Chapter Summaries

Yanqing met the Astral Express crew and brought them through the crowded Starskiff Haven toward the Palace of Astrum, but an attack by werewolves interrupted their reunion. Hanxing and Yanqing helped defeat the attackers, and Yanqing stayed behind to investigate the incident and a girl who had taken one of his swords.

• Yanqing greeted March 7th, Dan Heng, and Caelus, met Hanxing and Firefly, and explained that the Wardance had drawn visitors and envoys from the Zhuming and Yaoqing.
• Yanqing said the general had sent him to escort the group to the Palace of Astrum, but a roar prompted the Cloud Knights to rush toward trouble.
• Hanxing stopped time and killed the werewolves attacking the crowd, then sent a clone to bring Firefly down from above.
• A girl in white used Yanqing's flying swords to kill another werewolf, took one of his swords, and hurried away before he could stop her.
• Yanqing delayed the group to investigate the attack as Cloud Knights argued with visitors over the detention of their cargo.

Yanqing investigated the Borisin prisoners’ arrival at Starskiff Haven while Hanxing and Firefly suspected the Cloud Knight Lujun was disguised and marked him to track his movements. As the group prepared to go to the Palace of Astrum, Yanqing revealed that a girl had stolen his sword.

• Yanqing questioned the Cloud Knights about why Borisin prisoners had been brought to Starskiff Haven, and Lujun blamed the incident on a sudden attack and the Zhuming envoy ship’s rescue.
• Hanxing and Firefly suspected Lujun was disguised and involved in a deeper plot, so Hanxing marked him and used Tuning to share his movements.
• Lujun explained that Borisin raiders had attacked a company transport ship near the Luofu and that the prisoners would be sent to the Prison of Deep Seclusion.
• Yanqing explained the Borisin’s history as enemies of the Xianzhou and noted that their attack on the company ship seemed suspicious.
• Yanqing said the general had asked him to escort the group to the Palace of Astrum, then admitted that a girl had stolen his sword.

The Astral Express group met General Jing Yuan and General Huaiyan at the Seat of Divine Foresight, where Yanqing discovered that Huaiyan’s disciple Yunli had taken his flying sword. Yunli refused to return it except by the Zhuming’s battlefield custom and insulted both Yanqing and Hanxing, leaving Hanxing angered by her provocation.

• Yanqing led the group to the Seat of Divine Foresight, while Hanxing overheard Lujun mutter behind them.
• Jing Yuan welcomed the Astral Express guests and introduced General Huaiyan, who praised the young people and spoke with Dan Heng.
• Huaiyan introduced his disciple Yunli, and Yanqing recognized her as the girl who had taken his flying sword.
• Yunli admitted she had found Yanqing’s sword in her luggage and argued that he must reclaim it on the battlefield because she had helped subdue the Borisin prisoner.
• Hanxing objected to Yunli’s refusal to return the sword, and Yunli provoked him and Yanqing by saying neither swordsman amounted to much.

Yunli confronted Yanqing and Hanxing over their handling of the stolen sword, while Jing Yuan arranged for them to leave and received Hanxing’s warning about a Borisin plot. Yanqing then took the group toward the inn and was assigned to calm the company’s protest over its cargo.

• Yunli criticized Yanqing and Hanxing for failing to respect the sword, and Huaiyan urged her to apologize before Hanxing accepted that the dispute was a misunderstanding.
• Jing Yuan arranged for Yanqing to escort the guests and Yunli to the inn, but Yunli said she wanted to visit Lingsha first.
• Hanxing warned Jing Yuan that Borisin had attacked Starskiff Haven, an informant had infiltrated the Cloud Knights, and the Xianzhou should strengthen its defenses.
• Jing Yuan told Yanqing to placate the company’s representatives and assure them that the Alliance did not intend to infringe on their rights.
• As the group prepared to leave, Yanqing read Qingzu’s report and worried that persuading the company would be difficult.

Yanqing and the Astral Express Crew realized that the visiting Arbiter-Generals might be investigating the Luofu over the Ambrosial Arbor disaster, then agreed to confront a company's protest at the Artisanship Commission. They arrived in Starskiff Haven and found the company representative arguing with Xianzhou officials over seized cargo.

• Yanqing wondered whether Jing Yuan had seemed unusually reserved, and Dan Heng explained that the visiting generals might be scrutinizing the Luofu's role in the Ambrosial Arbor disaster.
• Dan Heng noted that suspicion could fall on the Luofu and Jing Yuan, while Yanqing mentioned that a Zhuming alchemist had come to become the new Cauldron Master.
• Yanqing accepted March 7th and the others' offer to help with the company's protest at the Artisanship Commission.
• Hanxing opened a spatial doorway and took the group to Starskiff Haven.
• The group arrived to find a company representative accusing Xianzhou officials of seizing goods, while an official insisted the cargo would be released after a safety inspection.

Caelus and Yanqing tried to resolve a dispute over Scott’s cargo, which the Sky-Faring Commission suspected contained dangerous biological material. The argument escalated when Scott insisted that the shipment belonged to the Genius Society and demanded that one of its members be present for an inspection.

• Scott protested that the Cloud Knights had taken cargo from his ship, while Xikui explained that they had impounded it for a security inspection.
• Xikui and the craftsman told Yanqing that scans had detected traces resembling biological tissue in the cargo, and Hanxing confirmed it carried an aura like the Borisin.
• Scott refused to let anyone inspect the crates and threatened to file a complaint, so Yanqing asked Caelus to negotiate with him.
• Caelus and Xikui offered to sign a confidentiality agreement, but Scott argued that the prototypes were valuable and demanded that a Genius Society representative attend the inspection.
• Caelus accused Scott of having no intention of resolving the matter in good faith, and the dispute escalated.

Caelus, Yanqing, Hanxing, and Lingsha forced Scott to permit a safety inspection of the company’s cargo by using regulations to prevent him from taking the biological sample away. When the container opened, a wolf-shaped mech awakened and attacked, but Hanxing seemed to skip ten seconds as it was destroyed.

• Caelus and Yanqing warned Scott that the Borisin attack could suggest collusion, pressuring him to consider an inspection.
• Lingsha arrived and explained that Xianzhou regulations barred biological cargo from leaving until it was proven harmless or inactive, potentially delaying the shipment for hundreds of years.
• Scott reluctantly agreed to let the group inspect the container rather than leave the cargo behind.
• The container opened to reveal a huge wolf-shaped mech, which awakened when Lingsha touched it and prepared to strike Yanqing.
• Hanxing handed Firefly a silver coin to toss, and after ten seconds passed in an instant, the mech lay torn apart while the coin showed heads.

After the Borisin-flesh mech was destroyed, Yanqing arranged for the company’s guests and the evidence to be taken for investigation. Lingsha invited the group to the Alchemy Commission, where she asked Yanqing and Dan Heng for advice on reforming its entrenched problems.

• Yanqing ordered Xikui to escort Scott and the company guests to the Sky-Faring Commission, while Lingsha confirmed the mech was driven by Borisin nerves.
• Yanqing said the dangerous life-form and weapons should be contained at the Prison of Deep Seclusion and asked the craftsman to explain the situation to a judge.
• Lingsha invited Yanqing and the Astral Express Crew to the Alchemy Commission, and Hanxing transported everyone there through a tear in space.
• Lingsha and Yanqing discussed the Ambrosial Arbor and its connection to the Xianzhou’s pursuit of immortality.
• Lingsha revealed that she had been appointed to address the Alchemy Commission’s longstanding problems and asked Yanqing and Dan Heng for advice.

Lingsha told Dan Heng, Yanqing, and Hanxing about her mentor’s exile and Jing Yuan’s role in the Alchemy Commission’s troubles. When Yunli arrived and clashed with Yanqing over his stolen sword, Lingsha redirected their challenge toward slaying abominations around the commission.

• Dan Heng and Yanqing advised Lingsha to work with the General and navigate the Alchemy Commission’s internal and external politics.
• Lingsha explained that her mentor had been framed and exiled to the Zhuming Xianzhou, and that Jing Yuan had approved the order.
• Yunli arrived and provoked Yanqing by refusing to return his flying sword, while Hanxing joined Yanqing in challenging her.
• Lingsha proposed that the three settle their contest by slaying abominations around the Alchemy Commission.
• Yanqing, Hanxing, and Yunli agreed to go together and hunt the abominations.

Hanxing won Lingsha’s abomination-slaying contest against Yunli, then challenged her to a sword duel when she refused to honor their wager. Their duel continued until an azure figure appeared between their blades.

• Lingsha set a fifteen-minute contest to judge Hanxing and Yunli by how many abominations they killed, and Hanxing borrowed Firefly’s lightsaber and wagered that Yunli would apologize and return Yanqing’s flying sword if she lost.
• Hanxing killed fifteen abominations with ease, while Yunli killed eight, giving Hanxing a narrow victory.
• Yunli refused to honor the wager and challenged Hanxing to take the sword from her hand, so he led her onto the rooftops for a duel.
• Hanxing deflected Yunli’s heavy sword strikes and forced her back when their blades clashed.
• Hanxing attacked from Yunli’s blind spot, and an azure figure appeared just before their blades collided.

Feixiao stopped Hanxing and Yunli’s duel at the Alchemy Commission, then sent them on their way after recovering Yanqing’s sword. At Scalegorge Waterscape, she discussed the Luofu’s Wardance preparations with two companions and considered what the Cloud Knights’ conduct revealed about Jing Yuan’s rule.

• Feixiao caught Hanxing and Yunli’s swords and criticized Yunli’s technique while noting that Hanxing had held back.
• Feixiao urged Hanxing and Yunli to settle their differences in the Wardance ring, and Yunli returned Yanqing’s flying sword to Hanxing.
• Yanqing recovered his sword, thanked Hanxing, and invited Lingsha to speak with Jing Yuan at the Seat of Divine Foresight.
• Feixiao arranged for the Alchemy Commission’s bill to be sent to the Seat of Divine Foresight, then left to get some air.
• At Scalegorge Waterscape, Feixiao asked a Foxian man and a cold-looking man what they thought of Jing Yuan and the Wardance.
• The Foxian man warned that the Wardance crowds could spread unrest and rumors, while Feixiao explained that she had been judging Jing Yuan by the circumstances around him.

Feixiao told Jiaoqiu that she accepted her fate and cared more about fulfilling her mission than how long she lived, then left to meet an old comrade. Hanxing and Firefly went to Aurum Alley after Hanxing learned Elio’s new script sent him to Fyxestroll Garden, and the chapter ended as Firefly eyed the soda bean juice he had bought.

• Feixiao told Jiaoqiu that the Dragon Lady could not cure her and said she would rather fulfill her duty as an arrowhead of The Hunt than worry about her lifespan.
• Feixiao said she had a date with an old comrade-in-arms, while Firefly returned Hanxing’s undamaged sword in the Exalting Sanctum.
• Yanqing invited Caelus, March 7th, and Dan Heng to the Seat of Divine Foresight to discuss important matters ahead of the Wardance.
• Hanxing took Firefly aside and explained that Elio’s new script sent him to find something in Fyxestroll Garden.
• Hanxing took Firefly to Aurum Alley, bought Immortal’s Joy Tea and soda bean juice, and offered her the tea as she questioned whether the green drink would taste good.

Hanxing and Firefly found one of Terminus’s remains, a black cat, and Hanxing reached out to it to enter the Path of Finality. The cat fused with him, restoring memories from another world and changing his appearance and powers; he and Firefly then set out to find the Astral Express Crew.

• Hanxing and Firefly traveled to the mountaintop where Elio had directed them and found a black cat that Firefly identified as part of Terminus’s remains.
• Hanxing used his firefly-shaped pendant to suppress his other powers before touching the black cat and entering the Pathstrider’s Chasm.
• Terminus’s whispers triggered Hanxing’s memories of another world and caused a painful transformation as the black cat fused with him.
• Hanxing returned to Fyxestroll Garden with red in his hair and eyes, and Firefly helped him up after his barrier vanished.
• Hanxing recognized that the power of Finality shared an origin with the Eternal Finality in their world, then decided to find the Astral Express Crew with Firefly.

Hanxing and Firefly spent several days together on the Xianzhou before Caelus reported that March 7th, Yunli, and Yanqing had gone missing. Hanxing determined they had not encountered the Borisin he had marked, suggesting a wider Borisin plot was underway.

• Hanxing and Firefly returned to their hotel, ordered dinner, and drank baijiu together.
• Firefly revealed she had been pretending to be drunk and drew Hanxing into a night of intimacy.
• A few days later, Hanxing received Caelus's message and woke Firefly before they went to meet him.
• Caelus told Hanxing and Firefly that March 7th, Yunli, and Yanqing had vanished after visiting the Sky-Faring Commission.
• Hanxing used the power of Harmony to locate the Borisin he had marked and concluded the missing group had not encountered him.
• Hanxing warned that many Borisin were hiding across the Xianzhou and plotting something serious.

Hanxing, Firefly, Caelus, and Dan Heng split up after suspecting the Borisin planned to free their imprisoned leader, Hoolay. Hanxing infiltrated the Prison of Deep Seclusion while Firefly rescued March 7th, Yanqing, and Yunli from Borisin attackers, and the chapter left the group preparing to stop the prison break.

• Dan Heng identified Hoolay, the captured Borisin leader, as the likely target of the prison break, and Hanxing divided the group into three teams.
• Hanxing gave Firefly the firefly pendant, helped her transform into Sam, and sent her to find March 7th and the others.
• Hanxing disguised himself as a Cloud Knight and entered the Prison of Deep Seclusion, where he suspected the Borisin had infiltrated the guards.
• Firefly found March 7th, Yanqing, and Yunli under attack by Borisin and burned their attackers to ashes as Sam.
• Firefly told the others that the Borisin might be trying to free Hoolay, and March 7th insisted they had to stop him.

Hanxing hunted down Lujun’s Borisin accomplices as Jiaoqiu, Xueyi, and Moze descended to transfer Hoolay. Modu’s disguise and the Borisin attack freed Hoolay, but Hanxing arrived and challenged him, leaving the confrontation about to begin.

• Hanxing exposed Lujun’s plot, killed several Borisin, and let Lujun flee toward Hoolay’s cell.
• Jiaoqiu and Xueyi found Borisin corpses and discovered that the prison guards had been attacked and could not respond.
• Jiaoqiu insisted on opening Hoolay’s cell despite Xueyi’s warning, and Modu revealed himself as a Borisin infiltrator named Lujun.
• Moze, Xueyi, and Jiaoqiu fought the Borisin, but Hoolay emerged and threw Xueyi aside.
• Hanxing appeared, challenged Hoolay to return to his cell, and told the others he would handle the fight.

Hanxing fought Hoolay after the Borisin escaped, but Modu helped Hoolay flee through the Prison of Deep Seclusion. Hoolay learned that Modu and his brothers planned to get him off the Xianzhou, and prepared to continue their escape.

• Hanxing battled Hoolay while Xueyi and Jiaoqiu fled, but Hoolay and Modu escaped after Modu filled the area with smoke.
• Hanxing told Caelus that Hoolay had escaped and asked the Trailblazer to stop him.
• Xueyi and Jiaoqiu decided to report to the three generals, believing Hanxing could protect himself.
• Hoolay questioned Modu and learned that seven hundred years had passed and that Modu had disguised himself as a Foxian to free him.
• Modu explained the Borisin escape plan and said his brothers were ready to sacrifice their lives to reunite their people.
• Hoolay praised Modu's courage, agreed to leave, and asked him for one of the pills he had taken.

Yan Bai and Jintiao went to a market on Fansha Star to buy groceries and coats for Kafka. They reached a dirty produce stall and placed an order, then left to look elsewhere while they waited.

• Blade asked Yan Bai to bring Silver Wolf an energy drink and deny her chips until after the meal.
• Kafka asked Yan Bai and Jintiao to buy a week’s groceries and two coats, then gave Jintiao the spaceship key.
• Jintiao flew the self-piloting spaceship with Yan Bai to a remote area near the market and told him about her past on Glamoth with Firefly.
• Yan Bai and Jintiao found the rundown market and ordered six jin of vegetables, eight jin of meat, and a bag of rice from a vendor.
• Yan Bai worried that the vendor seemed unreliable, and Jintiao urged him to move on.

Yan Bai and Jintiao bought coats and food, then traveled back to the Stellaron Hunters' base as Yan Bai told her about his life on Fansha Star. At the base, Jintiao trapped him in a corridor and revealed a sudden, unsettling change in her behavior, while Kafka and Silver Wolf watched from the surveillance room.

• Yan Bai and Jintiao bought two coats for 800,000 Credits and collected their food from the stall.
• After loading their purchases onto the spaceship, Yan Bai told Jintiao he had grown up in a farming family, joined the Kangbu Revolutionary Army, and survived until Fansha Star was destroyed.
• Back at the Stellaron Hunters' base, Jintiao asked how long they had known each other, and Yan Bai said about ten days.
• Jintiao pinned Yan Bai against the corridor door, said she liked him, and used purple Propagation armor and gas while his powers failed to stop her.
• Silver Wolf watched the scene on surveillance, but Kafka turned off the monitor and said it was how the script was written.

Caelus, Dan Heng, and Hanya hurried through the Prison of Deep Seclusion to intercept Hoolay, encountering Mara-Struck and joining forces with Moze. Moze warned that the escapees planned to seal the prison, and the group prepared to stop Hoolay even if it meant being trapped inside.

• Hoolay ordered Modu and the Borisin to leave the prison, while Caelus learned that Hoolay had broken out.
• Caelus, Dan Heng, and Hanya fought through Borisin machines and guards as they rushed toward the prison’s lower levels, where Hoolay’s escape route led.
• The group learned from Hanxing’s message that Xueyi and the Yaoqing envoys had escaped safely, then encountered Mara-Struck soldiers on their way forward.
• Moze appeared and helped defeat the Mara-Struck, explaining that he had been tracking the escapees and believed they planned to seal the prison’s entrances and exits.
• Moze proposed sealing the gates and staying inside with the enemy until reinforcements arrived, while Dan Heng, Hanya, and Caelus voiced their resolve to stop Hoolay and wondered about their missing companions.