Chapter Summaries

The Elf Queen Ellari, Dwarf King Muradin, and Half-Orc chief the Old Wolf King arrived through their newly opened portals and greeted the leaders gathered with Lin Mo. The Dragons Clan then opened its enormous portal, revealing the Dragon King and a range of floating mountains that left Lin Mo and Zhao Gang eager to learn what they contained.

• The Elf Queen Ellari stepped through the Elves' portal, greeted Lin Mo and the Pope, and reunited with the other leaders.
• Dwarf King Muradin arrived through the Dwarf Clan's portal, greeted the Pope and Ellari, and told Lin Mo that he admired Great Xia's weapons.
• The Old Wolf King came through the Half-Orc portal, greeted the other leaders respectfully, and silently accepted Muradin's disdain for his people's low standing.
• The Dragons Clan opened a hundred-meter portal, and the Dragon King emerged with several dragons and enormous floating mountains behind them.
• Lin Mo and Zhao Gang recognized the mountains' potential value and agreed to discuss them later.

The clan leaders toured Great Xia, shared a state banquet, and Ellari gave Lin Mo two World Tree seeds. After the leaders departed, the clans began exchanging weapons and supplies through their portals, and Lin Mo asked Yadis what made the Dragon Clan’s mountains float.

• Zhao Gang led the clan leaders on a tour of Great Xia, where Ellari and Muradin admired its steel structures and the Old Wolf King assessed its disciplined army.
• Zhao Gang hosted an outdoor banquet for the leaders, and the Dragons King sampled Great Xia’s food.
• Ellari gave Lin Mo two World Tree seeds, and the clan leaders left after the banquet.
• Lin Mo arranged for Great Xia to send weapons and equipment through the portals while supplies from the clans arrived in return.
• Yadis and the other dragons carried Weapon Modules through the portal, and Lin Mo asked Yadis whether ore caused the Dragon Clan’s mountains to float.

Lin Mo learned that the Dragons Clan had abundant suspension crystal, an antigravity ore, and negotiated to buy it for Great Xia. Yadis agreed to sell ten thousand cubic meters at the price of mithril, and Lin Mo moved to sign the contract.

• Yadis explained that suspension crystal was a naturally occurring ore in the Dragon's Resting Place that reduced gravity and served as a dietary necessity for dragons.
• Lin Mo asked Yadis to consult the Dragon King about the ore's price, and Yadis returned with approval to offer it to Great Xia at a discounted rate.
• Yadis told Lin Mo that suspension crystal would cost fifty gold coins per volume unit, the same price as mithril, and explained that it was sold by volume because it floated.
• Lin Mo agreed to the price and proposed an initial purchase of ten thousand cubic meters.
• Yadis accepted the order, and Lin Mo asked to sign the contract.

Lin Mo agreed to deliver two World Tree Seeds from the Arctic Military Base to Antarctica and reported his lucrative suspension-crystal deal with the Dragons Clan. In Kyoto, he saw that researchers were drilling a passage through the dome so the rapidly growing World Tree could reach the surface, then went to meet Elder Zhao.

• Zhao Gang told Lin Mo to transport the two World Tree Seeds from the Arctic Military Base to the Underground City in Antarctica, and Lin Mo agreed to switch bodies and travel from Kyoto.
• Lin Mo told Zhao Gang that he had ordered ten thousand cubic meters of suspension crystal from the Dragons Clan at a price of fifty gold coins per jin-sized volume, and Zhao Gang eagerly arranged to follow up.
• After waking in Kyoto's Underground City and completing a medical checkup, Lin Mo visited the Central Ecological Park and saw the World Tree filling the space beneath the dome.
• A researcher explained that the team had opened the dome and was drilling upward to make a passage for the World Tree to reach the surface, where it could grow and bear Life Fruit.
• Elder Zhao called Lin Mo to his office, and Lin Mo went to meet him.

Lin Mo reported that the races had established Portals in Great Xia's Fief and that he had secured a large supply of suspension crystal. Elder Zhao asked him to plant a World Tree Seed in Antarctica, then teased him about marrying his daughter before sending him to work.

• Lin Mo told Elder Zhao that relations and trade on the Terra Continent were going smoothly and that he had bought ten thousand cubic meters of suspension crystal from the Dragons Clan.
• Elder Zhao asked Lin Mo to travel to Antarctica and plant a World Tree Seed in the connected Underground Cities, since Lin Mo could withstand the surface radiation with Holy Light Magic and Purification.
• Elder Zhao praised Lin Mo's contributions to Great Xia and humanity, assuring him that the country would provide whatever he needed.
• Elder Zhao abruptly asked whether Lin Mo had someone he liked and suggested his own daughter as a possible match.
• Lin Mo left the office awkwardly after Elder Zhao told him to think about his personal life and said the plane was ready.

Lin Mo prepared to travel to Arctic Base in a heavy radiation protection suit and emerged onto the devastated surface of Blue Star. After learning that the Third Company of Combat Engineers had built the platform despite the radiation, he set out with renewed respect for their sacrifice.

• Secretary Li showed Lin Mo the 140-kilogram radiation protection suit, which could block 95 percent of surface radiation.
• Technicians sealed Lin Mo into the suit and briefed him on his flight to Arctic Base in an unmanned aircraft.
• Lin Mo rode the aircraft up a large elevator and saw the ash-covered, radioactive wasteland outside.
• Lin Mo asked Secretary Li who had built the steel platform, and Secretary Li said the Third Company of Combat Engineers had taken turns working on it in brief, painful shifts.
• Lin Mo learned the engineers had conserved Purification Scrolls and Holy Water, and silently honored their sacrifice.

Lin Mo arrived at the Arctic Army Military Base after completing a Drone flight, then prepared to transport the World Tree Seed to the Antarctica Underground City aboard an aircraft piloted alongside Pangu. The transport aircraft began its departure, and Pangu AI assured Lin Mo that the base staff would use Purification Scrolls to handle radiation entering the base.

• Lin Mo landed the Drone at the Arctic Army Military Base and used Holy Light to purify radiation around himself and the aircraft.
• A major general briefed Lin Mo on the journey to Antarctica and told him to pilot Pangu as a precaution against aircraft failure.
• Zhao Kexia showed Lin Mo Pangu’s upgrades and explained that the World Tree Seed was sealed in a lead box because nuclear radiation could make it sprout.
• Lin Mo boarded Pangu and entered the transport aircraft, which began rising toward the runway.
• Lin Mo asked what would happen if outside radiation entered the base, and Pangu AI said the staff had prepared Purification Scrolls.

Lin Mo arrived at Tianyong Underground City and prepared to plant the World Tree Seed at a site between Tianyong and Tianxiong. After learning the plan, he used the Pangu Mecha to lift a ten-ton nuclear fission device and headed toward the planting area.

• Lin Mo landed at Tianyong Underground City, where Mayor Chen Jianguo welcomed him and explained that the World Tree planting site lay between Tianyong and Tianxiong.
• Chen Jianguo told Lin Mo that bunker-buster missiles had loosened the frozen soil and that four nuclear reactors needed to warm it before the seed was planted.
• Lin Mo and Chen Jianguo reached an underground space where four modified nuclear fission devices were ready for deployment.
• Chen Jianguo explained that the devices would heat the soil and provide nuclear energy for the World Tree, and Lin Mo agreed to carry them to the site with the Pangu Mecha.
• Lin Mo lifted one ten-ton device with the Pangu Mecha and entered the elevator as the workers saluted him.

Lin Mo lowered four Nuclear Fission Devices into underground craters and placed the World Tree Seed at their center. As the devices began releasing radiation, the seed sprouted and sent roots racing toward them.

• Lin Mo piloted the Pangu Mecha across the irradiated surface and, following Chen Jianguo’s instructions, pulled the pin on the first Nuclear Fission Sphere before lowering it into a crater.
• Lin Mo repeated the process with the other three Nuclear Fission Devices, placing each in a separate underground hole.
• After radiation sickness struck, Lin Mo used Holy Light Purification to ease his nausea and skin pain.
• Lin Mo lowered the World Tree Seed into the central hole with a surveillance drone and watched its shoot break through the soil.
• The seed’s roots spread toward the four devices as their radiation converged on it, accelerating its growth, and Lin Mo left after confirming the sapling was healthy.

Lin Mo planted World Tree Seeds in Antarctica and the Arctic, then returned to Kyoto to find the first tree breaking through the surface. The chapter ended as the tree surged into the nuclear-dust-covered sky and began growing much faster.

• Lin Mo purified the Tianyong Underground City landing pad and confirmed that the Antarctic World Tree had grown to ten meters, drawing energy from nearby nuclear fission devices.
• Chen Jianguo introduced Lin Mo to Lin Shigong, who thanked him on behalf of Tianxiong City's nine million residents and pledged unity between the two cities.
• After eating with Chen Jianguo, Lin Mo flew to the Arctic and planted another World Tree Seed near Tianji Underground City using four nuclear fission devices.
• Lin Mo returned to Kyoto Underground City, where Liu Chengen and Qian Zhenhua showed him footage of the three World Trees growing.
• The Kyoto World Tree burst through the surface opening and accelerated its growth as it reached the outside air.

As Great Xia celebrated its surface World Tree growing rapidly, Eagle Country restored its elevator to the surface and sent drones to scout the nuclear wasteland. One drone spotted a glowing tree near Great Xia before its signal vanished, prompting Archon Mars to accuse Great Xia of shooting it down and demand retaliation.

• Liu Chengen and the researchers watched the surface World Tree grow far faster than the one in the Underground City while citizens gathered to witness it.
• Elder Zhao ordered the footage edited and broadcast to the Underground Cities as a message of hope.
• Archon Mars watched Eagle Country's repaired elevator reach the surface and ordered drones to scout the surrounding area and seek contact with other Underground Cities.
• Drone Number Three detected a green light in the direction of Great Xia's Underground City, and its camera revealed what appeared to be a glowing tree.
• The drone's signal cut out, and a technician reported it had been shot down.
• Mars blamed Great Xia, called the incident an act of war, and demanded retaliation.

Mars ordered a massive drone swarm to investigate the glowing object Great Xia was guarding, despite having no authority to attack. As the surviving drones neared the target, they detected radiation falling to human-tolerable levels, and the image confirmed the glow came from a tree.

• Mars examined a processed drone image and suspected Great Xia was hiding something beneath the appearance of a glowing tree.
• Mars sent another drone to investigate, but Great Xia shot it down within minutes.
• Mars ordered hundreds of drones to fly toward Great Xia, and many were intercepted along the way.
• The surviving drones entered Great Xia's territory and detected radiation levels dropping rapidly toward human-tolerable levels.
• A drone approached the glowing object, and the technician confirmed that it was a tree.

Mars watched Eagle Country’s drones fail to destroy the World Tree and realized Great Xia had a powerful, unexplained advantage. At Tianyong Underground City, radiation levels fell dramatically around the tree, while Chen Jianguo discovered more drones approaching from Eagle Country’s Freedom Underground City.

• Mars ordered Eagle Country’s drones to attack the World Tree, but Great Xia’s defenses shot them down and intercepted their missiles.
• Mars wondered how the World Tree had grown so quickly, why it glowed, and how it reduced radiation, concluding that Great Xia had a formidable trump card.
• Chen Jianguo learned that radiation levels had fallen around the World Tree, reaching a level humans could tolerate beneath its coverage.
• Chen Jianguo ordered Tianyong Underground City’s drones to destroy an unidentified drone, which the city’s high-power microwave system brought down.
• The surveillance operator identified more approaching drones as coming from Eagle Country’s Freedom Underground City.

Chen Jianguo defended the World Tree from an Eagle Country drone attack and ordered strikes against underground-city lift shafts to prevent future threats. With approval from above, Great Xia launched missiles at nearly a hundred non-Great Xia Underground Cities across Antarctica.

• Chen Jianguo received Elder Zhao's order to protect the World Tree at all costs and deployed armored units to establish a defensive line.
• Eagle Country sent hundreds of drones toward the World Tree, but Chen Jianguo's vehicle-mounted lasers shot them down and intercepted their missiles.
• Chen Jianguo ordered missiles launched at Eagle Country's Free Underground City lift passage and asked Lin Shigong to join a broader strike against Antarctic lift shafts.
• After approval came through, Chen Jianguo ordered Tianxiong City and Great Xia's forces to launch missiles at nearly a hundred non-Great Xia Underground Cities across Antarctica.

Mars realized Great Xia had trapped Eagle Country underground by destroying its elevator shaft, while Great Xia's forces carried out a coordinated bombardment that sealed every non-Great Xia underground city from the surface. The chapter ended with the World Tree guarded and Great Xia ready to repeat the attacks if other countries tried to reopen their passages.

• Mars learned that Eagle Country's elevator shaft had been destroyed by missiles, cutting off its only route to the surface and severing contact with Shengdun Underground City.
• Mars concluded that Great Xia had overwhelming advantages and that Eagle Country was doomed to remain trapped underground.
• Chen Jianguo watched missiles destroy the elevator shafts of nearly a hundred non-Great Xia underground cities across Antarctica and ordered his forces to keep guarding the World Tree.
• Great Xia's Arctic underground cities received orders to destroy nearby non-Great Xia elevator passages, then launched missiles using satellite coordinates.
• The bombardment sealed every non-Great Xia underground city underground, and Great Xia prepared to reinforce the blockades if the passages were cleared.

Lin Mo returned to Tianshu Underground City as the World Tree sheltered the surface and construction began beneath its crown. When the tree bore seven fruits, Lin Mo proposed using abundant reactor energy to turn every fruit into a seed.

• Lin Mo and Liu Chengen inspected the World Tree, whose enormous crown covered Tianshu Underground City and kept radiation within its range safe.
• A major general asked to prune the low-hanging branches, and Liu Chengen explained that the cut leaves could absorb radiation while the wood could be reused.
• Engineering troops began pruning the tree and building beneath it as Lin Mo watched the work get underway.
• A researcher announced that the World Tree had borne seven Life Fruits, prompting an argument over whether to save one fruit for seed production or harvest the others.
• Lin Mo argued that the World Tree could turn all seven fruits into seeds because nuclear fission reactors could supply the energy it needed.

Lin Mo and Liu Chengen used the four nuclear reactors to accelerate the World Tree’s seven fruits until they ripened, then Lin Mo returned to Terra and reported Blue Star’s progress to Long Zhan. Long Zhan learned that Elder Zhao had ordered the elevator shafts of all non-Great Xia underground cities destroyed and said the decision was too indecisive.

• Lin Mo persuaded Liu Chengen to raise the four reactors to full output, and the World Tree absorbed nearly all the radiation to ripen seven emerald fruits.
• Liu Chengen reported that the World Trees in Tianyong City and Tianji City were still growing and had not yet borne fruit.
• Lin Mo returned to Terra and told Long Zhan that the World Trees had made areas of Blue Star safe from radiation and that construction had begun.
• Lin Mo told Long Zhan that Elder Zhao had ordered the elevator shafts of all non-Great Xia underground cities destroyed after Eagle Country's drones attacked the World Tree.
• Long Zhan called Elder Zhao too indecisive and warned that the other underground cities could eventually grow too powerful to control.

Lin Mo learned that the Demon Clan had a portal linking Terra to its home planet and might possess eighth- or ninth-order fighters. He and Long Zhan agreed to monitor the portals while Great Xia prepared for the threat, though Lin Mo feared an attack could come soon.

• Long Zhan showed Lin Mo Satellite images of a portal deep in Demon Clan territory, where demons were pouring through from their home planet.
• Long Zhan warned that the Demon Clan could send reinforcements, including eighth- or ninth-order fighters whose energy shields might withstand even nuclear weapons.
• Lin Mo asked about a contingency plan, and Long Zhan said Great Xia had no sure defense yet and had asked the Academy of Sciences to develop stronger weapons.
• Long Zhan reported that the Demon Clan had stopped attacking across Terra, which suggested it was gathering strength or waiting for something.
• Lin Mo proposed destroying the visible portal, but Long Zhan explained that several others existed, including underground portals, so they chose to keep the visible one under round-the-clock surveillance.

Lin Mo learned that Great Xia was establishing a dedicated Diplomatic Team as experts and businesses arrived on Terra, and he inspected newly arrived Plasma Rifles. Powered by Energy Blocks refined from Demon Clan corpses, the rifles were ready for large-scale deployment and could threaten third- and even fourth-order Demon Clan members.

• Zhao Gang proposed forming a Diplomatic Team so Lin Mo would not have to handle every liaison himself, and Lin Mo approved the plan.
• Zhao Gang told Lin Mo that Plasma Rifles produced in other Underground Cities had arrived for large-scale deployment.
• At the shooting range, Lin Mo watched a Plasma Rifle blast a hole through a five-centimeter alloy steel plate and then tried the weapon himself.
• Zhao Gang explained that the rifles used Energy Blocks refined from Demon Clan corpses, with each magazine providing a hundred shots.
• Zhao Gang said Plasma Rifles could kill third-order Demon Clan members and, with enough firepower, take on fourth-order ones, leading Lin Mo to realize ordinary soldiers could threaten mid-order demons.

Lin Mo saw Great Xia’s new Plasma Rifle, Electromagnetic Cannon, and Plasma Cannon, which could threaten powerful Demon Clan members. He learned they still could not contend with eighth-order enemies and was left worrying about Great Xia’s future.

• Lin Mo tested the Plasma Rifle and learned it had a range of five hundred meters and could pierce steel with little recoil.
• Zhao Gang showed Lin Mo a mobile Electromagnetic Cannon that fired projectiles at seven kilometers per second and could potentially take on sixth-rank Demon Clan members.
• Zhao Gang revealed a Plasma Cannon whose high-temperature plasma was designed, like the Electromagnetic Cannon, to strike seventh-order Demon Clan members.
• Lin Mo asked whether the cannons could defeat eighth-order Demon Clan members, and Zhao Gang admitted Great Xia’s technology could not yet match them.
• Lin Mo remembered the threat of stronger Demon Clan members emerging through the wormhole Portal and felt the weight of responsibility for Great Xia’s people and Blue Star’s future.