Recaps

Li Chen expanded the Witch Ancestor’s influence across Daluo while Romanov and Ivan tried to turn his rise into a trap. After tracking Romanov to his hidden base and revealing his identity as the Emperor of Heavenly Strategy, Li Chen began the assault that would decide their conflict.

• Li Chen followed Lyudmila to the Maple Leaf Fief, where he infiltrated the refugee camps, exposed Gulag’s plan to abduct Olga, and recruited Olga to spread the Witch Ancestor’s teachings.
• Olga and Li Chen’s outreach drew hundreds of thousands of believers, while Romanov and Ivan plotted to send Li Chen to the front and make his death look like a battlefield accident.
• Ivan and Romanov granted the Witch Ancestor a dangerous southern fief, but Li Chen accepted, coordinated with Han Wu, and gained prestige when the Heavenly Strategy Army withdrew from his route.
• Li Chen gathered Saint Realm experts to track Romanov, then returned to Daluo and urged Matvei to reclaim imperial power while arranging a meeting with Romanov.
• At a banquet, Li Chen secured permission to build shrines in Imperial and noble territories, and Azure Deep Heavenly Venerable tracked Romanov back to his hidden grotto-heaven.
• Li Chen’s group invaded Romanov and Ivan’s base, where Li Chen removed his disguise and revealed himself as the Emperor of Heavenly Strategy.
• Romanov rejected Li Chen’s offer of an easy surrender and summoned the Ancient Giant Bear, but linked formations disrupted Romanov’s control of his Grotto-Heaven as Li Chen prepared to attack.

Li Chen secured Daluo’s submission and prepared to investigate the Pope’s disappearance inside the Eternal Day Empire. After entering Silverglow City, he befriended Sylph and planned to use a false Elder Elf King Bloodline to draw Emperor Charles’s attention and uncover the truth.

• Li Chen defeated and killed Romanov, while Helan Xuan killed Ivan and the other Imperial Clan experts, and the Saints searched and purified the battlefield.
• Matvei consolidated control of Daluo, accepted Li Chen’s advice to submit to Heavenly Strategy, and pledged the Witch Ancestor as Daluo’s sole State Preceptor.
• Li Chen returned to Heavenly Strategy, completed his Northern Frontier Tempering mission, and decided to investigate the turmoil in the Eternal Day Empire before pursuing the Dragon Palace.
• Matvei traveled to the capital and accepted Li Chen’s terms for Daluo’s vassal status, which Li Chen confirmed before Matvei returned home.
• Li Chen revealed his plan to infiltrate the Eternal Day Empire in disguise, then crossed the border as the Holy See’s leaders argued over who should govern in the Pope’s absence.
• Li Chen investigated Silverglow City and learned that the Pope had reportedly visited the Wind Whisperer Family’s Forbidden Land, then entered it with Sylph but found no further clues.
• Li Chen gained Sylph’s trust, brought her out of the castle, and decided to control the Wind Whisperer Family while using its connections to investigate the Pope’s disappearance.
• Li Chen decided to pose as a Half-Elf with the Elder Elf King Bloodline, and Bilodis taught him Half-Elf cultivation and arts that he mastered with startling ease.