Chapter Summaries

Loa reached Blackscale Royal City and learned that Bob was likely being held at a manor connected to the Dark Church. Bob remained chained there with several captive children, hoping Loa would find him.

• Loa traveled into Dark Alliance territory with Wuzhui and Wangcai, stopping in Blackscale Royal City to follow the Dawson Chamber of Commerce’s lead.
• A covert agent told Loa that at least three ninth-rank experts guarded a manor outside the city and that a witness had seen Bob among them.
• At the manor, three brothers discussed delivering a shipment of captives to the Church and warned each other not to risk the Judgment Office’s punishment.
• A guard brought food to the storeroom where Bob was chained by hooks through his shoulders alongside several frightened children.
• Bob realized his captors were collecting powerful fighters for an unknown purpose and resolved to endure until Loa came.

Loa infiltrated the Manor and freed Bob and the captive children, then fled with them as the three brothers pursued. He sent Wuzhui and the children ahead while he and Wangcai stayed behind to face the pursuers.

• Loa studied the Manor’s patrols, slipped inside during a shift change, and killed the two guards at the storeroom.
• Loa found Bob chained and his Battle-qi sealed, along with several captive children, and began freeing him while Wangcai and Wuzhui attacked the Manor to distract its guards.
• The three brothers rushed to the storeroom, but Loa blasted through its wall and escaped with Bob and the children.
• Loa handed Bob medicine and Thunder Prison, then ordered Wuzhui to carry Bob and the children north while he covered their retreat.
• Wangcai stayed with Loa as the three brothers approached, and Loa drew Hidden Abyss to confront them.

Loa killed two of the three brothers but abandoned the chase for the fleeing eldest when Wuzhui sent a desperate call for help. As Loa raced to reach Wuzhui, Bob, and Mia, the Four-winged Fallen Angel Halackwit struck Wuzhui’s injured wing.

• Loa used Wind World and Wangcai’s lightning to fight the three brothers, then killed the second brother with Hidden Abyss.
• Loa killed the third brother after dodging his saber, while the eldest brother fled south and escaped Wangcai’s pursuit.
• Wuzhui fled northeast with the badly wounded Bob and Mia, burning its blood essence and Magic Crystal Core to evade Halackwit.
• Halackwit, a Four-winged Fallen Angel, caught up and struck Wuzhui’s injured wing as it tried to reach Loa.
• Loa heard Wuzhui’s final Soul Transmission and raced toward its faint presence, intent on killing whoever had hurt Wuzhui and Bob.

Loa arrived as Wuzhui and Bob were falling to Halackwit, rescued them, and held off the Saint while Wangcai prepared a Thunderstorm Cloud. After Loa forced Halackwit to retreat from close combat, Halackwit flew toward Bob and Mia, leaving their fate unresolved.

• Halackwit blasted Wuzhui's wing and prepared to kill Wuzhui, Bob, and Mia, but Loa arrived and struck him with a powerful Sword Ray.
• Loa stopped Wuzhui's life force from draining away, treated Bob's wound, and sent Bob and Mia into the woods while he stayed to face Halackwit.
• Loa battled Halackwit for several minutes and used Soul Transmission to ask Wangcai to create a distant Thunderstorm Cloud.
• Loa challenged Halackwit to fight on the ground, then gained the advantage in close combat and drove him to one knee.
• Halackwit escaped into the air and flew toward Bob and Mia, while Loa remained where he was and silently counted.

Loa used Wangcai’s storm and the Nine Heavens Execution Platform to grievously wound Halackwit, a mid-stage Saint Realm Fallen Angel, before fleeing with Wangcai on Wuzhui. The group escaped alive but exhausted, while Halackwit remained in a pit, vowing to find them.

• Wangcai sustained a thunderstorm cloud as Loa summoned the Nine Heavens Execution Platform and sealed Halackwit in place.
• Loa’s yin thunder attacked Halackwit’s soul while his yang thunder battered the Dark Saint Armor, overcoming his defenses and leaving him gravely wounded.
• Halackwit fell into a deep pit, unable to move, as Loa mounted Wuzhui and carried the exhausted Wangcai away.
• Halackwit vowed to find Loa while Wuzhui carried Loa and Wangcai into the woods.

Loa led Bob, Mia, Wuzhui, and Wangcai through the Magical Beast Mountain Range while evading the Dark Church’s pursuers. After resting and recovering in the Core Region, he decided they would travel to the Yulan Empire rather than return to Fenlai.

• Loa found Bob and Mia, then carried them into the Magical Beast Mountain Range to escape the possibility that Halackwit could pursue them.
• Loa hid the group in a cave and later evaded black-robed pursuers from the Religious Judgment Office, avoiding further encounters as they traveled through the mountains.
• After fifteen days, the pursuers disappeared when Loa’s group reached the Core Region, where powerful magical beasts made searches too dangerous.
• Loa treated Wuzhui and Bob while they recovered in a concealed cave, and Bob struggled with guilt over the children who had died protecting Mia.
• Loa rejected Wangcai’s suggestion to return to Fenlai and announced that they would go to the Yulan Empire, while vowing to repay Halackwit for the attack.

As Bob recovered in the cave, Loa explained that powerful groups were sacrificing children to summon beings into the world and urged Bob to become strong enough to protect others. Loa began training him in controlling his strength, while Bob practiced with the Thunder Prison Greatsword and Mia cheered him on.

• Loa hunted with Wangcai while caring for Wuzhui, and Mia tended Bob as he recovered and slowly began speaking again.
• Loa told Bob that the Dark Church and Fenlai's upper class used children with pure souls as sacrifices for descents and angel summonings.
• Bob asked what they could do to stop the sacrifices, and Loa told him to get stronger and offered to teach him.
• Loa explained the principles of Heavy as Light and Light as Heavy, then demonstrated how a light branch could strike with concentrated force.
• Bob began practicing sword swings with the Thunder Prison Greatsword as Loa corrected his form and Mia encouraged him.
• Loa told Wangcai that Bob could reach the ninth level with the right method, but that reaching the Saint level would depend on his fortune.

Bob rebuilt his resolve by training with Thunder Prison and learning from Loa how to guide his strength with intent. He began to recover from despair, determined to grow strong enough to protect Mia and prevent another abduction.

• Bob trained with his sword every day despite his injuries, while Mia became his emotional anchor.
• Loa taught Bob to channel strength through his whole body and let intent lead each sword swing.
• Loa demonstrated intent by splitting a distant rock with a thrust of a twig, and Bob began to apply the lesson to his own swordsmanship.
• Bob landed a properly controlled swing, smiled for the first time in days, and promised Mia he would become strong enough to protect her.
• Loa reflected that Bob would keep going for the dead children, Mia, and his own defiance, and recognized that he had come back to life.

Loa, Bob, and Mia reached Oster, where they settled into an inn and enjoyed a meal while Mia discovered the city’s comforts. As Loa watched Oster’s lively night, he reflected that their temporary peace would not last and resolved to face Halackwit and the Dark Church.

• Loa and his companions left the Magical Beast Mountain Range and traveled through farmland toward Oster, while Mia marveled at the world outside the forest.
• Loa, Bob, and Mia entered Oster and saw its immense magical defenses, busy streets, and numerous magic towers and academies.
• Loa rented three rooms at an inn, paid for Wuzhui’s care, and took Bob and Mia to dinner at the Silver Spoon.
• Mia ate eagerly and fell asleep against Bob’s shoulder, while Loa said they would remain in Oster until Wuzhui had fully recovered.
• Loa watched Oster’s nighttime fireworks and recalled the events that had brought him there, then vowed to deal with Halackwit and the Dark Church.

Klemerson learned that Loa had reached the realm of a peak Saint and ordered Halackwit to lead Fallen Angels to kill him. In Oster, Mia displayed exceptional dual-element magic affinity and spiritual force, while Loa settled Bob and Mia into a new home and gave them a stable place to stay.

• Halackwit told Klemerson that Loa was a ninth-level warrior whose realm had reached the peak Saint threshold, so Klemerson ordered him to return with five two-winged Fallen Angels and kill Loa in one strike.
• Loa asked Harrison to find a spacious residence in Oster and checked whether the Imperial Magic Academy was recruiting students.
• Bob and Loa brought Mia to the Magic Testing Center, where she displayed exceptional water and wind affinity and spiritual force thirty-six times the norm.
• The Imperial Magic Academy and other schools competed to recruit Mia, but Loa asked them to give her three days to decide.
• Loa took Bob and Mia to a large residence he had bought for thirty million gold coins, and Bob agreed that they would make it their home.

Loa completed tempering his third cervical vertebra and reached the late ninth level, then told Bob he planned to travel to the Far East Prairie to seek battles and advance his cultivation. Before leaving, he promised Mia he would return so she could show him the magic she learned.

• Bob and Loa chose the Imperial Magic Academy for Mia, where a Saint Magus Dean would eventually teach her.
• Mia settled into academy classes and studied diligently while Bob took her to and from school.
• Loa completed tempering his third cervical vertebra through the Heavenly Pillar Method and reached the late ninth level.
• Loa told Bob he planned to leave for the Far East Prairie once Wuzhui had recovered further, seeking powerful opponents to strengthen his battle-qi.
• Mia asked Loa to promise he would return, and Loa agreed so she could show him what she learned in magic.

Loa set out for the Far East Prairie with Wuzhui and Wangcai, while a young man with divine power seized control of the Core Region of the Magical Beast Mountain Range. After forcing the Saint magical beasts to submit, he turned his attention toward the Holy Union and promised humans a “wonderful New Year.”

• Loa departed for the Far East Prairie on Wuzhui with Wangcai, after Bob urged him to stay safe and return soon.
• Three enormous winged monsters appeared in the Core Region and used soul-targeting suction to devour magical beasts.
• A young man in dark golden robes arrived, and the three monsters shrank into kittens and settled in his arms.
• The young man used God's Domain to pin the Saint magical beasts to the ground and demanded that they submit or die.
• Tuopuyale and the other Saint magical beasts welcomed the young man as their ruler.
• The young man looked toward the Holy Union, promised humans a wonderful New Year, and vanished with the sleeping kittens.

Loa crossed Horse Market Pass into the Far East Prairie with Wuzhui and Wangcai, traveling east through the vast grasslands. After seeing a prairie tribe and a migrating herd of Iron-Spined Wild Oxen, he camped by a stream beneath the stars and spoke with Wangcai about Eternal Heaven.

• Loa passed through Horse Market Pass and entered the Far East Prairie, where he rode east with Wuzhui and Wangcai.
• Loa followed caravan tracks past a small prairie tribe, circling around it rather than approaching the camp.
• Loa stopped beside a stream, rested, and watched a huge herd of Iron-Spined Wild Oxen migrate across the distant horizon.
• Loa camped beneath the prairie stars and told Wangcai that Eternal Heaven might be a god, then went to sleep before continuing east the next day.

Loa reached the Canglang Tribe’s market, joined its Cattle-Hunting Festival, and impressed the hunters by taking down twelve Iron-Spined Wild Oxen. As he rode east toward the wasteland, Batur invited him to visit the prairie again.

• Loa met Ulan Baatar, who gave him a bone token to show at the Canglang Tribe’s market.
• Loa spent three days at the market, learned about the prairie’s warring factions and the Cattle-Hunting Festival, and registered with the Canglang Tribe.
• Hadan led Loa and the Canglang hunting party to the Iron-Spined Wild Oxen herd, where Batur warned the hunters to target oxen at the edges and retreat after a kill.
• Loa and Wangcai hunted through the herd, bringing down oxen without using magic; Loa took twelve, while Batur took eight.
• Loa shared a meal with the hunters, then told Batur he planned to travel east toward the wasteland, and Batur invited him to return to the prairie.

Loa traveled east across the prairie, defeated Aguda in the battle at the U'er River, and earned Temur’s offer of the Canglang Tribe’s leadership and a letter to the Warrior Saint Gate. He continued through the Wasteland, painting and cultivating as he sensed his power becoming more solid and the Saint realm drawing near.

• Caravan Leader Ma warned Loa that the Canglang Tribe and Iron Cavalry Tribe were at war and advised him to avoid the U'er River.
• After Iron Cavalry riders attacked him for wearing the Canglang Emblem, Loa defeated all twenty without killing them, and Temur asked him to help defeat Aguda.
• Loa agreed to fight only Aguda, then intercepted and killed him with his sheathed sword during the battle at the U'er River.
• Temur offered Loa the position of great khan, but Loa declined and asked for a letter recommending him to the Warrior Saint Gate.
• Loa left the Canglang Tribe and crossed the Wasteland, painting scenes from his memories and surroundings while cultivating until he sensed his power solidifying.

Loa wandered across the prairie and continued cultivating as he drew close to the Saint level, unaware that Halackwit was hunting him and slaughtering tribes along the way. After the Warrior Saint Gate began investigating the destruction of the Canglang Tribe, Loa continued northwest into the wilderness with Wuzhui and Wangcai.

• Loa reached the Eastern Sea, then returned to the prairie, where he wandered and cultivated while Wuzhui ran freely and Wangcai hunted.
• Halackwit and five two-winged Fallen Angels tracked Loa from Oster to the Canglang Tribe, where they controlled Temur and questioned him about Loa’s direction.
• Halackwit killed Temur and led the Fallen Angels in wiping out the Canglang Tribe, then used the corpses to make Flesh and Blood Potion and tested a drop on Temur’s body.
• After news spread that the Canglang Tribe had vanished, an elder of the Warrior Saint Gate ordered an investigation into the Saints responsible and told his people not to disturb the Warrior Saint.
• Unaware of the massacre and Halackwit’s pursuit, Loa continued northwest with Wuzhui and Wangcai, sensing that he was close to reaching the Saint level.

Loa reached the Saint realm after three days of cultivation by a remote prairie lake, then encountered Halackwit pursuing a wounded prairie man. The chapter ended with Loa and Halackwit recognizing each other and facing off.

• Loa’s battle-qi formed a Saint Core, transforming his body and allowing him to reach the Saint realm.
• Wangcai and Wuzhui congratulated Loa after his breakthrough, and he began consolidating his new realm by the lake.
• Halackwit and five other Saints pursued a wounded prairie man to the lake after attacking the Canglang Tribe and violating the prairie’s rules.
• The prairie man warned Halackwit that the Martial Saint would punish him for his actions.
• Halackwit recognized Loa and said he had searched for him, and Loa greeted him by name.

Loa broke through the Dark Church’s Darkness Curtain and killed Halackwit and the Fallen Angels, revealing himself as a Saint-level expert. After meeting Bulgood’s master, the Warrior Saint Tulilei, Loa accepted an invitation to visit the Warrior Saint Gate.

• Halackwit and five Fallen Angels trapped Loa, Wangcai, Wuzhui, and the wounded Bulgood inside their Darkness Curtain.
• Loa used his air-current barrier to protect the group, and Bulgood introduced himself as a disciple of Tulilei and said help was coming.
• Loa unleashed Wind Threads Turn to Dust, destroyed the curtain, and disintegrated three Fallen Angels, revealing that he had become a Saint.
• Loa pinned Halackwit and the remaining two Fallen Angels in the air with sword force and Wind World, then cut all three in half.
• Loa called out Tulilei, who appeared, thanked him for saving Bulgood, and invited him to the Warrior Saint Gate.
• Loa accepted Tulilei’s invitation and followed him northwest with Wangcai and Wuzhui.

Loa and Tulilei exchanged insights into their cultivation, discovering that their different approaches to destruction shared a common destination. After their powerful spar, they celebrated at the Warrior Saint Gate, and Loa ended the night beneath the stars with Wuzhui.

• Tulilei learned that Loa was twenty and at the Saint-level limit, then exchanged insights with him about wind, lightning, and the Path of Destruction.
• Loa showed Tulilei his gray-white Annihilation Power, and Tulilei considered that destruction might be reached through more than slaughter.
• Tulilei and Loa sparred in the sky, where Tulilei's destructive saber strike narrowly overpowered Loa's Wind Threads Turn to Dust.
• Tulilei and Loa returned to the hall and drank mare's milk wine until Tulilei, Bulgood, and the other Saints passed out.
• Loa flew to the summit, where Wuzhui joined him, and he rested beneath the stars reflecting on what he had learned.

Loa learned to compress his Annihilation Power into a devastating Annihilation Sword Ray, then was summoned with Wangcai to meet Beirut in the Dark Forest. The three Purple-Gold Rat Kings escorted them into the forest, leaving Loa wondering why they seemed to envy Wangcai.

• Loa compressed his Annihilation Power into a Sword Ray that silently erased a hole through a rock face, and he named the technique Annihilation Sword Ray.
• Tulilei told Loa that Beirut had summoned him and Wangcai, though Wuzhui was not invited.
• Loa dressed for the meeting, put Hidden Abyss in his Space Ring, and flew west with Tulilei while carrying Wangcai.
• Harry, Hart, and Harvey met Loa and Wangcai at the Dark Forest and said they would escort them on Beirut's behalf.
• Tulilei returned to the Warrior Saint Gate, and Loa followed the three Purple-Gold Rat Kings deeper into the forest, puzzled by their apparent envy of Wangcai.