Chapter Summaries

Sunan secured the cave’s ore deposits, advanced his cultivation and Magical Item Creation, and continued preparing to craft a Magic Rune Core. Meanwhile, Starfire Cult high priests blamed a series of raids and stolen God Blood Amber on wizards and suspected Sunan, while debating how to restore their missionary work.

• Sunan told Kei about the Underground City-State, then ordered mining equipment and assigned Clay Golems to work the cave’s ore veins.
• Sunan stationed five Steel Golems and a Magical Alarm in the cave; after two months without trouble, the mining operation continued smoothly.
• Sunan constructed his eleventh Star Ring, raised his Spirit Power above 34, began using a Tier 3 Superior-Grade Transcendent Potion, and reached Level 4 in Magical Item Creation.
• Sunan delegated enchanted-weapon crafting to Xie Man and Ke Lei, noted Yi Sang’s talent, and said he was close to completing his search for the rare metals needed for a Magic Rune Core.
• Yoris, Yan Sen, and Bu Lake discussed attacks on eighteen Starfire Cult strongholds and the theft of more than thirty pieces of God Blood Amber, suspecting a wizard organization and possibly Sunan.
• The three high priests worried about recovering the stolen God Blood Amber and restoring missionary work while Grand High Priest Ao Weijiu remained in seclusion.

Sunan forged and tested a powerful Magic Rune Core, then learned that Night Owl and the others had gathered thirty-three pieces of God Blood Amber for him. After synthesizing the amber, he greatly increased his meditation efficiency and expected to construct his twelfth star ring by Autumn Curtain Month.

• Sunan forged the Magic Rune Core, fused it into his chest, and tested its versatile attacks and defenses, though using it at full power drained his Spirit Power quickly.
• Sunan learned that Kei's wife was pregnant, admitted he had helped attack the Starfire Cult, and asked Kei to establish a Knight Academy for commoners and farmers.
• At the Dark Forest Lodge gathering, Sunan bought thirty-three pieces of God Blood Amber from Red Heart, Corpse, Scepter, and Night Owl.
• Sunan synthesized the God Blood Amber and found that, with a Tier 3 Superior Transcendent Potion, it increased his meditation efficiency by roughly a quarter.
• Sunan reached a daily gain of 2,900 proficiency in Star Ring Meditation and estimated that he would construct his twelfth star ring by Autumn Curtain Month.

Sunan investigated the Underground City-State and learned it was ruled by Man-Faced Lions, making a conflict with the surface likely. After witnessing a masked Wizard Apprentice escape the city, Sunan revealed himself and recognized the fugitive as Rose.

• Sunan entered the Underground World and learned from two Man-Faced Lions that their island city-state held thousands of residents and slaves.
• Sunan approached the city and saw a black lion expose a disguised Lizardman at the gate.
• The Lizardman revealed himself as a Gray-robed Person and fought off the Man-Faced Lions with spells before escaping into the cavern.
• Sunan followed the Gray-robed Person, who challenged him to identify himself.
• Sunan stepped out of the darkness and greeted the masked figure as Rose.

Sunan and Rose joined forces to find the key to a Wizard Inheritance hidden in Island City, and Sunan led a Stone Golem assault that let them slip past the Man-Faced Lions. They found the enormous statue beneath which the key was hidden, but faced the problem of moving it without alerting the city.

• Sunan recognized Rose by her Magic Missile wand, and they signed Oath Contracts to cooperate and split the Wizard Inheritance equally.
• Rose explained that Soul-Eating Hunters could sense soul auras, so Sunan abandoned stealth and summoned more than a hundred Stone Golems to attack Island City.
• Sunan and Rose used the chaos to enter the city, and Sunan killed a Soul-Eating Hunter with a silver spear as they passed the walls.
• Sunan charmed a Gray Dwarf, learned that a Man-Faced Lion statue in Central Square hid the key, and killed the dwarf after questioning him.
• Sunan and Rose reached Central Square and found the enormous obsidian statue, but realized moving it would attract the Man-Faced Lions.

Sunan and Rose stole a Crystal Ball key from the Man-Faced Lion city-state and fought their way past its defenders, including the noble Carlo Lena. They escaped with the key, leaving Sunan to hope that the Wizard Inheritance would repay the costly loss of his golems.

• Sunan used an Elite Stone Golem to move the Man-Faced Lion statue while Rose retrieved a Crystal Ball from beneath the ground.
• Sunan and Rose fought through Man-Faced Lion warriors and illusions as they fled the city, then faced the noble Carlo Lena and her elite fighters.
• Sunan used the Ice Seal Necklace to dispel Carlo Lena’s illusions and freeze nearby Man-Faced Lions, then struck Carlo Lena with a powerful lightning attack.
• Sunan and Rose escaped while their golems held off the pursuers, and Carlo Lena ordered An Gu Si to tend to the injured and report to the city lord.
• Back in the cavern, Rose thanked Sunan for helping secure the key, while Sunan regretted losing three Elite Stone Golems and one hundred Stone Golems.

Sunan and Rose found the Wizard Inheritance and Sunan destroyed its Adamantine Golem guardian before they entered. Inside, a swarm of soul-devouring Blood Soul Worms attacked them, but Sunan’s golems and layered protections held them off.

• Sunan bought Rose’s map and six pieces of God Blood Amber, then followed her through the caverns to the Wizard Inheritance.
• Sunan destroyed the Adamantine Golem with his Magic Rune Core and a High-Level Rune Gem, then recovered his Spirit Power while Rose rested.
• Sunan and Rose opened the ancient metal door and entered a cave containing six rooms and two dark passages.
• A swarm of Blood Soul Worms rushed from the left passage, and Sunan warned Rose that they could devour souls.
• Rose defended herself with summoned plants while Sunan deployed three Steel Golems to crush the worms.
• The Blood Soul Worms broke through Sunan’s first force field, but his five Extreme Protection Rings raised another protective barrier around him.

Sunan and Rose cleared a cavern of Blood Soul Worms and discovered Avegni Lucas’s notebooks, which revealed his doomed attempt to gain immortality and his creation of Gemstone Bugs. They identified six surviving Gemstone Bugs and learned that they could reproduce through fission, leaving them with a rare potential source of gemstones.

• Sunan and Rose defeated the Blood Soul Worm swarm, and Sunan trapped the survivors in an iron cage.
• They searched the cavern’s rooms and found a skeleton in a damaged Spell Practice Room and several durable notebooks in a laboratory.
• Sunan and Rose read Avegni Lucas’s notes and learned that his soul-devouring bloodline had driven him toward madness, likely causing his death.
• They discovered Avegni’s notes on Gemstone Bugs, creatures he had modified to produce gemstones and that could survive long periods in hibernation.
• Sunan and Rose recognized six surviving insects as Gemstone Bugs and learned they could reproduce through fission.

Sunan and Rose divided the spoils from Ai Weige Ni’s cave, including knowledge of Bloodline Imprint, then Sunan reported the Man-Faced Lion City-State’s strength to Kei and planned a golem-led assault. As Camp 1 expanded the Golem Legion, Sunan designed and tested a swift, powerful Dual-Blade Spider puppet, and planned to seek a flying puppet blueprint at the next Dark Forest Lodge gathering.

• Sunan and Rose read Ai Weige Ni’s notebook on Bloodline Imprint, divided their discoveries and supplies, and parted on friendly terms.
• Sunan observed the Man-Faced Lion City-State’s tightened defenses, then told Kei it could muster thousands of troops and requested a military camp, a restricted forest, and granite.
• Sunan decided to attack with golem puppets rather than human troops, fused six pieces of God Blood Amber, and continued developing Shining City’s Knight Academy.
• Kei built Camp 1, where Sunan established a Puppet Factory and began producing Stone Golems while planning a faster puppet for the Underground World.
• Sunan crafted a Tungsten Steel spider puppet with enchanted blade-like front legs, named it the Dual-Blade Spider, and tested it defeating a Stone Golem in under half a minute.
• Sunan considered adding flying puppets to his forces and decided to ask about suitable blueprints at the next Dark Forest Lodge gathering.

Sunan completed a robe that concealed his body, sound, and scent, then attended a Dark Forest Lodge gathering where Red Heart’s account of a dangerous Starfire Cult ambush ended plans for further attacks. He bought a Golden Apple that could restore his Spirit Power for an hour and ended the gathering by asking for blueprints for special-model, preferably flying, puppets.

• Sunan checked on his recovered Gemstone Bugs, dissected several Blood Soul Worms for research, and left their breeding plans aside because raising them required too many souls.
• Sunan completed a magical robe with permanent Cleaning, Silence, and Invisibility Spells, along with a Formless trait and odor-eliminating powder.
• At the Dark Forest Lodge gathering, Red Heart reported that Grand High Priest Ao Weijiu had ambushed him with dangerous items resembling Divine Artifacts, leading the others to abandon further attacks on the Starfire Cult.
• Sunan acquired twenty-five pieces of God Blood Amber from the attendees after they completed their final planned trade.
• Hei Lin sold Sunan a Golden Apple for thirty-nine Magic Stones; its effect could restore physical strength and Spirit Power to peak condition for about an hour.
• Sunan bought rare metals and Soul Crystals during the trading session, then asked whether anyone had blueprints for special-model puppets, preferably flying ones.

Sunan acquired Hei Lin’s impractical Gem Golem blueprint, then life at the base continued as students discussed the Knight Academy and a planned war against the Man-Faced Lion City-State. The chapter left Ke Lei asking Amy to tell Sunan he wanted to join the war, while Atier and Xie Man declined.

• Sunan bought Hei Lin’s Gem Golem blueprint for three magic stones, despite its extreme cost and manufacturing difficulties.
• Atier told Xie Man she had made her first Lesser Dragon Blood Potion, and they discussed the Knight Academy’s recruitment of commoners and farmers.
• Xie Man stopped Si Jinna from casting Mage Hand outside the permitted areas when he spotted a Red-Eyed Raven watching them.
• Ke Lei told Xie Man and Atier that Sunan was preparing for war against the Man-Faced Lion City-State and said he wanted to join to earn Contribution Points and improve his strength.
• Amy warned Ke Lei that a Level 1 Wizard Apprentice would be in danger fighting Man-Faced Lions, but agreed to mention his request to Sunan; Atier and Xie Man chose not to join.

Sunan launched a surprise attack on the Man-Faced Lion City-State with a massive golem legion just as its army prepared to invade the surface. After crippling the enemy forces with lightning and driving the slaves into flight, he confronted the city-state’s three nobles and unleashed the Calamity Ring’s power on them.

• Sunan refused the request to send his apprentices to war and continued his training and preparations, eventually constructing his twelfth star ring.
• Sunan assembled eight Steel Golems, twelve Elite Stone Golems, eight hundred Stone Golems, and fifty Double-Edged Puppets for his attack on the Man-Faced Lion City-State.
• Sunan and Hidden Dragon discovered the Man-Faced Lions preparing to invade, so Sunan struck first with lightning and sent his golem legion charging into their army.
• Sunan’s golems routed the slave troops and inflicted heavy casualties on the Man-Faced Lions, while Yousula, Palida, and Carlo Lena recognized Sunan and attacked him.
• Sunan activated the Calamity Ring, dispelled the nobles’ illusions with a freezing shockwave, and sent four Calamity Claws toward Palida.

Sunan defeated the three Man-Faced Lion nobles and crushed the resistance of their forces, then decided to use Carlo Lena to govern the captured city-state. He bound her and the surviving Man-Faced Lions with Soul Contracts and ordered Carlo Lena to kill the rest, leaving her with fifty subordinates.

• Sunan killed Palida and Carlo Lena and drove Yousula into flight, but Hidden Dragon stopped her escape and Sunan killed her.
• The Man-Faced Lions fled or resisted as Sunan's Dual-Blade Spiders slaughtered them, while the golems and spiders spared those who surrendered.
• Sunan discovered Carlo Lena had survived her wounds and agreed to spare her if she signed a Soul Contract.
• Sunan selected fifty Man-Faced Lions to keep and ordered Carlo Lena to kill the others; he used Mass Panic Spell to prevent them from resisting.
• Carlo Lena killed sixty or seventy of her clansmen, and Sunan made the remaining Man-Faced Lions sign Soul Contracts before ordering them to gather the slaves and clear the battlefield.

Sunan claimed Nether Lake, renamed it Secluded Lake City, and turned the former Man-Faced Lion palace into Base 2 while beginning to exploit nearby mineral veins. As the city’s operations stabilized, he learned the Starry Sky Grand Duke had ordered nobles to follow the Starfire Cult and prepared to build up his forces before Kasham’s next attack.

• Sunan inspected Nether Lake’s storeroom, took its gemstones and rare metals, and learned from Carlo Lena about nearby Osen, Matu, and the hostile insect nest of Kasham.
• Sunan ordered Carlo Lena to stabilize Secluded Lake City, then returned to Shining City and heard from Kei that the Starry Sky Grand Duke had ordered nobles to believe in the Starfire Cult.
• Sunan suspected the Starfire Cult had extended the Grand Duke’s life by eroding his will, then used the newly acquired metals to prepare feed for his Gemstone Bugs.
• Sunan converted the Stone Pillar into a base, built a workshop and Magical Plant Garden 3, and named the completed facility Base 2.
• Sunan began mining four of the seven nearby veins and stationed Elite Stone Golems, Stone Golems, and Dual-Blade Spiders to guard the mines and escort ore.
• By Sleep Month, Secluded Lake City’s four mines were producing steady profits, while Sunan planned to develop the remaining veins and strengthen his forces before Kasham attacked.

Sunan celebrated his nephew’s birth, developed a plan to combine two impractical golem blueprints, and mastered Silent Casting while beginning Instant Spell training. At Dragon Heart Knight Academy, Xie Man and Atier inspected the students whose lives the academy was meant to change.

• Sunan visited his newborn nephew and planned to help Kei become a Legendary Knight with advanced Dragon Blood Fruit.
• Sunan studied Hei Lin’s secret puppet technique, judged its mithril costs prohibitive, and began combining it with a Gemstone Golem design.
• Sunan mastered Silent Casting, practiced Instant Spell, and checked his skill progress.
• Xie Man and Atier visited Dragon Heart Knight Academy, where Mo Li Ci described its curriculum and said students could graduate early by becoming Knights.
• Mo Li Ci welcomed the promise of annual Dragon Blood Fruit for the academy, and the students caught sight of the visiting wizards before their teachers ordered them to keep running.

Sunan learned that the Starfire Cult was openly eliminating nobles who resisted its faith, and Kei resolved to overthrow the Grand Duke with White Tower Marquis's support. While Kei secretly prepared for the coup under Sunan's protection, Sunan expanded his power in Secluded Lake City by crafting a stronger Magic Rune Core and stockpiling combat resources.

• Kei told Sunan that the Starfire Cult had killed nobles and their heirs, then declared that he would replace the Grand Duke; White Tower Marquis supported him.
• Sunan agreed to Kei's plan and equipped the Lord's Manor with powerful golems and two Legendary Knight-level Blackrock Panthers to protect him.
• Carlo Lena reported ghoul scouts near Mine No. 3 and vampires near Mine No. 2, and Sunan ordered her to kill them if they returned.
• Sunan refined a second Magic Rune Core, synthesized it with his first into a Level 2 Magic Rune Core, and found that it greatly improved his attack and defense with little added Spirit Power consumption.
• Sunan counted his Calamity Rings, Extreme Protection Rings, High-Level Rune Gems, and puppets among his trump cards, while deciding to accumulate resources for stronger Legendary Rank puppets.

Xie Man arranged expanded potion sales and Tier-Zero Potion agency terms with Muzar, while Sunan designed a powerful new puppet that required scarce mithril. Amy then found Gray Earth Stone underground, giving Sunan hope that her ability could help uncover rare materials.

• Muzar watched beastmen and Clay Golems unload goods at the base before greeting Xie Man and arranging the metal handover.
• Xie Man agreed to double the Fire Fox Merchant Guild’s potion supply and grant it Tier-Zero Potion agency rights, provided the potions stayed out of the Starry Sky Principality and were paid for with gems.
• Xie Man accepted Muzar’s pouch of gems, and the two sides completed their exchange before Xie Man headed to harvest magical plants.
• Sunan reviewed his design for a powerful diamond-and-mithril puppet and concluded that the shortage of mithril remained its main obstacle.
• Amy brought Sunan a Gray Earth Stone she had found by sensing dense Energy Particles underground, and Sunan realized she could help locate rare materials.

After the Starry Sky Grand Duke demanded Kei Arnester submit to the Starfire Cult, Kei raised a rebellion and Sunan planned to disrupt the cult in Hulan Province while Shining Territory prepared for war. Sunan also strengthened his forces in Secluded Lake City and rejected Matu and Osen’s offer of an alliance against Kasham, leaving their envoys to consider what to do next.

• Kei Arnester and his nobles debated which provinces to attack, and Sunan advised taking Soman Province and Purple Bamboo Province while he went to Hulan Province to hinder the Starfire Cult.
• Sunan refined eight Dual-Blade Spiders and synthesized them with his existing puppets into a Second Circle Legendary Rank Dual-Blade Spider.
• Carlo Lena told Sunan that envoys from Matu and Osen wanted to discuss an alliance against Kasham, but Sunan declined to meet them and told her to brush them off.
• Carlo Lena informed the vampire and ghoul envoys that Sunan was unavailable, and both envoys left Secluded Lake City in anger.
• The ghoul envoy reasoned that Carlo Lena’s submission suggested Sunan was formidable, while the vampire envoy insisted Secluded Lake City would eventually need their help against Kasham’s Insects.

Sunan infiltrated the Starfire Cult’s military gathering in Yaan City, where Yan Sen used a Holy Object to trap him in a Half-Dimensional Space. Sunan identified the cultists’ Temporary Etherealization and unleashed a metal storm, killing the twelve Grand Knights while the four Legendary Knights survived under a layer of starlight.

• Earl Nolais and Yan Sen argued over when to launch the campaign against Shining Territory, then agreed that Yan Sen’s followers would protect the commanders from Sunan.
• Stone Golems attacked the military camp and city gates, and Yan Sen recognized their arrival as a sign that Sunan was nearby.
• An old Starfire Cult follower detected an intruder, and Yan Sen’s book revealed Sunan at the council hall entrance.
• Yan Sen’s followers surrounded Sunan and used a Holy Object to pull him into a Half-Dimensional Space where their attacks could reach him but his Magic Missiles could not.
• Sunan recognized the followers’ Temporary Etherealization and unleashed a storm of silver spikes, killing twelve Grand Knights while four Legendary Knights endured behind starlight.

Sunan defeated Yan Sen and the Starfire Cult forces, then devastated Yaan City as he departed. Meanwhile, Kei began the assault on High Cliff City, where the defenders were caught between the Shining Army and spiders attacking from the rear.

• Yan Sen unleashed the Star Book's strongest attack, but Sunan emerged unharmed and killed Yan Sen and the other Starfire Cult members.
• Sunan returned to the hall, killed Earl Nolais and the gathered nobles, and left Yaan City after destroying the cult branch and retrieving the golem puppets.
• Kei received news of Sunan's victory in Yaan City and ordered the Shining Army to attack High Cliff City.
• Baron Wilkin reassured the defenders that the city's cliffs and walls would hold until reinforcements arrived.
• The defenders learned that giant spiders had climbed the rear cliffs and entered the city as Stone Golems began battering the walls.

Hulan Marquis confronted Bu Lake and Yoris over Sunan’s attacks, but Grand High Priest Ao Weijiu emerged and promised to deal with Sunan himself. Meanwhile, Sunan discovered that the Magic Cube could weaken the contamination in God's Grace, giving him a new way to increase his Spirit Power as he prepared to keep fighting the Starfire Cult.

• Hulan Marquis accused Bu Lake and Yoris of failing to protect his territory and demanded an explanation for the Starfire Cult’s losses and the Stone Golem armies in Shining Territory.
• Yoris and Bu Lake suspected Dark Forest Lodge was supporting Sunan, but Ao Weijiu appeared and said the wizard organization would not interfere in the war.
• Ao Weijiu assured Hulan Marquis that he would personally kill Sunan, and Hulan Marquis left reassured.
• Sunan studied the Star Book and Golden Beetle, extracted God's Grace from them, and reasoned that removing its faith imprints would make it safe to absorb.
• Sunan used the Magic Cube to synthesize the God's Grace into Divine Energy with weaker mental contamination, confirming it could become a new source of Spirit Power.
• Sunan noted that he had formed his thirteenth Star Ring and reached 38.13 Spirit Power, and estimated that Divine Energy could speed his progress toward the next ring.