Recaps

Zeng Mu and Ma Linya explored the Temple Capital’s Flower Festival before Love Goddess Natiyavida’s sedan chair summoned them inside. There, they met two beautiful women, Emma Swei and Sibigail, who introduced themselves as the chapter ended.

• Zeng Mu and Ma Linya wandered through the Flower Festival, admiring its decorations, flowers, and romantic messages.
• Zeng Mu and Ma Linya rested on a bench and talked about how they might have met if they had come to the Temple Capital earlier.
• A crowd gathered around Love Goddess Natiyavida’s sedan chair as it approached, and the goddess invited Zeng Mu and Ma Linya inside.
• Zeng Mu and Ma Linya entered the sedan chair and met Emma Swei and Sibigail.
• Zeng Mu introduced himself as Nameless, and Emma Swei and Sibigail gave their names.

Zeng Mu and Ma Linya were chosen to ride the Love God's Sedan during the Flower Festival, then shared dinner and an awkward dance with the other couples. After returning to the palace, Ma Linya went to bed while Zeng Mu, unsettled by the day and their closeness, quietly left the room.

• Emma Swei and Sibigail explained that the Love God's Sedan carried couples chosen to receive Natiyavida's blessing, and they had selected Zeng Mu and Ma Linya as one of its nine couples.
• The sedan carried the nine couples around the Temple Capital, and they spent the afternoon eating and receiving the Love God's blessings before Emma Swei and Sibigail vanished.
• Zeng Mu and Ma Linya joined the other couples for dinner and went to the Daias Anna ballroom, where their clumsy dancing gradually stirred a warmth between them.
• After the ball ended, Zeng Mu and Ma Linya returned to their palace room, where Ma Linya went to bed and Zeng Mu chose to sleep on the sofa.
• Unable to settle after two hours of listening to Ma Linya sleep, Zeng Mu put on his coat and shoes and quietly left the room.

Zeng Mu decided he would keep his feelings for Ma Linya hidden until he could return to his own world. After spotting a mysterious figure outside the palace, he followed it and witnessed a Soul-Returning Cult member offer an old woman a blood-red bun before someone suddenly seized it.

• Zeng Mu recalled his first love and decided he would not confess his feelings to Ma Linya while he remained committed to returning home.
• Zeng Mu returned to the room, straightened Ma Linya’s blanket, and lay down on the sofa.
• Zeng Mu spotted an elongated shadow racing past the window and leapt from the third floor to pursue it.
• Zeng Mu followed the shadow beyond the palace and overheard a hooded man question an old woman seeking to join the Soul-Returning Cult.
• The old woman offered the man her husband’s three fingers as an initiation gift, and he transformed a steamed bun into a blood-red bun with a Divine Incantation.
• A graceful figure with surging elemental energy darted from the shadows and snatched the blood-red bun from the old woman.

Zeng Mu encountered a mysterious woman fighting a cloaked Elementalist, then spent the next two days exploring the Temple Capital with Ma Linya. As the Holy Banquet approached, Ma Linya kept her suspicions about Uncle Kiddon's female friend to herself.

• Zeng Mu watched a mysterious woman knock out an old woman and fight a cloaked man, who escaped before she could catch him.
• The woman confronted Zeng Mu, accepted his apology, and vanished without revealing her identity.
• Zeng Mu returned to his room and meditated through the night, still puzzled by the woman's origins.
• At breakfast, Ma Linya and Zeng Mu discussed Uncle Kiddon's status and his mysterious female friend, but Ma Linya said she would explain her suspicions in two days.
• Zeng Mu and Ma Linya explored the Temple Capital's performances and curiosities, and two days passed before the Holy Banquet.

Zeng Mu and Ma Linya arrived at the Holy Banquet, where they reunited with Yenaier, Soxia, and Tonyson. Zeng Mu and Tonyson met with a tense handshake as they awaited the banquet and the Temple Master’s promised appearance.

• Zeng Mu and Ma Linya spent the day waiting for an escort while the Temple Capital quieted under heavy security.
• A palace maid escorted Zeng Mu and Ma Linya into the banquet hall, where they greeted Viscount Soxia.
• Soxia said the Temple Master had returned and would appear later to bestow titles and rewards.
• Yenaier entered with her cousin Tonyson, surprising Zeng Mu and Ma Linya.
• Soxia introduced Tonyson and Zeng Mu, and the two men tested each other’s strength in a prolonged handshake before separating.

At the sacred banquet, Zeng Mu met Tonyson, Yenaier, Emma Swei, and Sibigail while learning that a selection contest would take place. As the guests gathered to welcome the highest-ranking leaders, Ma Linya revealed that Temple Master Malena was the woman who had invited Uncle Kiddon.

• Tonyson recognized Zeng Mu's talent, and Zeng Mu and Tonyson silently judged one another as geniuses.
• Yenaier left with Tonyson, who teased her about her interest in Zeng Mu and said he would test whether Zeng Mu was worthy of her.
• Zeng Mu and Ma Linya reunited with Emma Swei and Sibigail, then left them to talk with other banquet guests.
• A military horn announced the arrival of a Red Pattern Knight Commander, followed by the horn announcing the Master of the Holy Temple.
• Ma Linya told Zeng Mu that Temple Master Malena was the woman who had invited Uncle Kiddon to the sacred banquet.

At the holy banquet, Zeng Mu witnessed the Temple Master Malena honor distinguished guests and promote him to Viscount for his service. Malena and Ma Linya felt an inexplicable familiarity with each other, leaving Malena unable to place its source.

• Boswell and Malena arrived at the hall with a hundred Holy Temple Knights, and the invited guests entered for the banquet.
• Ma Linya became unusually anxious and gripped Zeng Mu's hand, while Yenaier linked arms with Tonyson after seeing them together.
• Malena welcomed the guests and began awarding titles and rewards, including naming Tonyson Heaven-Breaker and elevating Sibigail and Emma Swei to Viscount.
• Malena summoned Baron Nameless, recognized Zeng Mu's role in killing Qin Zihui, retaking Morgaya City, and bringing back Idiveer's head, then promoted him to Viscount and High-Rank Knight.
• Malena noticed an inexplicable sense of familiarity with Ma Linya, and after Zeng Mu received his promotion, Malena studied Ma Linya again without understanding why she seemed familiar.

Temple Master Malena introduced the Holy Banquet’s contest, which would pit six young Elementalists against one another for Elemental Artifact prizes. The draw paired Tonyson as contestant one and Nameless as contestant two, putting Nameless in the spotlight.

• Malena reviewed Duke Jerry’s records and assessed the six young Elementalists, including Tonyson, Sibigail, Nameless, and Emma Swei.
• Malena announced that the contest would have combat, swordsmanship, and elemental power trials, with Elemental Artifacts as prizes.
• Qidunston revealed that second and third place would receive first- and second-tier Elemental Artifacts, while the champion would receive an even more valuable secret prize.
• Soxia began the drawing, and Duke Jerry announced Tonyson as contestant one and Nameless as contestant two.

Zeng Mu, fighting as Nameless, faced Tonyson in a contest where both were told to fight without holding back. They traded powerful fist-and-foot attacks without either gaining the advantage, leaving the watching Madea captivated by the young man.

• Duke Jerry announced the remaining matchups, and Zeng Mu learned that Emma Swei and Sibigail were Elementalists.
• Ma Linya asked Zeng Mu if he was confident against Tonyson, but neither of them claimed to know how the fight would go.
• Boswell ordered the contestants to fight as if they were enemies on a battlefield, and Qidunston cleared the hall to make room for the contest.
• Tonyson launched a powerful punch at Zeng Mu, who met it head-on; both fighters backed away without falling.
• Tonyson and Zeng Mu exchanged increasingly fast punches, kicks, and counters, while the spectators struggled to follow their movements.
• Madea watched the fight with pale golden eyes and became especially interested in Zeng Mu.

Tonyson and Zeng Mu fought to a draw before Temple Master Malena stopped them, and the Holy Banquet moved on to Sibigail and Xia Bojin. The chapter introduced Sibigail’s sheltered childhood, her choice to join her father Boswell on campaign, and the power she awakened after returning to the Temple Capital.

• Soxia and Qidunston praised Nameless’s potential and discussed Qidunston’s interest in taking him as a pupil.
• Tonyson and Zeng Mu fought through more than a hundred exchanges without either gaining the upper hand.
• Temple Master Malena halted the fight and declared the first contest a draw, with two rounds still to come.
• Duke Jerry called Sibigail and Xia Bojin to enter the next contest.
• Sibigail defied her sheltered life by demanding to accompany Boswell on campaign at sixteen, then awakened her hidden power after returning from two years in military camps.

After two years of training in the Temple Capital, Sibigail proved her resolve by defeating Xia Bojin at the Holy Banquet, earning her father's remorse and Xia's admiration. Duke Jerry then called Emma Swei and Pitman to fight, and the chapter ended as Pitman's mysterious past as the Child of the Deep Forest was recalled.

• Sibigial spent two years training in solitude with Emma Swei, determined to show Boswell she was not meant for a sheltered life.
• At the Holy Banquet, Sibigail overwhelmed Xia Bojin with a rapid series of attacks and knocked him down with a kick to the forehead.
• Sibigial helped Xia Bojin to his feet, and he decided he wanted her as his future partner.
• Boswell recognized that he had wrongly tried to keep Sibigail sheltered, while Malena praised her talent.
• Duke Jerry called Emma Swei and Pitman to the Lotus Two-Principle Point as the next match.
• The story recalled how Soxia met Pitman in a deep forest after being gravely wounded, and Pitman revealed that villagers called him the Child of the Deep Forest.

Emma Swei recognized Pitman’s detached nature and remembered how Kanni had rescued her from an attempted assault years earlier. She and Pitman began a fierce match, leaving the spectators increasingly excited.

• Soxia left a letter inviting the other man to attend the Holy Banquet in the Temple Capital alone.
• Emma Swei recalled how, four years earlier, a shopkeeper drugged her and tried to assault her, but Kanni interrupted him and rescued her.
• Emma Swei remembered that she had never learned Kanni’s identity and had been unable to forget his voice or find him again.
• The match began, and Pitman attacked first before Emma Swei sprang forward to fight him.
• Pitman and Emma Swei exchanged fierce blows while Zeng Mu and the spectators watched with growing excitement.

Zeng Mu defeated Tonyson in the Holy Banquet’s swordsmanship contest by wielding a heavy steel sword and revealing his Radiant Moon Swordsmanship. He remained in the arena as successive challengers tested themselves against him.

• Emma Swei defeated Pitman after he stopped his punch short and she counterattacked, and Duke Jerry declared her the winner.
• Duke Jerry began the swordsmanship round and paired Nameless with Tonyson, who attacked first but was driven back by Nameless’s heavy sword.
• Nameless unveiled Radiant Moon Swordsmanship and overwhelmed Tonyson, disarming him and leaving him with sword wounds.
• Tonyson acknowledged his defeat and withdrew, and Duke Jerry called Sibigail as the next challenger.
• Sibigail lasted longer than Tonyson before losing, and Emma Swei then faced Nameless in the contest.

Zeng Mu defeated Xia Bojin after a grueling 150-exchange sword fight and gave him a Bronze Sword in exchange for his handmade Ceramic Plate. Pitman then beat Zeng Mu in a single strike, establishing himself as the swordsmanship contest’s strongest challenger.

• Zeng Mu and Xia Bojin fought for 150 exchanges, each wounding the other before Zeng Mu won by exploiting an opening in Xia Bojin’s swordsmanship.
• Xia Bojin revealed that a Ceramic Plate had stopped Zeng Mu’s final thrust, and Zeng Mu gave him a Bronze Sword in return for the plate.
• Jerry announced Pitman as the final swordsmanship challenger, and Pitman drew his sword with remarkable control.
• Pitman disarmed Zeng Mu in a single exchange and held his blade inches from Zeng Mu’s nose.

After Pitman won the swordsmanship contest, Temple Master Malena praised him and the Holy Banquet moved on to the elemental contest. Zeng Mu and Tonyson faced each other behind a powerful barrier, and the chapter ended as their elemental marks appeared.

• Pitman defeated Zeng Mu in swordsmanship, then accepted Zeng Mu’s praise with calm modesty.
• Temple Master Malena applauded Pitman and compared his swordsmanship to her father’s in his youth.
• Duke Jerry announced the elemental contest matchups and explained that the order reflected his assessment of the contestants’ strength.
• Ma Linya warned Zeng Mu to be careful against Tonyson, and Zeng Mu reassured her that he would not push himself too far.
• Jerry sent the onlookers to the hall entrance, while Boswell and the silver-armored knights formed a barrier around Zeng Mu and Tonyson.
• Malena started the contest, and both Tonyson and Zeng Mu revealed shining golden elemental marks on their foreheads.

Zeng Mu defeated Tonyson in a closely matched battle between two willful realm Elementalists, then Emma Swei and Xia Bojin began the next duel. The chapter left the crowd anticipating a contest as formidable as the one they had just witnessed.

• Zeng Mu revealed that he had entered the willful realm and matched Tonyson’s golden energy fist with one of his own.
• Zeng Mu and Tonyson traded rapid, energy-infused punches and kicks as their battle continued for several minutes.
• Tonyson unleashed a final burst of golden light, and Zeng Mu answered with his full strength, breaking through Boswell’s barrier with their collision.
• Zeng Mu remained standing while Tonyson knelt, and Zeng Mu praised Tonyson before helping him to his feet.
• Emma Swei and Xia Bojin entered the hall, and their contrasting red and purple auras illuminated the room as Jerry told them to begin.

Emma Swei and Xia Bojin fought a fierce battle of fire and lightning that lasted nearly eighty exchanges, with Xia Bojin gradually gaining the upper hand. When his lightning broke through Emma Swei’s defenses and threatened her face, the outcome appeared decided, but the chapter ended before the attack landed.

• Tonyson and Jerry expressed surprise at Xia Bojin’s rare lightning power and Emma Swei’s rapid progress with fire.
• Xia Bojin opened the match with a bolt of lightning, and Emma Swei countered with a fireball that collided with it.
• Emma Swei and Xia Bojin exchanged attacks without defending, reaching fifty exchanges with neither victorious.
• Jerry reflected on how his careful protection had shaped Emma Swei, while Xia Bojin’s own resolve had grown from his difficult childhood and newly awakened power.
• Xia Bojin’s lightning broke through Emma Swei’s fire on the eightieth exchange, and he found he could not recall the attack before it struck her.

Xia Bojin’s lightning contest with Emma Swei ended without injury, and Sibigail began a fierce battle against Pitman. Pitman’s versatile wood techniques allowed him to evade Sibigail’s lightning and meet her attacks without being defeated.

• Duke Jerry absorbed Xia Bojin’s lightning before it struck Emma Swei, and Xia Bojin apologized to her.
• Duke Jerry praised Xia Bojin, then started the elemental contest between Sibigail and Pitman.
• Sibig ail attacked Pitman with a powerful Purple Lightning Thunderbolt, but Pitman suddenly moved behind her at extraordinary speed.
• Pitman repeatedly retreated and countered, drawing Sibigail forward and preventing her from charging another strike.
• Sibig ail dodged a sapling Pitman grew from the stone floor while he narrowly evaded her lightning.
• Pitman landed on the sapling’s trunk as its roots spread across the slab, astonishing the spectators with his ability to withstand Sibigail’s lightning.

Pitman conceded his match with Sibigail, and Temple Master Malena presented the six Holy Banquet contestants with their rewards. Zeng Mu, the champion, learned that his prize was Qidunston himself.

• Pitman conceded to Sibigail, explaining that his tactics had only made her expend more elemental power.
• Temple Master Malena praised the six contestants and presented Emma Swei with Iridescent Inner Armor, Xia Bojin with a treasured sword, and Pitman with the hide of a two-element, fine-grade Elemental Beast.
• Malena awarded Sibigail an offensive fire Elemental Artifact and Tonyson a second-tier Wind Elemental Artifact that aided cultivation.
• Malena told Zeng Mu that his champion's reward surpassed those of the previous eighty-three Holy Banquets.
• Qidunston announced that Zeng Mu's reward was himself.

Zeng Mu accepted Qidunston as his final personal disciple, and the Holy Banquet continued with dancing and festivities. When Madea asked Zeng Mu to dance, she and Ma Linya met eyes and felt an inexplicable connection.

• Qidunston offered to take Nameless as his final personal disciple, and Zeng Mu knelt to accept.
• Qidunston restored the hall's decorations and invited everyone to continue the banquet with music and dancing.
• Zeng Mu danced with Ma Linya while Yenaier danced with Tonyson, who teased her about her feelings for Nameless.
• Tonyson approached Madea with a drink, but she left him waiting and went to ask Zeng Mu for a dance.
• Madea and Ma Linya exchanged an intense, nonhostile gaze, introduced themselves, and clasped hands.

At the Holy Banquet, Zeng Mu danced with Madea, who gave him a mysterious brocade pouch before leaving. He later learned Ma Linya had been taken away by Duke Jerry under Temple Master Malena’s secret order, then opened Madea’s pouch and found a personal token bearing the character “Ya.”

• Madea toasted Zeng Mu for becoming Lord Qidunston’s apprentice, and he accepted the wine.
• Ma Linya sensed an inexplicable connection between Madea and Temple Master Malena, then watched Zeng Mu dance with Madea for an hour.
• After the banquet ended, Madea told Zeng Mu he differed from what she had imagined and gave him a black pouch, telling him to open it later.
• Zeng Mu returned to his room and found Ma Linya’s letter saying Duke Jerry had taken her away under Temple Master Malena’s secret order.
• Zeng Mu opened Madea’s pouch and found a gold-plated hexagonal token marked with the character “Ya.”

Zeng Mu followed a mysterious exchange and witnessed a battle involving fire and the supposedly lost water element, while Qidunston and Temple Master Malena intervened. After the black-robed man escaped and the others found the injured child, Malena revealed plans to crush the cult, and Zeng Mu met Okelo.

• Zeng Mu put away Madea's identity token, then followed a disturbance from the palace to an exchange beneath an ancient tree.
• Zeng Mu saw a black-robed man accept severed toes and a bloodstained bun from a boy before fighting a fire Elementalist with azure water power.
• Qidunston stopped Zeng Mu from attacking when he sensed a presence behind him, and Zeng Mu watched two fire Elementalists drive the black-robed man underground to escape.
• Qidunston falsely told Zeng Mu that the dark purple power he saw was not lightning, then led him to Temple Master Malena and the injured child.
• Malena said she would launch an operation against the cult, and Zeng Mu greeted her before learning that the other woman was named Okelo.

Zeng Mu learned that the Soul-Returning Cult’s leader came from the north and that northern monsters had destroyed a massive invading army. Okelo revealed that she was an elf from the north.

• Zeng Mu asked Okelo about the black-robed man and the Soul-Returning Cult, and she explained that its members drew their Elementalist power from one leader.
• Okelo said the cult’s leader came from the north, then described the north as a fertile land filled with forests, rivers, and dangerous creatures.
• Okelo recounted how a Temple Master’s army of three hundred thousand invaded the north about 129 years earlier and was wiped out by monsters.
• Malena and Qidunston confirmed the northern expedition’s defeat and explained that the monsters could not leave their territory or be exterminated.
• Zeng Mu asked whether Okelo was a northern monster, and she revealed that she was an elf from the north.

Zeng Mu learned more about Okelo’s Elffolk origins and wondered why she had shared the truth with him, while she hinted that he had a hidden, special side. The next day, he began studying Qidunston’s guide to becoming an Elemental Artifact Master, then went out to explore the Temple Capital as he waited for Ma Linya’s return.

• Okelo told Zeng Mu that she belonged to the Elffolk and postponed explaining the Soul-Returning Cult and the Blood Bun until another time.
• After Zeng Mu left, Okelo told Malena and Qidunston that she had glimpsed a hidden side of him but would not reveal what it was.
• Qidunston visited Zeng Mu late the next morning, said he and Malena would stay in the Temple Capital for two days, and gave Zeng Mu a hand-illustrated book about Elemental Artifact Masters.
• Zeng Mu struggled with the book’s terminology and concluded that becoming an Elemental Artifact Master might depend more on a guide’s instruction than on personal talent.
• Zeng Mu put the book away, tidied himself, and went out to find lunch and explore the Temple Capital while waiting for Ma Linya.

Zeng Mu enjoyed lunch and rested until Cobert found him, bruised after thugs wrecked his Herbal Medicine Shop. Zeng Mu helped Cobert and his apprentices clean up, then promised to track down the people behind the attack, though Cobert could not identify who might have ordered it.

• Zeng Mu finished a satisfying lunch and relaxed on a bench, daydreaming about returning to his home world.
• Cobert arrived with bruises and told Zeng Mu that thugs had smashed his shop and beaten him and his three apprentices.
• Zeng Mu accompanied Cobert to the wrecked shop and inspected the damage and the apprentices' superficial injuries.
• Zeng Mu, Cobert, and the apprentices cleaned the shop together, then took a break and heard the full account of the attack.
• Cobert asked Zeng Mu to help him get justice, and Zeng Mu promised to find the thugs and whoever had sent them.
• Cobert said he had no enemies but had offended many rival merchants through business, leaving him unable to name a likely culprit.