Chapter Summaries

Ian identified the mutated Taisi Glow Algae as an omen of a major anomaly that could occur in about thirty-three days, and realized Sainan’s danger was not immediate. After Sainan left, Ian used his Precognitive Vision across Harrison Port and saw signs of both natural disaster and human calamity.

• Ian examined the Taisi Glow Algae and calculated that its mutation could peak in about thirty-three days, signaling a major change in the psionic field.
• Sainan left money for Elan and departed, refusing to reveal the people pressuring him; Ian warned him not to act rashly before the danger arrived.
• Ian prepared for the people behind Sainan to seek him out and gathered all twenty-three of his psionic stars to use Precognitive Vision across Harrison Port.
• Ian saw black vapor and blood-red traces hanging over the city, then suffered severe backlash and coughed up blood.
• Ian concluded that the coming crisis involved both a natural disaster and human calamity.

Ian learned more about psionics from Hua An and reached Bart Grand Station, where he discovered the Empire’s alchemical trains. As he prepared to travel to the Imperial Capital, he reflected on the rumors surrounding Inaga II and wondered what the Black King had truly been like.

• Hua An explained the Fairies’ psionic research and promised to find Ian their meditation methods in the Imperial Capital.
• Hua An taught Frost Butterfly to reduce her presence, and the group traveled from Earthstorm Bridge to Bart Grand Station.
• Ian saw an alchemical train arrive and learned that Bart Grand Station was a major trade hub and railway terminal.
• Hua An explained that Inaga II had built the Empire’s rail network, while Ian dismissed the rumor that he had done so to bring Honey Crystal Fruit to his empress.
• Ian wondered what Inaga II had really been like and headed for the station, expecting the trains to take him to the Imperial Capital.

Ian fought Baron Layan in a rain-soaked valley, matching the Baron's strength with precise swordsmanship and using ice and a Frost Trap Potion to blunt his attacks. Baron Layan’s hidden traps failed to stop Ian, but he launched a psionic left arm wielding the armor-piercing spike at him.

• Ian formed a hailstorm of ice and clashed with Baron Layan, whose Rockwood White Deer Bloodline empowered his charge and armor-piercing spike.
• Ian’s meticulous swordsmanship countered Baron Layan’s attacks until the Baron gathered shockwaves into a devastating charge.
• Ian slid across ice to disperse the force of Baron Layan’s thrust and used a Frost Trap Potion to freeze the Baron’s joints.
• Baron Layan distracted Ian with talk of a hidden trap, and Killer Vines burst from the ground, but Ian froze them and escaped.
• Baron Layan sent a psionic left arm carrying the armor-piercing spike hurtling through the rain at Ian.

Gonta Ximor pursued the Royal Court Will plan to unite the Azure Heaven Royal Court and reach the Sixth Energy Level, while Ga'er challenged him for the chance to pursue Ian Silverpeak. Ian activated the Perpetual Motion Machine, drew aether from Terra, and announced that he would seal away the Fifth Energy Level beings until their visions could guide civilization in turn.

• Gonta Ximor explained to Ga'er how the Royal Court Will and Celestial Humans could make him an immortal embodiment of the Azure Heaven Royal Court.
• Ga'er challenged Gonta Ximor, saying he would defeat him and take his Blood of the Apex Seat so he could catch up to Ian Silverpeak.
• The Perpetual Motion Machine awakened, and aether across Terra surged toward a silver star while Fourth Energy Level beings lost much of their power.
• Fifth Energy Level beings across Terra were drawn into space as aether vanished, and Gonta Ximor realized Ga'er had come to fight him.
• Ian Silverpeak told the gathered Fifth Energy Level beings that he would seal them away and release them in sequence when Terra reached the eras suited to their ambitions.

The Blazing Flame Lands team and the Machina Church found a ruined Pre-Epoch armored suit and suspected a dangerous enemy lay ahead. When they used bait to draw it out, an enormous psychic insect swarm flooded the corridor, leaving the team under attack.

• The captain questioned the route through the ruins, but the Sleepless Eye nun explained that its features indicated a secret Pre-Epoch Civilization facility.
• The team discovered a destroyed five-meter-tall Pre-Epoch armored suit, which the captain saw as proof that an important target lay ahead.
• The Machina Church warned that a powerful enemy might be nearby and proposed setting traps and bait rather than scouting ahead.
• The group laid explosive traps and used poisoned Origin Matter and a psychic-fluctuation ornament as bait.
• A vast psychic insect swarm surged through the corridor in black miasma, and the captain ordered the team to activate the traps and open fire.

Ian, Isengard, and Master Gose followed the Parasite River to the Brood, where they encountered parasitized insects and a battle between Blazing Flame Lands soldiers and a Giant Metal Centipede. They reached the Brood’s enormous nest and discovered that its blue crystal-like centerpiece was the shell of the Brain-Eating Insect Queen.

• Ian, Isengard, and Master Gose followed the river upstream, where Brain-Eating Worm-infested corpses and a Brass Giant Mantis attacked them.
• Ian killed the Brass Giant Mantis, and Isengard burned the Brain-Eating Worm that emerged from its body.
• The group found Blazing Flame Lands soldiers fighting a parasitized Giant Metal Centipede, and Ian crippled a soldier and damaged an Alchemical Cannon before continuing onward.
• Ian, Isengard, and Master Gose reached a vast, radiation-filled cavern dominated by a two-hundred-meter metallic nest.
• Ian recognized that the enormous blue crystal inside the nest was actually the shell of the Brain-Eating Insect Queen.

Ian fought off and killed an armed native squad in the forest, using his speed, swordsmanship, and Wave-Singer abilities to evade their bullets. Afterward, he called out several hidden observers, including a blond, green-eyed youth, and told them they no longer needed to help.

• Ian dodged the natives' gunfire, charged into their ranks, and killed three with a sword strike.
• Ian killed the squad's captain while using a mud shield to deflect a volley of bullets.
• Ian attacked from the canopy and threw his sword through two natives before evading an alchemical bullet by moving the water in his high-pressure gun.
• Ian drew a sword from a fallen native and killed the remaining attackers, then used his water gun to shoot a fleeing hunter.
• Ian noted that his sword was damaged and called to hidden observers, who emerged from the woods led by a bewildered blond, green-eyed youth.

Viscount Grant struggled to locate the ruins’ true entrance and weighed his duty to protect the coast against his worry for those trapped below. Deep in the ruins, Ian tasted the Giant Gold Fungus and found it sweet.

• Viscount Grant wondered where the ruins’ main entrance was and how Bishop White Mist had entered.
• Viscount Grant lost his composure over the burdens left to him by the dead, then resolved to keep protecting the region.
• Viscount Grant showed Elder Pude reports of foreign fleets converging on the coast and explained that his presence was needed to deter them.
• Elder Pude worried about Ian and silently promised to scold him if he returned.
• Ian tasted the Giant Gold Fungus and described its flavor as a metallic sweetness with a hint of winter iron railings.

Ian and the others returned safely to Harrison Port after Ian and Isengard defeated the privateer’s attack. Ian promised to help Isengard face his family’s schemes, then reunited with Elan and Elder Pude at the docks.

• Ian and Sainan evaded the privateer until the South Sea Fleet arrived to escort them back to port, where Baron Ge Wen learned that Ian and Isengard had already stopped the attack.
• As the ships neared Harrison Port, Ian warned Andor not to run and reassured him that he would be safe near Master Gose and the others.
• Ian confronted Isengard’s fear of returning to his family and offered to discuss Patrick’s revelations and help him find a way forward.
• The sailboat docked, and Ian reunited with Elan and Elder Pude, who welcomed him home after confirming he was safe.

Ian realized that the Brood was assaulting him with psychic information and controlling people through mental possession. Despite his injuries and the psychic interference, he used his own psychic power to guide his body and forced his way toward the presence at the Brood’s core.

• Ian recovered from his injuries inside the Brood and discovered that its crystals and machinery were part of an operating maintenance system.
• Ian recognized that the Brood’s psychic network, rather than radiation, was causing his dizziness and trying to control his mind.
• Patrick awoke with his consciousness overtaken by the Brood’s network and began reciting maintenance instructions.
• Ian identified a deep-blue mist about twenty meters below him and used his psychic power and the Silver Chip to control his body.
• Ian smashed through the Brood’s floor and descended toward its core.

Master Gose and Patrick investigated the Empire’s need to find Deepsea Crystal Dragons and prepared to continue their mission with Ethan. Meanwhile, an Elf pirate fleet received orders to attack a survey ship in five days, and Ian treated Elan’s fever.

• Master Gose explained that the Empire needed Deepsea Crystal Dragon materials and relied on the young appraiser’s senses to locate them.
• Master Gose told Patrick to warn the Marquis and Madam to investigate their personnel for help from an elite inscription craftsman.
• Patrick left Harrison Port and vowed that he would not lose to Aels before sending a message on his crystal slate.
• An Elf pirate captain learned that his fleet would raid the survey ship in five days and kill a White Folk youth matching the description of a strikingly handsome fourteen- or fifteen-year-old.
• The Elf captain decided to wait for a storm to give the fleet home-ground advantage, while Ian brewed medicine and fed it to feverish Elan.

Ian explored Falling Star City's origins and learned that the Fairies had built it with the Spirit-Forging Engine, hoping to give the living city self-awareness and create a City Fairy. The Fairy Queen took Ian to the Photonic Furnace to teach him the technique, while Falling Star City's faint heartbeat hinted that its awakening might be near.

• Ian surveyed the Falling Star Sea's unusual ecosystem and learned that Falling Star City moved between the shore, clouds, and other locations depending on the Fairies' plans.
• The Fairy Queen and four Fairy mentors revealed that they had tried to create a Star God, then a giant Fairy, before turning their unfinished project into Falling Star City.
• The Fairy Queen explained that the Spirit-Forging Engine could eventually make Falling Star City self-aware and transform it into a City Fairy.
• The Fairy Queen took Ian away from the plaza to avoid a gathering forming around him and bring him to the Photonic Furnace for instruction.
• Ian sensed a heartbeat-like ripple within Falling Star City as he reached the pure-white Photonic Furnace.

Ian and Azure Tide lured the Dragon-Worshiping Cult assassins into an open clearing, where Ian feigned injury until Viscount Grant arrived with Wavebreaker. Grant’s overwhelming attack incapacitated the attackers, and the chapter ended with Ian’s side victorious.

• Ian pretended that his Fairy Wings propulsion had malfunctioned and retreated while the Dragon-Worshiping Cult surrounded him.
• The Elf bombarded Ian with lightning while Mo Ren and the cultists pressed their attack, but Ian evaded most of their strikes.
• Azure Tide’s sword attack nearly struck the Elf, and Mo Ren later believed he had badly wounded Ian after their swords clashed.
• The Elf hurled a massive lightning spear at Ian, while Viscount Grant arrived and unleashed Wavebreaker’s rain-cloud tsunami on the cultists.
• Ian emerged almost unharmed and shot the Elf in the back with a Charged Water Gun before pretending to collapse again.
• Mo Ren tried to flee, but a phantom beast delayed him until Wavebreaker incapacitated him and the remaining Dragon-Worshiping Cult fighters.

Ian operated on Master Gose to remove the Brain-Eating Worm lesions and discovered that the other infected survivors could not be saved. After Ethan gave them painless deaths, Ian carried Master Gose away with Isengard as they fled the Blazing Flame Lands pursuers.

• Ian removed three major Brain-Eating Worm lesions from Master Gose and told Isengard to use his blood to deal with remaining eggs.
• Ian found that the other surviving fishermen and sea merchants were near death, with the worms already reaching their brains.
• Ethan stopped Ian from killing the infected and gave them his blood, granting them painless deaths.
• Ian carried Master Gose and led Isengard down a cave passage to escape the approaching pursuers.
• Isengard looked back at the corpses once, then followed Ian without looking back again.

Cloudy Day reflected on the creation and completion of Above the High Heavens, explaining how Ian and the story developed from ideas in earlier works. The author thanked readers, discussed plans for a new book after resting, and ended with New Year wishes and a note about the completion bonus.

• Cloudy Day described the novel’s 22-month writing process and explained that health problems led to a less extensive ending than originally planned.
• Cloudy Day traced Above the High Heavens to ideas from Soul of Burning Steel and Monsters Die When They're Killed, and explained how Ian became the focus of a standalone prequel-like story.
• Cloudy Day revealed that Ian had secretly acted through Pioneer Space in Monsters Die When They're Killed, including plans to replace the Multiverse True Spirit before Su Zhou disrupted them.
• Cloudy Day looked back on Ian’s journey from curiosity to becoming a Pioneer, and discussed the strengths and flaws Cloudy Day had recognized in the writing.
• Cloudy Day thanked readers, announced plans to rest before releasing a new martial-arts wish-fulfillment novel, and wished everyone a happy New Year.

Ian escaped the parasitized Surging Tide Giant Eel with Sha Sha and treated the shark and Andor for Brain-Eating Worms. Examining the parasites, he suspected they were auxiliary memory organs altered to force symbiosis and take over their hosts.

• Ian guided Sha Sha through narrow passages and used the Silence Ring to evade the pursuing giant eel.
• Ian examined Sha Sha and found that its heat and bleeding had killed many parasites, then removed the remaining Brain-Eating Worms and eggs.
• Frost Butterfly briefly rested on Sha Sha, whose condition improved enough for it to fall asleep.
• Ian treated Andor, who had escaped with Sha Sha and had lost a leg but carried no worm eggs inside him.
• Ian studied the Brain-Eating Worms and wondered whether they were auxiliary memory organs that had become savage and seized their hosts.

Ian bought Elan a Storm Thorn from Lamar before the rainy season began. As Master Gose prepared to leave for the Imperial Capital, he explained how Origin Seeds, Origin Matter, and spiritual energy worked, and Ian realized that the soul was like an Origin Seed for spiritual energy.

• Lamar recommended a Storm Thorn to Ian and Elan, and Ian bought it after Elan showed how much he wanted it.
• Lamar said the Storm Thorn's abundant blooms signaled the approaching rainy season, and rain arrived the next day.
• Before leaving for the Imperial Capital, Master Gose told Ian that equipment and materials would soon be delivered and warned him not to involve himself too deeply in dangerous affairs.
• Ian asked Master Gose about self-Origin Matter, Origin Seeds, and natural spiritual energy at the Second Energy Level.
• Master Gose explained that the First Energy Level shaped Origin Matter into stable structures and that the Second Energy Level connected cultivation to the soul.
• Ian concluded that the soul was an illusory thing that produced real effects, like an Origin Seed for spiritual energy.

The Emperor explained why he valued Ian as a prophet of crises and ordered Moze to promote him, while Alegria reported on Imperial projects and heard her father reflect on his family. Ian received an Origin Matter computational chip and invited Isengard to learn about the world before joining his cause, leaving Isengard determined to understand him.

• The Emperor told Moze that Ian could foretell crises and ordered him to promote the young prophet while publicly predicting defeat in an approaching crisis.
• Alegria reported the Truth Institute's results and plans for the Blazing Mountain Lands, and the Emperor discussed her family and Isengard's role.
• Ian examined Yafda's Origin Matter computational chip and resolved to accelerate technological progress by gathering support and key technologies across Terra.
• Isengard confronted Ian about his plans to transform the world, and Ian acknowledged that he had failed to share his vision with his friend.
• Ian urged Isengard to witness how ascendants, ordinary people, technology, and society shaped Terra before deciding whether to join his cause, and Isengard agreed.

Ian investigated reports of a monster in Layan Lake and discovered that the silver apparition was a phantom of a Rust-Steel Dragon. The Silver Radiance Book led him to an ancient lakebed ruin, where he uncovered mysterious writing and began trying to read it with his soul.

• Ian and Scott went to Layan Lake after residents reported strange lights appearing in its depths, and Ian used Precognitive Vision and the Silver Chip to investigate.
• Ian and Scott witnessed a silver dragon-shaped phantom circling beneath the lake’s surface, and Ian suspected it was connected to the Silver Radiance Book and Layan Territory’s history as sacred ground.
• Ian retrieved the glowing Silver Radiance Book and dove into the lake, where he found ancient inscriptions and metallic patterns dating back to the Lost Era.
• At the lakebed, the book reacted to the silver sand and projected a meteorite-like image and mysterious writing that the Silver Chip translated into fragmented instructions about a damaged mission and core.
• Ian suspected the writing could only be properly read by a soul or psionic power, briefly assessed Scott’s prospects, then returned to the lakebed and touched the Silver Radiance Book with his soul.

After Ian served Hilliard an incipient Magic Beast for dinner, Hilliard recognized that Ian’s psionic ability could help him find rare resources and explained the costs of different cultivation inheritances. Ian asked what choices besides Sand Armor Apprentice were available, leaving his path undecided.

• Hilliard realized Ian’s rare observation-type psionic ability had helped him find the incipient Magic Beast and praised Ian’s cooking.
• Ian asked what an incipient Magic Beast was, and Hilliard explained the differences between incipient, native, and ancient Magic Beasts.
• Hilliard told Ian that eating Magic Beast flesh could speed his accumulation of Origin Matter and asked which inheritance he wanted to cultivate.
• Hilliard explained that Immovable Fortress required exceptionally rare materials, including parts from ancient dragons, and described the difficult choice between ambitious and accessible paths.
• Ian asked Hilliard which inheritances besides Sand Armor Apprentice were currently available to him.