Recaps

After Lu Cang’s promotion ritual, Kumiloni treated him for Spiritual Pollution and explained why class awakening before age sixteen had been forbidden. She reassured him that she could remove the influence, but warned that the ritual’s attention on him had been unusually intense and asked what response he had received.

• Kumiloni treated Lu Cang in her suite, drawing dark, rootlike traces from his body after the promotion ritual.
• Lu Cang insisted on learning what the traces were, and Kumiloni identified them as Spiritual Pollution.
• Kumiloni explained that early awakenings drew intense attention during advancement rituals, which gradually eroded spirituality and drove people toward obsessive, inhuman behavior.
• Kumiloni described how a formerly kind, nine-year-old Mage later carried out a blood sacrifice that killed three billion people, prompting a ban on awakening before sixteen.
• Kumiloni said she could remove Lu Cang’s Spiritual Pollution but noted that the ritual’s attention on him exceeded her expectations, then asked what response he had received.

After reaching Level 2, Lu Cang discovered new Mage Masteries and the God-Tier: Multiple Casting talent, then found a prestigious visitor speaking with Iz. The visitor left after Iz refused to reconsider his course of action, and Iz introduced Lu Cang as his personal disciple.

• Lu Cang woke before dawn and found that reaching Level 2 had raised his mana and let his Transcendent Magic proficiency increase again.
• Lu Cang gained the Mage Masteries Transcendent One and Mana Source, along with the talent God-Tier: Multiple Casting, and tested casting several spells simultaneously.
• Lu Cang spent the morning studying at the library and noticed a lavish carriage outside the hotel on his way back.
• Lu Cang visited Iz and overheard a black-haired man urge him to reconsider, saying that the name Izpalut could make their opponents surrender and reduce casualties.
• Iz firmly refused, and after the man left, Iz introduced Lu Cang as his personal disciple.

Lu Cang met Fizer, the Mage Association president, who asked him to join and told Iz about an approaching war. After Iz refused to take part, he trained Lu Cang in several second-tier spells, which Lu Cang learned with extraordinary speed.

• Fizer invited Lu Cang to join the Mage Association, but Iz told him to decide for himself when he was older.
• Fizer explained that he had asked Iz to participate in an upcoming war, and Iz said he had refused because he would not get involved in the world's wars.
• Iz took Lu Cang to a rented training ground to practice second-tier spells.
• Lu Cang learned Stone Wall Technique and quickly mastered it without chanting.
• Lu Cang learned Vine Strike, Fountain Technique, and Wind Blast Technique with remarkable speed.

Lu Cang unleashed his full arsenal against Izpalut in a training battle, but Izpalut easily countered his spells until Lu Cang managed to cut his cheek. Izpalut accepted Lu Cang as a worthy opponent and raised the battle’s intensity, filling the training ground with Wind Blades.

• Izpalut told Lu Cang to attack him while he limited himself to level-two mana and first- and second-tier spells.
• Lu Cang used Godly Multiple Casting to launch every spell he knew, but Izpalut countered the barrage with Transcendent Magic.
• Lu Cang recast his spells as Izpalut advanced, yet Izpalut controlled matching spells well enough to suppress them despite casting fewer.
• Lu Cang used an instant Wind Blade from Silent Wind Swarm to cut Izpalut’s cheek.
• Izpalut praised Lu Cang as a powerful mage and worthy opponent, then filled the training ground with Wind Blades.

After losing his first sparring match with Izpalut, Lu Cang studied magic theory and trained with him, rapidly mastering new spells and Void Realm. Ten days after arriving in the world, Lu Cang found Iz and the others waiting for him downstairs.

• Kumiloni healed Lu Cang after his rough first battle with Izpalut, while Iz explained that Lu Cang had forced him to fight seriously.
• Lu Cang began reading his Ice Cone Technique book to understand magical theory instead of focusing only on learning spells.
• Lu Cang trained with Izpalut and brought six second-tier spells to Transcendence, developing new combinations and combat tactics.
• Over the next ten days, Lu Cang studied in the mornings and trained with Iz in the afternoons, while Chicheng repeatedly invited Iz on wyvern hunts.
• With Iz's guidance, Lu Cang transformed Void Magic into Void Realm, then found Iz and the others waiting for him in the hall the next morning.

Izpalut, Kumiloni, and Chicheng left Lu Cang behind to join a large expedition against a dangerous Tier 7 Dungeon during Harvest Moon. Lu Cang watched them depart and was left feeling alone in the unfamiliar world.

• Izpalut told Lu Cang that the party would leave on a long journey to challenge a Tier 7 Dungeon.
• Lu Cang urged Izpalut, Kumiloni, and Chicheng not to go, but Kumiloni explained that the large-scale raid was necessary to keep the dungeon’s monsters from threatening the world.
• Izpalut reassured Lu Cang that the party would return and encouraged him to explore a dungeon while they were away.
• Lu Cang held back his tears and asked Izpalut to return safely, while Chicheng also promised he would come back.
• Kumiloni, Izpalut, and Chicheng set out, leaving Lu Cang alone in the hall, staring after them.

After Iz and the others left to subjugate Tomb God Stele Valley, Lu Cang decided to explore a dungeon himself and recruited a small team for protection. He chose a request for Guishe Forest, and the group arrived at the ancient forest without incident.

• After spending a day lying in bed, Lu Cang read about the Tomb God Stele Valley expedition and decided to stop sitting idle and explore a dungeon.
• Lu Cang posted a protection request and hired Jidi, a healer, a defender skilled in Shared Damage, and a warrior who also worked as a gatherer.
• Lu Cang selected the Guishe Forest request from the Adventurer's Guild, and Xili reassured him that Iz and the others would return safely.
• On the carriage ride, Lu Cang learned that his teammates had joined because they considered traveling with someone strong safer than exploring alone.
• Lu Cang and his teammates reached the ancient, overgrown Guishe Forest after a short, uneventful journey.

Lu Cang led Gaiton, Jidi, and Zhou Er through Guishe Forest, using powerful magic to clear the fog and kill the snakes throughout their path. After Zhou Er collected valuable materials, the group encountered the Shadow Giant Snake King, a dungeon lord Lu Cang recognized.

• Lu Cang ordered Gaiton to take the lead, then dispelled the forest fog with Wind Roar and illuminated the area with Eternal Lamp.
• Lu Cang blasted the visible snakes with spells, and Zhou Er repaired and gathered their remains along with two Snake Mushrooms.
• Zhou Er reported a haul worth about 2 gold and 15 silver, and the group continued deeper into the forest.
• Lu Cang cautiously cleared leaves, checked for traps, and killed scattered monsters while the others followed.
• Lu Cang sensed Dark Element gathering ahead and spotted the Shadow Giant Snake King lurking among the trees.

Lu Cang defeated the evolved snake dungeon lord almost instantly with second-tier magic, then harvested its valuable Dark Crystal and completed the dungeon commission. After paying his party, he reflected on how profitable the run had been, while Jidi compared Lu Cang’s magic with that of an ordinary mage.

• The giant snake charged at Lu Cang, and Gaiton braced himself with defensive combat skills as Jidi warned that the snake was an evolved species.
• Lu Cang wounded the snake with Cutting Wind, pinned it with stone pillars, and killed it with a Flame Ball.
• Uncle Zhou Er harvested the snake and recovered a large Dark Crystal, which he estimated was worth 1 Gold Coin.
• Lu Cang’s party found no other valuable items and returned to the Adventurer’s Guild to turn in the commission.
• Lu Cang paid his party and kept 6 Gold Coins and 22 Silver Coins, while Jidi considered how Lu Cang’s magic compared with Desa’s.

Lu Cang accepted four commissions to hunt wanted boss monsters in the wild after the Tier 2 dungeon commission was taken, and recruited his three companions to help. As they traveled to the hunting grounds, he learned that dungeons had become more dangerous than his outdated book suggested.

• Lu Cang learned that the last Tier 2 dungeon commission had been taken and chose four wild-monster subjugation commissions instead.
• Zhou Er identified three commissions for Tier 2 bosses and one for a Tier 3 boss, and Lu Cang offered his companions 48% of the rewards while keeping the spoils.
• Jidi, Gaiton, and the collector uncle agreed to join Lu Cang in hunting the monsters.
• Lu Cang and his companions set out for Guishe Forest, where their round trip took less than two hours.
• Lu Cang asked his companions about the region and learned that dungeons had grown more dangerous over the past twenty years, with a 1% death rate for adventurers exploring dungeons at their own tier.

Lu Cang killed an Ironback Giant Lizard with one Pillar Charge to its weak belly, collected its valuable drops, and decided that hunting Lord monsters in the wild was profitable. He and his companions moved on to another target, a Plume-tailed Scorpion.

• Lu Cang charged toward the Ironback Giant Lizard on the Dragon Rhino and killed it with a Pillar Charge through its belly.
• Lu Cang cast three more Pillar Charges to make sure the lizard was dead, then sent Zhou Er to collect its spoils.
• Zhou Er harvested an Earth Crystal and an Earthgold Scale, and Lu Cang calculated that the hunt had made a net profit of 2 gold and 70 silver.
• Lu Cang practiced his Transcendent Magic on smaller monsters as the group traveled across the plain.
• The group spotted a Plume-tailed Scorpion, and Lu Cang told the others to prepare an antidote for him.

Lu Cang and his companions defeated the remaining Tier Two Lords with ease before facing the Tier Three [Hammer-tail Horned Bull]. Lu Cang stopped its charge with his Stone Wall and wounded it with Piercing Pillar and Curse Arrow, leaving the battle underway.

• Lu Cang killed a scorpion with spells, and Zhou Er collected gold, silver, and an earth crystal.
• Lu Cang defeated the nearby Tier Two Lord with two spells, then headed toward the final Tier Three Lord with his companions.
• The [Hammer-tail Horned Bull] noticed Lu Cang and charged, but his Stone Wall stopped its attack.
• Lu Cang impaled the [Hammer-tail Horned Bull]'s belly with Piercing Pillar and struck it with fifteen Curse Arrows.

Lu Cang easily killed a third-tier Lord-tier Hammer-tail Horned Bull and learned that its unusually large harvest might be tied to the start of Yakartikto’s month. As the sky began shifting like an unrolling painting, Jidi identified the phenomenon and Zhou Er wondered whether Yakartikto truly descended into the mortal world.

• Lu Cang weakened the Hammer-tail Horned Bull with Cursed Arrow and other spells, then killed it with an ice shard.
• Lu Cang considered how his victory over a third-tier Lord-tier Demonic Beast affected his confidence about entering third-tier dungeons.
• Zhou Er returned with 15 gold worth of spoils, far more than the usual yield, and she and Lu Cang discussed the unusually abundant Harvest Moon.
• Lu Cang and Zhou Er watched the sky stretch and drift westward as stars and the moon appeared in the east.
• Jidi named the celestial phenomenon Scroll: Stars Shift Sky Moves and explained that it occurred during Yakartikto’s month.
• Zhou Er said legends claimed Yakartikto might descend into the mortal world, though she had never seen a true god.

Lu Cang finished his commission in Rhein Town, paid his companions, and watched them offer silver coins to a god whose statue consumed them. After reflecting on his growing body and the combat styles of his allies, he wondered whether his own Transcendent Magic could demonstrate his principles well enough to aid his promotion.

• Zhou Er urged Lu Cang and the others to return before nightfall so they could pray to Yakartikto during the moon change, and Lu Cang agreed.
• Lu Cang returned to Rhein Town, split two gold coins among his companions, and earned thirty-one gold coins for himself.
• Gaiton, Jidi, and Zhou Er each offered a silver coin at a blank god statue, and Lu Cang saw the coins evaporate.
• Lu Cang bathed, noticed his body had grown stronger, and worried that his physical progress lagged behind his magic.
• Lu Cang recalled Chicheng's Living Body Form and Iz's advice about putting professional principles into practice, then wondered if his Transcendent Magic counted as an original achievement.

After learning that several parties in the Tier 7 dungeon expedition had been wiped out, Lu Cang prayed to Yakartikto for Izpalut and the others to return safely. At the Adventurer's Guild, he agreed to help with monster requests and learned that a Demonic Tide was drawing adventurers toward Rhein Town.

• Lu Cang read that several adventurer parties had been confirmed wiped out in the Tier 7 dungeon, but Legend was not among them.
• A cargo carriage dropped an idol of Yakartikto in the street, and Lu Cang offered a gold coin and prayed for Izpalut and the others' safety.
• Xili asked Lu Cang to help clear the many monster requests that had piled up while Iz and the others were away, and he agreed.
• Xili told Lu Cang that adventurers were heading to Rhein Town because a Demonic Tide was moving that way and offered generous rewards.

Lu Cang accepted nine requests to hunt Tier 3 monster lords and recruited a temporary party of Level 3 adventurers. After Xili confirmed his identity as Izpalut's disciple, Loth eagerly joined him, and the group set out in a Dragon Rhino carriage.

• Lu Cang asked Xili how many requests he could take and received permission to accept nine Tier 3 monster-lord hunts and a monster-group request.
• Lu Cang posted a request for Level 3 healers, defenders, and gatherers from different parties to help hunt nine Tier 3 monster lords in one day.
• Loth doubted Lu Cang's claim that he was Izpalut's disciple until Xili revealed that he was the strongest magic prodigy since Iz, prompting Loth to ask to join him.
• Lu Cang formed a temporary party with Loth, Maizer, and Trand, who had come to Rhein Town without a suitable party.
• Lu Cang rode with the group in a Dragon Rhino carriage and learned about their professions and plans to team up temporarily.

Lu Cang asked his new teammates about taking a second profession and learned how monsters and dungeons formed with the Demonic Tide. As the team approached its target, Maizer spotted it, and Lu Cang summoned his staff from his spatial ring.

• Lu Cang praised Maizer and asked the team which second profession suited a mage, and Loth recommended scholar, healer, or enchanter.
• Lu Cang used friendly conversation to learn about his teammates’ backgrounds, skills, pay, and personal lives.
• The adventurers explained that monsters appeared with the Demonic Tide, while dungeons also depended on factors such as the month, stars, and ancient nests.
• Maizer spotted the target ahead in sparse woodland, and Lu Cang stood up and summoned his staff from his spatial ring.

Lu Cang and his companions hunted Tier 3 Lord monsters, killing a Ghostface Spider and then Yanweibahe with overwhelming magic. After collecting the spider’s valuable remains, they continued through the ten contracts Lu Cang had been authorized to take.

• Lu Cang showed off his new staff as the party spotted a Ghostface Spider, and Loth quickly dispelled the fear it caused.
• Lu Cang struck the Ghostface Spider with Lightning Flash, Earthfire Eruption, and Emergent Charge Pillar, killing it before Maizer’s arrow reached it.
• Maizer harvested the spider’s parts, including a leg with the Hatred trait, and Lu Cang stored the roughly 20 gold worth of loot.
• The party set off for another target among Lu Cang’s ten contracts, which Xili had authorized because the Demonic Tide was approaching.
• Lu Cang froze Yanweibahe with Ice Shard and a giant wave, leaving its body covered in frost and bloody holes.

Lu Cang hunted third-tier lord monsters while traveling with Loth and Trand, earning a large haul and hearing about life across the world. After Loth’s improvised fortune-telling tube gave him its rarest result, the group approached the final commission: a stronger-than-usual Special Species.

• Maizer collected 12 gold coins’ worth of spoils, and Lu Cang leveled Ice Shuttle to 200 during the hunt.
• Lu Cang quickly killed an Ice Crystal Winged Bird with his evolved Extreme Speed Ice Shuttle and Silent Wind Swarm, earning 16 gold coins’ worth of materials.
• Loth explained the custom of praying to Yakartikto, then had Lu Cang draw a fortune that read Supreme Auspicious.
• Lu Cang heard Loth and Trand discuss adventuring, fortune-telling, and other everyday realities as the group traveled.
• By noon, Lu Cang had defeated eight third-tier lord monsters and earned 144 gold coins, including the commission reward.
• Lu Cang and Trand neared the final target, a third-tier lord Special Species, as the wind currents grew stronger.

Lu Cang and his companions confronted the Wind-Chasing Shadow Beast, a mutated third-tier lord monster that attacked from the forest. After Lu Cang exposed it with a barrage of spells, he let Trand engage it so he could judge his hired allies' fighting ability.

• Lu Cang rode with Trand and the others toward the Wind-Chasing Shadow Beast, while Maizer sensed they were close.
• The monster struck from hiding with Shadow Slash, but Lu Cang blocked its attacks and unleashed many spells that destroyed the surrounding forest and revealed it.
• The Wind-Chasing Shadow Beast charged at Lu Cang, and he recognized that its elemental body was vulnerable to opposing elemental attacks.
• Lu Cang chose to observe his companions rather than attack, while Trand stepped forward and used Hate Taunt to draw the monster's attention.
• After the monster failed to break Lu Cang's Hardened Barrier, Lu Cang jumped from Dragon Rhino and used an ice shuttle to keep pace as Trand confronted it.

Lu Cang used a specialized Holy Light Cross to kill the Wind-Chasing Shadow Beast while his teammates supported the fight. He then led the group to destroy a goblin settlement with fifteen minutes of relentless magic bombardment, leaving only scorched earth and ash.

• Lu Cang controlled the Dragon Rhino and watched Trand withstand the Wind-Chasing Shadow Beast's attacks with help from Loth's healing and protection.
• Lu Cang threw a tracking Holy Light Cross that pierced and purified the Wind-Chasing Shadow Beast, killing it in seconds.
• Lu Cang began attacking a goblin settlement from the Dragon Rhino carriage, using waves of spells while his companions watched.
• Lu Cang continued bombarding the settlement for fifteen minutes despite his teammates believing the goblins were already defeated.
• Lu Cang stopped after reducing the settlement to charred earth and drifting ash.

Lu Cang spent ten days building his strength and reputation through adventuring commissions while worrying about Iz and his party in the dangerous Tier 7 Dungeon. With the Demonic Tide nearing Level 5 density, he decided to rest in Rhein Town, but ended the chapter seeing another notice for missing adventurers.

• Lu Cang turned down his teammates’ invitation to celebrate and spent the evening practicing magic and flying with Ice Spindles.
• Over the next ten days, Lu Cang trained his spells to their level cap, cleared more than eighty Tier 3 Dungeons, and completed over two hundred major commissions with Loth and the others.
• At the library, Loth warned Lu Cang that the Demonic Tide was nearing Level 5 density and that a Level 5 monster might appear in the wild.
• Lu Cang chose to stay in Rhein Town and rest, while Loth and Maizer left to explore a Tier 3 Dungeon.
• On his way back to the inn, Lu Cang saw a Guild notice listing another adventurer as missing.

Lu Cang entered the Blood Sacrifice Cave to search for the missing Loth and Maizer. He found them chained above a blood altar, where a King-tier blood creature noticed him.

• Lu Cang obtained the Adventurer's Guild report and learned that Loth and Maizer had gone missing after encountering a King-tier Demonic Beast.
• Lu Cang hurried to the Blood Sacrifice Cave, using his magic to illuminate and safely explore the dungeon.
• Lu Cang fought through Blood Puppets, disarmed traps, and continued searching while carrying protective gear in case he met the King-tier monster.
• Lu Cang found Loth and Maizer chained above an altar surrounded by hundreds of kneeling Blood Puppets.
• A crimson-armored King-tier creature on a blood-red throne spotted Lu Cang and called him a new guest.

Lu Cang rescued Loth and Maizer from the Blood Puppets but discovered they were afflicted with the King-tier Demonic Beast’s Blood Curse. He chose to fight the beast rather than risk taking them to a healer, trapping it behind walls and bombarding it with spells while it waited for his mana to run out.

• Lu Cang cut down the Blood Puppets, freed Loth and Maizer from their blood chains, and caught them as he prepared to escape.
• The King-tier Demonic Beast revealed that Loth and Maizer had been afflicted with Blood Curse, and Lu Cang attacked it with a combination of lava, pillars, and walls.
• Lu Cang sent Loth and Maizer down the cleared passage and enclosed them in protective walls before resuming his attack.
• Lu Cang repeatedly replaced the walls the beast broke and kept bombarding it with spells while ignoring its taunts.
• The trapped beast endured Lu Cang’s attacks and planned to outlast him by waiting for his mana to run out.

Lu Cang destroyed the altar while battling the Blood Origin King, then fought it in the narrow passage with layers of barriers, walls, and spells. He prevented it from absorbing more blood and finally killed it, leaving its armor and crystalline blood beads on the ground.

• Lu Cang shattered the altar with Skyfall and other spells, weakening the Blood Origin King.
• The Blood Origin King broke through Lu Cang’s barriers, but Lu Cang rebuilt his defenses and attacked with a barrage of spells.
• Lu Cang used Repelling Wind Blast and layers of walls and barriers to keep the Blood Origin King from reaching him.
• The Blood Origin King tried to absorb the blood scattered around the room, but Lu Cang dispersed, froze, and vaporized it.
• Lu Cang killed the Blood Origin King and found its armor and crystalline blood beads on the ground.