Chapter Summaries

Lincon obtained the half-dead Fire God Tree branch from the Demon Ancient Tree by offering it a Lord's Shrine, which strengthened their bond. The Demon Ancient Tree asked Lincon to name it, and joyfully accepted the name Ying.

• Lincon asked the Demon Ancient Tree for the half-dead Fire God Tree branch, and it reluctantly agreed to give it to him.
• Lincon upgraded a Fine Shrine into a Lord's Shrine and placed it beside the Demon Ancient Tree, creating glowing vines that connected the Shrine to the tree's roots.
• Lincon explained that the Shrine was a gift and a pact, promising to bring the Demon Ancient Tree useful things in return for the branch.
• The Demon Ancient Tree thanked Lincon and asked him to give it a name.
• Lincon named the Demon Ancient Tree Ying, and it accepted the name with overwhelming joy.

Lincon warned Ying that Flint City might soon go to war with Longwind Fortress and left the Willow Guard in the Nightglow Forest to protect it. Back in Longwind Fortress, he considered seeking resources at an Abyss Rift but focused first on the coming defense and the Garrison Guard’s Spirit Plant contracts.

• Ying offered Lincon its Devil Fruits, but Lincon declined and warned it about the possible conflict with Flint City.
• Lincon told Ying to send the Willow Guard to notify him if strangers entered the Nightglow Forest, then left the guard beside Ying and returned to Longwind Fortress with the Fire God Tree branch and Devil Fruits.
• Lincon set the half-dead Fire God Tree branch on stone racks in the Sacred Court’s rear courtyard after the plants there reacted fearfully to its aura.
• Lincon assessed his limited Sunlight and considered visiting an Abyss Rift to gather resources, but decided to focus on the imminent conflict first.
• Lincon returned to the Sacred Court as the Garrison Guard prepared to form contracts with symbiotic Spirit Plants.

Painted Skin infiltrated the workers outside Longwind Fortress and coaxed Luo Qian into revealing details about the fortress’s defenses. After a day hauling Graystone, Painted Skin was selected to carry stones inside, giving him a chance to gather more intelligence.

• Painted Skin learned that Lincon was Longwind Fortress’s main high-level fighter and that the fortress had few other Ability Users.
• Painted Skin flattered Luo Qian and asked how Lincon had driven back the Black Tide.
• Luo Qian revealed that Fallen Sun Thorncrown was weakened by the lack of sunlight and described Ghostshadow Sword Orchid as Lincon’s swift shadow-moving guard.
• Painted Skin connected Ghostshadow Sword Orchid to the black sword that had killed Blackie and continued probing for information.
• After the workers hauled Graystone to the fortress gate, Painted Skin was selected to carry stones inside.

Painted Skin entered Longwind Fortress with a stone delivery, while Li Zhouhai led the exhausted people of Twin Camp toward the fortress. As Spore Shooter Mushrooms guided the newcomers through the dark and killed an attacking Wraith Bird, Twin Camp saw the strength of Longwind Fortress's Plant Guardians.

• Painted Skin followed Qiu An into Longwind Fortress and delivered stone materials to the Rune Workshop, where he planned to gather intelligence for Flint City.
• Li Zhouhai led Twin Camp to a roadside Shrine, relit its candle, and said they had reached Longwind Fortress territory.
• Li Zhouhai urged the group to continue traveling after dark, and Spore Shooter Mushrooms emerged to guide them toward the fortress.
• Jiang Wei petted a Spore Shooter Mushroom while Li Zhouhai explained that the mushrooms were Plant Guardians protecting Longwind Fortress.
• A Wraith Bird attacked Twin Camp, but the Spore Shooter Mushrooms blasted it with corrosive spores and destroyed it, leaving Jiang Li stunned.

Lincon prepared to receive Li Zhouhai and the people traveling with him while continuing his work at Longwind Fortress. As the fortress bells rang, Li Zhouhai’s group arrived at last.

• Jiang Li watched Spore Shooter Mushrooms shoot Wraith Birds from the sky and grew eager to see Longwind Fortress.
• Lincon learned that Painted Skin had stolen the altered Rune Stone theory and told Zhang Rui to prepare for Li Zhouhai’s arrival.
• Lincon checked the territory panel and noted that the Seed of Life still needed much more reputation to advance.
• Lincon inspected his cold-adapted Winter Rice and recorded the Stronglife Rice’s developing Blue Frost Variant.
• The fortress bells rang, and Lincon realized Li Zhouhai’s group had arrived.

Li Zhouhai returned to Longwind Fortress with Twin Camp’s leaders and core members, and Lincon came out to welcome them. The group entered the fortress while the rest of the newcomers waited for inspection and registration.

• Painted Skin learned the crowd had gathered to welcome Li Zhouhai and slipped away with stolen Rune research documents, hoping to escape before they were discovered.
• Guan Teng reunited with Li Zhouhai, exchanged a few quiet words with him, and met Twin Camp’s core members.
• Jiang Li, Jiang Wei, and the others admired Longwind Fortress’s luminous gardens and learned that its governor was an ordinary person.
• Lincon emerged from the gates, welcomed Li Zhouhai, and was introduced to the Jiang sisters as Twin Camp’s leaders.
• Lincon invited the sisters and Twin Camp’s core members inside, while the remaining newcomers stayed outside for inspection and registration.

Lincon welcomed Twin Camp’s people with food, water, blankets, and tents, then explained how newcomers could earn status and find work in Longwind Fortress. Jiang Li accepted his offer to join, leaving Twin Camp ready to become part of the fortress under provisional status.

• Lincon ordered Zhang Rui to provide Twin Camp with hot meals, warm water, blankets, and emergency tents while its people remained outside the city.
• Jiang Li and the others toured Longwind Fortress and were astonished by its luminous plants and towering Crystal Orchid Giant Tree.
• Lincon asked Jiang Li whether she wanted to keep leading Twin Camp, and she admitted the burden of leadership had exhausted her.
• Lincon explained that Twin Camp’s newcomers would begin as Provisional Subjects and could earn higher ranks and suitable roles through their abilities and contributions.
• Jiang Wei agreed to join Longwind Fortress, and Jiang Li accepted Lincon’s offer and asked him to take care of them.

Lincon welcomed Jiang Li and Twin Camp’s core members with a generous meal at Longwind Fortress, then learned that Jiang Wei possessed a rare healing ability. He considered whether her energy could help him cultivate Healing Spirit Plants, leaving that possibility as a potential source of medical support for the fortress.

• Zhang Rui prepared simple meals for Twin Camp’s residents, while the group’s core members received Carrion Rat meat and vegetable soup.
• Lincon invited Jiang Li and the others to eat their fill, and the hungry Twin Camp members devoured the meal.
• After dinner, Lincon asked Jiang Wei whether she had eaten enough, and she cried as the question reminded her of her parents.
• Jiang Wei explained that her ability used mental energy to heal external wounds and could sometimes repair internal injuries.
• Lincon realized Jiang Wei’s energy might help him cultivate Healing Spirit Plants to support Longwind Fortress’s fighters.

Lincon welcomed Jiang Li, Jiang Wei, and Twin Camp to Longwind Fortress as they discussed the danger of food shortages and a likely war with Flint City. Meanwhile, Painted Skin returned with stolen information, but when Wang Hu’s men prepared to flee and one attacked the Shrine, it awakened and killed him as Lincon approached.

• Lincon learned from Jiang Li that New River City had turned Twin Camp away and that refugees across Jiangbei were struggling to find food and shelter.
• Lincon sent Li Zhouhai and Twin Camp’s core members to the Mushroom Houses, where Jiang Li and Jiang Wei worried about the likely war with Flint City.
• Lincon tracked Painted Skin to Wang Hu’s camp and saw Painted Skin hand over Basic Rune Theory and information about Longwind Fortress.
• Wang Hu ordered his group to abandon their supplies and retreat, but He Yan tried to smash the Shrine with an alloy axe.
• The Shrine awakened, seized He Yan with a maple root, and crushed him to death.
• Painted Skin feared that Lincon had arrived, and Lincon emerged from the darkness behind the frozen group.

Lincon confronted the Flint City Ability Users who had stolen the basic theory of Runes and fought off their coordinated attack. He summoned the C-Rank Combat Spirit Plant Dragonblood Flood Dragon Vine to target the enemy who could transfer pain and damage onto him.

• Lincon killed Painted Skin as the Flint City group fled, while Wang Hu sent a speed-type Ability User away with the stolen intelligence.
• Wang Hu transformed into a tiger beastman and led more than a dozen Ability Users in an attack on Lincon, whose Treant Guard blocked Wang Hu's charge.
• Lincon summoned Spore Shooter Mushrooms, which killed the acid-spitting Ability User with corrosive spores.
• Lincon endured the group's attacks and identified the self-harming Ability User's power as pain or damage transfer.
• Lincon summoned the C-Rank Combat Spirit Plant Dragonblood Flood Dragon Vine beneath the damage-transferring Ability User.

Lincon defeated Wang Hu’s Flint City squad with his Spirit Plants and revealed his own overwhelming strength in close combat. After returning to Longwind Fortress, he prepared to formalize Twin Camp’s merger as its people awoke to a new day.

• The Dragonblood Flood Dragon Vine crushed a C-Class Ability User while Lincon’s summoned Sword-Rain Spirit Orchid cut down the attackers surrounding him.
• Wang Hu charged Lincon, but Lincon blocked his tiger-claw strike, seized his wrists, and killed him with an Advancing Collapse Fist.
• Lincon’s Spirit Plants wiped out the remaining Flint City Ability Users, then the Dragonblood Flood Dragon Vine devoured their corpses; Lincon collected the shattered Treant Core and returned to the fortress.
• At dawn, Twin Camp’s residents emerged from their tents and saw Longwind Fortress in daylight.
• Zhang Rui, Guan Teng, Jiang Li, and the fortress leadership prepared to announce that Twin Camp would become Longwind Fortress’s Provisional Subjects.

Zhang Rui read the Longwind Code to the former Twin Camp members, explaining the rules and systems they would follow as Provisional Subjects. As the newcomers accepted the clear path to becoming full subjects, Lincon returned to the fortress.

• Jiang Wei asked Zhang Rui whether Lincon would attend the agreement signing, and Zhang Rui said the City Lord would arrive later.
• Zhang Rui read the Longwind Code aloud while Li Zhouhai projected his voice, outlining Lincon's authority and the fortress's rules.
• Zhang Rui explained the contribution, labor, promotion, and job-selection systems, and patiently answered questions from the crowd.
• No one chose to leave, and Jiang Li felt relieved as she saw hope among her former Twin Camp companions.
• Zhang Rui closed the code and welcomed Lincon as he returned on the distant horizon.

Lincon returned to Longwind Fortress as it formally absorbed Twin Camp, adding 1,167 Provisional Subjects. As the newcomers chose departments and learned about Rune Warriors, their arrival brought fresh energy to the fortress and its future development.

• Lincon arrived at the signing ceremony with the Twisted Treant, and Jiang Li signed the agreement merging Twin Camp into Longwind Fortress.
• Lincon welcomed the new subjects’ celebration, then explained that Formal Subjects could choose departments within the fortress.
• Jiang Li and Jiang Wei chose to join the Light Office as trainees, and Lincon accepted their choice.
• Zhang Rui introduced the Rune Warrior career path, and Guan Teng demonstrated the Shadow Fiend’s ability, persuading Lu Linfeng and the other former Twin Camp leaders to join the Garrison Guard.
• Twin Camp’s new Provisional Subjects lined up to register their information and gain access to tasks, supplies, and promotion qualifications.

Longwind Fortress issued organized Contribution Point tasks to its new Provisional Subjects, setting its development in motion and giving them clear ways to earn food, tools, and full citizenship. Wang Bo and the others were denied a return to subject status, while Lincon watched the fortress grow and saw its reputation rise to 5893.

• The Sacred Court posted approved Contribution Point tasks focused on reclaiming farmland, gathering construction materials, and supporting workshops and public facilities.
• Provisional Subjects gathered around the notices and welcomed the clear link between labor and rewards, which offered them hope and a path toward becoming true Subjects.
• Wang Bo and his companions pleaded to join Longwind Fortress as Provisional Subjects, but a Garrison Guard told them they had forfeited that right by leaving.
• The Garrison Guard warned Wang Bo and the others that leaving would end their chance to exchange labor for food, and his threats of violence stopped them from causing trouble.
• Wang Bo privately expected Lord Painted Skin and Flint City to help him gain official status after Longwind Fortress fell.
• Lincon surveyed the busy fortress as its new workforce accelerated development and raised the displayed reputation to 5893.

Lincon decided to explore the nearby Abyss Rift to hunt powerful dark creatures and find rare materials, then prepared Longwind Fortress for his absence. He merged his symbiotic Spirit Plants into his body for the expedition, but the three exhausted Sunlight Sprites had only just caught up with him.

• Lincon reviewed his growing reputation, levels, and Sunlight reserves, then resolved to explore the Abyss Rift rather than keep conserving his resources.
• Lincon planned a five-day expedition, assigned Zhang Rui to manage Longwind Fortress, and chose to travel alone because the fortress's new Rune Warriors were not ready to help.
• Lincon gathered supplies and summoned his symbiotic Spirit Plants, including the Solar Sunflower, Dragonblood Flood Dragon Vine, Ghostshadow Sword Orchid, and Sword-Rain Spirit Orchid.
• Lincon merged the four Spirit Plants into his Composite State and sensed their powers strengthening his body for the journey.
• Three exhausted Sunlight Sprites finally reached Lincon, reminding him that he had nearly forgotten to include them.

Lincon traveled beyond Longwind Fortress to investigate the Abyss Rift and nearly succumbed to a Dream Demon’s mental attack. He reached the ruins of Anyang County, made a temporary shelter, and began searching for materials in the surrounding area.

• Lincon left Longwind Fortress with the Twisted Treant and traveled through the wasteland as dark creatures gathered around them.
• As the black mist thickened near the Abyss Rift, Lincon used a Purification Rune to clear a path through it.
• Lincon saw the vast Abyss Rift from a distance and broke free after a Dream Demon clone nearly corrupted his mind.
• Lincon headed to the ruins of Anyang County, avoided entering the town, and had the Twisted Treant make a shelter among the ruins.
• Lincon began exploring the area around his shelter to gather Sunlight and search for materials produced by Dark Erosion.

Lincon explored the area around the Abyss Rift, gathering rare materials and discovering Dark Dandelions with hidden advancement routes tied to time and space. After surviving the dark tide and resisting a Dream Demon, he manifested the Solar Sunflower Armament and faced the creature.

• Lincon found and collected twenty-three pieces of Ashen Sigh Amber, then killed a group of Bone-Eroding Lizards and took their seven Mutant Cores.
• Lincon gathered more materials before the dark tide erupted from the Abyss Rift, and the Twisted Treant pulled him into its shelter.
• Lincon examined the Dark Dandelions and discovered advancement routes for Delirium Mist Dandelion, Rift-Cleaving Dandelion, and Temporal Dandelion.
• After the dark tide eased, Lincon spotted a Dream Demon and resisted its attempt to pull him into a dream.
• Lincon manifested the Solar Sunflower Armament, and the Dream Demon froze in astonishment.

Lincon killed the Dream Demon with the Solar Sunflower Armament, then hid inside the Twisted Treant as a flood of Dark Creatures poured from the Abyss Rift. He secretly hunted ten C-Rank creatures before a huge dragon-shaped tornado appeared at the rift, leaving him facing a new disturbance.

• Lincon used the Solar Sunflower Armament to destroy the Dream Demon and gained levels, experience, and Sunlight.
• Lincon retreated into the Twisted Treant as C-Rank Dark Creatures emerged from the Abyss Rift and spread across the area.
• Lincon ordered the Twisted Treant, Dragonblood Flood Dragon Vine, and Sword-Rain Spirit Orchid to ambush passing creatures and kill them.
• Lincon hunted ten C-Rank Dark Creatures overnight, gathered their Dark Crystals, and continued exploring and hunting the next day.
• Lincon noticed fewer creatures emerging from the rift, then saw a massive dragon-shaped tornado tearing at it.

Lincon hid inside the Twisted Treant as a battle near the Abyss Rift drove Luo Chiyou and Xiao Jing into his hiding place. Luo Chiyou sent Xiao Jing away with the Life Fruit, then inexplicably weakened her attacks as the dark creatures closed in.

• Lincon sensed a powerful battle near the Abyss Rift and ordered the Twisted Treant to hide and remain still.
• Luo Chiyou and Xiao Jing raced into the Twisted Treant’s range while fleeing several dark creatures, and Luo Chiyou collapsed from her injuries.
• Luo Chiyou gave Xiao Jing the Life Fruit and ordered him to escape while she held off their pursuers.
• Luo Chiyou attacked the three carapaced creatures with wind blades, allowing Xiao Jing to flee with the fruit.
• After Xiao Jing left, Luo Chiyou suddenly weakened her attacks, leaving Lincon to wonder what she was planning.

Lincon watched Luo Chiyou fight an Ant Guard and realized she had been steering the battle toward him. When the Ant Guard threatened them both, Luo Chiyou offered him a Spatial Fragment in exchange for help, and Lincon accepted the fragment but had not yet agreed to fight.

• Lincon saw that Luo Chiyou had weakened her defenses to send two dark creatures after the man carrying the Life Fruit, then watched her reveal her B-Class strength against the remaining creature.
• Luo Chiyou drew the fight toward Lincon’s hiding place, so he escaped the Twisted Treant’s shelter as her storm struck the Ant Guard.
• Luo Chiyou asked Lincon to join forces against the Ant Guard, but he initially refused and began to retreat.
• The Ant Guard unfolded its wings and attacked Luo Chiyou at greater speed, while she warned Lincon that it would hunt him and that its two companions might return.
• Lincon asked what he would receive for helping, and Luo Chiyou gave him a Low-Grade Space Fragment, which he recognized as useful for the Dark Dandelion’s evolution.