Chapter Summaries

Xu Wuyi reached Major Mastery in the Nether Heaven-Balancing Spear and tested his new ability to control gravity. At the fortress, Tang Xiuqi told him Su Yueling would arrive with the next reinforcements, and Xu Wuyi saw her among the group the following day.

• Xu Wuyi gained a deeper understanding of gravity and advanced the Nether Heaven-Balancing Spear to Major Mastery.
• Xu Wuyi tested his gravitational field on an alloy target, crushing and deforming it.
• Xu Wuyi told Tang Xiuqi that his new spear technique could help him deal with Grand Commander Level enemies.
• Tang Xiuqi told Xu Wuyi that Su Yueling would arrive with the reinforcements and urged him to put the greater picture first.
• Xu Wuyi watched the reinforcements arrive and recognized Su Yueling among them.

Xu Wuyi welcomed Su Yueling and the other newcomers to the Dark Nether Rift outpost and explained their duties along the defensive line. After several quiet days of patrols and cultivation, a major Star Beast surge was detected, and the Second Echelon prepared for battle.

• Tang Xiuqi assigned Su Yueling, Chen Mo, and Zhao Yuxin to the Second Echelon and asked Xu Wuyi to show them around the fortress.
• Xu Wuyi introduced the outpost’s defenses and Grandmaster Ren Bai, then learned Su Yueling had reached Level 37 and begun forming a prototype Heart Image.
• Su Yueling adapted quickly to patrols and combat while Xu Wuyi continued cultivating and studying materials left by Grandmaster Xie Tang.
• On the fifth day, an alarm warned of a large surge expected to include at least two hundred Star Beasts and four Grand Commander Level beasts.
• Tang Xiuqi ordered Su Yueling to stay beside Li Shuang during her first large-scale battle.

Xu Wuyi helped repel a beast tide at the Dark Nether Rift outpost, using Heart Fire and gravity manipulation to turn the battle in the defenders’ favor. More than a month later, he stood watch with his spear’s gravity domain taking shape as his shift ended.

• Tang Xiuqi assigned Xu Wuyi to clear the Star Beasts while he and Zhao Kun engaged the four Great Commanders.
• Xu Wuyi manipulated gravity to help Su Yueling kill a Red-Tooth Commander that had broken through the defensive line.
• Xu Wuyi ignited more than one hundred and twenty Flame True Seals, wiping out over half the beast horde and relieving pressure on the defenders.
• Xu Wuyi and Tang Xiuqi killed the Flying Serpent Commander and Rock-Armored Commander, and the remaining Great Commanders were slain.
• The group returned to the fortress after finishing the battle in less than fifteen minutes.
• More than a month later, Xu Wuyi stood watch atop the outpost wall as his gravity domain developed, and a junior brother told him it was time to change shifts.

Xu Wuyi received orders to leave the Dark Nether Rift and join the Dongjiang Corps Third Assault Team in the Skywater Star Realm. Grandmaster Ren Bai warned him that the Sirius Civilization was close to collapse and that the war against the Feathered Humans would slow after the Federation consolidated its gains.

• Tang Xiuqi told Xu Wuyi that the rift had stayed quiet and that military orders about his transfer were expected soon.
• Xu Wuyi received a transfer order assigning him to the Dongjiang Corps Third Assault Team in the Skywater Star Realm, and he accepted it.
• Xu Wuyi went to bid farewell to Grandmaster Ren Bai, who said the Skywater mission might be Xu Wuyi's last chance to fight for a while.
• Grandmaster Ren Bai explained that the Sirius Civilization was expected to fall within two months, after which the Federation would pause large offensives and focus on the Feathered Humans over the coming decade.

Xu Wuyi prepared to leave the outpost for the Skywater Star Realm after Grandmaster Ren Bai warned that the Federation would keep him from the front lines until he reached quasi-Grandmaster strength. He arrived in the vast ocean realm and was approached by a colonel.

• Grandmaster Ren Bai told Xu Wuyi that his importance made him too vulnerable for front-line service until he grew into a quasi-Grandmaster, and urged him to use the Skywater mission to strengthen himself.
• Xu Wuyi packed his gear, and Tang Xiuqi warned him that the Feathered Humans might target him because of his record in the Quicksand Star Realm.
• Xu Wuyi handed over his duties, said goodbye to Su Yueling, Zhao Kun, Li Shuang, and the others, then departed the outpost for Linjiang City.
• Xu Wuyi traveled through the Star Realm passage and arrived above the endless ocean of the Skywater Star Realm.
• A colonel approached Xu Wuyi and asked whether it was his first time in the Skywater Star Realm.

Xu Wuyi arrived at Mountainstone Base after Commander Chen Zhen explained his mission and strict protection detail in the Skywater Star Realm. There, Xu Wuyi reunited with his teacher Han Mo and old classmates Zhao Qingwei and Chu Shanhe, and Han Mo led them inside to discuss business.

• Chen Zhen told Xu Wuyi that the Third Assault Team would use his strategic-grade Prairie Fire ability to strike the mobile sea fortresses, and confirmed he had Class A authorization with three quasi-Grandmasters assigned to protect him.
• Chen Zhen said one of Xu Wuyi’s protectors was an old acquaintance, but withheld the person’s identity until they reached the base.
• Xu Wuyi arrived at Mountainstone Base and discovered that Zhao Qingwei and Chu Shanhe had both advanced to Xiantian, while Han Mo served there as a major general.
• Xu Wuyi greeted Han Mo, Zhao Qingwei, and Chu Shanhe, and Han Mo stopped their reminiscing and led them inside to handle business.

Xu Wuyi arrived at Mountain Rock Base, where Han Mo and two other quasi-Grandmasters were assigned to protect him as the Feathered Humans’ highest-priority target. At a strategy meeting, the group prepared to replicate his Quicksand Star Realm tactics against three Feathered Human resource sites.

• Han Mo told Xu Wuyi that the military had transferred him to Skywater Star Realm to protect him and warned that the Feathered Humans might target him with coordinated assassinations.
• Xu Wuyi settled into his suite, then met Zhao Qingwei and Chu Shanhe on the way to Conference Room Three.
• Han Mo introduced Iron War and Lu Wenyuan, who would help protect Xu Wuyi during his operations.
• Han Mo said Xu Wuyi had A-rank combat authorization but must be accompanied by at least two of the three quasi-Grandmasters whenever he acted.
• Han Mo revealed a plan to use three selected Feathered Human resource sites as bait and replicate the tactics from the Quicksand Star Realm.

Han Mo’s team planned a timed strike on the Feathered Humans’ mining platform at G-14, where Xu Wuyi would clear the troops before a sub-King-class fighter returned. After preparing overnight, Xu Wuyi and the others departed for the operation before dawn.

• Han Mo and Lu Wenyuan outlined a feint attack to gather the Feathered Humans, giving Xu Wuyi ten minutes to clear the field and withdraw.
• Han Mo selected the G-14 mining platform and planned the strike for four in the morning, while Iron War, Lu Wenyuan, Han Mo, Zhao Qingwei, and Chu Shanhe received their assignments.
• After the meeting, Xu Wuyi returned to his room, prepared himself, and regulated his breath ahead of the battle.
• At three in the morning, Xu Wuyi boarded a flying shuttle with Han Mo, Iron War, and Lu Wenyuan and joined the formation heading for G-14.

Xu Wuyi attacked the G-14 Zone crystal mine platform while Han Mo’s team drew the Feathered Humans’ attention, then used his Heart Image power to burn through its defenders. After nine minutes, he had killed the priests and nearly all the warriors, but a sudden change interrupted his retreat.

• Han Mo confirmed the platform’s sub-King-level guardian was away on patrol, and Lu Wenyuan provided Xu Wuyi with the patrol route and interference plan.
• Han Mo’s shuttles attacked the platform as a feint, while Xu Wuyi, Iron War, and Lu Wenyuan approached from another shuttle.
• Xu Wuyi used Flame True Seals and shifting gravity to overwhelm the Feathered Human defenses and kill all eight priests.
• Xu Wuyi unleashed more than two hundred Flame True Seals to destroy the final group of Feathered Humans, finishing the massacre in nine minutes.
• Xu Wuyi’s Golden Crow Burns the Heart; Prairie Fire proficiency rose to 41.3%, but a sudden change occurred as he prepared to retreat.

Xu Wuyi and his allies carried out three rapid attacks on Feathered Human positions, inflicting heavy losses before the enemy could respond. As the Feathered Humans withdrew toward their fortresses, Han Mo warned that their next operations depended on new orders from command.

• Xu Wuyi retreated to the shuttle while Iron War, Lu Wenyuan, and Han Mo fought off a returning sub-King-class expert and forced him to flee.
• Xu Wuyi returned to Mountain Rock Base after the first battle and reflected on the need for swift strikes and withdrawals.
• Over five days, Xu Wuyi struck a crystal mine platform, the Tideflow outpost, and a supply convoy, killing more than fifteen hundred Feathered Humans and destroying two resource platforms and twelve patrol ships.
• Xu Wuyi rested at Mountain Rock Base as Han Mo told him the Feathered Humans were withdrawing from outlying positions and concentrating their forces around their main fortresses.
• Han Mo said command would convene a cross-base strategy meeting, and Xu Wuyi waited for new orders.

Graywing Helos gathered the Feathered Humans’ sub-king-level commanders after Xu Wuyi’s attacks devastated their forces in the Skywater Star Realm. He ordered them to weaken Shattered Star Fortress and leak the information, hoping to lure Xu Wuyi into an ambush.

• Graywing Helos reported that the Federation had destroyed three strongholds in five days without suffering losses.
• Feathered Human commanders explained that Xu Wuyi’s Heart Image flame, rapid attacks, and human escorts had overwhelmed their defenses.
• Graywing Helos ordered the Feathered Humans to abandon outer sites and concentrate their forces at five main fortresses.
• Graywing Helos planned to gather at least six sub-king-level fighters to surround Xu Wuyi while feint attacks pinned down human reinforcements.
• Graywing Helos ordered Shattered Star Fortress’s defenses genuinely weakened and directed his intelligence department to leak the news to the humans.

The Feathered Humans planned to use Xu Wuyi’s appearance near Shattered Star Fortress as bait, while Federation commanders assessed the fortress’s suspicious weaknesses. Yang Zhenyue approved Han Mo’s plan for a probing strike centered on Xu Wuyi, leaving Han Mo to prepare the operational details for a potentially decisive battle.

• Helos and the Feathered Human sub-kings agreed to lure Xu Wuyi near Shattered Star Fortress and draw him into their trap.
• Iron War and the other quasi-Grandmasters praised Xu Wuyi’s recent victories as Han Mo joined their conference at Mountain Rock Base.
• Yang Zhenyue reported the Feathered Humans’ withdrawals and the suspicious lapses in Shattered Star Fortress’s defenses.
• Han Mo judged the apparent weakness to be a trap and proposed a probing strike with six quasi-Grandmasters divided into overt and covert teams.
• Yang Zhenyue approved the plan, named the initial participants, and tasked Han Mo with submitting a detailed assessment within twenty-four hours.

Xu Wuyi and the Mountain Rock Base command team prepared for a probing attack on Shattered Star Fortress and discussed the risks of Feathered Human countermeasures. The briefing ended with Lu Wenyuan pointing out that the enemy’s sub-King experts had behaved differently in recent battles, and Zhao Qingwei asked what that suggested.

• Xu Wuyi joined Han Mo, Iron War, Lu Wenyuan, Zhao Qingwei, and Chu Shanhe for a briefing on Commander-in-Chief Yang’s order to attack Shattered Star Fortress at four that afternoon.
• Han Mo outlined a plan in which an overt team would draw the Feathered Humans’ attention while a covert team waited offshore to ambush any defenders; Zhao Qingwei and Chu Shanhe would secure the perimeter and extraction.
• Lu Wenyuan warned that sub-King-level experts might be stationed inside the fortress, and Han Mo ordered the teams to retreat if its defenses exceeded expectations or more than four sub-Kings appeared.
• Han Mo cautioned that the Feathered Humans might have developed a way to counter Xu Wuyi’s Heart Image Flame, while Lu Wenyuan and Chu Shanhe explained why any countermeasure could be limited or temporary.
• Lu Wenyuan noted that the Feathered Humans’ sub-King experts had responded differently across three recent battles, and Zhao Qingwei asked what that meant.

Xu Wuyi and the human commanders planned an assault on Shattered Star Fortress, suspecting the Feathered Humans had laid a trap to kill him. They prepared to use the mission to probe the enemy’s tactics, and Xu Wuyi proposed using gravity manipulation alongside his flames; the meeting ended with the plan finalized.

• Lu Wenyuan warned that the Feathered Humans may have ordered their troops to prioritize survival and gather combat data on Xu Wuyi.
• Han Mo and the commanders concluded that Shattered Star Fortress’s apparent weakness was likely bait, but chose to attack it to break the stalemate and expose the enemy’s preparations.
• Han Mo assigned Xu Wuyi to clear ambushers and retreat if any of three danger signals appeared, while Zhao Qingwei and Chu Shanhe led feint attacks and Iron War and Lu Wenyuan supported him.
• Xu Wuyi noted that the Feathered Humans had little data on his gravity manipulation, and proposed using it with his flames in the coming battle.
• Han Mo approved the tactical adjustment, and the commanders finalized the assault plan, withdrawal routes, communications, and contingency responses.

Xu Wuyi prepared for a dangerous assault on Shattered Star Fortress, then joined Han Mo, Iron War, and Lu Wenyuan as the overt team set out across the sea. The assault began with the Feathered Humans’ defenses still suspiciously quiet, and the team approached the fortress expecting an ambush.

• Han Mo warned Xu Wuyi that the Feathered Humans had likely prepared traps and urged him to return alive.
• Xu Wuyi, Zhao Qingwei, and Chu Shanhe discussed their readiness before Xu Wuyi regulated his breath and prepared his spear.
• Han Mo briefed the assault teams on their plan to strike Shattered Star Fortress while Su Wanqing, Chen Feng, and Yang Zhenyue waited to ambush the enemy from the flank.
• Xu Wuyi checked his equipment aboard the lead skiff as Han Mo noted that patrols had decreased while the fortress shield remained steady.
• Xu Wuyi, Han Mo, Iron War, and Lu Wenyuan landed at sea and sped toward Shattered Star Fortress in formation.

Xu Wuyi used his Heart Image to devastate the Feathered Human defenses around Shattered Star Fortress, while Han Mo, Iron War, and Lu Wenyuan engaged six Sub-Kings. As more warriors prepared to join the battle, Xu Wuyi used gravity to slow their charge at the fortress entrance.

• Xu Wuyi unleashed more than a hundred Flame True Seals, killing hundreds of Feathered Human warriors and destroying defensive positions, but the attack consumed about fifteen percent of his Heart Image power.
• Han Mo realized the outer defenders might have been sacrificial pawns meant to drain Xu Wuyi, and six Feathered Human Sub-Kings emerged from the fortress.
• Han Mo attacked the strongest Sub-King, Iron War engaged two close-combat fighters, and Lu Wenyuan trapped three priest-type Sub-Kings with an energy barrier.
• Xu Wuyi sensed more than a thousand Feathered Human warriors preparing to join the battle and used Xuanming; Mountain Suppression to slow them at the fortress entrance.

Xu Wuyi used his newly understood gravity powers to slaughter the Feathered Humans attacking the fortress and overcome their spiritual curse. After killing more than four hundred warriors and three priests, he left the outer defenses nearly destroyed while Iron War fought two sub-Kings overhead.

• Xu Wuyi combined gravity control with his spear techniques and killed more than a hundred Feathered Human warriors in less than half a minute.
• The Feathered Human commanders sent more warriors to surround Xu Wuyi while three priests cast the Heart-Eroding Curse at him.
• Xu Wuyi made his Heart Image heavier, absorbed the curse, and used spiritual gravity to kill all three priests.
• Xu Wuyi pulled fleeing Feathered Humans away from the fortress entrance and killed more than thirty with a flaming sweep of his spear.
• Xu Wuyi had killed over four hundred Feathered Human warriors and nearly destroyed the outer defenses when Iron War praised him while battling two sub-Kings.

Xu Wuyi faced the Bloodwing Twin Kings, guardians of the Blood Sacrifice Temple, after they emerged as the Feathered Humans’ hidden trump card. He used Prairie Fire and his gravity-manipulating Heart Image to wound one King, but the other reached his side as Xu Wuyi could not retract his spear.

• Han Mo warned Xu Wuyi that the Bloodwing Twin Kings could fight elite quasi-Grandmasters, but Xu Wuyi realized their killing intent had trapped him.
• The Twin Kings attacked from opposite sides, and Xu Wuyi deflected one strike with gravity manipulation and countered the other with Prairie Fire.
• The Twin Kings launched a pincer attack, but Xu Wuyi slowed the ground-level attacker with a gravity swamp and reversed gravity to disrupt the airborne King's hammer strike.
• Xu Wuyi kicked open the airborne King's guard and thrust Prairie Fire, cutting deeply into its ribs.
• The other King broke through the gravity swamp and lunged at Xu Wuyi's waist while his spear remained extended.

Xu Wuyi held his own against the Bloodwing Twin Kings until they began fusing their power for a strike near Grandmaster level. As they prepared to attack and Han Mo, Iron War, and Lu Wenyuan remained occupied, three different energy fluctuations arrived from three directions.

• Xu Wuyi used gravity manipulation and his spear to wound the blood shadow and fight the Bloodwing Twin Kings without being defeated.
• Han Mo, Iron War, Lu Wenyuan, and the Feathered Humans watched the battle as Xu Wuyi’s skill and resolve shook both sides.
• The Bloodwing Twin Kings withdrew and began the Blood Sacrifice; Soul Fusion technique, raising their power to nearly Grandmaster level.
• Han Mo tried to reach Xu Wuyi, but a Feathered Human sub-king held him back; other sub-kings pinned down Iron War and strained Lu Wenyuan’s barrier.
• Xu Wuyi summoned his Heart Image and prepared to withstand the Bloodwing Twin Kings’ combined strike and counterattack.
• Three different energy fluctuations descended from three directions just as the Bloodwing Twin Kings’ attack was about to fall.

Su Wanqing, Chen Feng, and Yang Zhenyue arrived in time to subdue the Bloodwing Twin Kings and end the Feathered Humans’ ambush. After confirming that Shattered Star Fortress remained too well defended to assault, Yang Zhenyue ordered the group to withdraw to Mountain Rock Base, while Xu Wuyi recognized that he had become a strategic target.

• Su Wanqing, Chen Feng, and Yang Zhenyue suppressed the blood-colored vortex, stopped the Bloodwing Twin Kings from escaping, and bound them.
• The six Feathered Human lesser kings broke away from their battles with Han Mo and the others and retreated to Shattered Star Fortress.
• Xu Wuyi thanked the three quasi-Grandmasters, and they explained that the Feathered Humans had used their trump card because they considered him a strategic threat.
• Yang Zhenyue concluded that the probe had revealed weakened but intact fortress defenses and ordered everyone to withdraw to Mountain Rock Base.
• Xu Wuyi glimpsed a hostile, wary gaze from within Shattered Star Fortress before turning away.