Chapter Summaries

Hua tried to prepare Jingliu for the truth about Xianyu and their relationship, revealing his psychological struggles and the gifts he had arranged for her. Jingliu accepted the marriage documents and vowed to treat him well, while the chapter ended with Bacchus arriving at Xianyu’s home and finding him holding a knife.

• Hua praised Jingliu’s military record, then told her that Xianyu was her ward rather than her blood relative and could become Marshal if he wished.
• Hua gave Jingliu Xianyu’s psychological profile, and Jingliu recognized his habit of avoiding intimacy and believing he was unworthy of love.
• Jingliu defended her record as a Cloud Knight, and Hua suspected she wanted to marry Xianyu so she could leave him her death benefit.
• Hua gave Jingliu the Gift Agreements, and Jingliu discovered that Xianyu had secretly arranged gifts for her, including a note saying that her moonlight was enough for him.
• Hua approved the marriage documents and wished Jingliu and Xianyu a long life together, and Jingliu promised to treat him well.
• Bacchus entered Xianyu’s home and found him cooking with a knife, then asked him to put it down.

Xianyu confronted Aha after recovering his memories, learned more about the Aeons’ interference and Akivili’s fall, and began to blame himself for what happened to Marty. A call from Jingliu interrupted his despair, and he answered her privately, telling her he had missed her.

• Xianyu threatened Bacchus with a knife until Bacchus revealed that he was Aha and reminded Xianyu of their agreement to keep his identity secret.
• Aha told Xianyu that Lan, Nanook, Fuli, and Erudition had been involved in the events surrounding his past, while Xianyu accused Fuli and Erudition of manipulating Lan.
• Xianyu asked Aha about Akivili and Marty, then became distressed as he wondered whether he had caused their deaths.
• A call from Jingliu interrupted Xianyu as he reached for his dagger, and Aha urged him to answer.
• Xianyu retreated to the bedroom, answered Jingliu’s call, and told her that after waking from a long dream, he had missed her.

Hua grew suspicious that Xianyu was preparing to leave again and ordered Guan Liang to come to the Luofu while forbidding anyone from leaving. After ending his call with Jingliu, Xianyu found Aha eavesdropping and proposed that they ram Qlipoth’s wall again.

• Jingliu spoke privately with Xianyu, who asked when he could see her, and she said she would return soon.
• Hua listened to their call and concluded that Xianyu might be planning to leave, so she ordered Guan Liang to come to the Luofu and Teng Xiao to stop anyone from leaving.
• Hua reflected on Marty’s possible role in her Guardian’s death and wondered whether Marty was still alive or had left behind an artificial intelligence.
• Xianyu ended the call with Jingliu, picked up his dagger, and walked out.
• Aha fell after eavesdropping outside Xianyu’s room, and Xianyu asked his Best Friend to ram Qlipoth’s wall again.

Xianyu resolved to seek the Imaginary Tree, believing he could find a way to help those who had died because of him, and Aha reluctantly agreed to accompany him. When Aha revealed that Shuhu was on the Luofu, Xianyu learned his next destination and prepared to go there.

• Aha learned that Xianyu planned to sacrifice himself and destroy Qlipoth's wall, but agreed to go with him after Xianyu pressed him to understand.
• Xianyu changed into a trench coat, read Zandar's message that he had arrived on the Luofu, and considered whether the item called Tenseiga could help revive Akivili and others.
• Xianyu reasoned that Shuhu might already be dead after the Cloud Knights' battle, then left the Dressing Room with Aha.
• Aha told Xianyu that Shuhu was on the Luofu and offered to take him there.
• Xianyu told Zandar he would arrive in an hour, then asked Aha where Shuhu was.

Zandar returned to the Luofu and was received by Guan Liang, who tried to detain him and presented a blood sample at a cleared hot pot restaurant. Zandar revealed that the Aeon of Elation’s true body had descended on the Luofu, while Yingxing grew uneasy about Dan Feng’s unusual fixation on Vidyadhara reproduction.

• Zandar met Guan Liang at Starskiff Haven, and the two traded veiled accusations as they traveled toward a hot pot restaurant.
• Guan Liang redirected the convoy to the restaurant where Zandar’s Diviner contact had agreed to meet and ordered the Earth-Balance Commission to clear the area.
• At the restaurant, Guan Liang presented Zandar with a blood sample, prompting Zandar to reveal that the Aeon of Elation’s true body had descended on the Luofu.
• Guan Liang hurried to act on Zandar’s warning, but Zandar stopped him and made him thank him for the information.
• At Scalegorge Waterscape, Yingxing questioned Dan Feng’s strange focus on Vidyadhara reproduction and asked to return a box to the Artisanship Commission.

Dan Feng recalled the friends and comrades he had lost as he tried to convince Yingxing that the greenery in his box could not have survived the Luofu’s neutron weapon. The box vanished into a red figure’s hands, and Xianyu told Dan Feng that he understood him.

• Dan Feng remembered a wounded comrade dying in his arms and the lighter days when he and his friends helped Jing Yuan with Academy assignments.
• Dan Feng explained that the weapon used against Shuhu came from Neutron Annihilation and could not leave intelligent life alive.
• Yingxing insisted that he had found the greenery on the battlefield, though the Artisanship Commission’s Master Artificer and Dan Feng did not believe him.
• A blurry red figure took the box from Yingxing, startling both him and Dan Feng.
• Dan Feng blocked Yingxing’s view, and Xianyu said that he understood Dan Feng and that they were alike.

Xianyu brought Bacchus to meet Dan Feng, whose realization that Xianyu knew his secret convinced him that Xianyu might be approaching death. As Dan Feng tried to keep him safe until Jingliu returned, Xianyu asked whether he still remembered the oath they had sworn on the Luofu.

• Dan Feng realized Xianyu understood his identity and feared that Xianyu had chosen to die again.
• Yingxing asked about the unfamiliar red-haired stranger, and Xianyu introduced him as Bacchus while telling Yingxing not to worry about the box.
• Xianyu asked Dan Feng to walk with him, and Dan Feng followed while explaining the features of Scalegorge Waterscape.
• Dan Feng gave Yingxing his Jade Abacus to contact Jingliu, who said she would reach the Luofu in an hour and warned that nothing could happen to the Luofu.
• At the Ambrosial Arbor, Xianyu asked Dan Feng whether he remembered the oath they had sworn on the Luofu, and Dan Feng said Imbibitor Lunae could never forget it.

Xianyu confronted Dan Feng about bringing Shuhu, an Emanator of Abundance, into Scalegorge Waterscape and agreed to help Imbibitor Lunae in exchange for three things. Yingxing learned Xianyu’s identity and, as Xianyu began asking about the Vidyadhara, wondered if he planned to break up with Jingliu.

• Dan Feng tried to explain the Vidyadhara’s history and flatter Xianyu while concealing his plans, as Xianyu recognized that Yingxing’s box likely contained Shuhu.
• Yingxing pieced together that Xianyu was the legendary Former Marshal and blurted out that he was the strongest human who made the universe tremble.
• Xianyu took the box from Aha, questioned Yingxing about where he found it and how he handled it, then asked Dan Feng whether he had considered using Shuhu.
• Dan Feng denied intending to use Shuhu and reaffirmed the Vidyadhara’s pact with the Xianzhou Alliance, so Xianyu promised to help Imbibitor Lunae in exchange for three things.
• Xianyu began asking about the Vidyadhara and the Aeon of Permanence, but Yingxing interrupted to ask if Xianyu planned to break up with Jingliu; Xianyu denied it, while Dan Feng thought he meant to make her a widow.

Xianyu reassured Yingxing and questioned Dan Feng about what he would offer if the Vidyadhara’s long-standing problem could be solved. After considering Xianyu’s promises and the consequences for his people, Dan Feng decided not to trouble Zandar and stopped the group to tell the Marshal.

• Xianyu told Yingxing he would respect Jingliu’s choices and turned to more urgent matters with Dan Feng.
• Aha pointed out that the timeline did not match the fall of the Aeon of The Permanence, prompting Xianyu to reconsider his plan.
• Xianyu asked Dan Feng what he would give in return for a solution to the Vidyadhara’s problem and explained that Zandar might help.
• Dan Feng agreed to ease Xianyu’s burdens as he considered how solving the population problem could affect the Vidyadhara’s future.
• As the group set out to meet Zandar, Dan Feng stopped and told the Marshal there was no need to trouble Zandar.

Dan Feng confided his desperation over the Vidyadhara’s crisis to Xianyu, then proposed using the Dragon Transformation Technique. Xianyu agreed to begin, leaving Yingxing alarmed and Aha convinced the situation had reached a dead end.

• Dan Feng admitted he had lied to Xianyu and told him he did not need to go to Zandar for the Vidyadhara.
• Dan Feng poured out his grief over the Dragon Preceptors, his fallen comrades, and the Abominations, while Xianyu listened.
• Dan Feng agreed that he and Xianyu were alike, then said he wanted to save the friends who knew him as Dan Feng.
• Dan Feng proposed the Dragon Transformation Technique, and Xianyu asked whether Yingxing would agree.
• Yingxing urged them to take time to plan, but Xianyu drew a knife and Dan Feng waited for his permission.
• Xianyu told Dan Feng to begin, while Aha feared the plan would end in disaster and decided to seek help from Lan.

Xianyu helped Dan Feng use his power to restore Yingxing and end the conflict between Abundance and The Hunt, while Dan Feng realized Xianyu had sacrificed his own flesh and blood to make Shuhu immortal. The chapter ended with Jingliu noticing a familiar face in a photograph on the Marshal’s desk as an alarm sounded.

• Aha realized the Aeons would keep repeating their trials to reproduce the cycle closest to success, while Xianyu joked with them and messaged Zandar that he would arrive late.
• Xianyu offered to help Dan Feng and explained that his blood had made Shuhu immortal, then asked Dan Feng to proceed with the Vidyadhara’s internal matter.
• Xianyu praised Dan Feng and framed Shuhu’s attack on the Ambrosial Arbor as a thwarted plot, leaving Dan Feng to handle what followed.
• Dan Feng knocked Yingxing unconscious and accepted Xianyu’s help; Xianyu cut himself and restored Yingxing’s youth, concluding that short-lived species could become ageless.
• Dan Feng realized Xianyu had used his own flesh and blood to transform Shuhu, then carried out his plan and heard Xianyu say he had succeeded, though Dan Feng thought he had failed.
• An alarm sounded at the Marshal’s Jade Abacus, and Jingliu noticed that someone in a photograph on the Marshal’s desk looked familiar.

Jingliu discovered an old photograph and obituary that linked Xianyu to the Starsea Community’s history, then searched for people with his name. Meanwhile, Hua learned Marty was at Scalegorge Waterscape and arranged a child-sized puppet for him, only to realize Jingliu was still beside the photograph on her desk.

• Jingliu recognized the Starsea Council building in the photograph on Hua’s desk and saw a man who looked strikingly like her lover, Xianyu.
• Hua told Jingliu to go with Teng Xiao to Scalegorge Waterscape after they reached the Luofu, and Jingliu warned Dan Feng’s account to hurry.
• Jingliu found the former Marshal’s obituary, read about his achievements as Star-Sea Overseer, and concluded that he was the same Xianyu as the man in the photograph.
• Jingliu searched official personnel records for Xianyu and received thousands of results.
• Hua discovered that Marty was at Scalegorge Waterscape and learned he feared Xianyu’s anger about his mechanical lifeform identity.
• Hua agreed to arrange a child-sized puppet for Marty, then returned to find Jingliu still standing beside the photograph.

Jingliu learned that Xianyu was the former Xianzhou Marshal and struggled to set aside her feelings as Hua sent her and Teng Xiao to the Luofu. There, Hua found Lan confronting Xianyu, who challenged the Aeon to kill him.

• Jingliu discovered that Xianyu was the former Marshal after finding his old Xianzhou office account, and Hua admitted she had concealed his identity.
• Hua offered Jingliu the choice to avoid seeing Xianyu, but Jingliu declared she would follow the Marshal's orders, so Hua assigned her and Teng Xiao to go to the Luofu.
• After the fleet arrived at the Luofu, Hua sensed the Reignbow Arbiter's presence and ordered Teng Xiao to go to Scalegorge Waterscape.
• Lan told Xianyu that the being before him was only a clone and repeated his promise to do whatever Xianyu needed.
• Xianyu asked Lan whether he wanted to change their contract, then pressed a hand to his shoulder and asked if Lan could kill him.

Xianyu tried to contain the fallout from Dan Feng and Yingxing bringing Shuhu into Scalegorge Waterscape, while Dan Feng fixated on Xianyu’s remarks about avoiding war. Dan Feng’s attempt to delay Xianyu’s departure with a threat of suicide ended with Xianyu comforting him, and Dan Feng recognized how much Xianyu had sacrificed for him.

• Xianyu told Dan Feng to erase the Jade Abacus records, take Shuhu to the Ten-Lords Commission, and keep the incident from implicating the Vidyadhara.
• Dan Feng pressed Xianyu to explain his claim that they could avoid war and questioned whether Xianyu planned to sacrifice his own flesh and blood.
• Dan Feng clung to Xianyu’s coat to stop him from leaving, and Aha grabbed Xianyu’s trouser leg in an attempt to help Dan Feng hold him there.
• Dan Feng retrieved the dagger from Xianyu’s coat and threatened to kill himself, but Xianyu took the blade from him and covered his face with the coat.
• Dan Feng hid beneath the coat and realized that Xianyu had exhausted himself and shed his blood to grant Dan Feng’s wish, yet was still trying to comfort him.

Yingxing woke after Dan Feng’s surgery and discovered that he had become a Vidyadhara, while Xianyu prepared to leave Scalegorge Waterscape. The arrival of two golden Divine Lords ended with Lan recognizing them as powers he had bestowed on the Luofu General and Jingliu.

• Yingxing woke to find Xianyu, Dan Feng, Aha, and Lan discussing compensation for him, then discovered he had dragon horns, pointed ears, and a tail.
• Dan Feng warned Yingxing that they had to stop Xianyu, but Xianyu said Jingliu would uphold her oath even if she had to raise her sword against him.
• Xianyu said he would respect Jingliu’s choices and let her go if that would make her happier, leaving Yingxing too shocked to reveal that Jingliu was preparing a proposal ring.
• Vidyadhara and Cloud Knights arrived as the group set off, and two immense golden Divine Lords descended over Scalegorge Waterscape.
• The Divine Lords bowed to Lan, who recognized their powers and said that the one who had descended was his clone, no different from any other human.

Lan’s fragile clone unintentionally brought the Xianzhou’s divine spirits before Xianyu and exposed his extraordinary identity, while Xianyu struggled through his explanation of Shuhu’s attack. After arranging for Dan Feng and Yingxing to leave, Xianyu was left alone with Jingliu, who asked him what he wanted to say.

• Lan’s divine spirits descended over Scalegorge Waterscape and bowed, leading the Xianzhou witnesses to believe the Reignbow Arbiter had arrived.
• Aha realized Lan had accidentally revealed Xianyu’s nature and slipped away to avoid being caught in Xianyu’s embarrassment.
• Yingxing accepted the succession of revelations, while Dan Feng refused to kneel and noticed that Xianyu was unwell.
• Lan carried the case toward Jingliu and the Luofu General, who granted Jingliu half a day of leave.
• Xianyu told Dan Feng to rest, took Yingxing with him, and instructed Dan Feng to handle the High Elders’ decision and keep quiet about certain matters.
• After Dan Feng and Yingxing left, Jingliu linked arms with Xianyu and asked whether he had anything to say; Xianyu asked what she wanted to hear.

Jingliu confronted Xianyu about his concealed identities and the lies behind his claims that he was doing well. After Xianyu confessed to his role in the Xianzhou’s wars and the pursuit of the Plagues Author, Jingliu embraced him and asked for a hug.

• Xianyu tried to reassure Jingliu that Shuhu and Yingxing would be dealt with, while avoiding saying whether he himself was safe.
• Jingliu questioned Xianyu about his lack of eating, drinking, and sleeping, and the millions of System Hours he had worked.
• Xianyu apologized and revealed that he had been the Yaoqing’s general, the Xianzhou’s Marshal, and the Star-Sea Overseer.
• Xianyu confessed that he had led the Xianzhou natives in pursuit of the Plagues Author and unleashed war across the Cosmos.
• Jingliu hugged Xianyu from behind, let herself cry, and said she needed a hug.

Jingliu comforted Xianyu and urged him to accept that she wanted to stay by his side, while he admitted how important she was to him. They kissed, and Xianyu accepted that their relationship was both a blessing and a curse.

• Jingliu held Xianyu and asked whether he had truly missed her, then rejected his attempts to push her away.
• Jingliu told Xianyu that she wanted to stay beside him longer and asked whether he thought her greedy.
• Xianyu told Jingliu she was important to him and that he would be sad if they parted.
• Jingliu comforted Xianyu, kissed him beneath his trench coat, and asked to keep protecting him.
• Xianyu kissed Jingliu again and concluded that meeting her was both a blessing and a curse.

Xianyu and Jingliu shared an intimate moment before he sent her to meet Dan Feng and went to meet Hua and Zandar. Jingliu accepted Xianyu’s ring and revealed she planned to propose to him, while Dan Feng realized she had never asked his permission to discuss Xianyu.

• Jingliu told Xianyu that, if she could turn back time, she would meet him sooner, and he asked her to meet Dan Feng at the Ten-Lords Commission.
• Jingliu discovered a bloodied knife in Xianyu’s coat, searched him for other sharp objects, then accepted a ring he gave her before they parted.
• Xianyu left to meet Hua and Zandar, and Hua greeted him by calling him “Father.”
• Jingliu met Dan Feng and told him Xianyu’s name; when Dan Feng asked whether her ring was an engagement ring, she said it was only a gift and that she intended to propose to Xianyu.
• Dan Feng entered an interrogation room and realized Jingliu had never asked him before bringing up Xianyu.

Daiyang interrogated Dan Feng while Jingliu questioned Chenzhen about whether the Xianzhou natives resented Xianyu for granting them immortality. Aboard the convoy, Hua reunited with Xianyu, discussed Shuhu’s infiltration of the Luofu, and learned that Jingliu had won him over with Strales and severed Abomination limbs.

• Daiyang greeted Dan Feng in the interrogation room and set a knife on the table as she prepared to question him without using torture instruments.
• Jingliu asked Chenzhen whether the Xianzhou natives resented Xianyu for giving them endless lifespans, and Chenzhen reassured her that they did not.
• Jingliu returned home, checked her many clothing orders for Xianyu, and decided to buy another style before continuing to make rings.
• Hua questioned Xianyu about his health and refused to accept his excuse for keeping his distance, then described how Shuhu had reached the Luofu and Scalegorge Waterscape.
• Hua asked how Jingliu and Xianyu got together, and Xianyu said Jingliu had given him Strales and severed limbs from Abominations of Abundance.
• Hua gave up on discussing their romance and suggested they return to business.