Chapter Summaries

Summary of “Sandrew’s Request”

Key Plot Points and Events

• After a meeting, Li Ziran returns to Hippo Ancient City and reflects on Shadow Elder’s plan to mass-produce Demon Overlords. Although factory-produced demons will be weaker than individually cultivated ones, their large numbers could generate substantial Soul Plasma.
• Li realizes that mass production will require cheaper, standardized organ systems and the training of multiple Witch Doctors. He is reluctant to reveal the organ techniques he has developed, since they represent valuable personal research.
• Anfuni suddenly arrives and asks Li to help remove Pangke from his position before Shadow Society rules turn her into a puppet. Li doubts her fear is genuine, recognizing that her priestess abilities make her unusually resistant to Puppet Art.
• Li proposes a strategy: create replicas of Pangke and use them to disrupt North Sea Port, issue confusing orders, and provoke the real Pangke into confronting them. Since Pangke currently refuses negotiations, forcing him to respond is the first step.
• Anfuni discovers that Li has already prepared two Pangke replicas in a hidden room. She takes them to test and use, accusing Li of secretly planning the scheme in advance.
• Li considers that, if Pangke cannot be manipulated, the same tactic could be used against his superior, Leimeng.
• Sandrew then teleports into Li’s basement through their linked rings. After praising Li’s progress and his dedication to Corpse Witch cultivation, Sandrew explains that he has come to discuss another transaction.
• Sandrew presents Li with a corroded piece of bone from an ancient species called an Abyss Wraith. He asks Li to determine whether the creature can be cultivated from the bone alone.
• In exchange, Sandrew offers a Bone Dragon or another comparable reward. Li is immediately interested because a Bone Dragon would provide him with an important necromantic inheritance, including the formations and power needed to control one.
• Li warns that reproducing the Abyss Wraith will be extremely difficult, especially if the bone contains no remnant soul. He asks Sandrew for time to examine it.

Character Developments

• Li Ziran continues to become more calculating and strategically ambitious. He is concerned about protecting his research while still profiting from the Shadow Society’s demon-production business.
• He demonstrates growing political and tactical awareness by designing a scheme to manipulate Pangke rather than confronting him directly.
• Li’s interest in forbidden or advanced power increases when Sandrew offers the possibility of Bone Dragon techniques.
• Anfuni shows both urgency and vulnerability, despite her powerful status and expertise in soul-related arts. Her concern about Puppet Art reveals that even she considers Shadow Elder’s control dangerous.
• She also remains playful and suspicious toward Li, teasing him while readily cooperating with his schemes.
• Sandrew appears older and more worn from his travels, but he remains supportive of Li’s development. His request reveals both confidence in Li’s abilities and urgency regarding the Abyss Wraith.

Significant Themes

• Knowledge as power and property: Li views his organ systems and cultivation methods as valuable intellectual assets that should not be given away freely.
• Industrialization versus quality: The mass production of Demon Overlords raises the conflict between efficiency and strength, requiring compromises in materials and technique.
• Manipulation and political survival: Li and Anfuni rely on deception, replicas, and provocation because direct negotiation with Pangke has failed.
• Control of the soul and body: Puppet Art, body seizure, priestly Sacrificial Curses, and artificial replicas all emphasize the story’s recurring concern with identity, possession, and control.
• Mentorship and inheritance: Sandrew’s relationship with Li is based on trust and mutual benefit, while the promised Bone Dragon represents the transfer of advanced necromantic knowledge.
• The limits of artificial cultivation: Li must determine whether life can be recreated from incomplete remains, particularly when the presence of a surviving soul is uncertain.

Character Interactions

• Li and Anfuni: Their conversation shifts from urgent negotiation to playful distrust. Li offers a practical plan, while Anfuni challenges his motives and warns him against pursuing the Shadow Crescent Moon.
• Li and Sandrew: Their meeting is respectful and affectionate. Sandrew praises Li’s specialization in Corpse Witches, and Li openly promises to support the Demon cultivation project.
• Li and Shadow Elder: Though Shadow Elder never appears directly, his influence dominates the chapter through the factory plan, the threat of Puppet Art, and the power structure governing the Shadow Society.
• Li and Pangke: They do not meet directly, but Li plans to force Pangke into contact by attacking his authority and military position through artificial doubles.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• With Sandrew’s approval, Li Ziran begins experimenting with a decayed bone in an attempt to cultivate an Abyss Wraith.
• He creates a hybrid embryo by combining Minotaur sperm and a rabbit girl’s egg, using Corpse Witches as surgical assistants and fertility stimulants to accelerate the process.
• Li Ziran adds powdered bone to the newly fused embryo, hoping that a remnant soul within the bone will possess it and initiate Demon embryo development.
• The embryo initially develops normally, suggesting the bone may contain no usable soul. However, during its first division, the developing spore is strangely disrupted and transforms into a gaseous mass rather than dividing normally.
• When Li Ziran investigates with spiritual power, something inside the embryo violently devours a trace of his spiritual energy. The phenomenon disappears quickly, but confirms that the experiment has produced an unusual and potentially dangerous entity.
• Li Ziran concludes that a weak remnant soul exists in the bone, though it is too feeble to complete cultivation. Sandrew urges him to continue and offers access to extensive materials, instruction in Frostbite Withering, and whatever resources are necessary.
• Together they compile an enormous materials list, including Demon blood, numerous gestational hosts, Elves, Magisters, Archmages, an Elven priest, improved laboratory equipment, Dwarven daylight lamps, and upgraded Frogs.
• Sandrew unexpectedly approves or even increases the requested quantities, revealing the exceptional importance he places on the Abyss Wraith project.

Character Developments

• Li Ziran demonstrates growing skill and confidence as a researcher and surgeon. His work is precise and methodical, but he remains cautious about the morality, difficulty, and cost of the project.
• His curiosity turns to fear when the embryo consumes his spiritual power, making him realize that the potential Abyss Wraith may be more frightening than the Devouring Curse.
• Li Ziran recognizes that strengthening the remnant soul, rather than merely healing it, is the central challenge. He thinks of Elven priests—particularly their expertise in souls—as a possible solution.
• Sandrew shows strong admiration for Li Ziran’s technique and becomes increasingly impatient and invested in the research. His willingness to provide rare resources, including Archmages and an Elven priest, suggests that the Abyss Wraith is critically important to him.
• Sandrew’s behavior appears markedly different from their previous meeting: he is more urgent, forceful, and willing to expend enormous resources.
• Li Ziran begins to suspect that Sandrew may be concealing the true significance or purpose of the Abyss Wraith.

Significant Themes

• Scientific ambition and ethical cost: The experiment relies on living creatures, reproductive manipulation, dissection, and the use of powerful beings as raw materials.
• Life, death, and the soul: The chapter explores whether dead matter can retain a soul and whether life can be created or transformed through experimentation.
• The danger of knowledge: The embryonic entity’s ability to consume spiritual power suggests that discovery may produce something beyond its creator’s control.
• Power and exploitation: Rare species, magical beings, and even Archmages are treated as experimental resources, highlighting the immense cost of magical research.
• Hidden motives and urgency: Sandrew’s unusual generosity and impatience imply that larger political or supernatural stakes surround the project.

Character Interactions

• Li Ziran works under Sandrew’s observation, while Sandrew silently evaluates his technique and later praises his potential.
• Their relationship shifts from teacher and student toward a more transactional research partnership: Sandrew supplies resources, while Li Ziran performs the dangerous experimentation.
• Li Ziran questions whether his demands are excessive, but Sandrew challenges his lack of ambition and expands the requested list.
• Sandrew’s insistence on obtaining elite materials—and even a high-level Elven priest—creates unease in Li Ziran, who senses that the project is far more important than Sandrew openly admits.

Chapter Summary: “Lining His Own Pockets”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Ziran deliberately avoids investigating Sandrew’s troubled past, deciding that prying would only create unnecessary burdens.
• Taking advantage of Sandrew’s offer to request materials, Li Ziran expands his list far beyond what is needed to cultivate an Abyss Wraith. He requests:
  • An Upper Demon and a Human Paladin
  • Dwarves, Grand Alchemists, an Ogre, a Sea Folk whale, Winged Race members, Snow Women, Snow Monsters, and Cavefolk with advanced Curse Eyes
  • Additional rare organs and materials for his own research
• Li Ziran explains the two organ systems he is developing:
  1. An elemental system based on Human Elemental Glands, capable of repeatedly shattering and recombining elements.
  2. A mutation-based system using rare organs with extraordinary abilities, such as his Purification Heart.
• He hopes to discover the secrets of Human Mage Towers, study peak Elves, and acquire organs from ancient races such as Dragons, Phoenixes, and Giants, whose bodies may possess highly advanced mutations.
• Sandrew accepts the request but warns that the materials will arrive gradually. He emphasizes that Li Ziran must complete the associated task quickly.
• Sandrew cryptically warns Li Ziran that exceptional ability brings greater restraint. He reveals his disillusionment with the Shadow Society and suggests he may wish to escape its control.
• Li Ziran realizes that Sandrew may be nearing the end of his usefulness and influence within the organization, though he is unable to help him directly.
• Sandrew clarifies the true scale of the operation: they are not creating one demon commander but mass-producing them. Li Ziran must keep his teleportation array open, receive materials, verify them immediately, and deliver them to Rhine Duke.
• After Sandrew leaves, Li Ziran enters Shadow Space and discovers that the requested materials have already begun arriving:
  • Fifty High Elf Mages
  • Sixty humans representing the six primary elemental attributes
  • Several objects wrapped in Life Tree Leaves, apparently containing the Archmages he requested

Character Developments

• Li Ziran: Displays growing ambition and opportunism, openly exploiting the transaction to obtain rare materials for his own organ research. At the same time, he remains cautious about political matters and understands that his current freedom depends on maintaining his usefulness to the Shadow Society.
• Sandrew: Is revealed to be exhausted, disillusioned, and possibly contemplating rebellion against the Shadow Society. Although he briefly shows vulnerability and regret, he quickly resumes his stern, authoritative manner and warns Li Ziran about the consequences of failure.
• Spatial Mantis: Continues acting as Li Ziran’s assistant and appears to possess an unusually precise understanding of the materials he needs, raising the possibility that it can access or infer his thoughts.

Significant Themes

• Ambition and greed: Li Ziran’s poverty and desire for advancement cause him to take full advantage of Sandrew’s generosity, even while recognizing that his requests are excessive.
• Freedom versus servitude: Sandrew’s warning highlights how the Shadow Society rewards its members while gradually exploiting and controlling them.
• The cost of success: Sandrew believes that power gained through endless killing, schemes, and self-sacrifice is ultimately hollow compared with a peaceful life.
• Scientific discovery and mutation: Li Ziran’s research reflects the chapter’s broader interest in surpassing established magical systems through experimentation, organ cultivation, elemental recombination, and controlled mutation.
• Pragmatism and survival: Both men understand that personal ideals matter less than usefulness within the Shadow Society. Li Ziran survives by remaining valuable, while Sandrew fears becoming obsolete or transformed into a puppet.

Character Interactions

• Li Ziran and Sandrew’s mentor-student relationship becomes more complex. Their business discussion is also a veiled exchange about power, exploitation, and possible rebellion.
• Li Ziran reassures Sandrew that he is still the backbone of the Shadow Society, but Sandrew rejects this comfort and warns him not to romanticize the organization.
• Sandrew entrusts Li Ziran with a major logistical role, forcing him to shift from a student conducting experiments to an active participant in a large-scale demon-production operation.
• Their final exchange leaves Li Ziran disturbed by Sandrew’s apparent decline and uncertain about the mentor’s future intentions.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• The Spatial Mantis delivers five shipments of slaves, materials, demon blood, potential maternal hosts, and two Human Archmages to Li Ziran.
• Goblin alchemists and Dwarf craftsmen rapidly transform Li Ziran’s beauty salon into a sophisticated magical operating facility. It receives powerful lighting, enlarged frog pools, controllable suspension bars, Undersea Netherstone operating tables, and Starsteel-Mithril surgical tools.
• Li Ziran is impressed by the craftsmen’s expertise and realizes how highly the Shadow Society values his work. However, the shipment lacks the ten-times-mutated Cavefolk eyes, Paladins, Elf priests, and several other rare slaves he requested.
• Because the missing Elf priest prevents him from beginning the Abyss Wraith project, Li Ziran decides to focus entirely on improving Demon Embryo breeding and organ transplantation.
• He establishes the basic requirements for mass-producing Demons:
  • Demon blood or essence
  • Suitable sperm donors, especially Minotaurs because of their high sperm concentration
  • Maternal hosts capable of carrying Demon Embryos
• After evaluating multiple races, Li Ziran selects Clam Maidens as the primary maternal hosts because their Barrier Art has a seventy-percent inheritance rate. Humans, Elves, Forbes, Butterfly Girls, Swan Smiles, and Mermaids are reserved for specialized or higher-quality products.
• He redesigns his Demon development system. Instead of ranking embryos by the number of magical organs, he will rank them by the quality and grade of those organs.
• Drawing on his previous experience transplanting fire-aspected organs into Iron Hammer, Li Ziran searches for mass-producible substitutes for all twenty-eight organs needed in a fire-based system.
• After two days of dissection, comparison, and analysis, he completes a cost-effective list of twenty-eight fire-aspected organs drawn from numerous races, including Fire Fox hearts, Volcanic Long-Ear lungs, and Rabbitfolk eyes.

Character Developments

• Li Ziran becomes increasingly systematic and ambitious. He moves beyond individual experiments and begins designing a scalable Demon-breeding industry with standardized materials, product tiers, and specialized traits.
• His respect for skilled craftsmen grows. He distinguishes genuine technical expertise from slaves who merely possess magical talent, recognizing craftsmanship as a powerful form of ability.
• Li Ziran also shows stronger commercial thinking. He plans to provide Demons with different inherited traits and quality levels so customers can choose among varied products.
• His relationship with Sandrew and the Shadow Society develops through mutual trust. Sandrew fulfills many difficult requests, including supplying Archmages, and Li Ziran feels obligated to produce valuable results in return.
• Although disappointed by the missing Elf priest, Li Ziran responds pragmatically rather than emotionally, redirecting his efforts toward Demon Embryos.

Significant Themes

• Craftsmanship and specialization: The chapter emphasizes that mastery, planning, and technical skill can be more valuable than raw magical talent.
• Industrialized creation and optimization: Li Ziran treats Demon production as a manufacturing problem, focusing on consistency, cost efficiency, inherited traits, and scalable resources.
• Science, experimentation, and patience: His progress depends on dissection, organ comparison, biological inheritance, and painstaking trial and error.
• Power and exploitation: Slavery, racial capture, organ harvesting, and breeding are presented as the foundation of Li Ziran’s work, revealing the morally disturbing and utilitarian nature of his ambitions.
• Trust and reciprocity: Sandrew’s support motivates Li Ziran to create better Demon products as repayment, suggesting an increasingly important alliance between them.
• Rarity versus mass production: Rare races offer superior organs or traits but cannot support large-scale production, forcing Li Ziran to balance quality against availability.

Character Interactions

• Li Ziran and the Spatial Mantis: The Mantis serves as a courier, delivering materials and relaying Sandrew’s assurance that the remaining items will arrive soon.
• Li Ziran and the Goblin alchemists: The Goblins efficiently carry out the construction of the new operating facility, demonstrating their technical competence.
• Li Ziran and the Dwarf craftsmen: Their expertly forged surgical equipment earns his admiration and reinforces his respect for skilled artisans.
• Li Ziran and Sandrew: Though Sandrew does not appear directly, his generosity and message influence Li Ziran’s plans. Li Ziran feels compelled to repay the Shadow Society by producing superior Demon Embryos.
• Li Ziran and the various slave races: His interactions are primarily scientific and utilitarian: he evaluates their reproductive qualities, inherited abilities, and organs according to their usefulness in Demon production.

Chapter Summary: “Who Let You Make the Decision”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Ziran completes a comprehensive organ-design system for cultivating specialized Demon Embryos. He identifies organs from numerous fire-aligned creatures—such as Fire Boars, Desert Fire Elephants, volcanic limestone people, and Flame Birds—and matches them with suitable maternal hosts.
• He plans to provide Rhine Duke with the organ list for mass production while keeping the deeper principles of his internal-organ system secret.
• Rhine Duke establishes a highly advanced underground factory equipped with Sunstones, sealed walls, isolated operating rooms, medicines, and standardized surgical tools.
• Li Ziran trains a large group of Beast Race Witch Doctors in embryo cultivation and organ transplantation. Daniel performs demonstrations while Li Ziran explains the procedures and corrects mistakes.
• After extensive training, only about twenty Witch Doctors prove capable of performing basic organ grafting independently. They begin mass-producing Demon Embryos using Minotaurs, Clam Maidens, and organs gathered from twenty-eight different races.
• Li Ziran notices that the Clam Maidens are being implanted with only three organs instead of the twenty-eight he designed. He discovers that Rhine Duke secretly ordered the Witch Doctors to simplify the formula and cut production costs.
• Furious, Li Ziran confronts Rhine Duke. Rhine dismisses the importance of the additional organs, arguing that three are sufficient to support embryo development.
• Rhine openly mocks Li Ziran’s abilities and accuses him of arrogance and wasting the Shadow Society’s resources. Li Ziran insists that the twenty-eight organs are essential for creating powerful elemental attributes and protecting the Clam Maidens from being permanently ruined.
• The confrontation escalates, with Li Ziran demanding to see Sandrew. Rhine instead proposes taking the dispute directly to the Shadow Elder for judgment.

Character Developments

• Li Ziran: Demonstrates extensive biological and surgical knowledge, as well as strong teaching ability and organizational skill. He remains protective of his research and becomes fiercely angry when Rhine alters his design. His confidence turns into open confrontation when he realizes the Clam Maidens are being sacrificed for efficiency.
• Rhine Duke: Initially appears cooperative and impressed by Li Ziran’s work, but his interest is primarily practical and financial. He reveals resentment toward Li Ziran and a willingness to override him, cut costs, and exploit the process for maximum output.
• Daniel: Serves as Li Ziran’s chief demonstrator and collaborator, helping train the Witch Doctors in transplantation techniques.
• The Witch Doctors: Show considerable talent and determination, rapidly learning basic reproductive and surgical procedures. Their fear of Li Ziran also becomes clear, especially after witnessing his ruthlessness toward disobedient subordinates.
• The Clam Maidens: Are revealed to be more than disposable hosts. Li Ziran’s system is designed to preserve their bodies and allow repeated use, whereas Rhine’s cheaper method consumes their life force.

Significant Themes

• Scientific knowledge versus superficial imitation: Rhine and the Witch Doctors learn the visible techniques but do not understand the deeper principles behind Li Ziran’s system.
• Authority and ownership: The conflict centers on who has the right to alter a design—Li Ziran as its creator or Rhine as the factory’s financier and organizer.
• Efficiency versus ethics: Rhine prioritizes reducing costs and increasing production, while Li Ziran emphasizes long-term functionality and the preservation of the maternal hosts.
• Exploitation and commodification: Living creatures are treated as industrial materials, with their organs and bodies incorporated into a production system.
• Resentment and power struggles: Rhine’s hostility reveals that their partnership is unstable, with hidden jealousy and disagreements over status and control.
• The danger of incomplete understanding: Knowing how to perform a procedure does not mean understanding its purpose or consequences.

Important Character Interactions

• Li Ziran and Daniel work together during the training process, with Daniel performing demonstrations and Li Ziran explaining the underlying methods.
• Li Ziran and Rhine initially cooperate as business partners, but Rhine’s concealed cost-cutting decisions undermine their relationship.
• Li Ziran confronts a Goat Orc Witch Doctor after discovering the altered organ arrangement. The Witch Doctor reveals that Rhine gave the orders.
• Li Ziran then challenges Rhine directly. Rhine attempts to minimize the issue, but quickly shifts to ridicule and openly questions Li Ziran’s authority.
• The chapter ends with both men preparing to bring their dispute before the Shadow Elder, turning a production disagreement into a formal conflict over authority and the use of Shadow Society resources.

Chapter Summary: “Streamlining the List”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Ziran and Rhine Duke meet Shadow Elder in the Shadow Society’s cave headquarters. Two Memory Stones display evidence of their respective Demon Embryo experiments: Li Ziran’s careful twenty-eight-organ procedure and Rhine Duke’s rough three-organ method.
• Shadow Elder focuses not on the quality of the Embryos, but on the number of organs required. Rhine Duke argues that Li Ziran’s method wastes resources, especially slaves, and is impractical for large-scale production.
• Despite Li Ziran’s explanation that only three organs are technically necessary while twenty-eight produce a superior result, Shadow Elder orders him to streamline his material list.
• Deeply disappointed by Shadow Elder’s cost-consciousness and lack of support, Li Ziran agrees and submits a drastically reduced list of races and resources. Rhine Duke accepts it without even examining the details, having already learned enough of the transplantation technique to continue independently.
• Li Ziran withdraws from the factory and returns to Hippo Ancient City, taking Daniel with him.
• Anfuni reveals that she successfully forced Pangke into cooperating by manipulating two of his clones, causing confusion within the Seventh Legion. She then returned the clones at a crucial moment, allowing Pangke to solve the crisis and gain his commander’s trust while securing military protection for Hippo Ancient City.
• Li Ziran tells Anfuni about the Shadow Society’s treatment and Sandrew’s unusually generous support. After seeing the Human Mages and two Magisters Sandrew provided, Anfuni concludes that these resources came from Sandrew personally rather than the Shadow Society.
• Anfuni suspects Li Ziran is hiding a secret deal with Sandrew, but he refuses to reveal anything concerning the Abyss Wraith or Sandrew’s plans.
• Instead, Li Ziran proposes a new business venture: abandoning the exchange of slaves for Soul Plasma and directly selling high-quality, twenty-eight-organ Demon Embryos to Demons.
• Anfuni enthusiastically agrees to become his partner, offering connections, investment, and possible Elven support. Despite the enormous financial risks, the two decide to begin immediately.

Character Developments

• Li Ziran becomes disillusioned with the Shadow Society. He realizes that Shadow Elder values efficiency and immediate profit over quality or long-term potential. Though hurt by the rejection of his carefully designed plan, Li Ziran remains composed and hides his resentment.
• He also becomes more independent and business-minded. Rather than compromise his standards by producing inferior three-organ Embryos, he decides to pursue the superior product himself, even though it may endanger his entire fortune.
• Shadow Elder is revealed as highly pragmatic and miserly. His concern is not innovation or quality, but controlling the Shadow Society’s resource expenditure.
• Rhine Duke appears outwardly polite and gentle, but acts opportunistically. He uses Shadow Elder’s priorities to undermine Li Ziran, then adopts Li Ziran’s techniques for his own production.
• Anfuni demonstrates her strategic cunning by manipulating Pangke’s situation to secure military protection. She also proves fiercely loyal and commercially ambitious, immediately supporting Li Ziran’s risky plan.
• Sandrew emerges as a powerful and independent backer whose resources far exceed what the Shadow Society officially provides. His motives remain mysterious, but Li Ziran now recognizes the importance of protecting his secrets.

Significant Themes

• Idealism versus pragmatism: Li Ziran prioritizes quality and long-term value, while Shadow Elder and Rhine Duke focus on cost, convenience, and immediate profit.
• Disillusionment with institutions: Li Ziran learns that the Shadow Society is not the visionary organization he imagined but a faction governed by narrow economic interests.
• Independence and entrepreneurship: Rejected by the institution, Li Ziran chooses to create his own business rather than accept inferior standards.
• Trust and secrecy: Li Ziran carefully protects Sandrew’s secrets, recognizing that business relationships depend on discretion and loyalty.
• Risk and ambition: The new venture could destroy Li Ziran financially, but he prefers taking that risk to producing what he considers defective Embryos.
• Manipulation as strategy: Anfuni’s handling of Pangke shows how political influence and controlled crises can create protection and leverage.

Character Interactions

• Li Ziran and Shadow Elder: Their meeting shifts Li Ziran’s opinion of Shadow Elder from admiration to disappointment. Shadow Elder praises Li Ziran’s potential but still demands that he sacrifice his carefully developed plan.
• Li Ziran and Rhine Duke: Rhine Duke pressures Shadow Elder against Li Ziran and later offers insincere comfort. Li Ziran suppresses his disgust, recognizing that Rhine is acting within Shadow Elder’s business framework.
• Li Ziran and Anfuni: Anfuni notices Li Ziran’s unusual gloom, teases him, and offers emotional and practical support. Their conversation develops into a formal partnership built on complementary strengths: Li Ziran provides the product and expertise, while Anfuni offers capital, clients, and political connections.
• Li Ziran and Sandrew: Although Sandrew never appears directly, his generous support shapes the chapter. Li Ziran’s refusal to expose Sandrew’s secrets demonstrates growing loyalty and business discipline.
• Anfuni and Pangke: Anfuni manipulates Pangke into becoming dependent on her, then uses his restored authority to secure protection for their interests.

Chapter Summary: “Prize: Soul Plasma”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Winter temporarily halts the slave trade in Hippo Ancient City because most Ice Plains tribes retreat underground. Slave catchers, especially those from small groups, struggle to find work and income.
• Iron Hammer’s newly established Slave-Catching Group begins recruiting during this difficult season. It offers recruits one copper coin per day and allows them to accept assignments for capturing creatures listed in its catalog.
• The group’s catalog includes numerous targets, from Fire Rats and Snow Women to Fire Elephants and Thunder Rhinos. Unlike traditional slave-catching organizations, it functions partly as a broad trading and appraisal network.
• Li Ziran oversees the project from the Red Fan District. His larger objective is to collect rare creatures, bloodlines, organs, and other materials needed to cultivate powerful demon embryos for the Soul Plasma trade.
• To attract skilled slave catchers, Li Ziran plans to use the Beauty Salon’s advanced Magic Organ modifications as a major incentive. The Salon has expanded into a substantial organ-enhancement facility, with Iron Hammer’s modified body serving as its most expensive product.
• Li Ziran recognizes several unresolved obstacles: finding customers among powerful demons, securing a trading base, establishing transport and smuggling routes, and moving demon embryos to the Endless Sea.
• He plans to build the Slave-Catching Group first, then work with Pangke to gain influence in North Sea Port before seeking customers in the Endless Sea.
• Shadow Elder summons the members of the Shadow Society to announce a successful trade with demons. The group has obtained multiple bottles of Soul Plasma and has received a large number of Shadow Points.
• Li Ziran’s Shadow Points rise from 69 to 328, giving him 259 points from the transaction. He learns that Soul Plasma becomes increasingly expensive at higher levels and is extraordinarily valuable.
• Shadow Elder announces that participants will receive one bottle of seventh-level Soul Plasma every month, in addition to being able to exchange Shadow Points for higher levels.
• Duke Rhine immediately claims the twentieth-level Soul Plasma and two bottles of tenth-level Soul Plasma, spending roughly 900 Shadow Points and revealing that his reward was extremely substantial.

Character Developments

• Li Ziran: Shows increasing ambition and responsibility. He is no longer operating alone; he now bears responsibility for Iron Hammer, the newly recruited workers, and the success of an extensive commercial enterprise. Although overwhelmed by the project’s complexity, he adopts a practical, step-by-step approach. His growing access to Soul Plasma also strengthens his position within the Shadow Society.
• Iron Hammer: Though mostly absent from the chapter, he is shown to have invested heavily in the Slave-Catching Group and serves as both its public leader and a key showcase for Li Ziran’s organ modifications.
• Shadow Elder: Appears unusually pleased and relaxed after the successful trade. His generosity toward the organization indicates that the Soul Plasma transaction produced major profits.
• Duke Rhine: Displays great confidence and wealth by casually taking the highest available Soul Plasma bottles aside from the level-thirty-six prize.
• Pangke, Leimeng, and Higgins: Li Ziran weighs their potential usefulness as protectors and political allies. Higgins is the strongest, Pangke is the most promising to cultivate, and Leimeng represents another possible source of support.

Significant Themes

• Survival in an unstable economy: Seasonal hardship exposes how vulnerable lower-ranking slave catchers are when their primary source of income disappears.
• Industrialization and organization: Li Ziran transforms slave catching from an informal occupation into a structured, catalog-based commercial system with recruitment incentives, appraisals, and specialized assignments.
• Ambition versus overwhelming complexity: Li Ziran’s plan offers enormous potential but creates a vast network of logistical, political, and financial problems.
• Power through resources and technology: Magic Organ modifications are used not only as products but also as a strategy for attracting and retaining talent.
• Unequal access to power: The extreme value of Soul Plasma and the enormous rewards available to figures like Rhine emphasize the hierarchy within the Shadow Society.
• Risk and commitment: Li Ziran worries that beginning the Soul Plasma project may have been rash, but having committed himself and others, he chooses to solve its problems incrementally.

Character Interactions

• Slave catchers discuss the lack of winter employment and compare possible sources of income, revealing widespread anxiety.
• New recruits join Iron Hammer’s organization partly for the guaranteed daily payment, but are surprised to find genuine assignments and a wide-ranging slave catalog.
• Li Ziran internally evaluates the political value of Pangke, Leimeng, and Higgins while planning how to secure protection and access to North Sea Port.
• During the Shadow Society meeting, Shadow Elder presents the Soul Plasma and invites everyone to claim or purchase it.
• Rhine’s aggressive selection of the twentieth- and tenth-level bottles contrasts with Li Ziran’s limited purchasing power and highlights the difference in their status and rewards.

Chapter Summary: “Order Cancellation”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Ziran receives only 328 Shadow Points for his major contribution to establishing the trade route. Though initially excited, he becomes disillusioned by the Shadow Society’s failure to recognize the true value of his work.
• During the reward exchange, members compete for Soul Plasma. Li Ziran exchanges his points for Tier-10 and Tier-3 Soul Plasma, intending to use one himself and distribute the other to allies such as Ivy, Emily, Iron Hammer, and others.
• The coveted Tier-36 Soul Plasma is taken by an Ogre, who claims to have saved enough points through numerous transactions. Li Ziran realizes that the Ogre was likely the source of the special slaves he had previously received through Sandrew.
• Shadow Elder praises Sandrew’s role in the trade route and promises that even greater rewards will become available. Sandrew modestly refuses credit and encourages everyone to continue contributing.
• After the meeting, the Ogre tells Li Ziran that he wants to cancel their deal concerning the cultivation of a Mighty Demon Embryo. He has found that Rhine Duke can complete the work instead.
• Li Ziran refunds the Ogre’s three Shadow Points. Although he remains outwardly composed, he is deeply upset because the cancellation represents the loss of both a customer and a business opportunity.
• Rhine Duke provokes Li Ziran by mentioning that he has hired a Staff Witch Doctor to oversee his factory and claims he can cultivate Demon Embryos without Li Ziran’s assistance.
• Returning to the Red Fan District, Li Ziran reflects on whether his high-quality Demon Embryos are economically viable. He briefly considers abandoning his larger ambitions and surviving through modest Shadow Society earnings.
• Seeing Emily’s success and confidence in the Red Fan District inspires him to commit fully to his plans. He decides not only to continue but to expand aggressively.
• Li Ziran concludes that Rhine Duke’s cheap Demon Embryos succeed because they have entered a new, unsaturated market. Rather than competing directly on price, Li Ziran plans to increase production and indirectly encourage the market to become overcrowded.
• He considers helping Rhine Duke expand production, knowing that widespread imitation will eventually create many competitors and destroy the market for inferior products. Li Ziran also plans to involve Daniel, whose research into organ transplantation could lead to further developments.

Character Developments

• Li Ziran: Becomes more commercially aware and emotionally resilient. His pride is wounded by the low reward and the canceled order, but Emily’s example rekindles his determination. He shifts from frustration to a calculated strategy: accelerate market expansion so that inferior competitors eliminate one another.
• Sandrew: Continues to appear restrained and diplomatic. He refuses to compete for the Tier-36 Soul Plasma and presents himself as someone focused on long-term gains. Li Ziran remains suspicious of his hidden role in supplying special slaves.
• Rhine Duke: Emerges as Li Ziran’s direct business rival. He has successfully gained Shadow Elder’s support, acquired a Staff Witch Doctor, and persuaded the Ogre to abandon Li Ziran’s service.
• The Ogre: Acts as a practical customer who cancels his order because he needs the Demon Embryo quickly. His decision demonstrates the importance of reliability and timing in business.
• Emily: Represents personal transformation and entrepreneurial success. Her rise from a poorly paid worker to a confident figure in the Red Fan District motivates Li Ziran to take a similarly decisive risk.
• Daniel: Remains focused on organ-transplantation research and becomes a potential collaborator whose work could influence the future of Demon Embryo cultivation.

Significant Themes

• Value versus recognition: Li Ziran’s contributions are essential, yet the Shadow Society rewards him minimally, emphasizing that usefulness and compensation do not always correspond.
• Business competition and market strategy: The chapter explores how low-cost, low-quality products can dominate a new market before customers develop refined standards.
• Quality versus profitability: Li Ziran struggles with whether to preserve his high standards or compromise for survival. He ultimately chooses quality while seeking a broader economic strategy.
• Risk and commitment: Emily’s success teaches Li Ziran that meaningful advancement requires staking everything on a decisive choice.
• Innovation and imitation: Li Ziran intends to expand Rhine Duke’s production so that others copy it, flood the market, and eventually make room for his superior products.
• Personal ideals versus survival: Li Ziran recognizes that business may conflict with his principles, but he decides to pursue his ambitions rather than retreat into safe, limited gains.

Character Interactions

• Li Ziran exchanges Soul Plasma and silently observes Sandrew’s behavior, deepening his suspicions about Sandrew’s hidden activities.
• Shadow Elder praises Sandrew, while Rhine Duke publicly expresses confidence in both Sandrew and the Society’s future.
• The Ogre confronts Li Ziran about the unfinished order, then cancels the deal and transfers his business to Rhine Duke.
• Rhine Duke taunts Li Ziran about his usefulness and introduces the Staff Witch Doctor, intensifying their rivalry.
• Li Ziran’s observation of Emily’s achievements becomes the emotional turning point that leads him to recommit to his plans.
• His thoughts also turn toward Daniel, suggesting a future partnership involving organ transplantation and Demon cultivation.

Chapter Summary: “Superior Resources”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The Grasslands are revealed as a fertile, resource-rich region where Beast Races can live comfortably and reproduce. Its abundance, however, has made it a major target for slave-catching groups. The Rhine Clan’s efforts to suppress slavery have largely failed because the trade is one of its most important sources of income.
• The Rhine Duke’s enormous underground palace is introduced. Hidden beneath his luxurious fortress, it contains a heavily protected meeting room used by the Shadow Society’s members.
• Seven Shadow Society members gather to discuss the rapidly expanding trade in Demon Embryos and Soul Plasma. The Embryos have become highly valuable after one of them used the Elder Forbidden Arcana, Hammer of Destruction, to destroy a Piranha Swarm—creatures normally immune to soul attacks and feared by Demons.
• Demand for Demon Embryos surges throughout the Abyss. The Rhine Duke, who controls their production, boasts that he can expand his factory and produce up to one thousand Embryos per month.
• The Duke promises the assembled members that each will receive a bottle of thirty-sixth-layer Soul Plasma within seven days, earning their admiration and strengthening his position within the Shadow Society.
• After the meeting, the Duke privately imagines expanding his authority over the Grasslands and eventually replacing Sandrew as Shadow Elder’s second-in-command.
• Li Ziran’s improved Embryo formula is revealed. By using Fire Bear and Ice Bird kidneys instead of rarer organs, the production process becomes cheaper and more efficient. The Rhine Duke benefits greatly from the formula but intends to keep control of the factory rather than share power with Li Ziran.
• Li Ziran, meanwhile, sends Daniel an invitation and a modified organ-cultivation list intended for “Danforth” and the Upper House faction behind him. His changes shift the organs from fire-aspected to water-aspected, suggesting a concealed plan or negotiation.
• The chapter ends with Li Ziran tasting Soul Plasma. Its intense effect damages and cracks his Spirit Crystal but leaves his mind extraordinarily clear, confirming the resource’s tremendous value.

Character Developments

• Rhine Duke: His power and ambition increase rapidly as the Embryo trade succeeds. He enjoys the respect of the Shadow Society and plans to use the factory to rise above his current position. Although he dislikes Li Ziran, he recognizes Li’s exceptional talent and relies on his formula.
• Li Ziran: He demonstrates strategic patience and technical brilliance. Rather than confronting the Rhine Duke directly, he allows him to believe he controls the Embryo business while quietly pursuing another plan involving Danforth and the Upper House. His experimentation with Soul Plasma also shows his willingness to endure danger for greater spiritual strength.
• Sandrew and Polo Bart: Though absent, their importance is emphasized. Sandrew manages the trade network and holds a powerful administrative position, while Polo Bart oversees the Shallow Sea Islands during the renewed competition for territory.
• The Shadow Society: Its members have become less secretive and more commercially focused. Their former ominous atmosphere has been replaced by enthusiasm over acquiring Soul Plasma and increasing their power.

Significant Themes

• Resource inequality and exploitation: The Grasslands’ abundance supports prosperity for some while enabling slavery and the forced displacement of weaker tribes.
• Power through monopolies: Control over Demon Embryo production gives the Rhine Duke enormous political influence and social prestige.
• Ambition and competition: The Duke seeks to surpass Sandrew, while the Society’s members compete for stronger resources and greater authority.
• Hidden agendas and manipulation: Li Ziran allows others to underestimate him while secretly advancing his own plans.
• The cost of advancement: Soul Plasma grants powerful spiritual benefits, but its use causes severe physical and spiritual pain, illustrating that strength comes at a price.
• Industrialization of magic: Witchcraft, organ transplantation, and factory production transform rare magical techniques into a scalable commercial enterprise.

Character Interactions

• The Shadow Society members joke and converse casually about Soul Plasma, showing their growing camaraderie and shared dependence on the trade.
• The Rhine Duke receives praise and admiration after promising a rapid supply of Embryos and Soul Plasma, reinforcing his rising status.
• The Spatial Mantis raises concerns about production capacity and suggests consulting Li Ziran, but the Duke dismisses the idea, claiming Li is unavailable and that the new formula is sufficient.
• The Duke sends Li Ziran a polite message acknowledging his contribution, while privately viewing him as a subordinate whose usefulness depends on the factory.
• Li Ziran responds indirectly rather than emotionally, continuing his own dealings through Daniel and preparing a separate offer for Danforth.

Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Ziran continues using Soul Plasma to transform his Spirit World. The lower-level Soul Plasma causes violent whirlwinds of mental force that gradually crack his Spirit Crystals.
• After exhausting the eighth-level Soul Plasma, he uses a much stronger eleventh-level variety. Its effects are initially horrifying: numbness, loss of sensation, and overwhelming pain throughout his body.
• The stronger Soul Plasma triggers the complete shattering of his Spirit Crystals. Li realizes that his Spirit World is undergoing a process similar to the Elemental Gland’s cycle of destruction and reorganization.
• Although frightened by the pain, Li deliberately continues taking the Soul Plasma, believing that meaningful power requires enduring visible suffering.
• After several doses, the shattered mental realm reforms into golden-gray mist, which condenses into a tiny crystal. His mental force undergoes a qualitative transformation, becoming significantly stronger and seemingly “dual-layered.”
• To test his new power, Li uses a Corpse Witch Frog head connected to Karen, a powerful Bauhinia Lineage descendant who had previously threatened to steal his soul and break his spells.
• Li detects the previously invisible mental thread linking Karen to the frog and his spatial ring. Rather than allowing Karen to invade him, he uses his reformed mental force to force his way along the connection.
• He discovers that Karen’s memory-stealing ability involves “flowing threads” of dark memories and Memory Ghosts. Li realizes that Karen has not actually read his memories; instead, he has infiltrated Karen’s memories and uncovered the mechanism behind the theft.

Character Development

• Li Ziran becomes increasingly determined and resilient. He moves from fear and desperation during the Soul Plasma’s pain to actively embracing the torment as a necessary form of tempering.
• His self-taught understanding of cultivation deepens. By comparing mental-force transformation to the Elemental Gland’s shattering and reformation, he develops his own theory about advancing his Spirit World.
• Li gains confidence after his mental force reforms. He becomes capable of perceiving hidden mental connections and directly interfering with Karen’s abilities.
• His curiosity and willingness to take risks increase; despite recognizing Karen’s danger, he intentionally uses the frog to test his new strength.
• Karen remains mostly offstage, but his frightening power and mysterious memory-stealing technique are revealed in greater detail.

Significant Themes

• Pain as a path to growth: Li accepts severe suffering because it provides measurable evidence of advancement.
• Destruction and rebirth: The Spirit Crystals must shatter before the mental force can reform into something stronger, paralleling the transformation of elemental power.
• Self-taught cultivation: Without formal instruction, Li relies on observation, analogy, and experimentation to understand his powers.
• Risk and discovery: Li repeatedly places himself in danger to uncover how Soul Plasma and memory theft function.
• Power through understanding: His breakthrough comes not only from stronger mental force but from recognizing and exploiting the structure of Karen’s ability.

Character Interactions

• Li’s primary interaction is with Karen through the Corpse Witch Frog and spatial ring. Their connection initially allows Karen’s consciousness to reach toward Li, but Li’s newly reformed mental force detects the link and reverses the direction of intrusion.
• Rather than remaining a passive target, Li forces his way into Karen’s mental thread and uncovers the principles behind Karen’s memory theft, shifting the balance of power between them.

Chapter Summary: “Signing the Offering Curse”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Ziran examines Karen’s memories and recognizes the spell being used as an Offering Curse, a contract-like spell requiring the caster to sacrifice something valuable in exchange for power.
• While Karen’s consciousness tries to resist, Li Ziran uses the Judgment Spell to suppress him and extract his soul fragments without immediately killing him.
• By repeatedly dissecting Karen’s memories, Li Ziran discovers:
  • Karen’s childhood and household.
  • His mother.
  • A mysterious witch who taught or demonstrated a Transformation Spell.
  • An ancient temple containing a statue of the Memory Ghost.
• Li Ziran realizes that the ability to perceive microscopic Elemental Bugs does not belong to Karen. It originates from the Memory Ghost statue, whose eyes contain these creatures.
• He unconsciously completes Karen’s contract spell with the Memory Ghost. In payment, the Memory Ghost silently removes one of Li Ziran’s kidneys and manifests as an eye-like sphere containing an Elemental Bug within his Spirit World.
• Karen’s soul is abruptly destroyed by the Memory Ghost after he tries to resist or plead for help. His final words are, “Don’t abandon me.”
• Li Ziran tests his newfound power on a frog. The Memory Ghost enters it, allowing him to instantly access the frog’s memories.
• He concludes that he has acquired a form of Memory-Stealing Curse, though he understands that he has not truly mastered the underlying technique. Instead, he is borrowing the power of the Memory Ghost through an obscure spell-array mechanism.
• The Memory Ghost takes only part of Li Ziran’s small intestine in exchange for the frog’s insignificant memories, demonstrating that the price depends on the value of the information obtained.
• Li Ziran dismisses the remaining Corpse Witches, whose souls are gone but whose bodies retain their regenerative value.
• He decides that using the Offering Curse is dangerous and begins considering how to deceive or control the Memory Ghost. He also needs replacement organs before using the ability again.
• The chapter ends when Pangke, Li Ziran’s ally and political support in North Sea Port, arrives. Pangke warmly embraces him and acts as though they are close friends, despite their earlier tension.

Character Developments

• Li Ziran grows significantly in power and understanding. His control of the Judgment Spell becomes precise enough to dissect another person’s soul and memories without immediately killing them.
• He gains access to memory theft and can now perceive or command Elemental Bugs through his connection with the Memory Ghost.
• His attitude remains analytical and opportunistic. Even after losing a kidney and part of his intestine, he focuses on the value and mechanics of his new ability rather than panicking.
• Li Ziran becomes more cautious about magical contracts. He recognizes that the Offering Curse is powerful but potentially fatal if the Memory Ghost takes a vital organ.
• Karen is exposed as relatively weak and immature compared with Li Ziran. His memories reveal his connection to the Memory Ghost and the witch, but his soul is ultimately consumed or annihilated after the contract is invoked.
• The Memory Ghost is established as an ancient, powerful, and enigmatic entity. It responds to offerings, judges the value of what it receives, and can forcibly terminate its contractor’s soul.
• Pangke appears politically shrewd and socially polished. His exaggerated friendliness suggests that he understands Li Ziran’s importance and wants to maintain a favorable relationship.

Significant Themes

• Power through sacrifice: The Offering Curse embodies the idea that extraordinary abilities require concrete, often bodily, payment.
• Knowledge and exploitation: Li Ziran obtains knowledge by invading memories and extracting souls, raising questions about the moral cost of power and discovery.
• The hidden mechanisms of magic: Spells are revealed to function like sophisticated arrays that control Elemental Bugs. What appears mystical is connected to underlying systems and techniques.
• Dangerous contracts: Magical power is not freely granted. The Memory Ghost determines the price and may interpret or enforce agreements in unexpected ways.
• Transformation and identity: Memories, souls, organs, and bodies can all be altered, removed, or repurposed, emphasizing the unstable boundaries between personhood and magical power.
• Unequal power relationships: Karen believes he can use the Memory Ghost, but Li Ziran realizes that the true controlling force belongs to the entity itself.

Character Interactions

• Li Ziran dominates Karen mentally, repeatedly suppressing his resistance and extracting pieces of his soul to access deeper memories.
• Karen’s memories connect Li Ziran indirectly to his mother, the witch, and the Memory Ghost.
• The Memory Ghost interacts with Li Ziran through the Offering Curse, taking organs as payment and granting him access to memories.
• Li Ziran tests the new ability on a frog, confirming that the Memory Ghost can retrieve even simple animal memories.
• Daniel informs Li Ziran of Pangke’s arrival, while Anfuni appears to have already brought Pangke under control or into cooperation.
• Pangke greets Li Ziran with an overly affectionate embrace, signaling a shift toward alliance and political cooperation despite their prior disagreement.

Chapter Summary: “Your Good Days Are Just Beginning”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Pangke, deputy commander of North Sea Port’s Seventh Legion, meets Li Ziran in his operating room after losing his position and witnessing Li’s replica-making abilities.
• Pangke seeks Li’s help in removing Leien and gaining greater authority over the Seventh Legion. He is motivated by political ambition, access to Soul Plasma, and the profits of North Sea Port’s illicit trade networks.
• Li reveals thirteen prepared corpses, including replicas of Pangke, Leien, Higgins, and other legion commanders. He proposes a far more ambitious plan: assassinate Leien and Higgins, then use their replicas to issue orders while Pangke restructures the legion under his control.
• Anfuni carries out the assassination almost effortlessly. During a private dinner, her frog swallows Leien and Higgins, while she controls their replicas to leave the scene without arousing immediate suspicion.
• Pangke is instructed to purge opposition, promote loyal officers, and manage inspections from higher authorities. He realizes that his future depends on ruthless efficiency and that Li could replace him just as easily if he fails.
• In Hippo Ancient City, Li studies memories using his mutated Mental Power and develops a better understanding of the Seventh Legion’s structure, North Sea Port’s defenses, and the Offering Curse.
• Li discovers that ordinary creatures’ memories are easy for him to access, but powerful mages possess mental defenses. Through Judgment and soul extraction, he learns about mage meditation techniques and the concept of “units” of Mental Power.
• Li concludes that he needs enormous quantities of higher-grade Soul Plasma to continue recomposing and strengthening his Mental Power. This intensifies his determination to establish a profitable trade route.
• A delivery from Sandrew arrives. Wrapped in Life Tree Leaves are an Elven priest and the Holy Knight Cavis, an old acquaintance of Li’s.

Character Developments

• Pangke shifts from a disgraced deputy commander into a willing conspirator seeking control of the entire Seventh Legion. Although frightened by the assassination plan, he accepts that survival and advancement require ruthless action.
• Li Ziran demonstrates increasing strategic ambition. He is no longer merely experimenting with corpses, organs, and memory extraction; he is actively manipulating military power and building the foundations of a large-scale trade network.
• Anfuni is shown as calm, efficient, and terrifyingly powerful. Her casual execution of Leien and Higgins confirms her role as Li’s chief enforcer and emphasizes the danger of opposing them.
• Sandrew continues supplying Li with rare, powerful beings, including the priest and Holy Knight he requested.
• Cavis’s unexpected arrival hints that Li’s past relationships and former enemies or associates may become part of his expanding plans.

Significant Themes

• Power through manipulation: Li controls events indirectly, using replicas, assassinations, memory alteration, and political restructuring rather than openly seizing power.
• Corruption and survival: North Sea Port’s military legions function like pirate organizations, relying on smuggling and protection rackets. Pangke’s rise depends on participating in the same corruption.
• Replaceability and distrust: Pangke understands that Li’s favor is conditional. If he fails, another person can take his place, just as the replicas replace the dead commanders.
• Knowledge as power: Li treats memories, souls, organs, and magical techniques as resources. Each new discovery expands his abilities and strategic options.
• Escalating ambition: Li’s need for increasingly powerful Soul Plasma pushes him toward establishing a major trade route and gaining influence over entire regions.
• Life, death, and imitation: The chapter repeatedly blurs the line between living beings and manufactured replicas, presenting identity as something that can be copied, controlled, or discarded.

Character Interactions

• Li Ziran and Pangke: Their conversation is a negotiation built on mutual benefit. Pangke offers military protection and control of trade routes, while Li offers the means to eliminate Pangke’s rivals and elevate him.
• Li Ziran and Anfuni: They operate with near-perfect coordination. Li designs the plan, while Anfuni performs the killings and manages the replicas.
• Anfuni and Pangke: Anfuni warns Pangke that his opportunity depends on Li’s choice and reminds him that he could easily have been the victim instead of Leien and Higgins.
• Li Ziran and Sandrew: Though Sandrew does not appear directly, his delivery demonstrates an ongoing alliance based on supplying rare magical subjects.
• Li Ziran and Cavis: Their reunion is unexpected and potentially significant, as Cavis arrives not as a random prisoner but as the Holy Knight Li specifically needed.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Ziran discovers that Sandrew has sent him two valuable captives: Cavis, his former acquaintance and the mentor of Ivy and others, and an unconscious elven priestess.
• Rather than release Cavis, Li Ziran decides to keep him alive, partly because he needs a special Resurrection Gallbladder and partly because Cavis is connected to his own Judgment Spell.
• Sandrew also provides an antidote and a special Slave Seal engraved “Exclusively for Li Ziran.” Li Ziran realizes the seal is made from extremely rare Contract Mud, a substance created when the Contract Spell evolves into rule-level power.
• Li Ziran uses the seal on the elven priestess, forming an absolute spiritual bond. When she attacks him with a White Tiger formed from soul power, the seal instantly suppresses the attack and causes her to suffer backlash.
• The priestess identifies the seal as Contract Mud and becomes terrified upon realizing that she has been enslaved.
• She reveals her name as Janice and identifies herself as a White Tiger Priest, a power level roughly comparable to Li Ziran’s Staff Witch Doctor.
• Li Ziran offers her freedom after three years of wholehearted service, but initially uses the seal to force her obedience and humiliates her by ordering her to undress. Fearing further abuse, Janice accepts the three-year condition.
• Once she submits, Li Ziran shifts immediately to practical matters. He gives her the Abyss Wraith’s bones and asks how to strengthen the faint soul within them.
• Janice explains that the soul can be nourished through the Grass Sacrifice Spell, but only with a special material called Nether-Soul Grass.

Character Developments

• Li Ziran is shown as calculating, possessive, and willing to use coercion to obtain valuable resources and obedient subordinates. However, he is not motivated by sexual desire; his humiliation of Janice is presented as a tactic to break her resistance and secure her cooperation.
• He becomes increasingly curious about Sandrew’s motives after recognizing the exceptional value of the Contract Mud seal. He suspects Sandrew has sacrificed considerable wealth specifically to aid him.
• Janice transitions from a frightened, defiant captive into a forced servant. Her resistance collapses once she experiences the seal’s soul-level suppression and understands that she cannot escape its control.
• Janice’s professional expertise as a White Tiger Priest establishes her as useful beyond her combat strength, particularly in matters involving souls and sacrificial magic.
• Sandrew remains offstage but is characterized through his generous and carefully prepared gift. His actions contrast sharply with those of the Shadow Elder and make Li Ziran question his true intentions.
• Cavis is introduced as an important captive connected to Li Ziran’s past and magical inheritance, though his role is not yet developed further in this chapter.

Significant Themes

• Power and enslavement: The chapter centers on the absolute control granted by the Slave Seal and Contract Mud. Contracts are portrayed not merely as agreements but as magical systems capable of overriding free will.
• Coercion versus cooperation: Li Ziran claims to offer Janice a path to freedom, but the agreement is made under overwhelming magical duress, raising questions about whether obedience achieved through force can be considered genuine loyalty.
• Pragmatism and exploitation: Li Ziran treats people, magical materials, and living beings as resources. His willingness to preserve Cavis and control Janice reflects his utilitarian approach.
• The evolution of magic: The discussion of Contract Mud introduces the idea that spells can evolve into rules and permanently merge with a practitioner’s body, creating rare and powerful materials.
• Hidden motives and unequal alliances: Sandrew’s extraordinary generosity suggests a deeper relationship or agenda, while Li Ziran begins to reconsider how much Sandrew has invested in him.
• Soul cultivation and sacrifice: The Abyss Wraith subplot expands the chapter’s magical lore, emphasizing that even a nearly nonexistent soul trace can potentially be restored through specialized sacrificial techniques.

Important Character Interactions

• Li Ziran and Sandrew’s relationship is explored indirectly through Sandrew’s carefully prepared gifts and Li Ziran’s growing uncertainty about his motives.
• Li Ziran and Janice have a highly unequal confrontation. He uses the Slave Seal to overpower her spiritual attack, force her movements, and compel her agreement to serve him.
• Janice’s fear and humiliation contrast with Li Ziran’s calm, detached behavior, highlighting the imbalance between them.
• After subduing Janice, Li Ziran changes from intimidation to task-oriented cooperation, asking her to apply her priestly knowledge to strengthen the Abyss Wraith’s soul.
• Cavis’s introduction links Li Ziran’s current dealings to his past training and future plans, suggesting that the captured mentor may become important later.

Chapter Summary: “Abyss Wraith Embryo”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Ziran learns that Nether-Soul Grass can nourish souls. Although the grass itself is common, using the Grass Sacrifice Spell on it is difficult.
• Because Li has learned the spell from Anfuni, he quickly obtains hundreds of stalks through the Iron Hammer Slave-Catching Group and uses them on the Abyss Wraith’s skeleton.
• The spell extracts not only the plant’s life force but also its elemental properties, producing a cool, soul-nourishing energy. Li realizes the Grass Sacrifice Spell may be far more useful than he previously believed.
• Li creates a primitive spore from frog eggs and sperm, then exposes it to the soul aura within the Wraith’s skeleton.
• The soul begins interfering with the spore’s development. Li intensifies the process with his mental power, causing the spore to dissolve into a gelatinous mass and allowing the Wraith’s soul to possess the developing organism.
• He transfers the possessed embryo into a specially prepared Clam Maiden whose organs have been replaced to support its growth. The embryo rapidly begins forming primitive organs.
• During the process, a strange black creature enters Li’s Spirit World. It devours part of the Shadow Crescent Moon and begins consuming Li’s mental power.
• Li realizes this is the Abyss Wraith’s true ability: it can feed on powerful spiritual and mental energies, including the Shadow Crescent Moon and the energy produced by the Judgment Spell.
• Before the creature can cripple him, Sandrew intervenes with Spirit-Invoking Power and removes it. Sandrew then reveals that he expected Li to discover the Wraith’s ability.

Character Developments

• Li Ziran demonstrates increasing mastery of surgery, cultivation, and magical experimentation. His willingness to study seemingly insignificant spells allows him to uncover a powerful new use for the Grass Sacrifice Spell.
• He also becomes more ambitious and confident, recognizing that the Wraith may allow him to recreate extinct or otherwise impossible life forms.
• However, Li’s confidence turns to genuine fear when the embryo invades his Spirit World and threatens his mental power. He realizes he may have unknowingly created a dangerous entity capable of destroying him.
• Janice, the Elven priestess, becomes increasingly terrified of Li. Witnessing his surgical experiments convinces her that humans resemble the demons described by her elders. She remains silent and obedient, afraid that resistance could make her the next subject.
• Sandrew remains secretive and manipulative. His arrival at the critical moment confirms that he understands the Abyss Wraith’s purpose and has likely been guiding Li toward this experiment.

Significant Themes

• The hidden potential of “useless” abilities: Li’s Transformation Spell taught him that no magic is truly worthless. The Grass Sacrifice Spell, initially neglected, becomes essential to reviving the Wraith.
• Creation and forbidden experimentation: The chapter portrays life as something that can be engineered through organs, spores, souls, and magical energy, blurring the line between science, sorcery, and monstrosity.
• Power gained through possession: The Wraith does not merely grow a body; it takes control of another developing life-form, suggesting that identity and existence can be forcibly transferred.
• Fear of unintended consequences: Li succeeds in his experiment but discovers that the resulting creature may consume the very powers sustaining his mind.
• Moral inversion: Janice’s belief that humans are demons is reinforced by Li’s detached vivisection and experimentation, even though Li views his actions as technical procedures rather than cruelty.

Character Interactions

• Li and Janice: Janice provides the crucial knowledge about Nether-Soul Grass and the Grass Sacrifice Spell, but she is frightened by Li’s methods and remains too intimidated to question him.
• Li and the Abyss Wraith: Li carefully nourishes the Wraith’s soul and successfully enables it to possess a primitive embryo. Their relationship is initially one of creator and creation, but the Wraith immediately proves capable of threatening its creator.
• Li and Sandrew: Sandrew’s intervention saves Li from the Wraith’s mental assault. His remark suggests that the experiment’s success was expected and that Li has only begun to understand the Wraith’s purpose.
• Li and the Clam Maiden: Li uses the modified Clam Maiden as a prepared host for the embryo, treating her body as a biological vessel designed to sustain the Wraith’s development.

Chapter Summary: Sandrew’s Lifelong Order

Key Plot Points and Events

• Sandrew reveals that he intends to escape the Shadow Society’s control by allowing an Abyss Wraith to devour his Spirit World. Since the Spirit World is the foundation of a mage’s power, this will destroy his cultivation—but it will also eliminate the Shadow Crescent Moon’s control over him.
• He explains that he has spent all his contribution points preparing for this plan, purchasing resources, slaves, magical materials, and assistance for Li Ziran. These expenses were not merely for obtaining the Abyss Wraith; they were part of a larger escape strategy.
• Sandrew brings Li Ziran into a heavily protected secret room. Li uses transformations, physical concealment, Jue Stone, God-Descended Dwarf flesh, and Volcanic Stone to block spiritual, elemental, and Shadow Space detection.
• Sandrew reveals that Spatial Mantis also wishes to leave the Shadow Society. If Sandrew’s plan fails, he asks Li Ziran to offer Spatial Mantis the same assistance.
• Sandrew explains that Shadow Elder’s growing advantage makes surpassing him impossible. The Soul Plasma trade benefits Shadow Elder disproportionately, allowing him to grow even stronger while maintaining control over the Society.
• Sandrew’s true plan is not simply to abandon his power. He intends to die after the Abyss Wraith destroys his Spirit World, preserve a fragment of his soul, and be reborn through an embryo cultivated from Abyssal Black Dragon sperm.
• Li Ziran recognizes that Shadow Elder may detect the Abyss Wraith’s attack through the Shadow Crescent Moon. The Wraith would require too much time to devour it, making timing and secrecy crucial.
• After considering the risks and his own future conflict with the Shadow Society, Li Ziran accepts the deal.
• In exchange, Li demands two conditions: Sandrew must teach him how to control the Abyss Wraith after succeeding, and he must help Li arrange the mass production of Demon Embryos.

Character Developments

• Sandrew is shown to be desperate but highly calculated. He is willing to sacrifice his Spirit World, accumulated power, wealth, and status to secure genuine freedom. His plan reveals both his fear of becoming Shadow Elder’s puppet and his ambition to achieve a stronger form through Abyssal Black Dragon rebirth.
• Li Ziran becomes more cautious and politically strategic. Although he admires Sandrew, he does not accept the proposal blindly. He evaluates Shadow Elder’s strength, identifies flaws in the plan, and negotiates benefits for himself before agreeing.
• Spatial Mantis is revealed to be less passive than Li Ziran believed. Beneath his seemingly neutral behavior, he too is considering escape from the Shadow Society.
• Shadow Elder becomes established as the central threat. His mastery of Puppet Art, unknown number of powerful puppets, and access to superior Soul Plasma make him nearly impossible for Sandrew to surpass directly.

Significant Themes

• Freedom versus power: Sandrew chooses to sacrifice his immense cultivation rather than remain under another person’s control.
• The cost of escape: Freedom requires Sandrew to risk his life, destroy his Spirit World, abandon his possessions, and rely on an uncertain rebirth.
• Strategic alliances and mutual benefit: Li Ziran agrees to help only after ensuring the arrangement will advance his own interests.
• Power and dependence: The chapter emphasizes that strength provides autonomy, while losing it leaves one vulnerable to manipulation and domination.
• Rebirth and transformation: Sandrew seeks not merely survival but a new body and potentially greater future potential through an Abyssal Black Dragon embryo.
• Secrecy and preparation: The elaborate safe room and Sandrew’s long-term resource gathering underscore the importance of concealment when challenging the Shadow Society.

Character Interactions

• Sandrew confides in Li Ziran because he trusts his abilities and needs his specialized embryo-cultivation skills.
• Li initially questions whether Sandrew’s sacrifice is worthwhile, warning that destroying the Spirit World will effectively ruin him as a mage.
• Sandrew counters that remaining in the Society would result in permanent enslavement, making the sacrifice necessary.
• Their relationship shifts from master and student toward equal negotiating partners. Li respects Sandrew but refuses to provide assistance without compensation.
• Sandrew attempts to secure Li’s future cooperation not only for himself but also for Spatial Mantis.
• The chapter concludes with a formal bargain: Li will help Sandrew pursue rebirth, while Sandrew must provide knowledge of the Abyss Wraith and support Li’s plan to mass-produce Demon Embryos.

Chapter Summary: “Expand Production”

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Sandrew unexpectedly summons nearly the entire Shadow Society to the Assembly Hall at Corpse Mountain, which he has almost completely sold off.
• He announces that the Demon Embryo trade is thriving and proposes a major expansion of production to obtain more Soul Plasma.
• Rhine Duke is ordered to increase his factory’s output to 3,000 Embryos per day, despite lacking enough Witch Doctors and trained personnel.
• Sandrew tells Rhine Duke to requisition Witch Doctors from Beast Race tribes, while Li Ziran is tasked with training them in organ modification and transplantation.
• Sandrew warns that future demand may rise to 30,000 Embryos per day, revealing the enormous scale of his ambitions.
• Anfuni is instructed to strengthen security at North Sea Port, anticipating attacks or interference once transportation increases.
• Sandrew motivates the group by claiming that the Shadow Society could become one of the Dark Council’s leading organizations and help Shadow Elder compete for a chief councilor seat.
• After the meeting, Rhine Duke and the Ogre approach Li Ziran for help. Rhine Duke offers him a rare Golden-Silk Birdfolk woman and the Ogre adds a bottle of ten-layer Soul Plasma as compensation.
• Li Ziran immediately agrees to assist and proposes going to the underground factory at once, amusing and deceiving Rhine Duke, who assumes Li is merely greedy.

2. Character Developments

• Sandrew presents himself as a confident, demanding leader. Although he appears to be carefully planning the expansion, he is secretly acting recklessly because he intends to leave the Shadow Society. His stern performance successfully pressures the others into cooperation.
• Li Ziran continues manipulating events from behind the scenes. He quietly signals Sandrew to demand 3,000 Embryos per day, agrees to train the Witch Doctors, and deliberately pretends to be motivated by women and Soul Plasma.
• Rhine Duke becomes increasingly dependent on Li Ziran’s expertise and assistance. His earlier arrogance gives way to apologetic flattery and bribery when he needs Li’s help.
• Anfuni takes her security responsibilities seriously and plans to help Pangke seize greater control of the Seventh Legion and suppress rival smugglers.
• The Ogre acts as a mediator between Rhine Duke and Li Ziran, using Soul Plasma to smooth over their previous conflict.
• Shadow Society members are initially wary of increased labor demands but become enthusiastic when promised greater rewards and the possibility of reaching the Title-Class realm.

3. Significant Themes

• Expansion driven by greed and ambition: The Shadow Society seeks to exploit the booming Embryo market, with production targets escalating from thousands to tens of thousands.
• Labor exploitation and organizational power: The leaders demand extraordinary effort from workers and specialists while justifying it through promises of future rewards and status.
• Manipulation and deception: Sandrew disguises his reckless intentions as strategic leadership, while Li Ziran carefully performs greed and reluctance to conceal his actual motives.
• Power through resources: Soul Plasma functions as both currency and leverage, influencing decisions, settling disputes, and determining loyalty.
• Moral compromise: The plan involves coercing Witch Doctors, possibly starting wars, and using Beast Race populations to meet production demands, showing how commercial success overrides ethical concerns.
• Ambition versus short-term thinking: Sandrew imagines the Shadow Society becoming a major political force, while Rhine Duke underestimates Li Ziran by judging him only through his apparent desire for immediate rewards.

4. Character Interactions

• Sandrew pressures Rhine Duke to expand production and threatens him with the scale of future demands.
• Sandrew assigns Li Ziran responsibility for training the Witch Doctors, forcing Li to publicly cooperate.
• Sandrew warns Anfuni that increased transport will attract enemies, prompting her to strengthen North Sea Port’s defenses.
• Rhine Duke apologizes to Li Ziran for their earlier conflict and tries to buy his cooperation with a Golden-Silk Birdfolk woman.
• The Ogre reinforces Rhine Duke’s request by offering Li a bottle of Soul Plasma.
• Li Ziran instantly changes his attitude after receiving the Soul Plasma, convincing Rhine Duke that he is shallow and easily manipulated, while privately maintaining control of the situation.

Chapter Summary: “Let Me Show You an Assembly Line”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Ziran visits the Rhine Duke’s underground Embryo Factory and observes its highly organized production system, which includes 260 processing rooms, Witch Doctors, slave quarters, and workshops for extracting organs from magical creatures.
• The factory can produce roughly 1,000 Embryos per day, but its expansion is limited by the shortage of trained Witch Doctors. Increasing production to 3,000 Embryos would require hundreds more specialists.
• The Rhine Duke asks Li Ziran for a solution. Li reveals that most of the Embryo-production process does not require fully trained Witch Doctors.
• Using ten Witch Doctor Apprentices, Li divides the work into simple stages: organ extraction, incision, uterine preparation, sperm collection, organ grafting, and stitching. Under his supervision, the apprentices successfully create an Embryo.
• The Staff Witch Doctor examines the result and confirms that the Embryo is viable. The factory can therefore increase production by using apprentices and ordinary laborers for specialized tasks, while experienced Witch Doctors supervise the overall process.
• Li leaves after demonstrating the method, while the Rhine Duke regrets having sacrificed a valuable Golden-Silk Girl to obtain Li’s help. The Staff Witch Doctor warns him to cultivate a closer relationship with Li, but the Duke remains confident in his own judgment.
• Back in the Red Fan District, Li oversees his own expanding Embryo-production chain, operated entirely by more than one hundred Corpse Witches under his control.
• News arrives that Demon forces are targeting Embryo shipments and that Demon Embryo soldiers are already being used in conflicts against the Sea Folk. These rapidly matured, powerful, unintelligent creatures are proving effective as expendable troops.
• Li recognizes that war will drive up demand for Demon Embryos and plans to expand the market beyond the Rhine Duke. He prepares a deliberately incomplete Embryo formula, removing the crucial organ-cultivation information, intending to place it on the market and encourage more producers.

Character Developments

• Li Ziran demonstrates his practical intelligence and mastery of industrial organization. Rather than searching for more Witch Doctors, he breaks the complicated procedure into simple, repeatable tasks that apprentices can perform.
• He becomes increasingly confident in his commercial and strategic abilities, viewing Embryo production as an industry rather than a secret technique.
• Li also shows calculated ambition: he wants not merely to profit from one producer but to create a large, competitive market with many manufacturers.
• The Rhine Duke is impressed but embarrassed by how easily Li solves the production problem. He regrets the cost of the Golden-Silk Girl he gave up and remains somewhat arrogant, refusing to fully accept the Staff Witch Doctor’s advice to win Li over.
• The Staff Witch Doctor recognizes Li’s exceptional talent and understands that the new method could transform the factory’s output. Unlike the Rhine Duke, he sees the long-term importance of maintaining Li as an ally.

Significant Themes

• Industrialization and division of labor: Li transforms a specialized magical procedure into an assembly line by assigning each worker a single, manageable task.
• Knowledge versus resources: The Rhine Duke possesses facilities, materials, and Witch Doctors, but lacks Li’s organizational insight. Li’s method shows that efficient systems can be more valuable than rare expertise alone.
• Commodification of life: Embryos are treated as manufactured products, while Corpse Witches and slaves function as labor within a production chain.
• War as an economic engine: Li views the conflict between Demons and Sea Folk primarily through its effect on demand, recognizing that warfare creates massive consumption and profitable markets.
• Strategic manipulation and controlled information: By releasing an incomplete formula, Li intends to stimulate competition while withholding the most important knowledge, allowing him to shape the market without surrendering his advantage.
• Ambition and scale: Li is no longer satisfied with a single business partnership. He seeks a broad network of producers and a market large enough to support continued expansion.

Character Interactions

• Li and the Rhine Duke engage in a mixture of cooperation, bargaining, and distrust. The Duke jokes and pressures Li, while Li responds with confidence and deliberately controls the pace of the exchange.
• Li refuses to be drawn into an unnecessary meeting with the hidden Staff Witch Doctor, prioritizing the practical issue of increasing production.
• During the demonstration, Li directs the apprentices closely, exposes their concealed training, and forces them to reveal their actual abilities through hands-on work.
• After Li departs, the Rhine Duke and the Staff Witch Doctor disagree over how to interpret him: the Duke focuses on the immediate cost of Li’s assistance, while the old Witch Doctor emphasizes Li’s future value.
• Li’s interactions with the wider Shadow Society and figures such as Anfuni and Sandrew occur indirectly through messages and trade networks, showing how his business has become connected to military movements and international commerce.

Chapter Summary: “Riverbend War That Sparked an Embryo Craze”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Recruitment for slave-catching groups declines sharply because the Iron Hammer Slave-Catching Group attracts most freelancers with its generous system of contribution points, steady missions, and access to Li Ziran’s magic-organ modifications.
• Magic-organ modification becomes widely desirable, allowing ordinary slave catchers to gain powerful abilities and creating a more competitive labor market.
• Slave traders begin demanding specific races—such as Fire Elephants, Ice Birds, Deep-Sea Water Sharks, and Flame Birds—suggesting a sudden shift in the slave market.
• A Half-Demon legion attacks Amazon River Bay, destroying 30,000 private troops in ten minutes with a combined Soul Hammer attack and capturing the region’s Paradise Birdfolk and Golden Silk Birdfolk.
• The attack alarms the Red Soil Continent and North Sea Port because the Half-Demons can disguise themselves in local bodies while using powerful Demonic Arcana. Their coordinated soul attack is viewed as a potential weapon of mass destruction.
• Slave owners focus less on the military danger and more on the profit potential. They seek the secret behind producing Half-Demon Embryos, leading them to investigate Black Turtle Island and its owner, Polo Bart.
• Black Turtle Island has supposedly shipped more than 60,000 Embryos in one month, attracting spies, mental investigators, and eventually Title-Class powerhouses.
• Competing Embryo products begin appearing on the market, proving that the production method is spreading. Rhine Duke’s Grassland Underground Factory is infiltrated, and one of his Witch Doctors is captured.
• Within days, thirty-nine types of crude Embryos appear. Many contain low-grade Magic Organs, such as a Fire Rabbit intestine, and are sold to Demons for Soul Plasma despite lacking proper souls or physical integrity.
• The spread of these methods creates an uncontrolled Embryo market. Small slave owners can now hire apprentices and laborers to produce crude Demons without needing highly trained Witch Doctors.
• In Hippo Ancient City’s Mills, fashionable women secretly sell authentic and forged Embryo formulas. Their salesmanship turns the trade into a widespread speculative craze.
• Li Ziran reveals that he has written 156 formulas, deliberately mixing genuine information with false details. He also criticizes Danforth, whose limited ability has made him far less effective than even inexperienced small-scale slave owners.

Character Developments

• Li Ziran appears increasingly influential and calculating. His magic-organ technology has reshaped recruitment and now drives the Embryo industry. He deliberately manipulates the market by distributing formulas of varying accuracy.
• Iron Hammer benefits from Li Ziran’s innovations, making his organization the most attractive employer for slave catchers.
• Polo Bart becomes a major figure because Black Turtle Island serves as the center of Embryo production, though his secrets are increasingly threatened by outside investigation.
• Rhine Duke shifts from confidence to anger and alarm as spies penetrate his factory and a Witch Doctor is taken. He recognizes that the production method has escaped his control.
• Danforth is portrayed as incompetent and disappointing. Despite receiving help and obtaining a Witch Doctor, he struggles to produce Embryos and is judged inferior to ordinary entrepreneurs.

Significant Themes

• Technological disruption: Magic-organ modification overturns traditional power structures, making extraordinary abilities accessible to ordinary people.
• Profit overriding morality: The destruction and enslavement at Amazon River Bay horrify political authorities, but slave owners view the event primarily as a business opportunity.
• Industrialization and mass production: Li Ziran’s assembly-line methods transform specialized magical knowledge into a process that can be copied by low-skilled workers.
• Uncontrolled imitation: Once profitable secrets leak, inferior imitations flood the market, creating both economic opportunity and dangerous instability.
• Dehumanization and commodification: Races, bodies, organs, souls, and Embryos are all treated as market goods, emphasizing the brutal commercial logic of the setting.
• Information warfare: Spies, memory reading, stolen workers, forged formulas, and deliberate misinformation become as important as military strength.

Character Interactions

• Li Ziran and Iron Hammer: Li Ziran’s modifications and organizational ideas make Iron Hammer’s group dominant, indirectly strengthening Iron Hammer’s position.
• Rhine Duke and his captured Witch Doctor: The Witch Doctor’s disappearance exposes the vulnerability of Rhine Duke’s factory and threatens his production methods.
• Slave owners and Black Turtle Island: Profit-seeking traders investigate Polo Bart’s operation through espionage and supernatural interrogation.
• Hippo Ancient City’s ladies and buyers: The ladies exploit the Embryo craze by persuading buyers that even expensive or dubious formulas will produce profits.
• Li Ziran and Daniel: Li Ziran entrusts Daniel with another formula but remains frustrated by his inability to match the success of less-skilled operators.
• Li Ziran and Danforth: Though Danforth has helped him, Li Ziran judges him harshly for lacking initiative and competence, especially compared with the rapidly growing small workshops.

Chapter Summary: “Strength Begins to Fill In”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Demon Embryos become the dominant market throughout Hippo Ancient City. The Riverbend War and the girls’ promotion of Soul Plasma help ordinary slave owners realize that Embryos and their associated profits are accessible to them.
• The Iron Hammer Slave-Catching Group expands rapidly, providing Li Ziran with enough slaves and missions connected to Soul Plasma. Pangke eliminates opposition while Anfuni secures control of the Seventh Legion.
• Although the market is booming, Li Ziran deliberately delays releasing his high-quality Embryos. He wants inferior formulas to flood the market first, causing buyers to recognize the value of superior products and increasing his eventual customer base.
• Rhine Duke summons a Shadow Society gathering. The members have grown wealthy and stronger through Soul Plasma, but they are now facing intense pressure:
  • The Dark Elf’s transport routes are being monitored by pirates and the Sea Folk.
  • Gegwu’s supply operations are under surveillance, even through undead agents.
  • Black Turtle Island has suffered repeated attacks.
  • Rhine Duke’s Witch Doctors are being kidnapped because they possess Embryo-production knowledge.
• The group debates how to respond to the growing number of Embryo producers. Direct attacks are dismissed as unrealistic because the Shadow Society is already struggling to defend itself.
• Rhine Duke asks Li Ziran whether he has a secret Embryo-production method. Li denies having one, pointing out that the Witch Doctors and assembly-line process have already made the technology easy to reproduce.
• After the meeting, Li Ziran becomes determined to prepare for the moment when he must enter the market openly and confront Demons directly.
• Li Ziran begins strengthening himself by preparing to implant magical and extraordinary organs:
  • He plans to use lightning-element organs taken from two captured Magisters.
  • He wants to install a sacred Blessing kidney from a Golden-Silk Girl.
  • He also intends to implant Cavis’s Resurrection Gallbladder for protection against death.
• His attempt to extract the Magisters’ memories fails. Their souls are too powerful, and even the Offering Curse cannot penetrate their cultivation methods. He obtains only a faint trace of lightning-related knowledge and realizes he cannot yet make effective use of their organs.
• Li Ziran decides to study the organs of the Magisters’ weaker subordinates instead.

Character Developments

• Li Ziran becomes increasingly strategic and cautious. Rather than rushing to exploit the booming market, he plans to let competitors destabilize it before revealing his superior Embryos. His dissatisfaction with the Shadow Society also hardens, particularly after Rhine Duke treats him as an expendable outsider.
• He recognizes that economic influence alone will not be enough. To deal with Demons and protect himself, he must significantly improve his physical and magical strength.
• Rhine Duke is shown to be under severe pressure. Once confident in the Shadow Society’s expansion, he now struggles to control production, protect his Witch Doctors, and maintain the organization’s dominance.
• The Dark Elf and Gegwu reveal the increasing danger surrounding the Embryo trade, as their transport and supply networks are closely watched.
• Anfuni and Pangke continue strengthening Li Ziran’s political and military position in the background.
• The captured Magisters serve as a reminder of the enormous power gap between Li Ziran and higher-level practitioners.

Significant Themes

• Controlled expansion and strategic patience: Li Ziran understands that timing is more important than immediate profit. He allows inferior products to create demand for his better ones.
• The spread of technology: Once Embryo cultivation becomes partially standardized, it can no longer be monopolized. The assembly line reduces specialized knowledge to a process that almost anyone can reproduce.
• Power brings danger: The Shadow Society’s wealth and success attract surveillance, theft, attacks, and competition. Greater rewards require greater risks.
• Economic competition and instability: The Embryo trade transforms the balance of power, but the sudden growth of the market threatens the original dominant producers.
• The necessity of strength: Li Ziran realizes that commercial influence cannot substitute for personal power, especially when dealing with hostile Demons and powerful magical beings.
• Limits of knowledge: Even Li Ziran’s soul-extraction abilities fail against Magisters of a much higher realm, emphasizing the gap between his current abilities and the forces he hopes to control.

Important Character Interactions

• The Shadow Society members collectively complain to Rhine Duke about surveillance and attacks, but he reminds them that their rapid growth in strength and access to Soul Plasma comes from accepting dangerous missions.
• Rhine Duke directly questions Li Ziran about hidden Embryo-production techniques. Li responds evasively but firmly, making clear that the Shadow Society has already exposed nearly all of the relevant technology.
• Li Ziran internally resents Rhine Duke for treating him as unimportant and resolves not to offer him further assistance.
• Li Ziran’s work with the captured Magisters is largely one-sided: he attempts to read their souls and understand their spells, but their overwhelming spiritual power prevents meaningful communication or extraction of knowledge.

Chapter Summary: Li Ziran’s Dual-Circulation Organs

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Ziran undergoes a highly complex operation while conscious under local anesthesia. Three Corpse Witches replace nearly all of his ordinary organs with lightning-aspected Magic Organs.
• His goal is to create a second elemental organ system alongside his existing Purification Heart system. The new system includes lightning organs, a second heart, an Elemental Gland taken from a lightning-element Magister, and separate blood-vessel and nervous networks.
• Using memories stolen from the Magister through repeated Judgment, Li Ziran gains access to several lightning spells, especially the powerful quasi-forbidden spell Thunder Prison.
• The operation begins with the replacement of less critical organs, such as the liver, kidneys, stomach, and intestines. The major challenge is creating an independent system without allowing the two organ systems to interfere with one another.
• Li Ziran and the Corpse Witches open his skull and construct a second network of blood vessels and nerves. Moon Elf vessels and nerves are used because they can transport magical energy efficiently.
• The most dangerous step is branching a tiny nerve connected to the heart. The first attempt fails when the nerve snaps, but Li Ziran repairs it and successfully branches a replacement nerve on his second attempt.
• Once the dual neural pathway is established, the rest of the procedure becomes much easier. The new lightning organs are connected to the nervous and vascular networks, then linked to the Magister’s Elemental Gland.
• The Elemental Gland immediately activates and begins drawing lightning magic power from the new organs, proving that the system works.
• Li Ziran then begins constructing the second, non-lightning system using his Purification Heart, Cavis’s Resurrection Gallbladder, and Golden-Silk Girl’s Blessing Kidney, while relying on inferior substitute organs for the rest.
• As the surgery concludes and the Sacred Potion seals his wounds, Li Ziran begins to regain consciousness. He hears a strange heartbeat-like sound from his navel, indicating that the transplanted Elemental Gland is active.

Character Development

• Li Ziran demonstrates extraordinary surgical skill, precision, and self-control by operating on his own brain and internal organs through the Corpse Witches.
• His ambitions expand beyond ordinary magic use: he is not merely acquiring spells but redesigning his body into a powerful, multi-system magical organism.
• Despite his confidence, he experiences genuine fear and nervousness, especially during the skull operation and nerve branching. His brief prayer to the Goddess of Fortune reveals that even his mastery cannot eliminate dependence on chance.
• His successful second attempt strengthens his confidence and reinforces his belief that he is progressing toward becoming a true master of biological and magical engineering.
• Li Ziran also shows long-term planning. He accepts temporary inferior organs because establishing the dual-circulation framework now will allow him to replace them with stronger organs later.

Significant Themes

• Self-transformation and ambition: Li Ziran treats his own body as an experimental foundation for greater power, seeking to surpass conventional magical limits.
• Science, magic, and craftsmanship: The surgery combines anatomy, magical theory, stolen knowledge, and painstaking technical skill. Mastery depends on both understanding and precision.
• Risk and progress: The operation could leave him crippled or brain-damaged, but such danger is necessary for future advancement.
• Integration versus separation: The central challenge is allowing two different magical organ systems to coexist in one body without interfering with each other.
• Fortune and control: Although Li Ziran plans every detail, the successful nerve split depends partly on luck, showing the limits of absolute control.
• Foundations for future power: The new system is presented as only a beginning, foreshadowing later transplantation of even more powerful Archmage-level organs.

Character Interactions

• Li Ziran directs and controls the three Corpse Witches, who function as his surgical assistants and extensions of his will.
• His relationship with the Corpse Witches reflects his confidence in controlled undead labor: they work steadily and precisely, but he personally handles the most delicate procedures.
• The transplanted organs come from several other beings, including a lightning-element Magister, Moon Elves, Cavis, and Golden-Silk Girl. Their abilities are absorbed into Li Ziran’s evolving body.
• The chapter emphasizes Li Ziran’s dependence on the knowledge and biological materials of others while portraying him as the one who combines them into an unprecedented system.