Chapter Summaries

Li Chen explained that his Thunderhawk Fighter was designed to change warfare through speed and long-range attacks, rather than conventional combat strength. After showing Yu Feng and the others his automated factory, he invited them to work with him and offered to share his research and help them advance.

• Yu Feng and the others questioned why Li Chen classified the Thunderhawk Fighter as a Two-Star creation despite its cost and aerial capabilities.
• Li Chen described his vision of separating war from close combat through high-speed mobility and distant attacks.
• Li Chen revealed that his automated operation had built twelve Thunderhawk Fighters in under half a month and outlined his growing production capacity.
• Li Chen invited Yu Feng and the others to join his work after their sect training, promising to share research and help them advance.
• Yu Feng and the others considered Li Chen's offer.

Li Chen launched the Thunderhawk Fighters in their first battle, using missile strikes to devastate the Human-Head Centipedes and turn the fighting in the Shaman Folk’s favor. The Heavenly Dragon Gate realized that strange Combat Puppets were responsible, but its Foundation Establishment Cultivators could not catch them.

• Li Chen sent three Thunderhawk Fighters from underground bases to support a position overwhelmed by Human-Head Centipedes.
• The fighters struck the battlefield with Flame Fang missiles, creating three craters and destroying most of the centipedes while Shan and Song of the Mountain Folk survived the blast.
• Li Chen ordered repeated air raids, and nearly a hundred attacks wiped out large numbers of Human-Head Centipedes and shifted the battle’s momentum.
• The Heavenly Dragon Gate’s observers investigated the unexplained attacks as their forces stopped responding.
• The Thunderhawk Fighters bombed a Heavenly Dragon Gate building, and its Foundation Establishment Cultivators failed to catch the retreating aircraft.

Li Chen’s fighters continued to devastate the Heavenly Dragon Gate’s forces, but an ambush damaged one fighter and exposed the danger posed by Foundation Establishment experts. As Centipede Daoist planned a surprise attack using tunneling Human-Head Centipedes, the Sixth Incarnation secretly alerted Heavenly Authority.

• Li Chen ordered more than a thousand air sorties, inflicting heavy casualties and losses on the Heavenly Dragon Gate’s forces.
• Centipede Daoist assembled experts and used a Detection Mechanism Device to lure Li Chen’s fighters into an ambush.
• Four Foundation Establishment experts attacked the fighters; a Sword Cultivator slashed one fighter’s wing, while a Three-Excellence Heavenly Treasure Centipede clung to another and corroded its alloy with poison.
• Li Chen ordered the fighters to climb away, then updated the command system with protocols to avoid future ambushes by enemy experts.
• Centipede Daoist urged the Heavenly Dragon Gate to counterattack by sending Human-Head Centipedes tunneling underground.
• The Sixth Incarnation secretly sent a signal to a Reconnaissance Flying Disc, and Heavenly Authority decoded its warning about the planned attack.

The Heavenly Dragon Gate tried to ambush Guangyuan Ward by sending thousands of Human-Head Centipedes through tunnels, but Li Chen’s elite forces were waiting and crushed the attack. Afterward, Li Chen explained his rune script techniques and offered to teach them to his companions.

• The Heavenly Dragon Gate sent ten thousand Human-Head Centipedes through tunnels toward the Market District while attacks elsewhere distracted Broad Cloud Ward’s forces.
• A three-hundred-strong force led by rogue cultivators and Shaman Tribe Remnants piloting Wildman Mechas ambushed the centipedes as they emerged and fought them back.
• Li Chen watched the battle with Dong Pengfei, Yu Feng, and the others, praising the Wildman Mechas and explaining how experienced Puppeteers adapted to controlling them.
• Yu Feng questioned whether Mechas were useful for cultivation, and Li Chen told him to focus on Puppet Master practice and use Puppet Conversion to advance his cultivation.
• Jiang Xuan asked how Li Chen had forged Puppets so quickly, and Li Chen credited his rune script techniques and offered to teach them to the others.

Li Chen’s Shaman Folk and Yaksha Mecha crushed the Heavenly Dragon Gate’s surprise attack, while a live broadcast inspired the mountain folk to take up mecha piloting. Centipede Daoist panicked at his mounting losses and ordered the attack to continue.

• Yu Feng and the others agreed to learn Li Chen’s secret art of compiling.
• Li Chen’s forces ambushed the Human-Head Centipede army outside the Market District and gained the advantage.
• Old Hong and the other Yaksha Mecha pilots surrounded and burned several Three-Excellence Heavenly Treasure Centipedes.
• The mountain folk watched Li Chen’s live broadcast and clamored to learn to pilot mecha.
• Centipede Daoist and Helm Master Lin suspected surveillance or a traitor after the failed ambush.
• Centipede Daoist, fearing Li Chen’s growing strength, ordered his forces to continue the attack.

The Centipede Daoist committed the Heavenly Dragon Gate’s reserves to an all-out assault on Li Chen’s Broad Cloud Ward. As the Market District suffered heavy damage and civilian casualties, Li Chen’s allies abandoned neutrality and joined its defense.

• The Centipede Daoist told Helm Master Lin he had decided to stake everything on a fight, while a passing woman overheard him and left without entering.
• Li Chen warned his allies that the Heavenly Dragon Gate was advancing with its main army and elite Heavenly Treasure Centipedes, while his depleted air raids killed only a fraction of the force.
• More than a dozen Three-Excellence Heavenly Treasure Centipedes attacked the Market District, killing and injuring thousands of Shaman Tribe Remnants and setting buildings ablaze.
• Li Chen sent his guards to fight the attackers, and Dong Pengfei called on Old Gong to help defend the district.
• Old Gong killed charging centipedes and wounded their commander, while Helm Master Lin, Madam Tong, and other allies sent their guards into battle.

As the war threatened to bankrupt Li Chen and destroy Broad Cloud Ward, he confronted the Centipede Daoist, who revealed his Heavenly Dragon Transformation. Li Chen recognized the technique’s connection to the path of becoming a Grand Artisan, and the Centipede Daoist hinted that he had once shared Li Chen’s ideals.

• The Centipede Daoist warned Li Chen that the Heavenly Dragon Gate could attack the Market District’s surrounding mines and spiritual gardens while his allies were occupied elsewhere.
• Li Chen realized that the Heavenly Dragon Gate’s full commitment threatened to ruin his forces and leave him bankrupt, and vowed to destroy the gate and seize Heavenly Dragon Peak if necessary.
• The Centipede Daoist transformed into a monstrous centipede and introduced his secret art, Heavenly Dragon Transformation.
• Li Chen identified the technique as a form of biological modification and connected it to the secret arts of Compression and Derivation and the path to becoming a Grand Artisan.
• The Centipede Daoist recognized Li Chen as a fellow traveler, while Li Chen rejected friendship because the Daoist treated human lives as worthless.
• When Li Chen condemned his disregard for ordinary people, the Centipede Daoist said he had once thought the same way, leaving Li Chen astonished.

Centipede Daoist argued that morality and humanity were conventions used to restrain the strong, while Li Chen condemned his reasoning as madness. They fought, and Centipede Daoist revealed his transformed body after Li Chen’s attacks failed to kill him, leaving Li Chen’s Great Wilderness Giant wounded.

• Centipede Daoist claimed that morality was a self-imposed shackle and that the Shaman Folk were no more than livestock to him.
• Li Chen called Centipede Daoist’s arguments sophistry and said he would destroy his body.
• Li Chen struck first with Heaven tilted, earth plummeted! and Thunder Dragon Spits Its Core, blasting apart Centipede Daoist’s head.
• Centipede Daoist grew two new heads, which Li Chen also destroyed, but Li Chen realized his opponent had been waiting for another attack.
• Centipede Daoist broke free of the magnetic restraint, dodged Li Chen’s blast, and stabbed the Great Wilderness Giant with his claws.
• Centipede Daoist’s monstrous head emerged from his chest as his claws pierced the Great Wilderness Giant.

Li Chen fought Centipede Daoist, whose body repeatedly shed and merged into new forms despite the Great Wilderness Giant’s attacks. Centipede Daoist revealed that he had reached the half-step Core Formation Realm and claimed his Heavenly Dragon Undying Body could not be killed while his Core Heart remained intact.

• Li Chen blocked Centipede Daoist’s sword attacks, then punched him into the ground with the Great Wilderness Giant.
• A new Human-Head Centipede crawled from the human head, and its Blood Lotus Bloom burned through the Giant’s fist even as Li Chen broke its body.
• Centipede Daoist emerged again after Li Chen pinned and crushed him, while centipedes crawled from the mangled remains and reassembled into a single body.
• Centipede Daoist told Li Chen that he had cultivated the Heavenly Dragon Undying Body and entered the half-step Core Formation Realm.
• Li Chen realized that Centipede Daoist’s True Core, rather than his head, was his vital weakness.

Li Chen fought Centipede Daoist and his seemingly endless supply of regenerating bodies in the Great Wilderness Giant, but Centipede Daoist withdrew before either could claim victory. Broad Cloud Ward celebrated its successful defense, while Li Chen resolved to finish an ultimate weapon capable of killing his foe.

• Li Chen repeatedly battered Centipede Daoist with the Great Wilderness Giant, but Centipede Daoist regenerated by producing new bodies from his mouth.
• As the battle dragged on, Centipede Daoist wounded the Great Wilderness Giant, and Li Chen realized that his opponent’s many Heavenly Treasure Centipede bodies made him difficult to exhaust or kill.
• A cultivator flew in to relay a message to Centipede Daoist, and Li Chen attacked the newcomer with Thunder Dragon Spits Its Core, but Centipede Daoist blocked the strike.
• Centipede Daoist announced that he would reorganize his army and return, then retreated from the battlefield.
• Broad Cloud Ward celebrated defeating the enemy, and Li Chen ordered Heavenly Pivot to tally the results and summon Young Master Dong and the others to the Market Chief's Residence.
• Li Chen decided not to pursue Centipede Daoist and vowed to finish his ultimate weapon.

As the Heavenly Dragon Gate tightened its assault on Broad Cloud Peak and threatened to exhaust Li Chen’s resources, he retaliated against its supply bases and called on the Shaman Folk rebels to rise. After nearly half a month of worsening losses, he learned new reinforcements had arrived from beyond the heavens and believed the arrival gave him a chance to win.

• Li Chen ordered Heavenly Authority to destroy mines and factories in the Shaman Folk Kingdom that supported the Heavenly Dragon Gate.
• Li Chen urged Great Shaman Wu Ze to exploit the Heavenly Dragon Gate’s focus on Broad Cloud Peak, and Wu Ze agreed to follow Li Chen’s strategic direction in exchange for supplies and technology.
• The Heavenly Dragon Gate intensified its attacks, while Li Chen struggled to replenish supplies and Qi Maigu reported that their devastating weapon could not be completed soon.
• After nearly half a month of fighting, Li Chen prepared for a strategic withdrawal but learned from the Sixth Incarnation that more Heavenly Dragon Gate reinforcements had arrived from beyond the heavens.
• Li Chen welcomed the reinforcements, convinced their arrival would let him turn the battle around and secure victory.

Li Chen held off Centipede Daoist without revealing the trump card others expected, while Centipede Daoist waited for reinforcements. A massive shipment arrived for Mei Xuan, who prepared to pursue revenge against Li Chen and ordered her relatives to serve under Centipede Daoist.

• Li Chen continued fighting Centipede Daoist in the Great Wilderness Giant, while allies mistook his resolve for proof that he had a powerful trump card.
• Centipede Daoist kept his offensive at its previous strength and returned to Biyuan City to rest, hoping reinforcements would soon arrive.
• Helm Envoy Ji delivered compensation and supplies, but Centipede Daoist discovered that the promised reinforcements had been cut by at least thirty percent.
• Mei Xuan received a shipment worth over a hundred million, including weapons, puppets, armor, and materials intended to help her recruit experts and avenge herself against Li Chen.
• Mei Xuan told the Mei Family and Lin Household representatives to serve under Uncle Wu's command, and they decided to watch over her from a distance.

Using Mei Xuan’s identity, Li Chen’s Sixth Incarnation secretly secured weapons and equipment from the Heavenly Dragon Gate, enabling Li Chen to launch a counterattack. She led a force of Broad Cloud Ward fighters toward the enemy’s mountain base, where Li Chen hoped to destroy its supply vaults, workshops, and recovering elites.

• The Sixth Incarnation collected supplies under Mei Xuan’s identity and secretly transmitted a signal to Li Chen.
• Li Chen summoned his allies and announced that Broad Cloud Ward would counterattack the Heavenly Dragon Gate, using intelligence gathered through Mei Xuan.
• Li Chen sent Old Hong and the others to meet the Sixth Incarnation and collect Puppets, Mecha, and other equipment.
• Old Hong’s group was shocked to find Young Miss Mei helping them, but they followed her instructions and armed themselves.
• The Sixth Incarnation led the fighters toward the Heavenly Dragon Gate’s eastern mountain base to strike its vaults, workshops, and hidden forces.

The Sixth Incarnation led Li Chen’s forces in an assault on a Heavenly Dragon Gate stronghold, killing Elder Zhu and attacking its fighters and workshop. She persuaded Merchants’ Association representatives to abandon Peak Lord Wu by revealing that the Golden Sun Gate planned to destroy the Heavenly Dragon Gate and possessed the Blazing Sun Divine Thunder.

• The Sixth Incarnation ordered Old Hong and the others to blast open the stronghold gate and attack the Heavenly Dragon Gate’s leaders.
• The Sixth Incarnation identified Elder Zhu as a target, and Old Hong’s forces killed him before fighting the Three-Excellence Heavenly Treasure Centipedes.
• The Sixth Incarnation ordered some of her forces to destroy the workshop as more Heavenly Dragon Gate members and Merchants’ Association representatives arrived.
• The Sixth Incarnation told Helm Master Lin and Steward Mo that Twin Spirit Peak and the Golden Sun Gate planned to annihilate Peak Lord Wu and the Heavenly Dragon Gate.
• The Sixth Incarnation revealed that the Golden Sun Gate possessed the Blazing Sun Divine Thunder, persuading Helm Master Lin to consider abandoning the Centipede Daoist and negotiating with Li Chen.

Li Chen joined forces with the Everflow Merchants' Association to crush the Heavenly Dragon Gate, forcing Centipede Daoist to flee as his strongholds fell. He then negotiated with Helm Master Lin to pursue Centipede Daoist and the Shaman King before they could threaten control of the region.

• Li Chen and the Everflow Merchants' Association attacked the Heavenly Dragon Gate, while Li Chen fought Centipede Daoist near Broad Cloud Ward.
• Helm Master Lin's forces betrayed the Heavenly Dragon Gate, and Li Chen revealed their alliance to Centipede Daoist.
• Li Chen's forces routed the Heavenly Dragon Gate's troops, captured its strongholds, and drove Centipede Daoist west.
• Thunderhawk Fighters destroyed a routed force of Heavenly Treasure Centipedes as Li Chen reclaimed nearby mineral veins and spirit gardens.
• Li Chen met Helm Master Lin and asked him to help eliminate Centipede Daoist and the Shaman King; Helm Master Lin agreed.

The wounded Centipede Daoist returned to his surviving followers’ refuge and proposed assassinating Li Chen rather than rebuilding the Heavenly Dragon Gate. Elders Yuan Keshan and Duan Yong discussed defecting to Li Chen, and Yuan asked Duan what he thought.

• The Centipede Daoist watched Li Chen’s forces uncover a secret passage on Heavenly Dragon Peak but withdrew rather than risk being discovered.
• The Centipede Daoist met the surviving Heavenly Dragon Gate elders in their hidden refuge and rejected Yuan Keshan’s plan to retake the main peak.
• The Centipede Daoist declared that they had to assassinate Li Chen to reverse their fortunes, then suffered from his lingering injuries.
• Yuan Keshan and Duan Yong privately discussed the gate’s likely defeat as they inspected a concealed sentry post.
• Yuan Keshan suggested that he and Duan Yong defect to Artisan Li, and Duan Yong reacted in horror.

Li Chen’s forces hunted down the scattered Heavenly Dragon Gate disciples as the sect’s defeat became clear, while Li Chen prepared treasured materials for a major Enhancement Modification. Heavenly Pivot then reported that Artisan Qi had returned with good news, leaving Li Chen anticipating what he might have accomplished.

• A search party surrounded a group of Heavenly Dragon Gate disciples, and Senior Brother Huang surrendered with several others while the remaining disciples fought back.
• Li Chen used Flying Discs, Wave-Leaping Sensing Art, and Artificial Intelligence to track and blockade the scattered disciples.
• Li Chen refined firefly treasure gold and prepared other treasured materials for an Enhancement Modification to strengthen his original body.
• Heavenly Pivot told Li Chen that Artisan Qi had returned to the Market District with good news, and Li Chen stopped working in anticipation.

Li Chen learned that Qi Maigu had completed the Blazing Sun Divine Thunder and considered how to use it against the Centipede Daoist and produce more weapons. He then sent a secret message to Yuan Keshan and Duan Yong to plan a more precise search for their target.

• Qi Maigu revealed that he had completed the Blazing Sun Divine Thunder and gained experience that could help him advance to Grand Artisan.
• Li Chen told Dong Pengfei what the weapon was, and Qi Maigu showed them the thunder and explained that it could threaten even core formation cultivators.
• After hearing about the Centipede Daoist, Qi Maigu assured Li Chen that the divine thunder could kill an enemy at half-step core formation if deployed effectively.
• Li Chen privately asked Qi Maigu whether the weapon could be mass-produced, and Qi Maigu offered to share his research if Li Chen funded it.
• Back at his residence, Li Chen had Heavenly Pivot connect the communication array to Heavenly Dragon Peak and sent a secret message to Yuan Keshan and Duan Yong.

Yuan Keshan and Duan Yong agreed that luring Centipede Daoist to Heavenly Dragon Peak would serve as their pledge of allegiance to Li Chen. After Yuan Keshan reported a possible lead on Li Chen’s Four-Star mecha, Centipede Daoist decided to investigate it himself.

• Yuan Keshan asked Duan Yong what they should do about Li Chen’s demand that they lure Centipede Daoist back to Heavenly Dragon Peak, and Duan Yong agreed they had no way back.
• Centipede Daoist met with the three remaining elders of the Heavenly Dragon Gate at a secluded residence in Sufang City.
• Yuan Keshan claimed his disciples had found the secret base where Li Chen repaired his puppets and had seen the Four-Star mecha there.
• Duan Yong warned Centipede Daoist that the intelligence might be false, and he and Yuan Keshan argued until another elder stopped them.
• Centipede Daoist weighed their claims and decided to investigate the reported base himself, hoping to destroy Li Chen’s mecha.

Li Chen used his Creation Mother Device to refine materials for his Puppet Conversion while learning that Centipede Daoist had taken the bait and headed toward the hidden Great Wilderness Giant. Centipede Daoist gathered surviving Heavenly Dragon Gate disciples at a secret outpost and suspected Li Chen’s setup, but resolved to seize the Mecha anyway.

• Li Chen continued refining treasured materials with his latest Creation Mother Device as he prepared Spirit Seeds for Five Elements Organ-Shaping.
• Heavenly Pivot told Li Chen that Yuan Keshan had reported Centipede Daoist falling into the trap near Broad Cloud Peak.
• Centipede Daoist traveled to a concealed Heavenly Dragon Gate outpost and secretly summoned nearby disciples.
• Several surviving disciples arrived and greeted Centipede Daoist as their Sect Master.
• After learning that Li Chen had hidden the Great Wilderness Giant at the outpost, Centipede Daoist suspected a scheme but decided he could destroy the Mecha and reverse his disadvantage.