Chapter Summaries

Mei Tang learned that Li Chen had destroyed the Mei Family’s flying boat and concluded that Zone Sixty-Six concealed a major secret. The Flying Boat Guild fined Li Chen one million talisman coins, while Mei Yunhe and other groups used the ruling as a pretext to push for an investigation at Guangyun.

• Mei Tang discovered that Li Chen had shot down the flying boat sent by the Mei Family and vowed to uncover the secret of Zone Sixty-Six.
• Dong Pengfei worried that Li Chen’s actions could bring sanctions against Guangyun, but Li Chen argued that the boat was a private provocation and that Guangyun’s value would protect it from a lasting blockade.
• The Flying Boat Guild declared that the destroyed boat was unregistered, then fined Li Chen one million talisman coins for endangering navigation.
• Mei Yunhe bribed a guild contact to obtain an official assignment to investigate the incident site.
• Several distant market districts and rogue cultivator lineages claimed the boat’s renters as their kin, submitted its records, and demanded access to the scene and an explanation from Li Chen.

A delegation led by Chang Hao arrived in Broad Cloud Ward to confront Li Chen over the destruction of a flying boat, but Li Chen remained absent while unrest broke out outside the Market Chief’s Residence. As the delegates went to investigate, a crushing force pinned them in place, revealing that they had walked into an ambush.

• Dong Pengfei welcomed Chang Hao, Sang Chong, and representatives of the Hecheng Merchants' Association, the Sang Family, and the Flying Boat Guild, then hosted them at the Market Chief’s Residence.
• Mei Tang of the Everflow Merchants' Association arrived and spoke cordially with Chang Hao and the other delegates, making Dong Pengfei suspect hidden ties between them.
• Chang Hao demanded a meeting with Li Chen, while Sang Chong accused Li Chen of avoiding them; Dong Pengfei said Li Chen knew they had arrived.
• Old Gong whispered something to Dong Pengfei, who abruptly left the gathering without explaining himself.
• A steward reported that rogue cultivators had gathered outside and were fighting over Broad Cloud Ward; the delegates went out to see what was happening.
• A powerful gravity suddenly immobilized Chang Hao and the other delegates, and they realized they had entered an ambush.

Li Chen revealed that he had reached Core Formation and used the great wilderness giant’s force field to trap the merchants’ delegation. When Chang Hao led an escape attempt, Li Chen killed Mei Tang and his guard, leaving the delegation in chaos.

• Chang Hao and the others were pinned down by the great wilderness giant’s force field, and they realized Li Chen had lured them into a trap.
• Li Chen appeared in the giant puppet and revealed his Core Formation cultivation, shocking the captives.
• Li Chen ordered his guards and battle puppets to seize everyone, killing anyone who resisted.
• Chang Hao burned his essence blood and vital energy to break free, while the others attempted to flee.
• Li Chen struck down Leader Gu with the Thunder Soldier Tribulation Finger and killed Mei Tang with the attack’s remaining force.

Li Chen revealed his Core Formation cultivation and killed Mei Tang, then defeated Leader Gu and ordered Broad Cloud Ward's troops to rout the investigative delegation. He left the surviving delegates as captives, while Elder Li of the Flying Boat Guild remained unharmed.

• Dong Pengfei realized Li Chen's Core Formation cultivation changed how the factions would have to treat him, though he suspected Li Chen had deliberately chosen to kill Mei Tang.
• Li Chen used Void Insight Opens Heaven to swallow Leader Gu's sword attack, then broke his sword and killed him with the Thunder Soldier Tribulation Finger.
• Broad Cloud Ward's garrison troops intercepted the fleeing delegation and killed or wounded many of its members.
• Elder Yang begged to surrender, and Li Chen ordered the garrison troops to stop attacking as the delegates laid down their weapons.
• Li Chen's troops brought back the escapees, killed the fiercest holdouts, and took the surviving delegates captive; Chang Hao and Sang Chong lived despite serious injuries.
• Dong Pengfei noticed that the casualties had fallen mostly on powerful He City clans, while the merchants' association suffered few losses and Elder Li of the Flying Boat Guild remained unharmed.

Li Chen explained that his new status as a Puppet Master Grand Artisan gave him allies and access to resources that could quickly strengthen him against the Mei Family. Mei Xuan described the family’s likely forces as Li Chen prepared for a possible war.

• Li Chen ended his Ultrawave Communication with Mei Yunhe after challenging him to fight, and Mei Yunhe smashed his desk in anger.
• Mei Xuan warned Li Chen that the Mei Family could bring its full strength against him, but Li Chen said his Grand Artisan status and allies made him difficult to judge by his current combat strength alone.
• Li Chen explained that Puppet Masters could rapidly increase their strength by buying puppets and mechanism devices, and that advancing had earned him recognition and access to a wider network.
• Li Chen asked Heavenly Pivot to assess the likelihood of a large Mei Family army and high-grade battle puppets being deployed.
• Mei Xuan disclosed the Mei Family’s battle puppets, likely troops, Core Formation support, and hired rogue cultivators, and said she hoped the conflict would end quickly.

Li Chen learned that Grand Artisan Ma Wanbao was connected to the Hecheng Merchants' Association and contacted him after releasing Elder Li and confronting Chang Hao. Ma Wanbao agreed to hear Li Chen out, but his proposed conditions ended their friendly exchange.

• Mei Xuan told Li Chen that Ma Wanbao backed the Hecheng Merchants' Association and that Sang Chong was related to one of Ma's wives.
• Li Chen released Elder Li with an apology gift, and Elder Li agreed to convey Li Chen's intentions to the Flying Boat Guild's leadership.
• Li Chen confronted Chang Hao, revealed that he had intercepted Mei Tang's letter, and demanded Ma Wanbao's communication Waymarker.
• Li Chen used Ultrawave Communication to contact Ma Wanbao, who agreed to hear his explanation as a fellow Grand Artisan.
• Ma Wanbao proposed conditions that shattered the cordial mood of their conversation.

Li Chen negotiated with Ma Wanbao over the Hecheng Merchants' Association's access to his territory and his conductive stone core-refining technique, refusing to reveal the technique but agreeing to compensation and cooperation. After Ma Wanbao ended the discussion, Li Chen ordered Sang Chong and the others released so he could focus on the war that might come.

• Li Chen rejected Ma Wanbao's demand for his conductive stone core-refining technique, explaining that it was the foundation of his livelihood.
• Ma Wanbao offered New-Generation Ultrawave Communication techniques and guidance on opening a Minor Grotto-Heaven, but Li Chen refused to trade away his exclusive advantage.
• Ma Wanbao asked Li Chen to release Sang Chong and the others and provide compensation, and Li Chen offered ten million talisman coins.
• Ma Wanbao told Xi'er that he would continue business cooperation with Li Chen while also helping Senior Mei, and said Sang Chong would have to accept the grievance.
• Li Chen reflected on Ma Wanbao's tactics and ordered his people to release Sang Chong and the others.

Mei Yunhe considered abandoning his campaign against Li Chen but resolved not to concede, while Li Chen reflected on the Mei Family’s uncertain future. At the end of July, the Black Shark Bandits arrived above Zone Sixty-Six, and Li Chen identified them as a notorious bandit gang led by Sha Jing.

• Mei Yunhe seethed over Li Chen’s settlements with the Flying Boat Guild and Ma Wanbao, weighed withdrawing from Guangyun, then decided he could not admit defeat.
• Li Chen asked Mei Xuan about the Mei Family’s prospects after Mei Yunhe, and Mei Xuan disparaged her cousins’ ability to inherit the family’s power.
• Li Chen reasoned that Mei Yunhe would likely either avoid attacking or try to subdue him and bind him with an unequal treaty.
• A shark-shaped Flying Boat appeared above Zone Sixty-Six, dodged the Puppet Legion’s missiles, and sent twelve Foundation Establishment cultivators descending toward the zone.
• Li Chen used the Auxiliary Brain to identify the newcomers as the Black Shark Bandits, a ruthless gang led by the Sea Folk cultivator Sha Jing.

Sha Jing and the Black Shark Bandits attacked Broad Cloud Star, but Li Chen intercepted them and prepared a strategic missile strike. After the bandits’ five-star flying boat drove off his fighters, Li Chen launched the Heavenly Sword strategic missile through a spatial portal.

• Sha Jing led the Black Shark Bandits toward Broad Cloud Star and rejected Li Chen’s warning to leave.
• Li Chen’s fighters fired Flame Fang missiles at Sha Jing, but his water sphere shielded him from the blasts.
• The bandits’ five-star flying boat damaged the Thunderhawk Fighters with beams of divine light and forced them to retreat.
• Mei Xuan explained that Sha Jing had seized the flying boat from a declining merchants’ association.
• Li Chen used the Heavenly Eye System to lock onto the bandits’ position and authorized the Heavenly Sword strategic missile launch.
• The missile ignited and shot through a black-hole portal near Broad Cloud Peak.

Li Chen ambushed the five-star Black Shark Flying Boat with a teleporting barrage of miniature Divine Thunder, but its powerful defenses and self-repair kept it from being destroyed. When the boat activated a void barrier that disrupted his waymarker, Li Chen ordered Heavenly Authority to fire at the next opening and turned his attention to the Black Shark Bandits already on the ground.

• Li Chen sent a hundred miniature Divine Thunder warheads through a teleportation array to strike the Black Shark Flying Boat at close range.
• The barrage battered the boat but failed to destroy its hull, and the vessel repaired much of the damage with a Divine Ability Mechanism Device.
• Li Chen recognized the boat's Void-Refining Creation Art and considered how its mechanisms could inform his own five-star puppet designs.
• The Black Shark Flying Boat accelerated and deployed a void barrier that invalidated Li Chen's waymarker and interfered with his next attack.
• Li Chen ordered Heavenly Authority to lock on and fire when an opening appeared, then threatened to kill the Black Shark Bandits' accomplices on the ground.

After the Black Shark Bandits escaped aboard their Flying Boat, Li Chen recognized the need for stronger combat power and sought support from the Golden Sun Gate while developing another solution. He began building Waymarker Satellites for an Ultrawave Communication network across Guangyun, laying the groundwork for the Heavenly Sword System.

• Li Chen watched a golden beam recall a pursued Black Shark Bandit to the Flying Boat, which then departed for the Star Sea.
• Mei Xuan explained that building a Five-Star Puppet required at least ten billion in cultivation provisions, so Li Chen decided to press the Golden Sun Gate to approve a Battle Puppet lease.
• The Black Shark Bandits continued harassing Li Chen, whose Crimson Sun Divine Thunder could threaten their Flying Boat but could not reliably hit distant targets.
• Li Chen directed his subordinates to assemble Waymarker Satellites designed to mark spatial coordinates and extend Ultrawave Communication coverage across Guangyun.
• Li Chen planned to network the satellites with his Swarm of Bees Technique and artificial intelligence to create the Heavenly Sword System.

Li Chen deployed a concealed Cosmic Dao Satellite network around Broad Cloud Star and used it to ambush the Black Shark Bandits' Flying Boat with Blazing Sun Divine Thunder. After the strike badly damaged the vessel, Li Chen decided to capture it himself.

• Li Chen used his artificial intelligence and Cosmic Dao Satellites to prepare the Heavenly Sword System for deployment.
• Li Chen positioned hundreds of Satellites through a Void Passage and spent several days debugging and testing the network around Guangyun.
• When the Black Shark Bandits' Flying Boat appeared, Li Chen ordered Heavenly Authority to launch a Strategic Missile loaded with Blazing Sun Divine Thunder.
• The Divine Thunder struck the Flying Boat and burned a large hole through its hull, leaving Sha Jing and his subordinates in shock.
• Li Chen ordered a spatial transfer passage opened so he could capture the damaged Five-Star Flying Boat.

Li Chen ambushed Sha Jing near the damaged Flying Boat and fought the powerful Black Shark demon, eventually leaving him near death. Before Li Chen could finish him, a five-star Battle Puppet appeared and struck him with a massive beam of white light.

• Li Chen used the Heavenly Sword System’s matter-transmission passage to leap to the damaged Flying Boat and confront Sha Jing.
• Sha Jing ignored his companion’s warning and attacked Li Chen, who struggled against his formidable Demon Race strength.
• Sha Jing’s Shark-Rending Coil tore at Li Chen, but Li Chen broke the shark manifestations with his Thunder Soldier Tribulation Finger.
• Li Chen pierced Sha Jing with the Thunder Dragon Cannon and another finger strike, leaving him barely alive.
• A five-star Battle Puppet appeared and unleashed a massive beam of white radiance at Li Chen.

Li Chen was ambushed by the Mei Family’s Flame Fang Battle Puppet but unleashed the Golden Cicada Transformation and fought back. Thunderhawk Fighters joined the battle, which ended with both sides battered and neither able to claim a clear victory.

• Li Chen escaped Flame Fang’s opening attack and recognized the Mei Family Battle Puppet, whose Controller pursued him.
• Li Chen asked Mei Xuan about the Controller, then endured Flame Fang’s blows and streams of fire while trying to evade it.
• Li Chen activated the Golden Cicada Transformation, recovered from his burns, and damaged Flame Fang with his fist and Thunder Soldier Tribulation Finger.
• Thunderhawk Fighters arrived and forced Flame Fang to retreat, while the Black Shark Bandits used their Flying Boat’s defensive weapons to drive off the fighters.
• The battle ended with both sides battered after revealing hidden forces and powerful trump cards.

After surviving an attack on Broad Cloud Peak, Li Chen recovered in a treatment machine and concluded that he needed more resources to strengthen his body and defenses. The Golden Sun Gate agreed to provide him a Five-Star Battle Puppet and other support, and Yu Youxian was chosen to deliver the agreement.

• Li Chen recovered from his wounds in a treatment machine and discussed his weaknesses and need for more cultivation resources with Mei Xuan.
• Li Chen decided to speed up the search for mineral deposits in the Azure Billow Immortal Abode and press the Golden Sun Gate for aid.
• Yu Huan and the Golden Sun Gate elders discussed the attack on Broad Cloud Peak and agreed to condemn it as a bandit raid while preparing support for Li Chen.
• The Golden Sun Gate approved a ten-year rental of a Five-Star Battle Puppet at a preferential rate, along with cultivation methods and the Great Wilderness Giant, in exchange for Li Chen signing an honorary elder agreement.
• Yu Huan volunteered Yu Youxian to deliver the battle puppet and agreement to Li Chen.

Yu Youxian led a Golden Sun Gate delegation to Li Chen’s residence to deliver the five-star Yu Xiao Tiger Battle Puppet. After inspecting its weapons and power core, Li Chen learned that its Miniature Solar Furnace gave it endurance and power output comparable to a six-star puppet.

• Yu Youxian arrived at Li Chen’s residence with the Golden Sun Gate delegation and offered to hand over the Yu Xiao Tiger.
• Li Chen hosted the delegation before beginning the formal handover aboard their Flying Boat.
• A Controller brought out the Yu Xiao Tiger, and Li Chen examined the beast-shaped Battle Puppet and its treasured materials.
• Yu Youxian explained that the Yu Xiao Tiger had close-combat attacks, Solar Divine Light ranged attacks, and a Primordial Energy Bomb.
• Mei Xuan questioned whether the puppet’s two major Mechanism Devices would compromise its power core, and Yu Youxian revealed that its Miniature Solar Furnace made it comparable to a six-star puppet.

Li Chen accepted a modified Six-Star Battle Puppet from Yu Youxian after learning that its Solar Furnace could supply power equivalent to a seventh-tier Core Formation expert. He installed his Worker Bee System in the puppet, and an alarm warned of an incoming high-energy reaction just as he finished.

• Yu Youxian explained that the Solar Furnace possessed the boundless magic power Dao Fruit and could reach the seventh tier of Core Formation.
• Li Chen signed the Spell Contract for the Battle Puppet after Yu Youxian refused to lend him additional Five-Star Battle Puppets.
• At Base No. 1, Li Chen reviewed the Golden Sun Gate's instructional diagram and noted which puppet components he was forbidden to modify.
• Li Chen opened the Yu Xiao Tiger's hatch and spent the night porting his Worker Bee System into its Puppet Core.
• After debugging the system, Li Chen heard an alarm announcing an incoming high-energy reaction and laughed that it had come just in time.

Flame Fang launched a surprise attack on Heavenly Dragon Ward, overwhelming Li Chen’s Shaman Folk defenders and breaching their positions. Just as it neared the Spirit Peak Blessed Land, a tiger struck it into a sand dune, and an eagle followed with a barrage of powerful energy blasts.

• Flame Fang descended from the outer void and attacked Zone Sixty-Six while Shaman Folk warriors alerted their commander.
• The Mechanical Corps fired volleys of thunder-based shells, but Flame Fang broke through the bombardment and counterattacked with streams of fire.
• Flame Fang tore through the defensive positions, causing heavy damage and bringing the Spirit Peak Blessed Land under threat.
• A tiger-shaped figure ambushed Flame Fang with a powerful paw strike and sent it crashing into a sand dune.
• An eagle-shaped figure fired a compressed ball of primordial energy at the dune, then continued striking the area with repeated blasts.

Li Chen used the Five-Star Battle Puppet Yu Xiao Tiger to overpower Flame Fang with repeated Solar Divine Light and Origin Core attacks. Flame Fang was left immobilized, and its Controller was knocked back before he could escape.

• The Black Shark Bandits saw Yu Xiao Tiger descend and realized the Five-Star Battle Puppet threatened them.
• Flame Fang's Controller repaired its materialized armor and challenged Li Chen's puppet.
• Li Chen repeatedly struck Flame Fang with Solar Divine Light, while Yu Xiao Tiger blocked its fire dragon pillars.
• Yu Xiao Tiger unleashed a sustained barrage of attacks that damaged Flame Fang's shell, power core, and transmission system.
• Flame Fang's Controller tried to flee, but Li Chen made Yu Xiao Tiger leap up and slap him back down.

Li Chen defeated the Mei Family’s Flame Fang Battle Puppet, captured its pilot, and used him to pressure Mei Yunhe into backing down. After dismantling Flame Fang, Li Chen salvaged a usable Five-Star false core and fire mechanism, then began preparing to build a Five-Star Battle Puppet of his own.

• Li Chen ordered the captured Black Shark Bandits executed so he could claim bounties, while Mei Xuan confirmed that Uncle Feng had no public identity.
• Li Chen contacted Mei Yunhe and proposed using Uncle Feng as a bargaining chip, prompting Mei Yunhe to smash his teacup and end the call.
• Li Chen concluded the Mei Family had limited resources to attack Guangyun and resolved to acquire a Five-Star Puppet while keeping the Azure Billow Immortal Abode secret.
• Three days later, Li Chen dismantled Flame Fang and found its Five-Star false core was repairable and its Flowing Rainbow Fire Dragon Mechanism remained usable.
• Li Chen began studying the components and summoned his modified Centipede Heavenly Dragon to design and build a Five-Star Battle Puppet of his own.