Chapter Summaries

Gao De and Elina searched a mineral-rich depression for the Stone Ridge Giant Oak while Elina fought off Cave Elementals. When a horde led by an Elite Cave Elemental ambushed them, Elina restrained the attackers and Gao De joined the battle with Ice Thorn Growth.

• Elina led Gao De through the canyon and effortlessly defeated a Cave Elemental, collecting its Leyline Crystal.
• They reached a depression where Gao De found wood fibers matching the Stone Ridge Giant Oak and detected Wood Elemental Energy beneath the rock.
• As they searched the area, Gao De sensed numerous Cave Elementals, including several powerful ones, waiting underground.
• Dozens of Cave Elementals erupted from the ground, led by an Elite Cave Elemental that attacked Gao De and Elina with chunks of iron ore.
• Elina used necromantic magic to destroy the incoming projectiles and vines to bind the Cave Elementals, then drained the Elite Cave Elemental with negative energy.
• Gao De cast Ice Thorn Growth and killed seven restrained Cave Elementals by piercing or freezing their energy cores.

Gao De and Elina defeated the Cave Elementals and found the last surviving Stone Ridge Giant Oak, whose Stonefruit Gao De needed. After agreeing to help Elina deal with the Cave Spider Queen, they reached its cave entrance and prepared to put their plan into action.

• Elina used vines and necromantic energy to help Gao De defeat the Cave Elementals, and she gave him Leyline Crystals for the ones he killed.
• Gao De used Rapid Excavation to uncover a passage leading to a cavern with three Stone Ridge Giant Oaks, two dead and one still alive.
• Gao De collected ripe Stonefruit, and Elina explained that the Cave Elementals had drained the trees of energy until two died and the last was close to dying.
• Gao De agreed to fulfill his promise to Elina, and they traveled west through the Stalagmite Forest toward the Cave Spider Queen's nest.
• Elina told Gao De she would lure out the Cave Spider Queen while he hid and then entered the cave, warning him to watch for venomous webs in the nest.
• Gao De and Elina reached the web-covered cave entrance, and Elina prepared to begin the diversion.

Gao De entered the Cave Spider Queen’s lair to find the Necrotic Elemental Seed while Elina lured the queen away, but he discovered its newborn spiderling and hurried to retreat. A Leyline tremor struck as he fled, and the Cave Spider Queen returned early, blocking the cave entrance and trapping him inside.

• Elina attacked the Cave Spider Queen, then drew it away through the stone pillar forest with spells and flight.
• Gao De slipped into the cave and used Eevee’s Astral Impact to phase through the queen’s web barrier.
• Gao De found a newborn spiderling in the chamber and realized the Cave Spider Queen could return at any moment to protect it.
• Gao De turned back, and Eevee phased the web barrier again so he could escape.
• A Leyline tremor shook the cave as Gao De fled, and the Cave Spider Queen returned and blocked the entrance.

Gao De, Elina, and the Cave Spider Queen were swept into a vast underground space when the cave collapsed during a violent leyline tremor. Separated after the fall, Gao De discovered a dangerous energy net woven across the cavern and realized the warning “The Net Beneath the Stone” referred to it.

• Gao De seized the Cave Spider Queen’s newborn spiderling to keep the queen from attacking, but Elina returned and struck the queen with a fireball.
• Elina restrained the Cave Spider Queen with vines while Gao De tossed the spiderling away and tried to escape the stone chamber.
• A stronger tremor shattered the chamber floor, sending Gao De, Elina, and the Cave Spider Queen plunging into the darkness below.
• Gao De used [Feather Fall] to slow his descent and landed alone in a vast underground space, separated from Elina and the Cave Spider Queen.
• Gao De activated the Mandora Demon Eye and saw an enormous energy net of leyline energy and necromantic negative energy converging toward the space’s center.

Gao De followed the energy network through a maze of tunnels, killed the injured Cave Spider Queen with a stored fifth-circle spell, and reached the underground chamber at its center. There, Elina revealed that a Necrotic Elemental Seed was draining Blackrock Canyon’s native Earth Elemental Seed.

• Gao De followed the energy network through the dark passages toward its center, using [Dancing Lights] to guide him.
• Gao De encountered the injured Cave Spider Queen blocking the route and destroyed it with [Flame Strike] released from his Spell Bottle.
• Gao De summoned Boeing for protection and continued through the tunnels until he reached a vast domed chamber.
• Gao De saw a black-purple cocoon draining a cracked amber orb at the center of the chamber.
• Elina emerged from the darkness and identified the cocoon as the Necrotic Elemental Seed and the amber orb as Blackrock Canyon’s native Earth Elemental Seed.

Elina explained how the Earth Elemental Seed and Necrotic Elemental Seed had destabilized Blackrock Canyon’s Leyline and proposed that Gao De take one while she took the other. Gao De persuaded the two seeds to stop fighting and accepted [Slumbering Spiderweb], leaving [Devouring Blight] to accompany Elina.

• Elina explained that [Slumbering Spiderweb] had once regulated Blackrock Canyon’s Leyline, but [Devouring Blight] had been corrupting it and driving both seeds toward destruction.
• Elina proposed taking [Devouring Blight] while Gao De took the Earth Elemental Seed, explaining that the seeds could not be absorbed together by one mage and that she could not control the Earth seed herself.
• Gao De and Elina reached out to the seeds with their Mental Strength, and Gao De learned that the Earth Elemental Seed was named [Slumbering Spiderweb] and had once been High-tier.
• Gao De urged [Slumbering Spiderweb] to leave the Leyline, and Elina reported that [Devouring Blight] would also leave if its rival agreed.
• [Slumbering Spiderweb] accepted Gao De and transformed into a crystal sphere that entered his Mana Pool, granting him amplified Earth-element spells and special binding and ground-sensing effects.

After claiming the Slumbering Spiderweb and Devouring Blight, Gao De escaped Blackrock Canyon and returned to the Northern Territory with tree seeds and Stonefruits. There, Aisha and Sunaifa showed him the territory’s newly minted coins, and Gao De approved their designs and names.

• Elina fused with the Devouring Blight, while the Leyline energy net attacked Gao De for carrying the Slumbering Spiderweb.
• Gao De used Ice Butterfly+ to navigate out of the underground passages beneath Blackrock Canyon and rode back to Greenwood City.
• Gao De returned to the Northern Territory through Astral Teleportation and gave Flora the tree seeds and Stonefruits he had collected.
• Sunaifa and Aisha told Gao De that Master Yagang had made the alchemical minting machines and that coin production had begun at Ironforge Citadel.
• Aisha showed Gao De the Copper Ear Coin, Silver Frost Coin, and Purple Jade Gold, and he approved their craftsmanship and names.

Gao De learned that the Frostwolf Clan had surrendered to Phoenix, bringing its people, Snow Wolves, and a treasured wolf-raising manual into his plans for unifying and developing the Northern Territory. He began studying the manual’s methods for acquiring and raising Snow Wolf cubs.

• Sunaifa told Gao De that Helica had chosen submission after the Frostwolf Clan’s food supplies dwindled during an unusually long winter.
• Aisha presented a census showing the Frostwolf Clan had three hundred thousand people, eleven thousand Frostborn Mages, and around eighty thousand Snow Wolves.
• Sunaifa explained that the Frostwolf settlement would become the Wolf’s Den, managed by Thorne, while most Frostwolf people and Snow Wolves would move to Phoenix.
• Sunaifa gave Gao De the Frostwolf Clan’s long-kept Secret Manual of Wolf Taming, which Helica had offered as proof of sincere surrender.
• Gao De read how the manual instructed the Frostwolf people to acquire cubs without harming their mothers, then raise them through social integration with human caretakers.

Gao De reviewed the Frostwolf Clan’s wolf-taming manual, planned a Ministry of Transportation with Helica as its prospective chief, and prepared to celebrate the nearing completion of the Valar Tunnel. He then inspected Ironforge Citadel’s new mint and saw its coin-production machinery working to exact standards.

• Gao De admired the Frostwolf Clan’s patient, instinct-based method of taming Snow Wolves and praised Helica’s decision to submit and share the manual.
• Sunaifa reported that Helica had successfully managed the Frostwolf Clan’s migration, and Gao De proposed appointing her chief of a new Ministry of Transportation.
• Gao De learned that the Valar Tunnel would open within five days and agreed to attend its completion ceremony.
• Aisha took Gao De and Sunaifa to inspect Ironforge Citadel and its mint, where Eldrin and Tolfin welcomed them.
• Tolfin demonstrated the mint’s machine, which melted alloy ingots and cut uniform coin blanks that Gao De checked and approved.

Gao De approved the First Mint’s coin-making process, then opened the Northern Territory’s first major transportation route, the G318 Highway, with a public ceremony. Back at City Hall, he discovered Lainey Jingteng’s report containing a newly derived formula for Weak Greenvine Spirit Dew.

• Tolfin and Aisha showed Gao De and Sunaifa the mint’s stamping machine and Truefrost cooling process, and Gao De approved the scale and production process.
• Sunaifa said she had organized a Snow Wolf Transport Team to deliver the newly minted currency to Phoenix, and Gao De agreed to begin full-scale production the next day.
• Gao De inspected the Valar Tunnel with Piert, then attended the G318 Highway opening ceremony and cut the symbolic vines before the gathered citizens.
• Kamem watched the ceremony and saw Gao De declare that the highway linked Phoenix and Valar Bay as the Northern Territory’s first major transportation route.
• Gao De returned to City Hall and found Lainey Jingteng’s report detailing her derived formula and research for Weak Greenvine Spirit Dew.

Gao De learned that Lainey had derived a formula for Weak Greenvine Spirit Dew, a Circle Advancement Potion made from First-Order Magic Plants, and recognized its importance to the Northern Territory. He connected her achievement to his plan for widespread mage education, which he believed would strengthen the territory over time.

• Gao De reviewed Lainey's derivation of the Weak Greenvine Spirit Dew formula and praised her as a genius.
• Gao De visited Lainey's isolated laboratory, where she showed him the elixir and explained that it had thirty percent of Greenvine Spirit Dew's medicinal effect.
• Lainey explained why she had selected First-Order Magic Plants to provide the required elements while limiting waste and impurities.
• Gao De told Lainey that Greenvine Spirit Dew was a Tier 2 Circle Advancement Potion and said her achievement was important to the Northern Territory.
• Gao De considered how Weak Greenvine Spirit Dew could support his plan to provide mage education to all Northern Territory residents.

Gao De appointed Lainey Jingteng to lead the new Quantitative Herbology Research Institute and tasked her with developing its textbook, research site, and future staff. After inspecting Flora’s farms, he visited Phoenix Tenth General Studies Academy and observed how Phoenix’s schools and clock towers were expanding.

• Gao De explained how Weak Greenvine Spirit Dew could support the Everyone Cultivates plan and asked Lainey to derive the formula for a First Circle Circle Advancement Potion.
• Gao De established the Quantitative Herbology Research Institute and appointed Lainey Jingteng its first director, charging her with preparing a textbook and selecting a site.
• Gao De advised Lainey to preserve unresolved research questions and focus on building a strong theoretical foundation before rushing into applications.
• Gao De inspected Goldensheen Farm and Flora's Bounty Plaza, where he found Flora working tirelessly amid expanding food production.
• Gao De visited Phoenix Tenth General Studies Academy and observed its grand building, outdoor plaza, and clock tower.

Gao De reviewed Phoenix’s expanding clock network, school, and professional Public Security Bureau before traveling to Valar Bay and Flora’s Forest. There, Elder Gain revealed that Ice Shroud Island’s Ice Grotto had advanced to the fourth order, providing Gao De with Fourth-Order Ice Baleful Qi to strengthen his combat ability.

• Gao De’s clock towers taught students punctuality and helped establish an orderly sense of time across Phoenix.
• Kaitlyn saw how cultural training and written records improved public security, while the city’s rapid growth increased demand for workers and officers.
• After inspecting Phoenix, Gao De traveled along the G318 Highway to Valar Port and toured the developing settlement at Valar Bay.
• Elder Gain presented Gao De with Fourth-Order Ice Baleful Qi from Ice Shroud Island’s newly advanced Ice Grotto.
• Gao De recalled leaving the Ice Grotto’s Third Order Ice Force untouched to allow its advancement and welcomed the unexpected resource for improving his combat strength.

Gao De refined Fourth Order Ice Baleful Qi into his Ice Crystal Shard, greatly increasing the power of [Ice Seal Blade+], then arrived at Soren Academy to challenge its defender. He waited in the Blackstone Heart Magic Duel Arena, where the terrain favored Soren County’s mages but also suited his Wood Attribute Cultivation Method.

• Gao De used Fourth Order Ice Baleful Qi to upgrade his Ice Crystal Shard into a Fourth Order [Ice Seal Blade+].
• Gao De tested the upgraded spell and found its total base power had reached 160 degrees.
• Gao De returned to Greenwood City, rewarded Eevee, and traveled by airship to Kallen City.
• Gao De arrived at Soren Academy and announced that he had come from Byron County to challenge it.
• An academy guide explained the duel rules and led Gao De to the Blackstone Heart Magic Duel Arena, where he assessed the terrain while waiting for the defender.

Seventeen-year-old Gao De entered Soren Academy’s first defense battle against Roim and revealed an overwhelming advantage. His rapid attacks triggered Roim’s Guard Badge, giving Gao De the victory.

• Edmund confirmed Gao De was seventeen and assigned the twenty-one-year-old Roim to face him in the first defense battle.
• Gao De flew into the arena, stunning Roim and the Academy Defense Team with his apparent ability to fly.
• Gao De cast [Thorn Growth], and Roim raised a stone wall to block the vines.
• Gao De used [Rapid Excavation] to bore through the wall and followed with a [Frost Arrow].
• Roim’s Guard Badge activated to shield him from the arrow, and Edmund declared Gao De the winner.

Gao De defeated Roim in the first round of the Soren Academy Challenge, then faced Cecily, a Third Circle mage who adapted her spells to counter his strategy. The second duel remained unresolved as Cecily attacked Gao De from a thorn platform she had grown in midair.

• Gao De defeated Roim with a swift combination of spells, while the watching Academy Defenders realized he was not a Third Circle mage.
• Roim understood that Gao De’s flight had shaken his focus and regretted losing so easily.
• Cecily volunteered to face Gao De, learned from Deacon Edmund that he was a Second Circle mage, and entered the arena after passing the age check.
• Gao De and Cecily began casting at nearly the same time, with Gao De using Earthbind and Cecily creating and magically nourishing Thorn Growth.
• Cecily used the growing vines to form a thorn platform, stopping Earthbind’s pull and launching vines at Gao De.

Gao De used a chain of spells and concealed effects to disrupt Cecily’s control, overwhelm her senses, and defeat her in their mage duel. The match ended with Cecily unable to fight and Gao De declared the winner.

• Gao De cast [Grease] and [Spark], destabilizing Cecily’s thorn platform and forcing her to cast fire protection.
• Gao De used [Entangling Roots+] while Cecily’s concentration lapsed, causing the thorn network to collapse and sending her crashing to the ground.
• Gao De’s enhanced [Earthbind] burdened Cecily with drowsiness and weakness, while [Entangling Roots+] left her overwhelmed by a foul stench.
• Gao De struck near Cecily with [Shattering Sonic Wave], breaking her remaining resistance and leaving her unable to fight.
• Deacon Edmund announced that Gao De had defeated Cecily.

Gao De defeated Cecily with a quick sequence of low-circle spells, then began the third-stage Academy Challenge against Leo, an old acquaintance from Greenwood City. Gao De blinded Leo with [Blindness], leaving Leo struggling to restore his vision as Deacon Edmund questioned why the spell overcame a 3rd Circle Mage’s resistance.

• Deacon Edmund explained that Gao De’s spell combinations and tactics had allowed him to defeat Cecily, and Gao De chose to continue the challenge without resting.
• Leo arrived as the third-stage Academy Defender, recognized Gao De, and accused him of using Soren County’s resources before entering the arena.
• Leo opened the duel by sending thorn-covered energy whips at Gao De, whose enhanced [Shield Spell+] blocked the initial attack.
• Gao De cast [Blindness] on Leo, overcoming his natural resistance and plunging him into darkness.
• Leo could not dispel the spell, so he began repeatedly trying to recover his sight through Natural Recovery.

Gao De used a chain of spells to trap and pressure Leo during their magic duel, while Leo struggled to counter the enhanced [Earthbind] and the resulting fire. Leo’s [Human Immobilization] failed against Gao De’s strong Mental Strength, and Gao De released a [Fiery Fireball] less than fifteen feet away.

• Leo cast [Shield Spell] and began dispelling Gao De’s [Blindness] while Gao De prepared another attack.
• Gao De used his Elemental Seed to strengthen [Earthbind], then made Leo land on [Grease], leaving him bound, drowsy, and off balance.
• Gao De’s [Burning Hands] ignited the grease and engulfed Leo, but Leo used [Endure Elements] and [Dancing Wind] to withstand and clear the flames.
• Leo abandoned his Wood Elemental Energy spell and attacked Gao De’s mind with [Human Immobilization], but Gao De resisted it.
• Gao De completed [Fiery Fireball], forming a nearly two-meter sphere of flame less than fifteen feet from Leo.

Gao De won Soren Academy’s challenge and received its first Academy Badge, then traveled toward Etheran County to continue collecting badges. During the flight, his Truefrost Secrets advanced to the Second Circle, granting him a new ability, advanced ice-magic techniques, and the awakening of new spells.

• Leo’s Guard Badge protected him from Gao De’s fireball, confirming his defeat, and Deacon Edmund announced that Gao De had won all three duels and passed the challenge.
• Edmund gave Gao De Soren Academy’s first badge, which provided a mana-gathering effect and special access privileges at official institutions in Soren County.
• Gao De left Saint Airport for Etheran County, planning to challenge more academies and collect all twelve Academy Badges.
• Aboard the airship, Gao De cultivated the Truefrost Secrets until his mana formed an Ice Magic Crystal and his Mental Strength rose from 310 to 333.
• Gao De gained the Second Circle ability Ice Seed, mastered advanced ice-spell techniques, and awakened spells through his Truefrost Bloodline.