Recaps

Su Li arrived at the Elven Merchant Association to learn blacksmithing and stunned Violet and Elonore with his appearance. Talia arrived late and began explaining that rune carving required spiritual control, not merely abundant aether.

• Saina urged Su Li to eat well before visiting the elves, while Elena asked him to bring back materials for her bathtub’s Aether-gathering array.
• The guards escorted Su Li to the association’s workshop, where Violet and Elonore mistook him for elven royalty because of his looks.
• Su Li clarified that he was human and had come to learn blacksmithing, and Violet eagerly offered to teach him after showing him her apprentice’s rune-carved dagger.
• Talia arrived, sent Violet and Elonore back to work, and told Su Li that his high knight rank did not guarantee the spiritual control needed to carve perfect runes.

Talia taught Su Li to control aether with a guide needle, but his first attempt violently destroyed the needle and steel plate. After recalling how his aether control had grown crude as his power increased, Su Li asked for another needle and prepared to try again with a lighter grip.

• Talia demonstrated how to guide aether through a needle to carve a steady line into refined steel and told Su Li to imitate her.
• Su Li poured out too much aether, shattering the guide needle and blasting a crater into the steel plate.
• Talia blamed Su Li's uncontrolled aether, while Violet mocked his chances of learning runes and Elonore comforted him.
• Su Li recalled that when he had less aether, he could sense and guide each wisp, but later relied on pouring power into materials without precision.
• Su Li asked Talia for a fresh guide needle, promised it would not explode, and held it lightly between three fingers.

Su Li learned to control his aether while practicing rune linework under Talia, making steady progress despite his crooked lines. He returned home to Elena and Saina, where their argument over wine and bathwater ended in a crash from the kitchen.

• Su Li carefully released a tiny amount of aether through a guiding needle and drew a crooked line on refined steel without letting the aether escape.
• Talia praised Su Li's instinctive control and had him practice drawing parallel lines on more steel plates.
• After two hours, Su Li had filled seven plates without causing an explosion, and Talia ended the lesson for the day.
• Su Li asked Talia about the constant-temperature runes in his bathtub, then went home and told Elena and Saina he had learned to draw rune lines.
• Elena and Saina argued over wine and who would heat the bathwater, before an iron basin crashed in the kitchen and Saina cried out about her ribs.

After a kitchen mishap sparked an argument between Saina and Elena, Su Li cleaned up and joined them in the bath. He studied the bathtub’s rune circuits, trying to trace their paths with his power.

• Silver stole a rib and fled after knocking over the basin of soup in the kitchen.
• Saina and Elena blamed each other for the mess and their ruined clothes, while Su Li stopped their argument and offered to clean up.
• Su Li washed the ribs, restarted the soup, and then went upstairs to the bathroom.
• Su Li found Saina and Elena bathing in the expensive heated tub and studied its rune circuits, mentally tracing them with his power.

Su Li learned rune engraving from Talia at the Elven Merchant Association and successfully activated his first-tier defensive rune on his first attempt. He left before he could be made to practice more, prioritizing his trip to the market, and returned home with meat and spices for Saina and Elena.

• Su Li gave up trying to understand the bathtub’s aether lines and decided to learn from a professional while Saina and Elena argued over the expensive tub.
• Su Li spent five days practicing rune engraving under Talia, while Violet encouraged him and Talia criticized his shaky lines.
• Su Li steadied his hand enough to draw a passing line, and Talia assigned him a first-tier defensive rune circuit on black iron.
• Su Li forced the aether back onto the correct path and activated the defensive rune on his first attempt, astonishing Talia, Violet, and Elonore.
• Su Li refused Talia’s demand to carve the rune one hundred times because he needed to reach the pork stalls before they closed, then left with pastries for the cat.
• Su Li returned to Ginkgo Alley with meat and spices, told Elena he would earn back the bathtub’s cost, and heard Saina defend his earning his living through his skills.

After five years of hiding in the Free City-State, Su Li had become a renowned Magic Forger and neared the fourth rank while Elena trained Saina for their planned voyage. Their quiet day was interrupted when Elonore arrived to see Su Li.

• Elena corrected Saina's sword technique during their daily training, while Su Li watched from the courtyard.
• Su Li reflected on the five years of war and prosperity, his success as a Magic Forger, and his progress toward the fourth rank.
• Su Li ended the lesson and told Saina and Elena to wash and change before dinner.
• Elonore cautiously opened the gate and came to visit Su Li, drawing Saina's displeased attention.

Elonore brought Su Li a fourth-rank Ice Soul ore, which he accepted in exchange for a favor to the Elven Merchant Association and a promise to repair its high-level magic artifacts. As Su Li prepared to use the ore to break through to the fourth tier, Elonore told Violet that her plan to win his favor had worked.

• Elonore delivered the Ice Soul ore to Su Li, claiming it came from Talia, while Saina and Elena teased and confronted her.
• Su Li accepted the ore, promised the Grand Elder a favor, and offered to repair the association’s high-level magic artifacts.
• Saina grew angry that Su Li accepted Elonore’s gift, but Su Li soothed her with flirtation before she went to prepare dinner.
• Su Li used the ore’s chill to ease the heat in his meridians and planned to use it as a spark to break through to the fourth tier.
• Elonore returned to the Elven Merchant Association and told Violet that Su Li had accepted the ore and offered his help.
• Violet praised her plan and pointed to Su Li’s extraordinary achievements as reasons Elonore should keep pursuing his favor.

Violet persuaded Elonore to pursue Su Li by treating their relationship as a long-term investment, then revealed that Elonore had given him fourth-tier Frostsoul ore in exchange for his promise to help the Elven Merchant Association. That night, Su Li soaked in his bathtub with the ore as Saina and Elena entered the bathroom.

• Violet argued that Elonore should accept being Su Li's lesser wife and outlive his other partners.
• Grand Elder Elvin burst into the workshop, furious that the Frostsoul ore had disappeared from his private vault.
• Violet told Elvin that Elonore had given the ore to Su Li and that he had promised to repair the association's high-tier magical artifacts.
• Elvin accepted the bargain and told Elonore to bring Su Li two boxes of fine elven flower tea.
• Su Li held the Frostsoul ore in his bathtub while Saina and Elena entered the bathroom.

Su Li forged a Tier 3 Sharpness Circuit weapon and returned home during the Star Festival, where Elonore invited him to a VIP party promising rare iron ore. Saina and Elena objected, leaving Su Li to decide whether the materials were worth missing dinner.

• Su Li used the Ice Soul Ore and ether circulation to ease the pain in his meridians and considered the barrier to peak Tier 3.
• Su Li forged a Tier 3 long blade from Deepsea Cold Iron, completing its Sharpness Circuit despite Talia's doubts.
• Su Li returned home on the Star Festival to find Elonore delivering flower tea and inviting him to the eastern district party.
• Elonore offered VIP tickets and mentioned premium dwarf iron ore, including fire-attributed meteoric iron.
• Saina and Elena confronted Elonore, and Saina objected when Su Li asked about the ore because she wanted him home for braised pork.

Su Li went to the Star Festival with Saina and Elena, where he spotted a powerful flame ore that could help him reach the fourth tier. A goblin named Barlow offered him the ore in exchange for carving a fourth-tier Explosion Rune onto a cannon blueprint, leaving Su Li to weigh the deal after the room was locked.

• Elena and Saina fought over Elonore’s two Star Festival tickets, but Su Li took charge and decided they would all go.
• Su Li recognized that Elonore’s master had coached her to approach him, and he told Elonore to ask her master to focus on forging iron.
• At the Star Festival, Su Li sensed a powerful ore called the Heart of the Flame Demon and saw it revealed on the auction platform.
• A gray-robed goblin invited Su Li to meet Barlow, offering the Heart of the Flame Demon as a gift for hearing his proposal.
• Barlow showed Su Li a blueprint for the Baris Empire’s newest cannon and asked him to carve a fourth-tier Explosion Rune onto it.
• Someone shut the private room door while Su Li considered Barlow’s offer.

Su Li refused Barlow’s request to inscribe a cannon blueprint and used his aether pressure to force the goblin to back down. He rejoined Saina, Elena, and Elonore at the Star Festival and continued with them toward the ore exhibition.

• Su Li refused Barlow’s offer to inscribe fourth-rank explosive runes on a cannon blueprint.
• Barlow threatened Su Li, but Su Li released his aether pressure and forced Barlow and the four guards outside to their knees.
• Su Li told Barlow to bring the Heart of the Flame Demon to Ginkgo Alley and warned him to keep the blueprint from the Elven Merchant Association.
• Barlow sent a report through a mechanical bug and burned the blueprint after Su Li left.
• Su Li bought Saina a self-heating pot, then headed with Saina, Elena, and Elonore toward the iron ore exhibition.

At the Star Festival exhibition, Su Li browsed rare ores while Elena persuaded Talia and Saina to visit an elven beauty salon. He then followed Elonore into the VIP passage to inspect a prized piece of crimson meteorite iron, where his Sword Spirit Root resonated with its fire energy.

• Su Li examined a wind-element floating stone and told Elonore he would buy it himself.
• Saina argued with Elena over a self-heating iron bowl, while Talia confronted Su Li about a rough sword interface he needed to polish.
• Elena led Talia and Saina toward the Elven Dew beauty salon, and Su Li gave Saina a hundred gold coins for the outing.
• Su Li asked Elonore to show him the meteorite iron and followed her into the exhibition's VIP passage.
• Su Li examined the crimson meteorite iron, and his Sword Spirit Root began resonating with the fire energy inside it.

Su Li turned down Elonore’s hesitant confession and went to stop Saina from fighting at Elven Dew. After he paid for the damage, his aether briefly exposed Saina’s third-rank strength, and the group left the salon.

• Su Li asked Elonore whether she liked him by her own choice, then thanked her for the gifts and sent her home.
• Elena told Su Li that Saina had damaged a salon after arguing with an elven beautician, so he hurried to Elven Dew.
• Su Li found Saina accused of breaking an essential-oil bottle and the salon’s treatment table after the beautician insulted her skin.
• Su Li offered fifty Gold Coins to cover the damage, but the beautician also demanded that Saina never return.
• Su Li triggered Saina’s stored aether, briefly revealing her third-rank aura and forcing the beautician to buckle under its pressure.

Su Li and his companions left Elven Dew after Saina accidentally smashed an essential oil bottle, and the shop manager later apologized at their home. Back in Ginkgo Alley, Su Li considered the Star Festival’s discoveries and felt the fourth-rank threshold within reach as he went to help with dinner.

• Su Li pulled Saina out of Elven Dew, where Elena warned the technician to watch her words and Talia followed them out.
• As they walked along South Street, Saina explained how the technician’s remark had made her grip the bottle too hard, and Su Li gave her a cloth to clean her hands.
• Talia left for the chamber of commerce after noticing Su Li’s precise aether control, and the others headed home without negotiating for the fire-aspected meteoric iron.
• At Ginkgo Alley, Elven Dew’s manager apologized to Su Li and Saina, said the technician had been dismissed, and left a box of skincare oils.
• Saina worried that the technician had lost her job, but Elena told her to stop breaking things, and Su Li gave her the gift box.
• Su Li used the ice-soul ore to cool himself and sensed that the fourth-rank threshold was close before Saina called him to bring the ribs from his Space Ring.

Su Li recounted how he had forced Barlow to promise him the Heart of the Flame Demon, then shared a garlic-rib dinner with Saina and Elena. As the women prepared his bath, the chapter ended with Saina and Elena bickering in the tub while Su Li entered.

• Saina cooked garlic pork ribs while Su Li checked the Ice Soul Ore to restrain the aether surging through his meridians.
• Elena asked Su Li what had happened with Barlow, and Su Li said Barlow had promised to deliver the Heart of the Flame Demon the next day after Su Li pinned him down.
• Saina, Elena, and Su Li ate the ribs together, and Elena joined in despite complaining about the garlic.
• Su Li said he would take a bath, and Saina and Elena hurried to heat the water and prepare the bathhouse.
• Su Li entered the bathhouse and found Saina and Elena in the tub, where they started arguing and shoving each other.

Su Li and Saina received the Heart of the Flame Demon from Barlow’s goblin guards after he apologized for offending Su Li. When Su Li touched the stone, his Sword Spirit Root absorbed its powerful fire-element ether.

• Su Li, Saina, and Elena soaked in the bathtub while discussing whether Barlow would deliver the Heart of the Flame Demon.
• The next morning, four goblins arrived at Su Li’s courtyard with the stone and conveyed Barlow’s apology and promise to follow Su Li’s rules.
• Su Li let the goblins leave, then broke open the chest and found the flame-spitting Heart of the Flame Demon inside.
• Su Li touched the stone, and its fire-element ether surged into his meridians through his Sword Spirit Root.
• Elena woke and came to breakfast, while Su Li stored the chest and stone in his Space Ring.

Su Li learned that the fire-element meteorite iron required Dragon Blood Grass, a rare herb the dwarves wanted in trade, and discovered a possible lead through the Elven Merchant Association. He returned home after seeing the Iris Knights arrive and found Elena had received a letter and brocade box from her father, but the letter’s contents remained unread by him.

• Su Li told Saina he needed supplementary materials to temper the fire-element ether in his stone, then went to the black market to ask about the meteorite iron.
• A one-eyed beastman told Su Li the dwarves would trade the meteorite iron only for fourth-rank Dragon Blood Grass and suggested the Elven Merchant Association might have some.
• Su Li saw Iris Knights riding through Silver Crown City and decided to return home because their arrival might signal developments involving Elena.
• Su Li found two Iris Knights in his courtyard with a letter and brocade box for Elena from her father, then sent the knights away.
• Elena showed Su Li the letter, but he had not yet read it when the chapter ended.

Elena received a letter from Old Ford, who gave her the Iris Family’s treasured Rank Five potion and urged her to reach Rank Four within ten years. Su Li promised to reply that she and the others could advance within three years, leaving Elena scrambling to find out what he had written.

• Su Li read Old Ford’s letter to Elena, who learned that her father had sent the family’s four-hundred-year treasure and worried about her future.
• Su Li examined the potent Rank Five potion and explained that Elena and Saina would advance alongside him through the Family Group.
• Elena decided to keep the potion and asked Su Li to reply that she was doing well and Old Ford should not worry.
• Su Li wrote that they would reach Rank Four in three years, then refused to show Elena the letter as she rushed downstairs to grab it.
• Saina laughed while Silver secretly buried his head in the chestnut bag.

Su Li planned to forge a warhammer for himself, a rapier for Elena, and a battleaxe for Saina, choosing materials and rune circuits to suit each weapon. He left the courtyard plans in place as Elena began training Saina, while Silver threatened to snag Elena’s silk dress.

• Su Li told Elena and Saina to choose weapons suited to their fighting styles and promised to forge them fourth-tier weapons.
• Elena chose a light, narrow longsword with an iris motif, while Saina chose a one-handed battleaxe suited to her strength.
• Su Li chose a heavy warhammer for himself and matched materials and rune circuits to each weapon.
• Su Li said he would ask Talia about obtaining Dragonblood Grass from the Elven Merchant Association, with Elonore as another possible source.
• Elena told Saina to meet her in the backyard for sword training, and Su Li planned to work in the woodshed.
• Silver pawed at the hem of Elena’s silk dress on the balcony as Su Li called for the cat to get down.

Su Li searched the Elven Merchant Association for Dragon Blood Grass, hoping to trade it for fire-aspected meteoric iron. Talia suggested the Grand Elder might own some and that Su Li could offer to repair his damaged battle armor; Elonore then confirmed she had seen Dragon Blood Grass in her grandfather’s herb repository.

• Su Li visited Talia at the Elven Merchant Association and asked whether it had Dragon Blood Grass.
• Talia checked the inventory ledger and found no Dragon Blood Grass in the association’s northern herb shipment.
• Talia said the Grand Elder might have Dragon Blood Grass in his private collection and suggested Su Li offer to repair his cracked, malfunctioning battle armor.
• Su Li left to ask Elonore about the herb, and she told him she had seen a sealed jade box labeled Dragon Blood Grass in her grandfather’s repository.

Su Li attempted to repair Grand Elder Elvin’s peak Tier Four battle armor using his Sword Spirit Root’s aether. After half an hour of welding the broken core circuits together, he finished the repair and collapsed into a chair, leaving the result to be seen.

• Su Li asked Elonore to take him to meet her grandfather, and she mistakenly believed he wanted to pursue her romantically.
• Su Li told Grand Elder Elvin he wanted to repair Elvin’s damaged battle armor and gain experience with high-tier equipment.
• Elvin brought out his dark-gold peak Tier Four armor, whose chest crack had severed its core circuits.
• Su Li used his carving knife and Sword Spirit Root’s aether to weld the broken circuits together while Elvin panicked and Elonore watched anxiously.
• Su Li finished after half an hour, shattered the carving knife, and sat down to recover.

Su Li repaired Elvin's battle armor and received Dragon Blood Grass as a reward, then traded it for fire-element meteorite iron and spent five days forging weapons. His attempt to make himself a warhammer went awry as the Sword Spirit Root forced the metal into a sharp, flattened shape.

• Su Li repaired Elvin's battle armor, and Elvin tested it before offering him a reward.
• Su Li asked for Dragon Blood Grass, and Elvin gave him the herb while mistaking his motives for romantic ambition toward Elonore.
• Su Li left the Elven Merchant Association, traded the Dragon Blood Grass to a dwarf for fire-element meteorite iron, and returned to Ginkgo Alley.
• Su Li spent five days forging a rapier for Elena and a hand axe for Saina, then began making a warhammer for himself.
• The Sword Spirit Root resisted his attempts to shape the warhammer, turning the metal ingot into a long, thin, sharp form.

Su Li finished forging weapons for Elena and Saina, along with the blanks for three sets of soft armor. He began taking Elena and Saina’s measurements, leaving Elena stunned by Saina’s figure.

• Su Li emerged from the woodshed on the sixth morning and presented Elena with a frost-infused sword and Saina with a heavy axe.
• Elena admired the sword, while Saina tested her axe by splitting a tree stump and the bluestone beneath it.
• Su Li revealed that he had forged a greatsword instead of the promised warhammer and explained that he would also make three sets of close-fitting soft armor.
• After dinner, Su Li brought Elena and Saina to the bedroom to take their measurements, claiming the armor’s aether circuits required precise fitting.
• Elena undressed first and teased Saina, but her confidence faltered when Saina revealed her voluptuous figure.
• Saina proudly defended her figure as Su Li began measuring her hips.

Su Li and Saina broke through to the fourth tier with Elena’s potion, greatly increasing their strength. The surge of aether destroyed the Silver Claw Merchant Guild’s monitoring instruments, and Barlow mistakenly blamed Elvin and ordered his people not to provoke the Elven Merchant Association.

• Su Li drank Elena’s potion and broke through to the fourth tier, while Saina also reached the fourth tier.
• Saina shattered the wooden bedframe, and Elena accidentally froze water with her newly strengthened aether.
• Su Li said that only an eight-hundred-year-old elf was likely stronger than the three of them in Silver Crown City.
• Aether monitoring instruments at the Silver Claw Merchant Guild exploded after a massive fluctuation swept through the eastern district.
• Barlow assumed Elvin had caused the fluctuation and ordered the guild’s people to avoid provoking the Elven Merchant Association.

Su Li, Saina, and Elena had all reached the fourth rank, causing a citywide surge that destroyed the Elven Merchant Association’s Spirit Pool sensor. The next morning, Su Li’s greatsword began evolving on its own as he prepared to forge soft armor for his household.

• Elvin learned that a powerful surge from the east had broken the Spirit Pool sensor and suspected several people had advanced to the fourth rank, so he ordered the Merchant Association to keep a low profile.
• Su Li dismissed the disturbance while Saina and Elena bickered about their new fourth-rank strength, then planned to make their soft armor.
• Elonore delivered breakfast from Elvin and warned Su Li to stay cautious after the city’s detectors exploded.
• Su Li, Saina, and Elena ate breakfast, and Elena guessed Elvin was trying to secure Su Li’s help for the Elven Merchant Association.
• Su Li found his greatsword glowing and forming rune circuits as it evolved, then told Saina and Elena to prepare for the armor work.