Chapter Summaries

Jiang Wanqing secured support and a new resource channel for Lin Xu's territory after a Lords' Council meeting, while learning that the Jiang Lineage remained hostile. Yan Jingshu returned transformed and ready to help Lin Xu open the Three-Dimensional Special Forces dungeon.

• Jiang Wanqing agreed that her territory would pay one-third of its post-exemption taxes in finished goods for the Night Watchers.
• Jiang Wanqing told Lin Xu that thirty-four Pioneer Lords were willing to establish trade ties, and Inspector Xia Jingyi had arranged advanced access to Night Watchers' resources.
• Lin Xu reassured Jiang Wanqing about their political dangers and explained that the aliens were not their most immediate threat compared with Jiang Shiyan.
• Yan Jingshu arrived in bridal robes after completing her transformation, having gained a level, a new hero ability, and the capacity to recruit around five hundred ghosts.
• Lin Xu decided Yan Jingshu's breakthrough made it time to open the Three-Dimensional Special Forces dungeon.

Lin Xu sent Yan Jingshu into a dungeon to grow stronger while Jiang Shiyan learned that Lin Xu possessed both the Spirit Realm Beacon and the Age of Empires dungeon scroll. Jiang Shiyan ordered troops to mobilize, and Lin Xu upgraded the territory’s blacksmith shop into a level 3 Blacksmith Workshop.

• Lin Xu gave Yan Jingshu the Three-Dimensional Special Forces dungeon scroll and told her to enter the dungeon to gain experience.
• Jiang Shiyan asked Daoist You to divine the location of a Spirit Realm Beacon, and Daoist You discovered it was in the same territory as the dungeon scroll.
• Jiang Shiyan realized Lin Xu had the Age of Empires dungeon and ordered his troops to muster.
• Lin Xu spent Source Fire to upgrade the blacksmith shop into a level 3 Blacksmith Workshop that could accommodate 50 master blacksmiths.

Lin Xu received instructors, artisans, crops, and other supplies through the nation’s trade channel while learning about the threat posed by Jiang Shiyan’s army and its war behemoths. Xia Jingyi offered him a Yellow Dragon egg if he became a guardian lord, leaving Lin Xu to consider the extraordinary reward and the loss of his independence.

• Lin Xu moved the blacksmith workshop into his territory and received fifty instructors, a hundred artisans, spirit jade, and crop seeds from Xia Jingyi.
• Xia Jingyi warned Lin Xu that Jiang Shiyan commanded tens of thousands of soldiers, three heroes, hero equipment, and five adult Mountain-Bearing Turtles.
• Lin Xu agreed to buy five Mountain-Bearing Turtle eggs from Xia Jingyi, paying for them in monthly installments.
• Xia Jingyi suggested Lin Xu could gain the nation’s support by becoming a guardian lord, but Lin Xu rejected the idea.
• Xia Jingyi revealed that a Yellow Dragon egg would be offered to Lin Xu if he became a guardian lord, promising that an adult dragon would make him the most powerful being on Blue Star.

Lin Xu refused to hatch the Yellow Dragon egg but accepted 20,000 Source Fire from Xia Jingyi and focused on strengthening his territory before war with the Jiang Lineage. In the Zombie Mine, he discovered a level 9 Corpse King and ordered Hu Da to capture it alive as material for corpse refining.

• Lin Xu rejected Xia Jingyi's proposal to hatch the Yellow Dragon egg but accepted her offer of 20,000 Source Fire.
• Xia Jingyi secretly reported Lin Xu's refusal to an unnamed superior, while Lin Xu checked for signs of a plot and received the Source Fire.
• Lin Xu inspected the territory's training ground, rest rooms, smithy, and Zombie Mine as he worked to prepare soldiers and equipment for the coming war.
• Lin Xu saw the Tiger Sha Demon Army and Heavenly Craftsman Rabbit Demons advance through the mine to its third level.
• A level 9 Corpse King repelled the black tiger demon, and Lin Xu ordered Hu Da to capture it alive for corpse refining.

Lin Xu used the Lamp Kindling Spirit Transformation Chapter to refine the Corpse King into a Profound Nether Dharma Protector Deity, opening 365 acupoints and forming spirit gods throughout its body. The Corpse King began cultivating on its own and absorbed corpse Qi from a dead jiangshi.

• The black tiger yao knocked the Corpse King down, and the Tiger Sha yao soldiers bound it with chains.
• Lin Xu suppressed the Corpse King with a talisman and used the Glazed Spirit Light Lamp to plant a Lamp Kindling Dharma Seed in its Divine Aperture.
• Lin Xu refined the Corpse King into a White Jiangshi as pure Profound Nether Dharma Power formed and circulated through its body.
• Lin Xu opened all 365 of the Corpse King's acupoints with Spirit Seeds, forming spirit gods that let it refine corpse Qi by itself.
• The Corpse King woke, picked up a dead jiangshi, and inhaled the corpse Qi from its remains.

Lin Xu bound the Zombie Mine permanently to his territory while his forces cleared its levels and trained the Tiger Sha Demon Army. In the underground Corpse King Hall, he found four Corpse Kings battling the black tiger demon and the Xuanming Corpse King.

• Lin Xu watched the Profound Nether Dharma Protector Deity, which he called the Xuanming Corpse King, advance into a Green Zombie and judged its potential for further refinement.
• Lin Xu confirmed that the Zombie Mine was permanently bound to his territory and decided to keep its capture secret.
• The Tiger Sha Demon Army swept through the mine, and Lin Xu spotted a Lightning Zombie, had the black tiger demon subdue it, and ordered a corpse herder to refine it.
• Lin Xu followed a pit into the Corpse King Hall, where the black tiger demon and the Xuanming Corpse King were already fighting four Corpse Kings.

Lin Xu captured and preliminarily refined five Corpse Kings, then set them to fighting so their bodies could grow stronger. After leaving the Zombie Mine, he received word that a crystal mine had been found and went to meet the adventure party.

• The Xuanming Corpse King outmaneuvered and bound an opposing Corpse King, allowing Lin Xu to suppress and refine it.
• Lin Xu used the same method to suppress the other three Corpse Kings, bringing his total to five.
• Lin Xu preliminarily refined the five Corpse Kings and left them brawling in the Corpse King Hall to accelerate their body refinement.
• Lin Xu received a message that a crystal mine had been found, then stepped through a portal to meet the adventure party.

Lin Xu discovered that intelligent crystal beings were controlling alchemical constructs attacking a kobold-held mine near his territory. He ordered Qiuqiu and the others to capture the three alien beings alive.

• Lin Xu led Bilusi and the trained Fallen Demons toward the newly discovered mine while Evil Eyes scouted ahead.
• The Fallen Demons quickly defeated a band of wandering gnolls, and the Evil Eyes located the mine nearby.
• Lin Xu saw alchemical constructs attacking kobolds at the mine and learned from Qiuqiu that three crystal beings were controlling them.
• Lin Xu identified the crystal beings as intelligent life-forms and ordered his group to approach and capture them alive.

Lin Xu discovered that the crystal beings belonged to the alien Crystal Marrow Race and learned that they had warned a nearby stronghold about his territory. He summoned Zhao Yan and reinforcements, then led them to the stronghold to attack.

• Qiuqiu’s Evil Eyes used Light of Temptation to paralyze three Crystal Marrow Race scouts while Bilusi’s Fallen Demons destroyed their alchemical constructs.
• Lin Xu examined one crystal being and learned that the Crystal Marrow Race had come from a planet conquered by the Spirit Realm and that the scouts had warned their nearby stronghold.
• Lin Xu ordered Qiuqiu to summon troops, sent Dong Haochuan, Wang Peng, and the other adventurers back to the territory, and waited for Zhao Yan to arrive with Dao soldiers, Daoists, and five Profound Nether Dharma Protector Deities.
• Lin Xu led the reinforcements toward the stronghold, clearing three roaming monster squads along the way.
• Lin Xu and the Dao soldiers reached the Arcane Alchemy Matrix, where Zhao Dan formed the troops into battle groups and Lin Xu cast Mass Invisibility.

Lin Xu led the Dao soldiers in capturing a Crystal Marrow Race alchemy factory, defeating its constructs and capturing its defenders. He discovered the factory could mass-produce elementary alchemical equipment and saw it as a major boost to his territory’s prospects.

• Lin Xu concealed his force with Mass Invisibility as the Dao soldiers destroyed a patrol of alchemical constructs and advanced toward the factory.
• After the Crystal Marrow Race detected the attack, Lin Xu’s Xuanming Corpse Kings smashed through the factory wall and gate while the Dao soldiers followed.
• Zhao Dan led the Dao soldiers into the factory, where they subdued seven Crystal Marrow people in the central control room.
• Lin Xu learned the Crystal Marrow people had already sent news of the humans to their organization, while the battle outside ended with the alchemical constructs destroyed.
• Lin Xu inspected the captured Arcane Alchemy Matrix and realized it could help his territory mass-produce cyan-quality equipment and improve its productivity.

After securing the Crystal Marrow mine, Lin Xu upgraded the captured Arcane Alchemy Matrix and discovered it could automate production across his territory. He found its database lacked the technology needed for intelligent constructs and planned to obtain the Crystal Marrow civilization’s full alchemical knowledge after upgrading his dungeon.

• Lin Xu sent Bilusi to take the mine and considered reporting the newly discovered Crystal Marrow civilization to the Night Watchers.
• Lin Xu relocated the alchemy factory near the Daoist temple and upgraded it twice, increasing its output to five hundred alchemical items a day.
• Lin Xu connected to the factory’s pseudo-soul and learned that it could automatically produce items from blueprints and supplied materials.
• Lin Xu studied the factory’s records and found basic construct blueprints, but no intelligent manufacturing core.
• Lin Xu decided he would need the dungeon’s level-five punishment chamber to extract the Crystal Marrow People’s complete alchemical knowledge.

Lin Xu used captured Intelligent Manufacturing Cores and real-world blueprints to design and build spirit rune machinery, beginning with mining tools and a steelmaking furnace. He finished the territory’s first spirit rune factory, setting up its shift toward industrial production.

• Lin Xu recovered 100 Intelligent Manufacturing Cores and decided to use them for production rather than combat constructs.
• Lin Xu designed spirit-imbued mining tools and asked Jiang Wanqing to obtain blueprints for steelworks, robots, and machine tools.
• Jiang Wanqing brought Lin Xu the blueprints and explained that Pioneer Lord Alliance members were investing in Qimeng City and arranging trade contracts.
• Lin Xu designed a spirit rune steelmaking furnace and entered its blueprint into the alchemy factory.
• Lin Xu accelerated production, installed the furnace in a newly built factory, and completed the territory’s first spirit rune steelworks.

Lin Xu expanded Xuanwei Monastery’s production by smelting iron, mechanizing weapon-making, and planning automated land reclamation. He left the territory poised for rapid growth and credited the Crystal Marrow Civilization for helping make it possible.

• Lin Xu used the steel furnace to smelt ore into high-purity iron ingots and stone bricks for construction.
• Lin Xu created Spirit Rune Shaping Machines, then had a blacksmith refine their gray-grade saber into a white-grade weapon.
• Lin Xu expanded the workshop to fifty Spirit Rune Shaping Machines to increase weapon and equipment production.
• Lin Xu planned to turn forty-nine intelligent manufacturing cores into agricultural constructs that could reclaim land and cultivate crops.
• Lin Xu concluded that the machines could clear the territory’s farmland within weeks and looked forward to advancing spirit rune technology.

Lin Xu planned to build an independent foundation in Qimeng City by recruiting Night Watchers and adventurers and sponsoring talented students from humble families. He returned to the Jiang Clan apartment, agreed to hire Uncle Shang’s son, and decided to sponsor a thousand high school students with local Spirit Realm food.

• Lin Xu inspected the kobolds mining in the crystal mine and praised their work after Andrew Bynum’s faith in him grew stronger.
• Wang Xu reported finding a siege weapon workshop, and Lin Xu sent Dao soldiers with him and promised a reward of a hundred taels of Spirit Gold.
• Lin Xu worried that the Wang Lineage was withholding intelligence and planned to build his own support among Night Watchers, adventurers, and students.
• Lin Xu visited the Jiang Clan apartment, learned Uncle Shang had asked him to find a job for A Cheng, and agreed to give A Cheng a chance.
• Lin Xu told Elder Jiang he would sponsor a thousand high school students with local specialties, selecting them for their aptitude.

Lin Xu arranged to recruit talented students while preparing Xuanwei Monastery for a flood of visitors, as a vast army led by Li Meng and Xu Yueming advanced through the fog. Back in Lin Xu’s territory, the first 1,300 soldiers completed training, and he continued mobilizing the territory against the Jiang Lineage.

• Lin Xu proposed having school officials identify promising students for interviews, contracts, and special training, and Elder Jiang agreed to the plan.
• Elder Jiang sent Uncle Tang to negotiate with schools and help assess Shang Cheng, then offered to receive Zhao Chengyuan and the other visitors while Lin Xu handled territorial affairs.
• Li Meng’s army encountered more than a thousand Beastmen, and Xu Yueming led heavy cavalry in a charge that devastated them with martial general skills.
• Li Meng estimated that his army would reach its destination in three days, though a disrupted positioning compass had lengthened the journey.
• Lin Xu inspected the territory’s first 1,300 trained soldiers and projected that nearly 4,000 could be armed within two weeks after he had drawn 3,900 villagers into military training.
• Lin Xu noted that Spiritual Qi and spirit-rune formations had boosted grain production in Chen Lineage Village to four times its former yield, with crops ripening monthly.

Lin Xu expanded his siege-weapon production and traded spirit-gathering pills for summoning scrolls and intelligence from Li Jianzhou. He learned that high-level lords could seal lower-level lords’ powers, then returned to Xuanwei Monastery with 112 random summoning scrolls.

• Lin Xu inspected the spirit-enchanted ballistas and bolts being produced at his upgraded siege weapon workshop and noted that the workshop had too few craftsmen.
• Lin Xu visited his mother, tasted her spirit-rice cake, and returned to his room to check the Spirit Realm Forum.
• Lin Xu asked Li Jianzhou for Targeted Summoning Scrolls, but accepted his offer of Random Summoning Scrolls instead.
• Li Jianzhou warned Lin Xu that high-level lords could seal lower-level lords’ powers and Lord Authorities, explaining how Jiang Shiyan could challenge him.
• Lin Xu sent Li Jianzhou a bottle of High-Grade Spirit Gathering Pills and received a box of blueprints and scrolls in return.
• Lin Xu returned to Xuanwei Monastery and counted 112 white-grade Random Summoning Scrolls.

Lin Xu used summoning scrolls and Incense Fire Heaven Silver to recruit craftsmen, corpse drivers, Great Qin Heavy Crossbowmen, and noble knights. The knights then enfeoffed six scout cavalrymen as squires, opening a path for them to train into knights.

• Lin Xu summoned 560 craftsmen, including 195 armament craftsmen, 180 blacksmiths, and 185 architects.
• Lin Xu used cyan scrolls to increase the territory’s corpse drivers to ninety-one.
• Lin Xu spent blue scrolls to summon thirty-five Great Qin Heavy Crossbowmen.
• Lin Xu spent 5,000 taels of Incense Fire Heaven Silver to summon five purple-rank noble knights.
• Lin Xu had six scout cavalrymen enfeoffed as knight squires, changing their class and teaching them the knights’ sword and shield arts and breathing art.

Lin Xu organized training and equipment production for his troops while Jiang Hanyan recovered and returned to his side. An Evil Eye Captain warned him that a huge monster horde was attacking the territory.

• Lin Xu summoned five knights, gave the knights and squires profession skills, and sent them to train at a new cavalry camp.
• Lin Xu inspected 35 Great Qin heavy crossbowmen, ordered them to train their skills, and arranged for craftsmen to produce weapons and armor.
• Jiang Hanyan arrived after recovering from her injuries, and Lin Xu saw that her cultivation and profession level had improved.
• Lin Xu surveyed the territory and judged that it was developing quickly, but feared he lacked time to prepare for Jiang Shiyan.
• The Evil Eye Captain sent Lin Xu a warning, and he saw a massive monster horde approaching the territory.

Lin Xu faced a large greenskin Orkoid army by speeding up his troops and coordinating them through a mental command network. He left the battle underway after guided arrows devastated the orcs and Great Qin heavy crossbowmen opened fire.

• Lin Xu identified the approaching force as an Orkoid army led by a towering warlord and sent his troops to meet it.
• Lin Xu used war magic to cast Light Body Technique, accelerating the armored army’s march.
• Lin Xu formed a mental command network and used Arrow Shooting Technique to guide arrows beyond their normal range, killing many charging orcs.
• The orc warlord raised the Waaagh Field, stripping away the arrows’ magical guidance before the field weakened and the greenskins’ charge faltered.
• Lin Xu ordered the heavy crossbowmen to fire at close range, and their bolts pierced the orcs’ armor and knocked a hulking orc backward.

Lin Xu wiped out the Orkoids with his heavy crossbowmen and Fire Meteor spells, then discovered that the explosions had struck Jiang Shiyan's marching army. The Jiang Lineage Army survived a second barrage with Li Meng's protective war spell, leaving Lin Xu to inspect its powerful mobile fortresses.

• Lin Xu's Great Qin Heavy Crossbowmen fired a second volley that killed the Ork Warboss and broke the remaining Orkoids, while the knights pursued them.
• Lin Xu cast Fire Meteor into the fleeing horde, then launched five more fireballs into the mist and sensed nearly a thousand Source Fire Fragments returning.
• Lin Xu used the Evil Eye to discover that the Fire Meteors had struck Jiang Shiyan's army, where Li Meng's forces suffered heavy casualties.
• Li Meng cast Aegis of the Atmosphere over the ten-thousand-strong legion, stopping a second volley of five Fire Meteors from causing significant damage.
• Lin Xu examined the Jiang Lineage Army and noticed five Mountain-Bearing Turtles carrying castles armed with ballistae and catapults.