Recaps

Aileen and Lin Qin battled the High Priest, Kasa, and the Shadow Assassin while destroying the Bone Pillars that powered the Ten Thousand Soul Bone-Eroding Array. The ritual was interrupted, but the three enemies launched a furious attack against the injured Lin Qin and exhausted Aileen.

• Aileen damaged the altar’s south-side Bone Pillars, weakening the Soul Vortex, while Lin Qin blocked the High Priest’s Dark Spear.
• The High Priest and Kasa attacked Lin Qin together, but he held them off as Aileen moved to destroy the remaining Bone Pillars.
• The Shadow Assassin tried to stab Aileen, but Lin Qin protected her with a Stone Shield and trapped the assassin with Gravity Cage.
• The High Priest and Kasa struck Lin Qin with a Dark Devour Sphere and Bone Dragon Breath, injuring him as he defended himself.
• Aileen unleashed Water Dragon Roar, destroying the northern Bone Pillars and interrupting the ritual.
• The High Priest, Kasa, and the Shadow Assassin charged the injured Lin Qin and magic-depleted Aileen.

Lin Qin and Aileen fought the High Priest, Kasa, and the Shadow Assassin after the ritual was interrupted. Lin Qin destroyed the altar with the Thick Earth Seal, stopped the ritual, and left the valley gravely wounded with Aileen’s help.

• Lin Qin shielded the exhausted Aileen and charged the slowed Shadow Assassin, badly wounding him with an earth-powered strike.
• The High Priest restrained Lin Qin while Kasa attacked with skeletal hands, but Lin Qin broke free and endured their spells behind the Thick Earth Seal.
• Lin Qin poured his remaining power into the cracked Thick Earth Seal and detonated it at the altar, killing the Shadow Assassin and blasting the High Priest and Kasa away.
• The explosion destroyed the altar, freed the surviving sacrifices from the ritual, and made the Soul Vortex vanish.
• Lin Qin shielded Aileen from the blast but was gravely wounded, so she helped him leave the valley before Dark Church reinforcements could arrive.

Lin Qin and Aileen escaped into a hidden valley after the battle, where he began recovering from grave injuries while Aileen guarded him and helped him heal. Days and seasons passed as Lin Qin’s breathing and earth energy strengthened, while Aileen recovered and continued to improve her magic.

• Aileen supported the badly wounded Lin Qin as they fled the Dark Forest and reached a secluded valley in the hills.
• Aileen treated Lin Qin with their healing potions, then set up concealment and warning barriers while he entered seclusion to heal.
• Aileen recovered her magic over three days and used water magic to help Lin Qin absorb the essence of herbs.
• Aileen continued guarding Lin Qin, tending to him and strengthening the valley’s barriers while practicing her magic.
• As seasons passed, Lin Qin’s breathing grew steadier and the earthy-yellow glow around him grew brighter, while Aileen kept watch.

During a peaceful month in the valley, Lin Qin recovered while Aileen cared for him and trained toward level eight. After Lin Qin offered advice on understanding elemental intent, they continued practicing and prepared for the possibility that the Dark Church would strike again.

• Lin Qin recovered enough to move normally and resume light training, while Aileen neared a breakthrough to level eight.
• Aileen explained that she was struggling to understand how water could take different forms, and Lin Qin advised her to guide its flow rather than force it.
• Aileen practiced sensing and guiding the water while Lin Qin trained with unfamiliar fist forms to strengthen his understanding of the Earth Element and heal his core.
• Aileen and Lin Qin discussed the Dark Church’s defeat, and Lin Qin warned that its silence could signal a greater threat.
• Aileen resolved to reach level eight as they meditated and trained through the night.

Lin Qin continued rebuilding his strength through basic greatsword exercises while Aileen learned to guide water instead of controlling it. Her insight brought her to level eight, and the two planned to spar once Lin Qin had recovered further.

• Lin Qin practiced basic greatsword swings, applying his insights into the mysteries of the Earth Element to rebuild his power.
• Aileen observed leaves drifting across the pool and realized that water could be guided rather than controlled.
• Aileen formed water into shapes with little effort and broke through to become a level-eight mage.
• Aileen used her new magic to catch fish for dinner, and Lin Qin helped prepare the meal.
• Lin Qin told Aileen he expected to be ready for real sparring in about half a month and offered to suppress his power to level eight.

Half a month after recovering from his injuries, Lin Qin began sparring with Aileen and coached her through a demanding day of practice. Aileen lost but improved her spell control and battlefield timing, and she asked to continue training the next day.

• Lin Qin began sparring with Aileen, limiting himself to the strength of an Eighth-level Warrior while she used magic to attack him.
• Aileen combined water and ice spells in successive attacks, and Lin Qin blocked them while advising her to manage her mana more efficiently.
• Aileen unleashed Water Dragon Roar, but Lin Qin destroyed it with Earth Split and ended the morning sparring session.
• Lin Qin increased the difficulty during the afternoon practice, and Aileen adapted her casting and tactics as her reactions improved.
• At dusk, Aileen asked to continue sparring the next day, and Lin Qin agreed.

After Aileen noticed an unnatural chill in the pool, Lin Qin searched its depths and found a rare Cold Jade Marrow. Aileen confirmed its value for water and ice magic, and Lin Qin planned to search the pool for more the next day.

• Aileen told Lin Qin that the pool had grown unusually cold, and Lin Qin sensed a strange energy coming from below.
• Lin Qin dove into the pool and found a fist-sized object buried in a hollow at the northwest corner.
• Lin Qin brought the object ashore, where Aileen identified it as Cold Jade Marrow.
• Aileen tested the Cold Jade Marrow with Water Element magic and found that it enhanced the surrounding water elements and cleared her mind.
• Lin Qin considered whether an altar's energy shock or their training had revealed the material and said he would search the pool again tomorrow.

Lin Qin found four more pieces of Cold Jade Marrow, and he and Aileen began using them to improve their cultivation, potion-making, and sparring. They kept the stones for future use, though they lacked the expertise to turn them into magical accessories or a magic array.

• Lin Qin searched the pool and found four more pieces of Cold Jade Marrow near the hollow where he had found the first.
• Aileen mixed a small amount of Cold Jade Marrow powder into herbal juice, creating a potion with stronger calming and healing effects.
• Aileen used the largest piece during meditation, while Lin Qin found its aura helped him focus and study elemental laws.
• Aileen's Water Element and Ice magic grew more precise during sparring, giving Lin Qin tougher attacks and defenses to handle.
• Aileen regretted that they had no alchemist or rune master to make better use of the stones, and Lin Qin said they could save them for later.

Lin Qin followed a relentless training schedule in the secluded valley, using Heaven Rewards Diligence to refine his strength and deepen his understanding of Earth Element power. His insights began to shape a vibrating sword technique, and he sensed that a catalyst might soon push his comprehension past its current threshold.

• Lin Qin trained in basic exercises each morning, steadily recovering and refining his Saint Realm power through Heaven Rewards Diligence.
• Lin Qin meditated by the stream and sensed the earth’s deep Pulsation and its quality of bearing, though progress came slowly.
• Lin Qin’s new vibrating sword strikes disrupted Aileen’s Water Curtain Heavenly Splendor during their sparring, and he told her he was testing new ideas.
• Lin Qin reviewed his sparring afterward and used Cold Jade Marrow at night to help steady and restore his mental energy.
• Aileen asked Lin Qin whether he ever tired of training, then resolved to work harder herself after hearing his answer.
• Lin Qin sensed that his understanding of Earth Element power was nearing a threshold and that a battle or sudden insight could serve as a catalyst.

Lin Qin refined his vibrational Battle Qi through training with Aileen, learning to use it in his attacks, movement, and defenses. After a month, he broke through a final barrier in his understanding of Pulsation and told Aileen it was time to leave.

• Lin Qin used a vibrational greatsword strike to break through Aileen's defenses and explained how he had combined vibration with Battle Qi and force.
• Lin Qin trained to sense the earth's Pulsation and use vibrational Battle Qi to deflect or weaken Aileen's spells.
• Lin Qin used the Cold Jade Marrow at night to restore his mental strength and clarify his insights.
• A month later, Lin Qin shattered Aileen's three Ice Walls and Water Curtain Heavenly Splendor with one vibrational strike, stopping his greatsword before her nose.
• Lin Qin realized he had integrated Pulsation with the heaviness of his power and told Aileen it was time for them to leave.

Over half a year, Lin Qin strengthened his Battle Qi and explored the Earth Element, experimenting with its pulsation during sparring with Aileen. He left on the verge of a new understanding, seeking a chance to combine pulsation and weight into a new attack.

• Lin Qin spent half a year cultivating until his Saint Realm Earth Battle Qi far exceeded that of ordinary cultivators at his stage.
• Lin Qin meditated on the earth’s pulse and its power to bear and support all things, patiently building his understanding of the Earth Element.
• Lin Qin tested his ideas while sparring with Aileen, using a high-frequency vibration in his greatsword strikes to disrupt her defensive magic.
• Aileen noticed that Lin Qin’s attacks interfered with the structure of her magic, while Lin Qin continued refining the technique through combat and reflection.
• Lin Qin concluded that the technique depended on matching its underlying rhythm to his power and his target, and felt close to combining Earth Pulsation and weight into a new attack.

Lin Qin broke through to the pinnacle of the Saint Realm by fusing Earth Pulsation with the power of heaviness, gaining the ability to destroy objects through resonance. After demonstrating his new power, he told Aileen they should leave.

• Lin Qin struck Aileen’s Water Shield with a thrust infused with Earth Pulsation, disrupting its structure and making it collapse.
• Lin Qin realized that Pulsation was the life-filled expression of heaviness and fused his Earth Element insights into a deeper understanding of its laws.
• Earth elements gathered around Lin Qin as his aura transformed, and he entered the pinnacle of the Saint Realm.
• Lin Qin pointed at a boulder and shattered it from within with an invisible vibration wave.
• Lin Qin reined in his aura and told the stunned Aileen they should leave.

After stabilizing his breakthrough, Lin Qin decided to leave the valley and head for the Arctic Ice Plains to test his cultivation. Aileen chose to return to the Hawk Family to strengthen her magic, promising to reunite with Lin Qin as a partner who could fight beside him.

• Lin Qin practiced his vibration technique and told Aileen his realm had stabilized, so it was time to leave the valley.
• Lin Qin and Aileen packed their supplies and departed the place where they had trained for half a year.
• At a fork in the road, Lin Qin chose to travel north to the dangerous Arctic Ice Plains, while explaining that the cold and its Saint Realm beasts made it unsuitable for Aileen.
• Aileen decided to return to her family in Azure Wave City and use its resources and the Cold Jade Marrow to pursue the ninth level of magic.
• Aileen told Lin Qin she would seek him out after growing strong enough to fight at his side, and Lin Qin asked if she was serious.

Lin Qin and Aileen parted ways after exchanging gifts and promising to seek each other out in the future. Lin Qin continued north toward the Arctic Ice Plains, leaving the chapter headed into a desolate region where adventurers had recently gone missing.

• Aileen gave Lin Qin a Hawk Family pendant and promised to find him in the Arctic Ice Plains after reaching level nine, while Lin Qin agreed to leave her a sign if he was gone.
• Aileen gave Lin Qin emergency medicinal herbs, said goodbye, and rode away with the Wind Riding Technique.
• Lin Qin put away her gifts, set off north, and spent the night in a cave after passing groups of adventurers who avoided his aura.
• Lin Qin continued through increasingly cold terrain, replenished his supplies in a small town, and heard from the store owner that adventurers had gone missing farther north.
• Lin Qin protected himself from the wind and sand with magic and continued across the northern wasteland until he disappeared over the horizon.

Aileen reached Black Stone City and joined the Grey Hawk Caravan for a journey to Golden Lily City, using the trip to cultivate with the Cold Jade Marrow. When bandits attacked in Black Wind Canyon, she drove them off with magic and continued traveling with the caravan.

• Aileen arrived at Black Stone City, paid the entry tax, and found an inn before seeking a southeastbound caravan the next morning.
• Aileen arranged with Captain Barton to join the Grey Hawk Caravan to Golden Lily City in her own carriage, paying a five-gold-coin deposit.
• Aileen bought supplies and concealed the Cold Jade Marrow beneath the bottom of an ordinary wooden box.
• Aileen cultivated during the journey, using the Cold Jade Marrow to help her magic accumulate faster.
• Barton warned Aileen about bandits near Black Wind Canyon, and she agreed to help if needed.
• Aileen routed about thirty bandits with ice arrows and a Water Tornado, then returned to her carriage to cultivate.

Lin Qin traveled north to the Arctic Wilderness, where he began cultivating Earth Pulsation in the extreme cold. His quiet training was soon interrupted.

• Lin Qin left Aileen behind and traveled north through forests and untamed wilderness, refining his control over earth elements as he went.
• Lin Qin crossed a wide river by solidifying the water beneath his feet and continued toward the snow-capped mountains.
• On the seventh day, Lin Qin reached the Arctic Wilderness and decided to stay there to acclimate to the cold and cultivate.
• Lin Qin carved an ice cave and struggled to circulate his Battle Qi as the cold slowed the earth elements and blurred his perception of Earth Pulsation.
• Lin Qin trained on the ice plains and meditated in the cave, while his Saint Realm aura drove away a pack of snow wolves.
• Lin Qin’s peaceful cultivation was soon interrupted.

Lin Qin fought and defeated a powerful Ice Crystal Beast on the Arctic Ice Plains, improving his control of Earth Pulsation under pressure. After two more months of training in the extreme cold, he decided to move on.

• Lin Qin sensed a Saint Realm presence approaching and recognized the arriving beast as an Ice Crystal Beast.
• The Ice Crystal Beast attacked with frost, claws, and ice spikes, while Lin Qin struggled to break through its formidable defenses and suffered wounds.
• Lin Qin spotted the bright crystal on the beast’s chest and struck it with a full-strength vibrating attack, causing the beast to explode into ice fragments.
• Lin Qin collected fragments of the beast’s core and grew more proficient with Earth Pulsation through the battle.
• Two months later, Lin Qin had mastered precise control over the shape and area of fractures in ice and decided to move on.

Lin Qin traveled to the Arctic Ice Plains to train his Earth Pulsation amid the ice element’s dominance. After learning to sense the earth beneath the ice, he continued north and fought local magical beasts, leaving with a better understanding of the control the harsh environment demanded.

• Lin Qin reached the Arctic Ice Plains and struggled to sense the earth beneath the deep ice.
• After three days of adjusting his vibrations, Lin Qin pierced the ice and sensed the earth below.
• Lin Qin traveled farther north through violent ice storms and ice tornadoes.
• Lin Qin fought off a pack of Ice Plains Snow Wolves while suppressing his strength to the early stage of the Saint Realm.
• Lin Qin defeated an Ice Crystal Giant Eagle with a precise vibrating strike and reflected on the need for greater control in the icy environment.

Lin Qin fought and defeated a peak Saint Realm Ice Soul Magic Bear, deepening his mastery of Earth Pulsation and developing a vibration-based defense. After three months of cultivation on the Arctic Ice Plains, he learned to use the ice to extend his vibrations.

• Lin Qin chose Mystic Ice Mountain as a cultivation site, but the Ice Soul Magic Bear confronted him and attacked to drive him away.
• Lin Qin pierced the bear’s defenses with Earth Pulsation and used vibrations to shatter the ice spikes it summoned.
• Lin Qin struck a weak point beneath the bear’s arm, defeated it, and took its ice-element magic core.
• Lin Qin carved a cave into Mystic Ice Mountain and cultivated while battling other Saint Realm magical beasts across the ice plains.
• Three months later, Lin Qin could channel Earth Pulsation through the ice and use it to carry his vibrations farther.

Lin Qin cultivated on Mystic Ice Mountain, learning to resonate with the ice and developing Vibration Shield to conserve energy in the extreme cold. By the end of the year, he could travel across the ice plains and draw a steady supply of earth power beneath the ice.

• Lin Qin settled into a crevice on Mystic Ice Mountain and studied how to reduce the energy his protective Battle Qi consumed in the cold.
• After months of experiments, Lin Qin matched his mental power to the ice's natural oscillations and sensed the earth beneath it.
• Lin Qin incorporated Earth Pulsation into his defenses and developed Vibration Shield, reducing his Battle Qi consumption by thirty percent.
• Lin Qin tested Vibration Shield against level-seven Ice Wolves, adjusting his defenses while learning to dodge their attacks.
• Lin Qin fought a level-nine Snow Leopard, suffered claw wounds, and found a vibration frequency better suited to rapid attacks.
• By the end of the year, Lin Qin had refined Vibration Shield to adapt to different attacks and could steadily draw earth power beneath the ice.

Lin Qin ventured into the ice plains, overcame powerful magical beasts, and developed new vibration techniques through years of training. After reaching the limit of the Saint Realm, he left Mystic Ice Mountain and flew south.

• Lin Qin traveled north and defeated a pack of Ice Plain Magic Wolves led by a peak Saint Realm wolf king.
• He killed a Frost Giant Lizard by targeting the weak scales on its belly, then created and mastered the penetrating Shockwave technique.
• Lin Qin improved the Thick Earth Seal, developed Earth Vein Rupture, and combined his techniques into a complete combat system.
• During his fourth year of cultivation, Lin Qin unified his understanding of heaviness and pulsation and reached the peak of the Saint Realm.
• Lin Qin decided it was time to return and flew south from Mystic Ice Mountain.

Lin Qin encountered Linley and his companions being attacked by Steller and the Radiant Church in the former Fenlai Kingdom. He defeated Steller with one strike and carried the injured group to safety, leaving Steller wounded and fearful of the stranger.

• Lin Qin sensed Linley’s Dragon Blood aura and found him badly wounded while defending Cesler, Bebe, Haeru, and five chained men from Steller and the Temple Knights.
• Steller rejected Lin Qin’s demand to leave and attacked him with his holy sword.
• Lin Qin suppressed Steller with his power and pierced his chest with a finger-force, shattering his Holy Light Armor and sending him crashing into a cliff.
• Lin Qin checked on Linley as Cesler treated his wounds, then carried the injured group away with earth magic.
• Steller freed himself from the cliff and asked who Lin Qin was.

Lin Qin led Linley, Cesler, and the rescued Barker brothers to safety, where Cesar revealed the brothers’ connection to the ancient Armand clan and their Undying Warrior heritage. Cesar promised to retrieve the Undying Secret Manual for them, while warning that strange forces were stirring again across the continent.

• Lin Qin brought the group to a secluded forest, where Linley and Cesler treated their wounds and Lin Qin freed the five Barker brothers.
• Cesar appeared, greeted Linley, and recognized the Barker brothers as descendants of the Armand clan, recalling his friendship with Armand five thousand years earlier.
• Cesar explained that the Barker brothers were Undying Warriors, one of the Four Ultimate Warriors, and needed the Undying Secret Manual to awaken their bloodline’s power.
• Cesar revealed that Armand had entrusted the manual to him and promised to bring it to the brothers the next day.
• Cesar said the ancient battle involving outsiders from higher planes had ended without a clear result and hinted that the continent was growing restless again before vanishing.

After Steller reported that Linley had rescued five descendants of the Undying Warrior Family, Pope Heidens ordered the Radiant Church to find them. Cesar appeared in the Pope's Hall, revealed his God-level strength, and forced the Church to stop pursuing the five, but Heidens secretly ordered a hunt for Linley and Lin Qin.

• Steller told Heidens that a mysterious black-robed expert had gravely wounded him and that the five people Linley rescued were likely descendants of the Undying Warrior Family.
• Heidens ordered the Church's hidden operatives to find Linley and the five descendants, but Cesar appeared in the hall and announced that he was protecting them.
• Cesar overwhelmed the hall with God-level pressure and warned Heidens that anyone who harmed the five would answer to him.
• Heidens ordered the Radiant Church to cancel its pursuit of Barker's five brothers and threatened punishment for anyone who disobeyed.
• Heidens then ordered Steller to use the Shadow Guard to track Linley and Lin Qin, learn their weaknesses, and kill them without leaving evidence.

Linley told Lin Qin how people with weak Dragonblood could force their bloodline to awaken by drinking fresh dragon blood, a perilous method that required Blue Heart Grass to improve the odds. The chapter ended as Linley began explaining the plant’s role in the ritual.

• Linley thanked Lin Qin for saving them from Steller, and Lin Qin said they belonged to the same clan.
• Linley explained that people with strong bloodlines such as Wharton could awaken naturally, but he and Lin Qin could not.
• Linley revealed that his father, Hogg, had discovered a method of awakening the bloodline by drinking the blood of a recently slain dragon.
• Linley warned Lin Qin that the method had a survival chance of no better than one in ten and could kill or destroy the mind of anyone who tried it.
• Lin Qin asked whether the ritual could be made safer, and Linley said Blue Heart Grass was practically indispensable.