Chapter Summaries

Oden taught Lu Yuan how to make a Heart-Scraping Lamp and explained the risks and techniques involved. Lu Yuan prepared the Copper Crystal Ore and powders, then began the crafting process.

• Oden explained how to make a Heart-Scraping Lamp, warning that the Heart-Scraping Ghost's consciousness had to be removed and the Copper Crystal Ore's elements preserved.
• Lu Yuan accepted Oden's advice and began preparing the materials, grateful for the guidance but worried about his lack of money.
• Lu Yuan selected the Copper Crystal Ore with three clusters and chiseled away two, leaving the smallest cluster intact on its undamaged stone base.
• Lu Yuan shaped the stone base into a polished diamond-shaped platform beneath the Copper Crystal Ore.
• Lu Yuan dispelled the resentment in the Heart-Scraping Ghost Core, crushed it into pale blue powder, and mixed it with Glow Moss Spore Powder.

Lu Yuan used the Worm of Knowledge’s perception and Oden’s Pattern Setting technique to craft a Heart-Scraping Lamp from Copper Crystal Ore and Heart-Scraping Ghost materials. The finished lamp was recognized as a perfect Eerie Inscription Item, and Lu Yuan gained progress in Eerie Inscription Studies II.

• Lu Yuan mixed Heart-Scraping Ghost Core Powder with Glow Moss Spore Powder and used the Worm of Knowledge to see the elements inside the Copper Crystal Ore.
• Lu Yuan pierced the ore with a coated Copper Needle, connecting its elemental divisions while sealing the holes with powder.
• Lu Yuan used the Sea of Knowledge to erase the lingering consciousness and aura from the Heart-Scraping Ghost Eyes.
• Lu Yuan carved the glowing Inscription, made two grooves in the ore, and secured the Heart-Scraping Ghost Eyes in place.
• Lu Yuan completed the Inscription, creating a perfect Heart-Scraping Lamp and gaining progress in Eerie Inscription Studies II.

Lu Yuan completed a perfect Heart-Scraping Lamp during the Intermediate Inscription Certification and joined the other examinees to display their creations for evaluation. The String Knight began inspecting the works, while Lu Yuan discovered that a colorful gemstone ring could grant seven different blessings.

• Lu Yuan finished crafting a perfect Heart-Scraping Lamp and left the remaining materials untouched to comply with the certification rules.
• The certification ended, and the Worm of Knowledge withdrew beneath Authority after Lu Yuan promised it a Consciousness Crystal.
• Colin and Marta assembled a central display table, and the examinees placed their creations on it for judging.
• Lu Yuan examined the creations, noticed that one small colorful ring used carefully refined gemstones, and admired its maker's technique.
• Several examinees gathered around Lu Yuan's Heart-Scraping Lamp, which stood out for its colorful inscriptions and embedded Heart-Scraping Ghost Eyes.
• Lu Yuan tried on the colorful ring and sensed that it could provide seven different blessings, including healing and acceleration.

Lu Yuan watched an intermediate Inscription Studies certification go awry when someone activated his Heart-Scraping Lamp and Gregory’s explosive Inscription Sphere. The String Knight contained the damage, and the evaluation finally began after the room was wrecked.

• Someone injected sanity into Lu Yuan’s Heart-Scraping Lamp, creating a golden Heart-Scraping Ghost that cut everyone except its holder before the String Knight sealed it with his lute.
• Oden examined the candidates’ work and identified Gregory’s Inscription Sphere as an explosive device whose inscriptions were activating.
• Lu Yuan used Time Bestower to hurl the glowing sphere away, and it exploded, wrecking the certification room.
• The String Knight shielded the group from flying debris, scolded Gregory, and struck him twice with his lute.
• Gregory retrieved the blackened sphere and said it could be used again if no one injected sanity into it.
• The candidates settled down, and the intermediate Inscription Studies evaluation began.

The String Knight evaluated the candidates’ inscription tools, passing several while rejecting others for poor completion. Gregory explained the layered design of his compact bomb, leaving the String Knight considering its potential as a weapon against powerful Transcendents.

• A girl demonstrated a consumable finger guard made from an Eerie spine, and the String Knight passed her for intermediate Inscription Studies certification.
• The String Knight rejected a pair of ornaments with poorly controlled wind effects, then passed a nobleman’s colorful ring for its modest blessings and refined craftsmanship.
• Several candidates failed because their tools were ordinary or incomplete, including one whose inscriptions could not accept sanity.
• Gregory presented a tiny bomb with nested inscription layers and explained how it could trigger a delayed second explosion after the first.
• The String Knight considered how Gregory’s double explosion could bypass defenses and create opportunities for sneak attacks against powerful enemies.

Lu Yuan passed the Intermediate Inscription Certification with his Heart-Scraping Lamp, joining three other successful candidates. He headed to Abundance Tower to take missions and earn Knight Tokens, while Oden offered to help him prepare Eerie Inscription Arrays for a future organization.

• The String Knight approved Gregory’s two-stage detonation grenade after Gregory explained how it could be mass-produced, and Gregory passed the certification.
• Lu Yuan presented the Heart-Scraping Lamp, explained how it affected creatures caught in its light, and demonstrated that its holder was protected from its effect.
• The String Knight approved Lu Yuan’s lamp, and Lu Yuan received the inscription knight seal on his badge, passing the Intermediate Inscription Certification.
• Lu Yuan learned that four of the eight candidates had passed, then slipped away from the crowd and headed to Abundance Tower’s Bounty District to seek missions with his remaining nine Knight Tokens.
• Oden advised Lu Yuan to prepare protective Eerie Inscription Arrays for a future organization and offered to provide techniques and patterns to help him begin.

Lu Yuan and Oden discussed plans to support Lu Yuan’s organization, including a way to bring people safely into the Sea of Knowledge and the need to make a Dragon Blood Potion. Lu Yuan revealed his plan to research a Pathway Rampage Suppressant Potion, leaving Oden stunned by Lu Yuan’s ability to tailor potion formulas to each person’s condition.

• Oden proposed using Lu Yuan’s connection to the Sea of Knowledge to create a reward that would tempt Knowledge Transcendents to enter it, and Lu Yuan agreed to investigate how to ensure they could return safely.
• Oden urged Lu Yuan to advance his Potion Studies and Inscription Studies and prioritize making a Dragon Blood Potion to strengthen his body.
• Lu Yuan noticed that his Forbidden Studies had increased and suspected the Sea of Knowledge was still digesting the Taboo it had swallowed.
• Lu Yuan named the Dragon Blood Potion, safe passage into the Sea of Knowledge, and research into a Pathway Rampage Suppressant Potion as his priorities.
• Oden warned that a universal Pathway Stabilizing Potion would make Lu Yuan a target for every Empire, and Lu Yuan explained that his Forbidden Studies let him see Eerie residual aura and tailor potion formulas to individual conditions.

Lu Yuan recognized that his ability to tailor solutions to individual Pathways might eventually lead to stabilizing potions, while Oden agreed to help him pursue the possibility. Focused on preparing for coming danger and earning Knight Tokens, Lu Yuan accepted a rare potion-production mission and Oden found him a vague Ancient Inscription research mission.

• Lu Yuan considered developing Pathway-specific stabilizing potions, and Oden offered to help if Lu Yuan continued making progress.
• Lu Yuan resolved to improve his Pharmacology and Eerie Inscription Studies, attend his classes, and find a way to raise his Sanity IV.
• Lu Yuan told Oden about his sense of impending danger, and Oden urged him to gather Dragon Blood Potion ingredients and earn Knight Tokens.
• At Abundance Tower, Lu Yuan saw that the Knight Academy was stockpiling ordinary potions and accepted a mission for ten people with Intermediate Pharmacology Certification to assist with potion production.
• Oden helped Lu Yuan locate another mission seeking people with Intermediate Inscription Studies Certification for Ancient Inscription research.

Lu Yuan and Oden examined Knight Academy tasks and purchase orders, leading Oden to conclude that widespread heretic contamination was underway. Lu Yuan focused on earning Knight Tokens and preparing to grow stronger, then presented two intermediate certifications at the task desk.

• Lu Yuan accepted two tasks after Oden explained why the ancient-inscription task suited him and its Knight Token reward could be negotiated.
• Oden noticed rising requests for holy light vines and purity grass and warned Lu Yuan that the materials suggested many people had been contaminated by heretics.
• Oden explained that holy light vines could reverse heretic contamination and inferred that the Knight Academy was receiving supplies for students from great families.
• Lu Yuan and Oden saw rising demand for gegge grass as another sign that conditions outside were worsening, so Lu Yuan resolved to obtain Knight Tokens and make the Dragon Blood Potion.
• Lu Yuan handed two task slips to the senior student at the front desk, who was surprised to see that both required intermediate certifications.

Lu Yuan took an assignment requiring Intermediate Pharmacology and Inscription Studies certifications and traveled to Knight Academy’s remote Hanging Tower. There, Oden sensed a growing heretic aura that Gray-White Text had not initially detected, and Lu Yuan followed the marked path into a busy hall.

• Lu Yuan showed his two Intermediate Certification marks at the Bounty District and received an address for the assignment at the Hanging Tower.
• A senior warned Lu Yuan that assignments had increased because things outside the academy had become unsettled.
• Lu Yuan reached the guarded Hanging Tower, showed his badge and assignment slip, and entered after the guards directed him onward.
• Oden detected a faint heretic aura inside the Hanging Tower, then warned Lu Yuan that it was growing denser and changing.
• Gray-White Text appeared after Oden’s warning, and Lu Yuan realized the text had limits of range as well as visibility.
• Lu Yuan followed a white line through the crowded interior, where most people wore Beginner Potion Studies certification marks, and arrived at a hall.

Lu Yuan arrived at the Knight Academy to take on assignments, where Lia warned him that they involved Heretics with twisted Pathways and severe Contamination. Despite the risks, he chose to proceed and followed a senior toward the knight in charge for a briefing.

• Lu Yuan presented his assignment slip and badge at the counter, and a senior student recognized his two intermediate certifications and offered to guide him.
• Lia noticed Lu Yuan's assignments and pulled him aside to warn that they involved Heretics, injured patients, and contaminated potions from the Northern Territory.
• Lia explained that the Knight Academy had found no effective way to address the Contamination and urged Lu Yuan to stay away from the Heretics and be careful.
• Lu Yuan thanked Lia and decided to continue with the assignment, believing his Deep Study, Forbidden Studies, and Sea of Knowledge would help him manage the danger.
• Lia left to take part in a confidential Academy plan, and the senior led Lu Yuan through an arched passageway to meet the knight in charge.

Lu Yuan met the Lantern Knight and agreed to help reverse-engineer a heretical potion and develop an antidote, despite the risk of mental Contamination. He signed a binding secrecy contract and prepared to begin the mission for Knight Tokens.

• Lu Yuan entered the Potion Area and waited for the Lantern Knight, who asked whether he had passed the Intermediate Pharmacology Certification.
• The Lantern Knight explained that heretics in the Northern Territory were spreading a potion that Contaminated people’s Pathways and asked Lu Yuan to help identify its ingredients and create an antidote.
• Lu Yuan questioned the dangers of Contamination, and the Lantern Knight warned that it could spread mentally even with protective measures in place.
• Oden reassured Lu Yuan that his Forbidden Studies and Sea of Knowledge could help protect him, while cautioning him to remain careful.
• The Lantern Knight offered Lu Yuan Knight Tokens for attending and making progress, and Lu Yuan agreed to join the mission.
• Lu Yuan read and signed a secrecy contract covering the mission and the heretic potion research.

Lu Yuan agreed to join a dangerous research task deciphering a heretical sacrificial ritual, despite the Lantern Knight’s warnings, and met the Fifth Order Grand Knight Commander overseeing it. Rock recognized Lu Yuan through his Time Bestower ability and asked about his interest in it, leaving Lu Yuan to say he believed it had a deeper state.

• Lu Yuan showed the Lantern Knight his Intermediate Inscription Studies certification and asked to join the related task.
• The Lantern Knight warned Lu Yuan that deciphering the heretical ritual was far more dangerous than the Potion Studies task, but Lu Yuan insisted on participating.
• The Lantern Knight contacted the Grand Knight Commander in charge, while Oden warned Lu Yuan that the task might involve an enormous and bizarre formation.
• Rock entered the rest area and introduced himself as Rock Grand Knight Commander.
• Rock recognized Lu Yuan as the bearer of Time Bestower and asked whether he was interested in the ability’s deeper state.

Lu Yuan and the Rock Grand Knight Commander discovered that their Time Bestowers had different effects and tested each other’s abilities. The chapter left Lu Yuan slowed by the Rock Grand Knight Commander’s power as he asked him to turn it off.

• Lu Yuan explained that he had sensed a deeper state in the Time Bestower, and the Rock Grand Knight Commander asked how often he used it.
• The Rock Grand Knight Commander revealed that his Time Bestower slowed opponents, while Lu Yuan’s accelerated its target.
• The Rock Grand Knight Commander tried Lu Yuan’s acceleration and gained a forty-percent boost, while Lu Yuan quickly stopped the test because it drained his sanity.
• Lu Yuan and the Rock Grand Knight Commander described their other skills, and Lu Yuan concealed that his Time Bestower had a third skill.
• The Rock Grand Knight Commander used his slowdown on Lu Yuan, who struggled to speak and asked him to turn it off.

Lu Yuan examined the differences between his fused Time Bestower and the Rock Grand Knight Commander’s unchanged one, while learning that the Commander had begun advancing toward the Sixth Order. Gray-White Text revealed that the Commander’s Time Bestower was a damaged, dead shell with two abilities.

• The Rock Grand Knight Commander questioned where Lu Yuan’s Time Bestower was, and Lu Yuan showed him the watch fused to his chest.
• The Rock Grand Knight Commander checked Lu Yuan with a Holy Light Stone and confirmed he was not contaminated.
• The Rock Grand Knight Commander explained that his Time Bestower had never changed after he redeemed it from the Night Watcher Headquarters.
• Lu Yuan saw Gray-White Text identify the Rock Grand Knight Commander as a powerhouse who had touched the threshold of the Sixth Order.
• The Rock Grand Knight Commander handed Lu Yuan his Time Bestower, and Gray-White Text revealed it was damaged and could no longer be resurrected.

Lu Yuan's Time Bestower awakened a faint consciousness inside his chest and instinctively tried to devour Rock Grand Knight Commander's Pocket Watch. Oden warned Lu Yuan that the remnant could be a dangerous threat, leaving them to face the possibility that the weapon was developing its own will.

• Lu Yuan's Time Bestower stirred inside his chest and sent him an urgent desire to eat Rock Grand Knight Commander's Pocket Watch.
• Oden sensed the new consciousness and moved to protect Lu Yuan, discovering that the Time Bestower had fused completely with Lu Yuan's body.
• Oden concluded that a third consciousness had emerged inside Lu Yuan and feared it might try to take over his body.
• Lu Yuan told Oden that the Time Bestower was made from a Time-Reversing Worm remnant and had awakened after consuming too much Sanity.
• Oden warned Lu Yuan not to approach the remnant's consciousness, explaining how dangerous an entity that could revive from fragments might be.
• Lu Yuan realized that the Time Bestower's apparent growth might have been its gradual awakening and assumption of control over itself.

Lu Yuan sensed that the consciousness inside his Time Bestower was drawn to the Rock Grand Knight Commander's, so he withdrew into his Pathway while Oden prepared defenses around the presence in Lu Yuan's chest. Lu Yuan concealed Oden's activity by telling the Rock Grand Knight Commander that the two Time Bestowers had shown an instinctive attraction, leaving the commander skeptical but unable to detect anything unusual.

• Lu Yuan followed Oden's warning and pulled his consciousness back into the Pathway, then tossed the Rock Grand Knight Commander's Pocket Watch away.
• Oden approached the Time Bestower in Lu Yuan's chest and inscribed Eerie characters into his Flesh to build protective barriers.
• Oden considered that the new consciousness might be connected to a Taboo or Immortality, and cautiously searched for ways to defend Lu Yuan.
• Lu Yuan returned to his body and told the Rock Grand Knight Commander that contact between their Time Bestowers had caused an instinctive attraction.
• The Rock Grand Knight Commander questioned Lu Yuan's explanation and found no sign of consciousness or attraction in his own Time Bestower.

Lu Yuan’s Time Bestower revealed a newly awakened consciousness that reacted eagerly to Rock Grand Knight Commander’s watch but posed no immediate danger. After deciding not to disturb it, Lu Yuan accepted the dangerous Eerie Inscription Studies mission, hoping to gain experience and learn what the northern heretics worshipped.

• Rock Grand Knight Commander brought his Time Bestower close to Lu Yuan, causing the tentacles on Lu Yuan’s watch to stir excitedly.
• Oden examined the watch’s weak consciousness, confirmed it was no threat to Lu Yuan, and chose not to drive it out.
• Rock Grand Knight Commander questioned why Lu Yuan’s standard-issue Time Bestower behaved differently and seemed eager to consume his own.
• Rock Grand Knight Commander warned Lu Yuan that the mission involved a highly contaminated sacrificial formation and an entity at least Fifth Order.
• Lu Yuan agreed to join the mission so he could study Eerie Inscriptions, investigate the northern heretics, and pursue experience, while keeping open the option to flee if danger became overwhelming.

Lu Yuan signed a strict confidentiality contract and followed Rock Grand Knight Commander deep beneath Hanging Tower to inspect the Eerie Inscription. They arrived at an underground room where researchers studied the surviving half of the inscription, surrounded by towering piles of books.

• Lu Yuan accepted that his fate was in his own hands, and Rock Grand Knight Commander agreed to proceed with the mission.
• Lu Yuan read the contract, confirmed with Oden that it had no hidden clauses, and signed it.
• Rock Grand Knight Commander guided Lu Yuan through Hanging Tower’s underground passages and down in a mechanical lift.
• Lu Yuan saw a vast underground hall that Rock Grand Knight Commander said had been left by earlier generations and later reinforced.
• Rock Grand Knight Commander brought Lu Yuan to the Eerie Inscription, where researchers studied its surviving half beside stacks of books.

Lu Yuan agreed to search dangerous heretical books for inscriptions matching the interrupted ritual and followed the Rock Grand Knight Commander to see the Knight Academy’s containment facilities. The chapter ended with a captured heretic still defying his interrogators through his unwavering faith in the Holy Sovereign.

• The Rock Grand Knight Commander tasked Lu Yuan with finding books that matched the remaining ritual inscriptions and warned him not to attempt deciphering them.
• Oden warned Lu Yuan that heretical books could contaminate readers, recounting how a friend had been turned and sacrificed, but promised to help him stay safe.
• The Rock Grand Knight Commander took Lu Yuan to the holding area to show him contaminated people and captured heretics.
• Lu Yuan saw a severely wounded prisoner bound in an inscription-covered hall, muttering that the Holy Sovereign would grant him power.
• The interrogators told the Rock Grand Knight Commander that their efforts were failing because the prisoner’s faith was too deeply rooted to break easily.