Chapter Summaries

Gao De used a rapid sequence of low-circle spells and feints to disrupt Lorraine’s defenses and wear him down during their duel. After Lorraine endured the fiery trap and prepared to withstand the barrage, Gao De launched a mental attack with [Mind Spike].

• Gao De used [Minor Illusion] to bait Lorraine into wasting his third-circle [Spell Counter], then followed with [Frost Metal] to shatter Lorraine’s metal barricade.
• Gao De chained [Blindness], [Web], and [Ice Thorn Growth], forcing Lorraine to spend stronger spells defending himself and clearing his path.
• Gao De’s [Grease] turned Lorraine’s [Scorching Ray] sparks into a ring of flames, but Lorraine survived with [Protection Energy—Fire].
• Lorraine recognized Gao De’s attrition strategy and resolved to wait for an opening to counterattack.
• Gao De cast the second-circle divination spell [Mind Spike], which Lorraine recognized as a mental attack targeting the soul.

Gao De used a sequence of ice and geomantic spells to disable Lorraine’s staff, then closed in and overwhelmed him with a Frost Sword. Lorraine realized Gao De had planned to force him into close combat, leaving him cornered behind his shield.

• Lorraine used [Blessing Art] to resist Gao De’s [Mind Spike] and successfully saved against its mental damage.
• Gao De used [Frost Metal] to chill Lorraine’s Clear-Gold Staff, and Lorraine cast [Protection Energy: Cold] without fully stopping the spell’s lingering effects.
• Gao De used [Geomagnetic Art] to make the staff weigh several hundred pounds, forcing Lorraine to drop it and raise a [Shield Spell].
• Gao De charged Lorraine with a powerful [Frost Sword] and launched a relentless close-range assault that nearly broke Lorraine’s shield.
• Lorraine realized Gao De had deliberately crippled his staff and forced him into a close-combat disadvantage.

Gao De defeated Lorraine to claim Fos Academy’s badge, then returned to Eli and Jabir to hear their decisions about joining his plans. Eli agreed to manage Gao De’s enterprises, while Jabir agreed to travel to the Northern Territory to develop the Breathing Furnace.

• Gao De exhausted Lorraine’s defenses with a sustained Frost Sword assault, but Lorraine’s Guard Badge shielded him from the final strike and ended the duel.
• Lorraine accepted his defeat, and Deacon Emondy presented Gao De with Fos Academy’s badge, his third Academy Badge.
• Gao De shopped across Jinliu City for tree seeds and saplings, then went to meet Eli and Jabir at their lodging.
• Eli agreed to return to Bairo County and manage Gao De’s enterprises, while Jabir chose to go to the Northern Territory and improve the Breathing Furnace.
• Gao De arranged payment for Jabir’s blueprints and travel, and planned to send the prototype furnace with him to the Northern Territory.

Gao De returned to the Abyssal White Tower to claim merit and prepare for Third Circle advancement, but Lieutenant General Kellen summoned him and promoted him to lieutenant. After learning Gao De planned to advance before resuming the Academy Challenge, Kellen offered support and promised to seek a grand reward if he collected all twelve Academy Badges.

• Earl Roland and Theodore discussed Gao De’s victories over three county academies and praised Theodore for supporting his potential.
• A clerk escorted Gao De to a fourth-floor reception room, where Lieutenant Colonel Grayling and Lieutenant General Kellen promoted him to lieutenant.
• Kellen questioned why Gao De had returned to Dorn City, and Gao De explained that he intended to advance to the Third Circle before continuing the Academy Challenge.
• Gao De said his spell mastery had developed within the past year, impressing Kellen, who offered him an advanced cultivation room and urged him to prepare carefully.
• Gao De pledged to help restore the Sea Sentinel’s glory, and Kellen promised to seek a grand reward if he won all twelve Academy Badges.

Gao De received support from Lieutenant General Kellen and Lieutenant Colonel Grayling as he prepared to advance to the Third Circle, then exchanged military merits for seven Second Circle spell formulas. After meeting Melia in Dorn City, he offered her a position as his semi-dedicated clerk, and she accepted.

• Lieutenant General Kellen and Lieutenant Colonel Grayling encouraged Gao De to prepare steadily for his Third Circle advancement and offered their support.
• Gao De claimed three First Class Merits for the Academy Badges, split one into Second Class Merits, and exchanged merits for seven spell formulas.
• Gao De met Melia, who congratulated him on becoming a Lieutenant and asked why he had returned to Dorn City.
• Gao De told Melia he planned to advance to the Third Circle and offered her a position as his semi-dedicated clerk.
• Melia accepted Gao De's offer, and he advised her to prepare a résumé for their joint application.

Gao De explained that he wanted to expand Walmart Magic Materials Shop into a dynasty-wide business to increase its tree-seed acquisitions, and Eli presented a detailed growth strategy. Gao De appointed Eli as his agent and gave him authority to develop the Vantorenn District storefront, leaving the venture ready to begin.

• Gao De met Eli above Walmart Magic Materials Shop and confirmed that purchasing tree seeds, especially Magic Tree Seeds, was the shop’s core purpose.
• Gao De outlined his three enterprises and offered Eli the Vantorenn District property, access to startup funds, and his political standing to support a magic materials business expansion.
• Eli proposed specializing in rare materials and tree-seed purchases, expanding first into smaller cities, forming local shop alliances, and using tiered pricing.
• Gao De approved Eli’s plan, gave him authority over the Vantorenn District storefront, and required tree-seed acquisitions to remain the priority with quarterly reports.
• Eli accepted Gao De’s offer to become his agent and manage Walmart Magic Materials Shop’s expansion.

Gao De returned to Phoenix to oversee the Northern Territory’s currency reform, approving a plan to introduce coins gradually through public education, rewards, and a new market. The chapter showed workers encountering the currency for the first time as Barov spent part of his reward on a sachet for his sister.

• Gao De returned to the Northern Territory and met with Sunaifa and Aisha to finalize the currency rollout plan.
• Gao De approved a steady transition intended to spread currency throughout the Northern Territory within a year.
• Barov received ten Purple Jade Gold coins and ten Silver Frost Coins as a reward for improving the road-paving method.
• Barov showed the coins to Rhyme and the other workers, explaining that the new market accepted currency rather than barter.
• Barov and Rhyme visited the market, where Barov bought a Calming Sachet for his younger sister and learned about imported Sunlight Fruits.

Barov’s market purchases and the spread of coin-based trade fueled residents’ interest in earning wages, while Gao De gathered new Source Points and enhanced seven spells. The chapter ended with him examining the upgraded Truefrost spells, especially the powerful new capabilities of Misty Step.

• Barov bought Sunlight Fruits and other goods at First Market, then shared the fruit with his neighbors and told them how coins could be earned.
• Rhyme explained that residents could earn coins through paid tasks, and the neighbors discussed the shift from barter to buying goods with money.
• Quentin showed Gao De newly captured Second Circle Leyline Creatures, and Gao De killed enough to gain six Source Points.
• Over the following twenty days, coin-funded tasks spread through the Northern Territory as its residents flocked to earn wages.
• Gao De advanced Truefrost Secrets to the mid-stage of the Second Circle and completed Spell Models for twelve new spells.
• Gao De spent seven Source Points enhancing seven spells, giving Misty Step the ability to return to its original location after teleporting and Rime Binding a tracking effect.

Gao De allocated his remaining Source Points to strengthen [Earthbind] and [Ice Thorn Growth], then watched the Northern Territory’s currency reform advance as the Official Fair-Price Board reassured the public that coins could be exchanged for grain. He planned the next stage: requiring taxes, fines, and other obligations to be paid in coins so they would circulate throughout the economy.

• Gao De assessed the added effects of [Alchemical Regurgitation], [Divination], and [Monster Hold], then spent his remaining Source Points on [Earthbind] and [Ice Thorn Growth] rather than [Alter Self].
• Barov worried that he had spent too much at First Market and feared he would not have another chance to earn coins.
• Barov saw the Official Fair-Price Board in City Square and learned that coins could be exchanged without limit for Northwest Barley No. 1.
• Aisha reported that the board had dispelled many doubts about the currency, while public interest in earning and spending coins had grown.
• Gao De told Sunaifa and Aisha that the next stage was to make coins necessary by requiring them for taxes, fines, debt repayment, and commuted labor service.

Gao De established the Finance Bureau to oversee currency and taxation during the Northern Territory’s early development, while planning to separate the functions as the territory grew. After two months of cultivating the Truefrost Secrets, he advanced to the Third Circle, where three Mana Star Rails formed in his new Starcore Magic Crystal.

• Gao De explained why the Finance Bureau would temporarily manage both currency issuance and taxation, and why the functions would eventually need separate departments.
• Sunaifa suggested separating the personnel responsible for minting currency and collecting taxes, while Gao De appointed Aisha as Finance Bureau Director and agreed to guide tax policy.
• After two months, Gao De completed the Truefrost Secrets at the late Second Circle and began advancing without waiting to fully prepare.
• Gao De’s Truefrost Bloodline guided the Ice Magic Crystal’s fission, forming a larger Starcore Magic Crystal without resistance.
• Three Mana Star Rails lit inside Gao De’s new crystal, enhancing spell condensation and Mana storage before elemental Resonance began.

Gao De advanced to the Third Circle, strengthened his elemental body and lifespan, and awakened new Truefrost abilities and spells. A vast will then scanned every aspect of him before entering his mind, beginning his Specialty Awakening.

• Gao De formed his third Mana Star Rail, opened his Third Circle Spell Starsea, and raised his Mental Strength to 355.
• Gao De chose Water and Wind for his Third Circle Elemental Body, which also awakened and strengthened his existing Fire resistance.
• Gao De’s lifespan increased from 730 years to 880 years, and his Truefrost Bloodline granted him the special ability Water-to-Ice Transformation and advanced ice-spell knowledge.
• Gao De’s bloodline awakened more than twenty Third Circle Spell Models and three powerful Truefrost Spells.
• A vast will scanned Gao De’s spells, mana, body, knowledge, and abilities before flowing into his mind.

Gao De awakened the Unique Specialty [Myriad Law Resonance], which let him fuse connected spells and store mastered combinations in Resonance Imprints. After advancing Truefrost Secrets to the third circle, he chose to stabilize and study the specialty before advancing Evergreen Longevity Sutra, then searched the Aethernet for Third Circle Spell formulas.

• Gao De awakened [Myriad Law Resonance] and gained the ability to fuse compatible spells through Resonant Casting.
• Gao De learned that Resonance Imprints could store up to five fixed spell combinations for faster use in battle, though each activation consumed mana.
• Gao De checked his condition and confirmed that Truefrost Secrets had reached the Early Third Circle while Evergreen Longevity Sutra remained at the Late Second Circle.
• Gao De decided to spend several days stabilizing his condition and studying his new specialty before attempting to advance Evergreen Longevity Sutra.
• Gao De used his Secret Key to enter the Aethernet and searched the Sieden Duchy's knowledge repository for Third Circle Spell formulas.

Gao De reviewed preparations for the Northern Territory’s currency launch with Sunaifa, while Ailik received his first coin salary and went to test whether the new currency could buy grain. The chapter ended as Ailik handed a Silver Frost Coin to the department store’s grain counter.

• Gao De memorized nearly ten new Third Circle Spell formulas, then visited Sunaifa to review the currency rollout scheduled to begin in two days.
• Sunaifa explained the salary plan, tax incentives, direct stores, material purchasing stations, reserves, and inspections, and Gao De offered additional suggestions.
• Ailik, a diligent junior clerk who had benefited from Phoenix’s new schools, felt uneasy about being paid in coins instead of goods.
• At Northern Territories Bank, Ailik received four Purple Jade Gold coins and two Silver Frost Coins as his monthly salary.
• Ailik went to Northern Territories Direct Department Store and handed over a Silver Frost Coin to buy fifteen jin of Northwest Barley No. 1.

Ailik used his first wages in the Northern Territory’s new currency to buy food and gifts for his parents, while the currency reform succeeded across Phoenix. Gao De then received word that Sarah had secured Davy Jones’s 380,000-Plantagenet-Coin bounty, with 200,000 coins arriving in the Northern Territory as its first foreign exchange reserve.

• Ailik exchanged a Silver Frost Coin for barley, then spent Purple Jade Gold on a Snow Fox hide and Wuliangye at the trading house.
• Ailik showed his parents the new currency and his purchases, and his father decided to save the Wuliangye for Ailik’s wedding.
• The Northern Territory’s first payday marked a smooth end to its barter era as residents began using currency.
• Sarah spent more than half a year collecting the bounty payments issued for Davy Jones and divided the 380,000 Plantagenet Coins according to Gao De’s instructions.
• The 180,000 coins sent to Harland Shipyard had arrived a month earlier, while the remaining 200,000 reached Valar Bay to fund Northern Territory development and serve as its first foreign exchange reserve.

Gao De explained how the Northern Territory planned to build its strength and eventually challenge the Plantagenet Dynasty and Holy Empire’s currency dominance. After accepting Lady Flora’s Spirit Message request, he went to see her and found that she had saved him an unusual ice-encased tooth.

• Gao De outlined the Northern Territory’s cautious development strategy, its hidden resources, and the need for a Mage Tower and Sunaifa’s advancement to the fifth circle.
• Gao De sent Sunaifa word that the reward payment had arrived so she could buy cultivation resources and pursue her breakthrough.
• Gao De accepted Lady Flora’s long-pending friend request and chatted with her through Spirit Message.
• Gao De agreed to visit Flora after she said she had saved something good for him.
• Gao De examined Flora’s pale tooth, which was wrapped in thin, faintly blue ice and marked with dense patterns.

Gao De investigated the Truefrost-encased tooth Flora had found and traced its energy to a wheat field, then decided to excavate despite receiving a neutral divination. With Sunaifa guarding the site, he dug deep into the permafrost until his spell struck an enormous, exceptionally hard object.

• Gao De failed to melt the ice around Flora's tooth and learned that farm workers had dug it up while reclaiming the wheat field.
• Gao De used the Mandora Demon Eye to detect matching energy beneath the field and received a neutral result from [Divination+] about excavating there.
• Gao De summoned Sunaifa, who identified the ice as pure Truefrost made by an ancient Frostborn Mage of at least Fifth Circle, and they agreed to dig.
• Gao De and Sunaifa evacuated nearby people and sealed off the area before Gao De began excavating with [Rapid Excavation].
• Gao De dug through increasingly cold permafrost to a depth of one hundred and fifty zhang, where his spell struck a massive, intensely cold object that resisted his probing.

Gao De and Sunaifa uncovered an ancient Truefrost seal containing a small, unknown creature, but Sunaifa could not break it. Unsure whether the sealed creature was a danger or an opportunity, they considered asking Flora to judge what they should do.

• Gao De and Sunaifa flew into the pit and used [Rapid Excavation] to uncover a huge ice-crystal pillar covered in living runes.
• They saw a small, gold-eyed creature frozen inside the pillar and recognized its fang as the tooth Flora had found.
• Sunaifa identified the pillar as a Truefrost seal, but her attempt to melt it triggered a powerful counterattack and failed.
• Gao De considered moving the pillar far away or taking it back to Phoenix for safekeeping, while Sunaifa suspected it was connected to ancient Icekin history.
• Sunaifa suggested asking Flora to use her ability to sense good and evil to help them decide what to do.

Gao De and Sunaifa secured the frozen beast after Flora recognized it as alive and harmless, then traveled to Valar Bay to see Jabir’s completed Breathing Furnace 2.0. Jabir demonstrated its improved design and performance, leaving Gao De with a promising new machine for the Northern Territory’s development.

• Flora examined the beast frozen inside the ice pillar, identified it as cute and still alive, and urged Gao De and Sunaifa to return its tooth when it awakened.
• Sunaifa moved the ice pillar beside the Icejade Wutong Tree in Phoenix’s core district so its spiritual resonance could detect any danger.
• Sunaifa told Gao De that Jabir had completed Breathing Furnace 2.0, and Gao De immediately decided to visit his workshop in Valar Bay.
• Gao De and Sunaifa found Dulin Fire advising Jabir, who greeted Gao De and demonstrated the refined machine.
• Jabir showed that Breathing Furnace 2.0 used pretreated fuel, started with a control lever, ran smoothly for more than two days, produced over twice the first generation’s maximum power, and allowed its output to be adjusted.

Gao De assessed Breathing Furnace 2.0 and outlined designs for miniaturized, series-connected furnaces and mechanisms that converted reciprocating motion into rotary power. Jabir accepted the ideas as future research goals, while Sunaifa wondered how Gao De could envision Breathing Furnace 4.0 so clearly.

• Gao De explained why steam engines were ineffective in the Mage Plane and recognized Jabir's Breathing Furnace as a foundation for magical industry.
• Jabir identified overheating, fuel and ash automation, and production costs as the main problems to solve before mass-producing the furnace, estimating that Breathing Furnace 3.0 might be ready within a year.
• Gao De sketched a miniaturized Breathing Furnace with standardized ports so multiple units could connect, and suggested using a shared drive shaft and gears to synchronize them.
• Gao De proposed a crankshaft connecting rod and interchangeable-gear gearbox to convert reciprocating motion into rotary motion and adjust speed and torque.
• Jabir acknowledged the technical barriers, and Gao De designated the series connection and conversion designs as directions for Breathing Furnace 4.0 while asking him to focus on 3.0.
• After they left the workshop, Sunaifa asked Gao De how he had developed such detailed ideas for a furnace that had not yet been built.

Gao De visited the newly built Quantitative Herbology Research Institute in Flora's Forest and learned that Lainey had deciphered the Magic Element Reaction Formula for Silver Star Dew. With the formula solved, mass production of Weak Silver Star Dew was within reach, though Lainey still needed to find the lowest-cost ingredients.

• Sunaifa explained that Dulin Fire and Jabir had become close while jointly researching Breathing Furnaces and Alchemy Machines.
• Sunaifa confirmed that Leini Jingteng had established the Quantitative Herbology Research Institute in Flora's Forest and that Piert had built it from local timber.
• Gao De toured the institute and admired its orderly brewing rooms, specialized equipment, and magical plant nursery.
• Lainey told Gao De that she had deciphered the Silver Star Dew formula but was still searching for the lowest-cost magic element solution.
• Gao De praised Lainey, recognizing that her breakthrough could soon enable mass production of Weak Silver Star Dew.