Chapter Summaries

Fu Qian used the Witch’s mask to reveal himself to Kelson while a pursued fugitive escaped with its movements exposed by its tail flame. Kelson recognized Fu Qian and questioned him about the Native Council, while Fu Qian began piecing together Kelson’s secret infiltration and ambush.

• Fu Qian put on the Witch’s mask, prompting Kelson to stop attacking the suspected Oathbreaker, which escaped while its fluttering tail flame gave away its path.
• Kelson approached Fu Qian, recognized him despite the mask, and asked whether to call him Mr. Lu or Mr. Fu.
• Fu Qian questioned Kelson about his presence, and Kelson said he wanted to know what the Native Council was after.
• Fu Qian deduced that Kelson had secretly infiltrated his own group and suggested Gerard had used the clash between the Siren and the Ji Clan to arrange an ambush.
• Fu Qian speculated that Kelson’s target might learn about the group’s mission easily, explaining why Kelson had gone to such lengths to conceal his involvement.

Fu Qian and Kelson compared their reasons for coming to Dragon Peak Inn: both were hunting the mysterious bug, which appeared to be the Ancient Dragon they had been pursuing. After Fu Qian demonstrated that he could destabilize Sinking Anchor, Kelson freed him from it, leaving their uneasy cooperation unresolved.

• Kelson explained that the Native Council was trying to flush out an unknown entity that had been targeting Siren during the annual blessing.
• Fu Qian deduced that Kelson’s hunting target and the hidden entity were the same, and Kelson admitted the Ancient Dragon’s true form seemed to be the bug.
• Fu Qian told Kelson that he had come to catch the bug alive, prompting Kelson to demand that he leave and settle their earlier score.
• Fu Qian flicked Sinking Anchor and destabilized it, shocking Kelson with his ability to damage the supernatural item.
• Kelson apologized for his subordinates’ offense and used a water bubble to release Sinking Anchor from Fu Qian.

After Kelson withdrew, Fu Qian remained on the golden throne and waited for the Oathbreaker to choose his next move. Soul Butterflies gathered around the throne to form the outline of a dragon, and Fu Qian saw a hand reach toward the flesh-worms in the Reflection of the Soul Butterflies.

• Kelson recalled the Sinking Anchor, agreed to let each side pursue its own goals, and left through the front door.
• Fu Qian decided to remain seated and give the Oathbreaker a few minutes to choose his fate.
• Soul Butterflies gathered beside the golden throne and formed the outline of a dragon.
• Fu Qian studied the dragon-shaped apparition and resisted the disorienting images of the flesh-worms.
• Fu Qian saw a hand reach toward the worms in the Reflection of the Soul Butterflies.

Fu Qian confronted Sunny and the injured being he called A'Long, uncovering how Sunny's behavior was controlled and why the Soul Butterflies were emerging. He used the Return Edict to slow the swarm, keeping A'Long from escaping as he insisted they talk.

• Fu Qian revealed he was a demigod, questioned Sunny about appearing in the illusion, and challenged her claim that she had been avoiding Kelson.
• Fu Qian exposed that Sunny was a puppet and that the being hiding among the Soul Butterflies was the Ancient Dragon Kelson had wounded.
• The dragon accepted Fu Qian's nickname A'Long and explained that Sunny's behavior was unaffected while the one who had escaped remained outside the influence's range.
• A'Long tried to leave with Sunny, but Fu Qian activated the Return Edict and slowed the Soul Butterflies pouring from it.
• Fu Qian offered to ease A'Long's trouble and continued pressing for a conversation about world peace.

Fu Qian used the Return Edict to help A'Long regain control after a blessing overwhelmed him, then questioned A'Long and Sunny about the ancient deity and their actions. A'Long revealed why he had tried to keep people away, and Fu Qian warned that the blessing and the hunters likely meant A'Long would not survive until dawn before demanding to know his plan.

• Fu Qian used the Return Edict to help A'Long dispel the Soul Butterflies, and Sunny asked why he had helped them.
• Fu Qian claimed the Native Council knew what Sunny and A'Long were, and questioned them about the deity behind the blessing.
• A'Long admitted that he and Sunny had arrived when the blessing appeared, that he had become an unwitting follower of an unnamed ancient deity, and that he did not care whether the Ancient Dragon was alive.
• Sunny explained that A'Long had caused conflicts and killed people to keep others from being corrupted by the place.
• A'Long said the blessing's power was protecting him while hastening the failure of his concealment, and Fu Qian warned that hunters might now mistake him for the Ancient Dragon and help the Siren.
• Fu Qian told A'Long he probably would not live until dawn, then asked what he had intended to do with Fu Qian's ability to intimidate Kelson.

Sunny admitted that she had tried to take Fu Qian’s umbilical cords and turn him into her puppet, but he let her and A'Long remain at the inn. Kelson returned and demanded to know why Sunny was there, leaving her to explain herself.

• Sunny explained that she had planned to take Fu Qian’s umbilical cords, which would have made him her puppet and provided cover while she hid from Kelson.
• Fu Qian confirmed that Sunny had failed, then chose not to kill her and told her she could stay at the inn with A'Long.
• Fu Qian warned Sunny to prepare an explanation for her presence because Kelson would soon return.
• Fu Qian considered A'Long’s account of an ancient god whose Honored Name had been forbidden since the Mythological Era.
• Kelson returned, noticed Sunny, and asked why she was at the inn; Fu Qian said he wanted to know as well.

Sunny told Kelson that an irresistible force had brought her into the shop, but Kelson declined Fu Qian’s offer to take her and kept his choice for later. As Kelson prepared to leave, a ghostly tail appeared beside a familiar figure, revealing a new lead and prompting him to reconsider.

• Sunny claimed that an irresistible force had taken control of her and that Fu Qian had let her hide in the shop.
• Kelson questioned Fu Qian about Sunny, then asked to take her with him, but Fu Qian offered him only one chance to choose someone.
• Kelson decided to keep that choice for later and began to leave.
• A cold white light revealed an illusory tail and a familiar figure by a shattered window.
• Kelson trapped the hall with lightning and announced that he now knew whom he would choose.

Fu Qian and Kelson discussed the Ancient Dragon A'Long's plans and the unstable blessing that made his concealment fail. A'Long attacked Kelson, badly injuring him with his divine tail, but Kelson's lightning cage struck back and trapped him.

• Kelson accused Fu Qian of using Sunny as a puppet to disguise the Ancient Dragon's hideout, while Fu Qian questioned Kelson's explanation of A'Long's unstable concealment.
• Sunny denied having anything to do with A'Long, but Kelson interpreted her defense as evidence that she was trying to save him.
• Fu Qian deactivated the Return Edict and challenged Kelson to make his choice as Kelson's lightning cage began to contract.
• A'Long attacked Kelson with his Soul Butterfly, but Kelson's protective Supernatural Item absorbed the blow.
• A'Long tore through the electric net with his divine tail and mangled Kelson's arm, but Kelson's cage reformed and exploded around A'Long.

Kelson killed A'Long and left Fu Qian with the shattered remains, which Fu Qian studied as evidence of the nature of an oath. He then drew Sunny into an honest conversation about her first visit to the blessing and revealed that she had tried to prevent others from suffering the same fate she had.

• Kelson killed A'Long, collected a fingernail-sized fragment as proof, and departed.
• Fu Qian arranged the remaining fragments and recognized their geometric pattern, wondering if it revealed the nature of an oath.
• Fu Qian prompted Sunny to explain how she could survive until the blessing ended.
• Sunny admitted that she had remembered her first visit, when she grabbed all three umbilical cords and became a walking corpse controlled by her own will.
• Sunny explained that she gained abilities and could grow stronger by harvesting other people's Primal Selves, but refused to do so.
• Fu Qian concluded that Sunny had tried to stop others from grabbing all three of their own umbilical cords.

Fu Qian questioned Sunny about her resistance to the Ancient Dragon and learned what its holy visage looked like and how its influence was changing her. He sent her to find someone from the Siren and Kelson with a message, leaving her future uncertain.

• Fu Qian confirmed that Sunny had killed two inn guests to keep others from discovering that Soul Butterflies could turn the enchanted into apostles.
• Sunny admitted she had refused to harvest umbilical cords and described the Ancient Dragon as a motionless, flesh-and-blood creature with nearly invisible scales.
• Sunny explained that she could feel herself changing and merging with something, though her connection to the Ancient Dragon had weakened.
• Sunny asked whether Fu Qian intended to eliminate people like her, and he rejected her assumption that her situation was impossible to escape.
• Fu Qian told Sunny to find someone from the Siren and Kelson and take a message to him.

Sunny survived her encounter with demigod Kelson after Fu Qian’s message convinced him she was under someone else’s control. Fu Qian suggested a place where she might find help with her condition, then disappeared when the mission was declared complete.

• Sunny delivered Fu Qian’s message to Kelson, who let her go and asked her to tell Mr. Lu that he would remember what happened.
• Kelson reflected that Fu Qian had steered the situation and left him a way to make contact.
• Sunny told Fu Qian she was confused that Kelson had neither killed nor questioned her, and thanked him for his help.
• Fu Qian suggested Sunny seek work at Lanaia’s bar, where its regulars might help control her condition.
• The mission declared the containment of No. 2-002 successful, and Fu Qian vanished from the golden throne.

After completing the mission, Fu Qian received the Dimensional Poison gauntlet and tested its ability to inflict wounds that withered instead of healing. Its description and the mission summary strengthened his theory that the Dragon King was a Cosmic Deity who had used Oaths to hide his true name and bind followers to his authority.

• Fu Qian read the mission summary and received the Dimensional Poison gauntlet as a special reward.
• Fu Qian endured the pain of putting on the gauntlet, which disappeared into his flesh and added crystalline fangs to his attacks.
• Fu Qian tested the fangs on himself and found that the wounds inflicted by them withered, preventing his flesh from healing.
• Fu Qian connected the Dragon King's hidden stellar origin and self-made scales to the Cosmic Deities and suspected the Dragon King had pioneered the Oath.
• Fu Qian concluded that gods used their Deity Authority to make Oath-bound beings elements of their own concepts.

After completing his Warehouse task, Fu Qian returned to the research tower and discovered that its clock had been tampered with, shifting the time outside. He corrected it, then waited for Ji Liushuang, who arrived with Professor Lisha.

• Fu Qian completed his Warehouse task, collected a weapon and Bronze Headband, and returned to the research tower wearing the Messenger.
• Fu Qian noticed the sky seemed to show sunrise at the wrong time and climbed to the top of the tower to investigate.
• Fu Qian found that the tower's clock was broken, turned its hands until the pendulum began swinging, and restored the passage of time.
• Fu Qian waited by the door until Ji Liushuang and Professor Lisha arrived, and Ji Liushuang explained that Professor Lisha had invited her over.

Ji Liushuang visited the tower after noticing its time barrier had vanished, and Professor Lisha admitted she had set it up to draw the protagonist into a lesson. Lisha taught the protagonist how to establish a connection to the barrier, and the chapter ended with the protagonist asking Liu Shuang to try it too.

• Ji Liushuang explained that she had arrived in the morning and waited for the protagonist, while Professor Lisha watched them with suspicion.
• Lisha revealed that the tower’s time-loop barrier could only be entered by someone connected to it or broken by force, and the protagonist confronted her about setting it up.
• Lisha admitted she had wanted the protagonist to come ask her about the locked lab, then agreed to teach how to use the device.
• Lisha showed the protagonist how to hold the hour hand still and turn the other hand counterclockwise once to establish a connection.
• The protagonist completed the turn despite the mental strain, learned that later connections could push out earlier ones, and invited Liu Shuang to try.

Fu Qian pushed Ji Liushuang to test her will by turning the amber spire’s dial, and she succeeded by accepting her weakness instead of fighting every negative thought. He then made her a research assistant and paid her with the short sword Weaver’s Limb Tip, warning her not to rely too much on its curse.

• Lisha urged Fu Qian not to put Ji Liushuang through a dangerous challenge, but Ji Liushuang agreed to attempt it.
• Ji Liushuang endured the spire’s overwhelming weakness and lethargy, letting the thoughts pass while steadily turning the dial back to its starting point.
• Lisha and Fu Qian praised Ji Liushuang for completing the challenge.
• Fu Qian told Ji Liushuang she was qualified to work as a research assistant and assigned her day-to-day lab management duties.
• Fu Qian gave Ji Liushuang Weaver’s Limb Tip as her internship salary and explained that its Curse of Forgetting could inflict Mental Torture.

Fu Qian guided Ji Liushuang through an experience with Sword Intent and advised her to master its clarity rather than become consumed by it. After Professor Lisha left, Fu Qian turned to Ji Liushuang to discuss a project and removed the Bronze Headband.

• Ji Liushuang told Fu Qian that Sword Intent had made her dependent on and obsessed with its clarity, weakening her strength and will.
• Fu Qian advised Ji Liushuang to seek clarity amid confusion instead of letting the sword arts define her, and she said the experience had been valuable.
• Professor Lisha warned Ji Liushuang to test Fu Qian's advice through practice, then said she was still investigating an unusual item from their last expedition.
• Fu Qian arranged for Ji Liushuang to visit Professor Lisha's lab and offer her research assistance, prompting Lisha to accept the arrangement before leaving.
• After Ji Liushuang said she felt rested and believed she had been on the wrong path, Fu Qian clarified that it might have been right but not her desired destination, then removed the Bronze Headband to discuss the project.

Fu Qian tested a mysterious headband on Ji Liushuang, who heard the message, “The Divine Path is Broken, Ashes Form a Ladder.” Fu Qian suspected the message pointed toward a dangerous scheme in the Sea of Ashes, while Ji Liushuang worried that the path to godhood had been cut off.

• Fu Qian explained the headband test and its risks, and Ji Liushuang agreed to wear it.
• Ji Liushuang endured the headband’s mental pressure until she could remove it, and Fu Qian caught it before it fell.
• Ji Liushuang reported hearing the repeated sentence, “The Divine Path is Broken, Ashes Form a Ladder.”
• Fu Qian considered whether the message suggested that advancement beyond the First Order was blocked and that the Sea of Ashes might offer a way forward or conceal a trap.
• Ji Liushuang asked whether becoming a god was now impossible, and Fu Qian told her not to worry about it while she was barely a Fifth Order.

Fu Qian and Ji Liushuang celebrated a milestone in their project while discussing her appointment to lead the Gospel Group and the support she had gained within the Ji Clan. Ji Liushuang accepted the role as a duty rather than a personal interest, and Fu Qian took her to a shop for drinks.

• Fu Qian stopped the experiment after a successful milestone and invited Ji Liushuang to celebrate.
• Ji Liushuang told Fu Qian that she had been put in charge of the Gospel Group after news from Leaf Island helped the Ji Clan reach a decision.
• Fu Qian explained that Angui had likely supported Ji Liushuang because of the secret surrounding Ji Yicheng's death and the accident in the wasteland.
• Fu Qian asked whether Ji Liushuang was interested in the Gospel Group, and she said she did not enjoy the work but felt she needed to do it.
• Fu Qian praised Ji Liushuang's sense of duty and led her into a shop that served drinks.

Fu Qian and Ji Liushuang shared dinner at Lanaia’s favorite shop, where he advised her to be cautious about swordsmanship and revealed he was leaving on a Scientific Expedition Plan. After saying goodbye, Fu Qian used the Messenger to return to the bookstore.

• Fu Qian and Ji Liushuang sat down at the shop and ordered food, joking about drinks and keeping their dinner expenses separate.
• Ji Liushuang described her sword training, and Fu Qian warned that swordsmanship might have hidden dangers despite lacking proof.
• Fu Qian and Ji Liushuang waited for Lanaia and Store Manager Sunny, but neither appeared; Ji Liushuang tried a little alcohol and ordered more fish for Fu Qian.
• Ji Liushuang asked whether Fu Qian was leaving again, and he told her his Scientific Expedition Plan began in ten minutes.
• Fu Qian watched Ji Liushuang return to the academy, went to the warehouse, and used the Messenger to reappear in the bookstore.

Fu Qian traveled toward the Sea of Ashes to carry out his plan, but stormy weather left ordinary boats unable to sail. He secretly joined a group of transcendent beings heading out in a small boat and entered the stormy sea.

• Fu Qian received Yuan Shan’s invitation to inspect the Night Watcher base and set out for the port nearest the Sea of Ashes.
• At the port, Fu Qian learned that storms had grounded the ordinary boats and that transcendent beings sometimes sailed to nearby floating islands.
• Fu Qian used Clear Dream to prompt a port worker to think through other options, then spotted a group of capable-looking travelers.
• Fu Qian concealed himself aboard their small boat as it crossed the waves and glided into the darkness.