Recaps

Xie Haitang secured permission to buy Rune Weapons in Longwind City, while Lincon prepared the Hive Legion to capture an Abyss Rift in Northern Province before Harsh Winter. After Longwind City announced its military expedition, Xie Haitang decided to return to Peerless City with supplies and leave people behind to establish a foothold in Longwind City.

• Xie Haitang used Zhou Qing's trade agreement to gain approval to buy Rune Weapons in bulk from Outer City shops, though she could not approach Longwind City's core departments.
• Lincon ordered the Hive Legion to capture an A-Rank Abyss Rift in Northern Province, directing Alashu and Withered Hoof to lead the vanguard and Isaiah to command the forces.
• Wei Xing returned from Peerless City with Zhao Xuan's agreement and the Geothermal Fire Mother, which Lincon arranged to have planted underground.
• Longwind City announced its planned expedition to Northern Province, prompting subjects to debate whether the city should risk war before Harsh Winter.
• Xie Haitang decided to return to Peerless City with supplies and asked Hong Yun to remain in Longwind City, buy land, and prepare for a second auction house.

Hong Yun accepted Xie Haitang’s offer to stay in Longwind City as the Garrison Guard prepared to march against Northern Province’s Abyss Rift. As Lincon remained behind to plan for the Harsh Winter, the army’s strength and brutal training impressed its new commander and instructors.

• Hong Yun accepted Xie Haitang’s job offer, and Xie Haitang arranged her departure from Longwind City.
• Guan Teng assembled more than twenty thousand Garrison Guard troops, including war Spirit Plants, for the campaign against the Abyss Rift.
• Lincon watched the assembled army through Void-Nesting Birds and chose to stay in his territory to prepare for the Harsh Winter.
• Guan Teng, Luo Qian, Jian Xiujie, and the Garrison Guard raised their blades together before setting out.
• Fang Qingyang, Li Xingzhou, and Zhao Jingyi praised the Garrison Guard’s combat strength and discussed its dangerous Spirit Plant training methods.

The Hive Legion invaded Northern Province’s A-Rank Abyss Rift and quickly killed the Green-Scale Lord. Lincon watched the victory bring him closer to level sixty while mysterious energy flowed through Longwind City toward an ancient tree.

• Guan Teng ordered Longwind City’s Garrison Guard to depart as the Hive Legion advanced toward the Northern Province rift.
• The Green-Scale Lord detected the approaching Hive Legion, hastily assembled defenses, and sent for other High-Rank Lords.
• Isaiah attacked the Green-Scale Lord while Hei Shi blocked their escape, and the Hive Legion overwhelmed the Green-Scale Lord’s tribes.
• The Green-Scale Lord tried to flee but was killed, and the World-Devouring Demon Sprout swallowed their corpse.
• Lincon saw the notification of the High-Rank Lord’s death and estimated that defeating the rift’s forces would raise him to level sixty.
• Faint energy flowed through Longwind City toward an ancient tree, where an illusory face opened its eyes.

Lincon entered Ying’s memories to understand why her breakthrough had trapped her in the obsession to survive, then used his Sunlight to help restore her. As the Nightglow Forest’s plants filled with light, Ying reached the birth of an Epic.

• Ying’s breakthrough unleashed a spiritual storm in the Nightglow Forest, and Lincon rushed there after sensing the danger.
• Lincon learned from the elder Dark Elf that Ying was losing her way, then used the Seed Mark to send Sunlight into her storm.
• Ying’s power recognized Lincon and drew his consciousness into memories of her life as a small tree during the Abyssal World’s collision with Blue Star.
• Lincon realized Ying’s deepest obsession was to live and that she had repeated her name to keep from losing herself.
• Lincon poured Sunlight into Ying’s memories, causing the fragments to rejoin and the plants throughout the Nightglow Forest to shine as Ying reached Epic rank.

Ying completed her evolution into an Epic Devil Fruit Tree, and Lincon learned that her fruits bound consumers to a powerful Demon Contract. As Lincon prepared to return to Longwind City, Ying chose to accompany him in a spiritual body, giving the city its first S-Plus Rank combat force.

• Ying regained control of her evolution and became an Epic being with the Devil Fruit Tree’s laws and abilities.
• Ying showed Lincon the Burn-Burn Fruit and Freeze-Freeze Fruit and explained that the tree had nurtured ninety-nine fruits so far.
• Ying revealed that Devil Fruit consumers had to obey her, risk losing their abilities to her curse, and share damage with her through the contract.
• Lincon decided not to distribute Devil Fruits in Longwind City and instead considered spreading them more widely.
• Lincon told Ying about the world beyond the Nightglow Forest and said he needed to return to Longwind City.
• Ying decided to accompany Lincon in a spiritual body, changed into a black dress, and set off with him toward the city.

Lincon welcomed Ying to the Sacred Court while the Longwind City Garrison Guard traveled to Northern Province to contain the Abyss Rift and support the Hive Legion. After the Hive Legion seized the Green-Scale Lord’s territory, the five remaining high-rank Lords debated whether to fight or negotiate.

• Lincon introduced Ying to Luo Chiyou, who realized Ying was likely the Epic-level being behind the previous night’s disturbance and agreed to show her around Longwind City.
• Fang Qingyang trained the Garrison Guard on Abyssal races and their weaknesses as Guan Teng led the force toward Northern Province.
• Guan Teng and the others discussed their mission to seal the Rift’s exits and support the Hive Legion, whose past victories impressed the soldiers.
• The Hive Legion occupied the Green-Scale Lord’s territory, leaving the five remaining high-rank Lords unable to reinforce it in time.
• Soleil, Corris, Manshe, Iron Throat, and Zerak gathered to debate the invasion, with Manshe, Iron Throat, and Soleil urging battle while Corris and Zerak favored negotiation.

The Hive Legion battled Blackscale Lord’s forces in the Northern Province Abyss Rift as Harsh Winter approached. When defeated Abyssal Creatures fled the battlefield, they attacked Shaowei Camp, leaving Chen Qing helpless before a B-Rank Light-Eater Beast.

• Isaiah ordered the Hive Legion to attack Blackscale Lord’s forces, and the battle began with a barrage from the Blastwings and a charge by the Centaur Tribe and Bone Race.
• Zhao Xuan asked Old Liao whether Lincon could solve the Abyss Rift crisis and learned that most human settlements had ignored evacuation notices.
• Guan Teng sent Luo Qian and a group of guards to investigate a human camp under attack by Abyssal Creatures fleeing the battlefield.
• A Light-Eater Beast and its followers invaded Shaowei Camp, killing more than one hundred people in five minutes as Chen Qing and the camp’s strongest fighters tried to resist.
• Chen Qing injured the Light-Eater Beast but lost his right arm, and the creature raised its tentacle to kill him as he closed his eyes.

Luo Qian and the Garrison Guard rescued Shaowei Camp from an Abyssal Creature attack and killed a B-Rank Light-Eater Beast. Chen Qing sent the survivors toward Peerless City, while the Garrison Guard brought the beast’s valuable corpse back toward Longwind City.

• Luo Qian found the wounded Chen Qing and assured him that the Garrison Guard had come to help.
• The Garrison Guard defeated the remaining Abyssal Creatures and cleared the camp.
• Luo Qian bandaged Chen Qing’s injured arm and warned him that Northern Province would soon become dangerous.
• Luo Qian and several Garrison Guard members took the Light-Eater Beast’s corpse as spoils of war.
• Chen Qing ordered the survivors to carry the injured to Peerless City and said he hoped to visit Longwind City someday.
• The Garrison Guard members reacted with an uproar when Luo Qian returned with the Light-Eater Beast’s corpse.

After reaching level 60, Lincon chose the Epic Ten-Thousand-Sun Dark Grand Duke path, whose mission required him to occupy three A-Rank Abyss Rifts and hold an A-Rank territory in the Abyssal World. He then reviewed his Nature Saint advancement options and decided that Eternal Gardener was the path he wanted to pursue.

• The Hive Legion’s kills raised Lincon to level 60 and unlocked three main-profession advancement paths.
• Lincon rejected the unavailable Eternal Night Sovereign path and chose Ten-Thousand-Sun Dark Grand Duke, starting its advancement mission.
• Lincon planned to occupy A-Rank Abyss Rifts and take over the Blood Demon Lord’s former territory in the Abyssal World.
• Lincon reviewed the Nature Saint paths, comparing Radiant Light Priest’s Elf Edict with Eternal Gardener’s plant-evolution and time-manipulation abilities.
• Lincon chose Eternal Gardener as his secondary-profession advancement direction.

After reaching level sixty, Lincon chose the Ten-Thousand-Sun Dark Grand Duke and Eternal Gardener advancement paths, then evolved the Life Spring Core into a Primordial Spring Core. The new core revealed a disturbing vision of Lincon amid a ruined future, while Wei Xing traveled alone to deliver Lincon’s letter to Isaiah, who was interrogating Iron Lord Iron Throat.

• Lincon selected his two advancement paths and began the Eternal Gardener quest, while Wei Xing accepted a mission to deliver Lincon’s letter to Isaiah in the Northern Province.
• Lincon failed to unleash the Light-Dark Cherry of the Far Shore’s potential, then spent eight thousand Sunlight to evolve the Life Spring Core into a Primordial Spring Core.
• The Primordial Spring Core told Lincon it had seen Dark Elf descendants call Ying “Empress Ying” and had glimpsed Lincon among corpses in a shattered void.
• Lincon kept the vision from Ying and Luo Chiyou, then continued advancing Spirit Plants in the garden as Wei Xing drove toward the Hive Legion’s concealed valley.
• Isaiah told Wei Xing that the Hive Legion had conquered the Northern Province Abyss Rift and withdrew to a valley thirty kilometers west of it.
• Isaiah put away the communicator while Alashu beat Iron Lord Iron Throat and demanded that he join the Hive Legion.

Isaiah used Gengjin to persuade Iron Throat to join the Hive Legion, then received Lincon’s orders to lead the legion through two more Abyss Rifts. Before Wei Xing left, Isaiah gave him a mutated Black Dog named Blackedge to serve as his companion.

• Alashu defeated Iron Throat, but Isaiah kept him alive because Iron Lord and his tribe could produce a useful substance by eating iron.
• The Tree Spirit of the Gengjin Mother Tree tempted Iron Throat with Gengjin, and Iron Throat agreed to join the Hive Legion in exchange for more.
• Isaiah ordered Iron Throat, Zelak, and Kelis to lead their remaining tribes as servants of the Hive Legion’s master.
• Wei Xing delivered Lincon’s letter, which assigned the Hive Legion two more Abyss Rifts to handle within a month without Garrison Guard support.
• Isaiah gave Wei Xing the mutated Black Dog and marked him so that he would obey Wei Xing, who named him Blackedge.

Lei Xiaohu delivered newspapers around Longwind City and reflected on the home and community that had given him and his mother a new life. When the Waterheart Orchid he had tended for nearly a year finally bloomed, a tiny girl emerged from its petals.

• Lei Xiaohu sold newspapers on his day off and told Uncle Ma that working in Longwind City was not a hardship because it had given him a place to belong.
• A newspaper buyer asked whether Lei Xiaohu had awakened an ability, and he admitted he had not while saying he was content as long as Longwind City remained wonderful.
• Night Owl and the Gray Feather Squad discussed the Garrison Guard's victory in the Northern Province, and Bai Ge said Longwind City was his home now.
• Lei Xiaohu returned home, warmed himself by the stove, and told Madam Zhang about Longwind City's preparations for Harsh Winter and possible Ash Snow power generation.
• The Waterheart Orchid in Lei Xiaohu's flowerpot glowed, rapidly matured, and revealed a palm-sized girl standing among its petals.

Lei Xiaohu discovered that his Waterheart Orchid had given birth to a healing Water Elf, which formed a Symbiosis Contract with him. Lincon learned that the Elf was the first naturally born Elf under Jianmu Civilization and decided to have Qingrang Academy investigate how the bond formed.

• The Waterheart Orchid Elf healed Lei Xiaohu's frost-cracked hands with its water-element energy.
• Lincon received a notification that a new Elf subject had joined Longwind Territory and inspected its abilities and contract with Lei Xiaohu.
• Lincon realized the Water Elf was the first Elf naturally born through Jianmu Civilization, unlike the Sunlight Elves.
• Lincon decided against setting rules for the Elf Race before more Elves appeared and their needs became clearer.
• Lincon planned to have people from Qingrang Academy observe Lei Xiaohu and the Water Elf and investigate their Symbiosis Contract.

Lincon considered moving the Primordial Spring Core into the Divine Tree Grotto-Heaven to create a breakthrough sanctuary for high-tier ability-users. Meanwhile, Xu Qing and Li Wei visited Lei Xiaohu’s family to investigate the newly born Water Elf, and they clarified that the lord had not sent them to take it away.

• Lincon observed the Primordial Spring Core and considered pairing it with the Divine Tree Grotto-Heaven’s faster time flow to help ability-users break through.
• Xu Qing and Li Wei went to Formal Subject Residential District 24 to ask Lei Xiaohu and his mother about the Water Elf.
• Zhang Hong welcomed the Qingrang Academy staff into her home and learned that Xu Qing’s Silver Cicada Flower could detect lingering energy auras.
• Li Wei told Zhang Hong that the lord had sensed the Water Elf’s birth and that the visit was not intended to take it away.

Li Wei and Xu Qing investigated how Lei Xiaohu’s year-old Waterheart Orchid seed became a water elf, then brought him and the elf to the Sacred Court to meet Lincon. The chapter ended with Lincon greeting Lei Xiaohu and teasing him about digging up his cabbages.

• Zhang Hong told Li Wei and Xu Qing that Lei Xiaohu had planted a free E-Rank Waterheart Orchid seed, talked to its flowerpot, and left it out in Longwind City’s recent rain.
• Lei Xiaohu returned carrying the Waterheart Orchid, and Xu Qing saw the water elf inside it and confirmed that it had formed a symbiosis contract with him.
• Li Wei invited Lei Xiaohu and the water elf to meet Lincon, and Lei Xiaohu eagerly agreed after learning they would go that afternoon.
• Li Wei and Xu Qing brought Lei Xiaohu and the water elf to the Crystal Ring Mother Tree, where the water elf sensed a powerful presence as they approached the Sacred Court.
• A Sacred Court attendant led them through the vine archway and gardens to Lincon’s study, where Lincon greeted Lei Xiaohu and teased him about digging up his cabbages.

Lincon learned how Waterheart had become Longwind City's first naturally born Elf and approved Lei Xiaohu for study at Longwind Academy. After Lei Xiaohu and Waterheart left, Lincon returned to his task while considering the future growth of the Elf Race.

• Waterheart recognized Lincon as its creator and flew to him, while Lincon identified its abilities and learned Lei Xiaohu had named it Waterheart.
• Lincon explained that Lei Xiaohu's early Symbiosis Contract, Emperor's Flowing Essence, and the Jianmu Civilization's ability to produce Elves had combined to create Waterheart.
• Lincon reviewed Lei Xiaohu's record and learned he had missed Longwind Academy enrollment to care for his sick mother.
• Lei Xiaohu agreed to attend Longwind Academy, and Lincon asked Li Wei to arrange his placement in the Spirit Plant program.
• Lincon sent Waterheart back to Lei Xiaohu, then resumed his Eternal Gardener class-change task and considered the Elf Race's future.

After Longwind City’s victory in Northern Province, Lincon established Windmill Village and Soul Resting Village under the city’s authority. As Harsh Winter arrived, some Spore Shooter Mushrooms adapted to the cold and became Frostcap Mushrooms.

• The Garrison Guard returned with Demon Energy Sand and other resources from the A-Rank Abyss Rift, raising Longwind City’s morale and Lincon’s reputation.
• Lincon refused to let human camps settle in Longwind Territory unless they gave up their authority and adopted Longwind City’s rules.
• Two camps accepted Lincon’s conditions and became Windmill Village and Soul Resting Village, where their residents followed Longwind City’s advancement system.
• Lincon arranged administrators, Spirit Plant seeds, and access to the Myriad-Knowledge Dome network for the new villages.
• Harsh Winter brought freezing temperatures and fierce winds to Longwind Territory.
• Some Spore Shooter Mushrooms adapted to the cold, and Lincon named the new Spirit Plant Frostcap Mushrooms.

As Harsh Winter began, Longwind Territory remained far warmer than the lands beyond it, while its Spirit Plants and Mutant Animals showed changes linked to the Light Rain and Lincon’s Jianmu Civilization. You Qing returned to Longwind City with a young Greenbud Deer entrusted to her by its herd and learned that a Water Elf and a new Ash Snow collection project had recently drawn attention.

• Ash Snow marked the start of Harsh Winter, but Longwind Territory stayed around minus 24.5 degrees while places outside it plunged below minus thirty.
• Qingrang Academy scholars, including Xu Qing, investigated Spirit Plants that had adapted into cold-element varieties, and You Qing observed that Greenbud Deer breeding would likely wait until spring.
• A Greenbud Deer doe sent a young deer to accompany You Qing, and the herd gathered to see them off as they left for Longwind City.
• You Qing met Lu Pingyan at the city gate, learned that someone had bonded with a naturally born Water Elf, and agreed to meet friends at the Explosive Tavern.
• You Qing entered Longwind City with the young deer and saw an Energy Research Base collection team hauling Ash Snow inside.

You Qing returned to Longwind City with a Greenbud Deer and delivered her winter observations to Mutant Organism Investigation Bureau director Xu Du. Xu planned to use the Elves’ symbiotic model to advance the bureau’s Spirit Taming Plan, leaving You Qing curious about the city’s rapid developments.

• You Qing brought the Greenbud Deer into Longwind City and reminded it to avoid restricted areas.
• At the bureau, You Qing reprimanded a young investigator for approaching the Greenbud Deer carelessly and assigned her to copy the creature guide five times.
• You Qing entrusted the Greenbud Deer to the bureau’s keeper and gave Xu Du her winter observation report on its herd.
• Xu Du proposed studying how Elves form symbiotic relationships to help humans bond with mutant animals, and said the bureau would focus on the research through winter.
• Xu Du described the Energy Research Base’s rapid progress, and You Qing wondered what other changes had occurred while she was away.

Lincon went undercover at the Explosive Tavern during Harsh Winter, where he learned how much Longwind City meant to its people and spotted Lu Pingyan as a promising Garrison Guard elite. He then visited the Rune Workshop to check its research progress, finding that its work on Intermediate Runes and Rune Golems was still marked by failure.

• Lincon disguised himself as a middle-aged man and entered the busy Explosive Tavern to try Old Deng's Swamp Crocodile meat.
• Old Deng told Lincon that Longwind City offered people safety, hope, and luxuries they could not find elsewhere.
• Lincon recognized Lu Pingyan as a promising Rune Warrior from Zhang Rui's list of potential core elites.
• Lincon took roast meat to go and headed to the Rune Workshop to check Shen Congzhi's team's progress on Intermediate Runes and Rune Golems.
• Lincon entered the Rune Workshop and sensed the mental energy and Rune traces left behind by repeated failures.

Lincon visited the Rune Workshop and examined Qin Ran’s radical Rune Golem design, which relied almost entirely on Dominion-School Runes. He acknowledged its potential, then challenged Qin Ran to consider how instinct and reason could coexist before asking whether he wanted to become a Rune Grandmaster.

• Shen Congzhi questioned Qin Ran’s insistence on using Dominion-School Runes, while Qin Ran explained his ambition to tame them and create a real living being.
• Lincon arrived and studied Qin Ran’s design, noting its seventy-two Dominion Rune zones and its reliance on eight energy-control points.
• Lincon praised Qin Ran’s bold idea but warned that its success depended on understanding how Runes worked rather than ignoring their nature.
• Lincon asked Qin Ran how he would stop Dominion Runes from devouring other structures and compared their conflict to instinct and reason in the human body.
• Lincon asked Qin Ran whether he wanted to become a Rune Grandmaster.

Lincon encouraged the rune workshop to build strong foundations as they pursued the possibility of becoming rune masters, and he recognized Qin Ran's potential to forge a new rune path. After leaving, Lincon evolved a silent ice butterfly into a Glacial Soul Butterfly and discussed Qin Ran's and Xia Xun's prospects with Shen Congzhi.

• Lincon told the rune workshop that a rune master needed S-Rank strength, mastery of primary and intermediate runes, an original advanced rune path, and designs capable of changing a city or era.
• Lincon urged Qin Ran and the other rune masters not to chase quick results, but to develop their foundations and define for themselves what a true rune master could become.
• Lincon evolved a silent ice butterfly into a C-Rank Glacial Soul Butterfly, which could purify ash snow and chaotic energy, unleash a frost storm, and help form a swarm shield.
• Shen Congzhi asked Lincon whether Qin Ran's golem design could work, and Lincon said it was beyond both their current abilities but that Qin Ran might become a Rune Grandmaster.
• Lincon told Shen Congzhi that Xia Xun also had great talent, though Lincon could not foresee whether he would reach the Rune Grandmaster realm.

Lincon investigated Longwind City's departments and addressed infighting and outdated regulations before turning back to his Growth of Ten Thousand Lifeforms task. During a fierce snowfall, Wang Xue gave birth to Longwind City's first newborn, whose unusual fire ability left Lincon studying the report about him.

• Lincon dismissed the Energy Research Base administrator and several researchers who had sabotaged others, then appointed a replacement and assigned Guan Teng and Fang Qingyang to revise the Garrison Guard's regulations.
• Zhang Rui and Zhou Qing agreed to establish stricter management rules and expel people who threatened Longwind City or Lincon.
• During the snowfall, Xiao Yiming cleared his roof while his pregnant wife Wang Xue waited beneath the eaves, then rushed to fetch medical help when she went into labor.
• Ding Zhi and the nurses treated Wang Xue at home, discovered her unborn child was an ability user, and used Life Spirit Fluid to help her through the delivery.
• Wang Xue gave birth to a boy whose cry carried energy and whose skin was wreathed in invisible fire.
• Lincon read Zhang Rui's report and learned that the newborn Xiao had an unidentified variant Fire-Type Ability.

Lincon met Xiao Yiming and Wang Xue’s newborn son, Xiao Changfeng, and awarded their family Longwind City’s first Newborn Medal. After reflecting on how much Longwind City meant to its people, Lincon summoned Chen Siwei and assigned her an important mission in Hezhou.

• Lincon learned that Xiao Changfeng was Longwind City’s first newborn and arranged to meet his family to award the promised Newborn Medal.
• Lincon inspected Xiao Changfeng and discovered that the baby had the rare Supreme Cang Ice Flame talent and was recognized as a Longwind City subject.
• Lincon presented Xiao Yiming and Wang Xue with the Newborn Medal, contribution points, Inner City residence rights, and Longwind Currency.
• Xiao Yiming thanked Lincon for saving and sheltering the people of Longwind City, prompting Lincon to reflect on what the city meant to its subjects.
• Zhang Rui brought Chen Siwei to Lincon, who assigned her an important task in Hezhou.

Lincon learned that the Hive Legion had been stalled at Qixia Mountain by Zhong Yan and Red Leaf City, so he sent Chen Siwei and Wei Xing to resolve the conflict. He then searched the Outer City’s red wall and found an All-Wood Indestructible Rule Fragment, which could help Longwind City’s A-Rank Ability Users study the power of rules.

• Lincon explained that Zhong Yan intended to exploit the Hive Legion’s assault on Qixia Mountain to destroy both the legion and the Abyssal forces, and Chen Siwei agreed to intervene.
• Lincon assigned Wei Xing to accompany Chen Siwei to Hezhou, while panel notifications showed Alashu and Bane had entered battle with Abyssal Lords at Qixia Mountain.
• Lincon went to inspect the Outer City’s red wall with Zhang Rui, Ying, Luo Chiyou, and Violet, searching for a Rule Fragment created by the Seed of Life’s Rule Weaving.
• Lincon sensed a dense knot of All-Wood Indestructible rule veins inside the wall and took a light-brown fragment from its amber shell.
• Lincon realized the plant-aligned fragment could help A-Rank Ability Users learn the form of rules, though only plant-compatible users such as Qingwei might comprehend its specific rule power.