Chapter Summaries

Plot and events

• After the crisis, the group resumes normal life and begins researching whether specialized buildings—each providing a single attribute—could improve cities.
• Alisa wakes after recovering from her rampage and apologizes to Lan Qingyou, believing her loss of both legs was partly her fault. She offers to pay for top-quality prosthetics.
• Lan Qingyou declines to dwell on the offer. She has come to accept losing her legs and plans instead to make prosthetics herself with the Omnipotent Fantasy Tree, potentially turning them into Magic Items that boost her Mental Power.
• Alisa explains that Kesuya’s Clone overwhelmed her with an abrupt, tsunami-like Mental Attack. She could have resisted it, but was caught off guard.
• Lan Qingyou recognizes the danger and immediately adds a mental “wall” to alert her to similar attacks. Alisa leaves to rest in her own shelter while her mind recovers.
• Before Alisa goes, Lan Qingyou tells her to take the monster meat left on the terrace. Alisa finds a huge piece from the creature possessed by Kesuya’s Clone and takes it as shared spoils.

Character developments and interactions

• Alisa feels remorseful and offers restitution, but is also frustrated with herself for being caught unprepared. She respects Lan Qingyou’s space and leaves when she is ready to return to her own home.
• Lan Qingyou treats her injuries with acceptance rather than regret, focusing on practical improvements and future protection. She listens closely to Alisa’s account and turns it into a precaution against future mental attacks.
• Their exchange shows mutual consideration: Alisa offers help, while Lan Qingyou redirects the conversation toward useful lessons and shares the spoils.

Significant themes

• Recovery and adaptation: Both women respond to the aftermath by adjusting—Alisa rests, while Lan Qingyou reimagines prosthetics as a chance to gain new abilities.
• Preparedness: A surprise attack exposes the limits of even strong defenses, prompting Lan Qingyou to plan ahead.
• Generosity and shared resources: The chapter’s closing gesture reflects the story’s principle that valuable rewards need not be kept to oneself.

Key plot points

• After Alisa leaves, Lan Qingyou stays awake to make prosthetic legs for herself. Since her original legs vanished into what may have been a black hole, healing magic and potions cannot restore them.
• She asks Orff, the Chariot, for prosthetic blueprints. Using his design as a starting point, she modifies the thrusters to sit beneath her feet, where they can aid flight and work with her gravity control.
• Lan Qingyou builds a reinforced, silver-white pair decorated with blue runes and magic arrays, using premium materials and her alchemical expertise. Orff advises her during the process.
• While making the prosthetics, she decides to stop trying to strengthen her body and instead focus on developing her Mental Power. She judges that physical training cannot make her a match for Star Beasts, so she will rely on her greatest strength.
• The Fantasy Tree material in the prosthetics can increase her Mental Power by ten percent. She plans to put them on, exceed ten thousand Mental Power, and see whether she can unlock information left in her mind by the Star Dragon King.

Character development

• Lan Qingyou responds to severe injury with practical resolve, immediately turning to engineering and alchemy rather than dwelling on her loss.
• She prioritizes both usefulness and appearance: the prosthetics must function well, but they should also look impressive.
• Her encounter with a Pseudo Star Beast leads her to reassess her limits and adopt a strategy based on strengthening her mind rather than her body. She also becomes more conscious of the scale of the threat posed by true Star Beasts.

Significant themes

• Adaptation and resilience: Lan Qingyou finds a way forward after an injury that magic cannot repair.
• Playing to one’s strengths: She chooses to build on her exceptional Mental Power instead of chasing physical strength that may never match her enemies.
• Function and self-expression: The prosthetics are both essential equipment and an expression of personal style.
• Preparation for the unknown: Lan Qingyou considers the possibility of stronger Star Beasts and seeks to understand her enemies before facing them.

Character interactions

• Orff responds to Lan Qingyou’s request with his latest design, then discusses the project with her as she adapts and builds it.
• Alisa’s departure leaves Lan Qingyou alone to begin the work, while Lan Qingyou’s thoughts about the Star Dragon King and Kesuya shape her next goal.

Plot points and events

• Lan Qingyou fits the enchanted Prosthetic Limbs she designed. Their Extender lets them move her paralyzed thighs, while their magic enhancements can also serve as armor and weapons.
• After years unable to stand, she carefully gets to her feet, then tests the limbs by tapping her feet and walking. She finds them functional, though unfamiliar, and expects to adjust their gravity settings.
• Her Mental Power reads 11,538—about a thousand points more than she anticipated.
• She walks from the fifth to the ninth floor, tiring herself enough to sweat, then removes the limbs and rests. Before sleeping, she decides to test whether her Mental Power is now high enough to unlock the Star Beast information hidden in her mind.
• Aware that accessing it could strain or destabilize her, she lies in the safety of her Dormitory, where she can enter the dream realm if she needs to counter harmful effects. She closes her eyes and begins searching her mind for the information.

Character developments

• Lan Qingyou experiences a major personal breakthrough: standing and walking again restores some of her independence and connection to her former self.
• She is cautious and practical despite her excitement, taking time to learn the limbs and carefully preparing before attempting the dangerous mental procedure.
• Her accumulated fatigue—after a battle, waiting for Alisa, and building the limbs—makes clear that both her body and mind need rest.

Significant themes

• Recovery and adaptation: The prosthetics do not simply replace what Lan Qingyou lost; they offer a new way to move and function.
• Hope and perseverance: A long-awaited ability to stand becomes possible through ingenuity and effort.
• Power and risk: Greater Mental Power may grant access to valuable knowledge, but tampering with her mind could have serious consequences, including madness.
• Independence and identity: Standing feels more real to Lan Qingyou than floating, symbolizing the importance of regaining agency.

Character interactions

• The chapter is mostly focused on Lan Qingyou and her private experience; no direct conversation occurs.
• Alisa is present indirectly: her bedding remains on the floor, and her earlier behavior is cited as evidence of the risks associated with Mental Power.

Key plot points and events

• Lan Qingyou completes an Unlocking in her sea of consciousness. The process releases a flood of information and causes intense pain, but she endures it.
• The Unlocking gives her memories from the Star Dragon King’s point of view: he roams space around Karim Planet, killing invading Star Beasts and absorbing their energy.
• Lan learns that Star Beasts do not hate every planet equally. They resent worlds with life, which they seek to devour; lifeless planets are merely irrelevant to them.
• The Star Dragon King’s protection of Karim Planet may be tied to a bargain with its World Will: he guards the planet, while the Will helps preserve his kind through the Dragon Eggs.
• Lan wonders whether Blue Star’s World Will sent more than twenty billion people to Karim partly to protect Blue Star itself. With younger and older populations left behind, Blue Star could survive and recover—and may even have benefited from the loss of so many people.

Character developments

• Lan Qingyou shows determination by pushing through the painful Unlocking and carefully interpreting what she learns. She also revises her understanding of Star Beasts and begins connecting their motives to the decisions of the World Wills.
• The Star Dragon King emerges as an intelligent but deeply driven protector. Though he guards Karim, he must continually hunt Star Beasts to satisfy an ingrained resentment toward living planets.
• Blue Star’s World Will is recast as potentially calculating: its migration of people may have served both Karim’s survival and Blue Star’s long-term interests.

Significant themes

• Knowledge and pain: Gaining access to powerful information exacts a physical and mental cost.
• Instinct versus intelligence: The Star Dragon King retains intelligence, yet remains constrained by the deep instincts of his kind.
• Survival and sacrifice: The possible bargain over Karim’s protection—and Blue Star’s population transfer—raises questions about who is sacrificed to ensure a world’s survival.
• Reinterpreting motives: What first appeared to be simple hatred or selfless protection may instead have more specific causes and strategic benefits.

Character interactions

• The Star Dragon King’s relationship with Karim Planet is shaped by an apparent arrangement with its Human World Will, with the Dragon Eggs potentially part of the bargain.
• Lan has no direct conversation with the Star Dragon King; she encounters him through his memories and uses them to reconsider his motives.
• Lan’s speculation links the actions of Blue Star’s World Will to Karim’s fate, suggesting the two worlds’ survival strategies may be connected.

• Key events: After waking from the exhausting reception of the Star Dragon King’s intelligence, Lan Qingyou confirms her Mental Power is intact and reflects on what she learned from its memories—especially Star Beast behavior and combat. She eases into a bath using her custom prosthetic legs, then considers her remaining tasks: using Jormungandr’s remains, preparing a potion, and addressing the “Five-in-One” or “Six-in-One.” Having finished her immediate preparations, she decides to rest briefly before organizing another mission.
• Mission preparations: Lan messages Catherine, captain of the Giant Slayer Squad, who reports that the team has recovered from its battle with Kesuya’s Clones and is in good condition. Lan orders Catherine to assemble the squad beneath the Perching Giant Tree for a mission to Karim Continent and to bring supplies. She also requests members of the 88 Witch Corps and the Magic Array Research Association, except those occupied with research.
• Character developments and interactions: Lan is recovering physically and mentally, enjoying her new mobility while planning her next move. Catherine remains protective and dutiful, checking whether Diana should be informed because Lan’s past absences have made the witches wary. She reassures herself that the Black Witches depend on Lan, their immortal Origin Witch and Patriarch. Catherine passes the request to Diana, the chief steward, knowing the extra call-ups will be complicated.
• Themes and tone: The chapter balances recovery and preparation for renewed danger, emphasizing the witches’ loyalty and concern for their leader. It also highlights Lan’s practical, inventive approach to her prosthetics and magical resources. The ending adds comic bureaucracy: Catherine expects that the high-ranking witches might resent being left out, so she quietly leaves Diana to handle the potential blame.

Key plot points and events

• Black Witches gather in the square beside the Perching Giant Tree after Diana summons members of the Giant Slayer Squad, the Magic Array Research Association, and the original Witch Corps.
• Lan Qingyou emerges from a Portal—and, to everyone’s shock, walks rather than flies. She reveals a Silver Streamlight Prosthesis beneath her robe, explaining that walking again feels good.
• The gathered witches interpret her casual tone as an attempt to hide her pain and become emotional, though they conceal their tears from her.
• Diana reports that more than 2,200 people have assembled: 1,123 Giant Slayer Squad members, 1,000 researchers, and 81 members of the Witch Corps.
• Lan Qingyou says she will open a Portal to a place where fighting may or may not occur. She plans to enter first, then addresses the crowd through a Magic Megaphone.

Character developments

• Lan Qingyou shows both resilience and leadership: she has adapted to her injury with a prosthesis and is already organizing a major operation.
• Diana acts as a capable chief steward, coordinating the gathering and reporting its numbers, while privately showing deep concern for Lan Qingyou.
• The Black Witches reveal a softer, protective side toward their Patriarch, despite their fearsome reputation.

Significant themes

• Loyalty and affection: The witches’ devotion to Lan Qingyou turns concern for her injury into a powerful emotional response.
• Misunderstanding and unspoken feelings: Lan Qingyou’s simple remark is read as concealed suffering; she notices their emotions but lets them keep their interpretation.
• Resilience and sacrifice: Her prosthesis represents recovery after sacrificing her legs to protect her people.
• Found community: Groups that rarely meet come together readily when their Patriarch calls.

Character interactions

• Diana questions Lan Qingyou about her legs, and Lan reassures her by showing the prosthesis.
• The assembled witches silently react with tears and concern, while Lan senses their feelings and chooses not to correct them.
• Lan addresses the crowd as their leader, preparing them for a potentially dangerous mission.

Chapter summary

Plot points and events

• Lan Qingyou prepares to open a Portal to Maple Leaf Territory, her former domain, where a fight may be waiting.
• Diana stops her from entering first and insists that the Black Witches take the lead. Lan Qingyou agrees.
• Diana organizes the expedition: the physically focused combat unit goes through first, led by Snow White; the Magic Troops follow; and the Magic Array Research Association enters last.
• The Research Association covers the vanguard in defensive arrays—more than requested—eager to support the Patriarch and demonstrate its work.
• Lan Qingyou opens the Portal into midair, reasoning that this is safer than emerging on the ground in an unknown area. She warns the vanguard to fly immediately after passing through.
• Snow White acknowledges the warning and prepares to ride her battle scythe through the Portal.

Character development and interactions

• Diana shows initiative and leadership, balancing concern for Lan Qingyou with confidence in the Black Witches’ abilities. She wants them to shoulder responsibility rather than leave every danger to their Patriarch.
• Lan Qingyou is initially unconvinced by the caution but accepts Diana’s judgment and lets the others take the risk first.
• Snow White leads the assault force calmly and follows Lan Qingyou’s instructions.
• The Black Witches’ enthusiasm—especially the researchers’ eagerness to use their arrays in the field—reveals their desire to prove their value.

Significant themes

• Shared responsibility: Power and leadership do not mean one person should bear every risk.
• Preparedness in uncertainty: The group plans cautiously despite having little information about what awaits them.
• Putting research into practice: The researchers see the mission as a chance to demonstrate that their work can protect their allies.
• Trust and teamwork: Lan Qingyou accepts Diana’s plan, while the units take distinct roles suited to their strengths.

Chapter summary

• Snow White leads the Black Witches of the Physical Department through a Portal, riding a flying device ingeniously built into her giant scythe. Before they enter, Lan Qingyou tells the group to capture any strangers alive—or knock them unconscious if necessary—and not to kill them. She is especially cautious because Xiao Feng might be on the other side.
• The Portal’s destination seems unusual: Lan Qingyou knows the Karim Continent as a place with a gray, dusty sky, but the view through the Portal shows blue sky and white clouds.
• The Black Witches charge through in boisterous, irritable fashion. Diana explains to Lan Qingyou that their aggressive temperaments help them face enormous creatures at close range.
• Diana assures Lan Qingyou that Eureka is safely traveling through an already explored region of the Karim Continent, with its course and control arrangements taken care of. Lan Qingyou then enters the Portal herself.
• On the other side, she is stunned to find more than two thousand Black Witches surrounded on all sides—including above and below—by numerous Humanoid Mechanical Dolls. Some are sleek new models; others are battered and old. Lan Qingyou initially mistakes them for dolls, then recognizes them as a form of Power Armor.
• Catherine, commander of the Giant Slayer Squad, has taken temporary charge of the group. She tells Lan Qingyou she does not know how they came to be surrounded: the scene was already in place when she arrived. Lan Qingyou asks whether Snow White, who crossed first, knows more; the excerpt ends before she answers.

Character developments and interactions

• Lan Qingyou acts cautiously and protectively, giving orders to avoid killing and taking charge when she discovers the force is trapped. Her surprise underscores how little the group understands about the Portal’s destination.
• Snow White is presented as a formidable, battle-hardened fighter whose grief and anger over Cinderella’s betrayal have left her focused on combat. She leads the vanguard, but her knowledge of the situation remains unresolved.
• Diana reassures Lan Qingyou about Eureka and explains the Black Witches’ combative demeanor.
• Catherine has assumed leadership in Lan Qingyou’s absence, but she is as perplexed as the others about the encirclement.

Significant themes

• Preparedness and restraint: Lan Qingyou’s orders balance readiness for danger with a preference for keeping potential strangers alive.
• Fear and courage: The Black Witches’ aggression is portrayed as a hard-won way of confronting the terror of fighting giant enemies.
• Uncertainty and sudden danger: The strange sky and unexplained ring of Power Armor turn what seemed a controlled arrival into an immediate mystery and crisis.

Key plot points and events

• Lan Qingyou arrives to find the area surrounded by silent Power Armors. Snow White and the others have kept the situation peaceful, while the Magic Array Research Association has raised a defensive barrier.
• Lan Qingyou decides to wait rather than attack. A red-orange commander’s armor then approaches and demands to know who she is and why she has entered the territory.
• The commander claims the land belongs to Duke Mabel, humanity’s last stronghold, and threatens force. Lan Qingyou recognizes the name as possibly referring to her apprentice, Xiao Feng, and deliberately provokes a confrontation to draw him out.
• Lan Qingyou releases an enormous wave of Magic Power, turning the sky purple. The armors remain completely unaffected, puzzling her.
• A familiar source of Magic Power approaches from below. Catherine senses it and moves in front of Lan Qingyou to protect her, despite Lan Qingyou’s reassurance.

Character developments and interactions

• Lan Qingyou is confident and confrontational, but also observant: she studies the armors’ design and notices that her Magic Power should have overwhelmed their defenses. She suspects Duke Mabel may be Xiao Feng.
• Catherine remains vigilant and protective, following her group’s rule to safeguard their Patriarch. Her concern persists even when Lan Qingyou tells her there is no danger.
• Snow White and the others show restraint, maintaining the standoff rather than escalating it.
• The commander is defensive and quick to anger, presenting itself as the guardian of Duke Mabel’s territory.
• Lan Qingyou’s easygoing leadership contrasts with Diana’s stricter management of the Black Witches, whose members are free in general but still expected to follow basic group rules.

Significant themes

• Restraint amid uncertainty: Both sides hold back while trying to understand the other.
• Power and suspicion: Lan Qingyou’s immense Magic Power fails to affect the armors, raising questions about their nature and capabilities.
• Loyalty and protection: Catherine prioritizes the Patriarch’s safety, reflecting the group’s bonds and shared obligations.

Key plot points and events

• The Black Witches explain why they are determined to protect their immortal Patriarch, Lan Qingyou: immortality can be a curse, as shown by the Vampire Patriarch’s decades-long imprisonment, and Lan’s absence has previously coincided with serious trouble.
• The witches’ strict order is presented as essential to protecting their research and knowledge—not merely self-interest, but an expression of their insatiable curiosity and ambition.
• When an unfamiliar surge of Magic Power approaches, Catherine and the Giant Slayer Squad form a defensive ring around Lan. The newcomer effortlessly bypasses both the Magic Array Research Association’s protective array and the squad’s defenses.
• Catherine recognizes the newcomer’s sparkling teleportation trail as Lan’s spell, Shining Starlight, and the concealment around her as Black Witch Smoke. Before Catherine can make sense of this, the stranger calls Lan “Teacher,” revealing a connection to her.
• The smoke clears to show a young-looking Black Witch with crimson eyes, a broom, immense Magic Power, and an imposing presence. Catherine is startled by how powerful and mature she seems.

Character developments and interactions

• Catherine acts protectively toward Lan, motivated by their bond and her experience serving as captain of the Giant Slayer Squad. She also shows sharp magical knowledge by identifying the newcomer’s spells.
• Lan Qingyou is the focus of the witches’ concern and loyalty, though she does not speak in this excerpt.
• The newcomer appears to be Lan’s apprentice or student. Her arrival prompts surprise and uncertainty, especially because Catherine thought no one else could use Lan’s teleportation spell.
• The Giant Slayer Squad instinctively joins Catherine in protecting Lan, demonstrating their shared loyalty.

Significant themes

• Immortality as both power and burden: Endless life does not guarantee freedom or peace of mind.
• Order as a defense against chaos: The witches maintain rules because disorder threatens their work and security.
• Knowledge as an insatiable drive: Their behavior is fueled by greed for magic, research, and discovery.
• Loyalty and protection: Lan’s followers fear what could happen if she were vulnerable, while the squad’s response shows their devotion.
• Appearance versus reality: The newcomer looks young, but her power and presence suggest an extraordinary history or status.

• Plot and events: Catherine realizes the group has entered a rare Heavy Magic Zone where humans can survive. The landscape below is lush and populated, with forests, cities, and a lake—unlike either the polluted Karim Continent or the Storm Island Catherine knows. Lan Qingyou recognizes the place as Maple Leaf Territory and reunites with Xiao Feng, who has guarded it for a thousand years. Catherine interrupts their emotional exchange to suggest they find a safer place to talk, since tens of thousands of people are still in the air and other groups may mistake the reunion for a threat.
• Character developments: Lan Qingyou’s usually unfamiliar tenderness emerges as she speaks with Xiao Feng, and she regrets leaving him the Witch Potion and study materials, seeing how exhausted he is. Xiao Feng remains reserved, but his words reveal both affection and reproach: he says those gifts enabled him to protect the territory and Lan Qingyou’s people. Catherine, initially puzzled by the place and their history, recognizes that their reunion has a long backstory—and prioritizes preventing a confrontation.
• Character interactions: Lan Qingyou and Xiao Feng reunite as teacher and student, with a thousand-year separation behind them. Catherine politely but firmly breaks in for security reasons. Lan Qingyou then introduces Xiao Feng to Catherine, explaining that the Giant Slayer Squad serves as her personal guard.
• Themes: The chapter contrasts the life-sustaining Maple Leaf Territory with the lethal environments the characters know. It also emphasizes loyalty and long-term devotion through Xiao Feng’s thousand-year vigil, while showing the tension between private emotion and the practical demands of leadership.

Key plot points and events

• After Lan Qingyou introduces Xiao Feng, his displeasure fades. He dismisses the surrounding Power Armors, easing the Black Witches’ tension and preventing a misunderstanding.
• Lan Qingyou agrees to visit Hot Spring Castle and lets Xiao Feng lead, acknowledging that Duke Mabel now governs the area.
• The group—more than 2,200 Black Witches—arrives at the castle. Though a thousand years have passed, it remains standing, preserved in part by reinforcement magic.
• Lan Qingyou checks on familiar landmarks, including the training ground and an unused Summoning Platform. She directs Catherine to establish camp at one of them and warns the Summoning Department not to experiment with old arrays.
• Xiao Feng points out that the group could instead stay in Lakeside City’s hotels.

Character developments and interactions

• Lan Qingyou reconnects with a place from her past, showing surprise at its survival and practical concern for her followers’ safety and lodging.
• Xiao Feng shifts from displeasure to attentive warmth toward his former teacher. He guides her around the area and offers a more comfortable accommodation plan.
• Catherine, as captain of Lan Qingyou’s guard, acts independently to relay instructions and keep the large group orderly.
• The Black Witches relax once the armors withdraw, then explore the castle grounds. Their discussions focus more on the maples’ magical and medicinal potential than on the scenery.

Significant themes

• The passage of time and continuity: The castle and landscape endure across a thousand years, linking Lan Qingyou’s past to the present.
• Memory and changed authority: Lan Qingyou returns as the castle’s creator but recognizes that she is no longer in charge of the region.
• Practicality and caution: The group evaluates resources, plans its camp carefully, and avoids using an old Summoning Array without confirmation that it is safe.

Plot points and events

• Xiao Feng offers to arrange lodging for Lan Qingyou’s Black Witch followers, but they refuse, preferring places with Alchemy Workshops to comfortable hotels. Their conversation reveals that many are alchemists and that they recognize signs of Black Witch magic around the castle.
• Lan Qingyou asks whether the hot spring remains. Xiao Feng confirms it, and she leads him there, acting as though little has changed since her last visit.
• The castle’s staff are astonished to see someone resembling the Duke casually put an arm around him. They infer that she must be important because Xiao Feng allows it.
• In the hot spring, Lan Qingyou notices Xiao Feng’s silent communication spell and asks about it. He explains that he invented it centuries ago.
• Their conversation turns playfully to his old homework and whether he is still a child. Xiao Feng then asks why she disappeared, explaining that searches—including his own—found no trace of her beyond remains of an unknown monster near Bayfront Town.
• Before Lan Qingyou can explain, Xiao Feng says he believes her, leaving her speechless.

Character developments

• Xiao Feng is now an accomplished, over-a-thousand-year-old figure, skilled enough to invent new magic and command great authority, yet remains affectionate and respectful toward his former teacher. He has never stopped wondering why she vanished.
• Lan Qingyou appears largely unchanged in personality and familiarity with the castle, though her legs are now mineral-crafted prosthetics. Her easy humor and comfort with Xiao Feng suggest their old closeness has endured.
• The Black Witches are established as highly capable, casually independent specialists, especially in alchemy and magic-array research.

Significant themes

• Enduring bonds across time: Despite centuries apart, teacher and student fall into familiar routines and teasing.
• Trust and reassurance: Xiao Feng’s immediate “I believe you” contrasts with Lan Qingyou’s expectation that her story might sound unbelievable.
• Change and continuity: Xiao Feng has grown powerful and the castle’s occupants have changed, but Lan Qingyou’s habits and their personal bond remain familiar.
• Respect and status: The staff’s reaction highlights Xiao Feng’s elevated position, while his relaxed closeness with Lan Qingyou sets her apart.

Character interactions

• The Black Witches banter among themselves and freely ignore Xiao Feng’s offer, underscoring their informality and shared expertise.
• Lan Qingyou and Xiao Feng share a comfortable hot-spring conversation, mixing affectionate teasing with discussion of magic and his childhood.
• Xiao Feng’s question about her disappearance brings their reunion’s unresolved history to the surface, but his trust immediately disarms her.

Key plot points

• Xiao Feng asks Lan Qingyou about her long absence. She explains that the World Will brought them into this world and that she traveled through time, though she withholds some details about her mistakes and limitations.
• Xiao Feng is more interested in the fact that she is finally back than in the mechanics of time travel. He regrets that he could not have reached her sooner, but Lan Qingyou explains that their meeting depended on her being sent a thousand years into the past.
• Xiao Feng recounts what happened after she disappeared: despite opposition to a child inheriting her title, the Aurelius Family backed him, and Lan Qingyou’s resources helped him secure his succession.
• Using her Battle Magic Puppets, Maple Leaf Knights, and Emblem System, Xiao Feng strengthened his position. He eventually rose from Marquis of Maple Leaf to Duke Mabel and expanded his lands.
• He also learned to create protective magic circles, extending one over his territory’s rivers and Maple Leaf Lake to secure fresh water during the Great Upheaval.

Character developments and interactions

• Xiao Feng’s calm response to Lan Qingyou’s extraordinary story reflects his long experience, but his wistful complaint reveals how much he missed her and how isolated he felt.
• Lan Qingyou sees the exhausted man he has become while still recognizing the boy she once taught. She reaches out to comfort him and listens with sympathy.
• Xiao Feng downplays the burdens of ruling and growing up without her, though he admits that creating the protective circle was difficult. His smile suggests he genuinely enjoyed the challenge and the practical application of magic.
• Their affectionate, teacher-and-student bond remains strong: he seeks her attention, and she responds with warmth and understanding.

Significant themes

• Time and fate: Their meeting depends on the unusual order of events created by time travel.
• Legacy and resilience: Lan Qingyou’s teachings and tools allow Xiao Feng to protect his people and build power after her disappearance.
• Growth through practice: Both characters develop by applying knowledge under pressure, and Xiao Feng finds satisfaction in experimentation and problem-solving.
• Loneliness and reunion: Xiao Feng’s long years of responsibility left him with no one to confide in, making Lan Qingyou’s return deeply meaningful.

Plot and events

• Lan Qingyou asks Xiao Feng about the difficulties he faced integrating his protective magic array with her older one. He explains that the grafting eventually succeeded, though a lack of Array Masters prevented him from improving it further.
• Xiao Feng complains that she left him only one vial of witch potion, arguing that more witches could have helped with research and eased his workload.
• Lan Qingyou explains that she withheld additional potion because Xiao Feng was too inexperienced at the time, and other witches might have endangered him. Keeping him the sole witch was the safer choice.
• Xiao Feng accepts her reasoning, recognizing that she had acted to protect him.
• Lan Qingyou then asks about the unfamiliar power armor. Xiao Feng says it evolved from the battle magic puppets she left behind and now serves as a way to remotely operate combat puppets, avoiding casualties.
• She asks whether the territory lacks people, noting that many residents appear to have changed classes. Xiao Feng clarifies that everyone has changed classes to address a shortage of fighting strength—not because the population is currently too small, but to prevent needless deaths.

Character developments and interactions

• Reunited with his teacher, Xiao Feng is more talkative than before. His complaint about the potion also reveals his loneliness: as an ageless witch, he has watched his mortal subordinates grow old and die, with no peer to confide in.
• Lan Qingyou responds candidly and carefully explains the protective motives behind her past decision. Xiao Feng’s quiet acceptance deepens his sense of trust and affection for her.
• Their conversation shifts naturally from personal history to technical matters, showing their shared scholarly interests and the teacher-student bond.

Significant themes

• Protection and trust: Lan Qingyou’s caution came from wanting to safeguard Xiao Feng; he chooses to believe in that care.
• Loneliness and mortality: Xiao Feng’s long life has separated him from the people around him, despite his accustomed role as Duke.
• Human costs of conflict: The territory’s combat puppets and class changes reflect a deliberate effort to preserve lives.
• Technology and adaptation: Older magical research has been developed into new systems suited to the territory’s needs.

Plot points and events

• Lan Qingyou notices that Maple Leaf Territory is thriving, with many residents in Lakeside City and nearby villages. She realizes Xiao Feng’s earlier concern about casualties did not mean the territory was sparsely populated; he simply wanted to avoid losing anyone.
• Seeing battered, old Power Armor prompts her to ask about the monster attacks. Xiao Feng explains that they began roughly a thousand years ago and are tied to the Karim Continent’s decline.
• Over rice wine in a hot spring, Lan Qingyou asks Xiao Feng to explain the continent’s history. He reveals that the catastrophe has an unexpected connection to Lan Qingyou and her companions.
• After Lan Qingyou and Alisa killed Kesuya’s Clones, Imperial officials gathered the remains. Transport mishaps allowed several nobles to obtain fragments, which they treated as materials for summoning a goddess. Their repeated attempts failed.
• Someone then stole Agumon of Light—long studied by Alisa—from the Aurelius Family, hoping to learn something from him. Even after five or six years of secret research, the thief made no progress.

Character developments and interactions

• Lan Qingyou reflects on Xiao Feng’s isolation and hardship but avoids offering pity, believing he does not need it. She still sees him as the child she once taught, despite his actual age.
• Xiao Feng’s mood darkens when discussing the monsters and the past. The hot spring is, he says, almost the only place he can relax.
• Lan Qingyou listens with surprise when Xiao Feng links her and her companions to the events that followed their battle with Kesuya’s Clones. Their conversation is respectful and close, with Lan Qingyou’s concern tempered by her restraint.

Significant themes

• Unintended consequences: The remains of a defeated monster set off reckless experiments that eventually contributed to disaster.
• Ignorance and ambition: Nobles’ assumptions about summoning and the researcher’s unauthorized experiments lead to dangerous, fruitless pursuits.
• Memory, suffering, and care: Xiao Feng carries the weight of a thousand years of hardship, while Lan Qingyou tries to support him without diminishing him through pity.

Plot points and events

• A former researcher, funded by a smuggler aligned with the Northern Barbarians, combined the [Seaside Shard] with [Agumon of Light] and spent two years creating enormous, unstable magic beasts. These creatures were supplied as “offerings” and eventually reached the barbarians.
• The barbarians’ reckless use of the technology triggered a worldwide surge in magic power. Within days, concentrations rose to many times normal levels, causing “enhanced magic syndrome”: people’s bodies could not cope, and many fell unconscious or died.
• Xiao Feng recounts joining an imperial investigation team sent north. In the Highland, they found a gray wasteland where the magic concentration was far higher than in the Empire, and encountered mutated beasts.
• After a week’s march, the team reached an altar amid the remains of Hetuluo, the barbarian capital. The altar was the only structure left standing.
• Its survival was due to an active Goddess Summoning Magic Array. The barbarians had obtained Lan Qingyou’s original design through smugglers and altered it to incorporate their shamanic beliefs. Lan recognizes one added symbol as a broad representation of minerals.

Character developments and interactions

• Xiao Feng, unaffected by the magic surge because of her vast reserves, serves as the investigator and narrator of the disaster.
• Lan Qingyou listens, quickly infers that the altar is tied to the catastrophe, and identifies the array as her own—though tampered with. She responds with curiosity and amusement rather than alarm.
• Xiao Feng confirms Lan’s deductions and shows her the modified array, deepening their exchange as Lan examines its symbols.

Significant themes

• Reckless ambition and unintended consequences: The researcher’s work and the barbarians’ eagerness to exploit it bring disaster on a global scale.
• Knowledge misused or misunderstood: Technology passed to people without the expertise to handle it is modified carelessly, with catastrophic results.
• Cultural reinterpretation: The barbarians reshape Lan’s magical system through their own shamanic symbolism, leaving a distinctive trace of their beliefs in the array.

Key plot points

• Lan Qingyou examines an ancient Shaman parchment and finds that many symbols in the summoning array—not just the one for “gods”—were altered. She concludes the changes caused a Magic Power explosion: not a physical blast, but a sudden, immense increase in Magic Power concentration.
• Xiao Feng explains that a thousand years ago Barbarians summoned an unknown creature. The resulting surge of Magic Power caused its body to evaporate, while humans, magical beasts, and plants across the Empire suffered catastrophic losses.
• The creature’s soul survived only as shattered fragments, scattered across the continent by the shock wave. Xiao Feng identifies those fragments as the source of the contamination that persists today.
• Lan Qingyou confirms that Maple Leaf Territory was spared because its Protective Magic Array filters out the contamination. She had added the filtration array after noticing the threat.
• The revelation leads Lan Qingyou to rethink how Magic Power, the World Will’s level limit, and her own time-travel damage may affect souls as well as bodies.

Character developments and interactions

• Lan Qingyou uses her knowledge of arrays and symbols to reconstruct what happened. Though alarmed by the scale of the ancient disaster, she connects it to discoveries about her own condition and the world’s rules.
• Xiao Feng fills in the historical details and addresses Lan Qingyou as his teacher. Their familiar exchange briefly evokes their relationship a thousand years earlier.
• Lan Qingyou is skeptical of Xiao Feng’s claim that blocking a dangerous soul is “easy,” underscoring how disturbing she finds the contamination.

Significant themes

• Unintended consequences of power: Altering a summoning array unleashed a disaster far beyond its creators’ control.
• The soul as vulnerable and persistent: The creature’s body was destroyed, but fragments of its soul continued to harm the continent.
• Protection through gradual change and preparation: Lan Qingyou’s territory avoided catastrophe partly because its Magic Power increased gradually and because she installed defensive measures.
• Hidden costs of transformation: Magic Power and the World Will may strengthen souls as well as bodies, suggesting that growth, limits, and even time travel carry deeper consequences.

• Plot and events: Xiao Feng explains that the Magic Power eruption’s effects were investigated about fifty years after it happened. Lan Qingyou recalls that, on her own journey a thousand years into the past, she lost only a small piece of her soul because Magic Power in that era was the real problem; she was able to heal herself. After discovering contamination on the Highland, Xiao Feng and the investigation team wiped out the remaining Barbarians there, ending the northern-border threat. As Magic Power became lethal to ordinary people, Xiao Feng used the Class-Change Emblem to give them combat or magical abilities. The process saved most people, though some died, and it greatly increased his influence and the number of soldiers loyal to him. Xiao Feng also developed a demanding but effective group communication spell.
• Character developments and interactions: Lan Qingyou questions Xiao Feng about the timing and cause of the contamination, while he recounts the events with a reflective, distant air. She realizes that several systems she encountered in the shelter—including the Magic Desk’s chat function and the Personal Information features—grew out of tools and ideas she had brought back from the future. She suspects the World Will, later identified as Katie, expanded the system, and reflects on how her time travel has shaped history. She resolves not to interfere with time carelessly and then returns her attention to Xiao Feng’s account.
• Further developments: Xiao Feng says the contamination did not erupt until fifty years after the Magic Power surge, though there were earlier warning signs. The surge killed many magical beasts and plants and left the continent gray. The Aurelius family and another family carried research materials, records, seeds, and magical-beast cells from unaffected Maple Leaf Territory to Storm Island, which had been spared much of the surge’s impact.
• Significant themes: The chapter emphasizes the tangled, self-reinforcing effects of time travel; the cost of survival and the growth of power during catastrophe; and the limits of even well-designed solutions. It also highlights how tools and knowledge passed between eras can shape both personal histories and entire societies.

Chapter Summary

• The continent’s attempted restoration: After the Magic Power explosion devastated the continent, the Aurelius and Nikola families, alongside imperial alchemists, used a technique resembling the Class-Change Emblem to strengthen surviving magical beasts and plants. The Empire and nobility poured resources into rebuilding the ecosystem, and life gradually returned.
• A hidden contamination: Decades later, the scattered soul fragments of the summoned magical creature began to affect the world. They had attached themselves to ordinary things—rocks, trees, beasts, people, and buildings—and contaminated the environment silently. For fifty years, rising deformities, mutations, and abnormal plant growth went largely unnoticed, dismissed as side effects of increasing Magic Power.
• The catastrophe: When the contamination finally erupted, already-affected humans, beasts, and plants mutated on a massive scale, and the land turned ashen. Storm Island was protected by an immense array built by Lord Albert and Array Masters, while Maple Leaf Territory also escaped the disaster.
• Lan Qingyou’s interpretation: Xiao Feng explains that the catastrophe was not caused by a long dormant period or slow soul repair; the contamination had been spreading since the original explosion. Lan Qingyou suspects the creature may have been a Star Beast—or something becoming a Proto- or Pseudo-Star Beast—whose instinct was to drain or assimilate the planet.

Character Development and Interactions

• Xiao Feng recounts the history and regrets that the contamination was not discovered earlier, though he recognizes that the past cannot be changed.
• Lan Qingyou listens selectively, focusing on the soul fragments and their influence rather than background details she already knows. She considers using time magic to intervene but rejects the idea, fearing the consequences of altering the past.
• Lan’s curiosity as a fighter emerges: she wants practical experience against Star Beasts, but the creature’s host may be long gone. She regrets not encountering it herself, since her teacher could have identified its species with a single appraisal.

Significant Themes

• Unnoticed consequences: Small, gradual warning signs can be ignored until a crisis becomes irreversible.
• The danger of interference: Changing the past may create consequences greater than the original disaster.
• Curiosity and missed opportunities: Lan’s desire for knowledge and experience is tempered by the possibility that the chance has vanished.