Chapter Summaries

The Resurrection Cultists captured Viscount Francis and his crew, and their Silver Armor Priest tried to force Francis into a contract. Lanchi summoned the priest to a cabin and confronted him, leaving the priest facing questions about his department and leader.

• The Resurrection Cultists quickly subdued the merchant ship's crew and guards, leaving Viscount Francis unbound.
• The Silver Armor Priest questioned Francis about the Rebirth Church and presented a magical bracelet to compel his cooperation.
• Lanchi used directional voice-transmission magic to summon the Silver Armor Priest to a room at the end of the second-floor corridor.
• The Silver Armor Priest entered the room and found Lanchi reading Imperial Law.
• Lanchi asked the Silver Armor Priest what department he belonged to and who led it.

Lanchi used his encrypted holy seal to establish his authority with the Silver Armor Priest, but the priest challenged him to prove his strength. Lanchi overwhelmed him with Tier 7 magic, leaving the priest terrified and begging for mercy.

• Lanchi showed the Silver Armor Priest his encrypted purple holy seal and asked him not to obstruct Viscount Francis.
• The Silver Armor Priest refused to obey Lanchi, saying the Ba Tian Sect respected strength rather than status.
• Lanchi deployed a Tier 7 Sound Sealing Barrier and unleashed Purgatory Sound against the Silver Armor Priest.
• The Silver Armor Priest collapsed to his knees and begged Lanchi to spare him.
• Lanchi dispelled Purgatory Sound and removed the barrier, restoring the cabin to silence and calm.

Lanchi spared the Silver Armor Priest and advised him on how the Ba Tian Sect could win Lilom City's support while avoiding political retaliation. The priest left with a plan to fill the gap left by the Goddess of Fate Church and build public trust.

• Lanchi ordered the Silver Armor Priest to apologize to Viscount Francis, then asked him to explain the Ba Tian Sect's work.
• The Silver Armor Priest described the sect's plan to gain residents' trust and spread its doctrines, and Lanchi warned that their misconduct could give the Conservative Faction evidence to overturn the Rebirth Church Legalization Act.
• Lanchi advised the priest to obey the law, act honestly, and demonstrate that the Rebirth Church's legalization benefited the Empire and the residents of Lilom City.
• Lanchi urged the Ba Tian Sect to fill the market gap left by the Goddess of Fate Church and earn the city's support, leaving the Silver Armor Priest stunned by his guidance.

Lanchi instructed the Silver Armor Priest to reshape the Ba Tian Sect branch into a charitable organization and use its followers to develop the town and build prestige. After the priest left, Lanchi discussed his plans for the Rebirth Church’s work and media strategy with Cat Boss, while Cat Boss worried that Lanchi had lost sight of his assignment.

• Lanchi tested how much the Silver Armor Priest had remembered, wrote down the key points, and ordered him to begin carrying out the plan the next morning.
• The Silver Armor Priest agreed to follow Lanchi’s instructions and left, hoping to show results and earn High Priest Kane’s attention.
• Lanchi explained to Cat Boss that Ba Tian Branch followers could help develop the seaside town and the Southwest Province through construction work.
• Lanchi said he wanted to focus on media once the Rebirth Church improved its image, and he wished to find a talented reporter or editor-in-chief.
• Cat Boss realized that Lanchi was seriously planning the Rebirth Church’s operations and wondered whom he was supposed to seek out for the assignment.

The Silver Armor Priest freed Viscount Francis and the sailors after confirming that someone had obtained Francis’s route and planned to harm him. When the ship reached port, Francis invited Lanchi to stay at the Lord’s Mansion as Zestira’s tutor, while remaining unaware of Lanchi’s role in resolving the shipboard crisis.

• The Silver Armor Priest compared the Nautical Log with another document, ordered the sailors untied, and apologized to Viscount Francis for the staged anti-terrorism drill.
• The Silver Armor Priest gave Francis the Nautical itinerary as evidence that someone intended to harm him, then left with the Silver Robe Priests.
• Viscount Francis questioned whether the cultists’ actions had been a drill or whether they had received an expert’s help, while the sailors celebrated their release.
• The merchant ship reached port, where Viscount Francis invited Lanchi to stay at the Lord’s Mansion and asked whether he knew what had happened aboard the ship.
• Lanchi said he had noticed the ship stop but had not known what was happening, and Viscount Francis dismissed his suspicions.

Lanqi arrived in Lilom City with Viscount Francis and insisted on beginning lessons with Zestira the next morning despite his injuries. As the carriage neared the Lord's Mansion, Francis explained his daughter's painful isolation and Lanqi promised to try to reach her emotionally.

• Lanqi and Viscount Francis traveled from the dock to the Lord's Mansion by carriage.
• Lanqi asked to begin tutoring Zestira the next day, and Francis agreed while offering to provide the empire's magic textbooks.
• Lanqi explained that he wanted to build a separate legal identity in the Protos Empire rather than rely on his Rebirth Church certificate.
• Viscount Francis told Lanqi how prejudice against Zestira's demonic traits had wounded her and driven her to shut herself away.
• Lanqi promised to communicate with Zestira on an emotional level, while Francis remained doubtful but clung to the hope that he could help.

Lanchi began his first lesson with Zestira by quietly working and drawing her into conversation instead of trying to teach her. He left the lesson learning spellcasting from her, while Viscount Francis discovered their roles had been reversed.

• Viscount Francis introduced Lanchi to Zestira, who ignored her new tutor and continued reading.
• Lanchi sat quietly and worked until he asked Zestira about breakfast, then asked if they could be friends.
• Zestira told Lanchi she would be his friend and offered to teach him spellcasting after he said he lacked magic talent.
• Lanchi joined Zestira at her table and listened as she taught him basic spellcasting techniques for over an hour.
• Viscount Francis listened at the door and was stunned to hear Zestira teaching Lanchi.

Lanchi’s first tutoring session with Zestira turned into a long conversation in which she taught him fire magic, and Viscount Francis was pleased that she had opened up to someone. After Lanchi left, Zestira found his annotated textbook and read through his Demon Magic Text notes, leaving the book behind for his return the next day.

• Zestira patiently taught Lanchi the Tier 1 Fireball Spell, and his progress advanced by about one-tenth after more than two hours.
• Lanchi told Zestira he would see her the next day and admitted to Viscount Francis that she had ended up teaching him instead.
• Viscount Francis asked Lanchi to keep Zestira company, and Lanchi promised to help her prepare for the Protos Royal Magic Academy examination.
• Zestira discovered Lanchi’s annotated textbook and read his Demon Magic Text notes, then decided to leave the book for him to retrieve tomorrow.

Hughberlian reached the Aetherland Kingdom and was brought to the Goddess of Fate Church’s Saintess, who revealed that she had once been known as the Ice Witch and belonged to the Great Demon Race. The Saintess ended their first meeting by asking Hughberlian about her relationship with Ifatia or Talia.

• Hughberlian arrived in the Aetherland Kingdom after a shipwreck and sought help from the Goddess of Fate Church to obtain an official identity.
• The God Head Trio escorted Hughberlian to the temple in the royal capital at the Saintess’s request.
• Hughberlian worried that the Saintess might hold her responsible for Lanchi’s misdeeds, but the priest reassured her that the summons concerned her Half-Demon Race identity.
• Hughberlian met the white-haired Saintess, who said she had once been called the Ice Witch and had belonged to the Great Demon Race.
• The Saintess asked Hughberlian what her relationship was with Ifatia or Talia.

Hughberlian learned that her mother, Ifatia, was a missing Demon princess and that she had an aunt named Talia. The Ice Witch asked Hughberlian to infiltrate the Protos Empire and rescue a Demon Race doctor who had been close to Talia, leaving Hughberlian with a dangerous mission to consider.

• Hughberlian confirmed that her mother's name was Ifatia, and the Ice Witch identified her as the Last Princess of the Demon Race.
• The Ice Witch explained the surviving Great Demon Race members' factions and said Ifatia's reputation could earn Hughberlian their consideration.
• The Ice Witch asked Hughberlian to infiltrate the Protos Empire and contact three imprisoned Great Demon Race members.
• The Ice Witch revealed that Ifatia had an elder sister named Talia and identified a prisoner close to Talia as the rescue target.
• The Ice Witch explained that the target was a valuable Demon Race Doctor and Coordinator, while warning Hughberlian not to expect the other two prisoners to serve another race.

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.