Chapter Summaries

Swinburne waited for Yetos and Zeng Mu to attack Sand City, but the blood moon appeared and the medicinal liquid they had scattered drew a pack of roughly two thousand Silver-Pattern Shield Wolves toward the city. The chapter ended with Swinburne realizing the Vikings were about to face the charging wolves.

• Swinburne ordered the Viking Warriors to prepare after the Giant's Arrow spread gold-and-green light over Sand City and scattered a strong-smelling liquid.
• A blood-red moon appeared, and its light dulled people’s senses and filled them with restless excitement.
• Yetos and Zeng Mu used elemental power to shield themselves and the Knight Army from the moonlight.
• Swinburne escaped the moonlight’s effects behind a wall, then recognized the scattered liquid as the source of colorful webs across Sand City.
• Swinburne realized the liquid had lured a pack of roughly two thousand Silver-Pattern Shield Wolves toward the city.

Silver-Pattern Shield Wolves attacked Sand City, forcing Swinburne and the Viking Legion into a desperate battle at the south gate. While Swinburne fought the wolf king and called for reinforcements, Yetos and Zeng Mu slipped into the other gates to disable the Viking War Chariots.

• The Silver-Pattern Shield Wolves endured the Vikings' arrows, crossed the poisonous moat, and climbed a wolf tower beneath the damaged drawbridge.
• Swinburne led the defense as the wolves breached the wall and attacked the Viking Warriors; he fought the wolf king and sent messengers to summon the four thousand troops stationed at the other gates.
• The reinforcements left their posts and raced toward the south gate, leaving the other gates exposed.
• Yetos and Zeng Mu entered through separate gates, then headed for the Viking War Chariots to break their wheel axles.

Swinburne and the Viking Legion defeated the Silver-Pattern Shield Wolves after the Blood Moon ended, and Swinburne ordered his forces to attack the Knights' Order with their war chariots. His subordinates reached the city gates and were left dumbfounded by what they found.

• Four thousand reinforcements arrived, turning the battle against the wolves, while their poisonous claws weakened the Viking Warriors.
• The Blood Moon vanished, restoring the Vikings as they encircled and killed the Silver-Pattern Shield Wolves.
• Swinburne defeated the wolf king and signaled his warriors to slaughter the remaining wolves.
• After the battle, Swinburne ordered his subordinates to bring out every war chariot and charge the Knights' Order despite their objections.
• The three subordinates reached the city gates and were dumbfounded.

Swinburne discovered that his chariots had been sabotaged and his poisoned warriors were in no condition to fight, so he secretly withdrew from Sand City. Zeng Mu and Kanni discussed his retreat and the reasons people choose to fight or flee, while Swinburne vowed to seek vengeance another day.

• Swinburne learned that every chariot had been disabled and concluded that Yetos and Nameless had sabotaged them.
• Swinburne explained that his army had lost nearly two thousand men to the Silver-Pattern Shield Wolves and that venom had weakened most of the survivors, so he ordered a secret retreat from Sand City.
• Swinburne led the Viking Legion out of the city, and Zeng Mu and Yetos noticed the army's departure only after it had traveled several li.
• The knights returned to garrison Sand City, astonished that they had driven the Viking Legion away without a fight.
• Zeng Mu told Kanni that retreat could be a rational choice, but that a person might fight fiercely when someone important to them was threatened or avenged.

After half a month training alone in the wilderness, Zeng Mu killed a dangerous Crimson-Blood Blizzard Leopard and returned to Sand City when Yetos summoned him. Yetos gave him an unopened letter written by a duke, Jerry Alexander.

• Zeng Mu defeated a Crimson-Blood Blizzard Leopard that ambushed him in the snowy forest.
• Zeng Mu butchered the beast, stored its meat, and ate its freshly roasted heart and organs.
• Zeng Mu sensed a green pillar of light and hurried back to Sand City, where Yetos was waiting.
• Yetos praised Zeng Mu's progress and explained that he had summoned him because a letter had arrived.
• Yetos showed Zeng Mu an unopened letter addressed to him from Jerry Alexander, a duke.

Zeng Mu received an invitation from Duke Jerry Alexander to attend the Temple Capital Banquet and learned that its gifted guests would compete for valuable rewards. He chose to bring Ma Linya and set out with her for the banquet, which began in seven days.

• Zeng Mu read Duke Jerry Alexander’s invitation to the Temple Capital Banquet and asked Yetos what the event involved.
• Yetos explained the banquet’s importance, its competition and prizes, and the requirement that invited geniuses have personal ties; Zeng Mu decided to attend after hearing that a past winner received a fine-grade Wind-Lightning Elemental Beast.
• Yetos gave Zeng Mu a map, advised him to bring Ma Linya, and warned him to travel safely and quickly.
• Zeng Mu packed his belongings, saddled Abyss, and rode to find Ma Linya at the West City Gate.
• Zeng Mu told Ma Linya about the invitation, and they set out together for the Temple Capital Banquet.

Zeng Mu and Ma Linya traveled from Sand City toward Temple Capital on Abyss, sharing stories and camping together along the way. After two nights in the same tent, they continued their journey at dawn, growing closer but still leaving Zeng Mu sleepless.

• Ma Linya asked Zeng Mu why he had agreed to travel with her, and he said it was both to avoid trouble afterward and for another reason.
• Zeng Mu and Ma Linya left Sand City on Abyss and spent the first day riding toward Temple Capital while Ma Linya told stories about the banquet.
• Unable to find a town before nightfall, they pitched a tent, shared roasted elemental meat and stories, and slept in the same two-person tent, though Zeng Mu stayed awake.
• The next morning, Abyss galloped faster, jolting the riders together and making Ma Linya blush.
• After another day without finding an inn or village, Zeng Mu and Ma Linya camped in the tent again, and Zeng Mu stayed awake listening to Ma Linya sleep until dawn.

Zeng Mu and Ma Linya reached Vites Town and spent the evening at a popular café, where they met its captivating owner, Stee Jane. As snow began to fall, Stee Jane revealed that she had turned sixty-three the day before.

• Zeng Mu and Ma Linya arrived in Vites Town after three days of travel and went into a café with their horse, Abyss.
• Zeng Mu and Ma Linya were captivated by the café owner's striking appearance and eyes, then ordered hot coffee.
• Zeng Mu and Ma Linya discussed their remaining journey to Temple Capital and decided they could travel at a more relaxed pace.
• Zeng Mu and Ma Linya stayed for more coffee as the café filled with customers and snow began to fall outside.
• Stee Jane introduced herself as the café owner and told Ma Linya that she was sixty-three years old.

Zeng Mu and Ma Linya continued to wonder how Stee Jane stayed ageless, then returned to her café the next morning, where two drunken men caused a confrontation. The chapter ended with one of the men insulting Stee Jane after she refused to serve them.

• Stee Jane told Zeng Mu and Ma Linya that she was much older than she looked but kept the secret of her ageless appearance to herself.
• Zeng Mu and Ma Linya speculated that Stee Jane's youthful appearance came from a special cosmetic or an unusual scented item, then found lodging for the night.
• Zeng Mu and Ma Linya returned to the café early the next morning and ordered coffee and breakfast from Stee Jane.
• Two drunken men entered the café and demanded coffee, but Stee Jane refused to serve them until they sobered up.
• One of the men leered at Stee Jane, then cursed at her when she rejected his flattery and told the men to leave.

Zeng Mu stopped two drunken men from harassing Ma Linya in Stee Jane’s café, breaking one man’s wrist and driving them away. After meeting the regular customer Qidunston, Zeng Mu learned that the older man thought his punishment had been too mild.

• Stee Jane ordered the two drunken men to leave, but they ignored her and waited for coffee.
• Qidunston arrived, and Stee Jane served him before the men, prompting one to curse at her.
• Zeng Mu told the men to leave, but one kicked aside a table and reached for Ma Linya.
• When the man tried to slap Ma Linya, Zeng Mu seized his wrist and crushed it, then warned his companion off.
• Stee Jane thanked Zeng Mu, introduced him and Ma Linya to Qidunston, and teased them about being newlyweds.
• Qidunston told Zeng Mu that he had been too gentle and said he would have crippled both men for life.

Zeng Mu and Ma Linya met Qidunston, who deduced they were traveling to the Temple Capital Banquet and revealed that he would attend as well. He showed them Stee Jane’s earrings as the secret of agelessness, and Zeng Mu sensed they were an Elemental Artifact.

• Qidunston deduced that Zeng Mu and Ma Linya were a Knight and a Healer traveling to the Temple Capital Banquet.
• Qidunston said he had also received an invitation, from a woman he called Xiao Na, and that he was going with a secret task.
• Ma Linya asked about Stee Jane’s youth, and Qidunston revealed that he was seventy-six and said he and Stee Jane shared a similar condition.
• Qidunston pointed out Stee Jane’s blue-and-silver earrings and told Zeng Mu to touch one using his Elemental Power.
• Zeng Mu touched an earring, felt a surge of Elemental Power, and realized it was an Elemental Artifact.

Qidunston revealed that he was a rare Elemental Artifact Master and joined Zeng Mu and Ma Linya on their journey to the Temple Capital. After setting out on his slow Binrolan Horse, he activated a Second-Tier Wind Elemental Artifact that carried the travelers at astonishing speed, leaving them on course to reach the capital before nightfall.

• Qidunston revealed that he had created Stee Jane’s Sea-Hanging Star earrings, a support-type Wind Elemental Artifact that slowed her physical aging.
• Qidunston recognized Abyss’s quality and past hardship, then summoned his old Binrolan Horse to travel with Zeng Mu and Ma Linya.
• Zeng Mu and Ma Linya agreed to set off with Qidunston despite the horse’s slow pace and the banquet’s approaching deadline.
• After they rode into the woods, Qidunston activated a Second-Tier Wind Elemental Artifact that enveloped the travelers and sped them forward.

Zeng Mu and Ma Linya rode with Qidunston to Temple Capital on his powerful wind elemental artifact and entered the bustling, heavily guarded city. Their attention turned to a familiar little figure standing outside an herbal medicine shop.

• Zeng Mu and Ma Linya experienced flying as Qidunston’s wind elemental artifact carried them at great speed toward Temple Capital.
• Qidunston explained that an artifact’s power depended on the skill of the Elemental Artifact Master who refined it.
• The three reached Temple Capital by dusk and passed several checkpoints where knights verified their identities and horses.
• Zeng Mu and Ma Linya admired Temple Capital’s lively streets and shops, contrasting them with the desolate border cities.
• Zeng Mu and Ma Linya spotted a familiar little figure outside an herbal medicine shop.

Cobert reunited with Zeng Mu and Ma Linya in the Temple Capital, where they arrived for the banquet and met Jerry Alexander. Jerry recognized their extraordinary abilities and asked Nameless how he had reached the willful realm so young, leaving Qidunston to interrupt with a complaint about the tea.

• Cobert directed his apprentices in his herbal medicine shop before Zeng Mu and Ma Linya surprised him and explained they had been invited to the Temple Capital Banquet.
• Cobert invited them to stay and help prepare for the Flower Festival, but Zeng Mu politely declined so they could report in.
• Zeng Mu, Ma Linya, and Qidunston entered the Holy Temple grounds and met Jerry Alexander in his office.
• Jerry praised Nameless's talent and asked how he had reached the willful realm so quickly.
• Qidunston interrupted Jerry's question by complaining that the tea had gone bad.

Zeng Mu and Ma Linya met Duke Jerry, settled into their palace guest room, and spent the evening exploring the Temple Capital before returning to sleep. As they discussed the Flower Festival, the city prepared for the next day’s matchmaking celebrations.

• Jerry questioned Ma Linya about how she and Zeng Mu met and whether they truly loved each other, but Qidunston ended the conversation and arranged their rooms.
• Ma Linya accepted the assigned shared room with Zeng Mu, and the manservant gave Zeng Mu its key before leading Qidunston away.
• Zeng Mu and Ma Linya left the palace, wandered the lively Temple Capital, ate dinner beneath a restaurant awning, and returned after strolling through the streets.
• After bathing, Zeng Mu and Ma Linya felt awkward sharing the large bed until they talked about the Flower Festival and fell asleep peacefully.
• Throughout the night, Temple Capital residents prepared crafts and other items for the festival, hoping to find lifelong partners the next day.

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.