Chapter Summaries

Chen Mu received Golden Lion Secret Medicine and used it to accelerate his Breathing Technique, while continuing to train his Knight Skills. The Golden Lion Family remained outwardly peaceful as hidden danger and war preparations grew around it.

• In a mountain castle, conspirators acknowledged that their attempt had failed and decided to keep searching the Golden Lion Family for the key.
• William gave Chen Mu ten bottles of Golden Lion Secret Medicine and explained how to take them safely.
• Chen Mu drank a bottle and practiced the Breathing Technique, feeling the medicine strengthen his Life Seed and greatly increase his cultivation speed.
• Chen Mu continued training at the Training Ground and Shooting Range, taking Secret Medicine every three days as his Knight Skills slowly neared Skilled Level.

After two months of training, Chen Mu accepted a simulation to scout the Golden Lion Family’s upcoming auction and lived to become a powerful duke before dying on the Wizard Continent. He retained his realm and began a second simulation to investigate whether a Bronze Key had altered the family’s fate.

• Chen Mu learned that the Golden Lion Family’s auction would take place in ten days and told Aim Wein he would decide whether to attend later.
• Chen Mu used a life simulation and saw a black-robed man buy a Bronze Key at the auction, after which the Black Robe Pathseekers Society stopped targeting the Golden Lion Family.
• In the simulation, Chen Mu rose to become the Golden Lion Grand Duke, traveled to the Wizard Continent, and died when a Level Three Wizard Apprentice burned him with Flame Art.
• Chen Mu suspected the Bronze Key had changed the society’s plans and helped the Golden Lion Family prosper.
• Chen Mu chose to retain his realm and started another simulation to test his suspicions.

After his simulation revealed that the Bronze Key drew the Black Robe Pathseekers Society’s attention, Chen Mu decided to attend the upcoming auction and chose to retain a spell. The reward from his first simulation had raised him to Knight Peak, leaving him vastly stronger as he prepared to investigate the key.

• Chen Mu read that his simulated self bought the Bronze Key, endured years of assassination attempts, and died from witchcraft at age twenty-six.
• He concluded that the Black Robe Pathseekers Society was targeting the Bronze Key and decided to attend the auction without buying it himself.
• Chen Mu chose Retain Spell and absorbed the memories and gains from his first simulation.
• His attributes rose to Spirit 1.6 and Physique 4.7, and his realm reached Knight Peak.

Chen Mu found the Bronze Key he had been seeking on the Golden Lion Auction House’s item list and had Aim withdraw it from the auction. As the auction was about to begin, Chen Mu held the ordinary-looking key and wondered how the Black Robe Pathseekers Society had learned it would be there.

• Earl Arthur agreed that Chen Mu could attend the auction with Aim and William, and told him to ask Aim for the item list.
• Chen Mu and William arrived at the Golden Lion Auction House, where Aim gave Chen Mu the list of auction items.
• Chen Mu found the Bronze Key listed as item forty-two and recognized it as the key he had sought through simulations.
• Chen Mu asked Aim to withdraw the Bronze Key, and Aim agreed to set it aside for him.
• Aim explained that the auction list was confidential and not fixed, leaving Chen Mu puzzled about how the Black Robe Pathseekers Society had found the key.
• A guard brought Aim the Bronze Key, and Chen Mu examined it as the auction was about to begin.

Chen Mu watched the Golden Lion Family’s auction and identified the black-robed Viscount Russell as a suspected member of the Black Robe Pathseekers Society. The auction’s finale began with Princess's Jewelry selling for 80,000 Gold Coins, then a rare Frost Breath Method appeared, leaving the bidders eager for a Breathing Technique that could lead to the Knight Peak.

• Chen Mu asked William about the only black-robed noble at the auction and learned that he was Viscount Russell, a fellow East River Province noble who had made no bids.
• The auctioneer presented Master Maupassant’s painting Princess's Jewelry, and the Rose Earl's Only Son won it with an 80,000 Gold Coins bid.
• The auctioneer introduced the Frost Breath Method, an ordinary-level Knight Breathing Technique missing its Secret Medicine formula and capable of cultivation to the Knight Peak.
• Chen Mu considered the rarity and value of the Frost Breath Method as nobles on the first floor reacted eagerly to the lot.

At the Golden Lion Family auction, Chen Mu watched bidders compete for a Breathing Technique and a Magic Potion before the final item stunned the hall: a baronial title and fief. Viscount Russell opened the bidding at 500,000 Gold Coins, determined to secure the title for someone in his organization.

• A small-family noble bought the Frost Breath Method for 280,000 Gold Coins after bidders drove up its price.
• The Magic Potion Gargoyle's Tears sold for 160,000 Gold Coins, while Chen Mu noticed Viscount Russell's disdain and learned he was only pretending to be interested.
• The auctioneer revealed that the final item was a hereditary baronial title and fief in West Mountain Province, and the audience fell silent in disbelief.
• Viscount Russell bid 500,000 Gold Coins first, intending to buy the title and pass it to someone in his organization.

After the auction, Chen Mu failed to uncover the Bronze Key’s secret and suspected it was connected to Wizards. Earl Arthur then appointed him to take over Golden Lion Market in Far East City, beginning his role in managing the family’s businesses.

• An earl’s heir bought the baron’s title and fief for one million Gold Coins, while Viscount Russell backed down.
• Chen Mu tested the Bronze Key with fire, water, and a drop of blood, but none of the attempts revealed anything unusual.
• Chen Mu hid the Bronze Key and guessed that he might need to become a Wizard Apprentice to learn its secret.
• Earl Arthur told Chen Mu to take over Golden Lion Market in Far East City, and Chen Mu agreed.
• Earl Arthur arranged for William to accompany Chen Mu and reflected on how much his younger son had grown.

Chen Mu and William traveled to Far East City so Chen Mu could take over the Golden Lion Market, and William showed him the city and its districts. They reached the bustling market and headed to City Hall to complete the transfer procedures.

• Chen Mu asked William about Far East City's largest market, and William explained that Golden Lion Market was the family's center of trade and entertainment.
• Chen Mu and William entered Far East City and walked through its clean, orderly Outer City District toward the Inner City District.
• Chen Mu asked where the city's beggars were, and William explained that they were confined to the chaotic Lower City District.
• Chen Mu and William arrived at Golden Lion Market, where merchants, customers, circus acts, and acrobatic performances filled the busy streets.
• William told Chen Mu they needed to visit City Hall to complete the procedures for transferring the market to him.

Chen Mu examined Golden Lion Market’s accounts and uncovered brazen embezzlement, then ordered Tru Laredo and Mousse Carter to return the money and die. Tru blamed Mousse and other officials as Chen Mu promised to investigate.

• Chen Mu reviewed Golden Lion Market’s recent accounts with William and asked Tru Laredo for older records.
• Chen Mu found suspicious entries in the older manuscripts and summoned Finance Officer Mousse Carter to explain a twenty-thousand-gold-coin circus expense.
• Chen Mu accused Tru and Mousse of stealing from the Golden Lion Family and ordered them to repay the money and take their own lives.
• Tru begged for mercy, blamed Mousse, James, Com, and Dov, and crawled toward Chen Mu before William kicked him away.
• Chen Mu said he would investigate Tru’s accusations.

Chen Mu investigated corruption and overdue rents at the Golden Lion Market before confronting the Blue Eagle Family’s Azure Jewelry Shop. He threatened to have the shop smashed, and its manager finally agreed to pay.

• William told Chen Mu that the investigation was complete, internal personnel had been dealt with, and several shops still owed rent.
• Chen Mu decided to collect rents firmly but avoid using excessive force against the noble families operating in the market.
• Chen Mu chose Azure Jewelry Shop as his first target and entered with William to meet its manager.
• Chen Mu demanded payment for the shop’s rent, which had been unpaid for one year and two months.
• When the manager tried to delay, Chen Mu ordered William to smash the shop, prompting the manager to agree to pay.

After recovering from his eighteenth-birthday celebration, Chen Mu was ambushed by a Wizard Apprentice on his way to City Hall. The attacker escaped, and Chen Mu reported the assault to William, leaving him wary of the Black Robe Pathseekers Society’s next move.

• Chen Mu woke up hungover after celebrating his eighteenth birthday and learned that William had gone to the market before heading to City Hall.
• As Chen Mu walked through a quiet path, a Wizard Apprentice attacked him with shadow tentacles, but Chen Mu broke free and drew his sword.
• Chen Mu struck the attacker with Armor Piercing Slash, but the Wizard Apprentice used Shadow Clone to escape.
• Chen Mu realized that his peak-knight strength had been exposed and worried that the Black Robe Pathseekers Society might send a stronger assassin.
• Chen Mu reached City Hall and told William that a Wizard Apprentice had secretly attacked him.

After surviving an assassination attempt, Chen Mu used a life simulation to learn how he might reach the Wizard Path and why he had survived a previous attack. He retained the spell reward, leaving him with new spell knowledge and a plan to stop the escaped Wizard Apprentice.

• Chen Mu began a life simulation after Far East City was sealed and its guards searched for the Wizard Apprentice.
• In the simulation, William wounded the assassin, allowing Chen Mu to survive and later inherit territory from his family.
• Chen Mu traveled to the Wizard Continent, learned that Meditation Grimoires were held by academies, and was rejected because of his age and Fifth-Grade Aptitude.
• Chen Mu gave up on the Wizard Path in the simulation, perfected his Breathing Technique, and later died by sorcery.
• Chen Mu realized William's wounds to the assassin had likely saved his simulated self and chose to retain the spell reward.

Chen Mu and William searched Jasmine Residential Area for the Wizard Apprentice and discovered he had been hiding in Chen Mu’s bedroom. The Wizard Apprentice fled when he realized he was exposed, and William attacked him as he turned to defend himself with a Shadow Barrier.

• Chen Mu and William searched Jasmine Residential Area, and Chen Mu suspected the Wizard Apprentice planned to attack him again at Building Twelve.
• Chen Mu noticed that the alcohol smell in his bedroom had vanished, revealing that someone had entered while he was away.
• Chen Mu and William pretended to give up their search, but the Wizard Apprentice smashed through the bedroom window and fled.
• William caught up to the Wizard Apprentice and struck at him with Crimson Moon Slash.
• The Wizard Apprentice turned to face William and cast Zero-Ring Wizardry: Shadow Barrier.

Chen Mu killed the Wizard Apprentice and used three simulations to explore his future, dying twice while trying to reach the Wizard Continent and eventually becoming a Grand Knight in the third. He retained the simulated realm, and a powerful surge erupted from his Life Seed.

• Chen Mu and William killed the Wizard Apprentice, and Chen Mu warned that the Black Robe Pathseekers Society would retaliate.
• Chen Mu simulated traveling to the Wizard Continent twice, but died at sea both times, then retained his realm after each simulation.
• Chen Mu chose to pursue the Knight's Path in his final simulation and became a Grand Knight at age fifty-three after repeated training and using Magic Potions.
• Chen Mu's simulated life ended at age sixty-five after the side effects of the potions and human experimentation caught up with him.
• Chen Mu retained the Grand Knight realm, and a berserk current surged from his Life Seed.

Chen Mu became a Grand Knight and discovered that his body had reached the limit of improvement through the Knight’s Breathing Technique. After an assassination attempt in Far East City, he decided to pursue the Wizard Path and prepared to return to the Golden Lion manor under escort.

• Chen Mu’s breakthrough raised his Physique to 6.8, and he tested his newfound strength as a Grand Knight.
• Chen Mu found that practicing the Breathing Technique brought him almost no improvement and accepted that he had reached the Knight Path’s limit.
• Chen Mu decided to use future simulations to pursue the Wizard Path.
• Far East City’s guards searched the city after the Wizard Apprentice’s execution and found no accomplices.
• William gave Chen Mu Earl Arthur’s order to return to the manor, and Chen Mu agreed, knowing the Black Robe Pathseekers Society might retaliate.
• Chen Mu and William prepared to leave Far East City, where Aim was waiting to escort Chen Mu alongside another Grand Knight.

Earl Arthur led Vieri into the Golden Lion Family’s hidden underground palace and revealed its thousand-strong death-sworn guard force. The chapter ended with Vieri learning that even the guards’ weakest members were Quasi-Knights.

• Earl Arthur told Vieri about the Golden Lion Family’s Hidden Guards and led him to the family cemetery.
• Earl Arthur turned a gravestone and struck it with Golden Qi Stream, opening a hidden stairway underground.
• Earl Arthur took Vieri down into a vast underground palace filled with buildings, traps, and black-armored guards.
• Earl Arthur brought Vieri to a tower overlooking a training ground and sounded an Eagle Horn.
• A thousand guards assembled in formation, and Earl Arthur told Vieri that every one of them was at least a Quasi-Knight.

Chen Mu revealed to Earl Arthur that he had become a Grand Knight and explained his rapid progress by claiming he had Natural Super Strength. Earl Arthur accepted his choice to fight the Black Robe Pathseekers Society alongside the family, while privately wondering whether the talent’s rumored effects were true.

• Earl Arthur urged Chen Mu to remain in the family dungeon for safety, but Chen Mu chose to face the Black Robe Pathseekers Society with the family.
• Chen Mu revealed the golden airflow around his hands and told Earl Arthur he was already a Grand Knight.
• Chen Mu attributed his rapid advancement to Natural Super Strength, and Earl Arthur reacted with surprise because he had believed its rumored benefits were false.
• Earl Arthur agreed not to stop Chen Mu from joining the fight, while Chen Mu resolved to investigate Natural Super Strength further.

After Ke Di’s death, Lai Wan called a Round Table Conference to seek support against the Golden Lion Family, while Chen Mu prepared at Golden Lion Manor for the looming conflict. The chapter ended with the Society voting on how to respond and Chen Mu anticipating the coming war.

• Lai Wan announced that his son Ke Di had died, and Mu Lin challenged him for implying that the Society should avenge Ke Di by fighting the Golden Lion Family.
• Lai Wan put the response to the Golden Lion Family to a vote, and Mu Lin realized that the members were raising their hands in support.
• Chen Mu sparred with Aim at Golden Lion Manor and asked whether anything unusual had happened in the family.
• Aim reported that the manor was quiet and that minor disturbances in Far East City had been dealt with.
• Chen Mu anticipated that the war would soon begin and prepared to face the Black Robe Pathseekers Society.

Chen Mu attended an urgent family meeting after Aim reported that Black Robe Pathseekers Society Wizard Apprentices had appeared far from Golden Lion Manor. Earl Arthur and Chen Mu concluded the sightings could be a feint, with a hidden attack force already nearing the manor.

• Chen Mu killed the twelfth Black-robed Man and was summoned to another family meeting by Earl Arthur.
• Aim reported that four Wizard Apprentices had been spotted in Four Seasons City and Connel City, with possible sightings at the East Forest Plain and Black Stone Tavern.
• William proposed intercepting the Wizard Apprentices, but Earl Arthur warned that their exposed locations could be bait for an ambush.
• Earl Arthur asked Chen Mu to identify what the reported locations had in common, and Chen Mu observed that they were all far from Golden Lion Manor.
• Chen Mu suggested the sightings were a feint concealing Wizard Apprentices near the manor, and Earl Arthur agreed that an attack could come within days.

After leaving the family meeting, Chen Mu tested his Grand Knight strength, speed, and reactions at the Golden Lion Training Ground. He anticipated the Black Robe Pathseekers Society’s arrival while two of its agents approached through Empty Mountain.

• William prepared to retrieve the Golden Lion Family’s Hidden Guards, while Aim returned to managing the Dark Web.
• Nairun and another agent of the Black Robe Pathseekers Society traveled through Empty Mountain, intending to kill Chen Mu with help from seven Level 1 Wizard Apprentices and the organization’s Magic Artifact.
• Chen Mu lifted a heavy Iron Wood trunk and tested his physical strength without using qi, then compared it with the greater power of qi-enhanced attacks.
• Chen Mu tested his speed and concluded that his Grand Knight reactions could let him evade bullets, even from fast rifles if he used qi.
• Chen Mu thought about the Black Robe Pathseekers Society and looked forward to its arrival.