Chapter Summaries

Jingliu gave Xianyu a plain silver ring she had made by hand, and he teased her about hiding how much effort she had spent on it. Their flirtation ended with Xianyu asking her to replace the epiphyllum on her right arm, and Jingliu biting his collarbone in response.

• Jingliu gave Xianyu the silver ring she had spent half a month making at the Artisanship Commission.
• Xianyu checked Jingliu's hands for injuries and reassured her that he loved the ring.
• Jingliu admitted the ring was not good enough and promised to replace it with a better one next time.
• Xianyu teased Jingliu for claiming she had not spent long making the ring after she explained its symbolism.
• Jingliu agreed to Xianyu's playful offer to punish her, and he told her to replace the epiphyllum on her right arm.
• Jingliu pulled open Xianyu's nightgown and bit his collarbone.

Xianyu and Jingliu shared an intimate morning, teasing each other and agreeing that Jingliu would replace her epiphyllum accessory with a peony. After Jingliu left for her Cloud Knights assembly, Xianyu decided he needed to finish making an engagement ring and propose to her.

• Xianyu carried Jingliu to the sofa, where she asked why he had carried her when she was drunk; he said he had modeled it on how wounded soldiers were carried.
• Xianyu kissed Jingliu and reminded her that she had to replace her epiphyllum, and she agreed to wear a peony instead.
• Jingliu turned the tables on Xianyu, kissed him, and encouraged him to relax and stop keeping up his friendly expression around her.
• When Jingliu tried to straddle him, she quickly stood up again, and Xianyu reassured her before reminding her that the Cloud Knights were due to assemble.
• Jingliu left after asking Xianyu to rest if work allowed, and Xianyu decided to finish making an engagement ring so he could propose.

Xianyu planned an engagement ring for Jingliu and enlisted an Interastral Peace Corporation executive to find a ruby, while Yingxing unexpectedly received enormous payments from Xianyu and the Xuling client. Over dinner, Dan Feng explained that Baiheng was preparing Jingliu’s dowry, leaving Yingxing to realize that Xianyu would not accept wedding money.

• Xianyu chose a large-carat ruby for Jingliu’s engagement ring and selected an emerald-cut design through the Interastral Peace Corporation executive.
• Xianyu transferred Yingxing a nine-digit sum, but Yingxing returned it and said he did not make rings; Xianyu reassured him that the payment was simply because he was bored.
• After Yingxing delivered a repaired sword to the Xuling client, the client transferred him a billion, and Yingxing accepted the payment and bought materials without worrying about the cost.
• Yingxing invited his friends to dinner, but only Dan Feng could attend; Dan Feng explained that Jing Yuan was busy under General Teng Xiao’s attention and Baiheng was preparing Jingliu’s dowry.
• Dan Feng planned to give Jingliu lavish gifts in Yingxing’s name, while Yingxing asked what the friends could contribute and learned that Xianyu would not accept wedding money.

Yingxing learned that Jingliu’s wedding was still years away and that Xianzhou wedding guests received lavish prizes instead of giving gifts, while Dan Feng dismissed Yingxing’s worries about preparing a dowry. At the Divination Commission’s Library, Xianyu quickly understood a difficult brain research report and began to suspect he had been more than just the Xianzhou Marshal in his previous life.

• Yingxing confronted Dan Feng over the supposed seven-figure wedding gift, and Dan Feng explained that Xianyu would give guests Strales and other prizes instead.
• Dan Feng told Yingxing to attend Jingliu’s wedding as Jing Yuan’s contemporary and said the wedding was at least ten-odd years away.
• Dan Feng advised Yingxing to prepare a pair of auspicious items, and Yingxing considered making matching wrist guards.
• Dan Feng said he had to take a psychological test but dismissed it as a waste of time, then paid for their meal with Strales he had deposited at the restaurant.
• At the Divination Commission’s Library, Xianyu quickly understood a technical brain research report and wondered whether he had been more than the Xianzhou Marshal in his previous life.

Xianyu studied psychology and reviewed the Cangcheng Laboratory reports, concluding that his supposed death had pushed Marty and the others toward their decision. He found a fable he had written that appeared to describe his arrival and promise to save the Xianzhou, but he dismissed it as nonsense.

• Xianyu spent a month studying psychology, then read Hua’s reports more than four times and concluded that Marty and the others had acted after learning of his death.
• Xianyu worked through math papers to steady himself, then asked Hua whether he had ever told her any fables.
• Hua told Xianyu that one of his fables was hidden in the picture books he had given her as a child.
• Xianyu met Jingliu for dinner, gave her a blue ranunculus, and declined to take Chi Yu home.
• Xianyu found a fable about a fish, a Mechanical Cat, and a tree; the fish promised it would be an exception and save the tree, but Xianyu called the story nonsense.

Xianyu read a fable left by his former self and pieced together clues about his past Loops, his choices, and a mysterious fallback. The afterword revealed that the fable combined events from different Loops and left Xianyu questioning whether his former self had deceived him.

• Xianyu recognized the fable’s Mechanical Cat as the Aeon of Erudition and learned from Hua that he had already poached almost all of its people.
• Xianyu read how the fish halted a dangerous experiment, died, and left an unexplained fallback before the cats and dogs destroyed the tree.
• Xianyu inferred that his former self had died before warning his subordinates, who later led the Starsea toward Finality.
• Xianyu read that the fish returned, sought to become a god to escape grief, and later became master of the tree as its followers defeated evil factions.
• Xianyu read his former self’s afterword, which explained that the fable blended events from different Loops and asked whether he had lied to himself.

Xianyu read the fable and concluded that Little Gray had carried his system and treasures between loops, while the cryptic message to Fuli concerned data collection to help save the tree. He added a precautionary instruction to extract all the Cats and Dogs beside the tree together, then prepared to give Jingliu a renovated home, clothes, jewelry, and an engagement ring.

• Xianyu reasoned that the contingency was the system and that Fish had given it and his collected treasures to Little Gray to help other worlds.
• Xianyu read that Little Gray repeatedly reunited with Fish across different loops and took away the curios and Aeon drops, then found the fable's message asking Fuli about its data collection.
• Xianyu considered several possible causes for failed dimensional ascension and added an instruction to extract all the Cats and Dogs beside the tree together.
• Xianyu asked Daiyang to hold the commissioned clothes, Ring, and resized jewelry until Jingliu's home renovations were complete.
• Xianyu bought more items for Jingliu's home, received the renovated house and engagement ring, and planned a gathering where he could give her the property with a Gift Agreement.

Dan Feng joined Xianyu and their friends at the new mansion, where he learned that Xianyu’s lavish gifts had left Jingliu feeling pressured. After the others advised Xianyu to discuss the house with her beforehand, Dan Feng tried to redirect Jingliu’s anger toward himself, worried Xianyu would accept it if she chose to leave.

• Dan Feng learned Baiheng was preparing a dowry for Jingliu because she saw Xianyu’s house purchase as a sign that the couple would marry.
• At the mansion, Jingliu returned from speaking with Xianyu before him, and Baiheng took her away to pick flowers.
• Xianyu told Dan Feng, Yingxing, and Jing Yuan that he had given Jingliu the house without warning her, believing his costly jewelry had already explained his wealth.
• Dan Feng realized Jingliu had likely felt pressured by Xianyu’s extravagant gifts, while Jing Yuan advised Xianyu that he should have discussed the house with her first.
• Everyone shared a hot pot meal and left the couple alone, while Dan Feng warned Jingliu not to get physical and drew her anger toward himself.

Dan Feng, Jing Yuan, Yingxing, and Baiheng returned to Scalegorge Waterscape, where Jing Yuan pressed Yingxing to forge his Formation Blade and teased him about his promise. As Dan Feng and Jing Yuan provoked Yingxing into a spar, Baiheng reflected on Jingliu and Xianyu’s relationship and began searching for gifts for them.

• The four returned to Scalegorge Waterscape, and Jing Yuan asked Yingxing when he would forge the Formation Blade.
• Yingxing agreed that Jing Yuan was next, and Jing Yuan threatened to embarrass him publicly if he broke his promise.
• Dan Feng and Baiheng joined Jing Yuan in recalling Yingxing’s declaration about making the most of his short life, mortifying Yingxing.
• Yingxing challenged Dan Feng to a fight, and Dan Feng, Jing Yuan, and Yingxing argued over their seniority before heading to the Training Ground to spar.
• Baiheng thought about Jingliu and Xianyu’s relationship, then used her Jade Abacus to search for gifts for Jingliu.

Xianyu tried to explain why he had bought Jingliu a house without consulting her, while struggling to reveal his doubts about himself and their relationship. Jingliu misunderstood his admission of having extreme thoughts as ordinary frustration about destroying the universe and reassured him.

• After their friends left, Xianyu gave Jingliu candy and realized she was angry about the house and what she thought it implied.
• Xianyu told Jingliu that the house was hers, and she left the conversation upset.
• After dinner, Xianyu apologized for deciding on his own and admitted he wanted to take their relationship further, but not hastily.
• Xianyu urged Jingliu to think carefully because he feared he would make a bad husband, citing his terrible temper and lack of gentleness.
• When Jingliu asked what he meant by extreme thoughts, Xianyu hesitated, and she guessed he meant destroying the universe.
• Jingliu reassured Xianyu that such negative thoughts were normal, leaving him speechless.

Xianyu explained why he had secretly bought Jingliu a house, and she signed the Gift Agreement before turning the tables by promising to give him her property. Their intimacy led Jingliu to punish him with wine, and after he passed out, she searched the mansion for a bedroom and finally decided to stay with him.

• Jingliu asked why Xianyu had made decisions without telling her, and he explained that his plans to buy her clothes had expanded into buying her a house.
• Xianyu revealed the Gift Agreement, and Jingliu signed it; she then promised to draw up an agreement giving him her property, leaving him stunned.
• Jingliu and Xianyu kissed on the sofa, but Xianyu stopped when he realized she was tense and reassured her that he would not go further before marriage.
• Jingliu fed Xianyu wine and declared that she was angry and would punish him for acting on his own.
• After Xianyu became drunk and fell asleep, Jingliu searched the mansion for a bedroom and, unable to find bedding, decided to stay in his room.

Jingliu and Xianyu woke up together after she had slipped into his bed, then spent the morning teasing and caring for each other before choosing an engagement date six months away. At the Divination Commission, Xianyu realized Jingliu had mistaken his complaints about Hua for feelings about their relationship, then resumed reading a Thesis by Zandar that left him puzzled by its acknowledgment of Eric Fish.

• Jingliu lay down beside the sleeping Xianyu, and later pretended to be asleep when he woke with her in his arms.
• Xianyu and Jingliu kissed and teased each other, while Xianyu insisted that greater intimacy would wait until after marriage.
• Xianyu dried Jingliu's hair, and Jingliu chose an engagement date six months away after he offered her five options.
• Xianyu realized Jingliu had thought he was troubled by his relationship with Hua, and he blamed Dan Feng for the misunderstanding.
• Xianyu read a Thesis attributed to Zandar and froze when its acknowledgments named Eric Fish.

Xianyu investigated the past relationship between himself and Zandar after finding a flawed Thesis credited to Zandar, then discovered an old report showing that Zandar had called Xianyu his teacher. Xianyu concluded that Zandar remembered previous Loops and was his fallback plan, whether they worked together or opposed each other.

• Xianyu read the Thesis acknowledgments and speculated that he and Zandar had once been partners or enemies pursuing dimensional ascension.
• Xianyu searched for Zandar, and a colleague showed him an old report about a disreputable Thesis listing Zandar as its second author.
• Xianyu read the original acknowledgments, which named Zandar as his teacher and threatened to ruin or elevate his academic reputation.
• Xianyu concluded that Zandar knew him well and retained memories or data from previous Loops.
• Xianyu decided Zandar was his fallback plan and that they were accomplices in concealing the truth and slaying an Aeon.

Xianyu realized Zandar was his former teacher and a co-conspirator in their plan to kill the Aeons, then tried to recruit him for the Xianzhou and recover the Purge Core. He later planned an engagement banquet with Jingliu, while Jingliu told her friends the engagement date.

• Xianyu concluded that Zandar was his teacher and secretly shared his goal of killing the Aeons.
• Xianyu learned from Hua that Zandar had borrowed the Purge Core and decided to recruit him or retrieve it.
• Jingliu arranged for fruit to be delivered to Xianyu, and he accepted her daily gifts while chatting with her.
• Xianyu messaged Zandar, asked him to join the Dimensional Ascension Plan, and got him to promise to return the Purge Core after using it.
• Xianyu decided to order Jingliu takeout from different restaurants so she could help choose food for their engagement banquet.
• Jingliu told Dan Feng, Yingxing, and her other friends that she and Xianyu would get engaged on a specific date, leaving Dan Feng and Yingxing stunned.

Yingxing struggled to prepare for Jingliu and Xianyu’s engagement while Dan Feng arranged a dowry and Xianyu traded barbed messages with Zandar. Xianyu realized Zandar was hiding something about the years before his death, and Zandar insisted he would not harm him.

• Yingxing congratulated Jingliu on her engagement and offered to prepare tools so she could forge her own wedding rings.
• Dan Feng offered to contribute to Jingliu’s dowry in both his and Yingxing’s names, while Yingxing hurried back to work on the Forging Blueprint.
• Xianyu sent Zandar a short thesis, then exchanged messages with him about the Dimensional Ascension Plan and the need to wait.
• Xianyu checked the dates of Zandar’s visit and his own obituary, noticed that only ten years separated them, and concluded that Zandar was hiding something.
• Zandar admitted keeping one thing from Xianyu but said he would not harm him, comparing Xianyu to a student he had taught and protected.

Xianyu and Jingliu agreed to keep their engagement celebration simple, but Daiyang and Chenzhen eagerly pushed for a wedding six months later. Xianyu reassured Jingliu that they could take their time, then told Zandar he was preparing to get engaged, leaving Zandar astonished.

• Xianyu revised his Thesis for Zandar, then ignored Zandar's message while he and Jingliu sampled food and discussed a simple engagement ceremony.
• Daiyang and Chenzhen overheard Xianyu and Jingliu discussing their engagement and proposed lavish celebrations, but Xianyu insisted on avoiding extravagance and inviting too many people.
• Daiyang and Chenzhen suggested holding the wedding six months later, and Xianyu left with Jingliu after the two women began planning enthusiastically.
• Xianyu reassured Jingliu that she could tell him if their relationship was moving too fast, and Jingliu teased him before leaving.
• Zandar urged Xianyu to revise his Thesis, but Xianyu said he was busy preparing to get engaged, stunning Zandar.

Xianyu discussed marriage, fate, and dimensional ascension with Zandar, who reviewed his Thesis and hinted that he wanted to attend Xianyu and Jingliu’s engagement. After sleeping through his day off, Xianyu received Hua’s message about the Cloud Knights and Yingxing’s burial, and agreed that other contributors to the Xianzhou could also be laid to rest in the Forest of Utmost Loyalty.

• Zandar guessed that Xianyu had fallen for Jingliu and teased him about having children, while Xianyu admitted he did not like children and did not want to become a father.
• Zandar explained that Xianyu’s interventions had changed which disasters and Aeons appeared, then warned that dimensional ascension could free the Aeons from their Paths and might cost Xianyu his immortality.
• Xianyu opened his Thesis for Zandar’s review, struggled to follow his teacher’s rapid shifts between advice, fables, and questions, and revised the document according to Zandar’s requirements.
• Zandar advised Xianyu not to neglect Jingliu and hinted that he wanted to attend their engagement; Xianyu exposed the hint and gave him the engagement date.
• After ending the call near dawn, Xianyu slept until he woke naturally and read Hua’s message about sending the Cloud Knights into battle and allowing Yingxing to be buried in the Forest of Utmost Loyalty.
• Xianyu agreed with Hua’s proposal and said he had no objection to allowing other people who had contributed to the Xianzhou to be buried there too.

Xianyu discussed Yingxing’s role and his plans with Hua, including inviting her to celebrate her birthday and keeping Zandar on the Luofu. Zandar prepared to go there, fearing Eric’s recovered memories would expose a hidden truth and hoping to prevent his student from dying again.

• Xianyu agreed with Hua that Yingxing should remain focused on forging rather than become Master Artificer, and Hua planned to investigate whether outsiders were being ostracized.
• Xianyu invited Hua to the Luofu for their engagement ceremony and her birthday, asked her to keep Zandar there, and requested notice before the Luofu Cloud Knights returned.
• Zandar asked Eric to choose a name for a journal publication, and Eric chose Victor Frye.
• Zandar reflected on Eric’s new relationship and worried that Eric would blame himself when he recovered his memories and learned what Zandar had concealed.
• Zandar packed for the Luofu and considered using an injection to put Eric into suspended animation if he could not stop his student from dying again.

Xianyu received Zandar’s unsettling romance advice, then spent the evening with Jingliu as they discussed her upcoming Cloud Knight deployment and exchanged reassurances about their love. The chapter ended with Jingliu promising she would always love Xianyu, whom she compared to the new moon, and the two kissing.

• Zandar sent Xianyu papers on psychology, economics, and biology, then advised him to create insecurity and show Jingliu his vulnerable side.
• Xianyu dismissed Zandar’s advice and gave up on trying to ascend to a higher dimension, fearing what would happen if he lost his ability to kill Aeons.
• Xianyu found Jingliu at his home, where she fed him fruit and told him the Cloud Knights would march to subjugate the abominations the next day.
• Jingliu asked what roses Xianyu liked and held his finger, prompting him to realize she planned to propose; he secretly felt relieved that he already had an engagement ring.
• Xianyu took Jingliu into the courtyard to admire the new moon and asked whether she might someday prefer the full moon.
• Jingliu promised she would always love Xianyu, whom she called her beloved new moon, and kissed him as he returned the kiss.

Xianyu and Jingliu shared an intimate evening before she left with the Luofu Cloud Knights, and she secretly left him her pay card. After learning the Cloud Knights had found Shuhu, Xianyu confronted Zandar about the Emanator and prepared for a proposal, while the chapter ended with Xianyu meeting a gray-blue-haired child whose request for Strales left him speechless.

• Xianyu and Jingliu spent the night together, discussed her move and their future marriage, and Jingliu left him her pay card before departing with the Luofu Cloud Knights.
• Jingliu sent Xianyu updates from the campaign, and Hua later told him that the Cloud Knights had found traces of Shuhu.
• While speaking with Zandar, Xianyu mentioned Shuhu; Zandar realized the Emanator was tied to Eric's death and resolved to visit the Luofu ahead of schedule.
• Xianyu planned a proposal with ten thousand peonies and saw a System Panel announcing that the Aether-Phase Engine was complete and awaiting activation.
• Xianyu grilled meat for a gray-blue-haired child, who asked whether he had brought any Strales, and Xianyu admitted he had not.