Chapter Summaries

Luo Ning and Rhys faced a coordinated pirate attack on the Dennis III, with the attackers aiming to sink the ship rather than rob it. Luo Ning stopped one vessel and shielded the deck from arrows, but the ship was badly damaged and they still needed to escape.

• Luo Ning spotted a skull flag on three approaching ships and warned the crew that they were pirates.
• The pirate ships formed a pincer and the middle vessel tried to ram the Dennis III, but Luo Ning’s Flame Burst blasted apart its bow and forced it off course.
• A second pirate ship fired a Level 4 Ice Cone Spell Magic Energy Cannon into the Dennis III’s hull, while archers on the left ship killed several sailors.
• Rhys and his knights shattered a second ice cone with their Battle Skills as Luo Ning cast Wind Wall to block the incoming arrows.
• Luo Ning warned Rhys that they needed to escape, but the damaged Dennis III was at risk of sinking.

Luo Ning fought off the attackers who boarded Dennis III and killed the Golden Knight Mondo, but the ship was left badly damaged and the enemy vessel began to retreat. He ordered Rhys to seize the nearby ship and launched himself toward the enemy.

• Bran tried to negotiate with the attackers while the first mate steered Dennis III away from their spells.
• Mondo boarded Dennis III, killed the first mate and several sailors, and charged through the crew.
• Luo Ning recognized Mondo from the Wushan City's Colosseum and fought him while Rhys and the other knights defended against another Ice Cone Spell.
• Mondo claimed that Rulans was behind the attack, then unleashed Tsunami Surge against Luo Ning's Explosive Flame Slash.
• Luo Ning defeated Mondo, struck his throat with a Wind Blade, and frightened the crew of the enemy ship into retreating.
• Luo Ning told Rhys to take the nearby ship and launched himself toward the enemy vessel.

Luo Ning boarded the pirates’ ship, defeated its crew, and captured the vessel after the attack on Dennis III. He learned that the White Whale Pirate Group had targeted him and ordered Rhys to search the sea for the missing Silver Knight Callaway.

• Luo Ning jumped onto the pirates’ ship and used Storm Blade to wound the archers before killing the cannon operator and several knights.
• Rhys boarded the other pirate ship, where the remaining crew surrendered, and forced its Captain to bring it alongside Dennis III.
• Luo Ning and Rhys divided the captured ships, and Luo Ning ordered Tom, David, and the Dennis Family’s knights to tie up the prisoners.
• Captain Victor identified the attackers as the White Whale Pirate Group and said Golden Knight Mondo had arrived at their base before the group set out to target Luo Ning.
• Victor revealed that Deputy Leader Callaway, a Silver Knight, might have been knocked into the sea, so Luo Ning sent Rhys to search for survivors and capture him.

Luo Ning and Rhys interrogated Callaway but learned little about who had arranged the assassination, leaving the Earl of Screaming Island only as a possible suspect. After the battle, Rhys respected Luo Ning’s strength and said he would discuss following him with his family when they returned.

• Luo Ning and Rhys questioned Callaway, who could not identify the mastermind behind the assassination.
• Rhys suspected the Earl of Screaming Island, while Luo Ning cautioned that they lacked evidence and considered other possible culprits.
• Luo Ning told Rhys to hand the captured pirates over to the royal family at Bullhorn Bay and notify his father and Wushan Castle.
• Rhys asked about Luo Ning’s rank, but Luo Ning challenged him to defeat him before he would answer.
• Rhys said he would discuss following Luo Ning with his father, and Luo Ning welcomed him to Wubei Territory.

Luo Ning and Rhys arrived safely at Bullhorn Bay after surviving a pirate attack, and the harbor officials welcomed them and detained the captured pirates. As they prepared to travel to Golden Feather City for Princess Blanche’s celebration, Luo Ning heard that many nobles had gathered despite reports that the princess was unpopular.

• Luo Ning examined the captured fourth-level Ice Cone Spell Magic Energy Cannon, then used 93 Attribute Points to raise his knight progress to Gold Rank (1091/2500).
• Luo Ning and his companions reached Bullhorn Bay on the afternoon of the nineteenth and approached its busy harbor.
• Business Officer Jolly spotted ships flying the Dennis Family and Wushan Family flags and hurried to greet Rhys and Count Luo Ning.
• Bullhorn Bay Port officials welcomed Rhys and Luo Ning, summoned the harbor guards to take Callaway and the other captured pirates into custody, and Jolly arranged their lodging and onward travel.
• Jolly told Luo Ning that many noble ships had arrived to celebrate Princess Blanche, prompting Luo Ning to question why so many nobles came if she was unpopular.

As Blanche's nineteenth birthday approached, rumors that she brought misfortune left her anxious about marrying Luo Ning, who had arrived in Golden Feather City despite a pirate attack. After worrying that her dark magic might cause harm, Blanche took Missy's advice and decided to ask her father to send troops against the White Whale Pirate Group.

• Jolly told Luo Ning and Rhys that nobles and commoners alike mocked Blanche's failed marriage prospects and feared her supposed curse, while Luo Ning said he did not believe the rumors.
• Blanche learned that Luo Ning had reached Bullhorn Bay Harbor after the White Whale Pirate Group attacked his ship, though he was unharmed and the crew suffered casualties.
• Blanche asked Missy whether she truly brought misfortune, saying Luo Ning had nearly died twice since meeting her.
• Blanche summoned a skeleton with Level 3 Magic and wondered whether her talent for Dark Element Magic caused others' misfortunes.
• Missy reassured Blanche and suggested asking the King to send troops against the pirates, so Blanche went to find her father.

King Bruno reviewed Luo Ning’s rise and the assassination attempt against him, then considered using royal support to strengthen Wushan Territory and advance his own interests. He decided to let Luo Ning lead the effort against the White Whale Pirate Group and sought other opportunities to support him.

• Bruno read Luo Ning’s dossier and discussed with Asenor whether Rulans had hidden Luo Ning’s talent to protect him from the forces that had once crippled Wushan Territory.
• Bruno and Asenor considered who might have arranged the attack on Luo Ning, but neither could identify a culprit.
• Blanche asked Bruno to avenge Luo Ning and destroy the White Whale Pirate Group, and Bruno promised to consider it.
• Bruno told Asenor that Luo Ning would handle the campaign against the pirates and asked him to find other matters that could be entrusted to Luo Ning.

Luo Ning arrived in Golden Feather City and met King Bruno, who tested his Explosive Flame Slash and praised its unusual power. After Luo Ning offered to write down the Battle Skill, Bruno rewarded him with the chance to choose two books from the royal library, leaving Luo Ning eager to find new techniques.

• Luo Ning arrived at Golden Feather City with Tom and David and was escorted through Golden Feather Palace to meet Bruno.
• Luo Ning presented Rulans's letter to Bruno, and Brol asked about his strength and his victory over a Golden Knight.
• Luo Ning demonstrated Explosive Flame Slash, and Brol blocked it with his Wind Barrier while assessing its power.
• Bruno hinted that he wanted Explosive Flame Slash, and Luo Ning offered to record the Battle Skill for him.
• Bruno invited Luo Ning to choose two books from his library the next day, and Luo Ning welcomed the chance to expand his collection.

Bruno recognized Luo Ning’s talent and considered him a future ally for Garrett as Auduin prepared for an eventual war with Tricia. At Moonlight Palace, Luo Ning reunited with Blanche and gave her a shawl and a personalized mug, which she happily accepted.

• Bruno praised Luo Ning’s Silver Knight achievement and discussed recruiting strength for a future war against Tricia with Brol.
• Bruno ordered Brol to write to Iben and investigate whether Auduin could fund unrest in Tricia.
• Blanche summoned Luo Ning to Moonlight Palace, where they reunited and spoke about his encounter with pirates and their future marriage.
• Luo Ning gave Blanche a silk shawl and a personalized mug, and she kissed him on the cheek in thanks.
• Luo Ning offered to put the shawl around Blanche.

Blanche brought Luo Ning books about pre-Empire history, including vague references to a Demon God and a cataclysm, then escorted him to Bruno’s guarded library. Luo Ning chose the secret skill Scorching Ray and, after weighing several spells, selected Wings of Wind as his second book.

• Blanche gave Luo Ning seven books she had gathered about history before the Empire, and pointed out their mentions of a Demon God and a cataclysm.
• Blanche escorted Luo Ning through Golden Feather Palace to its fortified library, where he was permitted to choose two books.
• Luo Ning browsed the library catalog and chose the secret skill Scorching Ray, despite Blanche warning that he could not use it until he became a Meteor Knight.
• Luo Ning considered several high-level spells for his second choice and settled on Wings of Wind.

Luo Ning chose two advanced books before learning that Bruno and Brol thought his choices impractical, while the Dennis Family prepared to protect him and Rhys from further danger. After spending the afternoon with Blanche, Luo Ning found Tom and David being attacked at Golden Feather Palace and struck down their assailants, then faced the nobles who had sent them.

• Luo Ning selected Scorching Ray and Wings of Wind, and Bruno and Brol questioned why he had chosen a seventh-level spell he could not yet use.
• Asenor reported that the White Whale Pirate Group members had confessed what they knew, and Bruno ordered Luo Ning to lead a team against their stronghold after Blanche's birthday banquet.
• Vitorino sent Lucci with two Knight Squads to Bullhorn Bay to bring Rhys and Luo Ning back, while telling Rhys he could serve Luo Ning temporarily but must remain loyal to the master of Wushan Territory.
• Luo Ning toured Golden Feather Palace with Blanche and escorted her back to Moonlight Palace before returning to his residence.
• Luo Ning found Tom and David kicked to the ground and stopped Moss and Haman from attacking them by striking the two knights with Storm Blade.
• Luo Ning confronted the gathered nobles and asked whether they had considered the consequences of killing noble Retainer Knights inside Golden Feather Palace.

Luo Ning stopped several nobles from bullying Tom and David, then learned they had insulted his reputation and his planned marriage alliance with Blanche. He challenged the red-haired noble to a Life-and-Death Duel, but the group recoiled from risking their lives.

• Luo Ning intervened when nobles and their knights bullied Tom and David, and traded barbs with the red-haired man who mocked the Wushan Family.
• Tom and David told Luo Ning that the group had insulted him and attacked them when they defended his reputation.
• Luo Ning praised Tom and David, then demanded that those who injured his attendants step forward.
• The red-haired man questioned Luo Ning's right to seek justice, so Luo Ning challenged him to a Life-and-Death Duel.
• The group hesitated because a duel could legally end in their deaths, and one of them asked whether Luo Ning was insane.

Luo Ning confronted the nobles who had injured his attendants at Golden Feather Palace and defeated the red-haired grandson of Grand Duke Vera in a duel. When the others attacked him together, he took a hit as the palace guards arrived and portrayed himself as gravely injured.

• Luo Ning challenged the red-haired man and beat him back with a punch, then learned he was Grand Duke Vera's grandson and linked him to Andrea's false intelligence.
• Luo Ning overpowered the red-haired man with Instant Ignition and a punch, breaking his ribs after he refused to agree to a life-and-death duel.
• Luo Ning demanded that the others apologize to his injured attendants and pay five thousand gold coins each, but the red-haired man ordered everyone to attack together.
• Luo Ning sent five attackers flying with Flame Cyclone, then fought the remaining assailants as a mage cast a Water Arrow Spell and palace guards rushed in.
• Luo Ning's Whirlwind Cross Slash was overwhelmed by the attackers' combined skills, and he let the remaining force knock him down before the guards stopped the fight.
• Luo Ning sat up and told the Knight Captain that the attackers would have killed him if the guards had arrived any later.

Luo Ning and his attendants were attacked by a group of young nobles at the Golden Feather Palace, and the dispute was referred to the king. After Blanche arrived at Luo Ning’s residence and identified his opponents, he learned their families were connected by marriage alliances.

• Vali tried to stop Luo Ning and the young nobles from fighting again as both sides traded accusations and demands for compensation.
• Vali arranged for the injured to receive treatment and said he would report the conflict to the king, while Luo Ning agreed and left with his attendants.
• Cross, Facundo, and their companions dispersed, and news of the conflict spread through the Golden Feather Palace.
• Blanche heard Luo Ning had been attacked, went to his residence, and introduced his opponents as Cross Vera, Facundo Fleming, Harrington Grigor, Milani Grigor, and Sally Auduin.
• Blanche explained that several of the nobles’ families were already in marriage alliances or considering them, and Luo Ning frowned as he listened.

Luo Ning’s palace fight raised concerns for King Bruno about the marriage alliance between Blanche and the Wushan Family. Bruno decided to hold a Martial Arts Tournament at Blanche’s birthday banquet so the nobles could judge Luo Ning for themselves.

• The chapter outlined the kingdom’s noble marriage alliances and the Wushan Family’s precarious position among its rivals.
• Knight Vali reported that Cross and his companions had joined forces against Luo Ning, who fought with Whirlwind Cross Slash and suffered only a minor injury.
• Bruno learned that Cross and Luo Ning’s retainers had argued after Cross’s group made disparaging remarks about the Wushan Family and Luo Ning.
• Asenor warned Bruno that rumors about Luo Ning’s past could undermine the marriage alliance, and Bruno agreed that witnesses needed to see Luo Ning’s abilities firsthand.
• Bruno announced that he would hold a Martial Arts Tournament at Blanche’s birthday banquet.

Luo Ning turned a dispute over his attendants’ injuries into a challenge to Cross and Facundo’s remarks about the Wushan Family’s title, arguing that their words undermined the King and the kingdom. Bruno asked the Minister of Justice to address their questioning of the late King’s decision to ennoble the Wushan Family, rather than the original brawl.

• Cross claimed that he and his companions had only defended their families’ honor, while Tom and David said Cross and Facundo had attacked them for defending Luo Ning.
• After the nobles traded accusations and insults, Luo Ning asked Cross who had started the violence, pursued his attendants, attacked him, and called others to gang up on him.
• Luo Ning said he would duel Cross on behalf of the Wushan Family, Bruno, and the late King Klinsmann, citing Cross and Facundo’s remarks that the Wushan Family had received its marquis title out of pity.
• Luo Ning connected the remarks to rumors about Selena’s death and argued that spreading them could weaken the kingdom’s knights and nobles; Bruno took the claim seriously.
• Bruno asked Texas how to handle the matter, then clarified that he meant the questioning of the late King’s ennoblement of the Wushan Family and the spreading of false information.

King Bruno settled the dispute between Luo Ning and the noble heirs, warning them of the consequences of their reckless accusations before imposing a financial penalty. He arranged for their families to sponsor a martial arts tournament on Blanche’s birthday, and the chapter ended with everyone invited to dinner.

• Minister of Justice Texas explained that remarks endangering national security could carry a maximum sentence of hanging, frightening Facundo and the others.
• Bruno reassured the young nobles, demanded they admit fault, and had them apologize for their remarks.
• Bruno ordered the families to provide eighty thousand gold coins as tournament prize money instead of paying a formal fine, and Luo Ning accepted the settlement.
• Bruno ended the dispute and invited Luo Ning and the noble heirs to a dinner banquet.

Bruno promised Luo Ning a title and other rewards if he won the Martial Arts Tournament, subdued the factions on Rapids Island, and destroyed the White Whale Pirate Group’s base. The chapter left Luo Ning grateful for the King’s favor while recognizing that Bruno also wanted the Wushan Family’s strength to check the neighboring powers.

• Luo Ning promised Blanche that he would win the Martial Arts Tournament and give her the champion’s flower wreath.
• Bruno showed Luo Ning a map of Rapids Island and offered him the task of subduing its factions and wiping out the White Whale Pirate Group’s base if he won the tournament.
• Bruno promised to announce Luo Ning’s marriage alliance with Blanche and make him Viscount of Rapids Island after he restored order there.
• Bruno also promised to give Luo Ning several griffons when Blanche married him, and Luo Ning thanked the King for his trust.
• Luo Ning considered Rapids Island’s strategic value and concluded that Bruno’s generous offer also served to strengthen the Wushan Family against neighboring powers.

After Cross and the other nobles returned home from their confrontation with Luo Ning, they recognized that Bruno was backing the Wushan Family and that their efforts to damage Luo Ning’s reputation had become less effective. In Wushan Castle, Rulans rewarded Melonica for becoming a Meteor Knight and sent him to Golden Feather City to protect Luo Ning.

• Cross told Hammond about the confrontation with Luo Ning and asked for gold coins to cover the payment he and the others had agreed to make.
• Hammond and Mellen discussed the consequences of the incident, while Mellen concluded that Bruno intended to support the Wushan Family.
• Rulans congratulated Melonica on becoming a Meteor Knight and gave him a copy of his secret technique, Fire Dance Lightning Strike Slash.
• Rulans told Melonica that Luo Ning had survived an assassination attempt at sea and asked him to travel to Golden Feather City to protect Luo Ning.
• Rulans decided to leave the task of rebuilding Wushan Castle’s Liaison Station in Golden Feather City to Luo Ning.

Luo Ning attended Blanche’s birthday Martial Arts Tournament, where Rhys warned him about the talented Silver Knight Kalada and explained the obstacles facing a commoner. After Knight Missy delivered Blanche’s blessing, Kalada noticed Luo Ning and his companions.

• Luo Ning traveled to the tournament with Tom and David and found the nobles gathered around the grounds.
• Rhys Dennis explained that the unflagged group represented the Royal Knight Academy and Bullhorn Bay Supernatural Academy, then warned Luo Ning about Kalada, a powerful Silver Knight from an ordinary family.
• Luo Ning considered recruiting Kalada, but Rhys said Kalada’s love for a woman in the Royal Knight Order meant he would not pledge loyalty to another noble.
• Knight Missy conveyed Blanche’s blessing to Luo Ning and confirmed that she would compete in the tournament.
• After Missy left, Rhys noticed that Kalada was watching Luo Ning and his companions.