Recaps

After Elena received a letter revealing Old Ford’s plan to overthrow the royal family, Su Li and the others agreed to wait before deciding whether to get involved. Su Li headed to the Elven Merchant Association, where he found Talia exhausted and working alone.

• Claire arrived at Elena’s courtyard with a letter from Old Ford after sensing that Saina and Elena had both reached fourth rank and that Su Li was beyond her perception.
• Elena read Old Ford’s letter, which told her to stay in the Free City-State until the royal family’s fifth-rank elder died, then help the Iris Family seize the throne.
• Su Li explained that Old Ford had brought Elena into his plans because her rapid breakthrough made her a valuable asset, and Elena wondered why her father had revealed his ambitions in this life.
• Saina asked whether she could farm in the royal palace, while Su Li said they would discuss rebellion in two years and then left for work.
• Su Li crossed Silver Crown City’s unusually quiet streets and found Talia alone in her workshop, exhausted and marking a metal plate.

Su Li revealed to Talia that he had broken through to the fourth tier, along with his two wives, and insisted he had no interest in taking power. He shifted the conversation to a greatsword he had forged, whose fire-aspected aether caught Talia’s attention.

• Talia told Su Li that the Grand Elder suspected several people had reached the fourth tier after a strange disturbance in the eastern district.
• Su Li asked Talia to teach him fourth-tier runes, but she refused and warned that attempting one could drain him to death.
• Talia sensed that Su Li had become unreadable to her, realized he was above her tier, and confronted him about the breakthrough.
• Su Li confirmed he had broken through and said his two wives had also reached the fourth tier.
• Talia warned that the three fourth-ranks could disrupt Silver Crown City’s balance of power, while Su Li insisted he only wanted an ordinary life and money.
• Su Li presented Talia with a massive fire-aspected greatsword he had forged.

Su Li learned to inscribe fourth-tier runes from Talia and successfully completed a Fortitude Rune after an afternoon of failed attempts. Leaving the Elven Merchant Association, he confronted the scouts watching him and was invited by Manager Barlow to discuss an important deal.

• Su Li showed Talia his self-forged fourth-tier sword and asked her to teach him fourth-tier runes for the soft armor he planned to make.
• Talia explained that fourth-tier circuits were three-dimensional, demonstrated one on deep-sea silver, and had Su Li practice with a guiding needle.
• Su Li ruined several pieces of metal before using his Sword Spirit Root’s learning ability to inscribe a successful fourth-tier Fortitude Rune.
• Talia sent Su Li away, and he left the workshop planning to return home and craft gear.
• Su Li emerged from the Elven Merchant Association at night and used his fourth-tier pressure to crush several low-tier scouts hiding nearby.
• Two guards from the Goblin Chamber of Commerce approached Su Li and asked him to meet Manager Barlow about an important deal.

Su Li met with Manager Barlow, who tried to recruit him for the Baris Empire and offered him a mansion. Su Li refused the house and military service but said he would not help the Orenda Royal Family and might someday aid the Empire; Barlow then offered him rare materials as a token of friendship.

• Barlow welcomed Su Li to the Silver Claw Merchant Guild and offered him the deed to a mansion, but Su Li refused it.
• Barlow proposed that Su Li serve the Baris Empire as a mercenary or senior retainer in exchange for wealth and status.
• Su Li said he would not help the Orenda Royal Family and might someday lend the Baris Empire a hand.
• Su Li warned Barlow not to send people near his courtyard and started to leave.
• Barlow presented Su Li with a box of high-grade mithril ore and pure fourth-rank crystals.

Su Li returned with materials to forge soft armor for Elena and Saina, then began processing the mithril after spending the night measuring the two women. Elonore arrived with a valuable chest from the Grand Elder, leaving her alone with Su Li in the courtyard while Elena and Saina slept upstairs.

• Su Li accepted high-grade mithril and crystals from Barlow in exchange for promising a discount on future weapon repairs.
• Su Li returned to Ginkgo Alley and told Elena and Saina that he had gathered materials for their soft armor, then measured them again that night.
• The next morning, Su Li began drawing the mithril into fine threads for the armor lining.
• Elonore delivered a heavy sandalwood chest on the Grand Elder's orders and entered Su Li's courtyard.
• Su Li told Elonore that Elena and Saina were still asleep, while Elonore recalled the Grand Elder's advice to make Su Li grow accustomed to her presence.

Su Li accepted rare materials and a book of circuit derivations from the Elven Merchant Association, then repaired Elonore’s faulty Swiftwind Dagger and sent her away. Elena and Saina caught sight of Elonore leaving and scolded Su Li before he ordered them back to work on their gear.

• Su Li accepted the chest of materials and promised the merchant association he would inspect future high-grade goods they could not repair.
• Elonore asked Su Li to examine her homemade Swiftwind Dagger, and he forcefully cleared its blocked circuits, turning it into a top-grade second-tier weapon.
• Elonore left with the repaired dagger and said she would return the next day.
• Elena and Saina accused Su Li of flirting with Elonore, but he told them to finish forging their armor linings or lose next month's clothing money.

Su Li finished two suits of Tier Four soft armor for Saina and Elena while Elonore continued visiting with materials and helping around the courtyard. He paid Elonore with improvised mithril bracers, and after Saina and Elena tested their new armor, Elena questioned Su Li about giving the elf valuable equipment.

• Su Li completed two suits of Tier Four soft armor as Saina and Elena argued in the courtyard.
• Elonore brought Su Li fourth-tier materials and helped Saina draw water, prompting Elena to praise her diligence.
• Su Li gave Elonore two crude mithril bracers as payment and told her not to keep visiting; she cried with gratitude and hurried away.
• Saina and Elena tried on their new armor, and Saina demonstrated its increased strength by cracking the courtyard paving with her battle-axe.
• Elena scrutinized Su Li after learning he had given Elonore the bracers.

Su Li continued growing his weapon business and brought his household, including Elonore, to the East District market to buy supplies for winter. The group filled their baskets with food and haggled over meat.

• Elonore proudly showed Violet the crude rune bracers Su Li had made for her, but Violet tried to take them away.
• Over three months, Su Li expanded his high-tier weapon trade, and the Elven Merchant Association increased his share by thirty percent.
• Elonore began helping Su Li forge weapons, using her elven sensitivity to locate flaws in their aether circuits.
• Su Li announced a trip to the East District market, and Saina, Elena, and Elonore joined him.
• At the crowded market, Saina bargained with a butcher while Elonore carried baskets filled with winter provisions.

Saina began treating Elonore with less hostility after finding her struggling under heavy baskets, and she included the elf in the household’s dinner. The snow stopped over Ginkgo Alley that night.

• Saina returned through the crowd to find Elonore, took the heavier basket from her, and told her to keep up.
• Elena recognized that Saina was beginning to accept Elonore, while Su Li joked that the elf was diligent and thin.
• Back at home, Elonore tried to leave, but Saina assigned her kitchen chores and implicitly invited her to stay for dinner.
• At dinner, Elonore shyly put a small rib in Su Li’s bowl, and Saina scolded him for complaining about it.
• The snow stopped in Ginkgo Alley that night.

Su Li’s unstable practice sword exploded and injured Elonore, who stayed with his household while she recovered. After Elder Elvin took her back, Elonore returned the next morning with breakfast, and Saina let her in to help in the kitchen.

• Su Li’s practice sword exploded in an alley, injuring Elonore, and he carried her home to Ginkgo Alley for treatment.
• Saina and Elena treated Elonore’s wounds, and Saina gave her a place to sleep in the living room.
• Elder Elvin visited with healing herbs and left Elonore with Su Li’s household for several more days.
• During her ten-day stay, Elonore tried to help with chores and settled into the household’s daily routines.
• After Elonore’s injury healed, Elder Elvin sent a carriage to take her back to the Elven Merchant Association.
• Elonore returned the next morning with jam bread for Saina, who let her enter and told her to peel garlic.

A year after Elonore joined the household, Su Li’s attempts to forge fourth-tier weapons hit a limit, so he asked Talia to teach him the Elven Merchant Association’s Active Circuit and was refused. The chapter ended with Su Li sketching a buffer array in the courtyard as Elonore arrived with a food box.

• Elonore handled the household chores and helped Su Li in the woodshed, while Saina and Elena argued over their arrangement.
• Su Li’s twenty-third fourth-tier weapon broke because its circuits lacked a flexible buffer, and he went to the Elven Merchant Association for help.
• Talia refused to reveal the Active Circuit, explaining that it was a closely guarded secret of the Elven Merchant Association.
• Su Li accepted Talia’s refusal and said he would seek another method at the East District Black Market.
• That night, Su Li sketched a buffer array in the courtyard, and Elonore arrived carrying a three-tiered food box.

Elonore brought Su Li the Elven Merchant Association’s secret Active Circuits diagrams, revealing that her grandfather had arranged the delivery to secure Su Li’s loyalty. Su Li accepted the technology and agreed to handle the Association’s difficult work, then Elonore began teaching him its fundamentals.

• Elonore told Su Li she could teach him Active Circuits, but he refused because sharing the secret could endanger her.
• Elonore revealed that her grandfather had sent her with a stack of ancient Active Circuit diagrams as a covert favor.
• Su Li realized the Grand Elder intended to bind him to the Elven Merchant Association by giving him its core technology.
• Su Li accepted the diagrams and promised to take the Association’s troublesome jobs and high-level orders.
• Elonore opened the first diagram and began explaining the basics to Su Li.

Su Li and Elonore continued developing a method to forge swords with the elves’ Active Circuit, while Saina and Elena argued over dinner. After the meal, Elena privately summoned Su Li beneath the ginkgo tree to talk.

• Su Li and Elonore forged a sword by combining his aether output with her elven bloodline, producing a blade with a pale green pattern.
• Su Li praised Elonore’s improving catalyst and proposed doubling the output to attempt a fifth-tier circuit the next day.
• Saina and Elena argued over dinner, and Saina urged the timid Elonore to eat meat to keep up her strength.
• Elena asked Su Li to join her beneath the backyard ginkgo tree for a private conversation.

Elena agreed that Elonore joining Su Li’s circle would be valuable, and Su Li decided to pursue the possibility. In the woodshed, Su Li and Elonore completed a powerful peak fourth-order armor using a method that astonished Talia.

• Elena argued that Elonore’s elven lifespan and elemental affinity could benefit Su Li’s circle, and Su Li said he would think about bringing her in.
• Elena stormed upstairs and slammed the bedroom door, while Su Li sent Elonore to sort scrap iron.
• Su Li decided to buy Elonore decent silk clothes and stop letting her work in rags.
• Su Li and Elonore forged armor from deep-sea sunken iron, with Elonore enduring the strain as she channeled aether into it.
• Su Li finished the armor’s Active Circuit, and Talia watched in amazement as the peak fourth-order armor outclassed the elves’ treasured pieces.

After learning that Elonore had been politically exiled to Silverleaf Forest, Su Li watched her return to the courtyard and try to leave her mithril bracers behind. Saina stopped her from leaving, and Su Li put the bracers back on her wrists, refusing to accept their return.

• Elonore collapsed after using up her aether, and Su Li carried her to a chair before returning to finish the armor.
• Saina complained that Elonore had been missing for three days, while Su Li learned that the coup against Elvin had led to Elonore's exile to Silverleaf Forest.
• Elonore returned in formal robes, removed the mithril bracers Su Li had made for her, and placed them on the stone table.
• Elonore tried to leave, but Saina grabbed her arm and demanded to know where she was going.
• Su Li pried Saina's fingers off Elonore and put the mithril bracers back on her wrists, saying a gift could not be taken back.

Su Li confronted the Elven Merchant Association’s elders to stop them from exiling Elonore, demonstrating his mastery of fourth-tier Active Circuits and threatening to cut off their high-tier forging work. Elder Elvin then appeared and took control of the meeting.

• Su Li left Ginkgo Alley after telling Elena and Saina to keep Elonore from escaping.
• Deputy Elder Thranduil prepared to send Elonore to Silverleaf Forest, claiming her exile would protect the elven race.
• Su Li burst into the elders’ council chamber and displayed a refined-steel plate bearing stable fourth-tier Active Circuits.
• Su Li declared that he would refuse the association’s fourth-tier forging orders and high-grade scrap, leaving Thranduil unable to order his arrest.
• Elder Elvin emerged through the chamber’s hidden door, smiled, and told the elders to sit down.

Su Li helped Elvin end the council’s attempt to control Elonore and agreed to take her into his household. He brought her back to Ginkgo Alley, where she silently reacted to his decision.

• Elvin used his authority to end the dispute over Elonore and ordered the council meeting adjourned.
• Elvin explained that he had engineered the confrontation to make Su Li protect Elonore, and Su Li promised to look after her.
• Su Li bought pork ribs and returned to his courtyard, where Elonore was pulling weeds and Elena and Saina were waiting.
• Su Li announced that the matter was settled and asked Saina to prepare braised ribs.
• Elena asked Su Li for Gold Coins, and he said he had gained no money and owed someone a favor.
• Elonore kept pulling weeds in silence, her ears red as she gripped a weed in her hand.

Su Li told Elonore that the household would officially welcome her with a family banquet, and gave her mithril earrings as a betrothal gift. Saina and Elena prepared food and dressed Elonore for the celebration, which began the next morning in Courtyard Number Three.

• Su Li told Elonore that she would join the family at a banquet the next day and gave her handmade mithril earrings as a betrothal gift.
• Su Li announced the banquet to Saina and Elena, and Saina accepted Elonore as family and planned an elaborate meal while Elena offered to make her a dress.
• Saina cooked pork ribs and chickens before dawn, while Elena sewed Elonore a white silk gown and styled her hair.
• Saina lent Elonore her cherished silver lover's-knot bracelet and hurried back to the kitchen.
• Su Li arranged chairs and opened the expensive liquor as the family feast for four began.

Su Li welcomed Elonore into his home with a simple feast in the courtyard. After dinner, he invited her into the Family Group, triggering a painful breakthrough that left her undergoing a forced rise to the fourth tier.

• Saina prepared a meat-heavy feast, and Elonore joined Su Li, Saina, and Elena at the courtyard table.
• Su Li told Elonore that the courtyard was her home, and the four raised bowls of strong fruit wine together.
• Saina and Elena welcomed Elonore with blunt instructions, and the group ate together.
• After the meal, Su Li clasped Elonore’s wrist and confirmed her invitation to the Family Group.
• The system’s energy surged through Elonore, restructuring her body and drawing in aether as Saina held her steady.

Elena and Saina helped Elonore break through to the fourth tier, and she struggled to control her newfound strength during the family meal and chores. Su Li discussed the coming conflict at the royal capital, while Elonore stayed in Silver Crown City and began adjusting to life in the household.

• Elena suppressed the energy in Elonore's meridians while Saina helped widen them, bringing Elonore safely to the fourth tier.
• Elonore accidentally chipped Saina's pottery bowl as the family teased her and argued over the meal.
• Su Li asked Elena about the shipment of fourth-tier explosive lances, and Elena said Claire had sent them toward Red Leaf Manor.
• Su Li said they would remain in Silver Crown City until the royal capital descended into chaos, then return to deal with what remained.
• Elonore broke a porcelain plate while washing dishes, and Saina told her to practice controlling her strength and sweep the courtyard leaves the next morning.

Saina, Elena, and Elonore reached fourth rank, sending powerful aether fluctuations across Silver Crown City and alarming its merchants and elders. Back at Number Three Ginkgo Alley, Su Li insisted that all four share the oversized bed, leaving them squeezed together for the night.

• Elvin sensed his bloodline's aether in the eastern district and told his attendant the fluctuations came from her home.
• Barlow ordered his shops and caravans to avoid Ginkgo Alley, while Thranduil tore up his impeachment evidence against Elvin.
• Saina, Elena, and Elonore discussed their new fourth-rank strength and chose to stay in the courtyard rather than seek trouble in the royal capital.
• Su Li ordered everyone to sleep in the same bed, and Elonore reluctantly squeezed into the narrow space beside the others.
• Saina and Elena bickered over the cramped bed until Su Li warned them to stand guard outside if they kept arguing.

Su Li decided that he, Saina, Elena, and Elonore would return to Wading Village after nearly three years in the city-state. Saina enthusiastically gathered gifts for her family, and Su Li stored the supplies in his Space Ring before they set out.

• Su Li quietly covered Elonore with the quilt after noticing her blisters and the rings he had given her.
• Saina woke everyone and asked whether they were going to the market, but Su Li announced they would return to Wading Village after breakfast.
• Saina hurried to prepare for the trip, while Elena complained about the village but agreed to go and planned to bring wine.
• Saina gathered salt, flour, cloth, and tobacco for her family, and Elonore helped haul and stack the supplies.
• Su Li used his Space Ring to store the supplies, leaving Saina pleased that they no longer needed to pack them on the horses.

Su Li and his companions rode north through the devastation of war and found Wading Village fallen into ruin. They reached Old Buck's abandoned smithy, where Saina found the old blacksmith still struggling to work.

• Su Li, Saina, Elena, and Elonore rode north from Silver Crown City and passed burned ruins and streams of refugees fleeing the front.
• Elena said the Baris Empire's advance had shattered the northern defenses and that the Free City-State had closed its crossings to refugees.
• Su Li hurried the group onward, and they reached Wading Village near sunset on the second day.
• Saina dismounted and ran toward the village while Su Li followed, leaving Elonore to watch the horses.
• Su Li and Saina arrived at Old Buck's ruined, cold smithy and found him feebly filing a piece of scrap iron with a rusted tool.

Saina reunited with Martha, and Su Li returned to the village with supplies and shared a meal with the family. Old Buck revealed that the kingdom’s fifth-rank commander had died and the northern front was collapsing, leaving Su Li to consider Elena’s likely role in the Iris Family’s plans.

• Saina rushed into the inner room and embraced Martha, then declared that they would eat meat for dinner.
• Su Li brought ribs, liquor, and flour from his Space Ring, while Old Buck welcomed him without asking questions.
• Saina cooked while Elena tended the stove and Elonore washed vegetables, and the group shared a large dinner.
• After the meal, Old Buck told Su Li that soldiers had seized village boys and grain, and that the kingdom’s fifth-rank commander had died in his tent.
• Su Li connected the commander’s death to Old Ford’s secret letter and realized that Elena could be drawn into the Iris Family’s plan to take over Orenda Kingdom.

Su Li and the others spent a cramped night at the smithy before Saina supplied Martha with cloth and money. Su Li invited Old Buck and Martha to move to the Free City-State, but Old Buck refused, and soldiers arrived to seize the food in the courtyard.

• Elena dragged Elonore onto the crowded bed beside Su Li and Saina, and the four slept tangled together in the smithy.
• Saina gave Martha two bolts of blue cotton cloth and hid Su Li’s money in the rice jar for her.
• Su Li offered to take Old Buck and Martha to his house in the Free City-State, but Old Buck refused to leave the anvil and his roots.
• Four irregular soldiers burst into the courtyard, and their dark-faced officer fixed his gaze on the flour sacks and ribs.