Chapter Summaries

Lin Yuan struggled to restrain Never Skunked without killing him, until he found an ordinary starter fishing rod that seemed to stir Never Skunked’s memories. The two fought without supernatural powers, and Lin Yuan used Reverse Scale to pin Never Skunked down so Lilia could treat him.

• Lilia tried to approach Never Skunked, but he knocked her away, so Lin Yuan attempted to hold him still.
• Lin Yuan’s A-rank Energy overwhelmed Never Skunked and severed several tentacles, which quickly grew back along with his Authority Power.
• Unable to subdue Never Skunked safely, Lin Yuan was knocked into the shattered eggshells and found an ordinary starter fishing rod.
• Never Skunked stopped attacking with Authority Power when Lin Yuan picked up the rod, and both avoided damaging it as they grappled.
• Lin Yuan activated Reverse Scale, increased his strength, and pinned Never Skunked to the ground without supernatural power.

Lin Yuan and Lilia purged the dark-gray pollution from Never Skunked, who recovered and explained how a Crawler’s severed hand had mutated him. Lin Yuan realized the Oathbreaker had used Never Skunked as a test subject, and that the mutation had unknowingly spared the others from its full power.

• Lin Yuan restrained Never Skunked while Lilia used the Nirvana Crown’s aura to make him vomit up the pollution.
• Never Skunked recovered and thanked Lin Yuan for saving him, then recalled that his hunger began after he ate Transcendent Creature ingredients in Paradise.
• Never Skunked said he had used Bai Ling’s techniques to digest the creatures in the Church of Life Instance without being polluted by them.
• Never Skunked recalled that a talking severed hand belonging to a Crawler called him a suitable test subject, entered his body, and left him with fragmented memories and an irresistible call.
• Lin Yuan recognized the severed hand as the Oathbreaker and realized that its power had gone into mutating Never Skunked, sparing Lin Yuan and his companions from facing it at full strength.

Lin Yuan learned that the Oathbreaker had used up his power corrupting Never Skunked, whose body would keep absorbing twisted Life Authority and risk further pollution. As Lin Yuan prepared to take him back to the Endless Sea for help, Lilia proposed using a Crew Contract to let Lin Yuan continuously purify him.

• Lin Yuan pieced together how Never Skunked, Bai Ling, the giant turtle, and their companions had helped the group survive Paradise's final battle.
• Lin Yuan told Never Skunked about Retainer 9527, the Oathbreaker, and the battle, then decided to report Never Skunked's condition to a trusted human authority after looting the church.
• Lilia objected to Never Skunked leaving, explaining that his altered body would keep absorbing twisted Life Authority and pollute his mind again.
• Lin Yuan reassured Never Skunked that Lilia would accompany him to the Endless Sea, where an Authority Holder might be able to help.
• Lilia suggested that Lin Yuan sign a Crew Contract with Never Skunked so their supernatural connection could let Lin Yuan continuously purify his pollution.

Lin Yuan used the Blood Pact to recruit Never Skunked, discovering that it let them share health and strength. The pact also stopped Never Skunked’s dangerous self-consumption from draining his health, and Lin Yuan revealed that his regeneration exceeded a thousand points per second by a hundred million tiny bits.

• Lin Yuan remembered his unused Blood Pact and signed it with Never Skunked, who pledged himself to Lin Yuan.
• Lin Yuan discovered that the pact shared health and strength, boosting Never Skunked’s health and raising Lin Yuan’s strength to nearly forty thousand.
• Lilia explained the Endless Sea and the Ship Crew’s situation to Never Skunked.
• Never Skunked explained that his body still craved transcendent ingredients and that self-consumption drained over a thousand health per second.
• Lin Yuan realized the Blood Pact was covering Never Skunked’s health loss and revealed that his regeneration exceeded a thousand health per second.

Lin Yuan and Never Skunked searched the Life Grand Cathedral and found that its contents had been cleared away before it sank. Beneath the cathedral, they discovered a strange sphere containing a frozen black-and-white world, which the system identified as the Secret Realm Ancient Land and said would open in the next stage.

• Never Skunked learned that Lin Yuan's health regeneration was 100,000 points and followed his instructions for managing Self-Consumption.
• Lin Yuan and Never Skunked searched the Life Grand Cathedral but found its rooms empty and no traces of the Life Sect's people or records.
• Never Skunked suggested looking beneath the cathedral, and the group followed a concealed passage into a natural cavern.
• Lin Yuan examined a large sphere containing a frozen, black-and-white island and found that his A-rank Energy could not suppress its aura.
• The system identified the sphere as the Secret Realm Ancient Land, said it did not yet exist, and told Lin Yuan to return during the next stage.

Lin Yuan used the Little Box to probe the unopened Secret Realm Ancient Land and was pulled into a space filled with the system’s code. He destroyed a polluted intrusion, then saw Zhao tell a mysterious black-robed figure that their plan would have to be delayed.

• Lin Yuan reasoned that the Secret Realm Ancient Land was a future-stage area frozen without time and decided to test whether the Little Box could open it.
• The Little Box sent rainbow light into the sphere, triggering system warnings and carrying Lin Yuan’s consciousness into a space of mysterious runes.
• Lin Yuan recognized the runes as possible system code and noticed broken, conflicting bands alongside a snake-shaped band that carried a Crawler-like pollution.
• Lin Yuan directed the rainbow light at the snake-shaped rune band, which shattered and revealed a vision of a white-coated old man speaking with a black-robed figure.
• Zhao told the black-robed figure that an intrusion had failed and that their plan needed to be postponed because the system could still eliminate intrusions.

Lin Yuan discovered that the Game System’s core was built around a vast headless corpse surrounded by the Great Being’s chaotic seawater. He deduced that the Great Being had once fought and nearly perished alongside an equal, and left with new confidence that the Great Being was not invincible.

• Lin Yuan recognized Elder Zhao’s rune ribbon and realized the former deputy director had tried to infiltrate the Game System, though Lin Yuan had driven him off.
• Lin Yuan noticed a shadow repairing damaged rune ribbons and was drawn into a vision of the system’s core.
• Lin Yuan saw an enormous headless corpse with rune ribbons drawing from its flesh and chaotic seawater spreading from its severed neck.
• Lin Yuan returned to the orb of light, and Lilia’s voice confirmed that he had truly entered the system’s core.
• Lin Yuan connected the corpse to the Cataclysm at the end of the Primordial Era and inferred that it had fought the Great Being, with both apparently perishing before the corpse became the system’s foundation.

After exploring the Life Sect's Main Cathedral, Lin Yuan opened a spatial door to return to the Peaceful Sea, only to find the Divine Artisan waiting to capture him. Lin Yuan and Never Skunked escaped through the collapse of the door, leaving Lin Yuan wondering what had happened at the Peaceful Sea.

• Lin Yuan reflected on what he had gained at the Life Sect's Main Cathedral and concluded he still needed to grow stronger before the coming crisis.
• Lin Yuan used the half-burned Parchment to open a spatial door back to the Peaceful Sea.
• The Divine Artisan, waiting on the other side, used Authority Power to pull Lin Yuan through the door.
• Never Skunked grabbed Lin Yuan, giving him time to break the Divine Artisan's hold and attack the spatial door with the Holy Hall Light Blade.
• The Divine Artisan's defenses failed to stop the spatial door from collapsing into a Spatial Node, and Lin Yuan confirmed he and Never Skunked were safe for now.
• Lin Yuan wondered why the Divine Artisan had been waiting for him and whether a major upheaval had occurred at the Peaceful Sea.

Lin Yuan realized Divine Artisan could not enter the Secret Realm Planet and had distorted space to trap him there, while trying to discover how Divine Artisan had found him. After connecting Divine Artisan’s clues with the Life Sect’s disappearance, Lin Yuan accused the Crawlers of having once been the Life Sect, and Divine Artisan fell silent.

• Never Skunked asked Lin Yuan who the old man was, and Lin Yuan identified him as Divine Artisan, an Authority Holder who had defected to the Crawlers.
• After Lilia noticed Divine Artisan blocking the Spatial Node, Lin Yuan suspected he could not enter the Secret Realm and had tried to drag Lin Yuan out instead.
• Divine Artisan claimed he had distorted space around Lin Yuan’s planet and that no rescue could reach him; Lin Yuan checked with Manager, who confirmed Divine Artisan had fled the Peaceful Sea Area.
• Divine Artisan said Humanity’s Authority Holders could not find the Secret Realm’s coordinates, prompting Lin Yuan to question how Divine Artisan had located him and whether the planet was special.
• Lin Yuan connected the Life Sect’s disappearance and its ability to sense people on the planet with Divine Artisan’s clues, then declared that the Crawlers had once been the Life Sect; Divine Artisan stopped speaking.

Lin Yuan learned more about Divine Artisan and the Divine Artisan Forge, then decided to summon the Nether River Monarch rather than face the Authority Holder himself. He pretended to accept Divine Artisan’s offer and was told to reopen the Space Channel and hand over the forge.

• Lin Yuan suspected the Life Sect had transformed into Crawlers at this forbidden site, and Divine Artisan said the guess had clarified matters for him.
• Divine Artisan claimed the Divine Artisan Forge had once been part of him and offered to let Lin Yuan leave safely in exchange for it.
• After Divine Artisan ended the conversation, Lin Yuan prepared Never Skunked in the Coffin and had Lilia stand by to protect him.
• Lin Yuan realized he could summon the Founder, a High-tier Nether River Monarch, and decided to call for help instead of fighting Divine Artisan himself.
• Lin Yuan feigned agreement to give up the forge, and Divine Artisan told him to reopen the Spatial Node and toss it through.

Lin Yuan opened the Spatial Node and survived the Great Being’s descent by escaping through it with Lilia and the Coffin. When the Divine Artisan returned to claim the Divine Artisan Forge, a crown-empowered Nether River Monarch killed him instantly.

• Lin Yuan used the Parchment to reopen the Spatial Node, but the Divine Artisan attacked him with Gravity Ray instead of keeping his promise.
• Lin Yuan summoned the Nether River to block the attack, and the Divine Artisan fled when he recognized it.
• The Great Being’s presence descended, so Lin Yuan grabbed Lilia and the Coffin and escaped through the Space Channel before it collapsed.
• Lin Yuan realized the Great Being could descend only within the planet’s bounds and suspected the Crawlers had a hidden conflict with it.
• The Divine Artisan returned and threatened Lin Yuan, but a crowned Nether River Monarch appeared and killed him with Time Barrier.

Lin Yuan spoke privately with the nameless Nether River Monarch, who revealed that Lilia had regained the Nirvana Crown and warned him not to expose her to truths about her origins. The chapter ended with Lin Yuan asking how powerful the Great Being was, after learning Lilia’s long slumber could only be prevented by retrieving the half of the crown inside it.

• Lin Yuan watched the Nether River Monarch move within its Time Barrier and realized its speed had let him see the slash he had witnessed in Paradise more clearly.
• The nameless monarch told Lin Yuan it had kept the Time Barrier active to prevent Lilia from hearing their conversation.
• The monarch explained that Lilia had formed the Nirvana Crown again, while Lin Yuan’s master was injured by disturbances caused by the Great Being sensing the crown’s return.
• The monarch said Lilia was connected to the Lord of Nirvana and advised Lin Yuan to seek the truth in history without telling Lilia anything about her origins.
• The monarch warned Lin Yuan to monitor Lilia’s condition and find treasures to delay her long slumber, which could only be prevented by retrieving the crown’s other half from the Great Being.
• Lin Yuan asked how powerful the Great Being was.

Lord One warned Lin Yuan that the Great Beings could not be defeated and that escape was the only goal, while hinting that Lin Yuan would need to uncover the ancient history himself. As the Phantom Lin Yuan sailed home, Lin Yuan suspected the Crawlers and Humanity Faction were both preparing for a major conflict.

• Lord One told Lin Yuan that Great Beings stood beyond the Lords of the Crown, that their efforts were aimed at escape rather than victory, and that others of Lin Yuan’s generation might explain the ancient history.
• Lord One revealed that Divine Artisan’s apparent death had only destroyed a puppet avatar, then advised Lin Yuan to let the Divine Artisan Forge absorb the half-artifact spirit.
• Lord One departed, and Lin Yuan concealed their conversation from Lilia while privately resolving to keep seeking a way to challenge the Great Beings.
• Several days later, Lin Yuan sailed the Phantom Lin Yuan toward the Humanity Domain and noticed that he had encountered no Crawlers along the way.
• Lin Yuan learned that Authority Holder-level powerhouses were engaged in a secret Federation Council mission and suspected the Crawlers were also preparing for a major event.

Lin Yuan saw how Never Skunked’s repaired Fishing Rods let him catch a steady supply of fish and treasures, helping the crew grow stronger. Never Skunked explained that the Endless Sea held common catches across all regions as well as rare fish limited to specific waters.

• Never Skunked caught a Sea Ginseng, which Lilia ate, and told Lin Yuan that Little Black’s repairs had made his Fishing Rods work even better.
• Bai Ling and Little Black ate a Jade Green Skeleton Fish and a Shadow Fish from Never Skunked’s latest catches.
• Lin Yuan learned that fishing could reach hidden layers of the Endless Sea and provide special creatures and treasures, making Never Skunked’s talent valuable to the crew.
• Bai Ling asked whether the fish could be caught anywhere, and Never Skunked clarified that common fish appeared throughout the Endless Sea while rare fish were restricted to certain waters.
• Never Skunked explained that rare fish were not always more powerful than common ones, but some had useful unique abilities.

Never Skunked explained how rare fish could grant powers, become equipment, or provide shipbuilding materials, and told Lin Yuan about intelligent Transcendent Creatures who claimed to be free of the Life Authority’s distortion. Bai Ling recognized a possible Rare Fishing Ground, where Never Skunked caught a strange multiheaded Shellfish that Lin Yuan killed; the crew then discovered it had an unusual use.

• Never Skunked shared specialized fishing knowledge and recounted meeting Abyssal Sea Entities who said they were Transcendent Creatures with Legacies that had escaped the Life Authority’s distortion.
• Lin Yuan connected Never Skunked’s account to the giant turtle on Rubber Island and reasoned that humans had avoided the Life Authority’s distortion because they were either brought by the system or protected by Authority Holders and Island Lords.
• Never Skunked described the signs of a special fishing ground, and Bai Ling said she had sensed a place that matched them.
• Lin Yuan redirected the Phantom Lin Yuan toward the location, where Never Skunked cast eight Fishing Rods and hooked a many-headed Shellfish.
• The Shellfish attacked with blasts of water and fire, but Lin Yuan destroyed them with one swing of the Holy Hall Light Blade, and Never Skunked hauled its two halves onto the deck.
• Never Skunked examined the Shellfish and told Lin Yuan that it had an unusual use.

Lin Yuan used the Ocean Heart to evolve his Shell Pump into an A-rank propeller with a soul, giving it the ability to improve beyond the system’s rank limits. He prepared to have the newly awakened equipment acknowledge him as its master.

• Never Skunked found the Ocean Heart inside the strange fish, and Lin Yuan recognized that it could help biologically active equipment advance.
• Lin Yuan had Little Black fuse the Ocean Heart into the Shell Pump, feeding it transcendent ingredients to sustain its evolution.
• The Shell Pump evolved directly to A-rank and gained a unique soul, allowing it to improve beyond the system’s ranking framework.
• Lin Yuan considered the artifact spirit Divine Artisan and the unknown potential of the Divine Artisan Forge.
• Lin Yuan decided the Shell Pump needed to acknowledge him as its master to stabilize its newborn soul.

Lin Yuan bonded with the Shell Pump and chose two unusual pearls from the options it produced. The Life Pearl helped him upgrade Explore the Sea, and days later he learned that Sea Cannon had appeared near the edge of Humanity Faction territory.

• Lin Yuan sensed that the Shell Pump could form different pearls when it advanced and learned it might produce them regularly once it matured.
• Lin Yuan chose a Life Pearl and a Black Pearl, which proved to be a powerful vessel for Nether River creatures such as Bai Ling.
• Lin Yuan used the Life Pearl to raise Explore the Sea's wooden components to A-rank, then upgraded its bone and transcendent components as well.
• Lin Yuan learned that Explore the Sea's metal components needed only a few more days of forging to reach A-rank.
• A few days later, Lin Yuan asked a bartender whether Sea Cannon had appeared nearby and learned that it had been there two days earlier.

After learning that Sea Cannon had emerged in the peripheral waters, Lin Yuan decided to confront him and settle their grudge. While preparing to lure Sea Cannon out, Lin Yuan wondered whether the world’s fate depended on a few key nodes and realized Lilia might be one of them.

• A bartender told Lin Yuan that a powerful expert carrying a Dragon-Shaped Cannon had been seen nearby, and Lin Yuan concluded it was Sea Cannon, who had likely advanced after obtaining the Eternal Compass.
• Lin Yuan decided to hunt Sea Cannon, believing his strength and upgraded Explore the Sea were enough to challenge him without relying on the Nether River.
• Bai Ling warned Lin Yuan that the bartender had apparently alerted Sea Cannon, but Lin Yuan suspected Sea Cannon had planted the information to lure out his enemies.
• Lin Yuan reflected that the tide of events might depend on crucial key nodes and wondered whether that explained the Great Being’s inevitable revival and the coming end.
• Lin Yuan realized Lilia’s connection to the Great Being might make her a key node, then returned to the Phantom Lin Yuan and set out to fish for Sea Cannon.

Lin Yuan sailed toward the Middle Ring waters to bait Sea Cannon into attacking, while Sea Cannon investigated his crew and prepared a surprise strike. Sea Cannon approached the Phantom Lin Yuan, unaware that Lin Yuan, Bai Ling, and Never Skunked had already detected and tracked him.

• Lin Yuan continued sailing toward the Middle Ring waters, pretending to avoid Sea Cannon while waiting for him to take the bait.
• Sea Cannon watched the Phantom Lin Yuan through his Eye of Space and wondered about the crew, especially Never Skunked.
• After learning that Lin Yuan had been stranded by a battle between Authority Holders, Sea Cannon decided he could defeat him and teleported underwater near the ship.
• Lin Yuan sensed Sea Cannon through Explore the Sea, while Bai Ling and Never Skunked also detected him using their own abilities.
• Lin Yuan combined their detection and had Never Skunked cast his hook near Sea Cannon, revealing his location as Sea Cannon cautiously approached.

Lin Yuan and Sea Cannon fired their all-A-rank Explore the Seas, but Lin Yuan’s weapon consumed a hundred thousand points of energy and produced a seemingly intelligent white dragon that outmaneuvered Sea Cannon’s Dragon Qi-enhanced attack. As their dragons continued clashing above the Phantom Lin Yuan, both men wondered about the weapons’ potential, and another change began.

• Sea Cannon ambushed Lin Yuan, but discovered Lin Yuan had already summoned an all-A-rank Explore the Sea and aimed it at him.
• Sea Cannon infused his weapon with Dragon Qi, while Lin Yuan stopped resisting his weapon’s energy drain and poured in a hundred thousand points of A-rank energy.
• Both Explore the Seas fired white dragons, and Sea Cannon’s dragon emerged larger and stronger with golden scales.
• Lin Yuan’s dragon displayed intelligence, evaded Sea Cannon’s charge, and wrapped around his dragon to control its movements.
• Sea Cannon wondered why Lin Yuan’s weapon had changed, while Lin Yuan considered its energy requirements and whether Dragon Qi could lead to another evolution.
• The two white dragons continued clashing, and another change occurred.