Chapter Summaries

Kade secured an invitation to the Carlsons’ masquerade ball by charming Madam Rosalind Summers, and Xia Lin planned to use the event to rescue Elias. The chapter ended with preparations underway as the ball approached.

• Kade approached Madam Summers at Rose Hall and obtained an invitation to the ball three nights later.
• Kade told Xia Lin and Sera about the invitation, and Xia Lin decided to attend while Sera stayed outside to help.
• Xia Lin asked Marcus and the Avengers Organization to draw guards away from the estate’s east wall during the ball.
• Marcus agreed to create a diversion so Xia Lin’s group could rescue his apprentice Elias.
• Xia Lin began preparing for the ball and resolved to buy a proper suit.

Lord Sword Duke Edwin Odolai considered marrying Madam Anlin, unaware that she was manipulating him and plotting to obtain the Odolai heirloom for a ritual. Anlin left the Floating Castle for Carlson's estate, where she planned to attend a gathering and pursue her secret agenda.

• Edwin worried that Felicity had run away again and complained about her rebellious behavior and refusal to accept his guidance.
• Madam Anlin comforted Edwin, encouraged him to give Felicity time, and subtly guided his opinions about his daughter and government affairs.
• Edwin showed Anlin the Star Moon Chain, the Odolai Family heirloom, and considered making her his lawful wife.
• After leaving the castle, Anlin revealed that her guards had replaced Edwin's Sword Feather Guards and that she had him under her spell.
• Anlin contacted Veronica through the Thousand-Faced Magic Mirror, confirmed preparations for a planned performance, and redirected her carriage to Carlson's estate for a gathering.

Xia Lin infiltrated Carlson Rothschild’s estate during a decadent banquet and rescued Elias Crown from the underground prison. At a fork in the corridor, his mythic ability showed him that the exit route led to an ambush, so he changed course and took Elias deeper into the estate.

• Kade and Xia Lin entered Carlson Rothschild’s banquet, where Kade was overwhelmed by the nobles’ debauchery and retreated to drink.
• When Marcus and the others attacked the estate’s eastern wall, Xia Lin used the distraction to search Carlson’s study, identify a Crystal Dragon scale business card, and find the hidden prison entrance.
• Xia Lin knocked out the prison guards, freed the tortured Elias Crown, and disguised him as a drunken noble while they left the study.
• At a corridor fork, Xia Lin foresaw Carlson and his guards killing them on the left-hand route, then recovered from the vision and led Elias down the right-hand corridor instead.

Paralia challenged her father Ignis Tyrannus’s account of the dragons’ defeat, arguing that his arrogance and refusal to use human motives had cost them victory. She later studied mortal society, left the volcano, and became Anlin.

• Ignis Tyrannus taught Paralia the history of dragonkind and recounted how dragons lost a war against humans and Metal Dragons.
• Ignis asked Paralia why the dragons had lost, and she bluntly said he had been too stupid to use diplomacy or recruit the human adventurer.
• Paralia suggested Ignis could have won the adventurer’s loyalty with wealth and power, but Ignis rejected her ideas as mortal weakness.
• Paralia secretly studied human history, politics, and economics, and observed how ants cooperated.
• Decades later, Paralia left the volcano in the form of a blonde woman and took the name Anlin.

Xia Lin and Elias escaped Carlson’s pursuit by hiding in a private lounge with a masked noblewoman, but she overpowered Xia Lin and triggered an uncontrollable reaction in him. The chapter ended with Xia Lin losing consciousness under her influence.

• Xia Lin chose the lounge over Carlson’s trap and brought the trembling Elias inside.
• As Carlson’s guards searched nearby, Xia Lin hid Elias behind a screen and pretended to be embracing the masked woman.
• Carlson recognized the woman and ordered his guards to leave, then cast a Silence Spell outside the door.
• The woman restrained Xia Lin and overwhelmed him with her fragrance and a kiss, leaving him unable to resist.
• The woman made Xia Lin meet the golden vortex behind her mask, and he lost consciousness.

Xia Lin woke after a mysterious woman left him unconscious amid the wreckage of a noble’s ball, then rescued the drunken Kade and reunited with Sera and Elias. As dawn broke over New Stefan, Xia Lin considered the risks of staying in the city and his newly awakened Mythical Power, while Kade soberly declared that he had broken his oath and was no longer worthy of being a paladin.

• Xia Lin woke in the ruined lounge with a headache, strange mental visions, and a lipstick mark on his mask, while Elias told him the woman had left and the ball was nearly over.
• Xia Lin and Elias crossed the debauched banquet hall and found Kade drunk, who confessed that he had broken his vow of sobriety by drinking what he thought was holy water.
• Xia Lin helped Kade leave the mansion, where Kade vomited, and they met Sera, who took Elias to the rendezvous point.
• Xia Lin reflected on his rescue mission, the mysterious woman, and his awakened Mythical Power [Possibility Foresight] as dawn rose over New Stefan.
• Kade suddenly sobered and told Xia Lin that he had broken his oath and was no longer worthy of being a paladin.

Xia Lin helped Kade overcome his guilt over surviving a Drow Matriarch’s forced kiss and mental attack. Kade healed Xia Lin, regained his confidence and divine connection, and advanced to Paladin Lv.6 before they headed home, though Xia Lin joked that the Matriarch might return.

• Kade drunkenly confessed that a Drow Matriarch had mentally tortured and forcibly kissed him in the Underdark, leaving him convinced he had stained his faith.
• Xia Lin used [Item Appraisal] and discovered that Kade’s divine connection remained stable, but his self-doubt had blocked his advancement.
• Xia Lin cut his own arm and urged Kade to heal him, reframing Kade’s resistance to the Matriarch as a victory rather than a disgrace.
• Kade used divine healing to close Xia Lin’s wound, and a golden radiance from Iomedae restored their connection and raised Kade to Paladin Lv.6.
• Xia Lin and Kade set off for their rented house, where they planned to wait for Sera, and Xia Lin teased Kade about meeting the Matriarch again.

After Xia Lin recounted the rescue of Elias, Sera reported that Marcus’s group had relocated and given them a Sharp Edge Gauntlet as an advance payment. Xia Lin discovered that his appraisal could make his eyes glow and exhaust him, then awoke in the Pantheon, where he found his body shining like the Star-Gazer’s.

• Xia Lin told Kade how he had infiltrated Carlson’s estate, rescued Elias, and used Possibility Foresight to avoid danger.
• Sera returned with news that Marcus’s group had moved its base and arranged to meet them in two days, bringing Xia Lin a Sharp Edge Gauntlet as part of their payment.
• Sera and Kade noticed Xia Lin’s eyes briefly glowing, and Xia Lin worried that using Item Appraisal might expose his abilities.
• Xia Lin explained how he had helped Kade overcome his emotional obstacle and advance, prompting Sera to mock Kade’s reaction to their kiss.
• Xia Lin appraised himself in a mirror, saw alien symbols flash, and felt an unfamiliar exhaustion before falling asleep.
• Xia Lin awoke in the Pantheon among eleven divine statues and discovered that his body was giving off starlight like the Star-Gazer’s.

Xia Lin, Bochi Iron Anvil, and Aila Starlight struggled to find work and food in Changhe City. They accepted a sewer rat-clearing job for thirty copper coins and set off together, still bickering as Xia Lin worried about their bleak future.

• Xia Lin and Bochi argued over the money they had lost on a fraudulent potion, while Aila blamed their poverty on past misadventures.
• Xia Lin went to the Adventurer's Guild with Bochi and Aila and found no suitable work until he spotted a thirty-copper sewer rat-clearing job.
• Bochi and Aila reluctantly agreed to take the job, and Xia Lin signed the contract and collected a map from the Guild clerk.
• As the trio headed out, Aila teased Bochi with Dwarf jokes, and Xia Lin calmed him by reminding him of the coins and ale they could earn.

Xia Lin discovered that Seratalia’s consciousness lived in his mind and learned that a divine fragment was killing him. Seratalia suggested that gathering more fragments might save him or hasten his death, leaving Xia Lin with a dangerous choice.

• Xia Lin met Seratalia in a dream, where she revealed she had taken up residence in his mind and knew his memories.
• Seratalia explained that she could only speak to Xia Lin in dreams and urged him to gather Mythical Power and scattered fragments.
• Xia Lin woke and found a blood-red mark on his chest; his system identified it as Alethea's Fragment of Imagination and warned he would die in under ninety days if fusion reached 100%.
• Xia Lin returned to the dream and asked Seratalia how to remove the fragment, but she said it was bound to his soul and could not be extracted safely.
• Seratalia proposed that gathering more divine fragments might balance the power and save Xia Lin, though it could also accelerate his death.

Xia Lin reviewed evidence against Madam Anlin and realized her criminal network was supporting a ritual to resurrect a child of Dahak. He left the chapter facing a conspiracy tied to the elves who had destroyed her secret altars.

• Xia Lin explained that Seratalia and the old Priest had given him no useful way to find more mythic fragments, so he decided to pursue information through guild access or by buying it.
• Marcus and Elias brought evidence against Madam Anlin, and Xia Lin advised them to build a coalition of her business enemies and release the evidence strategically.
• Xia Lin, Kade, and Sera examined records showing Madam Anlin had smuggled forbidden goods, crushed rivals, and gathered money for a vast ritual.
• Kade found an account of an upcoming black-market auction for an ancient Dragon Race relic, where Madam Anlin planned to send her proxy, Shadow.
• Xia Lin connected reports of destroyed ritual sites to the Wild Elf sisters and concluded that Madam Anlin was trying to resurrect a child of Dahak, with the elves retaliating against her.

Xia Lin told Sera and Kade that a Divine Fragment was fusing with his soul and would likely kill him in eighty-seven days, then resolved to use his remaining time to help his companions and pursue a cure. The group planned to seek funding from Felicity Odolai before meeting Shadow at the underground black market.

• Sera and Kade committed to investigating Madam Anlin's schemes, each for their own reasons.
• Xia Lin revealed the Divine Fragment on his chest and explained that it might destroy him in about eighty-seven days.
• Kade vowed to stay by Xia Lin's side, while Sera warned she would recover his soul if he died.
• Xia Lin decided to raise his adventurer rank and help Sera, Kade, and their effort against Madam Anlin while seeking a way to survive.
• The group identified Felicity Odolai as their best source of funds and planned for Xia Lin to tell her what they had learned about Madam Anlin.

Xia Lin showed Felicity evidence of Anlin’s crimes and persuaded her to join a plan to expose Anlin at a black-market auction. The operation was set for three nights later, with Felicity agreeing to bring Martha and remove her tracking bracelet.

• Felicity escaped her etiquette class and told Xia Lin that her father planned to marry Anlin and that Martha was helping prepare the wedding.
• Xia Lin showed Felicity records linking Anlin to slave trading, human sacrifices, devil worshippers, and an evil dragon resurrection plan.
• Xia Lin warned Felicity that confronting her father with unexplained evidence would alert Anlin and urged her to seek physical proof at a black-market auction.
• Felicity offered ten thousand gold coins for the operation on the condition that she participate, and Xia Lin agreed if she removed her tracking bracelet and brought Martha Winters.
• Xia Lin collected his fee and arranged to meet Felicity at the Dock District warehouse complex three nights later.

General Roderick used anonymous evidence to accuse Madam Anlin’s guild of harming local businesses, but Anlin and the Sword Duke turned the council confrontation into a performance that cleared her and made Carlson Rothschild the scapegoat. Roderick left believing he had won a political victory, while Felicity watched her father admire Anlin.

• Roderick received anonymous evidence against Madam Anlin and told William Gray to prepare a careful case for the council.
• Roderick presented allegations against Anlin’s merchant guild, but Anlin and other officials offered legal explanations for its business practices.
• Anlin knelt before Edwin Odolai and offered to accept punishment, prompting Edwin to defend her.
• Roderick identified Carlson Rothschild as the common intermediary behind the suspicious transactions and accused him of misusing Anlin’s trust.
• Edwin authorized Roderick to arrest Carlson, and Anlin promised to audit her businesses and compensate affected merchants.
• Felicity watched Roderick believe he had won and saw her father look at Anlin with loving affection.

Carlson Rothschild’s history revealed how his devotion to dragons led him to serve Paralia, whom he recognized as a living dragon. After receiving her coded message, he prepared to sacrifice himself as the final move in her plan.

• Carlson recalled his lifelong fascination with dragons and how he rose to become Finance Director of New Stefan.
• After sensing a dragon’s scent at a charity banquet, Carlson concluded that Madam Anlin was a dragon and pledged his loyalty to her.
• Carlson used his financial influence and political connections to advance Anlin’s empire and support Paralia’s plans.
• At the Ministry of Finance, Carlson received Anlin’s coded message and understood that the plan had reached its final stage.
• Carlson prayed to Paralia in a hidden chamber and declared that he would embrace his destruction to advance her plan.

General Roderick Sterling led a raid on Carlson’s mansion, where Carlson’s magic and a final curse left Roderick mentally broken and the city guard leaderless. William secretly served Paralia, who took control of the guard and planned to claim New Stefan through her wedding to the Sword Duke.

• Roderick and two thousand guards raided Carlson’s mansion, where Carlson revealed his powerful magic and attacked them with illusions and summoned creatures.
• Roderick dispelled Carlson’s illusions, overcame his defenses, and used [Heaven Shaking Strike], destroying the mansion and grievously wounding Carlson.
• Carlson used a blood-red amulet to unleash [Shadow Killer], trapping Roderick in a curse that left him unresponsive before Carlson died.
• The Sword Duke appointed William to temporarily command the city guard, unaware that William was secretly working for Paralia.
• William reported that the guard was under their control, and Paralia said she would marry the Sword Duke before beginning her real plan for New Stefan.

Xia Lin and his allies gathered to plan how to expose Madam Anlin at the underground auction, while Marco Saturn prepared to attend it for her. At the auction, a mysterious relic tied to ancient dragon bloodlines appeared, and Felicity immediately outbid Marco.

• Xia Lin, Sera, Kade, Felicity, and Martha discussed General Sterling's condition and agreed that they needed conclusive evidence at the auction.
• Martha explained why she had turned against Madam Anlin, while Felicity teased her about the woman's offensive castle decorations.
• Marco Saturn recalled his failed mission, the attacks on secret ritual sites, and his fear that the Overlord's consciousness-link had returned before heading to the auction.
• Marco entered the Midnight Auction and recognized several black-market buyers, including a masked noblewoman and her maid.
• A black-haired young man bought self-cleaning magical pants for three hundred gold, drawing Marco's contempt.
• When the host presented a relic connected to ancient dragon bloodlines, Marco bid 2,100 gold, but Felicity immediately raised the offer to 5,000 gold.

At an Underground World auction, Xia Lin repeatedly outbid Marco Saturn for the Star Pattern Compass and provoked him until the hall erupted into a brawl. The organizers ended the auction, awarded the compass to the noble girl who had made the first valid bid, and Marco left blaming Xia Lin for the loss.

• A noble girl bid five thousand gold for the Star Pattern Compass, and Marco Saturn raised the price to secure the item for the Queen's plan.
• Xia Lin began outbidding Marco by ten gold at a time, mocked him, and declared he would always beat Marco's bid by one coin.
• Marco lost his temper and gathered eldritch energy, but other auction guests heckled him and the dispute escalated.
• Xia Lin kicked over a table, triggering a brawl in which the guests followed the no-magic, no-weapons, no-killing rules.
• The organizers' guards restored order and ended the auction, declaring that the compass would go to the noble girl who had made the first valid bid.
• Marco stopped his men from protesting, left without the compass, and blamed Xia Lin for the outcome.

Felicity and Martha lured Marco Saturn and his men to an abandoned slaughterhouse, where Xia Lin’s party ambushed them. As the battle turned in their favor, Marco revealed his dragon-given means of hiding his stolen power and summoned shadow tentacles to attack Sera.

• Felicity and Martha followed Xia Lin’s plan, leading their pursuers through the alleys to the abandoned slaughterhouse.
• Sera opened the ambush by killing one of Marco Saturn’s men with an Eldritch Blast.
• Xia Lin used Blade Rush to kill the enemy Priest, then joined the fight alongside Kade, Felicity, and Martha.
• Marco identified Sera as his former sister and revealed that a Dragon Scale Necklace let him steal power from the Overlord without detection.
• Marco called Sera his prize and summoned Hungering Shadow tentacles behind her.

Sera, Xia Lin, and their allies fought Marco as he revealed his dragon bloodline and nearly defeated Sera and Xia Lin. Little Shadow stole Marco's necklace, exposing him to their patron, who began consuming him; the allies survived, and Little Shadow returned with the pendant.

• Marco revealed his black dragon bloodline, burned Sera with acid, and tried to dominate her while his warriors fought Xia Lin's allies.
• Sera resisted Marco's mental attack, and Xia Lin spotted that the necklace's chain was unreinforced.
• Sera's Shatter Soundwave cracked the chain, and Xia Lin wounded Marco with a lightning-charged strike before Marco blasted him into a wall.
• Little Shadow snapped the cracked chain and stole the Dragon Scale Pendant as Marco prepared a final spell.
• With the pendant gone, their patron descended upon Marco and began transforming and digesting him while Sera and Xia Lin watched.
• Little Shadow returned the pendant to Sera, who praised it and promised it double portions of food.