Chapter Summaries

Dan Lei dealt with Jade’s long sleep and the misunderstandings surrounding their deal while confronting Oswald and Guiji’s efforts to spread competing faiths on Avalon Star. When Gabriel sought to join the Express Crew and challenge Dan Lei, he agreed to let her attempt an assessment against an examiner with her magic sealed.

• Dan Lei gave Jade the potion, and she ate half a bag of Immortal Vine before sleeping for eleven days, prompting Topaz and Aventurine to mistake their business arrangement for an affair.
• Jade’s agreement with Dan Lei secured the IPC a contract to build Avalon Star’s spaceport and transport ports, alarming Oswald after his own mall project made little progress.
• Oswald promoted an exclusionary form of Preservation, while Guiji spread the Hunt and the Void; Dan Lei let them continue and planned to steer the competing faiths in a positive direction.
• The Express Crew and [Aha]’s Alien Visitors spread Trailblaze and other beliefs across Avalon Star, while Giovanni formed a game strategy group and Sparkle encouraged a prank culture.
• Star challenged Dan Lei to free Gabriel and let her join the Express Crew, and Gabriel revealed her Hunt power as she demanded a rematch to avenge Altshiu.
• Dan Lei accepted Gabriel’s request to take the trial assessment and said she would have to defeat an examiner with her magic power sealed before earning one chance to challenge him.

Dan Lei had Yunli test Gabriel’s readiness for a Trailblaze permit, and Gabriel lost after Dan Lei sealed most of her magic. The Xianzhou Alliance’s construction fleet then arrived on Avalon Star, where its Grotto-heavens won support by providing tangible benefits and rapidly shifted the planet’s religious discourse.

• Yunli agreed to assess Gabriel, and Dan Lei sealed most of Gabriel’s magic before sending her and Yunli into a pocket dimension to fight.
• Yunli defeated Gabriel in a few moves, so Dan Lei denied her permission to leave Avalon Star for now, while Himeko planned to train her.
• Dan Lei kept the IPC’s proposal to train Avalon Star locals without responding, as the Xianzhou Alliance’s construction fleet approached.
• The Xianzhou Alliance’s fleet arrived with top experts and supplies, and its members began building Grotto-heavens across Avalon Star.
• The Grotto-heavens brought visible benefits to the planet’s races, allowing the Xianzhou Alliance to gain influence over faith on Avalon Star.

As the tournament entered its knockout stage, Dan Lei arranged a scheme to have Guiji registered and sent for a mental-health examination. Guiji saw through the setup and flew to confront Dan Lei, who attacked him with Joy-infused thunderclouds while intending to leave him able to compete.

• The Xianzhou Alliance increased surveillance of Guiji, Hulei, and Zhi Ge as the tournament knockout stage began; Hulei had lost once, while Clara remained undefeated.
• Dan Lei was eliminated by March 7th, then planned to arrest Hulei after his elimination, leave Zhi Ge alone for Clara’s sake, and make trouble for Guiji.
• Dan Lei sent Earthly Balance Department staff to register Guiji, who gave sarcastic answers that the official recorded on a questionnaire.
• Two Alchemy Commission doctors told Guiji his answers suggested a mental disorder and invited him for a free examination; Guiji inferred Dan Lei’s trap and flew toward Avalon City to confront him.
• Dan Lei watched Guiji approach and summoned thunderclouds infused with the power of Joy, intending to hurt him without preventing him from competing.

Guiji tried to undermine Dan Lei on Avalon Star, but Dan Lei used the planet’s laws and public opinion to frustrate him. After deciding to abandon his plans and leave, Guiji became the target of a viral scandal that made him a universal laughingstock.

• Dan Lei struck Guiji with lightning, sending him through a civilian’s house, where the Earthly Balance Department fined him for property damage.
• Guiji refused to go to the Alchemy Commission and shut himself away to avoid being provoked by Dan Lei’s repeated pressure.
• Guiji decided to stop trying to destroy Avalon Star and planned to leave after giving his master a gift of candy.
• Dan Lei reconstructed the previous day’s events and enabled the Earthly Balance Department to share the footage with the woman whose home Guiji had entered.
• The woman edited the footage to accuse Guiji of assault, and other women joined her claims, spreading the scandal across the Interastral Peace network.
• Guiji became a universal laughingstock as the Xianzhou Alliance declined to publicly explain the incident.

The quarterfinal qualifiers advanced while Guiji prepared to exploit resentment over the Demon Race’s confinement. As Hulei fought Dan Heng, Dan Lei discovered Burning Wind outside Avalon Star, trying to envelop the system in Lightfall.

• Silvermane defeated Guiji with a team of Memory Spirits whose light and justice attributes countered Guiji’s forces, and Silvermane, Clara, Hook, and Silver Wolf advanced to the quarterfinals.
• Guiji was matched against Oswald, while the remaining qualification matches included Hulei versus Dan Heng, Aventurine versus Topaz, and Star versus Giovanni.
• The Xianzhou Alliance confined the Demon Race after it refused peaceful settlement terms, and Guiji cultivated followers and encouraged local protests against the demons’ confinement.
• Dan Lei shifted his attention to Hulei’s match against Dan Heng, whose dragon-type Memory Spirits gave him a strong advantage over Hulei’s fast-attack lineup.
• Dan Lei’s monitoring probes went offline, so he shielded Avalon Star’s system and investigated, where he found Burning Wind using Lightfall to envelop the system.

Dan Lei defended Avalon Star’s system from Burning Wind and Lightfall, using the Immortal Slaying Sword, his summoned spirits, and Herta’s Imaginary Pulse Emitter to counter their attacks. After the pulse wave dispersed Lightfall’s black smoke and left Burning Wind briefly immobilized, Feixiao’s Fei Huang charged out and seized him.

• Dan Lei detected Burning Wind and Lightfall at the edge of the star system, alerted Feixiao, and confronted Burning Wind from within the Joy Destiny’s protection.
• Dan Lei used the Immortal Slaying Sword to scatter Lightfall’s black smoke, then attacked Burning Wind, who used the Void Destiny to disrupt Dan Lei’s ability to track him.
• Dan Lei empowered Skaracabaz, Ddraig, Albion, and Little Phantylia with Echoing Intertwine: Deep Pit, Pendulum, and their attacks wounded Burning Wind and disrupted his Path Protection.
• Dan Lei activated Herta’s Imaginary Pulse Emitter, whose wave dispersed Lightfall’s black smoke and temporarily immobilized Burning Wind.
• Feixiao’s Fei Huang emerged from behind Dan Lei and seized Burning Wind in its jaws.

Dan Lei and Feixiao drove back Burning Wind and confronted Guiji, who had escaped Avalon Star with help from the Demon Race. They wounded Guiji and forced him to flee with Burning Wind, while Guiji’s severed arm remained behind.

• Fei Huang spat Burning Wind out, and Dan Lei attacked him while keeping both himself and Feixiao near the Path of Joy’s protection.
• Burning Wind released a blinding flash, giving Guiji time to appear as Dan Lei learned that Guiji had used a Demon Race member as a decoy and planned to escape Avalon Star.
• Dan Lei ordered Morgan to stop the Demon Race’s spaceship, and Guiji explained that he had arranged the escape to leave Dan Lei with a political dilemma over the Demon Race.
• Dan Lei empowered the Immortal Slaying Sword with an Echoing Intertwine, freezing Guiji and Burning Wind long enough for Feixiao to attack.
• Burning Wind covered himself in the Void’s dark haze and fled with Guiji after Feixiao severed Guiji’s left arm.
• Dan Lei stopped Feixiao from pursuing the pair, and Feixiao picked up Guiji’s severed arm.

After Clara won the tournament, she asked Dan Lei to free Zhi Ge, but he refused and arranged to preserve Zhi Ge’s memories of her in a new Intellitron before its core was reformatted. Zhi Ge agreed to give up those memories to protect Clara, and Dan Lei named their new vessel Basaka.

• Dan Lei concluded that Oswald had likely helped Guiji escape, but found no evidence and announced Guiji’s disqualification after the battle with the Aeons of Destruction.
• Dan Heng defeated Hulei and Aventurine defeated Topaz, while Hulei surrendered and asked Dan Lei to spare his hunting pack; Dan Lei agreed.
• Clara defeated Star in the semifinals and Hook in the final, becoming the first Memory Spirit Masters Tournament champion.
• Clara asked Dan Lei to trade her rewards for Zhi Ge’s freedom, but he refused and promised only that she could say goodbye before Zhi Ge’s core was reformatted and sealed.
• Clara chose Aha’s blessing instead of becoming an Emanator of Elation, and Zhi Ge went to the Imprisonment Court after the award ceremony.
• Dan Lei extracted Zhi Ge’s memories of Clara to create a new Intellitron, and Zhi Ge agreed so the new being could protect her; Dan Lei named it Basaka.

Dan Lei helped Clara say goodbye to Zhi Ge, then created Basaka from Zhi Ge’s memories so he could continue protecting her. After arranging for travelers to return home and deciding to rejoin the Express Crew, Dan Lei was refused a hotel room on Penacony and planned a surprise visit.

• Dan Lei watched Clara and Zhi Ge’s farewell, then sent Zhi Ge’s core to the Ten Lords’ Commission for memory formatting and resealing.
• Dan Lei used Zhi Ge’s copied memories to bring Basaka, a new robot, to life, and Clara welcomed him as her companion.
• Aha offered to send the contestants home, and Dan Lei planned to arrange transport for those who wanted to leave.
• Himeko agreed to let Dan Lei travel with the Express Crew again after their journey on Avalon Star ended.
• Penacony claimed its hotels were fully booked when Dan Lei tried to reserve a room for the Harmonic Codex, so he decided to visit anyway.

Dan Lei returned to Luofu with Hulei and Zhi Ge, only to find the Vidyadhara demanding places on the next construction team for Avalon Star. After Jing Yuan cornered him at home, Dan Lei agreed to address their concerns with a preferential exam-based route.

• The Stellar Train carried Hulei and Zhi Ge from Avalon Star to Luofu, where Feixiao prepared to escort them to the Imprisonment Court.
• Luofu's Vidyadhara surrounded the Stellar Train to demand that Dan Lei take them to Avalon Star, so he escaped and hid at his home.
• Jing Yuan revealed that he had anticipated Dan Lei's hiding place and asked him to reassure the Vidyadhara.
• Jing Yuan suggested an exam as a fair way to select Vidyadhara for Avalon Star, and Dan Lei agreed.
• Dan Lei summoned trusted Vidyadhara and called a Dragon Master meeting while Yun You and others worked to keep the clan orderly.

Dan Lei returned to the Luofu and addressed the Vidyadhara Dragon Masters’ complaints about Jing Yuan and their hopes of moving to Avalon Star. He established a limited, qualification-based immigration channel that gave Bailu a chance to build influence and pushed the clan toward developing its talents.

• Dan Lei corrected Yun You for addressing Bailu informally, then let Bailu vent her frustration at being left behind before they headed to the conference hall.
• Dan Lei reprimanded the Dragon Masters for surrounding the Stellar Train, and their leader promised to apologize to its crew.
• The Dragon Masters complained that Jing Yuan ignored their views and asked for more chances to relocate to Avalon Star.
• Dan Lei said the Dragon Masters had no authority over Jing Yuan’s work, then offered qualified Luofu Vidyadhara two additional immigration quotas per year per qualification, with early supporters prioritized.
• The Dragon Masters accepted the proposal, and the clan posted the new rules, which Jing Yuan agreed to administer.

Dan Lei left the Luofu and headed for Herta Space Station, where he learned that Herta had uncovered a dangerous void in the Simulated Universe and Ruan Mei was preparing an experiment involving Beauty and Guiji’s genes. He agreed to investigate the void himself and arranged to delay Ruan Mei’s main experiment until he could oversee it.

• Dan Lei departed the Luofu for Herta Space Station after the Vidyadhara Clan gained priority in Avalon Star’s immigration process.
• Dan Lei told Herta and Ruan Mei that he planned to visit Penacony and speak with the remnants of Order, while keeping his interest in the Philosophical Fetus secret.
• Herta reported that simulating the Iron Tomb had revealed a void linked to the School War, and Dan Lei suspected Polka-dot had created a trap after the Simulated Universe covered her history.
• Dan Lei persuaded Herta not to enter the void and offered to investigate it by sending only part of his consciousness into the Simulated Universe.
• Dan Lei made Ruan Mei postpone her main experiment involving Beauty and Guiji’s genes until he could intervene, though she planned to conduct preliminary experiments.
• Dan Lei changed his plans to stay at Herta Space Station, and Himeko agreed while the Express Crew prepared for its eventual trip to Penacony.

Dan Lei reunited with Herta and Ruan Mei at Herta Space Station, then joined Herta, Ruan Mei, and Screwllum to investigate Polka Kakamoku’s Unknowable Domain in the Simulated Universe. After learning that the team needed his help to overcome the interference, Dan Lei prepared to enter the system and find Polka Kakamoku.

• Herta and Ruan Mei welcomed Dan Lei at the station and dragged him to a laboratory, where he handed Ruan Mei Guiji’s genetic sample.
• Herta claimed Dan Lei for work on the Simulated Universe, while he kissed her and agreed to stay at her place with Ruan Mei.
• Dan Lei met Screwllum in Herta’s office and heard that the Unknowable Domain was linked to the First Emperor War module and might reveal the Iron Tomb’s origins.
• Herta and Screwllum explained that their unfinished program could limit Aeon interference, but that Polka Kakamoku’s disruption required Dan Lei’s help.
• Dan Lei looked toward the Simulated Universe and resolved to find Polka Kakamoku and confront the threat to the Knowledge Singularity.

Dan Lei entered the first Emperor War timeline in the Simulated Universe and pursued Polka-dot through a series of events, but repeated interference prevented him from catching her. He reached the moment of Emperor Rupert I’s death, where [The Erudition] appeared and Polka-dot completed her assassination.

• Dan Lei joined the IPC’s Publicity Department after completing his interview and entered the Bloody Condolence event at the Galactic Library, Ismael.
• Dan Lei found Polka-dot and fought off her scalpel, but she appeared to slit her own throat before Ismael’s guards forced him away from her body.
• Dan Lei pursued Polka-dot through further events, defeating the Intellitron army and other obstacles as she repeatedly escaped with help from unseen interference.
• Dan Lei reached the final encounter and saw [The Erudition] appear above the Mechanical Emperor, Rupert, then asked why birds fly.
• Polka-dot appeared before [The Erudition] as the seventeenth bell rang, and the powers of [Xa] and another force descended; Dan Lei’s senses were disrupted as Rupert I was killed.

Dan Lei and Polka-dot’s confrontation in the Simulated Universe ended when she detonated Rupert I’s remains and escaped, while Herta and Screwllum recovered most of the simulated [Erudition]’s data. After leaving to let them investigate, Dan Lei learned Ruan Mei had lost Herta’s Core Flame of the Phase Fire and went to meet Asta, where he found a strange plaster-headed man.

• Polka-dot destroyed Rupert I’s core, ending the Anti-Organic Equation and collapsing his mechanical empire.
• Dan Lei confronted Polka-dot, but she detonated Rupert I’s remaining energy and escaped as Dan Lei logged out of the Simulated Universe.
• Screwllum explained that the simulated [Erudition] had left a question in response to Dan Lei’s “Why do birds fly?” and that they had recovered 80% of its data.
• Dan Lei showed Herta the Sea Navigating Ranger bow and said the Simulated Universe could recreate it to strike Polka-dot using her psychic signal, but Herta found Polka-dot had erased her records.
• Hila told Dan Lei that Ruan Mei had lost Herta’s Core Flame of the Phase Fire and that Asta wanted to meet him.
• Dan Lei entered Asta’s office and found a strange, muscular man dressed like an Ancient Greek scholar with a plaster head.

Dan Lei met Dr. Ratio at Asta’s office and agreed to help him wait for a chance to see the research facilities while the geniuses were busy. He then entered Ruan Mei’s laboratory, where her experiment log revealed a dangerous attempt to create a being of Beauty using Guiji’s genes and other volatile materials.

• Asta introduced Dan Lei to Dr. Ratio, who praised Dan Lei’s boldness and accepted his offer to stay on Herta Space Station until a genius became available.
• Dan Lei explained that Herta was unreachable because she and Screwllum were restoring data from Polka-dot’s explosion, then apologized to Dr. Ratio on Herta’s behalf.
• Dan Lei urged Asta to strengthen the station’s security and staff management because three geniuses were conducting research there.
• Dan Lei entered Ruan Mei’s laboratory and read her experiment log while she continued studying Guiji’s genetic data.
• Dan Lei discovered that Ruan Mei’s latest experiment aimed to create a powerful being of Beauty using Guiji’s genes, Golden Apple life essence, Abundance Immortal Vine fragments, and other dangerous materials.

Dan Lei helped Ruan Mei continue her life-creation research, then used a Department of Ecology researcher’s crude imitation recipe to create a living plasma-based flame. He sent the new creature with Little Phantylia to search for the missing Phase Fire, while Dr. Ratio witnessed Dan Lei’s power of creation.

• Ruan Mei completed her preliminary study of Guiji’s genes, and Dan Lei told her about the Knowledge Singularity discovered in the Simulated Universe.
• Ruan Mei began creating life in her laboratory, while Star took over data-gathering work in the Simulated Universe’s Gold and Machinery DLC.
• Dan Lei visited the Department of Ecology with Dr. Ratio and found a researcher who had adapted Ruan Mei’s life-creation recipe into a low-grade imitation.
• The researcher created a temporary, unintelligent replica of the Phase Fire, and Dan Lei used the [Emperor's Core] Origin Flame to give it a soul and rebuild its life.
• Dan Lei fed the new plasma-based life-form and sent it with Little Phantylia to search for the real Phase Fire and lure it back.

Dan Lei captured the spirit of Ruan Mei’s Pure Beauty creation and gained a power that strongly supported and empowered others. He and Ruan Mei were left puzzling over why the creature’s Pure Beauty Path Power manifested as absolute altruism and self-sacrifice.

• Dan Lei spent two quiet days studying guides to Penacony before Ruan Mei summoned him to her lab.
• Dan Lei saw that Ruan Mei had cultivated a beautiful, mirror-like hand imbued with the power of Pure Beauty.
• Ruan Mei killed the hand as its life began, and Dan Lei used Ju Ling Qian Jiang to capture and possess its spirit.
• Dan Lei discovered that the spirit’s power could bind targets and was especially effective when used to support others, so he fashioned a bracer from Tayzzyronth hatchling thread.
• Dan Lei combined the spirit with the Red Dragon Emperor’s gauntlet and increased Ruan Mei’s vitality more than tenfold.
• Ruan Mei questioned why the hand’s power showed absolute altruism and self-sacrifice, then wondered whether its ingredients or experimental data had caused the result.

Dan Lei joined Herta and Screwllum’s preparations to ambush Polka-dot, bringing the Hand of Pure Beauty into the Simulated Universe to test its abilities. After discovering he could enter as a fusion of data and Memoria, he reached Polka-dot at the Futurology Congress and asked her to speak somewhere quiet.

• Herta summoned Dan Lei and Ruan Mei to help with the planned ambush of Polka-dot, while Star rested after repeatedly simulating the first Emperor War.
• Dan Lei learned that Screwllum’s system contained an undeletable program from The Erudition’s answer, which had given him dreamlike bursts of inspiration, and Herta planned to use it against Polka-dot’s Omniscience Domain.
• Dan Lei entered the Simulated Universe with his soul spirit and found that he had become a form combining data and Memoria.
• Screwllum identified Dan Lei’s scenario as the Futurology Congress on Spohia, where scholars debated allocating Rupert II’s Scepter computing power.
• Dan Lei recognized that Polka-dot was in the main hall, restrained the guards with the Hand of Pure Beauty, found her disguised as a female scholar, and asked her to talk somewhere quiet.

Dan Lei and Polka-dot fought inside Herta’s birdcage prison while Herta and the others tried to break through Polka-dot’s control of the Unknowable Domain. Polka-dot began forcing a Scepter System simulation to overload the Simulated Universe and escape, and Herta urged Dan Lei to stop her.

• Polka-dot lured Dan Lei into an empty corridor, where Herta’s program trapped them in an Imaginary Energy birdcage and challenged Polka-dot to break [The Erudition]’s anchor on the future.
• Polka-dot used her administrator permissions to restrict Dan Lei, but his Memory powers and the others’ efforts to restore his permissions let him break free and attack her.
• Dan Lei pressured Polka-dot with the Immortal Slaying Sword while his Computing Power Stinger ate through her Omniscience Domain.
• Polka-dot connected to the Scepter System and began simulating it with the Simulated Universe’s computing power, prompting Screwllum to cut off Screwllum Star’s support.
• Herta realized Polka-dot was forcing the simulation to overload the Simulated Universe so she could escape, and she shouted for Dan Lei to stop her.