Recaps

Hughberlian learned the Aetherland Kingdom’s plan for infiltrating the Protos Empire’s prison and rescuing a Great Demon Race. She agreed to try, then realized Lanchi might become her enemy when their paths crossed again.

• The Ice Witch explained that Hughberlian’s demonic Disguise Magic could bypass the prison’s detection methods, while powerful elites could not enter unnoticed.
• The Ice Witch planned to give Hughberlian a merchant’s daughter identity and enroll her in the Empire Knight Academy, where a third-year course would send her to train as a prison guard.
• The Ice Witch told Hughberlian to attempt the rescue only if a safe opportunity arose and described how the Cardinal Bishop vote three months later would draw the Empire’s forces to the capital.
• Hughberlian agreed to try rescuing the Great Demon Race, with an Aetherland extraction team ready to help her escape through the Northwest Province.
• Hughberlian realized that Askesang, Lanchi’s beloved Nirvana Bishop, was running in the vote and feared that she and Lanchi could end up on opposite sides of the law.

The Ice Witch offered to train Hughberlian and help her prepare for a dangerous rescue mission, while encouraging her to seek Lanchi's help. Two weeks later, Lanchi was in Lilom City, where a mysterious priest preached to the Rebirth Church's Silver Robe Priests.

• The Ice Witch told Hughberlian she would train her and create Magic Cards to help compensate for their different spell affinities.
• Hughberlian told the Ice Witch that Lanchi had come to the Northern Continent and was probably inside the Protos Empire.
• The Ice Witch urged Hughberlian to seek Lanchi's help and promised to take responsibility for whatever he did.
• Two weeks after arriving in Lilom City, Lanchi was in the Protos Empire's Southwest Province.
• A mysterious Silver Robe Priest preached to Lilom City's gathered priests, claiming that the Rebirth Church alone possessed the truth of love and freedom.

Lanchi guided the Ba Tian Branch in transforming Lilom City into a tourist destination while persuading its priests to pursue knowledge and strengthen their faith. Cat Boss left worried about how far Lanchi’s influence would spread and how the Ba Tian Sect would react.

• Lanchi praised the Silver Armor Priest’s progress on roads, public facilities, forest development, and tourist attractions in Lilom City.
• Lanchi urged the priests to develop practical skills and study subjects such as economics, marketing, and management as they worked to expand the city.
• High Priest Kane joined Lanchi’s approach, returned to the Southwest Province’s main city, and sent Silver Robe Priests to Lilom City to learn from it.
• After leaving the temple, Lanchi returned to his usual appearance and told Cat Boss he was encouraging the Rebirth Church to form a unified community through faith in the Ba Tian Sect.
• Cat Boss worried that Lanchi was brainwashing the priests and feared the Ba Tian Sect would eventually place bounties on them.

Lanchi planned to obtain legal residency and join the Nirvana Branch in the Imperial Capital so he could work toward observing the stone slab, while reassuring Cat Boss that he did not want the Nirvana Bishop to win. He returned to Viscount Francis’s mansion and realized that dinner with Zestira was likely to include a discussion about going to the Imperial Capital.

• Lanchi told Cat Boss he planned to obtain a legal identity and transfer to the Nirvana Branch in the Imperial Capital.
• Lanchi explained that official recruitment and assessment would let him join the branch, and he hoped to earn the chance to meet the Nirvana Bishop and observe the stone slab.
• Cat Boss worried that Lanchi might get entangled with the Nirvana Branch, but Lanchi insisted he did not want the Nirvana Bishop to win.
• Lanchi and Cat Boss walked through Lilom City, then returned to Viscount Francis’s mansion for dinner.
• Lanchi found Zestira seated with Viscount Francis and inferred that the viscount planned to discuss their trip to the Imperial Capital.

Viscount Francis asked Zestira to bring Lanchi to Protos Royal Magic Academy as her tutor and attendant. After Lanchi tried to spare her from the burden, Zestira agreed to take him with her to the imperial capital so he could continue teaching her.

• Viscount Francis asked Lanchi what he thought of the town, and Lanchi praised its potential for tourism and development.
• Viscount Francis proposed that Lanchi return to Protos Royal Magic Academy with Zestira as her tutor and attendant, while Zestira considered the difficulties he might face there.
• Lanchi declined the proposal by claiming that misfortune had plagued him since childhood and that he would only cause trouble.
• Zestira told Lanchi she was not afraid of trouble and asked him to accompany her to the imperial capital and keep teaching her Magical Genealogy and Magical Engineering.
• Viscount Francis was left bewildered as Lanchi and Zestira returned to their meal.

Lanchi and Zestira discussed the Northern Continent’s history while traveling by Magic Energy Railway to the Protos imperial capital. Zestira revealed her admiration for Talia, whom she believed could have restored the demons’ nation.

• Lanchi and Zestira rode toward the Protos imperial capital, reading separately in their first-class compartment.
• Zestira recognized that Lanchi was from the Southern Continent, and he explained that he was reading to verify unreliable accounts of the North.
• Lanchi asked Zestira about her favorite historical figures, and she named the demon general Talia.
• Zestira praised Talia’s strength, talent, and rationality, and said she believed Talia could have restored the demons’ nation.

Lanchi discussed Zestira’s wish to become a Great Demon Race member and seriously outlined how demons could reclaim their heritage, startling her with his eagerness. Zestira then explained Purgatory Corridor Academy’s dangers and rules, while Lanchi compared them with the unusually relaxed schools of the Southern Continent.

• Lanchi kept Talia’s identity as Tata secret and asked Zestira what she would do if Talia were living peacefully.
• Zestira said she wanted Talia’s guidance so she could become a Great Demon Race member, not become human.
• Lanchi proposed investigating the demons’ remaining forces and preparing to reclaim the Demon Race Heritage, making Zestira wary of him.
• Zestira warned Lanchi to avoid the academy’s non-safe zones and explained its restrictions on students and attendants leaving campus.
• Lanchi described Ikelite’s permissive school rules, and Zestira doubted that such a school could exist.

Lanchi and Zestira arrived in Helrom, the imperial capital, and made their way through its strict magical security toward the Protos Royal Academy. Zestira warned Lanchi that people at the school might conceal hostile intentions behind offers of friendship, and revealed that she could sense others’ hostility and goodwill.

• Lanchi and Zestira arrived by train at Helrom and Zestira explained the station’s identity checks and magical security barriers.
• The two crossed the checkpoints and entered Helrom, where Lanchi observed the city’s magical structures and mixed population.
• Zestira warned Lanchi that staying with her would bring hostile looks, and Lanchi asked how she would respond to a noble who provoked her.
• Zestira said she would slap such a noble, then explained that the people who wanted her dead might instead seek to become her allies before the upcoming examination and Shadow World challenge.
• Zestira told Lanchi she could sense hostility and goodwill, and described him as pure and blank like a sheet of paper.

Lanqi and Zestira arrived at Protos Royal Magic Academy, where she explained her plans to challenge the Shadow World and the academy’s credit system. After learning that she wanted his help on Monthly Examination Day, Lanqi agreed and began considering how to make an unexpected impression on Hughberlian.

• Zestira told Lanqi that her Talent Magic helped her avoid certain dangers but made her bear more negative emotions, and she asked him for advice about challenging the Shadow World.
• Lanqi and Zestira crossed Helrom City and completed Lanqi’s registration at the academy, where he received a bracelet showing zero points.
• Zestira explained that Lanqi’s follower points would go to her and asked him to help on Monthly Examination Day by entering dangerous classrooms with her.
• Lanqi agreed to tutor Zestira during the examinations and resolved to surprise Hughberlian by becoming a political figure rather than simply serving as a principal again.

Senior Priest Kaius and other Nirvana Branch leaders reviewed the results of the initial priest examination as the branch expanded in the Protos Empire. They discussed several candidates and awaited the arrival of the remaining applicants, including Lanchi.

• Senior Priest Kaius and two other priests reviewed the written examination results and candidate dossiers at the Nirvana Knight Order Temple.
• Kaius and the other priests discussed Iron Fist Sailiao, a former gladiator who had passed with 65 points, and considered which branch might recruit him.
• Kaius warned that the Ba Tian Branch could still send people to disrupt their recruitment, despite not openly recruiting in the capital.
• Kaius reviewed [Fire Tongue] Leiduoer’s dossier and noted that the impulsive fire mage had scored 76 points and seemed to imitate Destruction Bishop Ivanos.
• The senior priests joked about the candidates and expected more significant applicants to arrive.

High Priest Kaius and the other examiners reviewed the written-test papers and approved several dangerous candidates, including Luo Qi, whose 98-point score reflected his ruthless answers despite his clean record. They confirmed the passing candidates and prepared to begin the formal retest and Final Assessment that afternoon.

• Kaius and the high priests passed the papers of notorious candidates including Poison Sting Walter, Eye Collector Tors, and Blood Throat Jia.
• The examiners discussed Sid’s blank subjective answers and passed her while keeping watch for possible infiltration by the Goddess of Fate Church.
• Kaius presented Luo Qi’s 98-point paper, and the high priests agreed his answers showed unmistakable wickedness despite his ordinary record.
• The examiners found Luo Qi had lost points only for leaving the question about Nirvana Bishop Askesang’s name blank, and they approved his passing.
• Kaius confirmed the written-test candidates and arranged for the formal retest and Final Assessment to begin that afternoon.

Lanchi entered the Nirvana Knight Order’s retest, where examiner Kaius explained that candidates had to prove their loyalty by modifying a statue of the Goddess of Fate. The candidates were left to create works that demonstrated their devotion to the Rebirth Church.

• Lanchi arrived at the Nirvana Knight Order and entered the retest hall while Cat Boss worried about his decision to join the Nirvana Branch.
• Lanchi took a seat among more than twenty dangerous candidates waiting for the retest.
• High priest Kaius arrived and introduced himself as the examiner for the retest and Final Assessment.
• Kaius described how the Goddess of Fate Church had used suspicion and demands for proof against Rebirth Priests, a practice called “Wilfordism.”
• Kaius told the candidates to alter a Goddess of Fate Statue and submit their work so he could judge their loyalty and artistic sensibilities.

Lanchi entered the Rebirth Church’s second assessment, where examinees had to destroy statues of the Goddess of Fate to prove their loyalty and expose suspected spies. As the others began their work, Lanchi calmly picked up a carving knife and started shaping his statue with careful, deliberate strokes.

• Kaius explained that examinees had to destroy a Goddess of Fate statue, using their reactions and finished work to identify suspected clerics of her church.
• An examinee refused to take part and was seized by Heavy Armor Priests and taken away.
• Kaius had priests distribute statues and tools, then began the half-hour assessment.
• The examinees attacked or altered their statues using tools, spells, and other materials.
• Lanchi studied his statue before beginning to carve it with steady, expressive strokes.

Kaius forced the criminal candidates to remake Goddess of Fate statues as a test of loyalty, rejecting some and accepting others. Lanchi’s skillful statue left Kaius unable to decide whether it praised or insulted the goddess.

• Kaius rejected a candidate’s smashed statue as too mild an insult and had the Deep Gray Heavy Armor Cleric drag him away for detention.
• Sid submitted a plain stone cube and Kaius accepted it as a pass, despite growing more suspicious of her.
• Leiduoer, Meat Scraps Graf, Poison Sting Walter, Blood Throat Jia, and Eye Collector Tors submitted grotesque statues that Kaius approved.
• Kaius announced that anyone who failed to finish within ten minutes would be deemed a member of the Goddess of Fate Church.
• Lanchi presented a lifelike statue of the goddess making an inward-facing V-sign with an arrogant expression, leaving Kaius unable to tell whether it was praise or mockery.

Lanchi passed the retest after Kaius accepted his controversial statue of the Goddess of Fate, then left to begin the Final Assessment. That night, Lanchi’s real-name report against Kaius triggered a scandal that cost Kaius his position.

• Kaius judged Lanchi’s statue a passing work and praised him before moving on to the last applicant, who was dragged away after failing.
• Kaius announced that candidates had 24 hours to challenge a priest with a Blue Precious or higher Certificate of Rebirth - Nirvana, using any lawful means and risking death.
• Lanchi and Sid left the hall alone while the other candidates considered cooperating against the priests.
• Lanchi told Cat Boss that the Final Assessment was already over.
• A real-name report accused Kaius of hoarding an artistic statue and secretly serving the Goddess of Fate Church, prompting the Ba Tian Branch and Mourning Branch to condemn the Nirvana Branch and Kaius to be removed from office.

Lanchi and Zestira spent a Saturday studying and talking at a café in Helrom, where he told her he was preparing for the Law Exam. After Zestira asked about his real-name report against a Rebirth Church high priest, Lanchi advised her to use legal reports against anyone who caused trouble.

• Lanchi and Zestira met at a café near Protos Royal Magic Academy, where he tutored her in Demon Magic Text and they chatted about daily life.
• Zestira asked Lanchi how he was finding life in the imperial capital, and he said it felt comfortable rather than foreign.
• Lanchi told Zestira that he was studying for the Law Exam and planned to take it the following month.
• Zestira brought up Lanchi's real-name report against the high priest of the Rebirth Church, which had become a topic of conversation at school.
• Lanchi encouraged Zestira to report anyone who bullied or threatened her, explaining that powerful people often had enemies who would act once given an opening.

Lanchi listened to Zestira explain Protos Royal Magic Academy’s rules and agreed to help her prepare for Monthly Examination Day. As they headed toward the academy, Zestira sensed a non-hostile presence watching them, and Lanchi encouraged her to train her Talent Magic.

• Zestira reflected that the Rebirth Church had not retaliated against Lanchi after he reported them, and that the academy students hostile to her had become more restrained.
• Zestira took Lanchi from the café to show him the school’s Safe Zones before Monthly Examination Day the following week.
• Lanchi planned to use his five weekdays at the academy to help Zestira earn enough credits to observe the Primordial Slab—Light.
• As they walked through Helrom, Zestira sensed something watching them, but concluded it had no malice and reassured Lanchi.
• Lanchi advised Zestira to train her Talent Magic and said it could evolve into Mind Reading, then described his demon teacher’s reluctance to read other people’s thoughts.

Lanchi walked with Zestira through Helrom and discussed her Talent Magic, her studies, and his teacher's teacher. The chapter left him surprised when Zestira revealed she wanted to develop a mind-control ability like Talia's.

• Zestira asked Lanchi about his teacher's teacher, then practiced forcing a smile as he reassured her she could learn in time.
• Lanchi questioned Zestira about the range of her Talent Magic and wondered who had been observing them nearby.
• Zestira told Lanchi that Xiduo, the author of Holy War Chronicles, taught her history course at Protos Royal Magic Academy.
• Lanchi asked to attend Xiduo's class with Zestira the following week, and she agreed.
• Lanchi explained that specializing in range could make Zestira an exceptional enemy detector, but she said she wanted to specialize in mental interference like Talia.

Lanchi realized Zestira’s image of Talia was an invented ideal of a charismatic Demon King, then decided to reshape Talia’s reputation into the Poet of Great Love to inspire the demons and advance his plans. Zestira continued toward Protos Royal Magic Academy with him, quietly keeping her Talent Magic’s growth a secret.

• Lanchi explained how Zestira could develop her Talent Magic by studying Mental Magic and sensing other people’s emotions.
• Zestira described her imagined Talia as a wicked, captivating demon who could control her desires and break enemies through psychological cruelty.
• Lanchi realized Zestira’s Talia was a fantasy and concluded that the demons needed an inspiring leader image before he could rebuild Purgatory Corridor Academy.
• Lanchi planned to establish Talia as the cheerful Poet of Great Love, expecting the real Talia would reject the persona and return to the Southern Continent.
• Zestira walked with Lanchi toward Protos Royal Magic Academy and decided not to tell him that staying near him helped her Talent Magic evolve.

Special Envoy Sander reviewed the Final Assessment candidates and singled out Luo Qi McCarthy and Sid for their unusual abilities. He ordered both sent to the Northwest Province next month to join the Inspection Force under the Nirvana Holy Son, where they would hunt spies and be tested.

• Special Envoy Sander praised Luo Qi McCarthy’s assessment results and set his evaluation aside as an exceptional candidate.
• Sander read Sid’s file, which described how she had openly demolished Senior Priest Kaius’s house and falsely claimed he had ordered it.
• Sander told the senior priests to keep Sid under watch because she was suspected of serving the Goddess of Fate Church.
• Sander explained that Luo Qi was clearly suited to the Nirvana Branch and said Aetherland spies had recently infiltrated the Northwest Province.
• Sander ordered Luo Qi, Sid, and the other newcomers sent next month to the Inspection Force stationed with the Nirvana Holy Son.

Lanchi headed to the Nirvana Knight Order Temple to receive his work assignment, but Sid seized him and carried him to a private hall. There, she revealed that her identity was Sigrid and displayed an orange-radiant holy seal bearing the Silver Moon Crown.

• Lanchi reassured Cat Boss that he had cut ties with the Ba Tian Branch and was focused on his work in the Empire.
• Lanchi noticed Sid walking toward the Nirvana Knight Order but chose not to greet her.
• Sid grabbed Lanchi and carried him at high speed to an ancient, lavish hall.
• Sid introduced herself as Sigrid and showed Lanchi a holy seal with the Silver Moon Crown, glowing with orange radiance.

Ba Tian Sect Sigrid revealed her identity to Lanchi and offered to make him her Direct subordinate after praising his Final Assessment performance. Lanchi hesitated because joining her would end his chance to infiltrate the Nirvana Branch, while Cat Boss urged him to accept out of fear.

• Sigrid told Lanchi that she had infiltrated the Nirvana Branch to recruit its most outstanding talent herself.
• Cat Boss trembled in Lanchi’s shadow, and Sigrid noticed it before Lanchi comforted it.
• Sigrid praised Lanchi’s Final Assessment performance and offered him a position as her Direct subordinate.
• Lanchi asked whether he could join Sigrid and continue infiltrating the Nirvana Branch, but she refused and warned him that the Nirvana Bishop could kill him.
• Cat Boss desperately urged Lanchi to accept Sigrid’s offer as Lanchi considered his choices.

Lanchi agreed to become Sigrid’s adviser in the Ba Tian Branch, accepting a mission to prove his abilities while keeping his own goal of observing the Seal Slab. Sigrid sent him to investigate the Southwest Province’s rising “Pioneer” and bring the figure to her.

• Lanchi asked whether Sigrid would give him authority and trust him, and she promised to let him make decisions if he proved his ability.
• Lanchi formally joined the Ba Tian Branch, and Sigrid warned him not to pursue dangerous ideas about killing the Nirvana Holy Son.
• Lanchi told Sigrid he could not begin her first assignment until the beginning of next month because of his duties at Protos Royal Magic Academy.
• Sigrid gave Lanchi a Direct Subordinate Seal and ordered him to investigate the Southwest Province’s recent changes, identify the “Pioneer,” and bring him to her.

Lanchi demonstrated his influence by contacting High Priest Kane as the Pioneer and revealing that he was now Sigrid’s partner. Sigrid apologized for misjudging him and chose to make him the Ba Tian Holy Son, handing him a Saint Certificate.

• Sigrid summoned a communication terminal, and Lanchi called High Priest Kane of the Southwest Province.
• Kane recognized Lanchi as the Pioneer, and Lanchi told him he was now a partner of the Ba Tian Sect.
• Sigrid told Kane to keep Lanchi’s identity as her man secret, and Kane pledged his loyalty.
• Sigrid apologized to Lanchi, crushed his Rebirth Certificate, and decided to make him the Ba Tian Holy Son.
• Sigrid issued Lanchi a Saint Certificate bearing the name Luo Qi McCarthy.

Lanchi accepted Sigrid’s Certificate of the Saint and became her Holy Son and confidant, gaining broad authority within the Ba Tian Branch. He persuaded Sigrid to accompany him to infiltrate the Nirvana Branch, and she transformed into Sid to pose as a Tier 4 knight.

• Lanchi asked what authority and benefits came with accepting the pink-divine-grade Certificate of the Saint, and Sigrid offered him her full authority as her confidant and proxy.
• Lanchi accepted and bound the Certificate of the Saint, formally becoming Sigrid’s Holy Son, and outlined plans for managing the Pioneer’s reputation.
• Sigrid gave Lanchi a Secret Key to her collection hall and told him to return in five days after handling matters at Protos Royal Magic Academy.
• Lanchi announced that he would continue infiltrating the Nirvana Branch and persuaded Sigrid to accompany him for protection.
• Sigrid transformed into Sid and agreed to pose as a Tier 4 knight, warning Lanchi that she would punish him if he needed rescuing because he had performed poorly.