Chapter Summaries

Night Snake went to the dammed lake near Loneflame Peak and found Baron Layan dead after a battle with an Imperial knight, whom he tried to ambush. The knight, revealed as Ian, killed Night Snake and turned toward Baron Layan’s fading spirit.

• Night Snake realized Baron Layan’s resurrection plan had gone wrong and flew to the third dammed lake near Loneflame Peak.
• Night Snake found Baron Layan dead beside an exhausted-looking Imperial knight and decided to seize the knight as experimental material.
• Night Snake introduced himself as Solas Base of the Spirit Cognition Institute and approached the knight with alchemical toxins ready.
• The knight revealed a dark-golden blade from his broken sword hilt and struck Night Snake with overwhelming earth- and water-aspect Origin Matter.
• Night Snake tried to flee with a wind vortex, but the knight shattered his armor and spine with another sword strike.
• The knight crushed Night Snake’s head beneath his foot, then turned toward Baron Layan’s fading spirit.

After Master Gose awakened, a psionic trace linked his mind to the Brain-Eating Worms’ collective network, leaving him confused and unable to fight. Ian recognized the maintenance manuals in Gose’s rambling and began caring for him while questioning the Ellen Family’s and royal family’s interest in Isengard’s bloodline.

• Isengard had prepared medicine for Master Gose, but after awakening, Gose could not inject it and instead recited passages from maintenance manuals.
• Ian recognized Gose’s words as content from his former shipboard maintenance profession and listened closely.
• Ian rejected perception medicine and used Precognitive Vision to identify a psionic trace connecting Gose to the Brain-Eating Worms’ collective network.
• Ian and Ethan moved Gose behind the Giant Gold Fungus, and Ian mixed its nutrient-rich liquid with pool water for them to drink.
• Isengard said the mixture tasted like the candy he had never eaten because his Light-Eater Dragon bloodline had been raised to feed through blood.
• Ian wondered whether Isengard was a humanoid Light-Eater Dragon with royal blood and questioned what the Ellen Family and royal family intended.

Ian, Frost Butterfly, and Hua An traveled by alchemical train toward the Imperial Capital, enjoying the scenery and discussing Fairy knowledge. Ian noticed that unusually many passengers belonged to organized groups, and an explosion sounded at the front of the train.

• Ian watched the alchemical train carry them through the Sertal Empire’s farms, towns, and historic sites as he and the Fairies enjoyed the journey.
• Frost Butterfly learned about travel and human customs from Ian and Hua An, who mentioned that Fairyland’s psionic network held memories from many beings.
• At Hexflower City and later stops, Ian noticed increasing numbers of sublimators boarding the train, many of whom seemed connected to groups.
• Ian observed that scholars, religious sects, nobles, and other organized groups made up much of the train’s passengers, and suspected something significant was happening.
• About half an hour after the train departed again, a muffled explosion sounded from its front.

Anfa toured Silverpeak Domain's education district with Ian and Sheo, learning how its open schools, strict safeguards, and activities shaped students while reflecting on her own isolation and her hopes for Canaanmore. After Anfa and Sheo returned to their homes, Ian projected his consciousness onto the New Continent, where the Glazed Dragon headed toward a floating mountain range containing zero element.

• Anfa was astonished by the vast education district and its more than one hundred and ten thousand underage students, while Ian explained that families had willingly sent their children to its free schools.
• Ian showed Anfa and Sheo the district's schools, games, and training activities, and Anfa contrasted its education for ordinary people with the restricted education available to Elven elites.
• Anfa praised the absence of bullying, and Ian explained that Terra's Heart monitored students and enforced strict school rules against violence and harassment.
• Sheo rewarded top-performing students with a flight on her True Dragon body as Anfa described her experiences of rejection and loneliness and thanked Sheo for helping her endure them.
• Anfa embraced Ian and declared that his example had shown her what she wanted Canaanmore to become, while Sheo joined the embrace and Ian wondered if his friends had taken advantage of him.
• After Sheo and Anfa returned to their respective homes, Ian projected his consciousness onto the New Continent, where the Glazed Dragon approached a floating mountain range rich in zero element.

Ian searched Harrison Port’s fish market for food containing Origin Matter and found an affordable salmon suited to his injured uncle’s needs. Before he could buy it, Sainan gave him the salmon and seaweed for free, leaving Ian to reflect on the fishermen’s kindness.

• Ian used Precognitive Vision to identify an Odell Eel whose spine could strengthen bones, but decided not to buy the expensive fish.
• Ian watched a Red Hook Fleet worker freeze a tuna with a Freezing Potion and learned of the Platinum-Iridium Workshop, but left when he saw its price of twenty Taler.
• Ian found an affordable salmon whose Origin Matter could aid healing and prepared to buy it for his uncle.
• Sainan recognized Ian at the White Room Fleet stalls and offered him whichever fish he wanted, along with seaweed.
• Ian accepted the salmon and seaweed after Sainan and the other fishermen warmly insisted he keep his money.

Mikael decided to oppose Axel’s plan to alter people’s minds and agreed to Ian’s experimental method for accelerating his advancement to Fifth Energy Level. Back in Silverpeak Domain, Ian told Adalbert about the Light Calamity and Axel’s scheme, and they considered using Adalbert’s Collective Heart to protect people from brainwashing.

• Mikael questioned whether he should stop his father, and Ian warned that twisting people’s sense of self would prevent a happy future.
• Mikael resolved to become a Fifth Energy Level powerhouse and fight Axel, while Ian offered to accelerate his advancement using Terra’s Heart and the Cradle system.
• Ian awoke in the Silverpeak Domain laboratory and told Adalbert that Mikael would arrive to undergo the advancement experiment.
• Ian explained the Light Calamity and Axel’s plan to Adalbert, who said that only those with Third Energy Level Heartlight could fully resist the brainwashing.
• Ian proposed that Adalbert use his Collective Heart to shield many people from brainwashing, and Adalbert considered the possibility.

As the Great Storm approached Harrison Port, Ian recognized that the Redwood Natives had sent elite hunters into the city to attack its watchtowers and decided to stop them. One hunter killed civilians on the way to his target and aimed a poisoned dart at Ian, leaving their confrontation poised to begin.

• Ian watched the storm and decided to return home to protect his little brother, while suspecting the natives and Viscount Grant had gone to war despite knowing the storm was coming.
• Ian used Precognitive Vision and spotted several scarlet fog clusters moving through Harrison Port, identifying them as native hunters headed for the watchtowers.
• Ian decided to intercept the hunters because the watchtowers guarded the port and the area around his home.
• The hunters used Wind Spirit's Blessing to race through the storm, killing people as they hurried toward their targets.
• An elite hunter spotted Ian by the roadside and fired a poisoned dart at him.

After the City of Knowledge crisis, Ian exploited interest in Mahdi to secure payment and pushed Terra’s nations to develop the Arcane Path. Afrina confronted Axel about the Bloodline Key and Ethan, while Axel revealed his plans to remake civilization; the chapter ended with Mikael receiving a message asking why he intended to oppose his father.

• Ian told the City of Knowledge’s representatives that cooperation would continue only if they paid him for information about Mahdi.
• Terra’s nations studied and refined the Arcane Path, while Ian urged them to compete in developing new cultivation methods instead of fighting one another.
• Axel explained to Afrina that he and Inaga II had used the Bloodline Key to regulate bloodlines and pursue a union between the Sun God Bird and the Thousand-Stars Beast.
• Axel revealed that Ethan had provided him with the Human Baseline Model and the key to controlling the Imperial Capital, then assured Afrina that Ethan was free to follow Mahdi.
• Axel declared that he intended to rebuild civilization and create a peaceful, equal world, despite Afrina’s distress about his plan.
• Mikael received a communication asking whether he would raise a rebellion and why he meant to become his father’s enemy.

Ian trained with Hilliard on the stormy coast, improving his Origin Matter perception, control, endurance, and swimming. By the campfire, Hilliard asked about Elder Pude’s introduction of Ian to Harrison Port’s White Folk leaders, and Ian explained that Pude had formally accepted him as an apprentice.

• Ian intercepted seven of Hilliard’s ten silent, curving sandball throws while blindfolded and unable to hear.
• Ian kept sand clinging to his body through the rain and trained in the rough sea until exhaustion, then recovered with Hilliard at their camp.
• Hilliard praised Ian’s progress but warned him to maintain his training and explained that a sea ruin lay behind the coming mutation and Great Storm.
• Ian told Hilliard that Elder Pude had taken him to the Elder Hall, introduced him to Red, Minning, and Badanli, and announced him as his formal apprentice.
• Hilliard asked whether the older White Folk leaders would resent Ian’s sudden arrival as Pude’s disciple.

After condensing his Origin Seed, Ian learned to calm and sense his Origin Matter, then discovered that his new control made chopping wood far easier. Hilliard assured him the Empire would quickly offer him an inheritance for his psychic ability and told him to look in his room for a surprise.

• Ian woke after a short, restorative sleep and sensed the rhythms and movements within his body.
• Ian split firewood with newfound ease, and Hilliard explained that his Origin Seed let him control his strength more smoothly.
• Hilliard assessed Ian as capable of protecting himself against most native squads and wild beasts, though Ian worried his unusual physical ability would expose him.
• Hilliard said Ian did not need to hide his abilities because the Empire would value and nurture him as a psychic.
• Hilliard reminded Ian that Grant was a Second Energy Level ascender who did not need sleep, then told him to look in his room for a surprise.

The Blazing Flame Lands team agreed to search for a True Aether Furnace, while its captain vowed to destroy it rather than let the Sertal Empire obtain it. Ian resolved to protect the furnace and preserve its design, then heard reports of people ahead who might be Isengard and Master Gose.

• Ian considered the power and possible origins of a True Aether Furnace, suspecting one might be stored in the South Sea Grand Ruins.
• The Blazing Flame Lands captain agreed to cooperate with the Machina Church priestess but swore to destroy the target if the Empire threatened to reach it first.
• The priestess and captain set their objectives, and the Blazing Flame Lands team accelerated its search with aggressive sweeps of suspicious areas.
• Ian decided he would stop the team from destroying an intact furnace and use the Silver Chip to record its structure.
• Scouts reported signs of people ahead, including an injured elderly sublimated individual and a young sublimated individual, and Ian suspected they were Master Gose and Isengard.

Ian traveled aboard the Siren, a Canaanmore diplomatic vessel, and identified the spies and assassins aboard while preparing a plan with Sheo. He asked her to delay an approaching magic-beast swarm, protect Gravi Feiye’s research materials, and watch Storage Hold Seventeen.

• Ian boarded the Siren and recognized that its passengers included assassins and spies from several factions targeting Gravi Feiye, his research, or Ian himself.
• Ian met Sheo at the banquet’s refreshment area, where she eagerly ate the ship’s pastries while they communicated privately through psionic power.
• Ian revealed that Sheo would join his expedition against the Xenobiology Research Institute, with her true body traveling alongside the Mountain King and her incarnation accompanying him to Canaanmore.
• Ian told Sheo that a large magic-beast swarm was approaching and asked her to intimidate the beasts until he gave the signal to attack.
• Ian asked Sheo to watch the Spirit Cognition Institute assassin and prevent anyone from destroying Gravi Feiye’s research materials.
• Ian also told Sheo to monitor Storage Hold Seventeen and alert him if anyone suspicious approached.

Isengard’s group took shelter in a cavern while Ian and Patrick remained missing, then witnessed rival schools of blind fish and Black Hornfish transform into silver Magic Beasts. Ian arrived with Sha Sha as the transformed fish fought, seeing them as nourishing food that could help Sha Sha recover and advance.

• Isengard and Master Gose moved the group to a defensible cavern after scouts found signs that a giant Magic Beast had carried Ian and Patrick away.
• The group caught and ate harmless white blind fish from the underground lake while Isengard drank a stamina potion instead.
• Ethan urged Master Gose to find Ian, but Master Gose advised him to keep the group safe and trust Ian to return if needed.
• Black Hornfish invaded the lake, and the black and white schools fought until fish from both sides transformed into large, silver-horned Magic Beasts.
• Ian appeared at the cave entrance and told Sha Sha to eat the silver fish to heal and aid Sha Sha’s future advancement to the Second Energy Level.

Ian parted from the White Chamber Trading Company after trading with the mountain folk, whose elder sensed an ancestor’s aura in him and invited him to visit. Meanwhile, upheavals within the Ellen Family reshaped the Platinum-Iridium Workshop, and Isengard Ellen became a Southern Border Deputy Director as a mysterious box was sent to Southern Ridge Province.

• Ian watched the mountain folk trade with the White Chamber Trading Company and met the Avude Tribe’s elder, who sensed an ancestor’s aura and offered to host him in the mountains.
• Ian wondered whether the elder could tell that he carried the Ancient Dragon Core and resolved to prioritize reaching the Second Energy Level.
• Ian and the caravan parted at the fork in the road, each continuing their own journey.
• The Platinum-Iridium Workshop’s Southern Chief Director resigned, shareholders faced investigation, and Master Bavar lost his title and workshop after an internal upheaval in the Ellen Family.
• Marquis Wilde returned to his estate in disarray, a new Southern Chief Director was nominated, and Second Prince Mikael Sertal met Madame Ellen in the Imperial Palace.
• Isengard Ellen became a Southern Border Deputy Director of the Platinum-Iridium Workshop, and a Snowlight Crystal box was sent from the Imperial Capital to Southern Ridge Province.

Ian arrived in Twin Tree Town, learned that turmoil in Nauman City had driven crowds into the surrounding towns, and met his contact Mr. Silverfang. He spotted Anfa nearby and worried that he had accidentally sent the dragon in the wrong direction.

• Ian entered Twin Tree Town and heard from a guard about the Marquis’s assassination, cult informants, and a clash between Elves from Canaanmore and the knightly order.
• Ian deterred a thief, displayed a warning on his luggage, and observed the town’s advanced equipment and busy commerce.
• Ian found the Silverfang Chamber of Commerce and reunited with Mr. Silverfang, who had come to Twin Tree Town because of the unrest in Nauman City.
• Ian glimpsed Anfa passing the chamber of commerce and wondered whether he had pointed the dragon down the wrong road.
• A promotional excerpt described a narrator whose missing father had investigated a god’s resurrection and who realized that the resurrected god was himself.

Ian completed preparations for his journey and received his knight’s medal as he planned to leave Harrison Port. He decided to depart the next day, while Azure Tide agreed to train Scott.

• Azure Tide reassured Scott that Ian had sent him to provide training, and Scott eagerly accepted his help.
• Ian finished upgrading his high-pressure water gun into a Charged Water Gun that could fire alchemical bombs and reagent bottles over long distances.
• Knight Yam gave Ian his knight’s medal and told him Imperial Labyrinth Department explorers would arrive in three days.
• Ian told Yam he planned to visit the Rosy Radiance Grass plantation in Layan Territory, then travel to Nauman City and possibly the Imperial Capital.
• Ian told Elan he would leave Harrison Port the next day and looked toward the sunset as he prepared to begin his journey.

Ian prepared for a possible attack by Chris of Magnetic Light, strengthening his alchemical arsenal before setting out to enjoy a meal in Nauman City. The chapter left him relaxing at Sea Tide House while he waited for his food.

• Ian reasoned that Chris of Magnetic Light had ties to the Spirit Cognition Institute and might attack him somewhere isolated on the road to the Imperial Capital.
• Ian returned to the Silverfang Chamber of Commerce and obtained alchemical materials to prepare potions and ammunition for his Charged Water Gun.
• Ian made four elite-grade perception potions to give back to the Chamber of Commerce and asked a steward to recommend a restaurant.
• Ian went to Sea Tide House, found it open, and settled on the second floor overlooking the distant South Sea.
• Ian set aside thoughts of alchemy and the future as he waited for his meal and enjoyed the moment.

Ian and Isengard reviewed the Empire’s power structure and the roles of the Emperor’s three relatives, learning why the Second Prince was treated as an equal despite holding little formal authority. Ian concluded that once the Second Prince reached the Fifth Energy Level, he would become the next emperor.

• Isengard told Ian he had inferred that Ian killed Baron Layan and others, and Ian explained that he had concealed the truth from the Fairy lady.
• Ian noticed that the Emperor had largely stopped handling affairs, leaving the First Prince, First Princess, and Second Prince to oversee the Imperial Capital.
• Isengard described the First Prince Carlos’s influence over the Mirror Sea Guard and Inspecting Knights Order, and the First Princess Alegria’s command of the Empire’s frontier forces.
• Isengard explained that the Second Prince Mikael held little interest in politics but commanded support because people believed he could reach the Fifth Energy Level within ten years.
• Ian reasoned that Mikael’s future advancement would make him the next emperor, while the other royals sought strength and influence to improve their positions.

Scott, a wounded young city guard, was trapped in a tower with a malfunctioning Alchemical Cannon after his squad died defending it. Ian arrived, forced open the jammed door, and began examining the cannon as the battle and the tower’s collapse drew closer.

• Scott and the natives killed the elite hunters attacking the tower, but Scott was the only member of his four-man squad left alive.
• Scott tried to repair the Alchemical Cannon, then found the tower’s warped door wedged shut as the structure shook from the approaching battle.
• Ian kicked the door open and recognized that the cannon had malfunctioned.
• Scott led Ian upstairs and explained what he knew about the cannon, despite wanting to flee.
• Ian removed his rain cape and began analyzing the Alchemical Cannon’s structure.

After celebrating with friends, Ian returned to his experiments and prepared to establish his reputation through a new alchemical theory. He developed an Ultra-Effective Enchanted Weapon Potion that stacked with a user’s Origin Matter Enhancement and could last over twenty-four hours, leaving him ready to publish his work and pursue further potion improvements.

• Ian celebrated his birthday by contacting his family, and Elder Pude told him he had found a clue that might lead to the Foresight Twin Leaves.
• Ian considered the possibility that the Foresight Twin Leaves were connected to the Great Redwood Forest Sea itself and planned to warn Elder Pude.
• After waking, Ian resumed his experiments, mindful that his access to the Imperial Capital Grand Library depended on producing results.
• Ian explained that his Ultra-Effective Enhancement technique let an Enchanted Weapon Potion stack with a user’s Origin Matter Enhancement.
• Ian’s improved potion increased weapon damage, pierced shields and resistance, and lasted over twenty-four hours if the user sustained it with Origin Matter.
• Ian planned to build an alchemical theory around Ultra-Effective Potions and publish papers on each improvement.