Chapter Summaries

Leike tried to shield himself from the Crown of Ten Thousand Kings with endless Swarm Insects while Lu Yuan used the Sea of Knowledge to distract the newborn forbidden. After Oden awakened, he urged Lu Yuan to unleash the Person on the Wall, claiming only one forbidden could harm another.

• The Crown of Ten Thousand Kings suppressed Leike's Swarm Insects, so Leike tried to keep the power away from himself by surrounding his body with more insects.
• The newborn forbidden shifted its gaze toward Leike's swarm and spread its burning patterns toward the Inner City.
• Oden woke on Lu Yuan's left leg, saw the Crown, and realized Lu Yuan had touched two Authorities.
• Lu Yuan sent Worms of Knowledge and text-made weapons against the newborn forbidden to distract it and give Leike time to approach.
• Lu Yuan explained that the newborn forbidden had formed from the Crown and Flesh, and that the Person on the Wall was partly his ally.
• Oden told Lu Yuan to throw out the Person on the Wall's head, insisting that only another forbidden could hurt the newborn forbidden.

Lu Yuan used the Worms of Knowledge to hurl the Person on the Wall’s head at the newborn taboo, forcing the hidden power within the head to emerge. As the Person on the Wall resisted the taboo’s coronation, Oden urged Lu Yuan to seize the chance to advance in Forbidden Studies.

• Lu Yuan sent the Worms of Knowledge to carry him away from the Tower of Erudition and toward the Person on the Wall’s head.
• With Oden’s guidance, Lu Yuan used the Worms of Knowledge to scoop up the head and throw it at the newborn taboo.
• The Person on the Wall unleashed Gray Mist, revealing that its source consciousness remained intact and could fight despite lacking a body.
• The newborn taboo focused its nine eyes on the head and formed a flesh crown with an authority resembling coronation.
• The Person on the Wall resisted the coronation as an unknown aura began awakening, and Oden told Lu Yuan to use the moment to advance in Forbidden Studies.

Lu Yuan used his Authority to widen the Sea of Knowledge Rift while the Person on the Wall battled the newborn taboo, hoping to pull the taboos and the hidden Mist Traveler into the Sea of Knowledge. As the effort strained his control and Sanity, Leike reached the Tower of Erudition and the Forbidden Society prepared to take advantage of the chaos.

• The Person on the Wall resisted the newborn taboo’s Crown of Flesh, then used gray mist to fight its flesh and hold back its spreading domain.
• Lu Yuan widened the Sea of Knowledge Rift and used words to hinder the newborn taboo’s domain, while sensing an unprobeable area near the Outer City’s fleshy wall.
• The growing rift weakened Lu Yuan’s control over the Worms of Knowledge and threatened his Sanity, but Immortality kept his Sanity from falling.
• Leike rushed toward the Tower of Erudition as the Worms of Knowledge helped his Swarm Insects carve a path through the sea of blood.
• A figure on the Outer City’s fleshy wall told Great Ascendant that Lu Yuan’s actions offered the Forbidden Society an opportunity to advance its plan and unlock the first chain.

Lu Yuan used the Crown of Ten Thousand Kings to make Leike a new Taboo, bringing him to the threshold of the Sixth Order. With the Person on the Wall and the Newborn Taboo preparing to fight, Lu Yuan told Leike to stop them while he handled the rest.

• Leike arrived at the Tower of Erudition to retrieve Lu Yuan, who refused to leave him behind.
• Lu Yuan accepted the Crown of Ten Thousand Kings’ power and placed a smaller crown above Leike, granting him temporary Authority.
• Leike became a new Taboo, and the pressure of his aura caused the Tower of Erudition to collapse.
• The Person on the Wall revealed its full form as the Newborn Taboo turned its attention to Leike.
• Lu Yuan ordered Leike to stop the two Taboo beings and said he would handle the rest, as the Newborn Taboo attacked the thief who stole Authority.

Lu Yuan realized Newborn Taboo lacked the Authority he had taken from the Crown of Ten Thousand Kings, allowing Leike to resist its domain with the Authority Lu Yuan had bestowed on him. As Leike held the enemy back, Lu Yuan decided to move the Inner City into the Sea of Knowledge, despite Oden’s warning that the consequences could be worse than a Taboo’s arrival.

• Newborn Taboo turned its domain against Leike’s Sea of Worms, but Leike’s Authority let the Swarm Insects withstand the suppression and charge forward.
• Lu Yuan deduced that Newborn Taboo’s Authority was incomplete because he had taken a wisp from the Crown of Ten Thousand Kings.
• Oden praised Lu Yuan for bestowing Authority on Leike, then warned that prolonged exposure might change Leike’s body and erase his human identity or consciousness.
• Lu Yuan assessed that the Person on the Wall was immobilized without a body, while Leike was the only one able to hold Newborn Taboo back.
• Lu Yuan told Oden he would open the Sea of Knowledge and pull the Inner City out of the real world into it.
• Oden urged Lu Yuan to act but warned that letting the Sea of Knowledge flood into the real world might be worse than allowing a Taboo in.

As the Sea of Blood threatened to consume Bronze City, Lu Yuan focused on widening the Sea of Knowledge Rift while resisting contamination and the pull of the departing Worms of Knowledge. Newly transformed into a Taboo, Leike surveyed the city and its rival powers, judging which might pose a threat.

• Lu Yuan assessed the fading Crown of Ten Thousand Kings, his declining sanity, and the Worms of Knowledge leaving as the Sea of Knowledge Rift widened.
• Oden warned Lu Yuan to avoid the black-and-white patterns because entering another Taboo's domain would make him nourishment.
• Lu Yuan ignored watchers in the mist and at the Outer City wall, then concentrated on connecting to the Sea of Knowledge despite the world's suppressive force.
• Leike perceived the inner city and Outer City through the Swarm Insects and examined the Person on the Wall, the Newborn Taboo, and the quiet presence in the white mist.
• Leike spotted the Great Ascendant and another dangerous man at the giant wall, but believed the Ascension Society posed no threat unless it had betrayed the Empire.

Leike summoned the Swarm Insects across Bronze City and used their immortality to slow the Newborn Taboo’s expanding domain, even as it stripped away the insects’ Authority. Lu Yuan learned that Leike’s Sixth Order advancement was contaminated by his Authority and hurried to act before Leike became what he hated.

• Leike called the Swarm Insects from underground, and they flooded Bronze City and swarmed into the Sea of Blood.
• The insects gnawed through buried Flesh and upheaved Bronze Pillars as Leike controlled the growing Sea of Worms.
• Oden told Lu Yuan that Leike’s Sixth Order path had been contaminated by Lu Yuan’s Authority, prompting Lu Yuan to realize he needed to act quickly.
• The Newborn Taboo spread its black-and-white domain, stripping Authority from Swarm Insects and making them fall out of Leike’s control.
• Leike sent endless waves of immortal Swarm Insects into the domain, slowing its expansion while the Newborn Taboo devoured them.

Leike triggered the immortal authority that the Newborn Taboo had absorbed from the dying Swarm Insects, badly wounding it and drawing its attack toward Lu Yuan. As Lu Yuan struggled to open the Sea of Knowledge into the present world, the Newborn Taboo's authority continued to complete itself.

• The Newborn Taboo assimilated the buried flesh and absorbed strands of immortal golden authority from the dying Swarm Insects.
• Leike made the swallowed authority erupt from within the Newborn Taboo, cracking its body and shrinking its domain.
• The Newborn Taboo spotted Lu Yuan's Golden Crown and water droplet, then stripped away half its power and launched its domain toward him.
• Leike sent the Swarm Insects to block the attack, while the Person on the Wall struck the Newborn Taboo with gray mist.
• Lu Yuan focused on forcing open a rift between the Sea of Knowledge and the present world as black knowledge-words emerged and his Sanity fell.
• Oden warned Lu Yuan that the Newborn Taboo was completing its authority, and Lu Yuan kept struggling to widen the rift.

The City of Chains descended and fought the black-and-white domain as its chains seized the Crown of Flesh, while A.M. and the Great Ascendant sought to take the crown. Lu Yuan resisted a strange impulse to devour the battlefield and instead pulled the Sea of Knowledge toward reality, as the Person on the Wall’s ancient taboo abilities began to awaken.

• The City of Chains appeared above the battlefield, clashed with the black-and-white domain, and wrapped the Crown of Flesh in chains that burned the Newborn Taboo’s flesh and Leike’s Swarm Insects.
• A.M. told the Great Ascendant that they needed the crown, even if it had been contaminated or shattered, and the Great Ascendant agreed to follow him.
• Lu Yuan considered using the Sea of Knowledge to swallow the City of Chains and the Newborn Taboo, but realized the urge might be influencing him and forced it down.
• Lu Yuan plunged his consciousness into the Sea of Knowledge and tore open its connection to reality, drawing a growing flood of text toward himself.
• Leike, the Person on the Wall, and A.M. noticed Lu Yuan’s strengthening aura, while the Person on the Wall’s ancient taboo abilities awakened as his spirit body endured the clash of domains.

Lu Yuan pushed the Sea of Knowledge Rift toward opening as the Newborn Taboo, under attack from several sides, began summoning another power. With the barrier nearly broken and no way to retreat, Lu Yuan prepared to risk flooding the Inner City into the Sea of Knowledge.

• The Person on the Wall warned Lu Yuan to stop expanding the Sea of Knowledge Rift, but Lu Yuan continued to protect the city by bringing the Sea closer to the real world.
• The City of Chains and the Gray Mist fought over the Crown of Ten Thousand Kings while the Newborn Taboo realized its weakness had left it vulnerable to everyone on the battlefield.
• The Newborn Taboo redirected the Flesh's roots to unleash the green power within it and summon another world, alarming Leike and Oden.
• Oden warned Lu Yuan that the summoning could destroy the surrounding area, while Lu Yuan realized the Sea of Knowledge Rift was too far open to close.
• Lu Yuan asked Oden for the Person on the Wall's name so he could borrow his Authority, but Oden said the name could not be spoken.
• Lu Yuan gathered his Authority and battered the last barrier between the real world and the Sea of Knowledge until a crack appeared.

Lu Yuan summoned the Sea of Knowledge into reality, washing away the Flesh and overwhelming the Authorities, but the flood of knowledge broke his consciousness. As Oden took control of Lu Yuan's body and tried to carry him away, the Golden Crown faded and Leike saw the pollution worsen.

• Lu Yuan opened a rift that let the Sea of Knowledge flood into reality, dissolving the Flesh and damaging the City of Chains, the Person on the Wall, and the Newborn Taboo.
• A.M. and the Great Ascendant reacted with shock as the rift widened, while the Worms of Knowledge began abandoning Lu Yuan and his sanity plummeted.
• The Sea of Knowledge overwhelmed Lu Yuan with knowledge, leaving his body convulsing while his consciousness wandered through a seemingly endless dark space.
• Oden realized Lu Yuan was out of control, flipped his body upside down, and used his power to direct the Worms of Knowledge to carry Lu Yuan toward the edge of the Inner City.
• Leike cleared a path with the Swarm Insects as Lu Yuan was dragged east, but the Golden Crown nearly turned transparent and the pollution mark on the Authority grew.

Lu Yuan returned from the pitch-black space after the Mist Traveler restored his memories, then saw the Sea of Knowledge pouring into Bronze City as the battle over the Crown continued. As the Newborn Taboo endured the torrent and grew toward completion, Lu Yuan noticed black Fragments rising among the colored words.

• The Mist Traveler revealed that it had erased Lu Yuan's companions' memories when they first met, then helped Lu Yuan escape the pitch-black space before disappearing into the rain.
• Lu Yuan regained consciousness while Oden held him upside down near the wall of Flesh, and they saw the Sea of Knowledge spilling into the Inner City.
• The Newborn Taboo's cries summoned something in the void as chains dragged the Crown toward the City of Chains, while gray mist clung to the chains.
• Lu Yuan's sea mouth opened fully, tilting the Inner City and altering the sound of the world as the Sea of Knowledge poured through a rift overhead.
• Lu Yuan spotted black Fragments rising through the colored torrent, while the Newborn Taboo survived the deluge and continued growing toward completion.

Lu Yuan witnessed the Sea of Knowledge clash with the forest roots summoned by the Newborn Taboo, disrupting the battle over the Crown of Ten Thousand Kings. As the three factions reached an uneasy balance, the City of Chains grew more solid and began summoning new chains, signaling that the force behind the Forbidden Society was trying to emerge.

• The Newborn Taboo transformed as green roots spread across the Crown of Ten Thousand Kings and its cries summoned something from the void.
• Lu Yuan maintained the rift to the Sea of Knowledge as colossal roots descended from a silent rift and Oden warned that ■■ had been summoned.
• The Sea of Knowledge attacked the roots with a wave of black text, and their collision erased vast stretches of the Inner City ruins and the flesh-filled sky.
• The roots blocked much of the Sea of Knowledge from entering reality, allowing the City of Chains and the Person on the Wall to recover and creating an uneasy balance among the three sides.
• The City of Chains grew nearly solid above the Bronze City and sent out rusted chains wreathed in ghostly green flames as the force behind the Forbidden Society sought to emerge.

Lu Yuan watched the Person on the Wall emerge from Gray Mist as the City of Chains and Sea of Knowledge continued to press the Newborn Taboo. The Person on the Wall’s aura overwhelmed the battlefield, and the Newborn Taboo faced three stronger opponents as the mural drew closer.

• Oden told Lu Yuan that A.M. and the Great Ascendant were anchoring the City of Chains, but Lu Yuan chose not to attack them.
• A.M. struggled to strengthen his connection to the existence behind the City of Chains while the Great Ascendant endured the strain.
• Gray Mist gathered across the battlefield and formed an ancient mural, from which the faceless Person on the Wall stepped out.
• The Person on the Wall’s aura spread across the battlefield, freezing the Great Ascendant and weakening A.M. while the Sea of Knowledge vanished upon touching him.
• The Newborn Taboo remained trapped between the green world absorbing it, the Sea of Knowledge eroding it, and the chains and mural closing in.

The Newborn Taboo shattered the Crown of Ten Thousand Kings, breaking the borrowed Authority protecting Lu Yuan and Leike as the battle in Bronze City escalated. Leike neared the point of becoming part of the Swarm Insects, and the Sea of Knowledge finally collided with the verdant world.

• The Newborn Taboo shattered the Crown of Ten Thousand Kings, and Starry Sky Flesh absorbed its fragments while the City of Chains pulled golden light into the darkness.
• The Person on the Wall withdrew with the mural and Gray Mist after his plan to claim the Crown failed.
• Lu Yuan's borrowed Golden Crown shattered, followed moments later by Leike's, and the unprotected Swarm Insects began dying in vast numbers.
• Leike grew exhausted as his consciousness blurred, and Oden warned Lu Yuan that Leike was about to merge with the Swarm Insects.
• The Sea of Knowledge and the verdant world crashed together with the full force of their Authorities.

Lu Yuan struggled to close the Sea of Knowledge rift as black words tried to force it open, and he finally sealed it, swallowing the Newborn Taboo and the green world beyond. Though the battlefield quieted and AM and the Great Ascendant departed, Lu Yuan's flashing Forbidden Studies—Scholar status suggested the crisis was not over.

• The Newborn Taboo completed its transformation into a being made entirely of branches as the worlds collided and the inner city was devastated.
• Lu Yuan used the Authority to direct the Sea of Knowledge's torrent toward the Newborn Taboo and protect Leike's Swarm Insects, but the black words began widening the rift against his will.
• Lu Yuan fought the black words for control of the rift while Oden urged him to close it and a forest became visible beyond the opening.
• The Sea of Knowledge's remaining colors attacked the black words, and Lu Yuan forced the rift shut, pulling the Newborn Taboo and the green world back into the sea.
• Lu Yuan nearly collapsed as the city wall phantom cracked, while AM and the Great Ascendant departed and the Forbidden Studies—Scholar status continued flashing without settling.

Lu Yuan traveled through the ruined city to reach Leike, struggling with depleted sanity and glimpsing an intact Bronze City and a watcher in the sky. He found the Night Watcher branch protected by Leike’s expanding Hope, but Gray-White Text revealed that Leike had lost his Authority and suffered severe bodily damage.

• Lu Yuan rode the exhausted Worms of Knowledge toward the Outer City while Oden explained that low sanity could let people perceive things they normally could not.
• Lu Yuan saw a vision of an intact Bronze City, heard someone crying, and glimpsed a motionless black shadow in the sky before the ruins returned to view.
• Lu Yuan spotted a golden Protective Barrier of Hope surrounding the Night Watcher branch, where Swarm Insects opened a path for him.
• Lu Yuan found Klaus, Blue Knight, and the Attendant beneath the golden light, then saw Leike in the form of a giant insect.
• Gray-White Text identified Leike as human with his Authority stripped and his body severely damaged, leaving Lu Yuan uncertain how Leike would face his transformation.

Lu Yuan examined Leike and found a way to save him by fusing him with Hope, though the treatment would permanently cost Leike his human identity. Lu Yuan and Klaus prepared to carry Leike to the logistics area, where Hope had grown through the roof.

• Night Watcher Doctors tried to keep Leike alive with medicinal liquids, but his body showed no reaction.
• Lu Yuan told Klaus that Leike had blocked the Taboo for him and paid a heavy price after borrowing power from certain existences.
• Lu Yuan used Deep Study and found three treatment plans, choosing to fuse Leike with Hope despite the cost of permanently relinquishing his human identity.
• Lu Yuan saw that Hope had grown through the logistics area's roof and told Klaus to bring Leike there.
• Klaus and more than a dozen Night Watchers lifted Leike in a rope net and carried him toward the logistics area.

Lu Yuan used Hope’s roots to fuse with Leike’s core, bringing Leike’s status to a stable state. Bronze City’s state reached its limit, and Lu Yuan gained the passive Nonexistent Fate, leaving him beyond prophecy and the tally of fate.

• Lu Yuan saw how much Hope had grown and found that its golden light healed his injuries and eased his afflictions.
• Lu Yuan placed Leike beneath Hope and told Klaus that saving him might prevent Hope from helping others advance.
• Klaus said he would leave his post to pursue his own path once Bronze City stabilized, and Lu Yuan agreed.
• Lu Yuan guided Hope’s roots to Leike’s core, beginning their fusion and stabilizing Leike’s condition.
• Bronze City reached 51/51, and Lu Yuan gained Nonexistent Fate, which stripped away his destiny.

Lu Yuan reviewed the gains from Bronze City's survival and rested after helping save Leike. At dawn, residents emerged from the underground shelter to face the devastated city while Klaus and the others organized relief.

• Lu Yuan saw that the Auris Empire's state limit had risen and that his Sanity and various skills had improved after the battle.
• Lu Yuan confirmed that Hope was merging with Leike and told Klaus to let Leike recover undisturbed.
• Lu Yuan went to sleep, then woke at dawn to find Night Watchers escorting Bronze City's shelter residents outside.
• The residents grieved over their losses as Klaus, Boer, Dunn, and others helped settle them beneath temporary shelters.
• Lu Yuan asked Klaus whether they had enough people for reconstruction.