Chapter Summaries

Ian negotiated with Grand Duke Solin, who agreed to guard Silverpeak Domain in exchange for Ian restoring the souls of his people, then traveled to Falling Star City. He discovered that the city rising from the sea was not built from Fairy remains but was itself a living Fairy.

• Adalbert defended Ian’s plans to Grand Duke Solin, who accepted Ian’s conditions and agreed to protect Silverpeak Domain until the Perpetual Motion Machine vote or either man’s death.
• Ian promised to restore freedom to the souls within Grand Duke Solin and arrange their futures, while admitting to Adalbert that he regarded people as toys; Adalbert then ordered Azure Tide to arrest natives who had attacked Silverpeak surveyors.
• Ian left Silverpeak Domain in Adalbert and Ethan’s care and crossed the Void Realm to Falling Star City, where he found the Fairy Queen waiting in the physical world.
• Falling Star City rose from the seabed, and the Fairies protested when Ian called it a pile of corpses before crowding around him to touch him.
• Ian sensed the city’s true nature as he approached with the Fairy Queen and realized that Falling Star City was a single living Fairy.

Ian entered the Tranquil Light Realm with Chrysalis and discovered that the Star God's Gift drew immense residual vitality from the realm. The Silent True Demon revealed its true body and recognized Ian as kin, asking if he had finally returned.

• Ian secured entry marks from the major powers around the Tranquil Sea and invited Chrysalis to witness his plans for the Light Realm.
• Ian and Chrysalis reached the realm's entrance, where Ian sensed the Silent True Demon and learned that its true body lay inside the Light Realm.
• Ian's approach caused the Light Realm to tremble, and Chrysalis realized Ian had a powerful connection to it.
• Ian entered the Light Realm and absorbed its vast residual vitality, causing his Fairy Body to grow in power.
• Ian saw the Silent True Demon's enormous true body above the realm, and it spoke for the first time in sixteen hundred years, calling him kin and asking if he had returned.

Ian learned that the Tree Sea Spirit had watched him and Elan for years, and discussed how it might cooperate with the Spirit-Veneration Church without alarming humanity. The Tree Sea Spirit revealed that Light's Embrace had warned it away from becoming a god among humans, leaving Ian stunned by the revelation.

• Ian realized the Tree Sea Spirit had been observing him since Elan first heard the plants sing.
• Ian proposed that the Tree Sea Spirit present itself as an individual intelligent Magic Beast and cooperate with him through the Spirit-Veneration Church.
• The Tree Sea Spirit declined, explaining that its old contract with the Redwood People only promised to help their descendants survive and preserve their origins.
• The Tree Sea Spirit told Ian that it had withdrawn into the Southern Ridge after receiving a warning from Light's Embrace.
• Ian learned that Light's Embrace had driven the Tree Sea Spirit away from becoming a god among humanity.

Sister Reflected Light took Steward Morda’s statement and explained that Baron Layan’s crimes could lead to the children being contained or killed, despite their tragic pasts. As she comforted Morda and reflected on the dangers of the artificial psionics investigation, Ian descended with documents from the upper floor.

• Sister Reflected Light questioned Steward Morda and assured him that local inspectors would not harm him.
• Morda asked what would happen to Baron Layan and the young masters, and Reflected Light explained their likely punishments and the children’s uncertain fates.
• Reflected Light told Morda that the victims of the Baron’s crimes had suffered tragedies too, and he knelt in despair over his altered memories.
• Reflected Light accepted Morda’s repentance and recited Light’s Embrace’s mission to let hope happen.
• Ian came down the stairs carrying a thick stack of documents.

Azure Tide offered his loyalty to Ian, who deferred his decision until they escaped the ruins. Ian then joined Master Gose and Isengard as they debated their route through the ruins and learned that a map among the remains marked several important locations.

• Azure Tide knelt before Ian and offered to become a swordsman under his command, explaining that he admired Ian’s potential and wanted a place to settle.
• Ian warned Azure Tide that he could offer little pay and asked him to wait until they survived the ruins before deciding; Azure Tide rose, resolved to follow him, and saw Ian as a guide to a better future.
• Ian found Master Gose and Isengard discussing whether to seek the ruins’ center or head outward, and he agreed with Master Gose that they needed to explore the depths to find their way out.
• Master Gose told Ian that someone had found a pre-Era map among the bones, marked with locations including the Sacrificial Grounds, the Holy Land, and an Exit.

Ian and Isengard discovered that heat from an ancient steel structure beneath the Ice Abyss had shaped its frozen terrain, but they changed course after hearing cannon fire. Ian found two wounded members of the exploration team fleeing the battle, and the chapter ended as Isengard's guard began explaining what had happened.

• Isengard detected a huge heat-emitting steel structure beneath the glacier, and Ian confirmed it with Precognitive Vision and the Silver Chip.
• Ian concluded that the structure belonged to an ancient cooling system and agreed that they should leave the dangerous Ice Abyss.
• Ian and Isengard heard Alchemical Cannons firing and recognized the sounds of both Central Empire and Canaanmore guns.
• Ian handed Master Gose to Isengard and flew ahead to intercept two people fleeing across a snowy hill.
• Ian recognized the wounded fugitives as Blue Sail and one of Isengard's guards, who began explaining the battle.

Ian realized that the indigenous people and possible Blazing Flame Lands agents posed a threat to Harrison Port, so he sought Captain Scott at the northwestern watchpost. He asked Scott to carry out a task at sea before his upcoming voyage, and Scott insisted on following the order precisely.

• Ian considered the indigenous people's interest in the Deepsea Crystal Dragon and the possibility that Blazing Flame Lands agents were supporting them.
• Ian went to the northwestern watchpost to speak with Captain Scott about the Northern Redwood Forest and the indigenous people.
• Ian and Scott exchanged news in the armory, where Scott reaffirmed his loyalty and respect for Ian.
• Ian told Scott he would soon go to sea and asked him to crush a wooden box and throw it into the South Sea during an approaching storm.
• Scott questioned Ian's timing instructions and said he would ensure he made no mistakes.

Ian concluded that knowledge alone could not secure advancement on Terra without the power and protection of an Ascender. Mikael explained the Empire’s practical literacy campaign, and Ian ended by asking why the Second Prince knew so much about it.

• Ian considered how Ascenders controlled the paths to wealth and status, making knowledge alone an insufficient route to advancement.
• Ian compared the power of Ascenders and high-level creatures with ordinary technology and concluded that Ascender strength made development possible and secure.
• Ian told Mikael that Ascender power gave knowledge meaning.
• Mikael said the Empire had shifted from universal education to practical guides on farming and livestock, with literacy required so natives could become part of the Empire.
• Ian asked Mikael why he knew all this.

Ian considered whether Ancient Dragons reshaped their surroundings like powerful ecosphere cores and reflected on the incomplete Ancient Dragon Core inside him. As the White Chamber Caravan reached Indigo Mountain’s frontier pass, Mountain Folk arrived to trade with its members.

• Ian compared Ancient Dragons’ ability to transform their environments with the Crystal Dragon’s Extraterrestrial Ecosphere Core and wondered whether they were artificial super-lifeforms.
• Ian sensed Hilliard’s Heart operating alongside the Aether Crystal and considered how he might repair and unlock the Ancient Dragon Core.
• Brin told Ian that the Mountain Folk fortress had been replaced by a joint artillery position staffed by Nauman City and Mountain Folk forces.
• The White Chamber Caravan reached Indigo Mountain, where Ian prepared to leave it and continue alone.
• Mountain Folk gathered at the pass, responded to the steward’s bone whistle, and began exchanging furs and beast bones for goods from the caravan.

Ian met Isengard in the Seventh Layer District park and told him about helping a traffic accident victim connected to the Noka Family. Isengard promised to help ensure the victim received proper care, then invited Ian and the Fairies to an Ellen Family residence to discuss their recent activities.

• Ian reflected on how Imperial nobles followed laws to protect property and avoid disruption, rather than out of concern for ordinary people’s lives.
• Ian, Hua An, and Frost Butterfly entered the Seventh Layer District park and found Isengard reading beside a ruined wall.
• Ian told Isengard about Waldo Noka and the injured traffic accident victim.
• Isengard said Ian had done the right thing and used a crystal slate to request that the victim be properly cared for.
• Isengard led Ian and the two Fairies toward an Ellen Family residence, while a noblewoman and a glowing little bird studied case files in a hidden mansion.

Ian questioned Teres about Blazing Flame Lands’ agents and grew worried that Sheo and Lubek’s identities were exposed. He then told Hua An a carefully chosen story about his Imperial Capital connections, while ensuring Teres could overhear it.

• Teres explained that Marquis Barton led an independent branch of the Inspecting Knights Order and that Ian’s recommendation qualified him for missions.
• Teres identified the attackers as Blazing Flame Lands agents seeking the Earthvein Source Crystal, though he did not know whether it was aboard the train.
• Teres said Kyle had handled the plan to use the Dragon-Worshiping Cult’s name, and Ian worried that Sheo and Lubek might be in danger.
• Ian returned to his seat and asked Hua An and Frost Butterfly to listen to a secret.
• Ian told Hua An that he had come to the Imperial Capital to meet Isengard Ellen, whose powerful connections and prior friendship could make the train attack seem less threatening to Teres.

Ian ended the guards’ search in Gal Town without provoking them, securing the town’s safety while sending the captain away with Queen Ant Rot Poison. After asking about the Imperial Capital’s pillar of light, he rode north with Hua An and Frost Butterfly and reached the capital’s entrance.

• Ian gave Captain Fasha a report marked zero and a vial of Queen Ant Rot Poison, and Fasha ordered his squad to release the townspeople and leave Gal Town.
• Captain Fasha explained to a subordinate that Ian was a young psyker and alchemical genius whom the higher-ups had told them to find.
• Mayor Ye Mo'er protested that Gal Town’s residents only wanted to live near the Imperial Capital, and Ian clarified that he had wanted to ask whether its pillar of light affected their lives or crops.
• Auntie Julia gave Ian the remaining apple pie, and he bid her and Mayor Ye Mo'er farewell before riding north with Hua An and Frost Butterfly.
• Ian explained to Hua An that his calm solution could keep Gal Town safe, earn the guards commendation, and inform the higher-ups about his character; the group then arrived at the Imperial Capital’s entrance.

Ian proposed that the gray-haired wanted knight assume the identity of his uncle, allowing them both to escape trouble. The knight considered the risks and agreed to help Ian until they returned to Harrison Port, but reserved his answer about the deal.

• The gray-haired knight threatened Ian with Phantom Form, but stopped when Ian stood his ground and recognized his gentle intentions.
• Ian explained that he had killed his uncle Osena, who had tried to kill him and sell his younger brother as a sacrifice.
• Ian proposed that the wanted knight pose as his new uncle, giving the knight a cover identity and Ian protection from the consequences of Osena's death.
• The knight considered his secret mission and the risks of accepting, then praised the proposal as a good idea without committing to it.
• The knight promised to keep helping Ian until they returned to Harrison Port.

Ian met Isengard at Long Gull Tavern, where Isengard asked him to join the Ellen Family’s real exploration team and test his ability to sense Origin Matter. Ian identified the dragon scale’s aura and deduced that a juvenile Titan Magic Beast was hiding near Odell Reef.

• Ian recalled how Deli had saved Viscount Grant by sucking poison from his wound, losing his ability to speak in the process.
• Isengard explained that he ate nutrient-rich stamina potions and revealed that his personal belongings had been cursed, forcing the exploration team to hurry back to the Imperial Capital.
• Isengard showed Ian a sealed Deepsea Crystal Dragon Scale and asked whether he could sense its Origin Matter aura through the box.
• Ian sensed high-purity water-aspect Origin Matter and Nature Psionics linked to Odell Reef, impressing Isengard.
• Ian deduced that a juvenile Labyrinth sea dragon near Odell Reef had frightened the Ironclad Sharks and altered the natives’ totem spirits, and that it had the potential to become a Fifth Energy Level Titan Magic Beast.

Ian witnessed the Dust Purger and Annihilator fuse into Purger Urakan, a new Void Realm Mech-God with the potential to reach the Fourth Energy Level. Hua An explained that the fusion resembled the Fairies’ own cycle of rebirth at the Fairy Forge, and the chapter left Ian with new insight into Void Realm technology and Fairy origins.

• Ian watched the Dust Purger and Annihilator decompress their programs and fuse into Purger Urakan, while eight Purger Seeds formed around it.
• Ian recorded the fusion with the Silver Chip and captured the underlying data of both Mech-Gods for his inscription research.
• Hua An explained that the two Mech-Gods had complementary data and abundant Origin Matter, making their unusually successful fusion possible.
• Hua An told Ian that Fairies who no longer wished to revive could place their memories and souls in Falling Star City’s Fairy Forge to give birth to new Fairies.
• Hua An reflected that Fairy reproduction likely resembled Mech-God fusion and that Fairies now studied Mech-Gods to recover lost technology.

Ian learned from Gravi Feiye how ancient wars shaped the feud between Canaanmore and the Azure Heaven Royal Court, and discovered that both Elven factions had secret plans for improving their people’s bloodlines. The Siren approached Blackflow Port, where Speaker Yafda Silver Gate had also arrived.

• Gravi Feiye explained that Star-Chasing Khan allied with Elven tribes to win the War of the Khans, and that the alliance later helped drive an Elven king from power, cementing centuries of mutual resentment.
• Gravi told Ian that the Azure Heaven Royal Court pursued cross-species hybridization to create Celestials, while Canaanmore’s Pillar and Continuity parties had their own bloodline-improvement projects.
• Gravi revealed that the Continuity Party had likely targeted him because his research did not serve its plans, and Ian wondered whether the Empire’s research into soul and body was part of a broader national project.
• Ian discussed the research underway in Canaanmore with Gravi and anticipated contacting Isengard after they reached shore.
• On June 2, Terra Year 774, the damaged Siren neared Blackflow Port, and Yafda Silver Gate arrived there as well.

Ian and Isengard discovered they could control the Imperial Capital’s planetary shield, using it to repel their pursuers and blast open a route into space. They escaped the City of Knowledge and flew toward the Holy Mountain as Axel uncovered what he called his father’s contingency.

• Ian learned Isengard had arranged for their purchased technology to be sent to Xiahui Territory, while Frozen Fish Mentor offered to stay behind as the pursuers closed in.
• Ian reached the Blazing Stele Tower, but the City of Knowledge’s tower masters activated the Imperial Capital shield to block his escape.
• Isengard sensed that he and Ian could control the shield, and their combined authority turned its defenses to their command.
• Ian fired a planetary-shield beam through the pursuing forces and floating islands, then escaped through the opening into space.
• Korizen Quest acknowledged Ian’s potential to break Terra’s curse, while Axel identified his target as his father’s contingency and entered a beam of light.
• Ian flew east toward the Holy Mountain.

Ian and Mahdi transformed the New Continent with the Heavenly Ladder Tree, and Ian established their rule by defeating a defiant beast lord and gaining the allegiance of the continent’s powerful inhabitants. The chapter leaves Ian preparing a mandatory conference for intelligent life beneath the tree.

• The Heavenly Ladder Tree spread Aether Crystal rain across the New Continent, bringing new growth and reshaping its terrain while people and beasts watched from shelters or Dawn Harbor.
• Yulan recognized that Ian and Mahdi had become the New Continent’s rulers after defeating its forces and surviving the intervention of Azure Star and Chrysalis.
• As magic beasts emerged from Subspace, many revered Ian, while several powerful beasts challenged his authority.
• Ian copied the Pure Grand Lord’s cold-gathering technique and killed a fanged dragon beast with a glacial sword strike that split the land and released the Nethersea.
• The Nethersea, the Great Abyss, Yulan, and numerous other magic beasts submitted to Ian and the Stardust Dragon as the kings of the New Continent.
• Ten days later, Ian announced a mandatory conference for all humans and magic beasts of the Third Energy Level or above who intended to live on the New Continent.

Ian forged his Aether True Form, the Pioneer Platform, and used it to find a parallel-world answer to the Sun God Bird: the Edge of the Falling Sun. As he entered the fourth stage of the Arcane Path and gained the power to bend spacetime, Ian set out for the Imperial Capital to confront its two suns.

• Ian formed the Pioneer Platform, which could identify promising Pioneers and exchange knowledge with them.
• Ian used the platform and the Jinyuan Dao to locate the Edge of the Falling Sun in a distant parallel spacetime.
• Ian's transformation stirred the Sea of Thousand Stars, and observers sensed him entering the fourth stage of the Arcane Path.
• Ian reshaped the Pioneer Platform into the Edge of the Falling Sun, a gravitational Aether True Form, and declared his intent to outshine the existing suns.
• Ian told Isengard to watch over the Thousand-Stars Beasts, then used Curvature Navigation to travel toward the Imperial Capital.

Mountain Folk explorers uncovered the Ice-Mist Dragon’s bones on the Great Snowcap, and Ian planned to establish a new holy site there with Dragon Island’s help. At Xiahui Territory’s training camp, Loren found belonging through his friendship with Miles and embraced his identity as one of Ian’s people.

• After a Mountain Folk explorer connected Plants vs. Magic Beasts to the territory’s defensive strategy, his loud outburst triggered an avalanche that exposed the Ice-Mist Dragon’s bones.
• Ian rescued the buried explorers, contacted Dragon Island about retrieving the bones, and designated Dragonbone Peak as a future Spirit-Veneration Church holy site.
• Ian discussed building the holy site with Roland and Sheo, considering how to enlist the Mountain King’s help with construction.
• Loren grew confident at the ascender training camp, excelled in cultural studies, and formed a close friendship with Miles.
• Miles told Loren about his family’s deaths and escape from Azure City, and Loren realized their pain and regret could not be compared.
• Loren accepted that his friends, teachers, and Lord Ian stood with him, and he chose to belong to Xiahui Territory.