Chapter Summaries

Li Chen parried Romanov’s warning and accusations through the misty Barrier, while concealing that he was relaxing with Lyudmila instead of meditating. After Romanov left, Li Chen decided to set Sergei in motion and learned that Lyudmila’s Lineage was based in the Maple Leaf Fief, giving him a new plan.

• Romanov visited Li Chen’s Barrier and warned him to stop damaging the Imperial House’s reputation through his relations with the Imperial Harem.
• Li Chen challenged Romanov over his and Ivan’s continued control of the government, while Romanov claimed they were only helping the New Emperor until he could rule independently.
• Romanov left without seeing through Li Chen’s concealment, and Li Chen decided to get Sergei moving while avoiding further provocation through Matvei.
• Li Chen asked Lyudmila how long she had lived in the Holy Capital and where her Lineage was based.
• Lyudmila said her Lineage was a small one in the Maple Leaf Fief, and Li Chen said he would remember it.

Sergei received Li Chen’s instructions to seek more authority and use resistance from Ivan’s loyal ministers to weaken their influence, while Li Chen left the Holy Capital for the Maple Leaf Fief with Lyudmila. There, he saw Lyudmila’s sister Olga distributing food to refugees and began forming a plan after hearing some of them speak crudely about her.

• Li Chen instructed Sergei to demand further powers from Matvei and use the resulting conflict to remove Ivan’s loyal ministers.
• Li Chen reassured Matvei before departing the Holy Capital with Lyudmila, while Romanov convinced Ivan that returning to the palace might be a trap.
• Li Chen and Lyudmila arrived at the Maple Leaf Fief, where refugees gathered outside the city and Lineage estate.
• Lyudmila introduced her sister Olga, who was distributing porridge and bread to the refugees.
• Li Chen heard refugees make lewd remarks about Olga and began devising a plan.

Li Chen investigated the Maple Leaf Fief in disguise to learn how its people viewed the war and its rulers, but Lyudmila’s presence hindered his efforts, so he sent her back to the Shuisky residence. He continued his inquiry alone while Lyudmila concealed the Witch Ancestor’s whereabouts from her family.

• Li Chen observed the refugees and disorder in the Maple Leaf Fief as Lyudmila explained that her father’s absence and the influx of refugees had weakened local order.
• Lyudmila described the four other major lineages in the fief and repeatedly tried to present the Shuisky lineage favorably to Li Chen.
• Li Chen decided Lyudmila was obstructing his investigation and ordered her to return to her family while he explored alone.
• Lyudmila returned to the Shuisky residence, where Dmitri asked whether trouble had driven her from the Holy Capital.
• Lyudmila assured Dmitri that her husband Mikhail was well and said she had returned to help with the refugees.

Lyudmila returned to the Maple Leaf Fief and worried that Olga’s charity work among the refugees put her in danger, but Olga refused to be deterred. Meanwhile, Li Chen disguised himself as a destitute wizard and infiltrated Gulag’s refugee gang, where he watched Gulag rally its members to exploit the fief’s vulnerable position.

• Lyudmila warned Olga to stop distributing porridge among the refugees, but Olga insisted she could protect herself and would continue helping them.
• Li Chen changed into a shabby wizard’s robe, concealed his power, and joined a group of refugees as a supposed war coward.
• Li Chen befriended Gulag, a fallen noble who had gathered deserters, local thugs, and drifters into an underground force.
• Gulag summoned dozens of core members and urged them to seize an opportunity in the Maple Leaf Fief while the Shuisky Lineage’s elite troops were away.
• Gulag promised his followers money, women, and status if they united to establish their own domain, stirring their enthusiasm.

Li Chen joined Gulag’s desperate scheme to abduct Olga and followed the group into the refugee settlement to observe their methods and the refugees’ views. Olga arrived at the porridge station, unaware that Gulag’s men were waiting to seize her.

• Gulag dismissed those unwilling to risk bloodshed, then explained his plan to the men who stayed, including Li Chen in disguise.
• Gulag revealed that he intended to abduct Olga during her charity visit and use her as leverage against the Shuisky Lineage.
• Gulag promised his men a share in Olga and the spoils, stirring them to greater enthusiasm.
• Li Chen followed Gulag’s men into the refugee settlement, where they hid near the porridge station and watched the crowd.
• Olga arrived with a small guard squad and began distributing food and comforting the refugees as hidden men watched her.

Gulag lured Olga into an isolated courtyard with plans to take advantage of her, but she revealed overwhelming Spirit Power and drove off his attackers. Li Chen watched from concealment, newly intrigued by Olga’s strength.

• Li Chen watched Gulag’s men plot against Olga and heard Gulag insist they wait for a chance to act.
• A bribed servant tricked Olga into leaving the main refugee area to visit supposedly neglected refugees.
• Gulag and dozens of disguised men surrounded Olga in an isolated courtyard and threatened her.
• Olga realized she had been deceived, then unleashed Spirit Power and hurled seven or eight attackers into the walls.
• Li Chen watched the ambush turn against Gulag’s men and reconsidered how simple Olga was.

Olga defeated Gulag’s men but exhausted herself in the process, and Li Chen waited to see whether she would ask him for help. Before he could act, a powerful Mysterious Man arrived and stood between Olga and the villains.

• Gulag rallied his men to surround Olga and wear her down, while she held back from killing and struggled to break free.
• Olga attacked Gulag, but he avoided a direct fight and ordered his men to keep harrying her.
• Olga finally knocked down the last of Gulag’s men and declared that the Shuisky Lineage was banishing them from Maple Leaf Fief.
• Gulag begged Li Chen to attack the exhausted Olga, but Li Chen asked her whether she wanted his help, and Olga refused to submit.
• A Mysterious Man descended in front of Olga, promised to help, and struck fear into Gulag and his fallen men.

Li Chen defeated the Mysterious Man and subdued Olga after she challenged him to repeated fights, which he won effortlessly. By the fifth day Olga had stopped resisting and asked about his cultivation, and Li Chen revealed that he had reached the peak of the Saint Realm.

• Li Chen exposed the Mysterious Man's attempt to pose as Olga's rescuer, then knocked him unconscious with a single kick.
• Olga refused to surrender, so Li Chen rendered her unconscious and took her to a hidden stone chamber.
• After Olga challenged him to fight fairly, Li Chen restored her Spirit Power and easily defeated her, then beat her again after giving her the Autumn Water Sword.
• Over the following days, Olga repeatedly offered excuses for her losses, but Li Chen continued defeating her until she finally stopped resisting.
• Olga asked Li Chen about his cultivation level, and he told her he had reached the peak of the Saint Realm.

Olga learned that Li Chen was a saint-realm powerhouse and the Witch Ancestor of the Northern Lands, who had entered the refugee settlement to understand their needs. Convinced by his plan to offer refugees spiritual guidance as well as material aid, she volunteered to spread his teachings in the Maple Leaf Fief.

• Olga discovered Li Chen was at the peak of the saint realm and admitted she would have yielded sooner if she had known his strength.
• Li Chen revealed that he was the Witch Ancestor of the Northern Lands and said he had come to experience the refugees’ hardships firsthand.
• Olga recognized Li Chen as the revered Witch Ancestor and offered to help him.
• Li Chen explained that refugees needed faith and spiritual solace as well as food, and described his plan to spread his teachings.
• Olga eagerly agreed to act as his representative in the Maple Leaf Fief, and Li Chen began discussing how they would carry out the plan.

Olga returned to the Shuisky estate and became the Witch Ancestor’s Holy Maiden, while Li Chen and the sisters planned to build support among the refugees. After their mother Mikhailovna witnessed Li Chen with her daughters, he appeared in her bedroom, leaving her demanding that he leave.

• Olga returned after five days and told Dmitri that the Witch Ancestor had rescued her, then agreed to become his Holy Maiden.
• Dmitri approved Olga’s plan to spread the Witch Ancestor’s teachings and help the refugees.
• Li Chen secretly worked with Lyudmila and Olga to plan their outreach while investigating conditions among the refugees.
• Mikhailovna entered Lyudmila’s courtyard, witnessed Li Chen with her daughters, and fled to her room after watching in shock.
• Li Chen appeared in Mikhailovna’s bedroom, and she demanded to know who he was and ordered him to leave.

Li Chen confronted Mikhailovna after seducing her daughters, Lyudmila and Olga, and dismissed her accusations that he had bewitched them. He offered to leave them alone if she satisfied him, then used the threat of scandal to silence her as he departed.

• Li Chen entered Mikhailovna's room, calmly drank tea, and told her that her daughters had willingly been with him.
• Mikhailovna accused Li Chen of bewitching her daughters and questioned whether he had used Olga's role as the Witch Ancestor's Holy Maiden as bait.
• Li Chen reminded Mikhailovna that he had rescued Olga from criminals, prompting her to recognize the witch markings that identified him as a Northern Lands Witch.
• Mikhailovna offered Li Chen a reward to leave her daughters alone, but he demanded that she satisfy him instead.
• Mikhailovna rejected Li Chen's demand and threatened to expose him, but he pointed out that the scandal would damage her Lineage more than it would harm him.
• Mikhailovna fell silent as Li Chen left, realizing she could not safely reveal what had happened.

After Mikhailovna failed to dissuade her daughters from defending Li Chen, she anxiously kept watch outside Lyudmila's Private Courtyard. Leonid was turned away and mocked, unaware that Olga was inside with Li Chen.

• Mikhailovna questioned Lyudmila about Li Chen, but Lyudmila defended their genuine feelings while concealing his identity as the Witch Ancestor.
• Mikhailovna confronted Olga, who called her relationship with Li Chen a sacred ritual and dismissed her mother's concerns.
• Mikhailovna repeatedly watched Lyudmila's Private Courtyard while Li Chen rested there, feeling anxious and conflicted.
• Leonid came looking for Olga, but Mikhailovna ordered him to leave without disturbing the sisters.
• Valentina mocked Leonid for being unable to reach his wife, and he meekly accepted the insult before fleeing.

Olga’s preaching rapidly spread the Witch Ancestor’s faith through the Maple Leaf Fief and neighboring cities, alarming Ivan and Romanov. Unable to openly oppose Li Chen, the two devised a scheme to force him to the front lines, while new developments began on Li Chen’s side.

• Olga’s preaching expanded the Witch Ancestor’s following to hundreds of thousands of believers across the Maple Leaf Fief and nearby cities.
• Ivan urged Romanov to stop the growing church, but Romanov argued that Daluo still needed Li Chen’s influence amid war with Heavenly Strategy and turmoil at court.
• Romanov rebuked Ivan for helping provoke the conflict with Heavenly Strategy, and Ivan proposed seeking outside assistance.
• Romanov dismissed the idea of enlisting the Eternal Day Empire and proposed making Li Chen earn permission to preach by personally overseeing the front-line fighting.
• Ivan agreed that they could arrange Li Chen’s death as a battlefield accident and blame Heavenly Strategy, while Romanov planned to threaten the church with suppression if Li Chen refused.
• Romanov believed Li Chen would go to the front lines rather than abandon his growing community of believers.

Li Chen tried to make Mikhailovna yield by flirting with Valentina, the daughter-in-law she cherished. After seeing them together and fearing for Valentina, Mikhailovna spent the evening in turmoil and finally made up her mind, though the chapter did not reveal what she decided.

• Li Chen concluded that Mikhailovna would not yield to protect her daughters and chose Valentina as a new pressure point.
• Li Chen met Valentina in the garden and charmed her with praise and friendly conversation.
• Mikhailovna witnessed Li Chen and Valentina growing close and panicked at the thought of Valentina becoming his target.
• Mikhailovna spent the afternoon and evening distressed over what she had seen, then finally made up her mind.

Mikhailovna pleaded with Li Chen to leave Valentina alone, and he agreed to her bargain that she would submit to him as long as they did not take the final step. Over the next seven days, Li Chen kept that promise while tormenting Mikhailovna with escalating demands, leaving her desire and defenses increasingly difficult to control.

• Mikhailovna went to Li Chen and begged him to leave Valentina alone, warning that she knew what he had done to Lyudmila and Olga.
• Li Chen said he would spare Valentina only if Mikhailovna accepted his condition.
• Mikhailovna offered herself to Li Chen on the condition that they would not take the final step, and he accepted.
• Li Chen carried Mikhailovna to his bed and kept their agreement for seven days without crossing that boundary.
• Li Chen repeatedly tormented Mikhailovna with demands in the Lineage corridors and refugee slums while she struggled with shame, desire, and jealousy over his encounters with Lyudmila and Olga.

Li Chen manipulated events in the wilderness to draw Valentina closer, then visited her with medicine and elixirs. Valentina drank alone under the moon, and Li Chen joined her, leaving her passed out at the table as he watched her.

• Valentina treated Li Chen's wound in the cave and grew more affectionate, unaware that he had staged his injury to get close to her.
• Li Chen led Valentina through the wilderness, defeating Demon Beasts and repeatedly protecting her until they found the medicinal herbs she sought.
• After they returned to the Shufsky Family grounds, Li Chen brought Valentina medicinal ingredients and elixirs, deepening her conflicted feelings toward him.
• Valentina dismissed her maids and drank alone beneath the moon, and Li Chen joined her.
• Valentina became drunk and slumped over the table, while Li Chen swept aside the wine jug and watched her.

Li Chen continued his secret affair with Valentina while she was trapped in her room by Mikhailovna, then the chapter contrasted his absence from the Holy Capital with Ivan and Romanov’s plans to force the Witch Ancestor into the war. Ivan and Romanov decided to grant him territories the Heavenly Strategy Army was fighting to seize, unaware that Li Chen was actually the Emperor of Heavenly Strategy.

• Valentina woke beside Li Chen and panicked, but he reassured her that their affair would remain secret.
• When Mikhailovna arrived and refused to leave Valentina’s room, Li Chen stayed and continued their intimate encounter behind the thin door.
• Li Chen continued enjoying the company of married noblewomen in the Shufsky family’s courtyards.
• Ivan and Romanov grew frustrated that the Witch Ancestor had not responded to their appeal and suspected he was avoiding the war.
• Romanov proposed that the Imperial Council grant the Witch Ancestor territories under attack, and Ivan agreed to publicize the edict.
• Ivan and Romanov prepared the edict without realizing Li Chen was away from the Holy Capital and was actually the Emperor of Heavenly Strategy.

Ivan and Romanov granted the Witch Ancestor a fief in the war-torn south, hoping to trap Li Chen between public expectations and the Heavenly Strategy Army. Li Chen accepted the offer and traveled south, where the army halted its attacks in his territory, winning him the refugees’ adoration.

• Ivan and Romanov publicized the Witch Ancestor’s new fief to pressure him into governing the dangerous southern lands.
• Lyudmila and Olga warned Li Chen that the grant was a trap, but he gladly accepted it and coordinated with Han Wu.
• Li Chen held a lavish celebration at the Sacred Palace to anger Ivan, then departed the Holy Capital with a grand procession.
• Ivan and Romanov watched the convoy leave, expecting the Witch Ancestor and Heavenly Strategy Army to clash so they could kill Li Chen and blame the army.
• The Heavenly Strategy Army withdrew from the Witch Ancestor’s route and halted fighting in his fief, prompting displaced people to hail Li Chen as their savior.

Li Chen used the Heavenly Strategy Army’s deference to the Witch Ancestor to gain land, popular support, and influence while Ivan and Romanov mistakenly blamed him for orchestrating the spectacle. As Sergei built a rival faction and shrines spread across the fief, Li Chen prepared to close his net.

• Li Chen appeared before his convoy as the Witch Ancestor, offered ceremonial words, and gained more Power of Faith as the Heavenly Strategy Army treated him with respect.
• Ivan and Romanov watched their scheme fail and grew furious as the Witch Ancestor gained prestige and nominal control of the lands occupied by Heavenly Strategy.
• Sergei heard the news, praised his master to his adjutant and commanders, and began gathering local nobles and military leaders into a faction against the old Dynasty’s central government.
• Cities across Li Chen’s nominal fief began building Witch Ancestor statues and shrines, and ordinary people increasingly turned to him instead of the Imperial House.
• Romanov concluded that Li Chen had anticipated their plan and deliberately thwarted it, while he and Ivan remained unaware that Li Chen and the Witch Ancestor were the same person.
• Li Chen listened to reports from his carriage and considered how to draw in the net while Ivan and Romanov worried over their next move.

Li Chen gathered Heavenly Strategy Empire experts to plan how to track Romanov and draw Ivan out of hiding. They arranged a tracking art and trapping formations, while Li Chen left with Orchid Fairy to discuss other matters.

• Olga suggested that Li Chen find and cut the secure thread keeping Ivan and Romanov hidden, leading him to consider following Romanov to Ivan's lair.
• Li Chen summoned five saint realm experts from the Heavenly Strategy Empire to a secluded border valley and explained his plan.
• Azure Deep Heavenly Venerable offered to use Earth-Treading Without a Trace to reveal Romanov's faint Dao-resonance footprints.
• Late Breeze True Person and High Person Clear Void agreed to prepare layered trapping and illusion formations to hold Romanov in place.
• Li Chen went aside with Orchid Fairy, and Late Breeze True Person teased High Person Clear Void about escaping his wife.