Chapter Summaries

Xianyu explained the farewell letter he had written for Daiyang and later joined Jingliu, Chenzhen, and Daiyang for hot pot. Daiyang and Chenzhen secretly led Jingliu to see the jewels Xianyu had bought for her, and Daiyang persuaded him to let them prepare betrothal gifts.

• Xianyu told Daiyang that he had written her farewell letter much later, and explained that he had chosen its words to comfort her.
• Jingliu and Chenzhen kept their conversation secret from Xianyu, while he served Jingliu cooked meat during the meal.
• Daiyang offered Xianyu free hot pot and led Jingliu out with Chenzhen, who took her to see jewels held by an Interastral Peace Corporation executive.
• Xianyu realized Daiyang and Chenzhen had arranged the jewelry display, and Daiyang persuaded him to let them prepare betrothal gifts for Jingliu.
• Daiyang apologized to Jingliu and revealed that Xianyu had bought the jewels for her long ago.

Xianyu and Jingliu chose rings and arranged for Jingliu’s measurements, while Chenzhen and Daiyang tried to guide Xianyu toward more romantic gestures. The chapter ended with Jingliu recognizing one of Xianyu’s auctioned crowns as identical to an artifact in the Xianzhou Museum.

• Xianyu apologized for the jewelry, and Jingliu told him to read fewer forums and storybooks before explaining that she had liked his previous ring.
• Xianyu chose matching rings with Daiyang and Chenzhen, but focused on their supposed wealth-attracting properties instead of their romantic significance.
• The Corporation executive showed Xianyu several crowns and artifacts he had bought at auction, while Chenzhen took Jingliu’s measurements for clothing.
• Xianyu learned that Daiyang had become a Nameless, and decided that Lan was to blame for her inability to rescue him.
• Daiyang reminded Xianyu to prepare for Hua’s birthday, and Jingliu later told him that one of his crowns matched an artifact at the Xianzhou Museum.

Xianyu reassured Jingliu about his lavish jewelry gifts, then admitted his wealth came from an inheritance. As Jingliu considered a return gift, Dan Feng helped her and Xianyu plan secretly at Scalegorge Waterscape, where their friends discussed their home preferences and epitaphs.

• Xianyu gave Jingliu expensive jewelry and reassured her that she did not need to repay him, while she questioned whether he had bought her anything else.
• Jingliu teased Xianyu about his impressive background, and he admitted that his wealth came from an inheritance rather than a lottery win.
• Jingliu asked Dan Feng for advice on a return gift, while Xianyu asked him to discover Jingliu's interior decor preferences at Scalegorge Waterscape.
• Dan Feng replied that Xianyu valued thoughtfulness over an expensive gift and arranged a gathering to learn everyone's preferences without revealing Xianyu's plans.
• Xianyu brought Chi Yu to Scalegorge Waterscape, where Jing Yuan and the others discussed the cat's weight and their ideal home features.
• Dan Feng steered the gathering toward preferences and epitaphs, then recited the final line of his will: “When you remember me, I live once more because of you.”

Xianyu explained to Dan Feng why he had written that people lived on through the memories of those who loved them, but refused to answer Dan Feng’s question about whether Fenghuang Down could have spared him. The friends reunited at the Stone Table, where Dan Feng finally showed his dragon tail and Xianyu compared its scales to a fish’s.

• Dan Feng told the group that the Former Marshal had written, “Whenever you remember me, I live once more because of you,” in his will, and Xianyu confirmed he had chosen those words to comfort his subordinates.
• After Jingliu and Yingxing sparred, Xianyu explained to Dan Feng that he had changed “I live for you” to “I live because of you” to avoid burdening those who remembered him.
• Dan Feng asked whether Fenghuang Down could have eased the Former Marshal’s weariness, but Xianyu left the question unanswered and asked Dan Feng whether he was Dan Feng or Imbibitor Lunae.
• Jingliu joined Xianyu, and he reassured her that Dan Feng had meant no harm before the friends returned to the Stone Table.
• Jing Yuan reminded Baiheng of her wager with Dan Feng, prompting Dan Feng to manifest his dragon tail.
• Xianyu compared Dan Feng’s scales to a fish’s and said the tail probably felt like one, irritating Dan Feng.

At a drinking gathering, Dan Feng drunkenly offered his tail after Xianyu teased him about its scales, then reluctantly let Xianyu touch it. As the friends shared their ambitions, Jingliu declared she would cut down even the stars, leaving Xianyu to look between her and Yingxing.

• Dan Feng, angered by Xianyu comparing his tail to a fish, presented it for inspection, and Xianyu admitted its scales looked different.
• Jing Yuan grabbed Dan Feng’s tail, and Dan Feng sobered up and realized Xianyu had provoked him into showing it.
• Dan Feng withdrew his tail from Jing Yuan and placed it before Xianyu, who touched it once before returning to petting the cat.
• Dan Feng gave his Vidyadhara-made Wrist Guards to Yingxing, who happily accepted them to study for his craft.
• After several rounds of drinks, Jing Yuan announced he wanted to become a Galaxy Ranger, and Jingliu declared she would cut down even the stars.
• Xianyu looked from Jingliu to Yingxing, and Yingxing fell silent.

At a gathering with his friends, Xianyu decided against asking Yingxing to forge another Planet-Buster Weapon, while Jingliu spoke of pursuing the pinnacle of swordsmanship. Dan Feng reflected on his identities and shared stories about the Former Marshal, leaving Xianyu protesting that the rumors were slander.

• Xianyu considered asking Yingxing to make a Planet-Buster Weapon but decided Jingliu's Stellar Destroyer was enough after she had said she did not need another weapon.
• Xianyu touched Jingliu's hair, and she smiled at him with a tenderness that he attributed to her drunkenness.
• Baiheng asked Dan Feng about his goal, and he said things were good as they were after thinking about the burdens of Imbibitor Lunae and the Former Marshal.
• Yingxing said he wanted to forge legendary weapons at the Artisanship Commission so that future generations would remember him, and he chose the Former Marshal's words for his epitaph.
• Dan Feng told two jokes claiming that insulting the Former Marshal would help travelers recover their identities or get a quicker death from the Galaxy Rangers, and Xianyu called the stories slander.

Xianyu listened as Jing Yuan and the others praised the Former Marshal and recounted his exploits, leaving him embarrassed by the stories about his past. Later, Jingliu asked why he never ate, drank, or slept, and Xianyu answered that he was an ordinary person.

• Xianyu questioned Dan Feng about the jokes surrounding the Xianzhou natives and the Galaxy Rangers, and Dan Feng dismissed the stories as jokes.
• Yingxing and Jing Yuan praised the Former Marshal, while Jingliu observed that the Xianzhou natives must have been fond of him.
• Jing Yuan recited a passage from Five Thousand Years of the Xianzhou Alliance Walking Alongside the Uncrowned Emperor and explained that General Teng Xiao had cut the story about the Former Marshal refusing to step on an ant.
• After everyone left, Xianyu walked with Jingliu while holding Kitty, and she remarked that he and Dan Feng got along well.
• Jingliu asked why Xianyu did not eat, drink, or sleep, and he replied that he was an ordinary person.

Xianyu explained to Jingliu why he had exhausted himself preparing the Xianzhou for a future without him, while reflecting on his wish to die and perhaps be resurrected. After leaving Chi Yu with Jingliu, she visited Dan Feng and asked whether he had known Xianyu long before.

• Xianyu reasoned that he was an ordinary person who had grown attached to his subordinates, and described how he had worked without rest to keep the Xianzhou running.
• Xianyu planned for the Xianzhou's defenses after his death by relying on Marty, his contract with Lan, and a successor, while considering a way to be resurrected alongside Akivili.
• Chi Yu squirmed free from Xianyu's arms, then charmed him and Jingliu into petting her.
• Xianyu told Jingliu he kept working in the Library because he had grown used to it and it was quiet, then left Chi Yu in Jingliu's care.
• Jingliu went to Dan Feng's residence, where Dan Feng teased her about visiting him late at night and she asked whether he had known Xianyu long before.

Dan Feng hid Xianyu’s extraordinary identity from Jingliu, fearing that revealing it would drive the couple apart. Jingliu accepted that he could not tell her and asked how exhausting Xianyu’s life had been.

• Dan Feng realized Jingliu suspected Xianyu’s identity because Xianyu had touched his tail, but he decided not to reveal the truth.
• Jingliu saw through Dan Feng’s denial and inferred that Xianyu’s identity was important enough to make even the High Elder hesitate.
• Dan Feng admitted that he had never met Xianyu, though he had heard of him, and concealed what he knew to protect Jingliu’s relationship.
• Jingliu chose not to press Dan Feng, trusting that Xianyu would share his past when he was ready.
• Jingliu asked Dan Feng whether Xianyu’s life had been exhausting.

After Jingliu asked Dan Feng about Xianyu’s well-being, Dan Feng told her that Xianyu was exhausted and connected to the Marshal, accidentally leading her to think Xianyu was the Marshal’s child. Xianyu teased Dan Feng about being demoted a generation, while Dan Feng dismissed concerns about his own mental health and chose to keep working.

• Jingliu stopped pressing Dan Feng about the Former Marshal’s identity and asked whether Xianyu was doing well or found life exhausting.
• Dan Feng told Jingliu that Xianyu was exhausted and had close ties to the Marshal, then let her leave through the front gate.
• Dan Feng told Xianyu about Jingliu’s visit, and Xianyu replied that Dan Feng had dropped him a generation.
• Dan Feng realized Jingliu would likely mistake Xianyu for the Marshal’s child, then tried to reassure Xianyu that Jingliu, Jing Yuan, and Yingxing were only friends.
• Xianyu began giving Dan Feng advice about healthy romantic relationships, while Dan Feng received word that another High Elder had serious problems on a psychological test.
• Dan Feng insisted he was doing well, received a psychological test from General Teng Xiao, and ordered an assistant to complete it as overtime while he treated patients.

Xianyu weighed how to address a Vidyadhara High Elder’s mental illness without interfering in Vidyadhara affairs, then discussed Hua’s dead money trees and his plans for a home. He ended the chapter insisting he would set a precedent by preparing a property while he and Jingliu had only recently begun dating.

• Hua told Xianyu that a Vidyadhara High Elder had developed psychological problems and been withdrawn from the front lines to recuperate.
• Xianyu rejected memory deletion as an inappropriate intrusion into Vidyadhara inheritance, and Hua barred personnel from battle until their psychological tests cleared them.
• Xianyu asked Hua about the money trees he had sent, and Hua admitted she had killed them all.
• Xianyu worried that Jingliu might misunderstand their relationship after Dan Feng’s conversation with her, and he avoided telling Hua about their reversed generational positions.
• Xianyu told Hua he was planning renovations and explained that the property was in his name, not Jingliu’s.
• Hua warned Xianyu that giving a partner property after only a month or two was unusual, and Xianyu replied that he would be the precedent.

Hua tried to dissuade Xianyu from giving Jingliu a property, while Xianyu sought advice from Daiyang and devised a plan to make the gift feel less imposing. The chapter ended with Xianyu hearing colleagues call Teng Xiao the Luofu’s longest-serving general and wondering why they had forgotten Daiyang.

• Hua recalled her guardian’s history of working overtime and spending money on others, then warned him that giving Jingliu a property could pressure her.
• Xianyu received Daiyang’s report that the Luofu followers of Abundance who had tried to frame him were arrested, and praised her work.
• Xianyu asked Daiyang how to make someone accept a property, and she suggested showing Jingliu the home and inviting close friends when she moved in.
• Xianyu decided to invite Dan Feng and the others, then sent Jingliu renovation plans while pretending he was renovating his mansion.
• Xianyu overheard colleagues call Teng Xiao the Luofu’s longest-serving general and silently wondered why they had overlooked Daiyang.

Xianyu investigated why records of Daiyang and the Cangcheng Laboratory had vanished, ruled out Fuli, and found no answers in the Divination Commission’s archives. At home, he renamed Marty’s artificial intelligence Matthias, whose response left him baffled.

• Xianyu concluded that Fuli had no reason to erase Daiyang’s history and suspected his colleagues simply did not know the past.
• Xianyu chose Jingliu’s garden-style renovation plan, learned construction would take several years, and asked an IPC executive to negotiate for him.
• Xianyu searched the Divination Commission’s dossiers but found no records of Daiyang, Chenzhen, Marty, or the Cangcheng Laboratory reports.
• Xianyu contacted Marty’s artificial intelligence, rejected its offer to activate the Aether-Phase Engine, and renamed it Matthias.
• Matthias said it liked the name and called their chance to meet again a blessing Xianyu had bestowed upon it, leaving Xianyu confused.

Xianyu questioned Matthias about its loyalty and its creator’s relationship with Hua, then searched the Library for information on Daiyang. After half a month without finding the name, he contacted Hua and asked her to arrange a meeting with Lan using a clone.

• Matthias praised Xianyu and said he could become Marshal again, but Xianyu refused and wondered why Marty and Hua seemed to have a strained relationship.
• Matthias denied that Marty had a conflict with Hua and declared that it would always remain Xianyu’s loyal believer.
• Xianyu rejected the idea that Matthias was Marty’s consciousness and ended their conversation, deciding to search the Library for information on Daiyang.
• Xianyu worked overtime for half a month, saw Yingxing’s post about overtime, and found no familiar name in the dossiers.
• Xianyu messaged Hua to ask Lan to visit him on the Luofu, specifying that Lan should come in a clone rather than his real body.

Jingliu finished making a gift for Xianyu with Yingxing's help, while Xianyu confronted Lan after learning Lan had not refused Hua's request. Lan revealed that his actions were meant to ensure Xianyu could live.

• Jingliu spent half a month forging a gift for Xianyu under Yingxing's instruction, breaking several of his hammers and wasting rare materials.
• Jingliu asked Yingxing to accept reimbursement for the hammers, then left with the gift and planned to present it to Xianyu the next day.
• Xianyu received Hua's reply that Lan had not refused, left the Divination Commission early, and prepared wine before meeting Lan in his courtyard.
• Xianyu saw Aqua Simulacra and an ice lotus on the table, then questioned Lan about whether he had sided with Fuli or another Aeon.
• Lan told Xianyu that he had acted so Xianyu could live.

Xianyu questioned Lan about the past, teasing him over Fuli before asking how his former companions had fared after his death. Lan revealed that Daiyang, Chenzhen, Marty, and the others had made the same choice Xianyu did, leaving Xianyu to confront what that meant.

• Lan denied working with any Aeon and reminded Xianyu of their contract to help the Xianzhou.
• Xianyu joked that Fuli had gone to great lengths for him and claimed they shared a life-and-death friendship.
• Xianyu asked how Hua had gotten along with the other generals after his death, and Lan said they had gotten along very well.
• Xianyu asked what Lan had done to upset Daiyang, and Lan assured him he would not repeat the same mistakes.
• Xianyu asked why the Luofu Library held no records of Daiyang, Chenzhen, Marty, and the others, and Lan said they had made the same choice Xianyu did.

Xianyu questioned Lan about what his subordinates had done, then dismissed him after catching him pretending to enjoy the wine. Alone, Xianyu reasoned that the Aeons did not know about his system and wondered again whether his subordinates had done more than erase their records.

• Lan told Xianyu that his subordinates had made the same choice as him by deleting their records, and insisted they had done nothing else.
• Xianyu realized Lan had barely let the wine breathe, accused him of trying to fool him, and ordered him to take the glass away.
• After Lan left, Xianyu stored the Aqua Simulacra and Fuli's Ice Lotus in his System Inventory and added the words “The flesh is weak, mechanical ascension” to his hint sheet.
• Xianyu considered whether the Aeons knew about his system and concluded that they did not, while suspecting Aha only wanted to watch him crave power.
• Xianyu felt relieved but returned to worrying about whether his subordinates had done anything besides delete their records.

After Lan revealed that Xianyu’s subordinates had made sacrifices like his own, Xianyu questioned whether his death had driven them to it and asked Hua to correct their records. Hua reassured him while concealing her suspicion that Marty might still be alive, leaving her to rely on a fabricated report as her subordinates continued investigating.

• Xianyu struggled with Lan’s revelation that his subordinates had chosen to erase their achievements and rush toward death, and he wondered whether his death had been the last straw.
• Xianyu messaged Hua about Daiyang’s case, and Hua said Xuling had complete records that could replace the current ones.
• Xianyu told Hua to correct the inaccurate records about the researchers, but froze when she asked whether his own records should be corrected too.
• Hua told Xianyu that she believed the Xianzhou could kill an Aeon without relying on the Reignbow Arbiter, then sent him a revised Cangcheng report about Marty and the researchers’ discovery.
• Hua reassured Xianyu that he had only been the last straw, and he told her he believed her, while she privately admitted that the report was fabricated and that Marty’s survival was only a suspicion.
• The Chief Strategist watched Hua handle Xianyu’s questions and asked whether the Cauldron Master should examine her.

Hua suspected her deceased guardian had arranged for messages to continue arriving after his death, and she inferred that Marty might share her goal. Meanwhile, Xianyu stayed up reading psychology books to understand love, then met Jingliu at his door after drinking and bathing.

• Hua told the Chief Strategist to investigate Jade Abacuses and Neutron Guns if the search for answers about Cangcheng found nothing.
• Hua replied to a birthday-cake advertisement, and the sender answered, “Sorry,” making her suspect her guardian had not arranged the messages sent after his death.
• The Chief Strategist described Marty as oblivious but genuinely kind, and Hua decided she and Marty had always shared her guardian’s goal.
• Xianyu read psychology books to understand romantic love, realized he was not jealous of Jingliu spending time with Dan Feng or Yingxing, and found that one book had 1.3 million words.
• Jingliu messaged Xianyu to ask to meet, then arrived at his door with his takeout and confronted him about staying up all night, drinking, and bathing afterward.

Jingliu confronted Xianyu about neglecting his health, then cared for him over takeout and gave him a ring meant to bring good luck and good health. The chapter ended with her explaining the ring’s meaning to him.

• Jingliu recalled that Xianyu had once stayed up seven nights in a row waiting for her, and he admitted that it had happened before their promise to share such things.
• Jingliu dried Xianyu’s hair while they ate takeout, and he fed her several bites of pastry.
• Xianyu admitted that he had drunk a little red wine and showered, so Jingliu warned him against showering after drinking and suggested wiping himself with a warm towel instead.
• Jingliu asked Xianyu to close his eyes and placed a ring on his right index finger.
• Jingliu told Xianyu that the ring symbolized a change in fortune and good health.