Chapter Summaries

Wang Dong annihilated the Caltrop Tribe's twenty-thousand-ship reinforcement fleet with three Supernova Burst Cannon shots, then upgraded two of Dark Peng's modules. After his team topped the practical-training rankings, the Academy began its three-month Single-Ship Combat course, during which Wang Dong continued entering battlefields and occasionally met Lin Xiaogui.

• Wang Dong fired the Supernova Burst Cannon three times and destroyed the Caltrop Tribe's entire pursuing force of twenty thousand ships, earning over sixty thousand Source Points.
• An Yu gave Wang Dong fifteen Dark Crystals after losing their bet, and Wang Dong upgraded Dark Peng's Shadow Dark Matter Energy Reactor and Biochemical Medical Pod to LV.5.
• The Royal Astronomical Academy fleet returned to the giant fortress, and Wang Dong's team took first place in the practical training and rose rapidly in the overall rankings.
• The Academy began its three-month Single-Ship Combat course, using theory lessons and standard training ships to improve the cadets' combat skills.
• Wang Dong entered an Otherworldly Space battlefield each month when Dark Peng's Buffer Time ended and occasionally met Lin Xiaogui, prompting rumors that they were growing closer.

Wang Dong began the Royal Astronomical Academy’s Southern Frontier starbeast hunt, expecting to benefit from the region’s resources. After his team was penalized for missing starbeasts on two consecutive missions, he suspected someone was targeting them.

• Wang Dong’s combat record earned him recognition, and Lin Feng and Wang Changnian stopped challenging or pressuring him.
• On August 15, the Command students began missions in the Southern Frontier Star Domain to help clear out native starbeasts.
• Wang Dong valued the region’s untapped land and resources, including Dark Crystal deposits in Lin Feng’s family territory and occasional High-grade Energy Crystals.
• After a half-month journey, Wang Dong, An Yu, and Sun Jie received a mission in an area with few starbeasts and lost fifteen percent of their points when three were found during the review.
• The team lost another fifteen percent after a second mission, and Wang Dong used the Abyss Eye’s detection capabilities to conclude that something was wrong.

Wang Dong and his companions investigated why their mission results had been undermined and discovered that Count Remington had manipulated their assignments because of his pursuit of the Eldest Princess. They also learned that nobles in Marquis Qingmu’s territory resented Wang Dong for defeating Ye Hao, leaving the group to consider how to respond.

• Wang Dong rejected the suspicion that Ye Hao or Lin Feng had arranged the interference, and Mada explained how mission assignments and reviews could be manipulated.
• Wang Dong asked Sun Jie to use his local connections to investigate, while he and An Yu provided funds.
• Wang Dong and his team stayed after their third-day mission to observe the review, which went smoothly, though the area had few star beasts.
• Sun Jie learned that Count Remington had personally interfered with the team's mission assignments and that nobles in Marquis Qingmu’s territory accused Wang Dong of winning against Ye Hao through a cheap trick.
• An Yu and Sun Jie reassured Wang Dong, but Sun Jie admitted his family could not influence Marquis Qingmu’s territory.
• Wang Dong said he had a way to respond.

Wang Dong proposed taking a free exploration mission to escape disputes with the Southern Frontier nobles and use the team’s strengths. With Li Wu'an’s help, the team secured a mission in the Purple Cloud Galaxy, where Purple Cloud Beasts’ gas could conceal dangerous starbeasts.

• Wang Dong explained that free exploration missions were part of the nobles’ exploration stage and were scored by starbeast kills and whether large herds remained.
• Sun Jie and An Yu agreed that free exploration could let them avoid fruitless disputes and take advantage of Wang Dong’s Supernova Burst Cannon.
• Sun Jie warned that unexplored territory carried safety risks, but An Yu reassured him that the team faced no immediate threat.
• Wang Dong accepted a free exploration mission through the Review Committee, and Li Wu'an arranged to submit the application without publicly exposing the team’s identities.
• The team received a mission in the Purple Cloud Galaxy, where Purple Cloud Beasts’ purple gas interfered with Astronomical Patrol radar and could hide high-level starbeasts.

Wang Dong set out on an exploration mission while Count Remington monitored him and chose not to interfere. In the Marquis of Qingmu's territory, Ye Zhao helped devise a plan to coat Wang Dong's flagship with Star Midge fluid to lure dangerous star beasts, and was ordered to carry it out.

• Wang Dong and his companions finished resupplying and prepared to leave for their exploration destination.
• Count Remington learned Wang Dong might have applied early for a free-exploration mission, but decided not to track or attack him.
• Young people in the Marquis of Qingmu's territory spread rumors that Wang Dong had cheated to obtain his mission and argued over how to stop him.
• Ye Zhao suggested coating Wang Dong's flagship with Star Midge fluid to attract high-level star beasts, and the group approved the plan.
• Ye Zhao secretly anticipated receiving a blue-quality enhancement module, but was then ordered to carry out the sabotage himself.

Wang Dong’s team exposed an attempt to attract dangerous Star Beasts to the Dark Peng, then completed the Purple Cloud Galaxy expansion mission and rose to first place in the rankings. Count Remington and Ye Ji’s faction discussed ways to hinder Wang Dong, with Ye Zhao proposing a dangerous plan involving a false star chart.

• Wang Dong’s crew detected Starfly bodily fluid on the Dark Peng, identified it as bait for high-level Star Beasts, and decided to preserve evidence while continuing their mission.
• Wang Dong, An Yu, and Sun Jie spent five days clearing Purple Cloud Beasts from the Purple Cloud Galaxy, completed the expansion mission, and claimed first place in the rankings.
• Count Remington learned that Wang Dong’s flagship likely carried a Supernova Burst Cannon and predicted that Marquis Qingmu’s territory would resent Wang Dong’s success.
• Ye Ji blamed Ye Zhao for the failed Starfly-fluid scheme, then joined the others in discussing another way to target Wang Dong.
• Ye Zhao proposed giving Wang Dong an inaccurate star chart that could send him into a dangerous uncleared system, while Ye Qi warned that a failed attempt could bring serious consequences.

Wang Dong exposed Ye Ji, Ye Qi, Ye Zhao, and their allies for sabotaging his missions and plotting to kill him, leading to their arrest and loss of noble status. After they later died in an assault mission under suspicious circumstances, Wang Dong quietly boarded the Dark Peng as suspicion shifted toward Count Remington and Marquis Qingmu's domain prepared to retaliate.

• Ye Ji ordered Ye Zhao to smear Starfly bodily fluids on the Dark Peng again while the conspirators planned to lure Wang Dong into dangerous airspace and ambush him on his return.
• Mada reported that Count Remington's deputy and young people from Marquis Qingmu's domain had sabotaged Wang Dong's missions, and Wang Dong set out alone for the Lunhua Galaxy after telling An Yu and Sun Jie to stay behind.
• Wang Dong found that the mission star map led to a galaxy full of high-level starbeasts, gathered evidence, and ended the trap before it could threaten him.
• The Review Committee and the Distant Star Knight Order arrested Ye Ji, Ye Qi, Ye Zhao, and others; a public trial stripped the conspirators of their noble status and sentenced them to assault missions for life.
• Several days later, Ye Ji and the others were reported dead in an assault mission, with Starfly bodily fluids found on their ships, and rumors accused Wang Dong of retaliation.
• Wang Dong dismissed the Review Committee's warning to stay put and boarded the Dark Peng as his companions concluded that Marquis Qingmu's domain would likely target Count Remington.

Wang Dong let Marquis of Qingmu's territory settle its conflict with him while Count Remington was exposed, driven from the Southern Frontier, and later destroyed by the Dark Peng. After the Southern Frontier Hunt, Wang Dong returned to the academy and entered an Otherworldly Space battlefield to continue developing his strength.

• Marquis of Qingmu's territory publicized accusations against Count Remington, and the Southern Frontier nobles demanded that he withdraw from the expedition.
• Count Remington ordered his adjutant to investigate the frame-up, then left the Southern Frontier Star Domain on September 20.
• Ye Hao apologized to Wang Dong with gifts, and Wang Dong accepted the list and agreed to settle the matter.
• Wang Dong used the gifts to upgrade the Shadow Dark Matter Energy Reactor and Biochemical Medical Pod to LV.10, then destroyed Count Remington's flagship and escort fleet and took their resources.
• Wang Dong's team won the Southern Frontier Hunt, and the three-person team placed in the overall top ten before returning to the Royal Astronomical Academy.
• Wang Dong entered a level-four Otherworldly Space battlefield aboard the Dark Peng.

The Dark Peng encountered a Level 4 Zerg Branch and attacked after waiting out the battlefield’s twenty-four-hour duration. Wang Dong and his crew destroyed the 80,000-strong force and upgraded the Insect Totem, leaving the Supernova Burst Cannon much stronger.

• Wang Dong followed Mada’s cautious advice and waited while the Zerg ravaged a planet belonging to the Zambiaso Civilization.
• Wang Dong ordered the Dark Peng to attack, and Shi Zunhou’s Supernova Burst Cannon killed Zerg despite their rapid reactions, defensive adaptations, and regeneration.
• The Zerg reached the Dark Peng, but their attacks barely damaged the ship, while Salty Fish Girl and Shi Zunhou fired the secondary guns and Supernova Burst Cannon.
• Wang Dong used the Insect Totem to absorb Zerg remains, then spent Source Points to upgrade it and increase the strength of the Dark Peng’s attack and defense modules.
• The Dark Peng slaughtered the 80,000-odd Zerg, and the Insect Totem reached LV.6, raising the Supernova Burst Cannon’s Attack Strength by 60 points.

Wang Dong’s Dark Peng destroyed a Zerg Mother Nest and defeated the level-five elite it produced, raising the Insect Totem to LV.10. After returning from the Otherworldly Space, he visited Lin Xiaogui, whose questions about the Southern Frontier conflict confirmed her suspicions about his involvement.

• Wang Dong ordered Shi Zunhou to attack the Mother Nest with the Scorpio Death Ray Cannon, and the Dark Peng fatally wounded it before it completed an elite enhancement.
• The Mother Nest released a level-five elite Zerg individual, which Shi Zunhou’s cannon crippled until it could no longer fight.
• The Insect Totem absorbed the Mother Nest’s core tissue, reached LV.10, and gained increased attack and defense strength.
• Wang Dong ended the Otherworldly Space expedition, found no additional loot, and returned to the home universe.
• Wang Dong visited Lin Xiaogui on Yilan Star, where she questioned him about the Southern Frontier dispute; he denied wrongdoing, but his response helped her judge how to handle the conflict.
• Wang Dong returned to the Royal Astronomical Academy after his vacation, while Lin Xiaogui’s admirers grew quieter and her actions suggested a clear stance toward him.

Wang Dong and his team completed advanced studies, improved their Body Forging Technique, and began practical affairs training by accepting a mission to investigate suspected Ghost Warship activity. After traveling to the Modo Star System, they discovered someone they knew had arrived before them.

• Wang Dong and his teammates completed their advanced theoretical assessment, placing their team among the Command major's top ten, then spent the New Year break on Yilan Star.
• Wang Dong, Zhou Tai, and the Dark Peng crew made progress in the Body Forging Technique, with Wu Baiyi breaking through to the advanced stage and Wang Guannan reaching the intermediate stage.
• Wang Dong's team began practical affairs training and chose a commission to investigate repeated losses in the Modo Star System's asteroid belt mining zone.
• Mada concluded that a Ghost Warship was likely responsible, making the Blue Quality commission potentially far more dangerous and valuable than its rating suggested.
• The Dark Peng arrived at the Modo Star System and found that someone Wang Dong's team knew had reached the mining zone first.

Wang Dong watched Wang Changnian’s fleet battle the Ghost Warship Flying Undead with specialized countermeasures, until a surviving cruiser betrayed Wang Changnian and crippled his flagship. The chapter ended with Wang Changnian publicly denouncing Wang Changxi over an open channel.

• Wang Dong and Mada spotted Wang Changnian’s thirteen warships near the Asteroid Belt Mining Zone, and Dark Peng entered stealth mode to observe them.
• Wang Changnian’s fleet deployed electronic mist and a field wave that drew out Flying Undead and weakened the Ghost Warship while boosting the fleet’s attacks.
• After a prolonged battle, five destroyers and one cruiser were destroyed, five destroyers were disabled, and only Wang Changnian’s damaged flagship and one cruiser remained in the fight.
• Wang Dong held back because Flying Undead still triggered his Threat Perception, despite its severe damage.
• The surviving cruiser struck Wang Changnian’s flagship with a close-range Kinetic Energy round, revealing its betrayal and leaving the flagship struggling against Flying Undead.
• Wang Changnian broadcast an accusation against Wang Changxi, claiming he had helped him and secured his acting captain position.

Wang Changxi betrayed Wang Changnian during the battle with the Ghost Warship, then lured the damaged warship away while Wang Changnian prepared an escape. Wang Changxi pursued Wang Changnian’s getaway ship, leaving the battlefield behind as Wang Dong waited for the next move.

• Wang Changxi revealed that he had used [Twin Mirror Image] and a one-use module to redirect the Ghost Warship’s damage and suppress its recovery, then agreed to save Wang Changnian in exchange for his Shipborne Modules.
• Wang Changxi drew the Ghost Warship away while Wang Changnian slowly tossed out modules, and Wang Dong noticed that most were low quality or had no quality rating.
• Wang Changnian launched a modified high-speed ship from his flagship and tried to escape as the Ghost Warship neared destruction.
• Wang Changxi abandoned the Ghost Warship and chased Wang Changnian’s escape ship, leaving the Ghost Warship and Wang Changnian’s battered ship behind.
• The Ghost Warship’s attempt to return to its nest worsened its hull damage, and Wang Dong told Salty Fish Girl that the show was not over yet.

Wang Dong watched Wang Changnian escape while Wang Changxi’s Black Tiger Bee was destroyed by the Flying Undead’s boarding ability. The Dark Peng then tested its weapons against the Ghost Warship and began using its Positron Impact Cannon to halt its regeneration.

• Wang Dong used the Abyss Eye to uncover Wang Changnian’s decoy and escape plan, and the Dark Peng planted a Tracking Beacon on the fleeing ship.
• Wang Changxi returned in the Black Tiger Bee, pursued Wang Changnian’s damaged flagship into the Asteroid Belt Mining Zone, and attacked the Ghost Warship.
• The Flying Undead sent skeletons directly into the Black Tiger Bee’s command cabin, disabling the ship and drawing out energy that rapidly repaired its own hull.
• Wang Dong ordered the Dark Peng to fire; its Scorpio Death Ray Cannon and other weapons caused limited damage, while the Supernova Burst Cannon weakened the Flying Undead’s restorative glow.
• Shi Zunhou fired the Positron Impact Cannon, whose milky-white field dispelled the Flying Undead’s pale gray glow and stopped its rapid self-repair.

Wang Dong’s crew destroyed the Flying Undead, recovered a valuable gold-quality healing module, and then eliminated Wang Changnian to prevent him from becoming a witness. After the mission was upgraded to Orange Quality, the Count of Modo pleaded poverty over the reward, but Mada’s dossier revealed his extravagant private hobby.

• Shi Zunhou fired repeated Positron Impact Cannon shots that neutralized the Flying Undead’s aura and destroyed the remaining skeletons, allowing Zhou Tai’s team to board and dismantle the wreck.
• Wang Dong sorted the recovered modules, kept the Corrosion Charm, fed the Skywatch Radar to the Abyss Eye, and prized the gold-quality Spirit Summoning Ghost Crystal for its self-healing and Void Heal abilities.
• After collecting evidence and cleaning the battlefield, Wang Dong pursued Wang Changnian’s high-speed ship and destroyed it with a salvo from the Dark Peng’s secondary guns.
• The Dark Peng submitted its evidence, and the platform upgraded the Modo asteroid-belt commission to Orange Quality, increasing the reward that the Count of Modo owed.
• The Count of Modo wept and claimed he could not afford the reward, but Mada sent Wang Dong a dossier showing that the count spent much of his income keeping beautiful young men in his castle.

Wang Dong negotiated assets from the Count of Modo after the Orange Quality mission became more difficult, then led his team toward the Winter Star System to intercept Huang Shaotong, a wanted traitor. The Dark Peng arrived before Huang Shaotong was expected, and Wang Dong explained why the fugitive would likely use the system as his last stop before crossing the Cosmic Void Belt.

• Wang Dong persuaded the Count of Modo to hand over a purple-quality Astronomical Radar, a planet in the Southern Frontier Star Domain, and 20 titanium crystals in compensation for the mission's increased difficulty.
• Wang Dong's team rose to the top of the rankings after completing the Orange Quality mission contract, and Wang Dong told Wang Guannan they would pursue a bounty as an act of heaven-sent justice.
• Mada showed Wang Dong's team the bounty for Huang Shaotong, a Guanghan Kingdom military official accused of selling human secrets to aliens, and Wang Dong said he had leads on the fugitive's likely destination.
• Wang Dong recalled that Huang Shaotong would reach the Winter Star System on February 28 and later be destroyed by an unnamed Star Destroyer, and he set out with the Dark Peng on February 10.
• The Dark Peng reached the Winter Star System on February 23, and Wang Dong explained that Huang Shaotong would likely stop there to recalibrate his coordinates before entering the Cosmic Void Belt.

Wang Dong and the Dark Peng intercepted Huang Shaotong’s Starwind in the Winter Star System and proved they could overpower the Guanghan Kingdom battleship. As the Starwind neared collapse, Huang Shaotong requested a private channel, and Mada proposed bargaining for its modules before tracking him down again.

• Wang Dong ordered the Dark Peng to reveal itself and demand the unidentified battleship’s identity, prompting Huang Shaotong to identify the Starwind and open fire.
• Wang Dong and Shi Zunhou had the Dark Peng strike first with its Scorpio Death Ray Cannon, while its shields withstood the Starwind’s conventional salvo and Mysterious System super gun.
• Wang Dong ordered a Tracking Beacon deployed as the Dark Peng continued damaging the Starwind.
• Huang Shaotong activated Trinity and a speed module to escape, but Wang Dong used the Chapter of Gale to keep the Dark Peng on its tail.
• With the Starwind’s shields nearing collapse, Huang Shaotong requested a private communications channel, and Mada suggested bargaining for its modules before using the Tracking Beacon to find him again.

Wang Dong rejected Huang Shaotong’s offer, defeated Starwind, and took its surviving crew prisoner after Huang Shaotong scuttled the ship and killed himself. Among the spoils, Wang Dong found an advanced Neutron Pulse Stone, which the Shipborne Flame devoured before the Auxiliary System offered him a choice of module trait.

• Wang Dong refused Huang Shaotong’s bribe and ordered Shi Zunhou to destroy Starwind rather than risk boarding it.
• Dark Peng destroyed Starwind’s command cabin and engines, leaving the ship powerless.
• Huang Shaotong killed himself after ordering Starwind to scuttle, while more than thirty others also died and the remaining crew surrendered to Wang Dong.
• Wang Dong’s crew inventoried more than a million Origin Coins’ worth of spoils, including a Neutron Pulse Stone nearly thirty meters across.
• The Shipborne Flame consumed the Neutron Pulse Stone using 50,000 Source Points, and Wang Dong spent one High-grade Energy Crystal to activate module-trait selection.

Wang Dong evolved the Dark Peng’s shipborne kindling, then continued the crew’s missions and educational tour as they pursued a higher ranking and visited the Seaton Duchy. The chapter ended with the Royal Astronomical Academy’s students comparing their tactics with the Seaton Military Academy, whose teams excelled in large fleet battles.

• Wang Dong chose the gold-quality Void Roaming trait, raising the Dark Peng’s shipborne kindling to purple quality and revealing its path to evolve into a Dreadnought.
• Wang Dong sent Mada to gather the resources for the Dark Peng’s next evolution, and the ship returned toward the Capital Star System before entering an Otherworldly Space battlefield, where the crew earned only 363 Source Points.
• Wang Dong claimed the bounty on Huang Shaotong, received 50,000 Origin Coins and the honorary title of National Scholar of the Guanghan Kingdom, and arranged for the Starwind’s crew to serve as instructors.
• Wang Dong, An Yu, and Sun Jie maintained first place in their teaching-assignment stage, bringing their team to third place overall before the students began a six-month educational tour.
• The academy’s exchange fleet visited the Lima Federation and then reached An Yu’s home, the Seaton Duchy, where the students found that the Seaton Military Academy excelled at large fleet battles.

Wang Dong tracked down Liu Zhi in the Caruleon Republic and offered him a radar operator position aboard the Dark Peng. After Wang Dong revealed his plan to ruin Shalo and proved his flagship’s strength, Liu Zhi accepted the offer.

• During the exchange fleet’s visit to the Caruleon Republic, Mada told Wang Dong he had located Liu Zhi, a dispatcher at Spaceport T-23 who was secretly preparing to rob merchant Shalo with a pirate gang.
• Wang Dong and Zhou Tai waited for Liu Zhi at his home, where Wang Dong invited him to fill the Dark Peng’s vacant radar operator position.
• Liu Zhi initially refused, but agreed to listen when Wang Dong hinted that he knew about Liu Zhi’s ties to pirates.
• Wang Dong proposed targeting Shalo’s secret store of Molybdenum Crystal in the Krim star system and explained that the Dark Peng’s radar could help locate it.
• Wang Dong told Liu Zhi that his crew had completed the wanted mission for Huang Shaotong and defeated a Guanghan Kingdom battleship, persuading Liu Zhi to accept the position.