Chapter Summaries

Gao De received the title of Auckland Honorary Mage at a public ceremony, along with a medal that stored magic power. At Earl Roland’s estate, noble families offered him lavish gifts, and Adrian Leon presented a Star Moss Oak Seed that clearly delighted him.

• Earl Roland presided over Gao De’s public title-bestowal ceremony in City Square, where the city named him an Honorary Mage.
• Earl Roland pinned a sapphire medal to Gao De’s chest and explained that it could restore a Second Circle Mage’s reserves of magic power.
• At Earl Roland’s estate, noble families presented Gao De with valuable gifts, including spirit tea, stones, potions, and merfolk tears.
• The nobles raised their gifts to Third Tier treasures after learning that Gao De was a sixteen-year-old Second Circle Mage who had slain a Third Tier Killer Vine.
• Adrian Leon presented the Lionheart Family’s gift, a Third Tier Star Moss Oak Seed, and saw Gao De’s eyes light up.

Gao De received a valuable Star-Moss Oak seed and other congratulatory gifts from Auckland’s nobles after becoming an Auckland Honorary Mage. Earl Roland and Chief Theodore then gave him a manor near the sea, leaving him astonished by its value.

• Gao De learned about the uses and value of wands, including the Star-Moss Oak’s suitability for making them.
• Adrian Leon presented Gao De with a Star-Moss Oak seed preserved in special soil.
• Auckland’s nobles finished presenting their gifts and gradually departed.
• Earl Roland and Chief Theodore’s master of ceremonies gave Gao De the deed to a seaside manor as their congratulatory gift.
• Gao De learned the manor was worth close to ten thousand Plantagenet Coins and marveled at the extravagant gift.

Butler Howard explained to Gao De why Earl Roland believed the attack on him was connected to Jova Roland, the Earl’s cousin and rival claimant to the family title. The Earl offered Gao De a valuable manor as both a congratulatory gift and compensation, leaving the suspected link to Jova unresolved.

• Gao De hesitated to accept the manor until Butler Howard explained that Earl Roland considered it compensation for the attack.
• Butler Howard revealed that Earl Roland inherited the title after Jova Roland, the family’s only Direct Bloodline, disappeared with a merchant convoy bound for Midgard.
• Howard recounted that Jova survived the attack by the Holy Empire’s army, returned more than twenty years later, and demanded the title from Earl Roland.
• Jova and Earl Roland began a lasting struggle, with Jova secretly obstructing the Earl while the Earl tried not to escalate matters.
• Howard said Divination and the Earl’s investigation suggested that Jova was connected to the attack on Gao De.

Gao De accepted Earl Roland’s apology and gifts while planning to use his new status in Auckland to legitimize his wealth and connect himself to Harland Shipyard. After three weeks of underwater training, he ended his stay in Auckland when Astral Teleportation finished charging and prepared to return to the Northern Territory for Black Sail City’s Soul’s Rest Auction.

• Howard delivered Earl Roland’s apology, an estate deed, and the Killer Vine’s valuable fruits, which Gao De accepted without dropping his suspicions about Jova Roland.
• Gao De assessed the nobles’ gifts and planned to use them to explain his wealth, move Harland Shipyard’s branch to Auckland, and publicly establish a business connection to it.
• Gao De decided to visit Black Sail City, where he could acquire resources beyond the Sea Sentinel’s reach and provide a plausible source for his Northern Territory supplies.
• While waiting for Astral Teleportation to charge, Gao De spent three weeks training underwater to improve his water current perception, oxygen intake, and Truefrost Secrets.
• When Astral Teleportation finished charging, Gao De ended his training and prepared to return to the Northern Territory before Black Sail City’s Soul’s Rest Auction.

Gao De returned to the Northern Territory with a cache of Magic Tree Seeds that could push Yggdrasil to the Third Tier, then arranged for Lan Wen to accompany him to Black Sail City. He also introduced a bidding process to award the rare Star Moss Oak Seed, while the rest of the seeds were distributed or set aside for planting.

• Gao De returned to the Northern Territory, checked Yggdrasil’s growth, and found that his newly acquired Magic Tree Seeds could provide enough progress for it to reach the Third Tier.
• Gao De checked the Astral Oddity Egg and saw that more of its shell had changed from the Water Elemental’s blue to the colors of Astral Energy.
• Gao De returned to Phoenix and asked Sunaifa to choose a 4th Circle Mage to accompany him to Black Sail City; Sunaifa selected Lan Wen rather than Quentin.
• Gao De and Sunaifa agreed to award the Star Moss Oak Seed through an internal bidding process based on officials’ contributions to Phoenix.
• Phoenix officials voted, and a deputy inspector from the Ministry of Agriculture won the seed, while some other bidders privately resented the advantage their department held.
• Gao De allowed interested Icekin Mages to choose Second-Order Magic Tree Seeds and arranged for the lower-tier seeds to be planted.

Gao De brought Aisha books copied from the Sea Sentinel library, hoping to support her Grand Library project, and she showed him the Heart of Sieden, a supernatural object made from a Crystal Marrow Brain Worm’s brain crystal. The Heart of Sieden rapidly absorbed and stored all visible information in the books, offering a powerful way to preserve knowledge for the Northern Territory.

• Gao De asked Flora to take charge of planting the Magic Tree Seeds, and she eagerly accepted.
• Gao De gave Aisha copied books from the Sea Sentinel library and explained his plans to organize knowledge and make much of it accessible to Northern Territory citizens.
• Aisha warned Gao De that the Grand Library project lacked enough manpower, and he promised to find another solution.
• Aisha showed Gao De the Heart of Sieden and explained that it was made from the brain crystal of a Crystal Marrow Brain Worm.
• Aisha activated the Heart of Sieden, which absorbed and stored the information in Gao De’s books within seconds.

Aisha revealed that the Heart of Sieden contained Sieden Duchy’s accumulated knowledge and offered to transform it into the Heart of the Northern Territory. She explained its limits and access methods, then Gao De used a ring to explore its archive and test its search function.

• Gao De learned that the Heart of Sieden held thirteen hundred years of knowledge and understood why Ovoga Duchy pursued Aisha.
• Aisha offered to turn the Heart of Sieden into the Heart of the Northern Territory, and Gao De formally thanked her for the contribution.
• Aisha explained the Heart’s scanning limits, language compatibility, energy costs, and the risks of using intelligent creatures to teach it new languages.
• Aisha described how users could browse or search the archive, and showed Gao De a rune-engraved ring that granted access from nearby.
• Gao De entered the Heart’s knowledge archive, browsed a scroll on disinfecting wells, and retrieved Second Circle Spell formulas with a request.

Gao De accepted the Heart of the North Border from Aisha and arranged to protect and power it, recognizing how its knowledge could advance the Northern Territory. He then learned the Icejade Wutong’s three Icejade Fruits had begun ripening and planned to use them to strengthen his Truefrost cultivation before the mage duel tournament.

• Aisha gave Gao De the Heart of the North Border, and he explained its value for spell study, rune craft, education, engineering, and Mage Tower construction.
• Gao De brought Aisha to Sunaifa and proposed protecting the Heart of the North Border at the Icejade Wutong’s Core Spirit Land while powering it with a Mana Transmission Array.
• Gao De built the Rune Array, which successfully supplied mana to the Heart of the North Border, and Sunaifa agreed to select trusted people to expand its knowledge base.
• Gao De noticed that the Icejade Wutong’s three Icejade Fruits had ripened to the equivalent of fifteen years after Sunaifa accelerated their growth with Fire Elemental materials.
• Gao De decided to seek more Fire Elemental materials so he could use the Icejade Fruits to advance his Truefrost Secrets before the mage duel tournament.

Gao De used Phoenix’s allocation of Third-Order Icemarrow to advance his Mandora Demon Eye to the fourth order. He discovered its new Insight - Deduction ability and tested how it could predict cultivation progress from the knowledge and conditions he supplied.

• Sunaifa gave Gao De seventy-two drops of Third-Order Icemarrow and reserved Phoenix’s limited Fourth-Order Icemarrow for him.
• Gao De approved Sunaifa’s distribution list without reviewing it, then returned to his palace and began absorbing the Icemarrow.
• After absorbing all seventy-two drops, Gao De’s Mandora Demon Eye advanced to the fourth order and gained Insight - Deduction instead of a new separate ability.
• Gao De used Deduction to model his cultivation and calculate his Evergreen Longevity Sutra progress and breakthrough time under specified conditions.
• Gao De added Jade Pool Cloud Mist to the model and watched Deduction recalculate his growth rate and predicted breakthrough time in real time.
• Gao De concluded that Deduction worked like a built-in algorithm based on the user’s knowledge, experience, and supplied data.

Gao De prepared to travel with Lan Wen from Valar Bay to Black Sail City, reviewing spell formulas and inspecting Flora’s Forest and the new port while waiting for a merchant ship. The Columbus arrived, quickly exchanged its cargo, and set sail with Gao De and Lan Wen aboard.

• Gao De decided to sail with Lan Wen to Black Sail City because Astral Teleportation was still recharging and the Soul’s Rest Auction would end before it was ready.
• While waiting for a ship, Gao De cultivated Truefrost Secrets, memorized the Sieden Duchy’s Second and Third Circle Spell formulas, and visited Flora’s Forest, where Flora had planted nearly half the Magic Tree Seeds.
• Gao De inspected the under-construction port at Valar Bay and saw its ice-and-bone construction and the workers’ progress.
• The Columbus arrived at Valar Bay, and the workers and guard mages quickly replaced its cargo with supplies prepared for the voyage.
• Gao De and Lan Wen boarded the Columbus, which departed Valar Bay for Black Sail City.

Gao De used the Columbus’s voyage south to train underwater, developing his oxygen intake and water-current perception through Adaptive. He gained the final forms Body of Emptiness Breathing and Body of Water Veins, making the sea a formidable home ground for him.

• Gao De shattered a drifting ice floe with a Flame Arrow as the Columbus sailed south from Valar Bay.
• Gao De observed a barren island with his Mandora Demon Eye and explained why sailors avoided approaching such islands.
• Gao De tied himself to a rope and ironstone, then repeatedly submerged alongside the ship to train his breathing and sense of water currents.
• Gao De’s oxygen intake reached 100%, evolving into the Body of Emptiness Breathing and greatly enhancing his oxygen use and endurance.
• Gao De’s water-current perception reached 100%, evolving into the Body of Water Veins and granting him extraordinary awareness and movement in water.

Flora witnessed Yggdrasil advance from a Second Tier to a Third Tier Magic Plant, revealing new powers that reached toward other planes. The advancement stirred mysterious beings and drew reactions across the Northern Territory, while Gao De felt Yggdrasil’s life-force feedback aboard a ship at sea.

• Flora completed the final Magic Tree Seed planting and led Forestry Office staff through Flora's Forest, documenting tree care needs.
• Flora stayed to witness Yggdrasil's advancement as its roots reached toward other planes and its trunk developed new crowns, patterns, and a golden vortex.
• Yggdrasil completed its advancement and became a Third Tier Magic Plant.
• A mysterious being in the Northern Territory sensed Yggdrasil's stronger aura, realized its dispatched eye had been destroyed, and sent something to investigate.
• Master Ram felt his hammer react and learned from Yarna that the disturbance came from the direction of the Truefrost Tribe.
• Gao De sensed the life-force feedback from Yggdrasil's advancement while sailing aboard a ship.

Yggdrasil’s advancement to the third rank greatly increased Gao De’s lifespan and Mental Strength, and he later discovered an Ice Grotto on a deserted island during the Columbus’s voyage. He chose to investigate, and the ship anchored offshore while the crew prepared for a landing.

• Yggdrasil’s third-rank advancement increased Gao De’s lifespan by 315 years and raised his Mental Strength intensity to 299.
• Gao De adapted to his new power and continued cultivating the Truefrost Secrets and practicing runes during the voyage.
• Gao De spotted an Ice Grotto producing Ice Baleful Qi on a deserted island and recognized its potential value and possible dangers.
• Gao De asked Deputy Director Lan Wen to have the Columbus change course toward the island.
• Gao De ordered the Columbus to remain offshore, and the crew anchored the ship outside the island.

Gao De and Lan Wen explored a deserted island, where Gao De identified and recovered a Fifth-Order Spiral Unicorn Horn from a frozen sea beast skeleton. Near the island’s Third Order Ice Cave, Gao De sensed a lurking Leyline Creature, and Lan Wen attacked its unseen position.

• Gao De and Lan Wen flew to the island and found a massive sea beast skeleton encased in ice.
• Gao De used Identify+ on the skeleton’s horn and learned it was a Fifth-Order Extraordinary Material with powerful Water and Ice Elemental properties.
• Lan Wen used Disintegration to remove the intact Spiral Unicorn Horn, and the two continued toward the island’s ice cave.
• Lan Wen found claw marks and fresh-looking biological residue, so Gao De restored his mana before they cautiously resumed their exploration.
• Lan Wen assessed the cave as a Third Order Ice Cave that was gradually transforming toward Fourth Order.
• Gao De sensed that a Leyline Creature was hiding nearby, and Lan Wen immediately hurled ice awls toward its position.

Gao De and Lan Wen escaped an enormous swarm of invisible Ice Silk Worms, then used Animal Neglect Spell to return safely to the ice cave. Gao De collected four streams of Third Order Ice Force to advance his Ice Seal Blade while leaving the cave largely undisturbed, and the pair returned to the Columbus.

• Lan Wen and Gao De fled the awakened Ice Silk Worm swarm after Lan Wen’s Ice Walls briefly held it back.
• Gao De used Know Yourself and Your Enemy to identify the creatures as a colony of more than a hundred thousand First Order Ice Silk Worms and explained their dangers to Lan Wen.
• Gao De cast Animal Neglect Spell on himself and Lan Wen, allowing them to pass the dormant worms and enter the ice cave safely.
• Gao De counted 1,056 streams of Third Order Ice Force and collected four in an Ice Crystal Bottle to advance his Ice Seal Blade without disrupting the cave’s growth.
• Gao De and Lan Wen left the cave and returned safely to the Columbus.

Gao De marked Ice Shroud Island on the map and upgraded his Ice Seal Blade+ with Ice Force, then the Columbus crossed into the Plantagenet Dynasty’s Sword Sea. After navigating its busy shipping lanes and relying on falsified voyage records to conceal its true route, the ship reached Lagos Port.

• Gao De ordered the captain to mark the deserted island as Ice Shroud Island and then upgraded his Ice Crystal Shard with three strands of Third Order Ice Force, raising Ice Seal Blade+ to Third Circle and increasing its damage.
• The Columbus crossed the Erwinlaya Ridge into the Sword Sea, where warmer waters, new sea life, and heavy merchant traffic marked the change in region.
• Gao De and the crew relied on the Columbus’s falsified ship’s log and cargo manifest to conceal its actual route from Valar Bay while avoiding unnecessary port inspections.
• The Columbus spent ten days sailing through the Sword Sea without stopping at other ports, then approached Lagos Port as the captain ordered the sails reefed.

Gao De and the Columbus left Lagos Port for Black Sail City, crossing the dangerous Drake Strait by riding its powerful ocean currents. After emerging near the Blue Flame Islands, Gao De saw the lawless traffic surrounding the city and learned how the Shattered Wing Winds and Abaddon's domain kept powerful airships and high-ring mages away.

• Lan Wen arranged the Columbus's international sailing procedures in Lagos while Gao De stayed aboard to avoid trouble with local nobles.
• The Columbus left Lagos Port under cover of night and entered the Drake Strait three days later.
• Gao De observed the Shattered Wing Winds and learned that the Ring Current carried ships safely and swiftly through the strait.
• The Columbus emerged from the Drake Strait and approached the Blue Flame Islands, where ships from many places kept a wary distance from one another.
• Gao De learned that Abaddon's domain restricted powerful magic and, together with the strait's winds, allowed Black Sail City to endure as a renowned black market.

Gao De and Lan Wen encountered a wounded third-tier Choke Squid fleeing a hunter ship, and Lan Wen froze it before it could reach the Columbus. Gao De agreed to split the catch with the Abaddon hunters and offered them an extra share to help sell the Columbus’s goods in Black Sail City; the hunters then began towing the Choke Squid toward the islands with the Columbus following.

• Gao De recognized the pursuing vessel as a Black Sail City hunter ship and used Know Yourself and Your Enemy+ to identify its prey as a third-tier Choke Squid.
• Gao De ordered Lan Wen to stop the Choke Squid, and Lan Wen froze the sea beast and the surrounding waves with an ice spell.
• The Abaddon harpooner claimed his crew had wounded and pursued the Choke Squid, then proposed splitting the spoils equally with the Columbus.
• Gao De accepted a fifty-fifty split and offered the hunters another ten percent of the profits in exchange for help finding buyers and local connections in Black Sail City.
• Lan Wen carefully thawed the Choke Squid, and the hunters secured it with chains and air bladders before towing it toward the Blue Flame Islands with the Columbus alongside.

Gao De and Lan Wen arrived in Black Sail City aboard the Columbus, where Apache introduced them to Hawk of the Rust Anchor Gang to arrange the sale of their goods. As they waited for Hawk to consult his boss, Apache explained how gangs and sea hunters shared power and business in the city.

• The Hunter Ship escorted the Columbus through the eerie Blue Flame Islands to Black Sail City, where Gao De felt Adaptive increase his tolerance to Abaddon Blue Flame energy.
• At Rust Anchor Docks, Apache explained that Gao De's crew had helped bring down the Choke Squid and was entitled to half the spoils, prompting Hawk to treat the newcomers with respect.
• Apache introduced Gao De and Lan Wen to Hawk, who offered to ask the Rust Anchor Gang's boss about buying their Tier 2–4 ice-element minerals and Extraordinary Materials.
• After Hawk went to report the goods, Apache described how gangs partnered with sea hunters, controlled dock services and trade, and increasingly formed their own hunting crews.

Apache explained how pirates, bounty hunters, gangs, and the Pirate King shaped Black Sail City, focusing on Davy Jones and the rise of Sarah Fortune. Gao De and Lan Wen learned that Sarah had made bounty hunters one of the city’s four great forces, and that Davy Jones had once tried to marry her.

• Apache told Gao De and Lan Wen that pirates plundered ships bound for Black Sail City and worked with gangs to fence stolen goods and wage gang wars.
• Apache explained that Davy Jones, a Fifth Circle necromancer known as the Pirate King, had become Black Sail City’s strongest ruler after seizing the Holy Empire Navy’s Iron Crown and escaping pursuit.
• Apache described how the Bounty Hunter’s Guild authenticated bounty notices and organized the Bounty Board, which ranked the hundred people with the highest bounties.
• Apache recounted how Sarah Fortune arrived in Black Sail City, completed bounties with extraordinary speed, and eventually killed Shabala and founded the Gold Coin Hunters.
• Apache told Gao De and Lan Wen that Sarah was a Fifth Circle Mage who fought with two enchanted guns and was considered Black Sail City’s most beautiful woman.
• Apache said Davy Jones had sent a treasure-laden ship to propose to Sarah, but the proposal had come to nothing.