Chapter Summaries

Ian realized that Terra’s nations were trying to reform their societies and develop new paths, but their efforts could not avert the approaching threat. After thanking Isengard for the documents, he investigated two unexplained imperial project names and began to speculate about the Pure White Sky-Piercing Tower.

• Ian concluded that Terra’s nations understood their civilization’s wasteful limits and were pursuing changes to make more people extraordinary.
• Ian reflected that these reforms could improve Terra but could not stop the prison closing in five light-years away, and declared that he would find another ending.
• Ian thanked Ethan for sharing the documents and said he would mark experiments he believed had begun under Inaga II or earlier.
• Isengard told Ian that the Empire and Canaanmore had uncovered two secret project names, the Pure White Sky-Piercing Tower and the Pure Black Key, but no details.
• Ian entered the names into the Silver Chip and considered whether the Pure White Sky-Piercing Tower referred to the Void Realm Mech-Gods, an orbital elevator, or another structure.

After their disastrous retreat through Redwood Base, the Blazing Flame Lands captain resolved to report the ruins’ valuable discoveries and revealed that he had deliberately infected himself with a Brain-Eating Worm. A Machina Church nun warned that they were doomed, and the White Folk youth appeared at the end of the passage.

• The captain mourned the special forces’ losses but decided to survive and report the ruins’ Variant Ecosphere modules to headquarters.
• The captain revealed that he had allowed a Brain-Eating Worm to infect him and was holding it back with Origin Matter.
• The captain blamed the Machina Church priests for their failed mission and argued that they should have retreated to the coast and attacked Harrison Port.
• The one-handed Machina Church nun said they were all going to die because the young anomaly had arrived.
• The captain heard approaching footsteps and saw the White Folk youth emerge from the shadows.

Ian and his companions reached the Holy Land of Light’s Embrace, where the Twin Popes questioned him about its peaceful society and the role of human nature, power, and authority. Ian connected their experiment to the Star God era, but the Twin Popes revealed that Light’s Embrace sought not to become Star Gods, but to become human.

• Ian and his companions entered Light’s Embrace territory, signed flight permits, and continued along Dawn Road toward the Holy Mountain.
• Ian and Isengard observed the Holy Land’s villages, where residents lived peacefully with shared resources, simple technology, and communal cooperation.
• The Twin Popes contacted Ian and asked what he thought of their Holy Land; Ian said its equality depended on Ascended accepting limits imposed by the Church.
• Ian argued that human instincts tended to create ruling classes, and that a powerful, impartial being might be needed to maintain an equal society.
• The Twin Popes said they had watched Ian because of his potential and the Star God’s Gift, then revealed that Light’s Embrace’s ultimate purpose was to become human.

Ian realized the Undead Monarch Project was meant to create a hell within Terra’s core as a lasting tombstone for human civilization. Grand Duke Solin explained his despair over Star-Prison, and the chapter ended with Ian recognizing that both the dead and the living were trapped without hope of escape.

• Ian understood that the Spirit Spark was a plan to preserve humanity in a spacecraft, while the Undead Monarch Project was Grand Duke Solin’s alternative after that plan proved impossible.
• Grand Duke Solin explained that he intended to send the Undead Monarch and its dead souls into the planet’s core, creating a hell that would endure as a tombstone for civilization.
• Grand Duke Solin recited the Heavenly Ladder hymn and lamented that Star-Prison had sealed humanity away from the stars and erased any hope of a faraway.
• Ian and Grand Duke Solin recited the final line of the Songs of the Dead together and recognized that the dead in hell and the living under Star-Prison were alike in their confinement.

Ian and his Battle Aura-trained Magic Beasts ambushed Afaer’s force, and Ian killed the Voidsource Winged Beetle after analyzing his deadly edict spell. After learning that the Magic Beasts’ damaged Sparks needed a decompression device, Ian realized the Glimmer Cradle he inherited from the Rust-Steel Dragon might be the key.

• Afaer led an Illusory Sun force into Atsel’s former territory and prepared to destroy the wild Magic Beast’s nest with the Great Deathly Silence Edict.
• Crackle and Big Iron burst from underground and slaughtered Afaer’s soul slaves with their Battle Aura, while Ian emerged to face Afaer’s attack.
• Ian’s Stardust Battle Aura resisted the edict beam, and he explained the Arcane Path to the watching Magic Beasts before cutting Afaer apart with a sword strike.
• Crackle and Big Iron finished off the remaining soul slaves, inspiring the Magic Beasts to eagerly seek the Arcane Path and Battle Aura.
• Ian devoured Afaer’s soul, learned that the Beast Kingdoms’ Sparks could not be fully decompressed, and connected the needed Glimmer Cradle to the one he had inherited from the Rust-Steel Dragon.

Weges discovered that the Surging Wave Tribe had suffered badly in the failed attack on Harrison Port and realized Hilliard had stopped the sea beasts and the tribe’s totem lords. He struggled to understand why his plague-stricken mentor would risk his life, while Ian inspected the methods available to him.

• Weges questioned the Surging Wave Tribe about its poverty and learned that the tribe had lost many warriors in the war, exchanging disabled fighters as sacrifices.
• A bound captive accused the Surging Wave Tribe of betraying the other attackers, then died after a native slit his throat.
• Weges realized the Surging Wave Tribe’s totem lords had been stopped and wounded, leaving the tribe dependent on its agreement with Harrison Port.
• Weges concluded that Hilliard had driven back the totem lords and sea beasts, but wondered why his gravely ill mentor had fought at such a cost.
• Ian finished making berry stew and inspected the methods he could currently use.

Ian made a high-pressure water gun, cooked the Giant Clam into breakfast for Elan, and prepared to test the weapon while hunting. Before leaving, he saw a brief crimson warning of a potentially lethal attack, but it disappeared once he recognized the danger, so he went out to investigate.

• Ian finished making a high-pressure water gun and disposed of the Giant Clam's shell in the Iwok River.
• The next morning, Ian served Elan clam dishes, seaweed soup, and baked apples, explaining that the nutritious meal could help with Elan's mutation.
• Ian taught Elan basic mathematics, then checked his tool fish before setting out to test the water gun.
• Ian saw a crimson warning of a potentially fatal attack, which faded after he realized danger was nearby.
• Ian told Elan to boil water after training, took a sword and the water gun, and left to hunt and investigate the threat.

Ian entered the Royal Alchemy Association’s elite alchemist examination, then resolved to win first place for a pass to the Royal Grand Library. The examiners noticed his youth and discussed how he had uncovered Bavar’s hidden trick.

• An Association alchemist explained the examination’s rewards to Ian, including a reading pass for the Royal Grand Library and possible rare-book access.
• Ian decided to aim for first place so he could enter the library’s rare books section and investigate materials connected to the Dragon-Worshiping Cult.
• Ian entered the final examination session, surveyed the other contestants, and prepared to use the Silver Chip and his Precognitive Vision.
• The examination materials and question arrived as eight alchemists watched the contestants from a conference hall.
• Two senior examiners recognized Ian as the boy who had exposed Bavar’s trick and wondered how powerful his observation-type psychic ability was.

Ian uncovered that the train hijackers were posing as the Dragon-Worshiping Cult and claiming to be Sheo, then swiftly subdued two Ascendants in his carriage. The men turned out to be undercover agents from rival Imperial agencies, while Ian sensed that another revelation was waiting in the next carriage.

• Ian realized the hijackers’ leader was not Sheo and wondered who had stolen her identity to frame the Dragon-Worshiping Cult.
• Hua An’s comments drew the hijackers’ attention to the Fairies, and Ian raised his head when they questioned why he seemed unaffected by psychic control.
• Ian disarmed and arrested the two Ascendants, identifying himself as an Inspector Knight apprentice, while Frost Butterfly produced his badge.
• Kado Jeldon and Saibosi Kalanbona revealed that each had been undercover for a different Imperial agency and accused each other of playing their roles too convincingly.
• Ian turned toward the connecting door and remarked that there was more to come.

Ian reflected on the weaknesses of the Immovable Fortress and how the Wave-Singer and a future Fairy Bloodline could compensate for them. At the fish market, he unexpectedly found Elan being led around by Financial Officer Lamar.

• Ian considered how the Immovable Fortress inheritance’s lack of mobility suited Hilliard’s old role but not his own needs.
• Ian explained how the Wave-Singer could improve his underwater mobility and provide a path toward flight through the Fairy Bloodline.
• Ian revealed that he had spent three years deriving enhanced First- and Second-Level Fairy Bloodline potion formulas for Elan’s future use.
• Ian arrived at the fish market hoping to find Sainan and thought a connection to the Platinum-Iridium Workshop might help him obtain potion ingredients.
• Ian found Elan wandering the market with Financial Officer Lamar and wondered why Lamar was taking his brother shopping.

Mikael reflected on Ian’s progress and the unknown recipients of his grandfather’s alchemical legacy while preparing to enter the Lone Mountain Conference. Ian planned his research and the construction of Aether Armor in the Imperial Capital, then arranged to visit Miss Mo Feng with Hua An and Frost Butterfly.

• Mikael told Sister Xin Macey that he wanted to steer Ian away from the wasted years he had spent focused only on cultivation, and they prepared to enter the conference.
• Mikael learned that Ian had exchanged Inspector Knight merits for materials suited to Fairy Bloodline control and regeneration potion research.
• Mikael considered that people besides himself, Ian, and Grand Duke Solin might have inherited parts of his grandfather’s alchemical legacy.
• Ian inspected the laboratory and planned research into alchemy, the Extreme Domain, Magic Potions, and Aether Armor.
• Ian arranged discreet purchases of materials for Aether Armor and reflected that Mikael’s warning and the Platinum-Iridium Workshop would help him obtain resources.
• Ian prepared to leave for a visit to Miss Mo Feng with Hua An and Frost Butterfly.

Ian revealed Silverpeak Domain’s collective power to the Radiant King and wounded him as he escaped, prompting the Radiant King to report Ian’s strength to the Landkeeper. The Emperor dismissed the warning and ordered wider deployment of Artificial Souls and the terminal network, while Ian learned that First Prince Carlos would arrive in fifteen seconds.

• Ian deduced that the Radiant King’s separate souls were part of a colony-like Nemasas bloodline and confronted him in the Void Realm.
• The Radiant King tried to flee after learning Ian could command Silverpeak Domain’s collective strength, but Ian struck his core soul through a Void Realm passage and wounded him in Radiant Land.
• The Radiant King reported Ian’s power to the Landkeeper, who trusted Ian, recognized Silverpeak’s collective-force technique, and ordered Imperial-wide Artificial Soul and terminal-network expansion.
• The Landkeeper’s vision showed the floating city network linking the Empire’s territories to the City of Lone Mountain, with Silverpeak included in the system.
• Ian received no immediate response to the Radiant King’s report and speculated that the Imperial Capital did not consider his strength alarming.
• Adalbert informed Ian that First Prince Carlos would visit Silverpeak Domain in fifteen seconds to discuss technological cooperation, and Ian complained that he hated Sun God Birds.

Ian accepted the Aether Crystal Dragon’s Maze Lord authority and discovered it was temporary repairman access to the South Sea Grand Ruins. After the transfer, the exhausted dragon remained silent and a mass of golden light rushed toward Ian from its throat.

• Ian realized Maze Lord authority was repairman authority for maintaining the ruins and repelling intruders.
• Ian accepted the Crystal Dragon’s transfer, and Morien Steel formed a ring beneath the skin of his wrist.
• Ian connected to the Labyrinth’s devices and understood how Maze Lords detected disturbances and responded to adventurers.
• Ian wondered whether Inaga II’s attempt to rule a dangerous Labyrinth had caused a calamity.
• The Crystal Dragon groaned, and a mass of golden light surged toward Ian from its throat.

After killing Osena, Ian studied Precognitive Vision and realized he could use Elan’s fortune to infer his own dangers. He secured Elan, prepared to dispose of Osena’s body, and ended the chapter hungry and exhausted.

• Ian concluded that Precognitive Vision revealed rare objects and let him glimpse the future, though using it consumed stamina.
• Ian checked Elan’s aura and saw that Osena’s death had ended the immediate threat, but danger still remained.
• Ian reasoned that he could use Elan’s fortune to indirectly judge his own, since their survival was tied together.
• Ian reflected on his bond with Elan and vowed to care for his younger brother despite the dangers around them.
• Ian checked the street, saw a brief golden gleam he dismissed as an illusion, and tied Osena’s corpse in oilcloth.
• Ian decided to dispose of Osena’s body that night, but first recognized that he needed to eat.

Ian, posing as the Gloomvale Knight Mahdi, rejected Aina’s offer to recruit him and demanded the Dragon Divine Marrow, the crystal cabinet, and its chip. He overwhelmed the expedition’s strongest young fighters, then recognized the disguised Golan as a Fifth Energy Level enemy involved in the Dark Moon Turmoil and prepared to kill her.

• Mahdi suppressed the expedition team with his Third Energy Level field and told the survivors to abandon their claim or face death.
• Aina offered to ally with Mahdi on the Empire’s behalf, but Mahdi refused and named the treasures he intended to take.
• Ga'er, Golan, Aina, Anfa, and Ian attacked together, but Mahdi countered their techniques and defeated them one by one.
• Mahdi seized Aina while enduring his heat rays, and Aina warned him that Golan was about to ambush him.
• Golan’s trump-card blade pierced Mahdi’s defenses but failed to reach his heart; Mahdi struck her down with a full-force aether punch.
• Mahdi identified Golan as a Fifth Energy Level participant in the attack on Hilliard during the Dark Moon Turmoil and vowed to kill her.

Ian used Retrospective Vision to see how the Light's Embrace began, tracing it to twins who survived the Calamity of Falling Skies, were revived through a white fungal colony, and later founded an organization in the Wilderness. The vision ended with the twins' childhood experiences explaining the origins of the Light's Embrace Swarm.

• The twins and other children were left in a laboratory shelter after the Calamity of Falling Skies, while adults risked their lives to find supplies and protect them.
• An extraordinary Alien attacked the shelter, killed most of the survivors, and forced the remaining adults to leave the sick children behind as they went to fight.
• The twins survived their psionic awakening and used traps and the laboratory's destruction system to kill the Alien, but the collapsing facility crushed them.
• A white fungal colony spread from a shattered culture dish, restored the twins' bodies, and connected them to the expanding Fungal Mat.
• A nearby shelter rescued the twins and treated them as children rather than captives, warning them not to sacrifice their health to heal others with their transformed blood.
• Ten years later, the twins left the shelter and established an organization in the Wilderness that became the prototype of Light's Embrace.

Ian, Anfa, and Sheo toured Rosy Glow City, where Anfa admired the orderly, prosperous city and learned that Ian used calming plants and potions to help maintain its peace. After seeing Silverpeak Domain’s commercial and industrial districts, Anfa planned to seek Ian’s advice on governance, and the group reached the city’s education district.

• Ian considered whether transforming Terra into a Gaia Ecology would benefit humanity, then set the question aside as a concern for the future.
• Sheo arrived at Silverpeak Domain, and Anfa caught her; Ian invited Sheo to send a prosthetic body to Canaanmore to join their cooperation.
• Ian, Anfa, and Sheo disguised themselves and toured Rosy Glow City’s busy commercial streets.
• Anfa praised Rosy Glow City’s order and stability, and Ian explained that its calm atmosphere came partly from a citywide Tranquilizing Melody, calming plants, and his other policies.
• Ian gave Anfa an Amity Potion and recommended using material comforts and calming effects alongside ideological education.
• After touring the commercial and alchemical districts, Anfa resolved to seek Ian’s advice on governance, and the three arrived at the public-school district.

Ian awakened the Guiding Star Soul Light Body and helped Elder Manyan overcome his doubts, enabling him to advance to the Third Energy Level and rekindle the Holy Mountain’s ritual flame. After studying Manyan’s Soul Light Body, Ian discovered how to activate his own with primordial aether, and the Guiding Star briefly revealed images of the Swarm and the spirit calamity.

• Ian manifested the Guiding Star Soul Light Body and told Elder Manyan that the mountain folk were the first step of his dream and that he needed Manyan to become their bulwark.
• Elder Manyan entered the ritual flame, drank the Magic Potion, and advanced to the Third Energy Level, while Kede Jiamu had already become the mountain folk’s first Third Energy Level.
• Marquis Barton learned of Manyan’s advancement and the Dragon God’s Emissary, then discussed the shifting Southern Ridge conflict with Colonel Mayowa.
• Ian studied Manyan’s Life Psionics and Wind-Sheltering Dragon Soul Light Body as Manyan demonstrated its defensive and offensive abilities.
• Ian inferred that his Guiding Star needed primordial aether to activate, then used it to illuminate the Soul Light Body and saw brief images of the Swarm and the spirit calamity.

Ian relived the Rust-Steel Dragon Thorstner’s memories, learning that True Dragons were living Sparks containing the legacies of civilizations and that Thorstner had come to Terra to protect its people. Thorstner offered Ian his legacy on the condition that he become its messenger and shelter the mountain folk, and Ian accepted as the memories poured into him.

• Ian witnessed the Progenitor True Dragons Eltorlim and Naenbolaka meet the young Thorstner at the Sleeping Dragon Nest and learned that the Shattered Star War had broken Nemesis Star into an asteroid belt.
• Thorstner’s mentor sent it to Terra to reclaim the creators’ legacy, protect the Sparks, and seek its own path beyond the Founders’ Code.
• Thorstner recalled how it came to live among the mountain folk and realized that it wanted them to become its people and continue its hopes beyond its own lifespan.
• Thorstner explained to Ian that True Dragons were living Sparks, carrying the civilizations they had observed, and asked Ian to become its messenger, protect the mountain folk, and awaken their Blood Consensus.
• Ian accepted Thorstner’s condition, and the Rust-Steel Dragon’s memory shattered into fragments that flowed into him as a silver dragon-head mark appeared on his right hand.

Ian used the Spirit Calamity Path to discover a Life Psionics Refinement Method that could help ordinary people develop psionic potential and approach Ascendant-level abilities. He exchanged it for his Origin Matter Furnace Core technology, advised his counterpart to avoid Void Spawn and pursue other leads, and concluded that Xiahui Territory still needed time and resources for people to train.

• Ian strengthened his soul and used Guiding Star to glimpse the Fate River, realizing that Primordial Aether connected possibilities across space-time.
• Ian contacted a tributary and received a Life Psionics Refinement Method that used meditation, Origin Matter, and physical training to develop Life Psionics in ordinary people.
• Ian inferred that his Spirit Calamity Path counterpart aimed to spread psionics and perhaps create a Great Prophet, then sent back the Origin Matter Furnace Core technology.
• Ian advised his counterpart to avoid Void Spawn, investigate True Dragon laboratories and Creator treasures, cooperate with intelligent Ancient Magic Beasts, and keep the Gods Era in consideration.
• Ian tested the refinement method and estimated that ordinary people could approach the threshold of an Ascendant after about two years of proper training.
• Ian looked over prosperous Xiahui Territory, recognized that people still lacked time to train and rest, and prepared to return to Harrison Port.