Chapter Summaries

Key plot points and events

• Liu Zheng’s group stages a trap for the elderly deputy island lord, a Black Witch, by making the island lord appear to cooperate with her.
• They present Wu Yu in disguise as a captured believer of the Church of Justice. The witch is intrigued by his powerful magic and is fooled by a fake, contentless scroll into believing the Church is planning something.
• As the witch approaches Wu Yu, the disguise’s protective trick expires. Wu Yu strikes first with Mountain-Moving Force, crushing her skull and seemingly killing her.
• The two accompanying Black Witches attack, but Liu Yu and the others quickly subdue them.
• The dead witch transforms into a scaled, half-human, half-fish Deep One, regenerating and unleashing an icy blast that knocks Wang Yan down.
• Wu Yu withstands the attack and repeatedly hits the transformed witch with powerful finger strikes and heavenly thunder, apparently killing her again.
• Sensing that her spirit has escaped, Wu Yu uses a Tiger Roar to stun it, then pursues and destroys it with another thunder strike.

Character developments and interactions

• Liu Zheng demonstrates strategic skill, coordinating the deception and using a useless card as convincing false evidence.
• The island lord plays his part convincingly, pretending to serve the witch while secretly aiding the ambush.
• Wu Yu reveals overwhelming combat strength and quick judgment, taking the lead against the witch’s transformation and ensuring she cannot escape as a spirit.
• The group works together: the companions restrain the two witches, while Wang Yan and others react to the unexpected transformation. Their amazement at Wu Yu’s power underscores how exceptional he appears.

Significant themes

• Deception and preparation: The carefully staged performance and fabricated evidence make the ambush possible.
• Hidden monstrosity: The witch’s apparent human form conceals her Deep One nature and a frightening regenerative transformation.
• Power and survival: The scene emphasizes Wu Yu’s formidable strength, but also the need to destroy an enemy completely rather than trust appearances.
• Teamwork: The plan succeeds through coordinated roles, even though Wu Yu ultimately delivers the decisive blows.

Chapter summary

Key plot points and events

• Wu Yu kills the transformed old witch with a rapid combination of Rainbow Transformation, Heavenly Thunder, and Soul Projection. Her body dissolves into white light, confirming she is dead, and she drops five Cards: one Gold, one Purple, and three Blue.
• Liu Zheng uses the Crystal Robot to question two unconscious Black Witches. They reveal that the Living Map is supposedly in their teacher’s bedroom in the Mage Tower, though the tower is protected by a Secret Sea Totem.
• The group divides its forces: Liu Zheng, Wu Yu, and Liu Yu head for the Mage Tower; other members prepare to attack the island’s Secret Sea Warriors and Wizards.
• At the tower, Liu Yu dismantles the Totem, triggering hidden traps and a blast that damages the building. The group searches the bedroom but cannot find the map.
• One Black Witch insists she has seen the map bleed. Wu Yu reasons that “living” may mean the map is literally alive, not merely magical, and uses his Blood Feast ability to detect blood in the room that belongs to none of them.

Character developments and interactions

• Wu Yu remains composed after the fight, secures the Cards, and uses careful observation and inference to solve the map’s disappearance. His ability to combine combat skill with unconventional thinking becomes central.
• Liu Zheng takes command, questioning the witches and assigning the team’s roles. He keeps the Crystal Robot’s nature concealed and is willing to kill the witches once they are no longer useful.
• Liu Yu volunteers to handle the Totem, but his confidence gives way to frustration when its undisclosed traps explode.
• The Black Witches cooperate under Liu Zheng’s control. Their testimony directs the group to the tower, while one’s memory of the bleeding map provides Wu Yu with a crucial clue.
• The team follows Liu Zheng’s plan without delay, though Liu Yu briefly expresses envy of Wu Yu’s magical abilities.

Significant themes

• Pragmatism and control: Liu Zheng treats the witches as temporary tools, while the group prioritizes reaching the Dock over their captives’ welfare.
• The unknown nature of the world: The old witch’s transformation and the apparently literal “living” map suggest that familiar terms and expectations may not apply in this realm.
• Observation and adaptability: Wu Yu’s success depends not only on force but on reinterpreting clues and applying his abilities creatively.
• Teamwork under danger: The group coordinates its efforts, dividing tasks and relying on one another to pursue their objective.

Key plot points and events

• Wu Yu uses the power of [Blood Feast] to detect a hidden pocket dimension in the Mage Tower. Following the Twilight Witch’s advice, he releases a wisp of [Yellow Cloud]’s eternal twilight power, cracking the unstable space and revealing a box.
• Inside are a Living Map that tracks the Dock in the Thirty-Sixth Sea Area, several Deep-Dive Potions, and a Call of Augustus offering material. The group agrees the map is the most important find: it will guide them to safety and help them explore the Deep Sea.
• The group leaves the Mage Tower. At Liu Zheng’s order, the Black Witch kills herself, and the party later regroups with the others, who report victory over most of the island’s Secret Sea forces.
• Using directions from the captured Sea Shark Island Lord, Liu Zheng locates the Dock on the Living Map. The steamship sets off at full speed, expected to reach it within hours.
• Wu Yu copies the map into his Silver Token and returns to his room to recover. He inspects the old witch’s spoils: a Deep-One-only combat technique, a valuable Deep-Sea Blood Coral, and three more Deep-Dive Potions. He decides to contact Bai Xiaotian.

Character developments and interactions

• Wu Yu shows caution about the Secret Sea World’s curse, realizing it weakens him beyond combat ability. Despite his confidence in his recovery and Death Substitution, he recognizes the danger of being trapped in the Deep Sea.
• The Twilight Witch identifies how to open the hidden space and worries that her advice harmed Wu Yu. He reassures her that the world’s curse—not her actions—caused his strain.
• Liu Zheng takes charge of the expedition, orders the Black Witch’s death, and directs the ship toward the Dock. Liu Yu and the others celebrate the discovery and the party’s progress.
• Wu Yu accepts the gemstone and potions for himself while the others focus on the map, trusting their unspoken division of the finds.

Significant themes

• Survival and security: The Dock represents refuge in a hostile, seemingly endless ocean.
• Power under constraint: Wu Yu’s abilities remain formidable, but the world’s curse makes even small uses of power costly.
• Pragmatism and moral indifference: Liu Zheng treats the witch and the island’s pirates as expendable once they are no longer useful.
• Discovery and resourcefulness: The party’s progress depends on hidden knowledge, teamwork, and turning recovered items into practical advantages.

Key plot points and events

• Wu Yu offers Bai Xiaotian several Cards and items taken from the Deep Ones and the Twilight Witch, including Deep One’s Blood, which Wu Yu cannot use.
• Bai Xiaotian says the blood will help him pursue his chosen path: becoming an augmented human by fusing powerful creatures’ genes and organs. He reveals his talent is [Taisui], which lets him withstand the risks of flesh fusion, and agrees to pay Wu Yu after they return.
• Liu Zheng secretly watches their meeting through surveillance. He realizes Bai Xiaotian’s transformation could help him achieve his goals in the Secret Sea World.
• Wu Yu and the Twilight Witch discuss the surveillance. Wu Yu suspects Bai Xiaotian spoke deliberately for Liu Zheng to overhear, and notes that Bai and Liu likely have separate schemes.
• The steamship reaches the Dock, a busy harbor filled with ships and a vast island. Liu Zheng tells the group to pose as adventurers from an island destroyed by Sea Shark Island, then has the Sea Shark Island Lord kill himself and takes the corpse ashore.
• An arrogant Dock official confronts the newcomers. Liu Zheng offers him secret sea crystals and identifies the group as adventurers seeking a bounty.

Character developments and interactions

• Bai Xiaotian explains his unusual circumstances: genetic experimentation, orphanhood, and lack of access to technology have made mutation and fusion his best route to power. His confidence reflects his growing strength and belief in his future.
• Wu Yu remains observant and composed, trading useful items while recognizing both Bai Xiaotian’s performance and Liu Zheng’s likely surveillance.
• Liu Zheng emerges as calculating and opportunistic, monitoring others and preparing to use Bai Xiaotian’s abilities while managing the group’s cover story.
• Wu Yu and the Twilight Witch share a private exchange in which she reports Bai’s odd behavior; Wu Yu explains his suspicions and tells her not to get involved in the others’ schemes.
• Liu Zheng and the Dock official interact through bribery: Liu uses secret sea crystals to smooth the group’s arrival.

Significant themes

• Adaptation and divergent paths to power: Wu Yu cultivates, while Bai Xiaotian relies on biological fusion and mutation.
• Surveillance, deception, and competing agendas: Bai’s apparent candor may be a staged message, and Liu watches and plans around others.
• Pragmatism and survival: The group adopts a fabricated identity and uses bribery to navigate the Dock’s authorities.

Chapter Summary

Key events

• The group reaches Azure Isle, also called Dock, a vast moving island dominated by a lighthouse and the lavish Grand Cathedral of the Church of Justice.
• At the entrance, a suspicious Tuxedo Man demands proof that they are registered adventurers. Liu Zheng claims their registries were destroyed and offers him secret sea crystals. The man accepts the bribe and lets them pass, though the group suspects he was also targeting Chen Lingling.
• The group visits the Church to obtain new identity certificates. Since the island’s Church magic expels unregistered visitors after three hours, they pay the required fee and swear to follow the doctrine of justice and fight Augustus and Dagon.
• Liu Zheng asks about rewards for defeated enemies. The Church identifies the Island Lord and the Witches as Heretics, verifies their bodies, and pays the group a chest of secret sea crystals.
• The group divides the reward, with Wu Yu receiving the largest share for his greater contribution. They decide to spend a few days on Dock while waiting for the Evacuation Point to appear, then part ways.
• Wu Yu catches up with Liu Yu and proposes a deal; Liu Yu is intrigued, but the chapter ends before the offer is explained.

Character developments and interactions

• Liu Zheng takes charge as captain, manages the bribe and registration process, and handles negotiations with the Church. He is pragmatic and composed, even when dealing with rude officials.
• Bai Xiaotian reacts furiously to the Tuxedo Man’s apparent interest in Chen Lingling and wants to retaliate, but Liu Zheng keeps the group focused.
• Wu Yu contributes significantly to the mission and receives the largest portion of the reward. His private approach to Liu Yu sets up a new partnership or negotiation.
• Liu Yu jokes with Wu Yu but becomes curious when he proposes a deal.
• The group cooperates with the Church despite having no religious commitment, treating its procedures as practical necessities.

Significant themes

• Pragmatism and corruption: The group uses a bribe to overcome the Tuxedo Man’s obstruction, while the Church’s bureaucracy proves efficient and reward-driven.
• Justice and moral ambiguity: The Church presents itself as a force against Heretics, but the chapter leaves open how trustworthy its doctrine and institutions really are.
• Cooperation and reward: The party’s shared success leads to a negotiated division of spoils, while Wu Yu’s larger contribution is acknowledged.
• Transition and uncertainty: With immediate business settled, the characters disperse to pursue their own plans as they await the next major event.

Plot points and events

• Wu Yu asks Liu Yu for information about the Hidden Shop. Liu Yu says he can provide its location the next day, in exchange for roughly 80,000–100,000 Great Ruins Source Points if Wu Yu has nothing else he wants. Wu Yu agrees; Liu Yu leaves in a hurry.
• Wu Yu decides to explore Azure Isle’s market district. A young Half-Elf named Amy approaches and offers to guide him for ten secret sea crystals per hour.
• Amy explains that Wu Yu had been heading toward the wholesale market, which is generally intended for merchant caravans and groups carrying goods in Spatial Rings. She then shows him around the market’s many streets and shops.
• Wu Yu sees a wide range of goods, including transcendent items, and notes that most are ungraded or transcendent-grade. After dismissing the expensive Golden Apple shop as insufficiently high-end, he asks about places selling rarer goods.
• Amy suggests that the most valuable items are traded by captains who venture into the deep sea.

Character developments

• Wu Yu is practical and alert: he negotiates for useful information, assesses the market and its dangers, and hires a local guide to avoid wasting time.
• Liu Yu shows that he has a method for finding the Hidden Shop, though he cannot provide the location immediately. His mysterious background and urgent departure leave Wu Yu curious about his connections.
• Amy is energetic, knowledgeable about Azure Isle, and eager to earn money. She shares personal details about supporting her family, then proves useful by explaining the market’s layout and customs.

Significant themes

• Information has value: Wu Yu and Liu Yu treat knowledge of the Hidden Shop as a commodity worth a substantial payment.
• Opportunity and risk: Wu Yu believes that pursuing opportunities requires acting rather than pretending not to know what is available.
• Class and access: The market ranges from ordinary goods to costly transcendent items, while access to the rarest treasures depends on dangerous deep-sea exploration.
• Survival and livelihood: Amy’s work reflects the economic pressures facing ordinary residents of Azure Isle.

Character interactions

• Wu Yu presses Liu Yu for information, and they reach a payment agreement for the Hidden Shop’s location.
• Amy identifies Wu Yu as a newcomer, explains his mistake about the wholesale district, and offers her services.
• Wu Yu gently cuts short Amy’s rehearsed personal appeal, then hires her to give him a practical tour.
• When Wu Yu asks about exceptional goods, Amy points him toward the captains’ deep-sea trades.

Plot and key events

• Amy warns Wu Yu that the captains who visit the deep-sea market may include raiders, heretics, and bloodkin, but offers to guide him there. Wu Yu accepts.
• In the market, Wu Yu sees rare, powerful goods, but their prices are far beyond his means. After selling items taken from the mermen, he has earned just over 300,000 secret sea crystals.
• Seeking a way to strengthen a transcendent lifeform, Wu Yu visits a flesh shop. He buys two pieces of secret sea essence—materials made from sea-monster flesh—for 50,000 crystals each.
• At Amy’s prompting, the shopkeeper reveals items recovered from the Forbidden Zone. Most are cursed or prohibitively expensive, but Wu Yu spots a curio: the Long-Voyage Skiff, a small ship that can grow to fifteen meters when supplied with secret sea magic stones and offers limited defense.
• Wu Yu realizes his curio, Heaven’s Return, may be able to absorb and enhance the skiff. Excited by the prospect of becoming a captain after missing out on the Ghost Ship, he decides to buy it.

Character developments and interactions

• Wu Yu is cautious with money but quick to recognize the skiff’s potential. His interest shifts from merely browsing valuable goods to pursuing a possible route toward becoming a captain.
• Amy remains nervous around the market’s dangerous visitors, yet takes initiative in guiding Wu Yu and helps him negotiate access to the shopkeeper’s unusual stock. Her trust in Wu Yu is evident, though she avoids explaining why she thinks he is good.
• The giant shopkeeper is terse and intimidating but honest: he explains the skiff’s limitations and does not pressure Wu Yu to buy.

Significant themes

• Danger and opportunity are intertwined: the deep sea and Forbidden Zones are perilous, but surviving them can yield extraordinary treasures.
• Ambition and resourcefulness: Wu Yu sees how to turn an ordinary curio into a potentially much stronger asset through Heaven’s Return.
• Trust amid danger: Amy’s guidance shows a cautious bond forming in a market where many visitors may be hostile.

Key plot points and events

• Wu Yu learns that the giant’s high-tier [Long-Voyage Skiff] originally cost over two million Secret Sea Crystals. After consulting a living black eyeball, the giant admits the skiff has serious drawbacks: it requires [Secret Sea Magic Stones], cannot protect against night or sea monsters, and cannot be repaired. He asks 1.2 million for it.
• Wu Yu is short on funds, so he offers the giant spirit-beast meat dishes instead. The giant pays 20,000 per plate, but buys only ten, along with some raw meat and other goods—enough to cover only part of the price.
• While retrieving the food, Wu Yu reveals an [Ascension No. 6] injection. He honestly explains that it can boost blood and vitality but might cause paralysis. The giant is delighted by the paralysis risk and trades the skiff for the injection, taking it eagerly.
• Wu Yu and Amy leave the shop puzzled by the giant’s reaction. Amy recommends [Cheese and Bread], an inn run by her mother’s friend, Vina. Wu Yu rents the entire top floor for 300 Secret Sea Crystals per day.

Character developments and interactions

• Wu Yu negotiates cautiously and honestly, using his food and then the injection to secure the skiff. He remains curious about the giant’s unusual enthusiasm but decides not to pursue it.
• The giant is blunt about the skiff’s flaws and fair in valuing Wu Yu’s goods. His intense desire for the injection’s potentially paralyzing effects hints at a hidden motive.
• Amy helps Wu Yu find a way to pay, then guides him to a trusted inn. Her familiarity with Vina reveals her family’s local connections.
• The eyeball creature mocks both the giant and Wu Yu, but provides a candid assessment of the skiff.

Significant themes

• Bargaining and unexpected value: An item’s worth depends on the buyer; the injection’s dangerous side effect makes it especially desirable to the giant.
• Honesty and trust: Wu Yu openly explains the injection’s risks, while the giant gives straightforward prices and information.
• Mystery and foreshadowing: The giant’s eagerness for paralysis raises questions about his nature or intentions.

Key plot points and events

• Wu Yu rents the inn’s entire top floor and checks the rooms for danger with Soul Projection and a fragment of [Eternal Twilight]. He and the Twilight Witch find no threat in their half-elf guide, Amy.
• He uses the Bronze Tripod to devour the little boat, a white-grade Dao Foundation Curio. After half an hour, the boat crumbles into ash and its form appears as a cauldron mark on the Tripod.
• The Tripod advances to white-grade Dao Foundation, becoming Heaven’s Return. Its recovery effects grow stronger, Substitute Death gains an extra use, and it gains a Sailing mark that lets it transform into a boat.
• In boat form, the Curio can grant specialized transcendent roles—such as helmsman or gunner—along with the corresponding knowledge and abilities. Wu Yu tests both roles and finds their expertise specific to the [Secret Sea World].
• Exhausted by his curses and recent exertions, Wu Yu goes to sleep. He then wakes in Fei’s calamity-ravaged domain, where the beast’s overwhelming aura makes him ill and terrified. The [Withering Sigil] dispels the calamity affecting him, allowing him to recover.

Character developments

• Wu Yu’s caution remains pronounced: despite teasing from the Twilight Witch, he checks his surroundings before using the Curio.
• He is delighted by the Bronze Tripod’s advancement and experiments enthusiastically with its new functions.
• His physical resources recover quickly, but he recognizes that the Curio cannot restore his deeper mental exhaustion.
• The Twilight Witch continues to act as a teasing, supportive companion, while the [Withering Sigil] proves an essential defense against Fei’s calamity.

Significant themes

• Growth through consumption: The Bronze Tripod gains power and new abilities by devouring another Curio.
• Power and its limits: Wu Yu’s Curio can restore his body, but not his mental fatigue—and it cannot withstand Fei’s calamity.
• Preparation and caution: Wu Yu’s security checks contrast with his later helplessness before a force far beyond his control.
• World-bound knowledge: The boat’s granted expertise is powerful but tied to the [Secret Sea World].

Character interactions

• Wu Yu and the Twilight Witch exchange playful banter as they assess the inn and celebrate the Curio’s upgrade.
• Wu Yu tests the boat’s role-granting ability on himself, switching from helmsman to gunner.
• While Wu Yu sleeps, the Twilight Witch quietly covers him with a blanket.
• In Fei’s domain, there is no direct exchange; Wu Yu is overwhelmed by the beast’s presence, and the [Withering Sigil] protects him.

Plot and events

• Wu Yu finds himself in a desolate world dominated by Fei, a colossal being from the Classic of Mountains and Seas. The landscape’s aura of calamity overwhelms him with sorrow, despair, and memories of his past life.
• After his strength and will are nearly exhausted, he uses the Bronze Tripod to restore his blood qi, spirit power, and mental power. Its cooling effect also removes his emotions, placing him in the “Heavenly Being State,” which lets him keep moving.
• Wu Yu eventually collapses and is close to waking from the dream. A warm, pleasant presence revives him: the Divine Deer, who explains that Fei’s slumber creates an opportunity.
• The Divine Deer leads Wu Yu across vast distances with effortless steps. As it travels, the barren world blooms into lakes, forests, mountains, and fields.
• They arrive at a sacred sea of nine-colored flowers. The Divine Deer tells Wu Yu to pick a Nine-Colored Flower, but first he must say something. The chapter ends before Wu Yu learns what to say.

Character developments and interactions

• Wu Yu endures overwhelming despair but adapts by using the tripod strategically. He is cautious and somewhat calculating with the Divine Deer, answering truthfully while withholding key information.
• The Divine Deer is powerful, warm, and playful, teasing Wu Yu about his incomplete solar power while choosing to guide him. It recognizes his cleverness but says he does not yet meet the standard for its blessing.
• Their interaction shifts from Wu Yu thanking the Deer for saving him to the Deer taking charge and giving him a mysterious task.

Significant themes

• Despair and endurance: Fei’s presence tests Wu Yu’s emotional and physical limits.
• Power and perspective: Wu Yu’s exhausting journey proves insignificant beside Fei’s immense scale, underscoring the gap between his abilities and the world around him.
• Renewal amid calamity: The Divine Deer’s passage transforms desolation into flourishing life, contrasting Fei’s sorrowful aura with the Deer’s restorative warmth.
• Trust and uncertainty: Wu Yu accepts the Deer’s guidance despite not knowing the consequences of picking the flower.

Plot and events

• In the Classic of Mountains and Seas, the Divine Deer explains that they need a Nine-Colored Flower. Picking it will awaken Fei, a hostile being who could prevent the flower from being secured.
• Wu Yu cannot pull the flower until the Divine Deer grants him the temporary Eternal Sun blessing. When the flower speaks and accuses him of destroying its life for power, Wu Yu releases it and pretends to refuse the task.
• The Divine Deer sees through Wu Yu’s clever, compassionate act. The flower nevertheless ends up in Wu Yu’s hand, and the deer takes it. Just as the Divine Deer plans to escort Wu Yu to a human safe territory, they sense that a greater power is pulling him away.
• As a parting gift, the Divine Deer gives Wu Yu a Seven-Colored Flower, said to embody the Sun and Wish and to fulfill a fleeting dream.
• Wu Yu wakes in the Moon Palace with the flower. It has no panel, and none of his wishes—from immortality down to a steamed bun—work. He brings it to Chang Xi and tells her what happened.
• Chang Xi identifies the Divine Deer as Lushu.

Character developments and interactions

• Wu Yu shows both resourcefulness and empathy: he devises a way to avoid harming the Nine-Colored Flower, while still helping the Divine Deer. He is also frustrated and comically persistent when the Seven-Colored Flower ignores his wishes.
• The Divine Deer/Lushu is gentle and candid, trusts Wu Yu enough to explain the danger, and rewards him after recognizing his good intentions. Their surprise at the force pulling Wu Yu away hints at powers beyond their own.
• The Nine-Colored Flower is a sentient, outspoken divine herb that challenges Wu Yu’s motives.
• Chang Xi receives Wu Yu warmly and listens to his account, then supplies the key identification of Lushu.

Significant themes

• Compassion over power: Wu Yu chooses not to destroy a living divine herb for personal gain.
• Cleverness and sincerity: His tactful refusal persuades Lushu more than force would.
• Limits of control: Wu Yu cannot keep the promised safe escort, and the supposedly wish-granting flower does not obey him.
• Mystery and foreshadowing: The unknown power that removes Wu Yu, and Lushu’s inability to resist it, suggest a larger force at work.

Key plot points and events

• Chang Xi confirms that the auspicious beast Lushu gave Wu Yu a [Seven-Colored Flower] and asked him to help find a [Nine-Colored Flower]. She explains that the flower’s wish-granting power comes from this world, so it cannot grant wishes to Wu Yu, who is an outsider.
• Wu Yu offers the flower to Chang Xi. She accepts it and hints that she will have a surprise for him next time he visits. In return, she asks him to bring more stories, since his visits brighten her long, lonely confinement in the [Lunar Immortal Palace].
• Wu Yu shares tales of the [Secret Sea World] with Chang Xi. Afterward, he wakes in the inn on the second day, though his memories of Chang Xi feel strangely hazy, as if something is obstructing them.
• He checks the [Silver Token] and learns that the [Dawn Pier Evacuation Point] has appeared in the plaza outside the [Church of Justice], while the [Fishman Tide] is underway. The location seems unusually safe because the church’s powerful forces are nearby.
• The Twilight Witch tells Wu Yu that a paper crane arrived while he slept. It contains Liu Yu’s message: in three hours, the [Divination Hut] will open in the Commoner District; saying “[the fool and fate]” grants entry to the [Hidden Shop].
• Wu Yu considers visiting the shop later, then takes out the [Azure Statue] and decides he may be able to learn more by asking the local girl rather than relying only on information gathered by Tower Climbers.

Character developments and interactions

• Wu Yu shows growing trust and concern for Chang Xi, offering her the flower despite having no use for it. He is moved by her loneliness and responds by sharing stories rather than insisting on repayment.
• Chang Xi reveals the isolation of her long confinement and values Wu Yu’s visits as a rare source of comfort. She accepts his gift while promising a future surprise.
• The Twilight Witch remains attentive and affectionate, keeping watch over Wu Yu and delivering Liu Yu’s message once he wakes.
• Liu Yu continues helping Wu Yu from afar with precise information about the Hidden Shop’s time, place, and password. Wu Yu suspects Liu’s ability to obtain information is exceptionally powerful.

Significant themes

• Loneliness and companionship: Chang Xi’s confinement makes Wu Yu’s visits meaningful, and storytelling becomes a form of emotional support.
• Reciprocity and generosity: Wu Yu gives the flower without expecting anything, while Chang Xi finds another way to express her gratitude.
• Outsiderhood and limits: The flower’s power depends on belonging to this world, underscoring the restrictions Wu Yu faces as an outsider.
• Information as power: Maps, messages, and local knowledge shape Wu Yu’s plans and may be more valuable than relying solely on other Tower Climbers.

Key plot points and events

• To learn more about the Azure God, Wu Yu asks Amy—whom he finds sorting vegetables with her younger brother Allen—to help him.
• Wu Yu sees a sinister red mark on Allen’s forehead that Amy and the innkeeper cannot see. It stirs the hunger associated with Wu Yu’s [Blood Feast] power, but he suppresses it.
• Over breakfast, Allen recounts legends about the Azure God. Prayers are extremely unlikely to receive an answer, and the God’s blessings or artifacts seem to depend on its own inscrutable whims rather than the worshippers’ requests.
• Wu Yu suspects Allen’s mark is linked to the Secret Sea Forbidden Zone known as the [Blood Sea], which may explain the boy’s unusual intelligence and mental power.
• Amy agrees to guide Wu Yu to the [Divination Hut], where a reputed seer predicts people’s fates at sea. Wu Yu doubts the claims but pays her and Allen generously.
• Back in his room, Wu Yu has the Twilight Witch secure the space with protective and perception spells, then prays to the Azure Statue. A powerful divine presence answers and, dismissing Wu Yu as a “Faithless,” causes an unknown object to appear in his hand.

Character developments and interactions

• Wu Yu remains pragmatic and skeptical, but treats Allen’s hidden mark as a serious clue. He uses Amy and Allen’s local knowledge, rewards them generously, and takes precautions before contacting the Azure God.
• Allen proves remarkably knowledgeable about ancient lore and unusually gifted, while remaining polite and reluctant to accept food without permission.
• Amy is eager to help Wu Yu, protective of her brother, and appreciative of his kindness.
• The Twilight Witch follows Wu Yu’s plan and prepares the room for the prayer. The Azure God is detached and impersonal, responding without waiting for Wu Yu to speak.

Significant themes

• Faith and divine indifference: The Azure God answers prayers rarely and appears unconcerned with what believers actually want.
• Hidden corruption and unusual power: Allen’s invisible mark suggests a dangerous connection to the Blood Sea.
• Skepticism versus belief: Wu Yu questions the diviner’s reputation even as he deliberately seeks a miracle from a god.
• Kindness amid hardship: Wu Yu’s food and payment offer a brief contrast to the children’s poverty and labor.

Key plot points and events

• The Azure Statue abruptly shatters after granting Wu Yu a glowing sphere—without allowing him to pray or offer a sacrifice as he had planned.
• The sphere proves to be a Gold-quality Dao Foundation item, the Sealing Sphere, containing an animate Curio: Secret Sea’s Fate, a blood-red compass sealed by Dagon.
• The compass can provide hints about treasures and dangers in the Secret Sea, but warns that it must remain sealed and could destroy Wu Yu’s Heaven’s Return Curio if exposed to it. It cannot leave the Secret Sea World.
• Wu Yu communicates with the compass. It offers to make him rich if he releases it, but he resists its influence and refuses to let it out.
• Wu Yu feeds it a secret sea magic stone. The compass then realizes that Wu Yu is accompanied by the Twilight Witch and panics, repeatedly shouting about the Blood Sea Witch. The Twilight Witch silences it with her power.

Character developments

• Wu Yu is startled by the unexpected blessing but quickly assesses the compass’s risks. He shows caution and self-control by resisting its seductive promises and keeping it sealed.
• The Twilight Witch remains observant and protective, using her Silent Barrier to ease the compass’s unsettling noise and then stopping its outburst.
• Secret Sea’s Fate is revealed as intelligent, persuasive, and alarmed by the Twilight Witch’s presence, suggesting it knows more than it initially admits.

Character interactions

• The Twilight Witch checks on Wu Yu after the statue shatters and helps manage the compass’s disruptive behavior.
• Wu Yu probes the compass’s capabilities while refusing its demand to be released.
• After the compass recognizes the Twilight Witch, Wu Yu’s command fails; her command immediately silences it.

Significant themes

• Caution around power: The compass offers extraordinary benefits but comes with dangerous conditions.
• Temptation and self-control: Wu Yu resists visions of wealth and indulgence meant to manipulate him.
• Hidden loyalties and larger mysteries: The compass’s connection to Dagon and its fear of the Twilight Witch hint at deeper conflicts involving the gods and the Blood Sea.

Key plot points and events

• Wu Yu consults the Fate Compass before entering the deep sea. It is initially frightened by the Twilight Witch, but quickly becomes eager to help once she identifies herself.
• Using magic stones, the sealed compass projects a glimpse of the future: Wu Yu’s boat, [Heaven’s Return], is wrecked and stranded, while Wu Yu experiences regret—especially regret at not having brought local people aboard.
• Wu Yu reasons that the danger may not be simply an enemy attack. The boat’s special positions may require a crew to use effectively, so he decides he needs to recruit people.
• When Wu Yu asks the compass to predict what he should buy at a special shop, it panics and collapses. It sensed that fate does not exist there—a reaction caused by the Tower’s influence over the Hidden Shop.
• The compass is too exhausted to offer further guidance, so Wu Yu stores it safely and takes out the Bronze Tripod, which transforms into a model boat.

Character developments and interactions

• Wu Yu responds to the vision by reasoning through its implications rather than panicking. He recognizes the value of a crew and decides to act on the warning.
• The Twilight Witch supports Wu Yu and uses her identity to intimidate the compass into cooperating. She also notices when it has genuinely passed out.
• The Fate Compass shifts from fear of witches to eager flattery and service, but becomes overwhelmed when it encounters something beyond its ability to read. Its reactions suggest both potent foresight and serious limitations.

Significant themes

• Foresight and uncertainty: The vision warns Wu Yu of a likely failure without revealing exactly what causes it, leaving him to interpret the clues.
• Preparation and cooperation: Survival may depend not only on individual strength but on having the right people to operate the boat’s capabilities.
• Limits of knowledge: The compass can glimpse the future, yet the Hidden Shop lies beyond its reach, showing that some forces are inaccessible even to powerful artifacts.

Key plot points and events

• Wu Yu studies the little Curio boat and realizes he needs a crew to use its transcendent positions: a helmsman, sailor, and gunner in addition to himself as captain. He considers asking Amy for help finding suitable people.
• The boat’s gunner position resonates with Allen as the boy serves guests. Wu Yu suspects this is connected to the blood-sea imprint Allen bears, though he does not yet know what it means.
• Amy takes Wu Yu to the Black Hut, a popular divination shop. Rather than wait in the long line, Wu Yu enters directly and pays the elderly diviner with secret sea crystals.
• Wu Yu tells her he is seeking “The Fool and Fate,” not a personal fortune. Recognizing him as someone favored by the Secret Sea, the diviner leads him through a wall into a hidden black hall filled with forbidden objects.
• The diviner calls herself a guide to fate for people like Wu Yu and reveals that she knows about his forbidden compass and valuable treasure.

Character developments

• Wu Yu shows growing curiosity about the Curio boat’s powers and remains alert to possible recruits, especially after noticing its response to Allen. He is direct and resourceful, using a large payment to get past the diviner’s intimidation and reach his real purpose.
• Amy continues to trust and accompany Wu Yu, though the diviner’s supernatural pressure frightens her.
• Allen is revealed to have a mysterious blood-sea imprint that may make him compatible with the boat’s gunner position.
• The diviner shifts from stern gatekeeper to welcoming guide once she recognizes Wu Yu’s status and possessions, suggesting she has genuine knowledge beyond ordinary fortune-telling.

Significant themes

• Fate versus deception: The diviner’s public readings appear fraudulent, yet she may possess real insight for those connected to the Secret Sea.
• Hidden identities and powers: The boat’s response to Allen and the diviner’s knowledge of Wu Yu’s compass point to concealed connections and abilities.
• Access and value: Money, status, and supernatural recognition determine who can enter the hidden world behind the ordinary shop.

Character interactions

• Wu Yu and Amy travel together to the Black Hut; Amy follows his lead despite her initial hesitation.
• Wu Yu observes Allen’s polite service and privately connects the boat’s reaction to the boy’s imprint.
• The diviner intimidates Wu Yu and Amy for cutting the line, but accepts his secret sea crystals and then guides them into the hidden hall.
• In the hall, the diviner recognizes Wu Yu’s compass and offers recommendations among the forbidden objects.

Chapter Summary

Key plot points and events

• An elderly diviner explains that the Forbidden Object [Secret Sea’s Fate] once belonged to the Hidden Shop, and that its former owner was a Secret Sea warrior who sought the mysteries of beings such as Dagon, Augustus, and the Blood Sea.
• Wu Yu examines the shop’s powerful treasures. Many are prohibitively expensive, difficult to obtain, or useful only within the Secret Sea.
• He lists numerous items he wants, totaling 77.63 million secret sea crystals and 8.2 million secret sea magic stones. Since he cannot pay, he tries to buy them on credit.
• The diviner refuses to extend credit for the full order, but allows him to purchase one item on credit, partly because he has the Fate Compass and she trusts his prospects.
• She recommends the [Evil Curse Cannon], a white-grade Dao Foundation curio cursed by Dagon. It can strike physical and spirit bodies and even annihilate energy.
• The diviner says Allen, a relative of Amy’s, can operate the cannon exceptionally well because he bears the power of an evil curse. Wu Yu accepts the recommendation and promises to repay the diviner later.
• As Wu Yu leaves, Liu Yu enters the Hidden Shop and is surprised to find him already there.

Character developments

• Wu Yu shows strategic thinking: his offer of a small payment is a calculated attempt to secure credit for one crucial item, not his entire shopping list. He also recognizes the cannon’s practical value for protecting his ship.
• The diviner is helpful but constrained by the shop’s rules. She trusts Wu Yu enough to approve one credit purchase and offers advice rather than simply selling him an item.
• Amy is confused when the diviner mentions that someone connected to her can use the cannon; Wu Yu realizes she means Allen.
• Liu Yu arrives expecting to find Wu Yu later, only to discover that Wu Yu has reached the shop first.

Significant themes

• Power comes at a cost: The shop’s strongest treasures demand enormous sums, rare materials, or serious restrictions.
• Preparation and practical strength: The Fate Compass may reveal opportunities, but the diviner stresses that Wu Yu still needs enough power to claim them. The cannon represents a way to strengthen his ship’s defenses.
• Rules, trust, and negotiation: The diviner cannot break the shop’s rules, yet personal trust gives Wu Yu limited access to credit.
• The limits of power across worlds: Some impressive Secret Sea abilities become useless outside that realm, underscoring how context-dependent certain treasures are.

Character interactions

• Wu Yu and the diviner negotiate over his shopping list; she rejects his request for broad credit but agrees to one purchase.
• The diviner explains the cannon’s value and identifies Allen as its ideal operator, prompting Wu Yu’s immediate recognition.
• Wu Yu thanks the diviner and promises to repay her, while she expresses confidence in him.
• Liu Yu’s arrival interrupts the scene, and Wu Yu greets him with a teasing remark that he is late.

Key plot points and events

• Liu Yu arrives at the diviner’s shop and uses the passphrase “The Fool and Fate.” He exchanges three Flesh Balls for several items, then leaves as local Tower Climbers enter and react mockingly to him.
• Afterward, the diviner’s Crystal Ball cracks and reveals an eyeball. The diviner explains that he gave Liu Yu special treatment on orders from a powerful figure, despite the risk of breaking the rules.
• At the inn, Wu Yu recruits Amy and her younger brother Allen for his ship. Allen eagerly accepts the chance to become a transcendent gunner; his cannon-handling motions are uncannily accurate, suggesting he has an unusual innate connection to the role. Amy agrees to serve as a sailor after Wu Yu offers payment.
• Wu Yu learns from the inn’s Fat Madam that the children’s father is dead and their mother is emotionally absent, leaving them to fend for themselves. He takes them to buy supplies, spending nearly all his Secret Sea Crystals.
• Back at the docks, Wu Yu finds Church of Justice Knights conducting inspections. They verify his Justice Registry, then ask whether he has seen a captain with an octopus head and human body. Wu Yu is startled by the description.

Character developments and interactions

• Liu Yu remains guarded and self-assured, refusing to explain how he obtained the Flesh Balls or entered the shop.
• Wu Yu acts decisively as a captain, recruiting the children and taking responsibility for them. He notices their unusual qualities and suspects neither is ordinary.
• Allen reveals an intense fascination with ships and cannons, and instincts that seem to match the Gunner Transcendent Position despite having no practical experience.
• Amy is protective and cautious, but accepts Wu Yu’s offer to help provide for her brother and herself. Her remark that she would have sensed if Wu Yu were bad suggests she has unusual perceptiveness.
• Fat Madam provides context for the children’s hardship and is surprised by Wu Yu’s decision, but does not interfere.
• The diviner’s exchange with the mysterious eyeball hints that Liu Yu’s dealings are influenced by a powerful, unseen patron.

Significant themes

• Destiny and hidden connections: Allen’s apparent natural affinity for gunnery and the diviner’s special orders suggest forces guiding events.
• Survival and responsibility: Amy and Allen’s early independence stems from neglect and loss; Wu Yu’s recruitment offers them security and purpose.
• Power and risk: The diviner knowingly risks consequences to obey his superior, while Wu Yu spends most of his resources to prepare for the voyage.
• Growing danger and scrutiny: The Church’s dockside investigation, especially its search for an octopus-headed captain, signals a wider threat.

Plot points and events

• A Knight warns Wu Yu that Heretics have infiltrated Azure Isle and may sabotage its magic arrays. Wu Yu avoids trouble with the Knights, though he remains suspicious of their unusual friendliness and their lack of interest in the two children.
• Wu Yu plans to leave the island and notices several notable vessels at the Dock, including Liu Zheng’s steel steamship, a coral ship, and an eerie white ship.
• Chen Lingling invites Wu Yu to join Liu Zheng’s group on a hidden quest. He declines, saying he has other plans, and refuses to take her out to sea. Amy senses nothing in Chen’s heart and is frightened by the strange blankness.
• Wu Yu summons his Little Boat Model, transforming it into an elegant, twenty-meter tower ship. The vessel draws attention, and Wu Yu overhears sailors discussing Wizards, Tower Climbers, and a Golden Treasure Chest in the Grand Cathedral. He realizes his Divine Sense can gather useful information but becomes overwhelmed by the crowd and stops using it.
• Wu Yu takes Allen and Amy out to sea, assigns himself the captain’s position, and steers away from Azure Isle. He explains that the mobile island follows a route between the shallow and deep seas, guided by a Lighthouse.
• At the sea’s boundary, the bright azure shallows give way to the dark, seemingly endless deep. Wu Yu then grants Allen the Gunner position and Amy the Sailor position. Allen begins showing signs of a transformation, but Amy’s result is left unresolved at the chapter’s end.

Character developments and interactions

• Wu Yu remains cautious and observant, but he is increasingly willing to act as caretaker and instructor to the children. He weighs the risks of his powers, especially after his Divine Sense overloads, and takes control of the ship with confidence.
• Amy and Allen are excited by the ship and show little fear about going to sea. Both accept Wu Yu’s offer of transcendent positions; Allen responds to his new role, setting up the chapter’s cliffhanger.
• Chen Lingling maintains a friendly, persuasive manner and reminds Wu Yu of their deal, but she does not force him to join her. Her apparent unreadability unsettles Amy and intrigues Wu Yu.
• The Knights treat Wu Yu politely despite his concerns, while the Tuxedo Man slips away after seeing him avoid consequences. Wu Yu privately considers killing the man.

Significant themes

• Mystery and concealed motives: The Knights’ behavior, Chen Lingling’s unreadable inner state, and the hidden treasure and quests all suggest that Azure Isle holds secrets.
• Power and its limits: Wu Yu’s ship and Divine Sense offer considerable abilities, but the crowded Dock overwhelms his perception, reminding him that power must be used carefully.
• Exploration and transformation: The voyage marks a move from the relative safety of the island into the vast, dangerous sea, while the children’s new roles hint at their changing abilities.

Plot points and events

• Wu Yu activates the tower ship’s transcendent Sailor position for Amy, but the granting fails when a strange force rejects the sailor abilities and causes her severe pain between the brows.
• Wu Yu first treats her with Yi Wood Divine Light, which eases her pain but does not resolve the sensation of something trying to emerge.
• He then strikes her with life-giving azure heavenly thunder. After several bolts, the skin between her brows opens—but instead of a third eye, a white fish scale appears.
• Amy unexpectedly discovers she has learned a song. As she sings, her voice becomes increasingly beautiful and carries a powerful, sacred enchantment.
• Wu Yu recognizes it as the Mermaid’s Song. Allen explains that it can daze a ship’s crew and cause fatal accidents. Wu Yu stops Amy before the song’s effect grows stronger.

Character developments and interactions

• Amy is frightened by the failed inheritance and the scale, but trusts Wu Yu enough to let him treat her. She is bewildered by her emerging mermaid abilities and worries she might harm him.
• Wu Yu responds calmly and experimentally, using his healing and thunder abilities to uncover what is happening. He deduces that Amy has mermaid blood and is confident he can resist her song.
• Allen stops his own training to check on his sister. He recognizes the danger of the song and explains its reputation to Amy and Wu Yu.

Significant themes

• Hidden ancestry and identity: Amy’s half-elf background may conceal mermaid blood, revealed through her scale and song.
• Power and danger: A gift can also be hazardous; Amy’s song is potent even though her mermaid heritage appears slight.
• Trust and protection: Amy accepts Wu Yu’s help, while Wu Yu and Allen act to keep her—and the crew—safe.