Recaps

Gu Chenfeng prepared rare Barbarian Tribe Holy Crystals infused with Origin Power for Purple Cloud City's underground trade fair, while growing wary of tensions between the Human and Demon Races. At the trade fair, he joined a gathering of Grandmaster experts and watched the Five Mountains Sect's sect master arrive just as the event began.

• Gu Chenfeng paid the entrance fee, learned the trade fair's rules, and decided to enhance his Barbarian Tribe Holy Crystals with Origin Power.
• Over the next three days, Gu Chenfeng searched unsuccessfully for two medicinal ingredients and heard that the Demon Race's negotiations with the Purple Cloud Sect might collapse.
• Gu Chenfeng used a Teleportation Array to reach the sealed trade fair hall, where he found more than a dozen Grandmaster-level attendees and a curious girl watching him.
• More experts arrived, including Shi Qianchong, the Five Mountains Sect's sect master and a late-stage Great Grandmaster.
• An aged voice announced that the attendees had gathered and the trade fair would begin.

Daoist Dulong hosted the underground trading gathering, where cultivators exchanged treasures in the first round. As the gathering continued, Gu Chenfeng waited for his turn while Shi Qianchong presented three treasures, including a secret art and Great Grandmaster-level demonic beast blood.

• Daoist Dulong appeared, explained the trading rules, and began the gathering under the protection of its organizers.
• A masked Grandmaster traded a mid Earth Grade earth-attributed cultivation art to Shi Qianchong for a fire-attributed art of the same grade.
• Several cultivators offered treasures and sought rare items, while a young man’s request for a dual cultivation cauldron drew scorn.
• The girl in yellow offered a nine-hundred-year-old Azure spirit ancient ginseng for a thousand-year spirit medicine, but no one accepted her terms.
• Gu Chenfeng sensed covert gazes on the girl and worried she might be in danger after the gathering, but chose not to intervene.
• Shi Qianchong presented an eight-hundred-year-old purple yin grass, the high Earth Grade Mountain-Moving Seal, and a vial of Great Grandmaster-level demonic beast essence blood.

Gu Chenfeng offered three life-force-rich crystals to Shi Qianchong in exchange for the demonic beast essence blood. The chapter ended with Shi Qianchong eagerly asking to inspect the crystals.

• Shi Qianchong offered an eight-hundred-year-old spirit medicine, an Earth Grade high-tier Secret Art, and demonic beast essence blood for treasures that could restore life force.
• Shi Qianchong explained that his Dao companion was dying from poison and death aura, then traded his spirit medicine for heart-supplementing grass.
• A bald Great Grandmaster offered a seventh-grade Spirit-Awakening Pill for the essence blood, and Shi Qianchong considered accepting.
• Gu Chenfeng stepped forward to compete for the essence blood, and Daoist Dulong warned the bald man to follow the gathering's rules.
• Gu Chenfeng revealed three crystals that released immense, pure life energy and origin power, astonishing the hall.
• Shi Qianchong asked Gu Chenfeng if he could inspect the crystals.

Gu Chenfeng traded his origin-infused crystals for Great Grandmaster-level demon beast essence blood, then exchanged an eight-hundred-year-old spirit medicine with Shi Qianchong for the Mountain-Moving Seal secret art. After failing to find a Phoenix Saliva Fruit, he followed the girl in the yellow dress out of the gathering after she sent him a mysterious message.

• Gu Chenfeng refused to reveal more crystals, and Shi Qianchong traded the bottle of demon beast essence blood to him instead of the bald, burly cultivator.
• Gu Chenfeng offered an eight-hundred-year-old spirit medicine in search of a Phoenix Saliva Fruit, but no one at the gathering had one.
• During the private trading round, Gu Chenfeng exchanged the spirit medicine with Shi Qianchong for the Mountain-Moving Seal secret art and exchanged Communication Jade Talismans with him.
• After receiving a transmission from the girl in the yellow dress, Gu Chenfeng followed her out through the Teleportation Array, while several figures, including the bald cultivator, hurried after them.
• Daoist Dulong watched them leave with a thoughtful sneer.

Gu Chenfeng went to meet the yellow-dressed girl about the Phoenix Saliva Fruit, but a blue-robed woman and an Eight-Star Grandmaster ambushed him. He defeated them, and the attacker’s blood-red light drained the man into ash.

• Gu Chenfeng left Purple Cloud City and stopped in the western forest after sensing someone following him.
• The blue-robed woman revealed herself and tried to seduce Gu Chenfeng into trading for his Holy Crystals.
• The blue-robed woman signaled an Eight-Star Grandmaster hiding nearby to strike Gu Chenfeng from behind.
• Gu Chenfeng resisted her Bewitching Art with his Divine Sense and countered the man’s saber with a Mountain-Splitting Great Axe.
• The blood-red light pierced the fleeing man and drained his Essence Blood and Divine Soul, reducing him to ash.

Gu Chenfeng killed two Grandmaster martial artists who tried to murder him, then discovered that the mysterious girl who had arranged to meet him was the City Lord of Purple Cloud City. The chapter ended with Si Mingwei confirming her identity after Gu Chenfeng recognized her authority.

• Gu Chenfeng used the Blood Soul Spike to drain the middle-aged man’s Essence Blood and soul, then collected his spoils.
• Gu Chenfeng killed the woman in green with the Blood Soul Spike after she begged him to spare her.
• A yellow-dressed girl appeared behind Gu Chenfeng, praised him, and revealed that she knew he was Hall Master Gu.
• Daoist Dulong returned after killing the bald man who had interfered with the trade and addressed the girl as his master.
• Gu Chenfeng deduced that the girl was Purple Cloud City’s ruler, and Si Mingwei confirmed she was the City Lord.

Si Mingwei, the City Lord of Purple Cloud City, tested Gu Chenfeng’s views on the conflict with the Purple Cloud Sect and revealed that she had been watching him. After Gu Chenfeng condemned the sect, Si Mingwei chose him as a potential ally.

• Si Mingwei revealed her identity and asked Gu Chenfeng about the rumors surrounding the Four Symbols Sect and the Demon Race’s border unrest.
• Si Mingwei said she could make the Four Symbols Sect a scapegoat, while Gu Chenfeng guessed that she wanted to weaken or overthrow the Purple Cloud Sect.
• Si Mingwei unleashed her Source Emperor Realm pressure and accused Gu Chenfeng of trying to turn her against the Purple Cloud Sect.
• Gu Chenfeng argued that the Purple Cloud Sect was a malignant tumor that had to be dealt with before peace could return to the border.
• Si Mingwei withdrew her pressure, praised Gu Chenfeng, and said she had been monitoring him because of his achievements and his purchase of Phoenix Saliva Fruit.

Si Mingwei revealed that she wanted Gu Chenfeng and the Four Symbols Sect to support the Human Race Alliance against the Purple Cloud Sect, which planned to hand them over to the Demon Race. Gu agreed in exchange for protection and received a Spirit Medicine as an initial reward.

• Si Mingwei explained that the Purple Cloud Sect secretly cooperated with the Demon Race, and that she was gathering evidence while expanding the Human Race Alliance’s influence.
• Si Mingwei said Star Luo Hall could not attack the Purple Cloud Sect openly without risking unrest among the Human Race’s factions.
• Si Mingwei warned Gu Chenfeng that the Purple Cloud Sect had proposed handing him, Mo Nancang, and the Four Symbols Sect’s core members to the Demon Race.
• Gu Chenfeng agreed to serve Si Mingwei and pledge loyalty to the Human Race Alliance after she promised to shield him and the Four Symbols Sect from direct action by the Purple Cloud Sect.
• Si Mingwei offered Gu Chenfeng a scarlet Spirit Plant bearing two fiery fruits as an introductory gift.

Gu Chenfeng accepted two nine-hundred-year-old Phoenix Saliva Fruits from Si Mingwei and returned to the Four Symbols Sect to prepare for a crisis involving the Purple Cloud Sect and the Golden Ring Sect. Meanwhile, Ye Canglan plotted against the Four Symbols Sect and Hu Yue'er before Si Mingwei arrived at the Purple Cloud Sect.

• Si Mingwei gave Gu Chenfeng the Phoenix Saliva Fruits without asking for anything in return, and he decided to rely on her support while striving to reach the Grandmaster Realm.
• Daoist Dulong asked whether Gu Chenfeng could counterbalance the Purple Cloud Sect, and Si Mingwei said she had an intuition he might become influential and could merit further investment.
• Gu Chenfeng returned to the Four Symbols Sect, met privately with Mo Nancang and Gu Qingxuan, and then entered seclusion as the sect kept a low profile.
• Ye Canglan ordered Elder Wang to increase compensation in border negotiations and offer the demons every Four Symbols Sect cultivator, while dismissing the sect's efforts to lie low.
• Ye Canglan ordered Hu Yue'er kept under house arrest and made to practice a dual cultivation technique for his future breakthrough.
• Si Mingwei arrived at the Purple Cloud Sect, and Ye Canglan hurried to welcome the Source Emperor Realm powerhouse.

The Golden Ring Sect arrived at the Four Symbols Sect with two allied factions and accused it of colluding with the Demon Race in the Ancient Ruins. Yao Ze demanded that the Four Symbols Sect open its gates and answer for its alleged crimes.

• Rumors spread that negotiations between the Human Race and the Demon Race had collapsed, while the Four Symbols Sect remained secluded in the Cloudwatch Mountains.
• Martial artists from across Purple Cloud Prefecture gathered around the Cloudwatch Mountains to watch the Golden Ring Sect's scheduled visit.
• A yellow-browed Source King Realm expert claimed the Four Symbols Sect was likely in trouble and said the Golden Ring Sect had revealed information about an attack on the explorers in the Ancient Ruins.
• Yao Ze arrived with the Crimson Glow Sect and the Ink Feather Gate, and their ships surrounded the Cloudwatch Mountains.
• Yao Ze accused the Four Symbols Sect of colluding with the Demon Race and demanded that its members open the gates and answer for their crimes.

Yao Ze accused the Four Symbols Sect of colluding with the Demon Race, while Mo Nancang blamed the Golden Ring Sect for plotting the Ancient Ruins disaster. The three factions attacked the Four Symbols Sect, and as Mo Nancang fought three Great Grandmasters, a gigantic crimson-gold axe shadow emerged from the clouds.

• Yao Ze and Mo Nancang traded accusations over who had caused the disaster in the Ancient Ruins, while both withheld the Purple Cloud Sect’s involvement.
• Yao Ze, the Crimson Glow Sect, and the Ink Feather Gate surrounded the Four Symbols Sect and demanded that Mo Nancang go to the Purple Cloud Sect for trial.
• Mo Nancang refused, and Gu Qingxuan returned to activate the Four Symbols Sect’s Mountain-Guarding Formation as the three factions attacked it.
• Yao Ze fought Mo Nancang, who matched his attacks before the Crimson Glow Sect’s Great Grandmaster joined in and forced him onto the back foot.
• The Ink Feather Gate’s Great Grandmaster prepared to strike Mo Nancang, but a gigantic crimson-gold axe shadow suddenly cleaved through the clouds.

Gu Chenfeng returned to the Four Symbols Sect after breaking through in both physical cultivation and Source Qi, then fought the master of the Ink Feather Gate. He overwhelmed the Great Grandmaster with an axe strike and Mountain-Overturning Seal, leaving his opponent badly wounded and flying backward.

• Gu Chenfeng appeared above the Four Symbols Sect and deflected the Ink Feather Gate master's strike with his battle axe.
• Gu Chenfeng and the Ink Feather Gate master fought evenly at first, astonishing the watching factions.
• Gu Chenfeng recalled that he had advanced his Azure Dragon Transformation Technique to its third level and reached the Source Manifestation Realm with the help of pills and the Enlightenment Platform.
• Gu Chenfeng increased his power and suppressed the Ink Feather Gate master's Water Origin Power, forcing him onto the defensive.
• Gu Chenfeng broke the master's Profound Yin Heavy Water Barrier with the Sixth of the Seven Mountain-Splitting Forms, Earth Slash.
• Gu Chenfeng followed with Mountain-Overturning Seal, struck the master with a mountain of Fire Origin Power, and sent him flying while he vomited blood.

Gu Chenfeng defeated the Ink Feather Gate master, then faced Han Heavenly Journey, who appeared from the Golden Ring Sect airship and attacked him. An unknown middle-aged man blocked Han's sword strike and greeted him, leaving the battle poised for a new confrontation.

• Gu Chenfeng defeated the Ink Feather Gate master and turned his attention toward the Crimson Glow Sect master.
• Han Heavenly Journey struck Gu Chenfeng with a Golden Finger Seal, but Gu Chenfeng resisted its energy and survived the blow.
• Gu Chenfeng challenged Han Heavenly Journey over the Golden Ring Sect's actions and called for the Human Race Alliance to judge the dispute.
• Han Heavenly Journey unleashed a powerful Golden Sword Ray at Gu Chenfeng, but a towering wall of earth origin power blocked it.
• An unknown middle-aged man appeared before Gu Chenfeng, stopped Han's attack, and greeted Han Heavenly Journey.

Gu Chenfeng used a Human Race Alliance token to stop Han Heavenly Journey from attacking the Four Symbols Sect after Shi Qianchong’s support and the Purple Mountain Token created a standoff. Han called off the attack, but Gu demanded compensation before letting the Golden Ring Sect and its allies leave.

• Shi Qianchong arrived to defend Gu Chenfeng, citing their friendship, and challenged Han Heavenly Journey’s attempt to accuse the Four Symbols Sect of colluding with the Demon Race.
• Han revealed the Purple Mountain Token and claimed the Golden Ring Sect was acting on the Purple Cloud Sect’s orders, making Shi hesitate.
• Gu Chenfeng produced a Star Luo Branch Alliance token and said the Four Symbols Sect was secretly investigating the Ancient Ruins for the Human Race Alliance.
• Han acknowledged the Alliance Token’s authority, withdrew the accusation, and ordered his forces and allies to leave.
• Gu stopped Han and demanded compensation for the Four Symbols Sect’s casualties, damage, and distress, and Han reluctantly agreed to pay.

After the Four Symbols Sect repelled the Golden Ring Sect, Shi Qianchong warned that war was about to break out at Purple Cloud Prefecture’s border. The Human Race Alliance had accepted the Golden Ape Tribe’s challenge, and the sects in the region would soon be called to fight.

• The Golden Ring Sect left after Han Heavenly Journey compensated the Four Symbols Sect, and nearby factions abandoned plans to seize its Ruins treasures.
• Gu Chenfeng thanked Shi Qianchong for helping defeat the Golden Ring Sect, and Shi explained that he had come because Gu’s Holy Crystals could help cure his wife.
• Shi Qianchong revealed that the Golden Ape Tribe had declared war on Purple Cloud Prefecture and that the Human Race Alliance had already fought a small battle at the border.
• Mo Nancang explained that the conflict would serve as a limited trial and training opportunity, though the local factions would have to provide troops.
• Shi Qianchong warned that the Human Race Alliance would likely mobilize the sects to the front lines and hurried back to prepare the Five Mountains Sect.

As war broke out between Purple Cloud Prefecture and the Golden Ape Tribe, Gu Chenfeng met Si Mingwei to learn how the conflict might affect the Four Symbols Sect. Si Mingwei offered him a way to avoid the battlefield by joining Star Luo Hall, but Gu Chenfeng chose to stay and prepare for war.

• The Human Race Alliance ordered Purple Cloud Prefecture to muster its forces, and Star Luo Hall sealed the borders as the region established a wartime command headquarters.
• Gu Chenfeng met Si Mingwei, who accepted his handling of the Golden Ring Sect and confirmed that the Four Symbols Sect was under her command rather than the Purple Cloud Sect's.
• Si Mingwei warned Gu Chenfeng that powerful young prodigies would join the regional war and that she could not protect him once fighting intensified.
• Si Mingwei offered to recommend Gu Chenfeng as a Star Luo Hall deacon so he could leave Purple Cloud Prefecture and avoid the war, but he chose to remain with the Four Symbols Sect.
• Si Mingwei said the early months would bring defensive preparations and probing attacks, and promised to assign the Four Symbols Sect a relatively safe task while Gu Chenfeng improved before full-scale fighting began.

As the Human Race and Golden Ape Tribe prepared for war, the Four Symbols Sect guarded a remote supply warehouse while Gu Chenfeng used the lull to cultivate. His cultivation and techniques had advanced, but he needed real combat to break through his bottlenecks, and an early meeting summons hinted that the situation might be changing.

• The Four Symbols Sect arrived at Miasma Cloud Ridge to guard a border supply depot, and Gu Chenfeng warned them that their safety would not last once the full war began.
• At the Golden Ring Sect's command post, Ye Canglan ordered Han Heavenly Journey to kill Gu Chenfeng and destroy the Four Symbols Sect when they entered the battlefield.
• Both sides continued low-intensity raids and scouting as they built defenses and accumulated casualties.
• After more than two months of seclusion, Gu Chenfeng stabilized his cultivation, improved his techniques, and began practicing new secret arts, but his progress slowed without combat.
• Mo Nancang summoned everyone to an unexpectedly early regular meeting, and Gu Chenfeng headed there wondering whether the battlefield situation had changed.

Mo Nancang and the Four Symbols Sect's senior members established a forward outpost to protect their warehouse, with Gu Chenfeng and Gu Qingxuan stationed there. When a demonic reconnaissance squad arrived, the siblings moved to intercept it, and Gu Qingxuan confronted its lecherous leader.

• Mo Nancang told the Four Symbols Sect's senior members that the Demon Race had intensified attacks and warned that their warehouse was vulnerable to scouts.
• The sect decided to build a forward outpost, and Gu Chenfeng volunteered to stay there while others rotated through; he and Gu Qingxuan traveled to the border and set it up.
• Gu Chenfeng and Gu Qingxuan killed several low-level demonic scouts before detecting a seven-member reconnaissance squad led by a peak Source Spirit Realm demon.
• The squad's golden-haired captain revealed that they had intelligence about a human military warehouse and intended to capture scouts to confirm its location.
• As the squad advanced through the forest, Gu Qingxuan appeared behind the captain and asked how he wanted to play.

Gu Chenfeng and Gu Qingxuan captured a demon scout and learned that a human scouting squad had leaked information about their military supply depot. After Gu Chenfeng sent Gu Qingxuan to guard the lookout post and absorbed the demons’ remains, a trace of Ancient Golden Ape blood reacted with his Azure Dragon scales.

• Gu Chenfeng subdued the golden-haired demon scout and questioned him, learning that captured human scouts had revealed the possible location of a supply depot.
• Gu Chenfeng and Gu Qingxuan suspected the Purple Cloud Sect’s young master had leaked the depot’s location, and Gu Chenfeng decided to warn the city lord of Purple Cloud City.
• Gu Chenfeng arranged for Gu Qingxuan to guard the lookout post while he entered the border battlefield to gather intelligence and stop demon scouts.
• Gu Chenfeng absorbed the demon corpses with the Blood Soul Spike, which extracted a drop of Ancient Golden Ape blood from the golden-haired scout.
• Gu Chenfeng discovered that his Azure Dragon Transformation Technique had reached its third layer, and one of his scales reacted greedily to the Ancient Golden Ape blood.

Gu Chenfeng discovered that the Azure Dragon Reverse Scale could devour Essence Blood from demons with powerful ancient bloodlines, speeding up his Azure Dragon Transformation Technique and physical cultivation. After hunting scouts on the border battlefield and testing the scale, he concluded that the region offered too few suitable demons and resolved to seek more ancient-demon Essence Blood.

• Gu Chenfeng used the Azure Dragon Reverse Scale to devour the Ancient Golden Ape's Essence Blood, briefly accelerating his Azure Dragon Transformation Technique.
• Gu Chenfeng began patrolling the border battlefield and intercepted Demon Race scouts before they could cross into Human Race territory.
• Gu Chenfeng killed a scouting squad and watched the reverse scale devour the Essence Blood of a purple-and-gold python demon, strengthening his body and technique.
• Gu Chenfeng reached the Second Star of Source Manifestation Realm as his cultivation improved through hunting demons, but found that few had bloodlines strong enough to satisfy the reverse scale.
• Gu Chenfeng wondered whether the Purple Cloud Sect's leaked information could draw more high-ranking demons to the area and decided to seek more Essence Blood from ancient demons.

Gu Chenfeng hunted along the border battlefield’s eastern fringe, using ancient essence blood from increasingly powerful demons to advance his cultivation while avoiding the central fighting. On a routine patrol, he sensed a powerful aura near the battlefield’s midline and moved closer to investigate.

• With reconnaissance demons scarce, Gu Chenfeng shifted his hunts toward the battlefield’s center and gradually improved the Azure Dragon Transformation Technique.
• As prodigies arrived and fighting intensified, Gu Chenfeng reached the early third layer’s advanced stage and broke through to three-star Source Manifestation.
• Gu Chenfeng chose to keep hunting on the eastern fringe until he reached the middle of the Azure Dragon Transformation Technique’s third layer, despite hearing that Great Grandmaster-level demons had joined the central battle.
• Gu Chenfeng continued patrolling the boundary before hunting, keeping the Four Symbols Sect’s War Supplies Depot safe from surprise attacks.
• During a morning patrol, Gu Chenfeng reached the battlefield’s midline, detected a powerful aura and several more presences, and approached them with a strange expression.

Jin Jiuxiao defied his red-haired guardian’s efforts to keep him safe on the border battlefield, but the pair discovered that a Human Race expert was killing the Demon Race scouts. Jin Jiuxiao rushed toward the fighting, eager to face the enemy.

• Jin Jiuxiao flew toward the battlefield until the red-haired old man threatened to report him to his father, forcing him to descend.
• The old man explained that Jin Jiuxiao’s father had sealed his cultivation and that he had sent Demon Race scouts ahead to capture humans for him.
• Jin Jiuxiao reluctantly followed the old man toward the battlefield’s center, expecting no challenge from the captured martial artists.
• A series of explosions erupted ahead, and the auras of several Grandmaster-level Great Demons vanished.
• After receiving a warning that the scouts had encountered a possible Human Race Great Grandmaster, Jin Jiuxiao charged toward the fighting and told the old man not to follow.

Gu Chenfeng ambushed and killed four Grandmaster-level Great Demons, then confronted Jin Jiuxiao as the demon arrived. Both tried to kill the other in one strike, but their attacks collided and sent them flying backward.

• Gu Chenfeng sensed several Grandmaster-level Great Demons approaching the human border and deliberately attacked one to draw the others toward him.
• Gu Chenfeng killed the Tiger Demon with a single axe strike and absorbed its essence blood.
• Gu Chenfeng killed three more Great Demons in quick succession, prompting the remaining demons to stop and flee.
• Jin Jiuxiao arrived, and both he and Gu Chenfeng judged the other as a threat while hiding their full strength.
• Jin Jiuxiao attacked with a golden claw as Gu Chenfeng swung a fire-powered axe, and their attacks exploded in a clash that sent them both flying backward.

Gu Chenfeng and Jin Jiuxiao fought to a standstill despite their different cultivation levels, each discovering the other possessed extraordinary strength and Divine Sense. They ended the clash regarding one another as formidable foes.

• Gu Chenfeng and Jin Jiuxiao exchanged powerful opening strikes, then attacked again, each eager to fight and confident of victory.
• Jin Jiuxiao raised his Metal Origin Power while Gu Chenfeng brought out his Blood Qi Power, but neither could overpower the other.
• Gu Chenfeng wielded the Profound Ice Battle Axe and used the Seven Mountain-Splitting Forms, while Jin Jiuxiao fought back with golden maces; their attacks remained evenly matched.
• Gu Chenfeng used the Mountain-Moving Seal, but Jin Jiuxiao countered with the Golden Feather Flowing-Cup Slash and evaded the collapsing mountain.
• Jin Jiuxiao fired golden light from his eyes, and Gu Chenfeng blocked it with azure light; both recognized the other's powerful Divine Sense and realized they faced an exceptional opponent.

Gu Chenfeng battled Jin Jiuxiao, a prodigy of the Golden-Winged Great Peng Race, and used his own evasion art to overcome Jin Jiuxiao’s speed. After forcing Jin Jiuxiao to retreat, Gu Chenfeng fled toward Human Race Territory and reflected on the strength of Demon Race prodigies.

• Jin Jiuxiao revealed his Golden-Winged Great Peng heritage and attacked Gu Chenfeng with the Golden Peng Evasion Art, sending him flying.
• Jin Jiuxiao surrounded Gu Chenfeng with Golden Peng phantoms and attempted to strike his head, but Gu Chenfeng evaded the attack and countered from behind.
• Gu Chenfeng struck Jin Jiuxiao in the lower back and showed him a golden feather he had taken, leaving Jin Jiuxiao shocked and furious.
• Jin Jiuxiao demanded Gu Chenfeng’s name but fled when Gu Chenfeng disappeared into space, while Gu Chenfeng secretly headed toward Human Race Territory by flying boat.
• Gu Chenfeng recovered aboard the flying boat and concluded that he needed to grow stronger before the border battlefield’s full-scale war.