Chapter Summaries

Ian boarded the Giant Sail Alliance’s Sky Leaper and discovered the airship carried a large wizard population and powerful escort force. As it began its seven-day journey toward the Chaotic Sky Fjord, he stayed in his cabin to study the passengers and prepare for the trip.

• Ian arrived at Vielt Port and joined the line of wizards waiting to board the Sky Leaper.
• Ian presented his token, entered the spatially expanded airship, and settled into his medium independent cabin with Gaga.
• Ian sensed two Third-Level guardians, six Second Order guards, and more than a thousand passengers aboard the ship.
• The Sky Leaper departed Vielt Port, jumped through space, and began cruising above the clouds at ten times the speed of sound.
• After hearing a warning about the Storm Corridor, Ian took a Starshine Sedative and chose to study the ship’s factions and passengers from his cabin.

Ian examined his early Rank Two Mental Power elementalization and assessed the dangers and resources needed to reach Rank Three. He resolved to cultivate with Star Crystals, find the missing ingredients for the Water of Balance, and begin by locating a high-quality Star Crystal.

• Ian reviewed his Status Panel and learned that his Mental Power elementalization had only reached 0.1%, while the Star Seed gave his crystal core astral attributes.
• Ian considered the slow process of Mental Power elementalization and the greater danger of bodily elementalization, including planar will and uneven transformation.
• Ian judged that the Star Seed, Status Panel, and Forge Body Tempering Art could help him survive elementalization, but he still needed a balancing and stabilizing potion.
• Ian found the incomplete Water of Balance formula from Christine and recognized the Silent Jellyfish Core and a Scale-Shedding Snake's Complete Shed Skin as useful ingredients, but he could not identify the missing main ingredient.
• Ian decided to pursue full Mental Power elementalization while searching for the complete formula and preparing to attempt Rank Three in a safe place.
• Ian looked toward the stars and chose finding his first high-quality Star Crystal as his next step.

Ian met Adele Juste, a witch from a powerful Central Continent family, after she offered him medicinal broth. When she recognized Gaga’s connection to Eternal Shadow, Adele explained the path to becoming a Shadow Messenger and revealed that her family possessed a fist-sized Eternal Shadow Remnant.

• Adele offered Ian Void Frost-Tip Raven Broth to help with the airship’s upcoming spatial folding, but he initially refused.
• Gaga was attracted to the broth, prompting Adele to recognize its shadow aura and ask whether it had devoured fragments of Eternal Shadow.
• Adele identified Gaga as an Atavistic Mutation called a Shadow Nightjar and explained that it might awaken into a Shadow Messenger through further exposure to Eternal Shadow or similar matter.
• After Ian invited her inside, Adele explained the Shadow Messenger’s abilities and the difficult awakening requirements described in her family’s records.
• Adele revealed that the Juste Family’s secret treasury held a fist-sized Eternal Shadow Remnant, and Ian asked what she wanted in return.

Adele explained that her father’s coma had made her vulnerable in the Juste Family’s succession struggle, and she offered Ian the Eternal Shadow fragment as a reward for helping her win. Ian decided to attend the next night’s wizard exchange gathering and consider the alliance, while Gaga eagerly embraced the prospect of becoming stronger.

• Adele told Ian she had risked her life to obtain an Ice-Soul Jellyfish tentacle to cure her father, but he had fallen into a coma and the family had begun choosing a new head.
• Adele described the threats posed by her brothers Edwin and Adrian and asked Ian to support her during the succession struggle.
• Adele offered access to the Eternal Shadow fragment, which could help Gaga advance to Rank Two, if Ian helped her win.
• Ian said he needed time to think, and Adele invited him to the Giant Sail Trade Alliance’s wizard exchange gathering aboard the Sky Leaper.
• After Adele left, Gaga told Ian that Adele was injured but truthful, and Ian agreed with Gaga to attend the gathering and pursue its opportunity to grow stronger.

Ian attended the Sky Leaper’s exchange fair and waited for an item worth pursuing before bidding on a rare Void Condensation Crystal, a key ingredient in balance-type potions. The auction left him locked in a tense contest with an arrogant purple-robed wizard, who raised the price to five hundred flawless magic crystals.

• Derek opened the fair and explained the auction rules as Ian watched several lower-order items sell without bidding.
• An elderly mid-Rank Two Wizard presented a large piece of Void Condensation Crystal, describing it as a core material for spatial Wizard Tools and an ingredient in balance-type potions.
• Several Rank Two Wizards bid on the crystal, but a purple-robed wizard drove the price to three hundred flawless magic crystals and appeared poised to win.
• Ian entered the bidding at three hundred and ten, then repeatedly matched the purple-robed wizard as the price climbed.
• The purple-robed wizard raised his bid to five hundred flawless magic crystals and glared at Ian.

Ian won the Void Condensation Crystal and the Silver-Pattern Soul-Calming Grass, then gave the grass to Adele to help her father. Adele warned him that his repeated clashes with Collins Hawkwood had made him a target, leaving Ian to consider the danger as the trading fair continued.

• Ian outbid Collins Hawkwood for the Void Condensation Crystal, angering him, and completed the purchase under the Third-Level Grand Wizard’s warning pressure.
• Ian noticed Adele Juste wanted the Silver-Pattern Soul-Calming Grass for her cursed father, then outbid Collins and bought it for three hundred and fifty Magic Crystals.
• Ian gave the grass to Adele as thanks for her help with Gaga and the remnants of Eternal Shadow, and she accepted it with gratitude.
• Adele identified Collins Hawkwood and Elder Gray Vulture, explained the Hawkwood family’s power, and warned Ian that Collins would not let their rivalry go.
• Adele offered Ian the Juste Family’s backing if he joined her side, but Ian said he needed to consider it while Collins and Gray Vulture watched him.

As the Sky Leaper prepared to cross the Chaotic Rift, Adele warned Ian about the dangerous Phase Wraiths and offered him an Ancient Abyss Clan manuscript in exchange for becoming her retainer. Ian accepted the manuscript but postponed his decision until after the spatial turbulence, while the rift and its drifting creatures drew near.

• The Sky Leaper announced that it would enter the Chaotic Rift the next morning and called on its Rank Two Wizards to prepare for defense.
• Adele and Delia warned Ian that attacking Phase Wraiths could summon swarms, and that any creature he fought had to be completely annihilated to prevent it from sending a distress signal.
• Adele showed Ian an Ancient Abyss Clan manuscript that resonated with his Star Seed and contained information about void creatures and Phase Witch-Tools.
• Adele offered Ian the manuscript and access to the Juste Family's secret treasury if he became her retainer and supported her within his abilities.
• Ian agreed to keep the manuscript but delayed his answer until after the rift crossing, as translucent Phase Wraiths appeared outside the ship.

Ian used gravity magic to anchor the Phase Wraiths attacking the Sky Leaper, helping the wizards destroy them and earn Herbert’s public recognition. After the Floating Spirit King retreated, Ian and Gaga sensed that it held something like an Ancient Abyss Clan relic, while Ian realized its aura matched the animal hide in his Dimensional Ring.

• Derek warned the Rank Two Wizards that about forty Phase Wraiths and a third-level Floating Spirit King were approaching the Sky Leaper.
• Three Phase Wraiths bypassed the ship’s barrier, and one devoured a First-Level Wizard before Herbert explained that conventional attacks could not hit creatures in their virtual phase.
• Five Phase Wraiths targeted Ian because of the Astral Rules aura from the [Star Seed], but Ian anchored them with [Gravity Collapse Balls] so the wizards could destroy them.
• Ian repeatedly anchored thirteen Phase Wraiths on the deck, then Herbert forced more than thirty outside the ship into reality, allowing the Rank Two Wizards to kill them.
• The Floating Spirit King retreated after another Third-Level Grand Wizard confronted it, and Herbert thanked Ian as the wizards recognized his role in the battle.
• Gaga told Ian that the Floating Spirit King contained something resembling an Ancient Abyss Clan relic, and Ian sensed that its aura matched the animal hide in his Dimensional Ring.

Ian received a Star Core Fragment from Herbert as compensation for helping stop the Floating Spirits, then agreed to support Adele in exchange for her information on the Juste Family and the Eastern Frontier. He began using the fragment to accelerate his Mental Power elementalization and realized the rapid progress could bring him to 10% by the time he reached the Eastern Frontier.

• Derek escorted Ian to Herbert, who thanked him for intervening against the Floating Spirits and tried to recruit him to the Giant Sail Alliance.
• Herbert offered Ian a Star Core Fragment priced at four thousand high-grade magic stones; Ian traded Wizard Tools, materials, and potions to cover the two-thousand-five-hundred-stone difference.
• Adele gave Ian a parchment scroll detailing Juste Family rivals and Eastern Frontier forces, and Ian agreed to provide potion support and publicly back her while reserving the right to withdraw if his life was threatened.
• Ian opened the box in his cabin and used the [Starry Sky Rite] to absorb the fragment's energy, rapidly increasing his Mental Power elementalization and experiencing visions of a star's birth and destruction.

As the Sky Leaper approached the Central Continent, Ian studied Adele’s intelligence on the Juste Family’s succession assessment and weighed whether to become her ally. He left the decision open, planning to judge Adele’s prospects and his own strength before getting involved.

• The Sky Leaper passed through the Storm Corridor and Bone Eagle Gorge, where the ship’s guards handled the dangers while Ian stayed out of the battles.
• After a month and a half of travel, Ian awoke from Deep Meditation with his spiritual power 6% elementalized by the Star Core Fragment.
• Ian studied Adele’s account of the Juste Family’s succession contest, learning about its stages, its two-year timeline, and Adele’s weak position among the heirs.
• Ian considered how his and Gaga’s strength, his Potion Master skills, and their potential as allies could help Adele, but decided to wait and see how strong they became.
• Ian reviewed profiles of Adele’s competitors, including Edmond Juste, Edwin Just, Adrian Just, and Aishia Just, before reaching the Central Continent with the Sky Leaper.

After seventy-seven days of training, Ian reached 10% spiritual power elementalization and arrived at Silver Sail Harbor with Adele and Delia. He began his new life in the Central Continent by agreeing to go to the Juste Family’s potion workshop.

• Ian completed his breakthrough, strengthening his Mental Sea and increasing the range and power of his black sphere spell.
• Ian told Adele and Delia that he possessed a high-purity formula for the Starlight Potion, surprising them and deepening their expectations of him.
• On the ninety-third day, Ian saw Silver Sail Harbor and sensed at least five Rank Four Morningstar Wizard auras within the city.
• The Sky Leaper docked at Starpath Berth Number Seven, and Ian stepped onto the Central Continent with Adele and Delia.
• Adele offered to take Ian to the Juste Family’s potion workshop on Phoenix Tree Street, and Ian agreed to leave the harbor with her.

Ian arrived in East City with Adele and Delia and settled into Adele’s mother’s struggling potion workshop, where Old Finn reluctantly gave him a room and access to its underground laboratory. The next morning, Ian and Adele would go to the family Affairs Hall to register and begin the election process.

• Ian and his companions teleported from Silver Sail Harbor to East City, where Adele explained that it was her birthplace and a major city of the Juste Family.
• Adele brought Ian and Delia to her mother’s old workshop at 12 Golden Oak Street and introduced him to Old Finn as a guest elder.
• Old Finn warned Adele that the workshop could not bear the risks of her plans, but agreed to accommodate Ian and grant him access to the laboratory.
• Ian inspected his room and the workshop, while Adele told him they would submit their documents at the family Affairs Hall the next morning and enter the election process.

Adele brought Ian to the Juste Family Affairs Hall to register him as her retainer and submit her return documents, where their standing was met with open contempt. After the paperwork was completed, a mysterious late Rank Two wizard emerged and noticed Adele as they prepared to leave.

• Ian and Adele passed the Juste Family Main Tower on their way to the Family Affairs Hall, where Adele explained that her unconscious father had last stayed.
• Adele presented her identification and requested Ian’s retainer registration along with her return documents.
• Ian listed himself as a First Order Potion Master, drawing mockery from the family affairs officer and a young branch heir.
• The affairs officer issued Ian a temporary retainer badge valid for three months, and Adele signed her return documents.
• As Adele turned to leave, a late Rank Two wizard in a dark blue robe emerged from a passageway and paused when he saw her.

Adele and Ian faced ridicule and hostility from the Juste Family after returning to the Affairs Hall. Ian chose not to retaliate, and Adele resolved to support him during his three-month observation period.

• Rodney offered Adele new lodging and warned her that the elders would scrutinize her choice of retainer, but Adele refused to leave her mother's home.
• Edwin blocked Adele and mocked her and Ian, then threatened to teach her a lesson while the hall's onlookers watched.
• Adele reminded Edwin that their father was unconscious, not dead, and walked past him; Edwin held back because fighting in the Affairs Hall could cost him his inheritance eligibility.
• Outside the hall, Adele apologized to Ian, who said he had not retaliated because it was unnecessary and that he would let the family watch what he could accomplish.
• Adele told Ian she would support him with everything she had.

Ian returned to Adele’s workshop and began brewing Starlight Potions to support her at the family’s internal resource exchange meeting. After Old Finn witnessed Ian’s extraordinary potion-making skill and examined his improved methods, he recognized Ian’s ability and gave him authority over the workshop.

• Adele gave Ian the workshop’s inventory, and Ian listed the materials he needed to produce Starlight Potions within a week for the family exchange meeting.
• Ian entered the underground laboratory, used his improved Wizard’s Hand to process ingredients precisely, and brewed twelve high-purity Starlight Potions.
• Old Finn watched Ian work and was shocked by his control of several materials and flames at once.
• Ian gave Old Finn an improved processing method for evening primrose and stardust sand, convincing him that Ian was far more than a First Order Potion Master.
• Old Finn agreed to support Ian and declared that Ian would have the final say in the workshop.
• Ian planned to improve the Earth Savage Bear Potion while preparing to make an impression at the exchange meeting.

Adele sold Ian’s enhanced Starlight Potions and Rock Bear Potions at the Juste Family’s resource exchange, earning far more than expected and securing a flood of new orders. Their success drew attention and stirred schemes within the family, while Ian warned Adele that opposition would follow.

• Adele delivered Ian the high-quality materials he had requested, and he spent three days brewing 195 enhanced Starlight Potions and 42 Rock Bear Potions.
• Ian gave Adele his cost calculation and prices, and she took the potions to the family resource exchange with Delia.
• A scar-faced steward tested a Starlight Potion and confirmed its exceptional strength, prompting buyers to snap up the stock at twice the market price.
• Edwin watched Adele’s stall sell out in under half an hour, while Rodney quietly observed and then left the hall.
• Adele returned with the proceeds and more than a hundred Rock Bear Potion commissions, and Ian warned her that others would not stand by as their success grew.
• Adele left to gather materials for new orders as news of her skilled potion master spread through the Juste Family, stirring schemes; silver flickered in Ian’s eyes beneath the old tree.

Aishia visited Ian to test his potion-making skill and offered Adele valuable Potion Studies notes in exchange for potion supplies and an alliance. After Adele accepted, Ian studied the notes and realized he could use purified magical-beast Essence Blood to help Gaga reach Second Order without waiting for the remains of Eternal Shadow.

• Aishia inspected Ian’s laboratory, recognized his precise work on the Starlight Potion, and presented her Potion Studies notes.
• Aishia asked for exclusive supplies of Starlight and Bloodline Potions and Adele’s support at critical moments; Adele agreed and sealed their alliance with a contract.
• Aishia gave Ian the notes and warned him that accidents could happen during the family-head competition, while Old Finn revealed her grudge against Edmond.
• Ian studied Aishia’s notes and developed ideas for improving his potions and refining higher-purity Blood Essence.
• Ian told Gaga that Essence Blood from First or Second Order avian magical beasts could let Gaga break through to Second Order, and Gaga said it believed in him.

Adele received notice that she must fight three late Second Order magical beasts in the family arena in twenty days, and Ian agreed to help by advancing his strength and preparing potions. After refining large quantities of Essence Blood, Ian achieved the third Limit Break of Bloodline Purification Art and used its new Primordial Blood Tracing effect to devise a new Second Order Bloodline Potion formula.

• Adele told Ian about the family arena assessment, and he asked her to gather Star Crystals and Essence Blood so he could prepare for it.
• Ian purified First Order Gale Falcon Essence Blood and fed the resulting Blood Essence to Gaga, whose strength and size increased after consuming a mixed wind-and-shadow batch.
• Adele returned with Essence Blood supplied through her fifth sister, and Ian spent the following days refining it while his elementalization and Bloodline Purification Art proficiency advanced.
• On the fifteenth day, Ian refined Second Order Shadow Leopard Essence Blood and reached the third Limit Break, gaining the Primordial Blood Tracing effect.
• Ian used his new insight to complete a unique Second Order Bloodline Potion formula combining the Rock Bear Potion and Earth Savage Bear Potion, then resolved to show the family what a true Bloodline Potion was.

Ian completed the theoretical formula for the Earth Tyrant Elixir and successfully brewed a Second Order bloodline potion that could greatly strengthen its user and grant Ussa Avatar. After exhausting himself, he rested, confident that Adele would be able to use the elixir for her upcoming combat assessment.

• Ian finished designing the Earth Tyrant Elixir formula, solving the bloodline-fusion, earth-vein array, and rule-guidance problems.
• Ian recovered his Mental Power, constructed a temporary earth-vein array in his laboratory, and traced the origins of the Earth Savage Bear and Rock-armored Demon Bear bloodlines.
• Ian used Ironspine Vine King rootstock as a framework to fuse the two bloodlines, stabilize the potion with supplementary materials, and complete the final rule guidance.
• Ian encrypted the finished Earth Tyrant Elixir, which granted permanent physical enhancement and Child of the Earth Vein as well as the active ability Ussa Avatar.
• Gaga urged Ian to rest instead of brewing another batch, and Ian put the elixir away before falling asleep.

Ian successfully refined the [Earth Tyrant Elixir] and offered it to Adele in exchange for Star Crystals, giving her a powerful way to survive the coming battles. Adele accepted and promised to deliver at least twenty standard units within two days, while Ian prepared to refine more Blood Essence for Gaga.

• Ian examined the completed [Earth Tyrant Elixir] and decided to offer it to Adele rather than drink it himself.
• Adele sensed the potion's power, and Ian explained its benefits, side effects, and the extra barrier it would create when advancing to a Third-Level Wizard.
• Adele accepted the potion, saying she needed strength for the beast arena and the final battle in the ruins, and Ian asked her to pay with Star Crystals.
• Adele planned to obtain crystals through her sister Aishia's channels and by selling some of her mother's non-core assets, then promised Ian at least twenty standard units within two days.
• Ian told Adele he would provide two more [Earth Tyrant Elixirs] and encouraged her to cultivate trusted subordinates, while making clear their arrangement was a transaction.
• After Adele left, Ian called the deal an investment and began preparing another batch of Blood Essence to help Gaga approach Second Order.