Chapter Summaries

Lu Guan comforted Dania after her jealousy over Sigelika revealed her fear that his family would reject her because her Void Matter body could not bear children. Dania felt reassured and enclosed them in Void Matter Bubbles, unaware that Augusta was secretly watching.

• Dania grew jealous when Sigelika offered to massage Lu Guan's back, and she told Sigelika that Lu Guan was her boyfriend.
• After Sigelika left, Dania admitted she feared Lu Guan's family would reject her because she could not have children.
• Lu Guan reassured Dania that his father cared about the family business and that she need not worry about his family.
• Dania kissed Lu Guan and formed Void Matter Bubbles around them, then suggested they show each other their love.
• Augusta secretly watched the couple through the Void Matter barrier and wondered whether Lu Guan was related to her old Feng.

Lu Yi traveled from Huanglong to Lahai-Roi, troubled by clan opposition to Lu Guan and an old marriage contract that could be used against him. After inspecting the academy and reuniting with his son, Lu Yi asked Lu Guan to talk, leaving their family conversation to come.

• Lu Yi told Yu Lan that clan elders opposed Lu Guan bringing a Threnodian resonator home and that another family wanted to revive an old engagement to gain influence over him.
• Lu Guan learned through Lacerta that Lu Yi had arrived in Lahai-Roi and told Dania to be herself when meeting his father.
• Lu Yi questioned Lu Guan's presence during his academy inspection, then let him serve as a guide after Lacerta vouched for him.
• Lu Yi examined the icefield region, commented on its resources and Tacet Discord threat, and criticized the academy cafeteria's nutritional gel while noting its potential.
• After the inspection, Lu Yi sought out Lu Guan and asked to talk, then reflexively covered his son's mouth before Lu Guan suggested they sit down.

Lu Guan introduced Dania to his parents, who welcomed her warmly despite learning that she could not have children. Their meeting also revealed that the Lu Family’s elders had revived Lu Guan’s childhood marriage arrangement, and Lu Guan decided to return to the Ming Court and confront them.

• Dania nervously greeted Lu Guan’s parents as Mom and Dad, and Yu Lan reassured her that she could think of them as family.
• Lu Guan explained Dania’s traumatic childhood with the Fractsidus, and Yu Lan grew more protective and fond of her.
• Dania told Lu Yi and Yu Lan that, as a Threnodian Resonator, she could not have children; Lu Yi said it would not prevent her from marrying Lu Guan.
• Lu Yi explained that the Lu Family had revived Lu Guan’s childhood marriage arrangement with a young lady from the Wang Family and suggested Lu Guan start a separate family register.
• Lu Guan decided to return to the Ming Court in a few days and asked his father for a list of the people involved.

Lu Guan broke into the Wang Family compound, killed its steward, and ordered hired guards to bring the family members to him. He then confronted Fractsidus operative Balanophora, who attacked him, and countered her swordsmanship with an interrupting sword technique.

• Lu Guan smashed through the Wang Family gate and entered the compound, where he killed the purple-robed steward.
• Lu Guan spared the hired guards and ordered their captain to bring every Wang Family member from the rear courtyard.
• Balanophora emerged from the shadows and attacked Lu Guan with a vine serpent and sword strikes.
• Lu Guan challenged Balanophora to a swordsmanship contest and deflected her attack with Traceless Sword Intent.
• Balanophora questioned whether Lu Guan's technique counted as swordsmanship, and he insisted it was genuine sword intent.

Lu Guan defeated the Fractsidus agent “Balanophora” and massacred the Wang Family after learning they had colluded with the Fractsidus. The Magistrate’s men gave him a Pacification Bureau Token and let him leave for Lahai-Roi before his morning class.

• “Balanophora” attacked Lu Guan with giant vine snakes, but he used Judgement Cut End to cut her and her summons apart while she escaped in a shattered shell.
• Lu Guan went to the Wang Family’s rear courtyard, killed its members as they tried to flee, and slaughtered all ninety-six people in the estate.
• Chiliarch Zhao arrived with the Pacification Bureau and agreed to let Lu Guan go after he claimed the Wang Family had colluded with the Fractsidus.
• A chiliarch delivered the Magistrate’s Pacification Bureau Token to Lu Guan and told Chiliarch Zhao to treat the massacre as Lu Guan rooting out traitors.
• Lu Guan accepted the token, promised to remember the Magistrate’s goodwill, and set off for Stardust Academy in Lahai-Roi to make his eight o’clock class.

Lu Guan accompanied Sigelika outside Stardust Academy after Dania stayed behind, while Sigelika’s growing affection and Dania’s jealousy left him trapped in a vicious cycle. He considered ways to break it but rejected each option, including involving Jiaxin.

• Sigelika apologized to Dania, and the two reaffirmed that they would remain best friends.
• Lu Guan made a dramatic landing, then joined Dania and Sigelika before class.
• After lunch, Dania declined a walk and went to find Nastassja in the library while Sigelika invited Lu Guan to collect a new rune rubbing outside the academy.
• Sigelika learned that Dania had known Lu Guan for less than a year, then invited him to the Etching Plain near the Gullet of the Hidden Maw.
• Lu Guan agreed to accompany Sigelika and considered how her rising affection, Dania’s jealousy, and their bond created a vicious cycle.
• Lu Guan rejected winning Sigelika over, driving a wedge between the girls, or involving Jiaxin as ways to escape the cycle.

Lu Guan completed Sigelika’s affection breakthrough by touching her Tacet Mark, and her affection quickly reached its cap. After she admitted she had invented a rune search as an excuse to spend time alone with him, the system’s hidden mastermind revealed that it only encouraged Lu Guan to act and that time was running out.

• Lu Guan asked to touch Sigelika’s Tacet Mark, and she agreed on the condition that he give her a reward afterward.
• Sigelika hugged Lu Guan and guided his hand to her Tacet Mark; after he touched it for over ten minutes, the system raised her affection cap and increased her affection.
• Dania woke from a nap with an itchy head, unaware that Sigelika was getting closer to Lu Guan.
• Sigelika asked Lu Guan to keep their encounter secret, pushing her affection to its cap; Lu Guan accepted her breakthrough quest, which immediately completed.
• Lu Guan asked Sigelika about the runes, and she confessed there were none and that she had wanted to be alone with him.
• The system’s hidden mastermind explained that it had only given Lu Guan a reason to pursue girls and urged him to move faster because time was running out.

Lu Guan cut Dania off from Void Matter space and turned the tables on her, leaving her too exhausted to attend the next day. He then worried that driving Aleph-1 away had broken the timeline that required Augusta to save Lahai-Roi, and examined Augusta’s Oath rewards for a solution.

• Lu Guan severed Dania’s connection to Void Matter space and gained control after she had accused him of smelling like Sigelika.
• Dania took the following day off, and Lu Guan told Sigelika she had stayed up preparing for a Black Shores entrance test.
• Lu Guan reviewed Lahai-Roi’s history, including the Tunneler’s battle with Aleph-1 and Augusta’s journey through time to seal it.
• Lu Guan realized that Aleph-1’s absence might prevent Augusta from completing the closed loop that saved Lahai-Roi.
• Lu Guan opened the system interface and saw Augusta’s Oath rewards, including two supremely useful kidneys, Tunneler’s Blessing, and Augusta’s Resonance ability.

Lu Guan encouraged Sigelika to balance training with rest as they headed to the training ground together, while Augusta saw them and misjudged his intentions. Dania woke in Lu Guan’s dorm, found his caring note and cake, and decided to take a few days off.

• Lu Guan noticed Augusta’s affection had fallen and wondered whether she had seen him with Dania, then agreed to accompany Sigelika to train after encouraging her to relax more.
• Sigelika described her admiration for birds’ courage and freedom, and Lu Guan used her interest to explain that rest was important for growth.
• Augusta watched Lu Guan and Sigelika leave together and concluded that he was flirting with his girlfriend’s best friend, causing her affection for him to drop.
• Dania woke, read Lu Guan’s note arranging time off and leaving her cake, and decided to rest for a few days.
• Dania planned to find Nastassja at the library and nap, while deciding not to seek out Sigelika and wondering whether Sigelika might take Lu Guan while she was away.

Lu Guan helped Sigelika relax during training, and she discovered she could fight far more effectively when she trusted him to support her. They went birdwatching at the library, where Sigelika tried to avoid Dania and watched Lu Guan effortlessly befriend a bird she could not photograph.

• Sigelika defeated the arena’s Tacet Discords, and Lu Guan encouraged her to focus on the fight rather than her results.
• With Lu Guan standing beside her, Sigelika fought more confidently and destroyed an Elite Class Tacet Discord with a punch.
• Sigelika told Lu Guan that his presence had eased her nerves and invited him to go birdwatching at the library.
• Dania felt unsettled and lost her appetite after remembering the previous night, then left the library with Nastassja.
• Sigelika worried Dania might see her at the library rooftop, but Lu Guan easily coaxed a Yingying Parrot onto his hand while Sigelika failed to photograph anything but its rear.

Lu Guan helped Sigelika approach a Chirpuff and photographed her with it, strengthening their closeness. Sigelika asked to take a picture with Lu Guan too, while Dania and Nastassja returned toward the academy amid Dania’s growing unease.

• Lu Guan explained that Chirpuffs reacted to a person’s state of mind, then helped Sigelika try to hold one.
• The Chirpuff flew away when Sigelika grew nervous, but Lu Guan captured a photo of her holding it before it left.
• Sigelika admired the photo and planned to put it in her birdwatching album and frame a copy for her dorm room.
• Sigelika asked Lu Guan to take a picture with her, and she kissed his cheek in thanks when he agreed and called over another Chirpuff.
• Dania sneezed while riding Nastassja’s research motorcycle and said her uneasy feeling had worsened, so she asked to head back for the day.

Lu Guan's secret kiss with Sigelika was exposed to Dania, but he stopped their confrontation by declaring that they were both his wings. In a café, Sigelika admitted her feelings and kissed Lu Guan on the lips, prompting Dania to challenge her as the rivalry continued.

• Sigelika kissed Lu Guan and ran into Dania, who confronted her after seeing an intimate photo Augusta sent to her terminal.
• Lu Guan embraced Dania and Sigelika, calming Dania's anger before they went to a café to talk.
• Sigelika confessed she had liked Lu Guan since the previous semester and said she intended to pursue him despite his relationship with Dania.
• Dania asked whether Sigelika had kissed Lu Guan, and Sigelika kissed him to answer that she had now done so.
• Dania took off her coat and announced she would show Sigelika what couples did, while Lu Guan protested that Sigelika was still there.

Sigelika joined Dania in competing for Lu Guan’s time, leaving him to navigate their agreement and his uncertain place in the family. After asking Lacerta about a possible Academy Dark Side influence, Lu Guan learned from Dania that Sigelika was simply competitive, then reassured Dania of his love before failing to negotiate fewer daily tasks.

• Sigelika agreed with Dania that Lu Guan would spend the next day with her and asked him to go birdwatching.
• After Sigelika left, Lu Guan and Dania resumed their private activities, and Dania’s affection value increased.
• Lu Guan messaged Lacerta to ask whether the Academy Dark Side had been active and whether it might have influenced Sigelika.
• Dania told Lu Guan that Sigelika was competitive and had acted normally, prompting him to admit he did not know her well yet.
• Lu Guan told Dania he loved her and promised to love her forever, then asked to reduce their daily tasks; Dania refused.

Lu Guan learned that Sigelika’s feelings were rooted in longing and received Shorekeeper’s findings about the Desolation, its connection to Fortune, and Jué’s unexplained inactivity. He headed to meet Sigelika while Augusta followed him, unaware that Shorekeeper’s blue butterfly was watching her.

• Lu Guan learned from "Sora" that Sigelika’s full affection revealed Longing, while Dania’s panel had long been replaced by a chained heart.
• "Sora" warned Lu Guan that Jué had been infected by the Desolation and seemed to be building strength rather than awakening.
• Shorekeeper told Lu Guan that an inhibitor suppressed Desolation erosion by 80% in limited trials and summarized her research linking the Desolation to Fortune.
• Shorekeeper confirmed that Jué had not awakened, though Threnodian activity was intense in Rinascita, the New Federation, and Ashihara.
• Lu Guan went to meet Sigelika, while Augusta followed him to protect her classmates and noticed Shorekeeper’s blue butterfly.

Sigelika asked Lu Guan on a date, and they spent the day together watching a tragic romance before returning to her dorm. She hinted that the nutritional-gel pearls in her milk tea held something more, leaving Lu Guan flustered.

• Sigelika asked Lu Guan to spend the day with her, and he agreed before kissing her.
• Augusta secretly watched Lu Guan and Sigelika flirt, while the Shorekeeper observed through a blue butterfly and crushed a black flower.
• Lu Guan and Sigelika watched A Hundred Years of Letters and discussed the lovers’ tragic separation.
• Sigelika invited Lu Guan to her dorm, where she served milk tea with pearls made from nutritional gel and starch.
• Sigelika whispered that the pearls contained more than nutritional gel, unlocking her special CG.

After receiving word that Jué was about to awaken, Lu Guan secured permission to leave Stardust Academy and head to Jinzhou, where he would help prevent a crisis. He said goodbye to his colleagues and students, while Dania and Sigelika strengthened their bonds with him before his departure.

• Lu Guan apologized to Sigelika for a despicable trick and realized Dania had led her astray.
• After Shorekeeper contacted him, Lu Guan obtained Lacerta's approval to leave Stardust Academy and travel to Jinzhou.
• Lu Guan told Chisa that Jué was about to awaken and urged her to remain at the academy to protect research on the threat beneath Darkhollow.
• Lynae delivered Lady Xu's Dagger from Professor Mornye and wished Lu Guan a safe journey.
• Lu Guan told Lu Hes that the person he was waiting for was returning and promised to pass along his message to her.
• Lu Guan reassured Dania and Sigelika that he could face Jué, and their affection and bond effects increased.

Jiyan learned that a disciplined Tacet Discord legion was moving toward the northwest, while Lu Guan flew toward Jinzhou. Yangyang was ambushed and surrounded while scouting, but Lu Guan arrived to save her and unleashed his Domain Expansion against the horde.

• Jiyan ordered Yangyang to observe the Tacet Discords moving northwest and report back without acting rashly.
• Lu Guan flew from Lahai-Roi toward Jinzhou and worried about Jué, Rover, and the Fractsidus.
• Yangyang discovered the Tacet Discords were moving in coordinated formations, but their frequencies disrupted her communications.
• The Tacet Discord legion detected Yangyang, surrounded her, and wounded her as she repeatedly failed to escape.
• Lu Guan arrived, blasted open the encirclement, and joined Yangyang against the disciplined Tacet Discord horde.
• Lu Guan activated Domain Expansion: Malevolent Shrine to attack the Tacet Discords.

Lu Guan rescued and treated Yangyang after she was injured by Tacet Discords, then brought her to General Jiyan’s troops. At Jué’s statue, a captured green-haired woman questioned why Jué had gone mad and wondered whether the Desolation could revive the dead.

• Lu Guan treated Yangyang’s injuries, carried her toward camp, and teased her while retrieving her hat.
• Jiyan found Lu Guan carrying Yangyang, learned Lu Guan had treated her and dealt with the Tacet Discords, and escorted them back to camp.
• At Jué’s stone statue, an illusory figure drained the captured green-haired woman’s Resonance ability and declared plans to spread war across Huanglong and beyond.
• The green-haired woman wondered whether the Desolation had enthralled Jué and whether it could bring the dead back to life, then resolved to escape first.

Lu Guan proposed a solo decapitation operation against Jué after Jiyan explained the Threnodian’s threat and its ties to war. After Lu Guan went alone, Yangyang and Jiyan saw his powerful attack tear open Jué’s Airwave Barrier.

• Jiyan told Lu Guan that Jué grew stronger from war and had avoided fighting directly, while Lu Guan asked whether Jiyan was ready for an endless conflict.
• Lu Guan proposed that he and Jiyan attack Jué together, but Jiyan urged him to wait for reinforcements and complete preparations.
• Lu Guan left alone to confront Jué and seek intelligence, intending also to draw out Phrolova.
• Jiyan told Yangyang that Lu Guan had gone to find Jué, and Yangyang worried that her cousin had put himself in danger.
• Yangyang recognized the purple beam that struck Jué’s Airwave Barrier as Lu Guan’s attack, and Jiyan realized its power was beyond anything he could withstand.

Lu Guan invaded Jué’s base in the Norfall Barrens and fought the Crownless, then summoned Mahoraga when the battle escalated. After Jué brought in Dreamless, Lu Guan used Dimensionality Reduction Strike to turn the battlefield two-dimensional, leaving the enemy fighters unable to respond.

• Lu Guan surprised Jué at his base, blasted away his energy body with Hollow Technique: Purple, and forced Jué to awaken early.
• Jué sent the Crownless to fight Lu Guan, who stopped time with The World and redirected the Crownless’s spear back into it.
• Lu Guan summoned his tamed Mahoraga, and the two fought the Crownless while Mahoraga adapted to its attacks and recovered from severe wounds.
• Jué brought Dreamless into the fight, making it two-on-two against Lu Guan and Mahoraga.
• Lu Guan used Dimensionality Reduction Strike to turn the fighters two-dimensional, and Mahoraga adapted while the Crownless and Dreamless were left unable to fight effectively.