Chapter Summaries

Puxien trapped Kallen in an illusion that forced him to confront false versions of his family, Dis, and himself, while urging him to accept that he was the God of Order. Kallen resisted the illusion and crawled toward the voice in Aunt Mary's Workshop, where he found Alfred praying to him.

• Puxien's illusion showed Kallen a false family that tried to keep him in bed, but he realized someone was missing and escaped the room.
• Kallen confronted false versions of himself and Dis, then rejected the claims that Dis had summoned him to serve as a stepping stone to godhood.
• False Paul, a golden retriever, and Mr. Hoffen confronted Kallen as the illusion grew stronger and presented him with a Throne of Order.
• Kallen resisted the urge to surrender when he heard a faint sound from the basement and crawled toward Aunt Mary's Workshop.
• Kallen opened the Workshop door and found Alfred praying to him as his god and Young Master.

Kallen escaped Puxien’s illusion and returned to the selection trial, where his team awakened quickly and advanced alongside the other three teams. As the Divine Artifact began to approach, Kallen’s squad felt no mental storm, but an unknown woman’s message reached them from outside their formation.

• Kallen left the Workshop illusion after saying goodbye to the people and places he had missed, then snapped his fingers and awakened.
• Kallen released Puxien from the white thread, and Puxien exploded; Kallen and the other candidates gradually awakened as the teams’ Puxien abilities faded.
• Philomina used a soul link to awaken her last three teammates, collapsing from the effort, and Punk announced that all four teams would advance.
• Kallen rallied his teammates and had Mars activate the Spiritual Bridge Formation as the teams prepared for the Divine Artifact.
• The Divine Artifact’s mental storm overwhelmed the first and seventh teams, while Kallen’s squad felt nothing and mistakenly praised Mars for protecting them.
• A female mental message reached Kallen’s squad from outside the formation, calling him dear and saying she had missed him.

Kallen’s Third Squad endured Loya’s Spiritual Storm and advanced to the Reincarnation Valley trial alongside the First Squad after the Seventh Squad conceded. The selection ended with Kallen meeting the other squad captains, while the Church elders praised his performance.

• Kallen explained his connection to Loya, then privately learned from her about a second copper coin in the sea southwest of Vien that he could keep to visit her.
• Loya unleashed a Spiritual Storm, and Kallen reconnected the squad through the Spiritual Bridge and led his teammates in resisting the assault.
• Kallen prepared his squad for the Source of Sin, while Muli strengthened the First Squad’s defenses and Kane conceded on behalf of the exhausted Seventh Squad.
• Loya withdrew after the Seventh Squad left, and Punk announced that the First and Third Squads had secured the final places in the Reincarnation Valley trial.
• Muli and Kane congratulated Kallen and exchanged introductions with him, while Kreid and the other elders discussed Kallen’s strong performance.

Kallen returned to York City District after leading his squad to success in the selection, where officials celebrated the team and discussed changes to the Church’s training and assignment systems. Exhausted by the ceremonies and banquet, he left for home with Alfred, who recorded that God was weary and radiant.

• Commander Punk invited Kallen to stay at Ogleve Fortress, but Kallen declined and Punk revealed that he, too, was leaving.
• Kallen said goodbye to Mars and Blanche, then returned to York City District with Bart, Aisili, Ventura, and Philomina.
• Bishop Byrne learned that Philomina was Madam Madwoman’s granddaughter, while Bishop Woforen described directives for next year’s selection and reforms to young people’s assignments.
• Chief Bishop Woforen welcomed the returning contestants with a ceremony, and the Church Hospital examined them before Kallen rested at the Ankara Hotel.
• Kallen attended a celebratory banquet, greeted the families and officials, and toasted, “Glory belongs to York City!”
• Kallen left the hotel with Alfred, who congratulated him and wrote in his notebook that God was weary and radiant.

Kallen helped a Whip of Order Squad during a highway fight, then reflected on his arrogance and comforted Mrs. Lake while disguised as Mr. Pavaro. At home, he told Puer, Kevin, and Alfred about the selection, while Philomina returned to her family and learned that the person she had investigated was named Immoreles.

• Kallen followed a moving truck and rescued two Order clerics from a woman and a man attacking them.
• Kallen left the surviving attacker for the arriving Whip of Order Squad and asked Alfred to have the captain collect a fee for their help.
• Kallen admitted to Alfred that he had been looking down on others and asked him to point it out if he became arrogant again.
• Kallen disguised himself as Mr. Pavaro and reassured Mrs. Lake that Dora and Doreen growing more independent was a good sign.
• Kallen recounted the selection to Puer, Kevin, and Alfred over a late-night snack, then asked Puer about Philomina and the Felsher Family.
• Philomina returned home without being selected and told Mrs. Felshev that her investigation had found no trace of the man; Mrs. Felshev named him Immoreles and said he had destroyed the Felsher Family.

Philomina reflected on her failure in the Final Selection and retreated into a dream of her parents and a happier home, while Kallen considered his new prospects with the Whip of Order. After learning he could form his own squad, Kallen looked forward to choosing his recruits, and Puer successfully summoned a smaller version of Allen’s sword.

• Mrs. Felshev told Philomina that Kallen had outthought her, and Philomina admitted she neither hated him nor had investigated him.
• Philomina went to sleep and dreamed of her parents welcoming her home, where she shared smoked meat with the dog beneath the table.
• Kallen discussed the colonial witnesses’ testimony with Daishan and described how Vien’s cultural influence had reshaped their sense of identity.
• Kallen’s captain told him that new recruits could form autonomous Whip of Order squads, and Kallen realized he could bring his companions into his own squad.
• Puer adjusted the summoning spell art to draw a smaller red sword, then rode Kevin and shouted, “Stupid Dog, charge!”

Kallen arranged to recruit his Final Selection teammates into his planned Whip of Order Squad and visited the Guman Family, where Richard agreed to join. A message from Mr. Eisen drew Kallen toward the Pottery Gallery, while Philomina killed her driver and escaped as Memphis approached the gallery.

• Puer joked with Kallen, requested Point Vouchers for a custom sword, and later patrolled with Kevin while Kallen agreed to leave the house in their care.
• Kallen recruited Aisili, Bart, and Ventura for his planned Whip of Order Squad, then asked Alfred to look into Teacher Daishan.
• At the Guman Family villa, Kallen reunited with his maternal grandmother and Richard, who gave him a lower-grade Key of the Magic Cube and agreed to join the squad as a logistics member.
• A crow delivered a message to Kallen saying someone from the Pottery Gallery had arrived, so Kallen left Richard's room to go there.
• Philomina killed the fat man driving her car as Memphis approached the Pottery Gallery, then fled as black mist.

Kallen pursued Philomina after she helped a puppet-maker escape, but she agreed to lead him to the man instead of fighting. Meanwhile, Madam Tang Li visited Mrs. Felshev and revealed that Dis had become a supreme Temple Elder, leaving Felshev in denial and remembering him as a young man.

• Kallen reached Lemar's pottery gallery, learned that Memphis was pursuing Philomina, and used a tracking ruler to follow him.
• Philomina and Memphis continued their chase until Kallen intercepted her and demanded she reveal where the puppet-maker was hiding.
• After an eagle appeared overhead, Philomina agreed to take Kallen to the puppet-maker, and Kallen put away the Sword of Arius.
• Madam Tang Li visited Mrs. Felshev, who revealed that Philomina was her granddaughter and the child of the creature beneath the table.
• Madam Tang Li explained that Dis had entered the Order Temple and become a supreme Temple Elder, but Mrs. Felshev insisted he had only gone there to retire.

Madam Tang Li confronted Mrs. Felshev about her fixation on Dis and left after telling her that he had spared her to let her suffer. Kallen handled a new funeral for Whip of Order captain Mr. Giotto and later learned that Lemar had begun teaching Selena the Puppet Creation Art.

• Madam Tang Li challenged Mrs. Felshev's insistence that she understood love, then left the villa as black mist swallowed it.
• Kallen and Mr. Eisen waited while Philomina retrieved a fat man from a farm, then Mr. Eisen took him to the Pottery Gallery for Lemar.
• Philomina invited Kallen to meet her grandmother, but Kallen declined and went back to the Funeral Society.
• Malena and the Giotto Squad hired Kallen's Funeral Society to bury their captain, who had chosen euthanasia after pollution from a mission injury worsened.
• Alfred told Kallen that Teacher Daishan had attended activities held by new-thought organizations unconnected to any church.
• Lemar freed Selena and offered her the Yılmaz Carving Knife, urging her to learn the Puppet Creation Art by using the restrained man as material, and Selena accepted the knife.

Puer and Kevin went out with Alfred, encountered Anita and Ruimoer at his newly founded club, and attended a lecture where Alfred discussed God and the attitude people should take toward the road ahead. After Anita called Puer weak, Puer resolved to grow stronger and take Kallen flying.

• Mrs. Lake prepared Mr. Giotto’s body while Puer and Kevin decided to go out with Alfred.
• Alfred took Puer and Kevin to his club, where they encountered a powerful woman in white and hurried to warn him.
• Puer attacked Ruimoer, but Alfred explained that Ruimoer was his vice president and that Anita was her symbiotic partner.
• Anita apologized after insulting Puer, who became angry and vowed to grow stronger for Kallen.
• Alfred began his club lecture on God and the attitude people should take toward the road ahead.

Alfred’s lecture club was raided, but Neo and Kallen intervened and drove off the Public Morals Office. Kallen planned his next assignments and attended to funeral preparations before learning that Dis’s true self had returned.

• Alfred taught the club about grounding until Keyaer arrived with Public Morals Office staff and accused him of organizing Otherworldly Demons.
• Kallen and Neo arrived after Alfred was shackled, and Neo beat Keyaer until his subordinates released Alfred and left.
• Kallen learned that Anita had called Puer the weakest symbiotic companion and promised to help her get even if it happened again.
• Kallen told Puer he would travel to Dinge District and listed his upcoming plans, including the Gate of Reincarnation and forming his own Whip of Order Squad.
• Alfred brought Kallen a plan for Mr. Giotto’s funeral, and Kallen said he would preside over the Memorial Service.
• The old man appeared in Kallen’s study and said he sensed that his true self had returned.

Kallen tracked down Mr. Will, the former owner of his first home, and met him at the villa where two Light Remnants were recovering. Mr. Will said he would leave York City and entrusted the two to Kallen, while Neo unexpectedly appeared in Kallen’s car and asked where he was.

• Kallen learned from Alaye that Mr. Will had returned to York City and was looking for his nephew and niece.
• Kallen took Kevin to Apple Street, where Kevin tracked the Light Remnants to a rebuilt villa.
• Kallen entered the villa under concealment, fought briefly with Helen and Vernon, and learned that Mr. Will was waiting upstairs.
• Mr. Will told Kallen he had come to wake Helen and Vernon, planned to return to his studies in the colonies, and would leave the two children in Kallen’s care.
• Neo appeared in Kallen’s car and asked where Kallen was and where the person he had arranged to meet had gone.

Kallen met Mr. Will, who entrusted Vernon and Helen to him and asked him to investigate a distorted mental imprint in books from his former home. After Kallen and Neo compared notes, Kallen let Kevin drive him through York City, reflecting on how cautious the journey had made him.

• Mr. Will discussed the Church of Light’s decline with Kallen and asked him to guide Vernon and Helen, who agreed to Kallen’s test of living in the city without using their powers.
• Mr. Will asked Kallen to investigate who had bought his former home and distorted the mental imprint in his books, and gave him a bank key as payment.
• Kallen realized Bersha’s letter had led him to take the Captain’s place at the meeting, then left the villa after giving Vernon and Helen their instructions.
• Kallen returned to find Kevin driving the car with Neo as a passenger, and he explained what had happened at the villa.
• Neo said Vernon and Helen could join Kallen’s future squad if they proved themselves, then left to visit the Cemetery.
• Kallen let Kevin drive through York City and compared Kevin’s careful driving with his own cautious journey.

Kallen organized Mr. Giotto’s funeral, then departed York City with his squad for the Dinge District. When his teammates enthusiastically wore their new Demon Masks in public, Kallen joined them and led the masked group onward.

• Kallen prepared Mr. Giotto’s funeral with Aisili, Bart, Ventura, and the staff, and the squad helped serve mourners throughout the ceremony.
• Neo praised Kallen’s funeral arrangements, warned him to be cautious in the Dinge District, and gave him a box containing thirteen Silver Masks.
• After the funeral, Kallen learned that Kevin hoped to use the refrigerator as part of a larger teleportation formation, though the plan remained far from ready.
• Kallen and his squad traveled by hearse to the Church Administration Building and used its Teleportation Magic Formation to reach the Dinge District.
• Mars and Blanche joined the group, and Ventura handed them Silver Masks; the squad members put on their masks, prompting Kallen to wear his too and lead them out of the hall.

Kallen and the other trainees arrived at the training base, where Kallen and Muli agreed their teams should build relationships and support each other inside the Gate of Reincarnation. Their first lesson with Pilo turned into a demonstration of his overwhelming formation skills, and he left them with a lesson about seeing formations from a different perspective.

• Kallen assigned the six teammates to rooms and arranged for them to collect the free food, cigarettes, and alcohol provided at the hotel for their shared fund.
• Muli visited Kallen, explained the four training subjects, and proposed that their teams get to know each other and cooperate when they entered the Gate of Reincarnation; Kallen agreed.
• Kallen and Muli collected the timetable and brought their teams to the first class, where the formation teacher Pilo introduced himself with a powerful sound wave.
• Pilo teleported the trainees to the beach, showed them how he had used sound waves to form a formation, and then transported them into the sea and onto a towering pillar of ice.
• Pilo explained that the essence of formations was perspective and concluded that a true formation could let a Divine Servant seal a deity.

Pilo took the students through a practical lesson in formations, testing their judgment before showing them the beauty that formations could create. Kallen impressed Pilo, who invited him to seek him out in Dinge District in two years, and the students returned to the Conference Hall to discover that the scheduled teacher had been looking for them.

• Pilo explained his view of formations and transported the students through a series of demonstrations, while Kallen recognized the lesson's connection to Mr. Hoffen's Formation Notes.
• Kallen stayed put during Pilo's trick, guessed his teaching approach, and received a coin that granted temporary Purification after answering a question about Pilo's pipe.
• Pilo questioned Kallen about his background and formation studies, then told him to find him in Dinge District in two years for a proficiency test.
• Pilo took the students to examine Demon Beasts restrained by formations, and Kallen encouraged Mars to share his own observations.
• Pilo created a rainbow bridge and a dazzling night-sky display before returning the students to the Conference Hall.
• A middle-aged man in red-trimmed Order Clerical Robes arrived with hotel security and revealed that he was supposed to teach the class that night.

Kallen and the other trainees attended a lesson led by retired Deputy Knight Commander Liwen, whose erratic training methods tested their strength and patience. When Liwen chose Kallen for a sparring match and demanded his realm, Kallen revealed that his identification listed him as a Divine Servant.

• Muli refused the Security Captain’s investigation, and Kallen led his own squad back to their rooms without cooperating.
• Kallen and Ventura suspected that powerful Church officials had taken over the lessons after hotel staff delivered illustrated catalogs of the demon beasts in the Cave.
• Liwen introduced himself as a retired Deputy Knight Commander, led the trainees through the sea to a submerged courtyard, and subjected them to intense gravity.
• Kallen resisted Liwen’s attempts to disrupt his spiritual power, while Ventura collapsed after Liwen lightly patted him.
• Liwen released the gravity, made the students fall, and announced that he would spar with each of them at their own level.
• Liwen selected Kallen to go first, but Kallen’s identification revealed his realm as Divine Servant.

Kallen concealed his true strength and defeated Instructor Liwen in a close-combat lesson, leaving Liwen to praise his battlefield skill. The lesson ended with Kallen and Muli’s squads agreeing to protect Liwen’s reputation, while Pilo and the other elders laughed at the fight and spread the story.

• Liwen questioned Kallen’s identification as a Divine Servant, and Kallen used a prayer and Muli’s help to keep Liwen from raising his strength above the first stage.
• Kallen chose a greatsword and initially pretended to struggle with it, while his squad recognized the weapon from a case he had brought from York City.
• Liwen attacked Kallen with a spear, but Kallen used Spell Arts, body enhancements, and sword skill to take control of the fight without revealing the Sword of Arius or his other powers.
• Kallen disarmed Liwen, trapped his black panther phantom with Chains of Order, and knocked him down with the greatsword.
• Liwen praised Kallen as a dangerous opponent and a valuable comrade, while Kallen and Muli’s squads promised not to tell outsiders about the lesson.
• Pilo and the other elders watched the fight through a scrying mirror, laughed at Liwen’s defeat, and began spreading the story that a Divine Servant had knocked him flat.

Kallen impressed Liwen and the elder observers with his fighting skill, then learned from Liwen during three rounds of combat instruction. The chapter ended with Liwen cheerfully telling the other elders that a Divine Servant had knocked him flat.

• The watching elders praised Kallen's tactical skill and spell arts, while Pilo recalled that the higher-ups had plans for the students.
• Kallen advised his squad to study Liwen's combat choices and conserve their strength, then Liwen defeated Muli and the other students in turn.
• Kallen asked Liwen to fight at fourth-tier strength while he restricted himself to Divine Servant strength, and the two exchanged attacks as the class studied Kallen's thinking.
• The elders discovered Kallen was an orphan with little formal schooling, and Pilo compared his talent to that of former High Priest Lord Rasma.
• After three rounds of instruction, Kallen thanked Liwen, returned to his room to rest, and reflected that Liwen was a competent knight.
• Liwen entered a room of six elders and announced that a Divine Servant had knocked him flat.

Kallen’s squad attended a team-combat lesson on the Black Prison Castle, a war spell art Mavario summoned and explained. After learning that the castle’s authorization would grant lasting access to a divine artifact’s power, both squads began choosing who would receive it.

• Kallen and his teammates held an early-morning discussion to review the previous lesson, and Muli asked to include his squad in future discussions.
• Kallen’s squad and Muli’s squad traveled to an island, where Director Husen introduced Mavario as their instructor for team combat.
• Mavario summoned the Black Prison Castle, and Kallen examined its weapons, structure, and control hub while Bart explained its battlefield functions.
• Mavario explained that authorization would let one person in each squad draw on a divine artifact to cover most of the castle’s power consumption.
• Mavario listed the qualities an authorization holder should have, and Muli’s squad began discussing candidates while Kallen’s teammates stepped back from him.