coins, and Gerard gave him a Letter of Recommendation to support his residency application.
• Gao De and Bard went to Holden Town’s council, where a staff member used the Truth Domain to question Gao De about his background, health, connections, and plans.
• Gao De told the staff member he planned to seek work as a Sea Sentinel in Dorn City or continue studying magic, and the staff member said the council’s decision would be ready in three days.

After securing naturalization in Holden Town, Gao De strengthened his Heavy Burden spell and traveled by airship to Dorn City to pursue the Sea Sentinel assessment. The chapter ended with his airship arriving above Dorn City.

• Gao De thanked Bard, treated him to lunch, and returned to the Swan Inn to prepare Spell Elixirs.
• Gao De drank a Heavy Burden Spell Elixir and spent three days attempting to construct the spell model.
• Lide gave Gao De his naturalization certificate and warned him that joining the Sea Sentinel would be harder for a naturalized citizen than for someone born locally.
• Gao De left Holden Town by airship, constructed the Heavy Burden Spell Model during the flight, and enhanced it with Wind Spirit Moon Shadow.
• Gao De cultivated during the journey until the airship announced its safe arrival above Dorn City.

Gao De arrived in Dorn City and learned that joining the Sea Sentinel required passing a demanding selection that tested mage level, spell mastery, and swimming, though special skills could offer another route. He registered for the selection at the Abyssal White Tower and waited with the other applicants.

• Gao De arrived in Dorn City, hired a young guide, and settled into the Oakville Inn.
• Gao De learned that the Sea Sentinel selected only a few applicants and assessed mage level, spell mastery, and real swimming ability, while also considering candidates with special skills.
• Gao De decided that his Rune Artificer ability might qualify him for special recruitment if he could not pass the standard assessment.
• Gao De went to the Abyssal White Tower with his guide and registered for the Sea Sentinel selection by submitting his information and paying the five-Plantagenet-Coin fee.
• Gao De joined the growing crowd of applicants waiting in the plaza.

Gao De took the Sea Sentinel preliminary test and impressed the examiners with extraordinary Mental Strength. Despite their concerns about his recent naturalization, he passed and was told he was likely to join the Sea Sentinels if he did reasonably well in the retest.

• Two renowned Sea Sentinel Mages welcomed the applicants and began calling them into the preliminary test in groups of ten.
• Gao De entered the examination hall with applicants seventy-one through eighty, surrendered Northwind, and stepped onto a Magic Platform.
• The examiners noted Gao De's strong Mana quantity and promising background but worried that he had become a naturalized citizen only two days earlier.
• Gao De endured the Mental Strength test longer than the other applicants, reaching a score of one hundred and eighty-six before the pressure overwhelmed him.
• The chief examiner praised Gao De's top-tier Mage talent, passed him, and told him to prepare for the retest.

Gao De passed the Sea Sentinel’s preliminary examination after Mage Vander recognized his unusually high Mental Strength, and Melia explained what to expect in the second test. He learned about Dorn’s shops and markets from his guide, then joined a queue at White Fish Apothecary to buy Clover Elixir, where the apothecary warned customers about its accumulating Pharmacological Toxin.

• Mage Vander judged Gao De’s Mental Strength of 186 to indicate top-tier mage talent and gave him the details for the second examination at Dorn Harbor on Frostgold Month 16.
• Melia congratulated Gao De, introduced herself, and explained that the second examination would assess combat spell use, mental fortitude, and skill in the water.
• Gao De hired a local guide, who told him about Clover Elixir at White Fish Apothecary and recommended shops for magical plants, extraordinary materials, and spell formulas.
• Gao De toured Dorn City, paid the guide, and decided to avoid major moves until he joined the Sea Sentinel.
• On Frostgold Month 7, Gao De queued at White Fish Apothecary to buy Clover Elixir, and the apothecary said customers could buy no more than five bottles within half a year because its Pharmacological Toxin could accumulate and harm cultivation.

Gao De sold his remaining Frostweave Stones in Dorn City, spent much of the proceeds on rune supplies, and rented a Third-Level Training Chamber to test his Clover Elixir. After drinking it, he discovered that his body was adapting to Pharmacological Toxin and gaining increased toxin immunity and processing ability.

• Gao De bought a set of Clover Elixir at White Fish Apothecary after the apothecary explained the dangers of accumulated Pharmacological Toxin and announced the stock was sold out.
• Gao De sold six second-tier and two third-tier Frostweave Stones to Slum Arcana Shop for 605 Plantagenet Coins.
• Gao De spent 220 Plantagenet Coins on rune paper, a Rune Pen, and Magic Ink so he could resume studying Runelore.
• Gao De rented a Third-Level Training Chamber and activated its Mana Node Array until the mana concentration reached 1056.
• Gao De drank the Clover Elixir and discovered that he was adapting to Pharmacological Toxin, increasing his toxin immunity and his organs' ability to process toxins by 0.1%.