Chapter Summaries

Ato Mage and Mogan drove the Sky God from the Yato Plane, but Merlin survived the Sky God’s attacks because the mysterious Matrix absorbed the divine power. Merlin concealed the Matrix by telling them he had obtained three Laws, and Mogan accepted his explanation.

• Ato Mage tried to restrain the Sky God with the Wind Law as the Sky God attempted to escape through a spatial passage.
• Mogan arrived and froze the Sky God with the Ice Law, allowing Ato Mage to attack until the Sky God’s divine body collapsed.
• The Sky God escaped with only a fragment of Divinity, leaving Ato Mage and Mogan unable to stop him.
• Merlin emerged unharmed after the Matrix absorbed the divine power, though Damsi, Frey, and Goyado had died.
• Merlin told Mogan and Ato Mage that he had obtained three Laws in the Land of Glory, and Mogan advised him to disperse them before condensing his own Law.

After the Sky God killed Damsi, Frey, and Goyado, Oseus accepted Merlin as having passed the trial and agreed to teach him the Spiritual Secret Art. Mage Ato explained that Didimos could become a living being by devouring spirits, then gave him more spirits to consume, leaving him asleep while he digested their power.

• Oseus arrived after the battle, and Mogan and Ato reprimanded him for choosing a cave where the Sky God had been hiding.
• Merlin told Oseus that the Sky God had killed Damsi, Frey, and Goyado, and Oseus agreed to teach Merlin the Spiritual Secret Art.
• Mogan and Ato explained that Didimos could transform from a half-spirit into a living being with power comparable to a Legendary Mage.
• Ato drew spirits from across the Plane and let Didimos devour them until Didimos fell asleep to digest their power.
• Ato told Merlin to stay on the Yato Plane and consult Oseus while learning the Spiritual Secret Art.

Merlin visited Mage Oseus to learn Spiritual Secret Arts, and Oseus agreed to teach him after discovering the extraordinary strength of Merlin’s mental power. Oseus urged Merlin to delay advancing his Mental Core, promising that his secret art could help Merlin compress it further.

• Merlin examined the Matrix and found that it had stored enough energy from the Sky God’s divine power to deduce one or two Sixth-Level Spells, but he postponed using it until after learning a Spiritual Secret Art.
• Merlin flew to Mage Oseus’s palace and explained that he wanted to learn Spiritual Secret Arts because he wanted to become stronger.
• Oseus described his ambition to develop Mental Power Users into a system capable of producing someone comparable to a Great Legendary.
• Merlin unleashed nearly all his mental power, impressing Oseus with a force approaching that of an ordinary Ninth-level Spellcaster despite Merlin having only a Seventh-Level Mental Core.
• After Merlin said his Mental Core was close to its limit, Oseus advised him not to rush to advance and hinted that his Spiritual Secret Art could help compress it further.

Merlin learned Oseus’s Explosion Theory, a Spiritual Secret Art that compressed the Mental Core, and successfully used it to condense his core after an explosion. Oseus then prepared to teach Merlin an offensive art called Ninefold Strike.

• Oseus explained that Explosion Theory could compress the Mental Core and required Merlin to keep its secrets, so Merlin signed a contract.
• Oseus taught Merlin how to explode and recondense his Mental Core, warning him about the dangers and explaining the necessary techniques.
• Merlin detonated his Mental Core, endured the pain, and followed Oseus’s instructions to condense it again.
• Merlin found that his Mental Core had been compressed and could hold more mental power, while Oseus said the art could ultimately double its capacity.
• Merlin sought an offensive Spiritual Secret Art, and Oseus revealed his top-tier technique, Ninefold Strike.

Merlin learned Oseus's Ninefold Strike and spent three months cultivating it alongside Explosion Theory, while Mogan considered using his precious recommendation slot to send Merlin to the City of Arcane. Merlin's Seventh-Level Mental Core finally reached its compression limit, leaving his next breakthrough ahead.

• Oseus demonstrated Ninefold Strike and taught Merlin the Spiritual Secret Art, asking him to pursue its eighth and ninth strikes if he mastered the seventh.
• Merlin promised Oseus he would attempt to cultivate the highest strikes and returned to his residence to train.
• Mogan and Ato discussed Merlin's progress, and Mogan resolved to use his recommendation slot to send Merlin to the City of Arcane.
• Merlin repeatedly exploded and recondensed his Mental Core until his Seventh-Level Mental Core reached its limit.

Merlin mastered Threefold Strike after compressing his Mental Core, then learned that Oseus had left the Yato Plane to seek a breakthrough in the Void Realm. Mage Mogan offered Merlin his sole recommendation to enter the City of Arcane, a plane created by Supreme Arcane Mages to cultivate Spellcaster geniuses.

• Merlin used Threefold Strike to crush a boulder and realized his Mental Power could rival a Peak Eighth-Level Spell.
• Merlin left his house and flew to Ato Mage's palace to thank Oseus before departing the Yato Plane.
• Ato Mage told Merlin that Oseus had left over a month earlier to travel through the Void Realm and pursue his goal of becoming a Legendary.
• Mage Mogan recommended Merlin for the City of Arcane, explaining that it was a plane created by the Supreme Arcane Mages for cultivating outstanding Spellcasters.
• Merlin learned that Mogan would use his only recommendation slot to send him to the City of Arcane and eagerly accepted the opportunity.

Merlin and Mogan Mage traveled through the Void Realm toward the City of Arcane, and Mogan gave Merlin a speed-focused flying boat that he named the Aurora Boat. After half a month, they found the City of Arcane, a colossal sphere of light that Merlin’s Mind Power could not detect.

• Merlin wondered whether the Wilson Family and the Dark Spirit Domain had safely reached the Icebound Snowfield and considered the City of Arcane his chance to return to the Land of Glory.
• Mogan Mage sensed the City of Arcane’s direction and gave Merlin a small, exceptionally fast flying boat forged by Ato Mage.
• Merlin imprinted his Mind Power on the boat, tested its speed, and named it the Aurora Boat.
• Merlin and Mogan Mage traveled side by side through the Void Realm for about half a month as Merlin used Elemental Crystals to replenish the Magic Power required to pilot the Aurora Boat.
• A powerful fluctuation forced Merlin to retreat beside Mogan Mage, who identified the enormous, Mind Power-undetectable sphere of light before them as the City of Arcane.

Mogan brought Merlin into the City of Arcane, where Merlin discovered its extraordinary resources and met the mages who would oversee his arrival assessment. Their introduction was interrupted by a powerful Legendary Mage with four Laws arriving in a flying castle, carrying a possibly exceptional new disciple.

• Mogan led Merlin into the City of Arcane, where Merlin found that its dense elements rapidly replenished his mana and Mogan demonstrated how its elements could be compressed into Elemental Crystals.
• Mogan explained that the City of Arcane’s adjustable force fields and other features made it an exceptional place for spell casters to cultivate, then took Merlin through a spatial passage to its buildings.
• A Legendary Mage in a grayish-white robe escorted Merlin and Mogan to a palace and explained that Legendary Mages could enter only once to recommend a disciple, unless summoned by a Supreme Arcane Mage.
• An obese mage volunteered to guide Merlin and Mogan through the newcomer assessment and explained that Merlin belonged to the newest cohort of Potential Mages.
• A flying castle arrived at the palace, and Mogan recognized its owner as a great Legendary Mage who had condensed four Laws; the obese mage speculated that the mage had brought a remarkable new disciple.

Merlin and Sate'an entered the City of Arcane and began its newcomer assessment. Sate'an’s test revealed that he was a rare Six-Element Spellcaster, impressing the white-robed mages.

• Black Cloud Legendary arrived with his disciple Sate'an and joined Merlin and the others on their way to the City of Arcane assessment.
• The white-robed mages recognized Black Cloud Legendary from his deeds, verified his Legendary Pact Token, and accepted his recommendation of Sate'an as a Potential Mage.
• Mogan presented his Legendary Pact Token, allowing Merlin to join the City of Arcane as a member.
• The white-robed mages began assessments for Sate'an and Merlin, while warning Black Cloud Legendary and Mogan that they would have to leave after the tests.
• Sate'an placed his hand on a crystal ball, which revealed six spell types and marked him as a Six-Element Spellcaster.

Merlin and Sate'an underwent assessments in the City of Arcane, where Sate'an’s Six-Element talent and Perfect-Level Seventh-Level Spells stunned the mages. Merlin then revealed that he was also a Six-Element Spellcaster and earned excellent ratings for all his spells through Third Level; his Fourth-Level Spell test began as the chapter ended.

• Arot explained to Merlin that Six-Element Spellcasters were exceptionally rare, while Black Cloud Mage had become a powerful Legend despite being a Four-Element Spellcaster.
• Sate'an’s assessment revealed excellent Fourth-Level Spells and six Perfect-Level Seventh-Level Spells, placing him eighteenth on the Arcane City Spell Ranking.
• Merlin presented the Legendary Pact Token and began his assessment, where the crystal ball identified him as a Six-Element Spellcaster.
• Merlin earned excellent ratings for all his spells from Zero through Third Level, astonishing the observers.
• Merlin began casting a Fourth-Level Spell, unsure what grade Matrix’s derived spells would receive.

Merlin revealed that all twelve of his newly derived Fourth- and Fifth-Level Spells were Perfect-Level, earning thirteenth place on the Spell Ranking and drawing comparisons to the legendary Nilar. After Mage Mogan departed, Arot showed Merlin and Sate'an around the City of Arcane, where Merlin resolved to begin constructing Sixth-Level Spells.

• Merlin demonstrated twelve Perfect-Level Spells, astonishing the Mages and ranking thirteenth on the Spell Ranking below Nilar, who had constructed thirty.
• Mage Sate'an acknowledged that Merlin's talent for constructing Spells surpassed his own, then introduced himself to Merlin before leaving.
• Mage Mogan gave Merlin the Plane Coordinate for Mogan Plane and departed the City of Arcane.
• Arot guided Merlin and Sate'an around the City of Arcane, showing them its residential, force field, and testing areas.
• Merlin recognized that Sate'an's Seventh-Level Spells and greater level made him formidable, and decided to start constructing Sixth-Level Spells once he knew the city better.

After arriving in the City of Arcane, Merlin used Matrix and divine power and Thunder Law to deduce two Sixth-Level Spells, then constructed Endless Fire and Vast Thunder. As he absorbed elements to fill their Spell Models, Mage Arot arrived and hurriedly took him to a major event where Sate'an had already gone.

• Merlin began deducing a Sixth-Level fire Spell with Matrix, using the special energy absorbed from the Sky God's divine power.
• Merlin used his Thunder Law to deduce a lightning Spell, then selected two Perfect-Level Spells and named them Endless Fire and Vast Thunder.
• Merlin spent seven days simulating and successfully constructing both Spell Models in his Sea of Consciousness.
• Merlin absorbed the City of Arcane's abundant elements to replenish the new Spell Models with magic power.
• Mage Arot triggered Merlin's Rune Formation, said Sate'an had already gone to a major event, and hurried Merlin into the sky.

Merlin joined the final round of a wager battle between two factions of Potential Mages in the City of Arcane, facing the powerful Mage Seden. After Seden drove him into a desperate defensive position, Merlin used his advanced Spiritual Secret Art, Ninefold Strike, to seize the initiative.

• Arot brought Merlin to the testing area, where Sate'an's faction and the City of Arcane's personally recruited Spellcasters were tied after Sate'an and Vick each fought a round.
• Sate'an asked Merlin to fight Mage Seden in the deciding round, and Merlin agreed so he could remain part of Sate'an's circle.
• Seden recognized Merlin as a Six-Element Spellcaster with twelve Perfect-Level Spells and explained that his faction wanted to prove itself without powerful backgrounds or Great Legendary mentors.
• Seden attacked first and overwhelmed Merlin with large-scale Spells, forcing Merlin to dodge while the spectators doubted he could win.
• Unable to find an opening for a Fusion Spell, Merlin mobilized his Spiritual Power and launched the Spiritual Secret Art Ninefold Strike.

Merlin defeated Mage Seden by fusing Endless Fire and Vast Thunder into a Fusion Spell, shocking the spellcasters in the City of Arcane. After Sate'an urged Merlin to join their circle, Merlin learned about the Mental Tower and discovered that newly arrived Potential Mages had no Adventure Points.

• Merlin used his Threefold Strike to disrupt Mage Seden, then fused Endless Fire and Vast Thunder into a spell that shattered Seden's Rune Shield and sent him flying.
• Mage Seden admitted defeat and left, while the gathered spellcasters reacted with shock at Merlin's ability to fuse spells.
• Mage Vick celebrated Merlin's victory, and Sate'an explained that Rael, Vick, and Seden would treat Merlin as a rival rather than resent him.
• Merlin asked how Sate'an trained his mental power, and Mage Arot told him that Sate'an had challenged the Mental Tower, whose trials could strengthen a spellcaster's mind for one hundred Adventure Points per attempt.
• Merlin asked how many Adventure Points he had, and Arot told him that newly arrived Potential Mages started with none and had to earn them.

Merlin entered the Mental Tower to temper his mental power and found that its trials increased in pain with each floor. Protected by his Mental Core, he endured the first two floors and wondered whether to risk the third.

• Arot explained that Spellcasters needed Adventure Points to access the City of Arcane’s resources, but the Mental Tower was free to first-time challengers.
• Merlin chose to use his free attempt immediately, and Arot told him that Sate'an had reached the eleventh floor while he himself had reached the eighth.
• Merlin entered the Mental Tower alongside three unfamiliar Spellcasters and discovered that pain on the first floor stimulated mental-power growth.
• Merlin and the three Spellcasters advanced to the second floor, where much greater pain caused their mental power to grow faster.
• After enduring the second-floor trial, Merlin hesitated over whether to enter the potentially more painful third floor.

Merlin advanced through the Mental Tower, using vivid dreams and repeated mental-power depletion to strengthen his mind until he reached the Seventh-Level Mental Core’s limit and unlocked Fourfold Strike. He entered the Ninth Layer and cautiously waited to discover how it would temper his mental power.

• Merlin realized the Third Layer immersed Spellcasters in intensely emotional dreams, and he relived the sorrow of losing the Wilson Family in an alternate outcome.
• Merlin surrendered to the dreams on successive layers, steadily increasing his mental power until he reached the Eighth Layer.
• On the Eighth Layer, a mysterious force repeatedly drained Merlin’s mental power, and each recovery increased it until it reached the limit of his Seventh-Level Mental Core.
• Merlin entered the Ninth Layer and naturally unlocked Fourfold Strike, giving him another ability comparable to that of a Ninth-level Spellcaster.
• Merlin cautiously studied the Ninth Layer, wondering how it would temper his mental power.

Merlin reached the ninth floor of the Mental Tower, where a Mental Power User taught him that mental power grew stronger when integrated into instinct. After losing all three contests, Merlin was expelled from the tower and planned to return after earning more Adventure Points.

• A black-robed old man appeared on the ninth floor and revealed that he was a Mental Power User assigned to temper challengers’ mental power.
• The old man defeated Merlin twice in contests of mental power techniques, leaving Merlin to reflect on the purpose of the trials.
• Merlin realized that mental power had to become part of his instincts, then challenged the old man a third time and lost.
• The old man expelled Merlin from the Mental Tower, and Arot asked him which floor he had reached.
• Merlin told Arot he had reached the ninth floor and gained valuable insight, then resolved to return after earning more Adventure Points.

Merlin learned that the three components in his Bell Space might belong to Mage Bell’s legendary God-Sealing Disc, and he found four more components for sale in the City of Arcane. Determined to obtain them despite their high cost, he searched the Mission Tower for a suitable way to earn Adventure Points but found no acceptable mission.

• Merlin researched Mage Bell and learned that Bell had forged the God-Sealing Disc, a nine-part casting tool capable of suppressing Innate Deities.
• Merlin suspected his three Bell Space components were part of the God-Sealing Disc and discovered that four damaged components were available in the City of Arcane for two thousand Adventure Points.
• Merlin decided he would obtain the four components, believing that combining them with his own three would make an exceptionally powerful casting tool.
• Merlin visited the Mission Tower to find work that could earn enough Adventure Points, but the available missions were either too dangerous or too poorly rewarded.

Master Sate'an recruited Merlin and four other exceptional Potential Mages for a dangerous investigation in Xiling Plane, offering each of them 2,500 Adventure Points. The six formed the Strongest Six team and left the City of Arcane for Xiling Plane.

• Master Sate'an told Merlin that the City of Arcane had assigned a high-reward mission to investigate Xiling Plane.
• Sate'an explained that the Rock Clan might have secretly sent Grand Mage-level powerhouses into Xiling Plane to pursue an unknown scheme.
• Merlin learned that the mission could bring the team into conflict with powerful Rock Clan infiltrators, but Sate'an believed the six could stand together against them.
• Merlin, Sate'an, Rael, Seden, Orga, and Vick agreed to take the mission and formed the Strongest Six team.
• Led by Rael and Sate'an, the team left the City of Arcane and flew toward Xiling Plane.

Merlin and five other Spellcasters reached the Xiling Plane after a three-month journey and entered it cautiously, aware of the dangers posed by the Rock Clan. On the Plane, a princess being escorted back to the palace heard an unknown voice offer to fulfill her wish for a Holy Knight.

• Merlin reflected on how the Mental Tower could help him turn Spiritual Power into instinct and strengthen his abilities.
• After three months of travel, Rael spotted the Xiling Plane, and Sate'an confirmed their destination using the Plane map.
• Rael warned the group that the Xiling Plane held an advanced civilization and hidden Rock Clan members, then the six Spellcasters flew inside.
• The princess asked Purple Guard whether her father would force her to marry the elderly king of Xiewei, and Purple Guard explained that the marriage was meant to protect Xidan Kingdom from a kingdom with a Holy Knight.
• The princess wished for Xidan Kingdom to gain a Holy Knight, and an unseen voice said it could fulfill her wish; Purple Guard drew her blade and searched the carriage.