Chapter Summaries

Ling An slowed time in Fu Ling’s body to suppress her illness, then watched her and Wu Li leave the Pavilion. Tide Sis confronted Ling An and carried him toward Rainbow Town, while Wu Li and Fu Ling spotted them on the mountain path.

• Ling An used a special method to slow time inside Fu Ling’s body, preventing her illness from flaring up and allowing her to live nearly a hundred years.
• Fu Ling worried that the treatment had strained Ling An, but he assured her the cost was only one drop out of an ocean.
• Ling An sent Wu Li and Fu Ling home, and the pair limped down the mountain together.
• Ling An revealed that he had noticed Tide Sis hiding nearby, and she admitted she had followed him to investigate his aura.
• Tide Sis grabbed Ling An and carried him toward Rainbow Town, while Wu Li and Fu Ling recognized them as they passed.

Ling An left Mt. Firmament for Jinzhou after Baizhi summoned him to Huaxu Academy, and discovered that Fu Ling had published a painting of him in Huanglong in Freehand. In the Wailing Wastes, he heard that Huaxu researchers were investigating the Tacet Discords he had summoned and wondered whether Baizhi had called him in over it.

• Xinyi thanked Ling An for helping Mt. Firmament, and he declined her invitation to stay before leaving for Jinzhou.
• Ling An boarded a passenger vessel at Gapshore and saw a painting of a gray cat resembling him in the latest issue of Huanglong in Freehand.
• Ling An learned that the artist was named Ling and recognized her as Fu Ling; the painting was titled “Miracle.”
• After arriving at the Wailing Wastes, Ling An heard a storyteller say that most of Jinzhou’s Tacet Discords had vanished there.
• Ling An learned that Huaxu researchers were investigating the disappearance and wondered whether Baizhi had summoned him because they had discovered his role.

Ling An agreed to create a new Crownless Holographic Projection challenge for the Moon-Chasing Festival and designed it as a five-person team fight. He began testing the challenge against five powerful Resonator phantoms, ending as golden light burst from his Gourd.

• Ling An visited Baizhi at Huaxu Academy and learned that Jiyan had cleared the highest-level Holographic Projection challenge.
• Baizhi asked Ling An to make a new challenge for Huaxu Academy's Moon-Chasing Festival stall, and he agreed after hearing that people admired his Crownless projection.
• Ling An proposed a five-person team challenge with two modes, and he and Baizhi settled on its general format.
• Baizhi began testing Holographic Projection: Crownless-Lord of the Tacet Discords with five Resonator phantoms approaching Overlord-Class power, controlled by researchers.
• Ling An faced the five phantoms in his Crownless form, summoned the Gourd, and sent out several streaks of golden light.

Ling An tested the researchers of Huaxu Academy in a holographic battle, summoning Tacet Discords to guard his Thorn Throne. After Baizhi empowered the researchers and they defeated his guards, Ling An left the throne and faced them himself.

• Ling An summoned Glacio Rider, Bell-Ringing Turtle, Thunderclap Scale, Glory of Treading Light, and Sorrowful Cry to fight the five researchers’ Resonator Phantoms while he watched from his Thorn Throne.
• A researcher devised a plan to distract Bell-Ringing Turtle and Thunderclap Scale while the others focused on Glacio Rider, but Ling An summoned Sorrowful Cry’s mate to join the melee.
• Baizhi gave the researchers’ Resonator Phantoms eight buffs, improving their power and coordination.
• The researchers used their enhanced strength to destroy the six Rumbling Tide-Class Tacet Discords and advanced to face Ling An.
• Ling An applauded the researchers, rose from his throne, and descended toward them as his oppressive Tacet Discord aura filled the battlefield.

Ling An tested the researchers in his Crownless form, letting their coordinated attacks bring him close to defeat before revealing a second phase powered by absorbed Tacet Discords and one percent of a Threnodian’s authority. Outside the holographic domain, Baizhi connected his transformation to the mass disappearance of Tacet Discords near Jinzhou and wondered whether he was truly using his full strength.

• Ling An fought five Resonator Phantoms at once, while their commander organized the researchers to exploit his recovery windows and wear down his health.
• The researchers nearly depleted Ling An’s health, but one of them questioned why Crownless had summoned so few Tacet Discords.
• Ling An shattered his spear, absorbed the golden motes of six Rumbling Tide-Class Tacet Discords, and restored his health as he entered phase two.
• Ling An declared that he was using one percent of a Threnodian’s authority, leaving the researchers shocked and their commander questioning Baizhi about the test.
• Baizhi recalled the Tacet Discords that had vanished after moving toward the Wailing Wastes and wondered whether Ling An had absorbed them and whether he was really going all out.

Ling An finished testing two Holographic Projection challenges with Baizhi and left the Research Institute as preparations for the Moon-Chasing Festival continued. He met Yinlin on a quiet street, where she invited him to find her at the festival before disappearing into the night.

• Ling An and Baizhi wrapped up testing two similarly difficult Holographic Projection challenges after the researchers completed their exhausting work.
• Baizhi reminded Ling An to attend the Moon-Chasing Festival gathering at Peach Blossom Village, and he left the Research Institute.
• Ling An encountered Yinlin on a moonlit street, and she told him she would be at the festival and invited him to find her.
• Ling An reflected on Yinlin's loneliness and wondered whether their bond was why she had waited for him.
• Yinlin said she was good at waiting, then slipped away, leaving Ling An thinking that everyone was a rover.

Ling An pretended to be the Wishing Tree’s spirit and deliberately misheard the villagers’ wishes until Tide Sis exposed his prank. Tide Sis and Xiangli Yao then explained that the tree could truly grant wishes, but Little Pa, the robot that collected them, had malfunctioned.

• Ling An made a wish beneath the tree, then floated above it in golden light and granted villagers’ wishes by deliberately mishearing them.
• Tide Sis threw a Swiftblade at Ling An, revealing his prank to the villagers, who laughed and headed into Peach Blossom Village.
• Tide Sis told Ling An that she had learned from Xiangli Yao that the Wishing Tree could grant wishes, but something was wrong with it.
• Xiangli Yao ran a self-check on Little Pa, the robot that collected wishes, and discovered that it had failed.

Xiangli Yao discovered that impossible wishes were corrupting Little Pa’s data and traced one anomalous wish to Ling An. Tide Sis confronted Ling An, and his wish was changed, removing the anomalous code.

• Xiangli Yao connected Little Pa to his Terminal and found anomalous code among its recorded wishes.
• Xiangli analyzed a wish for a Threnodian’s authority and powers, along with a plea for an unspecified woman to become gentler and happier.
• Xiangli Yao explained that the Moon Tree House needed to find the wisher and have him fulfill or change the wish.
• Ling An tried to flee when he realized the wish had been identified, but Tide Sis caught him and confronted him about it.
• Ten minutes later, Xiangli announced that the anomalous code had been removed and that Ling An’s new wish was to become Rover’s obedient little kitty.

Xiangli Yao and Ling An discovered that Xiaosheng’s wish to disappear was really a plea for help, and set out to find the Research Institute researcher behind it. Xiangli Yao left to deal with an overheating prototype, while Tide Sis, Ling An, and Xiangli continued the search.

• Xiangli Yao confirmed that Ling An’s wish had not caused the anomalous code, and Little Pa identified a wish from someone named Xiaosheng.
• Xiaosheng’s wish asked to vanish, but Xiangli Yao explained that the words concealed a deeper meaning and that Xiaosheng was really crying for help.
• Ling An concluded that Xiaosheng needed help escaping his predicament, and Xiangli Yao agreed.
• Xiangli Yao received an emergency call about Prototype No. 49 overheating after its core went out of control and its emergency response module failed.
• Xiangli Yao went to the workshop and told Tide Sis that Xiaosheng was probably a Research Institute researcher using an alias, while Xiangli would assist them.
• Tide Sis, Ling An, and Xiangli set out to find Xiaosheng, and Ling An reflected that Tide Sis might already be gentle with him.

Ling An and Tide Sis asked the shy painter Zhezhi whether she knew Xiaosheng, but she had no information to share. After accidentally revealing that she wanted to pet Ling An, Zhezhi fled in embarrassment and ran into a pillar.

• Ling An, Tide Sis, and Xiangli approached Zhezhi to ask whether she knew Xiaosheng.
• Zhezhi introduced herself as a painter and said she did not know Xiaosheng.
• Zhezhi explained that she was sketching for inspiration, and Xiangli reassured her that sketching was allowed.
• Zhezhi accidentally said aloud that she wanted to pet Ling An, then covered her face and fled.
• Ling An tried to warn Zhezhi about a pillar, but she ran into it.

Ling An and Tide Sis hired Zhezhi to paint a portrait before visiting the Research Institute to investigate Xiaosheng’s wish. After overhearing researchers discuss late-night emotional syndrome, they suspected the distressed Baizhe might be connected, but Shifan abruptly left when they asked about Xiaosheng.

• Ling An asked Zhezhi to paint a portrait of him and Tide Sis, and they exchanged contact details.
• Ling An, Tide Sis, and Xiangli went to the Research Institute to seek leads on Xiaosheng.
• Ling An overheard Baizhe describe insomnia, low moods, and stress while Shifan advised him to take leave during the Moon-Chasing Festival.
• Xiangli linked late-night emotional syndrome to the timing and emotional state of Xiaosheng’s wish, and Tide Sis suggested questioning Baizhe.
• When Ling An and Tide Sis asked Shifan about Xiaosheng and the wish, Shifan denied knowing anything and hurried away to check the lab centrifuge.

Ling An and Tide Sis learned that Shifan was Xiaosheng and that guilt over Jiu Li’s injury had driven him into despair. Ling An promised to help Shifan recover the Echo samples he needed, and the chapter ended with Tide Sis turning three Tacet Discords from Ling An’s Gourd into Echoes.

• Jiu Li revealed that Shifan was Xiaosheng and explained that he had withdrawn because he blamed himself for Jiu Li’s injured arm.
• Jiu Li and Xiangli Yao helped Ling An and Tide Sis learn that Shifan’s greatest passion was studying Echoes and that three samples from a past experiment were missing.
• Shifan returned, admitted his guilt and pessimism, and agreed to apologize to Jiu Li if Ling An could provide the missing samples.
• Ling An released three Tacet Discords from the Gourd, and Tide Sis transformed them into the Echoes Shifan needed.

Ling An and Tide Sis helped Shifan and Jiuli reconcile and resume their Echo research, then returned to Peach Blossom Village for the Moon-Chasing Festival. There, Sanhua arrived with a letter from Jinhsi and discovered that Ling An could freely change his frequency.

• Jiuli punched Shifan and told him he had never blamed him for his injury, urging him to stop despairing and restart their research together.
• Shifan agreed to continue the experiments, and Xiangli Yao confirmed that Shifan's wish was not the source of the anomalous data.
• Ling An and Tide Sis returned to Peach Blossom Village, where Sanhua was waiting to deliver Tide Sis a letter from Jinhsi.
• Sanhua studied Ling An's changing frequencies and realized he could alter them at will, then watched them form a heart.

Ling An used his frequency to fool Sanhua, then Tide Sis took her around the Moonlit Fair on Jinhsi’s request. When Chixia, Yangyang, and Baizhi reunited with Ling An, he told them he had fought and beaten the Sentinel.

• Sanhua saw Ling An’s manipulated frequency, but Tide Sis could not discover what he had done.
• Tide Sis read Jinhsi’s letter and persuaded Sanhua to stay and enjoy the Moonlit Fair with her.
• Tide Sis left Ling An behind, but Chixia, Yangyang, and Baizhi soon found him.
• Ling An told his friends about his trip to Mt. Firmament and claimed he had beaten the Sentinel.
• Chixia asked how fighting the Sentinel felt, and Ling An said it had been fantastic.

Ling An reunited with Chixia and Yangyang at the Night Moon Gathering, where Chixia planned to enter Huaxu Academy’s five-person Holographic Projection challenge. Ling An discovered that the Jinzhou Cat-Cat Cult and Huaxu Academy had produced commemorative figurines of his cat form, and the chapter left him stunned as Yangyang showed off one of the designs.

• Chixia took Ling An around the festival stalls and invited him to join her Holographic Projection challenge team.
• Chixia named herself, Yangyang, Sanhua, and Jianxin as team members, with one place still open, while Baizhi declined to participate.
• Chixia revealed that she wanted to win a prize and showed Ling An an early-release figurine of his cat form.
• Yangyang explained that the first figurine batch had three designs and showed Ling An her own fierce-looking figurine.

Ling An learned that the Cat-Cat Cult was using his likeness to promote figurines and a chance to meet him, then watched Chixia clear the Moon-Shooting Pot challenge. Tide Sis delivered a Reunion Cake from Sanhua and insisted on taking Ling An with her to investigate the Moon Tree House’s second anomalous wish.

• Chixia explained that collecting three Ling An figurines could let fans request a meeting with him, and Ling An realized the Cat-Cat Cult was profiting from his likeness and Holographic Projection.
• Chixia led Ling An and Yangyang to Qingxi’s Moon-Shooting Pot stall and cleared its new, highest difficulty setting.
• Ling An received a message from Tide Sis and left the stall to meet her.
• Tide Sis gave Ling An a Reunion Cake made by Sanhua, who had saved cakes for him and Jinhsi without keeping one for herself.
• Tide Sis brought Xiangli to Ling An and insisted on taking him along to address the Moon Tree House’s second anomalous wish.

Ling An, Tide Sis, and Xiangli responded to He Ying’s wish for guidance after her son died in battle, choosing to offer companionship rather than presume to decide what she should do. They walked with her through Peach Blossom Village’s Moon-Chasing Festival, though the festivities did little to ease her grief.

• Ling An read He Ying’s wish and agreed with Tide Sis and Xiangli that they should find her and keep her company.
• Ling An and Tide Sis found He Ying watching the village lights, and she recognized them as the Rover and Patroller Ling An.
• He Ying thanked them for fulfilling her son’s wish to protect her and Jinzhou, then revealed that he had died fighting the Threnodian.
• He Ying invited Ling An, Tide Sis, and Xiangli to walk through the festival, and Tide Sis agreed.
• Tide Sis introduced the stalls as they accompanied He Ying, but He Ying only glanced at them as she continued to grieve.

Ling An, Tide Sis, and Qingxi helped Granny He Ying reconnect with the memory of her son Xiuyuan through stories from the Night Wardens he had trained. As the second anomalous wish seemed resolved, the robot Xiangli detected a third wish, and Tide Sis recalled Xiuyuan’s last brave words.

• Qingxi recognized Granny He Ying and offered her a painted fan made according to the teachings of her son, Instructor Xiuyuan.
• Qingxi and several Night Wardens told Granny He Ying stories about Xiuyuan and how much he had meant to them.
• Ling An stopped Tide Sis from interrupting, and Granny He Ying chose to stay and hear more about her son.
• The robot Xiangli said the second anomalous wish had been resolved for now and reported that a third wish was forming.
• Tide Sis told Ling An she had met Xiuyuan at the Formation-Breaking Camp, where he had faced Tacet Discords and said, “I'll bring up the rear.”

Ling An and Tide Sis visited Zhezhi’s studio to commission a portrait and discovered that her usual fee was only twenty thousand Shell Credits. After they doubted her skill and offered fifty thousand instead, Zhezhi eagerly began the work.

• Ling An and Tide Sis met Zhezhi at her stall and followed her to her nearby studio to discuss a private portrait.
• Zhezhi hurriedly hid stacks of drawing paper before letting them into her sparsely furnished studio.
• Tide Sis told Zhezhi not to be frightened by what happened during the painting and asked her to focus only on the portrait.
• Zhezhi said her usual fee was twenty thousand Shell Credits, surprising Ling An and Tide Sis.
• Ling An wondered whether Zhezhi’s low prices meant her work was poor, so Zhezhi insisted she could do it.
• Ling An offered fifty thousand Shell Credits, and Zhezhi accepted before getting started.

Zhezhi painted a portrait of Ling An in his Crownless form while Tide Sis watched, but Ling An accidentally uncovered a stack of Zhezhi’s paintings of him as a cat. Zhezhi blushed and hid her face as Ling An realized she had painted him many times in different poses.

• Tide Sis asked Zhezhi to paint Ling An’s original combat form, and Ling An transformed into the Crownless.
• Zhezhi overcame her fear and spent the afternoon painting Ling An and Tide Sis.
• While Zhezhi worked, Ling An tried to inspect a stack of papers by the wall and accidentally knocked them over.
• Ling An found that the fallen paintings all depicted him as a cat in different poses and bore different dates.
• Zhezhi blushed, covered her face, and Ling An understood why she had tidied the studio alone.