Chapter Summaries

Plot points and events

• In the Supreme Castle’s Dungeon, Wu Yu unleashes powerful Bi Fang Talismans against the Duchess, now a grotesque, polluted monster. The Calamity Fire also scorches the Giant Hound whenever it gets too close.
• The Duchess survives repeated barrages and briefly recovers enough to charge at Wu Yu, but Lunar Yin Talismans freeze her in place. Wu Yu then bombards her with roughly a hundred Bi Fang Talismans, reducing her body to scraps.
• The Giant Hound celebrates, but Wu Yu realizes the Duchess has not truly died: unlike a defeated Tower Climber, she does not vanish. Dusk light and an eerie song restore her remains.
• Wu Yu destroys the regenerated flesh repeatedly, yet the Duchess keeps reviving. He concludes that her immortality comes from Dusk Pollution sustained by faith, not from her physical body alone.
• Using his Faithless talent, Wu Yu can perceive and attack that otherwise intangible faith. He projects his soul toward the dusk light and prepares to strike it with the Spirit Refinement technique “Tiger Roar and Dragon Cry.”

Character developments and interactions

• Wu Yu shows greater power after advancing in Qi Refining and using Myriad Beasts Manifestation. More importantly, he moves beyond brute force: when the Duchess keeps regenerating, he identifies the underlying mechanism and adapts his attack.
• The Giant Hound is repeatedly driven back by the flames, then becomes hopeful and excited as Wu Yu appears to defeat the Duchess. Its confidence collapses when her resurrection reveals that ordinary destruction is insufficient.
• The Duchess is revealed to be an apparently immortal monster, able to regenerate under dusk light even after her physical form is repeatedly destroyed.
• Wu Yu largely ignores the Giant Hound’s encouragement, staying focused on the fight; the Hound, in turn, provides information about the Dungeon’s durability and voices what it knows about dusk-born immortality.

Significant themes

• The limits of physical power: Even overwhelming attacks cannot end a threat whose true source is intangible.
• Faith and reality: The chapter links faith to Dusk Pollution’s ability to enter and persist in the real world.
• Adaptation and insight: Wu Yu’s decisive advantage comes from understanding the Duchess’s immortality and using his unusual ability to attack the power behind it, rather than simply escalating his physical assault.

Key plot points and events

• Wu Yu attacks the duchess’s faith-powered Dusk Light with Tiger Roar and Dragon Cry, weakening her soul and breaking the power sustaining her monstrous immortality.
• The duchess insists she is immortal, but Wu Yu’s repeated attacks destroy her soul. With its host gone, the Dusk Light begins to fade.
• She drops four Cards: Invitation to Immortality (white), Aether Construct: Starry Gown (gold), Arcane Torrent Staff (gold), and the Key to the Arcane Clock Tower (red).
• Wu Yu retrieves the items and equips the Starry Gown briefly. He discovers it is a Transcendent Gold Aether Construct, but unlike his more versatile construct, it can only shift between liquid and gown form.
• The giant dog confirms the key belonged to the duchess and explains that the Arcane Lock needs two keys; the duke has the other.
• Wu Yu examines the duchess’s staff, then senses a faint cry from somewhere nearby. The giant dog guesses a personal slave may be in danger, prompting Wu Yu to investigate.

Character developments

• Wu Yu demonstrates the power of his spirit-refinement technique and acts decisively to finish off the duchess. He gains valuable equipment and the first key to the Arcane Lock. He also considers giving the Starry Gown to the Witch.
• The giant dog (“Mithril Maid”) shifts from fearful observation to relief and admiration after Wu Yu kills the duchess. She provides useful background on the Arcane Empire and the lock.
• The duchess is revealed as a human soul trapped in a faith-powered monstrous state; her promised immortality proves agonizing and ultimately fatal.

Significant themes

• The cost of false immortality: The duchess’s “immortality” brings suffering rather than enduring life.
• Faith as power—and vulnerability: The force sustaining the duchess also exposes her to spiritual backlash when attacked.
• Ancient technology and lost knowledge: Aether Constructs once surpassed conventional magical equipment but are now rare.
• Loot and discovery: The Cards turn a victory into new resources and open a path toward the Arcane Lock.

Character interactions

• Wu Yu reassures the giant dog that the duchess is dead; she responds with relief and amazement.
• The dog explains the Starry Gown’s historical importance and identifies the key, while Wu Yu shares his discovery of the staff.
• Their conversation is interrupted when Wu Yu detects a faint cry, leaving the possibility of another person in the Pleasure Chamber unresolved.

Plot points and events

• After the Duchess’s defeat, Wu Yu finds an ancient letter in the ruins of the Pleasure Chamber. Written by the Dusk Duke to his wife, it reveals that the Duke knew she had secretly imprisoned the Son of the Sun and urges her to join him in using their daughter as an offering to reach eternal life.
• Wu Yu realizes the Son of the Sun was never rescued by the Dawn Church. The Duchess had hidden him in a sealed chamber beneath the Pleasure Chamber.
• There, Wu Yu and the Giant Hound find the Son of the Sun bound to a cross, badly injured and restrained with anti-magic chains and an unfamiliar alchemical device.
• A hidden gold-quality quest appears, offering Wu Yu a choice: sacrifice the captive to gain the Dusk Lord’s blessing, or release him for a reward and an upgrade to a transcendent-rank quest.
• The Son of the Sun explains that the Duchess’s arcane magic thwarted the Dawn Church’s rescue attempt. He also reveals that he had arranged the Church’s cooperation with Wu Yu during the raid on Supreme Castle, before the Duchess teleported him into the Dungeon.

Character developments and interactions

• Wu Yu uses the letter to uncover the Duchess’s secret and calmly weighs the quest’s competing rewards. He remains wary, questioning the captive rather than immediately trusting him.
• The Giant Hound is shocked to learn that the Son of the Sun was never rescued. Their exchange reveals that she was once the powerful Mithril Maid but now longs only to see the young lady again.
• The Son of the Sun is physically broken but proud of his divine protection and dismissive of the Dusk Lord. Despite his confidence, he urgently asks Wu Yu to free him and offers to answer questions.
• The Duke’s letter suggests that his relationship with the Duchess was more transactional than affectionate, centered on their shared pursuit of eternal life.

Significant themes

• Deception and hidden history: The presumed rescue of the Son of the Sun was false; the truth was concealed beneath the Duchess’s domain.
• Faith and divine power: The captive trusts the dawn god’s protection, while the Duke and Duchess sought immortality through the Dusk Lord.
• Moral choice and self-interest: Wu Yu must choose between serving the Dusk Lord or freeing the prisoner for a potentially greater reward.
• Corruption and survival: The Son of the Sun’s captivity, the Duchess’s transformation, and the danger of dusk corruption show the costs of divine conflict.

Key plot points and events

• Wu Yu frees the imprisoned Son of the Sun by using the Duchess’s Arcane Lock Key. His transcendent knife cannot cut the anti-magic chains, which suppress supernatural power.
• Once released, the Son of the Sun breaks his chains and destroys the slave devices attached to him.
• He reveals that he was a candidate for Holy Son of the Dawn Church and came to Dusk City to preach. The Duchess captured and tortured him, removed his Solar Core, and used it as the city’s energy source.
• In gratitude, he gives Wu Yu the Solar Core—his own heart—and explains that crushing it and spreading it over the body grants the spirit body Solar Skin.
• The Son of the Sun says the Pope has called him away. Sunlight carries him from Dusk City, and he promises to help Wu Yu if they meet again.

Character developments and interactions

• Wu Yu stays cautious after the Son of the Sun recognizes him as an outlander and knows about Tower Climbers. He frees him, examines the strength of his faith, and accepts the Solar Core.
• The Son of the Sun emerges as exceptionally devout but not fanatical: he rejects the Dawn Inquisition’s coercive approach. His generosity and willingness to give up his own heart demonstrate his conviction and formidable physical resilience.
• The Giant Hound reacts with surprise upon learning the Solar Core powered Dusk City, while remaining reserved around the dangerous revelations.
• Wu Yu and the Son of the Sun exchange respectful thanks. The Son initially calls Wu Yu a “Heretic,” but later recognizes that, as an outsider, Wu Yu is not bound to the world’s faith.

Significant themes

• Faith versus coercion: The Son of the Sun’s sincere devotion contrasts with the Inquisition’s fanaticism and the Duchess’s exploitation.
• Sacrifice and reciprocity: He repays Wu Yu’s rescue with an extraordinary gift—his own Solar Core.
• Power and its source: The chapter reveals that Dusk City’s apparent prosperity depended on the captive’s innate power, not merely the City Lord’s resources.
• Outsider identity: Wu Yu’s status as an outlander shapes how the Son of the Sun judges his beliefs and offers him aid.

Key plot points and events

• The Son of the Sun claims the quest reward and quickly leaves. Wu Yu stores the Sacred Heart, a consumable transcendent gold-grade wondrous item that can grant him the spirit body [solar skin]. He considers using it himself or letting his growth-capable Bronze Tripod devour it.
• Wu Yu and the Giant Hound set out to confront the Dusk Duke. The Mithril Maid hopes Wu Yu can rescue the Twilight Witch from a life of suffering.
• At the Dungeon entrance, they encounter the corrupted Legion Commander. He admits he has become a monster and can barely retain his sanity, but says he will not attack them.
• Learning they intend to kill the Duke, the Commander warns that Wu Yu may not be strong enough. He then joins their cause, breaking free of his chains and shaping the anti-magic stone into a huge fortress shield. He promises either to help defeat the Duke or buy time for Wu Yu to escape.
• Wu Yu observes that the Commander’s soul is being consumed as he uses a powerful form of magic. The Giant Hound assumes the Twilight Witch arranged his help, and Wu Yu realizes that the Witch Lord talent is still affecting events.

Character developments and interactions

• Wu Yu is pleased by the reward but cautious about using it, and remains wary of the Commander even while accepting his aid.
• The Legion Commander shifts from a seemingly dangerous obstacle to a tragic ally. Though corrupted, he remains bound by duty and chooses to risk his remaining life for his former master and for the group.
• The Giant Hound eagerly supports the mission and speaks openly about their plan, prompting Wu Yu’s private concern that they could have approached more cautiously.
• The Mithril Maid remains focused on saving the Twilight Witch.
• The Commander recalls his loyal service to the Duke—including fighting the Scarlet Holy See and the Dawn Church—but concludes that those achievements mean little in the face of eternal dusk.

Significant themes

• Loyalty and duty: The Commander’s devotion persists even after death and corruption, though his loyalty now takes the form of helping the party challenge the Duke.
• The cost of power: The Commander’s magic consumes his soul, while Wu Yu weighs the risks and potential benefits of using the Sacred Heart.
• Exploitation and vulnerability: Wu Yu reflects on how gifted children can be preyed upon when their abilities are exposed, contrasting their treatment with that of ordinary people.
• Hope amid corruption: The Commander’s choice to help offers the group a better chance against the Duke, even though his aid may end in his death.

Plot points

• Wu Yu realizes that the “special timeline” is a benefit of his red talent, [Witch Lord], and suspects it may have potential comparable to his other powerful abilities.
• Wu Yu follows the Legion Commander and the Giant Hound through the ruined Supreme Castle. With the Dusk Duke absorbing the pollution, they find no monsters on the way.
• They reach the shattered upper levels and the stage where the [Twilight Witch] was sacrificed. Wu Yu recognizes it as a vast sacrificial altar.
• The Dusk Duke confronts them, condemning the Scarlet Holy See and Dawn Church for forcing faith upon Dusk City. He claims the city was persecuted for refusing to compel belief, then attacks.
• The Giant Hound transforms into the Mithril Maid, revealing that the young lady taught her the [Dusk Blade Dance]. She and the Legion Commander fight together: he defends with his fortress shield while she attacks with graceful, lethal swordplay.
• Wu Yu uses ten [Lunar Yin Talismans] to restrain the Duke, then follows with repeated Divine Bird Carries Fire attacks. The Duke breaks free, counters with dusk power, survives the flames, and targets Wu Yu. The chapter ends as he attacks with his staff and transforms one foot into a blade.

Character developments and interactions

• Wu Yu recognizes the value of [Witch Lord] and fights strategically, combining his talismans and fire attacks while looking for openings. He is alarmed by the Duke’s monstrous strength.
• The Legion Commander remains resolute despite his fear of the Duke, confronting his former lord and protecting the others.
• The Giant Hound/Mithril Maid reveals her loyalty to the young lady and her combat training. She risks her life in a final, coordinated attack with the Commander.
• The Dusk Duke retains a clear voice and some apparent reason, but his rage and corruption drive him into battle. He sees outsiders as enemies and blames religious authorities for Dusk City’s fate.

Significant themes

• Faith and coercion: The Duke insists Dusk City was punished for refusing to force people to believe.
• Loyalty and sacrifice: The Commander and Mithril Maid face the Duke despite their fear, with the Maid burning her soul in battle.
• Corruption and power: The Duke’s transformation has made him physically devastating, even as it appears to have displaced his arcane fighting style.

Key events

• The Dusk Duke attacks Wu Yu with blade-like limbs and a lethal crescent of dusk light. Wu Yu avoids the blows and uses Bi Fang talismans to strike back; the Legion Commander and Mithril Maid join the fight.
• The Duke begins recovering his former powers as Dusk City’s greatest arcane mage. He summons a falling star that becomes a giant-horned monster, and the impact cracks the Legion Commander’s body.
• Realizing the fight must end quickly, Wu Yu asks his allies to hold the Duke at any cost. The Legion Commander and Mithril Maid willingly burn their souls, transforming their bodies into weapons and armor.
• Wu Yu strengthens them with Dragon’s Roar. While the Mountain Lord distracts the star-powered bull, the Legion Commander and Mithril Maid disrupt the Duke’s spell: one binds him, and the other pins him to the stage.
• Wu Yu uses Soul Projection and unleashes more than a thousand Bi Fang and Lunar Yin talismans, preparing a decisive attack.

Character developments and interactions

• Wu Yu stays focused despite his allies’ willingness to sacrifice themselves. He supports them with Dragon’s Roar and deploys the Mountain Lord to keep the summoned monster occupied.
• The Legion Commander and Mithril Maid show complete devotion to rescuing the young lady, accepting what appears to be a fatal sacrifice. Their teamwork briefly prevents the Duke from completing his spell.
• The Dusk Duke regains confidence and power as his old arcane abilities return, invoking the Stars even though he claims to serve the Dusk Lord.
• The Mountain Lord is initially outmatched by the giant-horned bull, but uses its wings to become more agile and keep it busy.

Significant themes

• Sacrifice and loyalty: The allies willingly spend their remaining souls to protect the young lady and create an opening for Wu Yu.
• Faith versus power: The Duke’s worship of the Dusk Lord contrasts with his invocation of the Stars, suggesting a conflict between his stated allegiance and his recovered abilities.
• Cooperation under pressure: Each combatant takes on a distinct role, allowing the group to contain threats stronger than any one of them could manage alone.

Key plot points and events

• Wu Yu uses Soul Separation and Tiger Roar and Dragon Cry to attack the Dusk Duke’s power of faith, disrupting the duke as he begins to recover his former arcane strength.
• He follows up with Lunar Yin Talismans and a massive Bi Fang Talisman attack. The resulting Calamity Fire overwhelms the castle’s dusk power, destroys much of the Supreme Castle, and kills the Dusk Duke, Mithril Maid, and Legion Commander.
• Wu Yu collects nine dropped Cards, then checks the surroundings. Nearby noble monsters keep their distance, apparently deterred by something in the castle.
• The attack leaves him nearly drained and consumes almost all his Lunar Yin Talismans and every Bi Fang Talisman. The Bronze Tripod helps him recover.
• The loot includes two purple equipment Cards, five valuable gold Cards—including two potions and a summoning token—and two technique Cards, which he begins examining.

Character developments

• Wu Yu shows strategic judgment by targeting the Dusk Duke’s faith power rather than attacking the duke directly, then escalating immediately when the duke’s strength begins returning.
• He is willing to spend nearly all his resources to eliminate the threat, but afterward remains cautious about the powerful monsters nearby.
• He feels some regret for killing the Mithril Maid and Legion Commander, recognizing that they had served their purpose in helping him and may now have fulfilled their wish of saving the Twilight Witch.

Character interactions

• Wu Yu’s decisive battle with the three monsters ends in their deaths; they do not get a chance to strike back after the Calamity Fire engulfs them.
• The nearby noble monsters observe the destruction but do not approach, suggesting they fear something within the Supreme Castle.
• Wu Yu reflects on his connection to the Mithril Maid and Legion Commander, then focuses on recovering and assessing his rewards.

Significant themes

• Power and cost: Wu Yu’s victory depends on exhausting his spirit power and consuming nearly all his talismans.
• Urgency and tactical adaptation: He attacks the Dusk Duke’s source of power before it can fully restore the duke.
• Duty and compassion: Despite recognizing the monsters as enemies, Wu Yu acknowledges their role and hopes their wish has been fulfilled.
• Reward after danger: The valuable Cards offer new resources and possibilities, though Wu Yu treats the most powerful items as tools to save for a future crisis.

Key plot points and events

• After defeating the Dusk Duke, Wu Yu collects two Transcendent gold-grade techniques: Mithril Blade Dance, meant for Mithril Maids, and Grasp of the Stars, an aether-based attack.
• His greatest prize is the Stars Meditation Method, a Transcendent red-quality technique that refines the spirit and creates visions of the stars. Wu Yu recognizes it as a powerful upgrade to his current spirit-refinement method.
• Wu Yu gathers nearby Cards and reaches the Arcane Clock Tower, whose formidable barrier resists even his Transcendent Golden Knife. Combining the two keys unlocks passage through it.
• The tower is intact and seemingly free of monsters. Its murals depict places, deities, and stories from Dusk City and the wider world, including the Iron Kingdom, the Ancient Arcane Empire, and warnings about witches.
• At the summit, Wu Yu finds the Twilight Witch pinned to the clock by a decayed spear. His attempt to remove it burns and injures his hand; neither physical force nor his abilities can dislodge it.
• Using Faithless, he discovers that the spear bears the faith of the Dawn Church. He suspects it may be connected to the Duke’s sacrificial ritual.

Character developments

• Wu Yu’s excitement over the Stars Meditation Method highlights his growing investment in spirit cultivation and his ability to recognize the value of rare techniques.
• He acts cautiously after the battle, aware that his Bi Fang Talismans are gone and that further fights could be dangerous.
• His determination to rescue the Twilight Witch persists despite the spear’s painful defenses and his failed attempts to remove it.

Significant themes

• Power and rare knowledge: The chapter emphasizes the exceptional value of high-tier techniques and spiritual cultivation.
• Faith and opposing forces: The Witch and the spear carry different forms of faith, suggesting a conflict between the Twilight Witch and the Dawn Church.
• Mystery and hidden history: The Clock Tower’s murals broaden the world’s lore, while the Witch’s imprisonment hints at a larger plot involving the Duke’s ritual.

Character interactions

• Wu Yu has no direct conversation with the Twilight Witch, who remains unconscious. He tries to free her but is thwarted by the spear.
• His earlier dealings with the Mithril Maid and Legion Commander remain relevant as he wonders whether the Witch spent power turning them against their side.
• Wu Yu’s interaction with the tower’s magical barrier is resolved through the two keys, allowing him to enter and reach the Witch.

Key plot points and events

• Wu Yu uses the Solar Core, an artifact of the Dawn Church, to cleanse and restore the decayed spear pinning the Twilight Witch. With its power tempered, he pulls the Dawn Spear free, and the witch’s wound begins healing.
• The Clock Tower’s broken hour hand suddenly moves counterclockwise. Bell tolls ring, reality breaks into fragments, and Wu Yu is transported into a starry, dreamlike space filled with images of old Dusk City.
• Wu Yu realizes the clocks are carrying him through the city’s past. He sees a distant, indistinct being he suspects is the Dusk Lord, and learns that old Dusk City was largely faithless: the Dusk Duke allowed the Dusk Lord’s church to preach but did not demand worship.
• The visions show the Twilight Witch’s birth. The confident Dusk Duke dismisses the kingdom’s ultimatum and the Church of Justice’s attempt to gain influence. He believes the Arcane Bell Tower can protect the city.
• Wu Yu walks through the visions, accelerating time. The kingdom sends Cloud City to attack, but the Bell Tower’s Stellar Magic brings it down, silencing the kingdom. The witch grows up as Wu Yu reaches the end of the dusk-light path.

Character developments

• Wu Yu demonstrates resourcefulness by recognizing the Solar Core’s connection to the Dawn Church and using it to free the spear. He remains observant and cautious as he tries to make sense of the temporal visions.
• The Twilight Witch is rescued from the spear and begins to heal. The visions reveal her extraordinary nature was evident from birth, when dusk light surrounded her.
• The Dusk Duke appears not as the fanatic Wu Yu expected, but as a rational, confident ruler who respects people’s freedom of belief and trusts the city’s magical defenses.

Significant themes

• Time and memory: The counterclockwise clock draws Wu Yu into a vivid reconstruction of Dusk City’s history.
• Faith and free will: The city’s earlier tolerance contrasts with the later religious corruption and coercion.
• Power and overconfidence: The Dusk Duke’s confidence in the Bell Tower proves justified against Cloud City, though his dismissal of wider threats may foreshadow trouble.
• Light and corruption: The Solar Core restores the Dawn Spear, while dusk light heals the witch, suggesting opposing forces can also interact constructively.

Character interactions

• Wu Yu frees the Twilight Witch and catches her as she falls, but she remains unconscious and cannot communicate.
• In the past vision, the Dusk Duke speaks with an arcane wizard who warns him about the kingdom’s ultimatum; the duke dismisses the danger and explains why he rejects the Church of Justice’s influence.
• The Dusk Duke celebrates his newborn daughter with his wife, calling her the future jewel of Dusk City.

Key plot points and events

• Wu Yu views the first two Dusk Light Spheres, which reveal Dusk City’s history: its technological golden age under the Arcane Wizards, followed by the Scarlet Holy See’s attack and the Dusk Duke’s costly use of star power to drive them back.
• As religious factions begin interfering in the territory, the Duke moves dozens of cities into Dusk City and builds up the Dusk Church. Hoping to gain a god’s power against other gods, he makes the people worship the unresponsive Dusk Lord.
• The next sphere follows the Twilight Witch’s childhood. At six, she says she has seen the Ancient God among the stars, prompting the Duke to intensify her religious and etiquette training.
• The Witch grows into Dusk City’s celebrated “jewel,” but lives a lonely life in the Supreme Castle. Her parents neglect her: the Duke devotes himself to the Dusk Lord, while the Duchess becomes debauched. The Mithril Maid is her sole steady companion.
• Wu Yu encounters the Witch’s temporal afterimages and embraces a sobbing child version of her, who clings to him before vanishing.
• In the final sphere, the Witch’s eighteenth birthday festival begins with her performing the Celebration Dance. Dawn Church members and Tower Climbers suddenly attack.

Character developments and interactions

• Wu Yu pieces together the truth of Dusk City’s past and feels deep sympathy for the Witch. His embrace of her afterimage suggests an emotional connection, though he does not yet understand why she appears physically real.
• The Dusk Duke shifts from defending his territory to pursuing divine protection through mass worship and by shaping his daughter into a public symbol.
• The Twilight Witch moves from an isolated child seeking her parents’ attention to a celebrated young woman whose public status conceals profound loneliness.
• The Witch and Wu Yu share a brief, intimate moment when she clings to him; it is the chapter’s clearest personal interaction.

Significant themes

• Faith as political power: The Duke uses religion to unite and protect the territory, even as rival churches compete for influence.
• The cost of ambition: The Duke’s pursuit of power and divine favor contributes to the Witch’s neglect and isolation.
• Public splendor versus private pain: Dusk City’s grandeur and the Witch’s celebrated image contrast with the suffering and disorder beneath them.
• Memory and empathy: The temporal afterimages let Wu Yu witness the Witch’s past and respond to her pain directly.

Key plot points and events

• During Dusk City’s Festival, the Dawn Church’s Judgment Knights launch an assault on the Twilight Witch, while thousands of Tower Climbers attack civilians and clash with the Fortress Legion.
• The Dusk Duke ignores the slaughter, protecting his daughter so she can finish her Celebration Dance. He reveals that twelve years of Festivals and prayers were meant to summon the ancient Dusk Lord, whose power he hopes will protect the city from the gods and their scheming.
• The dance draws Wu Yu’s attention with an otherworldly, almost divine allure. Meanwhile, the Fortress Legion’s reinforcements turn the battle against the Tower Climbers, killing more than a thousand.
• Wu Yu spots familiar Tower Climbers: Liu Yu dodges danger, Bai Xiaotian fights in giant form, Chen Lingling retreats under protection, and Liu Zheng and Yu Tiezhu battle with the Inspection Bureau. Yu Tiezhu is nearly killed but survives when the Dawn Church’s attack draws the Legion away.
• The Dawn Church’s leader breaks the Duke’s barrier and throws his Dawn Spear at the Witch. Wu Yu unexpectedly appears onstage and takes the spear instead.
• The Twilight Witch recognizes Wu Yu as the man who appeared in her childhood dreams. Wu Yu realizes that his earlier encounters with younger versions of her left real memories behind.
• Despite the spear wound, Wu Yu pulls it free and notices nearly a thousand Bi Fang Talismans and over a hundred Lunar Yin Talismans in his Inventory, leaving him bewildered.

Character developments and interactions

• Dusk Duke: Reveals his plan to summon the Dusk Lord and shows that he will sacrifice his subjects’ safety to ensure the dance continues.
• Twilight Witch: Trusts her father’s purpose enough to keep dancing amid the chaos; seeing Wu Yu, she is shocked to find the figure from her dreams is real.
• Wu Yu: Learns that his visits to the Witch’s past may have shaped her memories. He is abruptly drawn into the historical scene and wounded while intervening.
• Tower Climbers: Their varied abilities initially give them an advantage, but the Fortress Legion’s organized reinforcements overwhelm them. The familiar characters’ differing fortunes highlight the battle’s danger.

Significant themes

• Sacrifice and power: The Duke pursues divine protection even as ordinary people die around him.
• Fate and memory: Wu Yu’s encounters across the Witch’s past have become part of her remembered experience.
• Spectacle amid violence: The Witch’s beautiful dance continues as the city descends into massacre, creating a stark contrast between wonder and suffering.
• Perspective and consequence: Wu Yu observes events as an apparent historical afterimage, but his sudden physical arrival suggests he may now be able to change them.

Key plot points and events

• Wu Yu discovers that his Inventory contains both the talismans he used in the future and the Cards he gained there, suggesting time has become tangled in an unexpected way.
• A knight from the Spell Eaters attacks. Wu Yu defeats him after realizing the knight can absorb or counter magical energy: Wu Yu’s talisman fire empowers him, but a physical strike with a twilight blade and spear kills him.
• Wu Yu steps in front of the blonde girl, the Twilight Witch, determined to protect her. He learns they have both dreamed of one another and had assumed those visions were illusions.
• Tower Climbers, urged by a Dawn Church leader, attack Wu Yu and the witch, believing killing her will prevent disaster. Wu Yu knows from his future experience that her death would not stop Eternal Twilight.
• The attackers use a position-swapping ability to separate the pair and try to trap the witch with a Spirit-Blocking Net. A silver moon freezes the attackers, and an unseen force returns the girl to Wu Yu.
• Wu Yu activates the Legion Command Token, hoping it will help him face the growing threat.

Character developments and interactions

• Wu Yu remains focused on protecting the Twilight Witch despite being caught between hostile factions. He adapts quickly in combat, combining physical strength, equipment, and magic, and draws on his knowledge of the future.
• The Twilight Witch moves from fear and confusion to trust and happiness when she learns their dreams were shared. She quietly disobeys her father for the first time and accepts Wu Yu’s protection.
• The Dusk Duke watches without intervening, showing cold indifference even toward his daughter.
• The Tower Climbers and Dawn Church act with urgency, convinced the witch must die, while the Church’s leaders hesitate to confront the Duke directly.
• The Spell Eater knight reveals a powerful defense against energy-based attacks, but Wu Yu overcomes it through physical combat.

Significant themes

• Shared connection and trust: The dreams that linked Wu Yu and the witch become real, giving her comfort and courage.
• Destiny versus intervention: Wu Yu knows the events unfolding will not prevent the future disaster, and seeks a different way to save the world.
• Indifference and moral isolation: The Duke’s detachment contrasts with Wu Yu’s determination to protect the witch.
• Uncertainty and adaptation: The altered Inventory and unpredictable abilities of their enemies underscore how little Wu Yu can rely on his understanding of time and events.

Key plot points and events

• The battle between the Tower Climbers and the Fortress Legion rages on, with neither side able to retreat: the Legion defends its home, while the Climbers believe the Twilight Witch’s survival threatens their real worlds.
• The Dusk Duke watches from the stage, keeping the Dawn Church leaders at bay without directly attacking. They urge the Climbers to kill his daughter and disrupt her prayer ritual.
• Wu Yu blocks their advance by summoning a hundred elite mithril soldiers with his Legion Command Token. He uses talismans and combat skills to repel attackers while taking care not to kill them.
• An Inspection Bureau woman and Liu Zheng confront Wu Yu. She insists that killing the Duke’s daughter is necessary to save the federation, but Wu Yu argues that sparing her is the way to protect everyone. He knows his explanation will not be believed.
• The Duke’s daughter is unsettled by being called a witch and worries that Wu Yu might judge her. He reassures her that being a witch is nothing bad.
• Several observers begin to recognize Wu Yu or suspect something about him. Liu Yu withdraws, while Chen Lingling orders some Climbers to pull back, easing pressure on the defenders.
• The Inspection Bureau side activates a Psionic Shielding Instrument, disrupting energy-based abilities and prompting a renewed assault. Wu Yu’s Aether Construct protects him, and he fights hand-to-hand as the winged tiger guards the girl.
• Cultivators attempt to attack the girl’s soul directly. Wu Yu counters with Soul Projection and a powerful Tiger Roar and Dragon Cry, overwhelming them and forcing them back into their bodies.

Character developments and interactions

• Wu Yu remains unwavering despite accusations and overwhelming odds. He protects the Duke’s daughter without killing his fellow Climbers, combining restraint with decisive force.
• The Duke’s daughter shows vulnerability and insecurity beneath her privileged upbringing, especially when she fears Wu Yu may misunderstand her.
• The Inspection Bureau woman acts with moral certainty, treating the daughter’s death as necessary and dismissing Wu Yu’s resistance as greed.
• Liu Zheng lets the woman speak for him and use herself as a shield; although Wu Yu’s voice sounds familiar, Liu Zheng cannot identify him.
• Bai Xiaotian, Liu Yu, and Chen Lingling each react differently to Wu Yu: Bai Xiaotian grows suspicious, Liu Yu quietly withdraws, and Chen Lingling directs some Climbers away.

Significant themes

• Conflicting duties and perspectives: Both sides believe they are protecting people, making the battle a clash of incompatible fears rather than simple good versus evil.
• Trust and disbelief: Wu Yu’s knowledge of the future cannot persuade leaders who rely only on what they can verify.
• Restraint amid violence: Wu Yu defends himself and the girl while deliberately avoiding lethal force.
• Identity and prejudice: The Duke’s daughter is condemned as a “witch” because of her faith and role, despite her own insistence that she is not one.

Key plot points and events

• Wu Yu dominates the Tower Climbers with his strength, spiritual power, and soul-based Dragon and Tiger Roars. When an Inspection Bureau leader begins charging a powerful attack through her mechanical eye, he senses the danger and knocks her unconscious before she can act. Liu Zheng retreats rather than exploit the opening.
• Frustrated that the outsiders are failing, the Dawn Church bishop orders an attack on the Dusk Duke. He transforms into a colossal, winged angel and leads the charge.
• The Dusk Duke easily halts the church’s assault, revealing that he knew other factions—including the Scarlet Holy See, Church of Justice, and Dark Poison Council—were hiding nearby and using the confrontation as cover. He exposes their agents and mocks their schemes.
• The factions challenge the Duke’s power and faith, claiming the stars no longer answer the Arcane Mages and that he cannot live forever. The Duke replies that Dusk City will endure—and offers them eternity through the Scarlet.
• The Duke looks to his daughter and admits he had planned to let her die rather than suffer corruption, but recognizes that she has secrets of her own. She calls to him and declares that the festival never ended.
• The Duke begins the true ritual: he summons the stars and raises the Arcane Bell Tower, revealing that the sacrifice is himself, everyone present, and all of Dusk City. Nuns across the city pray in unison, drawing the attention of an ancient god. Its gaze reaches the city, and its corruption engulfs Dusk City.

Character developments and interactions

• Wu Yu remains an effective protector, shielding the Twilight Witch and holding off the Tower Climbers. His swift intervention prevents the Inspection Bureau leader from completing her attack.
• Liu Zheng chooses survival over aggression and withdraws into the crowd.
• The Dawn Church bishop shifts from trying to manipulate the outsiders’ attack to a direct assault, but the Duke’s revelations expose how little control he has.
• The Dusk Duke is revealed as fully aware of the rival factions’ presence and as the architect of a far larger, sacrificial plan. His conflicted affection for his daughter emerges alongside his willingness to sacrifice the city.
• The Duke’s daughter asserts herself by declaring the festival unfinished, signaling that she has a role in the plan beyond being a target or victim.

Significant themes

• Manipulation and hidden agendas: The Tower Climbers’ apparent invasion is only one layer in a contest among powerful factions, all of whom are trying to exploit one another.
• Faith, power, and mortality: The factions question whether the Duke can still draw power from the stars; he answers with a plan that invokes a force far more terrifying than any human faction.
• Sacrifice and corruption: The Duke’s intended sacrifice—and the ancient god’s arrival—raise the question of whether Dusk City’s preservation can be separated from its destruction.
• Protection versus control: The Duke’s desire to spare his daughter from corruption conflicts with the larger ritual he has set in motion.

Character interactions

Wu Yu protects the girl while confronting the Tower Climbers; the bishop’s forces clash with the Duke; and the Duke exposes and challenges the rival factions. His exchange with his daughter reveals both his grim intentions and her determination to take part. The chapter ends with the ancient god’s gaze falling upon the entire city, overwhelming every faction at once.

Key plot points and events

• Wu Yu is transported from the Festival into a vision—or temporal overlap—of Dusk City’s past, where the Dusk Lord’s gaze brings irreversible corruption.
• The city, its inhabitants, and even its buildings transform into monsters. Most Tower Climbers lose their minds; the Twilight Witch alone remains sane and is elevated into an immortal being of dusk.
• The Dusk Duke declares that Dusk City will endure forever. He imprisons his daughter in the Arcane Bell Tower, leaving her to wait for the Dusk Lord’s return.
• Wu Yu is pulled back to the Clock Tower, where the Twilight Witch rushes to embrace him. She explains that the sacrificed city now drifts among the Stars and eventually merged with Wu Yu’s world.
• She tells him that, since he entered Dusk City, his will has become its future—suggesting its fate may still be changed.

Character developments and interactions

• Wu Yu realizes the past he witnessed was real, not an ordinary illusion, and begins to understand the scale of Dusk City’s catastrophe. He comforts the Witch and asks whether the city’s fate can be altered.
• The Twilight Witch is revealed to have survived the city’s destruction as an immortal dusk-being. Though imprisoned and separated from Wu Yu in the past, she has retained her attachment to him and is overjoyed when he returns.
• The Dusk Duke is shown to have sacrificed the entire city to attract the Dusk Lord’s attention. His devotion to this purpose overrides his care for his daughter, whom he imprisons.
• The Witch calls Wu Yu her “master,” clings to him, and explains the connection between his arrival and the city’s possible future.

Significant themes

• Cosmic indifference: The Dusk Lord’s gaze is not personal, yet it destroys an entire city.
• Sacrifice and obsession: The Dusk Duke trades the city and his daughter’s freedom for the divine attention he seeks.
• Transformation and survival: Dusk’s pollution destroys ordinary life but remakes the Witch into an enduring being.
• Fate and agency: Wu Yu’s presence may have changed Dusk City’s future, raising the possibility that even a seemingly eternal catastrophe can be redirected.

Key plot points

• Wu Yu asks whether he can take the Twilight Witch away and undo eternal dusk. She reveals that his past actions have already changed events, and that eternal twilight has become part of her power.
• The Witch explains that her birth made her a bridge to the Stars, and the fall of eternal twilight transformed her into an immortal Witch. During her imprisonment, she learned of a mysterious figure behind Dawn but refuses to identify them.
• With the Space-Time Storm approaching, Wu Yu asks how to save her. The Witch says she can alter the past of eternal twilight, and carries him above Dusk City to rewind its history to the Festival, before the corruption began.
• The Witch preserves Wu Yu’s unusual status, but the other Tower Climbers—including Liu Zheng, Liu Yu, and Bai Xiaotian—forget the events that followed. Wu Yu chooses to remain behind the scenes.
• In the rewritten past, the Dusk Duke defeats the Spell-Eater Legion with the Arcane Bell Tower’s power. The Witch says Dusk City will now return to the Main World rather than be sacrificed to the Stars and accidentally merge with Wu Yu’s world.
• Wu Yu spots the Lighthouse Evacuation Point and learns he has about a day and a half before Dusk City returns to reality. The Witch says she can travel with him inside a Godhead; he gives her one of his two.

Character developments and interactions

• Wu Yu trusts the Twilight Witch, prioritizes taking her with him, and decides to keep his role in the rewritten past secret. He is astonished by the scale of the time alteration and suspects the Bronze Tower is responsible.
• The Twilight Witch is devoted and affectionate toward Wu Yu, describing him as the only person who treated her as more than a tool, idol, or threat. She has become powerful through eternal twilight but clarifies that rewriting time is not her own ability.
• Their close, intimate bond is central to the chapter: the Witch carries Wu Yu through the rewind, reassures him about the conflict between Dawn and Dusk, and eagerly accepts a Godhead as a means of leaving with him.

Significant themes

• Rewriting fate: Changing the past reshapes Dusk City’s future and may prevent its sacrifice and merger with another world.
• Power and its limits: The Witch controls Dusk, but the time-reversal power appears to come from the Tower rather than her.
• Isolation and devotion: The Witch’s lasting attachment to Wu Yu contrasts with how others used, worshipped, or feared her.
• Hidden conflict: The struggle between Dawn and Dusk has an unknown force behind it, hinting at larger powers beyond the city.

Key events

• The Twilight Witch explains that Dusk City will return to the Main World just as the Space-Time Storm arrives. It is already shifting between illusion and reality, and anyone who remains after the transition will lose the city’s protection.
• Wu Yu considers exploring the city for monsters, treasures, and hidden quests, but learns that these are Tower-created manifestations and no longer exist in the restored city.
• The city’s residents celebrate the supposed intervention of their Dusk Lord, though Wu Yu’s talent reveals that their faith is mostly empty and performative.
• Wu Yu chooses to evacuate early rather than risk staying. The Twilight Witch enters his godhead, and he escapes through the lighthouse evacuation point.
• Back in the Tower, the climbers recover from their injuries and trauma. Wu Yu realizes that restoring eternal twilight saved them, though they have no memories of what happened.
• When Liu Yu and Liu Zheng ask why he disappeared, Wu Yu claims he used an invisibility talisman and attributes its effectiveness to his talent.

Character developments and interactions

• Wu Yu acts cautiously, abandoning potential exploration to ensure a safe departure. He also shows sympathy for the Witch’s isolation and reassures her that he likes being with her.
• The Twilight Witch admits that Wu Yu is all she has: her parents are distant, and she has no friends. She chooses to leave with him and says that his presence makes her loneliness easier to bear.
• Mithril Maid remains loyal to the Witch’s father and is not someone the Witch considers a friend.
• Wu Yu and the Tower climbers resume their ordinary dynamic after evacuation. He conceals what really happened, while Liu Yu and Liu Zheng question his unexplained disappearance.

Significant themes

• Belonging and loneliness: The Witch’s painful isolation contrasts with the comfort she finds in Wu Yu’s companionship.
• Faith versus appearance: Dusk City’s residents speak reverently, but their belief is shallow and motivated by social pressure.
• Caution and survival: Wu Yu gives up possible rewards to avoid the danger of the approaching storm.
• Hidden truth and memory: The climbers are saved without knowing why, while Wu Yu keeps the Witch’s role—and his own actions—secret.

• Plot: After returning from the Dusk City Great Ruins, Wu Yu reunites with the other Tower Climbers, who discuss their unsuccessful assault on the Supreme Castle. They believe they accomplished little and earned poor ratings. The Tower announces that Dusk City has vanished and upgrades Wu Yu’s Legend Bronze Token to a Legend Silver Token, granting stronger rewards and bonuses. Wu Yu’s settlement initially gives him a low evacuation rating, but his intervention—taking the Twilight Witch away and changing Dusk City’s history—locks his final rating at Mythic. His reward selection offers 500,000 base Great Ruins Source Points, enhanced rewards, and the right to choose eleven of twenty-one options.
• Character developments: Wu Yu keeps the Twilight Witch’s presence secret and realizes her role in changing history is significant. He is thrilled to earn his first Mythic rating and sees that its rewards far exceed what he expected. The other climbers, unaware of his actions, feel disappointed by their C and D ratings.
• Character interactions: Bai Xiaotian teases Wu Yu about disappearing; Wu Yu gives an evasive explanation. Liu Zheng criticizes him for not acting as part of the team, while Yu Tiezhu excitedly recalls the group’s coordinated assault. The climbers debate how the upgraded Silver Tokens might improve their rewards, then compare their disappointing settlement ratings.
• Themes: The chapter contrasts visible teamwork with hidden, decisive action: the group thinks its efforts failed, while Wu Yu’s secret intervention determines the world’s fate and his Mythic result. It also emphasizes the Tower’s opaque and unequal reward system, as well as the extraordinary value of tokens, ratings, and individual choices in shaping future advancement.

Plot points and events

• After earning a Mythic assessment, Wu Yu receives an unusually large reward selection: 21 options, including seven red-grade rewards. He takes all seven red rewards and carefully chooses four of the fourteen gold ones.
• His gold selections are the Supreme Clarity Grotto-Heaven Method, the Secret Sea Mana Potion, Starstorm, and 1.5 million Great Ruins Source Points. He passes over other options because they are less useful or too uncertain.
• The rewards arrive as Inventory Cards, Source Points, and—in Starstorm’s case—a direct upgrade to his existing Wind Control Technique. The transformed method gives him flight, control, and offensive abilities, with far greater power than before.
• Wu Yu looks for the mysterious Dawn Spear, but it is absent from his Inventory; the Tower apparently does not recognize it as a transferable item.
• The other climbers receive much poorer rewards after low assessments. Their reactions highlight the gap between their results and Wu Yu’s. Liu Zheng notes that he received two blue options, setting him apart from the others.

Character developments and interactions

• Wu Yu’s excitement is tempered by his habitual caution. He weighs the rewards pragmatically, prioritizing items and abilities he can use now, and is pleased by Starstorm’s automatic integration.
• He wonders why his Silver Token still bears the Legend suffix despite his Mythic assessment, suspecting the Tower may not recognize that he achieved it through a shortcut.
• Bai Xiaotian, Liu Yu, and Yu Tiezhu joke and commiserate about their mostly white- and green-grade rewards. Liu Zheng’s boast about his blue options adds a note of competition among the group.

Significant themes

• Unequal achievement and reward: Climbers of the same general standing can receive vastly different outcomes, depending on their assessments.
• Pragmatism under abundance: Even valuable rewards require trade-offs, so Wu Yu chooses according to immediate usefulness and uncertainty.
• The Tower’s rules and limits: The missing Dawn Spear suggests that the Tower controls what climbers can carry away.
• Power gained through preparation: Starstorm’s complex model shows the value of obtaining advanced techniques without having to master all their underlying theory independently.