Chapter Summaries

Chen Fan completed the Mortal Domain’s rainy-season defenses, but a Greater Wraith’s army descended from the sky to attack Jiangbei. The invaders found themselves immobilized above the Rainy Season Defense Line, which had been built with a Full Airspace Ban.

• Chen Fan opened a Lucky Bag, obtained the Rebirth Tower blueprint, and finished the Rainy Season Defense Line with 148 Soul-Devouring Sculptures.
• A middle-aged man trapped on the Eternal Night Continent discussed Little Flowers and warned that a massive undersea Strange Tide would reach Jiangbei in three years.
• A Greater Wraith on the Primordial Continent ordered an army of hundreds of thousands to descend on Nameless Mountain using a Heaven Formation and destroy the Mortal Domain.
• Chen Fan and Wang Kui confirmed that the Mortal Domain was prepared as the rainy season began, while the rain and lightning struck Jiangbei.
• The Greater Wraith’s army appeared above the Mortal Domain, but a Wraith King realized the Rainy Season Defense Line’s Full Airspace Ban had immobilized them.

Chen Fan’s Rainy Season Defense Line annihilated the Greater Wraith’s army and held back further strange entities, while the Starwatching Platform warned of a Strange Tide and Crippled Monkey spotted an eerie green glow near the Thunderstorm Sea. On the New Continent, Wang Mazi’s expedition reached the edge of the Signal Tower’s range and discussed a vast crater that appeared to have been blasted into the earth.

• Chen Fan’s 740 Godslayer Cannons and 148 Anti-Aircraft Cannons devastated the Greater Wraith’s airborne force, and the Greater Wraith died threatening that they would meet again.
• Chen Fan found that the Rebirth Tower had recorded no enemies permanently eliminated, then watched it prevent 48 Funeral Wraiths from splitting and reviving.
• The Starwatching Platform warned Chen Fan of a Strange Tide, and the Rainy Season Defense Line blocked the Meatworm Wraith Tide and sheltered the Mortal Domain.
• Chen Fan sent Shao Qiu and Zhou Mo to lead the Shadow Pavilion and War Pavilion in clearing nearby Strange Entities while preserving their corpses.
• Crippled Monkey saw an endless stretch of ghostly green light near the Thunderstorm Sea and reported it to Chen Fan, suspecting a connection to the Jiangbei Rainy Season.
• Wang Mazi and Zhang Damao discussed the New Continent’s ancient battlefields and the enormous crater they had found, which appeared to have been blasted into the ground.

Chen Fan tested the Sky-Piercing Pillar and discovered it launched its lightning-charged core like a long-range missile, then built a large array of upgraded pillars around the Mortal Domain. The chapter ended with him planning to test whether they could pierce the airspace ban.

• Wang Kui presented Chen Fan with a Heavenly Dao Stone and a Tribulation Cloud, and Chen Fan considered using the cloud to charge Sky-Piercing Pillars.
• In the darkness, a middle-aged man refused to reveal another continent’s location to a Strange Entity, then told his two Sky-Swallowing Crocodiles that he had once died by blowing himself up.
• Wang Mazi led an expedition into a vast Deep Pit on the New Continent, and his party returned safely after three days out of contact.
• Chen Fan launched a fully charged Sky-Piercing Pillar and saw its inner cylinder fly more than ten kilometers before striking the ground with immense force.
• Chen Fan upgraded one Sky-Piercing Pillar to Level 10, used the Tribulation Cloud to charge nearby pillars, and built numerous more around the Mortal Domain Harbor.
• Chen Fan wondered whether the Sky-Piercing Pillars could break through the airspace ban and planned to test one above the Mortal Domain.

Chen Fan built a vast line of Sky-Piercing Pillars, renamed them Mortal Domain Cruise Missiles, and traveled to the New Continent after Wang Mazi returned from an expedition terrified. Wang Mazi recounted witnessing the New Continent’s ancient fall and a cataclysmic blast, leaving Chen Fan to consider what the vision meant.

• Chen Fan spent over twenty million eerie stones building fifteen Max-Level and one hundred Level-6 Sky-Piercing Pillars, then named them Mortal Domain Cruise Missiles and planned to test whether an airspace ban could stop them.
• Crippled Monkey told Chen Fan that Wang Mazi had returned from a Deep Pit expedition in a terrified state, so Chen Fan went to the New Continent to hear his report.
• A West Pass Plains merchant sampled Jiangbei Mortal Domain Braised Delicacies and ordered his Subordinate to bring their maker to the Sun-Moon House, while the West Lake Tower Pavilion Master trained his faction to expand its food business.
• Chen Fan arrived at the New Continent, where fifty thousand auxiliary Mortal Domain members were mining the land, and Crippled Monkey led him to Wang Mazi beside a Well.
• Wang Mazi told Chen Fan that he had been pulled into a cave, seen the New Continent’s ancient destruction from the Heavenly Dao’s perspective, and witnessed a Seven-Colored Light annihilate Strange Entities and survivors alike.
• Chen Fan concluded that Wang Mazi had witnessed the New Continent’s final battle rather than become the Heavenly Dao.

Weiwei discovered a huge deposit of earth gold beneath the Deep Pit, and Chen Fan ordered it mined and forged into hoes to speed the work. After the rainy season ended, the Mortal Domain expanded its defenses and rail network, while Hu Zi arrived in Jiangnan, obstructed the High-Speed Rail, and was arrested after attacking a Mortal Domain member.

• Weiwei found abundant earth gold in the Deep Pit, and Wang Mazi reported the discovery to Chen Fan.
• Chen Fan limited Weiwei’s digging to thirty days and ordered Zhao Shengping to forge fifty thousand earth-gold hoes, which the Heavenly Artifact Pavilion began producing.
• After the rainy season ended, the Mortal Domain reported mining progress and 189 million eerie stones in reserve, while Chen Fan inspected his Sky-Piercing Pillars and planned a stronger Northbank Defense Line.
• Hu Zi and his subordinates stopped their carriages on the Mortal Domain High-Speed Rail Line near Soaring City, and a passing train smashed the carriages.
• Mortal Domain members issued Hu Zi a fifty-thousand-eerie-stone fine for obstructing the rail line, but Hu Zi attacked them and was defeated by a Martial King member.
• Zhang Qitian requested backup after identifying Hu Zi as a likely visitor from the West Pass Plains.

Chen Fan continued building Mortal Domain’s strength and sent Shao Qiu to investigate the Guandong Plains’ coastal defenses. As Mortal Domain’s reputation spread across the West Pass Plains, Shao Qiu reached Wraith-Suppressing Pass and encountered a local attraction called Strange Combat.

• Chen Fan inspected Mortal Domain’s stores of 189 million Eerie Stones and told Shao Qiu to travel safely as he continued his mission toward the Guandong Plains.
• Big Fish interrogated Hu Zi, learned that the Sun-Moon House would not pay his ransom, and released him; Hu Zi chose to leave his old faction and seek a life of his own.
• Gongyang Yiyue comforted Big Fish about her place in Mortal Domain and suggested she could take a role tending Flowers in the Hundred Grains Pavilion.
• News of Mortal Domain spread through the West Pass Plains, and the Holy Lord of the Slaying Immortal Holy Land worried over its connections to Chen Fan and Shao Qiu.
• Shao Qiu and his companions reached Wraith-Suppressing Pass after a month of travel and were led to a courtyard where two wounded eerie beasts were about to fight for gamblers.

Chen Fan completed the 170-kilometer Northbank Defense Line and planned to strengthen it before the Undersea Strange Tide arrived. Meanwhile, Shao Qiu discovered that Defense Line Seven had nearly fallen during the rainy season, then joined its exhausted defenders to learn more about the threat and their desperate situation.

• Xiao Er told Shao Qiu that daytime-surviving Strange Entities had appeared in the East Guandong Plains, and Shao Qiu feared Defense Line Seven was in danger.
• Chen Fan spent hundreds of millions of eerie stones extending the Rainy Season Defense Line and completed the 170-kilometer Northbank Defense Line, while building a separate Last Line of Defense around the Mortal Domain.
• Chen Fan told Wang Kui that the Mortal Domain needed to find a faction in the West Pass Plains to defeat as an example, despite the Slaying Immortal Holy Land offering compensation.
• Shao Qiu reached Defense Line Seven and learned that a Strange Tide had overrun much of the East Guandong Plains during the rainy season before the Eternal Night Hall contained it and repaired the wall.
• Shao Qiu and the Shadow Pavilion members enlisted at Defense Line Seven, where a disabled recruitment officer explained that its defenders fought without wages, many seeking revenge for lost family.
• The recruitment officer told Shao Qiu that most West Pass Plains factions had ignored appeals for aid, and warned him that losing conviction at the defense line could make death more agonizing.

Chen Fan led the Mortal Domain’s fleet of a hundred Flying Boats to the West Pass Plains and destroyed Hate Heaven City with 1,700 Godslayer Cannons, establishing the Mortal Domain’s power across the region. After the watching factions fled and the Slaying Immortal Holy Land prepared another apology, Chen Fan returned at night to salvage the city’s remains and planned to extend the Mortal Domain’s infrastructure into the plains.

• The Hate Heaven Sect Master dismissed the Mortal Domain’s proclamation, while the Slaying Immortal Holy Land Sacred Lord brought his people to support the sect and apologized for an old conflict.
• Chen Fan led the Gongyang Clan and the Mortal Domain’s War Pavilion aboard a hundred Flying Boats toward Hate Heaven City.
• The fleet arrived over Hate Heaven City and fired 1,700 Godslayer Cannons, destroying the city and its defenses in a quarter of an hour.
• Chen Fan introduced himself to the terrified gathered factions, then departed as the Slaying Immortal Holy Land Sacred Lord ordered his elders to prepare a sincere apology and compensation.
• After nightfall, Chen Fan brought the fleet back to Hate Heaven City and sent Mortal Domain members into the ruins to recover its remaining valuables.

Chen Fan completed the High-Speed Rail network across the West Pass Plains and Guandong Plains, then returned to the Mortal Domain and began strengthening the Northbank Defense Line. Exhausted after months of work, he decided to rest for a day, while the approaching rainy season and the uncertain fate of Defense Line Seven remained ahead.

• The Slaying Immortal Holy Land accepted the Mortal Domain's reconciliation, and Chen Fan chose the Eerie Fire's Lord Over All Nations blessing so Eerie Fires could be upgraded using only Eerie Stones.
• Chen Fan led the construction of High-Speed Rail Lines and Signal Towers across the West Pass Plains, then continued into the devastated Guandong Plains after learning from Shao Qiu that Defense Line Seven was in danger.
• Chen Fan visited Defense Line Seven but declined to meet its commander or reveal Shao Qiu's identity, then returned toward the Mortal Domain with the Shadow Pavilion members.
• At Defense Line Seven, a young man promised Uncle Liu he would stay and defend the line as the strange tide began another nighttime assault.
• Chen Fan returned home, learned that an unfamiliar Maid had tried to influence him against Wang Kui, and sent Little Qiu to investigate her.
• After Little Qiu reported that the Maid had simply hoped to become Chen Fan's woman, Chen Fan went to the Northbank Defense Line, began installing defensive structures, and returned exhausted, deciding to take a day off.

Chen Fan learned that Defense Line Seven was nearly overwhelmed by shortages and betrayal, so he secretly sent Shao Qiu with a trainload of Soul-Devouring Sculptures to help. Shao Qiu arrived at Defense Line Seven just before nightfall and reunited with Uncle Liu as Elder Seven welcomed the aid.

• Chen Fan dreamed that a Strange Tide destroyed Jiangbei, then woke and resumed strengthening the Northbank Defense Line.
• Shao Qiu told Chen Fan about Defense Line Seven’s costs, its betrayal by human traitors, and its desperate need for support.
• Chen Fan ordered Shao Qiu to deliver a thousand Soul-Devouring Sculptures to Defense Line Seven while concealing the Mortal Domain’s identity.
• Shao Qiu led the sculptures south by high-speed rail and arrived at Defense Line Seven on July 7, where he joyfully reunited with Uncle Liu.
• Elder Seven confirmed that the sculptures would reduce cannon tower ammunition consumption by 40 percent and agreed to install them immediately.

Shao Qiu saw Defense Line Seven benefit from reduced Soul-Devouring Sculpture costs, learned how Night Watchers were turned into living weapons, and left for the Mortal Domain. As the rainy season approached, Chen Fan chose to spend the Mortal Domain’s reserves pursuing the Heavenly Dominion reward, hoping to make it a miracle for the Eternal Night Continent.

• Shao Qiu watched Defense Line Seven’s Soul-Devouring Sculptures cut the towers’ Eerie Stone consumption by forty percent, and Elder Seven explained how Night Watchers could be strengthened through agonizing injections of liquefied Eerie Stones.
• Shao Qiu decided that the Shadow Pavilion would target traitors behind the front lines, then left Defense Line Seven after sharing a meal with Uncle Liu, who stayed behind.
• Chen Fan completed the 170-kilometer Northbank Defense Line, then learned that covering the New Continent in max-level Eerie Fires would cost 3.39 billion Eerie Stones.
• Chen Fan used the Heaven-Questioning Incense, which advised that the Heavenly Dominion reward was worthwhile only if no major crisis came within a year, and asked his core members whether to gamble or develop steadily.
• Wang Kui advised caution, but Qi Yue urged Chen Fan to gamble so the Mortal Domain could become a miracle; Chen Fan followed his heart and chose the opportunity.
• Chen Fan shared a hot pot meal with his companions and asked Crippled Monkey to accompany him to the Guandong Plains to help prepare defenses for the rainy season.

Chen Fan reinforced Defense Line Seven, arranged a trade route for Strange Entity corpses, and returned to the Mortal Domain as the rainy season began. After learning that Jiangbei’s shattered sea node would unleash an undersea tide in two years, the Slaying Immortal Holy Land Sacred Lord wondered why Chen Fan had built the Northbank Defense Line instead of fleeing.

• Chen Fan traveled to Defense Line Seven, installed altars and copper pipes, connected its Cannon Towers to Eerie Fire, and strengthened the wall against the coming rainy season.
• Chen Fan arranged for Defense Line Seven to load Wraith Hides, Ghost Bones, and Strange Entity corpses onto regular High-Speed Rail trains in exchange for Eerie Stones.
• The rainy season began as Chen Fan returned to Nameless Mountain, while the Northbank Defense Line kept the strange tides from reaching Northbank City.
• The Slaying Immortal Holy Land Sacred Lord told the First Elder that Jiangbei’s node had shattered and That One’s protective aura would fade in about two years, allowing the Northbank Undersea Strange Tide to come ashore.
• The Sacred Lord and First Elder discussed how Chen Fan had built a 170-kilometer defense line rather than flee, and concluded that the Mortal Domain might gain support by accepting responsibility for protecting Jiangbei.

Chen Fan expanded the Mortal Domain’s New Continent operations while Defense Line Seven survived the Rainy Season with few casualties. After learning the Eternal Night Hall planned to abandon Jiangbei, Chen Fan told Elder Seven that a 170-kilometer Northbank Defense Line already stood there, leaving Elder Seven stunned by the possibility that Chen Fan had built it.

• The Holy Lord of the Slaying Immortal Holy Land discussed the unknown figure whose lingering aura had suppressed the Northbank Undersea Strange Tide and defended his decision to take the figure’s Snow Lotus Flowers.
• Chen Fan made Eerie Fires for the Blazing Prairie Project as Mortal Domain members surveyed the New Continent, planted banners, established supply stations, and coordinated their work through a Heavenly Derivation Sand Table.
• Elder Seven learned from the Eternal Night Hall that it would abandon Defense Line Seven and the regions west of Yellow Springs Pass Canyon because it lacked resources after losing two fronts; he refused to evacuate and vowed to die defending his people.
• The Rainy Season ended, and Chen Fan traveled to Defense Line Seven to collect its stockpiled Strange Entity corpses, where Elder Seven told him the Eternal Night Hall had abandoned Jiangbei.
• Chen Fan reassured Elder Seven that Jiangbei already had a safe 170-kilometer Northbank Defense Line, prompting Elder Seven to suspect that Chen Fan was responsible.

Chen Fan accepted Elder Seven’s gifts and used the Heavenly Dao Stone to give copper pipes an illusory state, then expanded Mortal Domain’s preparations against the coming Undersea Strange Tide. Elder Seven inspected the Northbank Defense Line and concluded it was more than strong enough, while Chen Fan remained concerned about threats beyond it.

• Chen Fan accepted Elder Seven’s Heavenly Dao Stone and Heaven-Commanding Banner, then returned to Mortal Domain and gave copper pipes the Absolute Illusion blessing.
• Chen Fan discovered that supported copper pipes remained suspended after becoming illusory, experimented with a gondola, and later learned that the Heaven-Commanding Banner could summon storms to charge Sky-Piercing Pillars.
• Chen Fan welcomed Elder Seven to Mortal Domain and showed him the Northbank Defense Line, where Elder Seven found extensive Wraith Blood Patterns and powerful defenses.
• Elder Seven initially suggested improvements to the defense line, then learned the Godslayer Cannons could both clear strange tides and kill greater wraiths.
• Elder Seven judged the Northbank Defense Line more than adequate, while Chen Fan insisted that Mortal Domain still needed to prepare for greater dangers.

Chen Fan discovered that earth gold could withstand the Thunderstorm Sea’s lightning and built an aerial cable lifeline to channel its power into the Mortal Domain’s Sky-Piercing Pillars. After the first Level-6 Sky-Piercing Pillar test obliterated a vast section of the strange tide at Defense Line Seven, Chen Fan offered the line three free shots of Heavenly Punishment.

• Chen Fan failed to move a Sky-Piercing Pillar onto phantom copper pipes, then tested materials at the Thunderstorm Sea and found that an earth gold blade survived its lightning.
• Chen Fan ordered Zhao Shengping to make an earth gold cable, confirmed that it charged a Sky-Piercing Pillar, and directed the Mortal Domain to build an aerial lifeline to the Thunderstorm Sea.
• After two months of construction, Chen Fan connected the lifeline to hundreds of Sky-Piercing Pillars, greatly increasing their charging speed.
• Chen Fan brought the Mortal Domain’s core personnel to Defense Line Seven and launched a fully charged Level-6 Sky-Piercing Pillar into the strange tide.
• The blast cleared a vast area beyond Defense Line Seven, and Chen Fan called the weapon Heavenly Punishment and offered Elder Seven three free Level-Six shots.

Chen Fan watched the Mortal Domain flourish as its members traveled, reconciled old grievances, and pursued new pursuits, while he inspected its resources and received news of the wider war. The chapter ended with Chen Fan struggling to review the Warehouse records while Elder Seven faced the coming rainy season at Defense Line Seven and the Eternal Night Front reported recent gains.

• Big Fish and Gongyang Yiyue joked and played in the rice fields, while Gongyang Yue waited happily for Qi Yue and A Le considered finding a wife.
• Wang Kui visited Station 17, lifted the restriction on the former Qiuhe Wang Family Head, and let go of his resentment after hearing why the man had assigned him to the Jiangbei Wasteland.
• Wang Kui toured Medicine King Valley’s theme park, learned about exotic beasts’ magnetic fields, and met the candy-loving Gold-Swallowing Toad.
• Shao Qiu infiltrated the Slaying Immortal Holy Land, captured its Third Elder, and settled his old grievance with the Sacred Lord.
• Chen Fan received another Heavenly Dao Stone from the Sacrificial Tower after it exhausted its Yellow Grade Special Resources and began producing Blue Grade ones.
• A Yellow Springs Pass commander heard that the Eternal Night Front had retaken Number Three Front and Number Four Front, while Chen Fan reviewed the Warehouse records and decided to let Wang Kui enjoy his vacation.

Chen Fan’s Spark Starting a Prairie Fire project illuminated the New Continent, triggering the Heavenly Dominion reward: a golden rain that healed people and land, followed by three years of protection and naturally forming Eerie Ore. A year later, as the Undersea Strange Tide approached Jiangbei, Chen Fan strengthened the Northbank Defense Line and called for reinforcements; the Slaying Immortal Holy Land arrived ready to fight.

• Chen Fan chose the Exhausted Ammunition blessing for the Soul-Devouring Sculpture and heard Wang Kui report that the Spark Starting a Prairie Fire project was nearly complete and the Mortal Domain held 6.17 billion Eerie Stones.
• Chen Fan traveled to the New Continent, where its 169,988 max-level Eerie Fires drove away the darkness and brought down golden rain that healed injuries, restored the land, and extended lifespans.
• Chen Fan learned that Heavenly Dominion would protect the New Continent from Strange Entities for three years while generating Eerie Ore, and he ordered Mortal Domain members to come receive the golden rain.
• One year later, Chen Fan prepared for the Undersea Strange Tide by upgrading the Northbank Defense Line to Level 6 and requesting reinforcements from Jiangbei and the West Pass Plains.
• The Slaying Immortal Holy Land Sacred Lord arrived with 729 disciples, three months of rations, and five million Eerie Stones, asking to fight for Jiangbei and the West Pass.

Chen Fan and the Mortal Domain held the Northbank Defense Line against fifteen days of undersea strange-tide attacks, then received Tianyi of the Eternal Night Hall, who sought help for the struggling Eternal Night Front. Chen Fan offered food and transport routes in exchange for eerie stone collected at the front, and invited Tianyi inside to discuss the proposal.

• Chen Fan activated all 8,500 Godslayer Cannons and the Northbank Defense Line’s air defenses, repelling the first strange-tide attack and surviving the night with few casualties.
• Over the next fifteen days, the Mortal Domain kept the strange tide from breaking through while gathering resources and feeding the defenders; Chen Fan learned that the Eternal Night Hall had been told Jiangbei still stood.
• Tianyi traveled from the Yellow Springs Pass Defense Line to Jiangbei and saw the Mortal Domain’s defenses holding against the strange tide.
• Tianyi thanked Chen Fan for protecting Jiangbei, asked about the Mortal Domain’s eerie-stone reserves, and requested support for the Eternal Night Hall.
• After learning that the Eternal Night Hall’s troops subsisted on toasted flour while the Mortal Domain served hot meals, Chen Fan offered food and transport routes in exchange for eerie stone collected at the Eternal Night Front.
• Chen Fan invited Tianyi inside the Northbank Defense Line’s hut to continue their discussion.

Chen Fan learned that Eternal Night Hall was struggling to supply its fronts and planned a route through the Yellow Springs region and Autumnbright Basin. After a traitor leaked news of the Jiangbei Mortal Domain, the Strange Entity Clan sent a massive tide through the Yellow Springs Coast Defense Line toward Jiangbei, and Tianyi plunged into battle to hold the Yellow Springs Pass Defense Line.

• Chen Fan learned from Tianyi that the Western Plains had fallen, supply routes were perilous, and a level-20 Night Watcher could destroy a vast number of strange entities by self-detonating.
• Chen Fan mapped a coastal supply route from the Mortal Domain through the Yellow Springs Mountain Range Region and Autumnbright Basin toward Western Region Frontline One.
• Tianyi told Chen Fan that he had reported the Mortal Domain's strength only to his master, but the master secretly passed the information to the Strange Entity Clan.
• The Ghost Emperor ordered a strange tide smuggled through successive sea routes to attack the Yellow Springs Coast Defense Line and then advance through Yellow Springs Pass toward Jiangbei.
• The strange tide overwhelmed the Yellow Springs Coast Defense Line and attacked Yellow Springs Pass, where Tianyi realized his master was a traitor and warned Chen Fan.
• Tianyi leaped from the Yellow Springs Pass Defense Line into the strange tide, burning nearby Strange Entities as he announced his presence.

Tianyi and Night Watcher Number Ninety-Seven sacrificed themselves to hold the Yellow Springs Pass Defense Line until Chen Fan’s missile strikes destroyed the strange tide. Chen Fan arranged treatment for the barely living Tianyi and reinforced the line, while the captured traitor Zhang Yide was ordered to feed the Strange Entity Clan false intelligence; Qiu Yisi revealed that the dead Night Watcher had been his son.

• Tianyi unleashed Corpse Liberation and Heaven-Burning, killed two Wraith Kings, and was struck down by a Greater Wraith as the strange tide surged toward the defense line.
• Night Watcher Number Ninety-Seven detonated a Ghostly Green aurora that wiped out most of the attackers, and Chen Fan’s repeated Cruise Missile strikes helped the defenders hold until the strange tide was gone.
• The commander reported that Tianyi was still barely alive, and the Medicine King Valley Master proposed using a Wraith Blood Flower and Human Blood Pills to try to save him; Chen Fan sent him back to the Mortal Domain for treatment.
• Chen Fan learned that the attack had come through the fallen Yellow Springs Coast Defense Line, ordered the Yellow Springs Pass defenses strengthened, and the Ghost Emperor decided to report the Mortal Domain’s intervention to his superiors.
• Qiu Yisi arrested Zhang Yide for betraying the Eternal Night Continent and ordered him to send false intelligence, then revealed that Night Watcher Number Ninety-Seven had been his only son.