Chapter Summaries

Wang Dong and his companions toured Kyoto Star, where Langya Group regional president Zhao Zeping recognized him and hosted the party for dinner. After Zhao warned Wang Dong that unrest was brewing in the Golden Snapdragon Federation, Mada and Xu Zhenzhi explained the Kyoto Zhao Family’s role as a bridge between the Federation’s government and the great families, and Shi Zunhou urged them to return north soon.

• Wang Dong accompanied Gao Luanqin and Wang Guannan shopping at Fashion City while Zhou Tai and the Dark Peng’s assault squad provided security.
• Mada reported that paperwork to take ownership of the Space Factory was nearly complete and warned of brewing upheaval within the Golden Snapdragon Federation.
• Zhao Zeping introduced himself to Wang Dong as the Langya Group’s regional president and invited Wang Dong and his companions to dinner at a manor.
• Zhao Zeping warned Wang Dong that the Federation might become unstable and advised him to return home soon.
• Mada and Xu Zhenzhi explained that the Kyoto Zhao Family relied on its extensive connections and ties to the Federation’s government for its influence and protection.
• Shi Zunhou urged the group to return to the North as soon as possible because the unrest might erupt at any moment.

Wang Dong and his team opened the Jin Family’s secret warehouse and took its valuable stockpile before leaving the Space Factory behind. He chose to stay in the Golden Snapdragon Federation to observe its political turmoil, and grew closer to Zhao Zeping while sampling Kyoto’s social scene.

• Wang Dong learned that the Xi Qin Family had seized the Jin Family’s territory and worked with other major families to divide its assets and suppress news of its fall.
• Mada used the warehouse’s passwords and bloodline-verified bracelet to open it, and Xu Zhenzhi checked the entrance for danger before Shi Zunhou led the team inside.
• Wang Dong’s team emptied the warehouse, taking 150 units of titanium crystal, five High-grade Energy Crystals, a gold-quality module, and two Skywatch Radars, which Abyss Eye devoured.
• Wang Dong contacted the Marquis about staying in the Golden Snapdragon Federation, and the Marquis advised him to monitor the unrest without devoting all his time to it.
• Wang Dong accepted Zhao Zeping’s invitations, met Kyoto’s young social circle, and tried low-risk space racing.

Wang Dong’s team completed the first phase of the Yoda Star System excavation, then learned that James had finally left the Interstellar Mechanic Association branch and ordered Mada to deal with him. While the crew waited aboard the Dark Peng, Wang Guannan and Chloe’s attempts to cook Buteng Federation dishes ended with Wang Dong banning cooking practice on the ship.

• Mada reported that public opinion in the Golden Snapdragon Federation needed a powerful spark before it could erupt, so Wang Dong ended his stay and left Zhao Zeping.
• Wang Dong’s team transported workers and equipment to the second planet in the Yoda Star System, while a dispatchers’ strike delayed preparations and pushed back their plans to reach the Freedom Light Federation.
• Mada learned that James was leaving the Buteng Federation branch to host visiting colleagues, and Wang Dong ordered her to take care of him.
• Wang Guannan and Chloe tried making Buteng Federation dishes for the Dark Peng’s crew, prompting Wang Dong to forbid them from practicing their cooking aboard the ship.

After James’s assassination, Wang Dong kept the Dark Peng operating normally while the Interstellar Mechanic Association investigated, confident that the ship’s stealth would protect them. When Wang Dong entered a new Otherworldly Space battlefield, the Dark Peng arrived in the territory of the Level Six Legma Civilization, where the crew began assessing its technology and a newly colonized planet.

• Wang Dong reassured Paul that the Dark Peng would not abandon him and told Mada to monitor the investigation into James’s death.
• Mada reported that the investigator’s flagship carried someone with a tracking ability, and Wang Dong concluded that the ability could not detect the Dark Peng and that the information was bait.
• The Dark Peng continued its routine around the Buteng Federation, and the authorities failed to connect Wang Dong’s crew to James’s assassination.
• After the ship’s Kindling cooldown ended, Wang Dong used Spatial Signal Capture to enter an Otherworldly Space battlefield while the Dark Peng remained in Mirage stealth.
• The Dark Peng’s crew identified the battlefield’s civilization as the Level Six Legma Civilization and discussed its energy-field technology.
• The crew examined a recently modified Legma planet inhabited by fewer than thirty million people and estimated that it would yield only tens of thousands of Source Points.

The Dark Peng entered the Legma Civilization’s Z-331 colonial star system and fought its guard fleet, testing its weapons against Level Six energy-field formations. As the Legma fleet escalated its response without slowing the Dark Peng, Wang Dong’s crew discussed how Kindling Warships organized into teams to face stronger civilizations.

• Wang Dong agreed with Wu Baiyi’s plan to surround the Legma fleet and wait for reinforcements, then brought the Dark Peng toward a planet still being terraformed.
• The Legma Civilization warned the Dark Peng to identify itself and sent a hundred-warship formation to intercept it, but the Dark Peng attacked and steadily destroyed ships with its crimson death ray.
• Mada, Wu Baiyi, and Zhou Tai explained how Kindling Warships joined teams to fight civilizations using energy-field technology and how those teams shared battlefield rewards.
• After the Legma formation lost a tenth of its ships and risked losing its energy field, its commander recalled it and sent three hundred-warship formations to surround the Dark Peng.
• The Dark Peng outran the Legma formations, while Wang Dong told Wang Guannan he had once seen a Purple Quality propulsion system at auction but could not afford it.

Dark Peng attacked the Legma Civilization’s Z-331 colony system, forcing its garrison fleet to retreat behind the planetary shield while reinforcements took hours to arrive. The Legma special warship proved no match for Dark Peng and was destroyed before it could reach safety.

• Wang Dong told Salty Fish Girl that his birthday was a little over a month away.
• Dark Peng devastated the Legma garrison fleet and destroyed the equipment on a planet still undergoing transformation, then pressed its attack against the settled colony planet.
• The garrison fleet used the planetary shield to recover and hold out while its commander waited for reinforcements through the warp ring.
• After four hours, a single Legma special warship arrived, and Wang Dong ordered Shi Zunhou to sink it.
• Dark Peng overwhelmed the special warship in a direct exchange and pursued it through orbital cannon fire, destroying it before it reached the planetary shield.

The Dark Peng destroyed the Legma Civilization’s reinforcements and colony, then returned to the main universe and prepared to continue excavating the Yoda Star System. After learning that Paul’s Prohibition of Practice had been lifted, Paul and Chloe asked Wang Dong to take them in, leaving their future with the Dark Peng to be decided.

• The Dark Peng collapsed the colony’s shield, destroyed the Legma fleet and population, and earned nearly two hundred thousand Source Points before returning to the main universe.
• Wang Dong learned that preparations for the Yoda Star System’s deep excavation were complete, and the Dark Peng transported the next batch of personnel and equipment.
• Mada told Wang Dong that the Interstellar Mechanic Association had lifted Paul’s Prohibition of Practice, and Wang Dong instructed him to share the news immediately.
• After hearing the news, Paul and Chloe asked Wang Dong to take them in, and Wang Dong asked Paul whether he had thought through the decision.

Paul joined Wang Dong’s team as the Dark Peng’s Master Mechanic and upgraded the ship’s attributes by twenty percent. After Mada reported that the Golden Snapdragon Federation had attacked the Purple Thorn Kingdom, Wang Dong mobilized the Dark Peng and set off from the Northern Star Domain.

• Paul rejected the Buteng Federation, joined Wang Dong’s team, and swore loyalty to him in a public ceremony.
• Paul arranged supplies, then tuned the Dark Peng in the Phoenix Star System and boosted all its attributes by twenty percent.
• Wang Dong explained why he would delay entering the Dead Sea Star Abyss and planned to hunt in the Weijing River after resting.
• Mada told Wang Dong that the Golden Snapdragon Federation had attacked the Purple Thorn Kingdom with over five thousand Kindling Warships, but Lin Xiaogui and the Royal Knight Order had held the eastern defense line.
• Wang Dong woke the Marquis to discuss the crisis, assembled the Dark Peng’s crew, and departed the Northern Star Domain at full speed.

Wang Dong rushed toward the eastern defensive line after learning that Lin Xiaogui was facing the Golden Snapdragon Federation’s invasion. He planned for Black Stone Territory to fulfill its royal summons while preserving its strength and targeting the Federation’s home territory, leaving the Dark Peng’s next move open.

• Black Stone Territory began an emergency mobilization, and the Purple Thorn Kingdom soon ordered every noble territory to conscript forces.
• Wang Dong contacted Lin Xiaogui and learned that the Golden Snapdragon Federation had badly damaged the eastern defensive line, while Lin Xiaogui and the Royal Knight Order held it at great cost.
• Lin Xiaogui prepared to keep fighting with her ability and Life Crystals as Prince Lin Rongxiang’s Oak Knight Order rushed to reinforce her.
• The Dark Peng traveled at full speed toward the eastern star domain, and Wu Baiyi and Mada reassured Wang Dong that Lin Xiaogui could hold out until they arrived.
• Wang Dong told the crew that Black Stone Territory would mobilize, delay development of the Solar Flare Star System wormhole project, and let the Dark Peng observe the main battlefield before targeting the Golden Snapdragon Federation’s home territory.

Lin Xiaogui struggled to hold the Purple Thorn Kingdom’s eastern defense line against the Golden Snapdragon Federation fleet while exhausting her Life Crystals and ability. As Dicimov ordered a full-scale assault, she prepared the Red Level Emergency Plan to inflict heavy losses on the enemy, even if it meant mutual destruction.

• Wang Dong received reports that the Golden Snapdragon Federation fleet was attacking the eastern defense line in rotating groups, while Lin Xiaogui used her precognitive ability and fixed guns to keep it from breaking.
• Lin Xiaogui refused Ma Qian’s requests to lead the Royal Knight Order into battle, preserving it as a reserve while she continued commanding despite her exhaustion.
• When elite enemy units attacked multiple sectors, Lin Xiaogui ordered fortress overload mode, directed three concentrated strikes, and sent Ma Qian’s Royal Knight Order to flank the attackers, stabilizing the line at the cost of her last Life Crystal.
• Dicimov judged that Lin Xiaogui was nearly out of energy and ordered the Golden Snapdragon Federation fleet to launch a full-scale assault.
• Lin Xiaogui assessed that the eastern front could not hold and ordered the Royal Knight Order to assemble for the Red Level Emergency Plan, which required the eastern defense line commander’s authorization.

Lin Xiaogui ordered the Eastern Defense Line’s spatial-collapse bombs detonated, but Dicimov’s spatial anchors neutralized them and the defense collapsed. With the Royal Knight Order suffering heavy casualties, Lin Xiaogui led the remaining forces in a last charge toward the Golden Snapdragon Federation flagship, the Gunfire Rose.

• Grand Duke Galen offered to hold the central fortress and activate the Red Level Emergency Plan, but Lin Xiaogui ordered the battle to continue rather than retreat.
• Dicimov used the Golden Snapdragon Federation’s numerical advantage to press the attack, while his staff explained that spatial anchors could counter the Eastern Defense Line’s collapse bombs.
• Lin Xiaogui realized Dicimov might know about the Red Level Emergency Plan and ordered all spatial-collapse bombs detonated.
• The bombs erupted across the Eastern Defense Line, but the Golden Snapdragon Federation’s spatial anchors suppressed the collapses, leaving the defense line doomed.
• After Ma Qian reported that the Royal Knight Order had suffered more than sixty percent casualties, Lin Xiaogui ordered the Goddess of Dawn to advance and fight to the last moment.
• Ma Qian, Grand Duke Galen, the Royal Knight Order, and the remaining ships rallied behind the Goddess of Dawn in an arrow formation aimed at the Gunfire Rose.

Wang Dong decided to intervene in the battle after considering Black Stone Territory’s interests and his concern for Lin Xiaogui. Dark Peng charged toward the Golden Snapdragon Federation flagship, Gunfire Rose, while Lin Xiaogui greeted Wang Dong and trusted his plan.

• Dicimov ordered the Golden Snapdragon Federation fleet to form a crescent and capture Goddess of Dawn and Lin Xiaogui.
• Shi Zunhou and Wang Guannan urged Wang Dong to consider helping the Purple Thorn Kingdom’s remnants, and Mada warned that the kingdom’s collapse could leave the region devastated.
• Wang Dong ordered Dark Peng to reveal itself and attack Gunfire Rose, announcing that the Tiger of Black Stone had arrived.
• Shi Zunhou’s broadcast and Dark Peng’s reputation lifted the morale of the Royal Knight Order and the garrison fleet as the ship charged into the enemy formation.
• Wang Dong and Lin Xiaogui spoke over a secure line, and Lin Xiaogui joked with him while trusting his decision to attack.

Wang Dong sent the Dark Peng charging alone toward the Golden Snapdragon Federation fleet, intending to capture Marshal Dicimov and the Gunfire Rose without causing excessive casualties. After Dicimov prepared the fleet for a possible boarding battle, the Dark Peng evaded two barrages and continued its advance.

• Wang Dong threatened Lin Xiaogui and revealed that he planned to capture Dicimov as a guest aboard the Dark Peng.
• Dicimov recognized the Dark Peng's forced-boarding tactic and ordered advanced Body Forging Technique fighters to gather aboard the Gunfire Rose.
• Wang Dong told Zhou Tai and Lieba to handle the Federation's boarding fighters, relying on their Transcendent-stage combat strength and individual shields.
• Dicimov ordered the fleet to fire on the approaching Dark Peng, but its first scattered barrage barely hit the ship.
• The fleet concentrated its second barrage on the Dark Peng, but Wu Baiyi sharply changed course and evaded the fire completely.

Wu Baiyi piloted Dark Peng through the Golden Snapdragon Federation fleet’s increasingly intense fire, while Dicimov and Qin Kai assessed its defenses and Wang Dong’s motives. Dark Peng reached a position just ten light-seconds from the main formation without firing, leaving Dicimov wondering why Wang Dong was so confident.

• Wu Baiyi evaded the Golden Snapdragon Federation fleet’s opening volleys, and Dicimov ordered the fleet to adjust its firing density and target coordinates.
• Dicimov learned that Dark Peng’s shields recovered quickly, while Qin Kai explained that the Qin family had placed Wang Dong on its Purple Sandalwood Screen Record.
• Dark Peng charged through the fleet’s fire and reached ten light-seconds from the main formation, where its Devourer trait made the secondary-gun barrage ineffective.
• Qin Kai said Wang Dong likely joined the battle because the Eldest Princess was defending the eastern line, and Dicimov realized Dark Peng was still holding back because it had not fired.
• Dicimov asked Qin Kai why Wang Dong was so confident as Dark Peng continued advancing through the fleet.

Wang Dong and the Dark Peng broke into the Golden Snapdragon Federation fleet’s formation, bound the Gunfire Rose with War Shackles, and dragged it toward the Goddess of Dawn’s forces. With the fleet unable to coordinate a response, Dicimov recognized Wang Dong’s overwhelming strength, while Qin Kai chose to lead a boarding action against the Dark Peng.

• The Dark Peng warped through concentrated fire and appeared beside the Gunfire Rose, bypassing its shield with Free Assault.
• The Dark Peng used War Shackles and Mie Particles to restrain the Gunfire Rose and cut off its communications.
• Wu Baiyi accelerated the Dark Peng out of the enemy formation with the Gunfire Rose locked to its side, while Wang Dong added the Chapter of Gale’s speed effect.
• The Golden Snapdragon Federation fleet fell into disarray, and most pursuing warships could not catch the Dark Peng.
• Dicimov recognized Wang Dong and concluded that the Dark Peng had spared the fleet by targeting only its flagship.
• Qin Kai ordered a boarding action and led his assault squad toward the Dark Peng.

Wang Dong’s boarding force captured Gunfire Rose and its commander, Qin Kai, while Dicimov’s fleet fell into disarray before reorganizing under a joint council. After returning to the Purple Thorn Kingdom’s forces with the captured ship, Wang Dong told Qin Kai and Dicimov they could leave after ten days and payment of a ransom, and Qin Kai realized Wang Dong’s intervention had chiefly rescued Lin Xiaogui and bought time for the kingdom.

• Wang Dong sent Zhou Tai and Lieba to repel Gunfire Rose’s boarding attack, and Zhou Tai knocked Qin Kai unconscious in one move.
• Zhou Tai and Lieba seized Gunfire Rose, while news of its defeat threw the Golden Snapdragon Federation fleet into disarray until major families formed a joint council.
• The Dark Peng returned to the Purple Thorn Kingdom’s forces with Gunfire Rose, and Wang Dong received Qin Kai and Dicimov aboard as captives.
• Wang Dong told Qin Kai and Dicimov they would stay aboard as guests for ten days and could leave unharmed if they paid enough ransom.
• Qin Kai realized Wang Dong had intervened to rescue Lin Xiaogui and buy the Purple Thorn Kingdom time, then brightened when Wang Dong offered to return Gunfire Rose for ransom.

Wang Dong negotiated with captured Golden Snapdragon Federation Marshal Dicimov, who tried to secure a promise that the Dark Peng would stay out of the war. Dicimov offered substantial aid and political concessions, but Wang Dong had not agreed to his request when the chapter ended.

• Qin Kai arranged communications with the other Qin family warships to discuss his ransom, while Dicimov chose not to contact the fleet.
• Dicimov asked to stay aboard for a month and then requested that Wang Dong keep the Dark Peng off the battlefield until the Golden Snapdragon Federation fleet entered the Northern Star Domain.
• Wang Dong rejected Dicimov's attempt to make demands and dismissed his argument that the Federation and Black Stone Territory shared interests in weakening the Purple Thorn Kingdom.
• Dicimov presented Federation plans for diplomatic relations and five years of aid, along with gifts, support for restoring the Jin Family, and justice and compensation for Zhou Peiqiang and his exiled soldiers.
• Dicimov explained that the Federation had planned to capture Lin Xiaogui as leverage, but the Dark Peng's unexpected arrival and strength disrupted that strategy.

Wang Dong secured Dicimov’s release and kept Lin Xiaogui aboard Dark Peng while the kingdom’s leadership shifted command of the Eastern Front to Prince Lin Rongxiang. As Purple Thorn Kingdom’s forces gathered and the ten-day pact ended, Wang Dong prepared to return the prisoners and head north, collecting Qin Kai’s ransom.

• Wang Dong accepted the Golden Snapdragon Federation’s concessions and agreed to return Dicimov to his fleet after ten days, prompting Dicimov to order the federation fleet to retreat and establish camp.
• Lin Xiaogui left Goddess of Dawn and stayed aboard Dark Peng, where Wang Dong told her the royal notice declared her unconscious and Prince Lin Rongxiang had taken command of the army and her ship.
• Wang Dong explained that the Elder Council had assumed supreme command during the war and that Lin Xiaogui’s withdrawal helped Prince Lin Rongxiang take charge; Lin Xiaogui wept over her brother’s decision.
• Purple Thorn Kingdom’s gathered forces reached three thousand Kindling Warships by November 22, while the Golden Snapdragon Federation had five thousand and the eastern defenses had been repaired for ten days.
• Wang Dong refused Prince Lin Rongxiang’s request for a three-day delay and prepared to honor the ten-day pact; the Qin family delivered Qin Kai’s ransom of 100 Titanium Crystals, five High-grade Energy Crystals, 80,000 Origin Coins, and one purple-quality Shipborne Module.

Wang Dong left the eastern defense line with a Three-ring Space Anchor and used the Dark Peng’s Spark to enter the Otherworldly Space battlefield, targeting a level-six civilization. The Dark Peng appeared beside a heavily armored battle star, and the first report identified the Ouhuang Civilization as a level-six king-worm civilization with thirteen battle stars, an unexpected strength that left the crew wary.

• Wang Dong let Qin Kai ransom himself and his flagship, then left the eastern defense line aboard the Dark Peng as the Purple Thorn Kingdom and Golden Snapdragon Federation remained at a stalemate.
• Wang Dong fed two Sky-Scanning Radars to the Abyss Eye, raising its growth to 45/100, and obtained three Three-ring Space Anchors from Dicimov.
• Wang Dong activated the Dark Peng’s Spark and selected a level-six civilization to face in the Otherworldly Space battlefield.
• The Dark Peng arrived in orbit above a planet covered in thick alloy armor, which Xu Zhenzhi identified as a heavily modified battle star.
• The crew calculated that the battle star’s armor alone weighed over seven quadrillion tons, indicating technology beyond the reach of a level-six civilization.
• The Battle Report identified the Ouhuang Civilization as a level-six civilization with thirteen battle stars and a king-worm system, prompting Wu Baiyi to question the unusual report.

The Dark Peng received a Battle Report explaining the Ouhuang Civilization’s extraordinarily lucky rise and the Pioneer War Star’s formidable design and failing structure. Wang Dong prepared his crew for a direct battle in twenty-two hours as the war star continued toward its target, unaware that the Dark Peng was following it.

• Xu Zhenzhi concluded that the war star’s advanced origins had delayed the second Battle Report, which revealed the Ouhuang Civilization had gained control of thirteen dormant war stars and risen to Level 6.
• Gao Luanqin, Xu Zhenzhi, and the others discussed the Ouhuang Civilization’s unlikely history and the war star’s overwhelming strength against Level 6 fleets.
• Abyss Eye completed a virtual scan that showed the Pioneer War Star had extensive armor, reinforced internal structures, and numerous space weapons.
• Wang Dong reassured Paul, rallied the crew, and set the start of the battle for twenty-two hours later.
• The Dark Peng increased its distance while Wang Dong rested, and the Ouhuang Civilization continued its eight-hundred-year expedition aboard the aging Pioneer War Star.