Recaps

Lu Yuan analyzed the Heretics’ Person-Finding Inscription and reverse-engineered two designs for Gregory’s layered bomb. He explained the second design, which detected nearby living people after the core landed and detonated when someone entered its range.

• After returning to Gregory’s laboratory, Lu Yuan used the Worm of Knowledge and Oden’s advice to understand how the inscription pulled nearby people toward its center.
• Lu Yuan drew a Reverse-Attraction Scheme that would steer the bomb’s core toward living people, but warned Gregory that its weight and high reason consumption would limit its range.
• Lu Yuan presented a Landing-Point Detection Exclusion-Zone Scheme with two interlaced rings of inscription lines.
• Lu Yuan explained that the outer ring would detect nearby people and the inner ring would detonate the core when someone entered the detection circle.

Lu Yuan completed his reverse-engineered Person-Finding Inscription design for Gregory and arranged to buy ingredients for future Dragon Blood Potion batches. He then joined Frey and the Lantern Knight in testing his Deceased's Wailing Crystal, which reacted to Plague Water and confirmed that the detection method worked.

• Lu Yuan showed Gregory how the Inscription’s threshold slots would filter out beasts with weak sanity fluctuations, and Gregory praised the revised design as easier to engrave.
• Lu Yuan and Gregory settled their earlier bounty transaction, and Lu Yuan offered thirty Knight Tokens for Bone Eerie Bone Powder and Human-Armor Beast Scales rather than taking them for free.
• Gregory accepted the tokens and promised to sell Lu Yuan his family’s stock at cost, and they arranged a time for Lu Yuan to collect it.
• Lu Yuan completed his daily check-in and went to the Pharmacy Group’s Plague Water room to continue testing his detection method.
• Frey presented Lu Yuan’s crystal and test records to the Lantern Knight, who applied undiluted Plague Water to the crystal and watched fine cracks appear.

Lu Yuan presented a crystal-based method for detecting people infected during the incubation period, and the Lantern Knight promised to report it to the Academy. Blue Knight returned from the Northern Territory critically injured and deeply contaminated, leaving the Academy knights searching for a way to save her.

• The Lantern Knight approved Lu Yuan's plague-detection method and said he would submit it to the Academy leadership for a reward.
• The Lantern Knight told Lu Yuan that Blue Knight's group had encountered danger but that rescuers had been sent to meet them.
• A messenger reported that Blue Knight had returned in critical condition, and Lu Yuan accompanied the Lantern Knight to the infirmary while Frey stayed behind.
• Lu Yuan found Blue Knight unconscious and gravely wounded, with Brunkel and the accompanying nuns also injured.
• The Astrologer Grand Knight Commander contained Blue Knight's contamination with a Stellar Sealing Formation, while String Knight warned that the contamination had entwined with her Pathway and could not be forcibly removed without making her lose control.

The Astrologer Grand Knight Commander revealed that the Northern Territory Tribal Alliance had rebelled and joined the Withered Glory Society, then departed with Eli and Brunkel to respond to the crisis. As the String Knight and Lantern Knight prepared to treat the Blue Knight, Oden warned Lu Yuan that their plan would not save her in time and urged him to examine her condition.

• The Astrologer Grand Knight Commander told the assembled knights that the Northern Territory Tribal Alliance had allied with the Withered Glory Society and sacrificed refugees to create a massive formation.
• The Astrologer Grand Knight Commander assigned the Blue Knight’s care and the Academy’s defenses to the String Knight and Lantern Knight, then took Brunkel and the sisters north with Eli.
• Eli told Lu Yuan that the Astrologer Grand Knight Commander had rescued the Blue Knight and Brunkel from dozens of Heretics at Snow Mountain, including a Fourth Order leader.
• The Astrologer Grand Knight Commander, Eli, Brunkel, and the sisters left the Knight Academy, while the other knights cleared the infirmary.
• Oden warned Lu Yuan that freezing the Blue Knight while preparing medicine would let the contamination destroy her reason, and urged him to use his ability to assess her condition.

Lu Yuan used Forbidden Studies-Deep Study to assess Blue Knight’s condition and found a treatment with a 91% chance of success, though it required the Sea of Knowledge and no outsiders. He stopped String Knight from freezing her and asked him and Lantern Knight to prepare medicinal ingredients, leaving them uncertain whether to trust his claim.

• Lu Yuan examined Blue Knight and learned that contamination had penetrated her Pathway and threatened her sanity.
• Lu Yuan compared three treatment plans and chose to refine a Leaf of Hope with the Sea of Knowledge before making a potion and removing the contamination.
• Lu Yuan realized that freezing Blue Knight would only slow her decline and offered to treat her instead.
• String Knight and Lantern Knight stopped their preparations and hesitated at Lu Yuan’s claim that he could save Blue Knight.

Lu Yuan told String Knight and Lantern Knight that his Pathway gave him an eighty percent chance of treating Blue Knight’s worsening contamination. After warning him that he would be held responsible if anything went wrong, the two senior knights decided to trust him because they had no better option.

• String Knight challenged Lu Yuan’s claim that he could save Blue Knight and warned that he would bear full responsibility if she died.
• Lu Yuan explained that String Knight’s freezing methods could preserve Blue Knight but would not stop her Pathway contamination from worsening.
• Lu Yuan claimed that his Pathway abilities were mainly related to treatment and said he had at least an eighty percent chance of saving Blue Knight.
• String Knight and Lantern Knight recalled Lu Yuan’s unusual records, then warned him that the Knight Academy would hold him accountable if Blue Knight’s treatment went wrong.
• Lu Yuan assured them he would not treat Blue Knight’s life lightly, and String Knight decided to trust him because they had no better option.

String Knight and Lantern Knight agreed to let Lu Yuan attempt to treat Blue Knight, whose sanity and Pathway were deteriorating from deep mutation. Lu Yuan presented an extensive supply list that included treatment materials and personal stockpiles for future plans.

• String Knight accepted Lu Yuan’s proposal, and Lantern Knight offered to provide the required materials.
• Oden warned Lu Yuan that Blue Knight’s Pathway contamination was nearly incurable, but Lu Yuan reassured him that he knew what he was doing.
• Oden asked Lu Yuan to request deep sea nightmare grass, insect-attracting flower, and void fluorescent powder for the coming Rising Tide salvage.
• Lu Yuan added three portions of each Dragon Blood Potion ingredient and high-grade crystal preservation bottles to his list.
• Lu Yuan included additional Sea of Knowledge-related materials for building a future power base and escape routes in the Northern Territory.
• Lu Yuan recited his full list of treatment ingredients, salvage supplies, potion materials, preservation bottles, and special materials to String Knight and Lantern Knight.

Lu Yuan gathered the Academy’s supplies and began treating the Blue Knight, first stabilizing her condition with a potion. He then cautiously used the Sea of Knowledge to purify a Leaf of Hope, preparing for the critical next stage of her treatment.

• The String Knight approved Lu Yuan’s supply list and had the ingredients and advanced potion-making equipment delivered to the Infirmary.
• After the String Knight and Lantern Knight left him alone, Lu Yuan checked the room and stored the materials he and Oden had requested in his Storage Box.
• Lu Yuan prepared and administered a stabilizing potion, easing the Blue Knight’s symptoms and calming her mutated Pathway.
• Lu Yuan opened a tiny rift to the Sea of Knowledge and used its seawater of colorful characters to cleanse the Leaf of Hope of the imprints left by the survivors of the Land of the Dead Silence.

Lu Yuan used a purified Leaf of Hope and the Sea of Knowledge’s power to remove the contamination from the Blue Knight’s Fourth Order Pathway and stabilize her condition. The Blue Knight began recovering, while the String Knight and Lantern Knight were astonished by Lu Yuan’s success.

• Oden marveled at Lu Yuan’s use of seawater from the Sea of Knowledge to purify the Leaf of Hope.
• Lu Yuan brewed a Refined Hope Potion and gave the entire flask to the Blue Knight.
• Lu Yuan invoked Helvian’s true name and used the Sea of Knowledge’s power to remove the contamination rooted in her Pathway.
• Lu Yuan received gains in Pharmacology and Advanced Medicine, while losing five points of Sanity.
• Lu Yuan found that the Blue Knight’s breathing had steadied and her Pathway had stabilized, though she had not yet awakened.
• The String Knight and Lantern Knight examined the Blue Knight, and the String Knight questioned why Lu Yuan still needed to study Potion Fundamentals.

The String Knight recognized that Lu Yuan’s ability to heal a Fourth Order Pathway surpassed what he could teach and decided the Academy should increase its covert protection of him. As Lu Yuan gained benefits from the Dragon Blood Potion and the digested Holy Sovereign flesh, Blanca gathered the group to see Dean off and discuss the coming battlefield assignments.

• The String Knight told Lu Yuan he could not be his teacher and resolved to let him develop freely while strengthening the Academy’s protection of him.
• Lu Yuan spent three days checking on the Blue Knight and practicing [Guard], then discovered the Dragon Blood Potion had increased his daily sanity recovery by one point.
• The Sea of Knowledge finished digesting the Holy Sovereign flesh, raising Lu Yuan’s Forbidden Studies-Scholar progress by 0.3 to 2.5/5.
• Blanca, Leon, Harvey, and Dean gathered to see Dean off as he prepared to leave for Cold Crow City.
• Blanca said the Northern Territory was heading into chaos and warned that the Academy’s field assignments would be moved up.

As the Northern Territory descended toward emergency lockdown, Lu Yuan and his friends prepared for deployment, and Dean left for Cold Crow City. After earning a large payment and a continuing share for his purified Wailing Crystal method, Lu Yuan brewed three stable Dragon Blood Potions.

• Dean warned Lu Yuan, Blanca, Leon, and Harvey that emergency deployment was imminent and urged them to prepare supplies and contacts.
• Harvey confirmed he had contacted his family's informants, while Leon and Lu Yuan agreed to prepare for their assignments.
• Lu Yuan, Blanca, Leon, and Harvey saw Dean off as he departed through the snow for Cold Crow City.
• The Academy approved the Lantern Knight's proposal, and Lu Yuan gave him his purification method for the Deceased's Wailing Crystal in exchange for one hundred Knight Tokens and a long-term share of production proceeds.
• Lu Yuan bought dragonblood resin and frozen blood amber, collected the remaining ingredients from Gregory's Research Room, and returned to brew potions.
• With Oden and his awakened coat assisting, Lu Yuan made three Dragon Blood Potions and sealed them successfully in specialized bottles.

The Blue Knight awoke after Lu Yuan saved her from the Contamination of the Land of the Dead Silence, and his Knight Academy progress advanced. As they spoke privately about what had happened, the Academy’s monitoring Formation revealed that it had detected a fleeting Taboo-level aura when Lu Yuan used his Authority.

• Oden warned Lu Yuan that the first Dragon Blood Potion was still being absorbed and advised him to wait three to five days before drinking another.
• The Blue Knight opened her eyes on the third morning, and Lu Yuan’s Knight Academy progress changed to +1...2/?.
• The Blue Knight told Lu Yuan that she remembered their journey and killing the Fourth Order High Singer, but had lost consciousness before the events that followed.
• The Blue Knight recognized that Lu Yuan had saved her, but neither questioned him about his methods nor mentioned the Sea of Knowledge.
• Lu Yuan explained how the Land of the Dead Silence collapsed and how the Astrologer Grand Knight Commander rescued her, then left her to rest under the medical knights’ care.
• The Knight Academy’s monitoring Formation had detected a fleeting trace of Taboo-level aura when Lu Yuan invoked his Authority, triggering an alarm and an investigation.

The Academy’s formation detected a fluctuation from the Forbidden Land · Sea of Knowledge near the North Campus Infirmary, where Lu Yuan had treated the Blue Knight. The Rock Grand Knight Commander ordered the alarm reported through official channels but kept classified as safe, while Lu Yuan returned home and prepared to discuss crafting a salvaging tool with Oden.

• The Main Control Room’s Formation Disk identified the fluctuation as coming from the Forbidden Land · Sea of Knowledge and pinpointed the North Campus Infirmary.
• A duty Deacon reported the alarm to the Rock Grand Knight Commander, who learned Lu Yuan was treating the Blue Knight.
• The Rock Grand Knight Commander ordered the report sent through proper channels but forbade alerting anyone at the Academy and classified the fluctuation as safe.
• Lu Yuan returned to his cottage with deep sea nightmare grass, insect-attracting flower, and void fluorescent powder.
• Lu Yuan told Oden he would not open a breach into the Sea of Knowledge while inside the Academy, and Oden offered him the recipe for a salvaging tool to prepare in advance.

Lu Yuan learned that the Knight Academy might have detected his connection to the Sea of Knowledge, but decided his true authority remained concealed. The Rock Grand Knight Commander visited to thank him for saving the Blue Knight and began discussing the Empire’s classified records on Time Bestower.

• Oden warned Lu Yuan that a monitoring formation might have detected him opening a rift to the Sea of Knowledge at the Infirmary.
• Lu Yuan reasoned that the Academy might know he had a connection to the Sea of Knowledge, but could not discover his authority over it.
• Oden began explaining a formula for salvaging in the Deep Zone, but a visitor knocked before he could continue.
• Lu Yuan welcomed the Rock Grand Knight Commander, who thanked him for saving the Blue Knight, his personal student.
• The Rock Grand Knight Commander said he had searched the Empire’s classified archives to investigate Time Bestower, and Lu Yuan listened attentively.

The Rock Grand Knight Commander explained Time Bestower’s ancient origins and why it was considered impractical by most practitioners. Lu Yuan learned that its sanity cost increased with the user’s pathway level, while the weapon’s narrow usefulness explained how it ended up in his hands.

• The Rock Grand Knight Commander told Lu Yuan that Time Bestower was an ancient weapon inherited from the Former Empire, with only four surviving examples recorded in the imperial archives.
• The Rock Grand Knight Commander explained that practitioners below the Fourth Order could not afford Time Bestower’s extreme sanity drain.
• The Rock Grand Knight Commander said Time Bestower had little effect on Fifth-Order practitioners and consumed more sanity as the user’s pathway level rose, confirming Lu Yuan’s suspicion.
• The Rock Grand Knight Commander explained that knowledge transcendent practitioners generally lacked the physical strength or combat role to benefit from Time Bestower.
• Lu Yuan understood that Time Bestower had gathered dust because it was unsuitable for most practitioners, but its close-combat utility and his high sanity made it useful to him.

The Rock Grand Knight Commander offered Lu Yuan his [Time Bestower] pocket watch in exchange for helping the Knight Academy investigate the Withered Glory Society’s strange potion in Watch City. Lu Yuan considered the mission while the Commander weighed his hopes for Lu Yuan’s potion expertise and confidence in his combat ability.

• The Rock Grand Knight Commander offered Lu Yuan his [Time Bestower] pocket watch if Lu Yuan completed a mission for him.
• The Commander explained that the Academy had learned the Withered Glory Society’s potion dragged people’s consciousnesses into an unknown world, where most victims lost their memories upon returning.
• The Commander asked Lu Yuan to travel to Watch City as a special consultant and help an Academy team resolve the investigation.
• Lu Yuan considered the offer, while the Commander hoped the mission would advance Lu Yuan’s Potion Studies and judged him capable of surviving danger based on the battle of Bronze City records.

Lu Yuan asked the Rock Grand Knight Commander why the Academy’s team in Watch City was stalled and what the mission required. After learning he was needed to preserve knowledge of the unknown world and trace the source of the Heretics’ potion ingredients, Lu Yuan’s doubts faded and he accepted that the risks were manageable.

• Lu Yuan asked the Rock Grand Knight Commander what difficulties the team in Watch City faced and what he needed to do.
• The Rock Grand Knight Commander explained that people who returned from the unknown world lost all memories of it, while Lu Yuan was the only known person to retain any.
• The Rock Grand Knight Commander asked Lu Yuan to investigate the source of the Heretics’ eerie potion ingredients, which the team had been unable to identify or trace.
• The Rock Grand Knight Commander considered Lu Yuan suitable because he could investigate inconspicuously, defend himself, and apply his knowledge and possible abilities.
• Lu Yuan’s doubts dissipated after he concluded that the mission’s risks would be manageable with his Sea of Knowledge and the team already in Watch City.

Lu Yuan accepted the Rock Grand Knight Commander's mission to investigate Watch City, gaining permission to leave the Knight Academy and a promise of a [Time Bestower]. Back at his cottage, he began learning how to refine Tide-Attracting Scent Balm from Oden.

• Lu Yuan decided the Watch City mission would help him investigate future enemies, explore the Sea of Knowledge, and obtain the Rock Grand Knight Commander's [Time Bestower].
• The Rock Grand Knight Commander gave Lu Yuan a dark-gold token to command Knight Academy personnel in Watch City and a dossier of leads, and told him to depart within two days.
• Oden said the Knight Academy's leaders likely suspected Lu Yuan's involvement in recent disturbances, while Lu Yuan replied that the mission suited them both.
• Lu Yuan asked how Oden could carry a weapon into the Land of the Dead Silence, and Oden explained that it was bound to his soul by his pathway.
• Lu Yuan laid out the three medicinal ingredients, and Oden taught him to refine them into Tide-Attracting Scent Balm using the Worm of Knowledge's aura and Lu Yuan's sanity.

Lu Yuan brewed Tide-Attracting Scent Balm with help from Oden and his Awakening Coat, using a colorful aura from the Worm of Knowledge. The balm was successful but carried a possible unusual effect in the Sea of Knowledge, and Lu Yuan left the brewing chamber with it after nightfall.

• Oden explained how Lu Yuan could use Tide-Attracting Scent Balm at the boundary of the Radiant Zone and Deep Zone to draw out ruins and special entities.
• Lu Yuan took the ingredients to a dedicated brewing chamber and prepared the balm with Oden's guidance and help from the Awakening Coat.
• Lu Yuan woke the Worm of Knowledge and asked it to provide a wisp of its aura, which turned out to be multicolored and surprised Oden.
• Lu Yuan blended the Worm of Knowledge's aura into the balm and received a system notice confirming the special product's success and warning of a possible unexpected reaction.
• Lu Yuan sealed the balm, cleaned the chamber, and left the brewing room as night fell and snow began to drift over the Knight Academy.

Lu Yuan spent his final days at the North Campus reflecting on his journey and speaking with Frey about her doubts, until the Academy's Deacon told him to leave early the next morning. The String Knight then arrived with a lifetime of potion-making notes to pass on before Lu Yuan departed.

• Lu Yuan gazed at the stars with Oden, who recalled that his own era had been different, but postponed explaining why.
• Lu Yuan completed his Guard training and spent the next few days following his usual routine between the inscription room and the Pharmacy Group.
• Frey told Lu Yuan she felt ordinary beside the Academy's geniuses and believed she had fallen behind him in potion studies.
• The Academy's Deacon informed Lu Yuan that he needed to prepare to leave early the next morning.
• The String Knight brought Lu Yuan a thick collection of notes documenting his potion methods, techniques, and knowledge of Northern Territory ingredients.

The String Knight gave Lu Yuan his potion notes and warned him to put his safety first during his field assignment. Frey gave Lu Yuan a rare potion called Kungu's Wish for his trip to the Northern Territory, and he left the Hanging Tower with both gifts.

• The String Knight handed Lu Yuan his notes and advised him to prioritize his safety on the mission.
• Frey learned Lu Yuan was leaving the Academy the next day and gave him a rare, adaptable potion called Kungu's Wish.
• Lu Yuan's gray-white text identified the potion as a diluted ancient alchemical product and questioned how humans could create it.
• Frey explained that the potion was scarce and required its rune-covered box to preserve its effects, and Lu Yuan accepted it.
• Frey urged Lu Yuan to be careful, and he reminded her to take care while brewing potions before leaving the Hanging Tower.

Lu Yuan prepared for his field assignment by packing his gear and accepting Gregory’s unstable Triple-Layer Blast Bombs. After drinking his second Diluted Version Dragon Blood Potion, he unlocked the Lesser Dragon Blood Shell passive skill.

• Lu Yuan found Gregory’s first batch of ten Triple-Layer Blast Bombs at his cottage and read the warning that their third explosion was unstable.
• Lu Yuan accepted the bombs and packed them with his potions, weapons, and other supplies for his field assignment.
• Lu Yuan drank his second Diluted Version Dragon Blood Potion after the first dose had been fully absorbed.
• Lu Yuan saw the Gray-White Text announce that he had gained the Lesser Dragon Blood Shell passive skill (1/3), which strengthened his body and granted some resistance to bodily damage.

After drinking a second bottle of Dragon Blood Potion, Lu Yuan gained a major physical boost without affecting his Pathway and considered how to use his strength as a hidden advantage. The Knight Academy's North Campus then began a full mobilization for external deployment, and Lu Yuan joined Blanca, Harvey, and Leon at the assembly.

• Lu Yuan confirmed that the Dragon Blood Potion had enhanced his body without changing his Pathway, bringing his raw strength close to that of an ordinary Third Order practitioner of eerie transcendence.
• Lu Yuan tested his improved physique and considered how it could serve as a concealed trump card when combined with the Time Bestower.
• At first light, the Knight Academy's North Campus issued a campus-wide mobilization order for external deployment.
• Lu Yuan joined the crowds assembling in the forecourt square and spotted Blanca, Harvey, Leon, and an unfamiliar, powerfully built young woman.
• Blanca waved to Lu Yuan and signaled for him to join their group.

Lu Yuan and his squad set out with the Knight Academy to help maintain order in the Northern Territory. As Blanca warned them about infiltration and danger, the convoy left the Academy’s protection and pushed into a fierce blizzard.

• Blanca introduced Karin as the squad’s fourth member before the Knight Academy began its deployment.
• Blanca warned Lu Yuan, Harvey, Leon, and Karin about the pressured Defense Line, displaced people, unsafe food and water, hostile borderlands, and heretic infiltration.
• Harvey gave the squad wooden tokens bearing his family’s secret night-owl mark, which could secure intelligence and assistance in Northern Territory cities.
• The convoy passed beyond the Academy’s great formation and continued down the mountain road through a blizzard, divided into three contingents under three Fourth Order knights.

An avalanche triggered by eerie formation patterns split the convoy and trapped the rear teams in a gorge, where mutated Snow-faced Wolves and high-danger Eerie attacked. The attendants cut down the wolves’ first charge, but Ice Skulls burst from the snow and launched a new assault.

• Oden sensed a disturbance beneath the snow as Lu Yuan’s convoy reached a crucial junction in the Northern Territory.
• Dark red formation patterns triggered an avalanche that blocked the road and separated the Stillwater Knight’s team from the Lantern Knight’s and Morning Bell Knight’s teams.
• A pack of mutated Snow-faced Wolves charged the stopped convoy, and attendants and logistics personnel killed the first wave with their sabers.
• The formation patterns flared again, spreading contamination as Ice Skulls erupted from the snow and attacked the carriages.
• An Ice Skull’s severed head tore free from its wounded body and flew toward an attendant to bite him.