Chapter Summaries

An Yang defeated four noble youths in a duel at Aislabi Academy, revealing combat skill that surprised those around him. After Lydia confronted him about his secrets, the group left Boer City, where An Yang warned that the marquis’s grandson might threaten them on the road and argued for a safer route.

• Bishua, Nilat, and two other noble youths challenged An Yang to a duel, while Lydia and Sheryl warned him against fighting.
• An Yang defeated Bishua and Nilat by exploiting their attacks, then knocked out the remaining two opponents, seriously injuring the last one.
• Lydia confronted An Yang at the inn about deceiving her and Uncle, but he stayed silent, and she left in disappointment.
• Sheryl checked whether An Yang was injured, and the group quickly packed up and departed Boer City.
• An Yang warned that the marquis’s grandson might ambush them because the Boer family might not know the engagement had been canceled; Lydia argued against taking a longer route, while the old steward supported An Yang.

An Yang returned to the castle, where he learned the Baron had taken Mickey to war against the Anthers and Ute territories. He secretly gained Sheryl’s allegiance with the Cyan Badge and planned to strengthen her while the Baron was away.

• An Yang returned to the castle after his Demon Body was fully unsuppressed and found Lady Marina welcoming him in the Baron’s absence.
• Lunan and Misha tried to curry favor with An Yang, but he sent them away and asked for Cousin Sheryl.
• Lydia told An Yang that the Baron had gone to retaliate against the Anthers and Ute territories, taking Mickey with him, and urged An Yang to use the Baron’s absence to take action.
• An Yang asked Sheryl to support his bid to become Baron, and she pledged her allegiance in exchange for a better life for her younger brother.
• An Yang used the Cyan Badge to strengthen Sheryl and ordered her to keep the matter secret; the system reported that the private army marker would be ready in about fifteen hours.

An Yang gave Sheryl the private army badge, raising her physical abilities to the level of a formal knight and transferring combat skills to her. Just as Sheryl reeled from the transformation, the wounded baron returned and urgently searched for An Yang, apparently wanting answers.

• An Yang considered the barony’s succession and the loyalties of Aine’s relatives and Shuka Knight.
• Lydia brought An Yang snacks, shared a late-night conversation with him, and said she would look around the territory with him the next day.
• An Yang discovered that some of his spiritual power and arcane energy had recovered, then summoned Sheryl after breakfast.
• An Yang gave Sheryl a blue badge that raised her physical fitness to 3.0 and transferred Master-level combat and melee weapon skills to her.
• The severely wounded baron returned with his troops and urgently searched for An Yang.

An Yang was appointed Sheryl’s Guardian Knight and then summoned by the wounded Baron, who questioned how he had defeated Bishua and Nilat. The Baron revealed that the Marquis suspected An Yang of killing Kage Paul, and An Yang left the meeting with Sheryl as the Baron promised to protect him.

• An Yang named Sheryl his Guardian Knight, and Lydia confronted them, suspecting they had become lovers.
• Lydia told An Yang that the Baron had returned wounded and was urgently searching for him, so An Yang went to the castle.
• Lydia tried to stop Sheryl from entering the meeting area, but Sheryl insisted that An Yang needed her.
• The Baron questioned An Yang about defeating Bishua and Nilat and about taking a detour on the way home.
• The Baron revealed that the Marquis suspected An Yang of killing Kage Paul after Bishua and Nilat exposed his grudge and the Marquis learned An Yang had changed his route.
• The Baron promised to protect An Yang, and An Yang left the meeting with Sheryl waiting outside.

An Yang recovered some power and revealed his magic to the Viscount as the Marquis demanded that Aine be handed over. The Viscount agreed to delay the Marquis after witnessing An Yang’s strength, while two armies attacked the territory the next day.

• An Yang learned that the Viscount had gathered most of the territory’s forces to defend against the Marquis, while Sheryl served as his Guardian Knight.
• An Yang told Lydia that Sheryl’s power came from his secret magical method and assured her he would speak with the Viscount.
• An Yang asked Sheryl about the Marquis’s envoy, then went to see the Viscount and asked whether he knew of mystical beings.
• The Viscount suspected Oliver had taught An Yang and promised to protect him, but dismissed mystical powers as insignificant compared with Knights and armies.
• An Yang conjured blue lights that erupted into flames and wrecked the conference room, convincing the Viscount to delay the Marquis.
• Two armies attacked the Viscount’s territory the following day.

An Yang stayed in Kofino Territory while Baron Anserth fought Anthers Territory and Ute Territory, then resisted pressure from the Marquis’s envoy. After the envoy was executed and the Marquis called neighboring nobles to invade, hostile forces gathered beneath the castle as An Yang recovered his strength.

• An Yang gave Sheryl a purple badge that turned her into the first Spacetime Guardian of the Land of Origin.
• Baron Anserth led troops against Anthers Territory and Ute Territory, winning an early battle before the rival lords’ raids forced him to divide his forces.
• The Baron returned to the castle, executed agitators, and had Knight Apprentices kill the Marquis’s envoy and a knight.
• The Marquis ordered surrounding nobles to invade Kofino Territory, and their armies occupied the barony and looted its lands.
• On the sixteenth day, Viscount Tis’s troops reached the castle, followed by forces from Anthers Territory and Ute Territory.

As the allied nobles besieged Kofino Castle, An Yang promised to protect Baron Kofino and sent Sheryl to eliminate the enemy commanders. Sheryl returned with more than a dozen heads, leaving the baron and everyone in the dining hall stunned.

• The allied nobles attacked Kofino Castle, but its defenders held them back until a stone slab blocked the damaged gate.
• A knight offered the castle’s people their lives in exchange for Ayn Kofinori and promised the baron’s territory to whoever delivered Baron Kofino’s head.
• When a mistress blamed An Yang, Sheryl killed her with a single sword stroke.
• An Yang told Baron Kofino he would protect the baron’s life and position, then ordered Sheryl to take the enemy commander’s head.
• Sheryl vanished and returned about five minutes later with more than a dozen heads, including those of several knights and barons.

After the nobles’ failed assault and rumors of An Yang’s mysterious power spread, Great Knight Alan Finch took command and attacked Kofino Castle. An Yang and Sheryl devastated the invading forces, leaving Alan badly injured and the soldiers facing a renewed barrage of magic.

• After the knights’ deaths, rumors spread through the noble army, prompting some nobles to withdraw and others to abandon plans to storm the castle.
• Great Knight Alan Finch arrived, dismissed the reports of supernatural events, took control of the nobles’ troops, and led an assault on Kofino Castle.
• Alan Finch broke through the outer wall, but the castle’s narrow passage and defensive formation stopped the advancing soldiers and forced the knights to retreat.
• An Yang sent Sheryl to kill the archers while he jumped into the battle and struck the soldiers with Chain Lightning.
• An Yang blasted Alan Finch with Flame Shock, leaving him alive but too badly injured to stand, as Sheryl returned with the archers’ heads.
• An Yang advanced amid circling lightning and launched another barrage of Chain Lightning and Arcane bolts into the army.

An Yang and Sheryl defeated the noble coalition army, with Sheryl killing Great Knight Alan after An Yang’s lightning crippled the enemy’s advance. Back at the castle, An Yang resisted his relatives’ advances and settled into a bath, only for Lunan and Misha to enter his room.

• An Yang’s Chain Lightning devastated the charging knights, and Sheryl killed the wounded Great Knight Alan.
• With their commander dead, the coalition army fled, and the Baron led his troops to pursue them and seize enemy lands.
• An Yang spared one remaining knight and returned to the castle with Sheryl, where Lady Marina and his half-siblings greeted him.
• Lunan and Misha flirted with An Yang, but he refused their offers and went to bathe.
• Lunan and Misha opened the door and entered An Yang’s room while he was in the bath.

An Yang recovered his magic power while Lunan and Misha grew closer to him, then learned from Marquis Aaron Boer that true mystics were rare beings who transcended secular power. The chapter left the nature and reach of these mystics largely unexplained.

• Sheryl guarded An Yang's door while Lunan and Misha were with him, and Lydia left after failing to get inside.
• An Yang considered Lunan and Misha's motives and resumed recovering his magic power, which fully returned after about seven days.
• Marquis Aaron Boer visited the barony to apologize to Baron Kofino and An Yang, and the Baron hosted a reception banquet.
• An Yang observed the Marquis at the banquet while Sheryl stood guard and Lunan and Misha attended as his companions.
• Marquis Aaron Boer explained that true mystics were exceptionally rare and surpassed secular power, unlike the supposed mystics Great Knight Alan had encountered.

At the banquet, An Yang secured the Marquis’s friendship and a promise to protect the Kofino family before revealing that he planned to leave Kofino Territory. He returned to his room and found Lydia waiting, upset that he was going away.

• The Marquis condemned Viscount Patrick for breaking his oath over Confi’s betrothal, while An Yang argued that Confi had the right to refuse the match.
• After the banquet, An Yang told the Marquis that he had nothing to do with Kage’s death and asked him to protect the Kofino family after An Yang left.
• An Yang gave the Marquis two enchanted paper cranes that could convey a call for help, then recorded the names of apprentice mysterious people the Marquis knew.
• An Yang confirmed to Sheryl that he was leaving Kofino Territory, but she fell silent when he reminded her that her month of loyalty was nearly over.
• An Yang found Lydia in his room reading his spell model, and she confronted him about his plan to leave.

An Yang prepared to leave the Kofino territory, despite Lydia’s desperate pleas to stay or take her along. After explaining his departure to his cousins and securing the Marquis’s promise to protect the family, he was left poised to begin his journey.

• Lydia confessed her love to An Yang and begged him not to leave, then insisted she would go with him; An Yang used a Calming Spell and asked her to stay and guard the family.
• An Yang mapped leads to novice occultists and considered using a powerful You Nu sacrifice to help search for occultists before burning the map and going to sleep.
• Lunan and Misha visited An Yang in revealing outfits, and he told them he was leaving the territory; they left despondently after hearing the news.
• An Yang escorted the Marquis to the territory’s edge and asked him to protect the Kofino family, and the Marquis promised that the Boer family would continue to do so.

An Yang prepared to leave Kofino Territory and continued studying the Cosmos Borrow Law while Sheryl pledged to follow him as his Guardian Knight. Marquis Bohr later punished the families involved in the war, expanding Kofino Territory and reducing the Patrick family’s rank and lands.

• An Yang gave the baron a paper crane for emergencies and asked him to protect Lunan and Misha after he left.
• An Yang told Mickey he would leave the territory in about half a month and asked him to care for Lunan and Misha; Mickey promised to do so.
• An Yang dismissed Confi’s apology and sent her and Viscount Patrick away while he focused on completing his analysis of the Cosmos Borrow Law.
• Sheryl knelt and pledged allegiance to An Yang, and he agreed to let her follow him for a year in exchange for giving her great power.
• Marquis Bohr stripped Baron Anserth and Baron Ute of their titles, transferred their lands to Kofino Territory, and forced the Patrick family to surrender half its territory and become a barony.

After completing his analysis of Cosmos Borrow Law, Aine prepared to leave the Kofino castle and travel toward an apprentice mysterious one who might offer clues. Lydia tried to chase after him, but Aine stopped her horse, and Sheryl continued with him toward the nearest earldom.

• Aine tested Cosmos Borrow Law while Seventeen analyzed its energy flow, and Sheryl watched him devastate the grounds.
• Aine visited Lydia, gave her an emblem tied to Sheryl's strength, and chose not to make her a guard.
• On the thirty-fifth day, Aine departed the castle with Sheryl as the baron and others saw him off.
• Lydia rode after Aine's carriage, but Aine used a spell to stop her horse, so she ran after them on foot.
• Aine sent Sheryl to retrieve Lydia, then continued toward the nearest earldom where an apprentice mysterious one might provide clues.

An Yang traveled to White Eye Town to find the mystic Bolei, arriving at his isolated home after gathering information. Bolei rejected the visitors, but An Yang opened the door with an unseen force and faced the old mystic.

• An Yang and his companions reached White Eye Town after speeding up their journey with his spells and stayed at an inn.
• Sheryl silenced the rowdy men downstairs by cutting a table, damaging two men’s armor, and injuring another man’s hand.
• Danyou reported that Bolei lived in southern White Eye Town and had Count Caffy’s backing.
• An Yang and his companions found Bolei’s isolated house and introduced themselves as guests from Kofino territory.
• Bolei angrily rejected their visit, and An Yang opened the door with an unseen force.

An Yang confronted Bolei, forced him to copy the mystic book he had received from an elder, and exchanged a Green-faced Ghost for the information. An Yang left without learning where to find other mystics, but studied the book as his group prepared to travel again.

• An Yang entered Bolei's home, and Bolei's black cat transformed into a panther and attacked before Sheryl subdued it.
• An Yang disarmed Bolei, destroyed his summoned insects, and demanded that he reveal the knowledge he had received from an elder.
• Bolei copied the book from memory, and An Yang rewarded him with a Green-faced Ghost.
• An Yang gave Sheryl an Eternal Alloy longsword and returned to the carriage with his companions.
• An Yang read the copied book and learned that mystics used mental power, spell models, and special creatures, but he found no clues to locating other mystics.

An Yang studied Lord Bolai’s biological cultivation and met the second probationary mystic, Ella, who shared rumors about mystics in the Federation and Royal Capital. After resuming their journey, An Yang’s constitution recovered, and the group eventually reached the Sea of Nara and found the fisherman and woodcutter the Marquis had mentioned.

• An Yang concluded that Lord Bolai’s successful modifications of the black cat showed extensive biological knowledge, though Bolai’s narrow foundations had limited his progress.
• An Yang and his party found Ella in Viscount Crark’s territory, and he demonstrated his magic to establish himself as a mystic.
• Ella told An Yang that mystics might appear on the Federation’s battlefield and that the Royal Capital had a mystic-cultivating organization and a group of probationary practitioners.
• An Yang left Ella’s territory, and seven days later his physical constitution recovered while he traveled with Sheryl, Danyou, and Martin.
• After crossing bandit-prone territory, An Yang’s group reached the Sea of Nara and found the fisherman and woodcutter after four days of searching.

An Yang traveled across the Sea of Nara and through several territories while recording Mystics’ abilities and searching for contacts who could guide him. After meeting Oliver, he received a lead to the Pierce Medical Association in the capital, where he planned to continue his search.

• An Yang observed a fisherman summon and command fish, recorded his energy fluctuations, and left without learning about other Mystics.
• An Yang traveled to Stuart but returned without a useful lead, then continued to Haberd City to find Oliver.
• An Yang told Oliver about his family, broken engagement, and status as a Mystic, then asked him for help finding other Mystics.
• Oliver directed An Yang to seek Adwen Rees or Deborah Rhys at the Pierce Medical Association in the capital.
• After staying two days with Oliver, An Yang set out for the capital of the Mesoyarland Federation.

An Yang and his companions reached the federation capital, where he observed the divide between the prosperous north and the conservative south. After finding the Pierce Relief Association, An Yang met Adwen Rees, whom Oliver Chaplin had sent him to see.

• Danyou negotiated entry into the capital for the group, and An Yang noticed the hostility between northern guards and southern Knights.
• An Yang observed the capital’s prosperity and reflected on the federation’s emerging reforms and fragile north-south balance.
• Danyou found the group an expensive inn, where An Yang noted that commoners seemed less powerless than in the south.
• The next day, An Yang and his companions searched for the Pierce Medical Association and learned it had become the Pierce Relief Association.
• An Yang told a girl at the association that Oliver Chaplin had sent him to see Adwen Rees, and she brought him to meet her grandfather.

An Yang met Adwen and learned about the mystics trained by Lord Scott, while Deborah discovered that Oliver was still alive. After gathering information and testing several apprentices, An Yang set out to meet Scott and began studying the mystic system so he could avoid exposing how different his own magic was.

• An Yang presented Adwen with a crystalline flower containing Arcane energy, convincing him that An Yang was a mystic lord.
• Deborah learned Oliver was alive and pleaded for his location, but An Yang refused to reveal it.
• Adwen explained that his teacher, Lord Scott, trained apprentices through the Scott Alliance and was serving on the southern front.
• An Yang demanded addresses for the alliance’s strongest apprentices, intimidated Adwen and Deborah with a display of magical power, and obtained Scott’s location from one apprentice in exchange for a Yaksha Ghost Puppet.
• After spending four days in the capital, An Yang departed and studied Bolei’s notes on storing and converting energy to prepare for meeting Scott.