Chapter Summaries

Ji Jue endured the apocalypse’s attacks until the Principle of Tragic Work fully emerged, then summoned Nemesis and joined the craftsmen and their creations in forging a sword of Blazing Light. He struck down Tragic Work and burned the Holy Fool's Artifact’s accumulated legacy to ashes.

• Ji Jue resisted the Holy Fool's Artifact’s escalating disasters and waited until the Blood Eye and Principle of Tragic Work fully manifested.
• The Heavenly Furnace restrained Anvil Elder as Ji Jue summoned Nemesis and used its Creation Theory to forge a weapon beyond his own limits.
• Li Lin, Jiang Tongguang, Yellow Beard, and other craftsmen answered Nemesis’s call, sending their creations and fuel-fire into the sky to form a blade.
• Ji Jue condemned Tragic Work for creating decay and endless cycles, then swung the blade of Blazing Light through the apocalypse.
• The apocalyptic scene and Principle of Tragic Work vanished, while silver flames spread through the Holy Fool's Artifact and burned Anvil Elder’s lifetime of Tragic Work to ashes.

The Holy Fool's Artifact's destruction threatened to unleash a catastrophe, but Carrion Eater took over the transformation and sacrificed herself to reverse the Principle of Tragic Work and renew the present world. After Anvil Elder vanished with the Shadow of Deepdark, Ji Jue returned and confronted Heavenly Furnace, while Carrion Eater left him a final ray of light.

• Anvil Elder turned the collapsing Holy Fool's Artifact into an explosion, and Heavenly Furnace and Other Hand contained the blast while Carrion Eater began a greater transformation.
• Carrion Eater took the burden from Heavenly Furnace, confronted Anvil Elder, and began her final refinement as she reversed the Principle of Tragic Work and spread Elevation throughout the present world.
• Carrion Eater returned to Superior Virtue after completing her gift to the world, leaving Anvil Elder a final ray of light as the Shadow of Deepdark collapsed.
• Anvil Elder challenged Heavenly Furnace over the sacrifices required to secure the future, and Ji Jue emerged from the rift to denounce him and point the Nemesis Sword at him.
• The Shadow of Deepdark vanished into Green Fire's ghostly flames, and Ji Jue caught the last ray of light Carrion Eater had left for him.

At the Old Woman’s funeral, the Association honored her legacy and began reforms, with the Plow Forging Artisan taking over her duties. Gustav then learned that Heavenly Furnace disliked the Association but accepted its path; Heavenly Furnace abruptly entered Deepdark and returned with half of an old turtle’s body, including a beating black heart.

• Artisans from across the world mourned the Old Woman, whose final transmutation strengthened every artisan and whose will funded loans for promising newcomers.
• The Association appointed the Plow Forging Artisan to guide younger artisans and launched reforms to preserve the Old Woman’s work.
• Gustav asked Heavenly Furnace whether he disliked the Association, and Heavenly Furnace said it was fine as long as they did not despise one another.
• Heavenly Furnace felt his shackles loosen, opened a fissure, and went to confront Deepdark despite Gustav’s alarm.
• Heavenly Furnace returned fifteen minutes later with half of an old turtle, saying the other half had escaped and that the black heart on the table belonged to stagnant rot.

Ji Jue received the Crown Master's crown, then transformed it into a flower and left it at the Celestial Pivot monument before publicly opening the foundations of Three-Phase Alchemy. The chapter ended with Anvil Elder and a voice in his furnace discussing a new vessel after Bei Gong's Implement had fallen.

• Heavenly Furnace urged Ji Jue to understand the difference between acting as himself and acting as Lu Changsheng, then admitted he could not bring himself to like the world.
• At the Association ceremony, Heavenly Furnace crowned Ji Jue a Crown Master, setting a new record for his rapid rise.
• Ji Jue visited the Celestial Pivot monument, reforged his crown into a flower, and placed it there as he resolved to begin acting in the present.
• The Taiyi Ring Association approved Three-Phase Alchemy as an orthodox tradition and opened its introductory methods, prompting other factions to compete by loosening access to their teachings.
• Anvil Elder criticized and praised the manuscript's ambition while instructing his students, then told a voice in his furnace that a vessel better than Bei Gong was already before them.

The author thanked readers after finishing the volume and described the ongoing challenges of caring for the ailing Little Dog. The author planned to take a short break, then work on the remaining outline, while hoping the dog could receive treatment in Chengdu after the New Year.

• The author said the volume had been finished just before the New Year and reflected on a growing pile of personal problems.
• The author described Little Dog’s repeated hospitalizations and worsening inability to stand, which caused anxiety and sleeplessness.
• After consulting a doctor, the author chose conservative care for now and planned to drive Little Dog to Chengdu for treatment after the New Year.
• The author thanked readers for their concern, noted Little Dog remained energetic despite its condition, and said they would take a few days off before returning to the outline.

Coast Industry’s efficient shipping network delivered a huge shipment of books and sundials to Tower City’s church, where Elder Longge arranged to distribute the books to settlements across White State. The story ended with the children playing in the twilight as distant gunfire sounded and Tower City settled into night.

• Coast Industry’s cargo ships and Engineering Cats rapidly unloaded supplies in Tower City, while dockworkers discussed the company’s high pay and efficient operations.
• Korela and Mother collected thousands of books ordered for the church, and the foreman assigned Cowpea Tricycles to deliver the shipment.
• Yan Chang gave Elder Longge a batch of sundials for sale and explained that the proceeds would support White State’s charitable education fund.
• Elder Longge asked Sister Ugrina to contact other settlements and send them books, and she found recipients for the surplus.
• The matron watched the children play and went downstairs to join them as night fell over Tower City.

Ji Jue settled into repairing vehicles and helping the White Banner Restoration Army build up its oasis while Inverse Scale described the region’s growing unrest and the army’s quiet expansion. Ji Jue then unexpectedly encountered Yan Fei at the lake and announced that he would give him a lesson.

• An old farmer carried books from Korela to a ruined temple, and monks later transported supplies that concealed ammunition and weapon parts to a lakeside construction site.
• Ji Jue repaired a vehicle, shared practical advice with local mechanics, and received books for the camp as Inverse Scale objected to how casually everyone treated him.
• Ji Jue and Inverse Scale walked through a flourishing oasis while Inverse Scale explained how the White Banner Restoration Army used villages, priests, and tradition to build support in secret.
• Ji Jue encountered Yan Fei swimming at the lake and learned that Yan Fei had nearly finished his assignments.
• Ji Jue told Yan Fei that their branch had another fine tradition and insisted on starting a lesson, leaving Yan Fei dreading what was coming.

Ji Jue put Yan Fei through a brutal Spirit Essence Offense and Defense lesson, teaching him to control and improve his explosive weapons. After class, Ji Jue turned to Inverse Scale and invited him to fight.

• Yan Fei tried to avoid class by promising to do extra homework, but Ji Jue insisted on training him under strict limits.
• Yan Fei ambushed Ji Jue with an explosive punch, but Ji Jue disrupted the blast and threw him back without taking a step.
• Yan Fei attacked with his paired Explosive Guidance Rods, but Ji Jue disarmed him and explained the weapons’ flaws and how to improve them.
• Ji Jue told Yan Fei to repair his creation as an exam, then continued the lesson until Yan Fei was battered and wheeled away in Yan Chang’s old wheelchair.
• Ji Jue finished warming up and invited Inverse Scale to spar.

Ji Jue asked Inayat to spar so he could hone his skills, and Inayat used White Deer techniques to test him. The spar ended with Ji Jue countering Inayat’s attacks and stopping a Scene Tremor strike just short of his chest.

• Inayat protested sparring with Ji Jue, but agreed after Ji Jue threatened to deduct his sponsorship and set a limit of drawing blood.
• Inayat used his malice and aura to mentally torment Ji Jue, who praised the technique and urged him to attack.
• Inayat slashed at Ji Jue’s throat, but Ji Jue casually slapped his hand aside and asked him to continue.
• Inayat advanced with Blood Tremor, but Ji Jue read the technique, stopped his arm, and pointed out a counterattack.
• Inayat launched Blood Tremor at speed, but Ji Jue seized his elbow, redirected the strike, and stopped a Scene Tremor attack just before Inayat’s chest.

Ji Jue pushed Inverse Scale to fight at full strength so he could practice controlling his Realm of Encirclement, then learned from Heavenly Furnace how the Mohist art of Mo Defense could turn an opponent’s attacks back on them. Heavenly Furnace left Ji Jue with the first of three inherited techniques to study.

• Ji Jue revealed that his Realm of Encirclement had let him repeatedly deflect Inverse Scale’s attacks, and Inverse Scale finally agreed to fight without holding back.
• Inverse Scale attacked Ji Jue with Blood Vibration, Bone Piercing, and Soul Slaughter while Ji Jue used countless branching possibilities to practice defending, nearly overloading his matrix.
• In a flashback, Old Dog gave Ji Jue a dusty copy of the Ten Treatises, and Ji Jue recognized it as a guide to the foundations of the Mohist inheritance.
• Heavenly Furnace told Ji Jue to punch him, then used the Realm of Encirclement to redirect Ji Jue’s attacks back onto himself.
• Heavenly Furnace explained that the Mohists had mostly used their power for defense and identified the technique he had demonstrated as Mo Defense.

Ji Jue used the stress test against Inverse Scale to develop his Realm of Encirclement, turning the wolf’s attacks aside until Inverse Scale unveiled his Rebirth Form. Their duel escalated into a fierce clash, and Inverse Scale’s Furnace Wolf lineage and Scale Lineage made him a formidable living weapon.

• Ji Jue recalled Heavenly Furnace’s lesson and realized that mastering the Realm of Encirclement depended on choosing the easiest way to deflect, evade, and restrain attacks.
• Ji Jue’s improved defense made Inverse Scale’s blows repeatedly miss or lose their force, until Inverse Scale stopped and apologized to the Wolf Lord.
• Ji Jue invited Inverse Scale to stop holding back, and Inverse Scale revealed his Rebirth Form as a horned wolf with burning metal scales and ceremonial sickle swords.
• Inverse Scale charged head-on, forcing Ji Jue to retreat and counterattack as his blows barely damaged the wolf’s resilient body.
• Ji Jue recognized Inverse Scale’s Scale Lineage and Furnace Wolf talent for consuming objects to strengthen himself, then found his vision darkening as Inverse Scale transformed.

Ji Jue trained against Inayat, interrupting Inverse Scale’s attacks before asking him to unleash Wolf’s Mouth. Ji Jue lost the Realm of Encirclement contest when the giant wolf bit his left hand, but the battle ended in a mutual near-defeat, and he explained that he had created a small opening in Wolf’s Mouth’s lock-on.

• Ji Jue adapted to Inverse Scale’s attacks by interrupting his skills and controlling the pace of their sparring.
• Ji Jue stopped the practice and asked Inayat to become stronger, then requested that he use the Realm of Encirclement.
• Inayat unleashed Wolf’s Mouth, transforming into a giant wolf whose realm drained Ji Jue’s Spiritual Substance and swallowed him.
• The Realm of Encirclement collapsed with Inayat’s wolf biting Ji Jue’s left hand, leaving Ji Jue defeated and Inayat badly exposed to a counterattack.
• Ji Jue told Inayat that Wolf’s Mouth had no flaw of the kind he suspected and said he had created a small opening in its lock-on.

Ji Jue explained how he escaped Inayat’s Wolf’s Mouth by sacrificing his Circle Realm, then met with Dabite, who asked what he wanted from the White State. Ji Jue told him the White State’s future belonged to its people, leaving Dabite relieved and ready to face tomorrow.

• Ji Jue explained that he used the destruction of his Circle Realm to open a gap in Wolf’s Mouth and escape its lock-on effect.
• Dabite stopped the oasis elders from investigating the disturbance and later asked Inayat to arrange a meeting with Ji Jue.
• Ji Jue told Dabite he wanted nothing from the White State and that its people had to decide and build their own future.
• Dabite left Ji Jue’s living room relieved, then told the waiting remnants that he could not measure the Venerable One.
• Dabite dismissed the group and returned to his recliner, where he began considering the future and tomorrow.

Ji Jue returned to Haizhou after Coast Industry linked its operations across the Wilderness, Thousand Isles, and Central Earth, then visited Lou Feng’s workshop. He brought Lou Feng research materials and demanded the progress on their earlier project.

• Ji Jue left the oasis and White State, inspected Coast Industry’s expanding operations, and traveled to Haizhou by freighter.
• Ji Jue arrived in New Spring and found Lou Feng in his workshop, surrounded by many projections created by splitting and extending his spiritual substance.
• Lou Feng berated Ji Jue for leaving him to handle the backlash from Ji Jue’s open-source Three-Phase Source Opening technique, and Ji Jue talked him down.
• Ji Jue examined Lou Feng’s experimental projections and teased him about taking on more work before asking about their earlier project.
• Ji Jue used manuscripts on Master Zhou’s Myriad Sources Convergence, the embers zhi fu decision, and Bei Gong’s workshop theories to persuade Lou Feng to welcome him and accept the materials.
• Ji Jue handed Lou Feng the prepared manuscripts, then demanded the item he had asked him to make.

Ji Jue inspected Lou Feng’s External Control Module prototype, which let users control machines through a spiritual link, and praised its breakthrough while demanding faster response times. The chapter ended with Ji Jue activating his super intelligence and pressuring Lou Feng to improve the module’s latency.

• Lou Feng led Ji Jue through the Workshop’s defenses to inspect the External Control Module prototype he had built to Ji Jue’s specifications.
• Ji Jue watched test footage in which a prisoner learned to control mechanical arms, a car, drones, a turret, and an exoskeleton through the prototype.
• Lou Feng revealed that the tests used adapted participants and that the prototype still had a response delay of two to three seconds, which long-term use might reduce to about one second.
• Ji Jue praised Lou Feng’s breakthrough but judged the delay too slow and activated his super intelligence to demand a solution.

Ji Jue persuaded Lou Feng to launch a low-cost rental program for prosthetics and other external modules, using widespread trials to gather data and expand the King of Flies system. After arranging a meeting with Lou Feng’s aunt, Ji Jue asked Lou Feng to punch him, demonstrated Force Conduction, and provoked Lou Feng into unleashing a giant Spiritual Substance beast with Mirroring - Star of Bethlehem.

• Ji Jue convinced Lou Feng to simplify the External Module design and begin with prosthetic rentals, then expand into other equipment while collecting real-world data.
• Lou Feng agreed to join the project after Ji Jue promised him a nomination for the church’s Medal of Benevolence.
• Isis began organizing a charity trial in Haizhou, Seven Cities, and White State, with five thousand places planned for launch in a month.
• Ji Jue asked Lou Feng to arrange a meeting with his aunt, then requested that Lou Feng punch him.
• Lou Feng struck Ji Jue with overwhelming force, but Ji Jue redirected the impact through Force Conduction and sent Lou Feng crashing into the wall.
• Ji Jue challenged Lou Feng to try again, and Lou Feng summoned a giant Spiritual Substance beast while activating Mirroring - Star of Bethlehem.

Ji Jue fought Lou Yanyue to test his newly reached Transcendence and Realm of Encirclement, while Lou Suwen and Tong Yuan watched and discussed his promise for Haizhou. After Ji Jue declared Wen-jie stronger than Lou Yanyue, she unleashed her full power and the battle escalated.

• Ji Jue defeated Lou Feng at Coast Technology, then asked him to email a revised design before discovering Lou Feng had blocked him.
• Lou Yanyue visited Lou Feng, teased him about his injuries, and accepted Ji Jue’s request for a sparring match.
• Lou Yanyue attacked Ji Jue with her Rebirth Form and Bi Fang, while Ji Jue used his Realm of Encirclement and Zhanlu Spirit Essence to withstand and counter her blows.
• Tong Yuan and Lou Suwen watched the fight and discussed Ji Jue’s Mohist nature, his growing standing, and the possibility of Haizhou’s restoration.
• After Lou Yanyue asked him to compare her with Wen Wen, Ji Jue declared Wen-jie number one, enraging Lou Yanyue into opening her Realm of Encirclement and attacking at full power.

Ji Jue endured Lou Yanyue’s Five Buildings Twelve Cities lightning until he awakened a third Spirit Essence Hand and used [Mo Shou] to throw the attack back. He left the sparring session injured but jubilant, while Lou Yanyue grew bashful around him and Heavenly Furnace questioned whether he was really a Matrix Child.

• Lou Yanyue unleashed her Five Buildings Twelve Cities lightning at Ji Jue, and he repeatedly reached for it despite his hands being burned away.
• Under the pressure, Ji Jue manifested a third Spirit Essence Hand, completed the Triple Feigong Circle Realm, and threw Lou Yanyue’s lightning back into the phantom of Sky City.
• Ji Jue realized he had crossed the threshold of [Mo Shou] and tried to comfort the stunned Lou Yanyue, who offered to help him practice again.
• Ji Jue invited Lou Yanyue to eat, while Tong Yuan teased Lou Suwen that his daughter had fallen in love with Ji Jue; Lou Yanyue ignored her father’s attempt to summon her home.
• After the damaged Workshop’s sparring session ended, Heavenly Furnace heard Ji Jue had learned [Mo Defense] and touched [Zhibao], then wondered whether he was a fake Matrix Child.

Ji Jue and Lou Feng completed a new External Module, and Coast Technology’s charity event successfully restored mobility and independence to its first recipients. As demand surged and users began modifying their prosthetics into weapons, Ji Jue proposed holding a sports meet to regulate their experiments.

• Ji Jue told Lou Feng he intended to build a Full House Intelligence system, and Lou Feng agreed to continue the project without learning Ji Jue’s other plans.
• Coast Technology performed nearly a hundred successful External Module surgeries, and recipients regained movement and basic independence.
• Ji Jue explained the prosthetics’ remaining flaws to Elder Deng, who refused to let the Church distribute them and promised to help with patents instead.
• Applications for the next phase flooded in, while Lou Feng capped each phase at fewer than two thousand recipients and blocked Ji Jue’s pleas to expand.
• Coast’s Security Team dealt with users illegally modifying their prosthetics into weapons, and Ji Jue proposed holding a sports meet to guide their experiments.

Ji Jue organized a Prosthetic Games and pushed New Spring Town’s development forward, then sought approval to reopen Quancheng Port. Lü Yingyue approved the plan and revealed that Hai Zhou was preparing a large-scale Quancheng waste-clearing project, leaving Ji Jue wondering whether powerful families were positioning him for greater political influence.

• Ji Jue decided to hold the first Coast Prosthetic Games, and Yu Shu took on the added workload while Coast recruited talented prosthetic designers.
• Ji Jue approved Yu Shu’s proposal to reopen Quancheng Port and said he would seek approval from Lü Yingyue.
• Lü Yingyue arrived during the meeting, prompting Ji Jue to reframe the plan as a project to salvage and protect Federation assets.
• Lü Yingyue approved the Quancheng plan and said Hai Zhou Holdings would organize a company to clear the city’s waste, with the first phase expected to begin within the year.
• Ji Jue suspected that the Tong Family and the Lou Family were supporting him as a potential Spokesperson.