Chapter Summaries

The Holy See's leaders clashed over how to govern while the Pope remained missing, as Emperor Charles struggled with injuries from his brother Chet's assassination attempt. Charles weighed whether to crush Chet or pursue his plan against the Church, unaware that Li Chen had secretly entered the Eternal Day Empire.

• Pamilian, Cardinal Augustine, and Derek argued over whether to appoint an acting Pope or leave major decisions to the Cardinals while searching for His Holiness.
• Emperor Charles's informants continued to foment conflict within the Holy See on his behalf.
• Charles learned that Prince Chet had arranged the ambush that nearly killed him during a secret outing.
• Charles recalled Li Chen's warning about showing mercy to blood relatives and regretted leaving Chet with power and influence.
• Charles weighed whether to move against Chet or continue weakening the Holy See, while Li Chen secretly crossed into the Eternal Day Empire.

Li Chen entered Silverglow City disguised as an ascetic bishop to investigate the Pope’s past visit and disappearance. He suspected Charles might have recruited powerful minority groups against the Pope, then went to the Broken Axe Tavern to seek information.

• Li Chen arrived at Silverglow City and passed its guards by displaying a convincing Holy See aura.
• Li Chen observed the city’s diverse population and noticed tensions and suspicious activity beneath its prosperity.
• Li Chen recalled that the Pope had visited the city and considered whether Charles might have persuaded minority leaders to help target him.
• Li Chen entered the Broken Axe Tavern to begin gathering information from mercenaries and adventurers.

Li Chen overheard mercenaries discussing the Wind Whisperer Family’s demand for Riftwind Demon Wolf crystal cores and a dangerous escort job to the Corridor of Sighs, which might relate to the missing Pope’s itinerary. He found the family’s guarded castle and began searching for a way to infiltrate it unnoticed.

• Li Chen listened as a mercenary said the Wind Whisperer Family was paying high prices for Riftwind Demon Wolf crystal cores.
• A lean mercenary revealed he had accepted a guard job escorting a shipment to the Corridor of Sighs to pay for his seriously ill wife’s care.
• Li Chen recalled that the Corridor of Sighs was tied to an unknown, dangerous space and wondered whether it had been connected to the Pope’s disappearance.
• Li Chen found the Wind Whisperer Family’s castle in Silverglow City’s East District and studied its magical barrier.
• Li Chen planned to exploit a weak point in the barrier and moved toward it to find an opening.

Li Chen infiltrated the Wind Whisperer Family’s Barrier and caught Sylph searching for a lost keepsake. After she pleaded for her life, she revealed a lead in the Pope’s disappearance and information about the family, leaving Li Chen with a potential guide and source of intelligence.

• Li Chen quietly opened the Barrier and entered the grounds, where he encountered Sylph beside the Moonlight Flowers.
• Sylph recognized Li Chen as a Holy See cleric and begged him to spare her, then guessed he was investigating the Pope’s disappearance.
• Sylph said the Pope had reportedly visited the Forbidden Land on the Wind Whisperer Family’s Rear Mountain, giving Li Chen a place to investigate.
• Sylph identified the family’s powerful members and described their strengths and roles for Li Chen.
• Sylph explained that she had returned to search for the Crystal Pendant her birth father had left her, which she lost after being bullied.

Li Chen recovered Sylph’s pendant and learned that she knew the castle’s patrol routes, then followed her to the neglected edge of the castle to see where she lived. He saw a woman through the window of a nearby house.

• Li Chen retrieved Sylph’s buried Crystal Pendant, restored it, and returned it to her.
• Sylph accepted the pendant and told Li Chen she knew the castle’s guards, sentinels, and patrol schedules.
• Li Chen comforted Sylph about stealing food when she was hungry and asked her to take him to where she lived.
• Sylph led Li Chen through hidden routes to a secluded courtyard near the castle’s outer barrier.
• Li Chen saw a woman inside one of the slightly better houses nearby.

Li Chen questioned Sylph about the Pope’s disappearance and then used spatial runes to enter the Forbidden Land on Rear Mountain by a hidden passage. Inside, they discovered a secret realm centered on an enormous tree radiating life.

• Sylph offered her mother as a bargaining chip, but Li Chen told her to take him to her room instead.
• Li Chen questioned Sylph about the Pope’s movements, and she offered to seek further clues around Silverglow City and the Wind Whisperer Family.
• Sylph guided Li Chen around the guards and barrier at the Forbidden Land’s entrance.
• Li Chen opened a hidden passage through the cliff, and he and Sylph entered the secret realm.
• They found an enormous, glowing wonder tree at the center of the realm.

Li Chen investigated the Wind Whisperer Family’s Forbidden Land and gave Sylph treasures to secure her allegiance, then led her toward Clan Head Lotherma’s residence. After deciding to rest for the night, he accepted Sylph’s offer to arrange for him to sleep in her mother’s room.

• Li Chen gave Sylph a Moonlight Orchid and Riftwind Crystals, binding her more closely to him with stolen treasures from the Forbidden Land.
• Li Chen searched the secret realm, found no further clues about the Pope’s visit, and left with Sylph.
• Sylph warned Li Chen that Clan Head Lotherma was dangerously powerful, and Li Chen claimed Lotherma would not dare challenge him even if he were a Saint Realm expert.
• Li Chen and Sylph spied on Lotherma’s brightly lit bedroom, saw him with his three wives, and left when it became clear he would not go out that night.
• Li Chen decided to rest, but after noticing Sylph’s mother bathing, he accepted Sylph’s offer to sleep in her mother’s room while she went to speak with her.

Sylph used Li Chen’s false claim of being a powerful Holy See cleric to frighten her mother Bilodis into serving him and giving up her room. After Li Chen spent the night with Bilodis, Sylph greeted him at dawn with the poor breakfast she had managed to obtain.

• Sylph brought Li Chen into Bilodis’s bathing room and introduced him as a Saint Realm Holy Order Cleric investigating secretly.
• Bilodis panicked at Li Chen’s supposed rank, knelt naked before him, and agreed to let him use her room.
• Li Chen reinforced Sylph’s story with a display of pressure, and Bilodis served him tea while he questioned her.
• Li Chen ordered Bilodis to stay as Sylph left to keep watch outside the room.
• Sylph kept watch through the night and, at dawn, offered Li Chen black bread, watery porridge, and pickled vegetables.

Li Chen took Sylph to a luxurious restaurant, then decided to use the Wind Whisperer Family to investigate the Pope’s disappearance. He learned that half-elves revered the bloodline of the Elder Elf King, giving him an idea for how to gain their obedience.

• Li Chen took Sylph out of the Wind Whisperer Family’s castle and brought her to the Glazed Dome restaurant in Silverglow City.
• Li Chen ordered the restaurant’s finest dishes and told Sylph to eat her fill and have food packed for her mother.
• While Sylph ate, Li Chen decided to bring the Wind Whisperer Family under his control and use its connections to investigate the Pope’s disappearance.
• Li Chen asked Sylph which bloodline half-elves considered sacred, and she explained that descendants of the Elder Elf King inspired awe and submission among their people.

Li Chen planned to use his supposed Elder Elf King Bloodline to draw Emperor Charles into contact and uncover clues about the Pope’s disappearance. After Bilodis taught him Half-Elf cultivation arts, Li Chen mastered them almost instantly, leaving her and Sylph wondering whether the supreme Elf King Bloodline truly flowed through his veins.

• Li Chen decided to pose as a Half-Elf with the Elder Elf King Bloodline so Charles might approach him and reveal information about the Pope’s disappearance.
• Li Chen returned with Sylph to her private courtyard, where Bilodis thanked him for the food and mistakenly expected him to seek her company again.
• Li Chen raised a Barrier and asked Bilodis to teach him Half-Elf cultivation methods so he could maintain his disguise.
• Bilodis explained how Half-Elves sensed and resonated with natural elements to cultivate elf power, but Li Chen formed a pure emerald orb after only a brief attempt.
• Bilodis taught Li Chen additional Half-Elf arts, including Wind Whisper Arrow Art and part of Life’s Praise, and he produced their effects with ease.
• Bilodis and Sylph were stunned by Li Chen’s talent and wondered if the supreme Elf King Bloodline truly flowed through his veins.

Li Chen perfected his half-elf disguise and convinced Bilodis and Sylph that he carried the Elf King’s bloodline. After learning of the Corridor of Sighs and Sylph’s suspicions about Elrond, he chose the dangerous site as the place to reveal his identity and promised to return.

• Li Chen transformed his appearance into an awe-inspiring half-elf, and Bilodis and Sylph accepted him as the reincarnated Elf King.
• Bilodis explained that the Corridor of Sighs was a dangerous sacred site where her first husband had vanished while seeking power.
• Sylph accused Elrond of urging her father to enter the corridor and suggested he had plotted against him to pursue Bilodis.
• Li Chen reassured Bilodis and Sylph that he would uncover the truth and protect them.
• Li Chen chose the Corridor of Sighs as the place to reveal his supposed Elf King bloodline, and promised Bilodis he would return.

Li Chen entered the Corridor of Sighs and prepared a hidden dwelling to stage his emergence as an ancient Elf King-blooded being. A day later, a massive energy surge sparked rumors and drew powerful factions toward the ruins, including the Wind Whisperer Family.

• Li Chen disguised himself, traveled to the Corridor of Sighs, and cautiously crossed its dangerous, law-shattered ruins.
• Li Chen reached a vast abyss and decided to create a dwelling there to make it appear he had been trapped or sleeping for ages.
• A day later, an energy surge from the Corridor of Sighs shook Silverglow City and spread rumors of an ancient demon god or treasure.
• Mercenaries, nobles, and major lineages discussed the disturbance as leaders began traveling toward the Corridor of Sighs.
• Lotherma weighed the danger against the chance to strengthen the Wind Whisperer Family and break through to the Saint Realm.

Li Chen emerged from the elemental vortex in the Corridor of Sighs and used his overwhelming elf bloodline pressure to make the gathered factions believe he was the awakened Elder Elf King. Lotherma eagerly claimed the kneeling crowd were Li Chen’s descendants and explained that eighty thousand years had passed since the Gods and Devils War.

• The awakened aura above the abyss formed a vast elemental vortex as tens of thousands of powerhouses gathered to watch.
• Li Chen emerged from the vortex and asked who had disturbed his hall, forcing most of the crowd, including Lotherma, to kneel beneath his pressure.
• Lotherma declared that the gathered races were Li Chen’s descendants who had come to welcome his return, and the other leaders echoed his claims.
• Li Chen feigned confusion about the changed surroundings, and Lotherma explained that eighty thousand years had passed since the Gods and Devils War.

Li Chen convinced the gathered Half-Elves that he was an ancient Elf King and let Lotherma bring him to the Wind Whisperer Family, where he heard how the continent had changed over eighty thousand years. After Lotherma begged him to lead the Half-Elves, Li Chen dismissed the idea of ruling them.

• Li Chen singled out Lotherma and asked him to explain how the world had changed during his long slumber.
• Lotherma invited Li Chen to the Wind Whisperer Family's territory, hoping to gain prestige by hosting him, while Li Chen welcomed the growing rumors about his awakening.
• Li Chen arrived at the Wind Whisperer Family's castle and was welcomed by its members as a sacred figure.
• Lotherma recounted the Gods and Devils War, the decline of the ancient races, and the Half-Elves' diminished position in the human-dominated continent.
• Lotherma pleaded with Li Chen to lead the Half-Elves and restore their standing, but Li Chen said he had little interest in ruling mixed-blood descendants.

Li Chen convinced Lotherma and the Wind Whisperer Family that he was an ancient pureblood powerhouse, then accepted their service and settled in their castle. After demonstrating his apparent power and gifting Lotherma a Nine-Aperture Divine Grass, he visited the family’s training arena, where Lotherma asked him to advise the young members.

• Li Chen let a trace of his aura escape, terrifying Lotherma and the Wind Whisperer Family and deepening their belief in his immense power.
• Lotherma offered the Wind Whisperer Family’s service, and Li Chen reluctantly agreed to let them handle miscellaneous affairs for him.
• Li Chen gave Lotherma a Nine-Aperture Divine Grass, prompting Lotherma to swear lasting loyalty to him.
• Li Chen took up residence in the Holy Hall, while Lotherma guarded him and followed him around the castle.
• Li Chen visited the Martial Arena, where Lotherma asked whether any of the young trainees could receive his guidance.

Li Chen inspected the Wind Whisperer Family’s young members at Lotherma’s request, searching for talent while concealing his interest in Sylph. The inspection ended with Li Chen identifying Sylph as the bearer of a faint but pure Wind Great Spirit bloodline, leaving Lotherma overjoyed.

• Lotherma asked Li Chen to inspect the Lineage’s young members, and Li Chen ordered every eligible youth in the castle to assemble.
• Li Chen found that Sylph was absent from the main gathering, so Lotherma summoned young people from collateral branches and servant ranks as well.
• Li Chen declared that talent could be hidden beneath humble origins, and Sylph joined the newly arrived group while pretending to be nervous.
• Li Chen noticed Sylph and revealed that she carried an exceptionally pure trace of the Wind Great Spirit’s bloodline legacy.
• Lotherma accepted Li Chen’s judgment and rejoiced at the discovery of Sylph’s hidden potential.

After Li Chen publicly recognized Sylph’s potential, she rose to prominence in the Wind Whisperer Family and helped him manage the growing crowd seeking an audience. Li Chen allowed a limited gathering, using the attention to strengthen his reputation and attract Charles, emperor of the Eternal Day Empire.

• Li Chen praised Sylph as promising material, and the Wind Whisperer Family elevated her and her mother, Bilodis, while Lotherma urged Sylph to serve Li Chen and the Lineage.
• Sylph responded humbly to Lotherma while quietly displaying the dignity Li Chen had instructed her to show.
• Leaders and elders from nearby Half-Elf Lineages gathered at the Wind Whisperer Family’s castle to request audiences with Li Chen, leaving Lotherma unsure how to respond.
• Lotherma asked Sylph to sound out Li Chen’s wishes, and Sylph raised the matter during a routine request for cultivation guidance.
• Li Chen agreed to meet a limited number of visitors, and Lotherma began organizing a grand banquet and inviting influential Clan Heads.

Li Chen’s interest in the Wind Whisperer Family’s beautiful women led Sylph to arrange for Feiladuo to serve him as a maid. Feiladuo began attending him in the Holy Hall, where she was so flustered by his presence that she dropped a crystal platter, leaving Li Chen poised to take advantage of the situation.

• Li Chen noticed Feiladuo and Wen Dini among the Wind Whisperer Family’s beautiful women and took particular interest in Feiladuo.
• Sylph learned that Feiladuo feared for her branch’s future and suggested she serve Li Chen to win his favor.
• Feiladuo hesitated at the suggestion but agreed after Sylph reassured her and promised to bring her to Li Chen.
• Sylph brought Feiladuo, dressed in a revealing maid outfit, to the Holy Hall, where Li Chen welcomed her and gave her simple tasks.
• Feiladuo became distracted while serving Li Chen and dropped a crystal platter of spirit fruit, which shattered on the floor.

Li Chen punished Feiladuo after she accidentally broke a platter, and Sylph teased her the next morning about how exhausted she looked. When Serathis learned what happened, she urged her mother to show even greater repentance, sending Feiladuo back to Li Chen in revealing clothes and on her knees, where he began another punishment.

• Feiladuo broke a fruit platter in the Holy Hall, and Li Chen checked her for injuries before taking her to the inner bedroom for punishment.
• Sylph saw Feiladuo struggling to walk the next morning and teased her about serving Li Chen.
• Serathis mistook her mother's condition for mistreatment, but changed her attitude after Feiladuo explained what had happened.
• Serathis persuaded Feiladuo to wear revealing maid clothes and return to Li Chen in a posture of repentance.
• Li Chen told Feiladuo that her previous punishment had been too light and took her into the inner chamber again.

Serathis and Bilodis competed for Li Chen’s favor, while Sylph devised a plan to exploit Wen Dini’s devotion to her husband, Sarolin. After Sylph arranged for Sarolin to be framed with substituted medicinal ingredients, Li Chen confronted him, leaving Sarolin pleading that he had been set up.

• Serathis swore loyalty to Li Chen and received his guidance and rewards, making Sylph fear for her position.
• Bilodis intensified her efforts to win Li Chen’s favor, and Sylph and Serathis began competing to prove their worth.
• Sylph decided to exploit Wen Dini’s love for Sarolin after Bilodis remarked that people would do anything to protect what they treasured.
• Sylph recommended Sarolin for a task collecting medicinal ingredients, then bribed a Deacon to get him drunk and replace key ingredients with harmful substitutes.
• Li Chen discovered the substitutions and accused Sarolin, who dropped to his knees and insisted that something had gone wrong.