Chapter Summaries

The Investigation Bureau struggled to understand Sophia’s escalating “I Declare” punishments as agents suffered a string of accidents linked to those who had detained her. After negotiating limited access for her lawyers, the Bureau ended the chapter terrified that even its precautions could not protect its staff.

• The Investigation Bureau learned that Xilai had suffered irreversible brain damage, William was in a vegetative state, and the female agent was gradually recovering, while two other agents had awakened unharmed.
• Sophia’s lawyers negotiated permission to meet her and review surveillance footage, while the Bureau extended her investigation to seventy-two hours.
• Four agents who had helped bring Sophia in suffered separate accidents, and the Bureau connected the incidents to her warning that she would not spare them.
• An agent driving his children to school crashed after his brakes failed, leaving him with internal bleeding and his children with minor injuries.
• The agents who had restrained Sophia stayed overnight at the Bureau, but a chandelier fell and struck one of them as he slept.

After the Investigation Bureau’s punishments ended, Sophia was released and began traveling home, but a sniper attacked her in a parking lot. Sophia used her power to destroy the sniper before he could fire again.

• The Investigation Bureau questioned Sophia and tried to persuade her to undo the punishments, but she refused and demanded authentic Xia Nation chicken for breakfast.
• Macbeth let Sophia leave the next morning, and after receiving a message from Boss Feng, she insisted that the Investigation Bureau send her home in an armored car.
• Sophia stopped at a hotel to shower, change, and eat before continuing her journey with Pony and the Investigation Bureau agents.
• A sniper fired at Sophia in the parking lot, and Pony tried to shield her as the agents took cover.
• Sophia shouted "Destruction!" toward the sniper’s position, and the sniper’s head exploded.

Sophia confronted the Investigation Bureau after Feng Jun killed the sniper and his two accomplices, then refused to leave until she knew the Bureau had not arranged the attack. Macbeth arrived to investigate, and the chapter revealed the Bureau knew an associate of Patrice had hired the gunman; Sophia was still waiting for an answer about whether they had planned to warn her.

• Feng Jun killed the sniper, the lookout, and the intelligence officer, while Sophia told the Investigation Bureau agents that all three attackers were dead.
• Sophia refused to leave with the agents unless she could be sure the Investigation Bureau had not been involved in the shooting.
• The Investigation Bureau found the bodies, and Macbeth told Sophia to remain overnight while they checked their identities and circumstances.
• Sophia accused Macbeth of knowing more than he admitted and pointed out that he was Karl Black.
• Feng Jun determined that the Bureau knew an associate of Patrice had hired the gunman and had monitored the plot, leaving the question of whether they should warn Sophia unresolved.

After learning that the Investigation Bureau had knowingly left her exposed to an assassination attempt, Sophia confronted Macbeth while Feng Jun secretly retaliated against those involved. The next morning, Macbeth tried to steer her away from Yue City, where Patrice lived, but Sophia remained intent on going there.

• Feng Jun overheard the Investigation Bureau decide not to warn Sophia and later arranged for its agents to escort her, while secretly protecting her from the sniper.
• Sophia accused Macbeth of concealing information about the assassination attempt, and he defended the Bureau while urging her to consider cooperation.
• Feng Jun discovered that Harvey and Juan had arranged the attack, killed them, and learned that Patrice had knowingly encouraged Harvey without giving explicit orders.
• Macbeth met Sophia at breakfast and urged her to return home, but she said she planned to visit Yue City.
• Macbeth revealed that the sniper had been identified, then suggested Sophia visit Bass instead; Sophia considered his suggestion, leaving Macbeth worried he had made a mistake.

Sophia escaped Mairui Country after Macbeth pressured customs to let her leave, despite resistance from Church supporters. Once she was aboard the flight to Bass, a military official demanded that Macbeth bring her back because of the valuable metal she had obtained, but he refused to turn the plane around.

• Sophia threatened to fly to Yue City unless Macbeth helped her pass customs, prompting him to force customs officials to process her departure.
• At the twenty-seventh minute, Sophia passed customs and told Feng Jun that leaving Mairui Country was her priority.
• Sophia boarded her flight to Bass after Feng Jun warned her that she could still be stopped or deported.
• Two hours after takeoff, a military official berated Macbeth for letting Sophia leave and demanded that she return.
• Macbeth refused to turn the plane around and suggested that the authorities contact Bass to deport Sophia after she landed.

Sophia traveled from Bass to the Leo Kingdom with Feng Jun and Avril to find land for a Daoist Temple. Feng Jun used the alias Shi Jie and gathered influential local Xia people to help them, but kept the land’s true purpose vague.

• Feng Jun advised Sophia to spend two days in Bass before transferring to Brui Country, where she reunited with Avril.
• Sophia and Avril flew to the Leo Kingdom, where Feng Jun appeared in disguise and Sophia openly greeted him.
• Feng Jun asked Yang Yuxin, Red Sister, and Yu Qingzhu to connect him with influential contacts in the Leo Kingdom.
• Several local groups arrived at the hotel to welcome Shi Jie, and Feng Jun asked them to find a secluded plot of three to five hundred mu for an ancestral hall-like project.
• Fourth Master Lin questioned Feng Jun’s explanation, while Avril told Sophia that she had struck it lucky.

Feng Jun and Sophia searched for land in the Leo Kingdom to build a Daoist temple, and the plan raised questions among their local contacts. They inspected a large wooded plot near Neil and decided it was a promising choice if they found nothing better.

• Feng Jun revealed that Shi Jie was an alias, then joined President Wang, Director Tang, and Fourth Master Lin as they searched for suitable land.
• Director Tang learned that the foreign women wanted to build a Daoist temple, and Feng Jun asked the three contacts to keep the plan secret.
• Fourth Master Lin connected the temple to the rumors about Cancer treatment and recommended a five-square-kilometer plot near Neil with strong feng shui.
• Sophia revealed that she understood Xia language and suggested they travel to the plot that evening, despite the nearby town having two churches.
• Feng Jun and Sophia inspected the wooded hill near Neil, judged its Earth Vein strong, and decided it could work if they found no better site.

Feng Jun and Sophia chose a site in Alansmu for a Daoist temple, and Sophia secured the land with Avril as a small shareholder. As road construction and Feng Jun’s work to draw in the Earth Vein began, constables arrived looking for Shi Jie, but Avril and the others challenged their attempted search and ordered them to leave.

• Feng Jun approved the Alansmu site and discussed the temple’s security and the need for Xia worshippers with Sophia and the others.
• Sophia bought the land and gave Avril a 1.5 percent share after Avril invested four hundred thousand.
• Sophia and Avril organized the temple preparations, while President Wang’s team began building the road and Feng Jun set up a Traction Array to draw in the Earth Vein.
• Constables came to the site looking for Shi Jie, but Sophia said he had disappeared and President Wang’s team refused to allow a search without a stated legal basis.
• Avril asserted her rights as a Brui Country citizen and partial landowner, then ordered the constables to leave.

Sophia used Thunder Arts to stop a woman who was stirring up trouble and later explained to Fourth Master Lin that her lineage was not what he assumed. She refused to reveal who might hold her accountable, citing concerns about Xia Nation's confidentiality system.

• Avril challenged the police to produce witnesses, and a woman in the crowd began insulting Xia Nation people.
• Sophia struck the woman with lightning and claimed it was the Lord's gift, then knocked her down again after she resumed cursing.
• The police left without taking Sophia in, while the injured woman was taken for medical care.
• Fourth Master Lin recognized Sophia's power as Daoist Order Thunder Arts and rebuked her for crediting it to the Church.
• Sophia said her lineage was different from what Fourth Master Lin imagined and refused to identify who could trouble her.

The Church debated how to deal with Sophia after learning that mysterious power still protected her, while her Leo Kingdom immigration application stalled because Minister Wolf and caseworker Simonini delayed it. Feng Jun learned that an old channel had sent a message urging Boss Shi to pay attention to home, then hurried into the woods.

• The two churches concluded that they should observe Sophia and report the matter upward rather than confront her over the Golden Sunflower.
• Avril learned that Minister Wolf had not approved Sophia's immigration application, and an entrepreneur hinted that someone expected arrangements to be made in Mairui Country.
• Sophia investigated and found that Minister Wolf had ordered the delay while Simonini had also mishandled her application; she and Feng Jun considered confronting them.
• Director Tang explained Simonini's prejudice against Xia people, and Sophia said the immigration officials were using her hiring of Xia workers as an excuse.
• Fourth Master Lin told Feng Jun that a message had come through the channel that once summoned him, asking Boss Shi to show concern for home.
• Feng Jun reacted with pressure, gave Fourth Master Lin a Ruyi Jade as an apology, and hurried into the woods.

Feng Jun received intelligence from Yang Yuxin and Lin Beauty about Leo Kingdom officials Wolfe and Simonini, then learned that Pinat wanted Sophia to help remove Simonini in exchange for handling her immigration. Feng Jun told Sophia to deal with Simonini and said he would see whether Pinat kept his word.

• Yang Yuxin gave Feng Jun intelligence on Wolfe and Simonini that Xia Nation officials had delivered.
• Feng Jun asked Lin Beauty for information on other immigration officials, but she refused because it could expose sources and draw suspicion.
• Feng Jun requested a signal-shielded transport vehicle, and Lin Beauty said one had already been prepared nearby.
• After returning to Alansmu, Feng Jun heard from Sophia that Pinat wanted her to help take down Simonini in exchange for handling her immigration procedures.
• Feng Jun told Sophia to deal with Simonini without him and said he wanted to see whether Pinat would honor his promise.

After Simonini was injured in a sinkhole accident, Pinat took over his work and pushed to approve Sophia’s immigration application despite Minister Wolf’s objections. Sophia learned Wolf had blocked the case and warned Avril she might deal with him; the chapter ended with Wolf hearing that both his children had narrowly escaped falling tree branches in Mairui Country.

• Feng Jun caused Simonini to fall into a sinkhole, leaving him injured and unable to think, so Pinat took over his work.
• Pinat challenged Minister Wolf’s question mark on Sophia’s application and insisted that her naturalization case had no problems.
• Minister Wolf objected to the application, but Pinat approved it and told him that he could reject it himself if he had grounds.
• Sophia told Avril that she would deal with Wolf if he continued blocking her case, and Avril asked her to go easy on him.
• Wolf’s wife called to say that their children had both narrowly escaped falling tree branches, and Wolf questioned her anxiously about the incidents.

Minister Wolf personally brought Sophia’s residency paperwork to her construction site, where Pinat defended her and Sophia hinted that Simonini might not recover easily. Later, Feng Jun learned that a nearby island in the Endless Sea was showing signs of volcanic activity, and Zhang Caixin brought him the report.

• Wolf asked James to accompany him to Alansmu to deliver Sophia’s residency paperwork in person.
• At the construction site, Wolf apologized for the delay and blamed Pinat, who arrived and accused Wolf of obstructing Sophia’s case.
• Sophia told Wolf that she trusted Pinat, then dismissed his concerns about Simonini’s recovery and denied knowing how to heal people.
• Wolf suggested promoting the construction work done by Xia people as a selling point for the Immigration Bureau, and Sophia accepted the proposal cautiously.
• After the Earth Vein stabilized, Zhang Caixin showed Feng Jun a report about volcanic activity on an island near Leo Kingdom in the Endless Sea.

Feng Jun agreed to investigate a contingency plan for the volcanoes near Sophia’s land in Leo Kingdom, then learned that Minister Wolf’s family was being targeted after he resisted pressure from a Mairui Country official. Wolf was left with few ways to retaliate and turned to the powerful people he knew.

• Zhang Caixin warned Feng Jun that volcanic activity near Sophia’s island could affect the surrounding area, and Feng Jun agreed to investigate a contingency plan.
• Feng Jun traveled to Alansmu to check the Earth Vein work and met Sophia at the construction site.
• Wolf’s daughter faced harassment and a threat of expulsion from university, while his son was ordered to withdraw from school after a fight.
• The Mairui Country Tax Bureau began investigating Wolf’s wife, convincing Wolf that the official he had defied was targeting his family.
• Wolf considered how to strike back and decided to seek help from influential people he knew.

Wolf sought Sophia's help after the Mairui Country Investigation Bureau retaliated against him, and Feng Jun agreed to intervene in exchange for a favor. Feng Jun abducted the families of the officials responsible, while Wolf pressed the Bureau to restore his children’s status; the chapter ended with the missing ex-wife and children rescued and the Bureau agreeing to address Wolf’s demand.

• Wolf asked Sophia to help him after the Investigation Bureau retaliated against him, and Feng Jun agreed in exchange for a favor.
• Feng Jun used Footprint to abduct seven people from the homes of two Investigation Bureau employees and abandon them in the mountains.
• Tom and his family survived the wilderness, but he realized he had targeted Wolf’s children first and feared further retaliation.
• Tom learned that his colleague’s family had also disappeared, and the colleague’s supervisor later found his ex-wife and two children missing as well.
• Wolf told the supervisor he was focused on his own children, and the supervisor agreed to restore their normal status.
• The supervisor received coordinates from Wolf, dispatched a helicopter, and rescued his ex-wife and children.

Feng Jun took Sophia to inspect a smoking volcano and discovered that its unstable Earth Veins were in turbulence. After finding a faint Earth Vein flowing into the sea, he agreed to investigate it with Sophia still accompanying him.

• Wolf helped secure the permits for Sophia’s Daoist temple after Feng Jun’s intervention got Wolf’s children back into school.
• Feng Jun agreed to take Sophia to a smoking volcano, and they flew to the island together.
• At the crater, Feng Jun observed turbulent Earth Veins while Sophia endured the intense heat beside him.
• Feng Jun decided to leave when scientific helicopters approached and the Three Rings showed the turbulence would last an unknown time.
• Feng Jun traced a faint Earth Vein toward the sea and agreed to continue investigating with Sophia after she asked to come along.
• Feng Jun gave Sophia saline to rehydrate, and she asked to mix it with mineral water to make it easier to drink.

Feng Jun left his undersea exploration to return to Chaori for Spring Festival, where local officials and relatives gathered to welcome him. At lunch, he offered to let his parents handle hometown contributions and agreed to place next year’s lighting orders with Dou Jiahui, who had yet to find the goods.

• Feng Jun discovered another potential undersea volcanic vent while following disturbances in the Earth Vein, then returned to Alansmu with Sophia when she reminded him Spring Festival was near.
• Feng Jun asked his parents to spend New Year’s at Luo Hua, but they wanted him to come home to Chaori for the reunion meal.
• Elder Yu stayed at Ren Zhiyuan’s Recovery Center after his health worsened outside Luo Hua, while Yu Qingzhu visited him daily and Shen Qingyi arranged to return to Jade Ruins temporarily.
• On New Year’s Day, Feng Jun brought Gazi and the Zhang sisters to his parents’ home, where relatives and local leaders arrived to greet him.
• At lunch, Feng Jun declined to personally direct hometown development projects and told the city’s Boss to discuss local needs with his parents.
• Dou Jiahui asked Feng Jun to place next year’s lighting orders with him, and Feng Jun agreed, asking whether he had found the goods.

Feng Jun supported Dou Jiahui as he considered the city leader’s offer to establish a lighting factory, then returned to the Leo Kingdom and discovered a faint trace of spiritual energy beneath an enormous coral reef. He began excavating what he believed was an undersea Spirit Stone Mine, while a nearby research vessel noticed strange sonar readings.

• Dou Jiahui rejected the city leader’s offer to build a lighting factory in Yunyuan, citing his lack of manufacturing experience and the difficulty of competing in the market.
• Dou Jiahui told Feng Jun that he wanted to enter manufacturing but needed confidence in the market, and Feng Jun promised to support him if he chose to proceed.
• Feng Jun returned to Luo Hua with the Zhang sisters, then traveled alone with Sophia to the Leo Kingdom to search underwater.
• Feng Jun and Sophia searched for five days before finding a vast coral reef, and Feng Jun put Sophia in the Spirit Beast Bag before investigating it.
• Feng Jun excavated the reef at several locations and found a faint trace of spiritual energy more than four thousand meters down, which convinced him that a Spirit Stone Mine lay beneath it.
• Feng Jun began digging toward the suspected mine as someone aboard a research vessel more than ten nautical miles away noticed unusual sonar readings.

Feng Jun began destructively mining an undersea Spirit Stone Mine, then returned to find Mairui Country forces investigating one of his tunnels. He took their four vessels and crews into the Phone Plane, prompting a rescue fleet to head toward the area while he continued destroying the coral reef.

• Feng Jun spent two days mining the mediocre Spirit Stone Mine, extracted just over five hundred Spirit Stones, and stopped to consult the Yin Soul Big Shot about a faster method.
• Mairui Country submarines discovered one of Feng Jun’s abandoned underwater tunnels while investigating a sonar anomaly.
• Feng Jun returned to the coral reef and discovered Mairui Country warships guarding the site as they prepared to send deep-diving robots down.
• Feng Jun dragged four Mairui Country vessels into the Phone Plane, killing everyone aboard.
• Mairui Country lost contact with the vessels, mistook the disappearance for severe electromagnetic interference, and later dispatched a rescue fleet as Feng Jun destroyed the coral reef.

After disrupting a sea area near the Leo Kingdom, Feng Jun returned to Luo Hua and arranged to hand over captured Mairui Country vessels through Yu Zhiyuan. Lin Beauty later offered him a hidden naval port, while Feng Jun requested mines and concealed what he had found at sea.

• Feng Jun detonated explosives underwater around the coral reef tunnels, returned to Luo Hua, and later hinted to Yu Zhiyuan that he had captured a submarine, a destroyer, and a supply ship.
• Yu Zhiyuan agreed to pass a warning to the authorities without involving the Yu family directly in the details.
• Lin Beauty stopped Lin Heihu and a crew-cut man at the mountain gate, where Lin Heihu rebuked the man for acting as though he could order him around.
• Lin Beauty told Feng Jun that a hidden naval port had been cleared and shielded for his use, and Feng Jun asked her to obtain leftover mines that could be modified for electric ignition.
• Feng Jun told Lin Beauty that the Mairui Country soldiers had probably all been killed and said he wanted mines to attack their warships, but he refused to make patriotic work his responsibility.
• Lin Beauty asked whether the sealed-off sea area contained anything, and Feng Jun denied knowing of anything she could reach.