Chapter Summaries

The Cardinals of the Slane Theocracy chose Ian and Clementine to contact Free Will in the Abelion Hills. While studying Dragonman Ladon’s True Dragon Lord’s Heart, Tang Zheng used the Assimilation Potion in an experiment and vanished with Ladon after the heart transformed him into a Golden Dragon; meanwhile, Enri met Ian and Clementine and agreed to take them to Miss Cuiye while they tried to reach Tang.

• The Pontifex Maximus and the Cardinals approved sending Ian and Clementine to contact Free Will, while The Cardinal of Water Zinedine withheld a document about the Assimilation Potion.
• Tang Zheng compared Dragonman Ladon’s transformed body with an Ancient Fire Dragon’s corpse and considered why Ladon had been unable to surpass level 50.
• Tang Zheng opened Dragonman Ladon’s chest for his twelfth experiment and poured the Assimilation Potion into Ladon while activating the True Dragon Lord’s Heart.
• The heart released a surge of power, transformed Ladon into a Golden Dragon, and caused Tang Zheng to vanish with him.
• Enri met Ian and Clementine at the outskirts of the Abelion Hills and explained that Tang Zheng was difficult to find because he was researching potions.
• Enri agreed to take Ian and Clementine to Miss Cuiye and help them notify Tang Zheng about their important matter.

Tang Zheng suffered a mysterious, sustained HP drain after using the [True Dragon Lord's Heart] to transform into a Golden Dragon, and Greater Healing briefly revealed an unstable change in his life aura. After returning to the Black castle, he dismissed the Slane Theocracy's invitation and referred its request about the Assimilation Potion to the Verdant Leaf Witch.

• Clementine judged Enri weak, while Captain Ian escorted Enri through the Abelion Hills and observed how the Demi-Humans respected her and Free Will.
• Tang Zheng and Dragonman Ladon transformed into a Golden Dragon, but the transformation collapsed and Ladon was expelled unconscious.
• Tang Zheng's HP drained continuously, so he repeatedly cast Greater Healing and sensed a fleeting life-state change before the drain stopped.
• Captain Ian's party waited in the Black castle as the Verdant Leaf Witch served red tea and said Tang Zheng had been notified.
• Tang Zheng appeared on the stairs, rejected Captain Ian's invitation to visit the Divine City, and directed the Theocracy to discuss the Assimilation Potion with the Verdant Leaf Witch.

Tang Zheng confronted Clementine after she sneaked into Black Castle intending to kidnap him, and effortlessly overpowered her. After learning she planned to defect from the Slane Theocracy and destroy it, Tang Zheng told her that nothing had happened that night.

• Tang Zheng decided to investigate the Slane Theocracy's interest in the Assimilation Potion and considered drawing the Holy Kingdom into his plans.
• Clementine crept through Black Castle searching for Tang Zheng, intending to kidnap him before he could summon his Angels.
• Tang Zheng appeared in the fourth-floor hall, caught Clementine's enchanted stiletto between two fingers, broke her arm, and choked her until she stopped resisting.
• Clementine revealed that she planned to defect from the Slane Theocracy and wanted to destroy it, and she recognized Tang Zheng as the strongest person behind the Abelion Hills Incident.
• Tang Zheng told Clementine he would not kill her for wanting to defect and declared that nothing had happened that night.

Tang Zheng investigated the Assimilation Potion and experimented with sustaining his Golden Dragon form, while the Holy Kingdom decided to send an envoy to support him in dealing with the Slane Theocracy. His ritual succeeded in channeling the Ancient Fire Dragon’s power into his transformed body, though the experiment’s outcome remained uncertain.

• Captain Ian concluded that Clementine’s failed attempt to seize Tang Zheng meant the Slane Theocracy would have to apologize and pursue its second plan.
• Tang Zheng learned Clementine’s Gale Acceleration and Windstride Martial Arts, then continued testing his Golden Dragon transformation and devised a ritual using an Ancient Fire Dragon’s corpse.
• Holy Queen Calca, Kelart, and Remedios discussed Tang Zheng’s warning about the Slane Theocracy and the value of the Assimilation Potion.
• Holy Queen Calca agreed to send Remedios, Pink Isandro, and Black Pabel to support Tang Zheng, while Kelart suggested Remedios’s temperament could help make an impression.
• Tang Zheng activated a combined ritual with the Assimilation Potion, Dragonman Ladon, the True Dragon Lord Heart, and the Ancient Fire Dragon’s corpse, successfully channeling the dragon’s energy into his Golden Dragon form.

Tang Zheng used the True Dragon Lord's Heart and an Ancient Fire Dragon's corpse to transform into a Golden Dragon, but the transformation disabled his class abilities. When Ladon's heart fused with him, Tang Zheng gained the Dragonic Overlord class and became a true Gold Dragon Lord.

• Tang Zheng transformed into a Golden Dragon by activating the True Dragon Lord's Heart and used the ritual to consume the Ancient Fire Dragon's corpse to sustain his form.
• Tang Zheng discovered that his class abilities were unusable in dragon form, then tested whether gaining a level would let him advance into a new class.
• Tang Zheng advanced to level 51, but repeated class-construction errors showed that a key requirement was still missing.
• Ladon awoke in agony as the True Dragon Lord's Heart burst from his chest and flew into Tang Zheng's Golden Dragon form.
• Tang Zheng obtained the Dragonic Overlord class, gained control of his Gold Dragon Lord body, and dismissed the transformation without losing the new class.

Tang Zheng tested the abilities of his human and Dragon Lord forms, discovering that he could not use Tier Magic while transformed and wondering whether that would let him learn Wild Magic. After experimenting with his summoned dragon, he returned to the castle and found Remedios and Clementine fighting in the courtyard.

• Tang Zheng confirmed that his human form could use magic, while his Dragon Lord Form could not, and suspected that True Dragon Lord's Murmur caused the difference.
• Tang Zheng summoned Soul of the Heroic Spirit in dragon form and covered the white dragon in crimson Body Armament.
• Remedios confronted a [Sunlight Scripture] member and proposed a duel in her capacity as a Paladin, while Captain Ian tried to defuse the dispute.
• Clementine appeared and attacked Remedios, and the two fought at close quarters with swords, stilettos, and Martial Arts.
• Tang Zheng returned from the southern mountain range and watched Remedios and Clementine clash from a castle window.

Tang Zheng reached level 61, gained a major boost from Dragonic Overlord, and considered how to pursue Wild Magic while preparing for the Slane Theocracy. Outside his castle, Enri stopped Clementine and Remedios’s duel by drawing an iron sword, and Tang Zheng appeared as the visitors were directed inside.

• Tang Zheng reviewed his plans to contact Evileye for Wild Magic and decided to raise his strength before traveling to the Slane Theocracy.
• Tang Zheng spent Experience Points to reach level 61 and Dragonic Overlord level 10, triggering a dramatic increase in his attributes and power.
• Tang Zheng suppressed the golden strands in his hair caused by the Golden Bloodline: Dragon Lord passive and considered using his remaining Experience Points on Sword Saint.
• Clementine and Remedios fought outside the castle while Enri struggled to get them to stop.
• Enri drew an ordinary iron sword, making Clementine and Remedios pause, then announced that Tang Zheng had finished researching the Alchemical Potion and invited everyone into the castle.
• Clementine noticed Tang Zheng behind Enri and abandoned her taunt.

Tang Zheng and the Holy Kingdom delegation arrived in the Slane Theocracy, where a tour of the Divine City led them to Chief Justice Gurid. Gurid’s title and devotion to the God of Death immediately unsettled the Holy Kingdom’s representatives.

• Clementine ended her confrontation with Remedios and walked into the castle, while Remedios sheathed her Holy Sword and followed after warning Enri not to rely on external power.
• Tang Zheng, Remedios, and nine other Holy Kingdom members traveled to the Slane Theocracy’s Divine City with a young cleric as their guide.
• Pink Isandro worried that the Theocracy had slighted the delegation by sending a low-ranking guide, but Tang Zheng noticed Chief Justice Gurid waiting beneath the clock tower.
• The guide reported to Gurid that he had not detected Tang Zheng’s abilities and that Enri had not joined the delegation.
• Gurid welcomed the visitors and introduced himself as the Theocracy’s Chief Justice, prompting Remedios and Pink Isandro to challenge his status as a follower of the God of Death.

Tang Zheng arrived in the Slane Theocracy with Remedios and the Holy Kingdom delegation, where Chief Justice Gurid separated him from the others and tried to question him about humanity and the gods. Tang Zheng resisted Gurid’s probing, while the Cardinals learned that Gurid had been assigned to receive him and wondered why.

• Remedios spoke rudely to Chief Justice Gurid, who calmly welcomed the delegation and Tang Zheng on behalf of the Slane Theocracy.
• Cardinal of Wind Dominic learned from Captain Ian that Gurid’s disciple had received Tang Zheng and reacted with shock at the unexpected assignment.
• Gurid escorted Tang Zheng to Twilight's Serenity Pavilion while Remedios and the Holy Kingdom delegation were lodged elsewhere.
• Gurid asked Tang Zheng about the Six Great Gods and humanity, then said the Assimilation Potion might change humanity’s fate and that Tang Zheng would meet the Cardinals the next day.
• Tang Zheng dismissed the claim that one potion could change humanity’s fate and gave Gurid a vague answer about how much he knew of humans.

Tang Zheng learned more about the Slane Theocracy’s scriptures and considered whether the Black Scripture could be controlled, while Clementine reacted with alarm and fascination. The next day, as Tang Zheng traveled toward the central Temple, a masked Holy Kingdom figure stopped his carriage and was identified as Pabel.

• Chief Justice Gurid described the seven human nations, the Council State, and the Dragon Lords before leaving Tang Zheng in a guest room.
• Clementine told Tang Zheng about the Theocracy’s Six-Colored Scripture Forces and revealed that she belonged to the thirteen-member Black Scripture.
• Tang Zheng asked whether the Black Scripture could be controlled, and Clementine said it was impossible but recognized that doing so could influence the entire Theocracy.
• The next day, Gurid’s student escorted Tang Zheng toward the central Temple while the Holy Kingdom’s delegation met privately with Gurid.
• A masked figure from the Holy Kingdom stopped Tang Zheng’s carriage, and Tang Zheng recognized him as Pabel and invited him aboard.

Tang Zheng met with Cardinals Zinedine and Raymond in the Slane Theocracy, where they explained that his Assimilation Potion might let them keep a powerful Angel summoned for far longer than usual. Their revelation that a Principality had already remained for half a month left Tang Zheng genuinely surprised.

• Black Pabel intercepted Tang Zheng’s carriage and stayed behind while Tang was escorted to meet the Cardinals.
• Tang entered the Earth God’s temple and recognized Four Elements and a powerful Principality waiting inside.
• Cardinals Zinedine and Raymond introduced themselves and told Tang they had summoned him because of his Assimilation Potion.
• Raymond explained that the Theocracy had used special methods to summon the Principality, and Zinedine revealed it had remained for half a month.
• Tang was genuinely surprised because he knew the potion’s assimilated state had a time limit.

Tang Zheng learned that the Slane Theocracy had used his Assimilation Potion to keep the Principality Radiance alive for ten years by fusing it with an infant, at the cost of the assimilator’s lifespan. As he confronted the Cardinals over the experiments, a girl carrying a black scythe appeared at the shattered window and announced that the last Angel had arrived.

• Cardinal of Water Zinedine revealed that the Principality Radiance could exist for ten years, and Tang Zheng demanded to know how the Theocracy had achieved it.
• Zinedine and Cardinal of Earth Raymond explained that devout faith reduced assimilation rejection, but prolonged fusion caused Complete Assimilation Transformation and consumed the assimilator’s lifespan.
• Tang Zheng calculated that sustaining the Angel for ten years would require far more lifespan and experimental data than the Theocracy’s three doses could account for.
• Zinedine revealed that an infant had been fused with the Principality Radiance because babies needed only a third of a dose and resonated strongly with Angels.
• Tang Zheng condemned the Cardinals for experimenting on babies, then a black-and-white-haired girl carrying a scythe appeared at the broken window and said the last Angel had arrived.

Zesshi Zetsumei arrived during Tang Zheng’s meeting with the Slane Theocracy and destroyed the Principality with a single strike. The Cardinals’ reaction confirmed that the attack was not staged, and Zesshi turned her attention to Tang Zheng.

• Zesshi Zetsumei appeared in the hall, startling the Cardinals, while Four Elements tried to teleport the Principality away.
• Zesshi kicked Four Elements into a wall and knocked him unconscious after stopping his teleportation.
• Zesshi struck the Principality with her Cross-Spear War Scythe, awakening its defenses as Tang Zheng and the Cardinals retreated.
• Zesshi cut the Principality in half before it could complete its attack, interrupting its spell and destroying it.
• The Cardinals realized the Principality was lost and that Tang Zheng had witnessed Zesshi’s power; Zesshi searched for something among the remnants, then stared at Tang Zheng.

Zesshi Zetsumei interrupted Tang Zheng’s meeting with the Theocracy’s Cardinals, and Tang rejected their negotiations after learning they had used innocent babies as test subjects for the Assimilation Potion. Back at the guest house, he questioned what the Theocracy would do next and summoned fifty Death Omen Sparrows to observe the surrounding rooms.

• Zesshi Zetsumei destroyed the Observer Dominions and held her Cross-Spear War Scythe close to Tang Zheng, then questioned him about the potion and his lack of fear.
• Tang Zheng condemned the Theocracy’s use of babies as test subjects and refused to continue negotiations before leaving the Temple.
• The Cardinal of Earth Raymond considered imprisoning Tang, but the Cardinal of Water Zinedine stopped him and said the confrontation had been an accident.
• Raymond and Zinedine discussed the threat posed by Tang’s allies and the consequences of Zesshi Zetsumei’s appearance, while the Four Elements teleported away.
• At the guest house, Tang cast Detection Interference, made fifty Third-Tier Monster Summoning scrolls, and summoned fifty Death Omen Sparrows to watch nearby rooms.

Tang Zheng placed Death Omen Sparrows around the Theocracy's Guest House and learned that the Theocracy would not let him leave freely. Chief Justice Gurid brought him an old map that Tang Zheng recognized as a crude outline of the New World, while a later meeting revealed Gurid knew about the child and the Theocracy's plans.

• Tang Zheng used Subsurface Shadow to scatter Death Omen Sparrows around the Guest House and spotted additional Theocracy surveillance personnel.
• Tang Zheng considered his plans to unite human forces and suspected the Assimilation Potion's information pointed toward a new opportunity.
• Chief Justice Gurid brought Tang Zheng an ancient parchment map, which Tang Zheng recognized as an outline of the New World.
• Tang Zheng watched Gurid leave and followed him with a Death Omen Sparrow to the church's ancient bell tower.
• Cardinals Raymond and Zinedine confronted Gurid over the child's appearance, and Gurid asked whether they intended to use the Divine Relic.
• Zinedine explained that the Divine Relic was reserved for the Catastrophe Dragon Lord, and Gurid asked whether he could receive Gii Jii's highest blessing.

Chief Justice Gurid died after explaining to Raymond and Zinedine that he had accepted his death to influence Tang Zheng and steer the Theocracy toward cooperation. His death trapped the Holy Kingdom delegation in the Theocracy, where Tang Zheng met with Remedios, Pink Isandro, and Black Pabel to discuss their options.

• Chief Justice Gurid told Raymond and Zinedine that he had let the three Principalities be destroyed and accepted his death to encourage gentler cooperation with Tang Zheng.
• Tang Zheng learned through the Death Omen Sparrow that Gurid had died by suicide and suspected the Theocracy was calculating even in death.
• Clementine stopped Remedios and the Holy Kingdom delegation from leaving the Guest House, citing Gurid’s death and the need to prevent mishaps.
• Remedios denied that the Holy Kingdom had anything to do with Gurid’s death, while Theocracy soldiers surrounded the delegation and prepared for a possible clash.
• Tang Zheng invited Remedios, Pink Isandro, and Black Pabel inside, where they discussed the suspicious circumstances and considered fighting their way out.

Tang Zheng revealed that the Slane Theocracy could prolong summoned Angels with an Assimilation Potion, prompting the Holy Kingdom’s delegation to consider withdrawing from negotiations. He then claimed the Holy Kingdom had a trump card that could put it on equal footing with the Theocracy, and Remedios agreed to help him.

• Remedios proposed capturing and injuring Clementine to defy the Theocracy, but Tang Zheng rejected the plan and hinted that he had a better idea.
• Black Pabel sensed someone watching the meeting and used Life Detection, but Heaven and Earth remained concealed nearby.
• Tang Zheng told Remedios, Pink Isandro, and Black Pabel that the Assimilation Potion could let summoned Angels exist longer, shocking the delegation.
• Pink Isandro refused to act before consulting the Holy Kingdom’s leaders and tried to lead Remedios away from Tang Zheng.
• Tang Zheng said the Holy Kingdom possessed a trump card that could give it equal standing with the Theocracy, and Remedios immediately asked what he needed them to do.

Tang Zheng met with the Slane Theocracy’s six Cardinals and challenged their assumptions about the value and limits of the Assimilation Potion. He exposed how the Theocracy depended on scarce Sealing Crystals and powerful casters to summon high-tier Angels, leaving the Cardinals’ confidence shaken.

• After the Holy Kingdom delegation left, Tang Zheng told a hidden observer to invite the Cardinals to negotiate with the Holy Kingdom included, then gained the Ninjutsu: Concealment skill as the Sunlight Scripture monitor departed.
• Two days later, the six Cardinals discussed negotiations and assumed the Holy Kingdom had abandoned Tang Zheng before he and Pink Isandro arrived at their conference hall.
• Tang Zheng interrupted Zinedine to insist that infants must never be used as test subjects, and the Cardinals responded with apparent sympathy over Chief Justice Gurid’s death.
• Tang Zheng explained that the Assimilation Potion occupied a Summoner’s single summon slot, limiting its usefulness for ordinary troops while making it valuable for sustaining high-tier Angels.
• Tang Zheng argued that the Theocracy used Sealing Crystals to bypass summoning limits and pointed out that the crystals were scarce and Great Rituals demanded casters capable of surviving severe backlash.

Tang Zheng revealed that the Slane Theocracy’s Great Ritual left its Divine System casters incapacitated, then argued that the Holy Kingdom could use its Crown of the Holy King and his Assimilation Potion to build a powerful Angel force. He warned that the Crown’s Angels were neutral and that infants must never be used as Assimilators, then showed the Cardinals Frogmen eggs as a possible alternative.

• Tang Zheng deduced that the Slane Theocracy could not summon another Principality for months because its casters had been severely harmed by the Great Ritual, and the Six Cardinals confirmed his reasoning.
• Tang Zheng stopped Pink Isandro from leaving and urged the Cardinals to share Great Ritual methods with the Holy Kingdom, citing Commander Kelart’s Divine System Hero Realm abilities.
• Pink Isandro revealed that the Crown of the Holy King could be activated about once every half month, and Tang Zheng calculated that its Angels could produce 5,376 Assimilated Angels in a year.
• Tang Zheng cautioned that the Crown’s Angels were neutral monsters that would need to be controlled, and he warned the Cardinals never to use infants as Assimilators.
• Tang Zheng placed a bottle of pale cyan eggs on the table and identified them as Frogmen eggs he had found in the Abelion Hills.

Tang Zheng used the threat of a scarce Assimilation Potion to make the Slane Theocracy and Holy Kingdom negotiate over his proposal, then encountered Zesshi Zetsumei outside the church. After helping her solve a Rubik's Cube, he found her holding a scythe to his neck.

• Tang Zheng presented Frogman Eggs as a possible substitute for babies in the assimilation process, unsettling the Six Cardinals and Pink Isandro with suspicions that he had planned the situation in advance.
• Tang Zheng explained that the limited supply of Assimilation Potion made Frogman Eggs a practical option, then left the Six Cardinals and Pink Isandro to argue over the benefits of working with him.
• The Slane Theocracy and Holy Kingdom argued over Angels, a Great Ritual, and Lady Kelart as they tried to secure Tang Zheng's cooperation.
• Tang Zheng left the church intending to investigate the Theocracy and met Zesshi Zetsumei, who had brought him a bronze feather necklace but decided not to deliver it after realizing he might leave.
• Tang Zheng showed Zesshi Zetsumei how to solve her Rubik's Cube, but after she finished, she grabbed her Cross-Spear War Scythe and threatened him with its blade.