Chapter Summaries

Wang Dong captured the Harlock Federation flagship, seized its Positron Impact Cannon, and destroyed the federation fleet with the Dark Peng. After returning to the main universe and finding the rare crystals he needed unavailable, he reached the Capital Star System, where the Royal Astronomical Academy occupied a colossal space fortress.

• Wang Dong had the Dark Peng use its War Shackles to tow the Harlock Federation flagship away from its fleet, then Zhou Tai and combat robots subdued its crew.
• Wang Dong installed the flagship’s Positron Impact Cannon and used three Supernova Burst Cannon shots to destroy the Harlock Federation fleet.
• Wang Dong recorded the Harlock Federation’s Otherworldly Battlefield coordinates, then returned to the main universe when the battlefield’s 24 hours ended.
• Wang Dong learned that Radiant Crystal and Dark Crystal could not be bought in the star region, so he set the search aside and continued toward the Capital Star System.
• Wang Dong arrived in the Capital Star System on November 3, 10106, and saw that the Royal Astronomical Academy stood in a colossal space fortress on the system’s outermost orbit.

Wang Dong arrived at the Royal Astronomical Academy’s space fortress and met senior student Li Wu'an, who sought his advice about combat. After hearing Wang Dong’s experiences, Li Wu'an befriended him and exchanged contact information.

• The Dark Peng was intercepted near the Royal Astronomical Academy, and Wang Dong was escorted to the space fortress while the rest of his crew waited for enrollment approval.
• Wang Dong read part of the academy guide during the trip, then took it with him when he disembarked.
• Senior student Li Wu'an met Wang Dong, escorted him through the academy, and explained that he would inherit his family’s border territory after graduation.
• Li Wu'an asked Wang Dong for practical combat advice, and Wang Dong honestly described his battles and tactics.
• Li Wu'an praised Wang Dong’s advice, declared him a friend, exchanged contact information with him, and mentioned the talented students in Wang Dong’s command program.

Wang Dong learned that the Royal Astronomical Academy’s Commander program relied on practical learning and competition, though students could choose how much to participate. After registering, he discovered he would have to share a dorm room, and Stephen Zhou again advised him to get along with his roommates.

• Wang Dong asked Li Wu'an how the Commander program differed from ordinary programs, and Li Wu'an explained its practical, competitive approach.
• Li Wu'an reassured Wang Dong that he could study quietly and compete at his own pace, then drove him to the registration office.
• Wang Dong completed registration and received an electronic map of the academy’s facilities.
• Wang Dong asked Stephen Zhou for a private dorm room, but Stephen Zhou said Commander program students had to share and urged him to get along with his roommates.

Wang Dong moved into the Royal Astronomical Academy and learned that Command Major students competed for valuable rewards during a two-year program. He met his randomly assigned roommates, Sun Jie and An Yu, who would form his team for the next two years.

• Wang Dong arrived at Command Major campus, moved into Dorm 10086, and studied the academy's credit system and Command Major competition.
• Wang Dong learned that top-ranked Command Major students could win valuable Shipborne Modules, rare resources, and privileges, and he became tempted to compete.
• Wang Dong arranged for Mada, Zhou Tai, and the other crew members to audit classes, while Gao Luanqin stayed aboard the Dark Peng and Wang Guannan chose the secretarial major.
• Wang Dong visited Wang Guannan and found that she had adapted to dormitory life.
• Sun Jie and then An Yu arrived as Wang Dong's roommates, completing the trio assigned to form a team for the next two years.

Wang Dong, An Yu, and Sun Jie met their fellow commander-program students at the Royal Astronomical Academy, where they attended Director Peng Xiaogong’s opening speech. Peng revealed the previous class’s deaths, expulsions, and withdrawals before declaring that true elites were forged in blood and fire.

• Wang Dong, An Yu, and Sun Jie exchanged details about their backgrounds and personal ships, learning that An Yu had the strongest vessel and came from a powerful family.
• On November 12, 10106 Star Calendar, Wang Dong, An Yu, and Sun Jie joined more than two hundred new students in the commander-program classroom and met other students.
• Peng Xiaogong introduced himself as the commander program’s director, and Wang Dong sensed the strength of his mental power and cultivation.
• Peng Xiaogong welcomed the two hundred and thirteen new students and said that the director traditionally addressed every incoming class.
• Peng Xiaogong reported that fifty-one students from the previous class had been expelled, eight had died, and forty-three had withdrawn, then declared that true elites were born amid blood and fire.

Li Wu'an explained the Command program’s dangerous field training and harsh elimination rules to the incoming students, while Wang Dong weighed the risks against the Academy’s benefits. The briefing ended when a crew-cut student stood to share his thoughts.

• Peng Xiaogong warned the freshmen that the Command program could be dangerous and offered them a month to withdraw with a full tuition refund.
• Peng Xiaogong introduced Li Wu'an, last year’s top Command student, to explain the program’s curriculum and teaching methods.
• Li Wu'an described real-world missions, unlimited elimination assessments, and past incidents that had killed students and destroyed ships.
• Li Wu'an offered the freshmen a withdrawal application but warned that anyone who left would never be admitted to the Royal Astronomical Academy again.
• Wang Dong decided that the Academy still suited his needs and that the Dark Peng might help him survive reckless teammates.
• A crew-cut male student stood and asked Li Wu'an for permission to share his thoughts with the freshmen.

Ye Hao urged the Commander program freshmen to stay together, then clashed with Wang Changnian over his attempt to rally them. As Wang Changnian and Lin Feng traded insults, Wang Dong and An Yu stopped Sun Jie from openly siding with Ye Hao, while Li Wu'an watched the rivalry unfold.

• Ye Hao called on all freshmen to remain in the Commander program and improve together, and Lin Feng and Sun Jie voiced their support.
• Wang Changnian mocked Ye Hao’s family standing, title, and military record.
• Lin Feng defended Ye Hao and accused Wang Changnian of jealousy.
• Sun Jie stood to insult Wang Changnian, but Wang Dong and An Yu pressed him back into his seat.
• Wang Changnian continued arguing with Lin Feng as Li Wu'an watched without intervening.

Wang Dong used his formidable presence to shut down Wang Changnian and Lin Feng’s provocation at the Royal Astronomical Academy, then began struggling through the commander program’s demanding coursework. After months of study, he passed all the required theory courses just before the assessment deadline and avoided expulsion.

• Wang Changnian provoked Ye Hao and praised Wang Dong, prompting Lin Feng to accuse Wang Dong of receiving an exaggerated reputation.
• Wang Dong released his overwhelming presence, forced Wang Changnian and Lin Feng to back down, and accepted Ye Hao’s conciliatory offer of friendship.
• Li Wu'an reminded the freshmen to follow the academy’s code of conduct and warned that they would need to keep up with the commander program.
• Wang Dong struggled with the program’s heavy course load while An Yu and Ye Hao passed required courses much faster.
• Wang Dong passed Warship Chronicle two months into his studies, then gradually cleared the remaining required theory courses.
• Just before the three-month assessment period, Wang Dong passed every required theory course and met the minimum standard to remain enrolled.

Wang Dong finished the academy’s theoretical stage with strong results and attended a banquet with his teammates, where he learned about a coming contest between Lin Feng and Wang Changnian. After discovering Wang Changnian was the brother of a disgraced officer Wang Dong had once dealt with, Wang Dong suspected a conspiracy and quietly enlisted An Yu’s help.

• Wang Dong passed fifteen elective assessments, and his team placed twenty-fifth in the first evaluation after three months of theoretical study.
• Sun Jie invited Wang Dong to Ye Hao’s banquet, and Wang Dong agreed on the condition that An Yu joined them.
• An Yu told Wang Dong that Lin Feng had challenged Wang Changnian to compete for Source Points during their upcoming Otherworldly Space battlefield training.
• Wang Dong learned that Lin Feng had wagered three Dark Crystals against Wang Changnian’s Life Crystal and asked Sun Jie about Wang Changnian’s family.
• Sun Jie revealed that Wang Changnian’s brother, Wang Changxi, had been dismissed from the Northern Expedition fleet and stripped of his inheritance rights after Wang Dong had him taken into custody.
• Wang Dong suspected Wang Changnian had ulterior motives, then privately explained a plan to An Yu and asked for her help.

Wang Dong used Wang Changnian’s rivalry with Lin Feng to establish a betting pool on the Command program’s combat training, with fifteen Dark Crystals at stake. After returning to the Dark Peng, he took his companions into Otherworldly Space, where they discovered the ruined Bale Civilization and learned that a radiation-triggered fungal mutation had wiped it out.

• Wang Dong declined Wang Changnian’s request to witness the wager, then watched Wang Changnian provoke Lin Feng into raising the stakes to fifteen Dark Crystals against Wang Dong’s first-place finish.
• Wang Changnian wagered that Wang Dong would win the combat training, Lin Feng backed Ye Hao, and An Yu organized the betting pool and staked five Life Crystals on Wang Dong.
• Wang Dong returned to the Dark Peng after three months at the Royal Astronomical Academy and explained the betting pool to his companions.
• Wang Dong secretly activated the Dark Peng’s systems and transported the ship into an Otherworldly Space battlefield, surprising Wang Guannan and the others.
• The Abyss Eye identified the opponent as the Level 4 Bale Civilization, and Wang Dong found its once-inhabited planet overrun by mutated organisms.
• Wang Dong learned that a fungus once used to extend the Bale people’s lifespans had mutated after exposure to distant supernova radiation, infecting and destroying the entire civilization.

Wang Dong and the Dark Peng's crew retrieved the mutated Bale Biochemical Brain from a planet overrun by living corpses. The corpses' coordinated behavior led Wang Dong and Mada to suspect the symbiotic fungi had developed a collective consciousness.

• Wang Dong and the others discussed how lessons from other civilizations had shaped the Kindling Human Civilization's policies and safeguards.
• Wang Dong examined the gold-quality Bale Biochemical Brain module and learned it could boost a ship's computing power and imprint the memories of nearby dying beings.
• Wang Dong sent armed robots to dismantle the brain, while Shi Zunhou used the Dark Peng's secondary guns to hold back the converging living corpses.
• The crew discovered that corpses across the planet, including those transformed from marine life, were gathering at the base as the fungi spread to other organisms.
• The robots recovered the Bale Biochemical Brain and the Dark Peng escaped the planet, while Shi Zunhou returned fire against its automated defenses.
• Mada suggested the symbiotic fungi had developed a collective consciousness, and Wang Dong realized it could explain the corpses' extraordinary unity.

Wang Dong’s crew used Dark Peng’s Supernova Burst Cannon to destroy much of the Bale Civilization’s planet, awakening Hilbert, a Level Seven Dragon Beast bonded with the planet’s symbiotic bacteria. Hilbert attacked Dark Peng, but its defenses held firm, and the battle began with neither side yet gaining a decisive advantage.

• Wang Dong ordered Shi Zunhou to sweep the planet with the Supernova Burst Cannon, killing many living corpses and symbiotic bacteria.
• Gao Luanqin detected a Level Seven biological entity beneath the ocean, and the Dragon Beast Hilbert emerged with the surviving bacteria gathered across its body.
• Gao Luanqin concluded that Hilbert was a living creature that had deliberately formed a symbiotic relationship with the bacteria and made its will their collective consciousness.
• Hilbert approached Dark Peng and declared that he would bring the ship destruction and despair, but Shi Zunhou fired the Scorpio Death Ray Cannon before Hilbert could finish his introduction.
• Shi Zunhou’s shot weakened Hilbert’s bio-energy field at the impact point, but Hilbert rushed Dark Peng and struck its bow with his claws.
• Dark Peng’s Gravity Field shield absorbed Hilbert’s blow with minimal damage, and Wang Dong watched as the two combatants turned to face one another again.

Wang Dong’s crew fought Dragon Beast Hilbert to a stalemate while he waited for the Otherworldly Space battlefield’s normal duration to expire. Just before the twenty-four-hour mark, Wang Dong activated War Shackles to restrain Hilbert and ordered the crew to attack.

• Hilbert used a bio-energy-boosted Claw Strike against the Dark Peng, while Gao Luanqin identified the symbiotic fungi as the source of his rapid energy recovery.
• Wang Dong and Hilbert both chose a war of attrition, as Shi Zunhou repeatedly fired the Scorpio Death Ray Cannon but could not hit the same spot twice.
• Wang Dong ordered Wu Baiyi to flee and activated Chapter of Gale, allowing the Dark Peng to outrun Hilbert until the module’s effect wore off two hours later.
• Mada proposed using War Shackles to damage Hilbert before escaping, but Wang Dong refused and waited for the battlefield’s twenty-four-hour duration to nearly end.
• Wang Dong activated War Shackles on Hilbert and ordered Shi Zunhou to inflict severe injuries while Wu Baiyi prepared to release the restraints if Hilbert threatened the Black Hole Cruiser.

The Dark Peng defeated the level-seven Dragon Beast Hilbert and obtained a gold-quality Level 7 Biological Essence Fluid. After destroying the remaining Bale Civilization artifacts, Wang Dong revealed that his ability could extend an Otherworldly Space battlefield to 48 hours, leaving the crew astonished by its tactical potential.

• Shi Zunhou repeatedly fired the Scorpio Death Ray Cannons while Wu Baiyi kept the Dark Peng close, and their attacks overcame Hilbert’s defenses and regeneration.
• After more than three hours of fighting, the scarlet wounds severed Hilbert’s abdomen, killing the level-seven Dragon Beast and earning Wang Dong 9,000 Source Points.
• The Dark Peng destroyed the exposed symbiotic fungi and collected a gold-quality Level 7 Biological Essence Fluid that could extend a crew member’s lifespan and raise their physical attributes to the human limit.
• At Gao Luanqin’s request, the crew collected Hilbert’s remains, then returned to the Bale Civilization’s planet and destroyed its surviving artifacts, gaining 948 Source Points.
• Mada asked why the Dark Peng had remained in the battlefield past its usual limit, and Wang Dong explained that his ability now allowed up to 48 hours there, with the option to return during the extra day.
• Shi Zunhou, Wu Baiyi, Gao Luanqin, and Mada recognized the tactical and life-saving potential of the extended duration, while Salty Fish Girl took pride in Wang Dong.

Wang Dong tested his improved ability aboard the Dark Peng, then visited Yilan Star at Lin Xiaogui’s invitation and agreed to make their relationship official. After two pleasant days together, he left with his crew, knowing that publicizing the relationship could bring trouble.

• Wang Dong demonstrated that he could end a battle in Otherworldly Space early and return the Dark Peng to the main universe.
• Wang Dong ordered the Dark Peng to Yilan Star, where Ma Qian welcomed him and his crew before showing them the planet’s attractions.
• Wang Dong and Lin Xiaogui discussed her broken engagement and agreed to make their relationship official, then spent the night together.
• The next morning, Wang Dong and Lin Xiaogui stayed composed at breakfast as Wang Guannan asked whether they were together, and Ma Qian and the crew recognized the relationship’s significance.
• Wang Dong and his party spent two more days on Yilan Star before departing, while Wang Guannan excitedly praised his relationship with Lin Xiaogui and Wang Dong considered the trouble that might follow.

Wang Dong and Lin Xiaogui agreed to make their relationship public gradually while Viscountcy of Black Stone continued to strengthen. As the Royal Astronomical Academy's hands-on training began, Wang Dong welcomed cadets and instructors aboard the Dark Peng and prepared his crew for the two-month exercise.

• Mada warned Wang Dong that Lin Xiaogui's status and beauty would draw rivals, and Wang Dong recalled that he and Lin Xiaogui had agreed to proceed cautiously with their relationship.
• Wang Dong reviewed Viscountcy of Black Stone's stable growth and judged that it could handle trouble in the Northern Star Domain without his help.
• On February 20, the Command major's hands-on training began, with students assigned to warships that would enter the same Otherworldly Space battlefield using a Teleportation Link Device.
• On February 21, Wang Dong welcomed more than thirty cadets and a three-person instructor team aboard the Dark Peng, then pledged to lead them as a disciplined team.
• Wang Dong assessed the cadets and found none exceptional, but Mada and the crew helped the inexperienced students adapt to their duties.

Wang Dong managed the students aboard the Dark Peng through the first stage of the combat exercise, improving their practical skills and earning assessment points. At the Cosmic Void Belt, Huang Zhenqiu announced the coming battle against a Level 4 Otherworldly Civilization, and Wang Dong briefed his crew to follow orders and prioritize safety before entering the battlefield.

• Wang Dong assigned the students shipboard duties, assessed their work, and began rotating shifts as they practiced basic maneuvers.
• Wang Dong consulted An Yu and Sun Jie about managing the students’ nerves, and An Yu decided to ease her crew into rotating shifts after a further half day.
• Wang Dong guided the Dark Peng’s students through practical tasks for more than ten days, improving their skills and raising his score with the Review Committee.
• On March 15, the fleet arrived at a Cosmic Void Belt near the Purple Thorn Kingdom’s border, where Huang Zhenqiu announced that the real combat phase would begin in an hour.
• Wang Dong reassured the students, instructed them to follow orders and protect themselves, and warned that anyone who acted recklessly would be assessed as unqualified.

Wang Dong led the Dark Peng as the cadet fleet entered a battlefield against the Barbarossa Civilization’s Caltrop Tribe. After the cadets fought off nearby turrets, Wang Dong fired the Dark Peng’s Supernova Burst Cannon into the enemy fleet, leaving its formation shattered and most of its shields overloaded.

• The cadet ships entered the battlefield near the Green Cloud Star Crystal Mine, where the Caltrop Tribe’s base and patrol fleet detected them and prepared to respond.
• Wang Dong issued detailed battle-readiness orders, while the Review Committee debated whether to let the cadets fight without further guidance and Huang Zhenqiu decided to hold the instructor ships back.
• The Caltrop Tribe’s armed turrets fired on the scattered cadet ships, and Wang Dong ordered the Dark Peng’s secondary guns to return fire; An Yu, Ye Hao, and other cadets followed suit.
• The Review Committee ordered the 213 cadet ships to attack and destroy the enemy while the instructor ships held the rear, but Wang Dong chose not to seek overall command.
• Wang Dong addressed the cadets, then ordered the Dark Peng’s Supernova Burst Cannon to fire into the Caltrop Tribe’s garrison fleet, destroying its formation and overloading more than ninety percent of its energy shields.

Wang Dong rallied the cadets into a coordinated assault after his Supernova Burst Cannon crippled the Caltrop Tribe fleet’s shields. The cadets broke through the enemy’s Sponge Formation and opened a path toward its flagship, setting up a decapitation strike.

• Wang Dong let the other cadets attack the two thousand damaged Caltrop Tribe guard ships while An Yu and Sun Jie joined his team.
• The Caltrop Tribe commander regrouped the surviving ships under support from the Military Base, while the cadets struggled without unified command.
• Wang Dong threatened to fire his main gun and proposed a shielded Arrow Formation, a flagship strike force, and a rear-guard group to clear armed batteries.
• The cadets accepted Wang Dong’s plan, and he organized their ships into groups and led more than two hundred warships in an Arrow Formation.
• The cadets charged the enemy’s Sponge Formation, exchanged fire with few losses, and Wang Dong ordered the decapitation squad to target the flagship.
• The cadets’ concentrated fire cleared a path through the enemy formation to the Caltrop Tribe flagship.

Wang Dong and the cadets destroyed the Caltrop Tribe flagship, routed its defensive fleet, and captured and destroyed its military base. As they withdrew from the battlefield, twenty thousand Caltrop Tribe reinforcements arrived.

• An Yu and Ye Hao led a strike on the Caltrop Tribe flagship while Wang Dong and other cadets covered them, and they destroyed it.
• Wang Dong supported damaged cadet ships and helped An Yu and Sun Jie finish off enemy warships as the defensive fleet lost cohesion.
• After more than an hour of fighting, the Caltrop Tribe fleet broke, with over a thousand ships lost and no cadet ships sunk.
• The cadets captured the Caltrop Tribe military base, destroyed its infrastructure, and regrouped on the Review Committee's order.
• The Royal Astronomical Academy fleet began an orderly withdrawal, but twenty thousand Caltrop Tribe reinforcements arrived.