Chapter Summaries

Shen Xing strengthened his territory, arranged for Logan to forge Hell War Chariots, evolved Da Hou, and summoned a hundred Black Moon Knights. Xia Wanyin arrived at the territory escorted by Light Spirits.

• Shen Xing opened the black metal sphere and recovered the recruitment scrolls, blacksmith's manual, and materials supplied by the Anomaly Handling Bureau.
• Shen Xing told Logan to stop making Demon Turrets and forge Hell War Chariots, then gave him the advanced blacksmith's manual and the required materials.
• Shen Xing collected water from the Moon Well and evolved Da Hou to Boss Two Stars, unlocking Call of the Wild: Porcupine.
• Shen Xing summoned a hundred Black Moon Knights, activating their hundred-member bond, then sent Xiao Hei to train the new recruits.
• Xia Wanyin messaged Shen Xing and arrived with a squad of Light Spirits, but a flash of red appeared beside her before she reached him.

Shen Xing and his companions flew toward the underground ruins but spotted a wanderer caravan in the mist and stopped to trade. Merchant West introduced the Ouroboros Chamber of Commerce’s goods, including Kodo Beast Recruitment Scrolls, while Shen Xing considered the caravan’s wares.

• Shen Xing chose to investigate the underground ruins and sent Hellscream with wolf riders to search for a crossing over the Blackwater River.
• Shen Xing, Xia Wanyin, and Leina rode Fried Chicken toward the Black Sky Wing Mountain Range, and Xia Wanyin sensed people below a withered forest.
• Shen Xing landed near the group and learned that they were a wanderer caravan led by Merchant West of the Ouroboros Chamber of Commerce.
• West warned Shen Xing that Skinners were robbing caravans around the Blackwing Plains and explained that they were demi-humans driven from the great cities.
• West showed Shen Xing and Xia Wanyin his goods list, which included Finger Worm Small Pill Recipe, Communication Crystals, and Kodo Beast Recruitment Scrolls.

Shen Xing negotiated a major discount with the Ouroboros Caravan by offering 50 gold coins, extra silver, a Boss Rank soul, and future hospitality at his territory. After securing the merchant’s promise to visit again, he and his companions flew away and began inspecting their purchases.

• Shen Xing rejected the idea of robbing the caravan and offered gold coins to negotiate with its merchant, West.
• Xia Wanyin gave Shen Xing her remaining 23,116 silver coins so he could bargain for their purchases together.
• Shen Xing bought communication crystals, a Finger Worm pill recipe, Black Spirit Wood, silk backpacks, and kodo beast recruitment scrolls by offering 50 gold coins, 10,000 silver coins, a Boss Rank soul, and future hospitality.
• West accepted Shen Xing’s offer and explained to Little Peter that building goodwill could bring greater returns later.
• Shen Xing gave Xia Wanyin her share of the goods as he, Xia Wanyin, and Leina flew away on Fried Chicken and examined the communication crystals.

Shen Xing inspected several treasures before following Xia Wanyin into the Black Sky Wing Mountain Range and discovering an underground Dragon Tomb. After Xia Wanyin located the map’s marked treasure, Shen Xing realized it lay near the ominous tombstone at the tomb’s center.

• Shen Xing set up a private communication channel with Xia Wanyin, gave Leina a Communication Crystal, and examined a Finger Worm pill recipe and a space-saving Silk Backpack.
• Shen Xing reviewed the Black Spirit Wood and Kodo Beast Recruitment Scrolls, planning to summon the Kodo Beasts when he returned.
• Fried Chicken carried Shen Xing, Xia Wanyin, and Leina into a deep canyon, where they entered a ruined passage leading underground.
• Shen Xing discovered the Dragon Tomb, a vast cavern filled with enormous remains and centered around a huge, ancient tombstone.
• Leina sensed an unsettling power in the tomb, and Xia Wanyin used her map to point toward the treasure’s location near the tombstone.

Shen Xing, Xia Wanyin, Leina, and Fried Chicken pushed toward the tombstone at the center of the dragon tomb, fighting Dragon Tomb Guardians along the way. Leina’s fire magic made quick work of the increasingly powerful enemies, and Shen Xing gathered valuable souls and Black Dragon Scales as they continued onward.

• Shen Xing decided to approach the central tombstone, and Fried Chicken carried the group across the cavern.
• Seventeen Dragon Tomb Guardians attacked, but Leina destroyed them with a giant fireball while Shen Xing maneuvered Fried Chicken through their dragon breath.
• Shen Xing collected Soul Stones, elite souls, and purple Black Dragon Scales from the defeated guardians, then continued toward the center.
• The group fought repeated guardian squads, including spellcasting priests, as Leina blasted them apart and Shen Xing gathered more scales.
• Leina defeated a Tier Three Dragon Tomb Guardian, which dropped Greater Soul Stones, a Tier Three elite soul, and a gold-quality Black Dragon Scale.

Shen Xing reached the colossal tombstone with Xia Wanyin and Leina, where the sealed Black Dragon Lord Kazdoreth contacted him and asked him to remove the seal. Kazdoreth recounted how two traitorous dragons had helped destroy the dragons’ homeland and left him trapped, while Shen Xing considered whether to trust his story.

• Shen Xing and his companions found no treasure around Kazdoreth’s enormous tombstone and considered digging beneath it.
• Kazdoreth spoke directly into Shen Xing’s mind, identified himself as the Black Dragon Lord, and asked him to remove the tombstone’s seal.
• Shen Xing questioned Kazdoreth about the seal and insisted on hearing the story behind it before agreeing to help.
• Kazdoreth said Tilius and Maragus betrayed the dragons by bringing their enemies into the Land of Dragons.
• Kazdoreth explained that he escaped to the region, died fighting the traitors, and was sealed so they could claim his body; Shen Xing silently weighed the account.

Shen Xing met the sealed Black Dragon Monarch, who offered extravagant rewards for breaking his seal, but Shen Xing chose to return later after gathering strength. He left the Dragon Tomb with Xia Wanyin and the others, promising to call on her when he attempted the quest.

• The Black Dragon Monarch offered to revive the dragon soul in Shen Xing’s ring, grant him dragon treasures and a troop nest, and owe him one future favor in exchange for breaking the seal.
• Shen Xing received the hidden quest Tragedy of the Tomb Dragon and learned he would have to destroy five skeletons and face awakened Dragon Tomb guardians.
• The Black Dragon Monarch warned that the sealed beasts had once been stronger than Grandmaster Rank and urged Shen Xing to return before his fading consciousness disappeared.
• Shen Xing decided to develop his forces before attempting the quest, and Xia Wanyin agreed to help when he returned.
• Fried Chicken carried Shen Xing and the others out of the Dragon Tomb, and Xia Wanyin asked to join the future expedition without taking a share of the rewards.

Shen Xing found the aftermath of the caravan massacre, rescued the surviving merchant West, and accepted a quest to find the Skinners and recover the stolen goods. He brought West back to his territory, where the merchant was astonished by its scale.

• Leina sensed blood near the road, and Shen Xing found the wreckage of the caravan they had recently met.
• West emerged from hiding and told Shen Xing that the Skinners had ambushed the caravan, killed its people, and stolen its goods and beasts of burden.
• West asked Shen Xing to recover the shipment, triggering a quest; Shen Xing offered him shelter and promised to search for the Skinners.
• Shen Xing, Xia Wanyin, Leina, and West flew back to the territory on Fried Chicken, while a shadow watched them leave.
• Shen Xing welcomed West and offered him a hot spring bath, and West praised the territory's size and prosperity.

Shen Xing upgraded the Great Bonfire, recruited five Kodo Beasts, and put Kyle in charge of training them and developing mobile turrets mounted on their backs. As night fell, Shen Xing continued cultivating in the territory while an approaching firelight appeared in the dark fog.

• Shen Xing began upgrading the Great Bonfire to level 4 and used five recruitment scrolls to summon Kodo Beasts.
• Shen Xing asked Kyle to train the Kodo Beasts, and Kyle proposed mounting Demon Flame Turrets on their backs as mobile fortresses.
• Shen Xing assigned Kyle to work with Logan on custom iron frames and to use trained orcs as gunners.
• Shen Xing gave Black Arrow a Communication Crystal and sent him and Fried Chicken to search the territory for suspicious targets.
• Shen Xing and Leina absorbed Soul Stones as night fell, while a point of firelight grew larger in the dark fog.

Shen Xing strengthened his territory by leveling up, evolving Da Hou, advancing more troops, and expanding his forces. After Gorehowl and Da Hou destroyed a gnoll camp and returned with its spoils, the chapter ended with the announcement that the first Leader Rank had been born and Leina had a special request.

• Hellscream returned without finding a crossing over the Blackwater River, and Shen Xing told him to focus on absorbing Soul Stones until he could evolve again.
• Shen Xing leveled up to 11, raising his attributes, while Black Arrow and Fried Chicken later returned from their search without locating the Skinners' base.
• Shen Xing evolved Da Hou to Boss Three Stars, unlocking [Primal Roar], then sent Gorehowl and Da Hou to explore and clear nearby monsters.
• After obtaining advancement materials from the Anomaly Handling Bureau, Shen Xing advanced an Elite Three Stars archer and a lesser demon to Tier Two and recruited more troops, bringing his combat units above six hundred.
• Gorehowl and Da Hou wiped out a gnoll camp after Gorehowl provoked the gnolls into fighting each other, then returned with the camp's resources and spoils.

Shen Xing strengthened his territory by evolving two units and helping Leina Yenait reach level 18. He prepared to use Life-Sacrifice Evolution to raise her potential to Boss rank.

• Shen Xing upgraded the Great Bonfire to level 4 but could not upgrade it to level 5 without more Black Spirit Wood.
• Shen Xing evolved a werewolf into a Boss One Star midnight dire wolf named Wu Dalang and a lesser demon into a corrosive fire lesser demon named San Mo.
• Wu Dalang, San Mo, and another unit absorbed advancement materials, bringing Shen Xing’s territory to fourteen Transcendent Rank powerhouses.
• Shen Xing continued absorbing Soul Stones and reached level 12, while Leina Yenait advanced to level 16 before Hellscream.
• Shen Xing gave Leina three Rain and Dew Pearl drops, raising her to level 18 and peak ninth-grade strength.
• Shen Xing selected Leina for Life-Sacrifice Evolution to raise her potential to Boss rank.

Shen Xing evolved Leina into the territory’s first Leader Rank creature and learned the powers of her new skills. After sending her to summon Infernals, he went with Ailin to inspect strange trees that he recognized as awakening tree spirits.

• Shen Xing sacrificed 500 agility to evolve Leina into a one-star Leader, unlocking Rolling Blazing Flames and Meteor Spell.
• Leina thanked Shen Xing and asked him to hold her while she slept, but he postponed the conversation and ordered her to summon Infernals.
• Ailin reported that the trees grown from the seeds Shen Xing had planted had developed faces and begun moving and making sounds.
• Shen Xing recognized the trees as awakening tree spirits and asked Ailin to take him to see them.
• Ailin pushed Shen Xing’s wheelchair through the inner city toward the outer city.

Shen Xing discovered that his new Treant Warriors shared the Tree Spirit troop bond and could recover by taking root. After Da Hou reported that five orcs had vanished, Shen Xing suspected the Skinners were targeting his territory and kept his people acting normally as night fell.

• Thirty-three Treant Warriors emerged, activating the Tree Spirit bonds for magic resistance and movement speed, and Shen Xing checked their abilities and left them Soul Stones to absorb.
• Da Hou told Shen Xing that five orcs had disappeared over two days without leaving clues.
• West warned Shen Xing that the Skinners stalked and weakened their targets before attacking, and Shen Xing suspected one had followed him back from the Black Sky Wing Mountain Range.
• Shen Xing ordered everyone to keep the disappearances quiet and maintain their usual routines while he waited for night.
• As most of the territory's troops rested, a few orcs continued patrolling the walls and chatted about a new meat dish.

Shen Xing discovered that a cult of mixed-blood creatures had been abducting orcs and planned to sacrifice his territory. After identifying their camp, he sent Hellscream and Leina to destroy it while Gorehowl tracked the enemy.

• A black shadow killed and abducted five orcs near Shen Xing’s south gate, prompting Gorehowl to follow their blood scent into the fog.
• Gorehowl found a hidden camp where Lord Deacon preached worship of the Mother of Blood Origin and ordered an attack on Shen Xing’s territory.
• Lord Deacon learned that the territory had many Tier Two fighters but no Tier Three powerhouse and ordered his followers to prepare for a sacrifice.
• Gorehowl sent Shen Xing an image of the camp, and Hellscream volunteered to confront its dangerous gray-robed leader.
• Shen Xing ordered Hellscream and Leina to lead orc, lesser demon, and Infernal troops against the camp, and Leina promised to return quickly.

Hellscream, Gorehowl, and Leina approached the Skinners’ camp, where Gorehowl used Declaration of Strife to turn the Skinners against one another. The gray-robed figure suppressed the first riot, but Gorehowl’s second use triggered an even more violent fight, and the figure began to suspect something was wrong with himself.

• Hellscream met Gorehowl and Leina near the abandoned mine and urged caution before attacking the Skinners.
• Hellscream gave Gorehowl a spyglass, allowing him to see through the fog and target the camp with Declaration of Strife.
• Gorehowl’s first attack stirred up resentment among the Skinners, who fought until the gray-robed figure pinned them down with a burst of gray light.
• Hellscream advised Gorehowl to weaken the Skinners with another attack before launching a full assault.
• Gorehowl used Declaration of Strife again, and the Skinners erupted into a fiercer brawl as the gray-robed figure noticed his own growing irritability.

Shen Xing watched Gorehowl’s disturbances grant small attribute increases while Gorehowl and Hellscream led their forces toward the Skinner camp with Leina. Leina destroyed the camp with a barrage of fire magic, leaving Hellscream and Gorehowl stunned by her strength.

• Shen Xing concluded that Gorehowl’s Authority of War would grant greater attribute increases if his disturbances caused more widespread destruction.
• Gorehowl spotted the gray-robed expert searching for them, and Leina charged toward the camp before Hellscream led their forces after her.
• The gray-robed deacon recognized Leina as a mage from Shen Xing’s territory and threatened to offer her to the Council of Elders.
• Leina blocked the deacon’s challenge with a massive fireball, then rained down spells that killed or injured more than half the Skinners and reduced their camp to ruins.
• Hellscream and Gorehowl arrived at the destroyed camp, where Gorehowl marveled at Leina’s power and asked Hellscream if he could beat her.

Leina killed Blood Origin Cult deacon Atticus with a summoned meteorite, and Shen Xing’s forces looted the Skinners’ hidden stockpile. The troops returned to the territory with the recovered resources, while Leina reunited with Shen Xing.

• Atticus recovered from Leina’s attacks, but Leina summoned a meteorite and Gorehowl briefly trapped him with Ensnare.
• Atticus struck Leina’s shoulder with black blood before the meteorite killed him, and Shen Xing ordered Hellscream to search the battlefield and Leina to treat her wound.
• Hellscream’s troops found the Ouroboros Chamber of Commerce shipment and chests of resources stolen from other factions in a cellar.
• Shen Xing ordered the troops to erase traces of the battle and had Leina use the Holy Chalice of Rain to flood the mine pit.
• The orcs returned to the territory with the chests and supplies, and Leina hurried to Shen Xing’s side.

After Shen Xing and his allies recovered West’s stolen shipment, West rewarded Shen Xing with two treasures and arranged to remain in the territory until the Ouroboros Chamber of Commerce vice president arrived. Shen Xing collected the recovered goods and the Skinners’ loot, including a secret letter from the Council of Elders.

• Leina told Shen Xing that her wound from the gray-robed man was minor because her flame power had neutralized most of its sinister effect.
• West thanked Shen Xing for recovering the caravan goods and gave him the Ice Burial Bow and Red Flame Heart Ring, increasing his favorability and the territory’s reputation with the Ouroboros Chamber of Commerce.
• West told Shen Xing that the vice president was coming, and Shen Xing invited him to stay in the territory until the delegation arrived.
• Hellscream brought Shen Xing the supplies seized from the cellar, including wine, food, Dark Steel, Mithril, Black Crystal, and Soul Stones.
• Gorehowl handed over the Skinners’ remaining loot, including advancement materials, coins, soul fragments, and a secret letter from the Council of Elders.

Shen Xing distributed soul fragments among his troops, inspected two powerful pieces of equipment, and uncovered a Blood Origin Cult conspiracy involving Lord Haidesen. He kept the letter while considering a risky opportunity to intercept a delivery, then went with Leina to check her wound.

• Shen Xing used the soul fragments to evolve many troops, including an Infernal that gained the Meteor Fall skill.
• Shen Xing examined the Red Flame Heart Ring and the Ice Burial greatbow, deciding that Leina and Black Arrow were best suited to wield them.
• Shen Xing read the Elders' Council's Letter and learned the Blood Origin Cult planned to deliver Black Source Blood to Lord Haidesen at Flowing Oil Valley next month.
• Shen Xing put the letter away and took Leina to her room to examine her wound.
• Leina sat on the bedside and began lowering the collar of her mage robe.

After Leina was injured in battle, Shen Xing treated her wound and gave her a ring, then agreed to hold her while they rested. Leina confessed that her feelings and unusual fiery physique had overwhelmed her restraint, and Shen Xing chose to reciprocate; they spent the night together.

• Shen Xing examined Leina's shoulder wound, warned her to be more careful, and gave her Moon Well Water to help it heal.
• Shen Xing gave Leina a ring and slipped it onto her finger at her request; she hinted that the gesture held special meaning for mages.
• Leina reminded Shen Xing of their earlier conversation, and he agreed only to hold her while they rested.
• Leina explained that her feelings for Shen Xing intensified her inner flame, then kissed him and said she could no longer restrain herself.
• Shen Xing asked whether Leina had thought it through, and after she affirmed her commitment, they became intimate.