Chapter Summaries

Lin Yuan discovered a Gold Dragon’s corpse at Panlong Mountain and recovered Ancient Dragon Jade, which could produce Dragon Essence to strengthen ship-building wood. When Lilia found a black-and-white orb in the dragon’s mouth, the Mysterious Little Box transported Lin Yuan back to the System Core Land.

• Lin Yuan examined the Gold Dragon’s corpse and wondered whether the Dragon Ancestor had already died when the dragon perished.
• Lin Yuan searched around the corpse with his crew and found Ancient Dragon Jade, which could condense Dragon Essence to strengthen wood.
• Lilia noticed a black-and-white orb inside the Gold Dragon’s mouth, and Never Skunked opened the dragon’s jaws to reveal it.
• The Mysterious Little Box opened on its own and sent Lin Yuan into the System Core Land.

Lin Yuan discovered that the Game System’s main stream of runes was close to collapse, while two smaller streams were trying to repair it: one from the research institute and one from Elder Zhao and the Crawlers. The rainbow light offered Lin Yuan the choice to strengthen or destroy either stream, and he prepared to choose.

• Lin Yuan followed the rainbow light to a massive, damaged torrent of system runes and realized the Game System might collapse.
• He noticed two smaller streams trying to repair the damaged code, though the smaller one was making little progress.
• The rainbow light showed Lin Yuan researchers using the survivors of Panlong Mountain to influence the system and seal Panlong Star.
• Lin Yuan saw Elder Zhao and the Crawlers infiltrating the system while using their code to patch its damaged sections.
• The rainbow light asked Lin Yuan whether he wanted to strengthen or destroy each stream, and he began to make his choice.

Lin Yuan strengthened humanity’s rune stream, destroyed the Crawlers’ stream, and helped complete repairs to the Panlong Mountain region. As the system sealed the mountain, he realized the Phantom Lin Yuan could not get him back to the Endless Sea in time.

• Lin Yuan used Little Box’s rainbow light to strengthen humanity’s rune stream, allowing its researchers to repair the system vulnerabilities without the Crawlers’ help.
• Lin Yuan destroyed the Crawlers’ rune stream, severely injuring Elder Zhao as he worked with them.
• The system completed repairs to Panlong Mountain and gave Lin Yuan half an hour to leave before sealing the region.
• Lin Yuan led everyone out of the cavern, boarded the Phantom Lin Yuan, and sped away through the ocean current.
• After Panlong Mountain was sealed, Lin Yuan realized the Phantom Lin Yuan’s restored normal speed meant they could not reach the Endless Sea within the time limit.

With Panlong Star sealed, the current carrying Lin Yuan and the Phantom Lin Yuan began to vanish before they could reach the Endless Sea. Lin Yuan suspected the Little Box held space-time power, but just as its rainbow gleam appeared, the current disappeared and a strange pressure descended.

• Lin Yuan realized Panlong Star's sealing was erasing the current and could strand the Phantom Lin Yuan in the Star Sea.
• Lin Yuan reasoned that the system's half-hour escape window might mean the Little Box could help him return to the Endless Sea.
• Lin Yuan recalled the Little Box's past interventions involving space and time and concluded it possessed space-time power.
• Lin Yuan called to the Little Box and tried several ways to activate it until a rainbow gleam emerged.
• The current vanished around the Phantom Lin Yuan, and an immense pressure descended as the rainbow gleam burst into dazzling light.

After the Little Box returned Phantom Lin Yuan to the Endless Sea, Lin Yuan realized it might be unable to hear him because of the gap between their existential standings and wondered about its ties to space, time, fate, and the Ancient Era. Back at Base Island, Wang Jian explained why both sides sent only Six-Star operatives to Hongyan’s mission and revealed that humanity and the Crawlers shared the same ultimate goal.

• The Little Box brought Phantom Lin Yuan back to the Endless Sea, and Lin Yuan concluded it had not heard his calls because of their vast difference in existential standing.
• Lin Yuan considered the Little Box’s possible connections to space, time, fate, and the Ancient Era, then decided to leave the Central Sea battlefield.
• Two days later, Phantom Lin Yuan returned to Base Island, where Wang Jian praised him for saving Hongyan and completing an important mission.
• Lin Yuan asked Wang Jian why only Six-Star operatives had been sent to Hongyan’s mission despite its importance.
• Wang Jian said humanity and the Crawlers had tacitly agreed to send Six-Star powerhouses because they shared the same ultimate goal.

Wang Jian explained that humanity sought to escape the Great Being while the Crawlers aimed to survive by parasitizing it, making them enemies who could still show restraint against a shared threat. After collecting a thousand Abyssal Sea Fragments, Lin Yuan headed for Peaceful Island to strengthen himself, while wondering why the Crawlers opposed the Players completing the Game Main Quest if they also wanted to prevent the Game System from crashing.

• Lin Yuan briefly wondered whether the Crawlers were secretly working against the Great Being, but recalled that humanity's goal was escape, not victory.
• Wang Jian explained that the Crawlers sought to live as parasites on the Great Being and had learned to steal its power, which they used for their so-called Blessings.
• Wang Jian said humans and Crawlers remained irreconcilable enemies but had limited their forces in the mission to avoid needless losses.
• Lin Yuan collected the thousand Abyssal Sea Fragments he had exchanged for and set off for Peaceful Island to use them to grow stronger.
• Lin Yuan planned to hunt Crawlers for Merit Points and exchange them for fragments, aiming to approach Authority Holder level during the Central Sea Battlefield.
• Lin Yuan questioned why the Crawlers had launched a war to stop the Players from completing the Game Main Quest when they also seemed to want the Game System to continue functioning.

Lin Yuan learned that completing the conversion machine could let it convert Authority Holder power, giving him a possible path to vast amounts of A-rank energy. He also learned that the third-stage storyline was progressing far faster than expected, and Mei Qian said Lin Yuan was partly responsible.

• Lin Yuan brought Mei Qian heavenly materials and earthly treasures, and Mei Qian estimated they could raise the conversion rate to 90%.
• Mei Qian explained that reaching 100% conversion could let the machine process authority bodies, which Lin Yuan recognized as a potential source of immense A-rank energy.
• Lin Yuan identified collecting more materials and gaining Authority Holder-level combat strength before the fourth stage as his next goals.
• Lin Yuan asked Mei Qian about the third-stage storyline, and Mei Qian said it might be completed in half the expected time.
• Mei Qian told Lin Yuan that the storyline's rapid progress was thanks to him, leaving Lin Yuan confused.

Mei Qian explained why the Federation credited Lin Yuan for helping Players advance, then converted his Abyssal Sea Fragments into Transcendent Cores. Lin Yuan greatly increased his combat power, repaired his ship, and returned to the Central Sea Battlefield prepared to face the Crawlers.

• Mei Qian said Lin Yuan earned recognition for helping the Avengers Fleet advance, eliminating Diving Club members, and inspiring other Players as a benchmark.
• Lin Yuan asked Mei Qian to convert his Abyssal Sea Fragments and arrange for future Merit Points to be exchanged and stored at Base Island.
• Mei Qian optimized the conversion process and turned one thousand fragments into ninety thousand A-rank Transcendent Cores, which Lin Yuan refined to reach one million points of A-rank Energy.
• Lin Yuan poured another million energy into Explore the Sea, raising its Dragon Soul's power enough to kill an S-rank Eight-Star and severely wound an S-rank Nine-Star.
• Lin Yuan sold miscellaneous spoils at the Consortium Headquarters on Golden Island, bought materials, and had Little Black repair the ship so he could use Fury of Molten Fire again.
• Lin Yuan piloted the Phantom Lin Yuan back to the Central Sea Battlefield.

Lin Yuan returned to the Central Sea Battlefield and volunteered to reinforce the Seventh Outpost, where fighting against the Crawlers was intense. The mustering officer doubted Lin Yuan’s battlefield experience but took him along as the fleet hurried to the outpost.

• Lin Yuan arrived at the Central Sea Battlefield and saw that the war had spread even to the rear.
• Lin Yuan chose to join a force heading to reinforce the Seventh Outpost in search of merit points.
• The mustering officer recognized Lin Yuan as the Military Merit Ranking’s former first-place player and warned him that the Seventh Outpost was dangerous.
• Lin Yuan insisted on going, and the mustering officer accepted his offer despite doubting his combat ability.
• The mustering officer led nearly twenty independent fighters’ ships, including the Phantom Lin Yuan, toward the Seventh Outpost.

Lin Yuan reached the Seventh Outpost with the recruitment fleet, detected the Crawlers surrounding it, and launched a sudden solo attack to exploit their ignorance of his strength. He opened a gap in the encirclement by killing over a dozen Priests, as the battle began.

• Lin Yuan warned the fleet of an underwater Crawler ambush, and the recruitment officer led the group in wiping it out.
• Lin Yuan sensed the Crawlers surrounding the Seventh Outpost and reported their position to the recruitment officer.
• Lin Yuan assessed the forces at the outpost and decided he could overcome the Crawlers' advantage himself.
• Lin Yuan used his Shell Pump to rocket toward the Crawler encirclement and attack before they could respond to his strength.
• Lin Yuan cut down over a dozen Four- and Five-Star Priests with the Holy Hall Light Blade, opening a gap in the encirclement.

Lin Yuan arrived at the Seventh Outpost and killed the Nine-Star Priest in a single exchange, turning the battle against the Crawlers. With their commander dead, the humans routed the remaining enemy forces.

• Lin Yuan charged directly at the Nine-Star Priest while General Zhang prepared to help him.
• Lin Yuan and the Pale Golden Dragon overwhelmed the Priest, and Lin Yuan killed him with his Light Blade.
• Lin Yuan declared that the remaining Crawlers would not escape, and the battlefield fell silent at the Priest's death.
• General Zhang ordered the human forces to attack, and the soldiers charged the disorganized Crawlers.
• The Rallying Officer arrived with twenty Free Warriors and watched the humans rout the Crawlers.

After the battle at the Seventh Outpost, Lin Yuan collected Crawler Relics and upgraded his Energy Collector before meeting General Zhang. Learning that the Crawlers had strengthened their attacks across the whole front, he chose to register as an independent fighter in the Seventh Outpost’s sector.

• Lin Yuan returned to the Phantom Lin Yuan, where Never Skunked reported collecting over a hundred Crawler Relics during the battle.
• Lin Yuan used sixty-four Relics to upgrade the Energy Collector to level eight, raising his recovery rate to ten thousand energy points per minute.
• After replenishing his energy, Lin Yuan met General Zhang and asked about the battlefield’s overall situation.
• General Zhang explained that the Crawlers had intensified their attacks across the front and that five additional Nine-Star Priests were suppressing the Federation’s fighters near the First Outpost.
• Lin Yuan decided to register as a free fighter and operate independently in the Seventh Outpost’s sector.

Lin Yuan’s solo patrols devastated the Crawler forces in the Seventh Theater and earned him the name “Hunting Lone Wolf,” but two Nine-Star Priests were sent to target him. As Lin Yuan set out to hunt more Crawlers, General Zhang learned the Priests would arrive much sooner than expected and discovered that Lin Yuan’s communication had been cut off.

• General Zhang registered Lin Yuan for the theater and warned him to be cautious, while Lin Yuan wondered why the Crawlers were trying so hard to halt the Game Main Quest.
• Lin Yuan spent several days using Bai Ling’s perception to hunt Crawler reconnaissance squads, improving the Seventh Theater’s situation and returning to first place on the Military Merit Ranking.
• The Seventh Outpost warned Lin Yuan that two Nine-Star Priests were on their way specifically to target him, and Lin Yuan planned to gather more Relics before returning to Base Island for upgrades.
• Lin Yuan headed toward Sector D4, unaware that the two Priests’ arrival had been accelerated to less than half a day away.
• General Zhang ordered his subordinates to contact Lin Yuan, but they reported that the conch connection had been severed.

Lin Yuan found the Crawlers’ D4 base deserted and discovered its rituals were far below what its powerful Priests should have been able to create. After Lilia tracked a strange odor to a Memory Gem hidden in a chamber, Lin Yuan recognized it as the likely source of the anomaly.

• General Zhang ordered the rear base to contact Lin Yuan’s in-game friends, then received alarming news that the Crawlers had gone mad.
• Lin Yuan reached the D4 Area and, finding no Crawlers nearby, sent the Phantom Lin Yuan deeper to investigate.
• Bai Ling discovered that the Crawlers’ base was completely empty, so Lin Yuan entered it with his companions.
• Lin Yuan noticed the base had only crude, low-level rituals despite supposedly housing High Priests and a Nine-Star Priest.
• Lilia followed a strange stink into a hidden chamber, where Lin Yuan identified a glowing gem as a Memory Gem.

Lin Yuan watched a Memory Gem left by the Oathbreaker and learned that the Crawlers were being influenced by the Great Being, which drove them to open the Central Sea Battlefield. The Oathbreaker proposed a temporary truce: both sides would avoid acting while Lin Yuan advanced the Main Storyline to the Fourth Stage, whereupon the Crawlers would try to resist the Great Being’s influence.

• Lin Yuan picked up the Memory Gem and recognized the speaker in its vision as the Oathbreaker.
• The Oathbreaker showed how the Great Being’s gray light raised ordinary Crawlers to Priest level and distorted their thoughts, prompting them to seek his aid against the Game System.
• The Oathbreaker explained that the Crawlers’ parasitic bond made them vulnerable to the Great Being’s growing influence, and Lin Yuan realized this was why they had opened the Central Sea Battlefield.
• The Oathbreaker addressed Lin Yuan as Zero, said he knew about the Lost Sanctum Legacy, and warned that Lin Yuan had chosen the wrong path and would eventually lose to him.
• The Oathbreaker proposed that Lin Yuan advance the Main Storyline to the Fourth Stage while both sides’ powerful figures refrained from acting, so the Crawlers could try to remove the Great Being’s influence.

After learning that the Great Being was turning Crawlers into Priest-level fighters, Lin Yuan rushed toward the Seventh Outpost to escape two Nine-Star Priests hunting him. He reached the A1 Region only to receive warnings that the outpost had fallen and a High Priest had been deployed.

• Lin Yuan emerged from the Oathbreaker's memory and realized the Great Being could create an enormous army of Priest-level Crawlers.
• Lin Yuan received messages warning that two Nine-Star Priests had advanced their arrival and were targeting him, so he took the Phantom Lin Yuan toward the Seventh Outpost.
• Lin Yuan told the manager and Wind-Ear about the memory and asked them to inform the Federation's senior leadership.
• Bai Ling detected groups of Crawlers ahead, and Lin Yuan repeatedly altered course to evade them rather than risk drawing the Nine-Star Priests' attention.
• Lin Yuan reached the A1 Region and received messages that the Seventh Outpost had fallen, a High Priest had been deployed, and he should evacuate the theater.

Lin Yuan fled after learning that the High Priest was pursuing him, but Crawler detachments repeatedly intercepted him and his rapid attacks nearly attracted the Great Being’s attention. After noticing that the Great Being erased the Crawlers’ corpses, Lin Yuan realized its instincts could conflict and began considering how to exploit that weakness.

• Lin Yuan learned that the High Priest had joined the pursuit and ordered the Phantom Lin Yuan to flee from the fallen Seventh Outpost.
• The communication conch shrieked before Lin Yuan could crush it, exposing his position to the Crawlers.
• Lin Yuan killed successive Crawler detachments as he raced toward Federation Headquarters, while the enemy shortened the intervals between interceptions.
• The Great Being nearly discovered Lin Yuan, but the Second Lord’s protection washed away the vision in his mind.
• Lin Yuan noticed that the Great Being had erased the Crawler corpses and concluded that its reflexes could conflict because its mind was incomplete.

Lin Yuan used a black coffin and the Heart of Molten Fire to break into the Crawler priests’ formation and slaughter their strongest fighters. He ended up inside the coffin under the High Priest’s attack, while the High Priest planned to take him to the Temple before the Great Being.

• The High Priest arrived with two Nine-Star Priests and dozens of other priests, then learned Lin Yuan was trapped in the encirclement alone with a black coffin.
• The High Priest attacked Lin Yuan, but the coffin blocked his strike, and Lin Yuan charged through the encirclement into the priests’ formation.
• Lin Yuan activated the Heart of Molten Fire and killed a Nine-Star Priest, then swiftly killed the other Nine-Star Priest and nearly ten Seven- and Eight-Star Priests.
• The High Priest caught up and attacked Lin Yuan, who rolled into the coffin and shut its lid to block the blow.
• The High Priest decided to take the coffin to the Temple and expose Lin Yuan to the Great Being.

Lin Yuan survived the Great Being’s attack by sheltering in Lilia’s Coffin, while the Crawler Priests were nearly all destroyed. After regrouping with Lilia, Bai Ling, and Never Skunked, he learned that the bottom of the Abyssal Sea concealed a Spatial Singularity that might hold a major secret.

• The High Priest sealed Lin Yuan inside the Coffin, but Lin Yuan used its side door to attack a nearby Eight-Star Priest and draw the Great Being’s attention.
• The Great Being’s pressure crushed or erased the Crawler Priests, while the High Priest escaped and Lin Yuan endured the attack inside the Coffin.
• After the pressure faded, Lin Yuan emerged from the Coffin, contacted his crew, and boarded the Phantom Lin Yuan with them.
• Lilia, Bai Ling, and Never Skunked surfaced in a newly made Coffin, which broke apart after protecting them in the Abyssal Sea.
• Bai Ling told Lin Yuan that a Spatial Singularity lay in the extreme depths beneath them, where the surrounding Spatial Distortion had been compressed.

Lin Yuan returned to Base Island after escaping the Central Sea Battlefield and learned that the Federation was struggling to hold its fronts. As he collected his rewards, a veteran revealed that Wang Jian was on the Hunt List.

• Lin Yuan decided not to investigate the Spatial Singularity and sailed the Phantom Lin Yuan back toward Base Island.
• The Phantom Lin Yuan navigated weakened areas of the Central Sea Battlefield and returned safely to Base Island two days later.
• Lin Yuan met Wang Jian, who said Lin Yuan's Crawler intelligence had helped the Federation and asked to examine his Memory Gem.
• Wang Jian told Lin Yuan that his Merit Points had been exchanged for Abyssal Sea Fragments and that Transcendent Cores awaited him in the warehouse.
• A veteran escorting Lin Yuan worried that Wang Jian had entered the battlefield twice, then said Wang Jian was on the Hunt List.