Chapter Summaries

An learned that the real Sacrificial Magic Array was beneath Eternal Night City and infiltrated it with Cecilia to destroy it. An damaged the Dark Soul Altar, triggering an alarm as the chapter ended.

• Affleck ordered Gaius, Morgan, and Sylvia to defend Eternal Night City until the blood moon sacrifice, postponing his revenge on An.
• Elena revealed that Shadow Valley had been a decoy and that the true altar lay beneath Eternal Night City, where the Church planned to sacrifice a million lives in six months.
• Cecilia agreed to guide An through an ancient underground passage, while Elena and the others stayed behind and prepared to flee to Chiyan City if An did not return within three days.
• An and Cecilia entered Eternal Night City through a hidden dry well and followed the underground passage to the Dark Soul Altar.
• An struck the altar's central pillar with sword energy, causing the runes to flash and triggering an alarm.

An fought the Dark Church’s leaders while destroying Eternal Night City’s formation, and Cecilia used the city’s Defensive Formation to send him away and hold off his pursuers. The chapter ended with Cecilia collapsing as an enraged roar sounded above the hall.

• Cecilia told An to destroy the formation while she held off the approaching Dark Church forces.
• Gaius, Sylvia, Morgan, a Six-Winged Fallen Angel, and thirty-six Four-Winged Fallen Angels attacked An.
• An battled the attackers, suffered injuries, and disrupted their Great Fallen Angel Formation with Wind-Cutting Formation.
• An destroyed the formation’s central pillar, but the Six-Winged Fallen Angel struck him into a wall.
• Cecilia activated the Defensive Formation, which sent An ten li outside Eternal Night City and drove his attackers back.
• Cecilia’s token shattered, and she collapsed as an enraged voice called her name.

Dark Pope Affleck killed Cecilia and sent Gaius, Morgan, Sylvia, and the Six-Winged Fallen Angel after An Baruch. An escaped their pursuit through underground caverns, but he was gravely wounded and nearly unconscious as Affleck vowed to hunt him again.

• Affleck absorbed Cecilia's soul after accusing her of betraying the Church, then ordered Gaius, Morgan, Sylvia, and the Six-Winged Fallen Angel to hunt An.
• An fled through the air while injured, but Gaius and Sylvia caught up and wounded him as he fought back.
• The Six-Winged Fallen Angel, Morgan, and Gaius cornered An on a mountain summit and inflicted further injuries.
• An leaped into an abyss and used the Azure Frost Sword to enter a network of caverns, where his scattered aura prevented his pursuers from tracking him.
• An hid in the caverns and began healing, while the four pursuers returned to Eternal Night City and Affleck vowed to kill him next time.

After fourteen years of training on the Arctic Icefield, An reached the Saint-level Limit in the Wind Dimension mystery and returned to the Baruch Empire. He reunited with his family and learned that the Radiant Church and Dark Church were threatening the empire’s newly discovered Magic Crystal Ore Vein.

• An spoke with Rutherford, who gave him a communication crystal before An left the Arctic Icefield for the Baruch Empire.
• An returned to the imperial palace, where Wharton, Linley, and Hogg welcomed him after fourteen years apart.
• An joined his family and friends for a banquet and asked Linley about the state of the Chaotic Territory.
• Linley told An that the Radiant Church and Dark Church had sent Saint-level experts to the Magic Crystal Ore Vein and seemed poised to unite against the Baruch Empire.
• Linley said the empire would defeat any attackers, noting that several of its allies had advanced to the Saint level.
• The chapter described the empire’s five thousand soldiers guarding the ore vein beneath a low hill on its western border.

An and Linley arrived at the Magic Crystal Ore Vein as the Radiant Church and Dark Church threatened the Baruch Empire over its proceeds. An routed their Saint-level forces, then said he would wait until he became a Deity before challenging Heidens's Holy Island.

• Wharton refused the churches' demand for a share of the Magic Crystal Ore Vein, and the churches' thirteen Saint-level experts confronted the empire's camp.
• An revealed his Saint-level Limit strength and killed the Radiant Church's three Six-Winged Angels with one strike.
• An's Wind-Cutting Formation disrupted both churches' forces, and his Storm Spears gravely wounded Heidens and Affleck.
• The remaining church experts fled or lay injured, and the empire's soldiers knelt in awe as An returned to the ground.
• An told Linley that he could not break the Glory of the Lord of Light formation without God-level strength, and they agreed to wait until An became a Deity.

Linley brought An to a hidden miniature space in the magic crystal mine, where the brothers cultivated amid unusually dense elements. After three months, An returned to the palace without breaking through, but he sensed that the final barrier was close to giving way.

• Linley showed An the secret chamber hidden behind a door in the mine and explained that its dense elements had rapidly advanced his comprehension of the Earth Pulse Profound Mystery.
• An realized that the Wind Dimension Profound Mystery depended on wind and space resonating, rather than merely compressing a wind blade.
• An and Linley cultivated separately in the miniature space while the Baruch Clan kept its existence secret.
• After the barrier in his Wind Dimension comprehension loosened, An told Linley he needed more time before he could break through.
• After three months, An returned to the palace and told Wharton he had not yet broken through but would soon; Wharton reported that Heidens and Affleck were both badly injured and recovering.

An and Linley agreed to join the War God Sect’s expedition into the Necropolis of the Gods, then prepared for the dangerous journey while helping establish the Baruch Empire. The empire was formally founded, and the chapter ended with Wharton hoping the Baruch Clan would grow stronger after the brothers returned.

• Casrot delivered the War God’s invitation for An and Linley to come to War God Mountain on March third and explore the Necropolis of the Gods with twenty-two other Saint-level experts.
• An and Linley accepted the invitation, and An warned Linley about the danger while urging him to keep cultivating before they left.
• An and Linley arranged the empire’s affairs, and An reassured Hogg and Delia that he would look after Linley during the expedition.
• Wharton formally proclaimed the founding of the Baruch Empire on January first, year 10023 of the Yulan Calendar, before a million subjects.
• Wharton celebrated the Baruch Clan’s restored glory with Linley and An, and Linley said the clan would grow stronger after their return.

An and Linley arrived at War God Mountain, where An defeated Olivier again with a single Wind Blade. Fain then challenged An to test his strength, and the two rose into the air as the gathered Saints watched.

• An and Linley arrived at the plaza, where the Saints learned that An had routed thirteen Church Saints and reached the Saint-level Limit.
• Fain greeted An and expressed interest in testing his strength, then introduced An and Linley to the gathered experts.
• Olivier challenged An over his defeat in the Combat Arena, and An accepted without drawing his sword.
• An's Wind Blade split Olivier's sword energy and cracked his blade, forcing Olivier to admit defeat.
• Fain challenged An to a firsthand test of strength, and they flew above War God Mountain as Linley watched with concern.

An fought Fain in a duel on War God Mountain and won after revealing his deadly Wind Thread technique, which the War God stopped before it killed Fain. Fain accepted his defeat and agreed to join forces with An in the Necropolis of the Gods, as the gathered Saint-level experts prepared to depart the next day.

• An and Fain faced each other in the sky, and Fain's speed and lightning attacks forced An onto the defensive.
• Fain intensified his assault with a lightning domain and found a gap in An's defenses.
• An unleashed Wind Thread, but the War God intervened and stopped it with a flaming shield before it could kill Fain.
• Fain admitted defeat, praised An's technique, and asked to join forces with him in the Necropolis of the Gods; An agreed.
• Linley congratulated An, and that night the twenty-two Saint-level experts gathered while Fain shared what he knew about the Necropolis of the Gods.

An, Linley, and the gathered Saint-level experts assembled at Beyrut’s castle before entering the Necropolis of the Gods. Desri warned An about the deadly South Sea necropolis, and Barker arrived to join Linley’s group.

• Bebe entered Beyrut’s metal castle and secured permission for Barker to join the expedition.
• An meditated and observed the human and magical beast Saints gathered in the Dark Forest.
• Desri told An that three necropolises existed and warned that two-thirds of those entering the South Sea necropolis had died.
• An relayed Desri’s warning to Linley, who grew grave.
• Barker arrived at the plaza, and Linley told him to stay with their group.