Chapter Summaries

After Luo Ning rode the giant dragon away from Strange Valley, he learned about Carlos’s long imprisonment and used Energy Essence to raise it to Level 6. Carlos gratefully offered its shed scales, which Luo Ning planned to use to make armor.

• Rydal told the survivors that Luo Ning had ridden the giant dragon north, then ordered Macken and Elrond to guard the cave while he went to look for his lord.
• Carlos told Luo Ning that Natalia and her people had imprisoned and experimented on it for more than two hundred and eighty years.
• Luo Ning suspected that Strange Valley and its inhabitants had been left behind by a powerful figure from the era of the Orlant Empire’s collapse.
• Luo Ning spent Energy Essence to raise Carlos from Level 5 to Level 6, causing hundreds of its old scales to fall away.
• Carlos thanked Luo Ning and let him use the shed dragon scales to make a suit of armor.

After subduing Carlos, Luo Ning considered how to heal, feed, and house the weakened dragon, then returned with it to the cave. He left Rydal’s group searching for food and planned to investigate the cave’s mysteries.

• Luo Ning counted Carlos’s shed scales, treated its wounds with a Healing Spell Scroll, and learned that the dragon was too weak to fly or move much.
• Carlos said it was hungry after years of being fed only fish, and Luo Ning decided it would eventually forage in the Wushan Magical Beast Mountain Range.
• Luo Ning stopped Rydal from threatening Carlos and sent him to organize a hunt for food.
• After resting for more than two hours, Carlos regained enough strength to fly Luo Ning back to the valley cave.
• Luo Ning reunited with Elrond, Bablin, Jenny, and Grado, checked on Bablin’s injuries, and entered the cave with Elrond and Carlos.

Luo Ning explored the cave with Carlos and Elrond, discovering its strange lamps, a control altar, and a Magic Array that teleported seawater and sea creatures into a pool. Elrond’s activation of the array left him exhausted, and Luo Ning recognized the teleportation array as an immensely valuable find whose Space Magic remained unexplained.

• Luo Ning removed a rechargeable lamp from the cave wall and ordered Elrond to take two lamps back for study.
• Carlos showed Luo Ning the altar Natalia used to control him, but only Elrond’s Light Attribute Magic Power was rejected by its Palm Print.
• Carlos led Luo Ning and Elrond to a pool’s Magic Array, and Elrond activated it by injecting Light Attribute Magic Power.
• A pool of seawater, fish, shells, and sea turtles appeared in the chamber, and Luo Ning concluded that the array used teleportation.
• Elrond said activating the array had consumed nearly half his Magic Power and much of his Mental Power, while Luo Ning stored the catch and judged the array immensely valuable.

Luo Ning discovered parchment revealing that Elliott had tried to transform Carlos into a Witch Soul Dragon, then celebrated the expedition’s success with his companions. He kept Carlos’s existence secret and ordered the Underground Palace preserved as an outpost before the group prepared to return.

• Luo Ning found Natalia’s parchment describing how Elliott had used Witch Soul Power and the Horn of Souls to refine Carlos into a Witch Soul Dragon.
• Elrond told Luo Ning that Rydal and the others had returned with several wild boars, and Luo Ning led Carlos and his group out of the cave.
• Luo Ning hosted a dinner of wild boar and sea fish, and Carlos finally ate something besides fish.
• Luo Ning ordered everyone to keep Carlos and his conquest top secret, warning that powerful people might target the dragon.
• Luo Ning decided that the group would seal the cave entrance with boulders and arrange regular patrols of the Underground Palace.

After sealing the cave, Luo Ning returned to Mountain Forest Town on Carlos’s back and resumed overseeing his territory. A letter invited him to Wushan Castle for his birthday and raised a possible engagement to Blanche, while Rognar brought news of a potential threat at the border.

• Luo Ning sealed the Strange Valley cave with Carlos, then flew back toward Mountain Forest Town and told Carlos where to hunt and what rules to follow.
• Luo Ning dismissed Carlos near town, greeted residents on the road, and encouraged them to keep working under the lord’s policies.
• Chahar told Luo Ning that Rognar had returned with more than five hundred recruits, Pierson’s caravan had earned 272 gold coins, and a letter from Wushan Castle awaited him.
• Luo Ning read Rulans’s invitation to celebrate his birthday at Wushan Castle and consider an engagement to Blanche, then wrote that he would attend but left the engagement for later discussion.
• Rognar reported that the Poland Thief Group had been unusually active southwest of Wushan Territory since April, raising suspicions that it might trouble the border.

Luo Ning discussed the Poland Thief Group, Count Orson’s condition, and the Black Gold Brotherhood with Rognar. After learning that a newcomer had beaten Sim, Luo Ning went to investigate and meet the arrivals.

• Luo Ning considered whether someone was pushing the Poland Thief Group’s border raids but judged that Wushan Castle’s Fifth Knight Order could defend against them.
• Rognar reported that Orson had failed to find treatment for his injuries, Barrington had taken over Black Python City’s affairs, and the Black Gold Brotherhood would need time to recover.
• Luo Ning asked Rognar to watch for news about the Black Gold Brotherhood and considered having Anthony recruit wandering knights as well as civilians.
• Chahar reported that Sim had been beaten by a hot-tempered newcomer, and Luo Ning set out to see what had happened.

Luo Ning investigated a violent dispute between the newly arrived freemen and Mountain Forest Town’s administrators, then challenged the Wandering Knight Kudorei to prove his strength. After Kudorei attacked, Luo Ning killed him with a single sword strike.

• Luo Ning arrived at West Square and found Sim, Juwitt, and Wilson’s assistant injured after a clash with Kudorei and the freemen.
• Wilson told Luo Ning that Kudorei had attacked his assistant after demanding more land, larger houses, and lower taxes, while Kudorei accused the administrators of starting the fight.
• Luo Ning judged Kudorei’s account dishonest and reminded him that professionals could not attack ordinary people without proper cause.
• Kudorei claimed he was an Intermediate Peak Knight and offered to serve Luo Ning, hoping to gain authority and a high wage.
• Luo Ning offered Kudorei the Guard Officer position if he could withstand one strike, then killed him with a swift sword swing.

Luo Ning killed Kudorei for conspiring to pressure him over farmland, then gave the settlers a choice to obey his arrangements or leave Wubei Territory. The settlers stayed, and Luo Ning ordered them dispersed among the towns while planning better security and laws.

• Luo Ning killed Kudorei and warned the settlers that he would expel them if they refused to obey his arrangements.
• Luo Ning told Wilson to distribute the settlers among Mountain Forest Town, Three-Way Town, Swamp Town, and Black Soil Town, keeping families together.
• Luo Ning instructed Wilson to coordinate with Macken and have the Knight Squad maintain order when future groups arrived.
• Luo Ning returned to Mountain Forest Castle and decided Wubei Territory needed basic laws and legal talent.
• Wilson resumed registration, and the settlers stayed in Mountain Forest Town rather than risk leaving.
• Rognar reflected that he should have noticed the settlers rallying around Kudorei, while Luo Ning had used his sword simply because Kudorei did not merit the Flowing Flame Sword.

After Wubei Territory finished its purge, Luo Ning trained his new Battle Skill while his people focused on building their strength. Meanwhile, Baron Corien Hansen discovered that the Poland Thief Group was gathering troops near Red Mountain Town and prepared to alert Wushan Castle.

• Rognar had Kudorei's body buried, and Wilson dispersed the newcomers among several towns as residents blamed Kudorei for his death.
• Luo Ning practiced Explosive Flame Slash and learned to use it preliminarily after several days.
• Rydal and the others returned to Black Soil Town, after which Wubei Territory focused on training soldiers, knights, and mages.
• Baron Corien Hansen and Haen Freeman watched Cassil Town and confirmed that the Poland Thief Group was stockpiling troops there.
• Corien ordered heightened vigilance around Red Mountain Town and planned to report the threat to Wushan Castle.

Luo Ning made Cliff Stone Mountain Carlos’s lair and flew with him over the swamp to search for Wild Rice that could become a new food crop for Wubei Territory. After inspecting the wetlands without finding any, Luo Ning decided to continue searching elsewhere.

• Luo Ning called Carlos to Cliff Stone Mountain and designated it as Carlos’s lair to keep Demon Beasts away from human settlements.
• Carlos agreed to settle at the mountain and said his presence had already driven nearby Demon Beasts away.
• Luo Ning asked Carlos to carry him on a tour of the swamp, where he saw people reclaiming farmland and mining Swamp Fertilizer under newly established safety procedures.
• Luo Ning had Carlos fly low over the wetlands while he searched for Wild Rice, which could grow well in the swamp and produce more food than wheat.
• Luo Ning found only weeds and told Carlos to take him elsewhere to continue the search.

Luo Ning finished surveying Swamp Town’s wetlands for possible Wild Rice and prepared to travel to Wushan Castle for his birthday. Before leaving, he collected Purification Spell Scrolls and arranged for Chahar to be considered for the territory’s Finance Officer role.

• Luo Ning marked more than a dozen possible Wild Rice locations and decided to return in July or August to identify the plants after they headed.
• Luo Ning returned to Swamp Castle, where Aileen told him about studying Magic Potion-making and Herbology under Elrond and treating a woman’s injuries.
• Luo Ning collected five Purification Spell Scrolls from Elrond, intending to test them on Rulans’s Soul Devouring Surge.
• Luo Ning asked Elrond to become Wubei Territory’s Finance Officer, but Elrond declined and recommended Chahar instead.
• Luo Ning decided to speak with Chahar and told Elrond, Rydal, and Macken to handle any matters that arose while he was away at Wushan Castle.

Luo Ning flew to Wushan City on Carlos and unexpectedly met Galil, who explained his punishment and updated him on tensions with the Hyde Family and the growing threat from the Poland Thief Group. The chapter left Luo Ning questioning whether the First Knight Order could really solve the danger at Red Mountain Town.

• Luo Ning brought a White Porcelain Bowl to Wushan Castle and flew toward Wushan City on Carlos.
• A Wushan City patrol spotted Carlos descending, then encountered Luo Ning on the mountain path.
• Luo Ning recognized Galil, who explained that he had been assigned three months as a Patrol Team captain after the dispute over Resen.
• Galil told Luo Ning that exchanges with the Hyde Family had declined and that Lady Diane had quickly returned to Black Python City.
• Galil reported that Coren had repeatedly requested reinforcements against the Poland Thief Group, while Rulans had only allowed Wiggins to move grain.
• Galil claimed that his father Toru and the First Knight Order could secure Red Mountain Town and reclaim occupied towns, but Luo Ning doubted the order's strength.

Luo Ning returned to Wushan Castle for his eighteenth birthday and found Diane unexpectedly warm toward him. Their conversation revealed Wiggins’s preparations for trouble at Red Mountain Town and Orson’s poor condition after challenging Rulans, leaving Luo Ning suspicious of Diane’s motives.

• Luo Ning stayed overnight at an inn in Wushan City, then returned to Wushan Castle the next morning.
• Diane warmly welcomed Luo Ning, hugged him, and said Brayden would return for his Birthday Ball.
• Diane told Luo Ning that the Poland Thief Group had returned to threaten Red Mountain Town and that Wiggins was gathering supplies for the border.
• Luo Ning asked about Orson, and Diane said he had been bedridden for over a month and could no longer easily use his Battle Qi.
• Diane said she had tried to stop Orson from challenging Rulans, making Luo Ning wonder what she wanted from him.

Luo Ning visited his grandfather Rulans and learned that Light Attribute Purification Spells could not treat the backlash from Soul Devouring Surge. He discussed Wubei Territory’s development with Rulans and showed him a new local specialty, a White Porcelain Bowl.

• Diane warmly welcomed Luo Ning, who grew wary of her unusually enthusiastic attention and went to visit Rulans.
• Rulans told Luo Ning that his worsening frailty was a side effect of Soul Devouring Surge and that a Light Attribute Purification Spell had failed to cure it before.
• Luo Ning put away the Purification Spell Scroll and promised to keep looking for a treatment, while worrying that Rulans might not have many years left.
• Luo Ning told Rulans that Wubei Territory was developing steadily but lacked population, and Rulans advised him to build the territory’s economy and reputation patiently.
• Luo Ning presented Rulans with a White Porcelain Bowl from Wubei Territory, and Rulans admired its craftsmanship.

Luo Ning discussed Wubei Territory’s porcelain business with Rulans, then asked his grandfather about defending against griffon riders and strange beings that resisted physical attacks. Rulans said the marriage alliance would proceed and expected a reply from King Bruno soon.

• Rulans admired Luo Ning’s porcelain, and Luo Ning explained how it was made and described plans to promote and price it.
• Rulans praised Wubei Territory’s silk and porcelain, while Most reflected that Luo Ning’s influence seemed to improve the Marquis’s spirits.
• Luo Ning asked Rulans how to defend against griffon attacks, and Rulans explained that griffon riders could be attacked when they descended.
• Luo Ning described beings that could not be harmed by swords but dispersed under powerful Battle Qi or magic, and Rulans did not recognize them.
• Rulans told Luo Ning that he had replied to His Majesty Bruno and that their Marriage Alliance would proceed.

Luo Ning learned the concessions Rulans had made to secure his marriage alliance with Blanche, then discovered a powerful weapon hidden in Wushan Fortress. The chapter ended with Luo Ning assessing a Magic Energy Cannon capable of threatening even Carlos at long range.

• Rulans told Luo Ning that Wushan Castle had offered the kingdom access to the northern iron mine and family businesses to arrange the marriage alliance with Blanche.
• Rulans explained that the royal family valued ties to the Wushan Clan and that the wedding process would likely take two or three years.
• Rulans led Luo Ning to a locked storage room in Wushan Fortress and explained that its black-gold lock and doors were difficult to break.
• Luo Ning found weapons and three Magic Energy Cannons inside the storage room.
• Rulans explained that one cannon fired the seventh-level spell Heart Piercing Wave, which could threaten Golden Knights from up to three hundred meters away.

Rulans showed Luo Ning the limits and uses of Magic Energy Cannons, enhanced arrows, and spears, then gave him a Fire Dragon Swallows Heaven Cannon for Wubei Territory. Luo Ning revealed that he had a Spatial Ring and claimed to have contracted a dragon, while the chapter ended with Brayden returning as a newly advanced Intermediate Knight.

• Rulans explained that Magic Energy Cannons required matching magical attributes and immense power, then demonstrated how Wind-attribute spell patterns extended the range of arrows.
• Luo Ning considered using enhanced arrows and spears to strengthen Wubei Territory's defenses against flying Demon Beasts.
• Rulans gave Luo Ning a Fire Dragon Swallows Heaven Magic Energy Cannon, and Luo Ning stored it in his Spatial Ring.
• Rulans asked where Luo Ning had obtained the Spatial Ring, and Luo Ning said he had found it in a ruin along with a Contract Scroll and a dragon that became his Contracted Magical Beast.
• Luo Ning and Rulans left the storeroom, and Rulans revealed that Brayden had become an Intermediate Knight at fourteen.

Luo Ning celebrated Brayden’s advancement to Intermediate Knight and accepted the wooden dagger Brayden had made as a birthday gift. At lunch, Diane treated Luo Ning unusually warmly, while Rulans understood that her change stemmed from her recent trip to Black Python City.

• Luo Ning and Rulans admired Brayden’s talent and discussed his prospects for becoming an Advanced Knight.
• Brayden gave Luo Ning a handmade wooden dagger for his birthday, and Luo Ning happily accepted it.
• Rulans reflected that he had acted too rashly in trying to depose Luo Ning and was pleased that the brothers got along.
• Rulans revealed that Wiggins opposed the threat to Red Mountain Town partly because he held a private share in its iron mine.
• Diane warmly questioned Luo Ning about his territory and personal life, and urged Brayden to spar with him more often.
• Rulans recognized Diane’s unusual treatment of Luo Ning as a result of her recent trip to Black Python City.

Luo Ning learned that Diane had changed after returning from Black Python City, where her family pushed for Brayden to marry Karima. Rulans revealed that he had made Diane understand her priorities, while Luo Ning brought him up the mountain to show him Carlos, whose arrival left Rulans stunned.

• After sparring with Brayden, Luo Ning asked Holwart about Diane's change, and Holwart said she had withdrawn after returning from Black Python City.
• Diane remembered Barrington blaming her and Aran proposing that Brayden marry Karima; Rulans had previously warned her the Hyde Family might use Brayden and Karima to seize Wushan Ridge.
• Luo Ning visited Wiggins, who was busy arranging food and weapons, then went to meet Rulans on the mountain path.
• Rulans told Luo Ning he had made Diane understand that she was first his daughter-in-law, Wiggins's wife, and Brayden's mother, before being Orson's daughter.
• Luo Ning told Rulans that a real dragon was coming, and Carlos appeared in the twilight as Rulans's Thunder Chasing Wind Beast reacted uneasily.

Rulans examined Luo Ning’s dragon, Carlos, and learned it had the potential to reach Legendary Rank. Though Carlos would take centuries to mature, Rulans urged Luo Ning to strengthen himself and his territory, believing the Wushan Family could one day produce a Duke.

• Rulans was awed by Carlos’s presence, while the dragon sensed that the Thunder Chasing Wind Beast carried a faint dragon bloodline.
• Luo Ning explained how he had subdued Carlos, and Rulans praised his courage before inspecting the dragon’s powerful scales.
• Rulans learned Carlos had just entered level six and could potentially reach Legendary Rank, a status said to make its bearer powerful enough to establish an empire.
• Luo Ning revealed that Carlos was already over two hundred and sixty years old and might need seven or eight centuries to reach Legendary Rank.
• Rulans set aside his regret over the long wait and encouraged Luo Ning to improve himself, manage his territory, and expand his influence.