Chapter Summaries

Ian reflected on how desire and emotion shaped psionic power, and worried that his growing abilities were causing dangerous visions. Heavy hoofbeats then drew him to Central Avenue, where he went to investigate the unusual rider.

• Ian considered how different kinds of psionic users strengthened their abilities and concluded that Acquired Awakened wielded a Vessel of Desire shaped by their ambitions.
• After seeing visions of strange trees and desert oases, Ian worried that his psionic power was advancing too quickly and causing mental strain.
• Ian reasoned that his unusual abilities and mature mind might have developed faster than his young brain could handle.
• When loud hoofbeats sounded nearby, Ian wondered who would ride a horse through the Southern Ridge and headed to Central Avenue to see.

Ian arranged for Scott to summon an Ironclad Shark and scout native activity during the storm, while warning him away from the Surging Wave Tribe’s core territory. He then reported to Viscount Grant and Elder Pude that Isengard would die on the coming voyage and that the natives had used firearms from the Blazing Flame Lands.

• Ian gave Scott a wooden box to summon an Ironclad Shark and instructed him to send it to Sighing Cliff.
• Scott reported that native hunters had been avoiding guards, and Ian suspected the tribes were preparing to capture a Deepsea Crystal Dragon hatchling.
• Ian asked Scott to scout several locations during the storm, forbade him from approaching the Surging Wave Tribe’s core territory, and told him to retrieve an alchemical longsword for the Ironclad Shark to deliver.
• Ian found Viscount Grant drinking tea with Elder Pude at the Elders' Hall and reported that Isengard would encounter fatal danger on his voyage.
• Ian told the two men that the natives had used firearms said to come from the Blazing Flame Lands.

Ian recognized the vortex inside the Aether Crystal Dragon as an incomplete Fireseed Furnace Core, a powerful relic from Terra’s Pre-Epoch Civilization. He agreed to protect the dragon’s descendants in exchange for keeping the Fireseed secret, then reached out to the core.

• Ian examined the Morien Steel structure inside the Aether Crystal Dragon and identified it as an incomplete Fireseed Furnace Core.
• Ian inferred that Crystal Dragons and Frostbound Moths had been designed to use Fireseed, and that the two lineages may have fought over a core in the Ruins Ice Abyss.
• Ian realized that True Dragons and Ancient Dragons might be lifeforms naturally adapted to powerful furnace cores, and that the core in Teacher Hilliard’s chest craved the Fireseed.
• Ian understood that the Aether Crystal Dragon was entrusting him with the core to protect its offspring from exploitation.
• Ian promised to care for the dragon’s descendants and ensure its line survived, then touched the Fireseed Furnace Core.

Ian traveled toward Twin Tree Town with the Razorclaw Tiger pelt and cooked dinner in the woods, where a mysterious mountainman with a Third Energy Level presence approached him. The stranger returned with a Pinecone Boar, and Ian welcomed him to share the meal.

• Ian estimated that the Razorclaw Tiger pelt could sell for over two hundred and thirty talers and checked his remaining Origin Matter.
• Ian cooked cured meat, onion sauce, and a honey-glazed rabbit at a woodland camp.
• A red-haired mountainman asked Ian if he could camp with him, and Ian noted the stranger’s disguise and hidden Third Energy Level presence.
• The mountainman returned carrying a Pinecone Boar, and Ian invited him to sit and share dinner.

Ian and his companions passed into Dusk Sanctuary, where Ian deduced that the ruin was selecting for Dragonblood and abilities resembling the Silver Chip. After they encountered newly mechanized Magic Beasts and explored the dangerous ruins, Ian sensed a battle between Aina Sertal and someone from the Azure Heaven Royal Court.

• Ian realized the Xenobiology Research Institute’s Dragonblood authorization and the Dark Gold Dragon’s plans might be connected to the Sertal imperial family and the expedition’s powerful heirs.
• Ian, Sheo, Anfa, and Isengard passed the Dragonblood inspection, and Isengard discovered that the Light-Eater Dragon counted as a dragon.
• Ian and his companions entered Dusk Sanctuary, where Ian and Anfa killed a mechanized insect beast and recognized that its recently developed machinery meant the ruins had changed.
• Ian guided the group through the trap-filled layer, helping them avoid dangers and recover Pre-Epoch Civilization devices while discussing True Sight and its similarities to Ian’s abilities.
• Ian sensed a battle to the north and identified one combatant as Aina Sertal and the other as someone from the Azure Heaven Royal Court.

The Blazing Flame Lands team and Machina Church cultivators searched the underground Pre-Epoch Civilization ruins, where a giant octopus infected a scout with dark-blue parasites. After the captain's team killed the beast and burned the scout, the Sleepless Eye sister began examining the remains.

• The captain questioned the reliability of the natives’ directions as the team found no signs of the ruins after hours of exploring.
• A tentacled giant octopus seized Vicha and tore off his arm, while dark-blue insects burrowed into his wound.
• The captain, a greatshield knight, and the team killed the octopus with a shield charge, a wind-pressure sword, and a flame alchemical bullet.
• The captain stopped the medical team from approaching and ordered the dark-blue liquid contained after Vicha showed signs of parasitic infection.
• A Machina Sister burned Vicha and the octopus with blue-white fire, and the Sleepless Eye sister used her artificial eyes and psionics to examine the remains.

Ian watched Viscount Grant battle a giant Crocodile Dragon controlled by the Great Shaman, while learning that Bishop Light’s Embrace had joined the fight against the Redwood Native forces. As the storm continued, Ian wondered how he could face such a monster, and Hilliard stood on the sea near Odell Reef, sheathed in crystalline matter.

• Ian remained more astonished by Viscount Grant’s power armor than by the enormous beasts of the Terra Continent.
• Viscount Grant told the Great Shaman that Bishop Light’s Embrace had freed himself and was leading troops against the shamans and chieftains in Anmore Town.
• The Great Shaman controlled the Crocodile Dragon to shatter Grant’s water-blade attack, while Grant used Tidebreaker’s accelerated water cannons to hurt the beast.
• Grant’s armor and the Crocodile Dragon continued fighting as the battle became a contest of endurance and energy.
• Ian looked toward the stormy sea and wondered how he could deal with the giant monster.
• Hilliard stood on the water near Odell Reef, protected by a faint golden radiance and translucent crystalline matter.

Ian learned that the Thousand-Stars Beast had lost its Spark and was now a dangerous but usable material, while Light's Embrace hoped to control it and build the Cradle. After installing the Precognition Interface, Ian discovered it could simulate possible futures and planned to make Terra's Heart offer tailored guidance to Silverpeak's people for a price.

• Light's Embrace and the Thousand-Stars Beast produced a Precognition Interface chip, which Ian examined and recognized as a device resembling his Precognitive Vision.
• Ian used the Star God's Gift to learn that the Thousand-Stars Spark had been stripped away, leaving the Thousand-Stars Foundation dormant, uncontrolled, and potentially dangerous.
• The Twin Popes explained that Light's Embrace used computational power to shape creations from the Thousand-Stars Beast and hoped to control it to build the Cradle.
• Ian connected the Thousand-Stars Beast, the Progenitor True Dragons, and the missing perpetual motion machine to the Star Gods' plans, and realized that Second Prince Mikael held a possible lead to the needed inheritance.
• Ian installed the Precognition Interface and discovered that it could simulate future outcomes, then planned to record its capabilities in Terra's Heart to guide cultivation and research across Silverpeak Domain.
• Ian decided that access to Terra's Heart's simulations would go to contributors or those willing to pay, and resolved to use the Arcane Path to give Silverpeak an advantage.

Xiahui Territory rapidly developed after the Southern Ridge victory while Ian prepared to secure Imperial honors and funding. With the territory’s Elemental Crystal production line nearing completion, Ian left to collect the Earthvein Source Crystal needed for his new Steel Lord advancement potion.

• Mountain folk workers helped Ian accelerate Rosy Glow City’s rebuilding, while Sheo built herself a nest on Loneflame Peak.
• An Imperial messenger arrived, and Ian questioned him about development funding and learned that Viscount Taimo Dikas would soon confer his honors.
• Ian reviewed letters and plans, including news that Hua An and Frost Butterfly had found the Hot Water Fairies, and advanced construction of an Elemental Crystal production line using the Jiamu Tribe’s equipment and Sky Crystal Mushrooms.
• Ian transformed Kede Jiamu’s soul into an intermediate spiritual computing unit, strengthened his own soul, and assigned Adalbert further meditation-method research.
• Ian told Scott to continue the territory’s projects and left to collect the Earthvein Source Crystal for his Steel Lord potion.

Ian spoke with Isengard about why he traveled, explaining that exploration and adventure were part of who he was. Isengard praised the people Ian had helped, and Ian said he could only imitate playing instruments rather than truly play them.

• Isengard finished practicing piano and explained that he used it to keep his hands nimble for alchemy.
• Isengard asked why Ian had willingly traveled from Southern Ridge to the imperial capital, and Ian said that exploration and adventure were part of his life.
• Ian joked that traveling let more people see him, but Isengard seriously agreed that Ian should travel and help others.
• Isengard showed Ian documents about the people he had helped and said he admired him.
• Ian picked up a lute and told Isengard that he could only imitate playing instruments.

Silverpeak Domain used unmanned armored suits, traps, and broadcasts to disrupt Death Knell’s demon legion as it advanced through the Golden Plains. The chapter ended with Silverpeak Domain’s elite armored unit destroying the legion’s first stronghold and Cursed Earth altar southwest of Earthstorm Bridge.

• Death Knell’s demon legion camped in the Golden Plains, where the silver sun suppressed the spread of its Cursed Earth.
• Southern Ridge unmanned armored suits repeatedly attacked the camp and self-destructed, while strange disturbances frightened and disoriented demon scouts.
• Death Knell sent demons to seize Golden Plains estates, but the evacuated fortresses exploded when too many demons entered.
• Silverpeak Domain broadcast its tactics and analysis of the demons, prompting Southern Ridge residents and workshops to support the war effort.
• Terra’s Heart improved the unmanned armored suits through repeated combat and self-optimization.
• On July 1, Terra Year 775, Silverpeak Domain’s elite armored unit destroyed the demon legion’s first stronghold southwest of Earthstorm Bridge and demolished its Cursed Earth altar.

Scott recalled how his childhood helplessness led him to join the guard and follow Ian, who showed him that even a mortal could help change the world. After Ian entrusted Xiahui Territory to him before departing for Canaanmore, Scott accepted his role and resolved to carry on the Pioneer’s work.

• Scott remembered his grandmother’s death and his childhood neighbor’s disappearance, which left him determined to help people avoid needless suffering.
• After Scott’s comrades died defending Harrison Port, Ian repaired the alchemical cannon and helped Scott defeat the attacking Crocodile Dragon, inspiring Scott to follow him.
• In the present, Ian tested his new lightning abilities on Scott and explained that Scott’s practical understanding of ordinary people and society made him a strong choice to manage Xiahui Territory.
• Scott explained why he had slowed industrial expansion and redirected funds toward education, and Ian praised his long-term economic reasoning.
• Ian entrusted Xiahui Territory to Scott and departed for Nauman City to join the ship bound for Canaanmore.
• Watching Ian leave, Scott understood that he could help fulfill the Pioneer’s wish and change the world.

First Prince Carlos explained the origins of demons and the Void Realm to Ian, then asked him to predict the danger surrounding their expedition to the Xenobiology Research Institute. Ian first saw death surrounding Carlos, but Carlos’s preparations drove the omen back; Carlos thanked Ian and announced their departure for the day after tomorrow.

• Carlos told Ian that demons had appeared in the Void Realm after the Calamity of Falling Skies and warned him that a greater hostile existence lay behind them.
• Carlos discussed their cooperation, confirmed that Gesai and Ethan would accompany Ian, and offered his help if the expedition ran into trouble.
• Carlos asked Ian to use his prophetic ability to examine the upcoming exploration, and Ian saw black mist signifying Carlos’s death.
• Carlos invoked his Deception Art, and Ian saw the black mist recede until only a faint red glow remained.
• Carlos embraced Ian, thanked him for saving his life, and said the expedition would depart the day after tomorrow.
• Ian returned to Emberlamp House to prepare, while Ethan prepared to advance to the Second Energy Level.

Ian spent time with his family while considering whether his younger brother Elan should train at the Church of Light’s Embrace. The chapter ended with Ian and Elan meeting Finance Officer Lamar at a flower shop, where Lamar helped Elan choose flowers.

• Ian examined Frost Butterfly and considered how his Second Energy Level might help her gain intelligence, while deciding to follow the water path and rest before advancing.
• Ian took Elder Pude to the Church of Light’s Embrace, where a priest provided treatment for mutations caused by his Crouching Rock Bear Lizard bloodline.
• Ian asked Bishop White Mist about having Elan train at the church, and Bishop White Mist warned that the training was harsh and Elan could be asked to withdraw if he could not endure it.
• Ian took Elan to the market to look at flowers and realized that Elan’s ability to hear plant melodies might help him train his psychic power.
• Ian and Elan encountered Finance Officer Lamar trimming plants at a flower shop, and Lamar offered to help Elan choose thorny flowers.

Inaga II recounted how the Silver Chip led him from an inquisitive prince to an emperor who sought to remake Terra, only to realize that many of his reforms had failed. He left Ian Silverpeak with the conviction that the world still had people who could continue the work.

• The eleventh prince explored Terra and learned that his royal status gave him freedoms ordinary people lacked, while the villagers he met struggled merely to survive.
• During an expedition, the prince used his psionic ability, Trace-Seeking, to find a Silver Chip in a prehistoric ruin where eleven explorers had died fighting over it.
• The prince used the Silver Chip to uncover ancient knowledge and concluded that he needed to become emperor to change the empire and improve people's lives.
• The prince secretly exposed his two elder brothers' plot to murder the Scorching Sun King, and both brothers died in solar flames, clearing the way for him to become emperor.
• Inaga II admitted to Ian Silverpeak that his reforms had improved infrastructure, medicine, and industry but failed to give people meaningful education, work, or entertainment.
• Ian Silverpeak explained the failures, and Inaga II said he did not regret his choices because the world still had people like Ian.

Ian and Ethan discovered that the Giant Gold Fungus colony formed part of a subterranean ecosystem that awakened during abnormal heat dissipation, drawing monsters and parasites into a cycle of predation. As the resulting beast migration turned against them, Ian and Isengard fought to escape, with Isengard proving unexpectedly effective against a parasitized cave bear.

• Ian explained that Giant Gold Fungus transformed its symbiotic beasts into half-fungal creatures, and realized the fungus colony had been confined to its cavern by other monsters.
• The awakening fungus released a sweet fragrance that attracted magical beasts, wild animals, and Brain-Eating Worm-infected beasts, revealing an underground cycle of nourishment triggered by abnormal heat dissipation.
• Ian urged Ethan to flee as the arriving creatures overwhelmed the area, but a parasitized Giant Red-Clawed Cave Bear attacked after sensing their mental activity.
• Ian dodged the cave bear and realized that using Precognitive Vision attracted parasitized beasts, which began tracking him and Ethan.
• Isengard used corrosive poisonous fire against the cave bear's lower body, weakening it enough for Ian and the others to evade its attack.

Ian realized that the Southern Sea Ruins’ cooling system was functioning, yet the ruins still faced catastrophic failure, and he vowed to uncover the cause before it destroyed Harrison Port and Terra’s hopes. As Ian and Ethan crossed the underground glacier, they heard cries and fighting ahead.

• Ian heard the Deepsea Crystal Dragon roar and concluded that it was injured and angry after its attempt to advance was interrupted.
• Ian recognized that the ice abyss’s refrigeration system was working properly and questioned why abnormal heat dissipation had caused the great storm.
• Ian grew angry at the threat to the Southern Sea Ruins and resolved to stop its self-destruction before it endangered Harrison Port and Terra.
• Ian considered the importance of retrieving Redwood Base’s database and protecting its archives from the Blazing Flame Lands.
• Ian and Ethan continued across the glacier with Master Gose, then heard human wails, roars, and battle sounds in the distance.

Ian took control of the camp and decided the survivors should head northwest rather than risk another attack with their dwindling ammunition. Master Gose revealed that he had recognized Ian as Hilliard Lesi’s student and advised him on concealing the clues to his identity.

• Ian learned that the pirates and exploration team had each lost Ascenders, and that Wildfire had disappeared while scouting.
• Ian ordered the survivors to pool their supplies and prepare to leave toward the northwest.
• Ethan told Ian that Master Gose had awakened and wanted to speak with him privately.
• Master Gose identified Ian’s teacher as Hilliard Lesi after recognizing the Deep Abyss Iron Sword.
• Ian asked how to conceal the sword and his swordsmanship, and Master Gose explained what had made him suspicious.
• Master Gose admitted that he had fainted after recognizing Ian, rather than from battle injuries or parasites.

Ian and Adalbert developed the concept of a spirit-machine core that could shelter wandering souls, prompting Ian to pursue funding and investment for the technology and Xiahui Territory’s expansion. As the territory’s rapid development continued, Viscount Taimo Dikas arrived with imperial honors, supplies, and merchants interested in investing.

• Adalbert presented Ian with a plan to let souls leave their bodies and seek shelter inside spirit-machine cores, and Ian recognized it as the foundation of a human-made underworld.
• Ian approved Adalbert’s research funding requests and contacted nobles, merchants, the Second Prince, and the fairies to attract investment for Xiahui Territory.
• Ian told his management team to build an alchemy industrial park and seek partnerships with foreign factions and multinational fleets at Harrison Port.
• Isengard told Ian that Ian’s designs and papers had strengthened Isengard’s position as Platinum-Iridium Workshop’s Southern Territory director, while Anfa prepared to return to Canaanmore.
• Xiahui Territory supplied mountainfolk with tools and construction materials, traded for their resources, and introduced Dwarf-led mining methods and alchemical rail transport.
• Scott reported that the first hydroponic farm tower was framed, and Viscount Taimo Dikas arrived with imperial rewards, supplies, and merchants seeking investment opportunities.

Ian reunited with Anfa, Sheo, and Isengard aboard the Siren and learned that Chairman Yafda wanted his help reaching the Xenobiology Research Institute’s third level. The chapter revealed Ian’s extraordinary nature and ended with Anfa explaining that the ruins held the Source of Dragonblood, a treasure capable of granting a Fifth Energy Level powerhouse a second life.

• Ian met Anfa and Isengard in the Siren’s VIP room, and Sheo rushed in to reunite with Anfa.
• Isengard told Ian that changes in Terra’s Origin Matter were agitating Magic Beasts and causing attacks near Governor Bai Ji’s territory.
• Ian recounted that Chairman Yafda had offered him a reward and asked him to use a costly Signal Transmitter upon reaching the ruins’ third level.
• Yafda used the Ring of Radiance to perceive Ian as an ancient, immensely powerful Indeterminate Machine, then visited Master Gravi and urged him to return to World Tree Capital.
• Anfa confirmed that Canaanmore’s exploration of the Xenobiology Research Institute had begun long ago and explained that its deepest prize was the Source of Dragonblood, which could extend a Fifth Energy Level powerhouse’s life.