Chapter Summaries

Saina welcomed Silver, a fat cat from her previous life, into the household, and the family settled it in the warm woodshed. The next morning, a dispute over feeding Silver ended with Su Li setting up a cat-raising budget as he continued approaching the fifth tier.

• Saina and Elena argued over where Silver should sleep, and Su Li assigned the cat a warm spot beside the stove in the woodshed.
• Saina watched Silver settle in, while Elonore fed and played with the cat before being sent to wash the dishes.
• Su Li practiced with his fourth-tier greatsword and felt that the path to the fifth tier was becoming clearer.
• The next morning, Saina tried to use the household's best cured meat for Silver's breakfast, prompting Elena and Elonore to debate who needed it more.
• Su Li divided the meat between breakfast and Silver, then told Saina that Elena would manage a monthly cat-raising budget.
• Saina fed Silver its small portion while Su Li wiped down his greatsword and felt his aether settle.

Talia warned Su Li that forcing his breakthrough to the fifth tier could destroy his soul and said he needed an anchor to stabilize it. After recalling Su Li’s and his three wives’ synchronized breakthrough, she suggested the anchor might not be an object.

• Talia arrived and sensed that Su Li’s aether was nearing the point of overflowing as he prepared to break through to the fifth tier.
• Talia explained that the breakthrough would solidify aether into a core and could shatter Su Li’s soul without a suitable anchor.
• Su Li recalled that forcing a breakthrough in his previous life had irreparably damaged his soul.
• Talia examined Elonore, Elena, and Saina, then remembered that all three had advanced alongside Su Li during his previous breakthrough.
• Talia suggested that the anchor Su Li needed might not be an object.

Talia proposed using three soul-bound women as anchors to stabilize Su Li's attempt to reach Tier Five, but Su Li refused to put them at risk and said he had another way. The next morning, Elena prepared account books for a household meeting about the breakthrough.

• Talia explained that three souls could stabilize Su Li during aether solidification, though the elves had no confirmed successful cases.
• Elonore offered to test the resonance, but Su Li refused to use any of the women as test subjects and said he had another way.
• Talia offered to calculate a safe resonance range if Su Li later needed help.
• Saina made Su Li promise not to hide a dangerous breakthrough attempt from her, and he assured her he truly had another method.
• Elena set up a special Tier Five budget, while Saina and Elonore added work-time and rest protections for Su Li.
• The next morning, Elena laid out account books and called everyone to a meeting.

Elena reviewed the Su Family’s finances and the scarce materials needed for Su Li’s Tier Five breakthrough, while Talia and Elonore proposed ways to prepare safely. That night, Su Li realized his aether had begun compressing toward solidification much earlier than expected, and Elonore presented the seventh draft of a resonance-stabilizing ring.

• Elena calculated the Su Family’s assets and explained how difficult and costly it would be to obtain the three materials needed for a Tier Five breakthrough.
• Su Li insisted that the household keep its ordinary routines, and Elena proposed setting aside forty percent of monthly profits for the breakthrough fund.
• Talia described three possible paths for a Tier Five breakthrough, and Elonore proposed a ring that could help observe and predict how their aether signatures interacted.
• Su Li assigned Elonore to design the ring, Elena to budget for materials, and Saina to monitor his daily schedule.
• That night, Su Li sensed that his aether had begun compressing on its own, at least three months earlier than he had expected.
• Elonore showed Su Li her seventh revised draft of the ring, with forty-seven nodes and three spiraling circuits.

Su Li and Elonore forged a mithril stabilizing ring that improved fourth-tier ether control but could not support a fifth-tier breakthrough; Saina claimed it for kitchen work. Half a month later, a letter and documents from Old Ford arrived for Elena, who read the unusually long, polite letter and handed it to Su Li.

• Su Li identified flaws in Elonore's stabilizing-ring design, and they revised the blueprint while Saina brought them soup.
• Su Li and Elonore forged a scaled-down mithril ring, which stabilized ether flow but could only handle the late fourth tier.
• Saina tested the ring by slicing radishes into perfectly even rounds and kept wearing it despite its cost of thirty-seven Gold Coins.
• Half a month later, a rider delivered Old Ford's personal letter and documents to Elena at Ginkgo Alley No. 3 Courtyard.
• Elena read Old Ford's unusually long and polite letter, then handed it to Su Li.

Su Li examined the palace array diagram Old Ford sent and resolved to find a way to disable the formation before going to the Royal Capital. After Silver spilled ink across the diagram, Su Li noticed that the ink was flowing in an unnatural direction.

• Old Ford sent Su Li fifth-tier goods and a rubbing of the palace array's core diagram, while reporting that the Royal Capital was in turmoil and the Iris Family had taken over security in two districts.
• Talia confirmed the rubbing was genuine but said its energy-flow section had been deliberately erased and could not be restored without the original diagram.
• Su Li told Elena they would not go to the Royal Capital yet, then promised Saina he would stay away until he found a way to stop the array.
• Su Li began using the diagram and reference books to work out how to block the array's energy routes.
• Silver sprawled on the diagram and knocked over an ink dish; as ink seeped into the parchment, Su Li noticed it was flowing in an unnatural direction.

Su Li uncovered hidden emergency energy-release channels in the Royal Capital’s grand array and arranged for Old Ford to investigate their vents while preparing for his fifth-tier breakthrough. As the investigation began, the Silver Claw Merchant Guild brought him rare ore and a report on magical mechanical energy, which caught Talia’s interest.

• Su Li traced the ink’s unusual flow across the map and revealed a backup energy-release circuit with three vents that could have prevented the disaster in his previous life.
• Su Li decided to wait until he reached the fifth tier before going to the Royal Capital, then negotiated Silver’s monthly cat-raising budget with Saina and Elena.
• Su Li revised his schedule to pursue his breakthrough and investigate the grand array at the same time, asking Elena to write Old Ford about the three vents.
• Old Ford replied that he would use the Iris Family’s connections to investigate the palace locations, a task he expected to take at least two months.
• Supervisor Barlow brought Su Li high-purity ore and a report from the Baris Empire, and Talia found an aether inertness test in the report worth examining.

Elonore combined elven Active Circuit technology with Baris's pressure structure to create a stabilizing ring that helped Saina control heat precisely. Inspired by her cooking, Su Li changed his approach to reaching the fifth tier, and his first test with the latest ring condensed liquid aether into a crystal inside his greatsword.

• Elonore proposed combining the elves' Active Circuit with Baris's pressure structure and completed a second version of the stabilizing ring two days later.
• Saina tested the ring by cooking stew and found she could sense and control the stove's temperature with exceptional precision.
• Su Li realized that precise control over everyday energy could help him reach the fifth tier, so he abandoned seclusion and began treating daily meals as training.
• Over the following years, Elena restricted Su Li's orders to technically valuable work, while Elonore independently developed the stabilizing ring through seven versions.
• Su Li used the newest ring to channel highly compressed aether into his fourth-tier greatsword, where a tiny crystal formed inside the blade.

Su Li's patient cultivation at Ginkgo Alley No. 3 Courtyard culminated in his natural breakthrough to the fifth tier. He quietly adapted to his new ether core and discovered that he could perceive ether and spiritual energy throughout the alley.

• Talia recognized the tiny crystal point on Su Li's sword as a Solidification Crystal and realized he was nurturing a path to the fifth tier.
• By the spring of their sixth year, Saina, Elena, and Elonore had advanced their work and pursuits while Su Li relaxed and continued waiting for his breakthrough.
• One evening, as Su Li sat on the roof, his liquid aether naturally compressed and solidified into his first solid ether core.
• Su Li reached the fifth tier without pain or fanfare, then stayed quiet as he adjusted to his new power.
• Su Li perceived ether and spirituality throughout Ginkgo Alley and sensed the greatsword's crystal point resonating with his ether core.

Saina, Elena, and Elonore completed a smooth synchronization that raised all three to the fifth tier, drawing alarms from nearby observers. Su Li and the women kept the breakthrough quiet while Elonore inspected the stability rings damaged by the surge.

• Saina, Elena, and Elonore awakened to synchronized fifth-tier power without pain.
• Talia sensed four fifth-tier auras rising from Ginkgo Alley, while Barlow ordered the Silver Claw Merchant Guild’s lookouts to retreat.
• Su Li joined the women in the courtyard as they adapted to their new strength and kept their daily work going.
• Elena suspended external orders for three days and arranged to conceal the breakthrough as a furnace test.
• Elonore found that all twelve stability rings had overloaded and estimated that a redesigned thirteenth version could withstand normal use.

After four people at Ginkgo Alley reached the fifth tier, Talia tried to document Su Li’s breakthrough but learned little beyond how precisely Saina could cook. In the Royal Capital, Old Ford discovered the fourfold breakthrough, abandoned his coup plans, and wrote to Su Li and Elena asking them to come discuss the royal palace’s great formation and First Generation armor.

• Talia visited Ginkgo Alley to record Su Li’s breakthrough, but he said he had sat on the roof and caught the wind.
• Talia tasted Saina’s braised ribs and noticed that Saina’s fifth-tier control made every piece cook with perfect consistency.
• Old Ford’s Bloodline Crystal lit up, and a covert report confirmed four simultaneous fifth-tier fighters at Ginkgo Alley.
• Old Ford tore up his coup plans after realizing the four fifth-tier fighters could not simply be used or controlled.
• Old Ford wrote Su Li and Elena a letter asking them to come to the Royal Capital to discuss the great formation beneath the palace and the First Generation armor.

Three days after receiving Old Ford’s letter, Su Li and Elena agreed to travel to the Royal Capital to deal with the great array and set strict terms for their cooperation. As their departure preparations continued, Talia arrived and asked to join them.

• Elena read Old Ford’s letter, and Su Li agreed to go to the Royal Capital after setting conditions about the great array, the fifth-rank armor, and payment.
• Elena planned a short visit focused on Old Ford and the palace engineers, with a possible message to the Baris Empire’s liaison through Barlow’s channel.
• Saina and Elonore prepared travel supplies, and Elonore packed tools and array materials for the journey.
• Saina insisted on bringing Silver, and Su Li reminded Elena that the cat had once uncovered hidden impressions on an array diagram, so Elena added his travel costs to the ledger.
• On the fourth day, Talia arrived at the courtyard with a long tool case and told Su Li she wanted to come with them.

Su Li and his companions traveled toward the Royal Capital to handle the palace grand array, planning how to safely release its stored aether. They left Saina’s final contribution unspoken as the group continued revising the array plan on the road.

• Su Li agreed to let Talia join the journey on the condition that she follow his instructions and avoid tampering with the grand array.
• Barlow sent Su Li a comfortable carriage and a box of flour for Saina, and Elena recorded the gift as a social expense.
• The group left Silver Crown City in Barlow’s carriage, while Talia struggled to take notes on the bumpy official road.
• Su Li and Elena worked out a sequence for opening the palace array’s three energy-release ports to avoid destroying nearby buildings.
• Elonore proposed active buffer arrays, and Talia pointed out that the seventh layer’s node spacing needed adjustment.
• Saina listened to the others discuss the array without speaking.

Su Li, Saina, and Elena arrived at Red Leaf Manor, where Old Ford welcomed them and gave Su Li an updated map of the Royal Capital’s defenses. At dinner, Old Ford explained that he controlled the capital in practice but wanted Su Li to deal with the grand formation before he took the throne, and Su Li asked what payment he would offer.

• Saina asked whether vegetables could still grow in the Royal Capital after the formation was sealed, and Su Li said the Royal Wilderness soil was fertile.
• Old Ford welcomed Elena, Su Li, and Saina at Red Leaf Manor and gave Su Li a more detailed palace defense layout.
• Old Ford gave Elena the keys to West Court, including keys to its secret chamber, and invited her to call on him if needed.
• At dinner, Old Ford said the royal family had collapsed, the legions were divided, and Iris's private army and his control of the grain routes gave him practical control of the Royal Capital.
• Old Ford said he had no official title and would not take the throne until the grand formation was dealt with, and Su Li asked how he planned to calculate the payment.

Su Li and Elena negotiated a revised contract with Old Ford, then Su Li led an inspection of the palace formation core. He found more damage and far greater pressure than expected, leaving the danger of the sealed system unresolved.

• Elena negotiated stronger shipyard-share and royal-vault terms, and Su Li and Old Ford signed the revised contract.
• Su Li prepared to inspect the palace formation core the next morning with Elena, Elonore, Talia, and Old Ford, while Saina guarded the entrance.
• Su Li examined the formation and found three aging nodes missing from the old blueprint, along with hidden cracks and a hollow weld point.
• Elonore recorded the actual circuit layout as Elena mapped the underground locations to buildings aboveground.
• Su Li found that the pressure behind the first energy-release vent was thirty percent higher than in his previous life because it had never been vented.

Su Li and his team stabilized the ancient array, redirected its dangerous aether, and dismantled its main blast point before it could destroy the city. The array was left calm, and Su Li took three valuable fragments as additional material fees.

• Su Li laid out a three-day plan to stabilize the array, divert its flow, and seal the main blast point while Elena arranged evacuations and Old Ford’s people prepared to move households.
• Before sunrise, Su Li fed fifth-tier aether into the central pillar as Elonore carved a buffer array and Talia monitored pressure at a discharge vent.
• Elena reported that the southern streets had been cleared and that Saina had arranged soup for the evacuees.
• When a crack appeared in the array wall, Su Li redirected the rising heat toward an abandoned energy-storage pool, and Talia recorded his approach as the “Boiling Water Method.”
• On the third day, Su Li and Elonore guided the released aether through the buffer array into the abandoned pool, depressurizing all three ports and calming the pillar.
• Su Li took three dark-gold fragments from the array eye as additional material fees, and Elena recorded the proceeds.

Su Li and Old Ford negotiated the royal family's surrender of power and took valuables from the royal vault. At talks with the Empire, its delegation offered increased compensation after learning Su Li and his companions were fifth-rank, but Elena questioned the ore's unspecified grade.

• Su Li and Old Ford agreed with the old prince to transfer royal finances and armaments while leaving the royal bloodline, estates, and founding king's coffin untouched.
• Su Li selected furnace material, armor fragments, and southern sea charts from the royal vault, while Saina took seventeen jars of royal seeds.
• Talia noted the mineral wealth indicated by the sea charts, and Su Li said they would study them later before planning to return to the vault the next day.
• The Imperial delegation offered twenty tons of refined magic-conducting ore, machinery blueprints, and gunpowder workshop equipment as additional compensation.
• Elena reviewed the Empire's offer and pointed out that the document did not specify the grade of the ore.

Su Li negotiated with the Empire for refined ore and ocean-going ship materials, then accepted an honorary consulting post while Elena secured management rights over the northern Royal Wilderness. Saina, Martha, and Old Buck arrived at the fertile land, where Su Li explained that Saina had begun planting royal-family seeds.

• Su Li secured finished forged steel plates, a magitech propulsion prototype, and two shipyard engineers in exchange for high-grade furnace materials.
• Su Li told the Imperial representative he wanted a ship so he could retire and see the world, while Saina asked whether they could raise vegetables and chickens aboard it.
• After Old Ford took over the royal capital, Su Li accepted the title of Chief Magical Forging Consultant and agreed to inspect the furnace once a year for the same compensation.
• Elena chose to leave the Royal Wilderness's daily operations to its steward and handle only the accounts.
• Saina brought Martha and Old Buck to the Royal Wilderness, where Old Buck praised the soil and Su Li told him that Saina had started raising seedlings from old royal-family seeds.

Su Li and his companions developed the Royal Wilderness into a productive settlement while planning a new oceangoing ship. The chapter ended with Saina proposing vegetable beds on the ship’s deck as Imperial engineers began construction.

• Su Li showed Old Buck the new forge, and Old Buck praised him for his work.
• Su Li approved Talia’s application to observe his work, while his companions shared a meal and managed plans and accounts at the wilderness cabins.
• One year later, the Royal Wilderness had grown into a thriving agricultural settlement, and Su Li continued his steady routine as a fifth-rank Magic Forger.
• Elonore showed Su Li her oceangoing ship circuit design, and Elena delivered the Baris Empire’s mineral maps and diplomatic letter.
• Saina pointed out where she wanted vegetable beds on the ship under construction, surprising an Imperial engineer who had designed that area as an observation platform.

Su Li, Saina, and their companions prepared a ship for a voyage to an unmapped southern archipelago, while Su Li and Elonore began forging its propulsion core. As the core took shape in the forge, Elena calculated that its materials and labor cost more than three plots of land and two ranches.

• Saina changed the ship’s plans, moving the lookout platform and adding a vegetable plot, chicken coop, and cat bed.
• Elena marked an unknown southern archipelago as their first stop, and Su Li ordered the furnace fired up to forge the ship’s core.
• Su Li and Elonore designed a layered propulsion core using royal formation fragments, elven Active Circuits, and Imperial deep-sea forged steel.
• Su Li melted three formation-core fragments and added a pressure-release circuit while Elonore buffered the molten metal and Talia recorded the process.
• Saina brought congee to the forge and asked Su Li to improve her cooking pot, while Elena tallied the core’s enormous cost.