Chapter Summaries

Xia Fan and the Eastern delegation arrived in Hila City, where Sedaro Bava arranged their lodging while taking Taxisis Eternal Wing back to the cathedral. Taxisis faced questioning from the Church’s leaders about the Azure Fort incident and the Eastern delegation’s possible involvement.

• The Baisha Ship reached Hila City, and Taxisis pointed out its factories and described the royal capital to Li and Xia Fan.
• Sedaro Bava welcomed Xia Fan, arranged a villa in West City for the delegation, and ordered Taxisis to return with him to the cathedral.
• Sedaro told Taxisis that the Church’s situation was dire and warned her to answer the Cardinal Priests’ questions carefully.
• Taxisis entered the Sun Hall and paid her respects to Pope Pella IV and the other Church leaders.
• A middle-aged priest asked Taxisis whether she had confirmed that the Eastern delegation was uninvolved in the Lesser Evil Spirit incident at Azure Fort.

Xia Fan brought the Eastern Delegation to its Church-provided lodging in Hila City, where he learned they would be accompanied by a local butler for several days. He agreed to help Olina Okan visit her younger brother, while Taxisis defended the delegation before Lady Maine as the Church investigated the Lesser Evil Spirit incident.

• Xia Fan questioned why the delegation had been placed in a luxurious villa rather than a guarded compound, and Li remarked that the Church had not repaid their kindness with hostility.
• Xia Fan noted that Feleton had secretly joined the northbound voyage as a legal adviser, while Momola had stayed in Azure Fort to aid workers and rebuild the Relief Association.
• The butler told Xia Fan that he would attend to the delegation and accompany them around Hila City for a few days, though he denied that this was surveillance.
• Olina Okan admitted she feared her younger brother might resent her for leaving, and Xia Fan promised to go with her to see him.
• Lady Maine questioned Taxisis about the Eastern Delegation, and Taxisis said Xia Fan was unlikely to have planned the Lesser Evil Spirit incident because he had helped eliminate the spirits.

Taxisis defended the eastern ambassador and learned that The Church planned to restore Divine Art and investigate the Mage Tower by promoting her to red-robed Priest. She challenged the Church’s plan, arguing that Hera was a beacon created by The Church and that it might be time to part ways.

• Taxisis argued that the eastern ambassador showed no inconsistencies and had shared useful knowledge about Evil Spirits and eastern Talismans.
• Pella IV dismissed unsupported accusations and announced Taxisis’s likely promotion while outlining the Church’s response to rumors and riots.
• Bolton assigned Taxisis to investigate the Mage Tower alongside Saidaro, while the Church planned to restore Divine Art using the Maze Lock spell.
• Lady Maine revealed that experiments had restored some Priests’ ability to use Divine Art and proposed expanding the Maze Lock across Hila City.
• Taxisis questioned whether the Church’s strategy could protect believers if another god were corrupted, then declared that Hera was a beacon created by The Church and might no longer be needed.

Taxisis argued that the Sun God Church should prepare to lose Divine Art by strengthening its ties with ordinary people and investigating the Lesser Evil Spirit Art. The crowd denounced her, and the Church stripped her of her duties and ordered her detained for Soul-Search interrogation.

• Taxisis refused to obey Pella IV and warned that the Holy Son Evil Spirit could erode Hera again and disable Divine Art.
• Maine and other Church members defended the Church’s reliance on Hera and condemned Taxisis’s warning.
• Taxisis proposed winning the people’s support and relying on ordinary people and Magic-Users to compensate for lost Divine Art.
• Taxisis argued that gods could be eroded and that studying the Lesser Evil Spirit Art might help the Church prepare for future crises.
• Alek acknowledged Taxisis’s concerns, but the crowd denounced her as a traitor, and Saidaro shielded her from the mob.
• The archbishop stripped Taxisis Eternal Wing of her duties and sent her to the Church Regulations Bureau for Soul-Search interrogation.

Taxisis endured a soul-searching interrogation and explained to Cedaro Bava why she had publicly challenged The Church’s hope of restoring the gods. Meanwhile, Xia Fan and Olina arrived at Salerni Noble Academy and arranged to meet Oren Okan.

• Taxisis recovered from the painful interrogation, which found no sign that she was controlled by illusion magic or corrupted by a Lesser Evil Spirit.
• Cedaro Bava visited Taxisis, and she explained that she had spoken publicly to plant the idea that The Church might need to abandon the gods.
• Taxisis told Cedaro that she would consider using the arts of Lesser Evil Spirits if doing so could defeat the enemy threatening the Holy Wing Islands, and Cedaro left without answering.
• Xia Fan and Olina reached Salerni Noble Academy and learned about its wealthy students and influential connections.
• The receptionist found Oren Okan in the directory and said he was still at the Academy, then went to notify him.

Olina reunited with her younger brother Oren in Hila and proposed taking him to Jinxia City to rebuild the Okan family elsewhere. Oren revealed that The Church had chosen him as a candidate Holy Son, and Olina grew suspicious when she learned that more than twenty candidates had been selected from Salerni Academy alone.

• Oren recognized Olina and embraced her, and they caught up on her visit and the family’s past.
• Olina told Oren she planned to leave Vallon Territory behind and proposed moving with him to Jinxia City to start a business.
• Oren said he wanted to be with Olina but could not leave because The Church had selected him as a candidate Holy Son.
• Oren told Olina that about twenty candidates had been chosen from Salerni Academy, and she noted that this was far more than in previous selections.

Xia Fan learned that Taxisis had been imprisoned by The Church after publicly proposing a break with the gods. He decided to look for a way to free her, despite Feleton warning that interfering with The Church could be fatal.

• Olina visited Oren each day while the eastern delegation prepared for a formal diplomatic meeting with Hila City and The Church.
• After Taxisis failed to appear, Xia Fan asked the butler where she was and arranged to meet Inquisition commander Saidaro.
• Feleton revealed that The Church had detained Taxisis and stripped her of her duties for speaking against the gods.
• Feleton explained that the worst possible judgment could force Taxisis to bear children, horrifying Li and prompting Xia Fan to rebuke him over his treatment of the Elves.
• Xia Fan asked where Taxisis was being held and declared that he would find a way to free her, while Feleton warned him against challenging The Church.

Xia Fan questioned Feleton about the risks of rescuing Taxisis and learned Princess Twilight was imprisoned in the former imperial palace. Meanwhile, Archbishop Bolton's council debated Taxisis's punishment, with Maine proposing that her abilities be sealed so she could begin the path of dragon ascension again.

• Xia Fan asked Feleton about Hera Cathedral's defenses and the location of Taxisis's confinement chamber.
• Feleton urged Xia Fan to rescue Princess Twilight first and revealed she was held in the former imperial palace.
• Archbishop Bolton convened the red-robed priests to discuss the Church Regulations Bureau's report on Taxisis.
• Alek advocated handling the matter quietly, while Saidaro argued against severe punishment and Maine criticized his lenient proposal.
• Maine proposed sealing Taxisis's abilities and making her walk the path of dragon ascension again.

Maine proposed that Taxisis undergo the Dragon-Climbing Path as punishment, while the Church prepared to hold a Divine Descent Ceremony in one week. Xia Fan learned that Princess Twilight was secretly imprisoned beneath the former royal palace as a hostage, restrained by a bloodline spell placed by Talius Frost.

• Maine proposed sending Taxisis to the Dragon-Climbing Tower as a symbolic trial, and Bolton approved the verdict.
• Saidaro promised to clear Mage Tower members from the capital, Alek prepared a new Maze Lock spell, and Bolton set the Divine Descent Ceremony for one week later.
• Feleton explained to Xia Fan that the Church had turned the former royal palace into a secret prison for powerful or politically valuable people.
• Feleton revealed that Princess Twilight was held in the deepest part of the palace, bound by a bloodline spell that prevented her from leaving.
• Feleton said Talius Frost had placed the restraint during a diplomatic visit to secure a ceasefire, leaving Princess Twilight as a secret hostage unknown to most Natating citizens.

Feleton explained his plan to rescue Princess Twilight from the royal palace, and Xia Fan agreed to have a disguise mask made. Meanwhile, Taxisis learned that she would have to face the Dragon-Climbing Path again while confined by the Hera Church.

• Feleton told Xia Fan that the Church had neglected Princess Twilight because of her bloodline restriction and showed him a crude map of the palace.
• Feleton described how trusted workers he had placed inside the palace could help them reach the princess and smuggle her out unnoticed.
• Li asked when Feleton planned to act, and Feleton proposed the Church’s public ceremony one week later.
• Xia Fan noted that the delegation’s audience was scheduled for the same day and asked Feleton to make a mask resembling him.
• Taxisis received the Church Regulations Bureau’s judgment that she would walk the Dragon-Climbing Path again, and she felt relief at having an end to her confinement’s empty waiting.

Taxisis received a secret message from Xia Fan while confined in the Holy See, and Sun Qianzi watched a sorcerer defeat an Evil Spirit in a village on the Qi State–Shen-Liu border. The chapter ended as Sun Qianzi’s barrier trapped the village.

• Taxisis reflected on her coming trial in the Dragon-Climbing Tower and worried that she had not been able to contact Xia Fan.
• A fat cat appeared at Taxisis’s barred window, and she recognized it as a member of the envoy delegation.
• Taxisis found the message “I’m watching you. Don’t worry,” delivered by the cat, and felt reassured by Xia Fan’s support.
• At the Qi State–Shen-Liu border, a young sorcerer killed an Evil Spirit with a Peachwood Sword and told the villagers they were safe.
• Sun Qianzi assessed the sorcerer’s abilities, ordered his companions to move, and trapped the village inside a silent barrier.

Sun Qianzi’s scouting team ambushed the villagers and tried to capture Yu Linglong, but Yan Qing and Du Yelong revealed themselves as reinforcements. The little girl displayed overwhelming demonic power, leaving Sun Qianzi’s team defeated and trapped.

• Sun Qianzi’s team bound the swordsman and prepared to subdue him and the little girl, but black arrows struck before they could act.
• Sun Qianzi identified Yu Linglong and ordered his team to capture her while he fought the others.
• Yan Qing trapped a Feng State sorcerer with chains, and Sun Qianzi realized his team had fallen into a trap.
• Sun Qianzi tried to seize the little girl, but she revealed her scaled claw and stopped all wind, causing him to crash to the ground.
• Du Yelong appeared with the unconscious Mao State sorcerer, confirming that Sun Qianzi’s entire scouting team had been defeated.

After learning that Seven Stars had infiltrated Qi State by sea and was gathering forces in Shangyuan City, Mo Yun concluded that Jinxia City had to act before its enemy was ready. She called for a counterattack strategy that would use Jinxia’s navy and its allies to disrupt Seven Stars’ maritime supply route.

• Yan Qing and Qian reported that the captured Fangshi squad worked for Seven Stars and that a reserve force had been intercepted near the Shen-Liu border.
• Qian revealed that the reserve force had sailed from Xu State to Yazhou and joined the Fangshi squad in Shangyuan City to scout Jinxia City.
• Mo Yun inferred that Seven Stars had assembled a larger force by sea and that Shangyuan City had likely fallen under its influence.
• Mo Yun decided to convene an Affairs Bureau meeting to plan a counterattack against Seven Stars.
• Mo Yun proposed using Jinxia’s navy and the Elf Tree Boat to choke off Seven Stars’ maritime route.

Xia Fan learned that The Church planned to combine the Divine Descent Ceremony with the selection of a new Son of the Holy Spirit, and arranged for Olina to accompany the Embassy Delegation while he watched for trouble. Three days later, Olina and the delegation arrived at the ceremony, seated near The Church’s senior officials.

• The butler told Xia Fan that the Divine Descent Ceremony would include the selection of a new Son of the Holy Spirit, and Olina explained how the selection had worked in the past.
• Xia Fan asked Olina to accompany the Embassy Delegation and help Wu Yue impersonate him while he watched The Church and the Bloodkin.
• Xia Fan learned from Feleton that Taxisis Eternal Wing had been sentenced to walk the Dragon-Climbing Path again with her abilities restrained.
• The Church decorated Hila City for the ceremony, drawing crowds and easing public doubts about its influence.
• Olina and the Embassy Delegation entered the Holy See’s inner courtyard and took seats near the scarlet-robed Priests.

Wu Yue impersonated Xia Fan at the Hila Central Holy See, while Olina reflected on why she no longer wanted the Deity to choose her brother. The chapter ended with Taxisis entering the Dragon-Climbing Tower under the Church’s hostile watch.

• Wu Yue greeted Saidaro while posing as Ambassador Xia, and Saidaro explained that Taxisis was away on a mission.
• Olina judged Wu Yue’s impersonation convincing and warned him not to repeat her compliment to Xia Fan.
• Olina watched Oren wait for the divine selection and decided she wanted to take him back east, believing they could build a future without the Deity.
• A Church Regulations Bureau guide ordered Taxisis into the long-sealed Dragon-Climbing Tower, and she approached its entrance.

Taxisis entered the Dragon-Climbing Tower and discovered its hall was covered in challengers’ names, including one that shocked her. A poisoned assassin ambushed her, and as she fought back, an unseen attacker struck her with an evocation magic fist.

• Taxisis entered the tower and found a clean, firelit hall with a kettle of boiling water instead of the staircase she expected.
• Taxisis discovered centuries of challengers’ names carved into the floor, including names from unfamiliar languages and a name that startled her.
• A hooded assassin stabbed Taxisis from behind with a poisoned dagger, and she evaded his attack before recognizing the effects of the poison.
• The assassin revealed that his mist spell and mage shield aided his attack and taunted Taxisis as her limbs grew numb.
• An unseen attacker launched an evocation magic fist at Taxisis, blasting her into the stone wall.

Pope Pella IV staged Hera’s descent to rally believers and launch a purge against supposed servants of evil arts. As the crowd witnessed a vast goddess appear in the sky, a figure in the cathedral spire revealed that the Mage Tower would join the prayers too.

• Pope Pella IV announced that the Azure Fort Lesser Evil Spirit disaster had been deliberately created and declared a purge across the Holy Wing Islands and the nations of the Silent Sea.
• Pella called on the crowd to pray for Hera’s descent while Wu Yue watched and Olina worried that Oren might belong to the goddess.
• Flowers bloomed, wine refilled, and music sounded as Hera appeared as a vast figure in the sky above Hila City.
• Pella felt divine power return and believed The Church would win its coming war.
• In the cathedral spire’s observation room, a figure told the mirror-faced being that the Mage Tower would join the prayers and suggested that Lesser Evil Spirits could also be a faith.

Olina witnessed the Sun God Hera crack open and drain Pella IV, transforming him and other believers into Evil Spirits. Meanwhile, Li and Feleton neared the former Queen’s chambers in the palace, where guards stopped them.

• Hera’s face split open, and it drained Pella IV’s soul, turning him into a Lesser Evil Spirit as purple beams rose from newly transformed victims.
• Olina ordered Wu Yue to evacuate the others, then rescued Oren and warned that the Sun God Church was finished.
• Li and Feleton passed palace checkpoints disguised as servants, heading toward the former Queen’s chambers.
• Li noticed the sky and her Shadow growing darker, but Feleton dismissed her concern.
• Two guards stopped Li and Feleton, and Feleton prepared to bribe them.

Li and Feleton tried to smuggle Qian Yan into the Old Royal Palace, but Evil Spirits erupted throughout the palace and forced Feleton to reveal his Bloodkin Statue Monsters. Elsewhere, Taxisis faced an assassin and Demon Hand until she revealed that she had a partner ready to strike.

• Two guards demanded to inspect Li and Feleton's food cart, stole most of the grapes and all the honey, and left Qian Yan hidden in the lower compartment.
• An Evil Spirit appeared and killed one guard, while alarms and fighting spread through the Old Royal Palace.
• Feleton summoned two Statue Monsters, ordered them to fight the Evil Spirits, and hurried onward with Li and the cart.
• Taxisis identified the assassin's brief inability to teleport consecutively, but he mocked her claim that a partner could exploit the opening.
• Taxisis revealed that she did have a partner, and a dazzling bolt of electric light shot across the ancient stone hall.

Xia Fan helped Taxisis survive two assassins in the Dragon-Climbing Tower, where she discovered the name of Hera Church priest Maine Yelaina among the tower’s names. Taxisis feared a plot tied to the Divine Advent Ceremony, but the two were trapped inside the tower with no apparent exit.

• Taxisis killed the two black-clad attackers after Xia Fan struck them with spells, then confirmed they were dead.
• Xia Fan revealed himself, and Taxisis explained that his name on the floor and Gungun’s warning had led her to trust he was nearby.
• Taxisis said she had seen Maine Yelaina’s name in the tower, despite Yelaina’s known Dragonborn background and rise through the Hera Church.
• Xia Fan told Taxisis that Maine had apparently proposed the judgment against her and that the Divine Advent Ceremony was underway in Hila City.
• Taxisis urged Xia Fan to return to the Holy See, but they found the bonfire hall had no visible way out.