Chapter Summaries

Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi prepared to enter the Spirit Realm and drew a B-Tier ticket with Durability and Challenge affixes. They arrived in the Aaron Plane World, where Bai Xiaowen was offered a choice between a new identity and resuming his former identity as Dio Skalboom.

• Bai Xiaowen told Li Beihai that he and Li Shuyi planned to enter the Spirit Realm to reach Level 7.
• Bai Xiaowen drew a Spirit Realm Ticket from the B-Tier Roulette and selected the Durability and Challenge affixes.
• Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi spent two days reviewing intelligence before using the ticket at Taoran Residence.
• Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi entered the Aaron Plane World, where Bai Xiaowen recalled his previous adventures and the people he had encountered.
• The Spirit Realm Rules offered Bai Xiaowen the choice of entering as a new citizen or continuing as Dio Skalboom.

Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi returned to the Aaron Plane as Dio Skalboom and Charlotte, entering the Northern Frontier amid a battle between the Imperial Army and Usok’s Resistance Army. They accepted the main quest and an S+ side quest, joined the Resistance Army, and reached its forces, where Bai Xiaowen recognized the greatly strengthened Loga.

• Bai Xiaowen checked Dio Skalboom’s fame, faction reputations, and relationships, then chose to inherit the identity while Li Shuyi entered as Charlotte Skalboom.
• They arrived in a shack during a battle and received the A+ main quest to kill a famous Northern Frontier figure and the S+ side quest to investigate the sealing secret beneath North County Monastery.
• Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi accepted both quests and chose to join Usok’s Resistance Army rather than the Imperial Army.
• Bai Xiaowen shot an Imperial Army soldier and summoned his creatures as he and Li Shuyi fought through enemy troops toward the Resistance Army commander.
• A Resistance Army fighter welcomed them, and Bai Xiaowen recognized the familiar warrior Loga, who had grown much stronger since their last meeting.

Bai Xiaowen and Charlotte joined Loga’s Resistance Army to defeat an Imperial force and protect messenger Obol, but Imperial commander Alberta Maxwell led a counterattack. Bai Xiaowen’s summoned creatures and allies killed Emil Hart and overwhelmed the dismounted cavalry, while Alberta’s last charge at Bai Xiaowen missed.

• Loga recognized Bai Xiaowen, explained that he was escorting Obol when the Imperial Army ambushed them, and accepted Bai Xiaowen’s help against their commander.
• Bai Xiaowen and Charlotte advanced on Emil Hart while Loga rallied his soldiers to defend Obol; Bai Xiaowen’s Intimidation toppled the charging cavalry and dismounted its riders.
• Alberta Maxwell blocked the Butcher, learned that Bai Xiaowen was the wanted criminal Dio Skalboom, and activated Inspiration before ordering his troops to charge.
• Rageclaw and the Skeleton Champion held Alberta back as the Butcher and the other summons defeated the dismounted cavalry; Li Shuyi and Bai Xiaowen killed Emil Hart.
• Bai Xiaowen attacked Alberta with Rapid-Fire Mode, forcing him to unleash Blade Storm and damage nearby summons, then dodged Alberta’s final charge with a flash of white light.

Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi defeated Alberta’s forces, escorted Obol back to Spiked Helm City, and met with Usok and Kevin. After Usok admitted Bai Xiaowen to an advanced military meeting, the Resistance Army learned that a noble in Walteren City had offered to help them capture the city.

• Bai Xiaowen killed Alberta and helped the Resistance Army defeat the Imperial reinforcements, then agreed to accompany Obol to Spiked Helm City.
• On the journey, Bai Xiaowen learned that the Empire had committed two army corps to the Northern Frontier and that General Arinas planned to attack Elu City.
• Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi fought off Imperial ambushes and Black Hand Brotherhood assassins before reaching Spiked Helm City with Loga and Obol.
• Usok welcomed Bai Xiaowen and allowed him to attend the advanced military meeting, while Kevin privately questioned him about the Soul Stone.
• Grima read a letter revealing that a Walteren City noble had offered to help Usok capture the city from within.

Bai Xiaowen warned the Resistance Army against attacking Walteren and persuaded Usok to launch a surprise attack on Northshire instead. He accepted a quest to obtain a trade permit from Samo Territory, while he and Li Shuyi checked the Resistance Army’s merit exchange list.

• Bai Xiaowen explained that Obol’s exposure meant Walteren was likely prepared for an attack and might be feeding the Resistance Army false intelligence.
• Bai Xiaowen proposed attacking Northshire, and Usok approved a plan to send an elite force disguised as merchants through the Boguayas Strait.
• Bai Xiaowen volunteered to obtain a trade permit from Samo Territory and received the A-Tier Trade Permit quest with a 24-hour time limit.
• Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi gained standing in the Resistance Army and examined its merit exchange list, finding spell tomes for ice, fire, and arcane specialties but none for lightning.

Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi pursued a Trade Permit mission by infiltrating a ship at Samo Port and stealing the safe that held the permit. They completed the mission by securing the intact safe and prepared to escape while sabotaging the ship.

• Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi studied the Resistance Army exchange list and found that true dragon blood was available as a costly special material.
• Bai Xiaowen sent Kitz to investigate and learned that obtaining a Trade Permit through official channels required seals and noble guarantors from both territories.
• Bai Xiaowen used the Shadow Assassin and a Heart-Confounding Talisman to charm Bafur, a trusted attendant aboard the Deck Family ship.
• Bai Xiaowen learned that the Trade Permit was sealed inside a safe in Captain Deke's cabin and had Li Shuyi cut the intact safe out of the wall.
• Bai Xiaowen stored the safe and received a prompt confirming the Trade Permit mission was complete, then prepared to escape and set off the ship's gunpowder.

Bai Xiaowen delivered the Trade Permit and joined Grima’s Resistance Army expedition to ambush Northshire, traveling with a disguised fleet and infiltrating the city with soldiers hidden in carts. The convoy reached Northshire’s gate, where strict inspections threatened to delay the infiltration, and Grima’s group began considering another way inside.

• Bai Xiaowen handed Usok the Trade Permit, earned Merit Points, and requested command of the Northshire ambush; Usok appointed Grima commander and Bai Xiaowen military adviser.
• Kevin volunteered for the expedition, and Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi accepted the Hero Side Quest to help occupy Northshire’s lord’s hall and control 75% of its key areas.
• Usok rewarded Bai Xiaowen with the safe’s valuables, and the Resistance Army sailed toward North Sea Port aboard ships disguised as a Deck Family merchant fleet.
• The fleet avoided pirates and escaped a Silverback Shark Pack before reaching North Sea Port, where its Trade Permit allowed it to pass inspection.
• Bai Xiaowen’s convoy approached Northshire City with Resistance Army soldiers hidden in carts, but strict gate inspections threatened to delay the infiltration; Grima said the force had to enter secretly rather than storm the city.

Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi infiltrated Northshire City to coordinate with Resistance Army spies and help open the gates. After the rebels entered the city, they fought Patrol Captain Massa, leaving him surrounded and wounded.

• Kevin gave Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi invisibility potions and Silence Spell Scrolls, and Grima gave Bai Xiaowen the Resistance Army’s communication token and coded phrases.
• Bai Xiaowen met the spy Orlan, learned the Imperial Army’s deployments, and ordered Orlan’s group to open the gates while he went to assassinate Commander Nazir.
• Massa stopped Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi near the barracks, grew suspicious of their sailor cover story, and took them to the Security Command for interrogation.
• After soldiers announced that the rebels had entered the city, Bai Xiaowen’s Shadow Assassin ambushed Massa while Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi killed the guards.
• The Butcher slowed and wounded Massa with its Rotting Toxin and cudgel as Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi defeated Massa’s trusted soldiers and closed in around him.

Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi escaped the Security Command after killing Massa and fought their way through Northshire City with help from Viking volunteers. They confronted garrison commander Nazir, whose Savage Charge Butcher stopped, but Nazir’s armor and war banner made him exceptionally difficult to damage.

• Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi killed Patrol Captain Massa, bringing the Black Soul Stone’s growth and Soul Essence high enough to unlock the sixth Enhancement Blueprint, but they left without activating it.
• Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi fled the Security Command through a city in turmoil as Imperial Army soldiers pursued them.
• A bearded Viking volunteer held off two Imperial Army maulers, and Bai Xiaowen recognized that local volunteers were aiding the uprising.
• Bai Xiaowen identified Nazir McKay as a Rare Boss and learned that his heavy armor and Lionheart War Banner strengthened his defenses and nearby Imperial troops.
• Nazir charged at Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi, but Butcher met him head-on and stopped his charge, leaving him briefly stunned.
• Bai Xiaowen’s forces attacked Nazir, but Bloodbound Heavy Armor and the war banner reduced incoming damage so severely that the Skeleton Sword-and-Shield Soldiers dealt only single-digit damage.

Bai Xiaowen killed Nazir and rendezvoused with Grima’s Resistance Army at the city gate, helping the rebels press toward North Palace. At the Justice Court, the Resistance Army stalled against Costello and Hurd until an unexpected figure stepped forward to deal with them.

• Bai Xiaowen and his summoned creatures drained Nazir’s mental energy, stunned him, and killed him before routing the remaining Imperial soldiers.
• Bai Xiaowen opened Nazir’s chest, obtained the Lionheart Empire War Banner, and confirmed that Nazir did not satisfy The Hero Returns quest.
• Bai Xiaowen met Grima and the six hundred Resistance Army soldiers at the city gate, then encouraged Grima to arm local civilians with weapons taken from the Imperial Army.
• Grima led the growing Resistance Army north toward North Palace, sweeping aside scattered Imperial troops as civilians joined the uprising.
• Chief Judge Costello and High Justice Hurd stopped the Resistance Army at the Justice Court, and an unexpected speaker volunteered to fight them.

Kevin stayed behind with Bai Xiaowen to fight the Justice Court leaders while the Resistance Army attacked North Palace. After Kevin drew the enemies’ attention and Bai Xiaowen reluctantly joined the battle, they fought the guards and Costello, but Herd’s healing kept Costello alive.

• Grima led the Resistance Army toward North Palace, while Kevin asked Bai Xiaowen to stay behind as his assistant.
• High Justice Herd and Presiding Judge Costello confronted Kevin, and Kevin’s Arcane Shield blocked Herd’s Command Smite.
• Kevin redirected the Justice Court’s forces toward Bai Xiaowen, who initially fled before agreeing to handle the guards while Kevin fought the two leaders.
• Kevin froze the first wave of court guards, and Bai Xiaowen summoned the Butcher and shot five immobilized guards dead.
• Kevin wounded Costello with an Ice Spear, but Herd healed him, and Kevin called for Bai Xiaowen’s help.

Bai Xiaowen and Kevin defeated Chief Justice Costello and High Justice Hurd after Bai negotiated three spell books from Kevin. They captured Northshire for the Resistance Army, but Glandis escaped, leaving Bai and Li Shuyi’s main mission unfinished.

• Bai Xiaowen bargained with Kevin during the fight and received three spell books in exchange for helping keep High Justice Hurd occupied.
• Kevin used Flame Spear to badly injure Chief Justice Costello while Bai Xiaowen and his summons disrupted Hurd’s healing and attacks.
• Kevin killed Costello, and Bai Xiaowen’s forces finished off Hurd before they headed toward the North Palace.
• Bai Xiaowen and Kevin met Grima, who reported that Glandis had escaped without serious resistance at the North Palace.
• Grima’s forces cleared Northshire, and he announced that the city and its territory had joined Usok’s autonomous domain; Bai Xiaowen’s main mission remained incomplete.

After the Resistance Army took Northshire, Bai Xiaowen watched its purge expand, completed the Ambush Northshire quest, and spent his Merit Points on dragon blood, a sword, and food. He discovered that Glandis had escaped through a secret passage and prepared to investigate North County Monastery, but his attempt to secure supplies from Kevin ended with Kevin overhearing his words.

• Grima ordered a purge of Northshire’s pro-Imperial nobles and other non-Viking residents, while Bai Xiaowen persuaded him to drive the displaced people out rather than kill them.
• Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi completed the Ambush Northshire quest, and Li Shuyi drew a Justice Emblem and an Edict: Smite Skill Book from High Justice Hurd’s treasure chest.
• Resistance Army soldiers discovered a secret passage in Glandis’s dressing room, and Bai Xiaowen and Grima learned it led both into the city and outside it.
• Bai Xiaowen received 7,100 Merit Points for the quest and exchanged his accumulated points for Red Dragon Blood, a Resistance Commander’s Sword for Li Shuyi, and three dried salmon.
• Bai Xiaowen agreed to investigate North County Monastery, but Grima could spare neither troops nor Kevin, so Bai Xiaowen asked for Kevin’s invisibility potions and Silence Spell Scrolls in exchange for his battle loot.
• Bai Xiaowen said he had sacrificed his valuables for Viking liberation just as Kevin arrived and heard him.

Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi upgraded the Black Soul Stone, choosing Delifa as a Soul-Siphoning Banshee and strengthening the Butcher and Skeleton Champion. They then reached the snowy mountain near North County Monastery, where Bai Xiaowen suspected someone was watching them.

• Kevin reluctantly accepted Grima's argument that he needed to remain in Northshire City, while Bai Xiaowen took the promised items and set off for North County Monastery.
• Bai Xiaowen reviewed the Black Soul Stone's sixth-layer enhancements and, after Delifa pleaded for a chance to fight beside him, chose the Soul-Siphoning Banshee option.
• Delifa emerged as a Soul-Siphoning Banshee and demonstrated that she could transform into her original Valkyrie form; Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi inspected her abilities.
• Bai Xiaowen spent the remaining Soul Essence to enhance the Butcher and Skeleton Champion, greatly raising their attributes.
• Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi reached the foot of the Monastery's snow-covered mountain, and Bai Xiaowen sensed they might be under surveillance despite finding nothing with Mental Scan.

Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi investigated the North County Monastery and discovered the Imperial Army had surrounded it. They infiltrated the church hall, where Prince Richard, Glandis, Abbess Melda, and several powerful leaders were meeting, and heard Richard demand Melda’s decision.

• Bai Xiaowen noticed numerous tracks on the snowy mountain path, and he and Li Shuyi followed them toward the Monastery.
• Bai Xiaowen sent Delifa to drive away two Snow Wolves and retrieve a Snowland Sabertooth Tiger carcass, which showed signs of a recent, powerful attack.
• Bai Xiaowen used the Shadow Assassin to scout the Monastery and found five or six hundred Imperial Army soldiers watching it.
• Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi used a Lesser Invisibility Potion and a Silence Spell Scroll to slip into the Monastery’s inner courtyard and church hall.
• Bai Xiaowen identified Abbess Melda, Glandis Olisif, Goliya, and Carlisle among the gathering, and suspected the disguised young man was Prince Richard Tiberon.
• Prince Richard tapped the table and demanded that Abbess Melda make her decision.

Prince Richard forced Abbess Melda to agree to let him inspect the Grand Mausoleum’s seal, then secured Glandis and Carlisle’s support for an expedition to retake Northshire afterward. Melda led the party toward the mausoleum as Richard’s guards prepared to follow.

• Prince Richard cited Farga’s theft of the Evil Soulstone to challenge Melda’s claim that the monastery could safely guard the seal.
• Goliya revealed that the Evil Soulstone had never been recovered and that her mission to pursue the outsider who took it had failed.
• Melda argued that the party should wait half a month to enter the Grand Mausoleum, but Richard insisted on inspecting the seal immediately.
• Glandis urged Richard to retake Northshire, and Richard agreed to do so after completing his mission at the monastery.
• Glandis offered Carlisle’s assistance, and Melda agreed to lead Richard and the others to the Grand Mausoleum.

Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi followed Abbess Melda’s group into the Grand Mausoleum, then fought their way through its first underground floor while searching for Bright Pass. The chapter leaves them exploring deeper into the mausoleum, unaware of the route taken by the other group.

• Bai Xiaowen told Li Shuyi that Prince Richard was likely an impostor and proposed sneaking into the mausoleum before the factions clashed.
• Abbess Melda opened the Grand Mausoleum’s entrance, and Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi killed the two Royal Halberd Guards keeping watch before entering.
• Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi discovered that Yin-Energy Envelopment weakened their recovery but strengthened most of Bai Xiaowen’s undead summons.
• Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi found no tracks or battle traces, then learned that the undead monsters exploded into cold energy when killed.
• Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi headed north, battling increasingly powerful undead as Bai Xiaowen’s summons demonstrated their superior combat skills.

Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi explored the Grand Mausoleum’s first level, found the entrance to the second level, and encountered Marcus Giret, a powerful Vampire Overlord. Marcus launched a sudden attack, and although Bai Xiaowen’s team wounded him, Marcus’s speed and defenses left them under pressure as he struck again.

• Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi fought through waves of elite Undead monsters as they mapped the Grand Mausoleum’s maze-like rooms.
• Bai Xiaowen found the entrance to the second level, then sensed a threat and called on the hidden presence to reveal itself.
• Marcus Giret appeared in human form and introduced himself as a Vampire Overlord; Bai Xiaowen used Insight to learn his abilities and warned Li Shuyi about his power to turn lifeforms into thralls.
• Marcus pretended to warn Bai Xiaowen about danger behind him, then attacked, but Bai Xiaowen struck him with a Bewildering Heart Spell Talisman and ordered his summons to attack.
• Marcus escaped the summoned creatures’ encirclement with his speed, took little damage, and leaped from the ceiling to attack Bai Xiaowen again.

Bai Xiaowen and his summoned creatures battled Marcus, whose speed and bat transformation made him difficult to hit. Bai Xiaowen’s Super Orochi Nagi badly wounded the Vampire Overlord, but Marcus slipped past the summons and reached Bai Xiaowen as the fight continued.

• Marcus lunged at Bai Xiaowen, but a summoned Skeleton Sword-and-Shield Soldier took the blow while the Bone Warlock struck Marcus with Thunderstrike Art.
• Marcus admitted he would keep hunting Bai Xiaowen even if they fled, so Bai Xiaowen decided they had to kill him.
• Butcher charged Marcus with the Giant Serpent Scepter, but Marcus transformed into bats and flew past him toward Bai Xiaowen.
• Bai Xiaowen unleashed Super Orochi Nagi, burning most of Marcus’s bats and leaving Marcus with around 200 Life Value.
• Marcus dodged the Skeleton Champion’s Whirlwind Slash, slipped through the summoned creatures, and broke into Bai Xiaowen’s melee range.

Bai Xiaowen defeated Vampire Overlord Marcus by baiting him into bat form and exploiting Blood Thrall Conversion’s failed pact judgment, which left Marcus stunned. As Delifa absorbed Marcus’s soul, he recognized her, prompting Bai Xiaowen to order her to analyze his remaining memories before they continued to the mausoleum’s second floor.

• Marcus evaded Bai Xiaowen’s summons and pursued him, but Kitz used Bat Swarm Transformation to complete a tight encirclement around Marcus.
• Bai Xiaowen forced Marcus to transform into bats, then burned nearly all of them with Orochi Nagi, but one hidden bat survived and Marcus reformed behind him.
• Marcus bit Bai Xiaowen and began Blood Thrall Conversion, but an unknown factor caused the Blood Pact judgment to fail and stunned Marcus for ten seconds.
• Bai Xiaowen’s summoned creatures killed Marcus, and Delifa began drawing his soul into the Black Soul Stone as Marcus recognized her and cried, “It was you!”
• Bai Xiaowen learned that Delifa could preserve only about 30% of Marcus’s memory fragments, ordered her to analyze them, and led Li Shuyi toward the second floor.