Chapter Summaries

Ian staged Magnetic Light's death as a dramatic self-destruction, while Anfa confronted and captured the Purple Maple Knight. Anfa and Pan Sha waited as Ian fought another opponent, and Ian eventually returned unharmed.

• Ian killed Magnetic Light by destroying his Thunderclap Heart, then used potions to make his corpse explode in a massive blast.
• The Purple Maple Knight saw the explosion and prepared to flee, but Anfa blocked her path.
• Anfa urged Miu Yier to surrender, and she lowered her hands before he bound her with chains.
• Pan Sha emerged from the ground and asked whether they should help Ian, but Anfa told him not to investigate what they were not meant to know.
• Anfa and Pan Sha watched distant explosions as Ian fought someone at the Second Energy Level, then Ian appeared before them unharmed.

Ian appraised Sainan’s radiation-mutated Taisi Glow Algae as valuable material and realized the fisherman was hiding why he had brought it. After seeing an omen of certain death over Sainan, Ian urged him to confess, while Sainan feared that revealing the truth could endanger Ian and the White Folk.

• Ian appraised Sainan’s bag of algae as high-quality material worth over one hundred and forty Taler and offered to buy it.
• Sainan claimed the algae had already been reserved, but Ian recognized that he was lying and used his psychic abilities to question him.
• Ian saw a black mist and bloodlight over Sainan, warning him that his life was in extreme danger and offering Elder Pude’s help.
• Sainan remembered Ian’s accurate premonitions and considered confessing, but hesitated because he feared bringing trouble upon Ian and the White Folk.
• Sainan’s thoughts revealed that the algae was a deposit from a group of Magic Beast hunters who had ordered him to keep their arrangement secret.

Ian finished engraving a defensive armor plate and reflected on his training, appraisal work, and carefully cultivated reputation. When a visitor arrived at his shop seeking an appraisal, Ian went downstairs to meet them, hoping they had brought something interesting.

• Ian completed an armor plate engraving and complained that his tools were inadequate for the work.
• Ian considered how his training, combat strength, and appraisal reputation had developed over the four years since Hilliard’s death.
• Ian recalled that he concealed the full extent of his appraisal abilities and encouraged clients to bring him ancient relics for examination.
• Ian heard the shop’s wind bells, went downstairs, and greeted a tall visitor who had come for an appraisal.

Weges compiled five suspicious incidents in Harrison Port that might point to his mentor, Hilliard, and headed for the native reserve to pursue clues. Meanwhile, Ian and Hilliard prepared a Perception-Enhancing Potion so Ian could locate Weges by tracking the psychic feedback from his surveillance.

• Weges recorded five suspicious points, including disappearances, a past native invasion, and an unexpectedly weak sea-beast assault, and considered how Hilliard might be connected to them.
• Weges decided to leave quickly, hoping to find Hilliard and ask about the Dark Moon Turmoil and the Black King's relics before his psychic power ran out.
• Ian and Hilliard recognized Weges as the psychic who had been monitoring their family and decided to track him in return, while preparing to kill him if necessary.
• Ian began brewing a Perception-Enhancing Potion, planning to use stronger perception to locate Weges's true body through the psychic feedback from his marks.

Ian watched a group of Azure-Armored Lizards drink from a blue underground river, suspecting the ruins might support a living ecosystem. When the lizards fell unnaturally silent and became swollen with writhing parasites, he revealed himself and faced the infected creatures.

• Ian identified the Azure-Armored Lizards and concealed his presence while they approached the river.
• The lizards drank from the blue river, and Ian considered following them to explore the ruins and track them with Origin Matter.
• After drinking, the lizards remained silent beside the river, leading Ian to suspect the water was poisoned.
• Ian stepped out as the lizards turned toward him, their bodies swollen with parasites and their eyes grotesquely bulging.
• Ian’s chip identified the lizards as dangerously parasitized by Malignant Parasites and warned that they were not edible.

Ian watched a colony of Reef-Eating Sea Otters near the Illusion Maze Reef Cluster, seeking the leader’s Pure Rock Body ability as an ingredient for his Magic Potion. His Precognitive Vision had stabilized at the First Energy Level, but the leader showed no obvious weaknesses.

• The chapter described Harrison Port’s remote location, rich trade goods, and the Magic Beasts that made travel and development dangerous.
• It explained how Labyrinth Algae protected the Illusion Maze Reef Cluster and how Reef-Eating Sea Otters hunted coral and resisted the algae’s toxins.
• Ian hid near the coast on December 17, three months after the Great Storm, and observed the otter colony returning from foraging.
• Ian identified three Magic Beasts among the otters and singled out the deep-blue colony leader, whose Pure Rock Body he needed for his Magic Potion.
• Ian recalled that his Precognitive Vision had stabilized two months earlier and had reached the First Energy Level.

Ian fought the powerful Nightmare Spawn in the corridor, using his layered defenses and swordsmanship to gauge its strength before launching a counterattack with the Ancient Dragon Core and Aether Crystal. The Nightmare Spawn wounded Ian and pierced him with a terror-inducing attack, but Ian cut off one of its wings and froze its tail to keep it from escaping as the battle continued.

• The Nightmare Spawn charged Ian at supersonic speed, and he blocked its strike with layers of armor while cutting into the base of its wing with the Steel-Pattern Sword.
• Ian judged that the Nightmare Spawn could be defeated and charged again with the Deep Abyss Iron Sword, the Aether Crystal, and the Ancient Dragon Core.
• The Nightmare Spawn pierced Ian's defenses with its tail and filled him with terror, but he held his ground despite being wounded.
• Ian cut off one of the Nightmare Spawn's wings with the Deep Abyss Iron Sword and resisted its psionic attack.
• Ian spread his blood and the Cold Wisdom Skeleton's supercooled fluid over the Nightmare Spawn's tail, freezing it to his body as the fight resumed.

Ian stopped a transport vehicle from killing a pedestrian and used his modified regeneration potion to stabilize the victim. After sharing treatment data with the emergency responders, he declined Waldo’s banquet invitation and continued toward the Seventh Layer to meet Isengard of the Ellen Family.

• Ian used his modified regeneration potion on the injured pedestrian, stopping the bleeding and keeping him alive.
• Waldo of the Noka Family thanked Ian, apologized for his subordinate, and introduced himself.
• Ian told the emergency responders about his potion and offered to share the victim’s data without charge.
• Waldo invited Ian to a banquet, but Ian declined and said he was heading to meet Mr. Isengard of the Ellen Family.
• Waldo recognized Ian as the Ellen Family’s guest and let him leave, then muttered irritably about Ian after he had gone.

Master Gose revealed that Isengard may have been born as part of a royal bloodline experiment, and Ian suspected Patrick had tried to kill him to preserve the Ellen Family’s independence. As the group fled, Ian foresaw pursuers behind them and the natives’ Great Shaman blocking their path, marking a near-certain-death crisis.

• Master Gose explained that Isengard may have been a vessel in an experiment to improve bloodline compatibility, and speculated that Patrick acted to protect the Ellen Family’s independence.
• Ian asked whether Master Gose had been part of the plan, and Gose admitted he had joined the project but vowed to protect Ethan, his student.
• Isengard wept over his uncle’s betrayal, then pulled himself together and promised Ian a suitable inheritance and Magic Potion as compensation.
• Ian noticed that pursuers were closing in behind them while the natives’ Great Shaman had blocked their way ahead.
• Ian activated Precognitive Vision and saw black and crimson mist around everyone, recognizing the situation as a near-certain-death crisis.

An Imperial Capital envoy delivered shocking news to Viscount Grant, prompting officials and local leaders to gather at the manor. Before the viscount announced anything, a support convoy entered Harrison Port, and Ian noticed its massive wagons had tracks.

• A heavily armored envoy from the Imperial Capital arrived at Viscount Grant's manor and reported news that visibly shocked the viscount.
• The envoy rode away, and officials, Elder Pude, and leaders from nearby villages hurried to the manor as residents waited for an announcement.
• A support convoy approached Harrison Port, announced by the roars and footsteps of a herd of enormous Bison Bulls.
• Ian recognized the Bison Bulls and recalled their strength and value as the convoy entered the city.
• Ian spotted five pairs of road wheels and tracks on the convoy's huge cargo wagons.

Ian learned that the mountain folk had obtained Aether Armor and were supported by controlled beasts, so he ordered reconnaissance while preparing supplies and welcoming reinforcements to Layan City. Azure Tide brought Adalbert to the castle, and after organizing his forces, Ian set out to scout the enemy’s position.

• Ian told Scott to investigate the mountain folk’s supply routes and asked him to meet Azure Tide’s arriving mercenaries.
• Azure Tide arrived with Adalbert, who was traveling under the alias Gu Ying, and Ian welcomed his old friend to Layan Castle.
• Adalbert explained that communications with the Dragon-Worshiping Cult had been disrupted, and Ian asked him to oversee the alchemy laboratory.
• Ian, Azure Tide, Adalbert, Scott, and the others shared lunch at the castle.
• Ian assessed his roughly one hundred and ten core fighters and decided to lead a team on another reconnaissance mission.

The chapter recounts the devastation caused by Karin's Flower and reveals the Church of Light's Embrace's evidence of a new crisis in Harrison Port. A white-haired boy hatches from a cocoon in the crystallized city and destroys the observation camera with a psionic shockwave.

• Five Fifth Energy Level powerhouses destroyed Karin's Flower's mother body, but its lingering poison killed millions and left corpse-filled deadlands.
• The Church of Light's Embrace and the Nethertrace Order buried the victims in a basin that became the Sacred Domain, where clergy suppressed Karin's Flower's lingering essence.
• The disaster weakened the nations of Frontier Reach for centuries, and later scholars concluded that a complete Karin Mother Tree could threaten all life on Terra.
• The Church of Light's Embrace showed the nations' leaders footage of Harrison Port, where crystalline slime covered the fallen city and white cocoons grew amid a psionic network.
• A white-haired boy with an inhuman body, pointed ears, and nascent wings emerged from a cocoon and destroyed the observation camera with a psionic shockwave.

After becoming King of the Blazing Flame Lands, Ian Silverpeak crushed riots and foreign-backed resistance in the Lower Blazing Flame Land while reorganizing its government and transforming daily life. With the region stabilized and increasingly loyal to him, Ian also learned a secret about the Tranquil Sea: the Light Realm might be wreckage from the Sky-Fall Starship.

• Ian Silverpeak ordered martial law and sent Silverpeak Domain forces into the Lower Blazing Flame Land as unrest and sabotage spread.
• Ian formed a unified administration from Silverpeak elites and local officials, using dream education and new industries to train administrators, create jobs, and stabilize the region.
• Ian offered rioters a chance to surrender, then launched raids and executions against those who continued sabotage and crimes including trafficking and human experimentation.
• Ian's reforms improved security, infrastructure, education, and public services, earning the support of people across the Lower Blazing Flame Land.
• Ian's Fairy Body learned from Savaga Nemassas that the Light Realm was an ancient legacy possibly formed from the wreckage of the Sky-Fall Starship.

Ian confronted Patrick in the ruins and exposed his lies about Ethan and Isengard, forcing Patrick to fight rather than let him leave alive. Patrick activated Dark Radiance’s offshoot, but Ian used Ethan’s blood to disrupt the armor and attacked him with an unexpected earth-element strike.

• Ian accused Patrick of lying and warned that his actions against Master Gose, Viscount Grant, and Ethan meant he could not leave alive.
• Patrick admitted he still intended to cripple Isengard and kill Ian, then activated the Ellen Family’s Aether Armor offshoot, Dark Radiance.
• Ian fired a water jet carrying Ethan’s blood, causing Dark Radiance to malfunction and expose Patrick’s body.
• Ian lunged at Patrick with a pale golden sword strike, leaving Patrick shocked that Ian appeared to wield earth-element power.

Ian confronted his willingness to sacrifice everyone for the sake of exploration and chose to value his companions and the journey itself. He interrupted his ascension into a Star God to help seal the End Fragment, stabilize Terra’s system, and then fell asleep as the Dragon Kings rescued him.

• Ian relived memories of a parallel self who slaughtered Terra to power the Netherworld Perpetual Motion Machine, and recognized the danger of treating lives as disposable steps toward his goals.
• Ian decided that exploration and the people who joined him were part of his dream, and that he would sacrifice himself rather than his companions.
• Ian awakened before becoming a complete Star God and used his remaining power with the Dragon Kings and Carlos to activate Dragon Island’s sealing array and suppress the End Fragment.
• Ian perceived Terminus beyond the Cradle, concluded that repairing the Cradle was essential, and used Star God power to restore Terra’s and the moons’ orbits and calm the sun.
• Ian’s Star God body shattered, and the Star-Quelling Dragon King caught him as the Dragon Kings gathered around him.
• Ian reassured Carlos and the Dragon Kings that he was alive, revealed his changed star-filled eyes, and fell asleep.

Elder Pude took Ian to Harrison Port’s trading post, where he saw the corpses of Native scouts and learned that the Natives would seek revenge. Ian returned home and reflected on the danger and his concealed strength, deciding to stay inside the city until he could advance his cultivation.

• Elder Pude and Ian visited the trading post, where Old Bourne showed them several Native corpses being sold for their tribes’ use.
• Two soldiers brought in more corpses, and Elder Pude told Ian they were scouts from the tribe that had tried to abduct him and Elan.
• Elder Pude warned Ian that the Natives would retaliate, then left him to find his own way home.
• Ian dropped his meek act once he was alone and reasoned that people would attribute his strength to psychic ability rather than uncover Hilliard’s identity.
• Ian decided not to venture outside Harrison Port until he condensed the Origin Seed, then went to cook his salmon for dinner.

After Sha Sha’s body inscriptions inspired Ian, he conceived of combining mechanical modification, inscription enhancements, and Artificial Souls to expand access to ascension. He then prepared to travel secretly to Rust-Steel Mountain to meet Elder Manyan and discuss materials, the mountain people’s holy land, and their inheritances.

• Ian realized Sha Sha’s electromagnetic inscriptions could inspire combat modules for Artificial Souls and mechanical bodies, potentially enabling more people to become ascenders.
• Ian decided to study the Mechanized Spirit Order’s mechanical modifications and combine them with Artificial Souls and other Terra technologies.
• Ian encouraged Sha Sha to finish inscribing the Electromagnetic Storm Generator, then returned his consciousness to Xiahui Territory.
• Ian arranged a trip to the Dragon-Worshiping Cult to consult Elder Manyan about Third Energy Level materials and mountain people’s inheritances.
• Ian reported his plans to Colonel Mayowa, who urged him to do his best as he pursued Nauman City’s goal of infiltrating the Dragon-Worshiping Cult.
• Ian prepared to travel to Rust-Steel Mountain secretly with a Nauman City grain convoy.

Dark dreamed of the Thousand-Stars Cluster’s sacrifice before Ian sealed its shattered consciousness and prepared to confront Terminus. Ian then took the End Fragment beyond the Cradle, setting out with the Heavenly Father’s remnant light to draw Terminus away while his friends prepared to continue their work on Terra.

• Dark dreamed of the Thousand-Stars Cluster choosing to become a Cradle and sacrifice itself to preserve the possibility of future miracles.
• The Myriad Souls Notary, the Guide of All Living Beings, the Fairy Queen, Vannar, and the Calamity-Death Mechanical Dragon helped Ian establish two vast seals around the Thousand-Stars Beast.
• Ian spoke with the Thousand-Stars Beast, agreed to seal its body and fragments until a new Thousand-Stars Child could inherit its role, and let its shattered consciousness fall asleep.
• The Dragon Kings and Carlos dismantled Dragon Island’s seal, and Ian used spiritual power to grasp the End Fragment and perceive the many possible ends of the universe.
• Ian placed the End Fragment in Sutton, collapsed the planet into a black star, and joined its radiance to the Heavenly Father’s remnant light before heading beyond the Cradle to lure Terminus away.
• Ian’s friends watched his guiding light from Terra, while Ian carried a telescope made by his old mentor toward the end of his journey.

Terra's Heart and Aina met Bokaon Elster in Ridgehold Palace, where Terra's Heart identified Bokaon as a human who had shattered himself across parallel worlds and become an eternal, fragmented being. Bokaon gave them the Terra Dragon Legacy, and Terra's Heart explained that Ian hoped Bokaon's condition would reveal the nature of Terminus.

• Terra's Heart led Aina through Ridgehold Palace, where they saw living cloned bodies and sublimation experiments in cultivation chambers.
• Terra's Heart confronted Bokaon Elster and recognized that Bokaon had become inseparable from Ridgehold and its True Aether Furnace.
• Terra's Heart called Bokaon a shattered but whole human who had died and continued living forever, and Bokaon accepted the explanation.
• Bokaon agreed to give Terra's Heart the Terra Dragon Legacy, while Terra's Heart said Aina had to witness the exchange for Ian's plan.
• Terra's Heart showed Aina its perspective and explained how generations of Ridgehold Grand Dukes had used the Apocalypse Armament and True Aether Furnace to remake themselves across parallel spacetime.
• Terra's Heart described Bokaon as an infinitely spreading tree whose only possible reunion lay at the universe's Terminus, which Ian hoped would help reveal Terminus's nature.

Ian discovered that a plant thought to be regenerative could be used to make a potion that extended lifespan, astonishing the people gathered around the apothecary. As Elder Pude went to inform Viscount Grant, Ian suspected life-extending plants were often misidentified throughout the continent.

• Ian estimated that the plant's potion could add about five years to a Second Energy Level ascendant's life and at least twice as much when the plant matured.
• Ian stopped Mr. Silverfang from speaking and told Elder Pude the plant was an immortal magic plant that extended lifespan.
• Elder Pude immediately went to Viscount Grant's residence to deliver the news.
• The onlookers erupted in disbelief, while the Ellen Family trio questioned Ian's claim and decided to watch.
• Ian concluded that life-extending plants from Southern Ridge and other regions were likely often mistaken for ordinary regenerative plants.