Chapter Summaries

Lynn stayed at the Meteorite Council’s stronghold while its Morning Star Wizards discussed the disturbances outside. After learning through his soul link that the council was waiting for an important helper, he wondered who the unknown ally was and where they would come from.

• Dite showed Lynn around the Meteorite Council’s stronghold and escorted him to a residence, explaining that Spirit Eye Wizard was unavailable while the Morning Star Wizards held discussions.
• Lina, an elven Level 2 Wizard, tried to draw closer to Lynn, but he dismissed her and asked to rest.
• Lynn concealed the room with magical arrays and reflected on how Bevny had supported his work, considering how he might eventually strengthen her.
• Lynn concluded that Lina’s elven bloodline was too different from Bevny’s to use for a direct bloodline enhancement.
• Lynn synchronized memories with Spirit Eye Wizard and discovered that the Meteorite Council was repeatedly discussing an awaited helper.
• Lynn wondered whether the helper came from outside the Southern Region and considered the council’s need for this ally against the Wizard Council.

Lynn and Dite received the Wind Elf royals, Prince Alton and Princess Lori, at the Meteorite Council outpost. Alton’s contemptuous manner angered Lynn and Dite, while Lori grew curious about Lynn and asked Lina about him, unaware that Lynn understood their conversation.

• Lina arrived with Lynn and Dite as the council’s promised helper, and an elven gateway opened to bring Alton and Lori to the platform.
• Lina was shaken by the royal siblings’ bloodline aura, while Alton ignored her and ordered Lynn and Dite to show them around.
• Dite introduced himself and Lynn, identifying Lynn as Lord Spirit Eye’s direct disciple, but Alton remained arrogant and demanded that they act as hosts.
• Lynn noticed Lori’s shy interest in him as they walked, and she stopped to ask Lina about him in the ancient elven language.
• Lina realized Lori had taken an interest in Lynn, while Lynn secretly understood their conversation and found their discussion of him strange.

Lynn learned that the Wizard Council was steadily crushing the Meteorite Council’s Radical Faction, while the faction’s leader, Saier, secretly summoned a being from the Civilization of Gods. The chapter ended with Saier welcoming the Dark Goddess into the Wizard World.

• Dite apologized to Lynn for Alton’s rude behavior, and Lynn privately considered killing Alton if he provoked him again.
• Lynn recalled that Princess Lori had asked Lina about him with shy curiosity, then sent the Wizard Council intelligence about the elves’ arrival through Bevny.
• The Wizard Council informed Lynn that Flet, a bloodline supremacist, had defected to the Meteorite Council after repeated clashes with its rules.
• Lynn assessed the Council’s military advantage as its allied forces continued to destroy Radical Faction strongholds, slowed by the need to distinguish radicals from the Peace Faction.
• Saier activated a hidden formation using the Civilization of Gods’ power, formed a Gray Domain to shield it from the Wizard World’s rejection, and summoned a woman of black matter.
• The summoned being asked whether she was inside the Wizard World, and Saier knelt before her and called her the Dark Goddess.

Shar's will descended upon the Wizard World through Saier, leader of the Meteorite Council's Radical Faction, and offered him power in exchange for everything he possessed. As Shar transformed him with her darkness, Saier began breaking past the limits that had kept him stagnant, leaving his allegiance and humanity surrendered to her.

• Shar's arrival in a neutral Plane World had broken the restraint against seventh-rank beings, triggering retaliatory attacks between the Wizard Civilization and the Civilization of Gods.
• Shar manifested an avatar in the Wizard World through Saier, who knelt before her as her will took hold of him.
• Shar promised Saier power under the rules of equal exchange and sent writhing dark tentacles into his body and soul.
• Saier welcomed the invasion, and the black matter transformed his body while he felt his power increasing.
• Saier recalled that his failed planar Expedition had cost him the Wizard World's origin protection and left him unable to advance through higher-dimensional battles.
• As Saier offered himself completely to Shar, his magical power surged from the peak of the sixth level toward the threshold of the seventh.

The Meteorite Council launched a massive counterattack against the Nightmare Rift, with Lynn arriving at Reed Swamp and recognizing the target from the Spirit Eye Wizard’s memories. As the assault began, Lynn watched through the Spirit Eye Wizard’s perception as Saier led a force of Morning Star Wizards, including Wind Tribe allies, into the rift.

• The Meteorite Council used an enormous spatial array to send thousands of wizards into Reed Swamp for its counterattack.
• Lynn recognized Reed Swamp as the outskirts of the Nightmare Rift and realized it was the Meteorite Council’s target.
• Lynn considered the Nightmare Rift’s defenses and wondered whether Saier had a way to overcome the protections left by its Radiant Moon Crown.
• Through the Golden Balance’s link to the Spirit Eye Wizard, Lynn saw the Morning Star battlefield open near the rift.
• Lynn counted roughly twenty or thirty Morning Star Wizards among the radicals’ forces and recognized Alton and Lori’s Wind Tribe elders among them.
• Saier led the Morning Star force in a plunge toward the Nightmare Rift.

Saier led an assault on the City of Machinery and unleashed a towering black wall that spread mind-corrupting contamination across the city. As the city’s inhabitants and machines descended into chaos, its Morning Star Wizards rose to confront the threat.

• Saier split into ten figures and sent his forces toward the Nightmare Rift’s ten great cities, while Lynn directed Spirit Eye Wizard to follow the figure heading for the City of Machinery.
• Saier’s avatar arrived at the City of Machinery with Spirit Eye Wizard and another Morning Star Wizard, and their presence triggered the city’s alarms and defenses.
• Saier revealed that the power of a level-six Morning Star Wizard stripped of his origin could shake the Radiant Moon, then released a vast black wall crawling with countless tiny snakes.
• The black wall’s psychic contamination killed apprentices, drove wizards mad, and caused mechanical creations across the City of Machinery to malfunction or attack one another.
• The City of Machinery’s Morning Star Wizards sensed the wall’s malice and flew out to confront it.

Saier’s contamination attack killed most of the wizard life in the City of Machinery, forcing its Morning Star Wizards and neutral residents to emerge. The City Lord transformed the city into Mechanical Heaven, but Saier dismissed the mechanical legions as mere extensions of his body, leaving the City Lord’s response uncertain.

• Saier’s black-wall contamination silently killed hundreds of thousands of wizards and other beings across the City of Machinery.
• Master Warhammer and other Morning Star Wizards confronted Saier, while Lynn spotted Puppet Wizard and resolved to settle their old score.
• Saier demanded that the City Lord appear and revealed that he had abandoned his flesh to pursue Radiant Moon through Mechanical Heaven.
• The City of Machinery disassembled into a vast ocean of components around the City Lord’s black fortress, which deployed more than a hundred Morning Star-level mechanical warriors.
• Saier criticized the City Lord’s mechanical legions for lacking independent consciousness, and an unnatural spiritual fluctuation stirred inside the fortress.

Saier and the City Lord of the City of Machinery began a rule-domain battle, but Saier revealed that his power went beyond the Rule of Darkness. The chapter ended as Saier unleashed the Outer God power granted by the Dark Goddess, which the City Lord recognized as the power of the damned civilization.

• The City Lord answered Saier’s taunt, and both Morning Star Wizards prepared to confront each other with their rule domains.
• Saier transformed his robe and black wall into the Worm-Eroding Sea, then formed a giant that struck the City Lord’s metal defenses.
• The black substance corroded the shattered shields, and the City Lord realized Saier’s power concealed something beyond the Rule of Darkness.
• Saier hinted that events were underway elsewhere and revealed his hidden trump card, the key to advancing beyond Level Six Morning Star.
• Saier released an alien power, and the City Lord identified it as the aura of an Outer God and the power of the damned civilization.

The City Lord of the City of Machinery realized Saier had been transformed by a forbidden, madness-tainted civilization, but the Radiant Moon Crown who could stop him was absent. Saier summoned the Ten Great Cities as a black crown, then erased the City of Bloodlines and declared that the Nightmare Rift would have only nine great cities.

• The City Lord of the City of Machinery recognized the forbidden civilization’s pollution in Saier and understood that Saier’s law-origin had been reconstructed.
• The City Lord regretted that the Radiant Moon Crown was away from the Nightmare Rift, while recalling how he had gained control of the City of Machinery and risen to the peak of level-six Morning Star.
• Saier stood atop a sea of black matter, composed and apparently in control of the contamination within him.
• Saier summoned the Ten Great Cities from the black sea, forming a crown around himself.
• Saier extended one finger and collapsed the City of Bloodlines into black liquid, declaring that the Nightmare Rift would henceforth have nine great cities.

Saier destroyed City of Bloodlines and City of Energy with a gesture, while Lynn recognized the Meteorite Council’s mass mobilization as suspicious and withdrew from the Nightmare Rift. As Saier pressed the remaining cities, the City Lord of City of Machinery finally unleashed a trump card left by the Radiant Moon Crown: Radiant Moon power.

• Saier declared City of Bloodlines exterminated, then destroyed City of Energy with another gesture.
• Lynn noticed that the Meteorite Council was sending vast numbers of wizards and apprentices into a battle they could not survive, and decided to retreat.
• Lynn fled the Nightmare Rift, escaped a Meteorite Council tracker through a golden gate, and reported the danger to the Wizard Council through the Hall of Life.
• Lynn continued observing through the Spirit Eye Wizard as Saier reduced the Nightmare Rift’s cities to the final two.
• The City Lord of City of Machinery unleashed the Radiant Moon Crown’s trump card, releasing power beyond the Morning Star level.

The City Lord of the City of Machinery activated a hidden legacy of the Radiant Moon, and its moonlight stopped Saier from destroying the city. Saier sealed the city inside a prison of darkness and withdrew, while Lynn watched through the Spirit Eye Wizard and struggled to understand the moonlight’s power.

• The City Lord rebuilt the City of Machinery and activated a hidden method left by a Radiant Moon Crown, causing moonlight to cover the city.
• Saier attacked the city with the Sea of Darkness, but the moonlight dissolved his corruption and made him recognize the power of the Radiant Moon.
• Saier chose not to advance into the Radiant Moon realm, fearing the Wizard Council’s world formation would expose him to the Radiant Moon Crowns.
• Saier enclosed the City of Machinery in a sphere of darkness, cutting it off from the outside while the moonlight continued to protect it.
• Saier withdrew with the Spirit Eye Wizard, and Lynn watched through the wizard’s eyes as he wondered what the moonlight was.

After the Meteorite Council seized Nightmare Rift, Night Shadow Wizard and the White Heart Tower Master visited the Hall of Life to learn why Spirit Eye Wizard was connected to it. Lynn told them Spirit Eye Wizard remained in the Rift, then learned they were heading to the Wizard Council’s Southern Region Headquarters, where he could claim his overdue Morning Star gift.

• The Meteorite Council conquered all ten cities of Nightmare Rift, prompting the Wizard Council to summon Southern Region powers to discuss a response.
• Night Shadow Wizard told the White Heart Tower Master that Spirit Eye Wizard stood behind the Hall of Life and had secretly aided the Wizard Council as a double agent.
• Lynn greeted Night Shadow Wizard and the White Heart Tower Master at the Hall of Life and said Spirit Eye Wizard was still in Nightmare Rift.
• The White Heart Tower Master explained that the Wizard Council had summoned Morning Star Wizards to its Southern Region Headquarters to plan their next move.
• Lynn realized he could accompany them to the headquarters and receive the Morning Star gift he had not yet claimed.

Lynn asked whether the Wizard Council’s southern branch could grant Morning Star Gifts and decided to travel with Night Shadow Wizard and the White Heart Tower Master to the City of Mountains. When they dismissed his claim to have advanced, Lynn revealed his Creation Rule aura, leaving both Morning Star Wizards stunned by his power and rapid rise.

• Lynn asked whether the southern branch of the Wizard Council could distribute Morning Star Gifts, and the White Heart Tower Master confirmed that it could.
• The White Heart Tower Master explained the Council’s regional branches and the long journey to its headquarters in the City of Stars.
• Lynn announced that he would travel to the City of Mountains and revealed that he had recently become a Morning Star Wizard.
• Night Shadow Wizard and the White Heart Tower Master recognized Lynn’s life-related Creation Rule and reacted with shock.
• Night Shadow Wizard regretted mocking Lynn and realized that the young Wizard Qing Lin had extraordinary potential.

Lynn, the Night Shadow Wizard, and the White Heart Tower Master crossed the Southern Region’s boundary using Morning Star teleportation arrays to reach the Wizard Council’s Southern Region branch. They arrived near the City of Mountains and saw that the branch stood atop a colossal peak, where Lynn sensed the surrounding landscape had been artificially stabilized.

• Lynn traveled with the Night Shadow Wizard and the White Heart Tower Master across the boundary toward the Wizard Council’s Southern Region branch.
• After more than a month and a half, the three arrived at the branch’s territory and headed toward the City of Mountains.
• The Night Shadow Wizard treated Lynn with new courtesy, while the White Heart Tower Master noted that many Morning Star Wizards had gathered nearby.
• Lynn observed that the mountain region’s energy was unusually balanced and concluded that a powerful force had artificially harmonized the environment.
• The three saw the City of Mountains built across a colossal peak and reached the Southern Region Council Branch.

Lynn visited the Southern Region branch of the Wizard Council and was astonished by the City of Mountains, where rainbow bridges linked the city to intermediate civilizations across the planes. Guided by the White Heart Tower Master and Night Shadow Wizard, he explored those worlds during the Morning Star Wizard conference, with the tour still continuing.

• Lynn saw the City of Mountains and learned from the White Heart Tower Master that its spatial vortices connected to allied intermediate civilizations.
• Lynn wondered whether Wizard Civilization had formed these alliances to resist the Civilization of Gods and was led onward by the White Heart Tower Master and Night Shadow Wizard.
• Lynn learned that the mountain's rainbow bridges served as gateways to planes whose civilizations had agreements with the Southern Region branch of the Wizard Council.
• Lynn toured the visiting civilizations, encountering fishfolk in floating bubbles, cloud spirits, and metal beings who ate metal components.

Lynn climbed to the upper district of the City of Mountains for the Wizard Council assembly, where he reunited with Green and Ald. After Green recognized that Lynn was a Morning Star Wizard and asked Ald to escort him inside, Lynn asked Green about the meeting.

• Lynn, the White Heart Tower Master, and the Night Shadow Wizard climbed through the City of Mountains, seeing visitors and creatures from other worlds along the rainbow bridges.
• At the barrier to the upper district, the White Heart Tower Master and the Night Shadow Wizard went ahead, leaving Lynn unable to enter without an Enforcer Wizard's escort.
• Lynn met Ald and Green on the stairs and revealed his Morning Star Wizard aura, shocking both old acquaintances.
• Green congratulated Lynn on his breakthrough and praised their connection through Hercules, while Ald reconsidered his past hostility toward Lynn.
• Green realized Lynn was barred because his council identity had not been updated and asked Ald to escort him into the upper district.
• Ald reluctantly agreed to lead Lynn inside, and Lynn asked Green about the approaching council meeting.

Lynn entered the South Region Wizard Council’s Morning Star Council meeting and realized the gathering might be a scheme to make attending wizards share responsibility for the destruction of the Nightmare Rift. He found a loophole that could keep him out of the official record, then took his seat in the crowded council hall as the meeting was about to begin.

• Wizard Green explained that the Nightmare Rift’s destruction could anger its absent Radiant Moon Crown, while the South Region branch’s role in the operation made the matter especially sensitive.
• Wizard Green said the branch had summoned level-four Morning Star Wizards partly to lend the meeting weight, while powerful members of Furnace Stone stayed away.
• Lynn suspected the council intended to implicate all attendees and shift blame onto unaffiliated Rogue Cultivators, but realized he was not an official South Region council member and might avoid being recorded or held responsible.
• Wizard Green explained that the council’s circular halls represented equality among members and that Morning Star Wizards could vote regardless of rank.
• Lynn entered the hall with Green and Ald, messaged the White Heart Tower Master and Night Shadow Wizard, and observed the gathered Morning Star Wizards.

At a major South Region Morning Star Council meeting, Elder Singed opened the discussion of the Nightmare Rift’s destruction by emphasizing its historic role as neutral ground and a symbol of order. Lynn suspected the elder was using that legacy to pressure the councilors, and wondered what powerful force lay behind the Council’s caution as Singed began revealing the facts.

• The council hall sealed itself behind an ancient protective array as Elder Singed convened the 3,789th Morning Star Council meeting.
• Lynn reflected on the Wizard World’s eras, learning that the current Summer of Cycles was named for a Bright Sun Wizard and that Morning Star Wizards could not live through an entire era.
• Elder Singed quickly completed routine agenda items through the councilors’ votes.
• Elder Singed described how a Radiant Moon Crown founded the Nightmare Rift as neutral ground after ending a thousand-year war between Black and White Wizards.
• Elder Singed declared that the Nightmare Rift had become ruins, while Lynn suspected the speech was meant to morally pressure the councilors and questioned who had made the Council so cautious.
• Elder Singed began laying out the circumstances surrounding the Nightmare Rift, the Meteorite Council, and other related matters.

Elder Singed explained how the Meteorite Council’s factions and the South Region Council’s campaign against the Radical Faction led to Nightmare Rift’s overthrow. As the council considered the crisis, Lynn suspected Nightmare Rift’s Radiant Moon Crown had been drawn into the operation because of the Goddess of the Weave’s body, leaving the South Region Council trapped by its own miscalculation.

• Elder Singed described the Meteorite Council’s origins and its Peaceful Years, Rogue, and Radical factions, explaining why the South Region Council decided to eradicate the Radicals.
• The South Region Council joined Furnace Stone, Seven Sages Tower, and Nightmare Rift in an offensive against the Radical Faction, while the Peaceful Years and Rogue factions abandoned their former allies and disclosed their strongholds.
• The Radical Faction launched a fierce counterattack and overthrew Nightmare Rift, shocking the South Region.
• Lynn wondered whether the Council had involved Nightmare Rift to curry favor with its absent Radiant Moon Crown, then asked Wizard Green about that Crown’s visit to Furnace Stone.
• Wizard Green revealed that Furnace Stone’s Radiant Moon Crown had brought Hercules to meet Nightmare Rift’s Crown, prompting Lynn to suspect the meeting concerned the Goddess of the Weave’s body and a transformative experiment.

At the Wizard Council meeting, Alice Morton proposed retaking Nightmare Rift and suppressing the Meteorite Council’s Radical Faction, and the proposal passed by an overwhelming majority. After the meeting ended, Alice approached Lynn, Wizard Green, and Wizard Ald, leaving her reason for seeking them unknown.

• Elder Singed finished recounting the fall of Nightmare Rift and invited the councilors to speak.
• Alice Morton introduced herself as a South Region Enforcer Wizard and proposed devoting the Council’s full strength to retaking Nightmare Rift and suppressing the Meteorite Council’s Radical Faction.
• The councilors voted anonymously, and more than ninety percent approved Alice’s proposal.
• The meeting ended, and Wizard Green told Lynn to remain in the City of Mountains to complete his council-member formalities and receive his Morning Star gift.
• Alice approached Lynn, Wizard Green, and Wizard Ald as they spoke after the meeting.