Chapter Summaries

Locke used Water Mist and his self-developed Heavenly Dance Treasure Wheel technique to blind the thirty-four warriors pursuing him, then attacked them with Ice Blades. Frank survived the slaughter and fought back by listening for the spells, leaving the battle between him and Locke unresolved.

• Locke spread Water Mist across the forest, and Captain Frank led thirty-four warriors into it while the two Light Element mages stayed behind.
• Locke used Vision Deprivation to blind the warriors, and Frank urged his men to run straight out of the fog.
• Locke sent three Ice Blades through the mist, killing warriors as they crashed into trees while trying to escape.
• Frank cleared an area around himself and listened until the forest fell silent.
• Frank heard Locke's Ice Blade and shattered it with his greatsword, but another Ice Blade immediately attacked.

Locke killed Frank by depriving him of his senses, then avoided the two Light Mages and continued toward the Frost Snow Empire. The chapter explained that the War of Faith had reached the Wakanda Plane, where the Water Sovereign Philo’s forces and the Temple of Light had been fighting for nearly a century.

• Locke used the Heavenly Dance Treasure Wheel to deprive Frank of his hearing and touch, then killed him with Ice Blades to the neck.
• Locke observed the two remaining Light Mages, recognized the older mage’s Rain of Light spell, and decided not to fight them.
• Locke passed through the Mist and headed toward the Frost Snow Empire.
• Locke recalled that Sovereigns were fighting for faith to grow stronger, making the War of Faith a vast conflict with many casualties.
• The chapter explained that Philo’s forces and the Temple of Light had fought for nearly a hundred years on the Wakanda Plane.
• Locke had become a Water Mage in the Frost Snow Empire after passing the Mage Aptitude Test at age seven, sparing his family from conscription.

After fleeing the Temple of Light’s pursuit, Locke fought off a pack of Gale Wolves and continued toward the Frost Snow Empire. The next morning, he discovered that a fast pursuer had reached the traps near his cave, leaving him to prepare for a fight.

• Locke reflected on the defeat of the Frost Snow Empire’s Fifth Legion and continued his escape after extinguishing his campfire.
• Locke used Water Mist, Heavenly Dance Treasure Wheel, Vision Deprivation, and Hearing Deprivation to disorient a pack of Gale Wolves, then killed them with Ice Blades and took the Gale Wolf King’s Magic Core.
• Three Temple of Light soldiers found the battle site, and a knight identified Locke’s direction of travel and led two mages after him.
• Locke meditated through the night and estimated that he could reach Level 7 Grand Mage within half a year.
• Locke discovered that someone had triggered his traps and, realizing he could not outrun the pursuer, decided to fight while he was at full strength.

Locke confronted a Rank 7 Knight sent by the Temple of Light and learned that he had mistakenly killed seventeen occupation teams, believing they were pursuing him. The knight refused to let Locke go and attacked what he suspected was a decoy.

• Locke stopped in a wooded area and prepared to face the approaching pursuer, using Water Mist when he sensed the enemy nearing.
• A middle-aged Temple of Light knight triggered Locke’s bubble warning traps, then rushed ahead of the two Priests accompanying him.
• The knight broke through the mist, located Locke with battle qi, and approached with his greatsword drawn.
• Locke asked why the Temple of Light had pursued him instead of occupying the region, and the knight explained that Locke had killed all seventeen teams sent to occupy it.
• Locke realized his mistaken attacks had caused the pursuit and asked to leave, but the knight refused and swept a Battle Qi Slash toward a point beside him, suspecting Locke was a false body.

Locke used the Illusionary Fog’s Profound Mystery to blind and deafen a Rank 7 Temple of Light knight, then attacked him with a series of powerful water and ice spells. The knight remained alive but was battered and forced to defend against another Water Dragon Chant.

• The knight identified Locke’s apparent location and attacked, only for the mage he struck to vanish like a phantom.
• Locke cast Vision Deprivation and Hearing Deprivation, and the knight raised Battle Qi to protect himself while waiting for two Priests to arrive.
• Locke combined his Mental Strength with the Profound Mystery of Illusionary Fog and enhanced a Water Dragon Chant with the Momentum of Heaven and Earth.
• The water dragon struck the knight from above, forcing him to his knees, but his Battle Qi kept him from being incapacitated.
• Locke sent dozens of ice spikes into the knight, injuring and freezing him; the knight shattered the ice with Battle Qi.
• Locke launched another Water Dragon Chant at the knight.

Locke killed the Rank 7 Knight and ambushed the two Temple of Light mages before continuing his escape. He reached Bidia Territory, where Duke Bidia’s presence made him safer from pursuit.

• Locke killed the badly injured Rank 7 Knight with a final Water Dragon Chant and took the ring from his body.
• Locke used Illusionary Projection to spot two Temple of Light mages approaching, then attacked them with Ice Roar and froze them.
• Locke fled toward the Frost Snow Empire, uncertain whether the Temple of Light would send stronger pursuers after him.
• Locke avoided further attacks and entered Bidia Territory, domain of the Saint-level Mage Duke Bidia.

Locke cultivated in Bidia Territory, advancing his Mental Strength to Level 7 and becoming a Rank 7 Archmage. After the Frost Snow Empire failed to reorganize the Fifth Legion, Locke left the military and became a free agent.

• Locke rented a quiet courtyard in Bidia Territory and studied the Illusionary Barrier spell while cultivating the Profound Mystery of Illusionary Fog.
• After four months, Locke's Mental Strength broke through to Level 7, and two months later he finished analyzing Illusionary Barrier and completed the liquefaction of his Magic Power, becoming a Rank 7 Archmage.
• Locke learned that the Fifth Legion had still not been reorganized seven months after its defeat and waited until the required period passed.
• After confirming there was no news of the Fifth Legion's reorganization, Locke put away his military medal, vacated his house, and became a free agent.

Locke joined the Luqi Merchant Guild’s caravan traveling from Bidia Territory to his hometown in Enbo Territory, agreeing to protect the merchants in exchange for a comfortable journey. As the convoy set out, bandits watched from the roadside while Locke focused on strengthening his Mental Strength and pursuing the Saint Domain.

• President Luqi welcomed Locke and showed him the luxurious carriage prepared for the journey.
• The Luqi Merchant Guild arranged for other merchant guilds to pay for the protection Locke provided and assembled a large convoy bound for Enbo Territory.
• More than twenty merchant carriages followed behind the main convoy, while its guards drove them away whenever they came too close without paying.
• Bandits watched the caravan from nearby forests, but the groups waited to gather before attacking the heavily guarded convoy.
• Locke spent his time refining Magic Power and strengthening his Mental Strength so he could reach the Saint Domain and better use the Profound Mysteries he had comprehended.

Locke and the caravan continued toward territory where bandits were expected to attack, while President Luqi worried about the growing number of scouts. Locke reassured him, then ate his own rations and meditated as the caravan prepared for the coming danger.

• The caravan noticed more than a dozen bandit scouts openly following it, and the independent merchants chose to keep traveling with it.
• After the caravan covered roughly forty li, President Luqi delivered dinner to Locke and asked about the bandit threat.
• Locke told Luqi that he could handle the bandits as long as they had no experts above level seven, easing Luqi's worry.
• Locke put away Luqi's meal, ate his own dry rations, cast a defensive spell, and meditated to refine his Magic Power.

The merchant caravan led by President Luqi approached Crimson Silk Valley, where the Crimson Silk Bandits and their allies blocked the road. After demanding half the caravan’s goods, the bandits left the merchants looking to Lord Locke for help.

• The Crimson Silk Bandits’ leader learned that nearby bandit groups had gathered in Crimson Silk Valley to target an approaching merchant caravan.
• President Luqi’s caravan continued toward the valley after its scouts disappeared, relying on Locke, a Rank 6 Mage, to deter attackers.
• The caravan stopped when nearly a thousand bandits appeared ahead, and the merchants’ guards formed a defense around Locke’s carriage.
• The Crimson Silk Bandits’ leader demanded fifty percent of the caravan’s goods for safe passage, prompting the merchants to ask President Luqi to consult Lord Locke.

Locke refused President Luqi’s suggestion to retreat from the bandits and confronted the Crimson Silk Bandits himself. He used his Archmage abilities to disable and kill nearly a thousand attackers, leaving the caravan safe.

• President Luqi asked Locke whether the caravan should retreat from the thousand bandits blocking the road.
• Locke refused to retreat and went to the front of the caravan with four Rank 6 Warriors.
• The leader of the Crimson Silk Bandits spotted Locke and ordered the Rank 6 Warriors to charge and kill the mage first.
• Locke deprived the bandits of sight and hearing, throwing their charge into chaos.
• Locke summoned more than ten Ice Blades and killed nearly a thousand bandits in less than three minutes.

Locke escorted President Luqi’s expanding caravan safely through Bidia Territory and into Enbo Territory, where the merchants sold their goods in Enbo City. Afterward, President Luqi left Enbo Territory under guard instead of buying new goods, leaving his next move unclear.

• After Locke killed nearly a thousand bandits, the merchants and guards feared and respected his power, and other bandits avoided the caravan.
• The Luqi Merchant Guild traveled across Bidia Territory without further trouble, and President Luqi met with Locke upon reaching Enbo Territory.
• The caravan grew to sixty wagons as independent merchants joined it, while its guards prepared for Enbo Territory’s magical beasts.
• Locke escorted the caravan safely to Enbo City, where the merchants sold their goods.
• President Luqi left Enbo Territory with several guards instead of purchasing new goods.

Locke returned to Pu'er Village after sixteen years and firmly sent Fulin away when the driver tried to make him keep the carriage. He reunited with Captain Carlet, who recognized Locke as the Manla Family youth whose Water Element Affinity had once made the village proud.

• Locke told Fulin to return the carriage to President Luqi, then refused to be pressured by Fulin’s plea to keep him employed.
• Fulin turned the carriage around and left, and Locke entered Pu'er Village to look for his childhood home.
• Captain Carlet approached Locke and offered to help the visiting mage.
• Locke recognized Carlet, identified himself as Locke of the Manla Family, and Carlet remembered the village’s gifted young mage.

Locke returned to Pu'er Village after the Fifth Legion’s defeat and reunited with his family, whose circumstances had improved because of his standing as a mage. President Luqi visited to report that he had dismissed Fulin and imprisoned Fulin’s son and daughter-in-law over the unpaid wages, while Locke gave little response.

• Locke told Carlet that he had left the army after the Fifth Legion was defeated and learned that his family had moved to a new house in the village.
• Locke found his mother, then reunited with his father Manla and younger brother Cole, a Rank 5 Warrior.
• Locke spent several days welcoming villagers who visited his home and listened to them praise his parents.
• President Luqi visited Locke and explained that he had dismissed Fulin and imprisoned Fulin’s son and daughter-in-law after they failed to repay the wages Fulin owed.
• Locke gave President Luqi’s report only a soft acknowledgment, leaving the president worried about whether Locke was satisfied.

President Luqi visited Pu'er Village to buy its medicinal herbs at a high price, then recruited Cole into the Luqi Merchant Guild with the promise of finding him a Battle Qi Manual. Locke returned to cultivating and developing techniques based on the Profound Mysteries he had comprehended, while considering the dangers of the chaotic era.

• President Luqi asked Locke to help him buy Pu'er from the village, and Locke directed Cole to take him to the village chief.
• After hearing Luqi describe his travels and promise to find him a Battle Qi Manual, Cole joined the Luqi Merchant Guild’s guard squad.
• Locke saw the merchant caravan off with his parents, returned home, and resumed cultivating.
• Locke practiced new techniques against magical beasts to better apply his understanding of Profound Mysteries.
• Locke reflected that nearly thirty of the Seventy-Seven Sovereigns had fallen during the dangerous era.

Locke spent ten years studying souls and refining his illusion-based abilities while training in the Monster Mountain Range of Enbo Territory. At thirty-five, he crossed the peak of Rank 9 and became a Saint-level Expert, gaining the ability to fly freely and live forever unless killed.

• Locke decided to build his strength around illusions, aiming to become difficult to kill rather than the strongest in the Coiling Dragon Universe.
• Locke left Pu'er Village after saying farewell to his parents and trained in the mountains, deepening his influence over souls and perfecting Heavenly Dance Treasure Wheel to remove all five senses.
• Five years after Locke arrived in the mountain range, five peak Rank 9 Magical Beasts guarded him because they feared his ability to trap them in darkness.
• After ten years of training, Locke refined a vast amount of water elemental essence into Magic Power and broke through the peak of Rank 9.
• Locke realized that as a Saint-level Expert he could fly without expending Magic Power at ordinary speeds and would no longer age.

After reaching the Saint-level, Locke freed the five Rank 9 Magical Beasts and returned to Pu'er Village, where he settled near his family. He assessed his strengths and weaknesses and decided to improve his physical attacks while keeping his new rank hidden from the plane’s God-level Experts.

• Locke thanked Kalma, Burek, Baladis, Fular, and Pierce, then released the five Rank 9 Magical Beasts as promised.
• Locke left the mountain and decided to conceal his Saint-level breakthrough because the Pope of the Temple of Light and the Emperor of the Frost Snow Empire might try to enslave him.
• Locke returned to Pu'er Village, where the villagers welcomed him and he learned that Cole had married President Luqi’s eldest daughter, had two children, and had reached the peak of Rank 6.
• Locke built several small wooden houses and decided to live in the village until his parents passed away.
• Locke considered how to strengthen his abilities and concluded that he needed to improve his physical attacks rather than rely on illusion magic and support techniques.

Locke created a Battle Qi Manual based on the Illusionary Fog law and began training his swordsmanship while the Luqi Merchant Guild continued to benefit from his backing. Ceres, Emperor of the Frost Snow Empire, contacted Locke and asked him to become a soldier of Overgod Philo, leaving Locke waiting for his answer.

• Locke decided to cultivate as a warrior and spent three years creating a Battle Qi Manual based on the Illusionary Fog law.
• Locke began refining battle qi and practicing swordplay, while Cole and President Luqi continued visiting him with the Luqi Merchant Guild.
• Ceres, Emperor of the Frost Snow Empire, reached Locke with his Spiritual Sense and invited him to fight for Overgod Philo.
• Locke asked Ceres what he would gain by accepting and what he would lose by refusing, and Ceres reacted with interest.

Locke agreed to serve Ceres after learning he would otherwise have to leave the Vakanda Plane within ten years. He flew from Pu'er Village to the Frost Snow Empire’s Imperial Capital, where he sensed at least four Saint-level auras.

• Ceres told Locke that he could serve under him, seek a recommendation to Lord Philo after reaching God level, or leave the plane within ten years.
• Locke chose to serve Ceres, who said he would wait for him in the Imperial Capital.
• Locke flew away from Pu'er Village, and the villagers realized he had become a Saint-level Expert and hoped he would protect their home.
• Locke enjoyed his first open flight and traveled for nearly five days from Enbo Territory to the Imperial Capital.
• Locke sensed at least four Saint-level auras in the Imperial Capital but could not detect the stronger Ceres.

Locke arrived at the Frost Snow Imperial Capital and clashed with a Saint-level warrior who mistook his evasive techniques for cowardice. He then met Ceres, who assessed Locke’s progress in comprehending the laws.

• A Saint-level warrior attacked Locke as he approached the capital, and Locke avoided the spear thrust with Phantom Clone.
• Locke countered with Phantom Slash, tearing the warrior’s clothing and convincing him that Locke had recently reached the Saint-level.
• The warrior accused Locke of being a coward and refused to let him join the Tsunami Legion before flying away.
• Ceres guided Locke into the palace, where Locke bowed and explained that he had come promptly because Ceres had summoned him.
• Ceres praised Locke and sensed that he had comprehended more than half of a Profound Mystery of Laws.