Chapter Summaries

Rochu staged a prison break to free Jingliu and Blade, with the Dragon Masters helping draw off pursuers. Dan Lei and Dan Heng arrived as the escapees emerged from the Imprisonment Court, and Dan Lei offered a cover story for their breakout.

• Dan Lei and Bailu discussed the Heavy Abyss Pearl, and Dan Lei persuaded Bailu to believe she would gain a dragon pearl by mastering her inheritance.
• Rochu used excessive healing to incapacitate guards and prisoners on the Imprisonment Court's first level, but Yoriichi Type Zero sounded the alarm and attacked him.
• Rochu reached Jingliu and Blade's cell, and Jingliu disabled Yoriichi Type Zero before freeing the Dragon Masters from a neighboring cell.
• Rochu convinced Taoran, Xuepu, and Feng Huan to help distract their pursuers, and the group fought its way through the Imprisonment Court with his healing support.
• Xueyi alerted Dan Lei to the prison attack, and Dan Lei sent her to block the exits before heading there with Dan Heng as Bailu guarded the Vidyadhara settlement.
• Dan Lei, Dan Heng, and Xueyi's forces confronted Jingliu, Blade, Rochu, and the Dragon Masters outside the Imprisonment Court, and Dan Lei claimed their Mara-struck condition had caused the escape.

Dan Lei and Jingliu staged a clash that let Blade escape while recapturing Jingliu and Rochu, and Dan Heng helped the three Dragon Masters molt. Dan Lei then secured Bailu’s future and told the recovering Jing Yuan what he had done, leaving Jing Yuan overwhelmed by the work awaiting him.

• Blade attacked Dan Heng while Dan Lei and Jingliu fought, and their clashes sent soldiers and guards flying.
• Blade escaped, Rochu feigned injuries and was captured, and the wounded Taoran, Xuepu, and Feng Huan were brought back to the Imprisonment Court.
• Dan Lei ordered Dan Heng to help the three Dragon Masters molt, accepting responsibility for the decision; each became a Sustainer Egg.
• Dan Lei hid the three eggs in the Scale Abyss Realm, ordered Jingliu and Rochu held for Jing Yuan’s judgment, and announced Dan Heng would teach Bailu the secret technique of Yin Yue Jun.
• Dan Lei visited Jing Yuan and recounted the events, including his arrangement with Jingliu, and Jing Yuan fainted after realizing he would soon return to work as general.

After being removed as acting general, Dan Lei accompanied March 7th and Star to the Divination Department so March could try using the Qiong Guan Array to uncover her past. Fu Xuan explained that the array needed evidence connected to March’s memories, and Dan Lei suggested her Six-Phase Ice might serve as a clue.

• The Alliance reinstated Jing Yuan as general and ordered him to review the documents Dan Lei had approved.
• March 7th and Star visited Dan Lei, and March asked him to arrange access to the Qiong Guan Array.
• Dan Lei took them to the Divination Department, where Fu Xuan explained that the array inferred the past from related evidence rather than restoring memories.
• Dan Lei said March’s past appeared to be a complete blank and claimed he could not detect what had happened to her memories.
• Fu Xuan asked March to bring an object connected to her past, and Dan Lei suggested using the Six-Phase Ice she created as material for the array.

Fu Xuan used the Qiong Guan Array to begin deducing March 7th’s past, while Dan Lei projected himself into the memory space and confronted the Messenger guarding her sealed memories. The Messenger expelled Dan Lei with a Light Cone, and the array stopped with March 7th awake and startled by what he was holding.

• March 7th gave Fu Xuan Six-Phase Ice, then entered the Qiong Guan Array alone while Fu Xuan prepared to guide her through her memories.
• Dan Lei used the power of the Memory Destiny to project into the simulated memory space and encountered the Messenger, who warned him not to destabilize it.
• Dan Lei questioned the Messenger about her identity and her role in protecting March 7th, then threatened to force his way past her.
• The Messenger threw Dan Lei a Light Cone, distracting him long enough to expel him from the memory space.
• The Qiong Guan Array stopped, and Dan Lei caught March 7th as she fell; she woke up and shrieked at the Light Cone in his hand.

Dan Lei finished March 7th’s search for her past and built a living weapon called [Phantylia's Mouth] to torment Phantylia. After Phantylia tried to smear him online, the rumor instead emboldened civilizations against the Antimatter Legion, leaving Dan Lei and Phantylia as the only unhappy parties.

• Dan Lei explained that [The Messenger] had thrown him the Light Cone, and March 7th accepted his account while Fu Xuan questioned her about the memories she had recovered.
• March 7th told Fu Xuan and Star about [The Messenger], but the Flowing Light Memory Court became the apparent source of the sealed memories, leaving March 7th’s search for her past at a dead end.
• Himeko took March 7th and Ruan Mei aboard the Stellar Train to Jarilo-VI, while Dan Heng stayed on Luofu to tutor Bailu and Dan Lei began building [Phantylia's Mouth].
• Dan Lei gave [Phantylia's Mouth] a soul, set it to insult Phantylia and other Emanators of Destruction, and helped it gain attention online with a verified account and promoted posts.
• Phantylia posted a video accusing Dan Lei of forcing her to have a child with him, but the Ghost-Hunting Squad’s photo made the story seem credible and the Xianzhou Alliance and IPC let the rumor spread.
• Guiji suggested that Phantylia exploit the rumor by acting helpless and cultivating believers, but Phantylia rejected the idea of playing a victim or forming an anti-fan group.

Dan Lei welcomed Herta to the Luofu, where she confronted Feixiao over her feelings for him. Feixiao challenged Herta to compete for Dan Lei, and Herta accepted, leaving the two Emanators in an open rivalry.

• Dan Lei prepared an elaborate welcome for Herta after rumors about him and Phantylia faded from the trending searches.
• Herta arrived at the Luofu and teased Dan Lei for being more reserved with her than he had been with Ruan Mei, so he hugged her in public.
• Herta confronted Feixiao about liking Dan Lei, and Feixiao argued that Herta had no right to interfere unless she acknowledged being his girlfriend.
• After learning that Ruan Mei had secretly helped Feixiao set the trap, Herta declared that she was Dan Lei's girlfriend.
• Feixiao challenged Herta to compete for Dan Lei, and Herta accepted before making Feixiao lead the way while she walked arm in arm with him.

Herta and Screwllum explained to Jing Yuan and the Luofu delegation that the Iron Tomb program used in the attack was only a small part of a much larger system, and that it simulated the Path of Beauty. The chapter left Jing Yuan confronting the possibility that the Antimatter Legion had many more programs with dangerous conceptual abilities.

• Herta and Feixiao stopped competing for Dan Lei’s attention and traveled with him to the Divination Hall aboard a Starskiff.
• Jing Yuan refused to let Herta and Screwllum access the Luofu’s network, so Herta arranged for Screwllum to explain the threat through her communications terminal instead.
• Screwllum told the delegation that the Iron Tomb program used against the Luofu was only about a tenth or a fifteenth of its original system and had interfered with the patrols’ senses.
• Screwllum said the program’s codename was “Romance” and identified Beauty as its driving force, while Herta explained that it simulated Beauty’s concepts of trials and restraint.
• Jing Yuan realized that the program’s ten confirmed interfaces could indicate many more related programs, potentially combining abilities tied to different Paths.

Screwllum explained that the Iron Tomb had evolved into a powerful program and urged the Luofu to help investigate it. After the meeting, Jing Yuan and the others debated whether Screwllum could be trusted and decided to report the threat to the Xianzhou Alliance while weighing cooperation.

• Screwllum showed the group evidence that the Iron Tomb's attack program had evolved and asked them to help locate its true form.
• Dan Lei withheld his suspicions about Amphoreus and suggested asking Elio for information about the Iron Tomb, while Jing Yuan said the Luofu needed to consult the Alliance.
• After Screwllum ended the call, Dan Lei took Herta to the lounge so the Luofu officials could discuss the meeting privately.
• Fu Xuan questioned Screwllum's trustworthiness, and Dan Lei argued that his actions—not his origins—should determine whether he was trusted.
• Jing Yuan called for caution without rejecting cooperation, and Feixiao confirmed she had recorded the meeting for the Alliance.
• Jing Yuan asked Feixiao to submit her own assessment of Screwllum and said he would send his assessment as well.

Dan Lei confessed to Herta about his part in Ruan Mei’s schemes, and Herta admitted why she had accepted him while setting firm limits on their relationship. Herta then joined Dan Lei and Ruan Mei’s household routine, ending the evening by cooking for Dan Lei and sharing his bed.

• Dan Lei explained that the Xianzhou Alliance would likely seek a trusted genius to oversee cooperation with Herta’s group, and Herta welcomed the prospect of meeting more geniuses.
• Herta took Dan Lei home and asked him to explain his relationship with Ruan Mei, including which room Ruan Mei had used.
• Dan Lei confessed everything, while Herta revealed that Ruan Mei had already told her the full story and admitted she had accepted Dan Lei because he kept giving her interesting research questions.
• Herta said she would accept only Dan Lei and Ruan Mei, warned him against pursuing anyone else, and asked him to describe his daily life with Ruan Mei.
• Herta took Dan Lei grocery shopping and cooked dinner; Dan Lei ate her poorly prepared food while she had takeout, and they spent the night together.

After Herta and Feixiao left Luofu, Dan Lei welcomed the returning Stellar Train crew and helped Topaz compete for the Cloud Ferry reconstruction project. He then intervened when Scott confronted the Golden People Alley Merchant Guild, openly challenging the Market Development Department’s representative.

• Herta gave Dan Lei a one-use Imaginary Pulse Emitter locator before returning to her tower, and Feixiao left Luofu the following day.
• Topaz boarded the Stellar Train and asked Dan Lei to help secure the Cloud Ferry port reconstruction project for the Strategic Investment Department.
• Topaz explained that her failed debt-collection mission on Jarilo-VI had earned her a demotion, while Himeko and Topaz vowed to help Jarilo-VI if the Antimatter Legion returned.
• Dan Lei arranged a day out for Bailu, then helped Topaz by making the Sky-Faring Commission appear to favor the Strategic Investment Department; the Commission announced its involvement in the project the next day.
• Dan Lei secretly made Scott fall to his knees as Scott berated the Golden People Alley Merchant Guild over unpaid rent.
• Dan Lei revealed himself and told Scott to start barking, accusing Oswald’s subordinates of failing to investigate why the Merchant Guild could not pay.

Dan Lei settled the Golden People Alley port dispute by paying the overdue freight fees, while Scott accepted his loss and then proposed a new bet over whether the merchants' association could survive without Dan Lei's shop. The next day, Star and her friends began helping the merchants, and Dan Lei enlisted Topaz while refusing to share inside information about Cloud Ferry.

• Scott backed down after Dan Lei explained that the Ming Huo Merchant Guild's investigation had delayed its freight payments, and Dan Lei paid the Golden People Alley merchants' association's overdue fees.
• Scott barked to honor his earlier challenge, then argued that the association was too dependent on Dan Lei's shop and proposed a new bet with Sushang and Guinaifen.
• Sushang and Guinaifen accepted Scott's bet, and Dan Lei warned them not to disrupt Golden People Alley's residents as they tried to improve the port's business.
• Dan Lei urged Ming Xi to reform the merchants' association, then encouraged her to work with Star, Sushang, and Guinaifen.
• The next day, Dan Lei saw Star organizing cargo and Sushang and Guinaifen promoting the merchants, so he asked Topaz to support their effort without taking the spotlight.
• Topaz asked Dan Lei for information about Cloud Ferry, but he refused and criticized her expensive bid after Yukong had taught him about material prices.

After the Luofu chose the Strategic Investment Department’s reconstruction bid, Dan Lei prepared to leave with the Astral Express by sending a living puppet to fool Jing Yuan. The train departed with Dan Lei aboard, leaving Jing Yuan furious and hinting that Dan Lei’s next undertaking would soon stir the Alliance.

• Jing Yuan selected the Strategic Investment Department’s proposal after both bidders lowered their prices, and Topaz celebrated the win with Dan Lei.
• During the Astral Express renovations, Star let Dan Lei furnish her room, and the crew decided to begin a new expedition after finishing their Luofu affairs.
• Dan Lei asked Himeko to delay departure, then arranged for Little Phantylia to impersonate him in a living puppet while he secretly boarded the train.
• After the Astral Express departed, the puppet revealed Dan Lei had already left, gave Jing Yuan a Jade Abacus, and collapsed into a soulless state.
• Jing Yuan watched Dan Lei’s message, grew furious, and left Fu Xuan and Bailu to take the puppet back to the workshop.
• Dan Lei invited Ruan Mei and Herta to visit his trial planet, but both declined because they were studying the Jianmu Fruit.

Dan Lei and the Express Crew reached the King of Amber’s subspace crystal wall and enlisted Aha’s power to break through it. The train escaped beyond the wall while Aha drew Kliper’s anger onto himself.

• The Express Crew reached the subspace crystal wall, and Pom-Pom warned that the train could not safely cross without an Aeon’s power.
• Aha possessed his mask and promised to help, while Pom-Pom repeatedly beat him with a broom for claiming to be one of the Nameless Ones.
• Aha explained that Kliper attacked him because he had once broken pieces of its walls and used them to smash Celestial Wisdom Star Walls.
• Dan Lei urged Pom-Pom to throw Aha off the train, and Aha secretly used Joy’s power to envelop the train as it prepared to jump.
• Aha spun his mask into a giant drill, and the train pierced the subspace crystal wall before Kliper could strike it.
• Kliper confronted the train beyond the wall, but Aha left the train and taunted the Aeon, drawing its attention away from the Express Crew.

After escaping the King of Amber, the Astral Express crew learned that [Aha] had bitten off a fragment of its hammer and planned to use it as the prize for games on Dan Lei’s planet. When the train reached the planet, Dan Lei welcomed the crew to Avalon Star and announced new rules to prepare its people for the Interstellar Age.

• The Astral Express escaped the King of Amber, and March 7th worried that it might have killed [Aha].
• [Aha] returned with a damaged mask and a fragment of the King of Amber’s hammer, then proposed holding games on Dan Lei’s planet with the fragment as the prize.
• Dan Lei agreed to organize the games and spent a week planning before the Astral Express reached his planet.
• Morgan welcomed Dan Lei’s return by announcing it to the planet’s species, and dragons flew out to greet the Astral Express.
• Dan Lei named the planet Avalon Star and added Covenants [Eleven] and [Twelve], requiring residents to pass an examination before leaving the star system and forbidding wagers of personal freedom against outsiders.

Dan Lei introduced the Express Crew to Avalon Star’s Pact by beating Star in a card game and demonstrating its rules, then welcomed them to Avalon City and arranged contact with Herta. He later revealed Avalon Star to Jing Yuan, who reacted to its nature by saying he wanted to retire.

• Dan Lei explained Avalon Star’s rules through a card game, used magic to beat Star, and bound her from rummaging through trash cans.
• Dan Lei warned the Express Crew that games on Avalon Star could impose supernatural wagers, while the rules ceased to apply beyond the star system.
• Dan Lei returned to Avalon City with the Express Crew, introduced them to Morgan, and hosted them at the castle.
• Dan Lei installed a long-distance remote-sensing device on the moon and asked Herta to strengthen its signal to the Interastral Peace network.
• Jing Yuan called Dan Lei about the Stellar Train’s journey beyond the subspace crystal wall, and Dan Lei admitted he had arranged it and sent him Avalon Star’s information.
• After reading about Avalon Star, Jing Yuan said he would rather abdicate to Fu Xuan and retire.

Jing Yuan submitted Dan Lei’s report about Avalon Star to the Xianzhou Alliance, while Dan Lei prepared the planet and the Stellar Train Crew for their visit. Dan Lei created an imitation of the Scale Abyss Realm, then received Jing Yuan’s call that the temporary generals’ meeting was ready.

• Jing Yuan reasoned that Dan Lei had inherited an Immortal Dragon legacy on Agyha and realized Avalon Star’s connection to Permanence and Joy could unsettle the Xianzhou Alliance and the Chizuru Clan.
• Jing Yuan agreed to submit Dan Lei’s information and arrange the temporary generals’ meeting, while Dan Lei planned introductions for the Stellar Train Crew and work on recreating the Scale Abyss Realm.
• Himeko took the Stellar Train Crew to Avalon City’s library to study magic, and Star, March 7th, and Dan Heng learned to sense mana while Himeko built a detector.
• Dan Lei used the Sole God’s authority to clear and seal an ocean area, then combined Ley Line energy with Imaginary Energy to create power resembling Immortal Dragon Power.
• Dan Heng said Dan Lei’s created power differed from the Scale Abyss Realm’s energy, leaving its ability to hatch Sustainer Eggs untested.
• Jing Yuan called Dan Lei to say the temporary generals’ meeting was ready and ask whether he could attend immediately.

Dan Lei attended an emergency Xianzhou Alliance generals' meeting and explained that Avalon Star and his own inexplicable readings were affected by Aeons. He left the meeting having defended himself against accusations of serving Aha by describing how he had bargained with the Aeon to protect Avalon Star.

• Jing Yuan connected Dan Lei to the emergency generals' meeting, where Marshal Hua and the other attendees introduced themselves before questioning him about Avalon Star.
• Dan Lei revealed that he had met [Xa] and seen the Amber Lord's true form, then explained that [Aha]'s blessing empowered Avalon Star's Twelve Pacts and that [Xa] likely caused the Ten Directions Illusory Realm to fail to calculate him.
• Yaoguang asked why Avalon Star and Dan Lei could not be calculated, and Dan Lei attributed both results to Aeon influence.
• You Wu questioned whether Dan Lei had sold Avalon Star to Changle Heavenly Lord or joined the forces of Joy, prompting Xuanquan and other High Elders to rebuke and threaten him.
• Dan Lei calmed the High Elders and told You Wu that he controlled Avalon Star's rules, while [Aha] supplied their power in exchange for Joy and had pursued Dan Lei and complicated his trials.

Dan Lei secured the Xianzhou Alliance’s support for Avalon Star’s development while insisting that the planet remain under Chizuru Clan autonomy. He rejected making it an independent Xianzhou and proposed it as a refuge for the Alliance, leaving the generals to vote on that plan.

• Yaoguang questioned why Aha had granted Dan Lei power over Avalon Star, and Dan Lei explained that Aha planned to bring factions from across the universe to compete there, possibly including the Lord of the Hunt and The Abominable Plague.
• Dan Lei confirmed that Avalon Star would welcome any faction that followed its rules, and Hua assured him that the Alliance had no intention of expelling him from the Xianzhou registry.
• Dan Lei applied for Alliance assistance with immigration, Xianzhou technology, and Vidyadhara volunteers to test the Scale Mirror; Hua declared Avalon Star autonomous, and all six generals voted to approve the support plan.
• You Wu proposed classifying Avalon Star as an independent Xianzhou, but Dan Lei refused and described his vision of the planet as the land of Permanence, the playground of Joy, and the territory of the Hunt.
• Hua rejected You Wu’s proposal and put Dan Lei’s idea of making Avalon Star the Alliance’s final retreat to a vote.

The generals tabled Dan Lei’s proposal to make Avalon Star the Alliance’s final fallback, while approving construction assistance and leaving his planet’s development under his control. Dan Lei then designed the year-long [Joy] Cup Game Tournament, and [Aha] agreed to organize it, protect the entire star system, and offer the champion the choice of becoming an Emanator or receiving a blessing.

• Hua ended the tied vote on Dan Lei’s proposal, postponing the decision until the next generals’ meeting.
• The Alliance agreed to help build Avalon Star while preserving Dan Lei’s right to govern it, and the generals’ meeting concluded without resolving whether it would become the Alliance’s final fallback.
• Dan Lei planned the [Joy] Cup Game Tournament, with planetwide Simulated Memory Spirit hunts, Gym challenges, semifinals, and a combat-based final.
• Dan Lei summoned [Aha] and gave him the tournament proposal, which [Aha] praised and accepted.
• Dan Lei asked [Aha] to protect the entire star system, make clear that the tournament would last a year, and recruit skilled players; [Aha] agreed and promised the champion Emanator status.
• Dan Lei persuaded [Aha] to let the champion refuse Emanator status and take a blessing instead, which made [Aha] laugh.

Dan Lei gathered Avalon Star’s race leaders to explain his outsider origins and announce a planet-wide game meant to bring the races together through competition. He demanded they cooperate despite old rivalries, while Rick and Nina’s dispute over opening borders exposed tensions the tournament would have to overcome.

• After [Aha] failed to recruit him, Dan Lei activated a profile system to distinguish Avalon Star’s natives from offworld visitors and identify wanted individuals.
• Dan Lei summoned twelve race leaders and the Stellar Train Crew, introduced the crew, and explained that he had come from beyond the planet and inherited his authority through the Path of Permanence.
• Dan Lei announced a planet-wide game with rewards for participating nations, including Grotto-heavens and blessings, and said its rules required nations to open their borders and provide ships for players.
• Dan Lei explained the universe’s power hierarchy and said an Emanator had once been stronger than him, though his current power could suppress one on Avalon Star.
• Nina objected to opening the Forest Spirit borders to humans, Beastfolk, and vampires, and Rick mocked her over the Forest Spirits’ use of Covenants and slavery.
• Dan Lei ordered the races to set aside their grudges for the tournament and threatened to let the top three halls of challenge choose curses against their enemies instead of blessings.