Chapter Summaries

After the war, He Kai gained the chance to choose his own fate, while He Wei accepted the He Family’s plan to keep the title for himself. When He Yun told him the duke’s title arrangements had changed, He Wei’s resentment surfaced, and he proposed reducing He Kai’s reward.

• He Kai accepted a knighthood as the first choice he had made for himself, while He Wei decided to leave military matters to him.
• He Wei believed the family would compensate him and planned to blame He Yun for denying He Kai a title.
• He Yun told He Wei that Count Simon had demanded knighthoods and fiefs for frontline officers, forcing a change in the title arrangements.
• He Wei worried about losing part of the titles, and He Yun reminded him that Duke Palmer had made no promise and must not be criticized.
• He Yun asked about He Wei’s relationship with He Kai, and He Wei claimed they got along well before suggesting that He Kai’s reward be reduced.

He Wei followed He Yun’s orders and tried to reconcile with He Kai after the He Family secured him a knight title. He Kai redeemed the title and prepared for his investiture, a visit to the Duke and his new fief, and the difficult return to his family.

• He Yun scolded He Wei for considering reneging on the title and ordered him to congratulate He Kai and offer further support.
• He Wei found He Kai training, took him to a restaurant, explained how the title had been secured, and promised to compensate him.
• He Kai acted resentful during their meal, then sobered up after He Wei brought him back and considered the risks of returning to the He Family.
• Duke Palmer deposited the families’ merits and listed restricted title exchanges, and He Kai redeemed a knight title.
• He Kai prepared to attend his investiture with Count Simon, visit the Duke and his fief, and then return to face the He Family.

After visiting Duke Palmer, He Kai traveled to his Knight Fief and attended a welcome banquet hosted by Li Yang. Li Yang revealed that Baron Li Yifei had supplied the gifts to build friendships and gain support for his business.

• He Kai left Duke Palmer's court disappointed by the brief audience but resolved to keep working hard.
• He Kai arrived at his Fief and accepted Li Yang's invitation to a welcome banquet.
• He Kai saw ragged black tools being marched into a building, but Li Yang kept their purpose secret.
• Li Yang gave gifts to the gathered knight nobles, and they worried that accepting them might bring trouble.
• Li Yang explained that his cousin, Baron Li Yifei, had sent the gifts to make friends and hoped the knights would support his business.

He Kai learned how nobles used territories, slaves, and faith to build their power, then accepted his supplies and began establishing his own duchy. The chapter left his priests preaching a fabricated religious history as the tool people built their new homes.

• Li Yang and the others teased He Kai with a projection of praying black tools before explaining how believers and territories could provide valuable resources.
• Li Yang invited He Kai to join a plan to establish theocratic duchies and make them wage wars to cultivate faith, and He Kai agreed after learning they would register with the church.
• The next day, a ducal official gave He Kai a Fallen Angel Divine Statue, instructions for managing a fief, and one thousand households of black slaves.
• He Kai received five thousand households of black slaves and other supplies from the He Family, including believers, tools, overseers, cotton seeds, and Transcendent Craftsmen.
• He Kai began building his territory, while tool priests spread revised Slave Bibles and led the tool people in constructing new homes.

He Kai welcomed He Wei and gathered his noble friends for a drinking party, where He Wei offered to join their Noble Game with an upgrade. He Wei revealed a black bear with power comparable to a knight, leaving He Kai and the others stunned.

• He Kai waited for He Wei, who arrived with supplies after building connections among nobles in the Dark Empire.
• He Kai hosted He Wei and invited Li Yang and his other friends to join the gathering.
• He Wei asked to take part in He Kai's Noble Game and promised to upgrade it with the things he had brought.
• He Wei led the group to his vessel and introduced his distant connection to Lord Davis and the Davis Institute.
• He Wei opened a cabin and revealed a three-meter black bear that attacked its alloy cage, alarming the group with its knight-like power.

He Wei disrupted the researchers’ planned observation of Transcendent Life by turning the experiment into an upgraded noble game, but the Davis Institute backed his interpretation of the agreement. He Yun then tasked He Kai with keeping He Wei in check, leaving both cousins wary of the consequences.

• Davis’s research team sent laborer researchers to a new planet to study whether Transcendent Power could pass through natural reproduction among nobles.
• He Wei began using the Transcendent Life forms for an upgraded noble game, and the lead researcher objected that he was jeopardizing the Institute’s project.
• The researchers filed reports, but the Davis Institute supported He Wei, who then ignored a communication alert from He Yun.
• He Yun called He Kai instead and authorized him to arrest He Wei if his cousin acted foolishly.
• He Kai decided not to use the authority and warned He Wei to be more careful, which left He Wei somewhat more well-behaved.

Derek observed He Wei’s experiment in a world where the Tool Mutes Kingdom fought the Transcendent Black Bear that had been preying on villages. The bear escaped into the forest, badly injured, while the kingdom’s heroes suffered losses and forced it to stop hunting Tool Mutes so brazenly.

• Derek descended into the Sky-Piercing Divine Statue, startling researchers who saw its head turn toward the Transcendent Black Bear.
• The Transcendent Black Bear adapted to the wilderness, discovered Tool Mutes villages, and repeatedly hunted their inhabitants.
• The Tool Mutes Kingdom sent a punitive force of heroes to stop the bear, and they found it resting among its victims.
• The heroes attacked the bear, whose crimson power affected blood and vital energy, while their own abilities enhanced them across the board.
• The bear’s power evolved during the battle, but the heroes’ group assault drove it to flee into the mountain forest with serious injuries.

He Kai learned that the Soren Family’s noblewoman, Eunice, had agreed to meet him during the final battle among the nobles. The chapter ended as Eunice coolly asked whether he thought she had come specifically to see him.

• He Wei reviewed footage of the Transcendent Black Bear’s rampage and realized it had weakened the Tool Mutes Kingdom before the first great melee.
• He Wei explained that He Kai’s planned bride came from the Soren Family, a wealthy merchant family with a low-ranking baronetcy and no Fief.
• He Kai reassured He Wei that he was willing to meet Eunice, despite suspecting his relatives might be arranging the match for their own reasons.
• He Wei arranged for He Kai and Eunice to watch the final battle among the nobles together.
• Eunice looked He Kai up and down and asked whether he thought she had come specifically to see him.

He Kai became interested in Eunice Soren and asked Leon to investigate her family after learning that the Soren Family might have powerful connections. Leon’s findings confirmed that the family was well connected to the Silver Merchant Guild, leaving He Kai considering Eunice as a potential path to a better future.

• Eunice told He Kai that she wanted a qualified husband to support her younger brother and offered him a chance to pursue her.
• After Eunice left, He Kai asked He Wei whether the information about the Soren Family was accurate, then admitted he wanted to learn more about them.
• He Kai watched the nobles sacrifice the defeated soldiers’ corpses, while He Wei celebrated their victory and the others teased He Kai about Eunice.
• He Kai contacted Leon and asked him to investigate Eunice Soren and the Soren Family.
• Three days later, Leon reported that the Soren Family had a close relationship with Mr. Good of the Silver Merchant Guild and was considered reliable.

He Kai sought a way to pursue Eunice after learning she had given him a chance, and he used his family’s information to wait for her at a hunting ground. Eunice arrived and was surprised to find him there, calling his approach unromantic.

• Leon advised He Kai to focus on pursuing Eunice, but He Kai realized she had left him no contact information.
• He Wei told He Kai where Eunice had been staying and listed places she frequented.
• He Kai learned Eunice sometimes hunted and chose the hunting ground as his best chance to meet her.
• After waiting a week, He Kai saw Eunice arrive and discovered that her prey list included the formal-rank knight Tool Mutes.
• Eunice landed nearby, expressed surprise at seeing He Kai, and told him his approach was unromantic.

Eunice invited He Kai to hunt with her, and he discovered that her skills and professional entourage were far beyond what he expected from a merchant family. After the hunt, Eunice prepared a campfire meal and questioned He Kai about why he had not hunted.

• Eunice decided He Kai’s potential made him worth considering and invited him to join her hunting group.
• He Kai noticed Eunice’s attendants were retired knights and wondered how the Soren Family could afford such professionals.
• Eunice prepared horses for the hunt, but He Kai admitted he could not ride, so she provided him with a motorcycle.
• Eunice hunted several animals while He Kai followed and watched her demonstrate considerable skill.
• The group returned to camp without finding the largest prey, and Eunice prepared rabbit for a barbecue.
• Eunice asked why He Kai had not hunted, and he said he knew little about it and preferred to observe.

He Kai learned about aristocratic courtship customs and Eunice's marriage deadline before she left for the Sirius Galaxy. There, Eunice reunited with Elf, who wanted to recruit a Knight Order for the coming war, and asked Eunice to help her.

• Eunice explained the hunting-ground etiquette to He Kai and told him he had one year to earn her approval before they would remain ordinary friends.
• He Kai realized he needed to improve after seeing Eunice fight a Knight-tier Tool Mute, and Eunice later traveled to the Sirius Galaxy.
• Eunice secretly met Elf, who had come to the Dark Empire hoping to join the war against the Blue Star Federation.
• Eunice told Elf that the war was likely to remain at a stalemate until either side recovered, and Elf saw an opportunity to prove herself.
• Elf proposed recruiting a Knight Order and asked Eunice to support her, but Eunice had already refused to join the battlefield.

Elf used Eunice’s funding to order mechas, weapons, potions, and warships as she prepared to assemble a force, while Eunice worried about the risks. Franz arrived soon afterward with an order to take Elf back, but Elf doubted he had come to force her home.

• Eunice decided to fund Elf despite believing the investment was unlikely to pay off.
• Elf used Eunice’s money to order twenty Golden Guardian Mechas and other military supplies from Tru.
• Elf contacted her connections to gather equipment and hoped skilled knights would come seeking her patronage.
• Franz visited Elf and said he had an order to take her back, but Elf challenged his ability to make her comply.

Elf revealed her ambition to Franz, who urged her to visit Duke List before pursuing it. List welcomed Elf and Franz, then began assessing Elf’s resources and decided not to let her go to the battlefield yet.

• Elf told Franz she wanted to earn military merits, receive a territory from List, and become a Queen by conquering land in another civilization.
• Franz persuaded Elf to visit List, and she agreed to go after breakfast.
• Franz submitted a calling card in Elf’s name, allowing her and Franz to enter Duke Palmer’s Mansion ahead of the waiting visitors.
• List warmly greeted Elf and Franz, invited them to stay, and privately resolved to keep Elf away from the battlefield until he understood her resources.
• Franz told List that Eunice of the Soren Family was funding Elf and could support her for several years.

List discussed how the Soren Family had benefited from the Eldest Imperial Prince’s favor and accepted Franz’s request to give Elf authority to form a knight order. After Elf tried to pressure Franz into paying for equipment, he threatened to expose her scheme, and she pushed him to compromise.

• List reasoned that Baronet Soren had carefully used his connection to the Eldest Imperial Prince, helping Eunice enter Elf’s circle and gain a role in events at the capital.
• List told Franz he trusted Big Brother’s arrangements for Eunice and offered Elf a letter authorizing her to form a knight order.
• Elf refused to stay longer at the Duke’s Mansion and asked Franz what benefits he had obtained from List.
• Elf complained that the authorization letter was stingy and tried to get Franz to pay for a fully equipped knight order.
• Franz threatened to tell List that Elf had suggested exchanging the letter for two equipped knight orders, so Elf dropped her act and accused Franz of hoarding wealth.
• Franz, worried Elf would spread rumors that he had embezzled List’s assets, decided to compromise and pay some of the cost.

Elf used Franz’s authorization from List to establish her Knight Order, but insisted it recruit only qualified knights rather than rely on List’s connections. Franz’s warning about Eunice’s father, Baronet Soren, left Eunice reconsidering her family and Elf’s judgment.

• Elf suspected Franz had embezzled Big Brother’s money, then decided to ask her younger brother for more manpower after collecting Franz’s sponsorship.
• Elf showed Eunice and Franz List’s authorization, which included honorary noble titles for recruiting knights.
• Franz explained that the authorization could help Elf recruit noble and merchant families’ children and build a large network of connections.
• Eunice urged Elf to recruit newly risen elites from the Blue Star Federation, but Elf declared that her Knight Order would accept only qualified knights and would not use List’s foundation.
• Franz bowed to Elf’s authority as the Eldest Princess and advised Eunice to seek guidance from her father, Baronet Soren.
• Franz described Baronet Soren as an unusually wise noble, prompting Elf to recognize that Eunice’s father and the people around her were more capable than she had realized.

Eunice recruited He Kai for Elf’s effort to establish a Knight Order in the Dark Empire, offering him a chance to serve the Eldest Princess and rise in status. He Kai accepted, and Eunice brought him to meet Elf, who was eager to evaluate a potential recruit.

• Eunice decided to strengthen Elf’s position by finding capable people as well as providing money.
• Eunice invited He Kai to the Sirius Galaxy and offered him a chance to serve Elf in the Dark Empire.
• Eunice explained that Elf had authorization from Duke Palmer to establish a Knight Order, and He Kai chose the opportunity over returning to the He Family.
• He Kai agreed to serve Elf, while Eunice warned that he would still need to pass Elf’s evaluation.
• Eunice introduced He Kai to Elf, who was eager to recruit people but intended to test his abilities.

Elf tested He Kai in combat and tactical simulations, then recruited him to find more knights. Church Knights sent by Michel arrived to support Elf, and Shalier began testing He Kai’s recruits.

• Elf sparred with He Kai, quickly defeated him, and routed him in tactical simulations before approving his experience and courage.
• Eunice congratulated He Kai and urged him to recommend friends, so he began recruiting his battlefield comrades.
• Michel sent Church Knights led by Shalier to protect Elf, and the group arrived in the Sirius Galaxy.
• Hadige recognized He Kai, but Shalier introduced the group as Elf’s guards and avoided discussing their past encounter.
• Elf asked Shalier to test He Kai’s recruits, and He Kai chose Li Yang to go first.
• Shalier caught Li Yang’s punch with one hand, so Elf ordered him to test Li Yang’s martial skills instead of merely his strength.

Shalier assessed Li Yang and the other veterans for Elf’s Knight Order, then Elf recruited them all and outfitted them with powerful royal-exclusive mechas. Hadige arrived to summon everyone to accompany Elf as she received Franz’s donated fleet.

• Shalier defeated Li Yang in a brief spar and gave the veterans a favorable assessment for Elf’s Knight Order.
• Elf accepted Shalier’s recommendation and admitted Li Yang and the other veterans into her Knight Order.
• He Kai and the others used their connections to recruit more members, and Elf’s Knight Order quickly took shape.
• The knights received new mechas that greatly outperformed their previous equipment, and He Kai discovered they were marked “Royal Exclusive.”
• Hadige told everyone to prepare to accompany Elf as she received the fleet Franz had donated.

Elf received Count Franz’s donated Space Carrier fleet and prepared to lead her knights into battle, promising them future titles and territory. As the force made its final preparations, news of Elf’s arrival reached the He Family, and He Wei asked He Kai to recommend him as a knight.

• Li Yang complained about Count Franz’s donated fleet until Elf revealed she had been listening in, startling him and He Kai.
• He Kai and the others boarded the fleet, and Li Yang marveled that Franz had donated an entire Space Carrier fleet.
• Elf took the commander’s chair and announced she would lead her team to the battlefield, help Brother List, and later seize territory for her followers.
• He Kai and the others returned to base to pack and prepare for departure, while news of Elf’s arrival spread among a small circle.
• He Wei called He Kai and asked whether Elf still needed knights, and He Kai offered to recommend him while warning that Elf had high standards.