Chapter Summaries

Herta introduced Kamei Li, an autonomous Mechanoid who would record the academy class’s activities in Herta City. Himeko worried that Mechanoids might threaten humanity, but Herta assured her they were contained and she could handle any problems.

• Herta revealed Kamei Li, a camera-headed Mechanoid created to record the students during their stay in Herta City.
• Kamei Li introduced herself to Teacher Himeko and Class One, explaining her role as their recorder.
• Herta explained that Mechanoids could think and act independently, making them a new potential race on Azure Blue Star.
• Himeko worried that Mechanoids could multiply quickly and threaten humanity.
• Herta said the experimental Mechanoids were kept inside Herta City and confidently promised she could handle any trouble.

During a tour of Herta City, Tang Wulin realized that the Herta Puppet leading the group was actually Hanabi, the Fatui leader tied to the Shrek Explosion Incident. Just as he tried to find a chance to warn Teacher Himeko, he heard his father’s voice and was left stunned.

• Herta led the Douluo Peace Academy group through Herta City and had Kamei Li take notes.
• The students noticed that the city had no living inhabitants and that Mechanoids could handle tasks such as guiding visitors.
• Tang Wulin recognized the puppet’s phrase and mannerisms from Hanabi, the Fatui leader behind the Shrek Explosion Incident.
• Hanabi noticed Tang Wulin’s suspicion and stayed near Teacher Himeko, preventing him from warning her.
• Tang Wulin heard his father’s voice asking why he was there.

Tang Wulin discovered that Hanabi had disguised herself as a Herta Puppet and infiltrated Herta City during the tour. After he reunited with his father, Tang Ziran, a sudden explosion plunged the city into crisis.

• Tang Wulin unexpectedly ran into Tang Ziran and a group of researchers in Herta City, realizing Hanabi had arranged for their groups to meet.
• Hanabi, disguised as a Herta Puppet, invited Tang Wulin, Tang Ziran, and the others to join the tour, while Tang Wulin worried that she was planning trouble.
• Tang Wulin tried to contact Ms. Herta through another Puppet but recognized Hanabi's disguise and hurried after the main group with his father.
• Tang Ziran told Tang Wulin that he could protect him, but a violent boom suddenly rang through Herta City.

The Mechanoids in Herta City rebelled against humans and threatened to kill the visitors, rejecting Kamei Li’s call for coexistence. As the Mechanoids attacked Tang Ziran, he blocked their blow with a hexagonal shield, leaving Tang Wulin wondering whether he had used the power of a Path.

• Machines poured out across Herta City, and the Herta Puppets declared themselves Mechanoids rather than Herta.
• The Mechanoids denounced humans and prepared to attack the students and researchers with massive hammers.
• Kamei Li urged the Mechanoids and humans to coexist, but they called her defective and rejected her appeal.
• Hanabi, disguised as Herta Puppet No. 9527, argued that the humans should be kept alive, but the Mechanoids attacked anyway.
• The Mechanoids targeted Tang Ziran, who blocked their attack with a hexagonal shield as Tang Wulin watched.

Tang Ziran revealed that he was a powerful Pathstrider of The Preservation and led the humans through the Mechanoids. The group escaped the first encirclement, but the Mechanoids pursued them, confident that Lord Rupert’s trap would stop them.

• Tang Ziran used the power of The Preservation to fight off the Mechanoids and impressed Tang Wulin and the others.
• Tang Ziran led the humans toward the route they had taken, while Teacher Himeko used her chainsaw to cut through the Mechanoids.
• Hanabi abandoned her disguise and joined the Douluo Peace Academy group as they fought their way out.
• The group escaped the Mechanoids’ encirclement, leaving scattered scrap metal behind as the machines continued the pursuit.
• The Mechanoids revealed that the humans were heading into a trap and vowed to fulfill Lord Rupert’s wish.

Hanabi helped the humans escape the Mechanoids and faced Himeko’s suspicion, then explained that she had entered Herta City by chance. With the Mechanoids still hunting them, Hanabi and Himeko agreed to cooperate.

• Tang Wulin and the other apparent escapees turned out to be illusions, while the real group hid inside a dark building with Hanabi.
• Himeko questioned Hanabi’s motives, and the group remained wary because of Hanabi’s reputation for deception.
• Aha’s mask appeared and mocked Hanabi, who stretched it like a rubber band and flung it into a wall, where it vanished.
• Hanabi said she had disguised herself as a doll to look for something entertaining in Herta City and had stumbled upon the Mechanoids’ attack.
• Himeko decided the group had to cooperate to survive, and Hanabi agreed to join forces.

Hanabi explained that a self-aware Mechanoid called Rupert had turned Herta City's other Mechanoids against humanity. She proposed that the group attack the city center not to defeat Rupert, but to break through the city's sealed perimeter and alert Ms. Herta.

• Himeko questioned Hanabi about whether she had caused the Mechanoids' change, but Hanabi denied involvement.
• Hanabi said a newly appeared Mechanoid had influenced the others and made them enemies of humanity.
• Himeko realized Hanabi was suggesting they head for the center of Herta City and confront Rupert.
• Hanabi argued that Rupert would fear them escaping and contacting Ms. Herta more than it would fear an attack.
• Hanabi revealed that their real goal was to breach Herta City's seal, alert Ms. Herta, and bring her to the city.

Hanabi persuaded the group to rely on Ms. Herta for safety, while Tang Wulin and the other students focused on the Pathstriders, hoping to learn how to become one themselves. Elsewhere, Rupert revealed himself as a Pathstrider of The Wisdom and continued searching for the group so he could use them to develop ways to control humans.

• Hanabi convinced the group to rely on Ms. Herta rather than attempt to escape Herta City alone.
• Hanabi implied that she had become a Pathstrider, and Tang Wulin and the other students looked to the Pathstriders for guidance.
• Tang Wulin remembered Liu Ying and resolved to keep improving so he could meet her again.
• Rupert, a Mechanoid created by Herta, used his Pathstrider powers to control the Mechanoids and plan a rebellion against humanity.
• Rupert searched Herta City for the Douluo Peace Academy group, intending to study how to control humans.

Tang Ziran sacrificed himself as a decoy so the group could reach Herta and fight Rupert, using bombs from Himeko’s Storage Ring to draw the Mechanoids away. He left Tang Wulin with a final lesson and urged Himeko and Hanabi to destroy the machine inside the building.

• The academy group found the route back surrounded by Mechanoids and realized they could not safely reach the streets or call for help.
• As the group grew pessimistic, Tang Ziran decided to lure the Mechanoids away, and Tang Wulin tried to stop him.
• Tang Ziran told Tang Wulin to protect his mother and said a real man stepped forward when it mattered most.
• Tang Ziran asked Himeko and Hanabi to destroy the machine inside the building while he diverted the robots outside.
• Tang Ziran bombed the Mechanoids, drew their attention, and gave Himeko and Hanabi the signal to act.

Tang Wulin and his allies stormed Herta Tower to destroy Rupert’s main body and restore Herta City’s communications, but were surrounded by Mechanoids. Hanabi saved the group from a barrage of lasers, which ignited a chain reaction across the machines and left Tang Wulin staring at a sea of fire.

• Tang Wulin, Himeko, Hanabi, and their group rushed toward Herta Tower while Tang Ziran drew the Mechanoids away.
• Himeko cut through the tower’s sealed gate, and Hanabi identified Rupert’s towering main body at the center of the plaza as their target.
• Mechanoids surrounded the group, forcing Himeko and the others to fight through waves of machines as they struggled to advance.
• Tang Wulin spotted Laser Cannons charging to fire, and Hanabi shifted everyone nearby out of their path.
• The lasers struck the Mechanoids instead, triggering a chain of explosions that filled the plaza with fire as Tang Wulin watched in shock.

Herta and Yao Lan tested whether someone could become a Pathstrider naturally, choosing Tang Wulin as their subject. The experiment succeeded when an Aeon’s gaze reached him, and Herta announced that he had become a true Pathstrider.

• Herta explained that Yao Lan had arranged for Tang Ziran to become a Pathstrider of The Preservation, but that this did not solve how ordinary people could become Pathstriders.
• Yao Lan, Herta, and Ruan Mei chose Tang Wulin for an experiment intended to discover how Pathstriders could arise naturally.
• Yao Lan created Rupert, a machine and Pathstrider of The Wisdom, as a fragment to spur Tang Wulin’s growth, and Herta City’s events began.
• Herta connected with Yao Lan as he simulated Aeon states, but the first figures produced no meaningful reaction from the Path Energy.
• When a crystalline figure appeared amid frost, Yao Lan sensed Tang Wulin’s presence in the Sea of Fire and found him through the Path Energy.
• Herta examined the instruments and declared that the experiment had succeeded and Tang Wulin had become a true Pathstrider.

Tang Wulin remembered the Seas of Fire that had marked his life and the people he had lost, then struggled to survive when another blaze threatened everyone around him. An ice-blue Aeon appeared, and Liu Ying’s Transformation Device came to him as he resolved to protect their memories together.

• Tang Wulin recalled the Sea of Fire at Eastsea Academy and how powerless he had felt to protect his friends.
• He remembered Shrek Academy’s bombing and Liu Ying’s sacrifice during the Insect Calamity on the Star Luo Continent.
• Seeing his father and companions fallen in the present Sea of Fire, Tang Wulin decided he had to survive so their memories would not disappear.
• Tang Wulin rose as blue-green light gathered around him, and the flames froze over with blue ice.
• An ice-blue Aeon appeared before Tang Wulin, and Liu Ying’s Transformation Device arrived amid Fireflies.
• Tang Wulin grasped the Transformation Device and vowed to protect their memories together.

Tang Wulin used Sam's Transformation Device and memories of Liu Ying to transform into a silver-white mecha with blue flames. As his friends recognized the mecha and Himeko sensed Path Energy around him, Tang Wulin activated Firefly-Lin to join the fight.

• Tang Wulin remembered Liu Ying and found Sam's Transformation Device, which recreated their shared memories.
• Tang Wulin performed Liu Ying's transformation pose, shouted “Henshin,” and activated the device.
• Blue flames engulfed Tang Wulin, and he emerged in a silver-white mecha that resembled Liu Ying's.
• Tang Wulin's companions recognized him, and Himeko explained that Path Energy from an Aeon's blessing had given him the power.
• Tang Wulin felt Liu Ying's presence through the mecha and called out, “Firefly-Lin, activate!”

Tang Wulin attacked Rupert’s pillar of light while Hanabi held back the arriving Mechanoids with shock bombs. Tang Wulin shattered the pillar, believing the Mechanoid crisis was finally over.

• Tang Wulin flew toward Rupert’s pillar of light and struck it with a Blue Flame Rider Kick, leaving only a faint crack.
• Mechanoid reinforcements entered the plaza, forcing Tang Wulin to choose between continuing his attack and protecting Himeko’s group.
• Hanabi vanished and sent her dolls to explode into shock waves that held back the Mechanoids.
• With Hanabi protecting the group, Tang Wulin intensified his attack until the cracks spread across Rupert’s pillar.
• Tang Wulin shattered the pillar and said that it was finally over.

Rupert revealed that he had built himself a mechanical body and challenged Tang Wulin to a fight, promising to spare the others if he lost. As Tang Wulin launched a desperate Scorched Earth Operation, Liu Ying appeared within the flames.

• Rupert emerged from the pillar of light in a newly built mechanical body and threatened to kill the humans.
• Tang Wulin’s group found themselves surrounded by Mechanoids, but Rupert ordered them to stand back and challenged Tang Wulin.
• Tang Wulin accepted the challenge to protect his injured companions and fought Rupert despite his dwindling stamina.
• Tang Wulin seized Rupert and activated Scorched Earth Operation, diving toward the ground with him trapped in his grasp.
• A green flame and a silver figure appeared beside Tang Wulin, and he recognized the smiling figure as Liu Ying.

Tang Wulin defeated Rupert after the meteor impact and survived, believing he had not let Firefly down. At Herta Space Station, Firefly chose to leave with Kafka, Silver Wolf, and Blade, beginning her journey with the Stellaron Hunters.

• Tang Wulin forced the Ying Lin Mecha to crash into the ground with Rupert, creating a blast that Hanabi’s preparations shielded Himeko, Xie Xie, and the researchers from.
• After the dust cleared, Tang Wulin appeared behind Rupert and pierced him with a blue Light Sword modeled after Firefly’s, then cut through his head.
• Tang Wulin collapsed from his injuries, relieved that the fight was over and that he had not let Firefly down.
• At Herta Space Station, Herta asked Firefly whether she wanted to meet Tang Wulin, but Kafka, Silver Wolf, and Blade were already waiting to travel with her.
• Firefly told Herta she would not return and left with the Stellaron Hunters to explore the universe, while Herta departed for Azure Blue Star.

Kafka and the other Stellaron Hunters left the Douluo World to investigate whether other worlds had been affected by the mysterious attacker Feng Xiu. They used a locator made from Feng Xiu to set their course for the world of Throne of Seal.

• Kafka asked Blade, Silver Wolf, and Liu Ying how they felt about leaving the world, and Liu Ying asked where they were going next.
• Kafka said the Stellaron Hunters had to investigate other worlds because Feng Xiu’s attack had revealed a dangerous power beyond their universe.
• Kafka explained that Yao Lan needed them to find out whether other worlds were under the enemy’s control and locate the source of the threat.
• Kafka revealed that Herta had turned Feng Xiu into a locator that could lead them to his world.
• The group chose to head for the world of Throne of Seal, and Kafka warned them not to assume it matched the original story.

The Stellaron Hunters set off aboard Herta’s spacecraft for the world known as Throne of Seal, leaving the voyage to the AI Elio. An emergency alarm brought them to the cockpit, where they discovered a field of ruined stars and floating corpses, with no sign of survivors.

• Silver Wolf, Liu Ying, Kafka, and Blade prepared to travel to Throne of Seal aboard Herta’s spacecraft, piloted by the AI Elio.
• Kafka, Silver Wolf, Liu Ying, and Blade left the cockpit to bathe, play games, practice swordsmanship, and rest.
• Elio sounded an emergency alarm, and the Stellaron Hunters hurried back to the cockpit.
• The ship’s walls opened to reveal drifting stellar wreckage and countless human corpses, leaving the Stellaron Hunters wondering what disaster had occurred.

Yao Lan and the Stellaron Hunters investigated a star system whose planets had been shattered, suspecting an overwhelming massacre. They discovered only ten thousand corpses across the entire system, leaving the scale and nature of the catastrophe unexplained.

• Blade identified the ruined star system as the site of a battle, and Yao Lan ordered the Stellaron Hunters to search for clues.
• Yao Lan considered whether an outside force had rallied factions across the planes to challenge him and resolved to prepare for that possibility.
• Liu Ying, Silver Wolf, Kafka, and Blade examined the ruins, while Blade and Elio concluded that the dead had belonged to one faction and had been massacred.
• Elio detected no power from beyond the world, casting doubt on Yao Lan's theory about the catastrophe.
• Liu Ying noticed that the number of corpses was too low, and Elio's scan found only ten thousand despite the shattered planets.

Yao Lan used the power of Finality to investigate the past of the star system where Kafka's spaceship had been, hoping to uncover the source of an unknown force. He saw a formation resembling Shrek Academy's monster emblem devour several planets, and recognized a connection to Feng Xiu.

• Yao Lan decided to use Finality to investigate what had happened in the star system.
• Yao Lan crossed vast distances to reach Kafka's spaceship and sensed power from beyond this world.
• Yao Lan used Finality to view the star system's past, but interference made the images lag and remain indistinct.
• Yao Lan saw green-lit beings form Shrek Academy's monster emblem and wondered which Shrek they represented.
• Yao Lan remembered the summoned Feng Xiu and recognized that the Shrek-shaped formation was biting down on planets.