Chapter Summaries

Li Ziran began separating Barto’s Continental Core from the Void Heart, cutting through a fused junction and freeing most of Barto’s body. He paused to study the dangerous structure and gained the others’ cooperation, then prepared to examine Kazilan’s core while the Boundary Wall remained a looming threat.

• Li Ziran persuaded Barto, Jiawen, and Gelong that he could separate their Continental Cores from the Void Heart and asked who would go first.
• Barto volunteered, and Li Ziran used a city-brick scalpel to cut through the junction between Barto’s Continental Core and the Void Heart.
• The cut freed most of Barto’s body, but Li Ziran stopped to recover and said he could not safely continue without understanding the Void Heart’s structure.
• Li Ziran warned that freeing one region could destabilize the rest, and Jiawen and Gelong backed him when Barto demanded that he continue.
• Barto agreed to respect Li Ziran’s decisions, and Li Ziran told Jiawen, Gelong, and Kazilan he would examine their continents before turning to Kazilan’s core.

Chapter Summary: “You Want to Drill into My Belly?”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The Continental Heart is divided under Li Ziran’s control, with Kazilan, Jiawen, Gelong, and Barto cooperating despite their immense power.
• Li Ziran focuses on locating and separating the invisible Void Heart from the Continental Heart. He realizes the Void Heart is not merely an offshoot but a complex organ connected to the Continental Heart, making the process an extremely delicate transplant rather than a simple extraction.
• He performs trial separations on Gelong and Jiawen’s Continental Cores. Gelong’s core releases a violent surge of power, but Li Ziran successfully removes a section. Jiawen voluntarily separates his region before Li Ziran can fully examine it.
• Li Ziran asks all four captives to struggle simultaneously so he can study how the divided regions react. Their efforts cause the Continental Heart to tear dramatically, leaving only a thin strand of Origin connecting them.
• The apparent breakthrough excites Barto, Jiawen, Gelong, and Kazilan, who believe they may soon escape with portions of the Continental Heart and gain enough power to resist or exploit the Boundary Wall.
• Jiawen privately reveals his true intentions: once free, he plans to kill everyone in Hippo Ancient City to prevent the secrets of Christie’s Void Chains from spreading, then use his Soul Continent to create a new world.
• Li Ziran begins working on Barto’s remaining connection. He discovers that the thin strand is a vital energy passage linked directly to Barto’s Continental Core. A light touch destroys part of Hippo Ancient City, proving the connection is exceptionally powerful.
• By tracing the passage, Li Ziran concludes that its source is located inside Barto’s swollen abdomen. He tells Barto that he must drill into his belly to sever it, leaving Barto horrified and incredulous.

Character Developments

• Li Ziran: Demonstrates increasing mastery, precision, and boldness as he treats the Continental Heart like a living organ. Although he recognizes the risks, he is determined to complete the transplant and secure a permanent foundation for survival in the Void Expanse.
• Barto: Shifts from eager excitement to alarm. He initially welcomes Li Ziran’s work and anticipates freedom, but panics when told the vital connection lies inside his body.
• Jiawen: Gains grudging respect for Li Ziran after being saved from losing the larger dream of Christie’s legacy. However, his thoughts expose him as ruthless: he intends to eliminate Li Ziran and everyone else once he escapes.
• Gelong: Remains outwardly cooperative but wary. His powerful reaction during the separation confirms that he is stronger and more dangerous than Barto.
• Kazilan: Continues to obey Li Ziran while secretly watching the operation. Her intense gaze after the apparent breakthrough suggests she is also eager to obtain freedom and power.

Significant Themes

• Surgery as a metaphor for power and survival: Li Ziran’s operation combines medical precision with large-scale cosmic consequences. The Void Heart is treated as a living, interconnected system rather than an object that can simply be removed.
• Trust versus manipulation: The powerful captives cooperate because they need Li Ziran, but their cooperation is conditional and deceptive. Jiawen’s secret plan makes clear that apparent harmony conceals murderous intentions.
• Knowledge and perception: The Void Heart cannot be directly seen, forcing Li Ziran to rely on instinct, structural deduction, and craft. The chapter emphasizes the limits of perception and the importance of understanding hidden systems.
• Ambition and freedom: The captives view escape as a path to overwhelming power, wealth, and even the creation of a new world. Their desire for freedom is inseparable from their willingness to exploit or destroy others.
• Comedic tension amid cosmic danger: Barto’s shocked reaction to the idea of Li Ziran drilling into his belly provides humor, contrasting with the genuinely dangerous and intricate procedure.

Character Interactions

• Li Ziran maintains a polite, controlled manner with Gelong while secretly using the separation as a test.
• Jiawen’s automatic separation demonstrates his awareness of Li Ziran’s intentions and his confidence in the process.
• The four captives struggle together, briefly sharing excitement as the Continental Heart begins to tear apart.
• Jiawen silently envies Barto when Li Ziran moves to help Barto first, revealing his impatience and desire to escape ahead of the others.
• Barto willingly encourages Li Ziran until the procedure becomes physically threatening, after which he openly questions and resists the plan.
• The chapter ends with Li Ziran calmly insisting that the connection must be severed from inside Barto’s abdomen, while Barto reacts with disbelief: “You want to drill into my belly?”

Chapter Summary: “Cutting Open a Great Dragon’s Belly”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Ziran explains that the thin ribbon binding Jiawen and Gelong is connected to their Continental Cores and ultimately to the Void Heart. He intends to remove the connection from their cores and transfer it into his own body.
• Because Jiawen and Gelong distrust him, Li Ziran does not force them to cooperate. Instead, he waits for one of them to volunteer, knowing that Barto’s decision could influence Gelong.
• The horrifying wall surrounding the Void Expanse, covered with laughing faces and feeding on fleeing creatures, pressures Barto into making a choice. Barto agrees to let Li Ziran operate on him, threatening to devour Li Ziran if he is deceived.
• Li Ziran warns Barto that the procedure may cause extreme pain and expose dangerous taboos, including Void Chains. He presents himself as a Witch Doctor bound by professional ethics.
• Kazilan openly vouches for Li Ziran’s morality and skill, while Gelong remains skeptical and Jiawen requests an explanation of the procedure.
• Barto takes responsibility for the risk and exposes his belly. Li Ziran begins the operation using a scalpel formed from Hippo Ancient City.
• The first attempts fail because Barto’s belly is extraordinarily hard—far harder than an ordinary Continental Core. Li Ziran realizes that Barto’s body contains unusually powerful Void Chains.
• Using his spiritual power and the nebula formed by six Void Chains, Li Ziran attacks Barto’s shield-like Void Chain. After an intense clash in the Void World, he creates a breach and successfully cuts through Barto’s skin.
• The operation shocks everyone. Barto’s supposedly invincible dragon body is pierced with ease, revealing that Li Ziran’s Void Chains can completely suppress Barto’s defenses.

Character Developments

• Li Ziran demonstrates patience, technical confidence, and a willingness to respect consent, though he remains focused on his larger goal of acquiring the connection to the Void Heart. His power is revealed to be far greater than the others understood.
• Barto shifts from hesitation to reckless determination. He accepts the procedure despite the danger and shows pride in both his courage and his immense physical durability.
• Gelong continues to distrust Li Ziran but becomes increasingly impressed and curious after witnessing Barto’s defenses collapse. He begins considering whether Li Ziran could also operate on him.
• Jiawen remains cautious and analytical, seeking to understand Li Ziran’s plan before committing himself.
• Kazilan acts as Li Ziran’s strongest supporter, publicly affirming her complete trust in his ability and character.

Significant Themes

• Trust and consent: Li Ziran cannot accomplish his objective without the voluntary cooperation of the Continental Core owners. The chapter emphasizes the difficulty of trusting someone who intends to cut into one’s core.
• Professional ethics and responsibility: Li Ziran frames the operation as a doctor-patient relationship, insisting that he must honor his promises and respect his patients.
• Power concealed beneath appearances: Barto’s body appears invulnerable, yet Li Ziran’s specialized Void Chains overcome it. The chapter establishes Li Ziran as a force capable of challenging even the strongest beings.
• Pride and vulnerability: Barto’s greatest source of pride—his dragon body—is exposed as vulnerable, undermining his confidence while demonstrating Li Ziran’s overwhelming ability.
• Fear as a catalyst: The monstrous wall in the Void Expanse helps push Barto toward action, showing how desperate circumstances can force characters to gamble with their lives.

Important Character Interactions

• Li Ziran and Barto negotiate the operation, with Barto demanding speed and Li Ziran demanding absolute trust.
• Gelong challenges Li Ziran’s claim of professional ethics, while Kazilan immediately defends him.
• Jiawen questions Li Ziran’s vague explanation, highlighting the gap between technical expertise and ordinary understanding.
• Barto’s willingness to volunteer places pressure on Jiawen and Gelong, especially Gelong, who becomes tempted to test Li Ziran’s abilities on himself.
• The successful operation dramatically changes the balance of power: Gelong now sees Li Ziran not merely as a suspicious Witch Doctor, but as someone whose abilities may rival or surpass the Boundary Wall.

Chapter Summary: “The Fabricated Concept: Tether Line”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Ziran operates inside Barto, a Great Dragon fused with a Continental Core, using Hippo Ancient City as a gigantic surgical tool.
• He struggles through Barto’s extraordinarily complex body, which is filled with layers of Void Chains and organs connected to the Void Heart.
• After intense analysis, Li Ziran discovers the interface linking Barto’s Continental Core to one-quarter of the Void Heart.
• Although he initially considers severing the connection completely, he realizes that freeing Barto would expose his intentions and potentially alert Jiawen. He therefore makes only a partial cut.
• Barto appears to break free, but a single, nearly unbreakable strand continues to tether him. Li Ziran invents the concept of the “Tether Line,” claiming that all four beings are connected by a shared restraint.
• He explains that the four connection nodes must be transferred simultaneously onto one object to achieve complete freedom. This convinces Jiawen and Gelong that they must cooperate.
• Li Ziran offers to let them study his Void Chains in exchange for access to their own internal structures, making his proposal appear fair.
• He then begins operating on Kazilan, quickly locating and partially severing her connection point as well. Like Barto, she remains attached by a single thread.
• As Gelong impatiently asks when it will be his turn, Li Ziran prepares to continue manipulating the others and move closer to controlling the Void Heart.

Character Developments

• Li Ziran demonstrates exceptional surgical and analytical abilities, successfully deciphering the Void Chains within beings far more powerful than himself.
• His strategic nature becomes increasingly clear. Rather than immediately freeing Barto, he chooses a cautious approach that conceals his true aim: gaining control of the Void Heart.
• He fabricates the “Tether Line” explanation and uses it to persuade the others to cooperate, revealing his skill at psychological manipulation as well as surgery.
• Barto experiences extreme pain during the operation and briefly believes he has escaped. His relief turns to rage when he discovers that one thread still binds him.
• Jiawen and Gelong become both impressed by and suspicious of Li Ziran. They regret not being operated on first, but recognize that they currently depend on him.
• Kazilan readily agrees to cooperate, driven by her desire for freedom. She becomes the second subject to be partially separated from the Void Heart.
• Gelong grows impatient to receive the same treatment, suggesting that Li Ziran’s plan is gaining momentum.

Significant Themes

• Deception and manipulation: Li Ziran invents a false theory to conceal his real objective and direct the decisions of powerful beings.
• Control versus freedom: The physical tether reflects the characters’ larger struggle to escape the Boundary Wall and the Void Heart’s control.
• Knowledge as power: Li Ziran’s understanding of Void Chains gives him influence over beings vastly stronger than himself.
• Trust and necessity: Although Jiawen and Gelong distrust Li Ziran, their desperation forces them to rely on him.
• Precision and restraint: Li Ziran’s success depends not only on technical skill but also on knowing when not to complete a cut.

Character Interactions

• Li Ziran reassures and deceives Barto by claiming the tether belongs to everyone rather than being his own creation.
• He persuades Jiawen and Gelong to cooperate by promising mutual access to the mysteries of their Void Chains.
• Jiawen carefully questions the requirement of simultaneous action, showing that he is alert to possible hidden motives.
• Kazilan immediately volunteers to cooperate, contrasting with the more suspicious Jiawen and Gelong.
• Barto’s furious threats and Gelong’s impatience create tension, while Li Ziran remains outwardly calm and controls the situation.

Summary: “Dissecting the Third Connection Point”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Ziran finishes repairing Kazilan’s Continental Core before beginning surgery on Gelong’s connection point, warning Gelong that the procedure will be extremely painful and performed without anesthesia.
• Using Hippo Ancient City as a surgical instrument, Li Ziran enters Gelong’s grotesque, living Continental Core. The interior resembles a mouth filled with writhing teeth, mucus, and corrosive saliva.
• Li Ziran follows the Void Chains to locate Gelong’s connection point, which lies deep inside the core among dense, tooth-like structures.
• He begins cutting the connection point, but Gelong loses control because of the pain. His core contracts violently, releasing saliva that engulfs Hippo Ancient City and begins digesting Li Ziran’s soul and Source Sea.
• Li Ziran struggles to survive while dismantling the corrosive Void Chains in the mucus. He repeatedly orders Gelong to restrain himself and cooperate.
• The surgery resumes more carefully. As the connection line becomes thinner, Gelong’s cries grow more intense, but his aura also strengthens.
• Jiawen realizes that Gelong is exploiting the operation: while Li Ziran breaks down chains, Gelong is secretly examining and absorbing them through Li Ziran’s Void World.
• Gelong studies Barto’s chains in particular and becomes convinced that he can eventually devour Barto, Jiawen, the weaker Kazilan, and even Li Ziran.
• Unbeknownst to Gelong, the chains he absorbs are being drawn into Li Ziran’s starry sky and dismantled by Gravity, gradually forming a new gravitational structure resembling a nebula.

Character Developments

• Li Ziran: Demonstrates patience, surgical precision, and emotional discipline, despite the repulsive environment and danger to his Source Sea. He remains focused on completing the operation but becomes increasingly wary of Gelong’s lack of control and hidden motives.
• Gelong: Reveals both extreme sensitivity to pain and considerable cunning. He pretends to cooperate while attempting to exploit Li Ziran’s chain-disassembly process to strengthen himself and learn the secrets of others. His ambition expands into plans to devour nearly everyone present.
• Jiawen: Becomes more suspicious of Li Ziran’s motives and questions why Li Ziran would help them sever their connections. However, his suspicion is temporarily overridden by excitement at the possibility of gaining access to Li Ziran’s powerful chains.
• Barto: Remains largely unaware of the danger surrounding him, though he senses hostile attention from Gelong and Jiawen. He is increasingly positioned as a potential target and source of power.

Significant Themes

• Pain and sacrifice: The surgery emphasizes that liberation from the connection points requires enduring severe physical and spiritual suffering. Jiawen contrasts Gelong’s panic with the resolve necessary to survive in the Void Expanse.
• Cooperation versus betrayal: Gelong agrees to cooperate but secretly uses the procedure for his own benefit, showing that apparent cooperation may conceal predatory intentions.
• Trust and suspicion: Jiawen questions Li Ziran’s generosity, while Li Ziran must rely on Gelong despite knowing that Gelong may be manipulating the situation.
• Knowledge as power: Understanding and absorbing Void Chains offers the potential for evolution, domination, and even the ability to devour powerful beings.
• Transformation and evolution: The chains being reorganized into a nebula suggest that Li Ziran is not merely destroying power but converting it into a new, possibly greater form.

Character Interactions

• Li Ziran and Gelong: Their relationship is defined by professional cooperation strained by pain and mistrust. Li Ziran performs the surgery and commands Gelong to control himself, while Gelong endures the operation and secretly investigates Li Ziran’s abilities.
• Jiawen and Gelong: Jiawen initially sympathizes with Gelong’s pain but then judges his inability to endure it. He later recognizes Gelong’s attempt to exploit Li Ziran and becomes eager to benefit from the same opportunity.
• Jiawen and Li Ziran: Jiawen remains deeply suspicious of Li Ziran’s motives, wondering why he would help them escape their connections and whether the promised sacrifice hides a larger scheme.
• Gelong and Barto: Though Barto does not fully realize it, Gelong views him as his primary future prey, believing he can devour Barto’s Great Dragon Clan chains after the connection is severed.

Chapter Summary: The Soul Continent’s Wondrous Evolution

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Ziran completes the separation of Gelong’s Continental Core from within Gelong’s body. The surgery is difficult and grotesque, but he performs it with precision, drawing on his past experience with shell surgery.
• He plans to return from Jiawen’s Soul Continent, sacrifice himself, and implant all four Void Heart connection points into Hippo Ancient City. This would merge his soul with the ancient city and create an entirely new lifeform.
• Li Ziran reflects on the vastness of the Void Expanse. Compared with it, the Red Soil Continent is insignificant, and becoming a continent may only be the beginning of a higher form of evolution.
• He begins operating on Jiawen’s Soul Continent. Unlike Gelong, Jiawen does not open a passage in advance, forcing Li Ziran to cut through the continent layer by layer.
• Jiawen secretly probes Li Ziran’s Starry Sky Chains, attempting to understand or copy their structure. However, Li Ziran’s true foundation is his internal understanding of the universe, which Jiawen cannot access.
• The interaction between the Starry Sky Chains and Jiawen’s Soul Continent causes an unexpected transformation. Soul-based lifeforms begin to emerge, evolve, and return refined soul energy to Jiawen.
• Jiawen’s strength rises rapidly as his Soul Continent develops a self-sustaining cycle of soul generation. Although impressive, this power still depends on the Origin of the Red Soil Continent and is not truly independent.
• Li Ziran continues dissecting the increasingly complex Soul Continent and finally locates the last connection point at the absolute center of Jiawen’s Continental Core. He prepares to extract the Void Heart.

Character Developments

• Li Ziran: Becomes increasingly confident in his abilities as a researcher and surgeon of continental-scale lifeforms. He gains a deeper understanding of Void Chains, soul evolution, and the possibility of transcending ordinary life. Despite witnessing Jiawen’s spectacular evolution, he remains committed to his own path—the Starry Sky Chains—and refuses to abandon it.
• Gelong: Develops respect for Li Ziran after witnessing his skill and the benefits gained from their interaction. He withdraws some of his prejudice and invites Li Ziran to explore the Void Expanse with him if they survive. At the same time, Gelong’s instinctive hunger and greed remain evident, especially when he reacts to Hippo Ancient City’s energy.
• Jiawen: Demonstrates caution and intelligence by allowing Li Ziran to enter his Soul Continent gradually rather than opening a direct passage. He also attempts to spy on Li Ziran’s Starry Sky Chains. Through this interaction, he unexpectedly develops a powerful mechanism for generating and refining soul energy.
• Barto: Remains largely observant but recognizes Jiawen’s sudden increase in strength alongside Gelong.

Significant Themes

• Evolution beyond familiar lifeforms: Li Ziran realizes that continental existence is only an early stage within the Void Expanse, suggesting vast higher forms of life and development.
• Creation versus dependence: Jiawen’s Soul Continent appears to generate living souls and energy independently, but it ultimately remains dependent on external Origin. The chapter questions whether apparent self-sufficiency is genuine.
• Individual paths of cultivation: Li Ziran admires Jiawen’s evolution but understands that each powerful being must follow a unique path. He cannot simply imitate Jiawen’s Soul Continent because his own strength lies in the Starry Sky Chains.
• Knowledge as true power: The core of Li Ziran’s Starry Sky Chains is not their visible stars and nebulae, but his internal comprehension of the universe. This makes his power difficult to copy or steal.
• Surgery and transformation: The repeated imagery of cutting, extracting, and restructuring reflects both physical experimentation and the broader process of remaking life and energy into new forms.

Important Character Interactions

• Li Ziran and Gelong: Their relationship shifts from antagonism and suspicion toward cautious respect. Gelong invites Li Ziran to explore the Void Expanse, acknowledging his unusual strength and potential.
• Li Ziran and Jiawen: Their cooperation is practical but competitive. Jiawen permits the operation while secretly investigating Li Ziran’s chains; Li Ziran notices the intrusion but remains confident that his true secrets are protected.
• Jiawen and the Starry Sky Chains: The interaction produces Jiawen’s unexpected soul evolution, causing new soul creatures to arise and continuously refine energy for the Soul Continent.
• Gelong and Jiawen: Gelong is visibly unsettled by Jiawen’s sudden power increase, especially because he had believed his own gains from Li Ziran’s chains were exceptional.
  The chapter ends with Li Ziran reaching the deepest core of Jiawen’s Soul Continent and preparing to remove the final connection point and transplant the Void Heart.

Chapter Summary: “Mastering the Operation”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Ziran begins cutting apart Jiawen’s Soul Continent in order to separate its Continental Core. The operation is extremely delicate, since the continent is tied to the Void Heart and connected to the other cores.
• The first cut causes catastrophic damage: the artificial starry sky collapses, stars crash down, volcanoes erupt, the land splits, and countless souls are destroyed and cast into the Void Expanse.
• Jiawen insists that Li Ziran continue. Using scarlet-white energy, he repairs the continent and resurrects or recreates its inhabitants.
• The continent’s creatures rapidly evolve through cultivation, sacrifice, and soul techniques. Their growth feeds Jiawen, increasing his soul power more than thirtyfold in only a few minutes.
• Li Ziran performs several increasingly precise cuts. The Soul Continent becomes more stable despite the disasters, while the creatures unknowingly function as organs or energy-producing tools for the continent.
• Outside, Gelong and Barto observe the operation and sense that the central threads are becoming thinner, suggesting that freedom may soon be possible. However, Barto becomes increasingly terrified of Jiawen and the surrounding powers.
• A grotesque “face-skin” creature appears from the fog near Barto. Its appearance signals that the Boundary Wall is approaching. These beings are the remnants of once-powerful entities, trapped in peeled face skins and driven insane by the Void Expanse’s corrosion.
• Panicking, Barto shouts at Li Ziran to hurry. His interruption causes Li Ziran’s Hippo Ancient City “scalpel” to twitch, making an unintended cut along the Soul Continent’s edge.
• The accidental cut strikes the connection point of the Void Heart. All four Continental Cores begin contracting toward it, threatening to undo the separation and reunite everything.
• Li Ziran realizes he has activated the Void Heart and must repair the damage before the operation falls completely out of control.

Character Developments

• Li Ziran: Demonstrates exceptional technical skill and concentration, but the operation’s complexity and Barto’s interruption expose his vulnerability. He becomes anxious and self-critical after accidentally cutting the Void Heart.
• Jiawen: Reveals remarkable resilience and adaptability. Despite severe damage, he repairs the Soul Continent and accelerates the evolution of its inhabitants, using them to increase his own strength. His abilities and potential impress even Li Ziran.
• Barto: His confidence collapses as he realizes that Li Ziran, Jiawen, and Gelong may all be capable of overpowering him. The appearance of the face-skin creature revives his terror of the Boundary Wall, causing him to panic and interfere.
• Gelong: Remains wary and powerful, but his concern grows as the cores begin moving toward the Void Heart. His normally stern demeanor gives way to visible fear.
• Kazilan: Has little direct action in the chapter, but she is drawn into the destabilizing pull toward the Void Heart along with the others.

Significant Themes

• Creation through destruction: The Soul Continent evolves through repeated disasters, with destruction serving as the means of producing stronger life and greater stability.
• Exploitation of living beings: The inhabitants believe they are developing freely, but they are actually tools or organs designed to generate soul power for Jiawen.
• Adaptation and resilience: Jiawen continually repairs and improves the continent, showing that survival depends on adapting to catastrophe.
• Fear and loss of control: Barto’s panic and Li Ziran’s accidental mistake demonstrate how quickly carefully controlled plans can collapse.
• Imprisonment and madness: The face-skin beings embody the horrific consequences of the Boundary Wall, where former powerful entities are reduced to tortured remnants, trapped between the desire to escape and the need to burrow deeper for protection.
• Fragile balance: The operation depends on precise cooperation among Li Ziran, Jiawen, and the other core-holders. One careless movement threatens to reunite all four cores.

Character Interactions

• Li Ziran and Jiawen cooperate closely during the cutting operation. Jiawen endures immense pain and destruction while repeatedly urging Li Ziran to continue.
• Li Ziran admires Jiawen’s ability to evolve and restore the Soul Continent, comparing his methods to those of Hippo Ancient City.
• Barto watches the operation with growing suspicion and fear, considering an alliance with Kazilan for protection.
• Barto’s frightened shout interrupts Li Ziran at a critical moment, directly causing the accidental cut that activates the Void Heart.
• Gelong and Barto both confront Li Ziran after the accident, demanding an explanation as the cores begin to collapse inward.

Chapter Summary: “Do I Really Have That Much Charm?”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Ziran operates on Jiawen’s Soul Continent to separate the Void Heart from the Continental Core, but Barto’s earlier procedure has left the Void Heart partially atrophied.
• Li Ziran accidentally damages the Void Heart, causing blue electrical arcs and tremors throughout the Soul Continent. He quickly stabilizes the injury by probing the Core’s reactions and using his own Origin to patch the wound.
• While Li Ziran works, Jiawen remains focused on studying the Starry Sky Chains, treating the painful disturbances as a useful distraction from the operation.
• Barto panics, believing Li Ziran’s mistake is part of a conspiracy to sacrifice them all when the Boundary Wall descends. He struggles against Kazilan’s restraints and attacks her.
• Kazilan responds by unleashing a massive swarm of fleas, while Barto counters with his Dragon Pearl. Gelong stops the conflict by pointing out that the Continental Heart is already separating and that their restraints have weakened.
• Realizing Li Ziran has successfully repaired the situation, Barto becomes embarrassed and immediately retracts his accusations, claiming he was only joking and expressing complete faith in Li Ziran.
• Li Ziran announces that only a few dozen seconds of work remain before the four connected regions can be forcibly separated.
• He successfully brings all four connection points under control. Once transferred, the Void Heart will be enclosed within Hippo Ancient City, allowing the city to become a self-sustaining, transcendent lifeform.
• At the final stage, Li Ziran explains that the connection hubs must temporarily be transferred onto another body. Someone must bear the central region while the separation is completed.
• Barto refuses to volunteer, joking that such a burden would drive him insane.
• Gelong suggests that Li Ziran temporarily connect the hubs to himself, assuming his strength would let him escape afterward.
• Before Li Ziran can accept, Kazilan angrily rejects the idea and volunteers to take the burden herself, insisting that Li Ziran must not be sacrificed.

Character Developments

• Li Ziran remains highly focused and professional despite the operation’s danger. His mistake briefly exposes the limits of his control, but his ability to repair the Void Heart reinforces his exceptional skill and determination.
• Barto shifts from terrified suspicion to shame and exaggerated praise. His panic reveals his deep fear of the Boundary Wall and his tendency to react impulsively when survival is threatened.
• Kazilan demonstrates fierce loyalty toward Li Ziran. Her willingness to sacrifice herself, combined with her defense of his character, suggests strong admiration or affection.
• Gelong acts as a stabilizing presence, preventing Barto from making the situation worse and offering a practical solution to the final problem.
• Jiawen remains detached from the immediate danger, concentrating on the Starry Sky Chains. His quiet reluctance at the prospect of separating from Li Ziran hints at a developing attachment.

Significant Themes

• Trust under pressure: Barto’s fear makes him doubt Li Ziran, but the successful repair forces him to acknowledge Li’s reliability.
• Sacrifice and loyalty: The final problem tests whether the characters are willing to endanger themselves for the group, especially Kazilan’s immediate willingness to volunteer.
• Skill versus uncertainty: Even Li Ziran’s expertise cannot eliminate all risk; he must work through invisible structures using intuition, precision, and adaptability.
• Fear of confinement and annihilation: The approaching Boundary Wall intensifies the urgency and reminds the characters of the horrifying fate awaiting those trapped within it.
• Unexpected charm and emotional bonds: Li Ziran’s bemused reaction to Kazilan’s devotion introduces a lighthearted romantic or comedic undertone amid the crisis.

Character Interactions

• Barto repeatedly demands explanations from Li Ziran, then turns on him when he believes the operation is failing.
• Kazilan restrains and confronts Barto, defending Li Ziran’s plan and reputation.
• Gelong interrupts the fight and redirects Barto’s attention to the successful separation process.
• Li Ziran reassures Barto and Gelong while continuing to work, prioritizing the operation over their fears.
• Gelong proposes using Li Ziran as the temporary bearer of the connection hubs.
• Kazilan challenges Gelong’s suggestion and offers herself instead, provoking Li Ziran’s amused speculation about whether his “charm” has caused her devotion.

Chapter Summary: “A Bunch of Bastards”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Kazilan volunteers to take on the dangerous task of transferring the others’ connection points, but Gelong unexpectedly offers himself instead.
• Li Ziran agrees to use Gelong as the intermediary. His plan is to transfer Barto’s and Kazilan’s connection points first, then Jiawen’s, while secretly seeking a way to claim the Void Heart and its Origin-producing power for himself.
• During the transfer, Gelong secretly probes Li Ziran’s Void World, hoping to investigate or strengthen his own Void Chains. Li Ziran detects this and pretends to become enraged.
• Li Ziran attacks Gelong with Hippo Ancient City, disrupting Gelong’s control and forcing him away from Barto. In the confusion, Li Ziran transfers Kazilan’s connection point onto himself.
• Kazilan becomes free, while Li Ziran inherits the dangerous bond. Barto realizes that the freedom he expected has gone to Kazilan and becomes furious.
• Barto attacks Gelong with Dragon Flame. Because Gelong’s body is covered in flammable mucus, the attack causes his shell to burn violently and releases a terrible stench.
• Kazilan retaliates against Gelong by sending swarms of strange red fleas into his Continental Core. The fleas drain small amounts of his Origin and repeatedly vanish whenever he tries to destroy them.
• Li Ziran becomes partially trapped by the Void Heart after successfully attaching Kazilan’s connection point to Hippo Ancient City. Although he gains access to its Origin-producing power, controlling it proves extremely difficult.
• Jiawen then attacks Gelong with a soul vortex, claiming that Gelong violated their agreement first. He openly proposes that Barto and the others destroy Gelong and give Gelong’s Continental Core to Li Ziran as compensation.
• Barto joins the attack, while Gelong realizes that all of them have turned against him. The chapter ends with him surrounded and betrayed.

Character Developments

• Li Ziran: Becomes increasingly calculating and ruthless. He refuses to surrender the benefits of the Void Heart and manipulates the situation so that Kazilan is freed while Gelong is weakened. Though he gains the power he wants, he also becomes entangled with the dangerous Void Heart.
• Gelong: Reveals his ulterior motives by spying on Li Ziran’s Void Chains. His confidence collapses once Li Ziran, Kazilan, Barto, and Jiawen coordinate against him.
• Kazilan: Initially appears motivated by kindness, but later actively retaliates against Gelong by unleashing the energy-draining fleas. Her alliance with Li Ziran becomes clear.
• Barto: Is enraged when Kazilan escapes instead of him. He reacts violently and attacks Gelong, showing that his cooperation is driven primarily by self-interest.
• Jiawen: Maintains his suspicions of Li Ziran but ultimately joins the assault on Gelong. He uses the contract as justification for openly manipulating Barto and claiming Gelong’s Continental Core for Li Ziran.

Significant Themes

• Betrayal and shifting alliances: Every character pursues personal survival and advantage, quickly abandoning agreements when circumstances change.
• Self-interest disguised as cooperation: Offers of help and adherence to contracts conceal ulterior motives.
• Power and control: The Void Heart represents immense power, but possessing it also creates new dangers and burdens.
• Manipulation and opportunism: Li Ziran turns Gelong’s attempted espionage into a pretext for attack, while Jiawen transforms Gelong’s violation into an excuse to profit.
• Freedom and sacrifice: Kazilan gains freedom only because Li Ziran takes on her connection point, while Gelong is forced into the role of sacrificial victim.

Character Interactions

• Li Ziran and Gelong engage in a hidden contest of suspicion, with Gelong probing Li Ziran’s Void World and Li Ziran retaliating under the guise of outrage.
• Li Ziran and Kazilan become temporary allies after her connection point is transferred to him; Kazilan supports him by attacking Gelong with the fleas.
• Barto blames Gelong for the loss of his expected freedom and attacks him with Dragon Flame.
• Jiawen openly sides with Li Ziran and persuades Barto to destroy Gelong, presenting the scheme as fair compensation.
• Gelong is left isolated, attacked from every direction by former allies, prompting the chapter’s final condemnation of them as “a bunch of bastards.”

Chapter Summary: “Fuck, I’m Finished”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Gelong is ambushed by Barto, Jiawen, and Kazilan, who combine their abilities to overwhelm him before he can retaliate.
• Kazilan’s fleas burrow into Gelong’s shell and teeth, paralyzing and damaging him, while Barto’s dragon claws tear into his body and injure his Origin Essence.
• Gelong relies on the Continental Core for continuous regeneration, making him extremely difficult to kill as long as he remains connected to it.
• He counters with a tentacle from the Continental Core and activates Sacrifice, summoning a phantom of the Boundary Wall. The wall traps and nearly consumes Barto’s dragon arm.
• Barto severs his own arm to escape, correctly deducing that Gelong has only summoned an unstable outer shell of the Boundary Wall by sacrificing Origin Essence.
• Barto urges Jiawen and Kazilan to continue their frontal assault, believing Gelong’s borrowed power will eventually exhaust him.
• The battle intensifies. Barto repeatedly loses and regenerates arms, Jiawen’s Soul Continent cracks, and Kazilan’s fleas are depleted, but Gelong suffers the most: his body shrinks by more than half while the Boundary Wall’s tentacles drain his Continental Core.
• Barto asks Li Ziran to release his restraints. Once freed, he breaks away and bombards Gelong with hurricanes and Dragon Flame.
• Gelong becomes trapped between Jiawen and the Boundary Wall, unable to move or escape. He begs Li Ziran for help, but Jiawen argues that releasing him will ensure Gelong’s death.
• Li Ziran chooses Jiawen instead. Freed from its restraints, Jiawen’s Soul Continent suddenly flourishes, multiplying its soul power and life force by tenfold, then far beyond.
• The Soul Continent transforms into a colossal Giant that attacks Gelong. Gelong believes the final blow will kill him.
• However, the attack destroys Hippo Ancient City instead. The chapter ends with Gelong shocked and uncertain: Li Ziran appears to have attacked his own city.

Character Developments

• Gelong: His confidence and arrogance collapse as the combined assault exposes his vulnerability. He realizes that his dependence on the Boundary Wall and Continental Core cannot save him indefinitely. By the end, he is desperate enough to beg Li Ziran for mercy and believes his death is inevitable.
• Barto: Demonstrates both ruthlessness and tactical intelligence. He sacrifices his arm to escape the Boundary Wall and quickly identifies Gelong’s use of Sacrifice. After being freed, he attacks with overwhelming speed and Dragon Flame, taking advantage of Gelong’s immobility.
• Jiawen/Christie: Reveals that his Soul Continent has been concealing enormous potential. Once released, it expands rapidly, generating immense soul power and transforming into a gigantic humanoid figure capable of threatening Gelong directly.
• Kazilan: Remains a persistent support attacker through his fleas, which interfere with Gelong’s body and limit his ability to act, though their effectiveness declines as the fight continues.
• Li Ziran: Acts as the decisive force controlling the restraints and battlefield connections. His choice to free Jiawen rather than Gelong shifts the battle completely, though the final destruction of Hippo Ancient City suggests an unexpected or possibly deliberate reversal.

Significant Themes

• Desperation versus arrogance: Gelong begins certain that his enemies cannot defeat him, but the coordinated attack forces him into panic and submission.
• The danger of borrowed power: The Boundary Wall gives Gelong a temporary advantage, but Sacrifice consumes his Origin Essence and becomes a liability once its limits are understood.
• Hidden strength and deception: Jiawen’s Soul Continent has concealed its true capacity, allowing him to erupt with overwhelming power at the critical moment.
• Strategic alliances and betrayal: The combatants cooperate to defeat Gelong, while Li Ziran’s decisions determine who is restrained, freed, or sacrificed.
• Power as a double-edged weapon: Nearly every ability causes damage to its user or requires sacrifice—Barto loses limbs, Gelong loses his essence, and Jiawen’s unleashed power unexpectedly destroys Hippo Ancient City.

Character Interactions

• Gelong and Barto engage in a tense exchange of threats and mockery after Gelong traps Barto’s arm with the Boundary Wall.
• Barto analyzes Gelong’s technique and persuades Jiawen and Kazilan to continue attacking rather than be intimidated.
• Barto appeals directly to Li Ziran for freedom, prompting Gelong to realize that Li Ziran has been present all along.
• Gelong begs Li Ziran to sever his binding, but Jiawen counters by warning that doing so would allow Gelong to survive.
• Li Ziran sides with Jiawen, releasing the Soul Continent and leaving Gelong trapped.
• The chapter closes on the apparent contradiction of Li Ziran’s forces destroying Hippo Ancient City, leaving Gelong—and the reader—to question Li Ziran’s true intentions.

Chapter Summary: “Give Him Back His Freedom?”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Jiawen, newly freed by Li Ziran, immediately betrays him and launches a massive punch at Hippo Ancient City.
• Kazilan attempts to defend Li Ziran, but Jiawen uses soul techniques to form a Soul Blade and Soul Ring, killing or imprisoning her flea swarm.
• Barto initially flees rather than help Li Ziran, but Jiawen traps him as well. His Soul Ring drains Barto’s soul, though Barto’s repeated attacks begin damaging it.
• Kazilan joins Barto in attacking the Soul Ring. Their resistance forces Jiawen to divide his attention.
• While Jiawen is distracted, the shattered pieces of Hippo Ancient City begin reassembling. Jiawen strikes it again, but the city forms golden fists to block the attack.
• Jiawen prepares a final assault, confident that Li Ziran’s weak Continental Core cannot survive more than two Soul Fists.
• Gelong realizes that Li Ziran’s Starry Sky Chains are an extraordinary treasure and understands why Jiawen wants to devour him. Gelong plans to escape once Li Ziran dies.
• At the critical moment, Li Ziran moves Hippo Ancient City toward Gelong instead of remaining in place to receive the attack.
• Li Ziran uses a technique learned through the exchanged chains: Gelong’s own corrosive black slime emerges from the city, causing Gelong’s mouth to open and swallow Hippo Ancient City.
• Jiawen’s Soul Fists strike through the city and into Gelong’s core. Gelong uses his Boundary Wall to block them, but the impact severely damages both his shell and soul.
• Gelong discovers that his Origin is being drawn into Hippo Ancient City, replenishing and reviving it.
• The city then begins cutting the connection between Gelong and his Origin, suggesting that Li Ziran may be severing Gelong’s source and “returning his freedom”—though the consequences remain uncertain.

Character Developments

• Li Ziran: Reveals remarkable strategic depth and adaptability. Through Chain Exchange, he secretly acquired Gelong’s corrosive ability and used it to turn Gelong into both a shield against Jiawen and a source of energy for the city’s revival.
• Jiawen: Fully embraces betrayal and predation. He treats Li Ziran, Barto, and Kazilan as resources to consume, displaying overwhelming soul-based power but becoming vulnerable when forced to divide his attention.
• Gelong: Shifts from confident observer to terrified victim. He recognizes that Li Ziran’s chains have silently absorbed his secrets and realizes Li Ziran may be more dangerous than Jiawen.
• Barto: Initially cowardly and self-preserving, he is trapped by Jiawen but fights back stubbornly. His attacks reveal that Jiawen’s Soul Rings are powerful but not invulnerable.
• Kazilan: Reacts fiercely to Li Ziran’s betrayal by Jiawen and repeatedly attacks the Soul Ring despite the cost, helping distract and weaken Jiawen.

Significant Themes

• Betrayal and ingratitude: Jiawen repays Li Ziran’s kindness with an attempt to kill and devour him.
• Freedom versus dependence: The chapter repeatedly questions what freedom means when characters remain bound by power, cores, or predatory instincts.
• Knowledge as a weapon: Li Ziran’s chains silently absorb the abilities and secrets of those who interact with them, allowing him to turn an enemy’s own power against them.
• Predation and survival: Nearly every character views others as prey, nourishment, or valuable resources.
• Strategic deception: Li Ziran’s apparent weakness conceals a carefully prepared counterattack, while Jiawen’s overwhelming strength is undermined by overconfidence and divided attention.

Important Character Interactions

• Jiawen threatens and imprisons both Kazilan and Barto after they resist him.
• Barto and Kazilan independently attack their Soul Rings, unintentionally forcing Jiawen to spread out his power.
• Gelong recognizes Jiawen’s desire to consume Li Ziran’s Starry Sky Chains but does not intervene directly.
• Li Ziran exploits Gelong’s own power through Chain Exchange, forcing Gelong to absorb Hippo Ancient City.
• Jiawen’s attack, Gelong’s Boundary Wall, and Li Ziran’s city collide, resulting in Gelong’s Origin being transferred into the revived city.

Gelong escaped the thread restraining him as Li Ziran transferred its anchor to Hippo Ancient City and continued pulling on something hidden in Nothingness. Watching the city withstand Jiawen’s Soul Fist, Gelong realized Li Ziran had been using him to draw out the Red Soil Continent’s true core.

• Gelong’s soul deteriorated under Jiawen’s attacks while Hippo Ancient City absorbed his scattered shell and Origin.
• Gelong tried to threaten and plead with Li Ziran, then discovered the thread’s anchor had moved from him to Hippo Ancient City.
• Gelong freed himself and fled, but Jiawen’s Soul Fist struck the area and further weakened him.
• Hippo Ancient City survived the Soul Fist while its brick chains kept pulling inward and Gelong’s Origin burned to power them.
• Gelong realized Li Ziran was using the chains and their anchor points to pull the Red Soil Continent’s hidden core out of Nothingness.

Chapter Summary: “Illusion”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Gelong realizes that Li Ziran’s true advantage is not overwhelming strength but extraordinary vision and foresight. He suspects Li has deliberately transformed the Hippo Ancient City into something far more powerful.
• Jiawen’s Soul Continent expands enormously, absorbing countless souls and developing its own terrain, stars, and destructive pressure. It charges toward the Hippo Ancient City like a gigantic weapon.
• Barto and Kazilan are nearly overwhelmed by the Soul Continent’s residual soul waves. Kazilan fears that Li Ziran will be destroyed and is emotionally shaken by how deeply she has come to trust him.
• The Soul Continent collides with the Hippo Ancient City. Kazilan initially believes Li has been annihilated, but the debris comes from the Soul Continent instead. The Hippo Ancient City’s black exterior peels away, revealing a dazzling golden, diamond-like body.
• The collision proves that the city’s shell is nearly indestructible; rather than being crushed, it withstands and damages Jiawen’s vastly larger Soul Continent.
• Inside the city, Li Ziran discovers that the mysterious core is a true “Void Heart.” It converts the surrounding Void Expanse into usable Origin energy, confirming his earlier theory and giving the ancient city a unique source of power.
• Jiawen responds by forming a black hole from concentrated soul energy. This construct, created through countless overlapping Void Chains, begins devouring souls—including part of Gelong’s soul—and exerts a pull strong enough to threaten even Li.
• Li reinforces the Hippo Ancient City with rapidly burning Origin and prepares to seize Jiawen’s Starry Sky Chains.

Character Developments

• Li Ziran: Demonstrates calm, resilience, and exceptional insight. His discovery of the Void Heart confirms that he has created or awakened a supreme organ capable of converting Void into Origin. Despite danger from the soul black hole, he remains focused on claiming Jiawen’s power.
• Kazilan: Her attitude toward Li shifts from former disdain to profound trust and Faith. Believing him dead, she experiences grief but also gains the determination to oppose her former teacher and continue fighting. His survival strengthens her conviction in him.
• Jiawen: Shows tremendous control over soul energy and evolves the Soul Continent into an even more dangerous weapon. He remains confident and intends to take Li’s Void Heart and other abilities for himself.
• Barto: Becomes stunned and impressed by the Hippo Ancient City’s durability, openly admitting that Li’s shell may be stronger than his own.
• Gelong: Recognizes Li’s terrifying strategic vision but becomes vulnerable when the soul black hole draws part of his soul into it.

Significant Themes

• Vision versus brute force: Li’s greatest strength is his ability to perceive possibilities others cannot and turn them into reality.
• Faith and trust: Kazilan’s emotional transformation shows how Li inspires belief even in those who once underestimated him.
• Evolution and transformation: The Soul Continent and Hippo Ancient City represent competing forms of advancement—one vast and visibly powerful, the other compact, mysterious, and fundamentally superior in durability.
• Illusion versus reality: The apparent destruction of Li’s city is revealed to be the opposite: the seemingly weak structure survives while the overwhelming force is damaged.
• Creation through destruction: The collision strips away the city’s black exterior and reveals its golden form, while Jiawen’s soul energy condenses into a black hole.

Character Interactions

• Kazilan and Li Ziran: Though Li is not physically beside her, Kazilan’s thoughts reveal her growing emotional dependence and faith in him.
• Kazilan and Barto: They share shock and disbelief at the Hippo Ancient City’s survival. Barto turns to Kazilan for an explanation because of her familiarity with Li.
• Li Ziran and Jiawen: Their confrontation becomes a contest between Li’s Void Heart and Jiawen’s soul-based black hole. Li thanks Jiawen for indirectly allowing him to obtain the Heart, while Jiawen insists that the power will ultimately belong to him.
• Gelong and the Soul Continent: Gelong becomes one of the first victims of Jiawen’s black hole, emphasizing its terrifying reach and indiscriminate power.

Chapter Summary: “An Invincible Existence”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Jiawen traps Gelong inside a massive black hole. Gelong’s viscous body is stretched between the black hole and the Void Expanse, then gradually swallowed and destroyed. His mask and Boundary Wall phantoms are also consumed.
• Barto is shocked by Gelong’s defeat, since Gelong—also known as Little Dot—had escaped the Boundary Wall and was considered exceptionally powerful.
• Li Ziran and the others take refuge inside Hippo Ancient City. Li uses the city’s Void Heart and connecting lines to generate vast amounts of Origin energy. By burning Gelong’s refined Origins and newly produced energy, Hippo Ancient City forms a powerful rainbow Tide that resists the black hole’s devouring force.
• Li’s counterattack creates a huge fireball that tears through the black hole and devastates Soul Continent, annihilating its vegetation, rivers, and inhabitants. However, the continent rapidly regenerates, doubling its soul population and replenishing Jiawen’s power.
• The black hole expands again, threatening to tear Hippo Ancient City apart. Li attempts to merge more souls with the Void Heart to increase its energy output and fully activate its potential.
• Ancient Void Spirits emerge from an old hall within Soul Continent. Goni identifies them as the earliest explorers—ancient beings who survived despite supposedly dying long ago.
• One of these pioneers attacks Hippo Ancient City directly, tearing open its wall and nearly extracting its burning Origin core. Li realizes that these beings are vastly stronger than Jiawen and may be rulers of Christie’s.
• Jiawen restores Soul Continent by devouring living beings from the Void Expanse, demonstrating that the continent’s population is also a source of power.
• A pitch-black monkey, identified by Goni as the Extinction One, appears. Merely looking at Hippo Ancient City damages one of its supposedly indestructible bricks. His arrival causes Soul Continent itself to vanish as his enormous body emerges.
• Goni warns Li to flee, declaring the Extinction One an invincible existence who once slaughtered all the Void Expanse’s powerful beings in an ancient era.

Character Developments

• Li Ziran: Demonstrates ingenuity and control by linking Hippo Ancient City to the Void Heart and using souls to generate Origins. Although his defenses withstand Jiawen’s black hole, he becomes increasingly aware that he is outmatched by the ancient pioneers.
• Jiawen: Revealed to possess immense hidden power and access to ancient beings within Soul Continent. His attacks consume Soul Continent’s resources, forcing him to replenish it by devouring souls from the Void Expanse.
• Gelong/Little Dot: Is decisively defeated and consumed by Jiawen’s black hole, proving that even a survivor of the Boundary Wall can fall.
• Barto: Moves from confidence and concern to relief when Hippo Ancient City withstands the black hole, but is again overwhelmed by the appearance of the ancient Void Spirits.
• Goni: Provides crucial historical knowledge, identifying the ancient pioneers and the Extinction One. His warnings emphasize the extreme danger facing Li and the others.
• The Extinction One: Makes a terrifying entrance as an ancient, near-unstoppable destroyer whose power surpasses the other combatants.

Significant Themes

• Power beyond conventional limits: The chapter repeatedly escalates the scale of strength, showing that even figures considered nearly invincible can be surpassed by older beings.
• Ancient history resurfacing: Long-forgotten pioneers and rulers emerge, revealing that the current conflict is connected to a much older era of destruction and exploration.
• Consumption and regeneration: Jiawen’s power depends on devouring souls, while Soul Continent continually regenerates its population, creating a cycle in which destruction becomes fuel for greater power.
• Survival through adaptation: Li’s use of Hippo Ancient City and the Void Heart shows that survival depends on discovering new ways to exploit existing resources.
• The fragility of life and defenses: Soul Continent, its inhabitants, and even Hippo Ancient City’s supposedly exceptional bricks can be destroyed with shocking ease by the ancient beings.

Important Character Interactions

• Jiawen overwhelms Gelong, establishing a clear power difference between them.
• Li and the occupants of Hippo Ancient City cooperate under pressure, with Li directing the city’s energy while Goni explains the identities of their enemies.
• Barto and Kazilan initially fear that Jiawen will be destroyed by the backlash of the black hole, but their hope fades when the ancient Void Spirits appear.
• Goni repeatedly warns Li about the strength of the pioneers and finally urges him to escape from the Extinction One.
• The chapter ends with Li confronting an enemy so powerful that even Goni—who understands the ancient history of the Void Expanse—calls him an “invincible existence.”

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• The descent of only Jiawen’s lower legs nearly exhausts Soul Continent’s energy, demonstrating the overwhelming power of the ancient Christie rulers and the terrifying scale of their true body.
• Jiawen declares that Christie seeks transcendence rather than the destruction of life. He attacks the mysterious Boundary Wall, a massive, moss-covered structure hidden within the Void Expanse.
• The Boundary Wall withstands Jiawen’s devastating strike, revealing strange faces and creatures embedded beneath its moss. Its immense size and unknown origin suggest that it predates the current era and may devour or contain living beings.
• Jiawen summons the Soul Black Hole, which absorbs souls and Origin from destroyed Derivative Spaces. The energy helps restore Soul Continent and opens Christie’s gate.
• A beautiful, transparent female soul shell emerges. Her seductive elegance shifts into murderous ruthlessness before she dissolves into two tails that fuse with Jiawen. This reveals that Christie’s rulers preserve the abilities or traits they were most powerful in during life, eventually becoming components of a greater body.
• Jiawen’s legs and the newly formed tail combine with his body, making him more stable and agile. However, he still lacks enough souls and Origin to complete his transformation.
• Jiawen attempts to seize Kazilan and its Origin. Li Ziran intervenes, swallowing Kazilan’s flea-continent into Hippo Ancient City and protecting it with the city’s Light Tide.
• Jiawen demands that Li Ziran surrender the Origin, claiming it is necessary to complete the body known as Baron and resist the Boundary Wall. Li Ziran refuses and begins retreating.
• Jiawen agrees to let him leave only if he returns everything taken from the Continental Core, insisting that the complete Core is essential for Baron’s formation.

Character Developments

• Li Ziran becomes increasingly cautious and independent. He recognizes Jiawen’s instability and refuses to trust his promise of protection or cooperation.
• Li Ziran uses his understanding of bodies and his Witch Doctor abilities to infer that Christie’s rulers are transforming into soul shells and assembling themselves into a larger entity.
• Jiawen reveals more of his desperation and ambition. Though he claims transcendence is Christie’s goal, his willingness to consume entire regions and seize Origin shows the ruthless cost of that objective.
• Jiawen’s body continues to evolve as additional Christie remnants fuse with him. The female soul shell grants him a tail that improves his balance and mobility, but also confirms that his form is incomplete.
• Kazilan remains largely passive but becomes a target because of the Origin contained within its flea-based continent. Li Ziran protects it rather than surrendering its power.

Significant Themes

• Transcendence through destruction: Christie’s pursuit of higher existence requires the consumption of souls, Origin, and entire stretches of the Void Expanse.
• The limits of invincibility: Jiawen’s power appears overwhelming, yet even he cannot damage the Boundary Wall, suggesting the existence of forces older and greater than the ancient rulers.
• Identity and bodily reconstruction: The Christie rulers preserve fragments of their former strengths, merging into Jiawen as components of a larger being called Baron.
• Self-reliance versus dependence: Li Ziran rejects Jiawen’s offer of protection, believing that survival must come from his own abilities rather than another powerful figure’s promises.
• Mystery of the Boundary Wall: Its purpose, creator, and relationship to living beings remain unknown. It may function as a barrier, prison, or devouring force separating worlds and eras.

Character Interactions

• Jiawen confronts Li Ziran, asserting his superiority and urging him to surrender.
• Li Ziran observes and analyzes Jiawen’s transformation, recognizing the danger of becoming involved in his plan.
• Jiawen tries to take Kazilan’s Origin, but Li Ziran directly blocks him by sheltering Kazilan within Hippo Ancient City.
• Their exchange establishes a temporary separation: Jiawen demands the return of the Continental Core, while Li Ziran refuses to submit and retreats.
• The chapter ends with Li Ziran questioning whether the incomplete body before him is the legendary Baron Jiawen is attempting to create.

Jiawen revealed that Christie planned to assemble the Red Soil Continent into the Baron and used an illusion to draw Li Ziran’s consciousness back to Earth while draining Hippo Ancient City’s Origin. As Kazilan and the others struggled to wake him, a dragon-bodied figure with a woman’s face intervened, claiming that Li Ziran owed her an eye.

• Jiawen told Li Ziran that the entire Red Soil Continent, including Kazilan and the Continental Core, belonged to her and that Li Ziran should leave because he did not belong there.
• Jiawen’s illusion carried Li Ziran’s consciousness across the Solar System, and he recognized Earth as his home before plunging into the sun.
• Kazilan, Quentin, and Goni tried to wake Li Ziran as Jiawen drained Origin from Hippo Ancient City and its inhabitants.
• Goni called for Lina’s help, and the Six Flavors House crashed into Hippo Ancient City, but the impact deepened Li Ziran’s sleep.
• Jiawen’s blended souls mocked one another while continuing to refine the stolen Origin.
• A dragon-shaped creature with a woman’s face appeared at the tower and claimed Li Ziran owed her an eye, interrupting Jiawen’s control.

Chapter Summary: Who Disturbed My Fusion

Key Plot Points and Events

• Jiawen attempts to complete Li Ziran’s exile and fusion within Hippo Ancient City, but Medusa and Void Pawnshop intervene.
• Medusa claims that someone once took one of her eyes and implies that reclaiming it is her current goal. Her power temporarily freezes Li Ziran’s soul.
• Jiawen recognizes the enormous threat posed by Void Pawnshop, one of the three oldest powers alongside Six Flavors House and Christie’s Auction House.
• The Boundary Wall continues devouring the Red Soil Continent. Jiawen explains Christie’s “Baron Plan”: consume the continent’s resources and use them to transcend the Boundary Wall before the civilization is destroyed.
• Void Pawnshop challenges Christie’s plan, proposing that the Boundary Wall might be dismantled instead. Its older voice reveals that the Boundary Wall does not merely destroy civilizations—it eventually gives birth to new continents and civilizations.
• Jiawen privately admits that his true plan is to preserve selected beings through the transition into the next era, using the new continent’s formation and the Boundary Wall’s energy to ensure Christie’s survival.
• Jiawen offers Void Pawnshop and Six Flavors House four survival places in Soul Continent, but both reject or avoid his proposal.
• Void Pawnshop reveals that it has gained control of the Great Dragon Clan, greatly increasing its strength.
• Medusa declares that she trusts Hippo Ancient City more than Jiawen’s plan.
• Lina of Six Flavors House proposes awakening Li Ziran to determine his abilities, forcing Jiawen to confront the danger of letting him regain consciousness.
• Despite Jiawen’s objections, Lina sends a clear stream into Hippo Ancient City. Li Ziran awakens and asks who disturbed his fusion.
• Jiawen immediately reacts with fury and prepares to attack Lina.

Character Developments

• Jiawen: Becomes increasingly anxious and defensive as his secrets are exposed. He is revealed to be willing to manipulate, deceive, and sacrifice the Red Soil Continent to secure Christie’s survival. His fear of Li Ziran shows that he considers Li’s powers—especially his Origin production and Void Chains—more valuable and dangerous than almost anything else.
• Medusa: Establishes herself as the representative of Void Pawnshop and displays immense power, including the ability to petrify or immobilize Li Ziran’s soul. Her confidence grows once the Great Dragon Clan’s support is revealed.
• Lina: Appears calm and diplomatic but proves highly calculating. By insisting on seeing Li Ziran awaken, she deliberately places Jiawen’s plans at risk while pursuing Six Flavors House’s interests.
• Li Ziran: Remains mostly unconscious, but his abilities are portrayed as exceptionally mysterious and important. His production of Origin and control of the Void Chains may be central to surviving or transcending the Boundary Wall. His awakening immediately destabilizes the balance among the major powers.
• Void Pawnshop: Is shown to possess extensive knowledge of past civilizations and the Boundary Wall’s cycle. Its influence extends to the Great Dragon Clan, making it a much greater force than Jiawen initially expected.

Significant Themes

• Survival versus transcendence: The chapter centers on competing methods of escaping the Boundary Wall’s cycle of destruction.
• Civilizations as livestock: The Boundary Wall is portrayed as a cosmic organism that raises civilizations, harvests them at their peak, and eventually grows new ones.
• Hidden knowledge and deception: Jiawen lies about Christie’s true understanding of the Boundary Wall, while Void Pawnshop exposes the deeper truth.
• Power through cooperation and manipulation: The major factions speak of cooperation but primarily attempt to control one another and secure exclusive advantages.
• The value of individual power: Li Ziran’s unexplained abilities and Void Chains may be more important than the entire Red Soil Continent, making him the focus of competing factions.
• Rebirth and cyclical history: Destruction is revealed to be part of a repeating process in which new continents and civilizations arise after the old ones are consumed.

Character Interactions

• Jiawen and Medusa engage in a tense negotiation, with Jiawen warning her that Void Pawnshop cannot escape the Boundary Wall alone.
• Void Pawnshop mocks Christie’s transcendence plan and exposes Jiawen’s incomplete explanation of the Boundary Wall.
• Jiawen attempts to recruit both Void Pawnshop and Six Flavors House by offering them places in Soul Continent, but neither accepts.
• Medusa and Jiawen dispute the reliability of Soul Continent versus Hippo Ancient City.
• Jiawen appeals to Lina’s judgment, but Lina counters by proposing that Li Ziran be awakened.
• Lina’s intervention successfully awakens Li Ziran and provokes Jiawen into openly threatening her, ending the chapter on an imminent confrontation.

Jiawen battled Lina and the Void Pawnshop as Six Flavors House tried to awaken Li Ziran, but the Undead Clan merged with Jiawen and attacked the pawnshop. Medusa urged Lina to wake Li Ziran while she struggled to hold off the Undying Sovereign.

• Jiawen fought Lina as she moved Six Flavors House toward Hippo Ancient City to awaken Li Ziran.
• The Void Pawnshop petrified Jiawen's leg and corrupted his absorbed souls, forcing him to tear out and destroy the chest containing one of Christie's elders.
• The Undead Clan arrived and accepted Jiawen's offer of four places in his shell.
• The Undead Clan formed a crimson-white flaming chest that merged with Jiawen, and the Undying Sovereign attacked the Void Pawnshop.
• Great Dragons countered the Undead Sovereign's net, and Medusa called on Lina to wake Li Ziran.

Summary: “Slaughtering the Giant Clan”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Medusa’s transmission briefly distracts Lina as Great Dragonflame and the Undead Fire merge, producing an overwhelmingly powerful combination of destructive heat and soul-based Bonefire.
• Lina abandons the external battle to awaken Li Ziran, who remains trapped under Christie’s Sleeping Curse inside Hippo Ancient City. Six Flavors House sends specialized beings into the city to examine its structure and determine whether Li Ziran can still be saved.
• The investigators confirm that Li Ziran has not completely lost himself, but awakening him will require Lina to enter his dream and guide him out. Goni warns her that dreams are unlike Void Worlds: they are not bound by normal laws and can cause the intruder to lose herself.
• Lina enters Li Ziran’s dream with Goni’s Soul Mark protecting and guiding her. Instead of finding Li Ziran, she encounters an immense cosmic realm filled with gigantic celestial bodies, burning spheres, strange wingless dragons, and other incomprehensible phenomena. She becomes lost and is eventually pulled out by Goni.
• While Lina is inside the dream, the Undead Clan decisively defeats the Great Dragon Clan. Bonefire destroys Great Dragon Space, forms Bone Dragons from fallen dragon corpses, and allows Jiawen to absorb the dragons’ souls.
• Lina returns to find Void Pawnshop and the Great Dragon Derivative Realm ruined. The Great Dragons have lost, and Jiawen has gained control of the situation.
• The Insect Race attempts to join Jiawen’s new order. Jiawen grants them only a token place, transforming their insect nests into strands of hair on his head rather than allowing them into his core.
• The Giant Clan then offers its allegiance. Jiawen instead declares that he intends to consume everything on Red Soil Continent, including the Giants. He captures and devours them with Bonefire and soul insects, effectively annihilating the proud Giant Clan.
• Jiawen’s forces attack Hippo Ancient City, but its protective light dissolves the invading Undead Spirit Flames. Lina recognizes the light as identical to the radiance she saw in Li Ziran’s dream.
• At the end, a voice from within the city asks whether it is dreaming and realizes that everyone around it is inside its dream, suggesting that Li Ziran may finally be awakening—or that the boundaries between his dream and reality have begun to collapse.

Character Developments

• Lina demonstrates courage and dedication by entering Li Ziran’s unknown dream, but she is forced to acknowledge her limits when she cannot locate him. Her failure leaves her uncertain and distressed, though her experience provides an important clue about the dream’s connection to Hippo Ancient City.
• Li Ziran remains largely unseen, but the dream reveals the enormous and alien scale of his subconscious. His final voice indicates that he may retain awareness and possibly understand the dream better than Lina.
• Goni acts as Lina’s mentor and protector. He explains the dangers of dream realms, places a Soul Mark on her, and rescues her when she begins to lose herself.
• Medusa is shown to be vastly outmatched by the Undead Clan, despite her importance and strength. She shifts from combat to urgently supporting Lina’s attempt to awaken Li Ziran.
• Jiawen completes his transformation into a dominant, terrifying power. He absorbs the Great Dragons, subjugates the Insect Race, and exterminates the Giants, treating entire races as fuel for his evolution.
• Kazilan and the other inhabitants of Hippo Ancient City become increasingly fearful of Jiawen, especially after witnessing the Insect Race reduced to decorative strands of hair.
• The Giant Clan changes from proud potential allies into victims. Their attempt to negotiate with Jiawen ends in their mass slaughter.

Significant Themes

• The danger of unchecked power: Jiawen’s growth turns him from a powerful entity into a force capable of consuming entire races and civilizations.
• Dream versus reality: Li Ziran’s dream exists beyond ordinary laws, making it difficult to distinguish illusion from truth. The closing revelation suggests that reality itself may be perceived as part of his dream.
• Sacrifice and survival: Races such as the Insect Clan and Giant Clan attempt to preserve themselves by submitting to Jiawen, but submission offers no true safety.
• The limits of knowledge and control: Lina and Six Flavors House possess specialized methods for entering dreams, yet Li Ziran’s mind proves too vast and unfamiliar to navigate.
• Hope amid catastrophe: Although the Great Dragon Clan and Giant Clan are destroyed, the protective light around Hippo Ancient City and the final voice suggest that Li Ziran may still be recoverable.

Character Interactions

• Goni advises Lina before her entry into the dream, warning her not to mistake the dream for reality and giving her a Soul Mark.
• Medusa asks Lina whether she found Li Ziran, but Lina’s failure causes the hopes of those inside Hippo Ancient City to collapse temporarily.
• The Insect Queen negotiates with Jiawen and receives only one place in his new order; the Insect Race is reduced to hair-like strands on his body.
• The Giant elder offers the Giant Clan’s strength to Jiawen, but Jiawen rejects their submission and consumes them instead.
• Jiawen’s attack on Hippo Ancient City is halted by its mysterious protective light, linking the city directly to the strange light in Li Ziran’s dream.
• The final exchange between the awakening voice and the surrounding characters reframes the entire scene: Li Ziran may not simply be trapped in a dream, but may be dreaming the world around him.

Chapter Summary: “Not Scientific at All”

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• The destructive force that had consumed the Great Dragons is stopped when a stream of light spreads over Hippo Ancient City.
• Li Ziran awakens from Jiawen/Christie’s Sleeping Curse. His awakening causes the entire city to heat up and the stagnant Tide to begin flowing again, weakening the Void Expanse’s pressure.
• Li Ziran explains that he escaped the dreamscape because its simulation of the Sun was fundamentally flawed. Instead of showing genuine nuclear fusion, it depicted the Sun as burning like coal and included traces of an alien Origin power. He recognizes the illusion as fake and detects Lina’s living aura, which helps him find a way out.
• Li Ziran reflects that he can no longer return to his original human existence. He has evolved into a higher-dimensional lifeform whose survival depends on bodies and structures comparable to stars, rather than fragile human flesh.
• Hippo Ancient City begins burning with immense Origin energy. Its light is absorbed by Jiawen’s soul, though he immediately expels it, wary of its dangers.
• The Boundary Wall’s ghostly faces greedily consume the light, becoming energized as the Wall closes around the Void Expanse. Their movement threatens to compress and destroy everything within.
• Jiawen and the voices inhabiting him try to negotiate with Li Ziran, offering him “slots” and proposing a merger. Lina warns that such promises are meaningless unless Li Ziran controls the Baron’s true core: the Soul Converter.
• Lina proposes that Li Ziran take control of the Soul Converter and merge Hippo Ancient City into Jiawen’s Void Baron. However, Jiawen’s dominant consciousness claims that Christie’s has perfected the Baron beyond Lina’s understanding.
• Lina secretly urges Li Ziran to flee rather than confront the Boundary Wall and the fully developed Baron.
• Li Ziran ignores the warning and intensifies his radiance. His light strips away the mist and reveals a hidden, cracked Bronze Mirror inside Jiawen’s shell.
• Threads from the Bronze Mirror connect to every part of Jiawen’s body, feeding energy into the Baron. Jiawen is horrified that Li Ziran has discovered it, especially because even the Boundary Wall cannot detect it.
• The chapter ends with Li Ziran identifying the Bronze Mirror as a relic from a previous era and suggesting that it is being used to evade the Boundary Wall’s detection.

2. Character Developments

• Li Ziran: Demonstrates powerful self-awareness and analytical ability by identifying the flaws in the Sleeping Curse’s simulated Sun. His awakening marks a major increase in power, allowing him to radiate energy throughout Hippo Ancient City and expose hidden structures. He also accepts that he has moved beyond humanity and is becoming a higher-dimensional entity.
• Lina: Becomes more confident and knowledgeable. She understands the Baron’s true weakness—the Soul Converter—and directly challenges Jiawen’s claims. Although she remains outwardly composed, she privately recognizes the danger and urges Li Ziran to retreat.
• Jiawen: Shifts from confidence to anxiety. His inability to maintain the Sleeping Curse humiliates and unsettles him. He attempts manipulation through promises of additional “slots,” but Lina exposes the limitations of his authority. His fear intensifies when Li Ziran reveals the Bronze Mirror.
• Goni: Reacts with excitement and astonishment as he realizes Li Ziran has awakened and transformed the city.
• The Boundary Wall’s ghostly faces: Are portrayed as ravenous, grotesque entities that feed on Li Ziran’s light and become increasingly active as the Wall closes in.

3. Significant Themes

• Reality versus illusion: Li Ziran rejects the dreamscape because it imitates scientific truth superficially rather than reproducing its underlying essence. The chapter emphasizes that genuine understanding is more valuable than convincing appearances.
• Knowledge as survival: Li Ziran’s instinct to dissect and understand phenomena allows him to recognize the dream’s deception and escape it.
• Evolution beyond humanity: Li Ziran’s reflections present physical transformation as necessary for survival in a higher-dimensional universe. Human bodies are portrayed as inadequate compared with star-like or cosmic forms.
• Control and hidden cores: The debate over the Soul Converter suggests that apparent power is secondary to control of the system’s true central mechanism.
• Ancient civilizations and inherited technology: The Baron and Bronze Mirror are remnants of earlier civilizations, implying that current powers rely on incomplete or misunderstood ancient knowledge.
• Predation and consumption: The Boundary Wall, ghostly faces, Jiawen’s Baron, and the soul-based systems all reflect a world where entities survive by absorbing energy, souls, or entire civilizations.
• Defiance against overwhelming forces: Despite Lina’s warning, Li Ziran chooses confrontation, suggesting confidence in his newly awakened power and willingness to challenge systems even beyond the Boundary Wall.

4. Character Interactions

• Li Ziran and Jiawen: Their conflict centers on the failure of Jiawen’s Sleeping Curse and the inadequacy of his simulated reality. Jiawen demands an explanation, while Li Ziran dismisses the illusion as crude and deceptive.
• Lina and Jiawen: Lina directly exposes Jiawen’s manipulation, explaining that the Soul Converter—not the number of available slots—is the Baron’s true core. Jiawen responds defensively, insisting that Christie’s has surpassed her understanding.
• Lina and Li Ziran: Lina acts as both an ally and strategist, offering Li Ziran information about the Baron and warning him to escape. Li Ziran, however, chooses not to follow her advice and instead reveals the Bronze Mirror.
• Li Ziran and the Boundary Wall: Their relationship is initially indirect: Li Ziran’s light empowers the Wall’s ghostly faces while also provoking the Wall to close in. His discovery of the hidden Bronze Mirror may give him a way to challenge or expose the Wall’s larger system.