Chapter Summaries

Ansirem Runeweaver tried to take Dalaran’s Kirin Tor back to Stromgarde and restore restrictions on human mages’ use of Arcane Magic, but Modera and Krasus expelled him from the Council of Six. He left with fewer than a thousand followers, while Rhonin became Dalaran’s new archmage.

• Ansirem Runeweaver proposed leading Dalaran’s mages to Stromgarde and restoring restrictions on their use of Arcane Magic, but the mages objected.
• Modera confronted Ansirem, rejected his claims, and stripped him of his Council of Six membership and title of archmage.
• Krasus sided with Modera, and Ansirem realized they would not support his plan.
• Fewer than a thousand of Ansirem’s more than three thousand mages followed him to Stromgarde, while the rest stayed with Modera and Krasus.
• Krasus and Modera backed Rhonin as Ansirem’s replacement, and Rhonin became Dalaran’s new archmage.

Galen Trollbane welcomed Archmage Ansirem Runeweaver to Stromgarde and reunited him with his daughter, Caitlin the Blade. After Galen offered the Dalaran mages a place in Stromgarde and restrictions on their magic, Ansirem chose to join the kingdom.

• Galen Trollbane received Ansirem Runeweaver and his mages, and Ansirem asked to see his daughter, Caitlin the Blade.
• Galen told Ansirem that Caitlin served in Stromgarde’s navy and offered to summon her from Faldir's Cove.
• Galen reflected on how Dalaran’s reckless use of arcane magic had caused catastrophe and resolved to restrict the mages who joined Stromgarde.
• Ansirem reunited with Caitlin, who said she wished to remain in Stromgarde and urged her father to come with her.
• Galen offered the Dalaran mages magical crystals, mage towers, and generous incentives, and they urged Ansirem to accept.
• Ansirem agreed to join Stromgarde because he supported Galen’s restrictions on human mages’ use of arcane magic.

Galen Trollbane appointed Ansirem Runeweaver chief archmage of Stromgarde and prepared to choose an architect to lead the kingdom’s reconstruction. He arrived at the inn to find the human, goblin, and dwarven architects arguing, and Varokar’s shout silenced them.

• Galen Trollbane learned that fewer than a thousand Kirin Tor mages had followed Ansirem Runeweaver to Stromgarde after Modera and Krasus intervened.
• Galen Trollbane appointed Ansirem Runeweaver chief archmage of Stromgarde and promised him the kingdom’s tallest mage tower.
• Galen Trollbane considered restoring Stromgarde’s magical tradition and seeking paladins and shamans to strengthen the kingdom.
• Galen Trollbane went with Varokar to meet the architects gathered for Stromgarde’s reconstruction.
• Varokar announced Galen Trollbane’s arrival, stopping the humans, goblins, and dwarves from arguing.

Galen Trollbane appointed Baroness Alexston to lead Stromgarde's reconstruction and moved the city's residents to Refuge Pointe while work began. The relocation left Stromgarde weakly defended, and Duke Falconcrest urged Lord Aiden Perenolde to strike.

• Galen Trollbane chose Baroness Alexston's plan to expand Stromgarde, enlarge Faldir's Cove into a harbor, and build a district east of the city.
• Galen Trollbane appointed Baroness Alexston master architect and planned to combine human, dwarven, and goblin expertise in the reconstruction.
• Galen Trollbane arranged for Stromgarde's more than one hundred thousand residents to move temporarily to Refuge Pointe, while planning to develop Witherbark Village into a town.
• Stromgarde's residents gathered their belongings and moved to Refuge Pointe without resistance.
• The nobles who had returned to Stromgarde secretly contacted the Syndicate, and Duke Falconcrest reported to Lord Aiden Perenolde that only five thousand militia remained to defend the city.

The Syndicate and the Stonesplinter Ogres attacked Stromgarde while Galen Trollbane remained unaware of the conspiracy. Commander Amaren defended the city, but Duke Falconcrest’s hidden forces struck from within and forced her to leave the walls.

• Jorach Ravenholdt learned of the Syndicate’s plans and chose to watch Galen Trollbane face the threat.
• Syndicate and SI:7 rogues clashed inside Stromgarde, exposing their presence and prompting Duke Falconcrest to ignite a signal flare and incite a riot.
• Lord Aiden Perenolde gathered the Syndicate in the Arathi Highlands and joined forces with the Stonesplinter Ogres to attack Stromgarde.
• Commander Amaren ordered five thousand Stromgarde militia to defend the city against the attackers outside its walls.
• Fewer than a thousand Syndicate members ambushed the militia from inside Stromgarde, forcing Amaren to leave the ramparts and organize a counterattack.

Rex Doom revealed himself as a Ninth Rank Paladin when he saved the wounded Commander Amaren from Duke Falconcrest and drove back the Syndicate. After healing Amaren, Rex took command of Stromgarde’s militia to defend the city from the Syndicate and Stonesplinter Ogres.

• Duke Falconcrest ambushed Commander Amaren, wounded her, and led the Syndicate in pushing Stromgarde’s militia toward the city gate.
• Rex Doom struck Falconcrest with his holy-light-charged warhammer, then healed Amaren and revealed his identity as a Ninth Rank Paladin.
• Falconcrest recognized Rex as the son of Gavinrad Doom, threatened him, and fled into the shadows.
• The Syndicate routed after Falconcrest fled, and Amaren thanked Rex for saving Stromgarde.
• Rex credited Prince Galin Trollbane for giving Lordaeron’s refugees a new home, healed Amaren again, and took command of the militia.

Galen Trollbane led Stromgarde forces to break the siege of Stromgarde and rout the Syndicate and Stonesplinter Ogres. With the enemy collapsing under attacks from the cavalry, militia, and mages, Rex Doom opened the city gates and joined the battle.

• Galen Trollbane arrived with a thousand Stromgarde Cavalry and charged into the rear of the besieging forces.
• Galen Trollbane and the cavalry repeatedly cut through the enemy, inflicting heavy casualties as their numbers dwindled to two hundred.
• Twenty thousand Stromgarde militia arrived, and Galen Trollbane rallied them to fight for the kingdom.
• Rex Doom was inspired by Galen Trollbane, pledged himself to him, and opened Stromgarde’s gates to lead the city militia into battle.
• Archmage Ansirem Runeweaver led a thousand Dalaran Kirin Tor wizards in devastating magical attacks that decimated the Syndicate and Stonesplinter Ogre forces.

After Stromgarde’s victories, Galyn Trollbane recruited Rex Doom and planned to strengthen the kingdom’s military and intelligence forces. Lord Aiden Perenolde fled to the Hillsbrad Foothills, where Duke Falconcrest killed him and announced his intention to defect to Galyn.

• Galyn Trollbane spared the surrendered Syndicate members and Stonesplinter Ogres, assigning them punishments or labor according to their crimes.
• Galyn recognized Stromgarde’s need for an intelligence agency and a permanent city garrison, and invited Rex Doom to join the kingdom.
• Rex Doom swore allegiance to King Galyn, bringing Stromgarde another powerful ally and the Path of the Paladin.
• Lord Aiden Perenolde fled toward Alterac, hoping to gather the remaining Syndicate members and avoid another war with Stromgarde.
• Duke Falconcrest appeared before Lord Aiden Perenolde, stabbed him through the heart, and said he planned to defect to Galyn Trollbane.

Galen Trollbane surrounded Hammerfall with Stromgarde troops and demanded that its orcs leave the Arathi Highlands, offering a Mak'gora to avoid a wider war. Drek'Thar emerged to defend the orcs’ claim to Hammerfall, and the two sides remained at an impasse.

• Galen Trollbane brought thirty thousand Stromgarde militia troops to surround Hammerfall and prepared to seize the outpost if its orcs refused to leave.
• Galen rode alone to Hammerfall’s gates and offered to fight its strongest warrior in a Mak'gora, with the outcome deciding who would keep the outpost.
• Drek'Thar appeared as Hammerfall’s challenger, startling Galen, who recognized the blind Frostwolf shaman as a Heroic Rank powerhouse.
• Drek'Thar explained that Hammerfall held the remains of Orgrim Doomhammer and other fallen orcs, while Galen insisted Stromgarde had to control the Arathi Highlands.
• Drek'Thar realized Galen would not yield but considered the survival of Hammerfall’s fifty thousand orcs more important than fighting to the bitter end.

Galen Trollbane accepted Duke Falconcrest's surrender and absorbed the Syndicate into the Kingdom of Stromgarde as its intelligence service. The Syndicate purged SI:7 agents from the Arathi Highlands, forcing them to withdraw while Varian Wrynn reprimanded Mathias Shaw.

• Duke Falconcrest knelt before Galen Trollbane and offered Lord Aiden Perenolde's insignia as proof of his allegiance.
• Galen Trollbane accepted the Syndicate and ordered Falconcrest to purge hostile Syndicate elites and drive SI:7 out of the Arathi Highlands.
• Duke Falconcrest led the Syndicate's elite rogues in attacks that killed dozens of SI:7 operatives.
• SI:7 withdrew from the Arathi Highlands, and Varian Wrynn angrily reprimanded Mathias Shaw.
• Galen Trollbane established the Syndicate as Stromgarde's intelligence service, answering directly to the kingdom's leader and royal family.

Yan Xiao used the system’s research report on insect phototaxis to impress Lin Fangxin and discovered the topic was unresearched in their world. He persuaded her to help write a paper for the National Agricultural Science Essay Competition, leaving them with a month to prepare and an agreement to share credit but not prize money.

• Yan Xiao bought the insect phototaxis research report after finding the system’s lightbulb and blacklight technologies too expensive.
• Yan Xiao explained four hypotheses of insect phototaxis to Lin Fangxin, who learned his name and said her grandmother, Cao Ruiying, had told her about his academic ability.
• Lin Fangxin searched Zhiwang and found no papers on insect phototaxis, then explained she was preparing for the National Agricultural Science Essay Competition, whose grand prize was one million.
• Yan Xiao proposed conducting experiments and writing a paper with Lin Fangxin, and she showed him the competition registration site and its one-month deadline.
• After half an hour of persuasion, Lin Fangxin agreed to join Yan Xiao on the paper on the condition that she would take none of the prize money.

Yan Xiao and Lin Fangxin planned an experiment comparing lamps for blacklight pest control, but struggled to find the right ultraviolet bulb. Over dinner, Wu Xiaohong tried to recruit Yan Xiao into archaeology, and Yan Xiao began deciphering inscriptions from a newly unearthed oracle bone shell.

• Yan Xiao and Lin Fangxin chose five types of lamps and planned to build electric insect-catching grids for their experiment.
• Wu Xiaohong offered to look for a suitable ultraviolet lamp in Gao Yuanning’s lab and later invited Yan Xiao to consider archaeology as a second degree.
• Wu Xiaohong praised Yan Xiao and urged him to consider the Archaeology Department, but Yan Xiao gave no immediate commitment.
• During dinner, Wu Xiaohong discussed oracle bone inscriptions, and Yan Xiao asked about rewards for deciphering them.
• Yan Xiao showed Wu Xiaohong a picture of a newly unearthed turtle shell, claimed he could read its inscriptions, and began writing his decipherments on paper.

Yan Xiao’s oracle-bone translation impressed Shang Hong'an, who wanted to recruit him after learning he was a high-school student. Meanwhile, Lin Fangxin planned an insect-trapping experiment with Yan Xiao, and her father agreed to help her obtain a blacklight.

• Yan Xiao translated the tortoise-shell inscription as a ritual involving the God of Thunder and three maidens, and Wu Xiaohong promised to submit the translation and ask about his bonus.
• Wu Xiaohong visited Shang Hong'an, who confirmed that the inscription concerned thunder and lightning and praised Yan Xiao’s translation.
• Shang Hong'an pressed Wu Xiaohong to identify the translator and learned Yan Xiao was preparing for the college entrance examination and might enter an agricultural-sciences essay contest.
• Lin Fangxin told Lin Wushu she was rewriting her paper around Yan Xiao’s blacklight-trap hypotheses and asked him to find her a blacklight.
• Lin Wushu recognized the blacklight as a tanning-machine component and agreed to arrange one for Lin Fangxin.

Yan Xiao returned to school and was mistaken for a delinquent by Jinghua University recruiters, who had come to recruit him but were misidentified as reporters. They interviewed him, and he began explaining the meaning of his essay’s final lines.

• Yan Xiao tutored Guan Zhiyuan through the first volume of math, and Guan Zhiyuan completed practice tests with over 90% accuracy.
• Yan Xiao advised Guan Zhiyuan to keep attending school until his second mock exam results came out, then left for school himself.
• Yan Xiao saw Director Li and his colleague waiting near the school gate and ran away, believing they meant to attack him.
• Wu Xiaohong mistook the Jinghua University recruiters for reporters, persuaded them to wait, and brought Yan Xiao back to school for an interview.
• Yan Xiao agreed to the interview and explained that his essay’s final sentence called for laws to restrain and punish harmful actions.

Yan Xiao explained his approach to learning during an interview, impressing the educators and prompting Jida University to offer him early admission. He accepted a place in Yuanpei College after learning he could choose courses and teachers, while confirming he could still take the Gaokao and expected a one-million-yuan research prize.

• Yan Xiao used football analogies to explain mathematics and history, arguing that students learned best by understanding what knowledge was and why it worked.
• Li Yanfei learned Yan Xiao had not been recommended for early admission and hurried off to seek support for recruiting him to Jinghua University.
• Shang Hong'an offered Yan Xiao early admission to Jida University through the classical literature department, but Yan Xiao declined because he did not want to commit to that major.
• Wu Xiaohong proposed that Yan Xiao enter Yuanpei College, where he could choose courses and later select a department, and Yan Xiao agreed.
• Yan Xiao confirmed he could still take the Gaokao after early admission and learned his Oracle Bone Script research was expected to earn him one million yuan.
• Shang Hong'an asked why Wu Xiaohong had mentioned Yuanpei College, and Wu explained that Yan Xiao cared most about making money.

Yan Xiao and Lin Fangxin prepared their research project, while Yan Xiao agreed to let Shang Hong'an’s student write a thesis using his work. Wang Shouxue rejected recruiting Yan Xiao, and Li Yanfei took Yan Xiao’s interview to Education Reference for publication; the chapter ended with Yan Xiao finally finding his spare key in his schoolbag.

• Lin Fangxin arranged for Wan Jingwei to deliver a blacklight lamp, and Yan Xiao ordered pest-control equipment before planning the thesis with her.
• Yan Xiao and Lin Fangxin escaped Chu Yang, ate at West Gate Roast Wings, and discussed academic life over dinner.
• Yan Xiao agreed to give Shang Hong'an’s student second authorship and a corresponding authorship, while Shang Hong'an would also be a corresponding author, and suggested the student write the thesis.
• Li Yanfei played Yan Xiao’s interview for Wang Shouxue, who refused to recruit Yan Xiao because he considered him uncontrollable.
• Li Yanfei took the interview to Song Yu, who agreed to publish it as the next issue’s front-page headline.
• Yan Xiao woke to Guan Zhiyuan’s note, then searched until he found his spare key inside his schoolbag.

Yan Xiao and Lin Fangxin assembled insect-trapping devices and tested them in a field with help from Lin Wushu. The Black Light attracted swarms of insects overnight, and Yan Xiao resolved to register a utility patent before pursuing the experiment further.

• Yan Xiao and Lin Fangxin designed simple insect traps, and Wan Jingwei supplied them with Black Light bulbs.
• Lin Fangxin recruited classmates to assemble six devices, and Lin Wushu advised Yan Xiao to include a control without a light source.
• Lin Wushu took Yan Xiao and Lin Fangxin to fields in Changping District, where they set up the traps and positioned a Black Light near the road.
• The Black Light crackled with swarms of insects throughout the night, convincing Lin Wushu that Yan Xiao's pest-control method had succeeded.
• After the experiment, Lin Wushu urged Yan Xiao and Lin Fangxin to register a utility patent, and Yan Xiao decided to do so immediately.

Yan Xiao and Lin Fangxin finished weighing the insects caught at each experimental site, and the blacklight lamp’s catch far exceeded expectations. After returning home, Yan Xiao sought help from Guan Houyi with patenting his high-voltage blacklight insect-trapping device, leaving Guan Houyi baffled by the invention’s name.

• Yan Xiao and Lin Fangxin weighed the collected insects, finding that the blacklight lamp had caught 11.62 kilograms.
• Lin Fangxin proposed sending the insects to the Agricultural College and writing a paper, while Yan Xiao agreed to handle the patent application.
• After driving Yan Xiao to Ji University, Lin Wushu took Lin Fangxin home, and Yan Xiao went home and slept.
• Yan Xiao researched patent applications online until Guan Zhiyuan told him that his father ran a patent agency.
• Yan Xiao went with Guan Zhiyuan to meet Guan Houyi and asked for help patenting his blacklight lamp high-voltage insect-trapping network.
• Guan Houyi agreed to help but was confused by Yan Xiao’s description of the device.

Yan Xiao learned how to prepare a patent application for his blacklight insect-catching invention and agreed to license it with Guan Houyi handling negotiations. After completing the patent documents, Yan Xiao checked Guan Zhiyuan’s math exam and found that he was making enough progress for passing to seem likely.

• Yan Xiao showed Guan Houyi videos of the blacklight high-voltage insect-catching grid and explained that it had collected 11.62 kilograms of insects in one night.
• Guan Houyi taught Yan Xiao what a patent application needed to include, and Yan Xiao used Study Coins to obtain the system’s patent manual and application documents.
• Yan Xiao agreed to license the patent and settled on a tiered royalty split with Guan Houyi, who would find customers after approval.
• Yan Xiao and Guan Zhiyuan returned to Yan Xiao’s house and studied until Guan Zhiyuan finished the high school math curriculum, then Yan Xiao gave him an entrance-exam paper.
• Yan Xiao transcribed and illustrated the patent documents, then checked Guan Zhiyuan’s completed exam and found that he could answer most easy questions correctly.

Yan Xiao tested the Primary Knowledge Sharing Pill on Guan Zhiyuan and discovered it helped him organize what he already knew, sharply improving his test scores and memorization. Guan Zhiyuan began to hope for a place at a key university as Yan Xiao continued planning how to help him improve.

• Yan Xiao secretly put a Primary Knowledge Sharing Pill in Guan Zhiyuan's cola, and Guan Zhiyuan quickly solved most of a math paper and scored 139 on another.
• Yan Xiao concluded the pill helped recipients systematize their existing knowledge rather than simply granting them new knowledge.
• Yan Xiao taught Guan Zhiyuan basic mathematics and physics, then tested his improved performance in chemistry, physics, and math after giving him another pill.
• Guan Zhiyuan worried about Chinese, English, and politics, so Yan Xiao advised him to keep practicing science while studying those subjects with the remaining time.
• Guan Zhiyuan memorized thirty-two required Chinese texts in just over three hours, and Yan Xiao gave him a false explanation for his sudden efficiency.